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A Mochi moment from Mark, who writes, I just want to thank you for making GLP1s affordable. What would have been over $1,000 a month is just $99 a month with mochi. Money shouldn't be a barrier to healthy weight. Three months in and I have smaller jeans and a bigger wallet. You're the best. Thanks, Mark. I'm Mayra Amit, founder of Mochi Health. To find your mochi moment, visit joinmochi.com Mark is a Mochi member compensated for his story. Close your eyes. Focus. Listen to work getting done with Monday.com relax as AI does the manual work while your teams are aligned on a single source of truth. Feel the sensation of an AI work platform. So flexible and intuitive it feels like it was built just for you. Notice you. You're limitless, limitless, limitless. Now open your eyes. Go to Monday.com, start for free and finally breathe. You're listening to an Ono Media podcast. Hey everyone, and welcome back to the into the Dark podcast. I'm your host, Peyton Moreland. I'm so glad you are here listening and if you are watching on YouTube, you can see that I have redone my set. I had been wanting to redo it. I didn't love my last set and I finally got around to it. I love it so much. I love the bookcase. I love all the spooky stuff. Actually, there is like a tag hanging out that I need to change, but other than that, we have a brand new set, but the same old show and the same old Sleepy Daisy girl. For my 10 seconds, it was the Super Bowl. I was extremely overstimulated. Too many people, too many loud noises. I wish that I could have just colored instead. But you know what? Sometimes you really just. You gotta sit there with the adults and do it, you know, not fun, not fun. And I know like, overstimulated's kind of like overdone. My house is so quiet because it's just me, Daisy and Garrett and we don't have a TV in our living room, so there's not like sound going on during the day. So genuinely, I am just like, not used to a lot of noise. And we had it at our house and I was just like, I just want to go upstairs and decompress. And I did. I went upstairs and took a couple rests a lot of times. But I love the halftime show. I still don't even think I know who was playing because I didn't look at the screen. But yeah, that was kind of my. My weekend. And that Being said, let's get into today's episode. Trigger Warning. This episode includes discussions of sexual assault, including the assault of a minor. So please listen with care. Sometimes things happen that set your life on a completely new course. You can't predict when these events will occur, but you know that once you have certain experiences, nothing will ever be the same. Maybe you meet someone who you just sense that you're meant to be with forever, or you're offered a job with a fabulous salary that lets you have an entirely new lifestyle. However, sometimes these events can also change you for the worse. You might go through something traumatic or upsetting that permanently destroys your sense of safety or stability. Or you might lose something or someone that you would always counted on. And worst of all, you can never know when something like this will happen. You might just be having an ordinary day. Everything feels normal. When, bam, everything changes. For example, Dave Cave. Yes, that's his name. Dave Cave Woke up on February 13, 2009, feeling like it was a typical morning. He lived in the California town of Escondido, and he shared his home with his serious girlfriend, Carrie McGonagall, and his stepdaughter, 14 year old Amber Dubois. Now, just like any family, this one had its conflict. See, Amber, the 14 year old daughter, was a teenager. And like a lot of girls her age, she was pushing back against boundaries. She was trying to assert her independence as an adult. She butted heads with her stepfather, Dave a lot. And whenever Dave tried to set or enforce house rules, Amber refused to listen. She didn't want him to have any real authority over her because he wasn't her biological father and also because she didn't want to follow rules in general. So she and Dave fought all of the time. And beginning in mid January of 2009, she had resorted to just kind of giving her stepdad the silent treatment. Literally. Almost an entire month went by without Amber even saying a word to Dave. But recently, things had taken a turn for the better. See, on February 12, Amber sat down with Dave to kind of have a heart to heart. They talked about all of the tension in their relationship. They agreed they wanted to make things better. And then Dave took Amber on a shopping trip. They hung out at the mall buying clothes and books. And it honestly really did seem like everything was finally back to normal. Better than normal even. They were laying the foundations of a strong loving father daughter relationship. So this was a good development. And on top of that, Amber was happy and excited about an opportunity that her school was offering. See, they had a deal where students could raise farm animals as part of their science class. So they would be graded on how good of a job they did of feeding it, taking care of it, and so on. I think this project makes more sense when you remember that Escondido was in the San Diego area, But it was far enough from the city to kind of feel like a small town. So even though we're in California, we're kind of in this country town where it's not unusual for students to have farm animals. And the teachers at Escondido High School were specifically encouraging their kids to raise lambs. Fun fact, My dad actually worked on a lamb farm growing up. But anyways, the teachers here had made arrangements so the students could buy lambs directly from the school. Meaning all Amber needed to do was bring a check to school, and then she would get to take home a little lamb with her for to take care of for her science class. It would be hers to raise and keep forever. Plus she could get a good grade for participating in the project. Now, Amber, naturally, was a huge animal lover. And all she wanted was to buy her lamb and have it as a pet. So she begged her family for permission and. And also to cover the costs since she couldn't afford one on her own. And around the time that she and Dave made up, he actually agreed to let her get this lamb. He said he would write a check to the school for her. So early in the morning of February 13, again, 2009, Amber came to Dave and asked for money to pay for her lamb. He gave it to her, and then he left to go to work out at the gym. And by the time he got home, Amber was gone. Now, given how late it was, Dave assumed that she had just already left for school that morning. But then the afternoon came, and it was getting close to the time when Amber usually made it back home from school. Except she didn't arrive when she normally did. Now, her parents, Dave and Carrie, didn't think much of it at first. They figured she might have stayed late talking to friends, maybe just hanging out at school. Maybe she was even playing with her new lamb. Maybe she'd lost track of time. It is worth keeping in mind that they lived within walking distance of this school. Amber didn't take a bus. She didn't need to follow any schedule. She usually just came back whenever she came back. Still, just as a precaution, her stepfather Dave, actually called the school. And when someone in the office picked up, he asked, hey, is Amber still there? Or, you know, is she walking back yet. And the employee was actually confused by the question. They explained that Amber had never shown up to class that day at all. They'd assumed she was homesick. Now, as soon as Dave and Carrie learned that Amber hadn't even made it to school that day, they were very concerned. Even though she was 14 and going through a rebellious phase, she wasn't the sort to play hooky. Clearly, to them, something terrible had happened. So right away, they called the police to report Amber missing. And kind of shockingly, the officers immediately began a huge search. They went door to door, talking to Amber's friends and neighbors, asking if anyone had seen her at all that day. And they also pulled Amber's cell phone records. And they saw something pretty odd. Again, this is a flip phone. The whole time she was missing, her phone had either been off or out of service. But at one point, it did turn on very briefly, just for a few seconds. Someone had checked Amber's voicemail and then immediately turned the cell phone back off. Now, this told the officers that Amber hadn't simply gotten lost or hurt in an accident. She may have been alive, perhaps intentionally evading the police by keeping her phone off, which might suggest that she was a runaway. Or alternatively, someone had kidnapped her and had access to her cell phone and was monitoring it. The officers weren't sure which situation was true, but they were open to any possibility. This meant they had to proceed as though the worst case scenario was on the table and seriously consider whether someone had hurt or killed Amber. And they also had to determine if anyone had the motive to harm Amber. And before long, their suspicion fell on one person in particular. Amber's stepfather, Dave. According to police, he had been behaving very weirdly since the day Amber had gone missing. And it had started that morning before she even left for school. You'll remember that Dave left the house before she did because he was going to the gym pretty early in the morning. Except after the workout, he didn't go to his office like he usually did. Dave told the police he had taken the day off to fill out some paperwork related to taxes. But this was a huge break from his usual routine. He'd never skipped work to do his taxes before. And here's where things get even weirder. Later that same day, he visited his girlfriend while she was working. Again, this was out of character for him. Dave said he'd wanted to surprise Carrie for Valentine's Day, and he'd showed up with roses and chocolate covered strawberries. Except it wasn't Valentine's day. It was February 13th the day before. And on top of that, Dave had never really been a holiday person. He didn't believe in making a big deal out of Valentine's Day, and most years he refused to do anything for it. So Carrie was actually completely confused about why he was at her office at all and why this year was different from other years, but even stranger. After Dave gave her the roses and candy and he then refused to leave, he just sat at Carrie's desk and talked to her. Kerry kept telling him, hey, like, I'm at work, you gotta go, I'm busy. She had to focus on her job and she didn't have time to hang out with him in the middle of the day. But Dave still didn't leave. And this is just super weird. 45 minutes went by before she finally convinced him to go home. And when the police heard this story, they definitely saw it as a red flag. It almost came across like he was trying to establish an alibi. Maybe. Except it gets even more suspicious than that. Quint's is all about elevated essentials that feel effortless. Designed for layering and mixing, each piece helps build a timeless wardrobe made to last. You've listened to this podcast at all. You know I love quince. I love my silk skirts. I wear them all the time. I've had them for years. I've purchased more because I'm tired of washing and rewearing. I need. I need a thousand. I need a thousand Quint silk skirts in all the lengths. I also got a makeup bag, like a travel bag from Quints that I love. 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Not available in all states or situations. Like I mentioned before, the teachers at Amber's school had noticed that she had never showed up that day. They thought she may have been home sick, but they didn't want to make assumptions. They actually called Amber's house to check in with her parents. And this call came through after Dave was done with his workout, but before he showed up at Carrie's work to deliver her Valentine's gift. Supposedly, he was home alone at this time, but for some reason, he didn't answer the phone. So naturally, as soon as the police heard this, they asked him, okay, where were you really that day? And why didn't you pick up the phone call if you were home? And he didn't give them an answer. Dave insisted, I was home. I should have heard the phone ringing. But for some reason, he wasn't sure why he had completely missed it. Now, of course, this came across as incredibly suspicious. Everything about his story was confusing and strange. Except the officers weren't able to find a smoking gun. They couldn't prove Dave had anything to do with Amber's disappearance, which also meant they couldn't move forward with charges or make an arrest. But still, everyone in Dave's life was looking at him with suspicion. Even his girlfriend, at this point, didn't fully believe he was innocent. She began sleeping in a separate bed because she couldn't bear the thought of laying down next to the man who may have hurt or killed her daughter. The problem was, she didn't know for sure if Dave was guilty, and no one did. And without any hard evidence or proof, weeks went by with no breaks in the case. Amber's investigation went cold. And almost a year passed with no progress. If Dave did do it, he'd gotten away with it. And if he hadn't done it, well, his reputation was actively being destroyed for no reason. But then something happened in 2010 that completely changed everything. Sadly, this development wasn't a good one. See, on February 25th, which was about one year and two weeks after Amber's disappearance, the police received another missing persons report. This one was about a 17 year old girl named Chelsea King. Now, like Amber, she was a high school student. And the last time she was seen, she was going on an after school jog along a nearby lake. Now, the lake was just 10 miles away from the street that Amber lived on. Now, I want to be clear. There was no immediate evidence connecting Chelsea's disappearance to Amber's. There was nothing firm to suggest these two missing girls were related at all. But a lot of people couldn't help but think violent crime was so rare in this area. What were the odds that two teenage girls would vanish from the same general area Just one year apart from one another? So even though nobody could prove it, Lots of people assumed that the same person had probably taken both Amber and Chelsea. Meaning as the police began to look into Chelsea's disappearance, they were also looking for evidence related to Amber, too. And that's when they found something major. As a team was scouring the trail that Chelsea had been running on, they found a sock and a pair of discarded underwear. Both had belonged to Chelsea. And when the police showed them to her parents, they said they were the brand and style she liked. And when the police tested the DNA on the underwear, it matched one person. And his name was John Gardner. Now, John was born in 1979, so he was 31 years old in 2010 when 17 year old Chelsea went missing. But let's back up and talk about his background because it is worth covering. See, John grew up in California, and he had a tough time from a young age. He misbehaved in school and got bad grades. Honestly, it seemed like John wanted to be the center of attention all of the time. So he would scream, he would refuse to sit down, he would distract a lot of the other kids who were just trying to learn at school. His teachers worried that John was struggling, and his bad behavior was preventing his classmates from succeeding, too. So they actually recommended he see specialists to see if he had a learning disability or a disorder that was causing problems. Now, from then on, he went through an endless cycle of seeing one doctor after another. They all said that something was interfering with John's ability to follow rules, but no one could agree on what was causing the issue. Each specialist gave him a different diagnosis, and none of them ever felt quite right. John ended up trying a number of different prescription medications. None of them helped, and some made his symptoms worse. Now, by the time John got into high school, his behavior was as bad as ever, and things went downhill very quickly after he graduated. See, John actually had a girlfriend who was a little younger than him. She was still a student and had to go to class every day. And now that John was done with high school, he technically wasn't allowed on the campus. But every single he showed up and hung out. That way, he could talk to his girlfriend first thing in the morning between each class, and as soon as she was done in the afternoon. So, in other words, his behavior Was a bit obsessive and concerning, except for the most part, the school officials really seemed to just ignore him. They figured he was young and in love, and this was just what teenagers were like. Except then John cheated on his girlfriend and she dumped him. But he didn't change his behavior. He continued to come to the school every single day to stalk his ex girlfriend. Finally, her teachers and other officials saw John's constant presence as a problem, and they called the police. And that's how John got arrested the first time. He had other run ins with the law afterward and for much more violent and serious charges, like in 2000 when John was 20 years old. In mid March of that year, he invited his next door neighbor over to hang out. Now, the neighbor's name hasn't been made public, but I know she was either 13 or 14 years old, so I'll be referring to her as Kelly. Now, John told Kelly that he liked her as a friend, enjoyed her company, and just wanted to watch a movie with her. Except as soon as Kelly and John were alone together, he tried to sexually assault her. Now, the young Kelly panicked and tried to get away, and John caught her and then beat her up. He hit her in the face and head, all while Kelly screamed for help, but nobody could hear her or help her. Now, luckily, before the assault could go too far, John seemed to suddenly realize what he was doing, and he just stopped hurting Kelly. He apologized, and then he let her go. Kelly went straight home to tell her parents what had happened, and they in turn called the police. And soon there was a huge investigation. And when the officers questioned John, he insisted that nothing had happened. He said, no, my super young neighbor Kelly just came over, we watched a movie, and then she went home. Now, of course, this was hard to believe because Kelly was covered in bruises and other injuries. And when the police asked John who'd hit Kelly, he claimed he didn't know he hadn't done anything to her. Now, nobody obviously believed John. The evidence against him was too strong. He was charged with child molestation. And on May 31, 2000, he was. He accepted a deal where he'd plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for a shorter sentence in prison. And then once he was behind bars, he began looking for ways to get out. See, his facility had a program that was specifically designed for convicted sex offenders. The idea was that men could work with psychologists, take classes, and learn how to address the factors that had made them commit the crimes in the first place. Inmates who'd completed the program sometimes got earlier releases, except When John tried to sign up, the teachers refused to let him. Based on their conversations with John, they didn't think he was actually remorseful or that he really wanted to change. Instead, he seemed like he was only interested in getting out of prison faster. And they didn't want to let John play the system. So instead, they kept him out of the class and told him he had to do his time. Now, John remained behind bars for six years until he was released on parole in 2006. For context, this is three years before Amber went missing and four years before Chelsea's disappearance. And during those three to four years, he violated his parole countless times. He wasn't supposed to live too close to a school. He had an apartment just a half mile away from a school. He figured out how to turn off the monitoring ankle bracelet he wore and frequently went out when the police couldn't track him. He bought drugs, guns, and other objects that were banned. And worst of all, he kept getting caught. Except his parole officer and other authorities agreed to look the other way each time. It was almost like they didn't see John as a real threat. Except now that his DNA had been identified at Chelsea's crime scene. Given his history of violence against women and underage girls, the investigators were confident that John had probably hurt Chelsea. They also suggested him and Amber's disappearance as well. And the police also wondered if there were any other missing girls in the area who they had missed. They were thinking maybe John was a serial killer who had been picking victims off one by one. So they began reopening their files and looking at every report and complaint from the area in the past few years since he had gotten out of prison. And that's how they found out about Candace Monclo. She was 22 years old, and she had reported an attack back on December 27, 2009, two months before Amber's disappearance. She said on that day, she went for a long jog. It lasted for eight miles. Now, understandably, once the workout was finished, Chelsea was tired. But as soon as she was going through her cooldown, a strange man approached her. Candice didn't recognize him, and there was no reason for him to be walking toward her. So she said good morning to be polite. And then, without warning, this man tackled Candace. He wrestled her to the ground. All she could think was that this stranger was trying to sexually assault her. But he had made one big mistake. See, Candace was the daughter of a famous and very successful professional kickboxer. And her father had taught her everything he knew about fighting. So Candace fought back. And she didn't only defend herself. She actually broke her attacker's nose. And then, while he was cradling his face, she ran away for help and reported the assault to police. Except the officers had never identified her attacker. That was, up until now, all they'd had was Candace's statement and her description of the man. But now the police showed her a picture of drawn, and she confirmed, yeah, that's the same man who'd attacked me on my run. And then the investigators found another important clue. Detectives were searching the area where Candace had been attacked and where Chelsea had gone missing. And just two days after they questioned Candace, they spotted Chelsea's remains. She was buried in a shallow grave, and the officers only found her because the wind and wild animals had partially uncovered her. It was clear that her death hadn't been natural. She had definitely been murdered. So now the police were able to treat Chelsea's case as a homicide, and they had solid evidence leaking John to her death and to Candace's attempted assault. The problem was that they still didn't know if he had anything to do with Amber's disappearance. Frankly, the police still didn't know for sure if Amber was actually in trouble. I mean, theoretically, she could have been a runaway. They never found her body or any sign that she was actually dead. So if the police wanted to solve the case, they needed more. Something like a confession. Which is why they went to John with an offer. They reminded him that California was a death penalty state. If John was convicted of Chelsea's murder and of Candace's attempted rape, he could be executed. However, if he was willing to cooperate with the officials, they'd only ask for life in prison as a punishment and not death. All John needed to do was to admit to killing Amber and tell the authorities where her remains were. And when John saw the situation all laid out like that, he realized that he wanted to accept this deal. He didn't want to risk it otherwise. So he confessed that, yeah, he had kidnapped and killed Amber, and he had buried her in a particular remote area near a reservation. The police then put a team together to search the area and see if he was telling the truth. They started digging, and they found partial remains. They were badly decomposed, and some parts of the body were missing, presumably because wild animals had gone to it. The officials needed to check the deceased's dental records to determine their identity, which is how they confirmed what they had already expected. This was Amber's body. All right, guys, let's be honest. Shopping. Well, it's not as easy or fun as it sounds. I have spent hours scrolling, zooming in, reading reviews, only to end up with a cart full of nothing that fits or feels right and a bunch of returns to do. But Stitch Fix makes it so much easier. 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So get started today@stitchfix.com intothedark to get $20 off your first order and they'll waive your styling fee. That's stitchfix.com intothedark hey guys, I'm jumping into an ad and you want to eat better, but you have zero time and zero energy to make it happen. Factor doesn't ask you to meal prep or follow recipes. It just removes the entire problem. Two minutes, real food, all. All done. Here's the situation. Honestly, I don't even like cooking. But add in trying to cook healthy meals, it's just not gonna happen. You're not failing at healthy eating. You're failing at having three extra hours every single night. Factor is already made by chefs, designed by dietitians and delivered to your door. You heat it for two minutes and then you eat it. And the best is what's inside. Lean proteins, colorful vegetables, whole food ingredients, healthy fats. The stuff you'd make if your you had the time. No refined sugars, no artificial sweeteners, no refined seed oils. 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Head to factor meals.com dark50off and use code DARK50OFF to get 50% off your first Factor box plus free breakfast for one year offer only valid for new factor customers with code and qualifying auto renewing subscription purchase. Make healthier eating easy with factor. So the police now knew that John was telling the truth. He was a killer. And based on the statement he gave, they now also understood exactly how Amber had died. See, John confessed that on February 13, 2009, the day of the disappearance, he was driving down the street. And that's when he saw Amber walking on the sidewalk to school. He pulled over, showed her his gun and knife and ordered her to get inside the car with him. And according to him, she was obviously terrified, but she did what she was told, probably because she was afraid of being shot. Now, once Amber was in the vehicle, John turned on the radio. He thought that music might help her stay calm. And. And then he drove to that remote area near the reservation where her remains were found. That's where he sexually assaulted her, stabbed her to death, and then buried her body. According to John, none of this was premeditated. Every step of the crime, he was just acting completely on impulse. He hadn't planned to abduct anyone that day. And even when he kidnapped Amber, he didn't initially intend to murder her. He thought that he'd let her go after the assault. But once he had had her alone with no witnesses, he claims a violent urge came over him. Meaning he committed a horrible murder solely because of a spur of the moment whim. Now, as soon as John gave his confession, it was clear to everyone that Amber's stepfather, Dave, had obviously not done this. He had been innocent the entire time. It wasn't clear why he had, you know, acted strangely on the day Amber went missing, why he had broke pattern and hung out with his girlfriend. Even now, I still don't know why he missed the call from the school when he was supposedly home and then skipped work and then hung out with his girlfriend at work. But ultimately, it didn't matter. He hadn't done anything wrong. But nobody could bring back the year of rumors and allegations that had swirled around him. Things were never the same again between him and his girlfriend Carrie. He was hurt that she had ever believed he was capable of hurting his stepdaughter in the first place. And while Carrie now knew Dave was innocent, she still didn't really feel guilty about suspecting him. She felt like the conclusions she had reached were actually logical, given the evidence in front of her at the time. He had acted weird that day and had not answered the phone while apparently being at home. So the two of them had to do a lot of work to rebuild their trust and get their relationship back to a good place. However, they did actually remain together and commit to making things work. Ultimately, both of their lives changed forever on the day Amber went missing. They couldn't alter the past, so all they could do was move forward and try to get justice for their daughter and for Chelsea. And this meant attending John's sentencing hearing. Since he had accepted a plea bargain, he never had a formal trial. But the judge still wanted to give the survivors an opportunity to talk about how the murders had impacted them. And the people who had known and loved Chelsea and Amber were all too willing to speak. In Carrie's testimony, she said, Today, after 15 months of the most agonizing pain, worry, anger, and grief, I am supposed to address the court and put into words the impact of the criminal acts this stranger brought upon my loving daughter. I will never forget the pain that you have caused or. Or the loss that I feel. I will never forget that you stole from me God's most precious gift. Chelsea's father also spoke directly to John. He said, quote, since I learned of your arrest for Chelsea's murder, I have refused to speak your name. I have called you monster, sociopath, serial killer, and animal. Names like monster and animal, in a perverse way, let you off the hook. You knew what you were doing. So it was clear that Amber and Chelsea's families were very devastated and angry. But John didn't show any remorse. In fact, in one interview with the press, he claimed to not even understand what the word remorse meant. He admitted he had regrets. But you can regret something that gets you in trouble without feeling bad about it. In spite of that, during the sentencing hearing, John. John cried and talked about how he never wanted to hurt anyone. He said he hated the fact that he had harmed his victims. And John added that he'd enrolled in a psychological program so he could learn how to be less Violent. He also said he had begun taking new medications that were already helping him become the person he wanted to be. But the judge got to see behind John's mask when Candace took the stand. Candace is a survivor, and she told her story about going on the long run just for Jon to attack her at the end of it. And Candace explained how her father had taught her to fight and how she'd use those skills to save herself. She talked about their brawl. Move by move, she looked at John and asked, how's your nose? It was a reference to the fact that she had broken his nose before she'd escaped. And as soon as those words came out of her mouth, it was very obvious that John became visibly angry. He even turned to his attorney and whispered, she didn't hit me. It was abundantly clear to everyone sitting there watching John that he didn't like being called out. He hated that this woman was publicly announcing that she'd be in him in a fight. It was embarrassing for him. And for all of his claims that he wanted to be better and that he regretted hurting anyone, he was clearly solely motivated by his own ego. So John was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. But that wasn't the end of the story. At least not for Chelsea's family. In their mind, it wasn't enough to put John away until he died. They wanted to ensure that other predators could never hurt or kill young girls again, or at least that it would be harder for them to commit these crimes and get away with them. So the Kings actually advocated for a new law that made it harder for sex offenders to get out of prison on parole. It also imposed stricter rules on the people who had been paroled. After all, John wouldn't have been able to kill Chelsea and Amber or even attack Candace if he had done more time for the attack on the 13 or 14 year old neighbor girl, or if his parole officer had taken as many violations more seriously. Chelsea's loved ones hoped that with this new, stricter regulation, they could prevent future predators from becoming repeat offenders. On top of that, the family also established an $800,000 scholarship in Chelsea's name. That way, she could be remembered for her studies and for how she had lived life, not just for the way she died. And as for Amber's family, they began fostering children with a history of behavioral issues. Their hope was that if anyone was on a bad track and in danger of becoming the next John, maybe they could help. They could show these children love and support and get them assistance. They needed. So maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't grow up to become violent criminals. All of that to say Chelsea and Amber's loved ones worked hard to try and make the world a better place after their losses. It's important that we acknowledge and celebrate their efforts. But I also want to point out that not every survivor has the energy, time, resources, or the desire to become an advocate. And that's okay, too. Everyone grieves differently, and everybody should have the right to respond to tragedy in a way that makes sense to them. After all, nobody asked to be put in this situation. No one volunteered to lose a loved one or to have their lives thrown into chaos. And none of us can predict whether or not we'll find ourselves in this situation. Because like I said before, life is full of random events and injustice. And all it takes is one day, one hour, sometimes just one second to change everything forever. Thank you so much for watching my episode today, and I will see you next time as we go further into the dark together. Goodbye.
Podcast Summary: Into The Dark, Episode 157: "The Monster of Escondido – The Murder of Chelsea King and Amber DuBois"
Host: Payton Moreland
Date: February 11, 2026
This episode explores the chilling cases of Amber DuBois and Chelsea King, two teenage girls from Escondido, California, whose disappearances and murders by John Gardner shook their community. Host Payton Moreland weaves together true crime analysis with horror and empathy, dissecting not only the crimes but the devastating ripple effects on the victims’ loved ones and the system’s failures to stop a predator. The episode also touches on advocacy efforts that arose in the aftermath and the ongoing challenge of understanding what drives people to commit such acts.
Amber’s Life and Family Dynamics
Disappearance Timeline
Search Efforts
Suspicion Falls on Dave Cave
Description and Positive ID
Murder of Chelsea King Discovered
Plea Deal and Details
Exoneration of Dave Cave
“Today, after 15 months of the most agonizing pain, ... I will never forget the pain that you have caused or the loss that I feel. I will never forget that you stole from me God’s most precious gift.” ([58:38])
“Since I learned of your arrest for Chelsea’s murder, I have refused to speak your name. I have called you monster, sociopath, serial killer, and animal... You knew what you were doing.” ([59:15])
“How’s your nose?”—a pointed reminder of how she broke his nose defending herself ([1:00:21]).
Chelsea’s Family: Legal Reform and Memorials
Amber’s Family: Fostering Hope
Reflection on Grief
On the suddenness of tragedy:
“Sometimes things happen that set your life on a completely new course. ... You might just be having an ordinary day. Everything feels normal. When, bam, everything changes.” – Host Payton Moreland ([05:15])
Regarding Amber’s stepfather under scrutiny:
“Even his girlfriend… couldn’t bear the thought of laying down next to the man who may have hurt or killed her daughter.” ([23:31])
Chelsea’s father confronting Gardner:
“Names like monster and animal, in a perverse way, let you off the hook. You knew what you were doing.” ([59:40])
Candace Monclo calling out her attacker in court:
“How’s your nose?” ([1:00:21])
(Payton notes Gardner’s anger and ego at being bested by a survivor.)
On advocacy after tragedy:
“Everyone grieves differently, and everybody should have the right to respond to tragedy in a way that makes sense to them.” ([1:03:16])
Payton presents with compassion and steadiness, balancing meticulous timeline breakdowns and facts with human empathy. She invites listeners into the pain, anger, and hope of the victims’ families, underscoring the unpredictability of tragedy and the capacity for people to foster resilience and change even after unimaginable loss.
This episode offers both a methodical unraveling of two interconnected true crime cases and a sensitive look into the aftermath for those left behind. The show not only explores the crimes themselves but also the cracks in the parole system, the agony of false suspicion, and the resilience of survivors. It leaves listeners sobered but also inspired by the advocacy sparked by senseless loss.