Episode 03: The House in North Tustin

Summary

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Love and Radio: Blood Memory

Episode 03: The House in North Tustin

Original Air Date: February 16, 2026

Host: Nick van der Kolk | Guest: Michael Thompson

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Overview

This episode of Blood Memory plunges deep into the criminal underbelly of 1970s Orange County, following Michael Thompson’s recollections of a series of chilling events surrounding a murder case, a kidnapping plot, and a tangle of relationships and motives. At its heart, the show examines how Thompson—an ex-rodeo rider—becomes entangled in a high-stakes game involving drug runners, law enforcement, and vulnerable women.
Through atmospheric production and immersive interviews, listeners are transported into the blurred lines of morality, complicity, and fate.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Life Before Crime: The Rodeo Circuit & Marriage to Burdell

• Thompson’s backstory: A young bull rider, Thompson spends winters in Tahoe working as a boat carpenter.
  • “I’d been on the rodeo circuit… I would work as a boat carpenter… But this time I went back down into Orange County. I had been married to a young lady named Burdell.” (01:45 – 02:20)
• First meeting Burdell: After being stranded by a snowstorm and contracting double pneumonia, he meets Burdell, who nurses him back to health.
• Marriage of convenience: Burdell's late husband’s family had custody of her son; marriage to Thompson helps her regain custody.
  • “I married her and she got her son back. Once that happened, I went on my way.” (02:58 – 03:16)

2. Introduction to Crime: A Plot Unfolds

• Louis Gozadis’ Dilemma: Burdell’s cousin Louis shares concerns about two men, Butch Nunley and Roo Steele, plotting to kidnap the children of John Solis, a major drug dealer.
  • “They were plotting to kidnap children of… John Solis.” (04:08)
• Chain of information: When Louis refuses to warn Solis directly, Thompson contacts Solis himself and is brought in for a tense meeting.

3. Solis’ Drug Operation & Vulnerability

• Solis' profile: Orange County’s most notorious marijuana dealer, prone to violence but also a family man.
  • “By his own admission, he bought and sold as much as a ton of weed a week…” (04:41 – 05:29)
• The plan: Butch and Roo, insiders in Solis’ operation, eye his children for ransom.

4. Unearthing the Murders

• Discovery of Bodies: As Thompson renovates the Tustin house with Burdell's son, they are interrupted by Mike Sesma—Solis’ enforcer—who claims two bodies are buried beneath the property.
  • “Sesma drove in in a Cadillac… said, stop what you’re doing… because there’s two bodies buried there.” (07:24 – 08:14)
• Thompson’s reaction:
  • “I don’t know that it shocked me or surprised me or anything else. My immediate concern was the boy and that he not discover it.” (08:21)

5. Protecting Pat Nunley

• ‘Loose end’: Overhearing plans to kill Butch Nunley's wife, Pat, Thompson intervenes.
  • “I overheard this, so I got her phone number and I called her.” (09:52)
• Pat’s situation: Living in poverty, prostituting herself to support her kids.
• Escape plan: Thompson offers Pat and her children a new start in Oregon, plagued by her hidden drug addiction and the fatal twist of her alleged breast cancer.
  • “It was important because I thought she was in danger… my concern was for her and her children.” (11:05 – 11:09)
• No romance, just rescue: Thompson rebuffs any notion of romantic interest.
  • “No, I had no interest whatsoever. I was married to Burdell, but… that was never an issue. My idea was to help her, and that's exactly what I was doing.” (12:45)

6. Thompson’s Relationships: Marriage, Motives, and Intimacy

• Marriage as protection: Both marriages were based on necessity or rescue, not love or intimacy.
  • “I talk a lot about intimacy, but I can’t really tell you that there was that much intimacy involved there. It was indifference, not necessarily on my part…” (15:39)

7. The Investigation & Arrest

• Family betrayal: Thompson’s sister Pat informs the District Attorney about the murders, implicating him.
  • “She told the District attorney she knew about these two bodies… it was enough that I had knowledge for them to arrest me along with Solis and Sesma.” (19:22 – 19:57)

8. The Trial: Narrative, Evidence, and Misconceptions

• The state’s story: Prosecutors frame Thompson as the mastermind, claiming he concocted the kidnap story to kill Butch and start anew with Pat.
  • “They concocted this story that the kidnap plot… was never true, that I concocted it… to steal away Nunley’s life.” (22:05)
• Relationship speculation: The idea of Thompson and Pat as lovers becomes a motive at trial—both deny it under oath.
  • “Testimony… indicated that Thompson and Mrs. Nunley became lovers. Solis testified that Thompson admitted as much. But proving that is difficult, particularly since Thompson and the former Mrs. Nunley denied the charge under oath.” (22:24 – 22:59)
• Thompson’s reflection: He expresses frustration at the reduction of Pat and himself to caricatures and the trial to a “personality contest.”
  • “I was really disappointed in the process, the judicial process… this was not justice. This was not a hearing. This was a personality contest.” (32:45)

9. Recollections and Contradictions: The Murder According to Mike Sesma

• Sesma’s Version: Sesma testifies to physically killing Nunley after Thompson allegedly beat him, stating, “I couldn’t bury somebody alive, so I shot him with his own gun.” (29:11)
• Complex web: Testimony is contradictory, with claims of pre-dug graves, shifting motives, and conflicting accounts of the events.

10. Sentencing and Aftermath

• Life sentences: Thompson and Sesma are both sentenced to life in prison, with the judge lamenting the severity of the crime.
  • “This was the most horrible crime I have ever seen in my years as attorney or judge.” – Judge, quoting LA Times (33:10)
• Thompson's emotional state: He claims detachment or numbness at sentencing, observing the fundamental cruelty of incarceration.
  • “The worst thing that you can do to a human being is put him in a cage. And I know that from experience.” (33:47 – 34:32)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Morality and Violence:
  “Some violence is necessary if part of the cycle of life… But violence is never acceptable as a trivial act. Violence without ethics is brutality.” – Michael Thompson (00:34 – 00:49)

• On the Reason for Marriage:
  “With Burdell, it was a marriage of convenience. With Pat Nunley, it was based on her circumstances…” – Michael Thompson (15:40)

• On the Judicial Process:
  “I was really disappointed in the process, the judicial process… this was not justice. This was not a hearing. This was a personality contest.” – Michael Thompson (32:45)

• On Prison:
  “The worst thing that you can do to a human being is put him in a cage. And I know that from experience.” – Michael Thompson (33:47)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:45 – Thompson introduces his backstory and Burdell
• 04:38 – The kidnap plot against Solis is introduced
• 07:24 – The discovery of the bodies in the backyard
• 09:52 – Thompson’s intervention to help Pat Nunley
• 15:26 – 16:00 – Thompson discusses his non-romantic marital relationships
• 19:22 – 19:57 – Sister Pat’s testimony and Thompson’s arrest
• 20:07 – 20:52 – News coverage of the murders and trial
• 22:05 – 22:59 – The prosecution’s version: relationship speculation
• 29:10 – Mike Sesma describes shooting Nunley
• 32:45 – Thompson’s “prepared statement” at sentencing
• 33:10 – Judge’s condemnation and sentencing

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Episode’s Tone and Sound

True to Love and Radio’s signature style, the episode is deeply atmospheric, using sound design, archival news clips, and immersive first-person narrative to create a sense of creeping dread and moral ambiguity. Nick van der Kolk’s probing yet gentle interview style brings out Thompson’s introspective and often stoic voice, which is counterbalanced by emotional undercurrents of regret, detachment, and, at times, subtle bitterness.

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Conclusion

The House in North Tustin peels back the layers of a cold case, examining not only the factual details of murder and conspiracy, but also the tangled moral decisions that led Michael Thompson from the rodeo circuit to a courtroom. Through his own admissions—and the often contradictory accounts of others—the episode plunges listeners into questions of complicity, loyalty, and the price of trying to do “the right thing” in a world without easy answers.

Transcript

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[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Previously on Blood Memory.

[Michael Thompson]

Some violence is necessary if part of the cycle of life.

[News Reporter]

Investigators in Santa Ana opened a crude grave and recovered the badly decomposed bodies of two men.

[Michael Thompson]

But violence is never acceptable as a trivial act.

[News Reporter]

Three men were arrested in pre dawn hours Friday.

[Michael Thompson]

Violence without ethics is brutality.

[News Reporter]

The three suspects have all been charged with murder and are being held without bail.

[Michael Thompson]

And an orange G walks on top. Used to tell me that all the time. And the only thing he wanted to know was, did you do it?

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Sorry, sorry, one second. Michael. I'm just picking up some interference.

[Michael Thompson]

Could it be the spring in that?

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

No, it's. It's. It's definitely some kind of interference. I think it might be your ankle monitor.

[Michael Thompson]

Even think about that, because that's a gps.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Yeah, I mean, it's not like you can take it off, so let's just hunt ahead. From Love and Radio, you're listening to Blood Memory. I'm Nick Fenner Kolk. This is episode three, the House in North Tustin.

[Michael Thompson]

What was I, 19? About 19. At any rate, I'd been on the rodeo circuit. I was a bull rider and I'd finished the rodeo circuit this one particular season. And normally I would have wintered over in Lake Tahoe at Carnelian Bay. I would work as a boat carpenter. And then when the season was intended to start again, I would start again. But this time I went back down into Orange County. I had been married to a young lady named Burdell.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Chapter one. Burdell.

[Michael Thompson]

I'd been bear hunting. He got hit by a freak snowstorm and I got snowed in. So I had to walk out. And in the course of that I contracted double pneumonia. And the first dwelling, really, I came to coming over the mountain and into the foothills was a tavern that was at the edge of the foothills there. So I went into the tavern and Bridle worked there as a bartender. I was sick and so she ended up taking me home. That Night and essentially putting me to bed for about a month.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

This was the first time you met?

[Michael Thompson]

Mm, yeah. And so I got to know her and learned her story. She had been married to an Air Force pilot who was in Vietnam and was killed in Vietnam, but she had a son. The parents of the father who had been killed in Vietnam had her child. And I wasn't sure about all the issues as to why they had the child and she didn't, but she wanted her son. The issue was that in order to get her son, she was going to have to have standing, be married, that type thing, have a family, a wholesome environment to bring him to was the idea. We sat on a course to make that happen. I married her and she got her son back. Once that happened, I went on my way. I had been taking the rodeo circuit. I came back down, checked on her. She had found a place over in Tustin that had a couple acres. She wanted to have a garden and other things, and so went with her to the landlord, and we applied for it together and got the place for her and got her situated. You know, it was run down. It was an old farm, so it had an old pigsty and chicken coop and other things. And I was attempting to rehab a lot of that. She had a cousin named Louis Gozadis. Louis came over and sitting at the kitchen table, he brought up the subject of these two guys he worked for, Butch and Rue, two fellas that were essentially drug runners. They were plotting to kidnap children of the guy named John Solis.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Chapter 2 Solis.

[News Reporter]

According to the Los Angeles Times, John Solis was perhaps the biggest marijuana dealer in Orange county during much of 1973 and 1974. By his own admission, he bought and sold as much as a ton of weed a week in Orange county and throughout the country. Solis had a midweight fighter's build, a short temper, and a couple arrests for assault and battery. He also had the requisite toughness to take care of himself and administer a large outlaw business. At 29, Solis had amassed a considerable personal fortune. A nice home, a number of nice cars, a legitimate business, and unknown wealth in Mexican bank accounts. But Solis was vulnerable. He had a young wife and two daughters, ages 4 and 2.

[Michael Thompson]

He opened a Mexican food supply warehouse. They sold, you know, the big number 10 cans of sauces, and they had a tortilla making machine and all that stuff. This is also where they brought their shipments of marijuana. They would, you know, run marijuana, usually 500 kilos at a time across the border, mule it across and then pick it up on the other side of the border with the truck and bring it back to his factory and then distribute it. And I guess that's how Butch and Roux got hooked up with him. Relative to transporting marijuana back east, according to Lewis, he kept large sums of money in his home. So Butch and Roo were planning to kidnap the children of John Solis for ransom.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

When he was telling the story, how did he present? Was he like laughing about it? Was he.

[Michael Thompson]

No, no, it was. It was actually he was telling the story by way of being in a dilemma. The impression was that he wanted to do something about it, but he couldn't because he worked for these two guys. So he's telling me this story and I said, have you told John Solis this? Did you tell him these guys are going to try to kidnap his kids? He said, no, I can't. I work for him and I can't get involved like that. It puts me in between them and I'll get killed. And I said, well, give me his phone number, I'll call him. And I called him. He sent a guy named Mike Sesma over to get me and brought me over to his office.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Chapter three. Mike Sesma.

[Michael Thompson]

Sesma was a marine, left the Marines and he became enforcer number one man for Solis. He controlled everything for his boss. He was all what I would call a peacock.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

What does that mean?

[Michael Thompson]

That means that kind of like that hard guy strut.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

When Sesma took you to meet with Solis to talk about the kidnapping plot, like, how did that conversation go?

[Michael Thompson]

Solis, you know, asked me what I knew about him. Just what I am telling you right now. And that was it. So I left it at that. So it wasn't but couple weeks I had started to tear down this pigsty with Rudell's son Craig. He had been having some trouble in school, and I told him that if he brought his grades up, I would buy him a dirt bike. We were going to make him like a little track that he could ride on back there. So we were in the back tearing down this pigsty and Mike Sesma drove in in a Cadillac and got out and said, stop what you're doing. And I went over to him and I said, why? And he said, well, because there's two bodies buried there. That was Butcher and Roux Steele, the two individuals planning to kidnap the children of John Solis for ransom.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Chapter 4 Butch Nunneley and Roo Steele. What's going through your mind at this point?

[Michael Thompson]

I don't know that it shocked me or surprised me or anything else. My immediate concern was the boy and that he not discover it. Things transpired very quickly. Mike Sesame called John Solis. John Solis said, bring him over. He brought me over. All John really wanted to know was what was I going to do about it. And I said, I'm not going to do anything about it. My plan at that time was to leave California anyway and go up to Oregon where my mother was at, and, you know, develop a relationship with her and her husband. So I told him, I'm leaving the state, I'm going to Oregon anyway. So, you know, there's not an issue with me now whether my thought process was, is that these were the two guys that were going to kidnap his kids and this is the result of it. And I rationalized that as they got what they got coming, we're trying to kidnap two kids. We were in his office. He asked me to step outside into the entryway and there were some chairs and couches. So I was sitting there and the door was still open. And him and Sesame were talking about one of the victims, Butch Nunley's wife. I'd met her once with Butch. They were talking about her being a loose end. I didn't know how she, or even if she was tied to anything that they were doing, but they were talking about getting rid of her. And I overheard this, so I got her phone number and I called her.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Chapter 5 Pat Nunley. Can you describe sort of driving up to the house?

[Michael Thompson]

Yeah. She had a client, John, leaving just as I drove up. She's prostituting herself, Patrick. Pat was about 5 7, 110 pounds. She was in her 30s, I think. Dark hair, dark complexion, dark eyes, beautiful woman. She was in a, like a see through nightgown. She has two kids, but there was no food in the house. So I went and got some groceries and brought them back. So at any rate, she was trying to find her husband. And I told her that I was told that he and Rustil had absconded to Canada and that he wasn't coming back, but he had left her. And you know, she had this situation where she was turning tricks to make a living. I told her, look, you know, why not just start all over and I'm getting ready to go to Oregon. I'll take you with me. I'll help you get a house, I'll help you set up and, you know, you start fresh with your kids.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Why was it important for you to offer that to. I mean, you, you barely knew her.

[Michael Thompson]

Didn'T know her at all? Yeah, well, it was important because I thought she was in danger. I wasn't telling her that she was in danger. You know, my concern was for her and her children and that Solis and Sesma didn't do anything to them.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

And how did she respond? What was her.

[Michael Thompson]

With skepticism. I think at first it was like, you know, who are you? Type thing. You know, why are you offering to help me? And, you know, I don't know for sure that Butch has gone to Canada. I said, well, how long have you been trying to find him? I think it had been a couple weeks.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Did you ever think about telling Pat what had actually happened to her husband?

[Michael Thompson]

Yeah. Yeah, I did.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Did that weigh on you?

[Michael Thompson]

I think so, naturally. I mean, I didn't have blood on my hands, so that was not the issue. The issue was, is that Butch wasn't in Canada. He was dead. And, you know, I. I did think about telling her, but didn't. I guess I didn't want to have to deal with the. The fallout. Ultimately, in the course of our conversation, I persuaded her that she had an opportunity to just go it on her own and that I would help her do that. So she agreed.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Was there any piece of you that was hoping that maybe it could blossom into a relationship or.

[Michael Thompson]

No, I had no interest whatsoever. I was married to bridal, but, I mean, it was a marriage of convenience so that she could get her son back. And once that happened, we kind of parted ways, so that was never an issue. My idea was to help her, and that's exactly what I was doing. I got a moving van and packed up her stuff. I drove the moving van and she drove her car and followed me. And we went up to Oregon. I got a house out on the lake that you can only get to by water. I set up a tripod with a scope to see who was coming into the arm of the lake that the house was on that I had rented. I was worried, I guess, that somehow Solis would figure out where she was at and come after her immediately. What I had to deal with was the addiction. She had a cocaine habit. I didn't have the wherewithal about me back then to comprehend that she was an addict. She would tell me that she had colitis and that she had extraordinary pain. I mean, she would just scream. She would be in pain. And so I would put, you know, her and the kids in the boat and take the boat across and get in the car, take the children over to my mother's, leave the children say, I'm taking her to the hospital. She would see the doctor and they would medicate her and then I would take her back. But this became a routine. Finally, I had taken her to the hospital one time and she went in to see the doctor and I heard screaming. Busted open the door, and I said, what the hell's going on? And he says, I need to talk to you. And so he took me into another room and he says, I'm not giving her any more drugs. She's addicted. I said, what? He said, she's addicted. She doesn't have colitis, you know, she doesn't have a disease. She's addicted and she's trying to force me to give her drugs. Even through the inducement of sex, I took her back. She was hysterical and everything else. And it wasn't too long later, you know, she wanted to go to the doctor. She went to the doctor, she came out and she says, I had breast cancer. Once I learned that she had breast cancer and she was of the opinion she was going to die, and I married her and I went to adopt her kids. Not because I was in love with her or wanted her in any capacity. Indeed, that never happened. We were up in Oregon all that time and none of that ever happened. That's just not the way I made.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

It's interesting to me. Like, the two women who you were married to, seems like you didn't have much of a relationship with them. I'm just wondering, like, what was your. Did you date? Like, what was. Did you have girlfriends?

[Michael Thompson]

No, I didn't.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

What was your relationship to women?

[Michael Thompson]

Minuscule.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

You just married them?

[Michael Thompson]

Yeah. With Burdell, it was a marriage of convenience. With Pat Nunley, it was based on her circumstances. You know, I really didn't give any thought to it. Some people say, well, you should have, you know, you're getting married. I wasn't getting married for that reason. I wasn't getting married to spend the rest of my life with them. Certainly in Pat Nunley's case, she was supposed to be dying of cancer. Leastwise, that's what she told me. So. No, it was. I felt I was doing something that needed to be done. Really nothing more than that. I talk a lot about intimacy, but I can't really tell you that there was that much intimacy involved there. It was indifference, not necessarily on my part. Pat Nunley's focus was self medicating. I realized that too late because I had no experience with that kind of thing. In Bridle's case, she was interested in getting her son back, which made perfect sense to me. If I could help her, I would and did. Pat Nunley said, I want to go back to Orange County. I think the whole reason she wanted to come back to Orange county is that she had connections in Orange county that would facilitate her drug use. Again, I didn't know that at the time. Something like that was completely foreign to me. So I said, okay, if that's what you want to do. I mean, this is your life. We came here with the idea of getting you set up and starting a new life, but she said it wasn't working for her. So I packed everything up and I brought her back to Orange county and I got her an apartment and took her over to see her parents. Apparently Solis learned that I was back in town.

[News Reporter]

According to the LA Times, Solis and others involved in the murders had a serious problem. Too many people knew about the bodies.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

In Tustin Love and Radio will return after these messages.

[Michael Thompson]

This episode is brought to you by FX's Love Story. John F. Kennedy Jr. And Carolyn Bessette join host Evan Ross Katz on the official podcast for FX's new series Love Story, John F. Kennedy Jr. And Carolyn Bessette and go behind the scenes with cast and special guests featuring Sarah Pidgeon, Paul Anthony Kelly, Grace Gummer and Naomi Watts. FX's love story John F. Kennedy Jr. And Carolyn Bassette Wherever you listen to podcasts.

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[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Chapter 6 Pat Thompson My sister Pat this is the same sister you lived with on Big Pine Reservation?

[Michael Thompson]

You yeah, she told the District attorney she knew about these two bodies that were buried and I don't know to what extent she went into everyone's involvement but that I knew about it and I was a part of it. She Called me on the phone and district attorney's investigator was recording it. She said, well, I was told that they were killed and that you had a part in it. And I said, that's not true. I did not have a part in it. At least that was on tape. But it was enough that I had knowledge for them to arrest me along with Solis and Sesma.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

The people of the State of California vs. John Manuel Solis, Robert Michael Sesma and Michael lynn Thompson.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Chapter seven, the trial.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Count one, that on or about the 14th day of December 1973, Solis, Sesma and Thompson did willfully, unlawfully and feloniously and with malice aforethought kill Vaadra Butch Nunley, a human being. Count two. Solis, Sesma and Thompson did willfully, unlawfully and feloniously.

[News Reporter]

The Tustin News reports that police stated Nunley was shot in the head and Steele beaten to death. This was apparently to prevent them from kidnapping the wife and children of one of the men being held for the murders. Neighbors said Thompson supposedly had lived in the house at East 17th Street. Just before Christmas.

[Michael Thompson]

The trial was so long, daunting court started at 8:30 in the morning. Staff would come and get me at 3 o' clock and it was cold. I was taken downstairs and I was allowed to dress out into my court clothes. And then they would take me over to the holding tank in the courthouse. And it was like an icebox. And for the next four hours I would sit in there and I would just. I'd be shaking like this. It was that cold. When we go into court, the heaters were on in court. So the minute that heat hit me and I sat down in a chair, I'd fall asleep. So I actually missed a lot. My attorney at the time, I'd hired him to adopt the children. When I was arrested, he was an attorney that I had, and so I just used him. He'd never had a murder case and he wasn't very good at it. My defense was is that, yeah, Louis Gosadis had told me about this kidnap plot. I'd called Solis. I told him because Louis wouldn't. And that was the extent of my involvement, you know, that I did know about it and that I didn't call the plot. I had a prosecutor, two attorneys that Solis had and one attorney that Sesma had. And they were like prosecutors. So I had those four against me, opposing me. So essentially what they did was they concocted this story that the kidnap plot against his children was never true, that I concocted it with the idea of essentially stealing away Nunley's life.

[News Reporter]

Testimony during the trial, although not conclusive, indicated that Thompson and Mrs. Nunley became lovers. Solis testified that Thompson admitted as much. But proving that is difficult, particularly since Thompson and the former Mrs. Nunneley denied the charge under oath during the trial. But attorneys who represented Solis hinted to the jury that this was their belief. And the question was important because it provided a possible motive to explain Thompson's actions, which included, according to the prosecutor, fabricating the story of the kidnap plot.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

I mean, in fairness to the jury, I mean, it is quite unusual to go off with this woman that you barely know and marry her. I mean, I can. I can see where they're coming from.

[Michael Thompson]

I can, too, see that's not the issue, though. You see, the issue is, is that, you know, that's what they've constructed. The thing that offended me about that was they were acting like she was a piece of meat. I mean, she was a beautiful woman, but that is not and never has been my mindset that those of the opposite gender are somehow a commodity. I've always had a high degree of reverence for women in general. That's the way I was raised. I've done that with her, and I've done that with other women that were in trouble. It's, I think, always been my character to help if I can. I could psychoanalyze that and say, well, your mother abandoned you. And I suppose there may be some truth to that, but to me, it's not worth the analysis. It just simply is what it is. I hadn't told her about Butch and that I knew about it. I attempted to avoid that shame when I did have a conversation with her about that. Then I went back into court and said, well, you know, here's the truth of it, and here's why I did it.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Did she resent you at all for not telling her?

[Michael Thompson]

No, I don't think so. She knew me well enough by then to know that I was telling her the truth and that my only concern was her safety and the children's safety. And my actions reflected that. Everything she asked me to do, I did for her.

[News Reporter]

According to the Los Angeles Times, Michael Thompson admitted Tuesday that he lied under oath because he didn't want to tell his wife, the widow of one of the murder victims, that he knew her husband was buried in his backyard. In previous testimony, Thompson told the jury he was not aware of the murder or the bodies until he was arrested a short time after the bodies were discovered. He said he lied because he didn't want his wife to know of his knowledge and because he thought the truth would not come out.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Chapter 8 Randall Pierce Randall Pierce, the.

[News Reporter]

Brother in law of Michael Thompson, testified Monday that he was an eyewitness to the murder of one of the two men whose bodies were buried in a Tustin backyard.

[Michael Thompson]

Randy Pierce said that I had hired him to dig a grave, which in a roundabout way I had because I'd put down a dog and asked him to help me with that.

[News Reporter]

Pierce said Thompson offered him $1,000 to dig a hole late in 1973. He said that when he asked for more information, Thompson told him, don't worry about it, don't ask questions.

[Michael Thompson]

He was out of work. And I told him I would give him the money for I think he needed an attorney for a dui. My head told him, you know, you help me dig this grave and put this dog down and I'll give you the money that you need. And that was just a matter of really his pride, you know, to give him some kind of work to do so that it wasn't just a charity thing.

[News Reporter]

Pierce told the court he was called to Thompson's house on 17th street in Tustin and told to wait there for a telephone call. He later got a call from a person whose voice he could not identify. The terse message was, start digging.

[Michael Thompson]

They twisted that to say that I had actually had him dig the grave for these bodies. And it was apples and oranges. The grave had been dug for the dog and the dog had been buried.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Michael Sesma's parole hearing 2016 one day.

[Michael Sesma]

I get a call. The boss wants to see us at his house. Bring your weapons. So I went.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Chapter 9 Mike Sesma, Butch Nunley and.

[Michael Sesma]

Rue Steele wanted to kidnap our boss's kids for ransom. That was the story given to me by Thompson. So I went with Thompson to my boss's house. Me and Thompson waited there and Nunley and Steele showed up. They were dressed nice, like they were going on a business deal. As soon as Steel saw me, he knew something was wrong. I tried to disarm him. He had a double barrel shotgun underneath one of those real shiny leather jackets. I hit him with a shotgun and actually knocked him out. The other guy, Nunley, was carrying a.22 pistol. He was laying down on the floor. He surrendered. He didn't try to fight. So I went out and got some rope, came back and I tied him up. I didn't know what to do with him. My boss asked Me to find out if it was true. The kidnapping plot don't do anything to him if it ain't true, he said, because he didn't trust Thompson. And I told him, I'll find out. And I never got a chance to find out because all hell hit the fan. I went to talk to Nunley. He's tied up and Thompson's guarding him with a.357 pistol. I asked Nunley, what is this about a kidnap plot? And he waved his eyes at me, toward Thompson. He was trying to tell me that he was being set up. Thompson started beating Nunley to stop Nunley from telling me what was going on. I tried to stop Thompson, and Thompson, like, shoved me. It was a little tiny room, a little kid's playroom. Thompson shoved me out of the room and kept beating on the guy.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Presiding Commissioner John Peck.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

You're the one that shot Nunley?

[Michael Sesma]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

With a.22?

[Michael Sesma]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Why did you shoot him?

[Michael Sesma]

This happened at the burial site. It was dug in advance without my knowledge. I thought Nunley had been beaten to death. He was in the trunk of the Cadillac, along with steel. We got to the house, and Thompson had hired his brother in law to dig a grave in advance. And now I'm just becoming aware of the grave being dug already. Anyway, I told Thompson, is it true the guy is still alive out there? And he goes, I don't know. I'm done with it.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Thompson said that?

[Michael Thompson]

Yeah.

[Michael Sesma]

I go, well, you're the one that beat the guy. What do you mean you're done with it? He goes, I'm done with it. Whatever happens from here on is up to you. I couldn't bury somebody alive, so I shot him with his own gun.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Love and Radio will return after these messages.

[Michael Thompson]

Kraft Mac and Cheese is better than 90s hip hop. We'll remind you of your childhood without.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Making you feel incredibly old.

[Michael Thompson]

Kraft Mac and Cheese. Best thing ever.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Love and Radio is made possible, thanks to our subscribers. Thank you.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I love Love and Radio so very much. The only thing that is wrong with Love and Radio episodes is that I get to the end of them. And I just think I wish this went on for like six to seven and a half more hours. Ideally, you know, I thought about quitting my job, so maybe I could just full time email Nick saying, please, Nick, please just make more Love and Radio. But then if I did that, I wouldn't have any money to give to Love and Radio on Patreon. So I guess this is the bargain that I've made. And I'm hoping that. That you will join me in my crusade.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Become a love and radio subscriber right now and hear ad free episodes of Blood memory before anyone else. Visit loveandradio.orgmember or if you use Apple podcast, just subscribe right in the app. Chapter 10. Michael.

[Michael Thompson]

You know, one point during the trial, I was ordered by the court to remove my shirt. There was a contention made about my size, and it was humiliating, you know, to have to stand up in front of the jury and the court while I'm on the witness stand and remove my shirt. And it's like, what the hell is this all about? It was to project that into intimidating, you know, because at that time, I weighed 285 pounds, was in good shape, muscular.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Yeah.

[Michael Thompson]

Yeah. So I guess this went with the idea that, you know, that I had assaulted butcher Unley. It's a projection of Solis as a family man that had kids and had a business. And so what the jury saw was here was this family man that was a businessman, and he'd been played out of the pocket by me by suggesting this kidnap plot against his children.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Were you expecting a conviction?

[Michael Thompson]

Yeah, I was expecting conviction because I prepared a statement. I mean, I went through all the way through school, graduated high school, but when I did, I couldn't read or write either one. I mean, I'm dyslexic. We didn't know that back then. So I had to get of the guys to help me write it. I told him what to say and he wrote it down. Then I had to memorize it. So I was, you know. Do you have anything to say before I pronounce sentencing? Yes, your honor, I do. I have a prepared statement that I would like to read to the court. And so I stood and like I said, I had memorized it.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

But you still held it in front of you? Yeah, yeah.

[Michael Thompson]

And I said that I was really disappointed in the process, the judicial process, when I came into this, when I was arrested, that I thought that all I simply had to do was come in here and tell the truth and we would work through that. I said this was not justice. This was not a hearing. This was a personality contest. And that's really what it was.

[News Reporter]

The longest criminal trial in Orange county history concluded on Friday. According to the Los Angeles Times. During the sentencing of Michael Cessma, Superior judge James Turner, I never thought I would see the day. I was sorry I could not sentence someone to death. But in this case, I am sorry. This was the most horrible crime I have ever seen. In my years as attorney or judge, both Cessma and Thompson have been sentenced to life in prison.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

What was going through your mind?

[Michael Thompson]

Were you scared?

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Were you like, what was your emotional state throughout all of this?

[Michael Thompson]

Didn't really even give it any thought. All you know is that you're going to prison. It wouldn't matter if it was for one day or the rest of your life. The worst thing that you can do to a human being is put him in a cage. And I know that from experience.

[Musical Performer]

Craz don't you want to die? Don't you want die? Didn't it fade out? Just. Don't look outside till you're ready to lose the light. Let's go out to one of those bar. Where they plane had to climb the ceilings covered in stone in the far back moment we stay. As long as we're good company.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

My.

[Musical Performer]

Heads are all right. And on the way I set out to be and I still deserve love I still have my place.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

That's it for this episode of Blood Memory. Stay tuned to the end for a sneak peek of the next installment. Music on this episode comes From ZAO NOI DJ 1 Azelina Rosarito, Medeavida, Zen Liminal, Julian Moreno, Las Olas, Oriata Creme and Salvaggia Glitch, Bird Malefama, Quixiosis and Quantum Alex Hentzi, Strange Bird Sounds, Gregorio and Aura Kogan. Check the show notes for the full playlist. Additional voices on this episode were provided by Katie Mingle, Laurie Goldinson and Bill Rolfing. The series producer of Blood Memory is Mira Kumar. Robin Amer is our managing editor. Additional reporting by Brian Kranz and Anja Schulz, fact checking by Nicole Pasalka and Visuals by Orla McCarty. Love and radio is a labor of love and radio and made possible thanks to our members. Thank you with extra special thanks to Rock Hard Abs Casey, Pamela Anderson, Mark Duncsason, Aaron Gogo, Goers, Sam Huffman, the Hunter Huffman, Jacqueline potato leak, Keith McLendry or Leith McKendry, jotato palm, Harry Ali, Mothra Perry, Chris Lesage, William Stabby Spears, Jason V for Vendetta and Kasani. If you'd like to join the fine group of people who make love and radio happen, head on over to loveandradio.org member. Join us on Patreon or if you listen on Apple Podcasts, you can subscribe right in the app. You'll get access to the next episode episode of Blood Memory right now ad free. I'm Nicholas Sardine Punch.

[Michael Sesma]

Punch.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Vander Kolk. Thanks for listening.

[Musical Performer]

And I will still cry like you just left her. No, life's not out the way you started me? I still adore you? You still love me? No, life's not the way me you thought it would be But I still adore you, you still love me.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Coming up on the next episode of Blood Memory.

[Michael Thompson]

I was a fish with amazingly green gills. I had no idea what I was dealing with. I had no reference point, no experience.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

What were you green about? Like? What were you naive?

[Michael Thompson]

Everything. One day when I was out doing ceremony, I heard noise at the door of the chapel, which never opened. No one ever used it. But I heard noise at it. And I thought, this is odd. I stopped, the door flung open. There were seven Mexicans. They had knives taped into their hand and they had formed a wedge as they came through the door like a torpedo.

[Interviewer/Nick Fenner Kolk]

Coming to this feed next week or listen now by becoming a Love and Radio member.