← MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
Extreme Measures
00:31:59
Today’s podcast will feature 3 stories about people who are willing to do just about anything to get what they want. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.
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Today's podcast will feature three stories about people who are willing to do just about anything to get what they want. The audio from all three of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel and has been remastered for today's episode. The links to the original YouTube videos are in the description. The first story you'll hear is called Whatever It Takes, and it's about a couple who are completely devastated when they learn that they can't have kids. The second story you'll hear is called the Audition, and it's about a struggling actor who goes to the extreme to land a role he believes he was meant for. And the third and final story you'll hear is called the Contest Winner, and it's about these two men who meet each other at a hockey game. But little do they know this chance encounter would change the course of both of their lives forever. But before we get into today's stories, if you're a fan of the strange, dark and mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right podcast. Because that's all we do. And we upload four times a week. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. So if that's of interest to you, please reprogram the follow buttons TV remote so that every time they try to change the channel, it just turns off the tv. Okay, let's get into our first story called Whatever It Takes. The story of Southern New Hampshire university started in 1932 above a small storefront. Almost a century later, SNHU offers over 200 degree programs online. There are no set class times, so learning fits around your schedule and courses are career focused to help strengthen your skills. But the best part of the story? SNHU's online tuition rates are some of the lowest in the entire country. This could be your next chapter. Visit snhu.edu.mrballin today, insurance isn't one size fits all. That's why drivers have trusted Progressive's name your price tool for years. Just tell Progressive what you want to pay and they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget. Visit progressive.com to find a car insurance rate that works for you. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law on the evening of December 14, 2024, a woman in her mid-30s named Priya got ready for bed inside of her home in Chankalo Village, which is a rural community in central India. Priya put on her PJs, brushed her teeth and then climbed into bed by herself. She was waiting for her husband, 35 year old Anand Yadav to finish his bath and then come in here and join her. And as Priya laid there just waiting for her husband, she couldn't help but feel like their house was so quiet. And in many ways the quiet of their house was this constant reminder of this really deep sadness in her life, which is, you know, Priya really wanted a kid, but she and her husband had struggled to get pregnant. And now, you know, they're in their mid-30s and it just seemed like time was running out. And you know, it's like all she wanted was a family and she didn't know if she would actually have one. Now for Priya, though, you know, this was not some new revelation. Like this pain had been going on for years and this. And so like she did most nights as she laid in bed waiting for her husband, she just did her best, you know, not to dwell on it and just think about the other things in her life that were going well, like, you know, her relationship to her husband. You know, they were very happy and a very healthy couple. And so she's sitting there and she's thinking about that and again trying to be grateful when the door opens to the bathroom and Anand comes out, but he's not dressed for bed. He's wearing a bathrobe. Like he hasn't gotten dressed yet and he's acting kind of funny. And Priya, she's looking at her husband, trying to figure out like, what is he doing, why isn't he dressed, what's going on here? When she suddenly realizes his face is like bright red. Clearly there is something wrong with her husband. And then before she can ask him what's going on, Anand just turns and runs out of their bedroom just wearing his bathrobe. And so Priya, she gets out of bed and she chases after her husband, trying to make sense of what the heck is going on here. She gets outside and she sees her husband is now collapsed on the outside. And so Priya really does not know what's happening here. She has no sense of what could be wrong. And so she just runs over to her husband and she rolls him over and she's shaking him to like get him to talk to her, but all she sees is his face is still this beet red color and it's almost like he's passed out or something, like he's not responsive. And so really having no clue what else to do, she just rushed next door to her relative's house. She got some family members, they came outside and together they scooped up the non responsive Anand Threw him in a vehicle, and they rushed him to the. And when they got to the hospital, Priya leapt out of the car, you know, leaving Anand and her family behind, and she bolts inside. She tells the front desk attendant what's going on, that her husband, he's not breathing. He's unresponsive. He's in the car. And so right away, medical staff came charging out. They went, and they got Anand. They brought him inside. And before long, Priya is running behind all the doctors and nurses that are rushing Anand on a gurney through the hospital to an exam room. They get in the exam room, and even though Priya, you know, she's kind of off to the side, she can't really see what's going on, but she can see the WHO is primarily trying to figure out what's wrong with Anand. And she sees at first he's kind of like doing a couple things to see if he can get Anand to start reacting to him. But pretty quickly, she sees this doctor just kind of sit back, and there's this look of pity that comes over his face. And he turns and he looks over at Priya and he tells her that, you know, unfortunately, your husband is dead now. For Priya, this whole thing has happened so quickly that it's almost like she can't even begin to process it. And so instead of, you know, becoming hysterical with grief, her first thought is, how could he have died? Anand was a healthy guy. He's, you know, 35 years old. He's in the best shape of his life. He's a happy guy with a robust social life. Like, there's no reason he should be dying right now. Like, what in the world happened here? What killed him? Like, that's her question to the doctor. But the doctor said, he's like, I don't know. The only way we're going to be able to figure out what happened here is, is to do an autopsy, because there's just nothing obvious. And so, sure enough, a couple of days later, the hospital's pathologist was inside of an exam room with Anand's body laying on a table right in front of him. And this pathologist had done countless autopsies. This was very standard work for this doctor. And so the pathologists, you know, they went into this autopsy really not having any idea what killed this guy. But in their head, they were thinking, okay, maybe it was a sudden heart attack, because this sort of seems like that could be it. And so they made their first incision on Anand's chest. And the first place they Went to look was anon's heart. But after looking at anand's heart, they determined that, no, he did not go into cardiac arrest. He did not die from a heart attack. This death was not connected to his heart. And so the pathologist naturally moved from the heart to anand's lungs, which is another area that, you know, he believed could have something to do with this death. But after checking those out, it was clear the lungs did not have to do with anand's death. And so after that, the pathologist wound up checking all of anand's organs, you, know, trying to find any sign of what killed him, but there was nothing. There was no indication that this guy should have died. Now, the pathologist was a little bit surprised because they figured, you know, by this point, they would have had the answer of what happened to him. But, you know, it's no matter. They had done many autopsies before where it required some, you know, further looking to figure out what happened. And so they moved on, and they made an incision in anand's throat. And when they opened up anand's throat, the pathologist just stepped back and gasped, because in their entire career, they had never, ever seen anything like this. It would turn out that priya was not the only one who felt deep sadness around not having a family yet. Anand, as well, was just really heartbroken over the idea that, you know, he was never gonna become a father. And so, without telling his wife, Anand had gone out and sought out professional help for their fertility issues. However, the type of professional help that he sought was a little bit unorthodox. Instead of going to see a licensed doctor, Anand went to see what's called a tantric, which is basically a practitioner of occult magic. And this tantric gave anand instructions for how to perform this ritual that supposedly guaranteed, you know, if he did it correctly, that he would be able to have his child. Anand clearly believed this tantric, and so after being given the instructions, he went out and gathered the necessary resources, and he took them home. And then on the night that he died, while priya was in bed waiting for him, and he was in the bathroom, you know, taking his bath or whatever, well, at some point in the bathroom, Anand performed this fertility ritual, and it killed him. Anand, per the tantrix instructions, had taken a living baby chicken, a chick, and attempted to swallow it whole. Apparently, that was all he needed to do in order to have a child as he so desperately wanted. But when he swallowed this chick, it got stuck in his throat, and within minutes, he suffocated to Death. And also, unfortunately, the chick died as well. Our next story is called the Audition. One weekday morning In March of 1995, a man named Luther Charles sat on the porch of his parents house in St. Louis, Missouri, while holding a newspaper. Both of Luther's parents were at work, but Luther was not, because he didn't have a job. In fact, he hadn't had a single job in the last five years. So Luther desperately wanted to be an actor professionally. And he'd spent the last five years, you know, not working, but auditioning constantly and getting rejected over and over and over again. Now he was totally broke and living with his parents, but he had not lost the dream of wanting to be an actor. Now, Luther knew that a lot of people, at least outside of the acting world, thought that trying to be an actor was sort of a pipe dream. Only chosen few get to do that professionally at a high level. And that he, Luther, should be more realistic and just get a normal job. Especially after five years of attempts that didn't work out. But he just couldn't bring himself to do that because for him, it was gonna be acting or nothing. So on this particular morning, he was doing what he did almost every single day, which was flipping through the classified section of the newspaper looking for any open calls for auditions. And as he scanned the page he was on, he saw one that caught his eye. It was for a musical that was being produced several hundred miles away in Ohio. But they had an open call for auditions that night. Now, at first, Luther was kind of confused about why producers from Ohio would place a call for auditions in a newspaper in. In Missouri. But then he saw that it was because these producers were trying to find a very specific kind of actor for what sounded like a very unique character. And Luther realized he could be what they were looking for. This could finally be his chance to get his big break. This was, of course, not going to be easy. Number one, he would have to drive today all the way to Ohio just to do this audition. But two, what it would take for him to get into this character, to do a good job and hopefully land this part was gonna take a lot. But after five years of near constant rejection, he was willing to try anything. A few minutes later, Luther got into the driver's seat of his car. He was carrying three things with him. A map to help him get to Ohio, an entire bottle of whiskey to help him be brave, and a hacksaw to help him get into character. That evening in Ohio, one of the producers of this musical sat in the front row of an empty auditorium. She'd spent the last several hours listening to hopeful actors read monologues and sing songs. And she knew there were still more people waiting to audition. So she called for the next person in line to come inside. And a moment later, a man stumbled out onto the stage. And when the producer saw him, she was just confused because he seemed very wobbly, almost like he was drunk. And he had on this weird sort of costume where he had bandages wrapped around his head. And then in a very slurred voice, this man said his name was Luther Charles. And he knew that this musical required a very specific kind of actor and he had made sure that he was perfect for this part. The producer didn't understand what Luther was talking about though. But before she could clarify, Luther on stage began unwrapping the bandages from his head. And when the producer saw what was underneath them, she began screaming for help would turn out. That casting call in the newspaper that Luther read that inspired him to go here and do this contained a very unfortunate typo. What the producers of the musical were looking for were genuine fearless actors. But what actually got printed was a call for, quote, genuine earless actors. And Luther Charles was so desperate to land a role that he drove to Ohio, downed a bottle of whiskey and then cut off both of his ears with that hacksaw because he believed it would make him perfect for this musical. Luther survived his self inflicted injuries and later underwent psychiatric treatment. He did not, however, get the part. Summer is a great opportunity for kids to review challenging concepts, strengthen core skills and head into the start of the school year feeling more prepared. And this is where IXL can help. A couple of things that I like about IXL is that it's really easy to fit into my kids busy summer schedules and the instant feedback helps them understand understand what they missed instead of just moving on. My kids also like how engaging it is, which makes a big difference because they actually want to use it instead of it feeling like just another assignment. 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Upgrade to the Chime checking account. Chime is not just smarter banking. It's the most rewarding way to bank. Join the millions who are already banking fee free today. Head to chime.comballin that is chime.comballin it only takes a few minutes to sign up. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services for Chime Card provided by Chime's bank Partners. Optional products and services may have fees or charges. Stated cash back for Chime prime only. No minimum balance required. For more information on travel Perks, go to Chime.com disclosures the next and final story of today's episode is called the Contest Winner. One Evening in late 2003, a 22 year old man named Michael Bridges sat down in the stands of a professional professional hockey game in Calgary, which is a major city in Canada. And as he sat there staring out at the rink waiting for the players to file in, he thought to himself, how Amazing it was that he was here right now. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to be here. So Michael lived about 700 miles away in a city called Brandon, which is also in Canada. And for the last year, Michael's life had gone really badly. He was struggling financially, and in between jobs, he'd gone through a recent terrible breakup. A lot of his friends had sort of vanished from his life. And so for the most part, he was sort of sad and lonely all the time. But then he'd won a sweepstakes that he had only entered on a whim and gotten an all expenses paid trip to Calgary for this hockey game. And so it felt like finally something good was happening in his life. Michael was about to flag down a vendor and order himself a beer when this guy he didn't know, the stocky guy with a mustache, walked in and sat down right next to Michael. And before Michael could say anything, this guy looked at him with a big smile on his face and he said, man, I'm so excited to be here. I won this ticket in a sweepstakes. And Michael was like, dude, me too. And so right away, these total strangers just totally hit it off. And before long, they were chatting about their lives and, you know, Michael, who over the last year, you know, most of his friends had sort of disappeared in his life. It was great to have a guy that just seemed to get him. And so the time flew by, and Brock must have felt the same way about Michael, because as the hockey game ended, Brock asked Michael if he wanted to, you know, keep the party going and go together to a strip club right down the road. And Michael was like, yeah, let's do it. And so the two new friends left the hockey game together. They went to the strip club. And as soon as they got there, Michael began to notice something odd about Brock, or at least something he hadn't noticed before. And that was that even though Brock appeared to be very blue collar, sort of like Michael was, was, Brock appeared to have a lot of money. I mean, he was leaving these huge tips for all the bartenders, and he was paying for he and Michael's drinks round after round. Brock was paying for all of it. And then also, Brock had this huge wad of ones and bills that he had that he was basically throwing at all the dancers. And Michael, who was caught off guard by this, gladly accepted Brock's generosity. I mean, at this point, given Michael's financial struggles, he could not have afforded even a normal night out, let alone a lavish one like this. And so as the two men stood at the bar towards the end of the night, Michael thanked Brock for making this such a fun night. And he said he really didn't want to leave and go back to his hometown of BRANDON, you know, 700 miles away, because he was having so much fun here with Brock. But when he said that, when he said Brandon, Brock stopped and he's like, wait a minute, Brandon, I'm moving to Brandon for work. And when Michael heard this, he was ecstatic. I mean, he was thinking this was gonna be a one off thing, that he would likely never see Brock again, despite how cool this guy was. But now it seemed entirely possible that if they were living in the same town, they could be actual friends. And so Brock told Michael that, hey, if you help me find an apartment in your hometown once I move there, maybe I can repay the favor by helping you get some work. And so Michael, he took one last look at that big wad of cash in Brock's hand, and he looked up at him and he said, deal. A couple of months later, in early December of 2003, Michael rode in the passenger seat of Brock's car as they made their way down a road in Brandon. The two had just had lunch together and Brock was driving Michael home, when suddenly, Brock's phone rang. And when Brock answered it, Michael could tell right away, just from the tone of Brock's voice, that he was speaking to his boss. So ever since that hockey game, Michael and Brock had become friends. Brock had moved to Brandon, and Michael had helped him find an apartment. And in exchange, Brock had made good on his promise and had helped Michael find some work. In fact, he'd gotten him a few odd jobs with the company that he, Brock, worked for. However, these jobs were not what Michael expected them to be, based on, you know, his first impression of Brock. In reality, he felt like these jobs were kind of shady. Brock had asked Michael to start delivering these packages all over town, but he warned Michael to never look inside of any of these packages. Now, at first, obviously, Michael had been very unsure about taking Brock up on these jobs. I mean, it was pretty clear that whatever Brock was doing was, you know, question or maybe even illegal, like, what's going on with these packages? But, you know, Michael thought back to that huge wad of cash that Brock had at the strip club in Calgary. And it just seemed like he was throwing money around. And Michael wanted money like that, too. And so he thought, you know, what's the harm? And so ultimately, Michael agreed to deliver one of these packages. And when nothing Bad happened. He began delivering more. Now, Michael still had no idea what he was actually delivering. He had heeded the warning and was not looking inside these packages. Instead, he had sort of accepted the shadowy, mysterious stuff that Brock was doing was just sort of part of being friends with Brock and working for Brock. And so he had just gone along with it. And also, Michael genuinely needed the money. He really couldn't afford to just stop working. So as the two men continued down this road in Brandon, Michael just continued to sit quietly in the passenger seat while he listened to Brock speak to his boss. And at some point in this conversation, Brock looked very resigned and just said, okay, I'll take care of it right now. Then Brock abruptly hung up, and without saying anything to Michael, he just pulled a U turn and began speeding in the opposite direction. And then a couple of minutes later, Brock pulled into this parking lot of the seedy hotel. And then before Michael could ask, like, what are we doing here? Brock turned to him and said, you stay here. And then Brock got out of the car, and he marched over to the door of this motel and began to knock. And Michael, he's in the car watching this, having no idea what's going on. And he sees the motel room door that Brock knocked on. It suddenly opened, and there was this woman who was inside the motel. And from Michael's perspective, it seemed like she was very startled to see Brock. And then she began trying to shut the door on Brock. But Brock, he reached out, and he began pushing on the door to keep it open. And the two of them began yelling at each other. And Michael, you know, he can't hear what they're yelling about, but clearly, you know, they're having some sort of heated argument here. And at this point, Michael began looking around, you know, hopeful that nobody was witnessing this. I mean, they could get in some serious trouble here. And then Michael turned his attention back to Brock and this woman. And he watched as Brock raised his fist and punched this woman square in the face. And she instantly crumpled to the ground. And Michael, like, he has no idea what to do here. And so he just sat there as Brock climbed on top of this woman who's laying on the ground. And he began repeatedly punching her over and over again until Michael could see blood all over her face. And then Brock, who seemed totally unfazed, slammed the motel room door and calmly walked back to the car, hopped in the driver's seat, and drove off without saying anything to Michael. And Michael just sat quietly for this ride. He really had no idea what to even say now, he already knew that Brock must be involved in some sort of criminal enterprise, and in virtue of Michael delivering those packages for him, he was also involved in whatever this organization did. But up until this point, up until seeing this beating take place, Michael had sort of assumed that whatever Brock was involved in couldn't be that big of a deal. I mean, certainly they weren't hurting people. But now Michael realized he had been terribly wrong. Finally, Brock pulled up in front of Michael's house, and for the first time, he spoke. He turned to Michael and he said, don't tell anyone what you saw. And Michael just nodded his head and said, yeah, I won't. And then Michael got out of the car and he rushed inside his house. Everybody learns a language for different reasons. Maybe you just want to watch K dramas without subtitles, or you want to talk with family members, but in their native language. Your life is unique, so your language learning should be, too. I remember trying to learn a new language before a trip, and most of the systems that I tried felt pretty generic. But with Rosetta Stone, it was completely different. It adjusted to how I was learning, so it felt more like I was actually preparing to use this language, not just, you know, learning how to regurgitate it. Rosetta Stone Sapphire is designed for personalized learning, helping you go beyond generic lessons and focus on the topics that matter most to you. If you want to take your language skills to the next level, don't wait to try Rosetta Stone Sapphire. Mr. Ball and podcast listeners can get 20% off their Rosetta Stone Sapphire subscription when they sign up today. You'll get unlimited access to all 25 Rosetta Stone languages, plus all the new Sapphire learning tools. Visit Rosetta Stone.com MrBallin to redeem your 20% off. Again, go to RosettaStone.com MrBallin and start learning a language for real. Been sitting on a business idea. My advice? Don't overthink it. Just take that first step and make sure you have the right tool, a robust selling platform like Shopify to help turn your idea into something real. Shopify checkout takes just one click so it helps more of your customers finish their purchase and when they come back, their details are already saved. With Shopify, nothing stands between your idea and a real business. So go make it one. If you're ready to stop putting off your business and start hearing Cha Ching, then you're ready for Shopify. Start your free trial@shopify.com MrBallin today. You heard that right. Start your free trial today@shopify.com MrBallin Again, that's shopify.com MrBaun about a week later, Michael was at his home when his phone rang. And when he looked at the caller ID, he saw it was Brock. And at first, Michael couldn't help but feel like he didn't want to pick up the call, but he knew he would have to. Despite what had happened the previous week at the motel, Michael had not said anything to anyone. However, you know, being loyal to Brock did not make him feel any better about it. In reality, Michael felt like at this point, he was in too deep with Brock and he had no idea how to get out again, even though at this point, he kind of wanted to. But for now, Michael had made the conscious decision to simply act like everything is the same, everything is normal, you know, so he didn't raise any red flags with Brock. And so he ultimately picked up the phone. Brock didn't say hello or ask Michael how he was doing. Instead, he just told Michael that he had another delivery for him if Michael was still committed to this job. Now, Michael knew the right answer here would be to turn this down and not continue to go down this rabbit hole and get deeper and deeper in with Brock. But at the same time, you know, Michael was worried if he refused this job that he might be put in danger. Like, he saw what Brock was capable of. You know, is that gonna happen to him if he turns this down? And then on top of that, Michael needed the money. And so after a tense silence, Michael told Brock that, yes, I'm still committed, and I will do this delivery. Brock said that was very good. And he also told Michael that he and the boss were very impressed with Michael's silence. And then Brock hung up. Now, Michael did appreciate the compliment, but at the same time, it really did not change his situation at all. I mean, he was still in way too deep here and didn't know what he was gonna do. And so, reluctantly, he grabbed his keys and headed out to his car to go pick up this next package. Two months later, in early February of 2004, Michael and Brock sat inside of a diner and Brandon eating a meal together. Things at this point had basically gone back to normal. Michael was regularly delivering packages for Brock, and the two of them were meeting for meals like this fairly often, where Brock would always foot the bill. But today, as Michael sat there staring at Brock, he could tell something was different. Brock seemed really agitated, like something was on his mind. He kept tapping his hand and kind of fidgeting in his seat. And eventually, Michael Asked Brock, like, hey, are you okay? And to Michael's surprise, Brock kind of lit up, and he was like, oh, yeah, I'm okay. In fact, things are more than okay. I actually have an offer for you that could potentially change your life. Brock again told Michael that he and the boss were seriously impressed with Michael's work so far. Not just the fact that he kept silent about the motel incident, but also they knew Michael clearly had not looked inside of any of the those packages. And so, collectively, this proved that Michael was dependable and loyal. And so he told Michael that what he wanted to do was introduce Michael to the boss, because he thought maybe the boss would take a liking to Michael and move him up in the organization, maybe give him a more managerial role like Brock's, where the role was more prestigious and had more responsibility, but critically came with higher pay. After hearing this, Michael felt both excited and nervous. He was excited because he wanted nothing more than to make the kind of money that Brock did. And after working with Brock now for several months, Michael had become kind of desensitized to violence and danger. He realized he could put his morals aside if it meant he would never have to be financially insecure ever again. But the thing that made Michael nervous was meeting the boss. I mean, he really didn't know much about who this guy was. All he knew is he was perfectly prepared to resort to violence if people wronged him. And so Michael knew how critical it was to stay on this guy's good side. But as all these conflicting thoughts were swirling around Michael's head, Brock said something else. He said, before he would actually take Michael to meet the boss, Michael had to pass one more test. Michael would have to prove that he was capable of more than simply delivering packages and keeping secrets. Basically, he needed to prove that he could be as cutthroat and brutal as Brock was. After saying this, Brock just kind of leaned back and stared at Michael, studying his reaction. And at first, Michael really didn't even know what to say or do. He was like, okay, is Brock expecting me to come up with, you know, some sort of way that I can demonstrate this? Do I need to come up with a test myself and do it? Or is Brock about to give me some assignment like, what's going on here? But then, before Brock could say anything else to clarify this whole situation, Michael had this epiphany. He suddenly realized that he already had the proof he needed to demonstrate to Brock and to the boss that he could basically handle anything they threw at him. Before meeting Brock, something truly Awful and just totally messed up happened in Michael's life, and Michael had persevered his way through it. And so Michael was thinking to himself, if he just told the story of what happened to Brock and to the boss, they would be convinced that he was their guy. And so, feeling very confident, Michael looked Brock right in the eye and he told him about his past. And as he told the story, Brock's eyes went wide. And by the end of the story, when Michael finally finished up, Brock just said, okay, yeah, you're ready to meet the boss. The meeting with the boss was scheduled for a few days later. And on that day, Michael showed up to this fancy hotel in a nearby city. And when he walked into the lobby, he saw Brock was sitting there waiting for him. When Brock saw Michael, he smiled and stood up, gestured for Michael to come over. And then the two of them walked upstairs to a particular hotel room. But when Brock unlocked the hotel room door and the two men went inside this lavish suite with this gorgeous living room and an amazing view, Michael looked around and realized it was empty. And he said to Brock, like, where's the boss? And Brock said, the boss doesn't wait for anyone. People wait for the boss. And so just sit down. He'll be here soon. And so Michael said, okay. And he took a seat and tried to stay calm, but in reality, he was very nervous. I mean, all this cloak and dagger stuff was really putting him on edge. He also knew he had to impress the boss when he got here, because if he did, he would have, like, this new lease on life, this big promotion. He'd be getting paid so much money. But if he didn't, if he failed to impress the boss, not only would he potentially be out of a job and back to sort of poverty, but also he could be in real danger here. And so as Michael is sitting there showing all the signs that he's totally nervous, Brock, who was in the room, just kind of standing there, looked over and could sense, you know, his friend clearly is on edge. And so he said, hey, Michael, here we go. Why don't you just run me through your story one more time, like a dry run before you meet the boss. Get yourself ready. And so Michael, who at this point was so anxious he was happy to be doing anything other than just sitting there quietly, quickly agreed to the idea and went through his story one more time. And right as he finished his story, there was a knock on the door. And so Brock said, okay, he's here. Are you ready? And Michael's like, yeah, I'm ready. And so Brock walked over to the door, took one more look at Michael, opened it up. And when Michael looked outside and saw who was out there, he knew immediately he had made a terrible mistake. It would turn out the last several months of Michael's life was one big lie. That sweepstakes that Michael had won that got him the tickets to the game in Calgary, that wasn't real. Somebody had set that up just so Michael could meet Brock. Those packages that Michael was delivering for Brock, they were not sensitive. It was just packages that contained flour, like cooking flour. And that woman that Michael watched Brock beat up at the motel, she was acting, and so was Brock. Nobody got hurt in that entire altercation. And the blood that Michael saw on her face, well, she had blood capsules hidden in her mouth that she popped to make it look like she actually got beat up. However, there was one thing that was absolutely true about the last few months of Michael's life, and that was that Brock really was involved in a secretive organization, and Brock really did want to bring Michael inside of it. It's just that the organization was not the criminal enterprise that Michael thought it was. Instead, it was the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Brock was an undercover officer running an elaborate sting designed entirely to get Michael to confess to his crimes, which he did. While secret cameras inside of that hotel room recorded every single word he said. Michael's crime was murder. Two years earlier, his girlfriend, Aaron Chorni, had tried to break up with him, and he'd been so mad about it that he attacked her, wound up strangling her until she fell unconscious, and then he drowned her in the bathtub. And so this was the story he told Brock and intended to tell the boss to convince them that he was their guy, that he was tough and could do anything they wanted. He basically was telling them, hey, guys, I'm literally a murderer. And so when they heard that knock on the door in the hotel room and Michael turned, expecting it to be the boss, well, instead he saw a whole bunch of police officers coming into the hotel room to arrest him for that murder that he confessed. Aaron's body was ultimately recovered from the dump site where Michael had left her, and she was given a proper burial. As for Michael, he was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison. A quick note about our stories. They are all based on true events, but we sometimes use pseudonyms to protect the people involved, and some details are fictionalized for dramatic purposes. The Mr. Ballin podcast, Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories, is hosted and executive produced by me. Mr. Ballin. Our head of writing is Evan Allen. Produced by Jeremy Bone and Cole Locasio Research and fact checking by Shelly Shue Samantha Van Hus Evan Beamer Abigail Shumway Camille Callahan Alex Paul Ben Fasciano Research and fact check Fact checking supervision by Steven Ear Audio editing and post produced by Whit Locasio and Jordan Stidham Production support by Antonio Minotta and Delaina Corley Artwork by Jessica Clogston Kiner Theme song Something Wicked by Ross Bugden thank you for listening to the Mr. Ballin podcast. And just a reminder, every new and exclusive episode we put out on the Mr. Ballin podcast, you can also now watch on the Mr. Ballin YouTube channel that very same day. And trust me, some of these stories you truly have to see to believe. Again, my YouTube channel is just called Mr. Ballin. If you want to listen to episodes one week early and ad free, you can subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts plus on Apple Podcasts or visit siriusxm.com podcastplus to listen with Spotify or another app of your choice. So that's gonna do it. I really appreciate your support. Until next time. See ya. Her sheep it's made by Angels Soft and strong. Budget friendly. The choice is simple. A role that feels like paradise and always at a heavenly prize. Angel soft angel soft Soft and strong. So it's simple. Pick up a pack today. Angel soft Soft and strong. Simple. In the US there's a break in every 26 seconds. But when intruders step near Simplisafe, home security steps up. Stop. This is Simplisafe. Police are on the way. Using AI alerts, US based live agents help deter break ins. Simplisafe no long term contracts. 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