MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

Fan Favorite - "The Red Sandals" (January 16, 2026)

Episode Overview

This remastered fan-favorite episode, "The Red Sandals," tells the deeply unsettling true story of a violent crime in 1980s northeastern China. What starts as a robbery soon spirals into a shocking murder, a desperate investigation, and a secret that shatters a close-knit community. MrBallen (John Allen) masterfully reconstructs the details, blending true crime, human drama, and the small details that make his stories so impactful.

Main Storyline & Key Discussion Points

1. The Initial Robbery and Community Setting

• The Warehouse Robbery (00:00):
  • In 1984, a warehouse in Liaoyuan City, northeastern China is robbed by two masked men who overtake a security guard during his quiet night shift.
  • The event is jarring for the safe, tightly woven community.
  • "[The robbery] would shake the local community, but it was nothing in comparison to the horrific crimes it would set off..." (00:21)

2. Zhao’s Disappearance and Her Secret

• Meet Zhao Xiao Lian (02:47):
  • A 35-year-old woman, Zhao, is visited by her husband’s anxious friend, who assures her that soon she won’t have to keep her secret anymore.
  • Zhao tells her daughter they’re visiting her uncle and leaves home, slipping on her favorite red sandals.
  • Zhao drops her child off with her brother, lying about needing to see a doctor for a stomach ache.
  • Instead, she rushes back home, retrieves her bicycle, and pedals into the approaching dusk (04:30).

3. Gruesome Riverbank Discovery

• The Farmer’s Find (07:18):
  • The next day, a farmer discovers a horrifyingly burned, nude female body partially hidden on the Weijin River bank.
  • Police arrive, find burnt clothes and a pair of red sandals nearby, alongside a single set of footprints.
  • They initially assume suicide by self-immolation.

4. Detective Sun’s Intervention

• Questioning the Conclusion (12:21):

  • Detective Sun Eugene challenges his colleagues’ suicide theory, noting the lack of a gas can and the unlikelihood of such a suicide without a political statement.
  • "Self-immolation is a rare way for someone to kill themselves... there was no gas can or container found..." (12:59)
  • Sun believes it’s murder, and the chief assigns him the case.

• Critical Forensics (14:11):

  • Sun notices the heavy, distinctive red sandals leave deeper prints than bare feet would on the wet riverbank, hypothesizing another person crossed with Zhao but left no prints.

5. Identifying the Victim and an Expanding Investigation

• Confirmation of Identity (16:31):

  • Zhao’s brother reports her missing; Sun shows him the sandals and blouse—he confirms they are Zhao’s.
  • Sun probes Zhao’s diary, discovering marital discord:
    • "All these complaints basically boiled down to the same thing: Li cared more about money than his family." (18:26)
  • Li, Zhao’s husband, is supposedly on a business trip, but his boss admits Li lied about his absence.

• Potential Motives and Suspects (19:42):

  • At Li’s workplace, Sun finds a photo of a woman who turns out to be Li’s ex-girlfriend, but she has no recent contact with him.
  • Sun grows frustrated—Li has disappeared, and could easily vanish across China on untracked regional trains.

6. Breakthroughs and Community Mobilization

• New Resources, New Leads (22:43):

  • City government provides the police with bicycles, expanding their investigative reach.
  • Sun’s team gets a tip linking Li to the previous warehouse robbery—possibly with assistance from someone inside.

• Warehouse Lead (23:57):

  • Sun interviews a nervous warehouse worker, Ho Le Chung, who suggests Li Xiang Dong (Zhao’s husband) was behind the robbery.
  • As MrBallen foreshadows, “Detective Sun felt like he had just been given a huge gift...” (26:35)

7. Second Burned Body, A Detective’s Breakthrough

• The Ritual Burning (27:52):
  • A new burned body is found, but it’s the result of a local miners’ funeral custom.
  • This triggers Sun’s realization: Zhao’s killer likely burned her to obscure her identity, not out of ritual, adding urgency to flush the killer out.

8. A Trap for the Killer

• Setting a Trap (32:17):

  • Sun asks Zhao’s siblings to publicly discuss likely being interviewed by police—bait for the killer.

  • Soon, a letter appears at Zhao's sister’s house, penned by Li, stating he and Zhao are alive but on the run, and instructing her to burn it.

  • "When Sun read this letter, he knew they were close to solving this case." (36:44)

9. Reconstructing the Crime

• Piecing Together the Night (34:26):

  • Based on evidence and the staged letter, Sun reconstructs events:

    • On July 25, 1984, Zhao is lured by Ho Le Chung, who promises a reunion with her husband, instead leading her to the riverbank, sexually assaults, strangles, and burns her.
    • The heavy red sandals left deep footprints; the lighter shoes of the killer did not.
    • Zhao is set alight, awakens from unconsciousness, and dies while running toward the water, with Ho absconding into the darkness.

  • Quote:
    "The killer whispered in Zhao’s ear that Li wasn’t there… he’d lured her here just to make sure she never told the police anything about the robbery." (35:27)

10. The True Motive and Final Justice

• Revealing the Motive (38:01):

  • Ho, Zhao’s husband’s partner, orchestrated both murders to cover up a lucrative warehouse robbery and silence anyone—Zhao and Li—who could betray him.

  • Ho fakes the letter from Li, but Sun’s handwriting analysis reveals the deception.

  • Police eventually find Li’s body and force Ho’s confession.

  • "[Ho] was sentenced to death and was executed, all to cover up some stolen pipes." (38:48)

Notable Quotes and Moments

• On the rarity of self-immolation:

  • "First, self-immolation—setting yourself on fire—was a rare way for somebody to kill themselves. ...This woman ... didn't leave a message behind..." (13:08) – Detective Sun

• Detective Sun’s pivotal insight:

  • "The reason Zhao's killer had burned her was so she would be totally unrecognizable." (32:25)

• On the killer’s manipulative tactics:

  • "Ho went to see Zhao at her house, and he told her that Li had actually come back into town undercover. Ho said he could lead her to him..." (36:13)

• Motivated by greed:

  • "Ho had masterminded the robbery, and then Li had sold the goods... making them both a ton of money... Zhao’s big secret, the one she had been desperately trying to hide... she knew what Ho and her husband had done." (37:29)

Key Timestamps

• 00:00: Opening, description of the warehouse robbery
• 02:47: Introduction of Zhao and her mysterious "secret"
• 07:18: Discovery of burned female body by the riverbank
• 12:21: Detective Sun disputes suicide, pushes for murder investigation
• 16:31: Zhao’s brother identifies her belongings
• 19:42: Discovery of Li’s lies about his absence and clues at his workplace
• 22:43: Bicycles provided to police—critical for investigation progress
• 27:52: Second burned body; realization about the murder’s intent
• 32:17: Sun sets trap to draw out killer
• 34:26: Reconstruction of the murder and Zhao’s final moments
• 38:01: Motive revealed, connection to warehouse robbery, Ho confesses
• 38:48: Ho sentenced to death

Style & Tone

MrBallen delivers this story with his trademark heartfelt narration, mixing suspense with empathy for the victims and awe for the community’s complexity. The pacing is meticulous, always keeping listeners on edge but with space for details to resonate. The use of immersive, almost cinematic, descriptions draws listeners into 1980s China and the minds of its characters.

Conclusion

"The Red Sandals" is more than a tale of murder—it's a slow-burning thriller about trust, greed, and the ripple effects of one crime in a close-knit community. MrBallen’s telling underscores how the smallest clues and the sharpest insights can shatter the best-laid lies.

Note:
All stories are based on true events, but some names and details are altered for privacy and dramatic purposes.