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Mr. Ballin (0:00)
Hey, prime members, you can binge eight new episodes of the Mr. Ballin podcast one month early and all episodes ad free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. Late one afternoon in the summer of 2014, a pawn shop owner was updating his inventory logs when the bell above the front door jingled. A young couple walked inside and approached the counter, and the young man said he had a few items to sell. Then he proceeded to open a drawstring bag and dumped the contents onto the counter. There was a collection of gold chains, rings, and watches, and many of the pieces were twisted and mangled. Instantly, the hair on the pawn shop owner's neck stood up. Because everything about this interaction, from the large quantity of damaged jewelry to the careless way the pieces had been thrown in a bag together, told him that these items were stolen. And this made the owner extremely nervous. Because he had cash in the register and didn't know what these thieves might be capable of, he needed to get them out of the store quickly without revealing that he was onto them. So he told the couple he didn't have enough cash to buy the jewelry right now, but he would send some pictures of the jewelry to his broker to see if maybe they were interested. The couple agreed and let him take the photos. And then after the photos were taken and the couple had left, the owner called the police. And it soon became clear his gut instincts were right. However, he'd stumbled onto something much bigger than just theft, because it would turn out this jewelry was linked to a murder case. But before we get into that story, 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 twice a week, once on Monday and once on Thursday. So if that's of interest to you, please change all the hotkey commands on the follow button's computer so that every single command just restarts the computer. Okay, let's get into today's story. When you think about businesses with really good sales, like Death Wish Coffee or Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty, with each of them, you've got an in demand product, a strong brand, and some really good marketing. But an often overlooked secret to their success is that they have phenomenal infrastructure behind the business, which makes selling and buying a lot simpler. And for millions of successful businesses like those, that infrastructure is Shopify. Nobody does selling better than Shopify, home of the number one checkout on the planet, and the not so secret secret that their shop pay boosts, conversions up to 50%, which means way less carts going abandoned and way more sales going. So if you're looking to grow your business well, your commerce platform better be ready to sell wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling on the web, in your store, in their feed, and everywhere in between. Businesses that sell more sell on Shopify. Upgrade your business and get the same checkout Selena Gomez uses. Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.commrballin all lowercase go to shopify.commrballin to upgrade your selling today. Shopify.commrballin the show is brought to you by Progressive fiscally responsible financial geniuses. Monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. One afternoon in mid July 2014, 59 year old Jack Parks and his fiance Carol Lapia walked through their neighborhood of Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania. Jack sported a black fedora, wireframe glasses, and a lopsided grin beneath a graying mustache Carol hung on his arm, smiling at how her engagement ring sparkled in the sunlight. As they walked, they passed by several neighbors who were outside doing yard work or talking. Jack and Carol waved each person as they passed and everyone waved back. Their neighborhood was a close knit working class community 10 miles outside of Pittsburgh, and everybody seemed to know each other. In fact, Jack even had family on this street. One of his nephews, Bradley Johnson, lived nearby. As Jack and Carol passed by Bradley's house, Jack slowed down, trying to see if Bradley was home. His nephew had mentioned wanting to talk to him in person about something serious and urgent, but Jack could see that the house was empty, so that conversation would have to wait. Which was fine, because today Jack and Carol were on a mission. Inside of Carol's purse was a large stack of wedding invitations and they were on their way to drop these invitations in the mail. Which was huge for them because their wedding had been an unusually long time coming. So Jack and Carol had met at a bar 25 years ago. They'd fallen for each other quickly, but Jack had dragged his feet on proposing. And then, when he had felt ready, Carol was swamped at work, then Jack was busy. The timing was just always bad, and the longer they put marriage off, the less important it seemed. And anyways, they were in love and totally committed to each other. They didn't need a marriage license to prove that. But last February, Jack's mother had passed away. Her death had made him realize that he wasn't getting any younger and he really wanted to marry the woman he'd loved for decades. So a few months ago, he'd finally proposed. And ever since, their days had been consumed with wedding preparations. They had the venue, the dress and the rings. And now it was finally time to send out the invitations. The couple came to the end of the block and stopped in front of the mailbox. Carol took the envelopes from her purse and then joked that this was their last chance to cross anyone off their invite list. Jack just laughed and said they were not cutting anyone. So Carol pushed the envelopes through the mailbox slot until only one invitation remained. Carol hesitated for a second, looking at the name on that last envelope. It was her nephew, a 22 year old named Michael Lapia. She and Jack had been angry at Michael this whole past year. Their broken relationship with him was a sore spot for both of them. So Jack and Carol did not have children of their own, but they'd always doted on their nieces and nephews. When the kids were younger, Jack and Carol would have them over for slumber parties where they'd stay up late watching movies and eating popcorn. And as the kids got older, they'd all stayed close, except for Michael. A few years back, Michael had started drifting away from Jack and Carol and the rest of the family and getting into lots of trouble. He joined the army, but gotten dishonorably discharged for marijuana possession. And ever since, he'd suffered from PTSD and began experimenting with harder drugs. But that was actually not what caused the rift. Jack and Carol had supported Michael even through his struggles. Until one day. The previous September, during a Labor Day party that Jack and Carol had hosted, guests had seen Michael go into the couple's bedroom. And when the party was over, Carol had discovered that her expensive jewelry was missing. Jack and Carol had confronted Michael, who denied taking anything, but they hadn't believed him. They told him he was no longer welcome in their home, and things had been extremely tense between them ever since. But now Jack and Carol were ready to make amends by inviting Michael to their wedding. So, standing on the sidewalk, Carol took a deep breath and then dropped Michael's invitation into the mailbox. And suddenly, both Jack and Carol felt a whole lot lighter. The invitations were out, and good things were ahead. Jack and Carol turned away from the mailbox and began heading back home. As they reached their driveway, Jack waved to a few men standing directly across the street outside of a small factory called Silver Star Meats. The workers were outside in their aprons smoking, and they waved back. Jack was about to go over and talk to them when he noticed Carol's irritated expression and so he thought better of it. Jack liked the guys from the factory, but he knew they made Carol uncomfortable. She hated that they took their smoke breaks so close to their house and she thought their blood stained aprons were kind of unsettling. So Jack just turned away and then he and Carol walked up their porch steps and into their A few days later, on Monday, July 21, Carol sat at her desk at work reviewing her to do list for the wedding. The ceremony was just six weeks away and there was still a lot to figure out. But then at 10:45am her cell phone rang and to her surprise, it was Jack's realtor. Jack had hired this realtor to sell his mother's house after she had died, and now the realtor said some potential buyers wanted to see the house that afternoon. She wanted Jack and Carol to meet her there at 4pm this was all good news because Carol and Jack had been eager to sell that house as quickly as possible. But before hanging up, Carol asked why the realtor called her instead of calling Jack. The realtor said they did call Jack first, he just didn't answer. This seemed odd to Carol. As soon as she hung up, she tried Jack's cell phone and it rang several times before going to voicemail. She left him a message, then hung up and called the house. And as it rang she expected to hear Jack's voice any second. But again the call went to voicemail. Carol just sat there, trying to ignore the sick feeling of dread in her stomach. Jack knew what a worrier she could be, so he always answered her calls. But she told herself that maybe he was in the shower or maybe outside mowing the grass without his phone on him. He would probably call her back any minute. But the clock kept ticking and by noon Jack still had not called and so Carol tried him again, but he still didn't answer. Frustrated, she dropped her phone back in her purse and just focused on her computer, trying to ignore her mounting anxiety. But by 2:30pm when still Jack had not called. So now it's been three and a half hours since that first missed call. Carol just couldn't take it anymore, so she left work and began heading straight home. Twenty minutes later, Carol pulled up outside of her and Jack's house and right away she saw that the garage door was open and Jack's car was inside, which meant he had to be home. Carol felt relieved. She was sure Jack would explain why he had missed her calls. And better yet, they'd still be able to make their 4pm appointment with their realtor. But as Carol got out of her car and started up the walkway, she saw something that made her stomach drop all over again. So Jack and Carol's front porch was enclosed by a gate. And both Jack and Carol always kept the gate closed because their dog was a runner and they wanted to make sure he didn't get out. But now Carol saw the gate was wide open. Carol rushed through the gate to the front door and turned the knob. But even though the doorknob turned, meaning it was unlocked, the door didn't budge when she pushed on it. That's when Carol realized the deadbolt inside, which they never used, was must be locked. And now her anxiety turned to actual fear. Between the deadbolt, the open gate, and Jack not answering his phone, she was certain something had to be wrong here. Carol's hands shook as she dug through her purse for the house key, then struggled to get it into the lock. Finally, she did. The deadbolt turned, and the door swung open. Carol stepped inside with her heart pounding, but the house was silent and still. She took a few steps further in, and then her eyes suddenly fell on something under the coffee table inside of the living room. For a second, her brain couldn't even compute what she was looking at. But then when it clicked, she let out a scream. Because underneath the coffee table was Jack. He was lying face down on the carpet with a pool of blood under his head. Carol rushed over to Jack and shook him, but he didn't move or make a sound. And so, in a panic, she found her phone and dialed 911. When the dispatcher picked up, Carol shouted that there'd been some kind of horrible accident. Her fiance must have fallen and hit his head on the coffee table, and she begged the dispatcher to please send help. Now, moments later, police and first responders arrived, and they had to physically drag Carol away from Jack's side. Carol watched as they knelt beside her fiance and checked for a pulse, but they didn't find one. Carol's world crumbled. She knew Jack was dead. A short while later, Detective Lori McKeel of the Allegheny County Homicide Unit arrived on the scene. A perimeter was already established, and the house was crawling with police. But before Micheal went in, she looked around outside. Neighbors were watching the activity from their front lawns, and Micheal noticed a specific group of people huddled together on the sidewalk, consoling a Sobbing woman whose hands were covered in blood. Micheal guessed this must be the victim's partner, and the people around her were her family. But before speaking to her, the detective quickly made her way across the yard and went inside of the house. Inside, officers and forensic techs searched the front room for evidence. Makeel had already been briefed on this case, so she knew the victim's name was Jack Parks, and his fiance had found him dead after an apparent fall. Micheal went into the living room, where Jack's body lay face up, partially underneath the coffee table. There was a lot of blood, and at first glance, a fall didn't seem out of the question. However, when she crouched down to get a better look, she found a small hole behind Jack's right ear toward the back of his skull. It was a gunshot wound, which meant this was no accidental fall. This was a murder. Micheal stood up and told the other investigators nearby to keep their eyes peeled for bullet casings or a gun. Then she continued scanning the house. The house was lived in, but relatively neat, with boxes of what looked like wedding favors stacked in the hall. But when Michiel stepped inside of the master bedroom, she saw this room had been totally ransacked. Dressers were overturned, and drawers were pulled out. Several jewelry boxes lay empty and discarded on the carpet. Either this was a robbery, or someone had staged the scene to make it look like one. As Micheal made her way back to the living room, she saw several photos of what looked like a seemingly loving couple about to get married. But Makeil's training told her not to take anything at face value. Every relationship had its problems, and a deadline like a wedding, could bring tension to the surface. So before McKeel did anything else, she wanted to speak to Jack's fiance. If there were any skeletons in the couple's closet, she needed to know about them. Later that afternoon, Detective McKeel sat with Carol in an interview room at the police station. Knew that so far, nobody had told Carol much of anything, including the fact that Jack's death was a murder, not an accidental fall. And from Makeel's point of view, this was a good thing. The romantic partner was always the primary suspect in a murder, and so Makeel wanted to study how Carol behaved in their interview before she told Carol anything about the investigation. So Makeel started slowly, asking basic questions about Carol's relationship with Jack. But as Carol calmed down and opened up, McKeil began to probe deeper. She asked if either Carol or Jack was getting cold feet about their wedding. And why did it take them so long to get engaged? Were there suspicions of infidelity? What about money problems? McKeel watched Carol for any hint of defensiveness or anger. But while Carol did deny having any problems with Jack, she didn't seem mad at being asked about it. She just seemed confused. So McKeel decided to ask a question that she knew would increase the pressure by making it obvious that Carol was now a suspect in a murder. The detective looked into Carol's eyes and asked her if she owned a gun. And at this, Carol froze. After a second, she asked why she was being questioned about a gun when her fiance had fallen. Micheal stayed quiet and watched as Carol's expression changed from confusion to understanding. Carol just looked at Micheal and said, are you saying Jack was shot? And then Carol just began sobbing. Even though McKeel could not officially rule Carol out as a suspect yet, she did think Carol's reaction to this was very genuine. So Micheal handed Carol a box of tissues and asked in a gentle voice if Jack had any enemies. Through tears, Carol said no. In fact, if anything, Jack was sometimes too friendly. Recently, Carol said she'd come home to find Jack hanging out in the living room with one of the workers from the factory across the street. Carol said she'd been mad at him for letting a stranger inside of their home. And then after that, Carol just broke into more sobs. McKeil narrowed her eyes as she thought back to Jack and Carol's ransacked bedroom. Crime scene techs were still processing the scene, but it had looked like theft was at least part of the motive. So if Jack really had no enemies and his murder was not personal, then this being a robbery by a stranger, like a factory worker, was a definite possibility. McKeel knew that if Jack and Carol's home really had been robbed during this murder, then whoever did the robbery would likely try to unload the stolen goods quickly. And the easiest way to do that was to sell them to a local pawn shop. So the day after Jack's murder, McKeel got a list of the items missing from Jack and Carol's home, which included several expensive watches, rings, and other pieces of jewelry, and contacted every pawn shop in the immediate area. But none of them claimed to have any of the missing jewelry yet. So Makeel left descriptions of the items along with her number. Michiel also contacted the City of Pittsburgh Pond Division, which kept an extensive database of pond items and gave them descriptions of the stolen jewelry as well. It was sort of like she was fishing. And so Makil knew she had to be patient. So while she waited to hear back, she began looking into the workers from the Silver Star Meats factory.