The Discovery

Summary

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
Episode: The Discovery
Release Date: June 5, 2025

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of the MrBallen Podcast titled The Discovery, host Ballen Studios delves into three spine-chilling stories centered around terrifying discoveries that irrevocably changed the lives of those involved. Stripping away advertisements and introductory segments, this summary focuses solely on the heart-pounding narratives that define the episode.

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1. Cutting It Close

Overview:
The first story, Cutting It Close, recounts a harrowing encounter between a young woman and one of America's most infamous serial killers.

Detailed Summary:
On a cold, snowy morning in Seattle, Washington, in 1972, 22-year-old Sotria Kritsonas awaited her bus to attend school. Frustrated by delays attributed to inclement weather, Sotria's patience waned when her bus failed to arrive for over an hour, jeopardizing her attendance at her second class of the day.

At approximately [04:22], a pale yellow Volkswagen Beetle pulled up, offering Sotria a ride—a common practice during the 1970s hitchhiking era on the West Coast. The driver appeared trustworthy: a well-dressed man in his twenties, exuding a pleasant demeanor.

Sotria accepted the ride, attributing it to necessity amidst the freezing temperatures and unreliable public transport. However, as they traveled, Sotria noticed odd behavior from the driver. He frequently activated his turn signals without reason, veering onto Interstate 5 southbound—a detour that confused Sotria, as her school was directly down Raynor Avenue.

At [05:15], Sotria observed the driver rummaging beneath his seat with his right hand, while the left remained steady on the wheel. Her anxiety peaked when she realized the car lacked a door handle, heightening her sense of unease. The situation intensified when the driver's demeanor shifted from determined to confused, prompting him to request Sotria remove her hat. Upon doing so, he exclaimed, "Why did you cut your hair?" ([07:12]).

The encounter concluded with Sotria being safely escorted to her school, and the driver promptly departed. Initially dismissing the incident as an unnerving yet harmless interaction, Sotria chose not to report the ride.

Years later, in 1975, Sotria's routine was shattered when she recognized the same man on a news broadcast. It was Ted Bundy, now being led into court in handcuffs, accused of murdering dozens of young women. His modus operandi included luring victims into his pale yellow Volkswagen Beetle before brutally killing them with a crowbar or tire iron. Bundy preferred victims with long brown hair, aligning precisely with Sotria's profile.

Notable Quote:
At [05:15], Sotria recounts, "I was fixated on what he was doing with his right hand. What was he hiding beneath his seat?"

Conclusion:
This chilling story serves as a sobering reminder of the latent dangers that can lurk behind seemingly benign encounters, emphasizing the importance of vigilance and the lasting impact such experiences can have on individuals.

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2. The Box

Overview:
The Box tells the unsettling tale of Mary, who receives an unexpected and disturbing gift from her neighbor, Carmen Marino.

Detailed Summary:
In April 2019, Mary, a middle-aged woman residing in northern Spain, was preparing vegetables in her kitchen when her neighbor, Carmen Marino, knocked on her door bearing a large, wrapped box adorned with a bow and a tray of deep-fried croquettes. Carmen, a 61-year-old renowned chef, was known for sharing her delectable croquettes filled with various meats and other ingredients.

As Mary gratefully accepted the croquettes, she sensed unease in Carmen's demeanor. Carmen hesitated before confessing, "Mary, this is really embarrassing, but I need you to hold on to this box for a little bit." ([13:16]) She revealed that the box contained her sex toys, which she feared could be discovered when she had company over.

Mary, empathetic towards Carmen's distress following her breakup with her boyfriend, agreed to safeguard the box, placing it in her hallway closet. Initially intending to return the box, Mary became indifferent as weeks turned into months without Carmen reclaiming her belongings.

On September 29, 2019, nearly six months later, Mary was overcome by a foul odor emanating from the closet. Upon inspection, she discovered the sealed box emitting a repulsive smell. Struggling with the dilemma of violating her friend's trust, Mary opted to investigate, cutting into the wrapping paper with scissors. Inside, she found a tinfoil-wrapped object that horrified her, prompting her to flee the scene and contact the police.

The investigation unveiled a grisly truth: Carmen's boyfriend, Jesus Baranda, had gone missing around the time of their breakup. Authorities discovered that Carmen had murdered Jesus, decapitating him with a chainsaw and concealing his severed head within the box. To obscure her crime, she had ingeniously disguised the head by encasing it within a decorative box labeled as containing sex toys.

Notable Quote:
Mary reflects on the situation at [13:57]: "I will look after your sex toys, and I will enjoy your croquettes."

Conclusion:
The Box underscores the lengths to which individuals might go to conceal heinous acts, intertwined with personal vulnerabilities and the complexities of neighborly relationships. The story also raises unsettling questions about the potential reuse of Jesus's remains, with theories suggesting he may have been processed further and incorporated into Carmen's culinary offerings.

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3. What's that Smell?

Overview:
The final story, What's that Smell?, explores the mysterious and deadly contamination that befell Umar Abdullah and his family in their Tampa Bay apartment.

Detailed Summary:
On the evening of June 7, 2023, Umar Abdullah, a 36-year-old man, returned to his Tampa Bay apartment with his wife, Samira, and their 10-month-old daughter after a trip to Ohio. Immediately upon entering, they were assaulted by an unfamiliar, chemical-like odor.

Initial attempts to locate the source were futile, leading them to believe it might have been related to post-travel repairs. They ventilated the apartment by opening windows and lighting candles, temporarily dissipating the smell. However, over the following days, the family began experiencing alarming symptoms: persistent headaches, lethargy, and their usually calm baby became unusually fussy and eventually started vomiting.

By [15:02], Umar decided to seek medical attention, but the situation deteriorated. On June 14th, after a week of worsening symptoms, Umar discovered significant hair loss in his daughter's crib—a condition abnormal for a 10-month-old. Concurrently, Umar noticed clumps of his own hair falling out during a shower, followed by his wife experiencing similar symptoms.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Umar recalled the initial chemical odor and hypothesized an environmental contamination within their apartment. Despite multiple inspections—including gas, mold, plumbing, and HVAC assessments—no source was identified. Desperate, Umar contacted the fire department's hazmat team, who also found nothing abnormal.

Two weeks post-return, on June 25th, Umar's persistent investigation led him to smell the chemical odor strongest around his front door. Upon closer inspection, he discovered a crack at the base of the door. Acting on instinct, Umar and Samira concealed a video camera aimed at the door to monitor any intrusions.

Two days later, June 27th, the chemical exposure intensified, causing severe reactions in the family. Reviewing the camera footage, Umar discovered a man infiltrating their apartment through the crack, injecting a syringe filled with a lethal chemical mixture—methadone and hydrocodone—designed to incapacitate them.

The police traced the perpetrator to Zhu Mingli, a 36-year-old chemistry PhD candidate living in the apartment below. Initially perceived as a quiet, amicable neighbor, Zhu Mingli had grown increasingly obsessed with the family's baby noises, escalating to incessant complaints and ultimately leading to his unhinged decision to poison the family. His chemical expertise enabled him to craft and administer the deadly injections surreptitiously over a month, bringing the family to the brink of death.

Notable Quote:
Umar expresses his realization at [28:13]: "We have to get out of here right now, get the baby, we have to leave right now. We're going to the hospital."

Conclusion:
What's that Smell? is a terrifying exploration of how proximity and obsession can culminate in lethal actions. The episode highlights the importance of community vigilance and the unforeseen dangers that can arise from seemingly benign neighborly interactions. The legal repercussions for Zhu Mingli remain unresolved due to his deportation, leaving a lingering sense of injustice and unresolved tension.

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Episode Conclusion

The The Discovery episode of MrBallen's podcast masterfully intertwines tales of deception, obsession, and survival. Each story serves as a testament to the unforeseen horrors that can emerge from everyday scenarios, urging listeners to remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings. Through detailed narratives and compelling quotes, the episode leaves a lasting impression of the thin veil between normalcy and the macabre.

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Note: All stories presented are based on true events, with pseudonyms used to protect the identities of those involved. Some details have been fictionalized for dramatic effect.

Transcript

[Mr. Ballin]

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. Today's podcast will feature three stories about terrifying discoveries people made that would change their lives forever. 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 Cutting It Close, and it's a stark reminder to never get into a car with a stranger. The second story you'll hear is called the Box, and it's about a woman who receives a mysterious box from her neighbor. And the third and final story you'll hear is called what's that Smell? And it's about a dad who discovers a horrifying secret in his family's apartment. 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.

[Narrator]

Because that's all we do.

[Mr. Ballin]

And we upload twice a week, once on Monday and once on Thursday. So if that's of interest to you, please sneak into the Amazon Music Follow Buttons house and reverse all their doorknobs so they turn the wrong way. Okay, let's get into our first story called Cutting It Close.

[Narrator]

Foreign.

[Mr. Ballin]

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.

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[Mr. Ballin]

On a snowy morning in 1972, 22 year old Sotria Kritsonas sat at her bus stop in Seattle, Washington, adjusting her knit cap against the Cold. The hat actually still felt pretty weird on her head because just a few days earlier she had cut her brown.

[Narrator]

Hair super short and so she wasn't quite used to it yet.

[Mr. Ballin]

But despite that, she loved her new hair. In fact, she couldn't wait to show it off at her school. She'd deliberately worn this big hat to hide her haircut because this would make the reveal to her friends at school that much better. She glanced up Raynor Avenue for any sign of her bus, but there wasn't one. The city's public transportation system was all out of whack that day because of the weather, and so Tria was becoming pretty impatient because now her bus was over an hour late. She'd already missed her first class of the day because of this bus, and now she was in danger of missing her second class.

[Narrator]

And that's when she heard the beep.

[Mr. Ballin]

Of a car horn and a pale yellow Volkswagen Beetle rolled up to the curb right in front of her. So Triya had to squint through the snow, but she could see the silhouette of a man in the driver's seat.

[Narrator]

Of this car and he was rolling.

[Mr. Ballin]

Down the window of the passenger side and kind of waving her over. Curious, she walked up to the now open window and leaned in and the warmth coming from inside the car felt great. And this is where Sotria got her first real look at the driver. He was a good looking guy in his 20s. He was well dressed, pleasant seeming, just an overall normal looking person. He explained that he'd actually been driving on Raynor Ave. For a while and he hadn't seen a bus in a long time. And so he offered to give Sotria.

[Narrator]

A ride to her school.

[Mr. Ballin]

But remember, this is the 1970s and hitchhiking at the time in America was pretty common, especially on the west coast where Sotria was. And so pretty quickly she agreed to get in because she knew this likely was her best chance at making it to school for her second class, and she was freezing. After the man pulled back onto Raynor Avenue, Sotria sat back in the seat enjoying the warm air blasting out of the vents. And as she did, she looked out her window at the familiar route passing by. Sotria was about to apologize to this guy for making him drive so far out of his way when she heard him turn on his blinker. He was preparing to turn right and this struck Sotria as odd because as she had explained to him back on the curb, her school was a straight shot down Raynor Av.

[Narrator]

There was no need to turn. So what was he doing?

[Mr. Ballin]

So Triya looked over at the man, expecting him to explain why they were taking this sudden detour. But the man just stared straight ahead. And then a moment later, she heard the blinker turned on again. And she looked up and saw they were about to merge onto Interstate 5 southbound, which was definitely not the way to Sotria's school. And now Sotria felt a pang of fear. She opened her mouth to tell this guy he was going the wrong way, but he cut her off. And he looked at her and he said, you know, it's a terrible idea to take a ride from a stranger. The man kept on talking as he merged onto the highway, but Sotria was not listening at all. Instead, she was fixated on what he was doing with his right hand. His left hand was on the wheel, but with his right hand he was fishing for something underneath his seat. And so Sotria's mind began to race without taking her eyes off of this man and what he was doing. She traced with her hand and felt for the door handle, but she couldn't feel it. And then she turned and realized there was no door handle. It had been removed. Just then, the man stopped rummaging around underneath his seat. Whatever he was looking for, he had found it. The man sat partway up and looked at Sotria with his hand still hidden behind one of his legs and a determined but emotionless expression on his face. At this point, Sotria felt her heart hammering so hard in her chest that she was worried she might pass out from terror. All she could think about was, what is he hiding behind his leg? What was underneath his seat? But then something strange happened. The man's face changed from determined and almost cruel to confused. Sotria watched as his eyes darted up to the top of her head. The man told Sotria to take off her hat, and with trembling hands, she did as she was instructed, although she had no idea why he was asking. And when the hat was off her head, the man looked shocked. And he dropped whatever it was he had found back under his seat. And Sotria heard it land with a heavy metallic thud. But she couldn't see it. There was a long, tense silence. And then when the man finally spoke, he just said, why did you cut your hair? The man immediately got off the highway and drove fast to Sotria's school. When they got there, he opened up the door for her and told Sotria to get out and said she was lucky. Then he drove away. Sotria didn't report this encounter to police. She was kind of embarrassed that she had gotten into a stranger's car in the first place. And after all, the guy, despite being really creepy, hadn't hurt her at all. And so she basically just tried to forget about it. But a few Years later, in 1975, Sotria was watching TV when she saw a familiar face come onto the screen. It was the man who had given her a ride being led into a courtroom in handcuffs. Sotria dropped everything and turned up the volume, and what she heard made her numb with horror because the newscaster was saying that this man who had given her a ride was a suspected serial killer accused of murdering dozens of young women who. Who he would lure into his pale yellow Volkswagen Beetle and then bludgeon them to death with a crowbar or tire iron. And he had a very specific type when it came to identifying his victims. They were young women who all had long brown hair. And this man's name was Ted Bundy.

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[Mr. Ballin]

Our next story is called the Box.

[Narrator]

Late one afternoon In April of 2019, a middle aged woman named Mary was cutting up some vegetables in her kitchen in northern Spain when she heard a knock on her front door. So she put her things down, she went to the door, opened it up, and standing there was her next door neighbor who was all smiles and she was holding this big box that was wrapped in wrapping paper and had a big bow on it. And then sitting on top of this big gift was a tray of deep fried rolls or croquettes. Mary's Neighbor was a 61 year old woman named Carmen Marino who was an exceptional chef and her specialty were making these croquettes. They were filled with different types of.

[Mr. Ballin]

Meat and other things.

[Narrator]

And all the time Carmen would come over and give them to Mary. And Mary loved these croquettes. And so as soon as she saw those she was like, wow, amazing. And she invited Carmen inside. But Carmen didn't come inside. Instead she took the croquettes and handed them to Mary. And Mary's like, okay, great, thank you. But Carmen was still standing right outside holding this box. And now Mary's looking at her thinking that Carmen looks kind of uneasy. And so Mary said, you know, what's going on here? What's up with this box? Carmen was silent for a second and just kind of held this box out. At which point Mary realized, okay, so she's trying to give me this gift. And so Mary reached out and took this huge present and she was like, thank you Carmen. Like, what is this? What's going on? And Mary, when she looked at Carmen, she could tell Carmen's face was now bright red she was very embarrassed about something, maybe whatever she was going to say. And so Mary just waited for Carmen to speak. And so eventually, Carmen would. She would clear her voice, and then she would say, you know, Mary, this is really embarrassing, but I need you to hold on to this box for a little bit. It contains my sex toys, and I'm having company over at my house, and I'm just worried that somehow they're going.

[Mr. Ballin]

To find these things.

[Narrator]

Mary was so caught off guard by what Carmen was telling her that she just started laughing. But Carmen didn't join in on the laughter. She just kind of looked down like she was totally mortified. Mary stopped laughing because she felt bad. And then Carmen kind of elaborated on why she had this huge box full of sex toys. She would tell Mary that, you know, she bought them with the intent of using them with her boyfriend. But a couple of months ago, he had broken up with her. But Carmen had held onto these in the hopes that the boyfriend would eventually take her back and they would get back together again and get to use these toys. And so, even though this was a totally weird and kind of uncomfortable request.

[Mr. Ballin]

Mary kind of felt bad for Carmen.

[Narrator]

One, because she had to make this request of Mary. But also, two, you know, it was obvious that Carmen was pretty shaken up about, you know, losing her boyfriend. And so Mary said, you know what? No problem, Carmen. I will look after your sex toys, and I will enjoy your croquettes. And Carmen was so relieved and said, thank you so much. And then she turned and hustled back to her house. And then Mary shut the door, and she brought the croquettes into the kitchen, and she tried one, and it was so good. And then she took the big box of sex toys, and she went into the hallway. She opened up a closet, and she put it on the top shelf, and then shut the door. Over the next couple of days, Mary expected Carmen to come back over and reclaim her box of sex toys, But Carmen didn't. And when days turned into weeks and then turned into months, and still Carmen had not come over to get the sex toys, Mary was kind of annoyed, but she was just too embarrassed to go over to Carmen and be like, hey, why don't you come over and get your sex toys? And so Mary just decided she would.

[Mr. Ballin]

Leave it alone and not talk about it.

[Narrator]

And if ever Carmen wanted them back, she could have them. But if she never asked for them again, Mary didn't care. She would just eventually throw the box away, and that would be it. A few months later, on September 29, 2019. So we're talking about six months or so from when the sex toys were first brought over to Mary's house. Well, on this day, Mary was kind of doing chores in her house when she began to smell a really bad smell coming from the hallway closet where the box of sex toys were. And so Mary opened up the closet, and for sure she could tell the bad smell was coming from this closet. And so she started by smelling the shoes that were towards the bottom of the closet to see if maybe she had stepped in something gross, but they were all clean. And then eventually she reached the sex toy box. She pulled it down from the top shelf, and it had never been opened. You know, it's still wrapped, but she just smelled the box, and she immediately recoiled because that had to be where the terrible smell was coming from. It was coming from this box. And so Mary was totally repulsed at the idea that these sex toys smell horrible. But she carried the box into the kitchen and set it down. And she thought, you know, is this a horrible betrayal of my friend's trust if I open up this box and look at her sex toys? But Mary ultimately was like, you know what? Carmen has not come back for this thing. I'm opening this up because I need to know what's making this smell. So Mary went over and got a pair of scissors and she cut off the wrapping paper. And then she opened up the box, and inside was like this big thing that had been wrapped in tinfoil, so all you saw was tinfoil. And so Mary, she reached down and kind of began to peel back the tinfoil. It was kind of sticking to whatever was under it. But eventually, after she kind of yanked on it, she pulled the tin foil off, and when she saw what was in there, she began screaming and ran outside and called the police. It would turn out Mary's neighbor Carmen, who owned the box of sex toys, well, her boyfriend didn't just break up with her a couple of months before she brought the sex toys over. No, her boyfriend, who was a 67 year old man named Jesus Baranda, he went missing around the time that supposedly Carmen and her boyfriend broke up. And so naturally, Jesus's family began looking for Jesus. And when they couldn't find him, they called the police. And eventually the police called Carmen and said, hey, you were dating Jesus around the time he went missing. We're going to need to come to your house and search it. And when Carmen heard that, she knew she had a big problem because Carmen had murdered Jesus and cut his head off with a chainsaw. And she still had his head in her house. And so what did she do? Well, she boiled his head down and then she put it in a box, wrapped it in tinfoil, and then she wrapped that box in wrapping paper, put a bow on it, and then went next door to Mary's house and said, hey, can you hold my sex toys for me? Because she knew Mary would likely not look in the box if it was sex toys. And so Mary took the box, put it in her closet, and then of course, you know, the smell began several months later and she would discover Jesus's head. Carmen was convicted of murdering her boyfriend and she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Police were never able to locate the rest of Jesus. All they had was his head. But there's a running theory that Carmen may have used the rest of her boyfriend's body and, and ground it up and then baked him into her croquettes that she gave out to people like Mary and other people in her neighborhood. But that's just a theory.

[Mr. Ballin]

The next and final story of today's episode is called what's that Smell?

[Narrator]

On the evening of June 7, 2023, a 36 year old man named Umar Abdullah walked into his bedroom in Tampa Bay, Florida, and right away he opened up all the windows. Now, keep in mind, Tampa Bay, Florida is really hot. And, and so by doing this, he was letting in all this really hot air. But Umar did not care. He just wanted whatever was inside of his apartment out. Umar, along with his wife Samira and their 10 month old daughter, had just gotten back to their apartment after a trip to Ohio. And the second they walked inside, they had smelled this weird smell. And it was something they had never smelled before. This was not like rotten food or anything like that. This was like a chemical smell. But even that wasn't a good description. It was like a cross between chemicals and maybe paint. And so at first, Umar and Samira just walked around their apartment predominantly in the kitchen, you know, looking for things that could be leaking, you know, in the fridge or in cupboards or whatever. But they couldn't find anything that seemed like it could be the cause of the smell. And it was around this point when they were totally stumped that Umar and Samira remembered that their apartment building was extremely well taken care of. Like repairs were done immediately and all the time in every single unit. And the fact that they had been away in Ohio had been known to their apartment manager. And so they thought, you know, maybe while they were gone, maybe somebody had come in here and maybe touched up some paint or made some repairs or something, even though it seemed a bit weird that they hadn't been informed beforehand that, you know, painting or repairs were going to take place in their apartment. But ultimately that's what they chalked it up to. And so it was at this point that Umar and Sameera walked all around the apartment over, opening up all the windows. And Sameera also lit a candle as well. And pretty soon that weird smell disappeared and both the parents just kind of forgot about it. And so Umar grabbed all their luggage from their trip and began unpacking it into the drawers and putting toiletries away. And at the same time, Sameera put their baby in a high chair in the kitchen. And then Sameera began preparing dinner. And a few minutes later, as Umar was still putting things away, he heard Sameera calling from the kitchen to, hey, come out here for a second. And so Umar stopped what he was doing. He went into the kitchen and he looked at Samira and she was looking very concerned down at their daughter. And their daughter was in her high chair and her dinner was right in front of her, but she wasn't eating. And their daughter seemed really fussy. And normally their daughter was such a get along kid who never fussed, who always ate her food. And so this seemed really out of character. And so both parents kind of stared at the daughter for a second. And then Umar was like, you know what, all the windows are still open and it's getting pretty hot in here. Maybe the baby's just fussy about the heat. And so Sameera agreed that could totally be it. And so the parents went around the apartment closing down all the windows, allowing the air conditioning to kick back on and cool the apartment down. But about an hour later, after the apartment had cooled back down, the baby was still very fussy. And at this point, Umar and Sameera were trying to put the baby to bed. And they were really struggling with that. And also, in addition to the baby obviously not feeling very well, Umar and Samira both began to complain that they had headaches. And so at this point, the parents assume that, you know, what, all of this, you know, the baby's behavior and now our headaches must be tied to just the travel we just went through. And we just need a day to recover here. And so they kind of rushed their baby through her bedtime routine and eventually got her down. And then Umar and Samira took some ibuprofen to help with their headaches. And then they too climbed in bed and drifted off to Sleep, hoping that when they woke up, everybody would feel better again. But the next morning, nobody was better. In fact, everybody was doing worse. Umar's headache had now gotten much stronger. And Samira, she still had a headache, but also was very lethargic. And the baby was still very fussy. And over the next few days, their symptoms continued to get worse and worse. Umar's headache went from really bad to pretty much blinding. Like, he couldn't do anything else but think about his headache. And Samira basically had to lay down all day. It was like no matter how much she slept, she had zero energy. And their poor baby just continued to cry and fuss all the time and even began to vomit. And so it seemed pretty obvious by this point after a few days that the three of them must have caught some sort of bug while they were traveling, that this was not just jet lag, that they actually had some sort of illness. But the parents were convinced that, you know, they could just kind of rough it out and eventually after a couple of days, they would get better. But on the morning of June 14th, so this is now a week after coming back home from their trip, not only were all their symptoms still really bad, but on this particular morning, things took a dark turn. That morning when Umar went to his daughter's bedroom, you know, he's still dealing with this horrible headache. You know, he makes his way into the bedroom, and he goes down to pick his daughter up from her crib. And as he's reaching down to grab her, he freezes. Because on the bed, on the pillow right behind the baby, is all the baby's hair. The baby had clearly lost huge chunks of her hair. And so Umar at this point, forgot about his headache and yelled for Samira. And even though she's super lethargic, she could tell this is an emergency. So she got up and made her way into the bedroom, and she looked down, too, and saw the hair. And she reached down and scooped the baby up, and she turned the baby over, and sure enough, there was a huge bald spot on the back of their baby's head. But Umar and Samira, they said to each other right away that, wait a minute. You know, I know this is scary, but it is actually a thing that newborn babies sometimes do lose their hair. But when they went online and looked at the age range of when that's kind of a common thing to happen, it was pretty obvious that their baby, being 10 months old, was a little bit too old for losing her hair to be considered a normal thing. And so Umar and sameera sat there and continued Googling, you know, what could this be? You know, my 10 month old baby is losing her hair. And there were lots of explanations ranging from, you know, ringworm to some severe infection to some rare genetic disorder. And all of it was kind of terrifying. And also none of it really lined up with what they were seeing with their daughter. And so the parents were like, you know what, clearly we don't know what this is. We've all been sick for a week. We have to bring our baby to the doctor. And so as Samira got on the phone and called the baby's doctor, Umar hopped in the shower to get ready to go to the doctor. And as soon as he began shampooing his hair, he noticed clumps of his hair were falling out. And so all of a sudden it dawned on him that whatever's going on with his baby is going on with him and very likely going on with his wife, too. And it was at this point too, that Umar remembered that strange smell when they first walked into their apartment after coming back from their trip. Now they had opened up all the windows and lit candles and, you know, the smell had kind of dissipated. And then they had shut the windows again and they hadn't smelled it again. And so Umar began thinking, wait a minute, maybe we've just gone nose blind to the smell and, and maybe there's some sort of contamination in the air. Maybe there's a gas leak or something worse than that. And so as soon as Umar got out of the shower and told his wife about how he lost hair and kind of his theory that maybe there was some contamination in their apartment, Umar called his landlord and explained, you know, the whole situation. And the landlord would tell Umar right off the top that, you know, during the time they were in Ohio, nobody went inside their apartment. So there's no fresh paint in there, you know, no maintenance was done. So whatever you smelled was not from us. And then the landlord said to Umar that, you know what, as scary as it sounds, it's possible that you might have like a gas leak inside of your apartment or maybe you have a Freon leak from your air conditioning system, or maybe there's toxic mold. But whatever it is, we're going to get people in there, we're going to find the issue and solve it.

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[Narrator]

Why are there ridges on Reese's peanut butter cups? Probably so they never slip from her hands. Could you imagine I'd lose it? Luckily, Reese has thought about that. Wonder what else they think about. Probably chocolate and peanut butter. And so later that day, sure enough, a gas inspector showed up to Umar and Samira's apartment. And, and they checked the entire place and they could not find any trace of a gas leak. They checked everywhere. There was no leak. But they did tell Umar and Samira that, yes, we can smell a faint trace of some chemical smell, but we don't think it's gas. And then after the gas inspector left, the landlord went out and found a mold inspector who came into Umar and Samira's apartment. They looked everywhere and could not find any mold. Then the landlord brought in a plumber to check the hot water heater, but no issues with that. That. Then the landlord brought an H vac company in and they checked the air conditioning units and there was no leak. And so finally, after the landlord had kind of run out of ideas for who to bring over to check the apartment because again, by this point, nobody had found anything wrong with the apartment. Umar just said, you know what?

[Mr. Ballin]

I'm going to call the fire department.

[Narrator]

And so Umar, he calls the fire department and the fire department, they send over their hazardous materials team or their hazmat team. And so, so they go into the apartment and they look everywhere and there is nothing. They could not find any source that was causing the smell at all. It seemed very much like their apartment was totally safe and fine. But by this point, it's now been two weeks since Umar, Samira and their baby had come back from that trip and they still felt totally horrible. Umar still had his headaches. He was still losing his hair. Sameera had begun losing her hair as well. She still had her headaches, she still felt lethargic, and their baby was still losing her hair and she still was fussy and miserable. And all three of them now had developed this weird shortness of breath where they'd just be walking through the apartment and suddenly it was like they couldn't even breathe. And so now they've had all these people who can't find anything wrong with their apartment, they'd gone to their doctors, and the doctors had no idea what was wrong with them. And so it was kind of like they had no idea what to do. But clearly, this crisis was only getting worse and worse and worse. And so Umar felt like he had no more options. He couldn't leave his apartment. He couldn't afford to do that. And so they were just stuck in this place that seemed toxic. But all that would change on June 25th. So two and a half weeks after they came home from that trip. Because on this day, Umar discovered something about that chemical smell they caught right when they came back in after the trip. You know, the smell that all the people that had come into the apartment had sort of noticed but couldn't identify. On June 25, Umar figured something out about that smell. And so on this day, Umar was in his apartment feeling completely miserable, as was his wife and his daughter, who were in the bedroom. But at some point, Umar suddenly caught a whiff of that weird chemical smell. And as soon as he smelled it, he sort of began to cough. And he was about to call his landlord and be like, hey, I smelled it again. But he decided on this day, instead of calling anybody else, he. He was going to run an experiment of his own. And so instead of trying to get away from the smell, Umar began smelling in the air as deep as he could to try to kind of figure out where the smell was coming from. And so he began walking around his apartment, sniffing the air, kind of tracing the smell. And slowly but surely, he began kind of following the smell through his kitchen, down the hallway, all the way to his front door. And when he got to his front door, he smelled in again. And he could tell the smell was the strongest right now. And so, feeling a sudden jolt of adrenaline, he grabbed the door, flung it open, half expecting to see, like, a chemical cloud floating in the air in the hallway. But as soon as he opened the door, there was nothing outside. And when he smelled in the hallway, you know, the smell wasn't really there anymore. And so he kind of looked around for a second, feeling kind of silly, and then he shut the door. And he was about to just go back into his apartment and just kind of accept that, once again, I got no idea what's going on here. Then he stopped, and he turned back around and looked at the actual door, like the actual front door of his apartment, and he began smelling the door. And the door definitely had the chemical smell. And so he began smelling and tracing his hands all over this door, not even sure what he was looking for. But eventually he worked his way all the way to the bottom of the door and that's when he felt something. And so suddenly, Umar got down and stared at the strange thing he had found on his door. And as soon as he saw what it was, he jumped up and ran to his wife to tell her what he had just found. After talking with his wife about this thing, they came up with a plan. Late that night, Umar waited until the entire apartment complex seemed really quiet. And then as quietly as he could, he opened up that front door. He stepped out into the hallway, and then he made his way over to the big fake plant that stood at the end of this hallway that was kind of right outside and of adjacent to his door. And he hid something in the plant. And then Umar went back into his apartment and he shut the door. And on June 27, so two days later, the moment Umar and Samira had been waiting for finally arrived at around 5:30pm that evening, suddenly that chemical smell began to emanate through the apartment. And you know, their baby began coughing so badly she began vomiting. And so as Sameera was tending to their baby, Umar very quietly opened up his front door, looked in the hallway, didn't see anyone, and he rushed over to that plant and he took the thing he had hidden a couple of days before and he went back into his apartment, shut the door, and went into his office. And when Umar came out of that office a little while later, Samira was waiting and she was looking at him. And as Umar came out, it was like he was totally ashen faced. He looked completely shocked and he could barely speak. And Samira said, what's going on? What did you learn? And Umar said, we have to get out of here right now, get the baby, we have to leave right now. We're going to the hospital. And so as Samira bundled up their baby and they started getting their things Together, Umar called 911 and told the operator what he had just discovered. The strange thing Umar had discovered on his front door two days earlier on June 25, was a weird crack at the very base of his door where you could basically see the from inside of his apartment out into the hallway. And the thing Umar and his wife had decided to hide in the hallway in that plant was a video camera aimed at their front door because they were suspicious that something was making its way through that crack in the door into their apartment and they wanted to catch it on camera. And that's exactly what happened two days later when around 5:30pm you know, their daughter began coughing and Umar began to smell that smell in the apartment. And he rushed out, he got his camera, he went back into his office, he watched the footage, and he could not believe what his camera had recorded just before 5:30pm on June 25. So right before the smell came into the apartment on video, you see this guy walk up the stairs and enter the hallway right in front of Umar and Samira's apartment door. And this man had a syringe in his hand. And he knelt down and he placed the syringe into that crack at the bottom of Umar and Samira's door. And he pushed the plunger of this syringe before pulling the syringe out, quickly turning and disappearing down the stairs. And so as Umar and Samira and their baby rushed to the hospital after discovering this video and after calling 911 to tell police what they saw on this video, the police rushed to Umar and Samira's apartment complex. Not to go to Umar and Samira's apartment though, instead to go to the apartment right below Umar and Samira. The man who rented that apartment right below them was a 36 year old named Zhu Mingli. He was a married father of two who was working on his PhD in chemistry from the University of South Florida. And Umar and Samira thought of him as being a really nice guy. You know, he was very quiet, he kept to himself. He even gave them a gift after their daughter was born. But on this evening, when the police arrived at Zhiuming's apartment and knocked on the door, when Zhuming opened it up, he was immediately arrested. It would turn out despite Zhuming giving Umar and Samira that gift after their baby was born, well, that was the end of him liking Umar and Sameera because as soon as they came home with their baby, Zhuming became obsessed with how noisy their baby was. Even if their baby was barely being loud, it completely consumed Zhu Ming's mind. It was like he was obsessed with listening for this baby. And then suddenly, it wasn't just the baby that annoyed him. It was even the slightest noise he heard above him coming from Umar and Samira's apartment that totally sent him into a rage. And so Zhuming began constantly going to the homeowners association to complain about the baby and you know, the toilet sounds and the footsteps he was hearing. And when that wasn't enough, he began going to the police about it. Now, Umar and Samira had been told that their downstairs neighbor really was upset with how loud they were being. And so they did everything they could to be quiet. They felt so bad that they were coming off as being these very loud and disrespectful people, which they were not. I mean, they did have a little baby and babies make noise, but I mean, they were doing everything they could to be quiet. And so they had no idea that Zhu Ming was still just completely furious at them. And eventually Zhu Ming's fury just became completely unhinged. And he used his chemistry know how, because remember, he's studying for his PhD in chemistry to begin putting together this deadly mixture of chemicals that contain things like methadone and hydrocodone. And he put them into a syringe and he began injecting them into Umar and Samira's apartment to poison them to make them be quiet. And so by the time Zhu Ming was arrested, he had been injecting these deadly chemicals into their apartment for a month. That was obviously the cause of all of Umar and Samira and their baby's symptoms. It was this poison. Umar, Samira and their baby would get treatment and they would fully recover from their poisoning. But very likely, had they not been quick thinkers and put that camera in place and caught zooming in the actual, it's entirely possible that over time, the poison that was being injected into their apartment would have killed them. Officials are still investigating this case as it's still relatively new. However, the legal process was paused when Zhou Ming was deported back to China. Zhuming has not been convicted of any crime and the criminal case remains open. And if Zhuming ever were to step foot on US soil, he would be arrested immediately.

[Mr. Ballin]

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. Thank you for listening to the Mr. Ballin podcast. If you enjoyed today's stories and you're looking for more bone chilling content, be sure to check out all of our studio's podcasts. There's this one, of course, the Mr. Ballin podcast. And there's Mr. Ballin's medical mysteries, Bedtime Stories, Wartime Stories, Run Fool Redacted, and Late Nights with Nexpo. All you have to do is search for Ballin Studios wherever you get your podcasts. To watch hundreds more stories just like this one, head over to our YouTube channel, which is just called Mr. Ballin. So that's gonna do it. I really appreciate your support. Until next time. See ya. 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 and before you go, please tell us about yourself by completing a short [e-mail] survey hey listeners. Big news for true crime lovers. You can now enjoy this podcast ad free on Amazon Music with your prime membership. Listen to all episodes of my podcasts, Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries and Mr. Ballin's Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories, or along with a huge collection of top true crime podcasts. Completely ad free. No more wading through cliffhangers or dealing with ads. Because, let's be honest, ads shouldn't be the most nerve wracking part of true crime. To start your ad free listening journey, download the Amazon Music app for free or head to Amazon.com ballen that's Amazon.com B A L L E N Dive into uninterrupted true crime stories today.