The Stranger (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Stranger" (Podcast Exclusive Episode) – MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

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Introduction

In the exclusive episode titled "The Stranger," Ballen Studios delivers a gripping true-crime narrative that delves into the mysterious disappearance and brutal murder of 19-year-old Alli Kemp in Leawood, Kansas. This detailed account not only chronicles the harrowing events surrounding Alli's death but also highlights the relentless pursuit of justice by dedicated detectives, showcasing the complexities and challenges of solving a cold case.

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The Crime: Alli Kemp’s Disappearance and Murder

June 18, 2002 – A Summer Shift Turned Tragic

Alli Kemp, a promising freshman at Kansas State University, returned home for the summer and resumed her role as a pool attendant at a local neighborhood pool. On the afternoon of June 18, 2002, Alli arrived at the pool alone, greeting her boyfriend, Phil Howes, with a kiss before he left for the day (Transcript [00:22]–[02:39]). Feeling uneasy about being alone near unfamiliar men from the landscaping crew, Alli decided to spend time reviewing her educational brochures.

At approximately 3 PM, after waiting for hours with no swimmers, Alli decided to engage in some pool maintenance work to pass the time. However, tragedy struck when Alli's younger brother reported her missing after their father, Roger Kemp, found her body in the pump room. Alli had been brutally attacked, resulting in severe injuries and ultimately leading to her death (Transcript [07:03]–[08:35]).

Notable Quote:

"Her face looked badly bruised and beaten, and her hair was matted with so much blood it stuck to the sides of her face." – Narrator ([08:19])

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The Investigation Begins: Detectives Langer and Hansen

Initial Shock and Determination

Sergeant Scott Hanson and Detective Joe Langer of the Leawood Police Department were immediately assigned to the case. The rarity of violent crime in Leawood added pressure to resolve the case swiftly. The detectives meticulously examined the pump room, uncovering scattered pool supplies, a pool of blood, and crucial evidence such as a blood-stained bottle cap and antibiotic ointment tube (Transcript [08:41]–[11:20]).

Notable Quote:

"They were part of this community, and they couldn't believe that something this horrific had happened to a young woman from their town." – Mr. Ballin ([09:48])

Key Challenges:

• Lack of Witnesses: Initial interviews revealed no swimmers on the day of the murder, complicating the search for potential suspects.
• Strong Alibi: Alli’s boyfriend, Phil Howes, presented a strong alibi by verifying his presence at another pool, though his DNA did not match the crime scene.

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Breakthrough and False Leads: Ted Hoover’s Persona

The Introduction of Ted Hoover

A breakthrough came when a close friend of Alli claimed to have seen a suspicious man leaving the pool area in an old pickup truck. The friend described the man as having a "strange look" and a peculiar smile ([14:40]).

Notable Quote:

"Was there actually a chance this young woman just happened to be at the pool playing a joke on Allie at the exact time of the murder?" – Hansen ([14:53])

The detectives created a sketch based on the friend’s description and launched an extensive search, which initially flooded them with unmanageable leads. Persistence led them to focus on Ted Hoover, a local pool maintenance worker, whose name had appeared in the case files from day one ([22:22]–[25:56]).

Suspicious Behavior:

• Evading DNA Collection: Ted exhibited nervousness when asked to provide a DNA sample, citing distrust of national databases, which raised red flags for the detectives ([25:55]–[26:00]).
• Identity Discrepancy: Investigation revealed that Ted Hoover had been dead for over a decade, leading to the shocking discovery that Ted was, in fact, Benjamin Appleby, an ex-convict who had assumed a false identity to escape his past ([35:47]–[35:47]).

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Unraveling the Truth: Benjamin Appleby’s Confession

Converging Clues and Final Revelation

The detectives traced Benjamin Appleby through connections provided by Lara Barr, Ted’s girlfriend. In Connecticut, Appleby’s identity was confirmed, and it became evident that he was living under the alias Ted Hoover. During an intense interrogation, Appleby, now appearing completely different from the initial interview, broke down and confessed to Alli Kemp’s murder. DNA evidence from the crime scene matched Benjamin’s samples, solidifying the case against him ([36:57]–[37:24]).

Notable Quote:

"Benjamin’s DNA matched the sample they had taken from the blood on the bottle and bottle cap at the crime scene." – Mr. Ballin ([37:22])

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Conclusion: Justice Served and Lasting Impact

Conviction and Procedural Innovations

Benjamin Appleby was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 50 years. The successful application of billboard advertising featuring the suspect’s sketch, an unconventional strategy at the time, proved instrumental in reigniting public interest and generating crucial tips that ultimately led to the killer’s identification and arrest. This methodology has since been adopted by law enforcement agencies nationwide as an effective tool in solving similar cases ([37:42]–[38:04]).

Notable Quote:

"This was a first of its kind strategy in law enforcement. But now, as a result of its effectiveness in Ali's case, this strategy has been adopted by police departments all across the United States." – Mr. Ballin ([37:44])

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Impact and Legacy

"The Stranger" not only narrates a tragic loss and the meticulous investigation that followed but also underscores the importance of community involvement and innovative policing techniques. The episode serves as a testament to the unwavering determination of law enforcement officers in seeking justice, even in the face of overwhelming odds and initial dead-ends.

Closing Thoughts:

"Allie was a standout student. She did volunteer work. She had a job at school, and also over the summer. And she didn't seem to do drugs or drink alcohol for the most part." – Mr. Ballin ([18:48])

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Final Note

While the story is based on true events, certain details and names have been fictionalized to protect the privacy of those involved. Ballen Studios invites listeners to reflect on the profound impact of such crimes on families and communities, emphasizing the relentless pursuit of truth and justice.

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References:

• Podcast Title: MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
• Episode: The Stranger (Podcast Exclusive Episode)
• Release Date: January 6, 2025

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.

[Narrator]

Download the Amazon Music app Today, in the fall of 2003, two detectives were in the middle of a year long homicide case involving the brutal murder of a 19 year old girl and for the first time they finally felt like they had a viable suspect. However, when they pulled up to this suspect's house to conduct a second interview, the detectives quickly realized the house was abandoned and their suspect had just disappeared. And when they tried to track the suspect down, they discovered something totally bizarre that would turn their case on its head. 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 bring the follow button to a fancy art auction and then when the bidding gets absurdly high, shock them with a taser. So they wave their paddle by accident, thereby placing a bid, forcing them to buy a painting they can't afford. Okay, let's get into today's story.

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Visit1peloton.com on the afternoon of June 18, 2002, 19 year old Alli Kemp walked.

[Mr. Ballin]

Through the gate at the local pool.

[Narrator]

Where she worked in Leawood, Kansas and headed towards a deck chair. Allie had on a pair of shorts and a T shirt and she had a backpack slung over her shoulder. She also had a huge smile on her face because her boyfriend, Phil Howes, was sitting in the chair that she was approaching. Phil stood up, Allie threw her arms around his neck, and they kissed. Normally they wouldn't do this at the place where they both worked, but it was a gray, cloudy day and nobody was swimming and there was no other employees on site. Allie had only been back home in the wealthy Kansas City suburb where she grew up for a few weeks after finishing her freshman year at Kansas State University, and almost as soon as her summer break had started, she reconnected with her high school boyfriend, Phil. They had actually mutually agreed to break up before they went off to different colleges, but now that they were back together, Allie felt like no time had passed at all. And it was nice that they even had the same summer job as pool attendants, so they got to see each other at work sometimes. Allie asked if anybody had come to the small neighborhood pool that day, and Phil told her it had been empty except for the landscaping crew, and he thought maybe the pool maintenance worker was coming by later. Phil grabbed his bag and told Allie he would pick her up that night for their dinner date they had planned. Then they kissed again and Phil walked out to the parking lot. After Phil was gone, Allie tossed her backpack on the ground and sat down in the deck chair. She stared out across the empty pool and saw the landscaping crew trimming some trees on the other side of a low fence. They looked her way and smiled. Allie smiled back, but she kind of shrunk down in her chair at the same time. Being alone at the pool near a group of men she didn't know made her feel sort of uncomfortable. But the landscaping crew quickly seemed to forget about her and get back to their work, and Allie sort of forgot about them. Since there was literally nobody at the pool, Allie decided she would do something for herself. She opened up her backpack and pulled out a few brochures for different educational opportunities she had for her upcoming sophomore year at college. All Allie got really good grades. She was a student athlete and was involved in multiple university clubs. In fact, she had been such an exemplary freshman at Kansas State that she had been invited by the US State Department to join a group of 60 students from across the country who would study abroad and learn about diplomacy and American foreign policy. Allie knew it was a huge deal that she'd been asked to join this program, and she would have immediately jumped at the chance. But she also had another great offer.

[Mr. Ballin]

Her church group had asked her to.

[Narrator]

Join them on a study abroad trip to Russia, where she would work directly with young people in need, which was something she thought was extremely important. Both opportunities sounded incredible. Ally still couldn't make up her mind on which one she wanted to take, but either way, she knew she wanted to travel and experience other cultures. Allie had loved growing up in Leawood, and she enjoyed going to college not too far away.

[Mr. Ballin]

But she was ready to get out.

[Narrator]

Of Kansas for a while to see what the rest of the world had to offer. Around 3pm, an hour after Allie had gotten to the pool, there still wasn't anybody swimming. So she grabbed her backpack, stood up, and walked around the pool to a small table that was set up on the deck for employees. Once she was there, she pulled out her phone and called her boyfriend, Phil, but he didn't answer, so she left a message and said she was looking forward to their date that night. Allie checked the time on her phone and sighed. Her younger brother, who also worked at this pool as an attendant, had told her he would come by a bit.

[Mr. Ballin]

Earlier to take over so she could.

[Narrator]

Go home and get ready for her date, but that was still almost two hours away. She grabbed a book out of her backpack and started to read, but she didn't feel right doing that on the job, so she decided to do a little work to pass the time. Allie got up, leaving her stuff on the table, and headed to the pump room, which housed pumps, filters, and other equipment to keep the pool clean. She was just about to start organizing the supply shelves when she heard a voice out by the pool. She thought maybe somebody had finally come to swim. Allie called to the person and said she'd be out in just a second. About two hours later, at 5pm Allie's younger brother opened the gate to the pool, expecting to see his sister, but the pool was completely empty. He called out for Allie, but she didn't respond. He walked to the restrooms, knocked on the doors and called for her again, but there still wasn't any reply.

[Mr. Ballin]

This was really weird. His big sister would never just duck out of her shift early.

[Narrator]

He waited for a little while, thinking maybe Allie had just run across the street for some food or something. But when another several minutes passed and Allie still didn't show up, he started to feel a bit worried. Ali's brother grabbed his phone and called his sister, but Ali didn't answer, and so he dialed another number, his father's number, and when his dad heard what was going on, he said he'd be right over. At 5:25pm Ali's dad, Roger Kemp, arrived at the pool he met Ali's brother just inside the gate, and he told his son to stay right there. Roger shouted for Allie over and over.

[Mr. Ballin]

As he searched the area surrounding the.

[Narrator]

Pool, but Allie never called back. And when Roger saw Allie's phone, backpack, and book on the deck table, he was at a complete loss. It seemed like his daughter had just disappeared. He looked around for a little while longer, and as he did, he noticed the open door that led to the pump room. Roger walked through the door into that room and. And right away he saw there were pool supplies scattered everywhere, like they had fallen off the metal shelves they were kept on. And he saw a large blue tarp.

[Mr. Ballin]

Laying on the floor.

[Narrator]

And when Roger leaned down and lifted.

[Mr. Ballin]

Up the tarp to see what was.

[Narrator]

Underneath, his entire world shattered.

[Mr. Ballin]

His daughter Allie lay face down on the ground. Her T shirt was tightly wrapped around.

[Narrator]

Her throat, and she was naked from the waist down. Her hands and arms were scratched and bloody.

[Mr. Ballin]

Her face looked badly bruised and beaten, and her hair was matted with so much blood it stuck to the sides of her face.

[Narrator]

Roger grabbed his daughter and held her in his arms and told her to please stay with him. That evening, Sergeant Scott Hanson and Detective.

[Mr. Ballin]

Joe Langer of the Leawood Police Department.

[Narrator]

Are arrived at the neighborhood pool. They were still in shock from the call they'd gotten earlier from dispatch. A young woman had been brutally attacked at this pool, and she had been rushed to the hospital but pronounced dead soon after. Violent crime in Leawood was rare, but a murder like this was just completely foreign to them. Hansen and Langer walked through the gate, and they quickly met a couple of uniformed police officers who led them around the pool to the crime scene. The door to the pump room was still open, and before they even walked in, the detectives saw pool supplies scattered everywhere and a pool of blood on the floor near a blue tarp. The detectives put on their gloves and stepped into the room. Both men were known to be extremely calm and methodical, almost clinical when they conducted an investigation.

[Mr. Ballin]

But imagining what Ali must have gone.

[Narrator]

Through in this room made it impossible for them to hide their anger. They were part of this community, and.

[Mr. Ballin]

They couldn't believe that something this horrific.

[Narrator]

Had happened to a young woman from their town.

[Mr. Ballin]

After the detectives had looked around the.

[Narrator]

Pump room for a few minutes on.

[Mr. Ballin]

Their own, several members of the county.

[Narrator]

Forensics team arrived and quickly began pulling blood samples from the floor.

[Mr. Ballin]

But as the group started investigating the.

[Narrator]

Pool supplies on the floor, one of the forensics officers told everyone to stop moving. He pointed to a small white object.

[Mr. Ballin]

On the ground, and he didn't want anyone to accidentally step on it or kick it.

[Narrator]

As the forensics officer inched across the ground towards this object, Langer and Hansen.

[Mr. Ballin]

Asked him, what was it.

[Narrator]

The forensics officer stared at it for a second and then said it was.

[Mr. Ballin]

A small cap to a bottle, and specifically, it had a brownish red stain on it.

[Narrator]

The other officers continued to scan the floor, partially hidden amongst a bunch of pool supplies. One of them found a small tube of antibiotic ointment, and it had the.

[Mr. Ballin]

Same kind of stain on it as the cap.

[Narrator]

The forensics officers put the cap and the bottle side by side, and it was clear they went together.

[Mr. Ballin]

But both objects looked out of place among the other pool supplies on the floor. However, Detective Langer noticed an open first aid kit on a shelf, and he.

[Narrator]

Thought it might have come from there. But regardless, all the investigators felt sure that the brownish red stains on the cap and on the tube were blood. So one of the forensics officers bagged.

[Mr. Ballin]

The tube in the cap as evidence.

[Narrator]

While the forensics team continued their work.

[Mr. Ballin]

In the pump room, the detectives walked back outside and made their way towards the pool. They immediately saw that the arrival of.

[Narrator]

The police had already drawn a lot of attention. Two uniformed officers were doing everything they could to keep a large and growing.

[Mr. Ballin]

Group of bystanders on the other side of the gate. The detectives headed over to the crowd.

[Narrator]

And with the help of the uniformed.

[Mr. Ballin]

Officer, they took down names and statements.

[Narrator]

From everyone who was there who claimed to have been near the pool that day.

[Mr. Ballin]

One person in this group was the man who actually managed the pool, and he gave the detectives the name of employees and others who occasionally worked on site.

[Narrator]

Members of that landscaping crew were also in the group, and a couple of.

[Mr. Ballin]

Them said that the only strange thing.

[Narrator]

They had noticed that afternoon was that.

[Mr. Ballin]

Somebody had been laying on their car horn in the parking lot, just honking.

[Narrator]

Over and over again. Also, one of the landscapers added that.

[Mr. Ballin]

Allie did not appear to be the first pool employee to arrive that day. Before her, a young man had been there, and when he and Allie saw.

[Narrator]

Each other, they had kissed like they.

[Mr. Ballin]

Were girlfriend and boyfriend. Later that evening, Detectives Langer and Hansen sat together in a cramped interview room in the police station. They had met with Allie's father, Roger, and also the rest of her immediate family. And after seeing how absolutely devastated they.

[Narrator]

Were firsthand, it had really motivated both detectives to do everything they could to.

[Mr. Ballin]

Solve this case quickly and bring some peace back to this family.

[Narrator]

A little while later, the door to.

[Mr. Ballin]

The Interview room opened, and an officer led in Allie's boyfriend, Phil, who politely introduced himself to the detectives and then took a seat across from them as the victim's boyfriend. Phil basically automatically had become the first suspect on the detective's list. And the nature of this crime made.

[Narrator]

It seem even more likely that an.

[Mr. Ballin]

Intimate partner could have committed it. The attacker had clearly been enraged, and there was potential sexual assault. But only minutes into their interview, and.

[Narrator]

Phil had given the detectives his alibi.

[Mr. Ballin]

He had a job at another pool in the community, and he had gone there right after leaving the pool where.

[Narrator]

He worked with Allie. The detectives reached out to his employer.

[Mr. Ballin]

At the other pool, and they confirmed that Phil had arrived on time for a shift and had not left early.

[Narrator]

Or anything like that.

[Mr. Ballin]

And so Hansen and Langer asked Phil if he would still submit DNA samples, and he agreed to do it without any hesitation. And then, after getting those samples, the detectives let him go. The detectives could not fully rule out Phil's involvement, but his alibi was very strong, so they had to admit to themselves that maybe this was not an open and shut case. Not long after the meeting with Phil, a young woman came into the police station requesting to speak to whoever was in charge of Allie's case. Hanser and Langer met this young woman, and she told them she was one of Allie's closest friends, and she had been at the pool that day, and she was sure she had seen Allie's killer. The detectives quickly led Allie's friend to an office and sat down with her. And Hansen said he was surprised to hear that she was at the pool because everyone they'd spoken to so far had said nobody had been swimming that day. Ally's friend said she had not gone swimming either. She said she had pulled into the parking lot of the pool and begun honking her horn over and over again. She told them she was just doing it as a dumb joke, trying to annoy Allie while she worked alone at the pool. But after honking, she never saw Allie. Instead, she said she saw this guy walking out from somewhere on the far side of the pool. She thought it was Ally's boss, so she stopped honking the horn because she didn't want to get Ally in trouble. But this guy ended up walking to the parking lot and just driving off in an old pickup truck. Detectives Hansen and Langer couldn't believe this. Was there actually a chance this young woman just happened to be at the pool playing a joke on Allie at the exact time of the murder? And that she had also seen Allie's killer. Up close, it seemed too good to be true. Hansen asked her if she knew who the man was, but she said she didn't. However, she said the guy had kind of creeped her out because before he got into his pickup and drove off, he had looked right at her with the strange look on his face and smiled at her.

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[Mr. Ballin]

Shopify.com Wondery as midnight approached on June 18, 2002, about six hours after Allie's body had been discovered, her dad, Roger, walked into the University of Kansas City Medical center and approached the morgue. He knew this was where his daughter's body had been taken for an autopsy. The next day, Roger found an employee and told her he'd be staying there that night. The employee was confused and said they weren't really set up for visitors. Roger said he understood, but he couldn't bear the idea that his daughter was all alone. The employee nodded and said he could stay if he wanted to. Roger thanked her, took a seat on a bench, and began his overnight vigil. In the days following the murder, Detectives Hansen and Langer learned from the autopsy report that that while Allie did have bruises that seemed to indicate an attempted sexual assault, no sexual assault had actually taken place. They also learned that she had put up a major fight, and so the medical examiner and the forensics team Hoped they would find samples of the killer's DNA under her fingernails. And so while Hansen and Langer waited for these test results, they met with Allie's friends and family to try to get a clearer picture of her life. And they quickly realized that Allie was not a young woman who lived dangerously at all. Allie was a standout student. She did volunteer work.

[Narrator]

She had a job at school, and.

[Mr. Ballin]

Also over the summer. And she didn't seem to do drugs or drink alcohol for the most part. Her close friends and her boyfriend Phil led similar lives. So the detectives did not think Allie was mixed up in anything or with anyone that would have made her a target for a violent crime. And when they got the result of Phil's DNA test, there was no match to the crime scene. In fact, none of the DNA samples collected so far matched anyone in the FBI's national database. And so now Hansen and Langer had to face the fact that they might be dealing with one of the hardest types of homicide cases to solve. A murder committed by an unidentified stranger. These types of cases can be so difficult that police often use the old cliche about trying to find a needle in a haystack when talking about them, because the suspect pool is basically infinite at this point, Langer and Hansen's strongest lead was the man that Ali's friend had seen leaving the pool and getting into his pickup truck on the afternoon Ali was killed. But the detectives had no idea who this guy was. So they had Allie's friend sit down with a police sketch artist to describe the man as best as she could. And the police started distributing copies of the artist's drawing all over town. At first, this seemed like the right strategy to tackle a possible murder by a stranger, because people started contacting the Leawood police department with tips almost right away. But this quickly proved to be overwhelming because the man in the drawing kind of looked like a lot of people. He was white, in his late 20s or early 30s, a little overweight, and starting to lose his hair. And so detectives Hansen and Langer soon found themselves fielding calls from all over the county. But most of these leads fizzled out almost immediately. At one point, weeks after the murder, the tips got so out of control in Leawood that people were approaching Hansen, Langer, and other members of the police force out in public just to claim that they were sure their brother in law or their cousin or some guy they saw was the person from the drawing. The investigative team got help from the county sheriff's department and other law enforcement agencies to try to pursue any Viable lead. But none of these tips really seemed to go anywhere. And all of a sudden, months had gone by, and Langer and Hansen felt like, despite chasing countless leads, they had basically made no headway in the case. And when 2002 came to an end, six months after Ali's murder, the detectives worried that the case was going cold and that they would soon be pulled off of. On a morning in early February of 2003. So, eight months after Allie's murder, detectives Langer and Hansen were working together in Hansen's office when they got a message that Roger Kemp, Alli's father, was there to see them. Langer and Hansen had made a point to meet with Roger throughout the investigation, but they knew he had grown frustrated that no new evidence seemed to be coming in. Hansen went out to meet Roger, handed him a cup of coffee, and then led him back to the office. The detectives began by apologizing to Roger that they didn't have anything new to tell him. But Roger said he knew they were both doing everything they could. Still, though, he refused to just sit around and do nothing. And he understood as well as the detectives that if things didn't change soon, Allie's murder investigation would become a cold case. And so Roger said he had an idea that he wanted to run by the detectives, something he thought would help get the public thinking about Ali's case again. He wanted to put the sketch of the man Ali's friend had seen on some huge billboards in town and maybe out on the highway. He said he also wanted to offer a $50,000 reward for anyone who provided a tip that led police to Ally's killer. Roger said he would pay half, and he believed he could get the city.

[Narrator]

To provide the other half.

[Mr. Ballin]

Hansen and Langer discussed it for a second. At the time, using billboards in a murder investigation was a radical idea. Police generally used billboards to help in missing person cases. But Langer and Hansen had never heard of using billboards to showcase a potential murder suspect. Still, they knew they did need to jumpstart the investigation. And this would definitely get people thinking about Ali again. And really, they were not about to tell Roger he couldn't do something that might help bring him and his family some kind of closure. A few days after this meeting, the first billboard featuring the drawing of the potential suspect went up in Leewood. And it would soon be followed by three more billboards. And almost right away, tip started coming into the police station again. And just like the last time this happened, it got overwhelming. But Langer and Hansen Felt energized that the investigation had sort of gotten back on its feet. And so the detectives and their team methodically followed up on any leads that came in. Then, on June 18, 2003, which happened to be the one year anniversary of Ali's death, they got a tip that felt huge. Someone who had seen one of the billboards called the tip line to say the guy in the drawing looked exactly like someone he knew. A man named Ted Hoover. And when Langer and Hansen heard this name, it immediately rang a bell. And so they dug through Alley's case file, and they came back to the notes they had taken from the very first day of the murder investigation. And that's when they saw Ted's name. He was the owner of a local pool maintenance company. Detectives Langer and Hansen didn't waste any time. They got Ted's address, headed out to their car, and drove across town. And when they arrived at Ted's house, they saw an old pickup truck parked in the driveway. It didn't exactly fit Ally's friend's description of the truck she had seen in the pool parking lot. But the detectives knew witnesses didn't always get all the details right, especially if they were uncomfortable or creeped out like Ally's friend had said she'd been. Langer and Hansen felt like for the first time in this investigation, they might finally have the killer in their sights. Both men stayed completely calm as they approached the front door. They needed Ted to talk, so they didn't want to frighten him in any way. Hansen knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, a man answered. And this man looked remarkably similar to the sketch the detectives have been staring at every day for the past year. But the detectives didn't give off any signal that they thought that. Instead, they introduced themselves and asked the man if his name was Ted Hoover. He said it was. And so the detectives asked him if they could come inside and ask him a few questions about the young woman who had been killed at the public pool a year earlier. Ted, who seemed as calm as the detectives, said sure, and he led them inside. The three men sat down in the front room of the house, and Detective Langer started things off by telling Ted that somebody had called the tip line and pointed to him. And so Langer wanted to know if Ted had been anywhere near the pool where Allie worked on the day that she was killed. Ted remained totally calm. He said he was not surprised. He'd come up on the tip line. He'd seen the billboards, and he knew he Kind of looked like the man in the drawing. He also said he had not done any work on the pool where Ali.

[Narrator]

Worked, but he did have a lot.

[Mr. Ballin]

Of clients around the area, so there was a chance he could have been maybe nearby that day, but he wasn't sure. And he wasn't great about keeping records of exactly what he did every single day. The detectives looked at each other. This all seemed way too convenient. So Langer asked if Ted had ever met Ally Kemp, either at the pool where she worked or somewhere else in town. And Ted shook his head. He said he didn't know her, and he definitely did not have anything to do with her death. The detective spoke to Ted for a bit longer, and he was very cooperative throughout the entire interview. However, he couldn't provide them with any kind of solid alibi. And so, at some point, Langer asked Ted if he would submit a DNA sample just so they could cross him off the list. And at that point, the calm look on Ted's face completely disappeared, and he started acting very nervous. Ted must have noticed right away the vibe he was giving off, because he quickly told the detectives that his nervousness had nothing to do with the case. He just didn't like the idea of his DNA being part of some kind of national database that just didn't sit right with him. The detectives tried to assure Ted that his sample would only be used to help with this particular case, but Ted said he didn't want anything to do with it, and he would need to speak with a lawyer. By the time Langer and Hanson left Ted's house, they were confident they had just found Allie's killer. His appearance alone had already been pretty solid evidence. I mean, he looked exactly like the sketch. But also, the detectives just didn't buy his paranoia around the national database thing. They figured the real reason he was afraid to give a DNA sample was was because he knew the results would incriminate him. Since Ted did not voluntarily give up a DNA sample, the detectives would have to find enough evidence pointing to him that would enable them to secure a warrant so they could demand Ted to provide a DNA sample. And they knew if Ted really was lawyering up, their case would need to be airtight just to get that warrant. So over the next several weeks, the detectives tried to find any proof they could that Ted had been at the pool on the day Allie got murdered. They got back in touch with the landscaping crew, Ali's boyfriend, and anyone else they thought might have seen him, but they didn't have any luck. Langer and Hansen refused to give up on this lead, though it was the first time in over a year that they believed they were close to solving the case. So they dug deeper into Ted Hoover's background, hoping to find anything that might give them a clue. And they ended up finding something that completely blew their minds. Because, according to multiple government documents, Ted Hoover had been dead for over a decade. With this bizarre new discovery, Langer and Hansen went to meet with Ted again. But this time his house was empty and none of his neighbors or clients had seen or heard from him. It was like he had vanished without the police even noticing. Hansen and Langer set out to find anyone who might know where Ted was. But nobody knew where he was, and nobody seemed to have spoken to him since he left. And the detectives knew that trying to locate a man who'd supposedly been dead for years and had seemingly just disappeared into thin air seemed like an impossible task. But the detectives caught a huge break when a couple of people who knew Ted said that before he disappeared, he had been dating a woman named Lara Barr. So Hansen and Langer shifted their focus to her. But tracking Lara down proved to be as difficult as tracking down Ted. She was nowhere to be found in Leawood, or anywhere in Kansas for that matter. Weeks, months, and then an entire year went by and the detectives were still trying to find this woman who could maybe lead them to the man they were actually looking for. And in the meantime, they had to tell Allie's dad, Roger, that even though they believed they knew who had killed his daughter, they couldn't track him down. Finally, in the fall of 2004, which was almost two and a half years after Allie's murder, Detective Langer got a hit on Lara Barr. He learned that Ted's one time girlfriend, Lara, was now living in Connecticut with a man named Benjamin Appleby, an ex convict who had been busted for armed robbery and indecent exposure. And when the detectives began digging into Benjamin Appleby's background as just part of their general investigation into Lara Barr, they realized Benjamin Appleby had a clear connection to Leawood, Kansas, and to Ally's murder case. In November of 2004, about two weeks after Langer and Hansen first located Lara, the detectives sat inside of an interview room with local detectives at a small police station in Connecticut. An officer led Lara in, and Langer asked her about her relationship with their suspect, Ted Hoover, and any connection Ted might have to Allie. Lara appeared to be as helpful as she possibly could be. But it became pretty clear within a few minutes of talking to her that she didn't seem to have any helpful information or really any connection to the murder. However, when her new partner, Benjamin Appleby, stepped into the interview room later that day, everything changed. Just looking at Benjamin made the hair on the back of Langer's neck stand up. And as the detective spoke to Benjamin, slowly but surely, they realized he must know more about what happened to Ali than he was letting on. And so the detectives went on the attack, asking blunt and aggressive questions. And this tactic paid off, because the more they pushed, the more Benjamin began to crack. And soon, Benjamin broke down crying and said he knew who killed Allie. Based on Benjamin's interview, DNA testing and evidence collected over the course of the investigation, this is what police believe happened to Ally Kemp. On the afternoon of June 18, 2002, the killer walked through the gate and began to scan the area. They saw the pool was completely empty and that the landscaping crew that had been working nearby had moved far enough away that the killer could remain out of their sight. The killer walked around the pool towards the pump room and then said out loud, is anybody here? Even though the killer had clearly watched Ali from the parking lot and seen.

[Narrator]

Her walk that way.

[Mr. Ballin]

So they knew she was over here. And a moment later, Allie called out from the pump room that she'd be out in a second. And when the killer heard that, they felt a rush. And before Allie could even step out of the pump room, the killer stood in front of the door and blocked it, and then made a lewd remark about Allie's appearance and also made a clear sexual advance towards her. But Allie brushed the killer off and told them to get out of the way and tried to walk past them. The killer grabbed Allie and touched her breast, at which point Allie threw a punch. The killer blocked Allie's fist and immediately lost it and flew into a rage. They grabbed Allie by the shoulders and shoved her further back into the pump room. But Allie fought back, swinging her fists and scratching at the killer's hands and face. But the killer slammed her into the metal shelves, and pool equipment fell onto the floor. Allie kept fighting, but the killer punched her in the head and face several times, stunning her and causing her to begin bleeding badly. The killer threw Allie to the floor and tore off her shorts and underwear, but Allie kept fighting back. So the killer punched her again and again until Allie finally stopped moving. At this point, the killer got up, opened a first aid kit that was on one of the shelves, grabbed a bottle of antibiotic ointment to use as a lubricant, and got Back on the floor, Allie was still breathing, but she could no longer fight back. The killer began to undress themselves. Then they took off the cap of the bottle and climbed back on top of Allie. And just then, the sound of a car horn began to blare over and over again from the parking lot. And the killer panicked. By this point, they had already decided they were going to rape and then kill Allie. But now they were worried they were running out of time. Somebody was here. They were going to get caught. So the killer reached for the bottom of Allie's T shirt. And at that point, Ally began moving again. And she tried to fight off the killer one more time. But the killer turned Allie over, pulled her T shirt up to her neck, and wrapped it around her throat and strangled her to death. Afterwards, the killer stood up and stared down at Allie's body. They looked around the room and saw a large blue tarp tucked in a corner. The killer grabbed the tarp, covered Allie's.

[Narrator]

Body with it, tried to pull themselves.

[Mr. Ballin]

Together as much as possible, and then walked out. The killer then made their way to their pickup truck in the pool parking lot. And before they got in, they made eye contact and smiled at a young woman who was sitting in her car. They didn't realize she was Allie's friend and was the one who had honked the horn. The killer then drove home, convinced they had not been seen by anyone who could pin Allie's murder on them. And for almost three years, the killer would believe they had been right. Until one day, a couple of detectives from Kansas came to Connecticut to question them. It would turn out Benjamin Appleby, the man who was Laura's new partner, living in Connecticut with her, murdered Allie. However, that was not remotely the whole story, because it turned out Benjamin Appleby was also Ted Hoover, the pool maintenance worker and the investigator's prime suspect. Benjamin had done prison time for multiple charges in Missouri, where he was from. So he decided to leave his name and his past behind. He moved around to a few different.

[Narrator]

Places, and eventually he assumed the identity.

[Mr. Ballin]

Of a boyhood friend of his who had died at the age of 13. Ted Hoover. And with this dead person's name, he moved to Leawood, Kansas, and started his pool maintenance business. That's how he had first seen Allie and decided that he wanted her. But when Allie rejected his blatantly sexual advance one afternoon at the pool, he decided to rape and kill her. But Allie's friend, honking her car horn in the parking lot altered those plans and made him go right to the murder After Benjamin killed Allie, he went about his life like nothing had happened. And even when Ali's dad got the billboards put up with Benjamin's image clearly on them, he didn't panic. But when Detectives Langer and Hansen showed up at his house asking for DNA samples, he realized they were closing in on him. So he decided to flee to Connecticut with his girlfriend Laura and start using his birth name again. But eventually, when the detectives tracked Lara down and learned she was living with this ex con, a guy named Benjamin Appleby, well, they decided to look into Benjamin Appleby. And sure enough, it turned out he was Ted Hoover. When they finally interviewed Ben Appleby, AKA.

[Narrator]

Ted Hoover in Connecticut, it seemed to.

[Mr. Ballin]

The detectives almost like he was an entirely different person. The relatively calm, cooperative man they had.

[Narrator]

Spoken to in Kansas had transformed into.

[Mr. Ballin]

Someone who seemed completely devoid of feeling or empathy. Someone they believed was evil from the second he walked in the door. In that interview, Benjamin ultimately confessed to everything. However, the detectives didn't want to leave any room for a court case to fall apart. So they finally got a DNA sample.

[Narrator]

And when the test results came back.

[Mr. Ballin]

Benjamin's DNA matched the sample they had taken from the blood on the bottle and bottle cap at the crime scene. Benjamin Appleby, AKA Ted Hoover, was sentenced to life in prison with a chance for parole in 50 years. Roger Kemp's idea for running billboards with.

[Narrator]

The potential murderer's sketch on them was.

[Mr. Ballin]

A first of its kind strategy in law enforcement. But now, as a result of its effectiveness in Ali's case, this strategy has been adopted by police departments all across the United States.

[Narrator]

A quick note about our stories.

[Mr. Ballin]

They are all based on true events, but we sometimes use pseudonyms to protect the people involved and and some details.

[Narrator]

Are fictionalized for dramatic purposes. Thank you for listening to the Mr. Ballin podcast. If you enjoyed today's story and you're.

[Mr. Ballin]

Looking for more bone chilling content, be sure to check out all of our.

[Narrator]

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[Mr. Ballin]

Podcast, and also Mr. Ballin's medical mysteries, Bedtime stories, wartime stories run fool and redacted.

[Narrator]

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[Mr. Ballin]

Get your podcasts to find all of these shows.

[Narrator]

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[Mr. Ballin]

The ones you heard today, head over.

[Narrator]

To our YouTube channel which is just called Mr. Ballin. So that's gonna do it.

[Mr. Ballin]

I really appreciate your support. Until next time. See y.

[Narrator]

Foreign.

[Mr. Ballin]

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[Narrator]

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[Wondery]

Survey they say Hollywood is where dreams are made, a seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Raiden was found dead in a Canyon near LA in 1983, there were many questions surrounding his death. The last person seen with him was Lainey Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite. Together, they were trying to break into the movie movie industry. But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing. From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, the Cotton Club Murder. Follow Hollywood and the Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of the Cotton Club Murder early and ad free right now by joining Wondery plus.