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- [00:01]
Tony Cavallaro
Hate waiting a week for the next episode of Radio Rental. Subscribe to Tenderfoot plus to get early access to episodes, ad free listening, and
- [00:09]
Tenderfoot Plus Announcer
even some bonus scary stories.
- [00:11]
Tony Cavallaro
Visit tenderfootplus.com for details.
- [00:20]
Narrator/Producer
The following podcast includes scary stories with content that could be triggering to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.
- [00:35]
Tony Cavallaro
Take a break from the same old boring blockbusters and experience a new kind
- [00:39]
Vince
of movie night with Radio Rental.
- [00:43]
Tony Cavallaro
At Radio Rental, our videos come to life in your living room, defy all logic and reasoning, and make you question your own reality. This is not your ordinary video rental store. At radiorental, we carry one of a kind video radios. So frightening, so mind bending, you won't
- [01:01]
Vince
be able to sleep at night.
- [01:03]
Tony Cavallaro
You've gone. Radio Rental.
- [01:25]
Vince
Hey, I'm Vince. Welcome to Radio Rental, a video rental store that specializes in horror. True horror. We've got an exclusive collection of the scariest tapes full of the most horrifying horror stories you've ever heard. Horror. Had to sneak an extra one in there. All told by real people. Vetted. We also have a new slot machine and a video poker game. Yeah, found these on the black market. Found these at the local marketplace. Anyway, boss wanted me to find a way to increase our cash flow. So now, in addition to scary stories, you can also get lucky. I'm actually pretty good at it. This slot machine, you want to see? Check this out. Whoa. Horse. Horse. Horse. Mango. Damn it. Damn. Damn. That's okay. I'll get back. I'll get my mojo back. In the meantime, I'm gonna put in a tape for.
- [02:43]
Storyteller 1
This is 2024. Me, my wife, and a group of friends were in Vegas for edc, the rave music festival. We're there, first time in Vegas. We're all super excited. We're staying on the Strip. We're staying at the Luxor. If you've never really stayed at the Luxor before, it's pretty spacious. The rooms are kind of, like, spread out. So because it was already a busy week, some of us were staying on, like, 20th floor, while other of us were, like, on the eighth floor. Like, we were scattered. Now, the way, like, the Luxor works, the elevators only go to, like, a select number of floors. We had to scan in to our elevators. That was the only way that people could, like, move through floors. It was like our first night there. It's like 3am we're all exhausted. We had, like, been walking down the Strip, you know, just doing Vegas stuff. My friend's like, hey, like, I'm downstairs. Come get us. And I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go. I'm not gonna lie. I was pretty tired. I'm still aware of my surroundings. Go downstairs. I meet them where the casino is. I meet up with my friends. I'm like, all right, let's go back to my room. As we're walking towards the elevators, we see that there's, like, this older gentleman just, like, standing there. I realized I'm like, oh, like, he's one of the workers. He's holding a little broom and a little dustpan, but he's just kind of, like, just standing there. I was like, all right, whatever. So I go. I click on the. The elevator button. We're just talking. The old man's just kind of, like, standing there. My friends get in the elevator. I, like, signal to the gentleman. I'm like, oh, are you going to get in? And he's like, yeah, yeah. He gets in with us. First weird thing I notice is I go. I put in the key card, and I press the floor number. Usually people will be like, oh, can you press this number for me? Like, he just stays quiet. So we go. The door is closed. We're just having a conversation. And my friend, he looks at me and he's like, man, I am exhausted. This gets, like, a little chuckle out of the old man. He's like, oh, you think you're exhausted? I've been here for a long time. And we were like, oh, yeah, like, you've been working a couple of shifts, like, back to back. And he's like, yeah, you can.
- [05:12]
Yvette Gentile or Racha Pecorero
You.
- [05:12]
Storyteller 1
You could say something like that. We were like, yeah, man, that sucks. Are you off tomorrow? And he's like, no, I work tomorrow. And the next day and the next day and so on and so on. And we were like, geez, like, sorry, man. Sorry to hear that. We don't stop at our floor. We stop at the floor above us. At the time, we don't notice anything weird about it. But like I explained earlier, like, certain elevators only go to the certain floors, so there was no reason for the elevator to stop at that floor above us. But at the time, I didn't really think much of it. Looking back at it is when I realized, like, damn, that was weird. We don't get off. The gentleman doesn't get off either. Like, he's still in there. We all, like, looked at each other, and we're like, what the hell? Like, this isn't our floor. Like, that's weird. So we get back in. I put the key card again. I put the correct floor number. It Goes down one floor, we get off. I know for a fact this gentleman gets off behind us, because I can see him from my peripherals get off. I'm walking in front of my two friends. I just turned back to talk to them, and that's when I realized there's no one behind them. He's not there. There is no way that he could have, like, jumped back into the elevator. And there was also nowhere else to go. When you, like, get off the elevators, the only thing in that lobby are other elevators. There's no, like, maintenance room. There's no, like, little storage area. It's just crystal glass that you can see down and then the four elevators. And if he would have gotten on another elevator, like, we would have heard it. The key cards, they make a noise when you put it on the pad. So we would have heard it. I felt him get off, and I saw him through my peripherals, and my friends who were walking in front of him felt him get off, and we heard the elevator door close. I'm frozen. And my friends could tell that there's something wrong just by looking at me. And they're like, what? What is it? And I just point behind them, and they turn around, and they realize the gentleman's not there anymore. And they look at each other. They look at me, and they're like, yo, where'd he go? You guys saw him get off, right? And they're like, we felt him get, like, behind us. Guys, like, let's just go back to my room. Like, please, let's just go back. We go back. My wife's there. Like, two other friends of ours are there. And we explained to them, like, what just happened. And they're like, man, are you guys, like, messing with us? And I was like, no, I promise you. Like, this just happened. I think we just saw a ghost. It was really creepy, the way he was talking. And, like, just the fact that my friend said, like, man, I'm, like, really tired. And he kind of, like, was scoffing at us of, like, you think you're tired? Like, buddy, I've been, like, on an eternity shift right now. Everyone just kept asking us to see if, like, our stories would stay the same. They're like, man, are you sure that you saw him get off the elevator? Or, like, are you sure that someone was in there with you? And we're like, yes. Like, we would describe him. It was like, an older gentleman. He had glasses on, white hair, like, balding in the front. We all described him the same way. I'm like, there's no way. We all just shared, like, a fake memory. My friend started doing research on the Luxor, and if you haven't, go and look at the history of the Luxor. It is definitely one of the most haunted places in Vegas. On the Strip. There's just, like, this really weird energy there. I believe there's, like, a female spirit that likes to mess around with. Especially when it's, like, gentlemen in the rooms by themselves. They'll feel, like a female presence. Or sometimes when they're sleeping, like, something will cuddle up on them. People also talk about because, like, when they're staying, like, in, like, the higher floors, like, they'll look down and they'll have, like, that feeling of, like, bro, you should just jump. A lot of people say that it draws, like, a certain negative energy that you could feel at times there because, I don't know, it's something, like, really creepy about that hotel. If it would have just been me by myself, there would have been, like, room for doubt. I would have been like, you know what? Like, I was tired. Like, we had been drinking. Like, I would have found any excuse. But it's the fact that I shared that experience with two other people, and they saw the same thing I saw, and they felt the same thing I felt, heard the same thing I heard. It adds more to it. I'm 100% sure there's no other explanation. Unless this guy was the fastest man alive and just, like, maneuvered his way into the elevator. That ghost ride was one for the bugs for sure.
- [10:41]
Vince
Oh, freaky old dude's been probably cleaning that hotel since the early days. Vegas has some dark energy, man. I would know.
- [10:59]
Tenderfoot Plus Announcer
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. May is mental health awareness month, which is a perfect time to check in with yourself and see where you're really at. Life is a journey, and while we all want every day to be a good one, the truth is that many of us are carrying around anxiety or feeling stuck. I've personally been losing sleep over big life transitions recently, and I've found that therapy is a place where I can get that unbiased support I need. We often feel we have to figure it all out solo, but no journey should be alone. BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, and They've helped over 6 million people globally find the right professional support. Their therapist match commitment is designed to take the stress out of the search. With over 12 years of experience, they typically get the match right the first time based on your specific preferences. If you've been feeling unsure or overwhelmed. Let this be your sign to reach out. You don't have to be on this journey alone. Find support and have someone with you in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off@betterhelp.com radiorental that's betterhelp.com radiorental
- [12:02]
Yvette Gentile or Racha Pecorero
Whispers in the dark phenomenon that slip past the logic Legends that refuse to die when the unknown stirs. Its trail leads to our podcast, so Supernatural. I'm Yvette Gentile. And I'm her sister, Racha Pecorero. Together we explore all of the world's most bizarre mysteries. Listen to so Supernatural every Friday, wherever you get your podcasts.
- [12:36]
Vince
Okay, we're back. Let's play another tape.
- [12:50]
Tony Cavallaro
I was in between jobs. I travel a lot for work. I would spend six months working straight and then come home for a few months waiting for a project. I was a telecommunications climber for T Mobile, so I used to climb cell phone towers and just travel all over the country. When I'd come back home, I'd usually try to find fun stuff to do, like, whether, you know, with friends or by myself. My childhood friends, we always had a. Like a Snowboarding trip. In 2023, we decided to go to Lake Tahoe to, you know, go snowboarding. And we had an Airbnb. And I was driving from Phoenix to Lake Tahoe, and usually I do it by myself. I was in North Phoenix, just getting out of town, kind of going towards Wickenburg, and there was a dude standing on the side of the road and he was hitchhiking, and I was kind of like, like, you know, he looks clean. He might need help. So I just pulled over and asked him what he was up to, and he was like, oh, nothing. Just hitchhiking. I'm trying to make it to Laughlin. So I was like, well, I can drive you there. I'll be driving past there, at least close. And he was like, okay. He's a really. His name's Kenny. So we started driving and we were just talking, and turns out that he was a professional hitchhiker. He's been hitchhiking for the last 20 years, like, all over the world. I actually just talked to him. He got back to the US From Peru. So I asked him. I was like, well, you know, like, it's gonna be a big house. He seemed like a cool dude. Instead of going to Laughlin, do you want to come to Lake Tahoe and, you know, kick it in the snow? And he's like, yeah, sure, let's do it. We Ended up going to Lake Tahoe. There was a bunch of weather, like crazy weather. We ended up getting stuck there for an extra week because there was just, you know, 20ft of snow and everybody on the mountain couldn't leave. So we just kind of hung out there and basically we were there for two weeks. And on the drive back, he wanted me to drop him off basically in Laughlin again because that was where his plan was. Just kind of gamble and get some more cash before he headed to New York to fly out to Ireland to do some sort of yoga retreat or something like that. He's kind of hippie. When we were on our way back, though, he had these rewards. I was so tired. I've been driving for like 12 hours maybe, and dealing with the snow and everything else like that, it was just really exhausting. So I asked him. I was like, man, I was like, I can't drive anymore. We're gonna have to stop somewhere. He's like, well, let's stop in Vegas at the Flamingo. I have this like, rewards thing where we can get a free room and a little bit of money to spend on food. And, you know, if we gamble a little bit, that's kind of is what it is. But I was like, okay. So we ended up going to the Flamingo. I thought it was funny. We ended up skipping all the lines because he was part of that rewards membership or whatever. And they gave him $150 worth of food that we had to spend that night. And then they gave us a room in this older part of the Flamingo, which I didn't know at the time hadn't been remodeled yet. Most of it has, but there's. I guess there is one floor that hasn't yet. We got food, you know, and I was super tired. And so we both were. We walk up the stairs and it's like on the fourth floor down this like really kind of old. Old hallway. Like, you could tell it was like old carpet. And the paint looked like. Didn't look like crap. Like it was all kind of falling off in some spots. So we're like, well, at least it's a free bed. You know, it's whatever they put us in this corner room. I didn't realize it, but it was a room where the window was from the floor all the way to the ceiling. It just seemed like it was like an older, non updated room. I think it was probably around 12:30, 1 o'. Clock. We both are like, okay, we can fall asleep now. So I hear him fall asleep first, and he started snoring. So I was just like, okay, you know, I'm gonna try and fall asleep too. So I started falling asleep, and I don't know how long it took, maybe 30 minutes. And the next thing I know, it felt like someone grabbed the back of my head and shoved it down into the pillow because I was sleeping on my stomach. It was, like, scary because I thought this dude that I thought was really cool, Kenny, was playing some joke on me. And I was just like. I was super mad about it because I thought he was, like, trying to suffocate me. It was terrifying. It literally felt like someone was above me trying to kill me, like. Like holding my. And I'm. I'm 220 pounds, and I'm in really good shape. And I truly feel like if someone was trying to hold my head down, I'd be able to kind of, like get out of that move at least a little bit. There was nothing. Like, it almost felt like my body was frozen and my head was just being shoved straight down into the pillow. And it was to the point too, where I started, like, kind of gagging a little bit, like I couldn't. And it was right around the time when I started really panicking. And after about two or three seconds of my head being held down to the pillow, it, like, felt like it just went away. And I got up, I started yelling at Kenny because I was convinced that it was him. I looked at him, he was totally asleep, turned over, wrapped up in the blankets, snoring, totally out. I sat there and I watched him for a second. Is this guy messing with me? Is he actually trying to hurt me or what's going on? And I was like, what in the world? And it just freaked me out because I've never had anybody do that to me before or anything. I'm kind of sitting there in my bed and I'm listening to him snore. And I'm kind of thinking to myself, like, what in the world was that? Well, right around this time, I looked at the clock and it was like 2:55, almost 3:00 in the morning. And trying to go back to bed, I started noticing that the temperature in the room got really hot. I got up and I messed with the AC unit, and it was all the way pinned down, and. But it was still, like, hot. Like I was sweating. And so I lay back in bed and I'm sitting there, and where the whole window was, there was just like this shadowy tall figure in the corner of the room. And it was scary. I was terrified. I was frozen. I was just stuck in bed. It looked like a. Like a man that was probably 6 foot 6, 6 foot 7. Like a really tall guy, broad shoulders, and almost looked like it was like, wearing, like, some sort of trench coater suit. I'm sitting there with the covers kind of pull up to my chin, like, what in the world is that? And. But at the same time, I'm still sweating because the room got really hot. So I just sat there and I stared at it. And then as I'm staring at it, I was just waiting for it to go away. And either I put my head down or I blinked or whatever, and it was just gone. I was just kind of like, okay, I'm just gonna sit here. And right around that time, I remember looking at the clock too, because I'm like, okay, how long have I been sitting here for? Is right around, like, 3:15, 3,
- [20:01]
Yvette Gentile or Racha Pecorero
the
- [20:01]
Tony Cavallaro
closet lights turned on and they started flickering, and then they turned off. What was weird, though, is that when I first walked into the room, there's no switch to even turn on the closet lights. And then the bathroom fan turned on, which is another weird thing, because there was no switch to turn the fan on because I took a shower. And I knew that that wasn't working, but it turned on. And then the air conditioner flipped on a different way, and then it got really cold. So it went from being really hot to, like, super cold. And so I'm under the covers watching these lights flicker. Right around the time that these lights stopped flickering, the figure in the corner just kind of disappeared. Kenny, this whole time, is snoring, so I know that he's not even picking up on any of this stuff. After I kind of felt like it was gone, I got up and I went over to flip on the lights just to try and see what the heck's going on in this creepy room. It was only the light for the bathroom and only the main living room light that would even turn on for the rest of the night. I basically just kind of stood there up until about 4:00'. Clock. That's when they. Because the air kept getting hot and cold and hot and cold. And then finally it just got cold and it went away. And then it was like this creepy figure didn't show back up. The lights flickered maybe once or twice more between me waiting from 3:15, 3:20 until 4, and then it all just, like, went away. I was so tired, I ended up just falling asleep. So the next morning, I wake up. Kenny Is still sleeping. I get up immediately, get dressed. I didn't even want to take a shower, go into the bathroom or anything. I was basically put on my shoes, just ready to leave right around the time that I was kind of like, okay, Kenny, let's get out of here. Let's get on the road. He was waking up. And that's when I started walking around the room, looking at stuff like, okay, what's the deal with the fan? You know, trying to rationalize basically what was going on the night before, which was like, okay, why are the lights flickering? Was there, like, a weird shadow over here in the corner that I, you know, didn't notice before? And what was really weird is, over in that corner, there was a weird stain on the wall. Just, like, a bunch of weird splatters
- [22:23]
Storyteller 1
all over the wall.
- [22:24]
Tony Cavallaro
I don't. I didn't know what it was. And then that's when I noticed under the closet, because I walked over there. And this is all while Kenny's getting up and we're kind of getting our bags together. That's when I noticed that there was the light in the closet. And I was like, oh, there's a light in here. Okay, so there's a little bit of sense. But then the cord was chopped, and I was like, what the heck? Like, how the. Okay, that makes no sense. And then I went into the bathroom again, and that's when I started playing with. With the light, Trying to see if I could get up, get the fan to flip on. Was never able to get the fan to flip on. That's kind of when I told Kenny. I was like, what do you remember from last night when we got into the room? You went to bed, and then what? And he was like, nothing. I just went to bed. And that's when I told him, like, dude, something held my head down last night. And he was. He was just kind of looking at me like, what the heck? Like, I was just speechless. I was like. I was like, was that you? Like, were you playing a joke on me? Like, what? Because I was very upfront about it. And he was like, no, dude. He's like, what? Why would you even ask me that? And I was like, well, I just had a really weird experience in this hotel room, and I explained everything that happened, and he was just kind of quiet for a while. I don't know if you thought I was crazy or I was making it up. And then later on, because we hung out for another day or two before he flew out to New York, he asked me. He Was like, you were weird with me after that. He's like, what was with that? I'm like, dude, I thought you were holding my head down. I was like, honestly, I was very angry. I was convinced. I tried to rationalize it, but I was convinced that you woke up. You were playing some weird joke. I mean, you're holding my head down, but when I got up, you were still sleeping. Nah, dude. He's like, I did not do that. He just said. He's like, I can't explain it. He's like, I was sleeping and I was like, I kind of realized that too when I woke up and he was still snoring. But I just had to kind of clear the air, at least for my sake. I haven't been to Vegas since. I lived in hotel rooms for a long time. Like, that's just part of the job. I had to start living back in hotel rooms again in 2024 when I moved to Wyoming to work out there at a few of the coal mines that they hired me to go out there and work on stuff. And they put me up at a hotel and it was. That was the first time that I lived long term in a hotel or even stayed in a hotel since that happened. I had a hard time dealing with hotel rooms for a while because I was always waking up think, like, right? And it was always right. As soon as it felt like I was like starting to fall asleep, I would start. I'd just like wake up and just start looking around like, what's going on? And it even like changed the way that I like, like, have the curtains drawn and stuff in hotel rooms because I don't want to be able to see out or their light shining in. It just freaked me out. I've never had someone hold my face down into a pillow like that before. I didn't even think that was like a thing. When you, you know, see old time, old time gangster movies where someone's like holding someone's face down, that's what it reminds me of though, is like someone like legitimately holding a picture pillow down and trying to suffocate you. One thing, though, that really, like, still lingers too, is just like how strong the hand felt. And that was one thing that kind of made me rationalize it too. With Kenny is. Kenny is like a little dude. He's got like, like little hands. Like, it literally felt like these hands, like, wrapped around my head, wrapped around my head and pushed my face down into the pillow, then just held it there. And then it was just like gone. Like, not even, like, letting go or letting me up. It was just like this, like, strong hand just. Was. Just disappeared.
- [26:14]
Vince
What? Oh, wait. Man. This guy just picked up a total effing stranger off the side of the road and then slept in the same hotel room with him because he had had points. That's very trusting. I mean, yeah, something weird happened in the room, but I mean, was it an entity or was it Kenny? I just can't rule out Kenny. He seems like a weirdo, just like me. A guy I know. Anyway, noted that hitchhiking is alive and well. I'm always trying to find ways to make new friends, so maybe I'll give these thumbs a try. This storyteller could have been pretty unlucky. But you know who's going to be lucky? Here we go. Horse, Horse, Horse. Italian flag. Damn. Ugh. Well, let's. Let's take another ad break.
- [27:23]
Tenderfoot Plus Announcer
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. May is mental Health Awareness Month, which is a perfect time to check in with yourself and see where you're really at. Life is a journey, and while we all want every day to be a good one, the truth is that many of us are carrying around anxiety or feeling stuck. I personally been losing sleep over big life transitions recently, and I found that therapy is a place where I can get that unbiased support I need. We often feel we have to figure it all out solo, but no journey should be alone. BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform and They've helped over 6 million people globally find the right professional support. Their therapist match commitment is designed to take the stress out of the search. With over 12 years of experience, they typically get the match right the first time based on your specific preferences. If you've been feeling unsure or overwhelmed, let this be your sign to reach out. You don't have to be on this journey alone. Find support and have someone with you in therapy sign up and get 10% off@betterhelp.com radiorental that's betterhelp.com radiorental.
- [28:30]
Vince
Ah, so I haven't gotten a win yet, which is fine. Big deal, whatever. I'm not upset about it. Such as life, Vince. Such is life. It might not be my lucky day, but it is yours. I have a third tape for you. That's right. Yeah, you guys just go ahead, play it yourself. Until next time, friend. Warning. This one is dark.
- [29:23]
Yvette Gentile or Racha Pecorero
Back in 1998, I was the manager of an independent cell phone and pager store in Flint, Michigan. I grew up in Flint. You Know, at the time it was known as the murder capital of the country. So sad stories were pretty common. Knowing people that had violent things happen to them was not that rare. And so from my perspective, I felt like I was, I don't know if jaded or, you know, it took a bit to rattle me. Also because I worked at a Patreon cell phone store, there were a lot of strange characters. This was an era where, you know, the people who had cell phones without a contract and pagers month to month were drug dealers and other people like that. I had been followed home before by people who had been shopping at the store. I'd had people run in and steal things from the store. So it certainly was a slightly dangerous but not super scary place to work. I was pretty used to it at that point. A young woman came in to get both a pager and a cell phone. And she seemed about the same age I was at the time. That was a really time consuming transaction, which sounds a little silly, but you know, I had to call like the home office and get the number and there was all these steps you had to take. And then you also had to manually program the pager and the cell phone right off. Something felt a little off about her. I couldn't even quite place what it was. She seemed a little strange and I frankly just thought she was high. Like, I thought, well, she's, she's messed up on something, I don't know. So I had her fill out the paperwork. She picked out her phone or pager. I don't really remember all the details of that part, but I had to input all of her data into our, you know, fancy like Windows 98 operating system by hand. So she was kind of kept talking while I was doing that. I remember being a little bit distracted. Distracted, like, okay, but again, you know, sometimes people are kind of yammer when they're high. From that point, she started to explain to me why she needed this. Because cell phones at the time were a little bit unusual. They were kind of new to have a brand, to have a cell phone that you took unless you had money and you could be on a contract. She was explaining to me that she had to drive back and forth from Flint, Michigan to Ann Arbor, which is a good hour drive. And I thought, oh, that's actually, that's a long drive because I had commuted to school. And I understood that. Then she said the reason she was doing that was because her husband was in the hospital. I thought, oh, that's so sad. What a tragedy to be like this young woman who also's husband is ill. And my first thought was, like, what could it be? Does he have cancer? Is there something going on? Then she said it was because he had shot himself while cleaning his gun. And that was when my sympathy turned to alarm. The second she said that, I don't know why, but you know that feeling you have where the hair goes up on the back of your neck? Something in my brain just screams, she's lying. But I didn't know exactly about what I thought, oh, my God, did she shoot him? Because obviously, I don't know. In Flint, that sort of a thing, I guess you'd think the worst. So I immediately wondered, like, did she shoot him? Or like, I felt like she was lying about some aspect of it, but I didn't understand what. And I honestly felt a little bit of panic when she was talking. I wasn't sure how to respond. And I was young, too, so I probably didn't handle it very elegantly. But I remember telling her that I was, you know, sorry to hear that. And the thing that I thought was really strange in the moment was that she. She didn't seem super upset about her husband. She seemed more stressed about the drive. It did stick out to me that it was a little weird that she didn't seem more worried about her husband in that situation. But again, I didn't understand the context of what she was going through. So I just kind of accepted it for what it was. I do remember her being in the store for a weirdly long amount of time as I was, you know, waiting for their number to be sent back to me from the home office so that I could program all of her things. And I remember offering to let her leave because it made me a little uncomfortable. And she opted to stay. And she was definitely making small talk. Her voice was kind of lilting. And I remember that part that she seemed, like, I said, a little out of it. Finally, when the transaction was over, she left. And I felt genuine relief when she left. And then I felt sort of foolish because I'm like, you know, deal with, like, strange people all day long. You know, this isn't exactly a place frequented by, you know, the most reputable folks in town. So I didn't think that much about it. A couple weeks later, I was listening to the radio because it was the 90s. The DJ said something like, breaking news alert. Melissa Such and Such has been arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, for murder. And I remember literally whipping around and looking at the radio as if they were Talking to me and thinking, that's her name. Like, I can't believe this. I was like, I could have misheard. I kind of discounted it a couple weeks later because time was much slower back then. I was opening the bills, and you had to do it manually. So you'd slice open the bill and you'd pull out the little receipt and check or cash, whatever it was. And then I had to input it into our system. I opened it, and there was no money. It was just the bill returned with a note, and it said, melissa is in jail in Las Vegas, Nevada, on a charge of open murder. Please. Said nothing else regarding this. Thank you. I just stared at it. I was like, oh, my gosh, that's her. I mean, I heard it correctly on the radio, and I met her face to face. And this all happened, happened within a couple of weeks. And I just remember being stunned. And my assumption at the time was that somehow I was right, she had lied and that maybe she had killed her husband and maybe he had died and that was it. But there was no way to check. I don't know who I would have called other than the police and been nosy and just tried to ask questions. I kept that little piece of paper because it was so strange, and I'm a little bit of a paper hoarder. So I kept that and kind of stuck it in a folder and didn't think about it again. I mean, obviously I told people, friends at the time, and then years pass and I moved several times, and obviously I've got, like, stacks of papers at this point in my life. And I happened to open a folder and that fell out years later, and I was like, oh, my gosh, I completely forgot about this. What a crazy thing to have happened that this woman that I'd waited on, you know, probably killed her husband by then. You know, you could Google up everything. So I just did a little research, got online, and figured out that it turns out that indeed she had been, I guess, lying, but it's hard to say about what. Still, what I found online was that she had actually driven to Las Vegas pretty shortly after I had started, sold her her cell phone and pager with her child in tow. I do not recall her mentioning a child at all, which seemed very strange. What had happened is she took her child with her, drove across the country. No one had heard from her in a week. And the first people had found of her was that she was banging on the door of her hotel neighbor's room, asking for help because her son her toddler had died and it turns out that she had actually killed her toddler and attempted to kill herself. She was then arrested and put in jail. She must have had some regrets or something if she ran to the next room. That's what she was in jail for. She'd never been arrested for what had happened with her husband and I have no idea if she had anything to do with it. In fact, when I did research it not that long ago again to try to find out more of what happened, it turns out that her former husband actually died at the age of 66 in 2025 and he had, at least according to the the tributes to him, had actually been a bodybuilder before he had somehow had an accident with this gun. A couple people alluded to a terrible tragedy in his life that he survived and I have to assume the tragedy was the horrible murder of his son. She is not mentioned in his tributes and or obituary at all. That's the story of how I sold the cell phone and a pager to a murderer.
- [38:44]
Narrator/Producer
Radio Rental is created by Payne Lindsay and brought to you by Tenderfoot TV Showrunner is Meredith Stedman. Lead producers are Eric Quintana and Steven Perez. Executive producers are Payne Lindsay and Donald Albright. This episode is hosted by Tony Cavallaro, writing by Meredith Stedman. Original score by Makeup and Vanity set with additional score by Jay Ragsdale Sound design, mix and master by Stephen Perez and Cooper Skinner Editing by Eric Quintana, Sean Nurney, Stephen Perez, Meredith Steadman and Cooper Skinner. Our production manager is Jordan Foxworthy. Cover artwork by Trevor Iler and Rob Sheridan. Radio Rental merchandise by Byron McCoy to shop radio rental merch, visit shop Tenderfoot TV special thanks to Oren Rosenbaum and the team at UTA, as well as the Nord Group and the team at Odyssey. If you have a Radio Rental story that you'd like to share, please email us at yourscarystorymail.com or contact us via the form on our website radiorentalusa.com follow us on Instagram @radiorental. On behalf of the Radiorental store, we'd love it if you'd subscribe. Rate and review. As always, thanks for listening.