Episode 387 - Janet Chandler: Murder at The Blue Mill Inn

Summary

RedHanded Podcast: Episode 387

"Janet Chandler: Murder at The Blue Mill Inn"

Date: February 20, 2025
Hosts: Hannah and Surruti

Episode Overview

In this harrowing episode, Hannah and Surruti delve deeply into the macabre and tragic case of Janet Chandler, a 22-year-old motel night clerk brutally murdered in 1979 after becoming entangled with security guards during a factory strike in Holland County, Michigan. The episode covers not only the events leading up to the crime but also the decades-long journey to uncover the truth and bring the perpetrators to justice, while grappling with issues of victim-blaming, institutional failure, and the dark dynamics of power, jealousy, and group complicity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Janet Chandler’s Background and Upbringing

• Born in 1956, Janet grew up in a devout Christian household in Keegan County, Michigan, under the strict guidance of parents Jim and Glenna.
• Socialization was difficult; her parents’ rules (e.g., not visiting homes with alcohol) left her isolated and sheltered.
• Her initial foray into independence at nursing college was fraught with academic and social struggles due to her sensitivity to criticism and discomfort with the collegiate party atmosphere.
• Ultimately, she pivoted to studying music at Hope College with dreams of teaching or musical theatre.

Notable Quote:
"Janet drifted through school as a bit of a loner... if you are so strict with your children, they are going to rebel at some point or another and you have to wonder if she was just allowed to go on a sleepover whether she would have ended up with a man, you know, decades her senior." — Surruti (09:27)

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2. Blue Mill Inn: Atmosphere & Social Dynamics

• Janet became a night clerk at the somewhat seedy Blue Mill Inn through her best friend, Laurie Swank, who was the 21-year-old manager.
• The arrival of 80 Wackenhut Company security guards—hired to suppress a violent strike at the nearby Chemtron factory—transformed the motel into a debauched party scene described by the hosts as "after dark, seedy back alley Love Island" (19:41).

Notable Quote:
"Most of the staff were women in their early to mid-20s, and the guards didn’t do much to hide their obvious lust towards them. And from what we can see, things very quickly turned into some kind of, like, after dark, seedy back alley Love Island." — Hannah (19:13)

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3. Janet's Sexual Liberation and Group Jealousy

• Janet, once the model of Christian chastity, openly experimented sexually with multiple guards, including head of security Arthur Paiva—a relationship that became abusive.
• Her behavior, while not uncommon for someone her age, clashed with perceptions of morality and professionalism, and drew resentment, especially from Laurie Swank.
• The hosts debate the victim-blaming that often follows such cases and the complexity of female jealousy, cautioning against reducing Laurie's motives to a simple crush gone wrong.

Notable Quote:
"A 22 year old shagging their way through their uni halls... for some people it's the whole reason that they go to university in the first place. But these weren't university halls and these were not university students either." — Surruti (24:29)

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4. Laurie Swank’s Role & The Betrayal

• The catalyst for Janet’s murder is presented as an escalation of Laurie’s jealousy or resentment—either specifically over attention from Paiva, or more generally due to Janet's increasing disregard for boundaries at work and home.
• Laurie manipulates Paiva, who is no longer Janet’s partner, into seeking revenge for perceived betrayal.

Notable Quote:
"What she does here is, is not, not good... this seems quite extreme." — Hannah (28:49)

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5. The Night of the Crime (Jan 30–Feb 1, 1979)

• Janet was lured into a surprise “party” by guards James Nelson and Robert Lynch, who blindfolded, handcuffed, and abducted her with the complicity of other staff.
• She was taken to Paiva's lake house, where, in the presence of about 15 people including six female coworkers, she was violently raped, tortured, and ultimately murdered over several hours.
• Several women not only witnessed but also participated in or enabled these acts. Ronald Wirwick photographed the assault for blackmail purposes.

Memorable Quote:
_"During this time, Patty Ward, Arthur Paiva’s ex girlfriend, arrived and apparently Janet mumbled to Ward that she was all right as she was dragged past her... Then Paiva told Patti Ward to leave as he, James Nelson and two other guards took Janet upstairs to his bedroom. Paiva then raped Janet while several other party guests watched as he raped her. Paiva shouted at Janet, 'You're gonna die, bitch. You're gonna die.'" — Hannah (33:44)

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6. Aftermath, Investigation & Cold Case (1979–2003)

• Police initially believed Janet’s abduction was a botched robbery; the real nature of her death remained a secret as the guards quickly dispersed after the factory strike ended.
• The case went unsolved for decades, Janet’s parents left with no closure.

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7. Reopening the Case & Justice (2003–2006)

• Driven by a Hope College film class documentary (“Who Killed Janet Chandler?”), local public interest led to a cold case re-investigation.
• Veteran detective David Van Lopik methodically tracked down suspects; Robert Lynch eventually confessed after months of interview, moved by seeing Janet's family in the student documentary.
• Several other participants, including Laurie Swank, agreed to testify and plea bargains were made due to the lack of physical evidence (the incriminating photos never surfaced).

Memorable Moment:
"Lynch went back 11 days later... with a copy of Who Killed Janet Chandler on DVD... and asked about his own daughter, who was roughly by this point the same age Janet was when she died, and said, 'If she were killed, wouldn't you want to know what had happened to her?'... Lynch broke and began telling him the graphic details of the night that Janet had been murdered." — Hannah (50:50)

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8. Trial Outcomes and Ongoing Fallout (2006–2016)

• Lynch: 25–40 years
• Swank: 10–20 years (served 10, released 2016)
• Paiva, Nelson, Williams, Parker: Life without parole
• Despite the brutality and scale, several women present or partially complicit were not charged.
• In a final effort, Janet’s family sued the Wackenhut Corporation (now G4S) for negligence, but courts found the company not responsible.

Notable Quotes:
"When the Chandlers took the company to court in 2012, it was certainly not their first rodeo. And despite several witnesses providing testimony that proved a culture of conspiracy and silence at Wackenhut at the time of Janet’s murder, G4S was found not responsible in any way for her death." — Hannah (57:53)

"The company motto at the time of Janet’s murder. Would you like to know what it was? It’s horrible... 'I know nothing, see nothing and speak only kind words.'" — Surruti (58:26)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• (24:29) Surruti:
  "A 22 year old shagging their way through their uni halls... for some people it's the whole reason that they go to university in the first place. But these weren't university halls..."

• (33:44) Hannah:
  "Paiva then raped Janet while several other party guests watched as he raped her. Paiva shouted at Janet, 'You're gonna die, bitch. You're gonna die.'"

• (50:50) Hannah:
  "Van Loepic asked Lynch about his own daughter, who was roughly by this point the same age Janet was when she died, and said, 'If she were killed, wouldn't you want to know what had happened to her?'"

• (57:53) Hannah:
  "When the Chandlers took the company to court... G4S was found not responsible in any way for her death."

• (58:26) Surruti:
  "The company motto at the time of Janet’s murder... 'I know nothing, see nothing and speak only kind words.'"

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Final Thoughts & Reflections

• The case showcases how intersectional factors—gender, power, workplace culture, and institutional coverups—can result in horrific abuses that are allowed to fester.
• The hosts reflect on the disturbing group psychology at work and the way the system failed Janet Chandler at multiple levels, but also highlight the role of dogged investigators and even student filmmakers in surfacing long-buried truths.
• There is frustration over the limits of institutional accountability, particularly regarding G4S/Wackenhut, and sadness that full justice for Janet and her family remains elusive.

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|--------------------| | 04:49 | Discovery of Janet’s body by snowplow driver | | 11:38 | Blue Mill Inn background—seedy motel, role of Laurie Swank | | 17:03 | Origins of Wackenhut Security, strike at Chemtron | | 19:41 | Environment once guards arrive: "Love Island" analogy | | 24:29 | Discussion on sexual liberation and contrasts | | 28:49 | Laurie's manipulation and the plot forms | | 31:15 | Janet abducted under "surprise party" ruse | | 33:44 | Janet's assault and murder detailed | | 44:02 | Case goes cold as guards disperse | | 44:52 | Case reopened due to Hope College documentary | | 50:50 | Lynch confesses after emotional police work | | 53:37 | Trial and sentencing outcomes | | 55:59 | Wackenhut/G4S scandals described | | 58:26 | Revelatory company motto | | 60:15 | Hosts discuss justice and closure |

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Tone and Delivery

The episode maintains the hosts’ characteristic dark humor and candid conversation, balancing empathy for the victim and family with sharp critiques of institutional failure, misogyny, and the normalization of toxic behavior. The horror is not sensationalized; instead, it’s conveyed with genuine outrage, incredulity, and deep sadness.

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For listeners or readers unfamiliar with the case or episode, this summary provides a full, vivid account of the events, the investigation, major themes, and key quotes, while respecting the gravity of the story.

Transcript

[Hannah]

Wondry plus subscribers can listen to Red Handed early and ad free. Join Wondry plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.

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[Hannah]

I'm Hannah.

[Surruti]

I'm Surruti and welcome to Red Handed.

[Hannah]

A clarification before we go on.

[Surruti]

Mabel ate my glass. No again. And it was entirely my fault. Everything she does is my fault because she's my responsibility. But I was in Malvern over the weekend so I landed Heathrow 5am Cab home, got in the car three hours up to Malvern to pick her up. So I stayed in Malvern so I didn't have to do a six Hour round trip after a flight. So we get to the Airbnb, all fine, and I lie down, take my glasses off, put them next to me. Mistake. Woke up and I was like, wait a minute. And I thought she just like chewed the like, ear bit. And I was like, okay, I can live with that. It's annoying, but it's fine. It was not until quite some time later, after I had been to the supermarket, I'd been to a pub, I'd been to lots of other places, that I realized that she'd actually popped out one of the lenses. So I'd been walking around.

[Hannah]

No.

[Surruti]

With one empty lens. And what.

[Hannah]

I know what is happening. I know you were very jet lagged and very tired and you got back.

[Surruti]

From South Africa, but what's happening, I think because. So I have two different prescriptions. So, like the right eye, which is the lens that popped out, is only minus 0.5. So it's a small. But I still, I mean, I should have noticed anyway.

[Hannah]

Bonkers.

[Surruti]

I do have contact lenses, but they're not. So I was driving and I was like, I don't know if this is fine. And it's because I have astigmatism. And then. Anyway, so your rugby shape. Rugby ball eyes. My shape, yeah. So I also. One of the many reasons I have dim vision is because of the shape of my eye. I just took my contact lenses out because I think they're actually making things worse.

[Hannah]

Oh, no.

[Surruti]

So if I am a slower reader than usual.

[Hannah]

Okay, so we are going barebacking it.

[Surruti]

Yes.

[Hannah]

With Hannah, no eyes over here in what must say is quite a dimly lit studio. So Hannah, just crank up the. The. The volume.

[Surruti]

The brightness.

[Hannah]

The brightness.

[Surruti]

Yes, that's true.

[Hannah]

On your screen and let's hope for the best. But that does remind me of the time when I was looking at a picture and I couldn't see it clearly on my phone and I tried turning up the volume so I could see it. So, you know, we all need help. So let's see what we can do. Maybe we can help you out this glorious day with what is going to be not a very glorious case. It's pretty fucking horrible.

[Surruti]

At 1:30am on the 1st of February, 1979, a snowplow driver who may or may not have been Mr. Plough, pulled into a wooded turnaround point in Van Buren County, Michigan. As the driver manoeuvred his plough, he noticed a set of fresh footprints in the snow leading out towards the woods.

[Hannah]

Now, he does the right thing, but I'M gonna say it's not what I'd be doing.

[Surruti]

Straight back in the plough.

[Hannah]

Yeah, just plow over the footprints, leave no trace.

[Surruti]

Mr. Plough did not do that. He was confused and actually quite worried that someone might have wandered off into the freezing cold Michigan wilderness, which is very cold indeed. So the man jumped out of his plough and he followed the tracks in the snow. He didn't have to walk far before his worst fears were realised. There was a body in the snow, the body of 22 year old part time motel night clerk Janet Chandler.

[Hannah]

Janet was naked, wrapped in nothing but a tarp. And when the police arrived, it was clear that she'd been savagely beaten and raped. The police had actually been looking for Janet for the past few hours. She'd gone missing from her job at the Bloom mill Inn about 40 miles down the road earlier that night. As far as the police could see, it looked like a robbery turned kidnapping turned rape and eventual murder. But even that long list of horrible things wasn't the full story. Unfortunately, it would take the police almost three decades to find out what really happened to Janet Chandler. And to piece together the story we're about to tell you.

[Surruti]

To tell you that story as we so often do, we have to rewind all the way back to 29 May 1956, when Janet Chandler was born in Keegan County, Michigan. Her parents, Jim and Glenna, raised Janet as a devout Christian, which in that neck of the woods isn't surprising. And Janet grew up passionate about music and singing the word of the Lord. However, it wasn't all sunshine, rainbows and Genesis. Janet's strict Christian upbringing meant that building friendships was tricky.

[Hannah]

So she's like particularly strict, even in an area that would have been quite Christian.

[Surruti]

Interesting. So strict in fact, that Jim and Glenna wouldn't even let Janet go over to friends houses if their parents had alcohol on the property. So the classic rite of passage for every teenager, the sleepover with her BFFs was just totally out of the question. So Janet drifted through school as a bit of a loner. After she graduated high school, Janet went to college to study nursing, but didn't quite land on her feet. Janet found university difficult. She wasn't particularly academic and found taking criticism hard, even leaving the lecture hall in floods of tears after being told off. Horrible, but a necessary evil, I think. How are you going to grow?

[Hannah]

Especially when you're studying something like nursing?

[Surruti]

Yes, yes. If you get it wrong, you get it wrong. Eventually, Janet dropped out altogether, claiming that she couldn't cope with the behavior of her wild and rowdy peers who were smoking and drinking and taking drugs and stuff.

[Hannah]

But God loves a try her. And by the mid-1970s, Janet had re enrolled. This time she signed up to study music at Hope College with the dream of becoming a teacher or even working in musical theatre. Bother. I mean, if we're talking about criticism at uni being too hard.

[Surruti]

Oh yeah, Fucking hell no. That will kill a bitch. Thicken your skin or it will kill a bitch.

[Hannah]

Yeah. So it was while at Hope College that Janet began her first proper relationship with a man in his 40s. Yeah. Bad news because she is obviously very young. Now, it's unclear from the research that we've done how Janet met this man or where their relationship developed. We actually don't even know his name. But we do know that Janet would sneak the man into her parents home a few nights a week to have sex while her parents were away.

[Surruti]

This is the thing, isn't it? If you are so strict with your children, they are going to rebel at some point or another and you have to wonder if she was just allowed to go on a sleepover, whether she would have ended up with a man, you know, decades her senior.

[Hannah]

Very good question. And I am reminded it's not exactly the same thing, but I am reminded by this. I cannot remember her name, but she's an African comedian and I just was like, yeah, I feel ya. Where it's like if you grow up in like a particular type of immigrant household where your parents are like, no boyfriends, no boyfriends, no boyfriends, no boyfriends. And then the minute you're like in your 20s, they're like, why aren't you married? Because I'm fucking emotionally incapable of having met a man. Because you didn't allow it for my entire formative years. So yeah, I can see where that's kind of playing into this. Right, so despite this older man's identity not being public knowledge, he has spoken anonymously since all this happened. And allegedly he said that he deeply now regrets his relationship with Janet and feels that he took advantage of her naivety.

[Surruti]

Yep, you did. And you will live with that for the rest of your life. While we don't know too much about the man that Janet was sleeping with, we do know that their relationship marked a significant change in her behaviour. And those changes were noticeable enough that Janet's friends had started to worry about the devout Christian girl they'd once known, who was now sneaking a middle aged man into her parents house for sex. But it didn't last forever. By 1978, Janet was single again. And in August of that year the 22 year old got a part time job as a night clerk at the Blue Mill Inn, a motel in Holland County, Michigan. The motel did have a reputation for being a pretty seedy establishment. Show me a motel that isn't. And it was generally frequented by truckers, travelling salesmen and the occasional sex worker. And I would bet any money external corridors. Oh yes, that is my one rule. Yeah, when we travel and we're asked what we want the hotel to be like, I say no external corridors. Not here.

[Hannah]

Agree. And I insist on no more former workhouses for children because we did once stay in what was a former Victorian workhouse that was filled with the ghosts of all sorts of fucking dead babies for sure. And also no people having a fucking crack induced rap battle next door at three in the morning. True story. Anyway, I don't know if that's what's going on at Blue Mill or not, but that is where Janet worked and she got the job through her best friend, Laurie Swank. 21 year old. Laurie was the hotel's manager, which I'm like that is exceedingly young to be motel manager, but she is Cooler days call for layers that last and Quince is my go to for quality essentials that feel cosy, look refined and won't blow your budget. Think Mongolian cashmere for just $50. Premium denim that fits like a dream and luxe outerwear that you can wear year after year. These are the pieces that'll turn into your autumn uniform. I'm so impressed with Quince's wool coats that look designer level but cost a fraction of the price and the quality. Honestly, even better than the overpriced brands that I've been duped into buying before. Big win Quince partners directly with the best ethical factories and cuts out the middleman so they can deliver luxury quality goods at half the price of similar brands. Find your full staples at quints. Go to quince.comredhanded for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U I N C E.comredhanded to get free shipping and 365 day returns.

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[Hannah]

And not only did Lori get Janet the job, but the pair actually moved in together as well, living in a Duplox nearby. By day, Janet would attend classes at Hope College and by night she would run Blue Mill Inns reception until the early hours of the morning. Now, it's important to reiterate that Janet came into this job in a bit of a weird headspace. Remember, she'd been raised as a devout Christian, but had recently entered into an intense sexual relationship with a much older.

[Surruti]

Man, which probably destroyed her when it ended.

[Hannah]

I think again, possibly. Like we said, we don't even know the identity of this man. We obviously don't know too much about how Janet felt about it, but what we do know from her friends is that Janet had enjoyed that relationship. And more importantly, during that relationship with this man, she'd realised something important, that there had been absolutely no consequences, biblically speaking, to her having had sex outside of marriage. She hadn't been cast down to the depths of hell, she hadn't been smoted a plague of bad luck hadn't hit her family and she hadn't gone blind. Janet had been kept on the straight and narrow all her life, through fear. And now that fear was fading. Janet didn't have anything stopping her.

[Surruti]

And with that foreshadowing out of the way, let's talk about the Wackenhut Company.

[Hannah]

I can't take this name. Seriously.

[Surruti]

I can't either.

[Hannah]

No. There's a company in the US who I worked with many a year ago when I was producing a manufacturing conference. Oh, my God, it was so boring. Kill me, but the company will always live in my brain. It was called the Big Ass Fan Company. That's the name of it. And they make giant fans and it's literally called the Big Ass Fan Company.

[Surruti]

A company? Well, it's a shop, actually, that I've seen in Australia and they have it in South Africa as well. It's like trainers and like running socks and stuff. It's called Athlete's Foot. Come on.

[Hannah]

Memorable, though.

[Surruti]

Oh, I hate it. Like. Oh, yeah, like, let me go and get some socks at the fungal infection shop.

[Hannah]

No, thanks. Have you ever had athletes film?

[Surruti]

I actually have not. No, not have I, because I'm not an athlete. I am a potato.

[Hannah]

Who knows now I have high cholesterol. Maybe I'll get it. Yeah, just in Case you're not a patron. I did like, a full, full count. Like, full. Let's just do all my bloods situation. Because I was like, my mum's got, like, some sort of thyroid problem. Both my parents are B12 deficient. I'm definitely been anemic in the past and I've gone off the pill now and I'm having periods again. I'm definitely going to be that. Let's just get it all done. And I don't, like, eat dairy very much except cheese and chocolate, so I probably got some sort of bone density problem. They were like, everything's fine, but you have got high cholesterol. I was like, what the actual fuck? The episode went out. Three of my friends text me said, I just found out I've got high cholesterol.

[Surruti]

What's going on?

[Hannah]

I'm confused. But, yeah, maybe I'll get gout. Mmm.

[Surruti]

I mean, affluent. So it turns out that the Wackenhut Company was and actually still is, a large security firm founded by ex FBI agent George Wakenhutt.

[Hannah]

That's not your name?

[Surruti]

No.

[Hannah]

It sounds fake. I don't. I don't like it.

[Surruti]

But he did enough to keep it or not change it. And him and his mates started the Wackenhut Company in 1951. And in October 1978, they were brought into Holland County, Michigan, by a big chemical manufacturer called Chematron. Okay. Michigan obviously does not have the best history when it comes to this sort of thing. So, yeah, bear that in mind. Yeah, Chematron had a chemical factory in Holland county, and the factory workers in said factory had gone on strike. During this strike, the picket line had become violent and Wackenhut security guards were brought in to control the violence. As a result, in October 1978, about 80 security guards from all around the US were moved into the Blue Mill Inn. And these security guards were employees of Wackenhutt who had taken an offer of good money to move away from home for a few months, set up in a motel and fight picketing factory workers. I'm going to say, if you are installing a group of people to beat another group of people up who are only exercising their right to strike, which I have said many times is a right that I will stand by under any circumstances. Don't put them all in the same place.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Surruti]

Some of these security guards had families. Some of them were a bit more transient, but they all liked a drink and a smoke and a party. And they especially liked to do that out on the road where their Wives were not.

[Hannah]

The head of security for this rowdy bunch of hired thugs was a man called Arthur Paiva, although his friends called him Chuck. But we're going to call him Paiva because, well, I'm not his mate. And it also turns out he's not a very nice man. Almost as soon as the guys from Wackenhutt Security turned up at Blue Mill Inn, things between the guards and the motel staff got incredibly complicated. Shock. Most of the staff were women in their early to mid-20s, and the guards didn't do much to hide their obvious lust towards them. And from what we can see, things very quickly turned into some kind of, like, after dark, seedy back alley Love Island.

[Surruti]

I saw a really funny TikTok last night. It's a comedian talking about Love Island. I can't remember his name. I know I always do this. I'm so sorry. And he's like, why is it that when on Love island, when you pull someone for a chat, it's like a GCSE French oral exam? I have two brothers and I like to play football and I go to the swimming pool.

[Hannah]

Oh, my God, that's amazing. Even when you just said pull them for a chat, like, I cringed internally. Look, I'm not too good for a romantic reality show. Everybody fucking knows that. But I draw the line at Love Island. They're too young and they're too stupid.

[Surruti]

I only ever watched one series and then Caroline died and I was like, you know what? I'm good.

[Hannah]

But back to our story. After a day of beating up striking factory workers, the guards would come back to the motel with alcohol, cigarettes and enough drugs to kill a small pony. All to party until the early hours of the morning.

[Surruti]

Where there be truckers, there be crystal Methodists.

[Hannah]

And the hotel staff quickly began to develop relationships with the guards that, according to later court records, were sexual and non monogamous in nature. God, yeah.

[Surruti]

Someone spray them down.

[Hannah]

They'd probably like it.

[Surruti]

Oh, God. Some sort of antibacterial antibiotic spray. But it's at this point we're going to take a quick pause and discuss the delicate topic of if and when Janet Chandler got involved with these last days of Saigon parties. Janet's family and friends are still around. It's not like they just disappeared. She left them all behind. And they actually have appeared in several documentaries on this case. And given that Janet's family are devout Christians, it is their belief that Janet had absolutely no interest in what was happening at the Blue Mill Inn and that she was coerced into the debauchery against her will.

[Hannah]

And I don't blame them. I also don't think that that is specifically unique to like hyper religious parents or hyper religious family. I think given what's about to happen with this story, I think most people who are the parents of a young woman would want that to be or not want that to be the case. But you know what I mean, I don't think they'd be able to bring themselves to believe that their daughter was involved in what the fuck was going on in this motel.

[Surruti]

I agree. Unfortunately for them, from what we can see from court records and other reports, it seems like Janet was actually pretty up for it. Of course, you could argue that Janet had been tainted by evil or tempted by the devil and was not really in control of her actions. And some of her friends and family make that argument. But as we said earlier, Janet had already had quite a lot of sex and done kind of everything with her older boyfriend in the year before. And as we foreshadowed, Janet had been struck by the distinct lack of holy consequences for her so called sins.

[Hannah]

With that in mind, it's not an enormous surprise that when the Wacken Hut guards turned up rough and ready and up for a good time, Janet may have gone on a bit of a tear.

[Surruti]

Do you know what's so bad about it being called whacking her? They're whacking people, that's what their job. Their job is to whack.

[Hannah]

I don't know if I've just been corrupted by all of the, like, rampant sex in this episode, but I was like, whacking one out. Whacking one out in the hut, in the blue mill hut. Whacking heart. Yeah, it all works.

[Surruti]

It all works. Yeah, true.

[Hannah]

So, yeah, almost immediately after the Wackenhutt guards had arrived, Janet had started a sexual relationship with none other than the head of security, Arthur Paiva. However, when Paiva started to become verbally and physically abusive towards Janet, she broke things off and instead she began having casual hookups with the other guards. Now, it's not clear how many of the guards Janet slept with, but it seems to have been quite a few. And there are hints that she may also have been engaging in group sex sessions. These hook ups with the guards became steadily more frequent and blatant until they were essentially an open secret within the motel. One guard, called James Nelson, would often come down to reception, openly grope Janet and describe the sex acts that he wanted to perform on her. This just all sounds so fucking horrible and in another quite ballsy moment, Janet apparently phoned one of the guards in his room and asked him to come to reception. The guard, who was allegedly dating another woman working at the motel at this point, came downstairs and found Janet in a side room wearing nothing but a pair of cowboy boots. Something for which Janet received quite a bollocking from management.

[Surruti]

Not a holy consequence, but a consequence nonetheless. And let's make something very clear, there's not much wrong with any of that if you are a consenting adult. Janet was 22. She'd struggled to open up and enjoy herself before at nursing college because of her religious upbringing and that had had such an effect on her, she quit. So perhaps Janet was making up for lost time and Quite frankly, a 22 year old shagging their way through their uni halls. It's not that unusual and for some people it's the whole reason that they go to university in the first place. But these weren't university halls and these were not university students either. The Wackenhutt men were older, rougher men than university students who'd taken a months long job in the middle of bumfuck nowhere so they could get paid to fight factory workers and potty even more.

[Hannah]

Unfortunately for Janet, while her new found liberal attitude to sex was going down a storm with the security guards, it was not going down so well with the other motel staff, most notably her so called best friend, Laurie Swank.

[Surruti]

Living with friends is hard enough. Living and working with your best friend, it never ends well.

[Hannah]

Now, Laurie's exact reasoning for her developing jealousy over Janet is actually not that clear. A lot of the newspapers and documentaries simplify the situation by making out that Laurie was simply jealous over the attention that Janet was getting from Arthur Paeva, the head security guard. They say that Laurie fancied Pava herself and she knew that he and Janet had hooked up. And while this could be true, we also know that Arthur Peeva had another on off girlfriend called Patti Ward, who Laurie didn't seem to have a problem with at all. I think it seems more likely, possibly that Laurie was actually getting jealous over the attention that Janet was getting in general, rather than just maybe from one particular man.

[Surruti]

Also, she has got her that job and she's her manager and it doesn't seem like Janet's doing much work.

[Hannah]

This is the thing, I think this case, it is presented very strongly that Lori is intensely jealous of Janet and I don't necessarily think that's.

[Surruti]

I don't either. And I think women get fobbed off with that A lot. Like, it's not like Janet is also conducting herself in an unprofessional manner at work. Yeah, in a job that her mate got for her. Like I would be fucked off.

[Hannah]

And we don't know the full ins and outs of it. Look, Janet can do what Janet wants to do, but when you're at work, obviously she got a bollocking from management because she's like hanging out in the bloody stationary cupboard wearing nothing but a pair of cowboy boots and like, you know, doing what she's doing. But like, Lori also lives with her, like you said, Hannah and I think we don't know what time she's turning up at the house. Is she drunk when she gets home? Does she wake Laurie up? Like, I don't think it's that simple. I think their relationship is fragmenting because of the lifestyle that Janet is choosing. But either way, what we know for sure is that Laurie used Arthur Paver to enact her so called revenge.

[Surruti]

At some Stage during late December 1978, the strike at the Kemetron plant.

[Hannah]

Sounds like a fucking plant in a.

[Surruti]

Batman film or Futurama.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Surruti]

The strike began to wind down and everyone knew, the strikers and motel staff alike knew that the guards would be leaving pretty soon. So Laurie Swank hatched a plan. She told Arthur Paiva, head of security, that Janet was sleeping around, which she was, and managed to convince him that that was a real embarrassment for him. Why this was such a slap in Pava's face is not totally clear, considering he had already moved on to another woman. But pride is pride, I suppose. Somehow Laurie Swank convinced Peeva that Janet was basically sleeping with other men behind his back, despite the fact that he and Janet were not actually together anymore. Arthur Pava got so riled up over this convoluted explanation, he decided that he was going to teach Janet a lesson. And so Paiva, along with a couple of his cronies, hatched a plan all of their own.

[Hannah]

Yeah, so I'm just saying, like, just to put this out there, like, obviously we don't know the exact reason for why Laurie and Janet's relationship sours, but what she does here is, is not, not good. Like she may have various different gripes with Janet, but this seems quite extreme.

[Surruti]

Extreme, underhanded, dangerous. Yeah, lots of things, Lots of words.

[Hannah]

Uh huh. So on the night of 30 January 1979, Janet was once again working at the reception of the Blue Mill Inn when two guards walked over to her. They were James Nelson, who Janet had slept with before and another man called Robert Lynch. Lynch was a little older than the others and generally kept more to himself, drinking heavily on his own. Nelson and lynch told Janet that they'd planned a surprise party for her and she should put a blindfold on and come with them now. At first Janet was hesitant, but the two men insisted they'd cleared the whole thing with Laurie, who is, remember, her best friend and boss and her roommate. So Janet went along with it. It's just so fucking scary.

[Surruti]

Yeah.

[Hannah]

I also.

[Surruti]

Obviously we're not 100% on how much drug partakement Janet was doing, but I can.

[Hannah]

It's not none.

[Surruti]

It's not none. So perhaps decision making impaired. And it does make me think of Nancy and Peep Show. She was like, yeah, she's smoking crystal meth at the IMAX in Croydon.

[Hannah]

It's so scary. Oh my God. I actually watched this film the other day that's like. It's like a horror film thriller film about these two girls. I think they're American or something. And they basically go backpacking in Australia and they run out of money and so they get to go to this agency and they're like. Get them a job, like working in a motel or something. And they're like, the only thing I've got this late in the season is at this random motel in the middle of fucking bush, fucking whacking hut nowhere. And they're like, we'll take it. And when they get there, it's just like. It's all men. And it's just like this rough outback area and they're all just kind of like. I want to say like oil riggers, but like, obviously not because they're not near the seat. But you know what I mean. It just gets progressively more scary every night. And that's what this feels like. Cannot remember what it's called. It's got the lady from Ozark in it with the blonde curly hair.

[Surruti]

Oh, I don't know. Fuck about shit. I love her.

[Hannah]

Yeah. So yes, sticking with the terrifying situation that Janet is about to go into.

[Surruti]

I don't need shit about f ck Sorry.

[Hannah]

As you should correct yourself. So the two men blindfold Janet, then handcuffed her and led her to a waiting car. Another guard called Anthony Williams watched from a balcony with some of the motel staff as Janet was bundled into the vehicle and it drove away.

[Surruti]

At around 2am Robert lynch went back inside and rummaged through the Blue Mill Inns reception office, stole about $500 in cash and then called the police. The police arrived a few minutes later and lynch told them that Janet had been on the phone with James Nelson and it sounded like someone had come in and robbed the motel. James Nelson said that he'd heard a scuffle down the phone and when he went downstairs, Janet was gone. The police assumed, understandably perhaps, that a robbery had gone wrong and had resulted in Janet's kidnapping. They interviewed the two men, along with some of the other hotel workers and security guards, and then they went out to look for Janet. Little did they know, Janet was with another set of security guards. They were holding her at the temporary accommodation of Arthur Paiva, who, as head of security, had a lake house on the Chemtron factory grounds.

[Hannah]

The most fucking dystopian shit I've ever heard in my life. Who wants a fucking lake house on the grounds of a chemical plant?

[Surruti]

Well, Arthur Pava might spot some blinkies.

[Hannah]

Also looked it up. She's called Julia Garner, the lady from Ozark, and the film is called the Royal Hotel.

[Surruti]

Oh, well done.

[Hannah]

So for the duration of the journey there, Janet was still under the impression that she was going to a surprise party held in her honour. But that impression quickly changed. When she arrived at the house, There were about 15 people waiting for her, including six female colleagues from the Blue Mill Inn, one of whom was, of course, her best friend, Laurie Swank. Now, Janet's colleagues watched as the blindfold was taken off and then quickly replaced by duct tape. James Nelson then wrapped a belt around Janet's neck and he dragged her around the house, verbally abusing her. During this time, Patty Ward, Arthur Paiva's ex girlfriend, arrived and apparently Janet mumbled to Ward that she was all right as she was dragged past her.

[Surruti]

Christ.

[Hannah]

Then Paiva told Patti Ward to leave as he, James Nelson and two other guards took Janet upstairs to his bedroom. Paiva then raped Janet while several other party guests watched as he raped her. Paiva shouted at Janet, you're gonna die, bitch. You're gonna die. Once he was finished, the other guards formed an orderly queue.

[Surruti]

It's like McCamey Manor shit, isn't it?

[Hannah]

What's that?

[Surruti]

It's that haunted house where you have to sign a waiver.

[Hannah]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Fuck. I actually just feel so. I just feel so disturbed by this story because I just have this feeling, right, Janet, that she maybe have had some reservations about the whole situation on the drive there. They take the blindfold off, she sees six of her female colleagues there. I assume there must have been some relief at that point where you're like, okay, phew. Maybe everything is okay. And then this starts.

[Surruti]

Mm. I also think it perhaps illuminates how debauched what was going on at the motel had already become. For no one to say that this.

[Hannah]

Was not fine, and this is particularly disturbing, but, you know, I've thought it now, so let's put it out there. I wonder if at any point during her ordeal, Janet slipped back into her upbringing and wondered if this was all some sort of biblical smiting for what she'd done.

[Surruti]

And we're not finished. Two of Janet's colleagues, Cheryl Ruiz and Diane Marsman, watched on as James Nelson, Janet's ex lover, raped Janet anally and orally. Arthur Paiva was watching too, shouting, fuck her to death. That fucking bitch. She deserves to die. She deserves to be fucked. For the next few hours, Janet's colleagues from the Blue Mill Inn watched, shouted abuse and joined in. The guards took turns raping Janet. During that time, at least four men, James Nelson, Arthur Paiva, Freddie Parker, and Anthony Williams individually raped Janet multiple times. William specifically spent most of the time masturbating in a corner until Paiva finally gave him his turn and Williams ejaculated on Janet's back. Laurie Swank would later admit that she'd also participated in the rape of her best friend. How exactly she did that has never been made totally clear. As all of this took place, another guard called Ronald Wirwick took photos of the whole thing because Arthur Paiva told him to. Apparently, Paiva wanted to make sure that he had evidence to hold over everyone's heads in case they decided to rat him out. Well, that's all thoroughly unpleasant, so we're going to bring you a quick interlude so you can have a breather, have a break, and we're going to tell you about some other bits of red handed content that you might have missed this month.

[Hannah]

This week on under the Duvet, which is our Patreon exclusive show, I did a deep dive into Belle Gibson, who is of course the cancer scammer who fooled Apple and the world and everybody is talking about because of the new Netflix show, Apple Cider Vinegar. If you want the real story behind her, we talk about it on under the Duvet this week. And we also talk about Kanye west and his swastika T shirts because they're hard to miss. And if you're interested in hearing us talk about those things, well, you can sign up and become a patron right now and get tons of exclusive content like weekly episodes of under the Duvet and also monthly Full bonus episodes of Red Handed, exclusively on on Patreon.

[Surruti]

And this month's bonus is on the case of Ashley Reeves, a teenager who was groomed by her teacher who then tried to kill her. But if you're not quite ready to commit to a full subscription, you should talk to your therapist about your issues, but still want more Red Handed in your life. You can do that because now you can purchase individual pieces of bonus content and you can do that as many times as you like.

[Hannah]

You can indeed. And the place to do it is over on Patreon. P-A-T-R-E-O-N.com Redhanded do not, for the love of God, sign up through the app or Patreon app. They will just charge you more. Just go to patreon.com redhanded and do it there. Right, let's get back to it. Back to Janet. All right. Should we talk about the Signal Awards?

[Surruti]

Sure, sure.

[Hannah]

That is the level of enthusiasm we would love you guys to have for us too, because if you remember, we made the podcast series Flesh and Code with Wondery. We were super excited, like, the minute they brought that story to us. Because if you haven't listened to Flesh and Code, it's essentially about following people who essentially fall in love with their, like, AI companions. It's about Russian interference and all sorts of crazy things and about how these AI companions are to be trusted, whether this is a good thing, how it was impacting on a larger scale and the ramifications when Replika, that was the company at the heart of it, took away the erotic roleplay function and didn't go well. Spoilers. So we loved making it. We spent, what, 18 months making that show and we worked so, so hard on it. And so we are going to ask a very small favour of you guys. Shockingly to us, Flesh and Code has been put up for the Listener's Choice category of the Signal Awards 2025. So we would love you guys to please help us out and basically try get some more eyes and ears on Flesh and Code because it was a real labor of love for us. What you guys need to do is go to the Signal Awards website and vote for Flesh and Code. Again, it's in the Listener's Choice category and you can find us under documentaries. That's the category you're looking for. And then under Limited Series and Specials, voting is open until the 9th of October. So you really don't have much time. Like, literally go do this now. And we would just be so incredibly grateful. Because if we did win the Listener's choice for Flesh and Code at the Signals Award, then it would just mean the world to us. Thank you.

[Lawless Planet Narrator]

How hard is it to kill a planet? Maybe all it takes is a little drilling, some mining and a whole lot of carbon pumped into the atmosphere. When you see what's left, it starts to look like a crime scene.

[Surruti]

Are we really safe? Is our water safe? You destroyed our town.

[Lawless Planet Narrator]

And crimes like that, they don't just happen.

[Hannah]

We call things accidents.

[Morbid Podcast Hosts]

There is no accident.

[Surruti]

This was 100% preventable.

[Lawless Planet Narrator]

They're the result of choices by people. Ruthless oil tycoons, corrupt politicians, even organized crime. These are the stories we need to be telling about our changing planet. Stories of scams, murders and coverups that are about us and the things we're doing to either protect the Earth or destroy it. Follow Lawless Planet on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes of Lawless Planet early and ad free right now by joining Wondry plus in the wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

[Hannah]

The last man to rape Janet Chandler was Robert lynch, the older, alcoholic loner who'd set up the Bloom Mill Inns reception to look like a robbery and phoned the police. Lynch violently raped Janet, pulling hard on the belt around her neck as he did so. When he'd finished, Janet slumped down lifeless, and a party guest cried, she's dead. As the realisation spread through the room, people scattered. Laurie Swank fled the scene immediately and drove back to the Blue Moon Inn while Paiva ran into another room and began smashing furniture in anger and panic. Williams, Lynch, Nelson and Paiva then took Janet's body into the shower and then wrapped her in a tarp. I find it shocking that they're also shocked that she's died when they've literally been screaming that they're going to kill her from the second she arrived. Now, some of the other guests fled while others rapidly cleaned up the guest house. They then transferred Janet's body into Robert Lynch's car. Paver and Nelson went back inside and told Patty Ward, Cheryl Ruiz and Diane Marsman that the same thing would happen to them if any of the women ever spoke out. Meanwhile, lynch drove to a wooden turnabout roughly 40 miles on the I196 just outside the town of Grand Haven, Michigan. And there he dumped Janet's body in the snow. The police believe that the snowplow driver who found Janet's body arrived about five minutes after Robert lynch had dumped it. I just can't imagine being another woman who was there and like, having taken part in it. Look, I'm not, I'm not like under any illusions that women can't take part in violent sexual situations like this. Of course they can. But I'm like, were you not fucking terrified that they were gonna do this to you next? Like, my God.

[Surruti]

Yeah. When word got back to Janet's family that her body had been discovered in the snow, of course they were absolutely devastated. They knew that she was missing, they'd heard that from the police and they'd spent the night driving around looking for her. Even someone being missing in weather like that is terrifying enough.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Surruti]

The police did attempt to talk to everybody who had been staying at the Blue Mill Inn immediately after they found Janet's body. But it turned out that Paiva had timed his so called lesson well. The strike officially ended just a few days after Janet was killed. And the guards from the Wackenhutt Company quickly dispersed across the country. But not before Arthur Paiva dropped into Janet's funeral to pay his respects. Eventually, with every potential witness littered across the continental United states and without DNA testing to fall back on, we're in the 70s, let's remember Janet's case went cold and Janet's family wouldn't get anything even close. Even approaching closure for another two and a half decades.

[Hannah]

It wasn't until 2003 that Janet's name would be brought up again, but not by police, but by a professor at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where of course, Janet had been studying two decades prior. David Schock, who led a film class at the college, set his students the task of creating a documentary on Janet's murder. Together, Shock and his students pored over old newspaper articles, spoke to locals on the street and eventually even filmed interviews with Jim and Glenna Chandler, Janet's parents. The class titled the short film who Killed Janet Chandler? It opened to a packed Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland on the 25 year anniversary of Janet's murder.

[Surruti]

The documentary was such a success that public pressure began to build to a point where the police decided they were going to reinvestigate Janet's death. Holland's police chief, one John A. Crueethoth, was just a fresh faced junior when Janet died back in 1979. Off the back of the film, Kruethoff decided to assign Janet's case to David van Lopic, a 45 year old veteran who led a small team in re investigating Janet's murder. They spent the first few months trying to put together a better picture of Janet Chandler. Not just the God fearing good girl that had been described to the police by her parents, but also who she was when she was away from her parents gaze. And that was when the police found out about Janet's 40 something year old boyfriend and they tracked him down and spoke to him.

[Hannah]

They also managed to track down Laurie Swank. Laurie, who was now in her 40s, spoke about her best friend Janet with a tear in her eye as she described her musical and fun loving pal. But she also let slip about the guys staying at the motel, saying that they were a wild group who liked to party. Laurie admitted that she and Janet had both had affairs with the guards and that she'd had to reprimand Janet for using a display room for sex.

[Surruti]

I am aware that I am. I carry more guilt than a normal person. The idea of a negative Airbnb review keeps me up at night.

[Hannah]

What's your Uber rating?

[Surruti]

I don't know.

[Hannah]

I'm gonna check mine.

[Surruti]

It was really low for a while and I really had to push it back up. This is an unpopular opinion.

[Hannah]

Uh huh.

[Surruti]

I understand that. When Airbnbs used to be cheaper than hotels, I understand why you're expected to strip the beds.

[Hannah]

Sure, sure, sure. If I've paid double what I would.

[Surruti]

Pay in a hotel, I'm not stripping the bed. I'm not taking the bin out. I'm not doing it. No.

[Hannah]

I'm not washing everything up.

[Surruti]

No. But I've.

[Hannah]

But I do because I'm scared of the bad reviews.

[Surruti]

Well, this is it.

[Hannah]

Okay. My Uber rating. I can't believe it's fucking this. It should be higher. 4.82, 4.61.

[Surruti]

Which I. Because I mean years and years and years ago it plummeted. It was really bad and I just felt terrible. But I believe Anything above a 4.4 is okay.

[Hannah]

Yes, I got picked up. The only reason I did actually check my Uber rating the other day, but I forgot is I got picked up by an Uber driver and he was like, I don't pick anyone up less than 4.8. I was like, less than 4.8. So I just snuck over the fucking line. 4.82 over here. Wow. I know. I think I've done all my throwing up in the back of Ubers when other people have booked them. Sorry about that.

[Surruti]

She's your sphere of influence having their Uber rating decimated.

[Hannah]

I know, but you know, it's just the way it works out. If I'm that drunk, then I'm gonna Throw up. I've not got my shit together enough.

[Surruti]

To order the Uber Fair.

[Hannah]

But getting back to Janet.

[Surruti]

Sorry, that was the whole point of that.

[Hannah]

Yes. Sorry, I. Tell me that first.

[Surruti]

Get so worried about stuff like that. Genuinely worried. Imagine carrying for 25 years you are the reason that your best friend is dead and you know exactly what happened and you know the police haven't found out and you know her family have no peace. I hope you haven't slept a fucking day of your life, Laurie Swank.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I would hope so, but I don't think so. So, yeah, to get back to Janet, the small team reinvestigating her murder then chased quite a few shadows and went down more than one wild goose rabbit hole across the land. They're just chasing kind of false leads all over the place. They don't really have enough to grasp onto. Unsurprising, it's a 25 year old murder, but they are basically trying to track down all the men who stayed at the motel. And eventually they did find Robert Lynch. Lynch was now in his mid-60s and lived just 80 miles away from the Blue Mill. Innovation, which in and of itself is disgusting. Like that's where you fucking killed somebody. And it gets even more disgusting because in that time he'd also started a family and he also ran quite a successful beauty school with his wife.

[Surruti]

Despite his squeaky clean family man image, Van Loppic was convinced that something about Robert lynch was off. He was still drinking like a man half his age, downing large quantities of spirits on the daily, almost as if there was something he wanted to block out. Van Loppet was so convinced that lynch had something to hide that he spent months slowly, slowly catchy monkey getting to know the older man. Police went down for frequent casual chats and off the book interviews, telling lynch that they just wanted to know a little bit more about Janet Chandler. And it worked. Robert lynch let his guard down and admitted to Van Lopek and his team that he and Janet had once upon a time slept together. Then he dropped another bombshell. Janet had been sleeping with some of the other guards at a party around the time that she'd gone missing and that that party had gone. And this is a quote, haywire, funny.

[Hannah]

Word to describe a planned fucking rape party gag.

[Surruti]

Rape, yeah. And perhaps realising that he had said too much after that revelation, lynch went quiet and added that all of that was just second hand information and he had absolutely nothing else to say.

[Hannah]

However, Van loppock went back 11 days later, this time with a copy of who Killed Janet Chandler on dvd. The officer sat with lynch and watched the documentary and paused as Janet's dad Jim gave a teary interview, talking about wanting closure. Van Loepic asked Lynch about his own daughter, who was roughly by this point the same age Janet was when she died, and said, if she were killed, wouldn't you want to know what had happened to her? This is very interesting and very good police work. And finally, just as Van Loppeck had hoped, lynch broke and began telling him the graphic details of the night that Janet had been murdered. But even then, it wasn't plain sailing. It took the team another four months to get everything that they needed. But eventually they gathered enough evidence to go and round up the entire gang.

[Surruti]

What about the photos? I can hear you asking quietly and politely because we know that Ronald Wirwick was ordered by Arthur Paiva to document the whole thing in case he needed collateral for blackmail. Those photos never actually made it to Arthur Paiva. They were actually given to another guard who was supposed to pass them along. But when the strike ended, police were already sniffing around. So those photos, those incriminating photos never made it into Paiva's possession. Due to the repulsive content of said pictures, getting them developed would be quite difficult. So we can only assume that they never were and that the negatives have either been lost or destroyed. We just don't know. The case of the murder of Janet Chandler went to trial in 2006, 27 years since Janet had been so brutally and senselessly murdered. To make up for the lack of physical evidence, that is the photos that were never developed or lost or destroyed or buried. Robert lynch was offered a plea deal. If lynch testified against James Nelson, Arthur Paiva, Freddie Parker and Anthony Williams, then he would be allowed to plead guilty to second degree murder. Laurie Swank also agreed to testify, which is absolutely the least she can fucking do. Along with Cheryl Ruiz and Diane Marsman. And the four of them painted a graphic picture of the night that ended with Janet Chandler's death.

[Hannah]

With their plea deals, lynch was given 25 to 40 years. Swank was given 10 to 20. Nelson, Williams, Paiva and Parker were all sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Despite several failed appeals, both Paiva and Nelson died in prison and Williams and Parker are still alive and still inside. Laurie Swank was released in 2016 after serving 10 years for her part in the rape and murder of her so called best friend. Robert lynch, who is believed to have dealt Janet's final blow, is still alive and will be eligible for parole in 2026.

[Surruti]

And that is where this whole thing would have ended, except Jim and Glenna Chandler were not done yet. Now that they knew who was responsible for the death of their daughter, they wanted to make sure that everyone involved saw justice. Because while the police were confident that there were at least two others involved in the horrific incident, everyone else was scattered to the wind. Prosecutors did briefly attempt to charge Cheryl Ruiz and Diane Marsman, who were present at the rape, and also admitted to throwing insults at Janet as she was defiled. But eventually those charges were dropped. So the Chandler family set their sights on the Wackenhut Corporation instead, the security firm who employed the vile men who killed their daughter. In February 2012, Jim and Glenna took the Wackenhut Corporation to court. They stated that the company was partially responsible for their daughter's death, having not properly background checked its employees before hiring them. And this is not the only time that the Wackenhut Corporation has found itself in hot water. Although the Wackenhut Company actually still operates as a security company since a merger in 2002, it trades under a different name, which is less amusing. G4S. If you're in the UK or the US, G4S will probably be a familiar collection of letters and number to you. They have been involved in a lot of scandals.

[Hannah]

And here is a brief list of all of the major incidents associated with the company. During the 60s, George Wackenhutt and his company began compiling information on people they felt were potential communists. By 1965, they had collected information on one in every 46Americans. They were also accused of working with the right wing Contra militias in Nicaragua, as well as the right wing extremists in Belgium. During their time in Belgium, Wackenhut guards allegedly lured migrant children into a basement and beat them senseless in the 90s. They were then accused of helping Saddam Hussein obtain chemical weapons during the Iran Iraq war. Then in 2008, their contract as armed guards for most of the US nuclear sites was terminated when guards were found to be sleeping on duty. Then in 2012, one of the few nuclear sites they still had was broken into and overwhelmed by protesters, one of whom turned out to be an 82 year old nun.

[Surruti]

Get it, Sister? Later in 2012, G4S came under further fire when they failed to provide the number of security personnel that they'd promised for the London Olympics. And those missing numbers were made up by the army. I remember that.

[Hannah]

Not a good look.

[Surruti]

No. Then in 2014, they were accused of using migrants for cheap labour in prisons that were under their control. And then finally, despite G4S repeatedly claiming that its background checks on its employees were thorough, there was omar Mateen. In 2016, Mateen, an employee of G4S who had worked at the company for nine years, committed one of the largest mass shootings in American history at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

[Hannah]

Fucking hell. That is a bad.

[Surruti]

It's a rap sheet.

[Hannah]

Yeah. Bad, bad, bad employee list there. So, as you can see from that quite extensive selection of scandals. When the Chandlers took the company to court in 2012, it was certainly not their first rodeo. And despite several witnesses providing testimony that proved a culture of conspiracy and silence at Wackenhut at the time of Janet's murder, G4S was found not responsible in any way for her death. The company motto at the time of Janet's murder. Would you like to know what it was?

[Surruti]

It's horrible.

[Hannah]

It's. I know nothing, see nothing and speak only kind words. I mean, it sounds like a fucking cult.

[Surruti]

A security firm.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Surruti]

I want them to see things. I want them to see all of it.

[Hannah]

I want to be like, I know everything. I see everything.

[Surruti]

Hell.

[Hannah]

So at this G4S trial, the judge finished proceedings by saying the today our hands are tied to give James and Glenna Chandler their day in court, as they surely deserve. Michigan law requires us, though, to find that Arthur Paiva's actions were within the scope of his own employment with Wackenhut. For the reason stated in the majority opinion, I am unable to do so. I regretfully. Concurrently, sad times. Really, really bad times. But it's a really interesting case. I mean, just the fact that it basically only comes back to be investigated 25 years later because a fucking like film school.

[Surruti]

Yeah, Drama.

[Hannah]

A film school documentary is made about it. It's crazy.

[Surruti]

Yeah. Teachers are fucking incredible, man.

[Hannah]

Yeah. I just think all the props in the world to Professor Shkock.

[Surruti]

Absolutely.

[Hannah]

And his team for making that. And also for the police officers who didn't just fob it off because it was a 25 year old murder. Totally. Who investigated it thoroughly and brought so many people to justice.

[Surruti]

And as crushing as the final verdict on G4S is, I don't doubt that background checks weren't being done properly. But a background check will not tell you if someone is a bad person.

[Hannah]

No, no. And I completely understand the Chandlers. They had to give it a go. But it was never. Probably gonna. Gonna work massively.

[Surruti]

No, no.

[Hannah]

Yeah. That is the very depressing but like, quite shocking how it ends in terms of actual justice. Story of Janet Chandler. Yeah. So yeah, that's it guys. Everybody, let's go. Let's all go have separate, not communal, separate showers and watch some Bob's burgers, have a little lie down and then come back next week where we'll talk about something else. Goodbye.

[Surruti]

I promise.

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[Morbid Podcast Hosts]

Lighthearted nightmare on our podcast Morbid where your hosts Hosts I'm Elena Urquhart. And I'm Ash Kelly and our show is part true crime, part spooky and part comedy. The stories we cover are well researched. Of the 880 men who survived the attack, around 400 would eventually find their way to one another and merge into one larger group with a touch of humor. Shout out to her. Shout out to all my therapists. Throughout the years there's been like eight of them. A dash of sarcasm and just garnished a bit with a little bit of cursing. Mother is not real. And if you're a weirdo like us and love to cozy up to a creepy tale of the paranormal, or you love to hop in the Wayback Machine and dissect the details of some of history's most notorious crimes, you should tune in to our podcast Morbid. Follow Morbid on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to episodes early and ad free by joining Wondery plus and the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.