SEQUESTERED Podcast

Episode: Mitrice Richardson: Unsolved Death (Malibu, CA) | Part One

Host: Road Trip Studios
Date: August 25, 2025

Overview

This episode launches a two-part investigation into the disappearance and unsolved death of Mitrice Richardson, a 24-year-old Black woman whose case has troubled Los Angeles for over fifteen years. Through immersive storytelling and original audio, the episode unpacks the last known moments of Mitrice’s life—from her arrest at a Malibu restaurant to her release alone at night by police, and the frantic search that followed. The narrative zeros in on systemic issues of race, mental health, and policing failures—foregrounding the voices of Mitrice, her family, and those involved.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Who Was Mitrice Richardson? (00:39–04:30)

• Background: Mitrice Lavon Richardson was born April 30, 1985, raised in Covina, California.
  • Academic excellence—graduated with a 4.0 in psychology from Cal State Fullerton (2008).
  • Talented, empathetic, wanted to help foster youth and become a child psychologist.
  • Loved dance, poetry, and crossword puzzles.
  • Was openly gay and, per LA Magazine, “unapologetically herself,” a trait not always rewarded for young Black women.
• Memorable Moment: Clip of Mitrice from a beauty pageant answering a question:
  • "What one technological advancement do you wish had never been invented?"
  • Mitrice (03:10): “Cell phones… I just wish that cell phones would be limited to just emergencies only.”

2. The Night at Joffrey’s Restaurant (04:30–09:23)

• Timeline: September 16, 2009, Malibu’s Joffrey’s restaurant.
  • Mitrice arrives alone, behaving “distracted but not drunk.”
  • Tells valet about “avenging Michael Jackson’s death” and to “watch for a girl named Vanessa.”
  • Joins strangers at their table, writes poetry at the bar, then can’t pay her $89.51 bill.
  • Restaurant staff and manager grow more concerned about her mental state than the unpaid bill.
• Actual 911 audio (07:44):
  • "We have a guest here who is refusing to pay her bill and we think she may... she sounds really crazy. She may be on drugs or something." — Joffrey’s staff to dispatcher

3. Arrest and Mother’s Forethought (09:23–15:00)

• Deputies arrive, find Mitrice’s ID, phone, wallet, and marijuana in her towed car. Her aunt offers to pay the bill, but deputies arrest Mitrice for “defrauding an innkeeper” and marijuana possession.
• Mitrice, 50 miles from home, is “agitated, not overtly intoxicated” per Pasadena Star News. Her mom suspects a bipolar episode.
• Mother’s call to sheriff's station (12:53):
  • Latice Sutton: “I would hate to wake up to a morning report… girl lost somewhere with her head chopped off…I feel safe with her being in custody. It’s being released that I’m worried about.”
  • Dispatcher assures her Mitrice will not be released at night.

4. Release Into Danger: Contradictory Accounts (15:00–21:00)

• Despite assurances and concerns, Mitrice is released from the remote station at 12:15am—no phone, ID, wallet, or way home—after declining an offer to stay, according to officials.
  • Bail set at $2,500; Mitrice makes phone calls but is “pacing the lobby, pulling her hair, and lies face down on a bench” (as seen on later-released surveillance).
• Immediate aftermath:
  • Mother’s frantic call in the morning, trying to file a missing person report:
    • Latice Sutton (19:23): “How long before a missing person’s report can be filed? Is it 24 or 48 hours?... She’s in an unknown area, she’s never been in. She’s without a vehicle. Nobody can find her.”
  • Dispatcher tells her to wait; doesn’t seem concerned or responsive.
  • Quote: “Listen, my child has never ridden a bus. No, she would not know how to ride a bus.” — Latice Sutton (19:49)

5. Last Sighting: Hours After Release (21:57–24:24)

• 5:30am—neighbor Bill Smith (ex-KTLA anchor) calls Sheriff:
  • Sees “tall, slim Black woman with afro hair” resting on steps. When asked if she’s OK, she says, “I’m just resting,” then disappears.
  • Deputy reportedly not dispatched until nearly an hour after, raising timeline concerns.

6. Search Delays and Family Outrage (26:02–32:00)

• Coverage of how the station is “isolated, not a safe pickup spot.” Family holds a press conference demanding accountability—Latice Sutton asserts a “double standard” in police practices for Black women.

• The Sheriff’s Department claims proper procedures; says Mitrice declined the bed and “was lucid and coherent,” but video later contradicts this.

• Search begins only after 48 hours, despite repeated family urgencies and sightings. Search efforts detour inexplicably to downtown LA (Mitrice had no way to travel there)—potential mishandling of the case’s focus.

  • Family’s outrage: “If Mitrice Richardson’s name was Spears or Lohan, they would never have let her walk out by herself. They would have escorted her home… It’s a double standard.” — Unnamed Family Representative (27:00)

7. False Hopes & Final Heartbreak (31:15–End)

• Months of conflicting leads—sightings in Las Vegas (June 2010), including a supposed encounter at the Rio Hotel, but no confirmation, no hard evidence.
• Miguel Almaguer, NBC News (27:46): “Authorities try to figure out how a beautiful young woman could simply vanish into the night outside a sheriff's station.”
• August 9, 2010: Remains are discovered in a remote Malibu canyon—story will continue in Part Two, with Mitrice’s mother, Latice Sutton, discussing the aftermath.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Mitrice (Pageant, 03:10): “I just wish that cell phones would be limited to just emergencies only.”
• Restaurant staff 911 call (07:44): “She sounds really crazy. She may be on drugs or something.”
• Latice Sutton (Mother, 13:29): “I would hate to wake up to a morning report girl lost somewhere with her head chopped off…I feel safe with her being in custody. It’s being released that I’m worried about.”
• Dispatcher (To Latice, 14:12): “At least in the station here, she will be separated, so nobody's going to be with her. So, at least that's, you know, the plus thing.”
• Latice Sutton (19:49): “Listen, my child has never ridden a bus. No, she would not know how to ride a bus.”
• Bill Smith (Neighbor, 23:19): “She was sitting kind of sprawled out on these wooden steps in the back of the house. Right against the back of the house...I hollered down, are you all right? She said, ‘I'm just resting’ or something like that.”
• Family Representative (27:00): “If Mitrice Richardson name was Spears or Lohan, they would never have let her walk out by herself. ... It’s a double standard.”
• Reporter - NBC News (27:46): “She was not intoxicated. She was not disoriented. The LA County Sheriff's Department did not only everything procedurally correct, but was morally right.”
• Latice Sutton (32:55): “That is correct.” (on learning she helped discover her daughter’s remains)

Important Segments & Timestamps

• 00:39–04:30: Introduction to Mitrice’s life and family background
• 04:30–09:23: The night at Joffrey’s—her unusual behavior and 911 call
• 09:23–12:50: Arrest events and mother’s growing concern
• 12:50–15:00: The pivotal phone call—Latice’s fears, dispatcher assurances
• 15:00–21:00: Mitrice’s booking, surveillance behavior, and midnight release without resources
• 21:57–24:24: Early morning sighting in residential canyon, police dispatch gap
• 26:02–28:13: Family’s anger, press coverage, procedural contradictions
• 28:13–32:55: Failed search directions, Las Vegas sighting, and the lead-in to discovery of remains
• End: Preview of Part Two—mother’s involvement in final discovery

Tone, Language, & Storytelling

• Narrative style: Compassionate, investigative, and unflinching—centered on Mitrice’s humanity and her family’s anguish
• Language: Original and authentic, especially from call transcripts; family’s pain and frustration evident; hosts and narrators maintain empathy and clarity
• Atmosphere: Evocative descriptions (Malibu’s cliffs, the institutional isolation of the sheriff’s station) and selected audio immerse listeners in the gravity of each decision and its aftermath

Conclusion

Part One paints a haunting, unresolved portrait of a vibrant young woman who slipped through the cracks of policing and bureaucracy, raising deep questions about mental health interventions, racial bias, and institutional accountability. The episode ends on the brink of new revelations, with a promise to return—with Mitrice’s mother’s firsthand account—of what happened when her remains were finally found.

Next: Part Two will delve into the discovery of Mitrice Richardson’s remains, unanswered questions, and the ongoing fight for justice.