Fatal Fantasy | 5. The Infestations Of Evil

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Binge Crimes: Fatal Fantasy

Episode 5: The Infestations Of Evil
Host: M. William Phelps (Investigative journalist & author)
Date: March 30, 2026
Main Theme:
This episode delves into the psychological descent, manipulation, and fantasy-driven motivations behind the murder of Dr. Robert Schwartz, focusing on the roles of his daughter Clara Schwartz and her friend Kyle Ulbert. It unpacks the dark subcultures influencing the crime, the investigative breakthroughs, and the unfolding aftermath as law enforcement connects the dots through confessions and digital evidence.

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Episode Overview

Purpose:
To expose the harrowing fusion of reality and role-play that led to Dr. Schwartz’s murder, illustrating how Clara Schwartz’s manipulation of her friends, the influence of occult subcultures, and the spiraling mental illness and fantasy life of Kyle Ulbert culminated in a brutal homicide, and to chronicle the subsequent investigation that unraveled their culpability.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Clara Schwartz’s Descent into Darkness

• Investigators discover Clara’s disturbing journal entries (01:59):
  • Quote, Clara (journal): “I look at Christians and see them as infestations of evil.” (01:59)
• Clara writes of hatred towards Christian rituals, viewing them as vampiric, and expresses attraction to satanic cults as “the future, bright and promising.” (02:28)
• The root of this darkness is tethered to childhood trauma and resentment toward her father, exacerbated by her mother’s death.

2. Kyle Ulbert’s Vampire Delusions and Manipulability

• Kyle is described as:
  • A samurai-obsessed, practicing pagan with occult interests
  • Profoundly delusional, believing himself to be a literal vampire
• Quote, Kyle: “I thought I heard something outside and… it fed into the idea that Clara was in danger. I remember fighting rival vampires at the time. It was real to me. It was deadly real.” (04:28)
• Kyle roams campus armed with a sword, convinced he is battling real vampires for Clara’s safety.
• He submits to Clara’s manipulations, seeking purpose as her “protector”.

3. Live Action Role-Playing and Occult Subculture

• Kyle frequents “vampire clubs,” engages in bloodletting rituals (07:18), and feels most others are “wannabes.”
  • Quote, Kyle: “I have to get sexual thrill out of drinking blood.” (07:18)
• Even in the vampire community, Kyle remains an outsider, primed for manipulation by Clara.

4. The Night of the Murder: Step-by-Step Account

• Clara primes Kyle with claims of imminent danger from her father.
• Kyle narrates his approach to Dr. Schwartz’s house, tension building (12:18):
  • Quote, Kyle: “All I’m thinking right now is, how the hell is this conversation gonna play out?” (12:18)
• Kyle describes being let into the house, notes the change from prior visits (13:41).
• The confrontation escalates after Kyle accuses Dr. Schwartz of abuse towards Clara—a claim with no factual basis.
• Quote, Kyle: “I know what you've been doing to Clara.” (16:16)
• Kyle claims Dr. Schwartz slaps him, triggering fear and the deadly altercation (16:47).
• With his sword, Kyle attacks, describing a frenetic struggle marked by stabbing and slashing (19:10, 20:03).
  • Quote, Kyle: “I lash out and I catch him across the back of the neck… I was aiming for the back of his neck because that was going to paralyze him.” (19:42)
• Kyle stabs Dr. Schwartz more than 30 times, afterwards feeling detached and focused on cleaning his blade (28:33).
  • Quote, Kyle: “I’m not even thinking about the fact I just killed a man… just my blade is dirty, I have to clean this.” (28:33)

5. Aftermath and Manipulation

• Immediately after the murder, Kyle is able to socialize with neighbors and work to cover up the crime, demonstrating controlled detachment (29:59).
• His sister, Natasha, reflects on the signs of Kyle’s instability and criticizes the court system for failing to intervene before the tragedy (31:29, 31:57).
  • Quote, Natasha Ulbert: “I told you guys something horrible was gonna happen… nobody wanted to listen.” (31:57)

6. Investigation Breakthroughs

• Detective Greg Locke interviews Clara, linking her to the murder through evidence of a $60 overnighted check to Kyle for supplies (do-rag, gloves)—items for concealing evidence (34:05–34:54).
  • Quote, Locke: “Her primary response was for his phone card… but also for a do rag… to prevent any hair from being left at the scene.” (34:27)
• Clara eventually admits she believed Kyle would kill her father:
  • Quote, Locke: “As we spoke… she eventually said that in her heart of hearts, she believed that Kyle was going there to kill her father.” (35:12–35:45)
• Clara’s primary concern post-murder shifts to her inheritance, asking Locke about being cut out of the will, further exposing motive (36:05).
• Retrieval of Clara’s dorm journal uncovers damning entries:
  • Quote, Clara (journal): “He never loved me. I hate him. I feel no love, only hatred. Pure white hatred. And he deserves to die.” (37:16)
• Computer forensics uncover incriminating instant messages and further journal entries about killing and lacking empathy (37:38).

7. The Case Against Clara Schwartz

• Clara’s case is built largely on circumstantial evidence, digital communications, and corroborating witness testimony from friends.
  • Quote, Locke: “Clara’s [case] was more circumstantial… supported by the journal entries and computer IMs.” (39:17)
• Investigators are left questioning how deeply Clara’s mental state factored into her manipulations and involvement.

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Notable Moments & Quotes

• Clara’s journal and narration of delusions:
  • “I look at satanic cults and see the future, bright and promising.” (02:28)
  • “He never loved me… pure white hatred… he deserves to die.” (37:16)
• Kyle’s dissociation post-murder:
  • “I can smell blood… there’s an almost sweet smell from the blood caramelizing in the frying pan on the stove… everything is so clear… and it’s too much… just too much of everything.” (26:16–27:56)
  • “I’m not even thinking about the fact I just killed a man… my blade is dirty. I have to clean this.” (28:33)
• Investigator insight:
  • “Clara had tried to coerce [Patrick House] to kill her father… she had set this up and basically prompted Kyle to kill her father.” (38:27)

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Timestamps for Critical Segments

• Clara’s Journal Excerpts:
  01:59 — 02:44, 37:16
• Kyle’s Vampire Delusions and Campus Incident:
  04:28 — 06:37
• Kyle’s Defense of Murder/First-Person Account:
  12:18 — 23:33
• Details of Overkill and X Carving:
  23:33 — 23:59
• Investigation: Natasha’s Warnings & System Failures:
  31:29 — 32:14
• Detective Locke Interviews Clara (Check, Motive):
  34:05 — 37:16
• Evidence Compilation, Motive for Greed:
  36:05 — 38:54

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Tone & Narrative Style

The episode maintains a gripping, investigative tone, rich with firsthand accounts and psychological analysis. The host, M. William Phelps, guides listeners through chilling confessions and expert commentary, mixing dark drama with methodical true crime reporting.

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Conclusion & Next Episode Tease

The episode closes with reflections on Clara’s complicity, her obsession with inheritance, and questions about her mental health. The stage is set for the final episode, which will examine whether Clara herself was suffering from mental illness and explore key witness testimony that could reshape perceptions of her guilt.

Quote, Narrator:
"The question now was, would they be able to get a conviction against Clara, the alleged mastermind? Or did she have a plan the entire time… Next time. In the final episode of Fatal Fantasy, was Clara actually suffering from mental illness all along herself?" (39:47–40:24)

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This episode is a disturbing, multifaceted exploration of manipulation, fantasy, and murder—inviting listeners to question both the perceptions of evil and the systems that failed to prevent it.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Listen to all episodes of Fatal Fantasy ad free right now by subscribing to the the Binge. Visit the Binge channel on Apple Podcasts and hit subscribe at the top of the page or visit getthebinge.com to get access wherever you listen the Binge Feed your true crime obsession. This episode contains extremely violent content some listeners may find disturbing. Thanks to a tip from witness Patrick House Detective Greg Locke found a treasure trove of information from Clara Schwartz's computer and her journal. The darkness of her writings is astounding, but also incriminating.

[Clara Schwartz (Journal Entries)]

I look at Christians and see them as infestations of evil.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

That line from Clara's journal illustrates just how deep Clara descended into the more sinister recesses of her mind in the years following her mother's death as the relationship with her father eroded. The root of this, she had written, was tethered to her, having been forced to go to church by a certain

[Clara Schwartz (Journal Entries)]

family member, Jesus disciples are extreme followers. They drank his blood and ate his flesh, which makes them all vampires and cannibals. I look at satanic cults and see the future, bright and promising.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

This darkness Clara trafficked in dovetailed perfectly with where Kyle Huber was at psychologically when the two of them met. I've already told you, he was obsessed with being a samurai wielding knight who fights for the weak and dispossessed. He's also a practicing pagan who dabbles in the occult. But there's one more thing you should know about Kyle. He thinks he's a vampire. A real one. And that belief lets Clara manipulate him even more. One night a few weeks before Dr. Schwartz's murder, Clara realized just how dark and twisted a world existed inside Kyle's head. Kyle, Mike, Katie, and Clara are inside her dorm at James Madison University. It's late, Mike, Katie and Clara are sleeping. Kyle is dozing in and out when suddenly he not only hears something, but smells something. It's pitch dark outside. Kyle is lying near the door, the protector watching over his flock. Something to understand here, at least according to Kyle, is that he believes his sense of smell is almost superhero like. At some point Kyle said he could smell something odd outside. He sensed danger.

[Kyle Ulbert]

I thought I heard something outside and I went out and I started walking around. I remember that there was this idea that there were something was there and somehow it fed into the idea that Clara was in danger. I remember fighting rival vampires at the time. It was real to me. It was deadly real. It was, you know, this is life or death.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

To put that into clearer perspective, Kyle is wandering around the campus with his sword and in his mind he believes there is a rival vampire stalking not only him, but coming for Clara.

[Kyle Ulbert]

I remember one of the ones that, you know, I staked and left out and just left him where he was cuz I didn't want to be too far away from the dorm.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

He is convinced that he's killed a rival vampire, put a stake, his sword through the man's heart.

[Kyle Ulbert]

And then the next morning when me and Clara were walking, we saw a bunch of fire trucks and stuff at the place. At that point my brain was, hey, that's where I was last night. My guy, you know, he must have caught fire and you know, so of course, you know, he started the fire being when he burst into flames when the sun came up. Whoops. And then that dovetailed into. Well, of course they're going to say it was like an electrical fire or something. They can't admit that there was a vampire over there that died.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Everything kind of fits into your psychosis what's going on in your head.

[Kyle Ulbert]

Yeah, and that's kind of the nature of it. You know, anything, any piece of random piece of information that comes into your brain, you know, that comes, it comes to you, you can find a way and it's not even. It doesn't take effort, it just fits.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Did Clara feed into it?

[Kyle Ulbert]

I think she recognized what was going on with me and she fed into it because it worked for her. Please. She had made a comment to Katie. I told you the one you know he would be coming and that, that he was turned out to be me.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

This vampire business for Kyle wasn't simply confined to a dream state. He had taken it next level outside the underworld. Kyle had for some time going to underground vampire clubs in Maryland where he met other like minded people and suckled on each other's blood via pricking or cutting the skin. Kyle found most of the people at these clubs second rate wannabes, unwilling to undertake traditional teeth on neck blood sucking. The Hollywood version, in other words, which was what he preferred.

[Kyle Ulbert]

I think people who use RPGs as a scapegoat for their crimes are idiots and cowards. Because he reads vampire books, he thinks he's a vampire. No, I'm of perpetuity and I have to get sexual throw out of drinking blood.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

It's hard to hear in that clip, but Kyle is saying he gets a sexual thrill from drinking someone else's blood. I asked Professor Joe Laycock what he made of all of this. It was kind of hard to wrap my mind around.

[Kyle Ulbert]

Kyle is saying I'm a real vampire and all of you people are not. All of you people are posers only pretending to be vampires.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

So what this says to me is even within this very rarefied subculture of

[Kyle Ulbert]

people who identify as vampires, Kyle was still an outsider. Even within that group, Kyle still did not belong.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Kyle, the outsider, dark and unafraid of taking orders, profoundly wrapped up within his delusions is exactly what Clara Schwartz had been waiting for. The submissive assassin willing to do whatever she asked of him. What is remarkable to me every time I think about the story of Kyle stalking a rival vampire on the campus of James Madison University that night is that Kyle did not randomly, thank goodness, kill a student. My name is M. William Phelps. I'm an investigative journalist and the New York Times bestselling author of dozens of true crime books from Sony Music Entertainment and M. William Phelps llc. You are listening to Fatal Fantasy Episode five Infestations of Evil.

[Podcast Host]

Can't get enough of the story of Margot Freshwater? Do you need more than the episodes can provide?

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Real quick?

[Podcast Host]

We just launched a free true crime newsletter and community page to go along with our binge shows, including the crimes of Margo Freshwater, and you can access it at the link in our episode description [e-mail] thebinge you'll get behind the scenes reporting, case updates and a chance to chat with one of the show's creators and other fans. The newsletter comes out twice a month, it's totally free and it's where the story continues. I'll see you there. Just hit the link in the description or head to patreon.com Thebinge Eczema is

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[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

At the end of the last episode, Kyle Ulbert left his friends Mike and Katie at the top of the Schwartz driveway. He began walking up the Rocky path to Dr. Schwartz's farmhouse, determined to confront him. Just the previous day, Clara had called him to say her father was was going to kill her on their upcoming family vacation. Mike and Katie watched Kyle disappear up the driveway while they both said a silent prayer for Clara's father's soul. While Kyle told me he did not go there with the intention of killing Dr. Schwartz, it seemed to everyone around him that was specifically what he had planned.

[Kyle Ulbert]

All I'm thinking right now is how the hell is this conversation gonna play out? What's gonna happen? I remember walking through the dark, following the path. You know, even though it was drizzling, it was drizzling a very low. It was like misting would be the better word for it. There's no street lights in, you know, it's a long driveway. I've never had a problem being in a, you know, go walk around at night. It's a weird kind of metaphor for my life. The path is under my feet. I walk. What happens, I'll deal with it when it does.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

I think it's important to keep in mind that Kyle fashions himself a writer today. And so he leans on the more dramatic, even purple side of things.

[Kyle Ulbert]

I see the light from the house, path's a little slippery. And I get to the door and I knock and he answers. And I remember kind of looking up at him and thinking, damn, this is a big guy. And I asked him if Clara's home and he says no, just kind of sneers at me. I asked him if he. If I was supposed to pick up some notebooks and asked if he had a number where I could reach her. So he invites me in. Kind of just come on, you know, they had a tone of voice people have when they just want to get something. They know it's easier to just get this over with and, you know, make a fuss about it.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

That explanation has always seemed revealing to me. Going back a few weeks, Clara was home and inside the house, if you recall. And Schwartz didn't ask Kyle to come in. But now she's not home and he invites him in. Several sources have claimed Kyle forced his way in. Others have claimed that Kyle understood then that a vampire, as fantastic as it sounds, needed to be invited in.

[Kyle Ulbert]

I'm following in. I'm in a kitchen area. He has something cooking on the stove. This big U shaped island kind of set up. Stove on the left, kitchen sink of stuff on the flat on the far side. And then on the right is like counter, dining area type area. And then that leads into another big open space with a dining table, the computer. So he's writing something on notepad. And then I ask him, what's your relationship like with Clara? Trying to be cool and casual and pretend that my part is a hammer, like a goddamn jackhammer on my chest. Stupid as that cliche sounds. I mean, it just. It's like it was a living thing trying to break its way out of my chest.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Kyle had gone over what he would say to Schwarz a thousand times. He told me.

[Kyle Ulbert]

I asked him what his relationship is with Claro. And he kind of like looks over his shoulder and you know, just kind of like this, you kind of look, you know, I was like, what? You know, it's like, what business is that is yours? And goes back to writing. And it's like, she's a friend of mine, I care about her. And he just kind of stops and look, he stops and just like turns around and just one hand on his hip and just like one of the. Just the look on his face, it's like that was something he scraped off his bottom of his shoe and was very unhappy about it. Seen that look plenty of times. And the only thing I said was hand. And then just the way he turned around and looked at me just kind of froze me for a second. And he turns back and got back to me. And I step up and this is the moment. You know, the low voice, the hiss. This was sure to chill the soul and make sure that nothing ever happened to her. I know what you've been doing to. Claro.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

He is referring to the alleged sexual abuse here. Abuse that never happened.

[Kyle Ulbert]

I know how you can hurt her. And you're not going. You're not going to get away with it.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Then something happens, according to Kyle, and it changes everything.

[Kyle Ulbert]

That's when my head decides that it wants to take a. Take a spin to the. To my right. Because as one might expect, he backhanded the holy shit out of me.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

And let me just ask. Is there any rage or anger inside of you now? Is that part of this right now?

[Kyle Ulbert]

No. Right now it's up to this point. It's. Everything is. Everything is very quiet.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

And he slaps you.

[Kyle Ulbert]

Damn. And he hits me. And that's when things. Now, it's not so much anger as it is. Be perfectly honest with you. It's fear more than anything else.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

And does the slap validate that he hurts people?

[Kyle Ulbert]

Yeah. It makes everything real. In that moment, I just told him I know his secret. And he hit me. I just told him I know that he's abusing his daughter and that I know he's planning on hurting her. He knows all the things he said. Hell, he knows all the things I don't know that he said to her. But I just told him I know about it. He just hit me. Now it's real. Now it's. Now it's. This is what it is.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Does he know you have the sword with you?

[Kyle Ulbert]

I hadn't brandished it or anything. It's not that. It's not like it's hidden. It's. You know, it's right there on my hip where it can be seen. I remember when he hit me, my. My right hand drops down and the handle of my sword is in my hand. He'd hit me hard enough that this. The sword was loose in the scabbard. He had hit me so hard that my body twisted and the sword just, you know, was moving under momentum. The sword's in my hand.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

It sounds as though Kyle is saying that the sword just somehow wound up in his hand without him reaching for it. In my view, maybe justifying what is about to happen next. Keep in Mind, There are only two of them in the house and Dr. Schwartz does not make it out alive, as we know. So Kyle can, in retrospect, say whatever the hell he wants.

[Kyle Ulbert]

I draw it the rest of the way out and I bring it back. I just. I just attack. The only thought in my head is holy. You know he's gonna kill me here. You know he's. You know Claire's in danger. I. This is it.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

So let's get this straight. Kyle is holding a 27 inch razor sharp sword and claims he feels threatened, as if his life is in danger.

[Kyle Ulbert]

I lash out and I catch him in across the back of the neck. And there's some. Some thought in my head that I was aiming for the back of his neck because that was going to paralyze him.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

From there, they begin fighting.

[Kyle Ulbert]

We struggle. He manages to get behind me. And now for all my talk of all my thoughts of being a badass. And you have to remember back then, I'm. I weigh a buck 80 on a really good day with my trench coat on. I'm not a big intimidating guy. I'm a lanky, scrawny little fucking teenager with really, really big delusions. He's got his left hand on the back of my neck. He's got his right hand on my sword. I remember seeing the way his hand was gripping the blade. So I see it and he's trying to force the blade out of my hand. And I remember thinking, what idiot grabs a naked blade? I yanked the blade through his hand, flip it around and drive it over my right hip. It finds its way home. It goes in, he goes, you know, he lets go of my neck. I pull out, spin around, and if he's doubling over, I catch him with blade again across the back of his neck.

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[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

As if describing a scene from HBO's Game of Thrones, Kyle Ulbert just told me how he struck Dr. Schwartz with his sword and made several slashes across the back of his neck on the evening of December 8, 2001. He's depicting a fight and struggle while placing himself in the position of having to defend his life after Schwartz backhanded him. Remember, Dr. Schwartz was stabbed more than 30 times, suggesting a frenzied overkill which when asked, Kyle either does not remember or glazes over. I bring up those strikes on the back of Dr. Schwartz's neck looking very much like a deliberate X Kyle carved on the man. Was that on purpose or did that just happen?

[Kyle Ulbert]

That just happened. The first part of. The first part would have come from the, from the first hit that was across the back of his neck. And then when I stabbed him in the gut after pulling the blade through his hand, he doubled over, I spun around and kind of overhand chopped before the X would have been made.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Kyle has just told me that the X on the back of Schwartz's neck happened randomly, except I do not buy any of it for one minute. I have seen many photos of the X on the back of the doctor's neck and there is no chance it could have happened by accident. Plus, Kyle's story evolves with additional violent details, suggesting to me he is revealing less than the whole story, which is normal in a situation like this because killers always minimize their role after the fact.

[Kyle Ulbert]

We break apart and he's between me and the door and there's no fight in me. I'm scared more than anything else. And I tell him to, you know, to move aside and let me out and this is done because of course, you know, of course that's, that's where it all ends. You know, if they tell you, hey, I did my hits, you did your hits, you know, now we, now, now we just leave, you know, we know where we stand.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

My point above, Kyle is the one who is scared. He blames Schwartz for blocking the door. He speaks of hits as if Schwartz had a chance against an 18 year old boy with a damn sword. Kyle seems to be suggesting that this is some honorable battle between two warriors, just like one of his fantasies.

[Kyle Ulbert]

And he just smiles at me, you know, you've seen that kind of bullshit in a thousand movies. And he charges and that's the moment where it's. I'm going to die here tonight. I catch him with an elbow. I taste blood.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Now, Kyle is the one who is afraid of dying.

[Kyle Ulbert]

And I'm not sure what's going on after that because there's a part of me that feels that I should feel all of this, no matter how horrible it is. I. Penance isn't the word for, but it's the closest one I can give you. I should feel this pain. I should feel what I did. But I can't. I can't. This part is just blur of motion and rage and. And. And just. I remember the thing that clears my mind more than anything else is the thud of my blade hitting the hardwood floor on the other side of his body. He's face down on the ground. I'm standing over him, and, you know, my blade is stuck in the floor. Dr. Schwartz was not a small person, and I had put this blade all the way through him. According to the autopsy reports, I perforated his entire body three or four times. And I can smell blood. More than that, there's an almost sweet smell from the blood caramelizing in the frying pan on the stove. We're in the kitchen area, and I can smell it and I can hear it. Everything is so clear. I mean, everything. And it's all at once, and it's too much of it. Just too much of everything.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

In this moment, Kyle explains, one of his voices suddenly begins to talk to him.

[Kyle Ulbert]

Nicodemus says that Dr. Schwartz has left and we need to leave, too.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

I find it ironic that the only thought from beginning to end with this irrational, violent episode that even approaches a sane response comes from one of the voices in Created by Mental Illness in Kyle's mind, a fictional voice who never wanted him to go there in the first place.

[Kyle Ulbert]

And stupidest thought crosses my mind. I'm looking at my hands and I'm looking at the blade, and I'm thinking, wow, I got to clean this. I'm not even thinking about the fact I just killed a man. I am not even. Nothing else is really just my blade is dirty. I have to clean this. I rinse it off and shake my sword and I leave. I don't even. I don't even think that I'm there.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

I mean, while Kyle expresses a feeling of disassociation, of not being present for the dreadful things he has done, he is present enough to feel sorry for himself and try to present himself as some sort of a victim, as if the act of murder itself has Already punished him.

[Kyle Ulbert]

Remember getting slapped in the face with a couple of branches? Now I've moved from mania to almost catatonia in the way I'm feeling. Like nothing is registering. Everything is static.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

As he walks back up the driveway, he can hear the whizzing tires of Mike's vehicle slow stuck in the mud, and Mike and Katie trying to get the vehicle unstuck. This is the moment where he resets his brain to start moving and working with the others to get the car out of the driveway and away from the scene of the crime. He seems quite capable of pulling himself back into reality when he has to, while leaving a man, a good man, bleeding to death inside his kitchen. And then, within just 10 minutes, the killer will be sitting with two elderly neighbors of Dr. Schwartz's, drinking tea and eating crumpets, chatting about everyday things while waiting for a tow truck. Like it's just another day in the life. Listening to what Kyle is telling us and the play by play recollection of something so horrible, I can't help but feel that this all might somehow have been avoided. Kyle had a history of aggression and disassociative behavior, and a lot of people knew about it. In fact, his sister Natasha had a feeling of absolute dread. As soon as Kyle was emancipated by the state of Virginia. Dr. Schwartz was stabbed to death three months later.

[Natasha Ulbert]

I just started having this feeling, horrible feeling that something terrible with Kyle was coming, and I didn't know what it was. I just knew something was coming and something was going to happen.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

When she heard the news of his arrest, Natasha could not hold back her disappointment. She felt social services could have done more.

[Natasha Ulbert]

I told you guys something horrible was gonna happen, and something horrible was coming, and nobody wanted to listen.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

By you guys, Natasha is referring to the court system as a whole and the judge who allowed Kyle's emancipation.

[Natasha Ulbert]

Why didn't you guys want to listen to me? I told you something was coming, but all you guys told me was it was all in my head and look what happened. Kyle committed murder.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

What's more, Kyle's own father had warned the court on the day of his emancipation. Quote, you let him out on his own, he will kill someone. But nobody listened. Kyle's confession was a watershed moment in the investigation. It was chilling and ruthless and expressed in a tone once described as the banality of evil. Even with his confession, lead investigator Greg Locke needed more. He didn't know if Kyle had acted alone or if the murder victim's own daughter was involved. Her old boyfriend Patrick House had explained how Clara had tried to coerce him to kill her father. So Locke wanted answers from Clara. In December 2001, Locke had Clara, along with family members, come into the station for a chat. The meeting was under the pretext of seeking more information from the whole family. Locke began by simply using the evidence against her, quizzing clara about the $60 check she had overnighted to Kyle a few days before the murder.

[Detective Greg Locke]

This check not only became an important part of the investigation in showing her involvement, but also the fact that she overnighted it indicated her desire to have this occur expediently.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Locke pushed Clara on the reasons for sending Kyle the money and what it was for.

[Detective Greg Locke]

Her primary response was for his phone card. But as we spoke, more about it was divulged that it was also for a do rag. And I asked her what a do rag was, and she said, well, that was to prevent any hair from being dropped at the scene. Then she mentioned that there were gloves also purchased with the money that was sent, and this was also to prevent any evidence being left at the scene.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Here was Clara admitting the money was used for items one might need to commit a murder and not leave any forensic evidence behind, plainly positioning herself as being involved. Locke dug deeper.

[Detective Greg Locke]

So when I questioned her in more detail about her knowing the fact that Kyle had gone there to kill her father, she stated that she really didn't believe it and didn't think that that was what was going to happen, that she honestly thought that it was for the phone card. But as we spoke in more detail, she eventually said that in her heart of hearts, she believed that Kyle was going there to kill her father.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

That was all Locke needed to hear to know that Clara played a role. Maybe the main role still was hatred for her father, the only motive.

[Detective Greg Locke]

So once the interview concluded with Clara and I was escorting her and Michelle back to their grandfather, who was waiting in the break room. When we got to the break room, Clara said, can I speak to you alone for a minute? I said, sure, that's fine. So we stepped into a vacant hallway. And it was at that point Clara asked me, can she cut me out of the will? And I said, what do you mean? And her response was, michelle is the executor of the estate. If she's pissed at me, can she cut me out of the will? And I told her that that would be a question that she would have to speak to an attorney about that. That was not part of my purview. And she actually gave me a hug

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

and thanked me Incredibly, Clara just gave Locke her main motivation for killing her father. Greed. Locke now had more than enough evidence to get a search warrant for Clara's dorm room, which was when they were able to get their hands on Clara's journal. Opening it up, glancing at it, Locke is stunned by one particular entry regarding her father.

[Clara Schwartz (Journal Entries)]

Clara wrote, he never loved me. I hate him. I feel no love, only hatred. Pure white hatred. And he deserves to die.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Yet there was one more piece of important evidence they recovered from her dorm.

[Detective Greg Locke]

The computer became a wealth of information in the IM platform that she utilized to communicate with the other individuals. Clara's journal became a very important part of the investigation. Specifically, one entry stated, I could kill someone and not care, but be glad I released the tension. And as early as 2000, she was stating, people are smart, they'll figure it out. And she followed that up with suck it up and do.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Took several additional months, but the Loudoun County Sheriff's office was able to collect enough evidence to prove Clara Schwartz was the driving force behind this extremely brutal crime.

[Detective Greg Locke]

Absolutely, with this information, in our minds, she had set this up and basically prompted Kyle to kill her father. The information that Clara provided also added great credence to her involvement in, including the statement where she said, in my heart of hearts, I knew that he was going there to kill my father.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

They arrested Clara Schwartz for the murder of her father in February 2002, but her case was not so clear cut. Sure, they could place Kyle and Mike and Katie at the crime scene, allow them to testify against their leader, the Lord of Chaos, but the evidence against Clara had some problems.

[Detective Greg Locke]

Clara's was more circumstantial because Michael and Katie were cooperative and provided information that subsequently implicated Kyle as well as themselves having gone there on that night. But Clara's was certainly more of a circumstantial case in some regards. That was supported by the journal entries and computer IMs that she had.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

The question now was, would they be able to get a conviction against Clara, the alleged mastermind? Or did she have a plan the entire time, a rabbit up her sleeve, perhaps, proving that she was in fact one worthy of that 190 IQ she claimed to have? Next time. In the final episode of Fatal Fantasy, was Clara actually suffering from mental illness all along herself?

[Podcast Host]

Well, she thought he was trying to

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

poison her or somehow kill her, but you, you don't know whether that was a delusion. While the experts see a diabolical criminal

[Clara Schwartz (Journal Entries)]

mastermind, in my opinion, Clara has the largest hand in this, and she's very narcissistic. I think she was afraid her father might be getting ready to cut her out of the will, which made her want to hurry this along.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

But will a surprise witness prove to have the most damning statement of all? The dark day is when, unfortunately, Mr. Swartz was killed.

[Natasha Ulbert]

Clara had called me and she was talking to me, I guess to create

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

an alibi for herself.

[Kyle Ulbert]

Foreign.

[Narrator / Main Storyteller]

Don't want to wait for that next episode. You don't have to unlock all episodes of Fatal Fantasy ad free right now by subscribing to the Binge Podcast Channel. Search for the binge on Apple Podcasts and hit subscribe at the top of the page not on apple. Head to getthebinge.com to get access wherever you listen. As a subscriber, you'll get binge access to new stories on the 1st of every month. Check out the Binge channel page on apple podcasts or getthebinge.com to learn more. Fatal Fantasy is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and M. William Phelps llc, written and executive produced by me from Sony Music Entertainment. The executive producers are Jonathan Hirsch and Catherine St. Louis. Our production manager is Samantha Allison. Jeremy Adair is my senior producer and script consultant, Matt Russell my sound engineer. I use Epidemic Sound for music and sfx.

[Podcast Guest / Promoter]

I want to tell you guys about a podcast that is near and dear to my heart and I cannot believe it already came out a year ago and you can all go listen to it ad free by subscribing to the Binge Podcast channel.

[Natasha Ulbert]

What podcast? Corinne? Tell us.

[Podcast Guest / Promoter]

Oh, it's called Blink Jake Handle Story. I created it about a man named Jake who I met who is the only survivor of a terminal brain illness brought on by heroin use. But there is a lot of mystery and medical malpractice and true crime elements that are very shocking and surprising and even some supernatural elements.

[Natasha Ulbert]

So this is definitely an amazing story and very unique. Did such an incredible job telling the story and sharing it with the world. So if you have not listened to it yet, my goodness, where have you been? Because Blink is so freaking good.

[Podcast Guest / Promoter]

Thank you. Search for Blink wherever you listen and subscribers to the binge will get the entire season ad free. Plus you'll get exclusive access to the over 60 other true crime stories on the Binge Podcast channel. Hit subscribe on Apple Podcasts or head to getthebinge.com.