The Unforgotten – Season 3, Episode 3: "This ... way ... to ... the ... murderer's ... house"
Podcast: The Unforgotten
Hosts: Adam Rittenberg & Kyle Bonagara
Production: Free Range Productions
Original Air Date: August 18, 2025
Episode Theme:
This episode dives into the heart of the community and family dynamics surrounding the disappearance of Dolores Wulff in 1979, focusing on the Wolf family home’s dark legacy. The hosts revisit the scene decades later, guided by an old friend of the family, and reveal how Dolores’ relatives took justice into their own hands as official investigation stalled, blending chilling memories, community secrets, and the desperate lengths a family will go to find answers.
1. Revisiting Hillcrest Drive: The Wolf Family Home
[02:05 – 06:23]
- Setting: Adam and Kyle, with local friend Darrell Ehrsman, visit the Wolf family’s former residence in Woodland, California.
- Darrell’s perspective: As a childhood neighbor and close friend to Dolores’ sons, Darrell shares fond and dark memories of the household, especially contrasting Dolores’ warmth with Carl Wolf’s menace.
- Renovations & Legacy: Joel Burton, the current owner, has remodeled much of the home. The property still holds echoes of the family’s complex story—a concrete slab with the sons’ handprints and initials had been preserved as a relic.
- Interconnected Community: Joel’s aunt, Donna Shira, took in one of Dolores’ sons after her disappearance, revealing the town’s deep familial ties.
“She would always have food... There was a chicken up top and a chicken down below. Paul goes, well, excellent. One's for you, one's for me. So, man, we just finished them chickens off, right? ... She just shook her head and goes, 'I'll be back. I'm going to the store.' They were having company that night.”
— Darrell Ehrsman [06:23]
2. Inside the Wolf Home: Everyday Moments & Shadows
[06:23 – 08:26]
- Dolores’ Generosity: Darrell describes being accepted as a fifth Wolf child, enjoying Dolores’ hospitality and protection.
- Carl’s Abuse: Carl Wolf’s volatility was well known; he physically abused his son Tom and created a climate of fear. Dolores intervened but could not stop all of Carl’s violence.
- Daily Rituals: Darrell recounts Carl’s drinking ritual, recalling the ritualistic way he prepared his Bombay Sapphire gin.
“I watched Mr. Wolf beat him up. I still get emotional when I think about that.”
— Darrell Ehrsman [07:24]
3. The Neighborhood: Power, Policing, and a Vanished Mother
[08:26 – 11:07]
- Law Enforcement Neighbors: Several immediate neighbors were in law enforcement themselves, yet, ironically, this did not shield Dolores.
- Initial Aftermath: Darrell only realized something was wrong when relatives showed up searching for Dolores. He was stopped by Mary Thomas, who told him to go home, highlighting his own sense of loss.
“The night Dolores went missing. He no longer could walk down from his house to hang at the Wolf's, where he shot hoops, sorted through Paul's sport card collection and ate Dolores food.”
— Adam Rittenberg [10:24]
4. A Community Transformed by Suspicion
[11:07 – 12:12]
- Surveillance: Detective Ron Heileman set up surveillance outside the Wolf home from Darrell's property, hoping to catch Carl’s movements.
- Suspicion: Nearly everyone in the neighborhood—especially law enforcement—suspected Carl, but the evidence and investigation lagged.
"I did that several times in the beginning because I just didn't know what his mindset was... Sometimes you get lucky. But that didn't happen."
— Ron Heileman [11:15]
5. The Rocha Family’s Pursuit of Justice
[14:17 – 26:26]
- Public Confrontations: At a high school football game, Dolores’ family, particularly cousin Tony Rocha, confronted Carl, driving him from the stands. This moment marked the start of a “personal war.”
- Harassment Campaign: The Rocha cousins dedicated themselves to making Carl’s life a nightmare. They harassed him in public and private, drove him out of stores, and even posted signs pointing “this way to the murderer’s house.”
- Escalation: Their efforts grew increasingly extreme—vandalism, animal parts left on Carl’s property, and even throwing a jar of a relative’s urine through his window.
- Neighbors' Dilemma: Neighbors, fearful of retribution, refused to interfere or contact authorities.
“Everything we could do to make his life horrible, we were doing it... you stay next to killing them, the only thing we could do is harass them.”
— Tony Rocha [16:48]
“He was saying, those guys will kill me. You don’t understand. They’ll drag me out of the car and kill me right here in the parking lot.”
— Tony Rocha (recalling Carl’s words) [18:36]
- Attempted Traps & Law Enforcement Frustration: The family devised schemes to pressure or trick Carl into confessing, sometimes stepping on the official investigation’s toes—a point of frustration for Detective Heileman.
- Legal Counsel from Law Enforcement: Astonishingly, a sheriff’s deputy advised the family how to stage a shooting inside if Carl threatened them, citing the “castle doctrine.”
"If he comes to our house and confronts us and we shoot him to make sure we drag him inside and shoot him again in the house a couple times."
— Matt Rocha Jr. [27:24]
6. Desperation and the Supernatural: Turning to Psychics
[28:28 – 38:20]
- First Psychic Encounter: The day after Dolores disappeared, her sister-in-law Janet consulted a Davis psychic, who immediately declared Dolores dead at Carl’s hand. The accuracy of details stunned the family.
- Further Efforts: The family spent thousands bringing in psychics from across the country. Some provided chillingly specific details; others held séances and targeted dig sites.
- Skepticism and Need for Action: Hosts Adam and Kyle reflect on how the craze for psychics was part desperation, part cultural trend of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s in California.
“If you have nowhere else to turn, where do you go? ... I guess you turn to the supernatural, and that's what happened here.”
— Kyle Bonagara [32:36]
“The professional psychics got us nowhere... We met a lady who... said, ‘I've heard about your case, but I had a dream last night... I would gladly come and help you guys.’”
— Tony Rocha [35:18]
- Psychological Insights: Adam offers an analysis of why people believe psychics—subjective validation and selective memory—especially in times of trauma.
7. Relentless Searches: “Foot Soldiers” and Ditch-Digging
[38:52 – 41:17]
- The Search for Dolores: Recruited by psychics, family “foot soldiers” dug ditches, fields, and creeks. They remained undeterred, missing events and working long hours without hope of quick results.
- Law Enforcement’s Respect: Detective Heileman, though doubtful, respected the family’s determination and often provided support or checked possible finds.
“I knew the family was really hurting and they wanted to try to find her. And I knew that they needed to know that somebody was out there trying to help find her.”
— Ron Heileman [41:17]
8. A New Family Structure & The Role of Slick Rocha
[41:48 – 43:07]
- Guardianship: In the wake of Dolores' disappearance, her sons are taken in by their Uncle Slick (Matthew Rocha) and Aunt Janet. For Paul, Slick’s steady presence was transformational and protective.
“He treated me way better than my father ever did, and it's not even close.”
— Tony Rocha (on Slick Rocha) [42:18]
- Slick’s Reputation: Slick Rocha emerges as the family’s pillar—“like Popeye,” beloved and feared, not afraid to confront Carl directly.
“You got two choices, Wolf. You can tell me or the police tomorrow where she's at, or I can blow your head off.”
— Slick Rocha [42:49]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “I still get emotional when I think about that. He tore Tommy out of everybody, took the brunt.” — Darrell Ehrsman [07:24]
- “We didn't want peace. We wanted revenge.” — Tony Rocha [11:47]
- “We were on call to make Carl’s life miserable. They followed him around town... chased him out of several grocery stores... we’d go, ‘Hey Wolf!’ and he would just run out.” — Tony Rocha [17:13]
- “Those signs were more than just words... They left a pig’s head and fish entrails on the property... And that wasn’t even the most disgusting thing they did.” — Kyle Bonagara [20:57]
- “I thought, whoa. Maybe we ought to go talk to this lady...” — Slick Rocha (on the psychic’s chilling accuracy) [29:33]
- “If you have nowhere else to turn, where do you go? ... I guess you turn to the supernatural.” — Kyle Bonagara [32:36]
- “I can't imagine I'm telling my kids, you have to do this stuff or hear these stories that I heard.” — Matt Rocha Jr. [27:49]
Key Timelines
- [02:05] – Touring the Wolf home; setting the emotional scene.
- [11:07] – Law enforcement surveillance and suspicion on Carl Wolf.
- [14:17] – Family’s campaign against Carl begins in earnest.
- [19:12] – Posting signs along the road: “Follow arrows to killer Wolf’s house.”
- [27:24] – Law enforcement’s unofficial advice to the family.
- [28:28] – Turning to psychics; psychic reveals Dolores’ fate.
- [38:52] – Family-led digging expeditions and their toll.
- [41:48] – Slick Rocha’s impact on the children and the family saga’s generational legacy.
Episode Tone & Style
Rich with anecdotal color and dark humor, the episode rotates between poignant nostalgia, righteous anger, and the emotionally complex aftermath of tragedy. The voices of family and friends are raw, direct, and sometimes chillingly matter-of-fact. There’s also a strong current of small-town interconnectedness, and the resourceful, sometimes reckless, spirit of people who refuse to let a loved one be forgotten.
Summary Takeaway
Episode 3 of "The Unforgotten" immerses listeners in the physical and emotional landscape that shaped the Wolf family and the Woodland community following Dolores’ disappearance. Told through the people who lived it—the neighbor who witnessed the family’s warmth and violence, the cousins driven to vigilante extremes, the lawmen torn between law and loyalty—the episode reveals a restless search for justice and closure, highlighting the ways absence haunts a place, and how far people will go when the system fails them.