The Bundle in the Back

Summary

Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress, and the Bodyguard

Episode: "The Bundle in the Back"
Release Date: April 30, 2025
Host/Author: CBS News, Peter Van Sant

---

Introduction

In this gripping episode of Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress, and the Bodyguard, CBS News correspondent Peter Van Sant delves deep into the mysterious disappearance of Mark Stover, a charismatic dog trainer known as the "Dog Whisperer" of the Pacific Northwest. Together with wealthy heiress Linda Opdyke, Mark built a thriving business and a marriage that seemed enviable from the outside. However, beneath the surface lay secrets and obsessions that would culminate in a dark and deadly triangle involving Linda’s new love, Michiel Oakes, a security expert.

---

The Missing Person Report

[01:13] The episode kicks off on the morning of October 28, 2009, when Tammy Gilden in Anacortes, Washington, made a 911 call reporting suspicious activity near the grange hall, an event facility close to Mark Stover’s residence. Tammy and her mother had noticed a man trespassing, involving two vehicles—a white station wagon and a black SUV—transferring a large, plastic-covered object.

Tammy Gilden:

“My first thought was, oh, a body. I thought, oh, you know, you're reading a murder mystery. You know, silly girl, you know that's not a body.”
[02:13]

---

Deputy Rick Duhame’s Investigation

[02:13] Deputy Rick Duhame responded swiftly, checking the station wagon before pursuing the black SUV. During a traffic stop, he interacted with Michael Ochs, who appeared nervous and had dog hair on his clothing. A significant clue emerged when Ochs had a large bundle of blankets in his SUV, which, unbeknownst to the deputies at the time, was Mark Stover’s dead body.

Deputy Rick Duhame:

“His story was he was headed to the casino, which is down the road.”
[04:14]

---

Michael Ochs and Jennifer Thompson's Encounter

[05:16] Michael Ochs, after being let go with a warning, reached out to his ex-wife, Jennifer Thompson, leading to a fateful meeting at a Starbucks. Despite being separated for a year, their reunion was fraught with tension, as Michael revealed his emotional turmoil and hinted at potential legal troubles.

Michael Ochs:

“I had entered a relationship with someone. And it made me really reflect on my situation with Michael. Because I can't say I didn't love him anymore.”
[06:21]

Jennifer agreed to meet him, but during their walk on the beach, Michael grew increasingly agitated, eventually driving away with a sense of dread and paranoia.

---

Discovery of the Bundle

[12:05] That evening, Michael returned to Linda Opdyke’s house. Surveillance footage showed his arrival and the emotional reunion with Linda. However, suspicion arose when Sergeant Gene Davis received distressing information from Linda about potential violence from Mark, leading deputies to visit her residence.

[16:35] Upon arrival, deputies found the house unusually quiet. Entering, they encountered Michael armed and immediately searched him, discovering a white garbage bag tied and hidden in his vehicle. Jennifer noticed a strong bleach smell emanating from the bag shortly after.

Jennifer Thompson:

“Once he's secured in the back of my car, I go and secure the garbage. It's basically a Walmart garbage sack. White garbage sack tied up.”
[26:10]

This bag contained what was later confirmed to be Mark Stover’s body, hidden from plain sight in Michael's SUV.

---

The Arrest of Michael Ochs

[25:36] With overwhelming evidence pointing towards foul play, including the sudden disappearance of Mark and the incriminating contents found in Michael’s car, Sergeant Davis moved to arrest Ochs. Michael’s erratic behavior and the discovery of the body sealed his status as the prime suspect.

Deputy Rick Duhame:

“What are you telling me? You shot Mark Stover in self defense?”
[27:33]

Despite Michael’s claims of self-defense, the evidence against him was compelling, leading to his arrest and the unraveling of the tangled relationships that led to Mark Stover’s demise.

---

Conclusion

"The Bundle in the Back" masterfully unpacks the complex web of relationships, deceit, and violence that ultimately led to the tragic disappearance of Mark Stover. Through meticulous reporting and firsthand accounts, Peter Van Sant provides listeners with an engaging and detailed exploration of this true-crime saga, raising critical questions about trust, obsession, and the lengths one might go to protect their newfound happiness.

---

Notable Quotes

• Tammy Gilden [02:13]:
  “My first thought was, oh, a body. I thought, oh, you know, you're reading a murder mystery. You know, silly girl, you know that's not a body.”

• Michael Ochs [06:21]:
  “I had entered a relationship with someone. And it made me really reflect on my situation with Michael. Because I can't say I didn't love him anymore.”

• Deputy Rick Duhame [04:14]:
  “His story was he was headed to the casino, which is down the road.”

• Jennifer Thompson [26:10]:
  “Once he's secured in the back of my car, I go and secure the garbage. It's basically a Walmart garbage sack. White garbage sack tied up.”

• Deputy Rick Duhame [27:33]:
  “What are you telling me? You shot Mark Stover in self defense?”

---

This episode sheds light on the intricate and often dark intersections of personal relationships and criminal actions, leaving listeners contemplating the true nature of the characters involved and the ultimate fate of Mark Stover.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Peter van Sant]

Very cool.

[Narrator]

Watch CSI New York, Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods Tracker, FBI and swat all for free.

[Peter van Sant]

You can't outrun this.

[Narrator]

Someone is gonna pay for all this crime. But it's not gonna be you. Take care of business, fellas. Watch all the cases, all for free from all your favorite devices.

[Jennifer Thompson]

We got you.

[Narrator]

Feel the free Pluto TV Stream now pay never. Stream all the movies and shows you love for free on Pluto tv. Say what now?

[Deputy]

Showtime.

[Narrator]

That means drama is free. With heart wrenching stories from love and basketball power and Greenleaf. In this family we live by the spirit and laughter is free. With gut busting comedies like Key and Peele, the neighborhood Everybody hates, Chris and Boomerang. Watch all the hits all for free from all your favorite devices.

[Jennifer Thompson]

Oh, my God, I love it.

[Narrator]

Feel the free Pluto TV stream now pay never gadget 911.

[Tammy Gilden]

What's your emergency? It's not an emergency, but I need a sheriff to come out here to Summit Park Grange.

[Peter van Sant]

This is Tammy Gilden in Anacortes, Washington. She called 911 sometime before 11:50, the morning of October 28, 2009, when she and her mother noticed a man trespassing behind the grange hall. It's an event facility about half a mile from Mark Stover's house.

[Tammy Gilden]

I just saw one guy. Okay. Did you say anything to him? Nope. I just backed up and pulled in front.

[Peter van Sant]

Tammy noticed that the guy was at the back of the property where no one should be parked.

[Tammy Gilden]

There's two vehicles that are facing back to back.

[Peter van Sant]

One of those two vehicles was a white station wagon. The other was a black suv.

[Tammy Gilden]

They were transferring something back and forth or living back and forth transferred to something.

[Peter van Sant]

What Tammy saw was both odd and disturbing. Whatever the object being transferred was, Tammy remembered it was large and covered in plastic.

[Tammy Gilden]

My first thought was, oh, a body. I thought, oh, you know, you're reading a murder mystery. You know, silly girl, you know that's not a body.

[Peter van Sant]

As they sat in their car at the front of the property, Tammy and her mom waited for a deputy to arrive. Tammy said the stranger got into the black suv, leaving the station wagon behind.

[Tammy Gilden]

I didn't see his face head on when we first pulled in. I saw him when he pulled next to us to leave.

[Peter van Sant]

He drove right up next to their car before stepping on the gas and speeding away.

[Tammy Gilden]

We were scrambling to find pen and paper and write the license plate number. Down.

[Peter van Sant]

Tammy called the sheriff again.

[Tammy Gilden]

Dispatch. Can I help you?

[Narrator]

Yeah, hi.

[Tammy Gilden]

I called about meeting the sheriff.

[Peter van Sant]

They gave the dispatcher the license plate number and a description of the trespasser's car.

[Tammy Gilden]

It's a black suv. Which direction did it leave? He turned on Stevenson. He turned west on Stevenson.

[Peter van Sant]

He was driving toward downtown Anacortes. Minutes later, Skagit County Sheriff's Deputy Rick Duhame arrived and checked out the station wagon and then went looking for the black suv. It didn't take long.

[Deputy Rick Duhame]

I noticed the license number matched the piece of paper that the reporting party had given me. I turned around in the vehicle, made a traffic stop.

[Peter van Sant]

The deputy went up to the car window.

[Deputy Rick Duhame]

It was raining. He had sunglasses on, which is unusual. He was extremely nervous.

[Peter van Sant]

Deputy Duhaim asked the man who. Who was hiding his eyes for an id.

[Deputy Rick Duhame]

He didn't listen to the question and then repeated my question to me. So he wasn't tracking the conversation we were having.

[Peter van Sant]

The deputy explained that he pulled the driver over for trespassing.

[Deputy Rick Duhame]

His story was he was headed to the casino, which is down the road.

[Peter van Sant]

During the conversation, the deputy noticed that the driver had some dog hair on his clothing and he noticed a big bundle of blankets in the back of the suv. He didn't think much of it. This just so happened to be the same morning that Mark Stover's employees reported seeing their boss tear out of his driveway in his white Chevy station wagon. And this traffic stop was just a few hours later. No one yet knew Mark was missing. The deputy took the driver's ID and.

[Deputy Rick Duhame]

Went back to my patrol car, ran a driver's check on him, made sure that the car was registered to him. I pulled over Michael Ochs and the.

[Peter van Sant]

Bundle of blankets in the back. Only later would he learn that was Mark's dead body.

[Deputy Rick Duhame]

The whole case took off.

[Peter van Sant]

I'm Peter van Sant from 48 Hours. This is trained to kill the Dog Trainer, the Heiress and The Bodyguard Episode 4 the Bundle in the Back after the sheriff's deputy let Michael Ochs drive away with just a warning, Michael made a phone call, but not to his girlfriend, Linda Updike.

[Michael Ochs]

It was unexpected. It was out of the blue. It wasn't free, coordinated.

[Peter van Sant]

It was to his ex wife, Jennifer Thompson. She lived in Everett, Washington, about an hour south of Anacortes. We spoke in 2010 and he said.

[Michael Ochs]

Hey, I am available this afternoon. I'm in your area. Are you available? I said, actually, yeah, I am. And he said, well, do you want to meet up? I said, sure.

[Peter van Sant]

Although they had been Separated for about a year, Michael and Jennifer started talking again. She had emailed him just a few weeks earlier.

[Michael Ochs]

I had entered a relationship with someone. And it made me really reflect on my situation with Michael. Because I can't say I didn't love him anymore. I was healing and moving forward, but it's not just done. And so I emailed him and said, I've met someone. I'm entering this relationship. Are you sure? You still sure?

[Peter van Sant]

Before she started something new, Jennifer wanted to know if her marriage to Michael was really over.

[Michael Ochs]

We had a pretty amazing relationship. Yeah, it had a lot of brokenness in it. But I don't know. Are you absolutely 100%? Had he said, yep, I'm sure I would have said, okay, carry on, and moved forward. But he didn't say that. And he wrote back, no, I'm not.

[Peter van Sant]

This is October 2009, right when Linda Updike and Michael Oakes have become a couple. And what we've been told is they're deeply in love. He's telling you something else. He's telling you that in his mind it may not be over. Your relationship with him.

[Michael Ochs]

And actually he told me that he didn't love her. I can't say what's true and what isn't, I don't know. But what he told me was that it wasn't like us. It was a convenience. They were partners. Like they each had things that the other needed.

[Peter van Sant]

So when Michael called her that October morning, Jennifer agreed to meet him at a Starbucks.

[Michael Ochs]

And he looked very disheveled and frumpy, like just kind of hair was poofy and clothes untucked, which is different because he's usually very meticulous and neat, tidy, tucked in belt, you know, that kind of thing.

[Peter van Sant]

They sat together at a table in the corner of the coffee shop.

[Michael Ochs]

We kind of have some general chit chat. And then he says, hey, you know there's a beach around here. And I said, well, it's Everett, it's a port. It's not very pretty though. What are you looking for?

[Peter van Sant]

She suggested a beach they could go to.

[Michael Ochs]

He says, sure, that sounds good. He says, I have some time. He said, but my car is really full. There's no room for you, so I'll just follow you. That's fine.

[Peter van Sant]

Jennifer noticed that Michael parked far away from her. And that his vehicle was caked in mud.

[Michael Ochs]

Well, on the way there was very strange because he was driving so carefully, laying low, trying not to draw attention to himself. And this is a man that flips a U turn when it's convenient for him, even if it's illegal.

[Peter van Sant]

She said. When they arrived at the beach, she watched him fumble with things in his car. Michael suggested the two of them go for a walk. Did he seem nervous?

[Michael Ochs]

No. At this time, he seemed very calm, but the tension was so thick, the unspoken was so loud. And I felt. I don't know, it was really, really a strange. Because he and I have very easy, breezy conversations. So it was very weird. It was very uncomfortable.

[Peter van Sant]

Then when they finished their walk, she said they each decided to stop at the bathroom before they left.

[Michael Ochs]

So I went in, he went in and I came out and he was still in there. He was in there for a long time. And I sat on a picnic bench and just waited, waited. And he came out and he was just distraught. Something happened while he was in there. He came out and his entire demeanor completely changed.

[Peter van Sant]

And so he. He looks upset, he looks stressed out.

[Michael Ochs]

Like he's freaking out. He's just noticeably agitated and not okay.

[Peter van Sant]

What does he say to you?

[Michael Ochs]

I said, are you okay? And he said, no, I think I'm in trouble. And I said, real trouble or like perceived trouble? And he said, like 10 to 15 years felony trouble.

[Peter van Sant]

Knowing that Michael could be over the top, Jennifer didn't know whether to take him seriously.

[Michael Ochs]

I also know this man to be very melodramatic. So I'm trying to assess him, I'm reading him and looking at him, and I'm thinking in my head, is this real? Is this not? At that point, he was sitting in my passenger seat and I was in the driver's seat. And he was very noticeably agitated, rubbing his temples and his hair, fingers through his hair, and really vigilant, watching around, real paranoid, freaking out, looking out the windows. Yeah. At one point, a patrolman had come by and he really, really went crazy. And he said, I feel like they know. Like they. And I said, they don't know anything. You're just a guy sitting in a car in a parking lot. He says, you're right. It's just that guilty conscious thing.

[Peter van Sant]

And did you not say right then they know what?

[Michael Ochs]

No, I didn't. I probably didn't want to know because if it was real, I didn't want to know. And if it was being dramatic, I didn't need to know.

[Peter van Sant]

Then Michael said something even more unsettling.

[Michael Ochs]

He made reference to if he was to be pulled over, he was just trying to get out of this area. And if he had been pulled over and law enforcement had seen what was Inside his car, he'd go away for life.

[Peter van Sant]

After that disturbing comment, Michael got out of her car, into his and drove away.

[Michael Ochs]

I think the part that disturbs me the most on my part of it is when we parted ways that day. Kissed him on the cheek. And that haunts me because he had a body in that car.

[Peter van Sant]

Michael left Jennifer. He drove back up to Anacortes, then drove more than 250 miles, crossing the Cascade Mountain range for a second time in the same day. That night, he returned to Linda Updike's house. From Linda's home surveillance camera you can see Michael arrived just after 11:30pm On a different camera, you can see Linda in a bathrobe, come out to welcome him home. Their reunion would prove short.

[Narrator]

Are you looking for your next case? Pluto TV has all your favorite crime dramas streaming for free.

[Peter van Sant]

You're gonna need some B backup, which.

[Narrator]

Means suspense is free.

[Peter van Sant]

Very cool.

[Narrator]

Watch CSI New York, Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods Tracker, FBI and swat. All for free.

[Peter van Sant]

You can't outrun this.

[Narrator]

Someone is gonna pay for all this crime. But it's not gonna be you. Take care of business, fellas. Watch all the cases all for free from all your favorite devices we got you. Feel the free Pluto TV Stream now pay never. Stream all the movies and shows you love for free. Free on Pluto tv. Say what now?

[Deputy]

Showtime.

[Narrator]

That means drama is free. With heart wrenching stories from love and basketball power and Green leap. In this family we live by the spirit and laughter is free. With gut busting comedies like Key and Peele. The neighborhood Everybody hates Chris and Boomerang. Watch all the hits all for free from all your favorite devices.

[Jennifer Thompson]

Oh my God, I love it.

[Narrator]

Feel the free Pluto TV stream now pay never.

[Peter van Sant]

On the evening of October 29, 2009, the day after Mark Stover went missing, Sergeant Gene Davis with the Okanagan Sheriff's Office got a call. We talked.

[Jennifer Thompson]

In 2010, I checked into service around 6 o'clock and received a call from Detective Myers with Skagit County Sheriff's Department advising that they're working on a missing person case. Mark Stover.

[Peter van Sant]

Sergeant Davis knew the name Mark Stover well. Months before, he had suggested Linda Updike get a protective order against Mark. He also had offered to help train her dog to attack.

[Jennifer Thompson]

And I told Detective Myers, yeah, I know Linda. Know Linda very well. And I know Oakes very well.

[Peter van Sant]

Detective Meyers then told Sgt. Davis that they had a lead concerning Mark Stover's disappearance. The lead included a familiar name.

[Jennifer Thompson]

Somehow, Oakes Michael Ochs got involved in this. So I initially heard this information, and I placed a call to Dave. Chief Rodriguez, to let him know what was going on. He didn't answer.

[Deputy]

Simultaneously, Linda calls me, and she's pretty agitated, somewhat frantic, actually.

[Peter van Sant]

This is Dave Rodriguez back in 2010. He was a chief deputy with the Okanagan Sheriff's Office.

[Deputy]

She said an employee of Stover had just called her and said that the police were there and that Mark is missing. There's blood at the scene and the dog's been shot. And she's very frantic. She's saying, we're not sure what's going on, and we've not ruled out the possibility that some type of violence happened at his house by him, not onto him. And he's. Now he's snapped and he's coming over here.

[Peter van Sant]

So Linda's thinking she may be next.

[Deputy]

This is what she's conveying to me anyhow. And I said, are you there by yourself? And she said, no, that Oakes was there. And I said, well, you should be fine, but if you don't, maybe you guys should leave the house and go stay with your mother or somewhere else. So if that's a good idea, that's what we're gonna do.

[Peter van Sant]

Sergeant Davis and Deputy Rodriguez drove to Linda's place separately, unsure of what they were heading into.

[Jennifer Thompson]

7:00 at night, and it was almost a typical fall. Foggy, wintry. Not wintry yet, but it was starting to mist. Dark night.

[Peter van Sant]

Both investigators were familiar with Linda's house.

[Deputy]

So we drove up to the house, and normally when we were going there to train with her dog, her camera system, or possibly a sensor would say, someone's coming up the driveway. She would always be out on the outside, on the deck or whatever.

[Peter van Sant]

Instead of that usual warm welcome, the front door stayed closed. This visit to Linda's would clearly be different.

[Jennifer Thompson]

I used my spotlight, my high beams to, you know, if they came out, they'd be blinded.

[Deputy]

I tried calling her on the phone, and no answer yet. Her car was there. Oak's car was there. Lights were on. No answer.

[Peter van Sant]

The deputies pulled in and parked.

[Deputy]

I'm like, we're going to have to go. Maybe something has happened now. Maybe Stover did come to the house in between the time that I talked to her. So we needed to go to the house. So we go and knock on the door.

[Peter van Sant]

Linda answered the door and invited them inside.

[Deputy]

She seemed a little surprised that we were there, because I didn't, you know, last I talked to her, I said, I recommend you pack some bags and go stay with somebody else. So I think she found that a little surprising that we showed up. But I mean, other than that, nothing unusual invited us in. Initially, we didn't see Michael Oakes, but as we walked in the living room, he was walking up the stairs from a lower level.

[Peter van Sant]

The deputies told Michael to sit on the couch. This was after they searched between the cushions for any weapons.

[Jennifer Thompson]

I know Michael and Linda were into guns. And I asked if he was armed, and he said he was. And I removed a 9 millimeter pistol from him. And at that point we go into more of the questioning.

[Peter van Sant]

Was Linda armed as well?

[Jennifer Thompson]

No, she was not.

[Peter van Sant]

Linda was in a chair nearby. Even though Michael wasn't under arrest, he was clearly a person of interest in this case. Having been in Anacortes on the day Mark Stover disappeared. Sergeant Davis said they read Michael his Miranda rights Just in case he said something that could be admissible in court.

[Deputy]

And we point out that we were here on a task from Skagit county to find out if you were here because your car was seen in the area of Stover's residence at this particular time. And I flat asked him, what were you doing over there? And that's when he said, oh, I was over there. I was visiting my ex wife.

[Peter van Sant]

Chief Deputy Rodriguez noticed how distraught Linda became When Michael said that he made the trip to see his ex wife, Jennifer.

[Deputy]

So actually in my mind is, oh, Oakes just got caught messing around with his ex wife. And now current girlfriend just found out about it.

[Peter van Sant]

He said Linda left the room crying. Sergeant Davis went after her.

[Jennifer Thompson]

She kept on asking me, I don't know what's going on here. What's going on here, you know? She asked Gene, what's going on? I'm so confused. I don't know what's going on here. Numerous times to me.

[Peter van Sant]

Back in the living room, Chief Deputy Rodriguez continued to press Michael for an answer about why he went to visit his ex wife.

[Deputy]

Then he started to get pretty agitated. And he's looking around and he goes, can I get up to find my medication? And we didn't have probable cause to have him under arrest. And I said, yeah, you're not under arrest. You can get up. So he's now looking around in the living room for his medication.

[Peter van Sant]

Kind of strange.

[Deputy]

It is. And now Gene, actually, Sergeant Davis then, I believe, got the call from Skagit County. But in her house, like a lot of places up here, you don't get cell signal. He had to go out on the deck to actually get cell signal. So he's running around. I'm trying to keep an eye on him while he's looking for his medication. And then Linda comes out of the back room and asks me something which diverted my attention briefly. And then when I looked back for Oakes, he had ran down, went down the stairs that he had come up when we initially got there.

[Peter van Sant]

Where'd he go?

[Deputy]

He went downstairs. So I said, linda, he's got to be. At least he's not under arrest. But he has to be within my sight.

[Peter van Sant]

Outside on the deck, Sergeant Davis was getting new information from Skagit County.

[Jennifer Thompson]

They advised that they had a search warrant signed and for us to take Ochs vehicle. When I was outside, something caught my attention. By Ochs's vehicle, I see Oakes open the back hatch, reach inside and take out a plastic bag. Appears to be like a garbage bag.

[Peter van Sant]

When Sergeant Davis saw this happen, alarm bells started to go off in his mind. Why was Michael even outside? And what did he just remove from his car? Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone Paying Big Wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying. No judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Morgan Absher]

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[Michael Ochs]

Every Wednesday, we sneak past the crime scene tape and open a new case file for some of the most gripping true crime cases.

[Morgan Absher]

While Kaelyn pieces together the timelines and breaks down the hard facts of these cases, I'll be diving into the theories and pulling at the threads that may or may not add up.

[Michael Ochs]

From serial killers to shocking murders, Clues dives into all the forensic details and brilliant sleuthing that went into the world's most infamous cases.

[Morgan Absher]

These clues shine a light on stories that have been waiting, sometimes for decades, to finally be heard. So join us as we open a case and uncover the breakthroughs, the heartbreak, and the relentless pursuit of answers behind these unforgettable investigations.

[Michael Ochs]

Follow and listen to Clues an Odyssey podcast in partnership with Crime House. Available now on the free Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcasts now streaming.

[Peter van Sant]

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[Deputy]

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[Peter van Sant]

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[Jennifer Thompson]

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[Deputy]

We take the hiss together.

[Michael Ochs]

We're on the same team.

[Narrator]

I'm right here with you no matter what.

[Michael Ochs]

I would never leave you hanging in the deep end.

[Peter van Sant]

This place is a way of giving you new family. Fire Country. All episodes now streaming on Paramount.

[Narrator]

Plus.

[Peter van Sant]

Michael Oakes had just taken something out of his car. But the darkness and mist made it tough to see. Sergeant Gene Davis spotted Michael while outside talking on the phone.

[Jennifer Thompson]

So I sneak down to him. I light him up with my flashlight. Right when I hit him with the beam of my light, the plastic bag, he throws it over an embankment. And he starts going into the front of his car. I grab him, ask him what he's doing. You know, he's really agitated and nervous at this point. I'm looking for medicine. And then he goes right into it. He goes, why are you giving me the third degree? Why are you treating me like a suspect? I said, well, you're acting suspicious. And at that point, I take control of Michael Ochs and escort him back into the house.

[Peter van Sant]

Chief Deputy Dave Rodriguez was inside with Linda. When Sergeant Davis brought Michael back. So he walks in with Oakes. What do you say to the sergeant?

[Deputy]

What sergeant said to me what he just saw Oakes doing. And to me, that just threw the switch.

[Peter van Sant]

Since he knew them well, he felt that he needed to reinforce to Michael that he was no longer a friend.

[Deputy]

You're now the suspect, and I'm the deputy. Sit down on a couch. We got the second call from Skagit county that says we have probable cause. Put him under arrest.

[Peter van Sant]

Sergeant Davis put on the handcuffs.

[Jennifer Thompson]

And at that point, he looked at Linda again and said, it's gonna be okay, babe.

[Peter van Sant]

Linda broke down.

[Jennifer Thompson]

She was crying even more now. She was basically hysterical at this point. Sobbing. Couldn't even make out the words that she was saying. She was completely emotional wreck at this time.

[Peter van Sant]

After he put Michael in the back of his car. Sergeant Davis walked out to grab whatever Michael had thrown down that embankment.

[Jennifer Thompson]

Once he's secured in the back of my car, I go and secure the garbage. It's basically a Walmart garbage sack. White garbage sack tied up.

[Peter van Sant]

How far away from the car was it?

[Jennifer Thompson]

It was probably 20ft down an embankment from the car. And then I secure it. And secured in the floorboard of my front passenger, my vehicle.

[Peter van Sant]

He didn't open the bag. Sergeant Davis didn't want to risk spoiling the evidence. But he said that whatever was inside was heavy.

[Jennifer Thompson]

And after several minutes in my car, I started up smelling a bleached smell. A strong order of bleach.

[Peter van Sant]

You smelled a strong odor of bleach coming from what was ever inside that bag?

[Jennifer Thompson]

Yes.

[Peter van Sant]

Skagit county deputies arrived later that night to search Michael's suv, and Sergeant Davis gave them that unopened garbage bag.

[Jennifer Thompson]

They checked it after the warrant and discovered a firearm and the rags and whatnot.

[Peter van Sant]

What was in the bag, what kind of gun?

[Jennifer Thompson]

It was a.22 pistol.22 caliber? Yes.

[Peter van Sant]

But when they searched Michael's vehicle, there was no bundle of blankets. Investigators kept searching for Mark Stover's body.

[Deputy]

Skagit County Sheriff's Office asked us to check any probable locations where the body may be dumped in water.

[Peter van Sant]

And as they gathered the evidence, Michael Ochs story seemed more and more unbelievable. So what are you telling me? You shot Mark Stover in self defense?

[Deputy]

Absolutely.

[Peter van Sant]

From 48 hours, this is Train to Kill, the Dog Trainer, the Heiress, and the Bodyguard, produced by Sony Music Entertainment. I'm your host, Peter Vansat. Judy Tygard is the executive producer of 48 Hours. Original reporting by 48 Hours producers Ryan Smith and Liza Finley. Jamie Benson is the senior producer for Paramount Audio and Maura Waltz is the senior story editor. Recording assistance from Alan Peng and Reginald Bazile. Special thanks to Paramount Podcast Vice president Megan Marcus. It is written and produced by Alex Schuman. Stephanie Serrano is our editor. Our executive producer is Shira Morris. Our associate producer is Zoe Kulkin. Theme and original music composed by Hansdale Shee. Cedric Wilson is our sound designer and mixed the episodes. We also use music from APM and Epidemic Sounds. Fendel Fulton is our fact checker. Our production manager is Tamika Balance Kolasny. I'm Peter Van Sant. If you're enjoying this show, be sure to rate and review. It helps more people find it and hear our reporting. You can listen to Train to kill early and ad free right now by subscribing to 48 Hours plus on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening.

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