436: Worst Roommate Ever: Burning Down the House

Summary

True Crime Obsessed - Episode 436: Worst Roommate Ever: Burning Down the House

In Episode 436 of True Crime Obsessed, hosts Patrick Hines and Jenny Benzzavali delve into a chilling tale of manipulation, abuse, and relentless pursuit of justice. Titled "Worst Roommate Ever: Burning Down the House," this episode unpacks the harrowing story of Beau Bowden and his tumultuous relationship with his roommate, Tammy Fritz.

Introduction to Key Characters

• James "Beau" Bowden: A decorated military veteran who sought solace and stability after the tragic death of his close friend and mentor, Rich Fritz.
• Tammy Fritz: Rich's widow, who becomes Beau's roommate under seemingly altruistic circumstances but harbors sinister intentions.
• Christian Fritz: Beau and Tammy’s young son, who becomes an unintended victim caught in the crossfire of his mother's abusive relationship.
• Joyce Fritz: Rich's mother, whose intuition and determination play a pivotal role in uncovering the truth behind Rich's and Beau's mysterious deaths.

The Tragic Loss of Rich Fritz

The story begins in June 2001, when Rich Fritz unexpectedly dies from what is initially diagnosed as strep throat. However, whispers of a possible bubonic plague infection linger, adding an eerie layer to his sudden demise. Rich's death leaves Beau deeply affected, prompting him to seek support and stability.

Tammy Fritz Enters the Scene

In December 2003, Tammy offers Beau a rent-free place to stay, a gesture that Beau accepts out of gratitude and loneliness. Initially portrayed as a caring figure, Tammy soon reveals her controlling nature. At [04:25], Jenny notes, "We call him Beau." This relationship becomes the crux of the unfolding drama.

Signs of Manipulation and Abuse

As Beau settles into his new living arrangement, Tammy's true colors emerge. She begins exerting control over Beau's personal documents, a red flag highlighted at [10:35]:

Jenny Benzzavali: "Imagine moving in with someone who requests your Social Security card and birth certificate to store in a locked safe."

Tammy manipulates Beau into excessive drinking, leading to dangerous situations where Beau's safety is compromised. In August 2004, despite recovering from a severe alcohol-induced incident ([22:05]), Beau finds himself repeatedly targeted by Tammy's harmful actions.

Escalation to Violence

By July 2009, the situation deteriorates as Tammy's fraudulent activities come to light. Detective Michael Flynn becomes suspicious of Tammy's involvement in multiple crimes, including identity theft and credit card fraud. Tammy's desperation to secure a $150,000 life insurance policy on Beau without his knowledge becomes evident at [53:20]:

Patrick Hines: "How are you taking out a life insurance policy on someone without their consent? It's fraudulently done."

Her attempts to kill Beau intensify, leading to multiple assaults that Beau miraculously survives. The culmination of Tammy's relentless pursuit of Beau for financial gain is detailed meticulously, showcasing her calculated and cold-blooded nature.

The Turning Point: Investigation and Arrest

Joyce Fritz's relentless pursuit is a beacon of hope in this dark narrative. Upon discovering irregularities in Tammy's life insurance policies and the suspicious deaths of Rich and Beau, Joyce collaborates with Detective Flynn to gather incriminating evidence. The breakthrough comes in November 2009, when Tammy is arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, conspiracy, and various forms of fraud ([57:33]).

Justice Served and Aftermath

In May 2015, Tammy is convicted and sentenced to 48 years in prison, ensuring she faces the consequences of her heinous actions. However, her responsibility in Rich's death remains unpunished due to the lack of concrete evidence stemming from Rich's premature cremation. Christian Fritz, now a young adult, grapples with the trauma inflicted by his mother's actions but finds solace in the support of his uncle and the memory of his father.

Notable Moments and Quotes

• [04:45]:

  Jenny Benzzavali: "I hate this woman so, so, so much."

• [53:26]:

  Jenny Benzzavali: "Tammy was actively trying to kill Beau for years in order to get the $150,000 life insurance."

• [58:23]:

  Christian Fritz: "She's the most manipulative woman I've ever met. She's not afraid to use you to get what she needs."

Insights and Reflections

This episode serves as a stark reminder of the depths of human manipulation and the importance of vigilance, especially when vulnerable individuals are involved. The hosts highlight the significance of intuition and the courage it takes to seek justice against formidable adversaries.

Patrick and Jenny commend Joyce Fritz's unwavering determination, emphasizing that without her, the truth behind Rich and Beau's deaths might have remained obscured. The narrative underscores the ripple effects of abuse, not just on the direct victims but also on innocent bystanders like Christian.

Conclusion

Episode 436 masterfully intertwines personal anecdotes with investigative journalism, offering listeners a comprehensive and emotionally charged recount of a true crime story fraught with deceit, violence, and the pursuit of truth. For those seeking a gripping narrative filled with real-life implications, this episode of True Crime Obsessed is a must-listen.

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Note: All timestamps correspond to the podcast transcript segments for easy reference.

Transcript

[Patrick Hines]

Hey, fam, just a quick heads up. Our new merch line is out, and we're keeping it up as long as supplies last.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Fun fact. You're wearing the merch while you're telling.

[Patrick Hines]

Them, are you having a lovely winter? Because it's June and it's 40 degrees and I'm wearing a sweater.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You need hoodies, we got you hoodies. But we also have tanks.

[Patrick Hines]

We got tanks. We got the gay gators. We got the golden Fiona stuff. We got that live like you want to be sent for merch that everybody wanted. It's so fun and funny. We got pens.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

We're kind of all over the place, but in the best way.

[Patrick Hines]

I just dumped out a box of misprinted pens in my closet that said, let women do work. Okay, well, so you're not getting those, fam. You're getting the let the women do the work pen.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Wonder who printed those?

[Patrick Hines]

There's some guy named George being like, sorry, George.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You know What?

[Patrick Hines]

Anyway, fam, truecrimesess.com. click on the merch link or Steve told me it's merch.TrueCrimeObsess.com if you want to do it the old fashioned way.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Either way, just go.

[Patrick Hines]

You get there. How you get there.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Two tree clicks.

[Patrick Hines]

You there, that's it. While supplies last. Go get it now.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Happy merching.

[Patrick Hines]

Okay, we love you.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Bye. Bye.

[Patrick Hines]

Are you ready to be so proud of me?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

What?

[Patrick Hines]

I have officially, after nine years, transitioned to taking my notes in Google Docs.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Oh, thank God.

[Patrick Hines]

How many times? Because I've been doing it in word for nine years. It'd be like days I forget my notes to email them to myself. I've been working at them from home.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And it's not like I've been pressing you to do it, like, because I'm annoying.

[Patrick Hines]

No, no, no.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You're like, oh, no, I lost my notes. And I'm like, well, why aren't you doing it in a way that auto saves I still understand?

[Patrick Hines]

I did it today. I feel good about the happens. I just was like, I was sick of working with Word. I needed to do something web. I'm like, I'm just gonna do it. I'm just gonna do it.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Thank God you people don't know our dear listeners. You have no idea the struggle.

[Patrick Hines]

Nine years of hell.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's been hard, but we're here now. Hi.

[Patrick Hines]

Jenny Benzzavali.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Hello. Patrick Hines, fam.

[Patrick Hines]

I am out on tour. My tour is almost done. Can you believe it? No. It's been 100 years. I've got about 15 shows left, but the big ones I got coming up. June 26th in New York City. It' pride weekend. My hometown show. We're almost sold out, but I would love for you to be there. It's at the Green, room 42. On July 25th, I'm gonna be in Provincetown, Massachusetts. It's so good.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Come on, Pete town, let's go.

[Patrick Hines]

Come on, Pete Town. Come on, other hometown fam. I've never played Provincetown before. I'm so excited. There's a bunch of shows in between. And then my final show is August 30th in London. I'm gonna get really drunk that night. Cause it's gonna be my last show. Steve's not gonna be there. It's gonna be me and Natalie. It's gonna be a party.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Party time.

[Patrick Hines]

All the information and tickets. Patricktours.com, please come and see me. I'm having such a good time.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

We're also. Yay.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, the YouTube channel is insane. We have over, I think like 13 or 14,000 subscribers at this point. It's going so well. I think we look good. I think we're having fun.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I think so too. It's great if people are into it. Hooray.

[Patrick Hines]

We're true crime Obsessed. Podcast on YouTube. Or just go to the show notes here and click on the YouTube link.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Perfect.

[Patrick Hines]

Now I have to find my notes. Hang on a second. I met him. All right, girl, what are we talking about today?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

We're talking about worst roommate ever. And she is Season two, episode three, Burning down the House. I hate when they try to get cute with the titles.

[Patrick Hines]

I know.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

The talking head in my head, which is fine.

[Patrick Hines]

I know. I hate that song though.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But I think it's definitely, definitely not their best. No, but I also think it's like, then it takes away from the severity of the story because I'm like, I.

[Patrick Hines]

Hate this woman so, so, so much. Hey, kiddo.

[Christian]

What are you doing?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Just got done eating. What are you up to?

[Christian]

Just hanging out on the couch. My whole life. My mom was more of a roommate than anything.

[Patrick Hines]

How's the babies?

[Christian]

They're thinking he's probably about five, six pounds right now. I was born ready on the phone. She sounds like a sweet lady.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You know, I'm used to having 12.

[Patrick Hines]

Nine pound babies, 10 pound babies. So hopefully you all's first one won't be the same.

[Christian]

Don't let the voice fool you. Cause she won't hurt you.

[Patrick Hines]

All right, I'll lug you.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And you guys Be safe, and I'll.

[Patrick Hines]

Talk to you soon.

[Christian]

All right. Beau's the one that taught me, like, keep your friends close to your enemies closer. That's one of the things I do with my mom.

[Patrick Hines]

So we open with a guy named James Bowden. Now, you and I texted about this. We're going to call him Bo because Christian, the character Christian calls him Beau. Other people call him James. We're just going to call him Beau.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. And there are times where I'm like, they mean James.

[Patrick Hines]

They.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But it starts with Christian.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Sitting on the couch on the phone with his mother.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And he's telling us my mom always felt like more than a roommate than a mother on the phone. She sounds super sweet. Don't let the voice fool you. And I'm like, then Christian, why are you talking to her?

[Patrick Hines]

I know.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And he says, she taught me to keep my friends close and my enemies closer. And that's what I do with my mom.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes. And it can. I tell you, the people who teach that lesson are the ones who need it taught about them. Well, that is, like, the God's honest truth.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I was gonna say. That's not for me. Keep my enemies close.

[Patrick Hines]

Nope.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It sounds exhausting. Keep my enemies out of sight, out of mind, out of everything else. That's how I feel about my enemies. Yeah. So James Bowden, he's such an interesting guy.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. I love this guy. I think that he's, like, amazing. Full of integrity. He's amazing. He. He's gonna tell us that he's the kind of guy that, like, he's good at what he's good at. Life hasn't been particularly easy for him, but he joined the military in 1997. Joining the military seemed like the thing that made the most sense for him to do with his life.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

And it's a good decision.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Immediately, I'm like, bo, can you be nicer to yourself?

[Patrick Hines]

I know, I know.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

He's like, I fumbled my way through this life. Anything I succeeded at it was because I did it on a whole idiot savant level. I'm like, beau, be nice.

[Patrick Hines]

No, he's great. So he meets Rich Fritz in the military.

[Tammy]

He says, when I met Rich Fritz, he and I were real tight. I was his soldier. I was assigned to him as part of his squad. The man that Richard was, for me, his leadership skills, yeah, they were still something that I hold onto.

[Patrick Hines]

Basically. This guy Rich was like his mentor.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. And Beau really, really looked up to Rich. It's very, like, chosen family. We're in Here. And he says he still used what he learned from Rich's leadership skills.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And Rich's mom, Joyce, is. She's amazing. She said, you know, Rich would have given his life for his men. She says, now, I know we don't love this, but she says, he was probably one of my best friends. I was like, I don't know.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Joyce is cool.

[Patrick Hines]

We're going to give Joyce a pass on this. But she says he was alive at the party, would do anything to make you laugh.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And, you know, Rich's whole vibe was, yes, the military is a job, but we all have families we want to get home to, so let's do our job safely and get home to our loved ones. That was his whole thing. So he loved his chosen family, but he knows that, like, we all want to get home safely, so let's do that.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And they take care of each other. So Christian is back. Christian is Rich's son, which means the.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Mother he called his enemy was Rich's wife.

[Patrick Hines]

Exactly.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Holy shit.

[Patrick Hines]

And so he says, my father, Rich, was loving but firm. And he says, I mostly remember his last days in the military doing crunches in the living room. We're going to learn Rich died very young on Father's Day weekend, when Christian was very young.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Travel down the road.

[Patrick Hines]

Back again, girl. Cornbread hemp. THC seltzers are back. Can I tell you, we have a fridge full of these things at home.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Same. It's so nice to just, like, you know, a lot of people are cutting back on drinking. I'm one of them, like, drinking alcohol, and I have a lot of friends who don't drink. And this is just such a great alternative.

[Patrick Hines]

We have so many happy hours. We have, like, a full bar for our happy hours, but we have this in the bar now, and people love an alternative. So, fam. Finally, there's a THC seltzer that tastes and feels amazing. It's perfect for spring and summer. People love it. It's super low cal with only 30 calories and 5 grams of sugar.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. And it's made with pure THC and all natural ingredients, which means no synthetics. Also, if you want thc, but you don't want a gummy. Yes, I want to smoke it, you.

[Patrick Hines]

Know, like, because some people who, like, are used to drinking, like me, you want this experience of having a drink in your hand but not having, like, the alcohol and all the crap that goes along with it.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And each can has 5 milligrams of THC, which is the perfect amount. So you don't feel couch locked or paranoid.

[Patrick Hines]

And let me tell you this on the calorie front, my bourbon is, like, almost 200 calories per drink. These are 30 calories and 5 grams.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And they taste amazing. There's blueberry breeze, peach iced tea, raspberry limeade, salted watermelon. That raspberry limeade is so good, especially for the summer.

[Patrick Hines]

I know. So fam. Right now, TCO listeners can save 30 off their first order and enjoy free shipping on orders over 75 bucks.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Head to cornbreadhemp.com TCO and use code TCO at checkout.

[Patrick Hines]

That's cornbread hemp.com TCO code TCO. Cornbread hemp. This is the good life.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

There you go.

[Patrick Hines]

It really is good. Add it to your summer bar. Your friends will love you.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Cheers, everybody. So it's April, May 2001. Rich gets out of active duty, and Beau is like, look, he was fat and happy.

[Patrick Hines]

He had a big beer guy, like.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

As the biggest compliment in the world. Like, he was literally living life. He was off duty for real. In every sense of the term.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. He was doing so well. He had just gotten out of the military, and he said. So it was a shock when he died on Father's Day weekend.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like, oh, my God, that sentence just keeps getting worse. This is horrifying.

[Patrick Hines]

And Joyce, which his mom said he hadn't been feeling well for two days. He went to the doctor, they diagnosed this strep. And then on the third day in the morning, he was found dead in his bed.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

He was given. Yeah. Antibiotics for strep, and he was going to go on this trip, but leading up to the trip, he wasn't feeling great. And then suddenly on day three where everyone thinks he's just, like, nursing stret before he goes on this trip with his friend.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

He's 28 years old and he's found dead.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And like Bo says, Rich's death was devastating to him. And it was one of the reasons. It was one of the things that prompted him to sort of get out of the military.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She leaves the military over it.

[Patrick Hines]

I know. And so Tammy, Rich's now widow, reaches out to Beau and was like, hey.

[Tammy]

I've got an extra room. You know, you could stay with us. You know, she's offering me a place to stay rent free. I would say that I was both surprised and relieved. That was just that whole dumb luck thing.

[Patrick Hines]

He knew Tammy, but he knew Tammy as, like, his friend's wife. And. But he takes her up on it like he needs A place to stay. He doesn't really have much money. And he goes and he says, you.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Know, like, it's right before Christmas, it's December 23, 2003. And he's like, this is. This is what Rich would have done. Like, we're looking out for our own. Beau needed help. Bo and Rich were very close. Tammy stepped up for Beau. Like, this is what Beau was thinking.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And he's like, let me go and help this family that just lost this great guy. Like, we're. Like you said, we're military. We're family.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like, fine, great. So Beau is the second person to say that Tammy felt more like a big sister. Like, that Tammy didn't feel like who and what she was. Which is Christian's mom.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Rich's wife.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She was either a friend or a roommate. Or like the drunk big sister.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And to be very clear, there was nothing romantic between Tammy and Beau at all.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So she was like. Like the drunk big s. But yet Tammy was in charge of all of Beau's important documents.

[Patrick Hines]

No.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I'm like, oh, God, no.

[Patrick Hines]

A big red flag if you move in with somebody and your new roommate is like, hey, roomy, do you have, like, a Social Security card and like, a birth certificate you want me to put in my locked safe for you?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Tammy has control. Bo says his birth certificate, his Social Security card, all that stuff. And I'm like, no, no, no. And Beau is in a bad place. Like, and I can see, like, I can see how innocently enough, she's like, well, your family, you're moving in. This is where we keep all of those things.

[Patrick Hines]

I guess.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I guess.

[Patrick Hines]

Do you and Mike have a thing like that, Like a safe where you keep all your important documents?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I don't have a safe, but everything is in, like, one envelope. And I know where it is.

[Patrick Hines]

Uh huh. Not me, but no, I don't have.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

A safe deposit box. I probably should. I probably shouldn't be talking about how I don't have a safe deposit box.

[Patrick Hines]

Well, we were going to have a safe put in our apartment. We just never did. I guess we should at some point.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah, I don't know. I probably should. I also, like, don't have a will. I don't have anything.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, that's the one thing I have that you don't have. I'll take that.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Well, you have a kid, though.

[Patrick Hines]

That's true. We did have to go. Like, that was when we were like, we need to do this.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You know, there's a lot of things.

[Patrick Hines]

You don't have a will?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

No.

[Patrick Hines]

I'm surprised. Well, can I tell them what you told me yesterday?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

What?

[Patrick Hines]

You just updated your phone for the first time since 2020. It's the most unlike you thing. You're the most on top of it. Tech savvy person, literally. I know. And you're like, I just might just update my phone for the first time.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I was like, what is that circle thing? Is that the MagSafe stuff that everyone's talking about? Because I tried to get a case and it was only a MagSafe case, but I don't have a MagSafe case anymore.

[Patrick Hines]

Her phone stopped letting her use it. Her phone was like, you may only call 91 1.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It was giving me the SOS alert. So I'd be like in the middle of a conversation and try to go online. I was telling you all this yesterday. It was because I have my imessage, like, connected to my computer. And then it would just be like, it would kick me out of imessage and basically tell me that I don't exist anymore.

[Patrick Hines]

What kept you from updating it?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I can't.

[Patrick Hines]

It's just annoying to do. Yeah, yeah, no, I'm with you. I'm working phone.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Who cares?

[Patrick Hines]

I couldn't agree more. But, like, eventually something will stop working. And I'm like, if I just update it, it'll be better.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And it gotten to the point where. And I was like, oh, we can just get the upgrade. We're eligible for the upgrade because we've had the phone, the same phone, since 2020. And so I just did it that way. But yeah, I wasn't gonna. For a fucking new iPhone.

[Patrick Hines]

I know, but I mean, but everybody else does.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But when you're upgrading.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, no, that's the upgrade. But you probably. Yeah. Could you. Anyway, we could talk about it. I could talk about this. It doesn't matter.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But I was like, what is MagSafe? I just learned about Maxafe.

[Patrick Hines]

But the point is that, like, Beau is just trusting Tammy and is like, sure, like, thanks for, like, storing my important documents.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Because he loves Rich and he figured this.

[Patrick Hines]

You know, we are also going to. In this episode, we're going to get to the bottom of an enduring mystery. I was so happy to find out how you can get a life insurance policy on somebody without them having to sign the paperwork we're going to get the answer to. But in this episode, it's annoying. It's wild, and should be illegal.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It should be. So Tammy's house became like the big hangout. Spot.

[Tammy]

We played Mortal Kombat or watch big old movie marathons or whatever. And that was the thing, you know, you stayed in the barracks Monday through Thursday night, but Friday night, everybody went over to Tammy's. She made sure, well, hell, if I'm having a party. What's the point in having fun if you can't have your friends have fun living you.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Tammy, of course, was always involved.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, I was trying to decide if I thought that would be fun or not. If I was like, if I'm Christian, I'm like the little, you know, seven year old. And my. My mom's new roommate is in, has the guys over all the time. I don't know if I would enjoy that.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But, like, you would think, based on what Bo is describing about Rich, that, like, Tammy should have been friends with these people because Rich is friends with them.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Maybe not saying you always have to be, but you know what I'm saying.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. My sister was in the military for 19 years. I can attest that, like, every person I've met in the military that my sister knew was awesome. And they would do this. They would come over, they'd have parties, and, like, I understand this world. I just wonder if I would have liked it.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. I mean, look, so Mike is here. Mike Anderson, who's Bo's army friend.

[Patrick Hines]

And like, I like, I wish that, like, we. I wish we got more of him. He seems like a very. I want to know, like, what he does for fun.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah, he seems like a very video game, which is super cool, but I.

[Patrick Hines]

Feel like he, like, bakes sourdough. You know what I mean?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

He's got really.

[Patrick Hines]

He's got one of the. He strikes me as somebody who's got one of those quirky hobbies that, like, you're like, oh, you do. You make beer. Like, okay.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But I feel like after the pandemic, everyone was making sourdough.

[Patrick Hines]

I guess that's true.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I didn't make it, but I watched people make it from afar.

[Patrick Hines]

I feel like maybe Mike, like, makes teas. You know what I mean? Like, he, like, he, like, dries flowers and makes teas or something.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I said earlier that playing video games is super cool. I meant that.

[Patrick Hines]

I believe that sounded.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I heard it echoing in my head. I was like, did that sound fantastic?

[Patrick Hines]

No, no, no, no.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You've been through this.

[Patrick Hines]

We talk about video games all the time on this podcast. I don't know anything about it.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's okay.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. I don't need to know.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

No, if you don't want to Know.

[Patrick Hines]

It'S not for me.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So Mike is like, yes, Tammy helped out Beau. Bo also helped out Tammy the way he would for Rich. Right?

[Patrick Hines]

Yes. Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So especially when it comes to Christian, who's Rich's son.

[Patrick Hines]

Now, another thing I thought was interesting is that Bo and Christian see their relationship as a big brother, little brother. Not like a father figure, but like a big brother, little brother thing.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And I gotta tell you, like, Beau really showed up for Christian.

[Patrick Hines]

This is so awesome the way Christian describes this.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And it really means a lot to a kid in that situation. The people who show up are very important, and they remember them forever. Like, my Mike had that when he lost his dad when he was. Was eight, nine years old.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like, the people who showed up for him, like his Uncle Chris.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. I was just dealing with this in therapy. We had none of those people.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Right.

[Patrick Hines]

Nobody showed up for us. And we would look around at my mom like we were so poor, like, in Section 8 housing, the whole deal. We would, like, go on weekends to my mom's, like, a great uncle's fancy cabin in Vermont. And he was like a doctor. And I'm like, why? Why aren't you helping us? Like, why. Why. Why are we leaving here with, like, a little bit of your cash? You know, so when someone shows up.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And, like, takes you bowling, like Mike had, you know, like, so Christian and Beau.

[Patrick Hines]

That's amazing. Yeah. Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Uncle God blesses people. Yeah, he was amazing. But, you know.

[Patrick Hines]

Cause Christian says, like, Beau would take me everywhere.

[Christian]

Beau was probably the first person I ever saw, you know, with the PlayStation 2 and taught me what some video games were. And he didn't put himself first. He put me in his plans a lot. He was the closest thing I felt like I had to my dad.

[Patrick Hines]

He was the closest thing I felt that I had to my dad.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. That's amazing. And so needed, right?

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So Tammy's working for the Colorado Springs Sheriff's office. She's an emergency dispatcher. She would work, work nights, sleep all day. She was gone a lot. And so she let Rich's army buddies look after her son Christian, which is.

[Patrick Hines]

A more hands off approach to parenting than I would feel.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She's very lucky.

[Patrick Hines]

Both such a good guy, 1 million percent.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And Mike is such a good guy, and all of these army friends are good people.

[Patrick Hines]

And like Christian says, like, it was. It felt good to him. Like, it was easy and not like, this could be an awesome situation forever because Bo gets to live there rent free, and he's. He's paying his Rent by caring for the kid, you know, And. And it could have been awesome. Tammy, you didn't have to go and ruin everything, you stupid horrib person.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I mean, she's a horrible person. But here's what's happening to. Beau was also working nights. He was a doorman. So he would get home at 7am not go to sleep, get Christian, at the time, a little boy, ready for the day, get him dressed, get him to go to school. And he was like, yeah, it was his big brother, babysitter. So just to like, be clear, Beau and Tammy both worked nights, then they'd both come home, Tammy would go to sleep, and Beau would take care of.

[Patrick Hines]

Her kid, which is also means that. That her young child was home alone by himself overnight all the time. I cannot think of anything more terrifying as a kid.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

Because we're talking. I think that Christian was like eight or nine, maybe 10. Like, I mean, younger than Daisy is now. And there's no, no, no world in which Daisy would be home by herself overnight.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. So because Bo and Tammy were not together, like, everyone makes that very clear. There's no there there. What? However they say it, separate room, separate lives. Tammy was dating this guy Steve, and she'd go out to hang out with him every single weekend. And she would leave Christian at home. Tammy, you suck the.

[Patrick Hines]

And. And Christian says, like, she would go be with him every weekend, and if I wasn't wanted there, sometimes he would go. And sometimes Tammy would be, like, it to be us this weekend, kiddo.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Or, like, on holidays, she would call.

[Joyce]

Me on Thanksgiving and Christmas and say, I've got a party to go to. Can you watch Christian? Or my boyfriend and I want to go someplace and Christian can't come. You put your boyfriends and friends over your children.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

My boyfriend wants to take me somewhere, and Christian isn't allowed to come.

[Patrick Hines]

So, like, this is where Joyce Rich's mom and Christian's grandmother is. Like, if I was like, he would just call me sometimes because he'd be home alone in the middle of the night, and he'd be terrified, and I would just have to sit on the phone with him. And I can't imagine if you're Joyce, the frustration of, like, I mean, no one ever calls the authorities here. Like, Christian is a perfect candidate for foster care or, like, at least to go and live with his grandmother. Like, this is so unsafe, and he's just flipping through the cracks and he's.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She's just always picking, partying or men over her kid.

[Patrick Hines]

I mean, it's horrible.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Travel down the road.

[Patrick Hines]

Back again, girl. Our place is back. You love it. This is that amazing none nonstick cookware that is like not harmful and like better than the others. And you love it.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. So most nonstick cookware still, still, still today contains harmful chemicals like Teflon. I'm not into that at all. Because the Teflon will leach into your food, the environment, your home. Like, who needs that? I just want to cook my food. I know really beautiful pan and not have harmful chemicals.

[Patrick Hines]

I love that you love it. Steve loves it too. And the our place four piece cookware set is the best way to overhaul your kitchen. Fam. With multifunctional, high performing and space saving pots and pans. They send you like a pots and pans organizer for your cupboard. It is, it is amazing.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You know what it is? Because it's the lids.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes, it's the lids.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And the cookware set offers this ultra slippery nonstick performance, which is great because it doesn't have chemicals, but it's also so easy to clean.

[Patrick Hines]

Also, by the way, if you buy that four piece cookware set, you save 150 bucks.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. They also, they have like their standout products.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

This wonder oven. Did I tell you? Oh, yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

Yep.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's my favorite thing. It's a revolutionary air fryer and toaster oven. It's sold out eight times.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's eco friendly. It's a high performance cooking experience. You can reheat absolutely everything. Like throw your pizzas in there. It's an air fryer. You can make really crispy french fries.

[Patrick Hines]

Fam. This was the thing she wanted to talk about more than anything else. She's very excited.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I love it.

[Patrick Hines]

So, fam, stop cooking with toxic cookware and upgrade to our place today.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Visit fromourplace.com tco and use code tco for 10% off sitewide.

[Patrick Hines]

With 100 day risk free trial free shipping and returns, you can experience this game changing cookware with zero risk. Just do it.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I love it so much. And get the toaster oven and like reheat that pizza like a champ. You know what I mean? So August 2004. They've been roommates for 20 months.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Tammy gets dumped. She wants to get hammered and Beau is like, okay, fine, let's do this.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And so they're drinking this thing. It's called a tuaca bomb.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I've never heard of this.

[Patrick Hines]

What is tuaca?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Tuaca is an Italian brandy.

[Patrick Hines]

Okay.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

That I looked up today. And it's like, it's A liqueur. It says tuaca is a sweet golden and brown blend of brandy, citrus and orange essences, vanilla and other spices added. It's like an after dinner drink. Sometimes sounds delicious, sometimes it's in cocktails. But it's weird because it's kind of like a Jaeger bomb. But Bo describes it in reverse, right?

[Patrick Hines]

Because you would take. You would like, fill the glass with Tuaca and then drop a shot of Red Bull.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Right?

[Patrick Hines]

Like, oh, my God.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And Jaeger. You would drop the shot of Jaeger in a glass of Red Bull is.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, is that what that is?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And then you chug it. Oh, God. I believe. Right.

[Patrick Hines]

Well. But she basically, Tammy is just getting Beau hammered. He's not even looking at the Dr. She's just bringing him over.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And it's not like they'd be drinking vodka sodas and every once in a while do a 2 aka bomb. They're doing 2 aka bombs and only tuwaka bombs, which is a very, like, that'll get you fucked up.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. Well, he says, he goes, I got completely plowed. Not just like regular drunk. And like the next day, he says he woke up feeling like there was just something just horrendously wrong with him.

[Tammy]

Trying to go from my bedroom to the bathroom, take a shower. I had to crawl to the bathroom. I couldn't hardly walk.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

He can't walk, right. He's crawling into the bathroom and passes out. So this is how Christian and like, can we please stop doing this to children? They like, walk in so horrifyingly someone like, inebriated like this. And it's not. We will learn. This is not Beau's fault. He was drugged.

[Patrick Hines]

No, he was. Yes. This is the beginning of Tammy trying to kill. I kept thinking about that lady from the other episode where you're like, this bitch won't die.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

She spends the next, like five years trying to kill Beau. And Beau just won't die.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah, he die, which is amazing.

[Patrick Hines]

It's incredible.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So the next day, Beau cannot get up off the floor. And Christian finds him butt ass naked like this on the floor, which is like a terrifying thing for a little boy to see. Totally kid to see.

[Patrick Hines]

They rush Beau to the hospital. The doctors give him a spinal tap. We get this like, creepy like. Like spinal tap reenactment, which I didn't need to.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I thought this sounded insane and excessive. So I asked our discord just like.

[Patrick Hines]

A blood test, blood alcohol test.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So my TCO discord friends told me the following. Certain drugs can pop up on a spinal Tap that may not show up in a blood or urine test.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh my God.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Either they thought he was fucked bunch of use or was having a serious medical issue from how he was presenting. So, like, it is excessive. But that's how bad he was when he showed up to the emergency room. That they were like, something is. This is not like a blood test. This isn't just booze. Like something bad, right?

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. Well, the spinal tap comes back inconclusive. So they did that for nothing.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's like, okay, well, Tammy made Beau drink all these drinks and now he's in the hospital. One plus one equals two.

[Patrick Hines]

Exactly.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Come on now.

[Patrick Hines]

But then it's like, you know, nobody's ever going to think that their friend is like, drugging them or whatever.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But when you think about what happened to Rich, her husband, Christian's dad, like, he got sick really, really quickly. So what happened there?

[Patrick Hines]

Right, right. And like, why was she able to do it? Like, why was she able to kill Rich and not be right? You know what I mean? So it seems like she got Rich on the first try or maybe she. Or maybe not.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Because we learned that they did not have a good relationship. So God knows. So it's June 2000. Let's go back to Rich's story. Actually.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah, it's June 2001. This is when Rich got sick. And three days they thought he had strep throat, he died. So it came on really, really fast.

[Patrick Hines]

And Joyce, his mother, says when Rich got sick, he and Tammy had been together for seven years. And Rich had grown up all his life wanting all the traditional stuff. The wife, the kids, the white picket fence. She said that was his dream. And when Rich and Tammy first got married, like, they hadn't known each other that long. And Joyce doesn't understand why Rich felt the need to go so fast.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

He proposed to her without introducing her to his family, which we hear from, like, Rich's family that that's weird. Like, he would have brought her around and we all would have gotten to know her.

[Patrick Hines]

My question was like, was she already preg or was she really pressuring him?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I think she's just super manipulative.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like, I'm sure she had some invisible ticking clock of, like, why we need to get married right now.

[Patrick Hines]

Uh huh.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like, don't you love me? Marry me now. So is that what I said to Steve? Is it? Sounds familiar. Joyce, his Rich's mother, finally meets Tammy on Thanksgiving. And Joyce immediately was like, I don't.

[Joyce]

Like her because some of her questions were leading to what we had, what we didn't have. And it just seemed like she was just looking for materialistic things and not love for my son.

[Patrick Hines]

Can you imagine if, like, the first time he brought Mike around, he's like, till what year's that car?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

He's never asked anything remotely, what's my dowry over here?

[Patrick Hines]

How many cows do I get?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

What, like, assets?

[Patrick Hines]

How many acres is this property? No, no reason. Just wondering.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

No reason.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, Just.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Do you have anything? Any other property exactly.

[Patrick Hines]

Is going to be coming to us.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like, can you imagine?

[Patrick Hines]

I know.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So Joyce confirms Tammy was all about the material things, and Rich wanted to give her everything she wanted. So he says, like, to his mother, Rich says, like, she's never going to be happy.

[Patrick Hines]

It's never enough.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I give her everything she wants, and she's still miserable. So they started talking about getting a divorce.

[Patrick Hines]

Now, Rich says to his mom, after a while, after a while of, I'm sure, like, him trying to work it out, doing everything he could, he finally says to his mom, you know what? Fudge this. The house is in my name, the cars in my name, the boat.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So they had a lot of things at Tammy's pushing, and now Rich is like, okay, well, fudge that. They're all in my name. Anyway, so I tried to give it to her. She didn't want it. She's not happy. I'm leaving on my boat.

[Patrick Hines]

If it's not a party barge, I want nothing to do.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I mean, what is it? Boats are literally throwing money into the water. Like, people just say there's such money.

[Patrick Hines]

Somebody was saying there was, like, a TikTok going around about being like. The strongest argument for having Republican friends is so you can go on their boat because everybody, you don't have to.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Take care of it.

[Patrick Hines]

It's like my sister and her husband had a boat. And I will say, the one time a year that we went down, it was pretty awesome to go on a boat.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Okay.

[Patrick Hines]

You know what I mean?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Sure.

[Patrick Hines]

It's like. It's like rivers are like streets, but they're made of water. You know what I mean?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Right. Put that on a pillow.

[Patrick Hines]

Rivers are like streets, but they're made of water. Yeah, that's a fact. It's kind of fun to be on a boat, but, like, I only needed it once a year now for, like, a few. Party barge is a whole different story. The resignation in her eyes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So. So Rich got to the point where he's like, hey, everything's in my name. She can take a walk and she's not taking my kids from me. Like, bye, Felicia.

[Patrick Hines]

You always have the best way of putting it. She can take a walk.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She can take a fucking walk, by the way.

[Patrick Hines]

She can take a fucking walk.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I tried to buy her everything. I did buy her everything. She doesn't want. It gets. It's in my name. And I'm taking my kid. Like, fuck you and my boat. And my boat.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, I'm taking my kid and my party barge, and I'm fucking out of here.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Bye.

[Patrick Hines]

I know.

[Joyce]

Two weeks later, he wasn't feeling good. He had a sore throat. He had a cough. And then he went to the doctors, and it was diagnosed as strep throat.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Rich was suddenly very sick, and it's like, oh, yeah. I mean, this is all.

[Patrick Hines]

But nobody ever does the math. You know what I mean?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Right?

[Patrick Hines]

Like, no one's ever gonna, like, put. No, it was like the thing with that, like, murderous American family or whatever. Like, no one ever thinks their spouse is actually the sane one. Never thinks the spouse is gonna kill.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And the doctor was like, oh, yes, strep. I'll take these antibiotics and you'll be fine. Yeah, call me in the morning. So, like, it wasn't like the doctor was saying it was giving him a spinal tap. Like, Bo.

[Patrick Hines]

Dr. Misdiagnosed, like, cyanide poisoning for strep.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I think, because, like, what is it, The Occam's razor thing? It's like, you have a red throat. Probably strep. Like, do a throat culture or whatever.

[Patrick Hines]

They do one quick test on that before we get you out of here. You know what I mean? Let's do one quick test.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Oh, my God. Remember when they. What do they do now for kids? Remember, like, when you would go, like, the throat culture, they would just, like, shove the Q tip down your mouth. Like, there's got to be a better way.

[Patrick Hines]

Do they not do that anymore? I don't.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I don't. Not the one with kids.

[Patrick Hines]

I think I'm going with a medical license. Like, I have no idea. I have no idea.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

They would put it in, like, that petri dish and, like, send it off.

[Patrick Hines]

And then surprise to nobody.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You could stay home from school for a couple days or not.

[Patrick Hines]

I was just gonna say surprise to nobody. Steve is the one that takes Daisy to most of her medical appointments. You know what I mean?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Will someone report back? Do they still shove a Q tip down your throat?

[Patrick Hines]

But no, it was like that. It was like that tongue depressor. Oh, yeah, the wooden popsicle stick thing.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Which, like, just give me the ice cream.

[Patrick Hines]

Honest to God, just give me tuberculosis.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Gross.

[Patrick Hines]

You know what I mean?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

We'll get to the plague in a minute.

[Patrick Hines]

You're absolutely right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So it's just like. It's so devastating because Christian is here to tell us about all these horrifying things that happened to him when he was a child. One of them.

[Christian]

I remember giving him a homemade Father's Day card and just telling him I love him and I'd see him tomorrow. And I remember seeing him kind of spitting up some blood into a blue pitcher. He told me, when he feels better, we'll go hang out and we'll do things. And then. Then he wasn't there the next day. Then I never saw my dad again.

[Patrick Hines]

The dad's like, we'll get together as soon as. What's that? Like the cap in the cradle? Oh, my God.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Only like Rich meant it. Rich is like, I don't wanna give you strep throat totally, because I love you. Unlike that crazy woman named Tammy.

[Patrick Hines]

But he was saying that like nobody understood how Rich could be dead. He was young and healthy. This is where the news says it was probably just the bubonic plague.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And I said, plague is back? Guess. Actually, yes.

[Patrick Hines]

Is that right?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

These poor Colorado Springs, they had like a cutout from the newspaper. Health officials are conducting more tests to find out if the bubonic plague killed a 28 year old man who lived near a field where prairie dogs were dying from the disease.

[Patrick Hines]

From the plague.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

They thought that the. I guess the prayer. Poor little prairie dogs got the plague. And they thought Rich caught the plague from the prairie dogs.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, my God.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

That's. What a fucking mystery this was. Also, Tammy never called Joyce, Rich's mother, to tell her what happened, that her son was dead. Quick side note, I hate this woman.

[Patrick Hines]

If the end of days comes and the locusts, kind of like the Bible says, I can't be here for that. No, I've got. They got to take me before that. I got to. I got to. I've got to be gone before the locusts get here. Can you be in charge of that?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Of killing you, baby? No.

[Patrick Hines]

Well, what do you put.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Is that what you. That's what you just asked?

[Patrick Hines]

I think I did ask you that. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or, or, or that's a Steve Job.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Maybe that's a husband. You know what I'm saying? Don't ask me that.

[Patrick Hines]

Well, could you find me a bunker? I'd find you a bunker. Bunker.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I have my own booker to find. Are we married? This is like, all in Steve's purview.

[Patrick Hines]

No, you're right. I just can't. I'm just saying Steve is like, don't worry.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You'll be long gone before the fucking cicadas come. Before the locusts. Don't worry.

[Patrick Hines]

No, I know. You're absolutely. No, you're absolutely right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

What is phase one?

[Patrick Hines]

I don't remember what happens before the locusts. I don't remember. The frogs. I think that's what we get. The. The frogs. I could do. I would be. I like frogs. I think they're cute. Cute.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I love frogs, too.

[Patrick Hines]

If it's raining frogs, like that scene in Magnolia, I'd probably have a hard time with it.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Gemstones.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. The locust came in gemstones.

[Patrick Hines]

Okay. See, I cannot be here for that. No, I.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It didn't look great.

[Patrick Hines]

No.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It didn't look flying bugs. No. The point is, everyone is shocked. Everyone has questions. The news is reporting that it was most likely the plague. Like, all of Rich's friends are like, what happened to this person we love? Can we just get to the bottom.

[Patrick Hines]

Of Jillian's Googling bunkers? It's just not a good Tammy.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Of course, Joyce is so great. His mother is so great. Because we really. It's like, tell us how you really feel, Joyce. And she's like, I am Tammy, quote, played the role of the grieving wife at the funeral. And I'm like, oh, that is a very interesting way of putting it, Joyce. I know exactly what you're putting down.

[Joyce]

Well, because also, I found out that he was going to be taken right after the viewing, before the funeral and cremated that afternoon. My son did not want to be cremated. We had lengthy discussions about that. He wanted to be buried.

[Patrick Hines]

Her husband's body was being cremated that day. That. I mean, we. This has been in almost every documentary we've done in a row, and.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Because the issue here is that Rich didn't want to be cremated.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So he wanted a burial. And that was made very clear in every way.

[Patrick Hines]

And Joyce is like, we don't even know what happened to him yet. We need the body. She's like, nope, I am cremating the shit out of him.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Well, because cremating him will make sure that it's always an unknown death.

[Patrick Hines]

Exactly.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And that's what she wants.

[Patrick Hines]

Yep, exactly.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Because she killed him.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So a month later. Later. Tammy's cashing in.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She sold the house, sold the cars, sold the boat. She's getting the life insurance money. She had two policies. I mean, a military policy. That was $150,000. And then a new one that was set up weeks before he died.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

For $150,000.

[Patrick Hines]

And. And Joyce says, I just had a mom's gut feeling. Something is not right. Good call, Joyce.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Travel down the road, girl.

[Patrick Hines]

Rocket Money is back. We love it so much. I just signed up for it again for a new credit card. Rocket. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You know how we always say on this podcast, like, look for the patterns?

[Patrick Hines]

Yes. Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Okay. So that's, like, for bad people in your life, but Rocket Money helps you spot patterns so you could do something about them. Like, this is about your budget. This is like, am I overspending on, I don't know, Fill in the blank here. And on that dashboard, you could see all of your subscriptions, how much they are, are you using it, and make really smart money decisions.

[Patrick Hines]

Can I tell you, I spent signed up for this thing. I won't say what it's called, but I was using it when I was making our live show that many years ago. It was a thing that, like, converted files where I could not figure out how to cancel it. And for months and months, I just let it go because I could not figure it out. I put Rocket Money on it. They had it canceled in literally, like, 60 seconds.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Also, that's.

[Patrick Hines]

I mean, I really could not figure it out. Rocket Money didn't know.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And that's how they get you.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes. Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Also, Rocket Money will try to negotiate lower bills for you.

[Patrick Hines]

This is.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

They automatically scan your bills to find opportunities to save. Then you can just be like, yes, please negotiate for me. And they deal with customer service, and you don't have to rock.

[Patrick Hines]

It's got over 5 million users and has saved a total of 500 million bucks and canceled subscriptions, saving members up to 740 bucks a year when they use all of the app's premium features.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

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[Patrick Hines]

That's RocketMoney.com obsessed.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Rocket Money.com obsessed.

[Patrick Hines]

Get in there like they are going to run your life. It's amazing.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Negotiate for, you know.

[Patrick Hines]

It'S June 30, 2005. Beau says after he got out of the hospital, he's still living at Tammy's. Like, he goes back to the scene of the crime.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Tammy's living her best life.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, totally. And, oh, by the way she loves a ladies night.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Thursday, it's ladies night. She's out with Beau buying him drinks.

[Patrick Hines]

I gotta tell you, like, a ladies night does sound fun. Like, why do we have to ruin everything? I would love to go to a ladies night with you. That'd be so fun.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Right? But ladies that like. I don't want the men to descend on ladies night because they know that we're all going to be there.

[Patrick Hines]

But that's kind of the point. I would not.

[Tammy]

Right?

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, but like.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah, you know what I mean?

[Patrick Hines]

It's so gross how bars use women as bait to get men there.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

There's this whole thing that's going on on TikTok about how these companies, like an ice cream company, like a local business establishment, is using their, like, young, attractive, underage workers to just like make a TikTok about where I work. And then it's like, oh, wait a second. So these, like, teenage girls.

[Patrick Hines]

No.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Who are like, attractive.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And then now on TikTok, of course, saying, this is where I am, come find me. Like, that's promotion. It's really fucking gross.

[Patrick Hines]

That's horrible.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Anyway, so they're out. This is after Beau was released from the hospital. Doing a spinal tap because after the Tuaca bombs.

[Patrick Hines]

So that's my drag name.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like, she's getting him shit faced again after he was just in the hospital and we're not sure why he was so sick. Was it just like, oh, I guess you just like one too many to walk a bomb.

[Patrick Hines]

The plague is going around, it seems. You know what I mean? And so once again, Beau gets shit face drunk. Tammy's ordering all the drinks. He go, they get back to her place, he passes out. He says he wakes up in the middle of the night, choking on smoke. The house is on fire. He's got to crawl his way down the stairs, out the door where he lays on his back and passes out until the firefighters get there.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And thank God Christian wasn't home. I have to assume that maybe this is by design. Yeah, but the story is either Beau.

[Christian]

Left his PlayStation on and over or he knocked over a candle when he was drunk. My mom was maybe upset. For all about 30 seconds it seemed like Beau was trying to catch my house on fire. But it was never anything more and then didn't hear anything ever again.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Either way, Beau did it right.

[Patrick Hines]

And clearly Tammy did. Once again, Bo won't die. He's the bitch that won't die in this episode.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And weirdly enough, Tammy wasn't that upset because she took Two seconds to accuse Bo of trying to burn down her house. She was pissed for, like, 30 seconds. Nothing came of it. She didn't kick him out of the house. And they never talked about it.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Weird.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. It's really, really fudgeing crazy.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But Beau realizes, like, he's got to make a change.

[Patrick Hines]

He's, like, dealing with ptsd. This is so real. Everybody I know in this service is dealing with it. He. He's drinking too much. He's especially drinking too much with Tammy.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

He's blacking out every time he's with her.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes. He's not making the connection that she's.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Drugging him, but, like, he is making the connection that, like, living with her in this environment is not helping him at all. He's really going through a lot. He lost his best friend. Like, there's just a lot. It's just unhealthy. So Febr 2006, Beau moves out. Christian is now in the fifth grade.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Christian and Tammy move into a two bedroom condo. And once again, Tammy's just leaving her fifth grader alone to just, like, fend for himself.

[Patrick Hines]

I mean, he's saying, I had to learn how to cook for myself, how to clean, how to do my own laundry. Like, rather than getting to go out and be with the kid. Like. Like, I. Daisy is that age. She just finished fifth grade. Like, I can't imagine a. Like, she could technically make herself macaroni and cheese every night for dinner if she, if, if she absolutely had. Like, I know that, like, can. Kids that age can do it, but the idea, I mean, it's so completely insane that a kid that age would be left alone at all times.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's mean.

[Patrick Hines]

It's, it's. It is abusive.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And you're telling him that he's not worth it or good enough for you because you'd rather be with some guy or at a party.

[Patrick Hines]

It's shocking that she didn't take out a bunch of life insurance policies on him and kill him.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

You know, like, because, you know, there's. You can hear it in the phone call with her. There's a codependency there that is. That will always be. She needs him.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And on top of Christian just, like, being forced to fend for himself as a fifth grader, I used to remember.

[Christian]

Exactly what time Beau would get home. That was my safety, you know, knowing Beau got home and I didn't have that anymore. That was hard for me. I mean, I remember being scared. I go hide in the closet, call my grandma.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And now everything sucks, and Bo doesn't come home. So everything continues to suck.

[Patrick Hines]

Yep.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And also on top of that, because she's a fucking evil person. Tammy wasn't letting Christian see Beau.

[Patrick Hines]

Exactly.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She was the gatekeeper.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So Christian would, like, get scared and hide in the closet and call his grandmother Joyce.

[Patrick Hines]

And he says that, like, when he was with his mom, they would fight all the time. He went from being, like, on the honor roll in sixth grade and, like, loving school and loving learning. He said by seventh grade, he was completely checked out. He didn't want any rules. This kid is totally spiraling. And I'm like, do. The teacher's not like, is there nobody in his life who. Who, like, any one adult could have walked into that house and been like, we need to call social services right now. How did this kid slip through the cracks like this?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I. This is just an instance of people hearing it after the fact.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You know?

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I mean, Joyce was getting the phone call, so she was doing everything she could, you know, I guess it's just so awful. So it's September 2007. Tammy's no longer working at the sheriff's office. This bitch cannot keep a job for five seconds. She's working for Armour Construction. She's their bookkeeper. Business manager.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But by 2009, the business was failing. They, quote, had a hard time making payroll. And I was like. Which is the office manager's job.

[Patrick Hines]

Exactly.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So she can't do anything.

[Patrick Hines]

Right. And also she had gotten Beau a job job with the company. Like, basically as, like, a mover. Like, he was moving stuff.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So Christian is in seventh grade. It's 2009, and Tammy starts hanging out with these two pieces of shit. Sean and Michelle.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And Christian says Michelle was nice and would play with him a lot because she had kids. Sean was awful.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Violently abusive.

[Patrick Hines]

Violently abusive brute. Like, the most. He, to me, is like, the stuff of nightmares. He's, like, the scariest kind of man you can imagine.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's very scary. And so, like, Sean and Michelle, eventually.

[Christian]

They moved in, and then they were just there constantly. My mom gave them my room and forced me to move into her room or sleep on the couch. Then I hated them for that.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Tammy gives them her son's room.

[Patrick Hines]

Like, I just don't. I just hate her. I just hate her, too, because, like.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So Christian was forced to either, like, share a room with his mother or sleep on the couch. And then these two people who we hear are not good people. And Sean is violently abusive.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like, how many Times is Tammy gonna to say that Christian isn't worth it to her?

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You know, like. And it's so wrong.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But she's just always choosing other people over him.

[Patrick Hines]

And Tammy and Sean and Michelle are all doing crazy hard drugs in the house around Christian. And Christian is like, I would see my mother and not even recognize her. Like, who is this person? Christian didn't even know. He could have gone to a teacher and been like, this is how awful my life is. Like, he didn't even know that he could have asked for help.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And it's scary because, like, Sean is abusive to Christian, threatening him with a gun, threatened to beat Christian to death with a golf club, threatened to slit his throat. So that's terrifying when you've gone through trauma since you're eight years old when your dad died, and he would tell.

[Patrick Hines]

He says he would tell his mom about it, and she either wouldn't believe him or didn't care.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So, like, she's an abusive piece of shit.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like, he's begging his mother for help, and she's not doing anything to help him. And I'm just. I was sitting there thinking, like, how could you do this to your child?

[Patrick Hines]

Why have a kid? Like, what was the point of all of this?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

To keep Rich.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, God.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And then when Rich was like, no, fuck you. I'm taking the boat and my kid, and you can't do anything about it, then what happened to rich?

[Patrick Hines]

Ah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So July 2009, Michael Flynn, he's a former detective, is here. He says he studied Tammy for five and a half years.

[Patrick Hines]

And I'm like, yeah, well, because this guy works in financial crime. And he's saying that. Around this time in the summer of.

[Tammy]

2009, Colorado Springs Police Department was investigating several complaints of identity theft, credit card fraud, and check fraud. Our primary suspect in the investigation is Tammy Fritz.

[Patrick Hines]

And their primary suspect in all of these complaints was Tammy Fritz.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She was getting fired from her jobs because she was stealing from them.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, like, she was getting fired. She got fired from that construction job, and then they turned her into the police.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So she would, like, issue bad checks with large amounts and then have her, quote, minions cash them.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like Sean and Michelle.

[Patrick Hines]

And. But it's also, like, how did you think you were going to get away with that?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I think they just try to do it for as long as they can and then maybe skip town or something.

[Patrick Hines]

Because I think what we're not getting really into here is probably how serious the addiction was. Like, I think all of the. This is. Is Is financing her. Her drug addiction.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Right. But she also was evil.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Before any substances. Like, substances don't necessarily make you evil. She had this darkness in her.

[Patrick Hines]

She's a murderer.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Like, substances will make you make horrifying decisions and hurt people you love.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But she was doing that on her own.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She's an asshole.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So Beau decides to go home to Alaska and stay with his parents and make, like, real big, important changes in his life. And this is great for Bo.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. They had scooted over this early on, but he had said that, like, when he joined the military, he wasn't really close with his family. Family is, like, stepping in to, like, take care of him and help him get onto, like, the next chapter of his life, which I thought was a cool thing to see happen for him, you know?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And, like, this is really good news for Beau. It's devastating for Christian.

[Patrick Hines]

It's so sad. He said he felt like he was losing his brother, and he's sad. But he describes his mom as being pissed. Yeah. And he says that he saw his mom in the kitchen with those pieces of shit. Shawn and Michelle. And the mom was just going crazy over the fact that Beau was leaving. Like, what's going on here? Why do you care?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Christian was like, he. I've never seen my mom like that before, and I've seen her in, like, quite a few states in my life. And, like, this is bad.

[Patrick Hines]

And we know that there's nothing romantic going on between Beau and Tammy. He wasn't paying rent there. He's not even taking care of your kid anymore. Why do you care so much?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Right. So Beau is packing everything up. Tammy and everyone's there. Tammy, Christian, Michelle, and Sean, like, they're.

[Patrick Hines]

Doing this big last hurrah where they're going to, like, go to dinner, and then they come back to Beau's place to play video games. And then, like, the next day, Tammy and Christian were going to drive Beau to the airport. It's like, this big. And Beau even refers to it as, like, getting the family all together, like, one last time. Time. Bo is just, like, does not see what's going on here.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Travel down the road.

[Patrick Hines]

Back again, girl. Wild Alaskan company is back. Let me tell you, Not a minute too soon. We've been trying to eat a lot more fish lately. We're trying to get protein, but we're kind of sick of chicken. And so while alaskan company showed up in our life, it is changing everything. We're eating fish, like, four times a week.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So, yeah, Wild Alaskan company Is the best way to get wild caught. Perfectly portioned, nutrient density food delivered directly to your door.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's 100% wild caught. Never farm. So this means there are no antibiotics, GMOs, or additives. Just like clean, real fish that support healthy oceans and fishing communities. Remember we were a fishing podcast that went on.

[Patrick Hines]

Totally. It's nutrient rich fish full of flavor. I got to tell you, like, this is some of the best seafood we've ever had.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. And it's sustainably sourced. So it's wild caught from Alaska. Every order supports sustainable harvesting practices and your membership delivers flat, flexible shipments. You can get expert tips.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And truly feel good seafood.

[Patrick Hines]

They are really trying to help you figure out what you want to eat. They send it right to your door. I cannot tell you how amazing that is.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Also just throwing it out there. Pacific halibut. Really, really good. And it's really fun to make jokes like for the halibut. Right. So it's kind of a two for one.

[Patrick Hines]

Steve made fish tacos with that the other night.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And also for you, Pacific cod. I know you're Cape Cod, right? Is that the connection there?

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Amazing.

[Patrick Hines]

You nailed it.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Thanks.

[Patrick Hines]

So fam. Not all fish are the same. Get seafood you can trust. Go to wildalaskan.com tco for 35 bucks off your first box of premium wild Caught Seafood.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

That's wildalaskan.com TCO for $35 off your first order.

[Patrick Hines]

Thanks to Wild Alaskan Company for sponsoring this episode.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So it's August 3rd, 2009. It's 8:00am Christian is excited to see. It's like very bittersweet. But he like gets to see his best friend Bo and they're going to have this like big send off and he's like, even if it's just like driving him to the airport, it's just like spending time with him. Like he just loves Beau so much.

[Patrick Hines]

So it's 8am and Tammy and Christian get to Beau's house and they're. And Christian is knocking on the door and nobody answers.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And by 4:00 clock, they still haven't heard from Beau. Yeah, 8:00am is when they show up. There's no answer at the door.

[Patrick Hines]

And Bo's parents were like, they haven't heard from him either. He was supposed to be on a plane hours ago. So his parents call the building manager of Beau's apartment complex and the manager lets herself into Bo's apartment. Apartment and instantly walks into like a bloody, bloody crime scene.

[Tammy]

Bleeding from a serious head wound. He Was transported to the hospital. He suffered multiple fractures and a broken jaw. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Barely conscious, he suffered a major head wound.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And he doesn't remember, but, like, what he's told happened. He goes, well, apparently I was drinking. I felt fell over. I cracked my jaw and I busted my head on something.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, no, he does, like, I mean, we see these pictures. There's blood everywhere. There's drag marks. Like, something really bad happened. But apparently the officer who was called to the scene didn't think there was any foul play, so no police report was ever filed.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So Beau's dad hears about this, and Beau's dad is like, oh, here's something I forgot to tell you about me. A little something about me. I worked in law enforcement for 40 years.

[Patrick Hines]

For 40 years.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

This is not how this is going to go down.

[Patrick Hines]

No. And he's visiting Beau in the hospital when realizes that nobody thinks this is a crime. So he takes his, like, vacation camera and goes to Beau's apartment and takes actual crime scene photos with his, like.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Fun saver camera and, like, does his own investigation.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And if not for him, we would not be here.

[Patrick Hines]

We would not be, like, they would think that he fell over and hit his head. Like, what you hit.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

You fell over, cracked the back of your head and hit your jaw.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Weird.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So Bo is back in Alaska with his parents. They are literally nursing him back to health. Bo says that he describes himself as a functional zombie. Like, he was in really, really bad shape.

[Patrick Hines]

He. He didn't have any expectation that he would ever regain cognition like you. That doesn't happen from a fall, you.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Know, and how many times is this guy going to get fall down drunk and not have any idea what happened before we start putting. Trying to put some pieces together.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. So Christian says after Beau got hurt, suddenly Christian starts seeing a baseball bat all over his house that wasn't there before.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And those things like Bose video games and, like, Bo's belongings are now suddenly in their house.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Which means that someone went into Beau's house and took those things. So September 2009, it's two months after the attack on Beau, and the cops are looking at Tammy for the fraud stuff. They're not looking at her for any violence against Beau or anything that happened to Rich, for that matter. So the cops say that Tammy has over 55. Zero fraud victims.

[Tammy]

As we're investigating, we found out that Tammy. Tammy had access to very sensitive credit information on people. With that access, she would apply for credit cards in their Names, but having.

[Patrick Hines]

It mailed to her, all of the people she's doing this to live in her apartment complex.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Right.

[Patrick Hines]

Like, what an idiot.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And Christian, looking back is like, the signs were obvious. It's like Tammy would be wearing a wig and then asking, being like, look at this id. Does this wig make me look like this person in this id?

[Patrick Hines]

Do I look just like this person.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

In this ID that I'm holding? That is not my ID name.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I'm so not this person. But could I pull off that I'm this person?

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And Sean and Michelle, these, like, horrifying people were, quote, recruited by Tammy.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And this is part of how we learn her manipulation because she preyed on vulnerable people. Sean isn't. I'm not letting Sean off the hook for being abusive.

[Patrick Hines]

Horrible.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But these people, like, didn't have anywhere to live, and they were, like, struggling with addiction and. Or an inactive addiction. And so, like, they had no money and no place to go. And so Tammy's like, I'll give you money and a place to go and the drugs.

[Patrick Hines]

You're my kids room. All you're going to do is cash these bad checks for me.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And again, I am not letting Sean off the hook being a violent, abusive nightmare to Chris.

[Patrick Hines]

No. But, like, so remember, Officer Flynn is onto her. He's been tailing her. He's been studying her for five years. Suddenly, Tammy, she comes to understand that she's about to be arrested. And she calls Joyce Rich's mom, Christian's grandmother, and she's like, girl, I'm about to be arrested. They think I did a whole bunch of things I didn't do. And Joyce is like, I don't know what end is up with this woman.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She's like, I'm also going to. I'm not going to tell you what they're accusing me of, but I totally didn't do the thing they're accusing me of. But I'm just. I just want you to know that I'm spiraling.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. Yeah. Bye. So. November 18, 2009, four months after the attack, Tammy is arrested and charged with check fraud, credit card fraud, and charges related to identity theft. And Joyce says once Tammy was arrested, she was able to get custody of Christian.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Thank God, and power of attorney over Tammy. So Joyce has full control over the condo. She has control of everything else, which is.

[Patrick Hines]

Tammy has to give her that. I don't know why Tammy would do that, knowing all the incriminating evidence that was in the condo.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I don't know.

[Patrick Hines]

It's so weird. But Joyce goes and spends two days cleaning Tammy's apartment and finds all this crazy cleaning schmiding.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She's digging.

[Patrick Hines]

She's totally digging.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She's totally digging for information, and she finds a lot of stuff.

[Joyce]

What I found was a life insurance policy that she had taken out on Bowdoin. I also found receipts of the credit card charges that she was paying for this policy. And when I looked at the policy itself, she had indicated that Bowdoin was her significant other.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It says that Beau was her significant other, which she get more money and which is why they were. Everyone was telling us there was nothing romantic going on between them.

[Patrick Hines]

And Joyce brings this to Detective Flynn immediately. And Flynn is like, I called the insurance company. They immediately gave me the policy. We found out that Tammy had taken out a policy online for $150,000 with Tammy. This. This is on Beau with Tammy as the 100% beneficiary, and Beau didn't have to sign anything. This is the thing about, like, how do they do this? How are you taking out a life insurance policy on somebody without them knowing? It's all done. All electronic signatures. And she had all of his paperwork.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She had everything she could prove to say, like, oh, is this. You send a picture of your Social Security card or whatever you need. She had it all.

[Patrick Hines]

She had it all. Like, insurance companies. Hear me when I say you should not be able to do this. Yeah, I'm saving you money because the only reason somebody would want to do this would be fraudulently.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yes. You know, and like, Tammy was actively trying to kill Beau for years in order to get the $150,000 life insurance. So Joyce, Rich's mom, is calling around. She has dinner with Tammy's brother. Yeah, it is fucking.

[Patrick Hines]

This is wild.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

There is a recording from Tammy's own mother talking to Tammy's boyfriend. Tammy's mom says after. These are Tammy's mom's words and you hear the recording. After Rich died, there was a black guy living in Tammy's house.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And Tammy's mother says she wanted my.

[Patrick Hines]

Son to come out there and kill this man for insurance policy. You're kidding me. I'm telling you, Tammy is capable of things that you would never dream of. Cross her and you cross the devil.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Cross her and you cross evil. This is her mother.

[Patrick Hines]

Now, my question here is, why does nobody go to the cops? Tammy actively recruited her brother to kill a guy. So she's going to do it. The mother is saying if Tammy sets her mind to it, she's going to get it done. Why is nobody anonymously calling the police?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. Because what happens is Tammy's brother's name is Philip. He sings like a canary.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

He tells the cops one night, again, Tammy's getting him drunk.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And Tammy tells him everything. I want you to kill Beau for the insurance money. And the plan is that she was going to get Beau hammered, spike his drink with either meth or GHP, and for Phil's help, Tammy would pay him $25,000.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Phil said no, but yet he did nothing to help both. So, like, thanks for nothing, Phil.

[Patrick Hines]

I mean, at least go to Beau and be like, girl, you in danger, girl. Like, get out of here.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Didn't do that.

[Patrick Hines]

No. It is unconscionable. This is like the third documentary in a row where we know people know that there is somebody actively trying to hire somebody to kill somebody and nobody does anything about it.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So when Tammy's brother says no, just like, coincidentally. But this is when Beau decides to move back to Alaska.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And so now Tammy has to act quickly. So she's scrambling.

[Patrick Hines]

That's why Tammy was pissed. Remember when Tammy was pissed that Bo was leaving? She was pissed because she's got. She's been paying the premium on this life insurance policy. She can't let that money go to waste.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So she asks mean and violent Sean to beat Beau to death with a baseball bat. And Sean goes, okay.

[Patrick Hines]

And he just. So that's what happened to Beau. They had that big night where they went to dinner. They came back and played Xbox at Beau's apartment. The next morning, Tammy and Christian were going to drive Beau to the airport. In the interim, Michelle and Sean showed up at Beau's apartment and beat him almost to death with a bat. And they beat him so badly that he didn't even remember. He maintained some level of consciousness, but did not remember the beating that happened.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And survived and then fought so hard to heal and recover.

[Patrick Hines]

Now, remember, he got beat at about 8pm they say he was not discovered until 4 o' clock in the afternoon the next day.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

And so, like, it's a miracle she couldn't kill him. She tried to kill him like, four different times.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And then like, Joyce, Rich's mom is like, she's learning about all this. And she's like, I know she killed Rich.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

She's like, I think she did it. I just can't prove it.

[Patrick Hines]

Exactly. And I'll never be able to prove it because she had his body cremated on purpose. Exactly. And I just want to point out.

[Tammy]

Bo says, I believe Tammy definitely had designs on me. Simply, if for nothing else, the out of the blue phone call before I even got out of the military, when I didn't have her phone number. It's like hunting a herd. You pick off one, separate them from the rest of the herd, get a nice clean kill.

[Patrick Hines]

I didn't have her number. I never would have reached out to her. We weren't that close, you know, and like that is. I mean, the long game here is terrifying.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

These people are patient.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

That's the scariest part of that.

[Patrick Hines]

Which is why if you're Christian, I would be terrified. Know.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Well, he explains.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Later.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So in April 2014, Beau was attacked. In 2009, Rich was killed in 2001. So, like, years after the fact.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

We're finally at the grand jury, and the grand jury indicts Tammy, Sean, and Michelle. First degree attempted murder of James Bowden.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And it's true that they'll never be able to get her for Rich.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And we can all thank Bo's dad for getting them on this. Yes, because he did his own investigation when the other cops weren't going to do anything.

[Patrick Hines]

Exactly.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

So on May 13, 2015, Tammy was found guilty of first degree attempted murder of James Bowden and conspiracy. Piece of shit. Sean pled guilty to first degree attempted murder of Beau and received a 26 year sentence. Michelle pled guilty to first degree burglary and received a 15 year sentence. And Tammy is serving a 48 years.

[Patrick Hines]

In prison, thank God. And she was never charged with any wrongdoing in relation to the death of her husband, Richard Fritz Jr. Now, Christian says when his mom went to prison, he was relieved. He said it was time for a new chapter. But, like, he was probably also terrified that he's going to be on her list at some point, too.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Well, this ends where we started.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Christian is sitting here talking to the camera and the phone rings and it's his mother.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And Christian explains.

[Christian]

He goes, look, I allow her to call me whenever she wants. I talked to her because I want to know what's going on in her life. I want to know what her moves are. I have a son on the way, and she's been very. I want to help you. I want to do this, but she's the most manipulative woman I've ever met. She's not afraid to use you to get what she needs. Outside of phone calls, I don't know if I'd ever let her in my life. Not only for my safety, but My own son's safety.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And then he says, and for the safety of his son. And I'm like, oh, shit.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Oh, my God. And then, like, so he's just like, I'm doing the enemies, friends, close, enemies, closer thing. I kind of need to know where she is. But she's not, like, don't get it twisted. She's not a part of my life.

[Patrick Hines]

No. But it's definitely like, she could have him killed from prison anytime.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And so he has to be nice to her so she doesn't exactly like.

[Patrick Hines]

How the rest of his life. Like, how exhausting would that be?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Crazy. Now we get this, like, really beautiful, moving reunion between Christian and Beau.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, Christian goes to see Beau, and Beau is showing Christian, like, old home videos he took of. Of Christian's dad.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's just so sweet. They love each other so much. Like, even though the story of how we all got here is insane. Yeah, they do just love each other. And Bo tells us a little bit about his recovery. He had speech therapy, physical therapy. He worked super hard to get here.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. He used Xbox to challenge his brain in a way that brought him back. Like, his doctor said to him, you got to challenge your brain or you're never gonna be able to speak again.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. So, like, he was bad shape August of 2009. By spring of 2010, he's taking college courses.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Is amazing.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And he's like, yeah. And also, I'm still in therapy for what happened to me. Like, I'll be in therapy for the rest of my life.

[Patrick Hines]

That whole Tammy trying to kill me for money thing. Yeah. There's a lot of demons in there that I need to sort out.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

But the oboe can't come to the phone right now. Why? Cuz he's dead. Cuz he says.

[Tammy]

He goes, I've mellowed. I've now not as angry. The James that I was no longer exists. That ship sank. And so, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, this is the new model.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

This is the new model.

[Patrick Hines]

Hell yeah, Bo.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Oh, fuck you, Tammy.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, my God, girl. We did. Worst remain ever.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Season 2, Episode 3 Burning down the.

[Patrick Hines]

House Burning down the house. Yeah, fam. I am on tour, as most of you know. My tour is going through August. Come and see me in New York City for my Pride show weekend. It's the same show. It's just happening on Pride weekend. It's Thursday, June 26th. And then I've got shows in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Provincetown, Charleston, Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta, which only has, like, five tickets left. Orlando, D.C. philadelphia. And then I'm closing the tour out in London on August 30th. Fun patricktours.com get all the information and tickets.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah. And if you're interested, we're on YouTube.

[Patrick Hines]

We are on YouTube. It's so fun. I love our YouTube channel. Are you looking at it at all yet?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

No, I'm not watching.

[Patrick Hines]

I watch it all the time. I kind of love it. You look great on it.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Oh, great.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

And I'm sure you do.

[Patrick Hines]

We all look good.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

All of us. All of us.

[Patrick Hines]

All two of us.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

All right, what do we do next? Girl?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

Oh my God. The Curious Case of the Doomsday Cat Cult.

[Patrick Hines]

What?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

I just going to read you the little synopsis. There's no way I won't be able to find anyone. Yeah, yeah. Cheryl Ruthven's cat centered cult traps followers in financial ruin, isolation and bizarre rituals. As homes overflow with cats. Her demands escalate allegedly to murder, binding followers in a dark web of fanaticism and shattered lives. Everyone has at minimum 60 cats.

[Patrick Hines]

How is this not a like 12 part series?

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's a 90 minute documentary.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh my God.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It apparently still exists. I've gone down such a rabbit hole with, with this. It is crazy.

[Patrick Hines]

All right, fam, Stay tuned for the trailer for that.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

It's on HBO Max.

[Patrick Hines]

Go subscribe to our YouTube channel. That's it. We love you.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

We love you so much. We'll see you next time.

[Patrick Hines]

All right, Bye bye.

[Jenny Benzzavali]

When did you think I'm in a cult?

[Philip]

I probably realized I was in a cult the moment the cat stuff started happening. The message Cheryl would give about these cats were they were of God and that we were to care for them with the utmost care and love and attention. And if we save these cats today, we will be saved in the day of Armageddon or the apocalypse. So we had to take the cats. No matter how many, no matter how much work it was, we had to take the cats. If she said take these cats, you can couldn't say no. You did not have the right to say no. Like if we said no, then you'd have to leave. Why would you leave the person that's going to save you when hell's going to break out on earth? Why would you leave that person? You better just buck up and take care of the cats so you don't die.