MURDERED: Mitrice Richardson

Summary

Up and Vanished Weekly: Episode Summary – "MURDERED: Mitrice Richardson"

Introduction

In the February 5, 2025 episode of Up and Vanished Weekly by Tenderfoot TV, hosts Payne Lindsay and Maggie Freeling delve into the perplexing case of Mitrice Richardson—a missing person whose disappearance and subsequent death have remained shrouded in mystery for over fifteen years. The episode meticulously unpacks the sequence of events, the handling by law enforcement, and the enduring quest for justice by Mitrice's family.

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Case Overview

Mitrice Richardson's disappearance begins on the evening of September 16, 2009, at Joffrey's Malibu, an award-winning fine dining restaurant in Southern California. Her erratic behavior and interactions with both staff and patrons raised immediate concerns, culminating in her arrest by the California State Patrol. However, her release from custody under questionable circumstances set the stage for her unexplained disappearance and tragic death.

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Timeline of Events

• Evening of September 16, 2009 (07:00 PM - 12:40 AM):

  • Mitrice arrives at Joffrey's Malibu, exhibits unusual behavior by engaging strangers in conversations about astrological signs and an impending trip to Hawaii.
  • At approximately 9:00 PM, after a bizarre interaction involving claims of being from Mars and offering sex in exchange for her bill, restaurant staff contact authorities.
  • Police officers arrive, conduct a field sobriety test, and arrest Mitrice for defrauding the establishment and possession of marijuana.
  • Mitrice's mother, Latice Dutton, contacts the police station, expressing concern over Mitrice's release.
  • Despite assurances, Mitrice is released from custody at 12:40 AM without her personal belongings, including her car.

• Early Morning of September 17, 2009:

  • The last confirmed sighting of Mitrice occurs around 6:30 AM in Montenido, six miles from the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station.
  • A phone call from Latice Dutton is made after no contact is established post-release, leading to a missing persons report.

• Morning Search and Discovery:

  • Park rangers discover Mitrice's remains in Malibu Canyon, leading to further scrutiny of the initial investigation.

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Police Investigation

The handling of Mitrice's case by law enforcement has been a focal point of criticism. Key issues include:

• Erratic Behavior and Mental Health:

  • Mitrice exhibited signs of possible mental health struggles, yet the police categorized her behavior as "cogent" during the field sobriety test (03:45 - 05:00).
  • Payne Lindsay comments, “There is a layer of dismissiveness that could be because they are categorizing her as somebody whose behavior would be a little bit odd” (13:28).

• Communication Breakdown:

  • Multiple officers were involved without effective communication, leading to inconsistent reports about Mitrice's state and the decision to release her (18:10).
  • The impoundment of her car and personal items without adequate safeguards further complicated matters.

• Release from Custody:

  • Mitrice was released without her belongings, forcing her to navigate the unfamiliar area on foot, ultimately leading to her disappearance (22:04).

• Evidence Handling:

  • The police failed to preserve critical evidence, such as Mitrice's clothing and personal items, hindering the investigation (31:35).

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Family's Perspective

Latice Dutton, Mitrice's mother, has been vocal about the inadequacies in the investigation and the police's handling of her daughter's case.

• Emotional Toll:

  • Latice expressed anguish over Mitrice's solitary death, stating, “What has been so difficult for me to live with is knowing that she died alone, without family around her” (61:31).

• Advocacy for Justice:

  • The family has actively sought reform in law enforcement practices, advocating for better handling of cases involving mental health crises.

• Legal Actions:

  • Following the discovery of Mitrice's remains, the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Los Angeles County, resulting in a $900,000 settlement.
  • The California Attorney General later reopened the criminal investigation but found insufficient evidence for prosecution (43:37).

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Theories and Speculations

Several theories have emerged regarding Mitrice's disappearance and death:

1. Mental Health Crisis:

   • Mitrice may have been experiencing a severe mental health episode, leading to her erratic behavior and vulnerability post-release (13:28).

2. Foul Play:

   • The disjointed separation of her remains suggests possible involvement of a third party. A person of interest, Richard Wayne Forsberg, admitted to picking her up on a motorcycle that night but was not thoroughly investigated (54:12).

3. Environmental Factors:

   • The possibility of Mitrice succumbing to the elements or an animal attack has been considered but lacks conclusive evidence (45:39).

4. Stranger Abduction:

   • Given the circumstances of her release in a remote area at night, abduction by a stranger remains a plausible theory.

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Recent Developments

Despite the passage of time, new information continues to surface:

• Discovery of Remains:

  • In August 2010, park rangers found Mitrice's decomposed remains in Malibu Canyon, further intensifying scrutiny over the initial investigation's shortcomings (37:31).

• Video Evidence:

  • A family-obtained video revealed Deputy Ismael Rodriguez leaving the station shortly after Mitrice's release, contradicting official statements about deputy presence (49:50).

• Person of Interest:

  • Richard Wayne Forsberg, with a history of domestic violence and substance abuse, emerges as a significant suspect due to his admission of picking up Mitrice and possession of her missing underwear and socks (54:12 - 57:40).

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Conclusion

Mitrice Richardson's case underscores the critical intersection of mental health and law enforcement practices. The mishandling of her arrest, release, and the subsequent investigation raises profound questions about systemic failures and the urgent need for reform. As Payne Lindsay aptly summarizes, “Had the situation been handled differently, this story may have had a different ending” (60:52). Mitrice's family continues to seek answers, striving to honor her memory and advocate for justice not only for her but for others who find themselves in similar vulnerable positions.

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Notable Quotes

• Payne Lindsay: “There is a layer of dismissiveness that could be because they are categorizing her as somebody whose behavior would be a little bit odd” (13:28).

• Payne Lindsay: “This is somebody who very clearly needed help. This could have been a point in her life that she was really grateful for” (28:28).

• Latice Dutton: “What has been so difficult for me to live with is knowing that she died alone, without family around her” (61:31).

• Latice Dutton: “I just want everyone to remember how vibrant and beautiful Mitrice was” (62:14).

---

Further Information

For those seeking more details or wishing to contribute information, Mitrice Richardson's family has established the Instagram handle @justiceformitrice and encourages anyone with relevant information to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, homicide division at 323-890-5500. A $25,000 reward is being offered for tips leading to the resolution of Mitrice's case.

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Closing Thoughts

Mitrice Richardson's tragic demise serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities individuals face when navigating mental health crises without adequate support. The gaps in the investigative process highlight the necessity for law enforcement to adopt more compassionate and effective protocols, ensuring that no other family endures a similar heartbreak.

Transcript

[Tenderfoot TV]

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[Payne Lindsay]

Glass spires of Midtown Atlanta lies the south river forest. In 2021 and 2022, the woods became a home to activists from all over.

[Maggie Freeling]

The country who gathered to stop the.

[Payne Lindsay]

Nearby construction of a massive new police training facility nicknamed Cop city. At approximately 9:00 this morning, as law enforcement was moving through various sectors of.

[Maggie Freeling]

The property, an without warning shot a Georgia State Patrol trooper this is We.

[Payne Lindsay]

Came to the Forest, a story about resistance. The abolitionist mission isn't done until every.

[Maggie Freeling]

Prison is empty and shut down.

[Payne Lindsay]

Love and fellowship.

[Maggie Freeling]

It was probably the happiest I've ever.

[Payne Lindsay]

Been in my life and the lengths will go to protect the things we hold closest to our hearts.

[Maggie Freeling]

Follow We Came to the Forest on.

[Payne Lindsay]

The Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of We Came to the Forest early and ad free right now.

[Celicia Stanton]

Joining Wondery plus up and Vanish weekly is released every Wednesday and brought to you absolutely free but for one week early access and ad free listening. Subscribe to Tenderfoot Plus@Tenderfoot Plus.com or on Apple Podcasts.

[John Street]

This podcast discusses mature and sensitive content, including descriptions of violence that may be triggering for some audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

[Maggie Freeling]

It's the evening of Wednesday, September 16, 2009. A clear, cool day in Southern California. Settled in the heart of Malibu off the Pacific coast highway, the staff of the award winning fine dining restaurant Joffrey's Malibu or preparing for the chaos of their normal weekend crowd. Amidst the commotion, sitting in his car, a valet sees a young woman. He approaches and asks her what she's doing. It's subliminal, she says. He's confused. Then she says she's going to avenge the death of Michael Jackson. As she begins to walk away, she pauses and asks him if someone named Vanessa was there. The name didn't sound familiar to him. Keep an eye out for a girl with tattooed arms, she responds, then walks through the front door. As strange as this encounter was. This woman would later be identified as Mitrice Richardson. And this would soon become the focus of one of LA's most controversial unsolved missing persons cases. From Tenderfoot TV in Atlanta, I'm Payne Lindsay.

[John Street]

And I'm Maggie Freeling, and you're listening.

[Maggie Freeling]

To up and Vanished Weekly.

[John Street]

Hey, y'all. Welcome back to the show. I'm Maggie Freeling, and today I have a case that has stuck with me since I heard about it. I have not been able to get her off my mind. So I want to make sure we talk about Mitrice Richardson. Mitrice's death has gained national attention over the last 15 years, not only because it's still unsolved, but because of how her case has been handled by authorities. Mitrice was released from a remote police station in the dead of night. And still to this day, little is known about what happened after they let her out of the station in the middle of the night and she started to walk down the road. Authorities have since received a lot of criticism, and her family has been advocating for reform in law enforcement practices. Lots to discuss in this case. It is a heavy one. So joining me to talk about Mitrice's case is Celicia Stanton, a writer, producer at Tenderfoot. Hey, Celicia, thank you for joining me.

[Payne Lindsay]

Of course. I'm super excited to be chatting with you today.

[John Street]

Celisia, I know that you work on a few different Tenderfoot shows. You hosted the up and Vanish sister series, the Vanishing Point, and you're the creator of Truer Crime. So I'm curious, how did you get into podcasting in the first place?

[Payne Lindsay]

For me, getting into podcasting was super untraditional. I'd actually been a wedding and portrait photographer. When the pandemic hit, obviously there wasn't a lot of events happening. And then sadly, at the. In early summer of 2020, George Floyd was murdered in my city. And when that happened, obviously that sparked this racial reckoning globally. But it was really intense in my community. And so I had so started posting on Instagram. And I found that a lot of those posts were really resonating with people and so seemingly unrelated. Later that summer, I had started working with this financial advisor, and then I found out that just a few months later in December, that he was actually defrauding all of his investor clients. So he stole my entire life savings. So all of these things were sort of colliding. I was defrauded. Going through the criminal legal process really had built this platform around justice and racial equity. Obviously, there was something that was compelling to me about the stories, but so often they weren't examining issues of race or gender or sexuality and how all those things play into why crime happens and who is most commonly victimized. So I created my show, which is called Truer Crime, and just kind of got to work immediately, put out the first season in spring of 2021. But talking about true crime stories means you can talk about all these really sticky, important issues in society. So I kind of wanted to merge those two things, and that's how I ended up here.

[John Street]

So do you remember the first time you heard about Maitrice's case?

[Payne Lindsay]

I mean, honestly, I can't think of the first time, but I do feel like this felt a little bit like a case that was talked about when in an instance where it was like, okay, well, let's cover maybe a black woman, because there's this pressure to do that. I didn't necessarily always feel like there was like really deep dives into it. So I was really excited that we would get a chance to chat about it today because I think that it's a really important story for her and her family and like them seeking answers, but then also just like the parallels that can be drawn to other folks just like Mitrice.

[John Street]

So let's dive in. I think to get a good understanding of what happened, we have to look at the sequence of events that unfolded on the evening of September 16th at Joffrey's Restaurant. So here's pain with more about that.

[Maggie Freeling]

From the time Mitrice arrived at Joffrey's around 7pm People at the restaurant say that things went down a strange path after her interaction outside with the valet, Mitrice entered the restaurant. She was seated and ordered a cocktail and a steak. But moments later, she approached a nearby table, invited herself to sit down and tried to strike up conversation. Her odd behavior continued as she began talking about astrological signs and an upcoming trip to Hawaii. She even told the group she'd contact them once she got to Hawaii. The awkward interaction went on for a while as Mitrice drifted back and forth between her own table and the party of strangers. But the tone shifted when the waitstaff handed Mitrice the bill. At first she said the group would be covering her meal, but then she changed her story. Witnesses remember her saying, I'm busted. What are we going to do? Before staring off into space. Then, out of nowhere, she said that she was from Mars and she could pay in sex, and then pulled out a joint. The whole thing felt like a strange dream, Mitrice told the hostess that she'd been watching a soap opera at work. When God instructed her to take the afternoon off, it was becoming clear that something wasn't right. The question on everyone's mind was how to handle a woman who can't pay for her bill and is now making a scene. The staff did what they could to try and diffuse the situation. They attempted to contact Mitrice's great grandmother, hoping she may be able to help. She offered to pay the bill, but the manager wouldn't let her process the payment over the phone. All the workers discussed finding a way to cover her tab, but really they were more concerned about her well being. Around 8pm, the restaurant contacted authorities and explained the situation. Here's part of that 911 call.

[Deputy SH]

Station Deputy SH I can help you.

[Latice Dutton]

Hi, I'm calling from Joffrey's restaurant in Malibu.

[John Street]

We have a guest here who is refusing to pay her bill and she sounds really crazy.

[Latice Dutton]

She may be on drugs or something. We are wondering if someone can come.

[Maggie Freeling]

By and pick her up. Around 9pm deputies arrived and performed a field sobriety test. They questioned Mitrice about the incident and she told officers she'd come to the restaurant because she was drawn by the lights. When they searched her car, they found marijuana and alcohol. They then arrested her for defrauding an innkeeper and possession of marijuana. They also impounded her car, which had all of her personal belongings in it. After being taken into custody, Mitrice's mother, Latice, contacted police. She lived an hour away and was trying to determine if she needed to make plans to come and get Mitrice that evening. The officer assured her that everything was fine and they'd be keeping Mitrice in custody throughout the night. So Lettice, Matrice's mother, arranged to pick her up the following morning. Here's part of Latice's call to authorities.

[Latice Dutton]

I am calling. I'm a little fragile right now. I understand my daughter is being brought into the station. My trees. Richard, son, I'm her mother. And are you guys going to book her and then release her on her own recognizance tonight? Because it's dark, she doesn't have a car, and I don't want her wandering out. I'm totally just taken aback because this is so out of character for her. And you'll see when she comes in, she's well spoken. It's going to be held in custody for some type of arraignment tomorrow. Then I will wait until tomorrow. I mean, she's not from that area and I would Hate to wake up to a morning report, girl lost somewhere with her head chopped off. So I guess I would have to come and get her over in the station here.

[Deputy SH]

She will be separated, so nobody's going to be with her. So at least that's, you know, the plus thing. So you don't have to worry about her safety.

[Latice Dutton]

Oh, yeah, no. I feel safe with her being in custody. It's being released, but I'm worried about it. It's crazy out here.

[Maggie Freeling]

Around 10pm, Mitrice arrived at the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station in Malibu. After being processed and moved to a holding cell, she tried to contact her great grandmother, who she had been living with. She tried calling a total of four times, but never reached her. But just a few hours later, something unexpected happened. Despite what authorities had told her mother, officers told Mitrice that they didn't have enough to hold her, and subsequently she was being released. They explained she didn't have enough marijuana to charge her with a crime. She had no previous record, and they felt she wasn't a danger to anyone. And so at 12:40am Mitrice was released from police custody. It was the middle of the night, and the station was in a remote part of Malibu. Not only that, but Mitrice's car was still an impound miles away, along with her phone, wallet, and all of her personal items. Authorities would chalk this up as just another ordinary release, but their decision to release her without proper help would soon come under fire.

[John Street]

So right out the gate, there are so many things we could talk about, but I think it seems clear that we need to talk about what was going on with Mitrice at the time. There have been so many reports from people at the restaurant about her acting unusual. What do you think was going on with Mitrice at the time?

[Payne Lindsay]

Yeah, I think it's really interesting because in Mitrice's case, there's something here that's not quite right in terms of her behavior. Maybe she was having some kind of mental health struggles that were perhaps unmedicated or unmanaged, and that's what we're seeing play out with this kind of odd behavior and the things that she's saying to folks.

[John Street]

Do you think that behavior was dismissed by the police? What do you think about their treatment of her and taking her to the police station instead of a hospital?

[Payne Lindsay]

When the police were filling out their report about her state at the time, the police officer who ended up doing her sobriety field test essentially writes that he didn't see anything unusual about her behavior, that she seemed cognizant and able to take directions, which seems really odd to me because of what the restaurant workers are reporting her behavior was like before they had arrived. Right. Like the fact that she was saying just random sentences that aren't connected together, that she was dining with random folks that she didn't know. Even just her initial arrival at the restaurant when she is talking to the valet. To me, there is a layer of dismissiveness that could be because they are categorizing her as somebody whose behavior would be a little bit odd. And therefore maybe it's not out of the norm that she's kind of acting a little strangely. So to me, it just feels really discordant. It's hard to believe that her behavior could have changed so drastically from how she was acting at the restaurant to all of a sudden now the police have arrived, she's completely cognizant, able to communicate effectively.

[John Street]

One of the things that really stands out to me is when you hear Latese on the phone with the officers, she makes a point of qualifying. When she comes in, you'll see she's well spoken. That just stands out to me. Why does her being well spoken have anything to do with this situation?

[Payne Lindsay]

This goes back to black folks have to navigate the world differently. You know, we've talked a lot in. In. In society culturally, about the conversation that black parents are having with their black kids, about how to interact in a situation where you're pulled over or you have to interact with an officer. So I think what you're seeing there with her mom saying that is just an attempt to protect her daughter and the perception that she knows that a police officer might have.

[John Street]

Thank you for saying that, more human part, because that's really what I felt. If she wasn't well spoken, does that give us an okay to not treat her well? So one of the things Letice, I've seen her in interviews, reflects on is her actually saying on the phone to the officer she was speaking with when they were transporting Mitrice was that she feels safer with her in custody, then out.

[Payne Lindsay]

Yeah. I think it's interesting, especially paired with the earlier comments, that she's well spoken. You're constantly living in this state of, like, two realities where you might understand there are systemic issues with policing. You do have to take extra precaution of being really docile if you're having an interaction with police. If you're a black person or indigenous person, Latinx person. And yet in this conversation, she believes that's the safest place for her daughter to be. And I think that just kind of like points back to this idea that our systems might have issues. And they're also all we have, right? So it's like we have to rely on them and we have to believe that they're going to work properly. Because we, of course, don't want to believe that we're just screwed, that we have no way for us to remain safe. I think that's what you're kind of seeing here with this comment is I want to believe. And a belief ultimately, that police will also still keep her daughter safe, even if she knows that her daughter is maybe not as well off as another young woman who might have been in her same situation, but maybe it would have been white.

[John Street]

And I know that a lot of the restaurant workers, specifically the hostess at the time who made the call, she has recently said that in retrospect, they thought that the police would take her to a hospital, and that's all they wanted. They didn't want her arrested. They weren't looking to harm her. They wanted to get her help. So there's this whole question about why did they release her after speaking to her mother and saying, we don't release anyone until the morning. She'll be fine here. And then her mother makes that horrible haunting comment. I don't wanna wake up in the morning to report of a girl lost somewhere with her head chopped off. What do you make of all this? Was this again incompetence, or do you think there's something else going on?

[Payne Lindsay]

I don't know exactly. What officer is having the conversation with her mom versus the officer that makes the decision to let her go versus the officer who does the field sobriety test? I don't know.

[John Street]

So I wanna pause you there. It's actually like there's a ton of them. And this is the problem. There seems to be, like, a breakdown in the communication. It seems like there are deputies that came in for the later shift saying they weren't told by the original deputies. One of them is Yoav Shalev. He's one of the main guys you hear on the phone with her being like, she's not gonna be released. It seems like he did not tell the officers coming in that the mother was calling. And then Armando Lorrero, he was the one at the end of his shift. And he made no mention of her strange behavior in an incident report. And he said that no one at Joffrey's told him she had a mental disorder. Quote, that's not my word, but that's a lie, because he told his superior he booked her because she was acting ditzy at the restaurant. Don't go anywhere. We'll get back to our case after a quick break.

[John]

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[Celicia Stanton]

Did you know that according to Mental Health America, nearly 23% of adults experienced a mental illness in the past year and 18% of adults are experiencing a substance use disorder. Obstacles like high costs and a shortage of mental health providers keep people from accessing the help they need. So how do we address the problem? If you or someone you know is dealing with a crisis, there are resources and treatment available. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Call or text 988, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

[John Street]

Now back to the conversation. So I guess one of the main questions that even I haven't been able to answer in my research is why did they release her and not hold her they originally arrested her for trying to skip out on her dinner tab. She was charged with defrauding an innkeeper and possession of marijuana. So she's charged with crimes. They did not have to drop those charges. When you're arrested in the United states, there's a 24 hour holding period. You have 24 hours to gather enough evidence to charge somebody. So what do you think about why they released her?

[Payne Lindsay]

I think it links back to communication and different people being involved in this, because everybody's gonna have a little bit of a different frame of mind on this issue. So if you switch out and you have a new officer who's there, who's in charge of this decision of keep or not to keep this person, they could be like, oh, well, I don't even think we should have taken her in the first place. And so let's just let her go because she seems fine and whatever. So, you know, I think it could be as simple as that. But then. And yeah, if you think about it, if this person who made the decision to let her go read the incident report where the officer literally said, and I quote, my observation did not lead me to believe she was under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or narcotics. She seemed to be entirely aware of her surroundings and did not seem confused. So perhaps somebody is like, all right, well, I'm not really sure why we brought her in the first place. Let's let her go, and then we don't have to worry about this becoming a mess later on.

[John Street]

Sure.

[Payne Lindsay]

There's a disconnect between the decision to arrest her and the idea that she was acting completely rationally. And so then that, I think, only aids in the miscommunication down the line once you involve more people.

[John Street]

So once Matrius left the police station, we don't know many details about where she went or what happened, but authorities were able to get some critical information that would help piece the puzzle together. Here's Payne with the details.

[Maggie Freeling]

With no car, Mitrice was forced to leave the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station on foot. And with no cell phone, she was unable to call anyone for help. It's believed she may have headed towards the nearby town of Montenido, a small community about 6 miles from the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station. Around 6:30am authorities received a phone call from a local resident. He said he had been looking out his window and saw a shadowy figure in his backyard. Here's what the caller said.

[Deputy SH]

Yeah, hi, we just had a strange woman walk up to the backyard here. This fairly large property. She Was sitting on the steps right in the back of the house here. The gates were closed, so we don't know where this woman came from, what she looked like. White, black. You know, a tall, slim black woman with afro hair. She got up and left. She's since gone. Yeah, she's been gone about five minutes now. And what direction was she last seen heading? Never saw her. Once she left, she just disappeared.

[Maggie Freeling]

This would eventually become the last confirmed sighting of Mitrice before she disappeared. After 24 hours with no contact from Mitrice, her mother, Latice, filed a missing persons report.

[Deputy SH]

Knoxville station. Baumgartner.

[Latice Dutton]

Yes, Hi, my name is Latice Dutton. I called not too long ago regarding my daughter, Mitrice Richardson. How long before a missing persons report can be filed? Is it 24 or 48 hours?

[Deputy SH]

Yes. Well, it depends on the circumstances, but I didn't take your call, so I'm not familiar with it. Did she just not return home after going out?

[Latice Dutton]

She was arrested last night. This is the first time she's been arrested. She's in an unknown area. She's without a vehicle. Nobody can find her.

[Deputy SH]

And where was this at? Where was she arrested?

[Latice Dutton]

At your facility. Her name is Mitrice Richardson.

[Deputy SH]

Okay. Do you know if she's. If she's here now or was she released?

[Latice Dutton]

They said she was released.

[Deputy SH]

Okay, and what time was she released at?

[Latice Dutton]

Just shortly after 12:00am.

[Deputy SH]

Yeah, normally I wouldn't recommend doing one that soon.

[Latice Dutton]

Right. What is the time frame?

[Deputy SH]

You know, I. I guess probably 24 hours would be reasonable. I mean, if there would be some. Some mitigating factors, you know, where, you know, you would suspect maybe something. Well, yeah, right.

[Latice Dutton]

She doesn't know the area. He's never been in your area.

[Deputy SH]

Do you think possibly could have gotten a bus home and.

[Latice Dutton]

Oh, listen, my child has never written a bus. No.

[Maggie Freeling]

Right.

[Latice Dutton]

She would not know how to ride a bus.

[Deputy SH]

I would probably wait till, you know, early this morning. And if she doesn't turn up, you can certainly call. I don't suspect anything bad happen.

[Latice Dutton]

I believe that she is highly depressed and she's in a depressive state.

[Deputy SH]

I mean, there's a lot of options and a lot of possibilities, and I don't think all of them would be, you know, something dire. But I can certainly understand your fears, you know, being your daughter and all that. And once you give us a call back in a couple hours, she hasn't shown up or made contact with you, then maybe we can do something for you. Okay.

[Maggie Freeling]

The strange sighting in Montenido would become ground Zero. For the initial police investigation. A search of the area turned up footprints, which appeared to start at a normal pace, but then quickened to a running pattern. Authorities would later confirm the prints belonged to Mitrice, but the trail eventually stopped, revealing no further information. As their search continued, they would focus their efforts on Mitrice's car, which had been held in the impound lotion. And what they discovered would confirm her family's worst fears and become a growing point of contention for authorities.

[John Street]

So let's talk about the police investigation, because I think this is really critical to understanding Mitrice's state of mind. In the hours leading up to her disappearance, when authorities searched her car, they found tons of personal items. And what they also found was that she had enough money to cover the unpaid bill at Joffrey's. They found her diaries, which her father seemed to be alarmed about. He said that she seemed off in her writings that are rambly chaotic, and it appeared to them that she had been up for days.

[Payne Lindsay]

Obviously, this is just further proof now, like, in retrospect, where we can say, like, certainly there was a mental health crisis going on. I mean, I don't know anyone who would have the money to and would rather be arrested than pay. So clearly this wasn't an instance of her, like, choosing to make that decision. It's just upsetting because this is somebody who very clearly needed help. This could have been a point in her life that she was really grateful for. Maybe she would have gotten the mental health resources that she needed and that could have helped her in her life moving forward. I do kind of lean on probably incompetence in that there's not a chain of communication that's effective here, which is really upsetting for a family member who is relying on those chains of communication to be effective. And especially for something so crucial as whether or not you're going to let somebody's daughter who is having a mental health crisis, if you are arrested and brought to jail to be held for any length of time, that's a very traumatizing or upsetting experience for anyone. Even if she had been completely in her right mind, she's probably not gonna be feeling great when she is being let out or coming out and needs the support of family and friends or her support system to kind of help her through and get her the resources that she's gonna need in the next steps that she's going to need. And I'm thinking about her mom. She does this calculation of, I could go get her now, but it's kind of far away.

[John Street]

And it's 40 miles away from where she was living. That is far.

[Payne Lindsay]

Exactly, exactly. And she has her younger daughter who is at home that she has to care for as well. And she is just making the decision of, okay, well, you know what? It's gonna be easier if I go down there in the morning. I will come and get her if I need to. Because the worst case scenario would be them leaving her out to have nobody, which obviously is what happened, but makes that calculation based on these facts that she was given. So, yeah, it's very disturbing and scary because it degrades the trust that we can have in law enforcement that the information we're getting is correct and that it's going to be followed through because these are situations with really high stakes. So it is important that it's accurate.

[John Street]

So there was also a lot of questions about protocol and things that they should have done legally during the investigation. The family, Mitrice's family asked for videotapes from the jail and they were told these tapes didn't exist for years. They actually did exist and the cops had them the whole time. And what it shows is her in a holding cell and she's agitated and she's pushing and pulling on the cell bars and she's clearly upset. Why would the police want to withhold this video? And what do you make of her behavior?

[Payne Lindsay]

Yeah, I mean, obviously the behavior is a continuation of what we've been talking about in terms of this is somebody who needed help and resources from a trained professional. But in terms of them keeping that information or those tapes from her family and loved ones, I'm sure they at some point reviewed those tapes and felt that it would be in their best interest not to make those tapes public because that obviously puts a huge light on that police department and those officers and their choices. And I think, you know, a lot of times you'll see that police departments will do what they need to do to protect their own. And so I feel like that was an attempt to try to like, see if they could get away with it, keep it from coming to light.

[John Street]

So one of the things that I think was really interesting was it's not up to the police to decide if she should be taken for a mental health evaluation or not. And I know that the chief or one of the police spokesperson has said recently in recent interviews that she wouldn't have qualified for a 5150 hold, which is what it's called when you're held in a hospital for a mental health evaluation for 24 or 72 hours. But that's not up to them to make that decision. That's up to a mental health evaluator to make that decision.

[Payne Lindsay]

I'm curious, what was the reasoning? Or, like, why did they say that?

[John Street]

Yeah. So for a 5150 hold, you have to be a danger to yourself or others gravely disabled, which it doesn't seem like she was. I mean, she wasn't being violent. No one said she was. No one felt endangered by her. And so I guess in their head, they thought, oh, the hospital's not going to take her, so we'll just take her. But to me, that's so crazy. That's not up to you.

[Payne Lindsay]

I definitely feel like there's a level of throwing your hands up, kind of passing the buck, like, whose responsibility is it if it's not yours? Right. I think that as a police officer, you have this oath to protect and serve. So regardless of if there's, like, a specific law or policy that, like, perfectly fits your situation that allows you to assist people, I do feel like you would think it would be within the purview of an officer to at least do what they can do to kind of help that person end up in the best, safest hands possible in this situation. Ultimately, if they tried to have a mental health practitioner, like, evaluate her, worst case scenario, they actually find that there's nothing wrong with her, kind of let her go at that point, but at least then there was. There would be some kind of due diligence. So it's definitely super concerning. To me, I think anyone would hope that in the case that themselves or their loved ones was in a situation where they weren't acting rationally, that the folks in society, like police officers, who are there to kind of help out, are actually able to help out.

[John Street]

Absolutely. And I think when the police get a phone call like this, dispatch someone who's trained in mental health, I think fundamentally that's a lot of what we're talking about here. So while we may not know the full story of what was happening with Mitrice that night, it's hard to deny that there were red flags that authorities didn't pick up on or that they ignored. But for nearly a year, there was no update on Mitrice's case, and police were unable to find her. But things were about to take a major turn.

[Payne Lindsay]

We were told that they were gonna leave her remains there until the morning because it was getting dark.

[Latice Dutton]

But then when we saw the helicopter hovering, and then we saw what looked like the gurney basket Being hoisted up into the helicopter. Then we knew that Mitrice was being moved.

[John Street]

More on this case after a quick break. You're listening to up and Vanish Weekly. Yeah, sure thing.

[Payne Lindsay]

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[Maggie Freeling]

The guy who wanted to pay me in foreign currency. No interest over 36 months.

[John Street]

Yeah, no.

[Celicia Stanton]

Carvana gave me an offer in minutes.

[Maggie Freeling]

Picked it up and paid me on the spot. It was so convenient.

[Payne Lindsay]

Just like that?

[Maggie Freeling]

Yep.

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[John Street]

None.

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[John Street]

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[Payne Lindsay]

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[John Street]

Hey listeners, if you have a tip or theories about a case you want to share or a case of interest you'd like to recommend to us, then we want to hear from you. Email us casesenderfoot tv DM us on Instagram at UAV weekly or give us a call at 770-545-6411. Now here's John with this week's critical missing case.

[Celicia Stanton]

Yeah, Maggie. So sometime in the early morning hours on New Year's Day, 19 year old Isabella Jean Marmalejo disappeared from her North Indiana Avenue residence which is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The last day to contact was the night before December 31, 2024, when her family says that she went to bed. And then early the next morning she couldn't be found. So Isabella is of white and Hispanic ethnicity with a height of 6 foot 1 inch, weighing approximately 250 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes and she wears black wireframe glasses. Isabella has a tattoo of the Harry Potter sorting hat on her left forearm. So listeners, if you or anyone you know has any information about Isabella's whereabouts, please contact the Dell City Police Department at 405-677-2443 and you can reference case number 2500006.

[John Street]

Okay, let's get back to the show.

[Maggie Freeling]

On Monday, August 9, 2010, park rangers for the state of California set out to search a remote area of Malibu Canyon. They believe the location was an old farm that may have had ties to a Mexican drug cartel. Their protocol was to destroy any marijuana plants they found and cut irrigation lines that watered them. As the rangers combed the area, the group walked into a clearing near a creek bed. And suddenly a ranger stops there. Beneath the leaves and dirt, he saw something. Bending down to get a closer look, he moved away the debris and shouted to the group, it looked like a human skull. The rangers immediately called the LA County Sheriff's Office, who had jurisdiction. When officers arrived, the crew escorted them to the creek bed and in a short time, they had excavated the area, finding a skull and an unclothed, partially decomposed body. The remains were partially mummified, but they seemed to be of a female. As unsettling as this discovery was, the scene would quickly turn more eerie as the search continued. They found that the skull and spinal cord were detached from the rest of the remains. A few yards away, they found a leg with the femur removed. Making things even more ominous, they discovered the remains were unclothed. As they continued their search, they found a belt, bra and jeans scattered hundreds of feet down the ravine. The location was approximately 2.5 miles from Montenido and 8 miles from the Lost Hill Sheriff Station in Malibu. Eventually, the remains were airlifted out of the clearing and sent for identification. A short time later, the remains would be confirmed as Mitrice Richardsons. But this revelation didn't offer her loved ones any solace. In fact, this latest discovery would only reinforce their frustrations around how authorities handled Mitrice's case and the desperate need for change.

[John Street]

When you hear about how this story ends, your heart can't help but go out to Mitrice's family and loved ones. Such a tragic end to a completely literally avoidable situation that to me screams of police incompetence and misconduct. So when her remains were found, the coroner is supposed to be on scene before the remains are removed. But they did not wait for the coroner. They didn't secure the site, so testing or analysis could be done. The way I've heard it explained is they scooped up her body and sent it away. So there's no crime scene analysis done there. What does that say to you? Just the way her remains were treated?

[Payne Lindsay]

Yeah, I mean, this is just really upsetting because it's like, again, this is even after death, it's as if Mitrice was treated as if she wasn't a human being deserving of answers and care and respect and all of that. And so it's Obviously she's no longer alive, but everybody deserves to be treated with dignity. And I think that especially considering she has a family who is. And loved other loved ones who are just so involved in this case and fighting for answers, it's just so disrespectful that just like basic procedure couldn't have been followed. I have a hard time believing that if this had been a different, more high profile white victim, that the utmost care to follow procedure would have been taken.

[John Street]

I personally am, like horrified. I don't even think there's a word that I can use to explain the egregious mishandling of this case. When they did a second autopsy and they exhumed her, they found her clothing still there. Why is, why wasn't that in evidence for testing? They never tested her clothing. And the only explanation I can find for that is that they did not regard her life as worthy. Again, I just don't have words for that. Not doing DNA testing, not collect. The clothes are there. You didn't even have to go and find them. They were in the back.

[Payne Lindsay]

Yeah.

[John Street]

Why were they still with her body?

[Payne Lindsay]

I'm right there with you. I feel like it. I mean, and it's. This is just like the bare minimum required to do your job properly. You know what I mean? Like, in some of the earlier missteps that we have discussed, it's okay, well, maybe there's not like this really clear procedure and protocol for you to follow, but like in, in this instance, when we're talking about the handling of the body, it's like they had steps to follow, they just didn't follow them. Which also is concerning because it's like, well, if that's kind of what you're used to doing, how often has something similar happened with these same officers or departments and all of that. It's also odd because in this case where we're talking about the coroner being on the scene before remains can be removed, it's. That's not even more work for you. You just have to wait for them to arrive and then the body can be removed. But it's like just complete lack of care for anyone other than what your immediate priorities might have been, which might have been just like getting out of there, getting this finished up or wrapped up. So it's super, super alarming.

[John Street]

So not long after Mitrice is found, her family files a lawsuit against Los Angeles county. And the county agrees to pay $900,000 to her family in a wrongful death settlement. Then a different suit in 2016. The California Attorney General reopens a criminal investigation into the sheriff's department. They didn't say why they opened a criminal investigation, but they concluded there was insufficient evidence to support criminal prosecutions. Are you surprised at the outcome of the criminal investigation?

[Payne Lindsay]

I think that insofar as the initial investigation was mishandled or handled poorly, like, for example, not following protocol, the coroner getting a chance to, like, go to the scene and move her body and all of that, it doesn't surprise me that, like, a subsequent investigation would yield very little. There are kind of two ways this could go. It's like, either they're hiding something, right? Like, there is actually enough evidence for them to support some kind of criminal prosecution, or, and this is maybe the way I lead. If you don't handle the initial investigation correctly, you are kind of destroying your chances at any evidence that you might have had and, like, the appropriate documentation that you would need to have some solid leads to go after. I think in this case, it's like they never had a strong suspect of who might have been involved initially. Like, okay, well, is this a murder? Is this a kidnapping? Is this just somebody who wandered off? So it's like, it's so much harder to build leads later on.

[John Street]

So one of the most frustrating things with Mitrice's case is that it's been hard to nail down real theories. And since the authorities did not test her remains or the site where her remains were found, it's been impossible to identify any real suspects. So let's talk about some of those leading theories. The cause and manner of death are listed as undetermined. There's no signs of accidental injury. She's found partially mummified. So some of the leading theories are a mental health crisis, that she is having such a bad breakdown from all of the reasons we talked about, potentially suffering from bipolar disorder. She might have been awake for five nights, which only exasperates that. So some people think that she wanders out into the woods, sprawling wilderness, canyons, hills, and succumbs to the elements, potentially an animal attack, potentially an allergic reaction, and so she went into some anaphylactic shock and died. These are literal things that have been floated.

[Payne Lindsay]

The idea of her succumbing to the elements is definitely possible or even probable, considering she didn't have any money or anything like that, to make sure that she could eat and get water and all of those things. I think it's definitely interesting that her clothes are found in a separate spot. Particularly that, because, I mean, it makes you wonder, like, okay, well, if she did die and then maybe, like, animals had, like, gotten to her remains, and perhaps that's why different parts of her remains are found in different places. We kind of believe that likely she was experiencing a mental health crisis. I'm not saying that this is likely, but maybe there could have even been something happening to her brain, like an actual condition that could have maybe been potentially life threatening and that was causing, like, a change in behavior. So all that to say, like, the idea that she could have succumbed to the elements, I don't think is unlike at all. It's more that why is it that her clothes are found separate from her body and altogether Right.

[John Street]

So some people say when you go into hypothermia, you get really hot, so you take off your clothes. So some people thought maybe she took off her own clothes, just laid down and died out there in the elements. I think what really points away from that and also points away from an animal attack, the animals could explain predation, why her remains might be scattered. But it doesn't seem, from what we know, that her death can be explained by an animal attack. And the thing pointing away, too, from her succumbing to the elements is that very specifically, her arm is tight to her body and flexed and she's mummified. And in order to get like that, her arm would have to kind of be stuck on her body at the time of death, like, kind of tightly pressed against her, almost like she was wrapped in something to keep the flexing like that. So a lot of people go to say, well, the fact that she's mummified and the fact that she's flexed, she just didn't die openly. She was held somewhere. So that brings us to foul Play. She is 40 miles from home. She pretty clearly would have had to start walking down this road. When she's released in the dark, there's nothing there. It seems very likely someone could have picked her up. What do you make of a. Of a third party?

[Payne Lindsay]

Yeah, I mean, I kind of tend to feel like there maybe was likely a third party who was involved just because of kind of everything that you were just talking about. I feel like there's just a lot of unanswered questions. Some of what they found of her remains would be easier to explain if there was a third party. Obviously, insofar as the crime scene wasn't handled properly afterwards, it makes finding that person pretty difficult. But I think that this is somebody who was out isolated, alone, it was night. That does make her sort of the perfect person to be, like, victimized, unfortunately. And obviously that is incredibly rare that a stranger would victimize you while you're out walking around. But I think in this instance, the conditions were right where she, she definitely could have been the victim of an attack.

[John Street]

Well, when the family got the police video, they saw Deputy Ismael Rodriguez leaving about two minutes behind Mitrice at the station. And the family was told that there were no deputies at the station at that time when she was in custody. Clearly that wasn't true. But when she left, there is a deputy following her. He does not have an accounting of his activities during that night or the morning. He was transferred from the Lost Hill station shortly after. And that's really all we know. Just to clarify, it's Captain Tom Martin who eventually said, oh, we've had this video the whole time. And that video shows a deputy leaving the station after he had also said there was no deputies at the station. So it just seems like it's just, it's just weird again, it's like, is this all incompetence or what is going on? Why did you hide this video?

[Payne Lindsay]

Right.

[John Street]

This is part of the video that the family got. Why was this hidden? And I think that's just whether it's nefarious or not, I think that's just suspicious.

[Payne Lindsay]

Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Like, I think ultimately, like, if he's just leaving a few minutes after, like, to me, that's not necessarily enough for me to feel like he has any kind of involvement. Although I feel like if this is something that the public is questioning, then obviously it would be great if they would make some kind of statement with more information about why he was cleared and, you know, what his whereabouts were after that point. So I don't think it's enough for me to feel like, oh, yeah, this guy probably was involved. But I do think that, you know, the police work for the public and if there are these open questions, it's like, in fact, actually, if there's people speculating that he might have involvement, I think it's to his own benefit that there's more information released about why he's been cleared.

[John Street]

Our discussion continues after a quick break.

[Payne Lindsay]

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[Celicia Stanton]

Hey, it's John from the up and Vanish team. If you're enjoying this episode, then you should check out the Tenderfoot original series To Live and die in LA in 2018, aspiring actress Adeya Shibani vanished from her Hollywood apartment. Best selling author Rolling Stone writer and investigative journalist Neil Strauss was asked to help her family get answers. The result was season one of the award winning podcast. For season two, the team looked into the disappearance of a college student named Elaine park, who disappeared from Neil's Malibu, California neighborhood. Eventually, Elaine's abandoned car was found just two minutes away from Joffrey's Restaurant, where Mitrice Richardson was arrested. All of these disappearances share one Stark don't go missing in la. Listen to both seasons of To Live and Die in la, wherever you get your podcasts or binge ad free exclusively on Tenderfoot. Now back to the show.

[John Street]

So in terms of persons of interest, I have found this very interesting. So the Lost Tales podcast, they're one of the first that I have found that has done a real deep dive into my trees and have done their own boots on the ground investigating. And they found this very interesting suspect. And I want to tell you about him and hear your thoughts. Yeah, he's dead now, so we're going to name him. His name is Richard Wayne Forsberg. And actually he was a suspect from the beginning. He was questioned and he passed a polygraph test, so it seems like police didn't follow much into him after that. But he has a long history of domestic violence, strangling his partners, his wives, girlfriends. He has substance abuse issues. He was actually growing weed and living out there where she was found at the time. And he admitted when police first questioned him to picking up Mitrice Richardson on his motorcycle that night.

[Payne Lindsay]

Oh, wow.

[John Street]

What do you think about him knowing he was someone from the beginning?

[Payne Lindsay]

Well, yeah, I mean, that's really interesting. And looking into this case, I hadn't seen anything about this person except for, like one article that references this podcast. So it's just interesting to hear what you're sharing now. But I'm kind of wondering, like, why aren't more people now picking up this story? Because the fact that somebody has admitted to picking her up on a motorcycle that night, was it? Mm, yeah, that's. I mean, that's wild to me. Like, if you would just read everything online, look up all the articles online, like, you would just be led to believe that was it. Nobody else claimed to have seen her after the one person I'd seen, a woman that matched her description, that she was sort of gone after that point. So I am definitely interested in kind of knowing more about that. Did the police. Why did they not investigate further? They just. How did they write off this picking her up on the motorcycle piece?

[John Street]

I mean, he was clear. He took a polygraph and that was the end of it. And I think that's so much of the problem with this case, is that no one took the time to Investigate it to do more than just surface level reporting, pulling from whatever local affiliates reported at the time. It's just incredible to me that there's a man with all of the red flags that was a suspect from the beginning that says he picked her up. I wonder, would this surprise you as well that he has been found with bags of women's panties? I hate that word, panties, but that's how disturbing this all is that I said panties. Her socks and underwear were never found.

[Payne Lindsay]

This is really wild to me. I feel like, how could it not be him? This person admitted to picking her up. Like, what? It's odd, too, that those happen to be the items of clothing that are missing that we've never been able to find. But he has this history. And it would be interesting to me that you would write it off based off of a polygraph, considering that, like, polygraphs aren't even admissible in court. They're not actually, like, a solid piece of evidence. I don't know. I feel like sometimes police officers are just like, pulling for somebody to, say, implicate themselves in a certain way. And it's kind of wild that somebody would implicate themselves by saying they're probably the last person to see her alive. And that is just kind of a dead end at that point.

[John Street]

I think one other thing is that they never found her hyoid bone. So it's always been a question of whether she was strangled or not. But I think that's one of the main theories, is that she was strangled because we can't find that bone. And the rest of her body didn't seem to show any kind of blunt force trauma, stuff like that. The theory's always been she's been strangled. And this specific person of interest has a history of strangling, specifically strangling his partners. So I just find it glaring, you know, now that we have this information, he died 10 years after she went missing. That is infuriating, too, if this is someone that did do something to her. So remember when they were searching for her, they were searching for, like, illegal weed farms. It's unclear whether that was his illegal weed farm or not, but he was known to be growing out there. So I'm wondering if that was the connection that if he was the person of interest, that they were looking for his weed and then they find her. For me, he definitely seems to stand out as someone who could have had means and motive. Celisia, thank you for joining me today. It has been incredible. You are brilliant and fun to talk to and you're just an expert specifically on cases like My Trees's. So if people want to hear more of what you do, where can people.

[Payne Lindsay]

Find you definitely can check out my show Truer Crime on all the podcast players and you can find us on social media re crimepod on Instagram and X. Or you can find me at celicia Stanton on TikTok and Instagram. And then I also host the Vanishing Point. Or if you want to just kind of keep up with me more weekly, I have a substack newsletter called Sincerely Celicia, which you can [e-mail] For 15.

[John Street]

Years, there have been no real answers about Mitrice's disappearance and death, and her case has gotten relatively little coverage compared to others from that same time. It's led many to feel like her case has not been taken seriously by the media or authorities. Even today, we don't know what happened to Mitrice once she left the station, and it's infuriating to think that the events that led up to her death could have been completely avoided. When I decided to cover Mitresis story, I reached out to the LA County Sheriff's Office with a simple question. I asked for clarity about their policy, whether they even have one on providing rides to citizens released from their custody. Here was part of their response.

[Celicia Stanton]

On the 15th anniversary of Mitrice Richardson's death, the sheriff's Department's pursuit of justice remained steadfast, with homicide detectives diligently continuing their investigation into every lead and piece of information that emerges. The department remains committed to bringing closure to the family and friends of Mitrice and ensuring that every avenue is explored in the quest for justice.

[John Street]

They never answered my very simple question. And it's simple questions like this that countless people still have today, including Mitrice's family. Those who knew Mitrice say her behavior right before she disappeared was uncharacteristic, potentially early warning signs that pointed to a mental health issue. Had the situation been handled differently, this story may have had a different ending. In a 2021 interview with ABC7, Matrice's mom, Latice, and dad Michael shared their thoughts.

[Latice Dutton]

What has been so difficult for me to live with is knowing that she died alone, without family around her. In her last moments, people say, man.

[Payne Lindsay]

You gotta move on.

[Maggie Freeling]

You never move on, but you carry on. The one thing I thought was perfect.

[John Street]

To me in life had to be taken from me. While many only know Mitrice based on what they read in headlines or see in media coverage, her family continues to fight to keep Mitrice's memory alive, the young woman they knew and loved.

[Latice Dutton]

I just want everyone to remember how vibrant and beautiful Mitrice was. She wanted to be someone to make a difference in life.

[John Street]

You can find additional information about mitrice richardson@justiceformitrice on Instagram. And finally, if you have any information about the death of Mitrice Richardson, please contact Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, homicide division at 323-890-5500. Los Angeles county is offering a $25,000 reward for any information that will help solve my trace's case. Y'all, thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Upadvanish Weekly. Be sure to tune in next Friday as we dig into another new case. Until next time.

[Maggie Freeling]

Up and advance. Spanish Weekly is a production of Tenderfoot TV in association with Odyssey. Your hosts are Maggie Freeling and myself, Payne Lindsay. The show is written by Maggie Freeling, myself and John Street. Executive producers are Donald Albright and myself. Lead producer is John Street. Additional production by Meredith Steadman and Mike Rooney. Research for the series by Jamie Albrecht, Celicia Stanton and Carolyn Tallmadge. Edit and mix by Dylan Harrington and Sean Nurney. Supervising producer is Tracy Kaplan. Artwork by Byron McCoy. Original music by makeup and vanity set. Special thanks to Oren Rosenbaum and the team at uta, Beck Media and Marketing and the Nord Group. For more podcasts like up and Vanish Weekly, search Tenderfoot TV on your favorite podcast app or visit us@Tenderfoot TV. Thanks for listening.

[John Street]

Coming to ABC and Hulu Amanda Riley.

[Payne Lindsay]

Was a mother wife speaker at her church and then she got diagnosed with cancer.

[Maggie Freeling]

A beloved young Christian woman fighting a battle undeserved.

[Payne Lindsay]

We thought it she was God's gift, but she was a liar. Why would somebody fake cancer from the.

[John Street]

Number one smash hit podcast? It was only a matter of time.

[Payne Lindsay]

Until Amanda's whole world came tumbling down.

[John Street]

You're not going to believe this. Scamanda New episodes Thursday nights on ABC and stream on Hulu.