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Michael was terrified… and frankly, confused. Two masked men had just broken into his Newport Beach home. They’d beaten him mercilessly. They’d threatened him with a gun. They’d zip tied his wrists and ankles. And then, they demanded money. Michael offered them everything he had, but it wasn’t good enough. They wanted a million dollars, cash. Michael told them the truth – he didn’t have that kind of money. But they didn’t believe him. Soon, a third intruder joined in. The captors took Michael and his roommate, Mary Barnes, out to the Mojave Desert, where they demanded that he dig up the million dollars. But Michael couldn’t appease them. 

And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Kristin read a bunch of articles, then spat them back out in her very limited vocabulary. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

“A Gruesome Mutilation. A Global Manhunt. Inside One of the Most Twisted Crimes Ever,” by Tim Dickinson for Rolling Stone

“Catch me if you can?” episode of 20/20

“O.C. pot dealer guilty in kidnap, torture plot,” by Christopher Goffard for the LA Times

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