37. Murder in the Emerald Triangle  Aaron Bassler was a 36-year-old loner with a troubled past and a history of drug and alcohol abuse. He cultivated poppy and marijuana plants deep in the vast woods of the Emerald Triangle in Northern California. In August of 2011, Aaron shot and killed two men. And with that, a 36-day standoff began between Aaron and the Mendocino Country Sheriff’s Department. In this episode, I speak with Deborah Stonebarger.

Deborah Stonebarger is a criminalistics subject matter expert, a former senior criminalist with the California Department of Justice, and owner of Analytic Investigations. Deborah is experienced in analyzing crime scenes, evidence collection, biological evidence, DNA, forensic firearms identification, controlled substances, and blood and breath alcohol. She is a licensed private investigator in Arizona and is currently the secretary for the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators.

NOTES: The episode transcript is here. All links are at astudyincrime.com. Take our listener survey.

You can find Deborah at Analytic Investigations, P.O. Box 633 Laveen, Arizona 85339 (623) 999-3807. https://analyticinvestigations.com/.

Sources for this episode include:

The Man in the Woods, The California Sunday Magazine.

California Slayings Suspect Killed in Massive Manhunt, NBC News.

Authorities Shoot, Kill Fort Bragg Slaying Suspect Aaron Bassler, The Press Democrat.

LISTEN:  Apple | Spotify Please give us a 5-star rating and review on Apple and Spotify

FOLLOW: @StudyinCrimePod Facebook  | X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn

SUPPORT: Buy the book Confessions of a Private Eye on Amazon, Buy me a Dr Pepper at https://buymeacoffee.com/studyincrimepod, or consider giving a one-time or monthly Donation. Your generous donations help produce and grow the show.

A Study in Crime is written and produced by Scott Fulmer, author of the true-crime memoir Confessions of a Private Eye. A veteran private investigator, Scott has spent the last 30 years conducting investigations throughout the US. He’s a decorated combat veteran of the Gulf War and lives in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio.