Darklands

On the morning of May 7, 1906, Franz Edmund Creffield and his wife Maud were walking down the street near 1st and Cherry in Seattle, Washington when a man stepped behind him, placed a 32 revolver to the back of neck and pulled the trigger. Edmund Creffield, aka Joshua the Second, aka Elijah, died instantly. The murderer, 23-year old George Mitchell, calmly stood next to his victim and lit a cigar while  he waited for the Seattle police to show up. As the wheels of justice turned, George would be hailed a hero by the men in his hometown of Corvallis, Oregon for his crime. His salacious trial would whip up public sympathy leading a not guilty verdict. This is only one part of a completely bonkers historical case that includes murders, plural; women burning their corsets; men tarring and feathering another man; mass committals to insane asylums; suicides by strychnine, plural; and the lure of an enigmatic cult leader that may seem totally wacky, but isn’t all that different than similar cult cases we have seen in the news recently. Buckle up! It’s going to be a wild ride.

Darklands is bi-weekly podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podbean. A starred review would be greatly appreciated.

Comments and episode suggestions: [email protected].

Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur

Episode Music: Xylo-Ziko, “Phase 2” from Minimal, Highway 17, "Cockroach Headed Boy" from It's Sharp

Darklands is a FridaPants production.

Twitter: darklandspod

Episode Sources:

Beck, Katherine. “Seattle Holy Rollers Killings: The Spectacular End to an Oregon Love Cult. History Link. 12.02.2003. https://www.historylink.org/File/4263

Bovsun, Mara. “Franz Edmund Creffield and the Cult of Personality.” New York Daily News. 06.23.2019. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-joshua-second-justice-story-20190623-dn2kgolvvbdszkho6chmakprjq-story.html

Edmund Creffield. Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Creffield

Heaven’s Gate. Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(religious_group)

John, Finn J.D. “’Holy Roller’ Cult Ended with Murder, Suicide, Insanity. Offbeat Oregon History. 06.05.2011. https://offbeatoregon.com/o1106a-bride-of-christ-holy-rollers-in-corvallis-ending.html

The Salvation Army. Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Salvation_Army

Oregon Encyclopedia. “Edmund Creffield and the Brides of Christ Church.” https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/creffield_edmund_and_the_brides_of_christ_church/#.XzmWY-hKhEY

This is Part 2 of a 2 part episode. Please listen to S1.E4 first!

After the early morning violent sexual assault Jennifer Hopper and her partner, Teresa Butz, who he also murdered, Isaiah had fled into the night. Much of what we know of Isaiah Kalebu comes from an extensive psychological report Dr. Maria Lymberis, a forensic psychiatrist from UCLA who’s report is the back bone of the sections of Eli Sanders’ book that focus on Isaiah.

Darklands is bi-weekly podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podbean. A starred review would be greatly appreciated.

Comments and episode suggestions: [email protected].

Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur

Episode Music: Xylo-Ziko, “Phase 2” from Minimal, Highway 17, "Cockroach Headed Boy" from It's Sharp

Darklands is a FridaPants production.

Show Notes

Sources:

Sanders, Eli. (2016). While the City Slept: A love Lost to Violence and a Wake-Up Call for Mental Health Care in America. Penguin Books.

Brodeur, Nicole. (July 17, 2019). “Ten Years After Attack that Killed Her Partner South Park Survivor Sings to Heal. The Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/10-years-after-attack-that-killed-her-partner-south-park-survivor-sings-to-heal/

Links to view:

Town Hall Seattle interview with Jennifer Hopper and Eli Sanders https://townhallseattle.org/event/eli-sanders-and-jennifer-hopper-with-marcie-sillman/

You Belong to Me, performed by Jennifer Hopper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfVraJ0s-o8

Darklands will return next Sunday with Season 1, Episode 5 - Part 2 of Murder in South Park.

Today, I need to talk about what is going on in my city because it is terrifying and no matter what side of the political spectrum you may find yourself on, the events occurring here should sound the alarm about an appalling abuse of power from the very top of our governments structure all the way down.

If a government will go to tyrannical lengths to silence this message, what does it say about that government?

Darklands is a biweekly podcast.

Email: [email protected]

Sources and Resources for this statement:

Probably Media. Portland Police Watch for July 18-19. https://write.as/probably-media/portland-police-watch-for-july-18-19-2020

https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/07/18/28652209/federal-and-local-police-team-up-in-aggressive-response-to-night-50-of-portland-protests

Federal Officers Deployed in Portland Didn't Have Proper Training, DHS Memo Said" New York Times. July 18, 2020.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/us/portland-protests.html

Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles to Grab Protesters off Portland Streets. Oregon Public Broadcasting News. July 16, 2020. https://www.opb.org/news/article/federal-law-enforcement-unmarked-vehicles-portland-protesters/

YouTube has constant livestream posts every night.

These twitter feeds or searches constantly updating livestreams and commentary especially once dusk hits so you can see what is actually happening as it happens.

@PDocumentarians, #PDXprotest, #PortlandProtests, #DefendPDX, Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front @PNWYLF 

and many, many more.

PART 1 of a 2 PART EPISODE

Teresa Butz and Jennifer Hopper were deeply in love and looking forward to their upcoming wedding that was to take place in September 2009. Though Washington State, where they lived, did not legally recognize same-sex marriages at the time, the two were determined to have a ceremony that commemorated their commitment to one another for themselves and in front of their tight circle of friends. They spent a carefree day together on July 18, 2009 filled with fun and the chores one has to do when preparing for a wedding. They went to Weight Watchers in the morning, took a double-decker bus microbrew tour of the South Park Seattle neighborhood where they lived, went for a dress fitting for Jennifer’s gown. In the evening, they grilled steaks and watched a movie before climbing into bed where Jennifer told Teresa how much she loved her before they drifted off to sleep. What happened next, in the early hours of the morning of Saturday, July 19, is beyond nightmarish. This is the story of 90 minutes of brutality that ends in murder and shattered dreams. It is also the story of the failures of a broken mental health care system both in Washington State and around the US. But most importantly, this is a story of love and resilience in the face of unimaginable tragedy.

Darklands is bi-weekly podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podbean. A starred review would be greatly appreciated.

Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur

Episode Music: Xylo-Ziko, “Phase 2” from Minimal, Highway 17, "Cockroach Headed Boy" from It's Sharp

Darklands is a FridaPants production.

Episode Sources:

Sanders, Eli. (2016). While the City Slept: A love Lost to Violence and a Wake-Up Call for Mental Health Care in America. Penguin Books.

https://www.duwamishtribe.org/history

This is an update on the sentencing Jeremy Christian, the man convicted of killing Talisen Namkai-Meche and Ricky Best on a Portland Max train in May of 2017. Darklands covered this incident in episode 2.

The two men were killed and a third, Micah Fletcher, was critically injured when they intervened while Christian was hurtling racial slurs and harassing two young Black women on public transit. He had also assaulted and racially harassed another woman, Demetria Hester, the night before attacks on the light rail.

Darklands is bi-weekly podcast.  A starred review would be greatly appreciated.

Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur

Episode Music: Highway 17, "Cockroach Headed Boy" from It's Sharp

Darklands is a FridaPants production.

Feel free to contact me with feedback or story ideas about Pacific Northwest true crime at [email protected]

Sources:

https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/06/live-updates-max-train-murderer-jeremy-christian-will-be-sentenced-after-more-victims-testify.html

https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/06/watch-live-victims-and-their-families-speak-before-judge-will-sentence-jeremy-christian-for-murdering-two-strangers-on-a-max-train.html

This episode will focus on the legacy of Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian immigrant attending school in Portland, Oregon who was brutally murdered by white supremacists in the winter of 1988. His death would force Portland to reckon with its perception of itself as a tolerant, progressive place for people of color and would result in marches and rallies against prejudice throughout the city. More importantly the tenacity of the Southern Poverty Law Center and his family to take down not only the men that perpetrated the crime, but also the Neo-Nazi organization they belonged to would lead to a landmark lawsuit against the White Aryan Resistance or WAR that would bankrupt their founder and seriously curtail their operations in Oregon and throughout the country.

Darklands is bi-weekly podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podbean. A starred review would be greatly appreciated.

Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur

Episode Music: Xylo-Ziko, “Phase 2” from Minimal, Highway 17, "Cockroach Headed Boy" from It's Sharp

Darklands is a FridaPants production.

Email: [email protected] 

Web: https://darklandspodcast.podbean.com/

Sources: https://darklandspodcast.podbean.com/p/sources

On Memorial Day weekend, 2000, 25-year old Josh Reddington stopped by his hometown of Salmon, Idaho to visit his mom, Vera Pohto. He was on his way from Montana, where he worked doing helicopter logging, to Boise, Idaho where he was going to pick up some belongings. He was traveling with his friend and co-worker, Michael Dauber. Michael was with Josh during this visit. They stayed for about an hour before taking off. It was the last time Vera would see her son alive. The mystery of what happened to Josh would drag on for 14 years and end with a devastating discovery. It is a macabre story that involves secrets known by many, murders among friends, an unsettling family history, and the persistence of two families who refused to let go.

Darklands is bi-weekly podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podbean. A starred review would be greatly appreciated.

Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur

Episode Music: Xylo-Ziko, “Phase 2” from Minimal, Highway 17, "Cockroach Headed Boy" from It's Sharp

Darklands is a FridaPants production.

Email: [email protected] 

Web: https://darklandspodcast.podbean.com/

Sources: https://darklandspodcast.podbean.com/p/sources

If you use mass transit as a main mode of transportation, you have likely seen the whole spectrum of human behavior. Much of the time commuting by train or bus is routine – the mundanity interrupted by small annoyances like a jostle from a fellow passenger or someone talking too loud on their phone. Other times the daily grind is broken up by witnessing incredible acts of human kindness or the unease of someone experiencing a mental health crisis. Rarely is the daily commute disrupted by a shocking act of violence that leaves two people dead and another critically wounded. But that is what happened on May 26, 2017 when three bystanders intervened to try to stop a man who was verbally assaulting two teenage girls on a crowded car of the Max Light Rail in Portland Oregon. In just a few short minutes, an act of bravery and kindness by three men would end in devastation. Much of the event would be captured in clear detail by surveillance cameras on the train and on video by multiple witnesses. It is an incident that would forever scar all of those that bore witness to the vicious attack, those that rushed forward to lend aid to the injured and the dying, and one that would weigh heavily on the heart of the city.

Darklands is bi-weekly podcast available on apple podcasts, google play, stitcher, and pod bean. A starred review would be greatly appreciated.

Sources for this episode: https://darklandspodcast.podbean.com/p/sources-1589780769/

Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur

Episode Music: Xylo-Ziko, “Phase 2” from Minimal

Darklands is a FridaPants production.

Email: [email protected]

On a drizzly, overcast day in Portland, Oregon, 1999, a couple walking their dog come upon a body in the dense undergrowth of a remote part of Forest Park. It would be the first of three bodies discarded by what was soon to be known as the Forest Park Killer. This is a case that moved quickly. The Forest Park Killer targeted a vulnerable community – street level sex workers that were also experiencing homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health issues. Law enforcement response was immediate and robust and a seemingly improbable connection made by a detective would be instrumental in identifying and capturing the killer. In the meantime, the city would take some commendable steps to protect its most vulnerable. And two months from the day of the discovery of the first body the case would be solved.

Music: Highway 17, "Cockroach-headed Boy."

Cover Art: Jeffrey Francoeur

Sources:

http://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/reed-todd-alan.htm

The Oregonian, D.R. Anderson, M. Bernstein and R. Franzen. June 14, 1999. "Drugs put slaying victims out of their families' reach."

Seattle Times. May 8, 2000. "Portraits differ on suspect in killings."

The Oregonian. July 20, 1999. "Man held in serial killings."

San Diego Source. C. Simmons. July 21, 1999. "DNA evidence links suspect to three Portland murders."

Statesman Journal. August 8, 1999. "Police think man killed others."

Shattered. Season 1, Episode 4, "The Wood." Original air date, September 13, 2017.

Wikipedia. Forest Park (Portland, Oregon).

Hate Crimes: A Report Documenting Violence against Men and Women Homeless in the U.S. January, 2000. Prepared by the National Coalition for the Homeless and The National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project.

Associated Press. H. Greimel. June 5, 1999. "Portland police say three park slayings the work of a serial killer."