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On January 25th, 2019, in the quiet town of Tomball, Texas, a seemingly ordinary morning turned into a nightmare. Elizabeth 'Liz' Barraza, a 29-year-old with dreams of a blissful anniversary trip to Florida, was setting up for a last-minute garage sale when an unimaginable act of violence unfolded. Her husband, Sergio, left for work just moments before the unspeakable tragedy struck. A black Nissan Frontier Pro-4X pulled up near the Barraza's driveway, and an unknown figure stepped out, approaching Elizabeth with apparent familiarity. Little did she know that her life was about to be cut short in the most horrific manner. Elizabeth's neighbors, going about their own routines that fateful morning, heard her friendly "good morning" to the mysterious visitor. But within seconds, the atmosphere shattered as gunshots echoed through the peaceful neighborhood, leaving Elizabeth lying in her driveway, gasping for help that never came. 

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On September 23, 2002, 18-year-old Rachel Burkheimer, was forced to watch her own grave being dug by her ex-boyfriend and his gang in foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

Rachel Burkheimer resided, worked, and attended high school in the Tulalip Reservation, spanning over 22,000 acres in Snohomish County, near Everett, Washington.

Rachel's social circles and wide-reaching connections were beyond her parents ability to keep track of. During Rachel's early years, her parents harbored concerns about her hearing, as she remained nonverbal until nearly reaching the age of three. Once she found her voice however, it seemed as though a floodgate had opened. With a vivid imagination, she excelled at mimicking others and possessed a library of amusing voices that brought endless joy and entertainment to her family.

Despite her petite stature of just 4 feet 11 inches, Rachel possessed a tremendous sense of might and independence. She had a penchant for wearing four-inch heels wherever she went, and her makeup kit was the size of a toolbox. With her infectious smile and striking bright blue eyes, she effortlessly caught the attention of those around her.

In August 2001, Rachel experienced a devastating loss when one of her best friends Cory Haynes was tragically killed in a rollover car accident. His sudden passing deeply affected her, leading her to find solace in preserving his memory. She took the death extremely hard and, in her grief, attached his pictures all over her Subaru dashboard and room. She hung his obituary on her bedroom wall.

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Welcome back to part 4 of the true story behind the Love & Death series on Max. In last week's episode we dove into murder of Betty Gore and the shocking details that unfolded. We left off on the police arresting Candy. In this week's episode we will dive into the Trial of Candy Montgomery.

After Candy was arrested news started to fly with rumors. As soon as Candy was able to post bail she did. As soon as Candy got home she stopped reading the newspapers and watching the TV news. Unknown to the Montgomerys, the community continued to support them. Pat was heartened by the way everyone stood by them, no matter what new evidence was leaked to the press. The church had been overwhelmingly supportive. Rarely a day went by that they didn’t receive at least half a dozen greeting cards and “Have a nice day” cards and “Thinking of you” cards, some of them awkwardly worded, all of them well-intentioned. People who hadn’t written or seen the Montgomerys in years were visiting Hallmark stores all over America, trying to find messages suitable for a family awaiting a murder indictment. Candy wrote replies to them all. As Candy was waiting for trial she knew that she needed to have a lawyer that would be in her corner. That is when Candy hired a lawyer she knew from church, Don Crowder, to represent her. Crowder, a partner in a small firm with attorney general Jim Mattox, usually handled personal injury work. He had never been close to a murder case before, and suddenly he had the hottest one in Texas on his hands. 

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Welcome back to part 3 of the true story behind the Love & Death series on Max. In last week's episode, we discussed the affair of Candy and Allan, the beginning and end. We left off with them parting ways and really trying to work on their marriages. In this week's episode, we'll be diving into the tragedy that took place from the actions of infidelity. I will put a warning here that this episode will be graphic and not suitable for all audiences; we will be discussing the murder and details about the events leading up to and following the event. 

As a working mother of two, Betty had a lot on her plate, but what really put a strain on her life was the postpartum depression she suffered after giving birth to her second daughter in 1979. She didn’t want to be alone even for a single night, which meant that when Allan had to travel out of town to St. Paul, Minnesota for a weekend for work in the summer of 1980, Betty wasn’t happy. This, combined with his wife’s usual routine of keeping their girls busy, is why Allan initially did not worry when his wife didn’t pick up his expected call from the airport on June 13, 1980. 

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December 12, 1978.

Candy spent that morning getting ready for the long anticipated wait. She dropped off her daughter at the little red Lovejoy schoolhouse on FM Road 1378, then she went on to Allen and dropped off her son at the Play Day Preschool. As she drove herself back home she was going to allow herself about an hour to fix the special lunch she had planned: marinated chicken, lettuce salad with cherry tomatoes and bacon bits, Thousand Island dressing, white wine, and cheesecake for dessert. She wanted everything to be perfect, she packed everything, including a tablecloth, into a picnic basket and then gathered together a few undergarments and a nightgown and slipped them into her purse. She had everything ready by ten-forty-five. At 11 on the dot she was entering Richardson in her station wagon, searching for a motel that was convenient from Allan’s office. And then she found it, the motel was right on the freeway, just two or three minutes away from Allan, called the Continental Inn.

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If you're into true crime shows, we have all watched the Love & Death series on Max starring Elizabeth Olsen. In this week's episode, we will dive into the true story of Betty Gore and Candy Montgomery. 

In the 1980s, The American suburb, with neatly mown lawns and white picket fences, children at home with their mothers, fathers at work, and friends that felt like family has long been used in pop culture as a facade of normalcy, concealing chaos and violence. This suspicion of the suburbs was partly fueled by books and real-life cases of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a cheery suburban businessman who murdered more than 30 people in the 1970s. Though in this story, we have betrayal, adultery, and murder. Two families who seem to have it all decided they might want more. This will be a four-part series on our show; I advise you to listen cautiously as we will go into different details surrounding this case. I want to ensure we cover the events of the case. 

In 1977, when Candy was 28, she and her husband, Pat Montgomery, moved to Wylie, TX, a suburb about 30 miles northeast of Dallas. Pat was an electrical engineer, and Candy was a stay-at-home mom to their two children. The center of their social world was the local Methodist church, where Candy and Pat befriended a local couple named Betty and Allan Gore. Betty was an elementary school teacher; Allan worked for an electronics conglomerate and principal defense contractor. From the outside, they seemed to be living the picturesque American Dream. 

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Berkeley Springs, WV, is a small town within the county seat of Morgan County; its also known to be referred to as the area within the town of Bath. In 2019 Berkeley Springs had a population of 593 people. It's known to be a safe community with few crimes but nothing that compares to what they were going to be hit with soon.

Riley Crossman was a gorgeous 15-year-old teenager from West Virginia. Riley was born December 22, 2003, in Martinsburg, WV, and she shared time between her parent’s homes in Martinsburg and Berkeley Springs, WV. Riley was a beautiful, innocent soul with a laugh that would fill the room. She was a natural artist, a talented dancer, and had the voice of an angel. Riley loved babies and small children; they were always drawn to her, but none more than her little sister and two younger brothers. She was helpful, caring, intelligent, stubborn, and as dramatic as teenage girls come. Riley was a beacon of light and love for her family; she was loving and kind.

In 2019, Riley was growing up and doing what most teenagers do dating. Being 15 years old, like anyone else, she had a crush on one of her schoolmates, Hayden, and the feelings were mutual. Hayden and Riley adored each other, and they started a cute kid romance. Riley’s parents adored him and were so happy that Riley had found a sweet kid. Riley’s parents were divorced, and she had to split home with both of them. While she spent time with both her parents, she would mostly stay at her mother’s place so that she could go to school there. At Riley’s mother's house, she lived with her mother and her boyfriend, Andy McCauley. Everything seemed to be going great, school was going great she just started her Freshman year and it was a great start to the next chapter of her life. Riley tried out for the gymnastics team at school and made the cut. This was exciting for her as she was a model student and what every parent would want in a child.

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In 2010, a teenager suddenly disappearance in Clayton County, Georgia, without a trace of where she might be. Candice Parchment was  15-year-old living in Clayton County, Georgia, with her mother, Caffian Hyatt. She was an aspiring writer attending Forest Park High School with a bright smile and, by all means, had a promising life ahead of her. She had a journal in which she used to write down her thoughts from the day that she experienced, and it was unknown to everyone that this very journal would be the key to the case. Candice was close to her mother following their emigration from Jamaica for a different, much better life, so it was uncharacteristic for her to suddenly leave home on April 28, 2010. When Caffian couldn’t get a hold of her daughter despite trying multiple times over a period of six hours, she decided it was time to report her missing. Like some, unfortunately, the police did not take the disappearance seriously from the beginning. As days went on, Candice's mother started to receive texts from Candice’s phone saying that she was in Tennessee and okay. But something seemed off by the messages friends and family said. If you knew Candice, you would know she did not send those messages. However, her mother knew that Candice would not just up and leave. She was someone who was very reliable and was definitely not a runaway. The police did not have any answers to give to Candice’s mother, who claimed that the texts were not from Candice and that she could not have been in Tennessee. As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, the police finally got a lead. 

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Danielle and Seren were living with Danielle's family in a mobile home rented by Robert Joseph Marzejka, Danielle's father, in Clinton Township. Danielle and Bryan shared a bedroom. Robert, their father, was sleeping in the home's living room because his son Kevin Marzejka and Erin Funk (Kevin's girlfriend) were staying in the only other bedroom. The family had resided in the home for about a month and had a history of frequent moves due to evictions for failing to rent. 


Robert did paintwork for a general contractor and his son Robert Jr worked with him most of the time, and Kevin would work when he needed the money. The contractor let the three have a white work van for jobs, but they also used it for personal purposes.

Danielle and Bryan began working the night shift at National Coney Island with a friend of Danielle's, Khriscinda Whaley. Because Danielle and Seren did not have a vehicle, Whaley drove them to and from work. On August 22, 2018, the three went to work around 9:00 p.m., and Whaley dropped Danielle and Seren off at home around 8:00 a.m. on August 23, 2018. When she dropped them off, Whaley noticed the white work van outside. Danielle’s father, Robert, left for work around 8:15 a.m., saying goodbye to Danielle. This was the last time Danielle and Bryan were seen alive.

Whaley, Danielle, and Seren were scheduled to work that evening of August 23, 2018, and Whaley was to give the other two a ride to work like normal. Around 1:00 p.m. that day, Whaley attempted to contact Danielle by Facebook Messenger to inform Danielle that she was having vehicle problems and would be unable to drive the three to work that evening. Around 5:00 p.m., Whaley sent a message to Danielle again, informing Danielle that she thought she found them a ride to work. And then, at 7:00 p.m., Whaley sent a third message to Danielle, informing Danielle the ride had fallen through. 

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“Welcome to Murder By Nature, where we discuss True Crime, Mystery disappearances, and unsolved cases! I’m Jazmin Hernandez, your host!

References:

• Medium.com
• Vice.com
• Allthingsinteresting.com
• Crimeonline.com
• Murderipdia.com
• Dailyrecord.uk
• Nytimes.com
• Reddit.com

Today is Christmas Eve, it's filled with joy and excited. Most are up cooking or baking for tonight and will be spending the evening with family and friends before settling their children down into bed for Santa to come. I know I will be in the kitchen later making my famous pumpkin rolls for Christmas eve and Christmas Day. But as we know this podcast is filled with the dark side of christmas. I was going to focus on only one story this week but decided I can do 3 short stories of murders that have taken place on christmas eve that are not well known to the general public and show have some light shined on them. 

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