'Well, what could happen in Malibu?' In an American town, people have been killed for years. Authorities hide it
'28.08.2019'
Source: Lenta.ru report
Last summer, a local resident died of a bullet wound in a park in the sunny town of Malibu. The police and the townspeople are at a loss: who needed to kill an apparently innocent person? Was this a planned attack or a fatal accident? The unexplained loss of life was far from the first tragedy that occurred in the state park. However, the authorities, despite the brutal attacks and skirmishes in the mountains, hid the threat looming over the city.
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New victim
In the early morning of June 22 of 2018 in the mountains of Santa Monica, California, a mysterious murder occurred. In one of the tents in Malibu Creek Park, 35-year-old Tristan Bodet, who was resting with two little daughters, was shot dead. Tourists who settled in the neighborhood woke up a few hours after the incident when the police arrived. Some claimed that they had heard three or four loud shots, but their sleepiness did not attach much importance to them. They had to explain: when and how they arrived at the campsite and what weapons they had with them. Forensics confirmed: Bodet died of a bullet wound.
The death of a man fit into a series of brutal killings that took place in those places in recent years. However, the Los Angeles detectives did not find strong evidence that all the crimes were connected. The roots of this intricate story go back to November 2016. Then the biologist James Rogers went to the Malibu Creek Park for camping, set up camp and fell asleep in a hammock. A burning pain in his right hand woke him. The man decided that he was bitten by some rodent or bat, and went to the hospital. Doctors vaccinated him against rabies and sent him home. When the hand had already begun to heal, he noticed pieces of metal in the wound that looked like shotguns.
In January of the following year, Melissa Tatangelo and her lover parked a car in the parking lot of Malibu Creek Park and fell asleep. In the middle of the night, they heard a loud shot and the smell of burnt metal, but both decided that everything happened in a dream. The next morning they found a hole in the rear of the car from a shotgun shot.
Local residents whispered: perhaps a dangerous criminal with firearms is walking around in their area? In the summer of 2018, people began to recall other terrible incidents of past years. It was rumored that in the 2009 year in the remote hills of California, the 24-year-old Mitris Richardson was missing. Shortly before this, a woman was detained for possession of marijuana and inappropriate behavior in one of the restaurants, but was soon released. Almost a year later, her remains were found a few kilometers from the railway station.
In 2017, the 20-year-old Elaine Park went missing. The last time she was seen in the Californian city of Calabasas. A few days later, her car with personal belongings was found on the side of the road along the Pacific coast to Malibu. The American body was never found. A month before the last murder in the tent of Malibu Creek Park, another mutilated corpse appeared with signs of violence. The deceased was lying in a tent across the road from the ill-fated park. In July 2018, another brutal murder occurred in those parts of the world.
Burial place of corpses
Investigators, faced with a series of attacks, called Malibu Creek Park the burial place of corpses. It seemed that the crimes were tied only to a certain area and had no other connection between themselves.
As the investigation progressed, new details began to appear. The driver of the Tesla electric car, who remained anonymous, said that four days before the murder of June 22, around 04: 30 in the morning, someone shot at his car. In July, residents of the area repeatedly complained to the police about gunfire, the sound of which echoed through the hills. The townspeople in fear discussed the killer’s motives and advised each other not to leave doors and windows open.
Locals refused to believe that in such beautiful places where you can meet a celebrity on every corner, a serial killer settled. A married couple living in a hilly area above the ocean, stocked up with two shotguns in case of an attack by a maniac. They sometimes gathered with their neighbors in a secluded place and practiced shooting. Some suggested that the death of a person could be an absurd accident when someone once again trained to shoot. Perhaps the man was in the wrong place at the wrong time?
But what really was that morning on June 22? Did the death of a man have a connection with the missing women and the mutilated bodies of vacationers? The police have no clues about which they could tell the frightened residents of the city. In August, investigators held a meeting and officially admitted: the investigation was at an impasse. In desperation, people made their guesses. Perhaps he was killed because of a particularly valuable and secret project on which he worked. Maybe his death is connected with drug cartels and marijuana, which was allegedly grown in remote corners of the park.
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In the wake of crime
In August, the whispering of the crowd was fueled by fresh news: an 21-year-old guy disappeared in the park area. Months later, they found the keys to his car. Locals began to fear that something extremely sinister and incomprehensible to understanding was happening in the mountains. Regional newspapers were filled with intriguing headlines and materials on the subject of murders. The family of Bodet, who died on 22 on June, expressed condolences to the relatives of the victims and chose to stay in the shade. A reward of 30 thousand dollars was offered for any information about crimes.
“The safety of visitors to the park is most important to us,” the city authorities said and soon closed the Malibu Creek park.
However, after the closure of the park, the area did not become less dangerous for local residents. Police officers received complaints about shooting in that area about nine times. In September 2018, several workers repairing the roads of Kalabasas found human remains a few kilometers from the park, but investigators were unable to identify them. Journalists from Malibu began to suspect the police of concealing crimes in order to protect the reputation of their site. In the fall, one of the sheriffs patrolling the Malibu area won the local election. What is more remarkable, when voting, statistics of current affairs were partially taken into account.
In addition to the brutal killings, near the Malibu Creek Park, someone stole food and broke into abandoned buildings. The criminal got into the recording of hidden cameras, he was monitored, but the ominous bandit was never detained. Against the background of petty offenses, shots continued to be heard in the hills. At about the same time, a park worker drove through Malibu Creek and saw a man on the side of the road who asked him to give him a lift. The stranger’s face resembled an identikit of a suspected thief, so the driver refused him. Instead, he reported the incident to a policeman. Three helicopter patrols combed the park area to no avail until dusk.
Is this the ruthless killer?
Then there was another attack on the community center. The culprit smashed a glass window and smashed a grocery vending machine in search of food. The police immediately went to the call and on the latest footprints tracked down the bandit. Finally, an 42-year-old man named Anthony Raud, dressed in all black, was caught. They found a rifle with him.
According to unofficial data, the attacker was homeless and stole food in order to survive. One of his relatives said that Raudu was arrested a second time over the past four months. Initially, he was detained for illegally crossing the border, but was soon released. The relative also added that Raud had lived in that area for 10 years and was afraid of those around him.
Rauda appeared in court in November 2018. However, at the first hearing, the man had to be removed from the courtroom, as the defendant began to scream, use profanity and knock on the walls of his cell. When the bailiffs took him out, he demanded the dismissal of the lawyer provided by the court. The locals cherished the hope that Bodet’s killer was finally found, but the shots in the middle of the night did not stop.
A week later, a fire broke out in Wolsey Canyon. The wind blew flames thousands of kilometers away, and Malibu Creek Park caught fire. For two weeks, firefighters could not cope with the disaster, hundreds of houses were damaged. The sight looked frightening: the fire turned the mountain slopes into a burnt black mess.
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Who is guilty?
At the end of December 2018, Eric Wu, the wife of the deceased Bodet, filed an application with the authorities of Los Angeles and California. She complained to law enforcement agencies that they had not warned local residents about the dangers of rest in Malibu Creek Park, despite a series of deaths. The woman claimed 90 million dollars in compensation. Police admitted the claim, but declined to comment. The case is still under investigation.
In early January of this year, authorities accused Anthony Raud of shootings recorded in the Malibu Creek area in recent years. In the end, he had to answer for ten assassination attempts, five burglaries and an attack on Tristan Bodet. His pledge amounted to 1,1 million dollars. It seemed that the police had found a scapegoat and was ready to close all the cases by hanging them on one person. According to authorities, the suspect was involved in other unsolved crimes committed almost 10 years ago.
"This bloody fever of 10 years will draw on a Hollywood movie," - said one of the detectives.
Local journalists, including Sisi Woods, continue to skeptically monitor the case. “Personally, I’m sure that the offender is still at large,” she said. At one of the hearings, a young man who was fond of camping came to the courtroom and made a statement. He claimed that he was constantly setting up camp in the Malibu Creek area, but no one had warned him of the danger. “Nobody told me anything,” he explained, adding that the authorities could indeed have made a scapegoat out of the suspect.
“This is a million percent chance”
Throughout the litigation, Erica Wu clearly understood: people are waiting for history. They need confusing events, an unexpected outcome and a logical ending. According to the widow, the public is not interested in hearing that a person died by coincidence of tragic circumstances, due to the negligence of the authorities or banal bad luck. "Everything that happened is a million percent accident," says Wu. - Tristan was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Of course, I also ask myself all these questions: “Why did this happen to us? Who is guilty? " I also assumed that those killed could get involved in an unpleasant situation and suffer. In fact, as I can judge, everything that happened is a "lightning strike."
Soon, the relatives and friends of Tristan ceased to eagerly follow the trial. “Nothing will bring Tristan back,” Pete emphasized. At the same time, of course, each of them is waiting for the final decision of the judge in the case against Anthony Rauda and the lawsuit of Erica Wu.
Rogers, who complained of a gunshot wound to his arm in November 2016, found out about Rauda’s capture and decided to return to that same park. He spoke with an employee of Malibu Creek, who admitted that "mysterious things were happening" in that area. Park workers were banned from appearing in crime scenes, especially at night. According to Rogers, the words of his interlocutor sounded in the spirit: "All this is kept in the strictest confidence."
When the man found out that Raud was accused of assaulting him, he was genuinely surprised. Such news was a revelation for another victim of a bloodthirsty criminal - Melissa Tatangelo, whose car was shot at in January 2017. According to her, then the police did not investigate any bullet hole in the back of her car. She suggested that the sheriff take a photo from the scene, but the woman did not notice that the police followed her advice. All they could offer her then was to take their business card.
Everyone realized too late
“I told my story on Facebook and warned local people about the potential dangers in those parts,” recalls Tatangelo. “But no one really listened.” This is Malibu. What can happen in Malibu, right? ”Everyone was alarmed only when Tristan Bodet died. She wrote about the attack on him on her page and received many worried comments that only made her angry. “If the city authorities did what they had to and warned the citizens, he could decide for himself whether to go to a dangerous place or not. However, he did not know anything, ”she said.
“They wanted to hide everything, because Malibu is a paradise,” Tatangelo added ironically.
In early June 2019, Los Angeles County Police Officer James Royal sued the District Police. The man claims that before the death of Tristan Bodet, from January 2017, he twice asked his superiors to warn local citizens about the impending threat. However, according to Royal, each time he was convinced that he should not get into "the problems of the state park."
After the death of a man on 22 last June, Royal was forced to speak to the public with the official position of law enforcement. Then, on behalf of the department, he said that cases of shooting in the park were in no way connected with the murder of Bodet. “There is no reason to link all crimes together,” Royal was forced to say to the assembled audience.
After the wife of the deceased filed a lawsuit against the police, in January 2019, Royal began to receive threats. He was advised not to get under his feet while the investigation was ongoing. According to the policeman, he was transferred to another sheriff’s office, located away from home. After that, the department launched an independent investigation, accusing Royal of allegedly interfering with the investigation.
Then the policeman, who was on the sidelines of the interior of the station, suggested that they were trying to intimidate him. According to his theory, the police did not want him to appear in court on the suit of the widow Wu, or tried to devalue his testimony.
“Four incidents involving firearms,” Malibu journalist Sisi Woods argues incredulously. - At least three of them are recorded in the park. However, none of them initiated the investigation. At the same time, rumors leaked into the crowd - supposedly the death of Bodet was a contract murder. And for the first time I heard about this from the police. ” The local journalist is confident that the police caught the wrong criminal, and Raud was not involved in the attack on Bodet. “They had night vision goggles. This guy has nothing to do with it, ”Woods says confidently.
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Welcome to the sinister park
Unexpectedly for local residents on 23 on May 2019, an announcement on the opening of the park’s doors on the occasion of Memorial Day appeared on the Malibu Creek website. However, the message did not mention the name of the suspected killer, Bodet and other victims. “But is it safe to appear in those parts?” Asks Woods. She recalled last October when Raud was already in custody. One of the local students found bullet marks on his car. And in March, residents of nearby areas reported that they again heard shots in the morning. The following month, an eyewitness told Woods that she had heard rifles fired in a park area.
Before the opening of the park, the journalist talked with one of the employees of Malibu Creek. “The patrolmen are scared. Nobody wants the park to start working soon, ”the insider admitted, asking him not to reveal his name. Woods argues that letting people back to where there were so many inexplicable attacks is at least thoughtless and risky.
Representatives of the Malibu Creek Park reiterate, it seems, the phrase memorized to automatism: "The safety of visitors and employees of the park is above all for us." They explain that the decision to open was agreed with the district police and local law enforcement agencies. In their opinion, terrible times are behind and there are no more threats to people.
However, until the case is closed, the locals will continue to think through stories and add fuel to the fire of the investigation. They will not stop building their theories and spreading rumors. Residents of the resort town of Malibu need a denouement. They want to know if Wu 90 will receive millions of dollars in compensation, whether they will put Raud in jail, and most importantly, who still shoots at night in the area of Malibu Creek Park.
“The police and park directors undoubtedly failed to fulfill their duties and were unable to protect visitors to Malibu Creek,” said Wu lawyer Victor George. - They did not warn the public about the danger that Tristan faced with two small daughters. We do not undertake to judge the price of the death of the father of two daughters. The decision is up to the judge. ”
22 June, on the anniversary of the death of her husband, Erica Wu gathered her daughters and left the city on a journey. “Tristan and I often put off plans for later. I regret it now, says the widow. “I don't want to live tomorrow anymore.” I know that I will fly alone with the girls, and it will be hard for me, but life will not end there. Any, but it will be a journey. At least we will leave here. A year ago, I would never have boarded a plane with my daughters and never flew abroad. But life goes on. Everything will be fine".
