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unexplained disappearances 44 year old jeanette castraon suffered from a disability that made it very
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difficult to walk and travel on her own in june 2015 while waiting as her mother
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took a brief stop at a park restroom jeanette vanished she would not be the last
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joining investigative journalist tavia mchenry as she uncovers the secrets behind jeanette's sudden disappearance
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with interviews from jeanette's family law enforcement and criminal behaviour experts otavia uncovers much more in the
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search for jeanette castreon than she anticipated a twisted labyrinth where the most
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beautiful scenery hides sinister secrets the labyrinth is a case file presents podcast available now for free only on
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spotify stay tuned until the end of this episode to hear the official trailer and be sure
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to follow the labyrinth on spotify our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
00:02:18
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website it was still dark on the morning of
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monday november 15 2004 when the alarm clock rang next to peter porco's bedside the 52 year old stirred before leaning
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over to silence the alarm so it wouldn't wake his wife joan who was sleeping beside him
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a chill greeted peter as he lifted himself out of bed so he pulled on a sweater before heading down the hallway
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to the main bathroom peter stood at the vanity and looked at his reflection in the mirror
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his eyes lowered to the sink in front of him where he noticed several drops of blood
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he collected a handful of tissues and attempted to clean the mess the blood smeared across the porcelain
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but didn't wipe away completely peter gave up and left the tissues in the sink he then went downstairs to the kitchen
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to prepare for work peter thumbed through some mail unloaded the dishwasher and took some food out of
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the fridge to make his lunch as he went about his morning routine peter kept noticing drops of blood
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everywhere he went some he attempted to wipe up with tissues others he left altogether
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peter then headed outside to collect the daily newspaper that had been delivered
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to his front porch as he stepped out to grab it the front door shut behind him and locked him out
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this wasn't a problem as there was a spare key underneath a flower pot by the door
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as peter retrieved the key and used it to re-enter the house large droplets of blood dotted the porch steps
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he left the key in the lock and let the door close behind him though it remained slightly ajar
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peter took a few steps back towards the kitchen but was unable to stand upright any
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longer he collapsed forward landing at the foot of the staircase [Music] [Music]
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peter and the germ porco lived a simple and happy life in delmar a suburb approximately 150 miles north of new
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york city they took great pride in their cream and olive weatherboard home which joan kept
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spotless and organized the porcos treated their jobs with equal care and respect
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both were aged in their 50s and had worked in their respective fields for decades
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joan as a speech pathologist for a local elementary school and peter as a law clerk at the new york supreme court
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peter who was known as gentlepeta around the courthouse had never missed a shift
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without informing his colleagues so on november 15 2004 when he failed to show up for work without explanation
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concerns grew calls were placed to the porco's family home but there was no answer
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peter's workmate michael headed to the residence to make sure everything was all right
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michael drove down the quiet and leafy broccoli drive and pulled up in front of the porco's two-story house
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the street everything appeared to be in order michael pulled out his cell phone and
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dialed the porco's home number twice but nothing stirred within the house michael then called his boss who
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encouraged him to go up and knock on the front door michael kept his boss on the line as he
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headed up the driveway and immediately realised something was amiss the front door was slightly ajar and a
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key had been left in the lock worse still a large smear of blood was visible on the doorknob and several
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droplets were splattered around the porch michael could hear the porco's pet golden retriever barking from somewhere
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inside he asked his boss whether he should go in and was told to enter with caution
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michael carefully peered into the foyer before informing his boss this is a crime scene
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call an ambulance at the base of the stairs peter porco was lying motionless on the tiled floor
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his eyes open and glazed blood from a severe head injury had soaked his clothes and was smeared all
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around him including along the walls and on some interior doors someone had walked through the blood
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leaving red footprints throughout the crime scene paramedic kevin robert was driving his
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ambulance in a nearby street when he received a call notifying him of the situation unfolding on broccoli drive
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he reached the porco house and was summoned to the first floor by a detective who had arrived minutes
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earlier kevin carefully stepped around peter porco's lifeless body ascended the stairs and entered the main bedroom
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inside joan porco was lying horizontally across a blood-soaked bed the walls above her were splattered in
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blood as were the bedside tables jones upper arms and hands had lacerations indicative of defensive
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wounds but it was her head that had bore the brunt of the attack one of her eyes was split in half and
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the side of her jaw was hanging from her face joan had been struck three times to her
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face and head while she was sleeping the direction of the cast off indicated only one assailant had carried out the
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violent assault lying at the foot of the bed was an axe covered in blood the assailant had unleashed the same axe
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on peter porco a total of 16 times as this was 13 more hits than his wife it appeared as though peter was the
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intended victim judging by the amount of blood trailed throughout the house it was initially
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thought that peter had tried to run from his attacker who chased him and hit him
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repeatedly until he collapsed but the bloody footprints throughout the house only belonged to peter
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he wasn't being pursued by anyone a medical examiner was able to shed light on the bizarre scenario that took
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place in the house that morning an autopsy showed that peter had sustained severe damage to part of the
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brain responsible for higher order functions such as perception decision-making and language
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however the part of the brain that controls primal instinct and well-formed habits was undamaged
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what actually happened was that like his wife peter was set upon while in bed the killer had fled after carrying out
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the attack unaware that peter was still alive shortly after peter awoke to the sound
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of his alarm clock the part of his brain that would otherwise perceive his injured state was
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too damaged to function properly so even when he stared at his caved in skull in the bathroom mirror and began
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cleaning up his own dripping blood peter was unable to comprehend that he was critically hurt and needed urgent
00:11:00
medical attention however his brain was still functioning in some capacity allowing him to carry
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out his morning routine on instinct alone until he succumbed to blood loss this was not the first time that
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detective chris baudish had attended the porco house almost two years prior he was called to
00:11:28
the address following reports of a burglary peter and joan had been awaiting the
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detective on their front porch they were stressed having just discovered that two laptops had been
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stolen from their house the offender had seemingly gained access via the garage window by opening its
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frame and cutting through its mesh screen in a semi-circular manner lack of evidence prevented any arrests
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for the break-in but it did prompt peter and joan to bolt the window shut and install a home security system
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in a town with a low crime rate the burglary had stuck in detective baudish's mind and when peter and joan
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were found brutally attacked he suspected a link between the two incidents in both cases the mesh screen of a
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window leading to the garage had been cut in a similar semi-circular manner but during the murders the intruder had
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also cut the home's phone line they also smashed the lcd screen of the security system in the foyer
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only a single foreign fingerprint was found at the crime scene it was uncovered on the door leading to
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the basement where the couple's dog had been locked away not even the murder weapon contained any
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foreign dna or prince it was clear the killer had been cautious not to leave behind any
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evidence that could result in them being identified but to assume this was a burglary gone
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wrong didn't quite add up everything in the house was in its usual place and nothing had been rummaged or
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rifled through jones purse complete with credit cards was lying untouched in the kitchen
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aside from the bloodstains the house was in pristine condition it appeared a far more sinister motive
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than robbery was at play this time the intimacy of the crime from the choice of murder weapon to the victim's
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wounds being centered around the head indicated something more personal prompted the attack
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[Music] years earlier peter had been working as an appellate judge when he received a
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death threat from a man who was given an unfavorable ruling peter took the threat seriously and
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obtained a handgun for protection he kept it by his bedside table but as time passed and no action was taken
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against him his worries dissipated eventually peter stored the gun away in a closet
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following the murders the man who had made the death threat was tracked down but cleared from the investigation after
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providing a solid alibi peter also had unlikely ties to the criminal underworld in that his great
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uncle frank porco was a known new york mobster thirty years prior frank had arrived at
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peter and jones wedding dripping in gold jewelry flaunting large amounts of cash
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and had a revolver strapped to his leg there were rumors that frank had snitched on his fellow mobsters leading
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to the belief that peter and joan could have been targeted in retribution this theory was bolstered by the fact
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that the perpetrator had used the firemen's axe which was symbolic given that frank porco was known within
00:15:13
criminal circles as frankie the firemen however further examination of the acts revealed
00:15:22
that it was not a fireman's axe as initially believed but a regular one taken from the porco's garage that they
00:15:29
had purchased at a local hardware store additionally frank porco had children so
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it didn't make sense that anyone wishing to send him a cruel message would target
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his great nephew instead frank also had a history of refusing to cooperate with authorities casting
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doubts that he was an informer the theory that frank porco was in some way responsible for the attack on peter
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and joan just didn't add up then a month after the axe attack an envelope arrived at the headquarters of
00:16:08
the times union newspaper in albany a city north of delmar as an employee handled it a fine white
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powder poured out from one of the corners they immediately notified the police inside was a letter from someone
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claiming responsibility for peter porco's death and stating that he was a starting point
00:16:34
it read peter was not even a challenge once i got inside i repeatedly hit him in the head and neck with a small axe
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i ignored all his pleading screams if you ever want to find me you might want to stop going after easy suspects
00:16:54
show me some respect i deserve catch me if you can tests revealed that the white powder was
00:17:04
a non-harmful substance analysis of the letter failed to uncover any fingerprints or other
00:17:11
characteristics that could help identify its author a police lieutenant told the media he
00:17:17
wouldn't classify the letter as a break in the case rather just another avenue they were
00:17:23
investigating what the lieutenant didn't disclose was that police had quickly ruled the letter
00:17:31
out as a hoax they were already zeroing in on who they strongly suspected was responsible for
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the murders a person who had been identified by joan porco herself detective chris baudish had been the
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first officer to arrive to the porco's house following the discovery of the crime scene
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he immediately carried out a rudimentary sweep of the downstairs rooms while he didn't come across any
00:18:06
intruders he found the porco's pet dog locked in the basement bardish then headed up to the first
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floor to canvas the rooms there he arrived at the main bedroom to find the badly beaten body of joan porco
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shockingly jones hand weakly raised into the air not only was she still alive but she was
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still conscious she motioned for badish to enter he asked if she could hear him although joan was unable to speak due to
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her injuries she was able to communicate by nodding and shaking her head fearing joan would pass away before
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paramedics arrived detective baudish began asking her questions in a desperate bid to gather key evidence
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he asked if a family member had done this to her joan nodded he asked if it was jonathan
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joan motioned with her hand no detective baudish then asked if her other younger son christopher was
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responsible joan nodded burdish repeated the question again joan signaled yes at 2 45 that afternoon a reporter for
00:19:39
the times union newspaper placed a call to the university of rochester in west new york state
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21 year old christopher porco was enrolled to study biomedical engineering and economics there
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when he answered the call the reporter asked chris if he had any comment to give in relation to his parents being
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killed it was the first chris had been informed of the attack he asked the reporter what she was
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talking about she said she couldn't tell him anything and would call him back chris dropped the phone in shock
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he sat around in his dorm room waiting to hear back but the phone didn't ring after composing himself he phoned
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911 for an explanation while the operator tried to ascertain what had happened chris received a text
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from his girlfriend news had spread that his parents house had been cordoned off with police tape
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and officials were swarming the area chris was completely unaware that police had issued an alert to be on the lookout
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for him with the report urging officers to use caution as chris might be armed an uncle picked chris up from campus and
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drove him to delmar the near four-hour journey was a solemn one chris dazed and visibly shaken stared
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out the passenger window barely speaking a word paramedics fought hard to save joan
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porco but had trouble placing an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose as they couldn't make out her facial features
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her blood pressure was almost non-existent and brain matter was visible through the wounds in her skull
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she was rushed to hospital to undergo emergency surgery but the situation was dire
00:21:55
chris porco arrived at the hospital while his mother was undergoing treatment he was immediately swarmed and hugged by
00:22:04
friends and relatives who had gathered in the waiting room awaiting news of jones stayed
00:22:10
at one stage a family friend broke the news to chris that he was a suspect in the attack
00:22:18
shocked chris asked how anyone could think he would hurt his parents peter and joan porco were a loving
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couple who made sure that their children never went without by 2004 the porcos were empty nesters
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though remained close to both their sons jonathan and christopher christopher had inherited his father's
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looks and magnetic sociable personality described as a popular and charming person who was always smiling chris was
00:22:54
also intelligent scoring in the top 95 percentile nationally following his high school graduation
00:23:02
a member of the local church youth group his university swim team and a former vet technician
00:23:09
chris was a hard worker with many interests to friends chris had no discernible reason to murder his parents
00:23:20
he spoke positively of his affluent childhood and took his friends on driving tours of his old neighborhood to
00:23:27
point out the mansion he'd grown up in in fact chris was so well off that he'd let it
00:23:33
slip that he had 2.8 million dollars in a trust account held in the cayman islands
00:23:40
he'd also purchased an impressive home in north carolina he happily shared his wealth sharing his
00:23:48
friends with gifts and shouting them drinks from a stockpile of cash he always kept on him
00:23:56
however it hadn't always been smooth sailing for chris porco in 2002 a prolonged bout of glandular
00:24:05
fever caused him a temporary setback but with the unwavering support and help of his parents he was able to recover
00:24:13
and return to his studies joan would make the seven hour round trip to rochester whenever she could to
00:24:22
look after chris during his recovery it was clear to all those who knew peter and joan porco that they loved their
00:24:31
children when chris saw the swollen and maimed state his mother was in following the
00:24:40
axe attack he burst into tears and fell to the floor as joan was taken into surgery
00:24:48
chris was met by a detective and agreed to go to the police station for questioning
00:24:55
throughout the interrogation chris was polite and cooperative although he returned to del mar
00:25:02
periodically to visit his parents he hadn't stayed with them for three weeks he denied involvement in the brutal
00:25:10
attack and provided an alibi for the night in question at 9 30 pm chris went out to dinner with
00:25:19
a friend in rochester before returning to the on-campus dormitory where he lived
00:25:25
he exchanged online messages with his girlfriend then settled into the dorm's common room to watch a movie
00:25:33
it went on into the early hours during which chris fell asleep on the sofa he was still sleeping there when another
00:25:42
student entered at 10 a.m the following morning chris had nothing to hide he let police
00:25:50
take his fingerprints and blood for testing when asked to lift his shirt so they
00:25:56
could check for superficial injuries that might indicate his involvement in the attack chris was happy to do so
00:26:04
he also supplied the clothing he was wearing so it could undergo analysis his car was also seized
00:26:14
yet neither his vehicle nor his clothes contained blood or hair from either one of his parents
00:26:20
as would be expected from such a violent crime despite his cooperation chris sensed the
00:26:29
police were convinced he was guilty peter and jones eldest son 23 year old jonathan was away on assignment with the
00:26:38
us navy at the time so as far as police were concerned there weren't any other viable suspects
00:26:47
for chris his interrogators seemed to be getting angrier and angrier as the hours
00:26:52
passed they accused him over and over to the point that he became afraid of them
00:26:59
he continued to help investigators but was rattled by their unwavering suspicion
00:27:06
he agreed to participate in a polygraph test but refused to do so without an attorney present
00:27:13
[Music] this request along with his right to legal counsel during his interrogation
00:27:19
was denied chris wasn't even read his full miranda rights instead he was forced to sign a copy
00:27:29
that he didn't have time to read after six hours chris was finally permitted to leave the police station
00:27:39
he returned to the hospital to check on his mother against all odds joan porco survived her 12-hour surgery
00:27:49
and was placed into a medically induced coma though doctors didn't expect her to
00:27:54
recover a priest rather joan her last riots in anticipation of her death three weeks later
00:28:11
joan porco miraculously awoke she had lost her left eye part of her skull had been removed and
00:28:20
her face was permanently scarred damage to her throat left her with a quiet whispering voice
00:28:28
but she had survived the problem was joan had no memory of the attack she remembered what she'd done in the
00:28:40
days leading up such as visiting the ymca working in the yard and going to church
00:28:47
but recalled nothing of november 15. most crucially she couldn't recall identifying her youngest son as her
00:28:56
attacker and denied ever doing so she knew in her heart that chris was innocent joan did remember a strange incident
00:29:09
that occurred two weeks prior one night the motion sensor lights outside the porco's home went off
00:29:18
joan went to investigate and noticed a shadowy figure loitering in the driveway the police including detective baudish
00:29:27
were informed of the incident but didn't investigate the matter jones instincts told her that there was
00:29:35
more to this encounter than the police believed yet they continued to try and convince
00:29:41
her of chris's guilt joan remained steadfast chris was not responsible she wrote a letter to the editor of the
00:29:53
times union newspaper which read thanks to wonderful doctors numerous medical treatments and surgeries
00:30:02
i have survived i continue to improve and even though i have suffered a grievous injury both
00:30:10
physical and emotional i thank a god for my life unfortunately the horror and unbearable sadness i
00:30:19
continue to feel as a result of the loss of peter has been dramatically intensified by the trauma that our
00:30:26
cherished son chris has been forced to endure i want to say unequivocally that although i have no memory whatsoever of
00:30:37
the attack either because i was asleep or because of my injuries i am absolutely positive that my son was
00:30:46
in no way involved in this heinous crime he is an intelligent compassionate peaceful and loving person and no one
00:30:55
could ask for a better son he peter our older son jonathan and i have always had a wonderful relationship
00:31:06
and chris would never hurt any one of us i implore the police and the district attorney's office to leave my son alone
00:31:15
and to search for peter's real killer or killers so that he can rest in peace and my sons
00:31:22
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hundred dollars or more forty four-year-old jeanette castreon suffered from a disability that made it
00:35:15
very difficult to walk and travel on her own in june 2015 while waiting as her mother
00:35:22
took a brief stop at a park restroom jeanette vanished she would not be the last
00:35:31
join investigative journalist otavia mchenry as she uncovers the secrets behind jeanette's sudden disappearance
00:35:40
with interviews from jeanette's family law enforcement and criminal behaviour experts otavia uncovers much more in the
00:35:48
search for janette castreon than she anticipated a twisted labyrinth where the most
00:35:55
beautiful scenery hides sinister secrets the labyrinth is a case file presents podcast available now for free only on
00:36:05
spotify stay tuned until the end of this episode to hear the official trailer and be sure
00:36:12
to follow the labyrinth on spotify hi um my name is chris porgo i was just called by the times union saying that my
00:36:29
parents were found dead this afternoon um i was wondering any information for me hey clarkson what about you
00:36:36
i'm at school in rochester new york okay here it's in rochester yes okay do you have a phone number there chris
00:36:45
yeah i sure do um okay are you in a dorm there yes i am okay and you are hearing from the time junior
00:36:54
yeah they called me and said my parents were found um i guess i don't know they didn't say how or
00:37:00
anything at around 3 p.m on november 15 2004 chris's girlfriend checked her messages
00:37:10
and saw she had a text from him it read my parents are dead she had been messaging chris on and off
00:37:20
throughout the day aware that a situation was unravelling at his parents place in delmar
00:37:26
he had messaged her earlier telling her that he wasn't feeling well and that quote
00:37:32
he hadn't heard from his parents all morning and that he was nervous chris didn't message his girlfriend
00:37:40
again after revealing that his parents were deceased his uncle john picked him up from campus
00:37:47
and drove him straight to delmar as they neared their destination john received a call from a family
00:37:55
friend he had something important to say but it was imperative that he keep it from chris
00:38:04
chris was a suspect in his parents attack chris cooperated with investigators saying that he wanted to be as helpful
00:38:14
as he could so they could find the killer as quickly as possible when asked if he committed the brutal
00:38:21
assault chris replied you know i can't say enough absolutely no i would never do anything like that to
00:38:30
anyone let alone my parents who i love dearly following joan porco's life-saving
00:38:39
surgery chris stood vigil by her side a youth minister comforted him and was struck by chris's odd behavior
00:38:49
he didn't sense any grief from the young man just over 200 miles west detectives were
00:38:58
following up chris's alibi at his dormitory in rochester chris maintained he was asleep on the
00:39:06
common room so far on the night of the attack while another student recalled seeing
00:39:11
him asleep on the sofa at 10 am no one could vouch for him being there overnight
00:39:18
several other students claimed they had been in the common room until 3 30 a.m and at no time was chris present
00:39:27
it was only a small square room with a few couches and a television so he would be impossible to miss
00:39:36
one student assured it's not like maybe he was there and we overlooked him he wasn't there
00:39:49
it was approaching 11 o'clock on the night of november 14 2004 marking the end of a long shift for toll collector
00:39:57
john fallon john stood alone in a booth at the exit 46 tolls in the suburb of henrietta just
00:40:06
off the new york state thruway craving a cigarette john discreetly lit one up while keeping an eye out in case
00:40:15
his boss suddenly approached at 10 46 pm a bright yellow jeep wrangler caught jon's attention
00:40:25
he'd been on the lookout for a new car for his son and had always loved jeeps this one was a particularly nice model
00:40:34
and john noted its wide tyres and black canvas top it drove through john's toll lane and
00:40:41
pulled up to the booth where he was waiting the driver was a white man aged in his
00:40:48
twenties wearing a baseball cap he was traveling alone although cashless tolling was available
00:40:56
to vehicles that had an electronic easy pass tag installed this driver didn't appear to have one
00:41:04
instead he opted to pay for the toll with cash john hindered him a ticket which gave
00:41:11
the jeep access to the new york state throughway a system of controlled access highways spanning over 550 miles across
00:41:20
the state he then let the jeep continue onwards before stubbing out his cigarette and
00:41:27
finishing his shift just over three hours later toll collector karen russell was preparing to
00:41:36
go on her break her booth was located 230 miles west of henrietta at exit 24 of interstate 87
00:41:46
just outside the suburb of delmar karen was working the 10 p.m to 6 a.m shift when at 1 51 am she noticed the
00:41:57
car speeding down her lane it came to an abrupt stop at her booth karen eyed the driver it was a young man
00:42:07
with brown hair she collected a toll ticket from him and sent him on his way he hit the accelerator and sped off into
00:42:17
the darkness although karen ticketed 24 more vehicles before she finally went on her break
00:42:27
she never forgot this one given that the car was traveling so fast and dangerously
00:42:34
karen remembered the yellow jeep wrangler vividly broccoli drive in delmar was predictably
00:42:44
dark and quiet at 4 00 am on november 15 2004 when local resident marshall got in
00:42:51
his car to head off for work for a moment his headlights swept over his neighbor's property
00:43:00
they illuminated a yellow jeep wrangler parked in the driveway marshall had seen the vehicle before
00:43:08
speeding up and down the street with music glaring although it had caught marshall's
00:43:14
attention as it sat stationary in front of the home belonging to peter and joan porco it wasn't an unusual sighting
00:43:22
he knew who owned the car as such he thought nothing of it and continued onwards
00:43:31
the sighting of the yellow jeep in the porco's driveway at the time of the attack was a crucial one for detectives
00:43:40
they were able to trace its movements through the toll booths which had been captured on cctv footage
00:43:47
while the footage wasn't clear enough for the jeep's number plates to be visible a video analyst was able to
00:43:54
enhance the footage enough to notice some clues marred on the passenger side door a torn
00:44:00
barcode sticker on the passenger side window and an oval sticker on the spare tyre cover
00:44:09
there was little doubt at this stage who the car belonged to but these small details confirmed it
00:44:17
the day after his parents were attacked chris porco's yellow jeep wrangler was seized for forensic examination
00:44:27
photographs of the jeep were compared to the vehicle caught traveling from henrietta to delmar the night of the
00:44:33
attack they were a match marshall who had sighted the jeep in the porco's driveway also identified it as
00:44:43
chris porco's car henrietta was a suburb of the city of rochester where chris studied
00:44:54
in a fortunate break for detectives new security cameras had been installed throughout the exterior of the campus
00:45:02
including the car parks they examined 880 hours of footage during which chris's yellow jeep
00:45:11
wrangler was filmed leaving the campus at 10 30 pm on november 14. hours before the attack
00:45:20
this timing aligned with the 15 minutes it took the vehicle to travel to the exit 46 tollbooth where the jeep was
00:45:27
captured on camera and witnessed by toll collector john fallon it then drove near three hours east
00:45:35
towards delmar before karen russell at exit 24 centered onwards from her toll booth
00:45:44
at 8 30 a.m chris's jeep was filmed pulling in to the university of rochester car park
00:45:51
shortly thereafter chris was sighted by another student wearing a baseball cap and slowly jogging towards his dormitory
00:46:00
at 10 am a fellow resident saw him sleeping on the common room so far an electronic easy pass tag was found on
00:46:11
the floor of chris's jeep this would have enabled him to drive through the tollbooths without having to
00:46:17
stop and pay cash it was suspected he had removed it from its usual position on the windshield and
00:46:25
opted for the manual ticketed toll system to avoid being digitally tracked in another lucky break for investigators
00:46:34
the toll tickets collected on the night of the attack hadn't yet been destroyed one contained mitochondrial dna that
00:46:43
undisputedly linked it to chris while the porco's home security system had been smashed its records revealed it
00:46:54
had first been disarmed using the master code chris was one of only six people who
00:47:01
knew the code police suspected that he smashed the system's screen to fool them into
00:47:09
thinking that the intruder had disarmed the device this way they also suspected he had worn a pair
00:47:16
of scrubs obtained from his time working in the veterinary clinic to avoid soiling his clothes with his parents
00:47:23
blood his extensive work in cleaning up after veterinary procedures would have given
00:47:29
him ample skills to clean up a bloody crime scene and any staining in his car in a final blow to chris's professions
00:47:39
of innocence the fingerprint on the basement door was matched to his own [Music]
00:47:48
despite joan porco refuting that she had implicated her son in the immediate aftermath of her attack detective
00:47:55
baudish remained firm that chris porco was responsible he recalled the time he visited the
00:48:03
porco residence years prior to investigate the matter of the two stolen laptops although the house had all the hallmarks
00:48:12
of a burglary baudish was certain the crime scene was staged his suspicions only increased after the
00:48:22
axe attack similar to the laptop robbery a mesh window screen had been slashed in the
00:48:29
garage indicating the intruder's entry point however the garage window had since been bolted
00:48:37
shut and was also covered in cobwebs it was clear no one had come through there and that the mesh had been cut
00:48:46
from the inside shortly before his parents were attacked chris porco attempted to sell a laptop
00:48:55
he stole from a friend furthermore just prior to the attack on peter and joan the veterinary clinic
00:49:04
chris previously worked for reported some electronic devices and a cell phone had been stolen
00:49:11
the intruder had staged the scene at the veterinary clinic to look like a break-in by shattering a window
00:49:19
they had disarmed the alarm and reactivated it after stealing the goods the clinic's cell phone was later found
00:49:28
in the porco family safe this was the beginning of an elaborate web of lies surrounding chris porco
00:49:40
his family were never wealthy like he boasted to france and he didn't have over 2 million dollars in an offshore
00:49:48
bank account according to the cbs 48 hours documentary memory of murder every time chris's friends asked to see
00:49:58
the mansion he claimed to have purchased in north carolina he came up with an excuse as to why he couldn't take them
00:50:06
when he took them on tours to view his lavish childhood homestead they suspected he was pointing out a random
00:50:13
house he'd never lived in they found chris's stories exaggerated and hard to believe
00:50:21
but he did always seem to have cash on him and was quote such a lovely guy that they gave him the benefit of the doubt
00:50:31
these lies seemed relatively harmless and only served as a means for chris to grandstand his otherwise ordinary life
00:50:40
however there was one lie that hinted at a deeper problem chris had with confronting the reality of his life
00:50:47
decisions according to his friends rather than having a bout of glandular fever that set back his studies
00:50:56
chris often skipped classes due to partying and excessive drinking after being asked to leave the
00:51:04
university of rochester due to poor performance chris enrolled in community college but once again failed to attend
00:51:14
not wanting his parents to find out he lied to them telling them he passed and had been accepted back into the
00:51:21
university of rochester in reality chris forged a fake transcript giving himself three a's and a b to get back
00:51:31
into university when he returned chris told his parents that he'd never failed any subjects in
00:51:39
the first place but had mistakenly been asked to leave after a professor lost an
00:51:44
exam he had taken chris told peter and joan that to make up for the mistake the university
00:51:52
offered to pay the tuition fees for a full semester this was a complete lie on october 7 2004 six weeks before the
00:52:05
attack chris asked his father for help to secure a two thousand dollar loan to pay for some school expenses
00:52:13
peter agreed and sent personal information to chris so he could become a co-signatory
00:52:20
instead chris used this information to secure a 31 000 loan and forged his father's signature on the application
00:52:31
peter discovered this when a letter arrived at his house informing him that the loan had been approved
00:52:38
furious peter rang the bank and cancelled the loan he then rang the university of rochester
00:52:46
finance department who assured peda that the university was not paying for chris's semester of tuition
00:52:54
as a result peter paid for the tuition himself a few weeks later chris showed up to
00:53:03
visit his parents in a brand new yellow jeep wrangler he told them it had been gifted to him
00:53:10
in exchange for some used computers reality chris had forged his father's signature to obtain a loan for the
00:53:18
amount of sixteen thousand four hundred and fifty dollars to purchase the jeep in good faith peter agreed to remain
00:53:27
co-signatory on the loan allowing chris to keep the car however chris soon fell behind in the
00:53:36
loan repayments ten days before the attack peter emailed chris explaining that he
00:53:43
needed to pay for the outstanding repayments to avoid their credit ratings being adversely affected
00:53:50
the email ended mum's been trying to email you but you have not answered you have a lot of explaining to do
00:54:00
it's time to stop the [ __ ] and call me right away shortly after peter sent another email
00:54:09
explaining that he'd reluctantly paid the loan repayments for chris he wrote i want you to know that if you abuse my
00:54:19
credit again i will be forced to file forgery affidavits in order to disclaim liability
00:54:27
one week before the attack chris still hadn't contacted his parents jones sent him an email that read
00:54:37
dad and i are very upset about your not communicating with us we don't know if you are well or
00:54:44
mentally stable dad is about to have a nervous breakdown do you understand that you are not
00:54:51
behaving responsibly for god's sakes call detectives worked on the theory that these ongoing financial issues were what
00:55:03
motivated chris to launch the brutal attack on his parents on the morning of the crime his bank
00:55:10
accounts were overdrawn by 117 dollars but just weeks prior he had visited a financial advisor and said he was about
00:55:20
to receive millions of dollars from a relative he requested that a portfolio be drawn
00:55:27
up detectives believed chris didn't want to give up their lavish lifestyle he had
00:55:34
falsely created for himself and would go to great lengths to maintain it killing his parents for their life
00:55:41
insurance policies on november 4 2005 almost a year after peter and joan porco were attacked
00:55:55
chris porco was formally arrested for the crime a grand jury indicted him for the second
00:56:02
degree murder of his father and attempted murder of his mother he appeared calm and collected as he was
00:56:10
led from the courtroom in handcuffs and taken into custody to await a bail hearing set for two weeks time
00:56:18
the upcoming trial presented an unusual problem for the prosecution joan porco was aware of the mountain of
00:56:26
evidence that implicated chris regardless she was unwaveringly convinced of his innocence
00:56:35
she thought a financial motive was ludicrous and was unwilling to help the prosecution at all
00:56:42
district attorney david soares told reporters ultimately the issue here is in order to
00:56:50
get justice for joan porco we have to find her son guilty this was regardless of whether it came
00:56:58
with the jones blessing joan fully supported her son to be released on bail pending trial
00:57:07
in a letter to the judge she wrote even though i am still in the process of recovering from the attack i have had
00:57:16
many occasions to be with chris during all of those times he has been the same loving person that peter and i
00:57:24
raised and continues to treat me with the same respect that he showed before the attack
00:57:31
i have no fear being in his presence family and friends managed to collect 250 000 cash to meet chris's bail
00:57:43
requirements he walked from the courthouse flashing a smile at reporters who asked how he was
00:57:51
doing he replied i feel pretty good actually and i just want you to know i'm innocent
00:58:01
chris spent the following weekend at a hotel with his mother who was delighted to see him
00:58:08
while awaiting trial he spent his time going to clubs in downtown albany where he had become somewhat of a celebrity
00:58:16
due to the extensive local reporting on the case girls asked to have their photo taken
00:58:23
with him eager to show friends they had met the man accused of murder on june 27 2006
00:58:34
chris porco arrived at the orange county courthouse accompanied by his mother the venue had been changed from albany
00:58:43
after his attorneys successfully argued he wouldn't get a fair trial in his home
00:58:48
county due to the extensive media interest in the case chris held an umbrella out for joan as
00:58:56
they walked into the courthouse arming arm joan looked thin and frail next to her
00:59:02
tall and strapping sun she wore large dark sunglasses that hid the glass eye and some of the scarring
00:59:10
to her face she had received from the attack despite her efforts to remain relatively
00:59:17
inconspicuous joan was a major focus in her son's trial the defense argued that she couldn't
00:59:26
have identified chris as her attacker as it was too dark in the bedroom when the
00:59:30
assault took place they also argued that jones cognitive abilities should have been assessed
00:59:38
before detective bowdish questioned her in the bedroom to make sure she understood what was being asked
00:59:45
even though joan denied implicating her son multiple paramedics were present in the
00:59:51
bedroom when baudish questioned her they all verified his version of events joan had agreed chris was her assailant
01:00:04
the defense also highlighted joan's story of having seen a stranger in her driveway two weeks before the attack
01:00:12
they were critical of the police for not investigating this incident at the time
01:00:17
suggesting detective baudish in particular was sloppy in his work the prosecution called the defense's
01:00:25
claim of shoddy police work preposterous revealing that over 200 neighbours in the vicinity of the porco house were
01:00:33
interviewed after the crime but the police were not entirely without fault the trial judge established that the
01:00:43
interview conducted with chris on the day of the attack was inadmissible due to the errors made in not reading
01:00:50
chris his miranda rights silence filled the courtroom as peter and jones eldest son jonathan porco took
01:01:01
the stand avoiding eye contact with his brother while he initially stood by chris
01:01:09
john admitted that he and chris had a strange relationship he didn't elaborate any further
01:01:18
john also revealed that they were both aware they stood to inherit over 1 million dollars in life insurance and
01:01:25
benefits in the event of their parents death when photos of the critically injured
01:01:32
joan were flashed on a courtroom screen chris porco removed his glasses to wipe away tears
01:01:40
the photos were so graphic that the judge ordered them to be shown in black and white rather than colour
01:01:48
during breaks joan often went over to embrace chris and the two were seen smiling together
01:01:57
after 85 witnesses and 450 pieces of evidence were presented the defense team contended that the
01:02:04
prosecution hadn't proved its case due to a circumstantial timeline of events and a lack of forensic evidence
01:02:13
they cited that no blood or dna was found in the house to link chris to the crimes
01:02:21
the one thing placing chris in the house his fingerprint on the basement door could be easily explained by his
01:02:29
multiple visits to the home prior to the crime on august 10 the jury left the courtroom
01:02:41
to decide chris porco's fate while they were deliberating reporters asked chris what he would tell the jury
01:02:49
members if he had the chance chris urged them not to jump to conclusions saying once you look at the whole picture i
01:03:00
think it's pretty clear that things just don't add up deliberation was expected to be a long
01:03:08
and drawn out process but six hours in the jury shocked everyone by returning to the courtroom
01:03:15
with a verdict anticipating a lengthy deliberation joan porco had retired to rest in her nearby
01:03:24
hotel room and wasn't present when the verdict was announced for the second degree murder of his
01:03:32
father peter and the attempted murder of his mother joan chris porco was found guilty
01:03:40
[Music] he remained calm as the verdict was read but his nonchalant attitude was betrayed
01:03:48
by his face which turned bright red [Music] despite winning a conviction the chief
01:03:55
assistant district attorney said there was no cause for celebration as quote the whole thing is a tragedy
01:04:05
peter's sister paddy expressed the sense of relief telling the media that their next challenge would be to pick up the
01:04:13
pieces and try to rebuild as a family two months later chris appeared at the albany county courthouse for sentencing
01:04:25
while joan asked for leniency towards her son paddy read a victim impact statement
01:04:31
that said this act was the coldest most barbaric act any human being can commit against
01:04:39
another i am so angry that my future with my brother has been taken away and especially that after giving years of
01:04:48
his life for others he did not get to live out his own dreams and potential a letter from peter's mother was also
01:04:57
read out to the courtroom in it she said i do not fully understand what happened
01:05:04
to my grandson and i hope and i pray that he can be cured but unless that happens he must not be
01:05:12
allowed to kill again chris blamed the police for taking a minor dispute with his father out of
01:05:22
context and using it to incriminate him in his murder he said i was never able to say goodbye to my
01:05:32
dad before he was taken from us the idea that he was disappointed in me before he died
01:05:39
will always haunt me [Music] the judge turned to chris to deliver his sentence quote
01:05:49
it is without a doubt your mother has no memory of the events which occurred in the early morning hours of november 2004
01:05:57
it's very understandable that she is upset with the system it is very understandable to me that she
01:06:04
feels the police didn't do enough that's because it would be the most difficult thing in the world for a
01:06:12
parent to believe that their child who she gave birth to and raised and took care of
01:06:18
would be capable of being the perpetrator of these violent heinous acts in sentencing you today i've got to
01:06:27
explain to you and make you understand that the sentence that's being imposed upon you
01:06:33
is because i fear very much that what happened is something that could happen again
01:06:40
[Music] despite joan's plea that chris be freed within her lifetime he was given the maximum sentence of 50
01:06:49
years to life imprisonment chris went on to appeal his conviction twice but was rejected both times on
01:07:04
grounds of there being overwhelming evidence to support his conviction he then appealed to the u.s supreme
01:07:11
court but in april 2012 it was announced the court wouldn't be hearing his case putting an end to chris's appeals
01:07:21
process in 2013 chris attempted to sue the lifetime entertainment network after they made a tv movie about the case
01:07:31
titled romeo killer the chris porco story chris tried to put a halt to the advertising and airing of the movie
01:07:41
claiming that the film wrongfully used his name likeness and personality while temporarily successful the lawsuit
01:07:51
was eventually tossed and the film was marketed as the movie chris porco doesn't want you to see
01:08:00
it aired in march 2013 to lukewarm reviews chris porco still professes his innocence and has shown no remorse for
01:08:12
the way he treated his parents from his prison cell he told 48 hours it's a tragedy
01:08:21
not really just for me but you know for my family my mother's now gonna have to live alone
01:08:29
and that's very hard for me to stomach sitting in here with good behavior chris porco will
01:08:36
become eligible for parole in december 2052 throughout the murder trial messages of
01:08:46
love for peter porco were shared by family friends and colleagues when joan testified she told the court
01:08:54
how hard her husband had worked as an attorney he'd given up his high profile career
01:09:00
when his children were young taking a job as a law clerk so he could spend more time with his family
01:09:08
although it came with a pay cut joan was pleased with the change as it brought a
01:09:13
sense of closeness to the porco household joan and peter had celebrated their 30-year wedding anniversary just five
01:09:22
months before the attack during which jones said her family had been as close as ever
01:09:29
it was a statement echoed by jonathan porco who said dad was a hard-working great guy
01:09:38
he loved the law i think he was an excellent father when the crime scene at the porco's home
01:09:47
was first examined an investigator came across a cashiers check peter had signed
01:09:52
for overdue parking fees accumulated by chris a smear of blood in one of the corners
01:09:59
indicated that even after being viciously assaulted by chris peter was still trying to help his son
01:10:07
get out of trouble despite having been lied to time and time again and threatened with financial
01:10:16
ruin one of the last emails peter sent to chris was a testament to the type of father he truly was
01:10:25
it read things are obviously spinning out of control with you i think you should come home so we can
01:10:33
talk we may be disappointed in you but your mother and i still love you and care about your future
01:10:53
[Music] in june of 2015 a woman disappeared while camping with her family in the
01:11:10
cherokawa mountains of arizona she vanished without leaving a trace in the course of one to two minutes this is
01:11:17
the strangest search i've ever been on she just disappeared right off the face of the earth i said you're telling me
01:11:23
you got sign right here i said well then we're right on the road here basically so she got another car
01:11:29
somebody abducted her we were desperate we didn't know what else to do you already start to know you
01:11:34
know the canine hasn't found her something really bad is going on were we a target of something
01:11:40
what if somebody's got a vendetta against us the two-year quest for answers in this case led me to find out
01:11:46
more than i had originally anticipated i'll challenge you to something do a homework on missing persons from
01:11:53
national parks it's gonna astound you what you're gonna find out there's no way my brother would have
01:11:59
thought of suicide he also had just purchased furniture he was very excited about fixing up his living room so you
01:12:08
don't buy furniture and start fixing up your living room you're planning on dying
01:12:12
this case has more twists and turns than the blue ridge parkway and i have to say
01:12:17
occam's razor is normally the principle i operate from the simplest explanation is normally the most likely certainly
01:12:23
what i do know is that in fear and under pressure people make some very bad choices i'm otavia mchenry and this is
01:12:30
the labyrinth a true crime podcast brought to you by case file presents i think there's something there that we're
01:12:36
just not seeing and that others aren't seeing neither because everybody now to this point in this case is just grasping
01:12:43
so welcome to our world with this case and if you can give us any help i can't even
01:12:48
we can't even begin to tell you how much we'd appreciate that how is it that these people disappear
01:12:53
like that without a tree i'm a firm believer those things are real and there's something out there that we
01:12:59
don't understand we don't the labyrinth available exclusively on spotify