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[Music] Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at
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any time you need support, please contact your local crisis center. For suggested phone numbers, for
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confidential support, and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this
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episode on your app or on our website. Please note that the names of several individuals in this episode have been
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changed. In 2009, with the help of two others, Russian national Sergey Morenov co-founded a website called the Dark
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Fetish Network. The trio had identified a niche market of people with sexual fetishes and
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fantasies outside the mainstream, and they set out to create a social media platform where those individuals could
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connect and interact. It was essentially a clone of Facebook, featuring personalized profiles, public
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chats, private messages, groups, and the ability to publish photo albums. Sergey took on the role of web master,
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overseeing the administrative side of the website and providing technical support. He also wrote all of the
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descriptive text on the site's homepage. About a quarter of the way down under the heading, "Welcome to the dark fetish
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network." Sergey had written, "Welcome to the social network where you won't feel like an outcast because of
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your dark fetish. Why? Because this place is created by people like you for people like you. So feel free to look
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around, meet some crazy, in a good way people, and become part of our growing adults only 18 plus community.
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The welcome message ended with a disclaimer. Please also remember that this place is
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about fantasies only, so play safe. [Music] To use all of the site's features, viewers of the Dark Fetish Network had
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to sign up to become members. All they needed was an email address and a username.
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Unlike competing websites with a similar theme, such as FatLife, which had nearly
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2 million users worldwide, the Dark Fetish Network amassed a much smaller community of about 38,000 members.
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Once registered, members were able to create a personalized profile that could be viewed by other users.
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Filling it out was optional, but doing so was considered essential if you wanted to easily connect with
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like-minded people. A profile was divided into three main sections. The first section covered
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basic personal information, including the member's first and last names, country of origin, gender, and age.
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The second section titled about me allowed members to write autobiographical summaries about
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themselves. The third and most important section was titled about my fetish where members
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could describe their sexual preferences. The dark fetish network encompassed all
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types of fetishes. The most popular was sexual esphyxiation, but other common ones
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featured on the site included bondage, voyerism, exhibitionism, humiliation, and objectification.
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There were body focused fetishes centered on feet, stomachs, and hair, and others involving supernatural or
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mythical themes. At the extreme end of the spectrum were fetishes pertaining to excrement,
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torture, var, necrilia, and cannibalism. Users interacted through consensual role-play scenarios, following
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storylines they devised and assuming roles much like actors in a movie. For site co-creator Sergey Morenov, the
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fantasy aspect of the Dark Fetish Network was paramount. He claimed to terminate the accounts of
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anyone who violated the site's terms of service, including those engaging in conversations that, in his words, could
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have led to something bad. Sergey stressed that the fantasies discussed on his site should never spill
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over into realworld criminal activity. In 2010, a new member joined the Dark Fetish Network under the username Girl
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Meat Hunter. While he withheld any identifying details, his profile revealed that he
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was a man from the United States. His profile picture depicted a woman with a large red apple stuffed in her mouth,
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accompanied by the quote, "Tonight, my dear, you are the main cause. In the about my fetish section, Girl
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Meat Hunter listed what he called the easy ABC, abduction, bondage, and cannibalism.
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While others enjoyed fantasies of women willingly submitting to torture, death, or being eaten, Girl Meat Hunter
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dismissed consent, saying it ruined the whole thing. "I am a little different," he wrote. "I am a little more sadistic.
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I would want her to suffer. I would want to see her suffer. Not long after signing up to the Dark
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Fetish Network, Girl Meet Hunter followed a trend that had unfolded on the site by uploading a photo album
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titled, "What would you do with her?" The trend involved users compiling photos of women they claimed to know in
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real life, typically lifted from their social media accounts. Other members then commented on the
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photos reflecting their own sexual fetishes. For example, those interested in BDSM
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might write about hog tying the women and forcing submission, while those drawn to sleep play might describe
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drugging the women and engaging with their unconscious bodies. One Friday, Girl Meet Hunter uploaded
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images of 10 different women, labeling them girl number one, girl number two, and so on.
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By the time Girl Hunter logged back in on Sunday night, his album had received approximately 50 comments.
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Out of courtesy, most of the comments were tailored to indulge his passion for bondage and cannibalism.
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Damn, she looks tander. one user wrote. Another left a comment urging rape and mutilation.
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Delighted, Girl Meet Hunter referred to the women as quote extremely rapable, outlining how he wanted to tie them down
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and assault them before escalating into the more macab. He said he would trust one up like a
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turkey and place her into an oven while she was still alive. Once dead, he would butcher her body,
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cook the meat, and quote, "The sounds of her screams will be the sweetest music to my ears."
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By January 2011, Girl Meet Hunter was well known on the Dark Fetish network for his group chat contributions and for
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sharing large amounts of hardcore pornography, though his real world identity remained hidden.
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Whenever users praised his posts or shared an interest in his fetishes, he reached out to them privately.
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Over time, he established a close-knit circle of around 20 people with whom he kept regular contact, some more
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frequently than others. Their conversations were far from casual small talk. "Hey, got some time to play
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around a bit?" they asked one another before beginning or continuing a role-play scenario.
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Others enjoyed role- playinging with Girl Meet Hunter because he was a decent writer. He also catered to their
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fetishes rather than focusing solely on his own, crafting in-depth stories that spanned a wide range of kinks even after
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his own needs were met. If Girlmate Hunter wasn't satisfied with how things were progressing with a
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role-play partner, he abandoned them. Meticulous and detailed oriented, he preferred partners who were equally
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graphic and explicit. Scenarios couldn't be rushed. They could last weeks with role-play sessions
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lasting for several hours at a time. While he wasn't online every night, he typically appeared three or four times a
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week and sometimes throughout the day. Girl Meet Hunter was often invited to roleplay as the captor of fictitious
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women in peril, but those scenarios didn't excite him. What aroused him were fantasies involving the 10 women he
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allegedly knew in real life. He continued to share their photos online along with their names, ages,
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physical descriptions, occupations, and relationship statuses. He imagined them chloroformed and
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kidnapped, stripped naked, bound and displayed on a platter with an apple in their mouths.
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He fantasized about slit throats, decapitations, and making bacon strips from belly flesh.
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When a user asked if he would ever actually eat human flesh if the chance presented itself in real life, Girl Meat
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Hunter bluntly replied, "Yes." Over time, his fantasies grew to include almost 100 women, each one described as
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someone he longed to kidnap and cook. One of the downsides of the dark fetish network was that it could be slow to
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load. Eventually, Girl Meat Hunter and his core group of role players shifted their
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conversations to Yahoo Messenger. The free platform offered features the Dark Fetish Network it didn't, including
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instant messaging, file sharing, and the ability to see when others were online.
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While Girl Meat Hunter remained active on the Dark Fetish network, if he connected with a roleplayer he
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particularly enjoyed, he shared his Yahoo Messenger handle to continue the scenario there instead.
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While he used multiple usernames across different websites, for the sake of clarity, Case will refer to him
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exclusively as Girl Meate Hunter. Around June 2012, about 2 years into Girl Meat Hunter's online presence, he
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began receiving messages from a member of the Dark Fetish network named Meat Market Man
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based in England. The only other thing Girl Meat Hunter knew about him was that they shared a mutual lust for
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cannibalism. Meat Market Man claimed he had killed and eaten two women in real life. Their
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conversations soon moved to Yahoo Messenger, where Meet Marketman went by the name Moody Blues.
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The two chatted almost non-stop and often late into the night. By July, their conversations had taken on a more
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purposeful tone as they began plotting ways to make their fantasies a reality. Moody Blues assumed a mentor-like role,
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helping brainstorm methods to torment meat hunter's intended victims. In one exchange, Girl Meate Hunter
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described a softball player he knew as quote, "The most desirable piece of meat I've ever met."
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Moody Blues suggested knocking her out with a baseball bat, calling it poetic justice.
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In another conversation, Girl Meet Hunter proposed that Moody Blues travel to the US so they could kidnap one of
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the 10 women he was infatuated with. Moody Blues agreed. "How big is your oven?" he inquired.
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"Big enough to fit one of these girls if I folded their legs," Girlmate Hunter replied.
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They ultimately settled on a woman named Charlotte, who girl mate Hunter described as one of his favorite
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victims. He had fantasized about her for 10 years, relishing the idea of slaughtering her and noting she had
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quote good meat on her arms. When Moody Blues suggested they eat Charlotte alive, Girl Meat Hunter
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replied, "I'm not really into raw meat." The men proceeded to discuss staging a cookout with Charlotte as the main
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cause. "I have a place up in the mountains," Girlmate Hunter wrote. "No one around
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for 3/4 of a mile. Maybe we'll tie her to the rotisserie and cook her outside." Moody Blues questioned how they would
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get Charlotte over the fire, noting that a spit would kill her quickly. He suggested she be confined in some kind
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of cage instead. Girl Meat Hunter considered securing her body to an apparatus and cooking her
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slowly over a low flame, deliberately keeping her alive for as long as possible.
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He said he was in the process of building a pulley system in his basement to hang victims by their feet.
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That's where she will be held captive and raped, he explained, adding that once Charlotte was dead, she'd be taken
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down and properly butchered before being put in the oven. Moody Blues noted that if they didn't
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waste any of her, they would have nearly 75 lb of food. "What do you want to do with the head?"
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he asked. Girlmate Hunter replied that when they sat down to eat, he wanted Charlotte's
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head displayed as a gruesome centerpiece, fixed in her final expression of terror.
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Moody Blues expressed doubt about Girlmate Hunter's commitment, saying, "I've been let down before."
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Girl Mate Hunter confidently explained that he had the entire event planned in his mind, though he was still working
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out the final details of the abduction, which needed to be flawless. He intended to show up at Charlotte's
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home unannounced so she would never see it coming. He would then knock her out with
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chloroform and wait until dark before taking her away. When Moody Blues suggested it might be
00:15:54
better if they targeted a stranger to avoid suspicion, Girl Meate Hunter responded, "Her family is out of state."
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Convinced that no one would connect him to the crime. As the pair continued to devise their
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plan, Moody Blues mentioned he had anesthetic gases while Girlmate Hunter would make the chloroform using a recipe
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he had found online. They grew giddy at the thought of Charlotte sleeping peacefully elsewhere,
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completely unaware of what they were preparing for her. "Her days are numbered," GirlMate Hunter exclaimed.
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"He intended to do a dry run, showing up unannounced in Charlotte's neighborhood
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under the pretense of a casual hello." Though unsure how the plan might eventually unfold, he insisted that his
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intention of kidnapping Charlotte and getting away with it was the absolute truth.
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On Thursday, July 19, 2012, Girl Meet Hunter informed Moody Blues that he had arranged to meet Charlotte in person for
00:17:02
brunch that coming weekend. He then emailed through a document he had prepared titled Abducting and
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Cooking Charlotte a blueprint. The document contained personal details about Charlotte, including her name,
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date of birth, height, weight, and bra size. In a section titled materials needed,
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girl mate Hunter had listed the tools required to carry out his fantasy, including his car, a plastic tarp to
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line the trunk, chloroform to render Charlotte unconscious, the strongest kind of rope to bind her, duct tape for
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gagging, plastic bags for her clothes, and a pair of cheap sneakers to wear. I'll be eyeing her from head to toe and
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licking my lips, he wrote, adding that he longed for the day he could render her unconscious with chloroform.
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Moody Blues joked that Girl Mate Hunter would be more focused on eating Charlotte than his branch.
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After the weekend, Girl Meate Hunter immediately messaged Moody Blues, commenting on how mouthwatering and
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delicious Charlotte was. By late August, his fixation had switched to two other women on his top
00:18:22
10 list. An 18-year-old high school senior named Lily and another woman named Georgia.
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He spoke of his desire to capture and kill Georgia, saying he wanted her to absolutely suffer and claimed it was
00:18:37
personal. If Georgia lived near me, he wrote, she would be gone by now. Even if I get
00:18:44
caught, she would be worth it. While Girl Meat Hunter remained primarily dedicated to abduction,
00:18:54
bondage, and cannibalism, he also developed a fascination with slavery scenarios in which kidnapped women were
00:19:02
sold to the highest bidder. Combining this new interest with his existing fetishes, he created a new
00:19:09
photo album on the Dark Fetish Network titled Cook Her or Sell Her. Starting in late January 2012, he
00:19:18
confided in another slavery fetish enthusiast known online as Mike Vanheis 81 about plans to also turn these
00:19:27
fantasies into reality. Girl Meate Hunter offered to abduct a woman off his list to sell to Mike
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Vanheis for $5,000. Her name was Marissa, and she was an elementary school teacher whom Girlmate
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Hunter knew in real life. He sent Mike Vanheis four photos of Marissa taken from her Facebook page,
00:19:51
warning, "She is kind of feisty and no nonsense. Not sure how soon she would submit.
00:19:59
Certain he could break Marissa in more ways than one, Mike Vanheis eagerly envisioned turning her into his slave.
00:20:07
Quote, "Sex, maid, and otherwise. If she tried to escape, he would beat her. If she tried again, became
00:20:17
pregnant, or was unfaithful, he would kill her." Girl Meet Hunter's tone grew grizzly and
00:20:25
mechanical as he outlined his plan to stalk Marissa. He knew she had a week off work coming
00:20:32
up and suggested abducting her then, as this would give him more time before anyone realized she was missing.
00:20:40
He described rendering Marissa unconscious, placing her in a large suitcase and willing it to his van to
00:20:47
deliver to Mike Vanheiser's home in New Jersey. She would remain fully dressed so that
00:20:54
Mike could have quote the pleasure of unwrapping his gift. The pair even discussed raping Marissa
00:21:03
together before going their separate ways. Girl Meate Hunter demanded the full $5,000 payment upon delivery.
00:21:12
When Mike tried to haggle, Girl Meate Hunter refused to accept any less, insisting he needed the money and
00:21:20
emphasizing the very risky nature of the job, which could ruin his life if he were caught. He wrote, "I am putting my
00:21:29
neck on the line. If something goes wrong somehow, I am in deep [ __ ] $5,000 and you need to make sure she is not
00:21:38
found. she will definitely make the news. He added that he aspired to become a professional kidnapper, framing the
00:21:48
price strictly as business. When Mike Vanheis expressed the doubt that Girl Meate Hunter was going to
00:21:55
follow through, Girl Meate Hunter replied, "I am just afraid of getting caught. If I were guaranteed to get away
00:22:03
with it, I would do it." When asked, "Are you sure?" He answered firmly, "Definitely."
00:22:12
[Music] Then on the night of Saturday, September 9, 2012, something unexpected happened.
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After 2 years of consistent activity on the Dark Fetish network, Girl Meate Hunter abruptly closed his account.
00:22:30
He immediately informed Moody Blues on Yahoo Messenger, who wanted to know why. Girl mate Hunter explained
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less of a chance of getting caught. [Laughter] In mid 2012, elementary school teacher
00:22:53
turned stay-at-home mother Jackie Valley was growing increasingly concerned about
00:22:58
her husband's unusual behavior. 28-year-old Gilberto Valley, known to friends and family as Gil, had recently
00:23:07
been spending much more time on their computer in the living room. He had always been a night owl as he worked
00:23:14
late and struggled to go straight to sleep. He typically stayed up for a couple of hours playing video games,
00:23:21
watching television, or browsing the internet. But after Jackie became pregnant, his
00:23:27
behavior worsened. He started staying up until 3, 4, or even 5:00 a.m. Sometimes
00:23:35
he wouldn't come to bed at all. Jackie had met Gilberto about 3 years earlier on a dating website. He sent the
00:23:44
first message, and when she viewed his profile, his occupation immediately caught her eye.
00:23:50
He was an officer with the New York Police Department. Jackie's father had been a police
00:23:56
officer and she thought the job sounded so cool. She replied to Gilberto and the
00:24:02
two arranged to meet for dinner. Their first date went exceptionally well. They shared laughs, enjoyed
00:24:11
dessert, and cuddled together at the movies. The night ended with a passionate kiss
00:24:17
and the shared sensation that something special had just begun. Things moved quickly after that. Within
00:24:26
weeks, Jackie and Gilberto were officially a couple. A year later, they moved into a New York apartment together
00:24:33
and got a puppy. Then, in January 2011, Jackie discovered she was pregnant. Gilberto's initial reaction was one of
00:24:44
shock and uncertainty. He didn't feel they were ready, but after long discussions, he seemingly
00:24:52
embraced the idea of becoming a father. Their daughter was born that September. 5 months later, Gilberto proposed.
00:25:02
The couple celebrated with a small but lovely wedding soon after. Life as new parents started off happily
00:25:11
enough, but Jackie gradually felt that she and Gilberto were drifting apart. As their intimacy faded, Gilberto
00:25:20
immersed himself deeper online. Whenever Jackie caught a glimpse of the computer screen, it appeared he was
00:25:28
browsing innocuous sites like ESPN, Major League Baseball, and a message board for New York cops.
00:25:36
It wasn't until Gilberto started regularly deleting his internet search history that Jackie began to suspect he
00:25:43
was hiding something, possibly an affair. When the computer stopped working in mid
00:25:50
2012, Gilberto began using Jackie's laptop. He created his own account on the device
00:25:57
secured with a password. One night in August, as Gilberto slept, Jackie saw that he had forgotten to log
00:26:05
out. At the bottom of the home screen were two small image files. She clicked on them, but the pictures
00:26:14
wouldn't load. However, she could view the file information, which revealed their
00:26:20
source, a website called the Dark Fetish Network. Jackie typed the website's URL into a
00:26:32
browser and discovered it was a pornographic forum for hardcore fetishists. Its homepage displayed a naked woman hog
00:26:41
tied and covered in blood. To Jackie, she appeared to be dead. The discovery left her stunned.
00:26:51
Gilberto was a kind, babyfaced man who some likened to a teddy bear. Sensitive, patient, and respectful, he
00:27:00
was the perfect gentleman, opening doors for Jackie and pulling out the chair for
00:27:04
her at dinner. He supported the family on his single income while treating them to special
00:27:10
joys such as meals out or trips to the zoo. Gilberto had never faced any misconduct
00:27:18
complaints as a police officer, nor had he been involved in criminal activity or
00:27:23
substance abuse. Though he and Jackie sometimes disagreed, he had never shown aggression, anger, or any inclination to
00:27:32
harm women. A virgin when they met, his intimacy with the Jackie had never involved
00:27:39
anything resembling the content on the Dark Fetish network. Gilberto was still asleep at 8:00 a.m.
00:27:48
when Jackie tapped him on the shoulder. Nervous, she tried to meet his gaze but couldn't quite manage it.
00:27:57
She told him he had left his account open on her computer. She hadn't meant to pry, but when she
00:28:04
clicked on an image, it took her to a website showing a woman tied up. Jackie's tone wasn't angry or
00:28:12
accusatory, yet Gilberto looked frightened. He quickly apologized, insisting he hadn't meant for her to see
00:28:20
it and explaining that it was nothing. Sometimes after late shifts, he said he came home wound up, and instead of
00:28:28
waking Jackie, he watched pornography instead. Most of it was normal stuff, though
00:28:35
occasionally he looked at bondage content. Jackie relaxed slightly. She told Gilberto she understood and
00:28:45
even suggested they experiment together as a way to reconnect. She proposed that he stop by a sex shop
00:28:52
the next day to pick up a few items for them to try. Gilberto seemed both relieved and
00:28:58
enthusiastic. For Jackie, the exchange offered a flicker of hope, the first since before
00:29:05
her pregnancy. She later recalled, "I thought maybe we had a breakthrough, that we were communicating, that he was
00:29:14
going to be honest and talk to me." Despite Jackie's optimism, the discovery changed both her and Gilberto
00:29:25
irrevocably. Jackie couldn't stop thinking about what she'd seen, while Gilberto seemed
00:29:31
increasingly suspicious of everything Jackie did. Overcome with a growing sense of dread
00:29:38
and feeling she had no choice on Sunday, September 10, 2012, Jackie installed spywear on her laptop.
00:29:47
The program recorded every keystroke, tracked every website visited, captured screenshots every 5 minutes, and
00:29:55
monitored all emails sent and received. The spyw wear revealed that Gilberto was
00:30:02
still secretly visiting fetish websites. Jackie later reflected, "I know SNM is kind of popular, like 50
00:30:12
Shades of Gray, but this seemed different." When she came across images of feet detached from bodies, Jackie realized
00:30:22
her husband's interests went far beyond just bondage content. The following morning, Jackie once again
00:30:31
tapped the shoulder of the sleeping Gilberto, waking him. I logged into the computer just now, she
00:30:38
immediately told him. And I saw everything. Gilberto tried to feain ignorance, but
00:30:45
Jackie laughed sarcastically. Oh, so you're going to deny it? When he tried to speak, Jackie cut him
00:30:54
off. Cook women, grill them. That's what we are to you. She said she intended to take their baby
00:31:03
and get away for a while. Desperate, Gilberto pleaded. Jackie, what you saw is not who I am.
00:31:13
He professed his love for Jackie, insisting she knew him while apologizing and begging her not to leave.
00:31:21
Tears streaming down her face, Jackie went to the bedroom and began packing. Once she had calmed down slightly, she
00:31:30
told the anguish to Gilberto, "I'm just a little freaked out. I need to get away."
00:31:38
She gathered their daughter and left for the airport, heading to her parents' home interstate.
00:31:45
In shock and grappling with a whirlwind of emotions, Jackie sent a text to Gilberto shortly after leaving that
00:31:53
said, "I do love you." Later, she messaged him again saying that she wasn't giving up and that they
00:32:02
would work through this together. Jackie suggested he schedule a couple's therapy appointment in a few weeks.
00:32:10
"Sounds great," Gilberto replied. I'm happy to hear that. When you come back, we start over. That's it. I never want
00:32:20
to see you like that again, and I won't let it happen again. Jackie had taken her laptop with her.
00:32:31
Days later, she logged into the spyware program again to further inspect the data it had collected.
00:32:39
Among the screenshots, she noticed an unfamiliar Yahoo email address. Curious, she went to Yahoo's website and
00:32:48
entered the sign-in details. Although she didn't know the password, she tried one that she and Gilberto used
00:32:55
for everything else. It worked. Jackie was confronted with thousands of disturbing messages and images Gilberto
00:33:06
had sent under the alias of girl meat hunter and others. The lurid messages detailed his desires
00:33:13
and plans to abduct, rape, kill, and eat women. Even more horrifying, his targets
00:33:21
included 10 women they both knew in real life whose photos he had taken from their Facebook pages and shared online.
00:33:29
Among them was an old friend from Jackie's workplace, Gilberto's supervisor at the
00:33:35
precinct, his high school crush, an 18-year-old graduate from his former high school, and several of his college
00:33:43
friends. Overcome with equal parts repulsion and terror, Jackie clicked on the inbox's
00:33:51
search bar and typed in Jackie. There were countless hits in messages from early 2012. Gilberto
00:34:02
had corresponded with someone using the name Ali Khn. Alli said he had been banned from the
00:34:08
Dark Fetish network for trying to turn his fantasies of buying and killing women into reality.
00:34:16
This piqued Gilberto's interest given his growing fascination with the idea of selling women. The two men quickly
00:34:24
struck up an online friendship. Gilberto suggested taking his wife on a trip to India where they could meet with
00:34:33
Ali Khn. The two men would then take turns raping Jackie before Gilberto planned to hang her by her feet and slit
00:34:41
her throat, then cook and consume her remains. He shared a photo of Jackie in a bikini,
00:34:49
noting that she had a lot of meat on various parts of her body. Ali Khn said he would enjoy watching her
00:34:57
blood gush, adding that if she cried, they should show no mercy. Gilberto replied, "It's okay. We will
00:35:07
just gag her." For Gilberto, the live cooking of Jackie was solely for his own entertainment and
00:35:15
her suffering. He said he wanted Jackie to experience as much pain as possible through her
00:35:22
ordeal, insisting that the rape would be the easy part for her. Upon uncovering this horrifying
00:35:30
information, Jackie messaged Gilberto. I need to know who you really are. Right now, I'm betrayed and terrified.
00:35:40
I need the truth about everything." She asked whether he had ever shared pictures of her or their daughter on the
00:35:48
websites he frequented or in the emails he sent. Gilberto replied, "Absolutely not. I
00:35:57
promise." Jackie knew Gilberto was lying. While she hadn't found any pictures of
00:36:05
their now 1-year-old daughter in his correspondence, he had shared plenty of images of her and much more.
00:36:13
In an email titled Fourth of July menu, Gilberto listed the personal details, physical descriptions, and photos of
00:36:22
several women he knew. Woman number six was described as 26 years old, 5'7 in tall, weighing 150 to
00:36:32
160 lb, married and with a baby daughter. The name given was Jackie, and the accompanying photo was of her.
00:36:45
Gilberto asked Jackie when she would be coming back, but she refused to answer. Instead, she demanded that he be
00:36:54
completely honest. Gradually, he began to confess everything. By Wednesday, October 24, 2012, Jackie
00:37:08
had been gone for 6 weeks. Gilberto had the day off from work and was alone in their New York apartment
00:37:15
watching a movie when around 200 p.m. a knock sounded at the door. He didn't move. He wasn't expecting
00:37:24
anyone and was not in the mood for visitors. The knocking eventually stopped, but
00:37:31
minutes later, his cell phone lit up with a call from unknown. He ignored it only for the phone to ring
00:37:39
again 5 minutes later. This time, he answered. A male voice asked, "Hello, is this
00:37:48
officer valley? Yes, Gilberto replied. Who's this? The caller identified himself as a
00:37:57
police officer from the 112th precinct. He explained that Gilberto's parked car had just been hit and suffered pretty
00:38:06
bad damage. He asked Gilberto to come outside so they could file a report. Gilberto got dressed, holstered his
00:38:15
workisssued handgun, and headed for the door. Gilberto stepped into the hallway. As he
00:38:24
rounded the corner toward the stairwell, he was met by six police officers with their guns trained on him.
00:38:31
"Put your hands up," one ordered. Gilberto raised his hands, protesting that it was all a misunderstanding.
00:38:41
Within moments, his wrists were cuffed behind his back and his service weapon taken.
00:38:47
Among the officers stood an FBI agent named Anthony Photo. Everything is going to be all right.
00:38:55
Agent Photo told him. Gilberto shook his head and said, "I don't think so." Gilberto Valley was taken into custody
00:39:09
and placed in an interview room with Agent Photo, who explained that this was Gilberto's one chance to get ahead in
00:39:16
the game by sharing his side of the story. Gilberto declined the offer of a lawyer
00:39:23
and began speaking. He started quite literally from the very beginning, his childhood.
00:39:31
[Music] Gilberto grew up in a quiet, uneventful neighborhood in New York. He was
00:39:38
well-liked in school, had plenty of friends, earned good grades, and stood out as a talented baseball player.
00:39:45
The only shadow over his childhood was his parents' troubled marriage. They argued often, and when they weren't
00:39:53
fighting, they tended to ignore each other. By the time Gilberto was five, his parents had separated.
00:40:01
Both remained devoted to him with his father pushing him to work hard and aim high while his mother nurtured his
00:40:09
kindness, generosity, and love for animals. In 2002, Gilberto left for college where
00:40:17
he shared an apartment with three roommates. He threw himself into campus life, parties, and social activities.
00:40:26
Midway through his senior year, he decided to pursue a career in law enforcement.
00:40:32
He passed the admission test with ease and completed the 1600 questionlong multiplechoice psychological evaluation,
00:40:40
probing everything from racial attitudes to finances, relationships, and even bedwedding.
00:40:47
Gilberto claimed he answered truthfully and no red flags were raised. He then completed a 30-inute
00:40:55
face-to-face examination with a psychologist, covering his upbringing, relationships, education, and lifestyle.
00:41:03
The only issue he admitted to was trying cannabis three times. He was cleared to begin training and
00:41:11
progressed smoothly through the academy. His first posting was to one of New York's most violent precincts, but he
00:41:19
handled the pressure well and found it less intimidating than expected. Afterward, he was reassigned to the
00:41:27
quieter 26th precinct, where he still worked 6 years later. Gilberto loved his job, but the long
00:41:35
irregular hours made it difficult to maintain a social life. When a colleague suggested online
00:41:42
dating, Gilberto decided to give it a try. He met Jackie, became a father, got married, and settled into family life.
00:41:53
Telling all this to FBI agent Anthony Photo, Gilberto said he had nothing more to add.
00:42:04
Agent Photo was incredulous. He knew of some very serious allegations against Gilberto that were deliberately
00:42:12
emitted from his otherwise flawless backstory. Determined to uncover the truth, photo
00:42:19
spent the next 2 hours questioning Gilberto about the dark fetish network, girl meat hunter, and the 10 women at
00:42:27
the center of it all. Gilberto admitted to everything, though he struggled to explain why he did it.
00:42:36
He claimed he didn't particularly enjoy the experience and acknowledged that it was destroying his personal life.
00:42:44
The long nights in front of the computer left him exhausted, created distance and
00:42:49
suspicion in his marriage, and eroded any desire for intimacy with his wife. Recognizing his online life was
00:42:57
beginning to damage his real one, Gilberto said he'd started taking steps to change.
00:43:04
In what he insisted was pure coincidence, the night before Jackie uncovered everything, he logged into the
00:43:11
Dark Fetish network for the last time and permanently deleted his account. Gilberto was resolute that while his
00:43:20
online conversations about harming women might have sounded realistic, they were
00:43:25
nothing more than makebelieve sexual roleplay. He was adamant that he had never hurt
00:43:31
anyone and that no one was ever in any real danger. Despite the thousands of gruesome
00:43:39
messages in which he discussed the abduction, rape, and murder of several particular women, all of them were found
00:43:46
safe and completely unaware of Gilberto's online activities. Many hadn't spoken to or thought about
00:43:54
him in years. Others maintained only casual contact, exchanging birthday wishes, or brief life updates.
00:44:03
The 18-year-old on Gilberto's list didn't even know him. It seemed Gilberto was telling the truth
00:44:12
that everything he did was confined to cyberspace. At least that's what he said.
00:44:23
[Music] During his interview with Gilberto Valley, agent Anthony Photo revealed that the FBI had made a major discovery
00:44:33
in their investigation of Girl Meat Hunter. One of the women on his list was a New
00:44:38
York resident named Marissa. She was an old friend and former colleague of Jackie Valley from when she
00:44:46
worked as an elementary school teacher. online. Gilberto had schemed to abduct and sell Marissa to a user he interacted
00:44:55
with known as Mike Vanheis 81. On Thursday, March 1, 2012, the day after a round of these discussions, the
00:45:06
GPS in Gilberto's cell phone traced him to the block where Marissa lived. The implication was chilling. Gilberto
00:45:15
hadn't merely fantasized about stalking women, but had seemingly carried out the
00:45:20
behavior in the real world. He insisted it was a coincidence or misunderstanding, but struggled to offer
00:45:28
a fully credible explanation as to why he had been in the area. This discovery led to Gilberto's first
00:45:36
chargeable offense, conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Yet, that wasn't the only piece of
00:45:43
evidence. authorities found that suggested Gilberto had taken steps to turn his fantasies into reality.
00:45:50
While on duty, Gilberto had access to a restricted law enforcement database containing sensitive information such as
00:45:58
individuals addresses, dates of birth, license plate numbers, and other personal details.
00:46:05
Officers were permitted to use it strictly for official police work. Records showed Gilberto had conducted
00:46:13
unauthorized searches on multiple women from his list during his time as girl meat hunter.
00:46:20
This discovery led to Gilberto's second and final charge, unauthorized access to
00:46:26
a law enforcement database. On the conspiracy charge alone, he was facing a potential life sentence.
00:46:37
Gilberto was denied bail and remained in prison until his trial began nearly 4 months later in February 2013.
00:46:46
By then, the case had become a headline staple with the horrific and grotesque nature of Gilberto's online messages
00:46:54
filling tabloid pages. The idea that an apparently normal functioning member of society spent his
00:47:02
nights talking about slitting women's throats and roasting them alive was made even more frightening by the fact that
00:47:08
he was an active police officer sworn to protect the community. Dubbed by the media as the cannibal cop,
00:47:18
Gilberto was likened to the fictional cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lectar from the horror thriller novel
00:47:25
The Silence of the Lambs. Even more damning were comparisons to real life serial killers, including the
00:47:32
infamous Milwaukee cannibal Jeffrey Dharma, who murdered 17 men and boys, and like Gilberto, harbored disturbing
00:47:41
fascinations with human flesh. For that reason, Gilberto was widely perceived as a deviant monster and a
00:47:49
danger to society. That was right up until his trial began. As Gilberto's trial date loomed, the
00:48:02
evidence supporting his charge of conspiracy to commit kidnapping weakened. The police had initially claimed that
00:48:10
GPS data placed Gilberto on the same block as the home of one of his intended victims, but this was then reduced to in
00:48:18
the vicinity and later to being within 500 yd. Finally, the morning that Gilberto's
00:48:26
trial was set to begin, the prosecution conceded that they would not be using the GPS evidence at all.
00:48:34
While the charge remained, the evidence now relied solely on the content of Gilberto's online activity.
00:48:42
Make no mistake, the prosecution asserted. Gilberto Valley was very serious about these plans.
00:48:51
They contended that Google searches he had carried out demonstrated intent. Gilberto had searched for such things as
00:49:00
how to make homemade chloroform, the best rope to tie someone up with, the world's largest baking dish, and even
00:49:07
how to prepare human meat. He had even searched how to kidnap someone. The prosecution stated that while
00:49:16
Gilberto might not have purchased or prepared anything by the time of his arrest, the fact that he had researched
00:49:23
these things indicated he was taking steps toward carrying out an abduction. In their view, it was fortunate that law
00:49:31
enforcement intervened before anything could be carried out. Yet, it was the absence of any physical
00:49:40
evidence that formed the crux of the defense's case. They posited that Gilberto was being
00:49:46
accused of a crime he didn't commit. Searches of his apartment, car, and work locker uncovered nothing of importance.
00:49:56
According to his own so-called blueprints for abductions, he lacked the tools and materials necessary to execute
00:50:03
his plans. He had no rope, duct tape, or tarps, no chloroform ingredients, and no
00:50:10
payments from wannabe slave owners. Contrary to Gilberto's claims, he didn't have a
00:50:17
van to transport victims, a remote house in the mountains to hold captives, or a
00:50:22
large enough oven to fit a person. The basement of his apartment complex contained a communal laundry room, not
00:50:30
the pulley system he said he was constructing to restrain women. The defense pointed out that Gilberto
00:50:37
might have thought about it. He might have talked about it, but he hadn't done anything offline that demonstrated
00:50:44
actionable intent to kidnap anybody. While acknowledging that Gilberto's online writings were scary and the stuff
00:50:52
of horror movies, the defense maintained that it was pure fiction, pretend. They argued that if having disturbing
00:51:02
thoughts or writing violent content were a crime, then horror movie directors and
00:51:07
author Steven King would be in prison. In the leadup to his trial, Gilberto Valley was interviewed by Dr. Park
00:51:18
Deets, a world-renowned forensic psychologist and criminologist who had provided expert opinions in numerous
00:51:25
high-profile cases, including that of real life cannibal Jeffrey Dharma. Gilberto told Dr. Deetsz that once he
00:51:33
reached puberty, he immediately sensed he was different from the other boys. He discovered that he was turned on by
00:51:41
bondage and sedto masochism, a sexual practice in which pleasure is derived from inflicting or receiving pain and
00:51:49
humiliation. There was nothing in particular that led to these feelings with Gilberto
00:51:56
explaining it was just there. He didn't worry about it as it was just something in his head that no one else
00:52:04
knew about. In every other respect, he considered himself a normal, successful, and good
00:52:10
person. In the late 1990s, Gilberto went online for the first time, describing it as
00:52:19
love at first sight. Over time, he discovered instant messaging and realized he could chat
00:52:25
with strangers pretending to be anyone he wanted. He also came across pornography,
00:52:32
including images of women in bondage. While these images weren't particularly violent or graphic, his desires grew.
00:52:41
He explored more websites and increasingly diverse and taboo fetishes. He first encountered cannibal related
00:52:49
pornography in college. One site led to another until he found the dark fetish network.
00:52:58
Gilberto explained that the quote weird stuff took over when he was at the computer, but he never brought his
00:53:05
sinister thoughts into his daily life, nor did he ever experiment with his fetishes or speak about them to others.
00:53:14
Although he enjoyed fantasizing about brutal scenarios involving women, Gilberto insisted he had no desire to
00:53:21
harm them in real life. He didn't fear any real world consequences, saying, "Why would I? I
00:53:29
wasn't doing anything illegal." Gilberto claimed that his time as girl meat hunter on the Dark Fetish Network
00:53:38
was a safe and contained way to explore his fetishes with like-minded people, not to plan crimes. Adding, "They are
00:53:47
called fantasies for a reason." In his report on Gilberto Valley, Dr. Park Deets stated that in his opinion,
00:53:58
Girl Meate Hunter was a role only, an exercise in sexual imagination and collaborative creative writing, and that
00:54:06
there was no reliable evidence to suggest that his erotic conversations could reasonably be construed as
00:54:14
conspiratorial plans rather than conversations that were an end in themselves. Dr. Deetsz ultimately concluded,
00:54:24
"I found no evidence whatsoever that Mr. Valley ever harmed or actually intended
00:54:30
to harm any woman." In Gilberto's words, the whole thing was like this big fantasy group, like a
00:54:42
group of guys getting together to play Dungeons and Dragons or World of Warcraft.
00:54:48
Except in our case, we weren't talking about rogues and mages and the spells they could cast. We were talking about
00:54:55
kidnapping women and sometimes killing them, too. Examination of Gilberto's extensive
00:55:03
online correspondents showed that he frequently reminded those he engaged with that his messages were fiction.
00:55:12
His profile on the Dark Fetish Network even included the disclaimer. I like to press the envelope, but no
00:55:19
matter what I say, it is all fantasy. When he shared photos of women he knew in real life, he told recipients they
00:55:28
were for fantasy only. When plotting the supposed abduction of Charlotte, Gilberto reminded Moody
00:55:36
Blues. If you're wondering, it's all fantasy. Likewise, when Mike Vanheis 81, asked if
00:55:45
he would actually kidnap Marissa, Gilberto admitted he didn't think so. I'm just talking fantasy, he wrote. No
00:55:55
matter what I say, it's make believe. Gilberto had exchanged thousands of emails and instant messages with around
00:56:05
two dozen people in which he discussed kidnapping, rape, murder, and cannibalism.
00:56:11
The FBI divided the chats into two groups, ones they felt were fake and ones that they thought were real.
00:56:20
In 21 out of 24 of these cases, the FBI had no choice but to conclude the exchanges were clearly fictional
00:56:28
roleplay. For instance, Gilberto told others that he had a woman from his top 10 list
00:56:35
named Amanda bound and gagged in his basement and that he planned to sell her for $35,000.
00:56:43
This wasn't true at all. In fact, the only real world event mentioned in Gilberto's fictional chats was his
00:56:51
brunch with Charlotte. Everything else he discussed had no direct links to reality.
00:56:59
Still, the FBI concluded that Gilberto engaged in three real exchanges aimed at conducting criminal behavior with Moody
00:57:07
Blues, Mike Vanheis 81, and Ali Khn, targeting Charlotte, Marissa, and Jackie, respectively.
00:57:16
The defense emphasized that the chats Gilberto had with these men contained the same language as the fictitious
00:57:23
conversations, sometimes word for word. Additionally, the so-called real chats were filled with plenty of fictitious
00:57:32
content as well, such as Gilberto's claims that he had a human-sized oven and a remote house up in the mountains.
00:57:42
During the year-long communication, none of the men involved ever took any serious steps to meet up.
00:57:49
They never tried to uncover each other's real identities, either. Gilberto routinely lied to the others
00:57:56
about his age, marital status, job, work hours, and where he lived. Their communication was sporadic, often
00:58:05
with months passing between chats, causing them to forget what had previously been discussed.
00:58:13
Although they sometimes set dates for kidnappings, Gilberto never took any action on those days.
00:58:20
One time he made separate plans with each of the men to abduct three different women on the same day. One was
00:58:27
from Manhattan, one from Ohio, and the third from Pakistan. Not only did he not follow through on
00:58:35
any of these plans, the dates passed without comment, explanation, or followup from the others.
00:58:43
Gilberto even fabricated details about the women on his list. While he did give out their first names, every other
00:58:51
detail such as their last names, addresses, occupations, and dates of birth were false.
00:58:59
Despite repeated requests, he never provided identifying information that would allow anyone to actually find the
00:59:06
women. The trial's first witness was Gilberto's wife, Jackie. Her appearance on the stand marked the
00:59:18
first time the two had seen each other since Jackie left their apartment in tears after discovering Gilberto's
00:59:24
secret life. Jackie avoided making eye contact with Gilberto as she explained how she
00:59:31
accidentally uncovered a girl meat hunter. She also described strange behaviors Gilberto exhibited in the months leading
00:59:40
up to the discovery. She said he became angry when she threw away an old suitcase of his, raising
00:59:47
questions about whether it was the one he intended to use to abduct Marissa for Mike Vanheis 81.
00:59:55
Gilberto claimed he never got angry or really cared about the discarded suitcase. He merely found it odd that
01:00:02
Jackie got rid of it. She said that Gilberto encouraged her to start jogging at night and began asking
01:00:10
questions about her route, including where exactly she went, whether it was well lit, and if there were people
01:00:17
around. Although there was nothing in his online communications to support it. It was
01:00:24
speculated that Gilberto had been gathering information about his wife's movements for a co-conspirator.
01:00:32
Gilberto said he was only ever curious to know about Jackie's jogging route to see if she was challenging herself by
01:00:38
running up steep inclines in their neighborhood or sticking to flat ground. Jackie painted Gilberta as a disengaged
01:00:47
father who rarely helped with their baby and often appeared despondent, sighing in a way that made her feel as though
01:00:54
she was wasting his time. Overall, she described their marriage poorly. Gilberto felt the opposite. To him, the
01:01:05
year that they had a child and tied the knot was a good one, full of love and celebration.
01:01:12
He said he loved his daughter and described Jackie as his best friend. Text messages Jackie sent Gilberto
01:01:20
throughout 2012 showed affection and care. She wrote about how much she loved him, how he made her smile, excitedly
01:01:28
planned family activities, called him good to her, and referred to him as the best when he agreed to bring home ice
01:01:35
cream and cookies. While Gilberto acknowledged that his computer use and hidden sexual
01:01:42
proclivities had created some distance and a lull in intimacy, things were overall good at home with plenty of
01:01:49
great moments. And it wasn't until Jackie discovered Girl Meate Hunter that she began to view
01:01:56
their time together differently. [Music] It was Jackie who turned Gilberto into the FBI.
01:02:04
She handed over her laptop and authorized agents to copy its hard drive. She also gave them keys to the
01:02:11
couple's apartment and consented to the seizure of another computer Gilberto had
01:02:15
used before it malfunctioned. When the defense asked to meet Jackie before the trial, she snapped.
01:02:23
You're representing the man who wants to kill me. No, I don't want to talk to you.
01:02:33
Jackie was the only woman on Gilberto's top 10 list who had anything bad to say about him at his trial. While all the
01:02:41
other women who Gilberto fantasized about were disturbed to learn about what he'd done, none of them reported ever
01:02:47
feeling threatened or uneasy around him in real life. During his time as girl meat hunter,
01:02:54
he'd stopped by one of the woman's workplaces to say hello, had seen others in passing at social events, and visited
01:03:01
another in the hospital after she had a baby. At those times, he was typically accompanied by his wife for a colleague,
01:03:09
and nothing sinister had ever occurred. The prosecution placed significant emphasis on the brunch meeting Gilberto
01:03:18
had with Charlotte in July. Charlotte was a former college classmate of Gilberto's who lived in Maryland.
01:03:27
The two had kept in touch over the years, and it was Charlotte who had asked to meet up.
01:03:34
According to Charlotte, the brunch had been pleasant and entirely normal. Gilberto had even brought his wife and
01:03:42
daughter. In her opinion, he was a doting father who appeared to have a good relationship
01:03:48
with the Jackie. She didn't get any sense that he was plotting anything nefarious.
01:03:56
When Gilberto returned home, he immediately rushed to his computer to message his friend Moody Blues that
01:04:03
Charlotte looked mouthwatering. Gilberto explained this. As much as a fantasy like this may not
01:04:12
be normal and might be shocking to many, it is no different than if I were to see
01:04:16
a woman I knew for lunch and told a buddy of mine, "Man, she looked hot." He didn't speak with Moody Blues for a
01:04:25
month after this exchange, at which point the pair never mentioned Charlotte again.
01:04:31
The defense claimed that Gilberto used his wife and their friends as the objects of his fantasies because sexual
01:04:38
fantasies often include those we know or find attractive, not because he actually
01:04:44
intended to harm these specific women. As Gilberto's trial neared its conclusion, public perception of him had
01:04:55
shifted. The prosecution's lack of concrete evidence led many to label the case a
01:05:02
sham. Newspaper reports criticized the FBI for cherry-picking statements to construct a
01:05:08
narrative that ultimately amounted to nothing. In the eyes of many, the defense had
01:05:14
successfully underscored the absurdity of the charges. For example, why would an experienced
01:05:21
police officer need to Google how to kidnap someone if he were truly intent on doing so?
01:05:28
At times, the courtroom even broke into laughter at the sheer implausibility of the evidence being presented.
01:05:37
The second charge, unauthorized access to a law enforcement database, had also lost traction.
01:05:44
Gilberto admitted to making unauthorized searches, calling them stupid, reckless,
01:05:49
and wrong. He said he had run many names over the years, including members of his
01:05:55
own family. He explained that he sometimes entered a random name into the database when
01:06:01
turning on the mobile data computer in his patrol car just to test if the device was working.
01:06:08
He had developed this habit after an NYPD officer was shot when approaching a suspect vehicle.
01:06:15
The officer hadn't been able to run the license plate beforehand because his mobile data computer wasn't working.
01:06:23
Aside from Jackie, the only other person from Gilberto's list that he had actually looked up on the database was
01:06:30
his high school crush, Chloe. It was found that he had only searched her name once during his time as girl
01:06:37
mate hunter, but he didn't do it to gather intelligence. Khloe testified that she had reached out
01:06:45
to Gilberto after getting into a car accident because she needed the report number.
01:06:51
Although Gilberto wasn't technically supposed to do this, it wasn't uncommon for officers to misuse the system, and
01:06:58
he had run Khloe's name through the database to get the number for her. The defense moved to have the case
01:07:06
dismissed, arguing that the government had fallen far short of meeting its burden of proof.
01:07:13
However, the judge allowed the trial to proceed in full while underscoring one critical point to the jury.
01:07:22
There is almost no evidence of action by Gilberto Valley beyond computer-based activities.
01:07:29
[Music] In their closing arguments, the prosecution contended that Gilberto's fantasies were unacceptable and that the
01:07:40
pornography he indulged in was quote, "not normal pornography for any human being."
01:07:48
They argued that the defense was attempting to convince the jury of ideas that defied common sense, including that
01:07:56
it was acceptable for an armed police officer to go about his day making detailed plans about killing real women.
01:08:05
In their closing statements, the defense compared the case to the 1938 CBS radio
01:08:11
broadcast of The War of the Worlds, which was presented as a series of realistic news bulletins about a Martian
01:08:18
invasion of Earth. Many listeners who turned in late missed the opening disclaimer that it was a
01:08:25
dramatization, resulting in widespread panic. They also drew parallels to George
01:08:32
Orwell's dystopian novel 1984, specifically the thought police, whose role was not just to punish crimes, but
01:08:40
to detect and eliminate thought crime, any thinking that contradicted the state's ideology.
01:08:48
The defense argued, "You can't convict people for their thoughts, even if they're sick."
01:08:58
The jury deliberated for more than two full days before returning a verdict. They found Gilberto Valley guilty of
01:09:07
conspiracy to commit kidnapping as well as guilty of the unauthorized use of a federal database.
01:09:15
The decision sent shock waves through the courtroom and beyond. Despite personal opinions of Gilberto's
01:09:23
disturbing fantasies, the prevailing belief among the press, the public, and trial observers was that the defense
01:09:30
would win. Instead, Gilberto received the maximum penalty, life in prison on the
01:09:38
kidnapping conspiracy charge, along with a concurrent 12-month sentence for database misuse.
01:09:47
Speaking to the press after the verdict, lead defense attorney Julia Gatau remarked,
01:09:53
"Obviously, the case involved thoughts that were unusual and bizarre and frankly very ugly. We think that the
01:10:02
jury just couldn't get past that." Defense attorney Robert Bal added, "We were always worried that that thought
01:10:11
would prevail over an objective, rational, non-emotional view of the evidence. People can be prosecuted for their
01:10:20
thoughts and convicted, which is even sadder to think about." One juror later spoke anonymously for
01:10:29
the HBO documentary Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop. They said the entire jury had
01:10:36
immediately agreed that Gilberto was guilty of the unauthorized database usage. It was the kidnapping conspiracy that
01:10:45
required longer deliberation. While all the jurors acknowledged that Gilberto had problems, some felt more
01:10:54
strongly than others that he was guilty of that charge. For the juror being interviewed, the
01:11:00
fact that Gilberto had shared photos of real women he knew was what made his actions more than just fantasy.
01:11:09
However, it was Gilberto's discussions with Moody Blues about Charlotte that truly shifted the jury's perception.
01:11:18
According to the juror, his trip to Maryland to visit Charlotte, along with the document titled Abducting and
01:11:25
Cooking Charlotte, a blueprint, made it very real to the jury that any one of the women could have wound up a murder
01:11:33
victim. [Music] Gilberto Valet appealed his conviction with the case heard in July 2014.
01:11:44
In delivering his findings, the presiding judge described Gilberto's online communications as deviant,
01:11:51
depraved, and misogynistic, but noted that they contained a veritable avalanche of false,
01:11:59
fictitious, and fantastical information concerning himself and the steps he had allegedly taken to facilitate a
01:12:06
kidnapping. The judge ruled that based on the evidence, it was more likely than not
01:12:13
that all of Gilberto's online communications about kidnapping were just fantasy roleplay.
01:12:21
His chats and emails about these topics by themselves were not enough to prove the legal elements of a conspiracy to
01:12:28
commit kidnapping. The conspiracy charge was overturned, while the charge for unauthorized use of
01:12:36
a federal database was upheld. By that point, Gilberto had already spent 21 months in solitary confinement
01:12:45
due to his protective status as a former police officer. He was sentenced to time served and
01:12:52
promptly released under the conditions of one year of probation, ongoing mental health treatment, and various
01:12:59
restrictions, including no contact with the women involved in the case, and no internet use.
01:13:06
He remained in home confinement at his mother's house while the prosecution pursued their own appeal.
01:13:14
The matter was fully resolved in the second US Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2015.
01:13:22
In a 2:1 ruling, the court rejected the prosecutor's arguments and upheld Gilberto's appeal.
01:13:29
While the decision acknowledged that fantasies of violence against women contribute to a culture of exploitation
01:13:36
and are a massive social harm that demeans women. The court emphasized that not every harm is meant to be addressed
01:13:45
with the federal criminal law. The second circuit also reversed Gilberto's unauthorized database usage
01:13:53
conviction. Outside the courtroom, Gilberto Valley offered a formal apology to everyone who
01:14:00
had been hurt, shocked, or offended by what he described as his infantile actions.
01:14:08
Speaking to the women involved, he said, "I just hope they know they were never in danger. I would never do the things I
01:14:17
talked about on the internet. Never." He reiterated that he was incapable of violence while acknowledging that his
01:14:26
words alone wouldn't mean anything unless he rebuilt his life. Taking full responsibility, he added,
01:14:35
"It was my fault for doing all this. That's not who I really am. People who know me never believed the allegations."
01:14:46
Gilberto's co-conspirator, Moody Blues, was later identified as 57year-old Dale Bolinger, a nurse from Canterbury,
01:14:54
England. He also faced conspiracy charges related to the Girl Meat Hunter case, as well as
01:15:01
additional charges for separate offenses, including grooming an underage girl and possession of child abuse
01:15:08
images. Ballinger was convicted on 11 charges and sentenced to 9 years in prison,
01:15:16
though he was released after roughly 3 years for good behavior. He relocated to the American state of
01:15:23
Nebraska. But when local residents raised concerns about him living near a playground, he was taken into custody
01:15:31
and transferred to a treatment facility for sex offenders. Gilberto's second co-conspirator, Mike
01:15:39
Vanheis, 81, had used his real name as his online username. Vanheis was a 23-year-old mechanic from
01:15:48
New Jersey. He was also charged and found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and sentenced to 7 years in
01:15:56
prison. His reduced sentence reflected his cooperation with authorities, a troubled childhood, and the court's
01:16:04
determination that he was less culpable than Gilberto. The third co-acused, Ali Khn, was
01:16:12
identified as a man from Pakistan, though his full identity remains unknown. [Music]
01:16:22
Gilberto Valley has spoken publicly about his experience through various media interviews and engagements.
01:16:29
He was featured in the HBO documentary on his case and authored a memoir titled Raw Deal: The Untold Story of the NYPD's
01:16:38
Cannibal Cop. He appeared in person at CrimeCon in 2019, and his case inspired an episode
01:16:46
of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit titled Thought Criminal. Reactions to Gilberto's outcome remained
01:16:54
mixed. While some people accept his claims of fantasy, others believe he genuinely intended to harm women and
01:17:03
that he remains a danger to society. He has received letters from supporters, including individuals with
01:17:11
unconventional and morbid fetishes of their own. He has also received messages from
01:17:17
people expressing their desire to put a bullet in his head. Gilberto claims he is unbothered by such
01:17:26
remarks, explaining, "They can't overlook the fact that they can say that and have nothing happened
01:17:33
to them in part because of how my case played out. You can dislike me as much as you want. You can say he's a scumbag.
01:17:41
He's a piece of garbage. But if you look at the case merely from a legal perspective, there's one
01:17:48
conclusion you can reach. This is the country of second chances. I'm holding out hope that people who
01:17:57
make mistakes don't have to be forever defined by those mistakes. To this day, the case continues to spark
01:18:07
dialogue on several contentious issues, including the distinction between thought and action, the role of online
01:18:14
platforms, media and public sensationalism, and free speech and legal precedent.
01:18:22
It is often cited as an example of thought policing where someone is punished for their ideas rather than
01:18:29
their actions. Speaking about the case, the policy director for the American Civil
01:18:35
Liberties Union, Lee Roland, said, "There is always reasonable doubt about whether or not someone is going to take
01:18:43
a particular action. Police officers don't have some magical psychic wand that allows them to know
01:18:50
either. We don't want to give the government the ability to decide what fantasies meet the thought police's bar
01:18:58
for acceptability. That bar is rightly high. If the First Amendment protects someone
01:19:05
fantasizing about violently raping and killing and eating a woman, it's going to protect pretty much anything you're
01:19:13
thinking about. And that's what principles mean. They make us uncomfortable, and we apply
01:19:21
them regardless. [Music]