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The Weepy Voiced Killer | World's Most Evil Killers

January 26, 2023 / 43:39

This episode discusses the case of Paul Stefani, known as the weepy voice killer, who attacked and murdered multiple women in Minnesota during the early 1980s. Key topics include his background, the brutal nature of his crimes, and the infamous 9-1-1 calls he made to police.

The episode begins with the first attack on Karen Potak on New Year's Day 1981, where she was severely beaten and left for dead. Stefani's distinctive voice during the 9-1-1 call led to his nickname, and the police struggled to connect him to other attacks.

Listeners learn about the murder of Kimberly Compton, who was stabbed 61 times shortly after arriving in Saint Paul. The episode highlights how Stefani's desire for recognition as a serial killer manifested in his phone calls to police.

Denise Williams, another victim, survived an attack and provided crucial information that led to Stefani's arrest. The episode details the police investigation, including the challenges they faced in gathering evidence against him.

Finally, the episode covers Stefani's later confessions to multiple murders before his death in 1998, leaving a lasting impact on the community and raising questions about his motivations and the nature of his violence.

TLDR

Paul Stefani, the weepy voice killer, brutally attacked and murdered women in Minnesota, leaving a lasting impact on the community.

Episode

43:39
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in the early hours of New Year's Day in 1981 police in Saint Paul Minnesota received an hysterical 9-1-1 call
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the anonymous call was made by her attacker and it was to be the first of many she was badly beaten with a tire
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iron left for dead in the snow when I went there the next morning the blood was still in the snow and we thought
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there's no way this person who'd been so viciously beaten could have survived
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the assailant soon became known as the weepy voice killer his Eerie tones were so distinctive that he was quickly
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linked to many more attacks you knew that it was the same person I've listened to those calls for many
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times over the years so you know it's the same person making these phone calls
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[Music] I think he was looking for absolution and he never got it he had confessed his sins but there was
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no forgiveness for Paul Stefani the weepy voice killer who'd become one of the world's most evil killers
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[Music] [Music] between January 1981 and August 1982 police in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis
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and Saint Paul received a series of disturbing Anonymous phone calls from a serial killer
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each time they were linked to the discovery of a woman's body I can't stop myself
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there is a sense of urgency of the danger that he was out there and also a sense that he wanted to be caught
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because I can't remember a time in 40 Years of covering crime of somebody calling up and leading police that way
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to the victims and seeming hysterical there is a lot of fear in the community there is a sense that this would be Saul
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quickly that the voice should be recognized but then nothing happened the now Infamous whiny voice in the
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9-1-1 calls caused him to be dubbed the weepy voiced killer he brutally attacked
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five women you find me I just passed somebody with a nice dick this isn't somebody who wants to be
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caught it's somebody who wants status who wants recognition he is absolutely desperate to be seen as
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a serial killer he wants a recognition of being a serial killer that's something that's quite important to him
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this killer Story begins in Minnesota Paul Michael Stefani was born on the 8th of September
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1944. Paul Stefani was born in a smaller town down in southern Minnesota by Austin
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it's my understanding that his parents divorced and that he had a very strict
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stepfather who was a devout Catholic it's quite interesting looking at the religious background of serial killers
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because it tends to affect them in one of two ways on the one hand they might use the kind of values that they've
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grown up with as a justification for their behavior on the other hand their failure to live up to those values might
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be something that they feel fundamentally ashamed of and it's that shame that actually drives their
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offending he seemed to have a strong bond with his mother there's a strength there so
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there's nothing that I could find that made any sense that that could even explain why he did what he did
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I think there would have been quite clear boundaries around what's acceptable what's not acceptable ideas
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about Sin Stefani had been diagnosed with epilepsy as a child and when he kept losing his
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jobs as an adult he blamed the condition nevertheless Heath did appear to settle
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down he moved out of Austin to Saint Paul and by the age of 26 had met his wife in 1970 he got married
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so far so normal didn't last all that long they divorced five years later the 1970s there's still quite a bit of
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stigma around divorce especially within Catholic communities so I think this on his part perhaps would have been seen as
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something of a failure so I think it's quite an interesting element of his background
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sometime after his divorce Stefani went off the rails and showed his violent side for the first time the details of
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the incident are unknown but Stefani was convicted of assault meaning his name was now on a list of known violent
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offenders Stefani soon moved on and began a relationship with a Syrian girl who he
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reportedly hoped to marry they were pretty close dating for four years and then she leaves in front and Reigns
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marries that she had no control over Stefani struggled with the rejection when he lost yet another job this time
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at momberg manufacturing things were spiraling out of his control something is burning at him inside
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something is eating at Paul Stefani in the early hours of New Year's Day 1981 things took a sudden and Sinister
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turn as the night's celebrations wound down 36 year olds tafani encountered a
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20 year old student Karen potak she was walking home when she suddenly was attacked right off Pierce Butler
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Road a main road in Saint Paul it's absolutely vicious attack callus without warning and for no reason
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at 3am on New Year's Day the police instant Paul receive a phone call an anonymous phone call
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[Music] Nuremberg Manufacturing Company can you tell me what happened Financial the phone call was a hysterical person
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it wasn't clear if it was a man or a woman this is incredibly deliberate on his
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part He is wanting to appear to be somebody who can't help what he's doing
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he thinks she's dead she's certainly left if I did and he's consumed you've got two
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conflicting emotions inside Stefani one an absolute desire to hurt women two Fierce guilt about having done it
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[Music] this is urgency get there help her and a ambulance was sent there and that's
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where they found Karen potak near death in the snow she'd been hit sorry for the head with a
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tire iron multiple times to the extent that some of her brain was actually exposed to to the elements so this is a
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really really significant attack and it's one that shows us that the person who carried it out wanted to kill the
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victim the location of Stefani's first attack would later form a key part of the
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investigation as police worked to identify him she's found in a very significant place
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near some railway tracks near a factory in which Stefani once worked it was the momberg manufacturing company
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where Stefani had lost his job he would later claim this upset to be the reason he attacked that's something
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about serial killers too when they first began killing people and of course but potaki didn't kill her but he left it
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for Dead really they go to places that are familiar with them at the beginning of their assaults
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Karen was taken to hospital but was not expected to survive when I went there the next morning the
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blood was still in the snow and we thought there's no way this person who'd
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been so viciously beaten could have survived in fact miraculously Karim is not dead
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although perhaps mercifully she doesn't remember anything about the attack and she certainly
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doesn't know who's attacked her please attributed that to the the cognitive damage that was done to her in
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the assault she was never the same after that Paul Stefani has got away with what he thought was murder but in
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fact wasn't I expected two things that Karen potak would not survive which he did
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and I expected this case to be wrapped up right away they would catch his person man or woman but nothing happened
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things were quiet for five months but on the 3rd of June Stefani is soon to be Infamous weepy Voice Was Heard again
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oh yeah I can't stop myself [Music] he sounds quite childlike and pathetic essentially
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there's an emphasis on poor me feel sorry for me I can't help myself so this
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is very deliberate on his part this is all about him 30 minutes after the 9-1-1 call a grim
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Discovery was made in bushes by a freeway in Saint Paul some boys were all playing and a ball
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went over to the edge of where they were playing and they they saw they thought it was a dummy laying in the grass kind
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of hidden and they realized it was an actual person and a body and they called the police
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in the bushes it's things that we discard it's things that we don't want
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anymore it's things that we would consider to be trash and that's very much how Stefani saw this victim
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the body was that of a woman wearing a red jacket she had no identification but did have a
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single key on her person the key was to the Greyhound bus locker in Saint Paul by Mickey's Diner
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pretty iconic location in Saint Paul through there they found some of her identification and were able to figure
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out it was Kimberly Compton working backwards at police and found out she had just arrived that that day
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from Pepin Wisconsin he said to tell her family that she was brutally assaulted and murdered
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so at this point we didn't have any idea of who or why or what what had happened
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that day gone to some pool on the Greyhound bus to start a new life after leaving
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Wisconsin this was going to be a clean slate this was the beginning of a new life and
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sadly it was the end tracking Kimberly's last movements police discovered that after arriving at
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the bus station Kimberly had gone to a nearby Diner where she'd met a friendly
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local who seemed Keen to welcome her to the city safani was personable got a conversation going with her and said hey
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you're from Wisconsin let me show you some of the sites of Saint Paul so he came across as sort of an older
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man looking out for this young woman with hopes and dreams 15 minutes later she was dead
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Kimberly Compton was stabbed 61 times in the upper body mostly in that in a very
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violent assault with an ice pick later on the medical examiner determined Not only was she stabbed but she was
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also choked to death with some shoelaces [Music] this method of killing this ferocity it
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isn't about losing control this is about gaining control this killer is somebody
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who wants to not just kill but absolutely obliterate his victim two days after Kimberly was murdered
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police received another call from the high-pitched caller it wasn't recorded
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but investigators were hopeful it would provide more clues that could lead them to the killer he stayed on the phone a
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little bit longer and the police traced his phone call to a phone booth at the bus depot
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where she had just gotten off and police followed up and went to the bus depot tried to take fingerprints but there
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were so many people I had used the phone in that area that it would not have any
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positive results on the 11th of June the killer called again I couldn't help it don't know why I
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understand [Music] about it try not to kill anybody else he's quite frustrated he's quite annoyed
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he wants this murder to be recognized he wants something to happen he's telling the police you know hey I'm
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in charge I want you to do what I want you to do don't talk listen stop me I
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can't help myself do your job you know basically saying catch me police were quick to make the connection
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between the recent 9-1-1 calls and the one they received five months previously in the unsold Karen potat case
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one of the people I believe in the 911 Center said that sounds like an individual about a year ago that called
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that same squeaky High weeping type of voice two young women found a few miles apart
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brutally attacked and that phone call police felt they had a serial killer on the loose and alerted the media that the
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connection they believe existed in an attempt to put a name to the voice they released the 9-1-1 calls
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we put the phone call on the air and we were sure people would recognize the voice
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the media and dubbed him the weepy voice killer we're hoping that somebody will
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recognize the voice you know whether it be a friend or a relative or a neighbor or someone you work with or drink with
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you would think that somebody would recognize that anybody who had an argument with him or he'd heard him
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stress would recognize him from the voice it was so distinct with no immediate leads detectives tried
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to find other links to the victims in the hopes of identifying the Predator they noted that both victims had been
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wearing red FBI profilers theorized that the color could be a trigger a warning was issued to the public
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he's got a whole town a whole city in fear everybody is going to be watching
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their backs and and making sure that they don't wear anything red especially
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women now Stefani is someone who enjoys controlling women and when he says something like this he's controlling not
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just one but potentially thousands of women these victims of his were wearing red
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and he had dated a girl from Syria for about four years and the only picture I ever saw heard that he had she was where
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he read this was a big story in the Twin Cities a lot of coverage of the serial killer
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we believe was on the loose even though there'd only been one killing at that
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point and then things got quiet for months there was no word from the weepy voice killer residents hoped
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they'd Seen the Last of his horrific Acts then in late August 1981 police in Saint
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Paul received an emergency call an individual named Alan Lopez was holding his family hostage
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the negotiators sent SWAT team is sent he insists that uh he's going to kill them the police were
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trying to get him to come out and Alan Lopez during that conversation with the police said he is the person
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that killed Kimberly Compton I covered that standoff and it was bizarre enough on its own and then we
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hear that he's confessing to being Kimberly Compton's killer eventually the standoff is resolved the
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SWAT team entered the house to discover that Alan Lopez has indeed killed his father mother and
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sister 26 year old Lopez was arrested for the murders of his relatives and investigators worked on connecting him
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to Kimberly Compton's murder however a voice comparison between Lopez and the weepy voiced 9-1-1 calls found
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no similarities the questions remained unanswered and in February 1982 Lopez committed suicide in
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jail in August another woman's body was found across the river in Minneapolis
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it was a very brutal scene and police were called and Emma was called and she was she was found deceased by numerous
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stab wounds investigators trying to piece together what had happened struggled to identify
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the woman two days later a 9-1-1 call came in with a familiar sounding voice by your emergency
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[Music] so now we knew it couldn't have been Alan Lopez because now we have another
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murder with the same weepy voice calling the police department it was a challenge to the police
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department showing that a year here I've done this now see if you can catch me
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there's quite a lot that's happening in this call firstly he's asserting that
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status and Authority you've got to listen to me then he's almost boasting
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about the number of times that he's stabbed during our attention to how violent he is and then he's linking
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those two killings he'd gone quiet for close to a year and suddenly we have this murder of a young
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woman in Minneapolis the Minneapolis Police Department got a hold of the Saint Paul police department
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and they started working together on trying to identify who this caller was investigators were also working hard to
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identify the victim a vital tip came when a postal worker handed in a woman's purse belonging to a
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local nurse Barbara Simons the purse was in a mailbox and they tracked down who Barbara Simons
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was they knew she was the kills near the Mississippi River and they found out that she had been at a bar the hexagon
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bar the night before her body was found Witnesses from the bar remembered seeing
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40 year old Barbara with a man Stefani came up and asked her for a cigarette and he danced with her and very open
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that he was with her had made contact with her this food appeared to be quite a bold
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move on his part so he's going out and he's hunting for victims out there in
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public where other people can see him but by this stage he's gotten away with
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murder and I think he's becoming a lot bolder seems like they hit it off According to
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some people at the bar and he offered to give her a ride home in fact if I recall she said to the
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waitress there at the bar saying boy I hope he's a nice guy because he's going
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to give me a ride home obviously he wasn't and she was killed that night [Music]
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he took her down to an area assaulted her stabbed her numerous times and left her to be found too
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and I believe this time that they thought that a Phillips screwdriver similar to an ice pick was used in those
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assaults bostoff gave detailed descriptions of the man's appearance and detectives
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began trawling through a database of violent offenders in the area based on the description of what the bartender
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and the waitress said they narrowed it down to about eight or nine and the bartender picked out Paul Stefani as
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being the person that was talking to Barbara Simons that night police began to focus on him trying to
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figure out where he lived try to put the pieces together on Paul Stefani investigators on both sides of the river
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at this point are working on the case they knew they had a very dangerous person out there
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investigators learned all they could about Stefani's background making a crucial link from another of the attacks
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among the things they figured out about Paul Stefani is that he had worked in malmberg manufacturing which is the
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place where Karen potak the first victim had been attacked and I think that was significant to them because not only had
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he given a street where she was found he named a business and that was unusual police were now confident that Stefani
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was the weepy voiced killer they knew who they believed they were looking for at that point and the Clock
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Was ticking is he going to do it again is he going to call in with something and so investigators are working
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comparing notes on both sides of the river the media is we're in a kind of a
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frenzy to keep it out there because we didn't want one more victim to everyone's horror there would be
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another despite now being under police surveillance He Slipped through the net and on the 21st of August 1982 went
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hunting for his next victim that night Stefani met Denise Williams Denise has been engaged in sex work for
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for quite some years so she she's out and about on the streets quite frequently and he offers her money to
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engage in a sex act with him so she accepts she gets in his car they drive off they exchange business
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and he says that he's going to take her back to Minneapolis he found her a mini
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apples he's taken her back she got suspicious because he didn't seem to be going back to where he was
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supposed to take her suddenly he pulls over his car and viciously attacks her she fights back she's Street Savvy she
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fights back she saw a pop bottle she takes that bottle smashes it across his face and causes him to bleed she manages
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to escape and he started going after and stabbing her again a person heard her screaming
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came over and helped her out and Stefani turned on him and threatened him and he
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got Williams away Stefani took off and left the scene foreign Stefani is a killer who is used to being
00:25:43
100 in control when it comes to his crimes but this time he's really met his
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match in Denise he's come up against a woman who is not going to put up with
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this she is not going to just let this guy take her life she is quite tough she's quite Street
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wise and I imagine she's been in quite a few altercations with with clients before so this really rattles him like
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this woman has won and he is lost in this particular situation so I think it really does knock him off balance
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he had to think in the back of his mind if he was rational at that time that police are going to going going to be
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interviewing him how did this assault happen where did it happen who did it and that it was unraveling very fast for
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him after Denise Williams started pounding him with that bottle having failed in his attack the Predator
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returned home to assess his injuries he goes home to Saint Paul and then he made another phone call
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this time he wasn't calling to get help for a victim he was calling for help for
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himself he actually calls 9-1-1 and requests an ambulance and his voice wasn't quite as
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high and quite as weepy or anything else but he said he was hurt and he needed an
00:27:01
ambulance the coal raised the lawn bells for the person who received it hey this sounds like the guy that's been
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on television that I've heard that weepy boys kill her it sounds like his voice
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is is very similar so they got the police involved the Saint Paul police department who had
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Stefani under surveillance saw the police department show up those is an ambulance shows up at
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Stefani's residence and the murder killing spree was over they arrested Paul safani and it ended
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right there Denise Williams had become the second victim to have survived the brutal
00:27:44
attack of a serial killer she had been the victim of an assault and went to the hospital
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and she described her attacker and the police then showed her some mugshots of different people and she picked out Paul
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Stefani she became many ways the hero of all this but she did and her response was
00:28:10
life-saving for others herself and others Stefani was charged with the assaults of
00:28:16
19 year old Denise Williams and with the murder of 40 year old Barbara Simons [ __ ]
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but the weepy killer had lost his voice although he said in his phone calls to police somebody needs to stop me he
00:28:34
certainly didn't give them enough information to actually make that happen he wanted to continue but he wanted
00:28:39
people to think that he wasn't in control of what he was doing he wanted people to have sympathy for him to feel
00:28:46
sorry for him Paul Stefani went from the guy calling in confessing to when the police had him
00:28:53
he's not cooperating at all but as oppressing him they show him I believe some crime scene photos and that seemed
00:28:59
to be the trigger point when the police would open up their file there were pictures of Karen potak and
00:29:08
Kimberly Compton his voice elevated to a higher pitch he starts getting hysterical in his
00:29:17
voice and they fell at that point this is it how he sounded in that room paralleled the
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phone calls they've been getting so at least from their experience in the room
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they felt no question this was their guy and so when we looked at everything that
00:29:35
we had between Karen potak and Kimberly Compton and Denise Williams and Barbara Simons the stronger cases with the
00:29:44
actual identification where the Minneapolis case is Barbara Simons and Denise Williams so went ahead with the
00:29:53
prosecution of those two cases first in 1984 and 1985 when he faced trials for the attempted murder of Denise
00:30:04
Williams and the murder of Barbara Simons Stefani pled not guilty the Denise Williams evidence was her ID
00:30:14
describing how the assault took place the Good Samaritan that came up could identify Stefani as attacking her and
00:30:22
then threatening him with the screwdriver the violence displayed in his attack was
00:30:30
evident in his demeanor in court there seemed to be a lot of rage it was contained and physically the thing that
00:30:37
stood out the most is just the glare looking around the glare that he had in that courtroom this sort of a disdain
00:30:43
for everyone in the courtroom [Music] when we're looking at his behavior in court when he's having these outbursts
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when he's quite antagonistic and he's quite confrontational this is the real
00:30:55
him and I think up until this point in time it's only his victims who've seen
00:31:00
this the weepy voice killer had become infamous for the 9-1-1 calls in which he confessed to his crimes prosecutors use
00:31:10
these recordings in the trial during the trial there are a number of witnesses and evidence that was
00:31:16
presented but by far the most compelling evidence was stuff he gave to them his phone
00:31:22
calls he in essence put on a platter here I am I'm the guy that called and their efforts to challenge it and
00:31:30
whether it was really Paul Stefani or not yes please this is an emergency please that it was the same person I've
00:31:38
listened to those calls so many times over the years so you know that it's the
00:31:43
same person making these phone calls some key people who testified and said they recognized the voice they included
00:31:50
his ex-wife his sister so people who knew him was able to describe that's the same guy
00:31:58
to have two women up there incriminating him really does turn on his head all of
00:32:04
those values he's got about the role of men and the role of women women are supposed to be passive they're supposed
00:32:09
to be subservient they're supposed to be compliant and here they are convicting
00:32:13
him despite the seemingly overwhelming evidence connecting Stefani to the 9-1-1 calls they were deemed inadmissible for
00:32:23
identifying the attacker in the earlier weepy voice cases in Saint Paul during the course of that trial the
00:32:31
judge threw out the voice identification of the weepy voice killer he said it wasn't sufficient
00:32:38
to tie him to Karen potak or Kimberly Compton the only thing we had connecting Stefani
00:32:48
was his voice on those calls and we didn't think we had enough evidence to prove Beyond a reasonable doubt that we
00:32:57
could prove it was him consequently Paul Stefani was never tried for those crimes
00:33:05
he was found guilty of the second-degree murder of Barbara Simons and the attempted murder of Denise Williams in
00:33:13
total he was sentenced to 58 years in prison essentially a life sentence he wasn't
00:33:19
going to be getting out we didn't want to go through another trial if we didn't
00:33:24
have to unless we could absolutely proven in a shocking twist 12 years into his sentence the weepy voiced killer himself
00:33:34
would give investigators all the confirmation they needed Stefani had won final confession to make
00:33:44
Paul Stefani found out that he had terminal cancer and he wasn't going to live more than a month to 12 months that
00:33:51
was what the doctors were giving him because of skin cancer so he asked the guards at the prison Oak
00:33:58
Park Heights to get a hold of the Saint Paul police because he wanted to talk to
00:34:02
them about what he had done and so the investigator went in and met with him he'd already been convicted in
00:34:09
Barbara Simon's murder as well as Denise Williams assault Stefani admitted that he had assaulted
00:34:17
Karen potak and he admitted killing Kimberly Compton so all four he admitted that he was
00:34:26
responsible for their assaults or their deaths this isn't that he's suddenly become
00:34:32
remorseful that he suddenly grown a conscience overnight that he knows he's going to meet his maker and he needs to
00:34:39
offload all of this stuff what he's trying to do is control what he leaves behind he doesn't want to leave this
00:34:45
world not having the credit for all of the murders that he's committed Stefani had confirmed that he was
00:34:52
responsible for all of the crimes he had been suspected of but his next admittance would stun investigators
00:35:01
and then out of the blue he mentioned that he also had drowned this woman he couldn't remember her name but drowned a
00:35:08
woman in Lauderdale which is suburb of Saint Paul he confessed to a murder that nobody had
00:35:16
any indication that he'd ever done in fact in it when in his confession it took them for a while to identify who
00:35:24
that victim was the place went back to say is there any unsolved cases or someone was drowned
00:35:31
and you never found a suspect and sure enough they found Kathleen Greening in 1982
00:35:40
she was a school teacher in the Saint Paul Area and apparently she and Paul Stefani had gone out on a date
00:35:49
and she was drowned and for many years police suspected her husband [Music] when the police went back to look at the
00:36:00
evidence he gave them evidence about her house that only the killer would know the layout of the house how we did it
00:36:09
he had strangled her drowned her in a tub in her own home this time Stefani hadn't phoned 9-1-1
00:36:18
and in another stunning Revelation he claimed that wasn't the only thing that
00:36:24
was different in this case he'd met with Kathleen on several occasions he described the murder you know they're
00:36:32
going up to a bathtub are they going to have consensual sex this is completely different he had feelings for this
00:36:40
person he's a master of information control he wants to be very careful about the story that's emerging around
00:36:47
his murders the reason that Stefani didn't call the police after killing Kathleen was that he didn't want them to
00:36:54
know about it is something he feels ashamed of something he feels embarrassed about
00:36:59
something that doesn't quite fit with the Persona that he's trying to create
00:37:03
reporter Caroline Lowe was intrigued by this killer who'd suddenly confessed all
00:37:09
I went to prison to meet with him to see what I could learn because most Killers
00:37:14
most criminals I've covered never admit they've done anything I thought is there
00:37:17
anything we can learn from him and I remember sitting there in prison as he's describing Kathy Greening he
00:37:23
said we had a really good evening we went out we went home and then he takes his hands up to his
00:37:29
throat and he said I just suddenly felt like doing this to her and he's showing
00:37:33
me with his hands it was chilling to see him just calmly describe what he did talking like what did you do for your
00:37:43
vacation last summer but he's talking about killing people and attacking people
00:37:48
investigators re-examining the evidence in Kathleen's case were able to prove
00:37:53
that she had known her killer they found his telephone number in her address book
00:38:01
that the authorities had overlooked in their original investigation we didn't have these smartphones and
00:38:07
everything in those days that you could put somebody's name and telephone number
00:38:10
in she had it in there Paul S and they knew from the arrest of him that that was his telephone number
00:38:18
there was one aspect of the confession that bore a striking resemblance to the Barbara Simons case
00:38:26
he mentioned that he'd put her purse in a mailbox and that was one of those details that only the killer knew and
00:38:32
one of the other cases a person put in a mailbox but that was so significant so he gave them things that there was no
00:38:39
doubt by the time they were done that Paul was in fact her killer it was a big Revelation for the media
00:38:48
and county attorney's office because two or three different offices had reviewed
00:38:53
that case and part of the problem was the medical examiner couldn't determine if it was accidental
00:39:00
or a homicide so the cause of death was undetermined it had taken 15 years but finally her
00:39:10
loved ones knew the truth about who was responsible for Kathleen's death the depraved killer had confessed to
00:39:18
murdering three women and to the attacks on Karen potak and Denise Williams the way he abused those women stabbing a
00:39:28
person 61 times beating a woman with a tire iron until she's unconscious leaving her for dead that's a violent
00:39:35
evil person when you look at that in the brutality and the anger you just wonder why
00:39:42
somebody wasn't alerted to to the rage in this person and the evil of this individual a long time ago
00:39:50
but Paul Stefani hadn't finished his final chapter before he died he contacted Caroline
00:39:58
she wrote me a letter actually I got the next week and he asked me if I would reach out to the victims
00:40:06
families this is a letter which I still have he asked me if I'd reach out to the
00:40:11
victims families because he's wanted me to tell them that he wanted to put flowers on their graves
00:40:19
I would not be a go-between between between serial killer and these families to help him maybe feel better
00:40:26
as his life is winding down I think that he wanted to make his slate clear in the eyes of law enforcement
00:40:38
in the eyes of God as a devout Catholic I am admitting to all my sins please forgive me
00:40:48
I'm telling the police everything I did and that's why I believe that he did not
00:40:53
commit any more murders than those he confessed to 53-year-old Paul Stefani died of cancer
00:41:01
in June 1998. after all of his confessions one question remained unanswered why a lot of us thought that maybe his
00:41:15
religious upbringing in his family falling apart he was taking it out on women he was very hostile in the brutality of
00:41:27
the attacks you don't stab someone 61 times with a nice pick you know without having a lot of rage
00:41:34
and anger [Music] I'm sorry I killed that girl I stand before Twin Cities will never forget the losses
00:41:45
suffered by their communities at the hands of Paul Stefani you mentioned the weepy voice caller killer anyone in
00:41:53
Minnesota remembers that if they were around back then they remember the weepy boys killer
00:41:59
Paul Stefani thought he could do whatever he wanted to do in his rage and his being evil and that he could call up
00:42:08
and tell the police that he's sorry and that he would be forgiven or go to church and he would be forgiven
00:42:15
but I think he was looking for absolution and he never got it he's a small town boy became one of the
00:42:23
most notorious serial killers in Minnesota History Paul Michael Stefani has become etched
00:42:30
in the minds of all who knew him as the notorious weepy voice killer whose rage fueled and vicious attacks took the
00:42:39
lives of three unsuspecting women and forever changed the lives of two more Stefani may have believed he would be
00:42:48
forgiven for his sins but his horrific and violent actions mean he will never be absolved as one of the world's most
00:42:56
evil killers foreign [Music] [Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 85
    Most heartbreaking
  • 80
    Most shocking
  • 80
    Most surprising
  • 80
    Biggest cultural impact

Episode Highlights

  • The Weepy Voice Killer
    A series of disturbing calls linked to a brutal serial killer in Minnesota.
    “You knew that it was the same person”
    @ 00m 55s
    January 26, 2023
  • The Attack on Karen Potak
    On New Year's Day, a vicious attack leaves a woman near death in the snow.
    “The blood was still in the snow”
    @ 09m 26s
    January 26, 2023
  • Kimberly Compton's Murder
    A young woman is brutally stabbed 61 times shortly after arriving in Saint Paul.
    “This was going to be a clean slate, this was the beginning of a new life”
    @ 12m 30s
    January 26, 2023
  • The Killer's Boldness
    The killer becomes bolder, hunting for victims in public spaces.
    “He's going out and he's hunting for victims”
    @ 21m 52s
    January 26, 2023
  • Denise Williams Fights Back
    Denise Williams bravely confronts her attacker, turning the tables on him.
    “She is quite tough, she’s quite streetwise.”
    @ 25m 56s
    January 26, 2023
  • Final Confession
    Paul Stefani confesses to multiple murders as he faces terminal cancer.
    “He admitted that he had assaulted Karen Potak and admitted killing Kimberly Compton.”
    @ 34m 14s
    January 26, 2023

Episode Quotes

  • I can't stop myself.
    The Weepy Voiced Killer | World's Most Evil Killers
  • This isn't somebody who wants to be caught, it's somebody who wants status.
    The Weepy Voiced Killer | World's Most Evil Killers
  • He sounds quite childlike and pathetic.
    The Weepy Voiced Killer | World's Most Evil Killers
  • He's quite frustrated, he's quite annoyed.
    The Weepy Voiced Killer | World's Most Evil Killers
  • She is not going to just let this guy take her life.
    The Weepy Voiced Killer | World's Most Evil Killers
  • I’m sorry I killed that girl.
    The Weepy Voiced Killer | World's Most Evil Killers

Key Moments

  • New Year's Day Attack00:05
  • Weepy Voice Emerges00:44
  • Kimberly's Arrival12:04
  • Bold Move at the Bar21:30
  • Brave Stand25:52
  • Final Confession34:14
  • Chilling Admission37:30
  • Legacy of Evil42:50

Tension Over Time

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown