Search Captions & Ask AI

Malibu Creek Murder /// Part 1 /// 337

November 21, 2022 / 48:12

This episode covers the Malibu Creek murder case involving Tristan Beaudette, who was shot while camping with his daughters in Malibu, California. The discussion includes the circumstances of the murder, the investigation, and previous shootings in the area.

Tristan Beaudette and his two daughters went camping at Malibu Creek Campground on June 21, 2018. The following morning, a 911 call reported shots fired, leading to the discovery of Tristan's body inside their tent. He was pronounced dead shortly after, with no injuries to his daughters.

The hosts discuss various theories surrounding the murder, including the possibility of a targeted hit related to Tristan's work in pharmaceuticals and the strange circumstances of his death. They also mention the absence of a clear motive and the lack of suspects.

As the investigation unfolded, it was revealed that there had been multiple shootings in the Malibu Creek area over the previous two years, raising concerns about a potential serial shooter. The episode highlights the public's fear and the law enforcement's response to the ongoing violence.

TLDR

Tristan Beaudette was shot while camping with his daughters, raising concerns about previous shootings in Malibu Creek State Park.

Episode

48:12
00:00:00
foreign [Music] foreign garage wherever you are whatever you are doing thanks for listening I'm your host
00:00:46
Nick and with me as always is a man who loves guitars Cadillacs and hillbilly music he is my friend the captain yeah
00:00:54
but beer never broke my heart it's good to be seen and it's good to see you thanks for listening thanks for telling
00:01:02
your mother [Music] today we are sipping on campfire Stout from high water brewing in sunny
00:01:13
California garage grade four and a quarter bottle caps out of five they used chocolate malt added graham
00:01:20
crackers to the mash and added a natural marshmallow flavor ABV 6.5 and this week
00:01:27
our fridge is full thanks to our good friends first up a big cheers to Rebecca in Orlando Florida and a nice jib to
00:01:34
Ryan in Jacksonville Florida next up we have Diana in Middletown Delaware and a big shout out to Eric and Lorraine Ohio
00:01:42
and a little shout out to Sheila in Lower Lake California and last but certainly not least we have a cheers to
00:01:49
Jessica and Richmond Indiana thank you to everybody for putting some beers in the fridge for this week's show if you
00:01:56
want to help us out with next week's show go to truecrime garage.com and click on the Donate button yeah and
00:02:01
while you're there sign up on the mailing list go to iTunes give us a five star review check out our bonus show our
00:02:07
weekly bonus show called off the Record there's a link on the website or you can
00:02:12
check that out on the Stitcher app that's on Stitcher premium and also our old episodes are exclusively on the
00:02:18
Stitcher app and that is enough of the biz all right everybody gather around grab a chair grab a beer let's talk some
00:02:25
troop crime foreign [Music] I must honestly say after reading the Bible and the Holy Quran
00:03:02
I started to wonder on the Battle of good versus evil on Heaven and Hell In which many believe
00:03:11
is a spiritual battle within oneself and not an actual physical presence some believe that evil resides in all
00:03:21
people the yin and yang for example certain things happen to me in life that I considered evil yet they were
00:03:32
perpetrated by those who were supposed to be the good guys and role models the things they did are considered wrong
00:03:41
to their own way of thinking so why did these things happen did I do anything to these people no
00:03:50
but I am crucified while they are accepted and this is taken as a consequence of
00:03:57
life so I looked at life in the ruling class and the so-called powers that be I began to read books and studied them
00:04:11
keeping thoughts to myself until I could no longer keep it in I came across what
00:04:17
many would find such as conspiracy theories in secret societies but this again crucified me as a
00:04:25
paranoid or even worse shouldn't these people be suffering a state of hell and not me
00:04:33
these are quotes from an e-book titled the luciferian theory this is true crime garage
00:04:42
and this is the case of the Malibu Creek murder [Music] on Thursday June 21st 2018
00:05:07
Tristan beaudette and his two daughters set out for a weekend camping trip they were accompanied by Tristan's
00:05:14
brother-in-law Scott McCurdy and Scott's two young Sons their destination the Malibu Creek Campground located inside
00:05:23
Malibu Creek State Park this is a huge Park of 8 200 Acres the park has 15 miles of trails and is
00:05:33
located in beautiful low crime Malibu California just 25 miles from Los Angeles the park itself is pretty famous it
00:05:43
contains the set for the iconic TV show MASH and was also the site for filming of the original Planet of the Apes
00:05:51
and many famous movie stars live in the area Will Smith's 43 million dollar compound is nearby in the Kardashians
00:06:00
are also not far from here all right can jiggy with it the campground in the park is located near Las
00:06:08
Virginia's road which connects Calabasas and Malibu the campground has 63 campsites each
00:06:15
with a picnic table and Fire Ring rented by the night to people looking to enjoy
00:06:20
the great outdoors in this Scenic area yeah so on that Thursday morning Tristan and Scott
00:06:26
and the kids they headed up to Malibu Creek Park arriving by early afternoon they were assigned a campsite at the
00:06:34
gate but upon arriving there they decided that they could do better they scouted around found a different area
00:06:40
that they preferred and requested a change at the gate they set up their tent cooked dinner and put the kids to
00:06:48
bed in their sleeping bags Tristan and Scott talked late into the night and according to Scott they then retired in
00:06:55
their separate tents where their kids were already sleeping there are reports out there that on the
00:07:02
night of Thursday June 21st 2018 60 6-0 of the 63 campsites were occupied so the campground is almost full yeah
00:07:14
at 4 44 a.m on Friday morning now June 22nd a 911 call came into the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
00:07:24
reporting shots fired in the 1900 block of Las Virginia's Road we don't know who called 9-1-1 although
00:07:33
I've seen reports that it was Scott who heard the shots then found Tristan bleeding and called the police
00:07:41
when the police and paramedics arrived they found Tristan beaudette he had been shot now the early report says he
00:07:49
suffered a gunshot wound to his upper torso unfortunately there was very little that
00:07:56
paramedics could do for him and just a short time later he was pronounced dead at the scene at 5 21 am
00:08:05
the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant Rodney Moore told the media that the man who was shot had
00:08:13
been inside a tent with his two daughters when he was struck the girls thankfully are unharmed
00:08:20
they were taken to the Lost Hills sheriff station in the company of their Uncle Scott
00:08:27
sheriff's deputies woke other campers in the campground inspecting their tents for weapons and asked whether anyone had
00:08:35
heard or seen anything strange many didn't have anything to report a few reported hearing three or four loud
00:08:43
bangs which they thought were from some distance and then going back to sleep investigators closed the park so they
00:08:52
could conduct a thorough investigation of the events of that early morning they did not have a lot to go on and
00:09:00
they told reporters that no other information was available to give them at this stage they had no suspect and no
00:09:08
known motive but one thing they did know this was a homicide what a strange set of circumstances here's a father he's 35
00:09:17
years old he's a young father he's camping with his daughters and and the fact that he is murdered nobody else in
00:09:25
the campsite seems to be affected yeah not even an injury as far as we could find yeah it's like what's the motive
00:09:33
there's no signs of robbery doesn't make any sense yeah his so his two girls they were sleeping with him in
00:09:42
that same tent their ages at the time were two and four but from what I could find their names have not been released
00:09:50
to to the public or to the media now Tristan what we know about him he met his wife Erica Wu when they were in high
00:09:59
school in Fresno Tristan was clean cut and solid he loved cooking Ultimate Frisbee I guess he played on a team
00:10:08
called the air squids which is a pretty cool name Nate he loved nature outdoor activities obviously he's out camping
00:10:15
with his young daughters he likes snowboarding and biking and Science in fact he was a scientist for his
00:10:22
profession After High School he took a year to study in Switzerland and then he matriculated at UC San Diego while Erica
00:10:32
was at Stanford well it seemed like I said it seems like an all-around pretty cool guy and then the fact that he's
00:10:39
taking his daughters camping yeah cool guy uh good father and smart obviously is what we can see here right once he
00:10:46
graduated he was awarded for the highest GPA in his graduating class that is an award I've not received he was enrolled
00:10:57
at The Graduate School at Berkeley where he received his PhD in chemistry so as you pointed out Captain as I pointed out
00:11:05
one bright dude the two got married in 2008 and settled in San Francisco but moved to Irvine
00:11:12
Erica began an OB GYN residency and Tristan took a job at a pharmaceutical company
00:11:19
in June of 2018 so just shortly before this murder the couple was one week away from a move
00:11:28
back to the San Francisco area this would be so that Erica could begin her tenure as a practicing doctor
00:11:37
and Tristan actually accepted a job with a Bay Area pharmaceutical company so they had plans to move
00:11:46
Erica all she had to do was pass her medical boards and then she was good to go this
00:11:52
is the reason why Tristan took the girls camping Erica needed to be alone and focused she needed to study needed to
00:12:01
study for these medical boards well with no clear motive you gotta think that law
00:12:05
enforcement is wondering where where she was during these events and was there any type of relationship outside of the
00:12:15
marriage well here's what we do know on Friday June 22nd this is at 6 45 A.M so the 911 call comes in at 4 44 A.M
00:12:27
Tristan is pronounced dead at 5 21 am and this is now 6 45 a.m Erica Wu was up and getting ready to go and actually
00:12:36
take her boards take the test to her surprise even at this very early hour she found her sister Priscilla at
00:12:45
her door Priscilla was there as she had the unfortunate job of delivering the terrible news right after they spoke
00:12:53
Erica and her sister made the long drive to Malibu to the Lost Hills sheriff station this
00:13:01
was to retrieve her two daughters Erica of course was in a daze she could not wrap her head around what had
00:13:08
happened it was just supposed to be a short fun camping trip and this wasn't in some remote treacherous or even
00:13:17
threatening environment this was a public park with some of the priciest residential areas in the world nearby
00:13:25
well like you said it was almost completely full that day yeah 60 of the 63 campsites were occupied to everyone
00:13:33
this murder seemed totally random and it seemed very bizarre the whole the whole public opinion in theories
00:13:44
they were starting to get tossed around pretty quickly okay here's what we were thinking in the very beginning
00:13:51
one there was a thought that this could be an accidental shooting by one of the daughters
00:13:57
or a possible suicide now this was a theory but this was ruled out almost immediately because the police found no
00:14:08
gun inside the tent with the girls and Tristan no gun at their campsite really no gun anywhere for that man right
00:14:18
another thought was this could be a hunting accident there we should note though no hunting
00:14:25
is allowed in this area at all right there are some more complicated theories that were tossed out there
00:14:34
and some of these well we'll go through first was Tristan's murder was somehow related to the marijuana growing Farms
00:14:43
operated by the Mexican cartels in this area this was tossed out there this was a
00:14:50
theory though that there's there's just really no evidence to carry this Theory any further wait are there
00:14:57
actual marijuana Fields out there there are farms that are operated by Mexican cartels in that general area yes
00:15:07
the other thought was as you kind of hinted towards Tristan was killed by a family member or someone he knew well it
00:15:16
just seems so odd to have three people on a tent and only one of them is murdered I agree and with
00:15:25
the thought too that there's no other injuries no other attacks it seems like this would be a very
00:15:33
pinpoint targeted attack one also seems to like when you think about stranger motive
00:15:41
we could assume it's not sexual because he's a he's a male but then they're they're camping so what are they
00:15:49
stealing if the motive is robbery and then there's the other possibility that I would think that oh well he hears this
00:15:57
man uh camping with his daughters that maybe kill the father and kidnap one of the kids but that didn't happen either
00:16:07
well regarding this Theory they were able to prove very quickly in their investigation that Erica his wife
00:16:16
was nowhere in the area at the time and they were also able to rule out Scott now we know Scott is Along on this
00:16:25
camping trip but we don't know publicly they've never stated why they just simply stated Scott
00:16:31
did not do this I believe that you got several things one no evidence that Scott had any type
00:16:38
of firearm there's no evidence that he had any kind of gunpowder residue on him right I think that would be the first
00:16:45
test that they would give him and as we said it's believed that Scott was the one that called 9-1-1 that found Tristan
00:16:53
that that that made life-saving efforts yeah but we've seen it to his brother-in-law where where somebody's
00:17:00
actually responsible for the murder but they're the ones that called 9-1-1 so that wouldn't rule him out right this
00:17:08
other portion is quite complicated and this would be a targeted hit with Tristan being the target this
00:17:16
Theory really started to gain some traction Tristan's work at allergen was thought
00:17:24
to be a possible motivating factor Tristan I show him as working on a protein-based
00:17:32
anti-cancer vaccines and Drug Delivery Systems people wanted to know could this be why
00:17:40
he was killed it was reported that he held numerous patents as well maybe somebody wanted the rights to his
00:17:49
discoveries right or perhaps he was working on something top secret you know your mind really starts to
00:17:57
wander when you hear these things here because you could we could be talking about the rights to lucrative
00:18:04
medications at stake yeah I understand that and I don't have the knowledge firsthand but I would assume that if
00:18:11
somebody owns a patent on something uh on something they discovered that that would go to like next of kin like
00:18:18
transfer over you would think for a time period yeah you would think maybe even for the amount of the the patent itself
00:18:25
right um so these conspiracy theories were really making their way around the internet people wanted to know did
00:18:33
someone see killing him as a way to personally benefit mm-hmm the theory here like some of the others
00:18:44
that we that we've already discussed is not Ironclad obviously we mentioned several different versions of the same
00:18:51
Theory but one major problem is something we've already pointed out in this story with with it being a targeted
00:18:58
hit right the fact that the brothers the brother-in-laws together they switched assigned campsites at the the
00:19:07
Guard Station it doesn't really build in well then I guess you could look at it on the other
00:19:13
side was there somebody out to kill Scott and got the wrong guy no they I don't mean that they switched
00:19:21
with each other they switched completely to a whole nother campsite okay so what I'm getting at is for this to be
00:19:29
a targeted hit a couple things would have to taken place one the offender would need to know that
00:19:37
they were in fact going camping would then need to know that they switched campsites
00:19:44
basically what I'm saying is if somebody I think the better word is moved campsite moved thank you you're correct
00:19:52
if somebody If This Were to be a targeted hit everything to me points to that somebody would have had to have
00:20:00
been watching him watching his movement stalking Tristan yeah I'm no professional but I I
00:20:07
think to it doesn't make a lot of sense if you're gonna have a hit to play it out
00:20:13
this way I mean I understand that the park might make a little more sense to carry out a hit but
00:20:20
being with his daughters and being with you know his brother I mean that doesn't
00:20:25
make a lot of sense so as the investigation into Tristan's murder continued there was more information
00:20:31
that was coming out Tristan's brother Dylan beaudette was named by LA's KCBS TV news as the source for its report
00:20:42
that Tristan's tent was found to have two holes in it one on the top of the tent and the other on the side of the
00:20:52
tent police would not publicly acknowledge that these were bullet holes but that's where your mind goes right
00:21:00
Captain yeah so here is where I start going well maybe there is something to this targeted hit Theory
00:21:09
if someone I knew he was going camping it wouldn't be difficult to watch him this is an area where you you could
00:21:17
probably blend in I don't know how you're staying there without the without bringing the proper equipment with you
00:21:24
in advance or or remaining to blend in even late into the night possibly having Rangers there
00:21:30
you know knowing that you shouldn't be on the property yeah and so the thing is with these holes
00:21:38
with the bullet holes well they're not saying that they're bullet holes there are two holes in the tent one on top one
00:21:45
on the side you think if somebody is trying to hit a Target from any kind of distance
00:21:53
that it becomes very tricky to actually hit your target when you have three people inside of a enclosed tent you may
00:22:01
you're not going to be able to see your target you're not going to be able to distinguish your target from the other
00:22:06
two people in this tent so so any shot from a distance seems very strange and it makes it seem like
00:22:14
it it's a random act that it's not a targeted hit the other problem though is when we see
00:22:22
the hole on top of the tent that to me looks like it could be a targeted event I don't know the specifics the the very
00:22:32
details of this tent but just thinking about tents I've owned in the past there are some that have like mesh tops right
00:22:40
or or an opening up at the top If This Were a smaller tent you could walk up look down inside and aim at your target
00:22:53
especially even if at night you could you could use a flashlight to assist you in this when I I think of these holes
00:23:01
we'll say they're bullet holes if they're coming from similar directions I could see maybe the idea of
00:23:10
you know an accidental shooting right or a hunting accident or even maybe a crazed hunter that decided to
00:23:20
shoot into tents but the fact that they're coming in from different angles that's strange to me well and I think
00:23:28
that's why it's important that police did not publicly say that these were bullet holes
00:23:35
we don't know for certain that that they were we're assuming that one of them had to
00:23:41
be unless he was shot from inside the tent but the the issue here being that we don't know exactly how fast Scott
00:23:51
responded to what he heard but it sounds like he acted very quickly after hearing
00:23:58
the noise he found Tristan very quickly we don't have him as seeing anybody fleeing from Tristan's tent
00:24:07
so again this is it's just a very weird situation and a weird investigation and I don't want to go to C CSI on everybody
00:24:17
but you would think they would be able to do ballistic tests to see if the roughly what range possibly the the
00:24:25
bullet went through the tent yeah well and I I believe they would be able to determine that they were in fact bullet
00:24:32
holes or if only one of them was that that would be the case so this is this is a perfect way to lead us into
00:24:41
some more information that would come out and this was big for the case this came directly from the LA County
00:24:49
coroner's office from assistant chief Ed winter he said Tristan was killed by a single
00:24:56
gunshot so if the holes are thought to be bullet holes unless one missed their Mark only one could actually be a bullet
00:25:05
hole the twist in the story here Captain is the assistant chief winter says the single shot was to the Head not the
00:25:15
Torso as was previously reported [Music] foreign [Music] we're back cheers hey matey cheers to
00:25:40
you Captain cheers to everybody out there listening I do want to point out before we get too far along that really
00:25:46
great coverage for this case was conducted by the Los Angeles Times and by a long-form article in GQ Magazine by
00:25:54
Zach Baron we have relied heavily on these sources and putting together this week's case
00:26:02
now everyone agreed everyone publicly agreed that Tristan's murder was a bizarre incident not easily explained
00:26:10
and early on thought to be an isolated incident but just five days after the murder that
00:26:17
was going to change because on June 27 2018 a story in the Los Angeles Times by Richard Winton would change everything
00:26:27
the B1 page article headline was five Park shootings in two years but no warning
00:26:37
the article cites five separate shootings all in the Malibu Creek State Park in just a two-year time period all
00:26:46
before Tristan was shot and killed of course yeah the other shootings in which at least one person was injured got
00:26:55
little publicity at the time but now prompted fears that they might somehow all be connected
00:27:03
and the story got worse on June 30th the times reported that there were even more shootings and then
00:27:12
again this information was largely unreported to the public the Los Angeles sheriff's department the the paper said
00:27:19
had identified seven other shootings in the Malibu Creek State Park area since 2016.
00:27:27
three of the seven were in Los Angeles Sheriff Department's jurisdiction and the remainder were in the state parks
00:27:36
jurisdiction a LASD spokesperson issued a statement saying quote homicide detectives are
00:27:44
aware that there have been other shootings near the location in the past however there is no evidence that
00:27:52
suggests this incident is related to any prior shootings end quote the time stated that the Los Angeles
00:28:00
sheriff's department acknowledged these previous shootings only after the times went ahead and published stories
00:28:09
regarding two of the shootings the sheriff's department announced that the campground area would be closed
00:28:16
indefinitely for a safety precaution sounds like they were a little late to the game and closing the park right
00:28:26
and yeah and they just it seems like they kept us quiet because of the area it's in
00:28:32
um it's an area that people have some power it's area where people have some money
00:28:38
especially with so many being in inside the park you would think there would be some kind of
00:28:45
um warning to the public that this is happening be on the lookout a swim at your own risk kind of situation at the
00:28:54
very least and there's not like you said there's not a lot of injuries right there was at least one injury well we're
00:29:01
going to go through these okay so we can try to determine actually what's going on here
00:29:07
you know is there a sniper hiding in the Hills taking aim at unsuspecting Park goers
00:29:13
so the dates of the previous shootings were published by the LA Times and are as follows November 3rd 2016 then
00:29:24
through then six days later November 9th 2016. January 1st 2017 June 8 2017 July 22nd
00:29:35
2017 July 30th 2017 June 18 2018. this last one June 18th just four days before Tristan
00:29:48
was shot and killed yeah the tricky thing here for me Captain is I understand that this falls into two
00:29:56
different jurisdictions but some of these are so close together in time frame that it's hard to believe that
00:30:03
that somebody wouldn't have recognized that there's a problem here that there's a very big underlining we
00:30:10
don't understand what's going on problem here no let's go through the ones that we have
00:30:16
detailed information on the the first incident was on November 3rd 2016 this is when a young wildlife biologist James
00:30:25
Rogers was sleeping in his camping hammock in the nearby Tapia Park area this is not a campground it's about 200
00:30:38
yards from Malibu Canyon Road he says he quote heard a loud bang and then fell a
00:30:45
burning sensation in his arm this is quoted in the LA Times he didn't see anyone around but his arm was wounded
00:30:54
and after a Time pellets started leaking out of the wound oh God James noted that when his
00:31:03
hammock he's you know he when he's in his hammock he sleeps with his arm or arms up over his head yeah
00:31:11
if if he hadn't been positioned this way he would have been shot in the head or the face in the face yeah
00:31:20
in the face he required surgery to remove the many pellets embedded in his arm then just two months later in January of
00:31:30
2017 a woman named melice to tangelo she was camping with her boyfriend in her Honda SUV inside the Malibu Creek State
00:31:40
Park the two were asleep in the vehicle when she heard a loud noise this is around 5
00:31:47
am they stayed inside the vehicle but later got up around 6 a.m they're going to go
00:31:53
out and get some coffee take a drive while they're driving they can hear something rattling around in the back of
00:32:01
the vehicle when they got out they found a hole through the back hatch of the vehicle
00:32:07
someone fired a shot at the SUV and part of a shotgun shell was in the back of the car right near where she was
00:32:18
sleeping that night wow heavy heavy sleepers Melise she said that if the bullet had been an inch or two higher
00:32:27
than she would have been hit the campground host said that others reported what sounded like a gunshot
00:32:36
sound around 5 A.M now the Los Angeles sheriff's department deputies they guessed that the shot was
00:32:42
fired from about 20 feet away from the vehicle malise later told GQ magazine that the sheriff's department deputies
00:32:50
were called to the scene of her shooting they didn't really pay any regard to forensic evidence
00:32:59
they were walking all over the place on potential footprint evidence they didn't
00:33:05
take any photos they weren't wearing gloves she never heard from any of those deputies again after filing the report
00:33:13
that's pretty ridiculous she says and and it seems this way to me that no one was really interested in her
00:33:23
story until after Tristan's murder four other shootings occurred now there's less information available
00:33:32
regarding these but we'll go through what we have according to the times on November 9 2016 this is just six days
00:33:40
after James Rogers shooting someone shot at a person sleeping inside a car at the Malibu Creek State Park
00:33:49
campground six months after that on June 8 2017 a car driving down Malibu Canyon Road was
00:33:59
struck by a bullet another car was hit on July 22nd then on July 30th the times reported quote
00:34:08
deputies investigated another report of shots fired but were unable to determine
00:34:13
what happened end quote then on June 18 2018 a Tesla driving along Malibu Canyon Road around 4 30 a.m
00:34:24
was hit someone shot at the car no one was injured Tristan beaudette brought his daughters
00:34:32
to that Campground just three days later the troubling thing here Captain for me
00:34:39
is not only are we seeing some of these occurring some of these shots fired occurrences
00:34:46
within a relatively quick succession a time period that you should be able to realize that there is something bad
00:34:54
going on here something very dangerous to the public going on here but we also have similar
00:35:00
occurrences right we have people that say I'm I was sleeping and I was shot at or I'm driving my car down this same
00:35:10
road that somebody else was driving their car down and they were shot at a couple things that we can
00:35:17
assume is that if it is the same person this person knows the area pretty well it's not that afraid to get
00:35:28
that close to the victim you know some of the shots only being what they say 20 feet away yeah the one
00:35:35
that we have evidence of public statements of would be 20 feet from the vehicle itself you're you're almost
00:35:43
close enough especially if the shooter walked past the vehicle the shooter very likely knew somebody was inside the SUV
00:35:51
right it might might have crept up to the vehicle or a tent and then backed away from it uh
00:35:59
but this person also hates naps and cars hates naps and cars yeah well and this is to put it very lightly
00:36:11
needless to say residents in the area were super troubled by the notion that it appeared that there was a random
00:36:19
shooter stalking around the park based on what I know on like the we had a 270 shooter here yeah which 270 is our outer
00:36:29
about around Columbus and so to me there there's uh there's a mental thing going
00:36:34
on here there's mental illness possibly and so that's what that's what's scary well we can somewhat understand what the
00:36:46
people in the area were were going through and what they were feeling yeah because you know these people are
00:36:51
telling the Press once they figure this all out once it's all reported that they're afraid to hike they're in
00:36:58
the area they're afraid to go to the park they're afraid to ride horses they say some of them saying they felt like
00:37:04
sitting ducks now we felt similar when there were shots being fired at random cars on 270
00:37:14
here in Columbus when you're traveling along in your in your vehicle there were there were injuries there was at least
00:37:20
one murder that I can remember yeah what was interesting was you had all these shootings going around 270 but it's
00:37:27
mainly the southwest side and all those exits or the exits that I would take to go to friend's house go to work come
00:37:37
home so it was very scary and and then there was several I think it's uh shootings that happen uh when people
00:37:49
were going uh on the on-ramps so you want to talk about going you have to take this exit
00:37:57
and as you got on on that on on ramp then you're your nerves were shot you know you'd be
00:38:03
sweating well and I remember when that was going on people would jokingly say to one another oh don't go on 270 or oh
00:38:11
I stay off of 270 but in reality even though they're trying to put on a hard shell for everybody they were avoiding
00:38:19
270. they were avoiding these areas yeah one point there was they believed like a
00:38:25
cross-section and um a little bit before they caught the guy but it was 270 and State Route 23 and I remember missing my
00:38:36
exit one time and having to take that action wait you worked right in that area yeah and so I was I was going a
00:38:43
different way home and you know to and from work I was going a different way because they said here's this cross
00:38:48
section so it was just like one why take the chance right yeah and so I was going
00:38:54
a different way and I but I mixed I uh what what do they call it your your muscle reflex like I I just
00:39:03
wasn't paying attention and and didn't go my alternate way that day and I I remember
00:39:10
driving down 23 and just like sweating going oh my God am I going to get shot and and then I could just see the
00:39:18
interview uh I was taken a different way and I just forgot that day and then that's when I was shot right so I mean
00:39:25
we know firsthand what what the public the general public here what their fears were but their fears in this situation
00:39:32
were only going to get worse because after Tristan's murder the shootings that the public is now aware of they
00:39:40
continued media reports emerged that in mid-july so this is just a this is a month after
00:39:47
Tristan was killed there were at least two reports of shots fired in the area on
00:39:54
July 9th and then again on July 12th both occurring at night and since June 22nd there had been several other
00:40:03
reports of possible shootings according to the Malibu times as many as nine reports of gunfire
00:40:10
but Sheriff's Lieutenant James Royal said deputies did not find any proof that those were actual shootings three
00:40:19
of the reports turned out to be something other than gunfire including a backfire one was a Transformer explosion
00:40:26
well but at least you have people on the the alert now right right which which you didn't afford the public that
00:40:34
that safety net before right and now they're on high alert some of these were in fact shootings but this is how aware
00:40:43
everyone is now any loud noise could be a shot yeah and and don't fall asleep and don't take a nap and my clap
00:40:51
there was not very loud that was supposed to be much more theatric than that it sounded like a finger snap and
00:40:59
every time you hear a loud noise Lieutenant Royal emphasized that the public needed to stay vigilant saying
00:41:07
quote I strongly encourage you to trust your instincts he said this at a town hall meeting that took place in August
00:41:16
saying that if you see something that doesn't feel right if you have a gut feeling please trust it the Malibu city
00:41:25
council advised residents to avoid the area in the early hours of the morning since it seemed the shootings were
00:41:33
occurring in the hours between midnight and Dawn right complicating things further was the discovery of two
00:41:40
additional Bodies In the Park area on May 16 2018 the body of Francisco Ronaldo Cruz age 52 turned up in a ditch
00:41:52
on Lost virginius Road this is near the campground close to the Malibu Hindu temple
00:42:00
he died of blunt force trauma to the head and sharp force injuries to the neck and chest
00:42:07
according to sources who spoke with The Hollywood Reporter Cruz's body showed signs of torture in the form of drill
00:42:16
marks then on July 27th where were the drill marks I don't know say oh well we we do know
00:42:26
that the report states that there was sharp force injuries to the neck in the chest
00:42:32
drill marks on the neck and the chest that's so that would be my guess yes wow on July 27 19 year old Roger Chavez
00:42:41
barahanas his decomposed body was recovered on an embankment in the 24 000 block of payuma Road
00:42:51
he died of multiple gunshot wounds the sheriff's department Representatives said that these homicides after their
00:42:59
investigation were gang-related and were not were not connected to Tristan's murder
00:43:06
officials specified that the remote Canyon roads unfortunately have been dumping grounds
00:43:13
for bodies for a very long period of time but keep in mind people in the area you're not very trusting of your public
00:43:25
servants right now are you yeah you weren't you don't feel that you were adequately warned about safety
00:43:33
potential injury or or homicide due to Flying bullets in the park or campgrounds so you can imagine that
00:43:42
these people are not going to feel super great about you coming forward and going
00:43:46
well there this is not connected yeah don't worry guys don't worry it's it's Gang Related don't you have nothing to
00:43:53
worry about basically what you have here is hysteria in the area at least as far as some media sources
00:44:02
were concerned in touch which is a weekly gossip magazine questioned quote is there a new
00:44:11
serial killer terrorizing the affluent community of Malibu Canyon another mainstream media pointed out
00:44:18
that a 21 year old man named Matthew Weaver had vanished on August 10 2018 this is not far away in Malibu
00:44:30
his four-door BMW was found quote hanging off the edge of the Topanga mountain Motorway another disturbing
00:44:39
case was the 2017 disappearance of Elaine Park the 20 year old was last seen leaving
00:44:46
her boyfriend's home in Calabasas and her car and personal belongings were found on the Pacific Coast Highway near
00:44:54
Coral Canyon Road in Malibu and of course one of the area's most well-known unsolved deaths was still fresh in the
00:45:04
residents Minds this is of matrice Richardson in 2009 right matrice as you might recall was a case we covered in
00:45:14
episodes 75 and 76 she was detained at the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station only to be released into the night with no car
00:45:23
no purse no phone it was never seen alive again right it's just it's a another example
00:45:29
of the incompetence of law enforcement in this area her body was found seven miles away down a wooded Hillside her
00:45:37
cause of death could not be determined in August of 2018 officials from five different law enforcement agencies held
00:45:48
a town meeting of sorts Lieutenant Moore acknowledged that they had no Theory no
00:45:55
suspect or answers regarding Tristan's murder the thirty five thousand dollar reward for information did not serve to
00:46:03
bring anyone forward the Los Angeles sheriff's department would not even address whether they
00:46:09
believed that the shooting of Tristan beaudette was targeted or random or whether
00:46:16
there were any perceived patterns to the shooting crimes themselves the autopsy results were sealed and detectives would
00:46:25
not disclose whether any of the other shootings involved the same type of weapon
00:46:30
they would not discuss ballistics at all they stated that they didn't see any connection between these crimes and the
00:46:38
matrice Richardson and Elaine Park cases Sheriff Jim McDonald told the San Francisco Chronicle that the pattern at
00:46:47
this point certainly is not clear if there is one at all after all close range shootings like malice and Tristan
00:46:56
are quite different from Tesla's being shot on Canyon Road and that in turn is quite
00:47:02
different from missing persons and drug cartel hits [Music] thank you if you're looking at your podcast app
00:47:15
and you're wondering where can I find more True Crime garage go get the Stitcher app it's free our show has been
00:47:23
around for almost four years so we got a lot of stuff in our back catalog it's all available for free on the Stitcher
00:47:30
app and also we have another show called off the Record everybody loves it check
00:47:35
that out on Stitcher premium until tomorrow everybody out there be good be kind and don't litter
00:47:50
thank you [Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 80
    Most heartbreaking
  • 70
    Most shocking
  • 70
    Most unpredictable
  • 70
    Most controversial

Episode Highlights

  • The Malibu Creek Murder
    Tristan Beaudette was shot while camping with his daughters, sparking a mysterious investigation.
    “This was a homicide, but no clear motive was found.”
    @ 09m 10s
    November 21, 2022
  • Tristan's Background
    Tristan was a well-educated scientist with a bright future, camping with his daughters before tragedy struck.
    “He was awarded for the highest GPA in his graduating class.”
    @ 10m 50s
    November 21, 2022
  • The Investigation Begins
    After Tristan's murder, police found no suspects or motives, leading to various theories.
    “It seemed very bizarre; the whole public opinion in theories were starting to get tossed around.”
    @ 13m 37s
    November 21, 2022
  • Tristan's Murder and the Media's Role
    The Los Angeles Times and GQ Magazine played crucial roles in uncovering the context around Tristan's murder, revealing a pattern of shootings in Malibu Creek State Park.
    “A story in the Los Angeles Times would change everything.”
    @ 26m 20s
    November 21, 2022
  • Public Fear and Vigilance
    Residents grew increasingly fearful after a series of shootings, leading to heightened awareness and caution in the area.
    “Residents were super troubled by the notion of a random shooter stalking around the park.”
    @ 36m 14s
    November 21, 2022
  • Law Enforcement's Response
    Despite multiple shootings, law enforcement struggled to connect the dots, leaving the community anxious and distrustful.
    “Sheriff Jim McDonald stated the pattern at this point certainly is not clear.”
    @ 46m 47s
    November 21, 2022

Episode Quotes

  • But beer never broke my heart.
    Malibu Creek Murder /// Part 1 /// 337
  • What a strange set of circumstances.
    Malibu Creek Murder /// Part 1 /// 337
  • It was just supposed to be a short fun camping trip.
    Malibu Creek Murder /// Part 1 /// 337
  • Homicide detectives are aware that there have been other shootings.
    Malibu Creek Murder /// Part 1 /// 337
  • If you see something that doesn't feel right, please trust it.
    Malibu Creek Murder /// Part 1 /// 337

Key Moments

  • Camping Trip05:10
  • Mysterious Circumstances09:10
  • Unexpected News12:51
  • Investigation Theories14:32
  • Media Coverage25:46
  • Bizarre Incident26:05
  • Public Fear36:14
  • Community Vigilance41:09

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown