330. The Murder of Bootlegger’s Cove - The Murder of Bethany Correira

- You're listening to an ONO media podcast. Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast. This is Murder With My Husband. I'm Peyton Morelin. - And I'm Garrett Morelin. - And he's the husband. - No, I'm the husband. Welcome back. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. We love you guys. We're just out here. Hey, ends, ends going through it. Pregnancy is tough. Like crazy. How you feel about it? Tell me how you feel about it. - So much that I feel like I wasn't prepared for, like not prepared for, but I feel like there's so much that goes on that no one talks about. Like I think you hear the typical like morning sickness and being uncomfortable and hot, but it's like, no, there is so much more physically going on that is uncomfortable and painful that like I had never heard about. - Yeah. - I just wasn't prepared for. I wasn't prepared for the fact that I like, it would hurt to lift my leg because of the hormone shooting through my hips. - I mean, I couldn't imagine, I couldn't imagine. I hate, I don't like being uncomfortable. Not a fan. - Every time I put my undies on, I have to lean against something because lifting my leg hurts like, I'm granted, I've been doing all my exercises and stuff. And I also think every pregnancy is different. Some girls like workout through their whole pregnancy. I've just been doing like pelvic floor stuff, but yeah, there's so much about it that I'm just like, no one told me she was just gonna like tickle my bladder all day. - Uh-huh. - And like, I heard about kicking and it's not even like a kick. It's like a gross stop on to pee my pants if you keep doing that. - She moves a lot. I can feel her move all the time. All day, every day she's moving. Some people have pregnancies where their babies don't move much or they don't feel it. It's, she moves 21st, seven. I can feel her kick basically anytime. Like, she's just going for it. - I don't think she loves the tightness of the womb because every time we get at ultrasound, she's pushing against like all corners. - She's like this. - Like, she's really stretched out. - She's like, get me out of here. - Yeah, I don't think she loves the confine. Like, she's never just curled in a ball. - Fun fact, Garrett was born really early. - This is the second episode in a row. You've spoke third person in the intro. - Well, they know Garrett is. - Fun fact, Garrett was born really early 'cause I said, I want out of there. - Mm-hmm. - I went out of there. - You didn't say that you were big, you were small. - Yeah, I was like three pounds or something crazy. - Both my siblings were preemies. My sister was even more preemied than Garrett. But I was born somewhat normal. So I guess we'll see. And we've been, you know, checking up. Everything looks okay so far. - I'm sure it'll be normal. - Hopefully. - So we're pregnant, we're having a girl. If you didn't know. In case you didn't see Peyton's stomach over here on Netflix. - And Taycee didn't see that I've turned into a full-blown NFL linebacker? - No, that's not true. - I'm not sure, ow. I've been getting these headaches. Sorry to switch over for a second, but we went to the doctor for it. - He has a neurology appointment. Ah, they just, they get so zingy. Crazy. We'll see what's going on. I've always had like eye and like head issues. And I've always done a bunch of tests and a bunch of things, but we'll see what happens. Maybe I'm a superhero. - You like? - Maybe you have like a special power. I just don't know how to harness it yet. - It just hasn't come to fruition. - Yes. And so maybe this is helping it come to fruition. - Like pretty soon you're just going to grow horns out of your head. - Yeah. - That can like make you invisible. - Like Wolverine. - Except it's just a spiky helmet. (laughing) - Sure. - I'll take it. - And you're just supposed to head butt everyone. - I mean, people be scared though. - That was those coming out of your head. - Yeah, that was a sound effect. - Thanks for being here. We love you all. Remind you, if you want bonus episodes, you can check that out on Apple podcasts or Patreon or Spotify. Those are Netflix. Those are audio. Thank you for being here. Oh geez. It's been so fun to just do this every week. So here we are. - Six years. - Six years. - It's kind of crazy. - We did this for six years, guys. - It feels like two and at the same time. I don't actually think it feels that long, but. - Six years is a long time. Bagel shops have been open for almost three months now. - That feels like it's been 10 years. - Oh my gosh. That feels like it's been a lifetime. - Yes. - That's how you know the podcasts is just, you know? - That's the less stressful. - Yes. - Yeah, I'm working a lot, but that's okay. Here we are, got a grind, got a grind. Okay, let's hop into this week's episode. - Our sources for this episode are ADN.com, NBCNews.com. Frontiersman.com, findagrave.com, ABCNews, medium. Case law.findlaw.com and crime raven.com. Now a quick disclaimer, this episode includes discussions of suicide and suicidal ideation. So if you or someone you know is struggling with this, please contact the suicide and crisis lifeline by dialing 988 or text strength to the crisis text line at 741-741. You can also go to 988lifeline.org. And as always, please listen with care. Starting a new chapter is scary. And it's even more unnerving when you're doing it on your own, when you're moving to a new city, starting at a new school, having to find a new home, a new job, great new relationships, it honestly takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there in the world and just be open to a fresh start. It requires a lot of trust, trust in your new environment, trust in yourself and trust in the people around you. Because not everyone is looking out for your best interest. Some people are actually very prepared to take advantage of the new guy in town. And a lot of times, the ones that seem the warmest and most welcoming are the ones you might need to watch out for the most. So today, we are headed northwest to a place we don't travel often on the show and that is Alaska. We are going to the town of Tolkietna. This is the gateway to Mount Donali, which is known as the highest mountain in North America. And it's actually a big summer vacation spot in Alaska where tourists go to hike, mountain climb, be outdoors. But in the winter, when all of the visitors leave, Tolkietna becomes a quiet little spot with a tight-knit community of only about 800 people. It's also where the Korera family has lived since the 1970s in this little Alaska town. Now, Billy and Linda Korera settled it down and built their own little log cabin in the 70s right along a pond. It's basically this little story book home and it's where they raised and homeschooled their kids. They had two sons and two daughters, one of them being their daughter Bethany. Now, up until eighth grade being homeschooled, Bethany hadn't seen much of the world outside of Tolkietna her little town. It wasn't until high school when she stopped being homeschooled and joined the rest of the kids in town that she kind of like broadened her version of life. But Bethany fit and quickly she was athletic, she played volleyball, basketball, she ran track. She also loved everything outdoors, which was perfect for where she lived. She loved camping, biking, snowboarding, sailing. But homeschool was definitely character building for Bethany. She learned how to be self-sufficient because of the way she grew up. And it also made her extremely curious about the world around her. Bethany knew there was a lot out there that she still needed to explore and she found a way to do that through the Christian church. So after graduating high school in Alaska, Bethany entered something called the Master's Commission in an effort to connect deeper with God. And the program was a discipleship that took her to both Thailand and Nepal. And so it kind of awakened a whole new sense of adventure in Bethany. She's basically traveling abroad with this Christian group. And after the year-long program, Bethany found another job that would take her to even more new and exotic places. She got work as a nanny working for a doctor in his family as they sailed around the South Pacific. She even worked at some of the base camps near Mount Denali, helping climbers prepare for their journeys. So basically Bethany lived more life in 21 years than most people get to experience in 100. And yet, she still had so much ahead of her. In May of 2003, Bethany has done all of this and decides she's ready to embark on her next chapter. So after some time off, she was ready to go back to school and she wanted to pursue a degree in medicine. And the destination she chose was the University of Alaska Anchorage. - Okay. That'd be kind of cool. So this was about 113 miles south of her hometown and Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska by population. I would love to go to Alaska. Would you like to go to Alaska? I think so. Yeah. I feel like it would just be so beautiful to like see, but I'm not a very outdoorsy person so I don't know how much I could do besides just like sit on a boat. Yeah. I think it would be fun. I don't know. I'd love to see like all the big trees and. I could definitely like get off the boat and walk to a tree. Okay. But I'm like not hiking. I get that. I'm not snowboarding or skiing or fishing. I'll just write on it. I like a snowmobile. I don't know. There's a lot of serial killers in Alaska. What? There is. Really? Yeah. Okay. Are you sure? Yeah. Huh? Cause it's out there in the middle of nowhere with such vast land and like small, small towns. They just kill people. Like weird prolific serial killer or some Alaska, I guess feel about that pain basically said Alaska is so boring. There's so many serial killers. No, that's not what I said. Oh, I think Alaska is beautiful. And I think people who live there just live a different life than me. They like hiking. They like being outdoors. I love being outdoors. But more in a like relaxing, I'm a fairy. Okay. I'm not like a. I respect it. Put on my hiking boots. I'd rather go barefoot in the forest, you know. So her moving to Anchorage for college is pretty different from where she grew up despite it still being Alaska. But Bethany was prepared, though maybe a bit nervous about this next chapter. She was leaving her boyfriend Joe Tamplin behind where she previously worked in Alaska and met him. It was at an airline office, but she planned to spend the summer in Anchorage before starting classes in the fall. So she was going to move there, hang out there for the summer, get to know people and then start school. She had already picked out all of her college courses and was excited to find a part-time job that could help her make a little cash outside of her studies. So that spring, 2003, Bethany went out to the city and found a little apartment in the neighborhood of bootleggers cove right on the water downtown. Okay. It's beautiful. And after meeting her apartment manager, she got her first job offer. It was cleaning out vacant apartments and actually getting them ready for rental. So she's going to work at the same place she lives. And her apartment manager told her if all went well, he could train her on how to show the apartments as well to potential tenants soon. So this is perfect. She's going to work where she lives. She's going to clean out apartments, maybe even eventually show them off to people. Living is falling into place for Bethany, but just a few days after moving into this apartment, building in downtown Anchorage, her family noticed that something wasn't quite right. Sorry. Haven't you seen that movie with Ryan Reynolds and the proposal? Yeah. Like that was really pretty in Alaska. Yeah. Yeah. Especially the house. What do I mean? Like I feel like there's people have some money there. To the window. Yeah. Sorry, I interrupted it a weird time, but I just came to mind. That movie is actually what makes me so scared of Daisy getting picked up by a bird. Valid. Valid. It had to be a pretty big bird for Daisy because she put on some some chunk. Yeah, she got a little bit of bare hibernation going on right now, but still possible. Yeah. So on May 3rd, 2003, Bethany was supposed to meet her brother at the Anchorage airport. Again, this is just like right after she's moved in, but when he gets off the plane and out to baggage claim, his sister, Bethany isn't there. She never showed up to pick him up. And he knew this wasn't like his sister to just blow him off without even a phone call. But when he talks to his mother, Linda, she's like, listen, there's probably a good excuse. She told him not to worry. He was just going to make the two hour drive from home to Anchorage the following morning to go furniture shopping with Bethany. So she was also going to Anchorage and she's like, I'll see her then we'll figure out what's going on. Imagine setting your makeup then forgetting it's even theirs. Meet new grippy setting mist from Maybelline, New York. Gel to mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours with flexible all day comfy grip, no tightness, no stickiness, no residue, just plump, dewy hydrated skin that still feels like your skin. Try new grippy setting mist from Maybelline, New York, maybe it's Maybelline. So the following day, May 4th rolls around and Linda the mom makes the drive all the way to Bethany's apartment and knocks on her door, but there's no answer. So she tries the door because this is obviously her daughter's place and it's unlocked. So Linda lets herself in and immediately she sees Bethany's bike is in there and so is her purse, her cell phone, her keys. So she's like, okay, she obviously hasn't gone far. Maybe she's just out for a jog. So she sits down in the apartment and waits, but Bethany doesn't return. And finally, Linda decides, okay, I'm just going to go to the garage cell that we were planning to attend. Maybe Bethany is just there, but she's not. And when Linda goes back to the apartment, 21 year old Bethany, her daughter still isn't home. Okay. So Linda, I mean, her daughter has just moved here to go to college. She's starting to get nervous and later that day, she calls the police. They give her the same song and dance that we've heard before Bethany's an adult. She's 21. She can go out and do whatever she wants. She'll probably be back soon. So this is when Linda calls her husband Billy and she's like, get to Anchorage immediately, something's wrong. Now, meanwhile, a detective in the Anchorage Police Department named Glenn Clinghart hears about the call and things. Someone tried to report their 21 year old daughter missing today. Something just didn't feel right because earlier that morning, something else had happened right next to Bethany's apartment. So apparently a neighboring building, a fourplex, was on fire that morning. A paper delivery person called it in and the firefighters and Anchorage got there and time to put out the blaze and save the building, but the inside of it was pretty much gutted. And so when detective Clinghart hears that, wow, a girl right next door to the building that was on fire is also missing right now. He's like, I don't know. I don't think she's just gone off this feels connected. I don't know. He's like, I just have a bad feeling. So that night, detective Clinghart actually on his own heads over to Bethany's apartment to speak with her mother who had called to try to report her missing. And he quickly agrees with Linda, the way her things are still just kind of strewn about the apartment unlocked her cell phone on the kitchen counter, her bed unmade, a book turned over and half red like she was like marking her spot, because this does look like someone who just willingly up and left. This looks like something happened. Here's the thing. No one leaves her phone anywhere at these days. He's phone ball. He used her phone anywhere. I granted, I know it's not 1026, but no one leaves her phone anywhere. Also, like she was supposed to pick her brother up the day before she was meeting her mom the next day. She had full blown plans. Why would she just disappear and not say anything? But the detective doesn't notice any necessarily foul play inside her place. And as for the building next door, the fire, Clinghart looks into that almost immediately. The fire department reports back. They found no signs of a body or any evidence of a crime. And even though they hadn't completed their investigation yet, they were like, we actually think this fire at this forplex was accidental, probably due to an electrical problem. So I was like, okay, maybe they're not connected, but I still feel weird about this missing person's case. Mainly because this feels a little like deja vu. According to Detective Clinghart in Alaska, and we're very much getting into like Netflix detective TV series right now. We're like, it's very like, it's off of like, I don't want to say vibes, but like feeling and like so you can feel something's wrong. There's a history in this place type thing. Like we're figuring out what's happening in this town. So this detective Clinghart is like the reason I even went out of my way to show up to this girls apartment, despite the fire was there's a case he had seen years ago that felt familiar and it was actually one that happened to his very own family. So again, we're getting into the, well, my sister went missing and now this girl is missing and I'm wondering if it's the same part, you know, that's type of feeling. So back in 1981, Detective Clinghart was 15. He and his family went away for Easter to visit his grandparents and his 16 year old sister Don had convinced his parents to just let her stay home alone. Now while they are visiting grandparents for Easter, 16 year old Don is at home throwing a party. This is one that Clinghart her little brother knew about, but he didn't, Taddle tell. He didn't tell his parents, he didn't want to router out. And it would become one of the biggest regrets of his life because on Easter morning The clean carts got a call. His parents there had been a fire at their house. Dawn had been inside apparently when it happened and she didn't survive. Okay, but that wasn't the end of the story. Oh gosh, that's You stay home alone and then your daughter dies in a house. There's two things that I mean like drowning and burning alive Both the just absolutely. Yeah, I mean, it's not new necessarily I guess burning alive because usually you're gonna pass out beforehand because of you know, like the smoke lack of oxygen and all that but Crazy so this wasn't the end of the story though. It wasn't like she just died in this random house fire They learn after more investigating again. This is his sister who's a year older than him at the time One of the 19 year old party goers had like left the party and then returned later that night knowing that Dawn was home alone and he snuck into Dawn's room He sexually assaulted her oh my gosh and then murdered her and set fire to the house So that was the real story. It wasn't like she just died in a house fire. Okay, that's insane She had been murdered and while the man was ultimately caught in sentence to 75 years in prison This is obviously something that never leaves a little brother at 15 years old. It's what inspired him to go into law enforcement So now you're understanding why Bethany going missing a Fire going on right next door Was so alarming to him so triggering for him so like I'm completely invested in this missing person's case So after that day clean cart new he had to get to the bottom of this. This wasn't just another case He was taking on. This was personal. It just hit a little deeper. Maybe he was trying to heal some of his own wounds And one of the first people clean cart went to look at was Bethany's boyfriend who lived in a completely different place where she used to work Joe Tamplin now Joe seems like a pretty unlikely suspect not only was he over an hour and a half flight away from Anchorage as an airline pilot he was literally flying in the air At the time Bethany disappeared. Oh, he did claim. However, he had actually spoken to Bethany that morning All Bethany said though was that she was going to meet up with her apartment manager that day so She could start trading for her job. Basically. He was gonna teach her how to show apartments So Joe was quickly ruled out, but police also had to consider his own personal life Joe was actually currently separated from his wife and dating Bethany Who his wife he was separated from openly talked about not liking Bethany her Husbands new girlfriend, but when police looking her they find she's not a viable suspect either She lived in a very remote part of Alaska that would have made it extremely difficult to get to Bethany that day Both of their alibis checked out and the pool of people Bethany when Anchorage was pretty small Like I said, she'd only been there a few days at this point So the next question is is this a completely random crime? Well, it's like also they haven't found anything. There's no body like there's nothing found yet It didn't appear to be a robbery with no forced entry no signs of foul play inside her apartment But because of just how chilling this situation was it didn't take long for news to spread throughout Anchorage and The way people came together to help solve Bethany's case was pretty heartwarming Just a day or two after Bethany's disappearance Many of her friends and family members came down from her hometown to help in the search effort They left their jobs and responsibilities behind and they literally camped out intense Along bootleggers code, which is where she lives and when they weren't searching every square inch of Anchorage They were going around spreading the word posting missing persons flyers all over town So by then everyone in Anchorage knew who Bethany Carrera was In fact, Bethany's case became the biggest missing person's search in Anchorage history at that point People back in her hometown came together to raise $40,000 for a reward Leading to any information about her disappearance a local jeweler in Anchorage cleaned up and repaired Bethany's jewelry for her family to have A 12 year old boy started taking the bus to the local police station after school to help in turn on the investigation I mean the way this community came together in their own little ways What I mean, it's it's pretty amazing for a girl who had just moved to the area a couple days earlier But this mystery was proving much harder to solve than the police initially thought and the more time went on The more confident they felt that Bethany had met foul play There was no usage on her accounts or credit cards in a sense I mean she'd kind of already she just moved there a couple days before she'd already started fresh It doesn't make sense she would then get up and run away But the obvious suspects weren't panning out so they had to start looking at every single person that had come across Bethany's life recently And as you've probably picked up there was one that stuck out to them the person Bethany's boyfriend mentioned The building manager who's gonna help teacher how to show apartments for her job This is the same apartment manager. She has for her place. His name is Mike Lawson Imagine setting your makeup then forgetting it's even theirs Meet new grippy setting mist from Maybelline, New York Gel to mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours with flexible all-day comfy grip No tightness. No stickiness. No residue. Just plum. Dewey hydrated skin. That still feels like your skin Try new grippy setting mist from Maybelline, New York. Maybe it's Maybelline So detective clean cart goes to see Mike He's like listen the boyfriend said that you were seeing her that morning and Mike is really cooperative He tells clean cart how he his wife and his brother Bob all work for the same property holding company that manages buildings and Instruction projects. He says he was the one who hired Bethany to help out with cleaning some units and Yeah, he had talked to Bethany once or twice the day she went missing He said the last time he had spoke to her was around 8 a.m. The morning she went missing he Described Bethany is a nice girl. I mean, he didn't know her that well But said he had met her parents because she was young she was starting college She was excited to start college and he was really hard-broken to hear what had happened to her Mike was in his fifties. He was a dad himself. He had two grown children Said he felt sympathy for the family and when detective clean cart asked him Okay, what did you and Bethany speak about the day she vanished? Mike was like, oh she called me once or twice because she was having problems Accessing a specific unit Apparently there was some sort of mix up with the keys and he said after that conversation He just assumed Bethany had figured it out because he didn't hear from her again But he never saw Bethany in person that day. He's like all of this was just over the phone Okay, so clean cart is like okay. Well, where were you that morning? You know if you didn't see her you weren't with her And Mike says he was at home with his brother Bob They were hanging out watching NASCAR basically all day He only left one time to go by cigarettes at the local gas station But Mike did mention something kind of strange when clean cart asked if he was planning to train Bethany On how to show apartments and not just clean them. He said no He'd never mentioned that to her that was his job Why would I train her for something like that? Obviously this sounds weird because This is something Bethany explicitly mentioned to multiple people and seemed excited about like Oh, not only in my cleaning apartments He's gonna train me how to like show them to potential buyers, but then Mike's like no, that's literally my job like why would I train someone to do my own job It's convenient enough for the detective to verify Mike's alibi because his brother Bob The one he was supposedly watching NASCAR with the day Bethany disappeared. Well, he lives with Mike So he's right there and he admits yeah, we didn't see Bethany that day. Mike was here with me all day long Then we went out to the bar with some friends that night Now obviously we know an alibi From a family member saying you were home with them isn't really a solid alibi But clean cart also had a weird feeling about these guys Everything about it just seemed strange for example Bob kept looking at his brother before he answered clean cart's questions. They're like Kind of in kuhuts and apparently Mike's answers felt robotic like kind of rehearsed And little by little clean cart starts to hear things about Mike Lawson as he's like trying to figure out who this guy is And it's things that don't really help his case a few days after speaking with Mike Clean cart got a call from one of Mike's other co-workers. It's a guy named Franco Now Franco said Mike was complaining about Bethany before she disappeared He claimed he heard Mike say something like quote That effing B word is giving me so many problems Remember this girl is just started working. So, when Franco heard about Bethany's disappearance, it definitely set off alarm bells when he remembered what Mike said. So, clean cart sets up an appointment to go talk to Franco at his job site, and it just so happens that Mike was working that day at that site too. But, clean cart sits down with Franco and he says, "Listen, me and Mike have worked together for a while." Mike's been going through some stuff lately. Apparently, his fourth wife, the one he worked with at the property holding company, had just left him. And it sounded like it was out of the blue. She just abruptly quit the job. They worked together. She then told him she wanted a divorce and she left town. Franco said Mike had been taking it out on other women ever since his wife had left. Apparently, Mike even told Franco he met a woman at a bar and, quote, "I did her this same time I was beating her." Oh my gosh. So, Franco's literally like, "Hey, Bethany went missing. Let me tell you a little bit about my coat. Okay, let me tell you what I've heard on his way out. Like, after meeting with Franco, detective clean cart decides to take a look at Mike's cart. Just a little peek. You know, he doesn't have a warrant, but just a peek. There was nothing immediately obvious, but clean cart knew he had to get a warrant. So, he gets on that. But, Mike obviously sees clean cart at his job site interviewing people. And as soon as the detective left, Mike started apparently acting really strange. He began circling his cart, trying to see what clean cart might have seen. He then told Franco that he was going to take a couple days off to find a lawyer and, quote, take care of some stuff. And then he left for a few hours and when he came back, his car was spotless. Okay. He had left and got his entire car detailed inside and out after seeing detective clean cart peeking at it. So, Franco calls the police and is like, "Yeah, so I know I just told you everything, but also after you left, he went and got his car detailed. Like, I just have to share this with you now." So, the warrant's probably not going to be as helpful. So, by this point, clean cart pretty much is locked in on Mike's loss in. Now, it's just a matter of finding enough to make an arrest, which is why he starts digging deeper into Mike's background to see if there's anything that can help him build the case. He finds a pretty scary track record. Turns out, Mike spent a year in prison for sexually assaulting a young woman. And he never registered as a convicted sex offender despite the fact he was supposed to. When they spoke to more people in Mike and Bob's orbit, detectives also hear of two other sexual assaults that had been rumored to happen. And one of those was the teenage daughter of one of Mike's co-workers. So, someone he worked with, he sexually assaulted that guy's daughter. Now, the assault was never officially recorded. But this is all just rumor, like he doesn't have a very good reputation in town. But what's interesting is, apparently when the family confronted Mike about it, Bob, his brother stepped in and stood up for him. He said, "Your teenage daughter made the entire thing up. My brother didn't do this. This isn't possible." And then there was like another incident with a bartender at a place that Mike was a regular at. She claimed there was one night she and a friend were invited to go bowling with Mike. And he offered to drive, but on the way there, he said he needed to just stop by his office for something. And when they got there, she said Mike took out a gun and forced both of the girls to get naked. Oh my gosh. Now, thankfully, another employee walked in on this. And so Mike like stuffed the gun away and was like, "Oh, we're just hanging out. We're joking around the two women left. They didn't report the incident to police. But this is again something that's been rumored, something that's like common knowledge. So you have to wonder how many other stories were there like this floating around about Mike Lawson? And he's the last person to, I guess, ever have spoken to Bethany apparently. So around the same time, clean carts learning all of this, he also hears more about the fire, the one that started the morning of Bethany's disappearance. Again, the department initially ruled it as an electrical problem, definitely an accident. But after the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms flew their arson investigator in to take a look, they felt differently. And a week later, the ruling was reversed. The fire next door was no longer an accident. It was arson. And it had been sparked with an accelerant, which means clean carts instincts that these two things were connected might have been right after all. So detective clean cart keeps throwing every resource he has at this thing. He becomes so seriously invested in this case. He can hardly sleep at night. So digging deeper, he pulls Mike Lawson's cell records. He's focusing on the day Bethany disappeared. And he noticed the morning, May 3rd, Mike Lawson used his cell phone to call his own home, like several times. Why are you calling your own landline if you're sitting at home with your brother watching NASCAR? Where are you literally calling the phone on your wall as you're sitting and you're living your watching NASCAR with your brother? Yeah, hilarious. But those records also tell a longer story than that. It shows that Mike's phone was hitting a cell tower close to Bethany's apartment that morning. Mike then calls Bob's phone from the same area. And then Bob's phone starts moving from their house towards his brother's location to Bethany's apartment. A short while later, both their phones travel back to the home together. And then an hour or so north. So a few hours later, they then begin traveling south again, back towards Anchorage. So basically Mike is at Bethany's apartment that morning. He's calling home. He's calling his brother. Then his brother meets him towards Bethany's apartment. Then they both get in a car. They drive home and then drive an hour out of town and now are driving back into town into Anchorage. This feels pretty. Yeah. It's pretty, it feels pretty obvious what was probably going on. I think it feels like it's gonna be pretty open and shut. Right. It appears as if the brothers took Bethany from her apartment and then left her out in the Alaskan wilderness somewhere again. Alaska so vast like where do you even go? Yeah. We're talking hundreds and hundreds of miles of search area here. And unless he could get one of these brothers to talk, it seemed like he probably was never, ever going to be able to find this body on his own. The only thing he could do now was try to apply a lot of pressure to the loss in brothers and get one of them to say where her body is. So for the next few weeks, officials get search warrants for their home and their cars. They put the brothers under surveillance. They placed a tracker on Mike's car. They had Franco, the like coworker, wear a wire to see if he could get Mike to talk. And they interviewed everyone who had close contact with the brothers recently, including Mike's ex-wife. None of it helps both the brothers lawyer up. They stopped cooperating with police. They're not saying anything. Nine months go by. Oh my God. These detectives are waiting for a body. They don't feel like they have enough concrete evidence to convict them of first degree murder with just these like cell phone records and the fact that just that's the last person that they think she talked to. So there's little movement toward an arrest. So detective clean cards like I got to do something else. He figures if either of the brothers are going to talk, it's probably going to be Bob because he's the one who like went and saved Mike. He's the one that seems to have more of a conscience, but he's not going to do it willingly. They're going to have to get him on something else first. So they take a fine tooth comb to their finances, figuring there's got to be something there that we can pull Bob in on. And eventually, they find it. Mike and Bob were close, so close that they worked together. They had a business together. Bob even had an affair with Mike's third wife. Okay. But that's not what gets some bus and turns out the brothers had lied on applications for business loans mainly about Mike's criminal history. It's small, but not too small to get a warrant. So clean card reports the FBI. He's like, listen, I want these guys for murder, but they did, they did do this. So the FBI filed federal fraud charges against Mike and Bob. Nice. I'm talking about February of 2004. Police descended on the brother's house and making a huge spectacle of the arrests. Like it has been nine months. They are ready to get these guys. They kick the door in. They handcuffed the brothers at gunpoint. They impounded Mike's truck and then clean cart and his team cornerbops. They were trying to scare him. They get some like, it's a really big deal with going on. They give him two options. They're like, you're going to tell us everything you know about Bethany. What happened with Mike and Bethany? What happened that day? Or you are going to jail on federal charges because the FBI are involved and slowly but surely Bob begins to cave. And this is what he tells police. On the morning of May 3rd, the day before Bethany was discovered missing, Bob got a call from Mike who wasn't at home watching ask her. By the way, saying, quote, I'm in trouble. I shot somebody. He then asked Bob to come to the apartment complex and bring plastic and duct tape. Bob said he knew at this point that Mike was dealing with a dead body, but he didn't know who's. He just knew his brother had killed someone, and he said he refused to help him. Instead, Bob said he continued to question Mike over the phone about what happened. He's like, I'm not coming. No questions asked until he learned it was this new tenant and employee, a girl named Bethany. Now, when it came to motive, Bob said he didn't know why his brother had targeted Bethany other than the fact that he hated women. This is what he tells police. - Wow. - He doesn't really know why he killed her other than the fact that he really hates women. - Yeah. - Bob tells police he refused to help Mike that day. He says Mike eventually gave up asking for help, said whatever, I'll just take care of the body and the crime scene on my own. He claims his brother then drove Bethany out to the woods, left her there without her clothes, even put some leaves on top of her to cover her up and drove away, and then told Bob about it later on, which is how he knows these details. And the police are like, okay, if by any chance you did go, like you're lying right now and you actually did go with him to get rid of the body, can you tell us? Bob's like, no, no, I didn't go, Mike did it all on his own. Now, obviously we know this is a lie. His cell phone data puts him driving out and then driving. So we know he's trying to like take, I wasn't involved at all right now, but his cell phone tells another story. So then detective clean car is like, okay, I just gave you the chance to tell the truth again, but now I'm gonna confront you. We know your cell phone was there, you're lying. And we are gonna talk to Bethany's family later this day. Like we're gonna tell them that we have both of you, that it's both your cell phones and Bob's like, okay, okay, I was there. After Mike called him and told him he shot someone, Bob went over to the complex next to Bethany's apartment. He said, my kid's brother was high out of his mind on cocaine. Bethany was naked and dead in the bedroom. Bob said he helped Mike roll Bethany up in some plastic, and together they put her in Mike's truck. Their original plan was to drive her body up six and a half hours north to Fairbanks and leave her in a gravel pit that was on a friend's property. But once they got underway, Bob began to panic. Like what if they got in an accident? What if they got pulled over? That's a long time to have a dead body in a car. He's like, listen, we just need to get rid of the body sooner. So they stopped along Parks highway. At mile marker 129, Bob said, we tried to dig a grave, but the ground was too frozen. So we left her by a gravel pit and then headed back to Ingridch. He said, but the job wasn't done. They decided they had to burn down the complex where Mike shot Bethany. 'Cause remember, he didn't shoot her at her apartment. He shot her at the building next door. They're like, let's burn it. Let's destroy all of the evidence. Bob was the one who set the blaze and left on May 3rd, but it seemed to go out before the building burned to the ground. 'Cause the following day, Mike goes back to the crime scene and lights another fire 'cause it didn't stick the first time. Mike, what is happening? This is the one that gets reported. Apparently, Bob knew a little more about the motive than he initially claimed to. He had just lied the whole time. He said, Bethany had walked in on Mike in the apartment as he was cutting up bricks of cocaine. - Ooh. - And he said his brother then was holding her at gunpoint, trying to say don't tell anyone, and then the gun accidentally went off. - Yeah, I'm sure it's exactly what happened. - But, members, she was naked. When Bob got there, detectives were like, "Well, then why was she naked?" And Bob was like, "Oh, well, I asked Mike that. I asked him, okay, if that's what happened, why was she naked?" And he said, "He made her take her clothes off so she wouldn't run away." 'Cause why would she run out naked? - Whatever, whatever. - Now, when Detective Klinghart went to cooperate elements of Bob's story, he found a witness. Newspaper delivery driver who said they did see a YSUV nearby the fire on the morning of May 4th, around 6.47 AM. They said a man was driving the SUV slowly watching the building burn. The description of the man in the truck, wore an exact match for Mike Lawson and his SUV. Now, this confession is important because he gave them a location for the body, which then basically proves his confession true if it is true. So of course, the first thing they're gonna do with this confession is go try to find the body. And Bob Lawson actually offers to show them the exact spot they left her. But at this point, it's February in Alaska. There's several feet of snow. They were like, we can't even get to where you guys went. We're gonna have to wait 'til we can drive on the ground to bring Bethany home. Meanwhile, Bob offered to help with the case in other ways. Since there was no concrete physical evidence that Mike Lawson shot her outside of the cell phone data, they needed a confession. And they're like, Bob, brother Bob, you are helping us get this. - I'm surprised he's helping so much. - So you're gonna call your brother and we're gonna tap in and listen. Bob is super hesitant. He doesn't wanna rat on his brother. He doesn't wanna set him up. But detective said, listen, there's a pretty good chance when we bring Mike in. He's gonna pin all of this on you. Like we're gonna bring him in and he's gonna say, no, you're the one who pulled the trigger. So you should probably get him to tell the truth first. So finally, in April of 2004, Bob gets Mike, his brother on the phone. He tells him what we did has been eating away at him. He's having to drink every night and you needed to talk about it with Mike. Like he's like, we need to talk about what happened. And at first, Mike isn't having it. He knew his brother had been talking to the police. He's like, I police are listening in on the call. But eventually, after getting Bob to swear on his mother's life, this call wasn't being recorded. - Oh man, nothing like swearing on the mother's life. - And lying. - It works every time. Mike starts talking. He's like, okay, brother, let's talk about it. And Bob gets him to admit the story again. Yet accidentally killed Bethany after she walked in on him, cutting up drugs. But he didn't sexually assault her. It was all an accident. Yet this is all police need. Mike was arrested and formally charged. - One, two, three, easy. - With Bethany Carrera's murder, along with six other counts, like arson, evidence tampering, a month later, the weather had warmed up enough. Police spent the next few days searching the location, Bob said they left Bethany's body. And on May 3rd, 2004, Detective Clinghart and a fellow officer were out for the third day of the search when they see something, a blue fleece jacket in the woods, sitting near a pukashell necklace. One Bethany's boyfriend had actually gotten her just a few days before she vanished. And then near that, they find some bones and hair. I mean, the remains have been scattered at this point by animals. That day was also the one year anniversary of Bethany's death. She was found on her one year anniversary. They had found Bethany and they tell her family. Now, the prosecution spent the next three years putting together the case to go to trial. Yeah. And Bob Lawson was basically gonna be the start witness in the trial against his brother. But in May 2007, this is just a few days before Bob was scheduled to testify, Detective Clinghart got a phone call around 3 a.m. Bob had killed himself. Bob Lawson had parked his car in his garage, closed the door and kept the engine on and had died of carbon monoxide poisoning. He probably just couldn't testify against his brother. The suicide note he left behind said he simply couldn't bring himself to testify against his brother. It's like I know what I'm talking about. It was a huge blow to everyone involved in the case, including the courier of family because the start witness is now dead. On top of that, the prosecution was not allowed to bring up Mike's former conviction of sexual assault, still between the cell phone data, the recorded confession, the evidence. There's no way you don't find him guilty. But the jury didn't think it was premeditated. They believed that it was like a she walked in and he killed her because of it. Oh my God. Not that. Oh. He texted her or he called her and said, "Come meet me at the building." Get out of here, like get out of here. In August of 2007, Mike was found guilty of second degree murder. How long in prison? And the judge announced something else. They wanted the jury to participate in a mini trial for one more charge they hadn't included. It was being a felon in possession of a gun. Okay. And basically for this charge, his past conviction would be able to get mentioned, which is why they're gonna do a separate trial just for this. It took them five minutes to come to the conclusion that he was guilty. Six months later, Mike Lawson was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Good, not even more even. Gets the max for second degree murder. This is the same amount he probably would have gotten if he got convicted of first degree murder. That doesn't make it any better for the family, of course, because they do think it's on a percent premeditated and that she was sexually assaulted. Bethany certainly came across the wrong person in Anchorage. But she also found a really loving and supportive community too. One that was dedicated to solving her case, supporting her, no matter the emotional, physical or financial cost. Detective, clean cart, said Bethany's case changed him in a way he never expected. Told the press, quote, "I really have to thank Bethany for a lot of things, including allowing me to kind of look back at my life and what happened to my sister and just be able to make amends." and that is the case of Bethany Carrera. - Once again. and just another case where just senseless, completely senseless. Just a horrible human being, horrible person killed someone, just like, screw that, like, I just, I hate that, I hate it. - And I'm sorry, but I believe allegedly, he learned her there, and sexually assaulted her and killed her. - I believe it too, that's such a bull curve. - I just don't like-- - There's just no way. - Yeah. All right, you guys, thank you for listening to today's episode and we will see you next time with another one. I love it. - I hate it. - Goodbye. - Imagine setting your makeup, then forgetting it's even theirs. Meet new grippy setting mist from Mabelie, New York. Gel to mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours with flexible all-day comfy grip. No tightness, no stickiness, no residue. Just plump, dewy, hydrated skin. That still feels like your skin. Try new grippy setting mist from Mabelie, New York. - Maybe it's Mabelie.