It feels like quite a violation to have your neighbor kill you. Welcome to the Only Child Diaries podcast. I'm your host, Tracy Wallace. Have you ever felt like you didn't receive the how-to brochure on life, that you didn't get enough guidance about major life issues? So did I. You don't have to be an only child to feel this way. In my podcast, we'll explore some of the best ways to better navigate adulting, while doing so with humor and light. Welcome.

Today I'm talking about true crime. Are you a fan of true crime? I would say, in general, I'm not necessarily a big fan of true crime, but there have been instances where I'm fully intrigued by real life stories of true crime. I remember a few years ago, I watched a limited series that was on HBO Max or now it's called Max, called the Staircase, starring Colin Firth, one of my favorite actors, and that was really a compelling series based on a real story that happened, where a wife fell down or was pushed down, however you believe it a staircase, and it made me fully believe that I should never have a staircase in my house. And it made me fully believe that I should never have a staircase in my house, or I should never go down the stairs or I should be very careful with stairs in general, but that was a great show and it also had an accompanying podcast that discussed each episode.

This last week here in Southern California, ocal, we've had a real-life event that occurred and, for whatever reason, I saw the first notices of this couple that were reported missing here in Redlands or Colton they couldn't really decide what city it was at a place called Olive Dell Resort and they called them an elderly couple. I guess that's true. The wife was 73, I believe 72, 73, and the husband was 79. And they were reported missing Now. The last time they were seen was a week ago, saturday, and then they didn't show up for church on Sunday and I guess they were always very regular, very much into their schedule and their routine. So everyone was very concerned and they had friends that lived in this mobile home community who had a key to their house, who went in and found that not only was the air conditioner on and the computer was on, but the wife's purse was there I mean, that's a big uh-oh and also her cane and she had MS and she never went anywhere without her cane and the husband had mild dementia and diabetes and their car was gone. But then a short time later they found their car about a half mile down the road and here's another. Uh-oh, the keys were still in it. They also had a little dog, and this is the heartfelt part. They had a little dog, a chihuahua. It looks like a chihuahua mix. They named Cuddles, and so the local news here kept showing two pictures. There's one picture of the two of them and then another picture with them holding the dog. So the neighbors were talking about this wasn't like them, right, and so, for whatever reason, I was really tuned in to looking for updates on this.

Going back to Friday this last week I was watching the news while I was working here and they had an update that the SWAT team had showed up at the community where they lived. It was like in a canyon, I guess. Everybody had their mobile homes in different roads, partially paved, partially dirt, so it was kind of an enclosed community. And here's another thing about it is that it was a nudist colony, family friendly, they said a nudist colony, family friendly, they said Nudist colony. So that's interesting. You don't always hear about those anymore. Kind of a chaparral landscape. So some trees, but mostly brown dirt weeds. We have a lot of chaparral kind of environments around here in Southern California dry, not necessarily tumbleweeds, but underbrush kind of landscape.

So the SWAT team showed up at this community and blocked off the entrance. They started on the house next to this couple Now the couple that was missing. They were the Menards, that's their last name. I watched with the helicopter and I watched. The SWAT team had a battering ram and they took out the front window screen of the property. It's a small, small house and then they sent in a drone and then they decided to take another like a little tank and breach the front door area. And they did that and it actually kind of got stuck for a while because there was so much crap. It looked like the guy that lived there there was a guy that lived. There was a hoarder, I think that's where it ended.

They were just looking around the property and trying to find. They said that they had gotten a tip from somebody that said that he was involved in their disappearance. So the next day, which was the Saturday, they had found the suspect. He was hiding under the house and he had tried to kill himself. He had a rifle, but they had taken him into custody and the cadaver. Dogs had found human remains down there. And so now it's Monday and they still haven't been able to identify the remains. They have said that the human remains have been in bags. They haven't really elaborated about that.

The neighbor he's 62, so I don't know if that's considered. They haven't said that he's elderly, but there was a tree between the properties and I guess they had an ongoing feud about the tree. And it gets you to thinking in this world, right, everyone has neighbors and I guess, in a way, you trust your neighbors because they're your neighbors. You trust your neighbors because you have kind of an unwritten goal of making your living space safe and and protected and healthy, right and free of harm from anything, and so it feels like quite a violation to have your neighbor kill you. That's very weird and upsetting. And it's also very weird and upsetting and it's also intriguing. I mean, why did he do that? Why did he feel the need to be motivated to kill them? And it's so tragic and I feel like the dog has probably been coyote food by now, which is so sad.

Somebody also said that he was a loner and he kept to himself. He didn't say a lot, which remember that's usually what they say about the lone gunman or the guy that shoots up the building or the theater or the market or whatever. Well, he really kept to himself. I mean, I was mentioning this to my husband and he said you know, I should really talk more. No, it's not funny, but watch out for the quiet ones. I guess it's so sad, but it brings back the idea that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction and sometimes, when people write up something or they make up a story, sometimes you don't have to look very far in current events or in news to find something that is just as upsetting or just as violent or tragic. So we'll find out, I'm sure, at some point what really happened, and I feel sorry for them because they look like they were just a nice couple just living their life and they didn't deserve this. If you're a fan of true crime, you know what I mean. It's. It's just intriguing and it's interesting, and there's a lot of true crime podcasts. I haven't really gotten into them, but there are a lot of true crime stories and I can see why people follow them.

Today is Labor Day it's a holiday here in the US, and I will tell you that Saturday I had a day off. I didn't do any work. I usually work every day in some capacity, but I didn't do any work on Saturday. I just did fun stuff. I did some shopping for Halloween decorations and I had a lot of fun doing that and I'm ready to decorate the front yard, but I think it's probably a little too early and it's a little too hot and today is a holiday, so I'm going to try to just get things done around the house, so I better get to it. So that's all I've got for today, folks. Next week we'll tackle another topic together. I hope you'll join me. Only Child Diaries and writing a review. It helps others to find us. Please share it with a friend you think might like it as well. Visit my Instagram page Only Child Diaries or Facebook Only Child Diaries Podcast. Thanks for listening. I'm Tracy Wallace and these are the Only Child Diaries.