Hey weirdos, Elena here. If you're looking to kick back and relax with Morbid, Wondery Plus is the way to go. it's like having a cozy seat in our haunted mansion no ads just you and early access to new episodes You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
You're listening to a Morbid Network podcast.
Listening on Audible helps your imagination soar.
Whether you listen to stories, motivation, expert advice, any genre you love, You can be inspired to imagine new worlds, new possibilities and new ways of thinking.
Listening can lead to positive changes in your mood, your habits, and ultimately your overall well-being.
Audible has an incredible selection of over 1 million audiobooks, podcasts, and Audible Originals all in one easy app.
Find the genres you love and discover new ones.
Explore bestsellers like my sister's title. new releases, plus thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and originals that members can listen to all they want with more added all the time.
I have been listening to the Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club, which actually Elena recommended to me.
She did not listen to it, but she said, girl, this title sounds so you.
And let me tell you, it did. I've been listening to it while I walk, and I am absolutely loving it.
I love all the Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen.
Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. visit audible.com slash morbid.
They say that time waits for no one, neither should payday.
To keep your money moving in the direction of your dreams, get earnin'.
What is Earnin', you ask? Honey, Earnin' is an app that lets you access your pay as you earn it up to $100. and $50 a day with a max of $750 between paydays.
Earnin is the app that is helping millions of Americans take charge of their pay and avoid falling into debt traps.
Ernan's mission is to make financial momentum accessible to everyone.
It's your money, so put it in your own hands with Ernan.
I just feel like earning is good for so many things.
Every now and again, you get in your car and you say, oh, wow, who knew that I was on empty?
I should have known that, but I didn't. And then you look at your bank account and you're like, oh crap, I haven't been paid yet.
Well, You'll never run into that problem if you have earning.
An unexpected trip to the vet will not ruin your day because you'll have the money to pay for it.
Download Ernin today, spelled E-A-R-N-I-N, in the Google Play or Apple App Store.
When you download the Earn It app, type in morbid under podcast.
When you sign up, it will really help the show.
Morbid under podcast. Earnin is a financial technology company, not a bank.
Access limits are based on your earnings and risk factors.
Standard cashouts take one to two business days with no mandatory fees.
Expedited transfer is available for a fee.
Tips are voluntary and don't affect the service.
Available in select states. Terms and restrictions apply.
Visit earnin.com for full details. Download Earnin now and take control of your pay.
Hey weirdos, I'm Elena. My name is Ash. And this is Morbid.
So I broke my intro. New Year's resolution.
You went so far with that. I know, huh? No, everybody was like sad.
So you got to give the people what they want.
You do. And you know what? I think everyone was sad because they could feel it that you didn't really want to stop.
I didn't. I did not. You thought you wanted to, but like deep down inside, you were like, I don't want to.
So you know what, DJ lady? We are one. Yeah, you know, it's cool because you're different.
It's fine. I'm different. Yeah, I'm different.
I'm different. And you know what? Welcome to our 200th episode.
Oh shit, this is 200, huh? Yeah, technically 200.
We have more than 200, but like this is the official 200, I guess we could call it.
I've had it officially. officially i hope you guys get that you know we were gonna do something like we were like oh what should we do for our 200th episode then we're like That's boring though.
Why don't we make our 201st episode the most exciting?
So that we could say this is our 201 episode.
So this episode, sure, every episode is special.
Yeah, because it's all here and we're here and we're bonding.
So this is going to be a great episode. I'm just saying like.
If I do say so myself, let me just pat myself on the back.
But the 201st episode? I mean, that's going to be something.
We made some plans. I would just like to point out we posted on Twitter that we're really excited about something.
We're really fucking excited about this, but that's not even the thing.
Yeah, there's even more stuff. But this... This is going to blow your mind.
Very exciting. We're just... You know, we're gonna take it in a little bit of a different direction, but it's one we wanted to do for a while.
Yes. and we just got something added into it that's going to make it even better.
Yep. We're going to be talking about ghosts, honey.
Oh my God. It's going to be like the paranormal sweetness that you just didn't even know you needed.
It sure is. I'm so fucking excited. I just want to like tell you exactly what it is, but.
I'm really excited. You know, just make a cup of tea and. watch a show and yeah live your life it's gonna be fun okay it's gonna be a lot of fun so we'll see you then but we'll see you we'll see you in a few days for that one so get ready because we're really I can't wait oh switching gears really quickly if you go to shop.morbidpodcast.com and you want to get the annual Congregation of the Covens t-shirt.
Those are on presale right now. Woohoo! Yay.
Yay. Really cool, really cool shirt. Yeah.
It's all fun. I'm really good at transitions.
Shirts. Get that. Yeah, I don't think we really have... Oh, you know what?
We want to do a shout out to somebody who did us The most solid of solids.
The solidest solid of 2021 thus far, because let me tell you, there really hasn't been so much.
So we have been like, I think we mentioned a couple of episodes before, like people have found out that Ash has a TikTok now. we wanted to make one for the podcast just to kind of like maybe do... I think it's an easier way for us to do like...
I'm not a big Instagram person, so I didn't really want to do it there.
So I got into TikTok because Ash got me into it.
Hell yeah. So we figured doing a TikTok for the podcast where we can give you guys some like behind the scenes looks and such.
Yeah. And just fun stuff, like just make fun of things and be funny.
So we figured we were going to do that, but we hadn't made one yet.
And I'm also going to make one, but I have no idea how and I don't know what I'm going to do.
So I got you. I'll let you know. But we hadn't made the podcast one yet.
And then... We get a message from this beautiful angel.
Carter. Carter. They went on TikTok. They saved, they made the name like Morbid Podcast, a TikTok account for it.
Yep. then saved it for us, gave us the login information and was like, here you go.
Now you can change the passwords and it's yours.
I just wanted to save it for you so no one else took it.
That was the most kind and thoughtful thing Literally.
It made my heart sore. Also, it came at the perfect time because the past two days, Elena knows I've had a rough past two days.
Yeah. And that little act of kindness, just I feel like people don't realize how much little things like that can really like just change somebody's day.
It is. And like with everything going on and everybody's got so much crap going on.
Oh, for real. And for this person to take, even with everything going on, which I'm sure they have stuff going on too.
Of course. Because everybody does right now.
God, yeah. To take time to like do something, to just be thoughtful like that, like very selfless and thoughtful like that was just like really nice.
I know. I was like, wow, what a nice thing that you did.
So thank you so much, Carter. So we now have Morbid Podcast TikTok.
We haven't done anything with it. Follow at Morbid Podcast on TikTok.
You can see Sweet Carter. making the announcement that they saved the instagram name for us video so We just wanted to say thank you so much because that was really, really appreciated.
For sure. And without further ado, I think we will jump right into the weepy-voiced killer.
I am so excited. This case is crazy. It's shocking because there's not a lot of, like, details about his life Or about the victims, really, which was a bummer, because I was digging to try to find But man, you can't, it is hard.
If I end up, because you know I'm not going to stop.
If I end up finding something, I will do like... We'll do like a little update episode on a few cases, I think.
Like just to kind of... Because things happen over time, obviously.
But I'll definitely update because if I can find anything, I really want to.
But no one's looked into... The psychology of this guy, there's no books on him.
It's nuts. It really is crazy. It really is crazy.
So what he's known for, the reason he was called the Weepy Voiced Killer... was because he had a penchant for calling the police after he would kill someone or harm someone.
And he would cry. And he would tell them where they could find the person, what he had done.
He would apologize. He would often make declarations like he wanted to kill himself for doing it.
It was very strange, very creepy. very unnerving, very uncomfy.
And his voice is very weepy. And, uh, This one's a tough one because no one really knows.
He was never diagnosed with anything. He wasn't put in a mental institution.
He wasn't looked after by mental health, you know.
Doctors or experts or anything. So there's nothing that can point to it, but there is a lot of sources that say... he did have mental illness in his family although we don't i don't have any concrete sources that say that right uh I mean, what he's doing here certainly could be looked at as a mentally ill person who snaps.
Mm-hmm. does something and then immediately regrets it and doesn't know how to handle it.
Mm-hmm. It can also go the complete other way.
I mean, he's a monster. Yeah, no matter what.
I couldn't go the other way of him being completely sane and doing these things and then getting joy out of reporting them.
And acting remorseful. And some of them almost, I mean, like you said, it could totally go both ways.
But some of the calls are so over the top. and i would very often i could see like some killer being like oh this is gonna be kind of hilarious if i do this exactly that's the thing and when you listen to it i will play the recording so just Letting you know up front, there will be the recordings of him like crying into the phone.
I showed John the recordings and I was like, what do you think?
Like, what would be your first? And he was like, oh, that guy's faking.
He was like, that's not a real cry. He is enjoying that.
No, that's the thing. I think because we went through them like literally right before we started the last call.
I is the one and you said it makes you kind of question it.
Like, yeah, maybe he's not. Do I think he was in a... healthy mental state?
No. Absolutely not. But I don't think you really can be when you're murdering people.
I was gonna say, I wouldn't say most... Killers are.
Do I think he's remorseful? I don't know.
I don't really think so. I also think he knew this was going to make it. a big case and probably put it in media outlets.
And I think he enjoyed that. I think there was definitely some enjoyment.
Because as we'll see, this guy, Paul Michael Stefani is his name.
His name is not his given name was not the weepy voice killer.
No? No, weirdly enough. Although it should have been.
Yeah. He just, I don't, he... He always says in the recordings, like, you know, come and find me.
Why can't you catch me? Like, make me stop.
I want to stop. And he's like, but he doesn't turn himself in.
Well, that's the thing. And it's like, if you wanted to stop. you would turn yourself in.
And that's just taunting. Like, why can't you find me?
And it's like if you really wanted them to find you, you'd be like, I'm standing at the payphone on this street.
Please come get me before I leave. And at one point he does do that, right?
And then he vacates the premises. So to me, it's like, I don't know.
Yeah. I don't know, Paul. A whole bunch of bullshit.
And he's a monster. No matter what. Like a true ass monster.
When you find out an ass monster... Gross.
The inflection on that was all wrong. But you know what I mean.
So he... Wait, wait. Could somebody draw us an ass monster, please?
A true. ass monster. Not a false one. But...
So, yeah, he's terrible. These crimes are horrific.
They are very gruesome. He's an evil, evil son of a bitch.
You know those photos sitting in your phone, the ones that make you smile every time you scroll past them?
Well, at smallwoodhome.com, they believe that you deserve better Smallwood Home transforms your favorite memories into stunning gallery quality artwork that tells your story.
All you have to do is upload your photo to smallwoodhome.com choose your style from classic framed prints to elegant wrapped canvases and they'll handle the rest with natural wood finishes like stained almond, black or white, plus options for sleek acrylic fronts, there is a perfect match for every home.
And the best part? Every small wood home piece is handcrafted right here in the USA by real artisans who care about quality.
No assembly lines, no shortcuts, just beautiful, personalized art that is made to last.
I love a handcrafted thing. Over 3 million happy customers have already discovered why smallwoodhome.com is just different.
They deliver gallery quality at prices that make sense and ship in just days.
I have so many photos in my phone that I'm about to send over to them that I can finally hang up on my walls and I'm really excited about it.
Right now, get 30% off when you use code MORBID at smallwoodhome.com.
That's promo code MORBID to get 30% off your first order at smallwoodhome.com.
Give your memories the showcase they deserve.
So let's start with what we do know about him.
What we do know about him was that he was born September 8th, 1944 in Austin, Minnesota.
I think that makes him a Virgo, but I'm a double check.
I think you're right. I think I am. Yeah.
Actually, yeah. Yeah. He definitely is. Here we go.
He was the second oldest of 10 children.
When he was three years old, his mother, he...
His original father, nobody really knows what the biological father was doing, but his mother did remarry when he was three. to a man who, again, we don't know a lot about, but he claims that he was slightly abusive. nothing crazy but then so he begins it with like nothing crazy it wasn't that abusive when we got in his way he would like smack us over the head and, like, send us flying down a flight of stairs.
Yes. like oh nothing crazy good pretty intense i'm glad it was nothing to be alarmed about It's actually like such a thing, though, if you've experienced childhood trauma to like underplay it.
It's so true that you're like, oh, nothing crazy.
Yeah. And then you're like, oh, wait, actually.
Because he's probably like, this is what other kids experience, right?
Right. Because you don't parents do. You don't know anything else.
But one thing that we do know about that family and that household is that it was... termed a million different times in a million different sources as deeply religious. religion dominated that household, which can have effects on kids, as we've seen many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many times, almost in every case.
You know, it's like... I forgot what I was going to say.
It's like too much of a good thing. Yeah.
Too much of anything is not good. yeah you know so it's and when it's deeply religious you're like oh yeah Yeah.
That's not good. So it was not good in this situation.
Again, not a lot is known about his high school years or really how he was as a kid.
Yeah, which sucks. I would love to do a full deep dive on this case.
I'm also like, who decided to not... to not look into tell anyone what happened what the hell's going on we have so much information about so many random people but this Sky, we don't, you know what I will say, I think maybe, you know, this was during the time that I believe Otis Tool was working.
There was a couple of other ones going around.
I say working. I'm like working. you know clocking in nine to five so i do believe he got overshadowed by a lot and i think this just wasn't and also the fact that this these murders and assaults went cold a lot of times because they didn't have lot of information on him until the end.
Right. So maybe this just, it just got looked over and it's crazy that it did.
It's sad. But he did, after high school, he moved to Minneapolis.
He worked as a shipping clerk. He also worked as a janitor at a hospital.
He got married at one point to a woman named Beverly Linder.
Not much is known about it, but he did have a daughter.
Bev, where you at? They divorced and he just straight up abandoned his daughter.
Like never saw her again, never talked to her again.
So already it's like. Awesome. Seems like a good guy.
For sure. Yeah. He only went about his weepy-voiced killing spree between 1980 and 1982.
So it's a very short period. Pretty brief.
He worked his killing nasty ways in the Minneapolis...
St. Paul area. Yeah. So let's go to New Year's Eve 1980.
Okay. This is when 20-year-old Karen Poltak, she was a student at Stevens Point University, And she was going to be out in the Twin City area celebrating with her sister and her friends, you know, New Year's Eve.
They were going to be going to a bar, I believe off of University Avenue.
They spent the night there. They were dancing, having fun, drinking champagne.
They hit midnight in the bar. But then just after midnight, somehow she wandered off. without her friends and her sister knowing that she had left the bar.
She actually walked out of the club alone.
She wasn't wearing a coat. She was still holding a glass of champagne when she walked out. she was just feeling real good live the temperatures were below freezing that night and there was snow on the ground oh geez and she was very very drunk i was gonna say she had her drunk blanket on yeah she was Yeah, exactly.
So she wandered out there. She's just walking down the street, stumbling down University Avenue. lots of people around because it's new year's eve so again it's not like abandoned or anything like that And she happened to walk through an alleyway.
Oh, God. Yeah, and she stumbles into this alleyway, and when she does this, a man in a car pulls up.
Now this man in the car is in this nice warm car.
He's got his heat blasting. He sees her without a coat.
And he rolls down the window and he says, do you want me to take you wherever you're trying to go?
It's freezing out. I have heat in the car.
Wherever you're trying. Do you want me to bring you home? i'm so helpful now she is drunk and freezing and she's of course going to be like you have heat cool i'm gonna get in the car yeah like let's get it so she gets in the car No.
That's the last time she's seen. And then 3am that night, so only a couple of hours later.
Yeah. Please receive a phone call. And I'm going to play it for you right now.
No, thank you. Please, this is an emergency.
Please send a squatter just on the road.
Marlboro Manufacturing Company Machine Shop.
Please, there's an ambulance too. There's a girl who's dead. can you tell me what happened What's the address?
I don't know. So what the fuck did he say?
You got a transcript over there? I do. So I'm going to let you know what he said, because I know it's hard to hear like, I literally heard the mom bought a coffee machine.
I was like, what? So he called and he said, yes, please.
This is an emergency. Please send a squad to Pierce Butler Road Malmberg Manufacturing Company Machine Shop.
See? Mambo machine. Please send an ambulance too.
There's a girl hurt there. And the person says, can you tell me what happened to her?
And he says, just hurry. He's lying on the ground in the back by the railroad tracks by the engine room.
Hurry! And they say, what's the address?
And he says, I don't know. And then they say, who are you?
And he says, click. He says click. He says click.
He says absolutely not. You know what it is for me, like the youngins say?
For me, it's the... i don't know yeah she's like come on bro And also it's the, who are you?
Click. Oh, no, no. Too many questions. And it's like, all right.
If he's really having a breakdown, is he really going to take that who are you and be like, click no like he'd say something i feel like he would at least i don't know again i don't know i've never been in that state of mind so they obviously got that call and immediately were like, okay so we gotta just send someone out there because what the fuck we don't know who the person is who the victim is what's going on They just say she's hurt.
We can't just ignore that. So police and ambulance go to the Malmberg Manufacturing Company machine shop, which is completely deserted at night this she would not have been found if they if he did not call Wow, that's crazy.
And they find Karen Pulteck. She is laying in the snow by the railroad tracks.
She's completely naked. And she has been beaten. extensively with a tire iron.
Oh, man. Her skull has been split open and her brain was exposed.
Jesus. She was still alive. she was still alive when they found her officers said it was the worst scene they had ever come across They said her brain was literally exposed.
Her skull is split into two and they can see her brain and she's alive.
She was rushed to the hospital, she had emergency lifesaving surgery, and she lived.
What the fuck? Yes, she lived. She lived?
Now, she obviously had a great amount of brain damage after that.
Okay, but wait, bad bitch alert. She lived.
Wow. She lived and I couldn't find anything on like what she's doing today.
Being a bad bitch. Just being a bad bitch.
Unfortunately, she also didn't remember a damn thing.
So... That is both unfortunate and also very fortunate.
Honestly, I was thinking that I was like, it's, you know, it obviously sucks because you'd love her to be like, here's what he looked like.
Here's what is. I'd rather not remember.
But you don't want her to remember. No. I don't want her to have that memory.
I'm glad that she's like, yeah... I went to a New Year's Eve party and that was the end of that.
It's like, good, good. Yep. Happy memories for you.
Yeah. So don't listen to this because you don't need to know what happened.
No. There was no clues, no evidence, no clues.
They had nothing to go on except that phone call.
And that's it. That's wild. And the fact that he didn't leave... I mean, also, this is the 80s, but he didn't leave anything behind to give any kind of clue says to me...
This is not him just snapping. Yeah, because it's like he didn't leave anything for them to pick up.
Because he's also, I mean, it sounds to me like he was driving around looking for people.
It really does. You know, I mean, there's definitely a couple of times where you're like, he just got lucky finding someone.
But it seems like he I don't know, he always has something to do with.
Right. But that's, so yeah. So then, unfortunately, no evidence, no nothing.
She can't really tell you anything. There's no witness statements to say anything about this guy picking her up.
That's it. So it kind of just, that's it.
They can't do a lot about it. So come June 3rd, 1981, so months later.
18-year-old Kimberly Compton had just graduated high school She was from a very small town in Wisconsin.
I think I saw that it was less than a thousand people lived in this town.
Damn. So a... village. Literally a village.
A little hamlet, if you will. And she was looking, she had just graduated.
Small town girl looking to get the hell out of there.
Yeah. She wants to go to the big city. She wants to move on.
She wants to start a job. She wants to meet new people.
Like, she's ready. She graduated. Here I come, world.
All right. Now she moved to St. Paul hours Before she came across Paul Michael Stefani.
No. Now, she had literally got on a Greyhound bus, packed her bags, got on a Greyhound bus, was going to St.
Paul. Dropped at the St. Paul bus station, the Greyhound station.
She puts her bags in locker 750 at the bus station.
And she's like, I'm hungry. So she walks across the street where there's this diner, Mickey's Diner.
She gets the special and she sits down and starts eating.
And she's eating alone. And a few booths away from her, there's a man enjoying a cup of coffee alone.
He takes a notice of her and he walks over and starts talking to her.
And she's like, why don't you sit down and join me?
Because she's like, I'm already making new friends.
Oh, she's nice. We, sorry, how old was he?
He, at this time, he was in his 30s. I believe he was 38.
Oh, okay. Okay. So, you know, you're brand new to a town.
Yeah, whatever. I could see him coming across.
It's that Minnesota accent is very friendly.
So I can definitely see that. So he sits down, they start talking.
She mentions that she is brand new from Wisconsin.
Can't wait to start things and he's like, oh my god, I can take you around and show you the sights.
No, thank you. And she's like, that's awesome.
So she's like, absolutely. So they finish their meals, they keep talking, and they leave together.
And witnesses at the scene, staff and people in the restaurant said they saw this entire interaction.
They watched them leave together. Yeah. This is when, and that's, no one saw her after that.
Of course. Now, this is also when a group of teen boys come across a body a few hours later.
Oh, no. Really, really quickly. Just hours later.
Really quickly. It was next to a freeway construction area and it was in like a wooded area, secluded.
This woman was laying face down and had been stabbed in the chest quite a few times with what police believe to be an ice pickaxe.
This is important because this is a very odd choice and rare. weapon to use.
Yeah. Not many people are just, besides, you know, like the guy from I Know What You Did Last Summer really running around with an ice pick?
No. Uh, and like... there's another movie that they use an ice pick basic instinct I think it was but yeah it's not a weapon that's used often Where she was found was a place with a very scenic view of the Mississippi River.
He had obviously brought her there under the guise of seeing the sights and then brutally massacred her there.
At the time, they didn't know. who this woman was because she didn't have ID on her.
Oh, no. Because it's in the locker room.
Exactly. When she had left the bus station, she was just running over to get some food.
She was not she was planning to go right back and get her stuff. and then be on her way.
But she had just gone directly with him to go sightseeing.
So at first, she was just like a Jane Doe.
They were like, we don't know who she is.
Then they get the ice pick call. Oh god.
And here we're gonna play it. Finally, I just got somebody with an ice pick.
I can't stop myself. I keep killing somebody now.
Hello? So this one's a little scarier to me.
Yeah. I'm going to read you the quick transcript of it because, again, I know it's hard to hear.
Yeah. He says, will you goddamn find me?
Will you find me? I just stabbed somebody with an ice pick.
I can't stop myself. I keep killing somebody.
And the police says, hello. Are you there?
I know the guy that says, hello, are you there?
Sounds like a famous newscaster. He really does.
Hello. On the 10 o'clock news. On the 10 o'clock news.
Hello. Hello. Are you there? Yeah, so he is very upset that he just stabbed someone with an ice pick.
He wants you to believe, at least. I was gonna say, but is he though?
He's at least showing you that he wants to be very upset.
When they get this phone call, that's weird because an ice pick is a weird weapon.
It's not I stabbed someone with a knife.
It's not I stabbed someone with anything else.
It's very specifically, I just stabbed someone with an ice pick.
And they're like, oh wait, we have a body that was just stabbed with an ice pick, we did not release any of that information.
Right. The only person who would know that is the person who stabbed her with an ice pick.
So they're like, okay. So now they're like, all right, this is the guy.
We have a real thing here. So now they're sitting there being like.
Oh, so that other Karen Poltec one was the same guy, it seems.
So now... He had said that they had figured out that he had called from a payphone nearby.
When they got there, he was gone, so that sucks.
Now, during all this, they were autopsying their Jane Doe. who they are going to find out is Kimberly Compton.
They were all doing the autopsy and they found a key to the locker in her pocket.
And they traced it back to the Greyhound bus station, locker number 750.
That's where they found her ID, and finally they knew they had Kimberly Compton.
Ugh. What they also found during the autopsy, and this is interesting, because in order to trace her back to this man, they were able to look at the undigested food in her stomach.
And if it's undigested, it means it was eaten fairly recently.
Right. They saw that she had eaten barbecue beef and fries within hours.
Now, this helped them trace it back to the diner, Mickey's Diner, because it happened to be the special.
Right, you said she ordered the So they were like, there it is.
She was at the diner. So, of course, to the diner they go.
They talk to the staff, and the staff says, like, yeah.
And that's the staff who relayed that whole entire story of, like...
She was sitting there eating. This guy was eating coffee.
He came over and talked to her. They sat down.
We could hear their conversation. them leave together we saw them leave together and then luckily they were like we can at least tell you a little bit about what he looks like Of course, it didn't really help them at first, but the staff could all identify her, too.
And they did say, you know, he was a tall guy, he was like bigger.
I think they were able to say something about his hair, but not a lot else.
They were like, we weren't really paying attention that much because who would have thought?
Because it's a diner? Yeah, like who would think that he was going to kill her after that?
No. found out was that he had stabbed her with that ice pick 61 times.
Oh my. Yeah. Sergeant Joe Corcoran said he saw an extreme amount of rage with that one.
He was like, this was rage. This wasn't like just somebody going blank and snapping.
It was pure rage. I wonder what it is that, like, makes him tick.
I have an idea. So she was also strangled with a shoelace.
That wasn't what killed her. It was the stab wounds that killed her.
So she was strangled before with a shoelace, which to me is like torturous.
Yeah, it is. Now, to me, I'm going to go back to him being it being very evident that he was raised in a deeply religious household. that brings about a certain amount of guilt.
And it brings about a certain amount of like, I need to repent for my sins.
And I also make need to make other people repent for their sins.
He might have looked at her and said, oh, you got in a car with a man.
And later he does say that it seems like they were a little flirty together.
And that he at one point said he unhooked her bra while they were out there.
So I'm assuming something was going on according to him.
And he makes it seem like it was, like, something they were both consenting to.
Of course, we don't know. But... Either way, he might be looking at her and being like, you are asking for it because you are you're. engaging in this risky behavior with me you know what i mean so to me it might be him like freaking out on her and like stabbing her to death because he's like, you're a young girl who just went off with me and is acting inappropriately.
Well, you know what? That's my fucking prerogative, dude.
Because you know how many of these dudes have that mindset of, like, I had to kill her because she was a dirty woman.
It's like the Irish... Bible John. Yeah, Bible John, exactly.
Yes. And that's the thing. It's like, this could be part of that.
That shit makes me so mad. It does. It's ridiculous.
It's so annoying. But it's also... It's like when they're being raised in that like extreme of a household.
Yeah. It puts those ideas in their brain and who knows what, what kind of relationship he had with his mother because no one fucking looked into this and I'm trying to find it I swear You just sucked his lips.
I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm tired. But it seems to me he did love his mother, because we will find out later... that it does come back in a small way, You know who else loved their mom?
Well, this is the thing. I'm wondering if it was a...
If it was a love of your mother that is... An Ed Geeney kind of love?
Edipissy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then it's like...
And then you bring the religious aspect into it.
Maybe she was teaching him that women are unclean.
Yeah. That comes back. She got all Carrie with it.
It comes back in a lot of these cases that you find out the mother has been teaching them.
Women are unclean. and like you need to stay away from them.
That also never makes sense to me because I'm like homegirl.
You are a woman. Well, that's and I'm like and you fucked to make him right So stop shaming other women for it.
Also unclean, according to your standards.
Especially these older ones where I'm like, this is definitely before like fertility treatments.
So you were definitely committing the original sin to have... have him yeah so it's like stop shaming everyone else like you can get it on the low low it's fine Go ahead.
Let people live. God damn. But when I heard that it was like a lot of rage in this one and she was a young girl and I...
The whole story of them meeting at the diner and her going off with him, which is totally her prerogative.
Again, not a good idea. I don't recommend. yeah definitely don't do that but not you know something to kill someone over no and but I do think that maybe that played into it it could have No, that's a really good assessment.
If we knew more about his shit. Make an assessment.
American assessment? I did. You did? Good job.
So two days later, he called again. And he's apologizing.
He's admitting to killing Kimberly Compton.
He mentions her by name. he's crying he's saying how upset he is about it and he's saying that he just can't go to jail yeah here it is Welcome.
I'm sorry what I did to Compton. I couldn't help it.
Don't know why I had to stab her. I'm so upset about it.
I keep getting drunk every night. I can't believe it.
It's like a big dream. I can't. I can't think of being locked up.
If I get locked up, I'll kill myself. I'd rather kill myself than get locked up.
I'll try not to kill. So this is an interesting one.
Yeah. A little more controlled because he's not right in the moment.
He's still weeping. He's still upset. Kinda.
He's still at least trying to imitate someone weeping.
He's still upset, but he's not as like, I just did it.
Right. Because this was a little bit later.
Out of control. But what he says there, in case you couldn't understand all of it, was...
In the first part, if I was a 911 operator and I got, don't talk...
Just listen. I would be like, click. Yeah, that's...
Which is why we are not dispatchers. Because, holy.
So he says don't talk, just listen. I'm sorry what I did to Compton.
I couldn't help it. Don't know why I had to stab her.
I'm so upset about it. I keep getting drunk every night.
I can't believe it. I did it. It's like a big dream.
I can't think of being locked up. If I get locked up I'll kill myself.
I'd rather kill myself than get locked up.
I'll try not to kill anybody else. Okay.
First and foremost. He fails, by the way, that he does not do that.
Yes. Spoiler alert. First and foremost, though, the use of the word dream versus the use of the word nightmare.
Yes. Weird. It's all a big nightmare is what you would think.
This is all a big dream. Like, yeah, a big dream of yours that you've been thinking about for a while because you've always wanted to kill people.
It really feels like a dream to you? Are you sure about that?
Poor choice of words, but I feel like that was intentional.
Now, this one was done eight days later.
And he also made another call where he was correcting something that the media got wrong about the case.
Oh, I remember that. I don't have that recording, but... See, that's another thing.
It's like, if you're so distraught and upset, why the fuck are you reading about the cases in the media?
Exactly, and that's the thing. It's like if you're correcting information, come on.
And clearly you want it out there in the quote-unquote correct way.
Exactly. And at this point, they're definitely connecting the two cases because they're hearing these voices and it's the same exact thing.
This is weird. It doesn't happen all the No.
So they're like, oh, I do remember that.
So they decided, you know what, we're going to release a portion of this to the media.
So people can hear the voice and tell us if they recognize it.
Now, the media, immediately he was deemed the weepy-voiced killer.
Why? I don't know. So weird. I don't really know.
You should have called him the crybaby. that would have been so much better I do love the weepy voiced killer though because that's just like meh Yeah, I like the crybaby.
So people heard this on the news, and a staggering amount of people were like, I know this. that voice yeah that's so weird and then like they got like hundreds i think they got a hundred different people that said they knew who this voice was.
They looked into every single one of them and none of them They were like, I saw this movie one time.
It's got a scarecrow. And a girl with red shoes and this lion.
And he sounds just like the fucking lion.
He sounds like him. You guys know that guy?
So crazy. Crazy. Doesn't he sound just like that?
He really does. He really does. He just needs the noif.
That's what he needs. If I only had the noif.
Don't you know. Don't you know. So yeah, so none of them panned out.
So apparently everybody thinks they know somebody who would kill a lot of people.
I would also cry about it to the police.
Awesome. That's something new we learned in this case.
So that's fun. That should teach you something about yourself.
That really should. So two months later after this. a guy named Alan Lopez.
He is, he gets in trouble because he is holding his entire family hostage in their home.
Oh. He had killed his parents and his sister, apparently in a very brutal way.
I looked into it, could not find a lot about it, but there is a news story about it.
Police had arrived at the home and they were basically negotiating a hostage situation. so they were stationed outside his home trying to talk to him and at one point during i believe like a couple of hours they were out there At one point, he said he was the one who killed Kimberly Compton.
Weird. So they were like, oh, shit. So he was arrested and he was found guilty for the family annihilation.
But he was placed in a mental facility, a mental health facility, excuse me.
And he was going they were like, we got to question this guy.
He admitted to it. Let's go talk to him.
Well, before they could question him. He killed himself.
Oh, no. Yeah. He was never questioned. So that sucks.
So on March 19th, 1982, retired detective Earl Mills actually returned to the force for one day out of retirement. to release the case files for the Weepy Voice Killer because he said that he wanted to connect Alan Lopez to these crimes.
Uh-huh. But so they still think this might be the guy.
They're like, because we didn't get to talk to him.
We haven't ruled him out. He admitted to it. let's see what we can look.
So they see that on the day that Kimberly Compton was murdered, he was actually checked into a mental health facility for like treatment uh-huh for a while uh-huh so they're like oh no like he was in there that that means he can't do it that's a bummer like not our guy but the reason that Mills came out of retirement was to try to nail this guy.
So they look further into it and they suddenly see that, wait a second, He was given a day pass out of the facility and he had left that building on that day.
Oh shit. Yeah. So now they're like, oh shit.
So then they look into Karen's attack. Right, right.
To link it. They look back on it. He was in jail on the night of Karen's attack.
He could not have committed that attack.
Yeah, I love that I also was like, oh shit, when I know who did it.
Oh shit. I'm like, oh my God, know what but still it's crazy and so on her attempted murder on New Year's Eve he couldn't have done it.
Uh-uh. They know that these are clearly linked, like it's the same voice, it's the same guy.
Right, right. He knew things that no one else would know, so it ruled him out because he just couldn't have attacked Karen.
It just didn't match up. So that was that.
Now, on August 6th, 1982, a 40-year-old nurse named Barbara Simons was out at the Hexagon Bar in Minneapolis on that evening.
Bar staff and witnesses said they saw her dancing and talking to a man that night.
She went up to get a drink at one point and she said to the bartender, something along the lines, there's a couple of versions of this, He's cute.
I hope this guy's okay because I just need a ride home.
She said something along those lines of like, hope this guy's okay because he's driving me home.
It was almost like she was like... Here we go.
Please know that like in case something happens.
It was almost like her putting that out there.
Girl, if you feel that way, don't get in the car.
When the bartender thought, you know, that's creepy.
So she took a good look at him. Which, good on her.
I'd be like, just wait and I'll drive you home.
Yeah, she was like, I'm just going to take a look at them.
So she and some other waitresses from the bar that evening said that they all got a good look at him.
They said he appeared to be around 40 years old, around 200 pounds, and 6 feet tall.
Okay. They said he had black hair that was receding.
He was balding. And he also had a mustache.
Okay. They were seen leaving together that evening.
Okay. And she's gone. There's another call.
Weird. I'm sorry I killed that girl. I'm standing for you guys.
Kimberly, talk to her. Talk to her. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Where are you? Thank you.
I love that the 911 operator's like, dude.
Like, it's been a long night. Like, chill.
I can't understand what you're saying right now.
So, this one is certainly more frantic. Yeah.
Because this was done right after he had done it.
So I think he's in that high or low, who knows what he was going through.
But. He's in that crazy, euphoric, like, crazy nutbag state that you're in after you brutally murder someone, I imagine.
Oh, that one. So... I said euphoric. Well, I mean, it's probably euphoric for them.
But what he said in that, because it does get a little muffly and hard to hear because he's just He's just crying.
He's just wilding out. So the operator says, fire emergency, and he says, please don't talk, just listen.
Which, okay... Don't tell me what to do.
Shut up. Let me do my job. You shut up. says, I'm sorry I killed that girl.
I stabbed her 40 times. Kimberly Compton was the first one over in St.
Paul. I don't know what's the matter with me.
I'm sick. I'm going to kill myself, I think.
And they say, where are you? And he says, I'm just going to, if somebody dies with a red shirt on, it's me.
I've killed more people. I'll never make it to heaven.
And she says, calm down. Calm down. She's like, God, you're really fucking annoying.
So yeah, so they get that phone call. Yikes.
And they're like, what, what? So he doesn't say where.
He says, I've killed more people. And he doesn't say where.
Because he doesn't want to get caught. But what happens was the next day, the very next day.
The body of Barbara Simons, 40 years old, a nurse, was found beaten and stabbed over 100 times. times jesus with what police said with either an ice pick or a screwdriver I want to know why he had an ice pick.
I have no idea. She was thrown into the Mississippi River, but she had become ensnared in some weed. on the side so she had washed up but they had tried to get rid of her right which to me is another thing that's like Did you really want to get caught?
You thought she was going to float off to sea.
Like, let's get out of here. So now police went back to the bar she was at scene last at and spoke to the staff who relayed the whole story of that evening to them.
The waitress who really took a good look at the guy after she told her she was going to go home with him, she was shown a bunch of mugshots, a whole lineup.
And they said it was like over 100 pictures.
Wow. And suddenly she stops them and is like, that's him.
That's definitely the definitely know that's him.
It was a photo of 38 year old Paul Michael Stefani.
Mm hmm. He had a mugshot because he had been arrested and convicted of aggravated assault before.
Oh, okay. Now, like I said, it's said that he had a little bit of history with mental illness, Nothing proves that.
There's no sources that people say it, but I have not seen anything to confirm Like an actual source.
So I just want to say that right there. Like, we have no idea.
He was never diagnosed with anything. I have no idea.
He did work at the manufacturing company that Karen was found in. a couple of years before he had committed these crimes.
He was fired from there. Um, so he's looking pretty good for these crimes now.
Yeah. Now they get, so they immediately get an order for 24 hour police surveillance on him.
They're going to go after him. They're going to John Wayne Gacy this.
They're going to tag him. So on August 21st, 1982, one day later, he got in his car.
So they're following him, like trying to be, you know, dumb. be suspicious don't be suspicious don't be suspicious i Would love to do that.
Well, unfortunately... I have no idea whether he caught on or not, like no one really knows this, but I don't think he did because of what he does next.
So he lost them somehow. And he... He went into Minneapolis, he went into, you know, where you can find sex workers, and he picked up 19-year-old sex worker Denise Williams.
They lost him and then he does this. Wow.
Exactly. That's why I don't think he knew that they were following him because I...
I don't think he would do this. He wouldn't have made a pit stop?
Yeah. So they negotiated $100 for whatever act was going to occur.
He brought her back to his apartment. They engaged in a sexual act.
Uh, and he offered to bring her back to the place where he had picked her up.
So she was like, cool. So they start driving and she immediately starts getting freaked out because he was not going the right way. she also said he began talking about his sexual fantasies with her and it was creeping him out like she was like alright like it's done like we're yeah like we had the sexual fantasy bye Get over it.
She said she was just getting uncomfortable.
And then he drives into a pitch black road with like no streetlights.
Oh, my God. God, this poor girl. Yeah. And she starts freaking out and she's like, where are you taking me?
And he's like, everything's fine. I'm just taking a shortcut, which they are never taking a shortcut.
No, never. There are no shortcuts. Everything is long.
It's a long cut. Everything in the world takes forever to get to deep cut.
There's no shortcuts in the world. None.
So if anybody tells you, I'm just taking a shortcut, tell them, no, you're going to fucking murder me.
I know it. Pop out of the car. Elena told me.
Skirt. Elena told me there's no such thing as a shortcut.
There's no such thing as a shortcut. They all say that.
Don't worry about me taking you into this weird wooded area.
It's a fucking shortcut. You know what's really funny about driving with me, though?
I think I know all these shortcuts. I know you do.
And you always tell me, this is fucking longer.
I do. Because it's always long. And he was like, I'm taking a different way because you take the longest way.
And I was like, no, I don't. I know a shortcut.
You don't. And then she got home before me.
Exactly, because there's no shortcuts. So I am evidence that there are no fucking shortcuts.
And you know what? It's fine. Everything takes forever to get to, and that's fine.
Let's all just accept it. Never accept a shortcut.
No, just listen. A morbid podcast on your deep, long cut.
Yeah, that's what we're here for. We're here for your long commute, not your shortcut.
So don't take one either way. Denise also knew that there is no shortcuts.
Just went off. Because she's very street smart.
She has been, which this like hurts my heart, she has been a sex worker since the age of 13.
Oh my gosh. So she had been on the streets for quite some time.
She knew this area. She knows how to get back to where she was.
She knows the shortcuts. She's like, dude, no.
And she also knows dudes like this who are gonna try to hurt you and try to scam your ass.
So she was like, I know what's going on here.
So she immediately starts looking around.
She sees a glass bottle on the floor. And she's like, and she just looks at it and she's like, all right, that's there.
Cool. That's good to know. So he pulls into a dead end street that is pitch black.
Fuck. And he turns the car off. Why? And she notices, so she's like, okay, you need to turn that car back on right now because I'm going to get the fuck out of this car right now.
And he tells her, some grass ass or gas, no one rides for free.
And she was like, Yep. Like that, we, what?
That already happened. We did that already.
The ass already happened. It was paid for.
We don't need to Like this doesn't need to be a thing.
No. Like you're not getting something for free either.
Right. Like we made our transaction happened.
Fuck off. So he immediately tries to grab her hand, but she attempts to get out of the car.
And this really makes him angry. So he turns and grabs a Phillip head screwdriver and stabs her in the stomach. oh ow so she immediately snatches that bottle off the floor and smashes it right over his head and He is bleeding profusely.
She's not bleeding. bleeding a lot, because even though he's stabbing her, it's a puncture wound, so it's not bleeding a ton. is bleeding everywhere.
Right. Because she has managed to gash open his face and head.
Hell yeah. And he is bleeding everywhere. everywhere, like all over the car.
So it is mayhem. And I guess he said in a high pitched voice.
No, shut up. You're just like the rest of those broads!
Ew, I'd be like, no I'm not, I'm gonna kill you, bye.
Which... To me is the evidence you need to say he has something against women and this is something he does.
Because he's saying you're just like those other broads because she slept with him.
Right. And he is shaming her. i think that this is what it is i swear i should i'm gonna i'm gonna fucking do the psychology on this dude I mean, you have a psychology degree.
I'm going to write a book on him because I really do feel this has something to do with it.
It seems like he is shaming them immediately after getting what he wants. yeah so he says you're just like some of those other broads and then blood is everywhere.
It's mayhem. She can't see anything. She said all she could see was blood. um she couldn't get out of the car but she eventually she opens she gets the handle and pulls it and just falls out of the car He falls right on top of her.
Shut up. And is continually... stabbing her still and she's screaming at the top of her lungs thinking she's alone because they're in the pitch black there's nothing around But he chose the wrong street because there was houses that were hidden on the street and were just dark.
Yeah. he had no idea like just like back a little so yeah and she says suddenly that she decided to play dead And she was like, I'm just going to try to pretend I'm dead so he'll stop because he kept stabbing her.
And she said, I'm dying. I'm dying. And then she just laid there, but he kept going.
Yeah, because he's like wild with it. A maniac.
So somewhere nearby, there was someone with their window open. and heard these screams, this man was Doug Panning.
Sometimes fresh air is for dead people, other times it's for saving almost.
Other times it's for heroes, that's all.
So Doug Panning runs out of his house, sees this man on top of Denise stabbing her, and he runs over to the scene.
Wow. And it says so I found in the trial notes for this and like a very small court transcript of this case i hate when you can only get like one page a little snippet right that's all i want at all It said Panning observed Stefani on top of William, stabbing her with the screwdriver at least five or six times.
Panning heard the screwdriver make a thud when it hit Bone.
Ugh! So he said he could literally hear it hitting her bone.
He saw Williams had the neck of a broken bottle in her hand.
So she still had that broken bottle and was still trying to get him.
Good. Now he grabbed Stefani and turned him around to try to make him stop.
And Stefani starts lashing out at him with the screwdriver.
So Doug got away from him and ran back to his house and called 911.
Now, Stefani knew the police were likely coming and figured he had probably killed Denise, so he got in the car and sped away.
Wow. This is when Doug, being the god that we all need at this moment... ran back out and to help denise and like held on to her while they waited for police yeah Which, like, what a badass he is.
Like, he was attacked too, so he could have stayed in his house and been like, they'll take care of No, he ran back out to like comfort her.
Good for him. Just like, I want to give Doug props.
Me too. So according to the court papers, her wounds were to the lower right chest, upper right abdomen and right side of her head.
One wound punctured her lung, another punctured her liver.
Since she had puncture type wounds, like they said, there was a minimal amount of external bleeding.
She was stabbed at least 15 times. Wow. Yeah.
She had emergency surgery and she survived.
Yes. This is when the fourth call of this whole thing came.
It came that night, very soon after this.
And it's not exactly what you think. Where?
1505 Westminster. 1505? Yeah. Westminster, what's the problem?
I'm all cut off. I got beat up. What's your apartment number?
208, I bleed. 208, where are you bleeding from?
From my arm, my face. So yes, he called the ambulance for himself.
Okay. So yeah, he's like, and he literally is like, I got beat up.
And he sounds exactly like how he sounds In the other calls, just less frantic.
And it's like, yeah, you did get beat up.
Denise beat the shit out of you. But I'm glad that you had to call an ambulance for it.
It's also interesting because you do think that if you were beaten the way that she beat him, you would be frantic then.
Yeah, right? But honestly, I think he had lost a lot of blood, so he was probably on the verge of passing out.
That's true. But I'm also just like, it makes me even feel more like that was so put on before.
Exactly, exactly. And so he was bleeding profusely.
Again, several huge lacerations that she had inflicted on him, which good on her.
So police hear this call and they're like, oh, that's that weepy dick.
Like, that's definitely him. Good old weepy dick.
The weepy dick killer. Like, that's him.
So they were like, oh, that's definitely the same voice.
So they're like, all right, let's bring him into the hospital.
And Denise, at the same time, is explaining what she had done in self-defense and these injuries are matching up.
Because she was like, oh, I took a bottle and I slammed it on his head, gashed his side of his face open and his head.
And they're like, oh, that matches. Right.
The town of Agde in France is famous for sun, sand, sea and sex.
But lately, life on the coast has taken a strange turn.
The town's mayor, a respected pillar of the community, has been arrested for corruption.
His wife claims He's been bewitched by a beautiful clairvoyant.
Then there's the mysterious phone calls that local people have been getting.
I am the Archangel Michael. The whole town has been thrown into chaos.
As the mayor is unable to carry out his duties, I would like to address you all.
Legal proceedings have been initiated. Join me, Anna Richardson, and journalist Leo Schick for The Mystic and the Mayor as we investigate a story of power, corruption, Binge all episodes of The Mystic and the Mare exclusively and ad-free right now on Wondery+.
Start your free trial in Apple Podcasts Spotify or the Wondery app.
Now, they're also like, oh wait, this is also the guy that we were following and we lost him.
Jesus. So they're like, wait a second. And then this woman is attacked and she shows up with the same injuries that he that she's talking about the same injury she just inflicted on this man right it's all adding up right right right So, and again, he's claiming he got, he was beaten and robbed and that's where he got his injuries.
Okay. They were like, yeah, no, half of that.
Let's not lie. Denise was shown a photo lineup immediately.
She picked Stefani out. She was like, boom, that's him.
Yeah. Easy. matches all up, he's arrested and charged with attempted murder.
Good. Because they were like, this is definitely attempted murder.
Because he also left her to die. Exactly.
So they bring him in for questioning and they bring out the case file. of the weepy-voiced killer while they're questioning him because they're like, we want you to take a look and they show him photos of his victims.
And they're like, we want you to take a look at these because we think you're involved.
Immediately, he gets pissed and aggravated.
Like... Turns on a dime. Like, oh, I don't know.
I just got that. And then they're like, look at these videos.
Like, we think you're him. And he's like, oh, fuck right off.
What? Which again to me says, I'm with it.
Right. I'm just pissed that you're onto it.
Right. In fact, the first thing he does is he gets up from his chair and says, you're not gonna pin those on me. oh so you know about them and it's like okay so police officers in the room though said his voice changed And it suddenly sounded exactly like the weepy voiced recordings.
So he was doing it like on purpose. They were like, he changes it when he needs to.
What the fuck? So they charged him with they were also going to they charged him with Barbara. because they were able to pin him to that one too, Barbara Simons.
The other two murders, or... The other murder, Kimberly, and then the attempted murder on Karen were in St.
Paul. So they were going to need St. Paul to stop, collaborate, and listen with them.
And you know how that can be hard. I do.
And obviously St. Paul wanted to. But they were like, we don't know if we have a lot of evidence.
Like we have the calls, but like we don't know.
So at first they were like, we don't know.
And they were like, all right, we're going to charge him for these two and we're going to get him. behind bars.
Yeah. So they brought in a voice expert to listen to the calls and to listen to Stefani's interview voice.
I think it was two voice experts, and they said they were remarkably similar.
Because it's the same voice. But they said they couldn't say definitively it was the same, which I'm like...
So what good are you? Well, I was just going to say, okay, cool.
So why did we bring you in today? Because it's like, wait a-
How much money an hour did you just make to come in here and say the exact same thing that we just said, which is...
My, my, my, these two voices sound very similar.
They just sit there and they listen to everything and they're like, sounds the same.
Maybe. That'll be $3,000 per hour. Thank you.
Bye. Sounds pretty similar. Perhaps, but I'm not... That'll be $1,000.
Thank you very much. It's like, what the fuck?
Why did you even come in? I'm not one to make bets.
Yeah, that was annoying to me. I was like, okay, thanks so much.
Yeah, right? Like, waste of fucking time.
We can all tell you it sounds similar. So they were like, cool, cool.
So the trial was in February of 1985 for the attempted murder.
And it lasted six weeks. He pled guilty or he pled not guilty to the attempted murder of Denise and the murder of Barbara.
His ex-wife, his sister, and a woman he had once lived with as a roommate came on the stand to listen to the calls.
And they were asked to listen to them and then tell us who they thought that was.
His sister, most notably, was listening to it and afterwards just like took the thing off and like put her head down and started like crying.
Oh. and said that is without a doubt my brother wow like she was like without a doubt to have to do that to your sibling yeah And so she was devastated.
I'd be like, thanks a lot for putting me in that fucking position.
He was found guilty of attempted murder and second degree murder.
Good. And he got 58 years in prison, 18 years for the attack on Denise and 40 years for the murder of Barbara.
Wow. Now, St. Paul, they were like, all right, St.
Paul, you're up. Yeah, like, let's get it.
And they were like, eh. We don't have enough.
So they were like, we're not going to try.
Why not? Which I was like, what the fuck, St.
Paul? I know he's going away, but Karen and Kimberly's families deserve justice.
If you think of it, Kimberly was killed with an ice pick.
Okay, cool. Where's the fucking ice pick?
It's probably in his possession somewhere.
You can test it. Yeah. They didn't even look.
Yeah. They just basically were like, we don't have a lot of physical evidence.
We just have the phone calls. Can you try to get some physical evidence?
That he had information that only the killer would have.
Right. And they're recorded. That's frustrating.
I'd be pissed. So it left them unsolved.
Which that sucks. Which they're not. Like those four families, they know he did it, but they didn't get their justice.
Well, and technically he didn't get time for it, so... Yeah, so he went away to prison, and in 1997...
Twelve years after he was put in prison, he was diagnosed with terminal skin cancer.
He was given basically a death sentence.
They said, you probably have less than a year.
So he immediately was like, oh, well shit.
So he asked to speak to the St. Paul police.
And they were like, what? And he was like, well, I have some information that you might want.
And the only thing that I would like in return is a photo of my mother there's gravestone.
That's really fucking weird. Which to me, I'm like, there it is.
There's your mommy issues. Yeah, that's disgusting.
There it is. it's in there it's in there somewhere I swear I will find it I want to talk to the police and all I need is a picture like why couldn't you get that from your sister I just want a picture of my mother's headstone That's really all I want.
That's just very bizarre. So they were like, okay.
So they just brought it to him. I also love that he doesn't just want a picture of her. yeah just her headstone i want to see her headstone okay sorry go ahead and it's like okay Sure, sure, sure.
See, there's a lot behind there. There is.
There's a lot bubbling on there. There is.
I have many thoughts. I gotta know. So they met with him, and he just... confesses to everything he pours opens up he said he attacked karen He was like, yes, I sure did.
And he said he hit her a good 20 times. And he says it very casually, like whatever.
He says, When I picked her up, she had no jacket and I thought I'd take her for a cup of coffee.
Stefani confessed, I just wanted to warm her up and my mind snapped or something.
In the interview, they say, do you remember where you hit her with the iron pawl?
Did you hit her maybe one time, two times?
He says, Oh god, no. Must have been about 30 times.
Jeez. A good 20 times, I think it was. And then they said, were you swinging it this way or did you poke her with it?
He's trying to stab her with it. And he says, no, I don't think I poked her at all.
I remember hitting her mainly on the forehead and on the cheek. the jaw, the mouth, and on the top of the head.
I think it was only about 10 times in but I then noticed that she really must be hurting. a steel bar like that.
Oh, okay. Okay, Paul. Oh, I realize she must be hurting.
And then he said 10 times in. So you kept going after that? another at least 10 more times.
And also you're saying that you had the wherewithal to know that she was hurting. to sit there and be like, oh, she must be hurting.
This is a steel bar that I'm hitting her with.
So you recognize that. Yeah. So you didn't snap.
Exactly. So you were totally with it. And that's why that mental illness thing, it's like...
It can creep in there while you're reading this and then all of a sudden you're like, wait a second.
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. So then he did say that he confirmed what the waitresses said about how he met Kimberly Compton.
He said, quote, We started talking and I told her I'd show her around town.
I thought I'd drive her by the river and maybe we see the Delta Queen or have a picnic. but in 15 minutes she was dead.
Why though? Yeah. Like, why though? And he says, he says, I said, yeah, I wanna show you something.
There's really a nice view over here. And he said, you can see the nice river, I think I mentioned.
And then he said, I think I mentioned, you'll have something to tell your parents about.
And then you decided to kill her? As I walked out of the car, I carried my knife with me.
I had every intention of hurting her. Okay, that's not snapping.
We laid down in the grass and I remember opening up her bra, just feeling her tits and stuff.
Ew. Grow up. And I just start stabbing her.
And then he says, I was even hurting. When I went back to the car, I was like...
I was like I mean and that's what made me go to the police and use the phone.
I mean I really wanted to help her. My mind started clearing up.
I mean, I really wanted to. And then he says, my mind started clearing up.
What are you doing? I said. I said, you had a chance to make another friend.
I kept yelling at myself. You like to make friends. no i think that's him trying trying to come off like i just wanted to make a friend and it's like No.
No, you didn't. No, because the fact that you carried the knife with you to the car, like, no.
Exactly. It just doesn't make any sense. sense.
And then I feel like he said like you'll have something to tell your parents about to be an asshole.
Yeah like you're gonna have something to tell your parents about before I'm gonna take you from them in five seconds.
Right. So fuck right off. No. So then during this interview, so they're already like, okay, thank you for all this.
Signed, sealed, delivered. This is great.
Then he's like, oh, yeah, I also killed someone that you didn't mention.
And he's like, they're like, what? What now?
Like, huh? Yeah. Besides those four people that we're talking about?
And he says, yeah. One happened before Kimberly, or between Kimberly and Barbara.
So it was his second murder. Okay, okay.
And he didn't have any information about who she was, like couldn't give a name. was just like yeah, I drowned her in a bathtub in her own apartment.
And they were like, oh. So they check with Ramsey County Medical Examiner Office and ask, because he knew that's where it was.
Yeah. Yeah. And they ask about any drownings like that in the last couple of years, and it matches The case of 33-year-old Kathleen Greening.
Uh-huh. Initially, they had looked at this, the police had looked at this as suspicious when she was found.
And her estranged husband was actually heavily looked on as a suspect, but nothing ever panned out, so it was labeled an accident.
Mm-hmm. It was July 21st, 1982. She and her friend Carol Kellogg were planning a trip together.
Carol showed up that morning to pick up Kathleen.
No one came to the door. So she pushed the door open because it was unlocked, which she already was like, that's weird.
She said she went through the house, found her in the bathroom.
She was in a full bath, face up and dead.
Wow. I wonder, did he say that he knew her?
Is this like a break in? He didn't give a lot of, he said he was able to give details about her and about her apartment that made them know that this is who it was.
It was her. That's so strange because it's so different than the other ones.
It's totally no call and a totally different MO.
Yeah, but what's weird about this is they had, when they were looking at this, like it was... foul play they had obviously collected stuff from her apartment for evidence yeah they had an address book of hers and when they looked in it There was an entry for Paul S. and it was his phone number.
So maybe they did know each other in some capacity.
Right. In some capacity, they had met and exchanged a phone number.
Yeah, so maybe it was like a date or something.
So that was like their boom. There he is.
Like he's telling this one. That's so strange.
And when they showed him, he was like, yeah, that's her.
Like I did that. And he just wouldn't give any more.
He said, and then when they asked her how he did it, they were like did you like hold her head down like what happened here and he was like oh no i held both her shoulders down and drowned her in the bathtub What the fuck?
Yeah. So weird. he said when the murders occurred that there would be a voice in the back of his head that would say, Paul, it's time to kill.
Which to me says, I'm going to try to pretend to be an insane person.
Right. And he said he would always go to church after the kills and he would sit in the back and cry.
And then he said, and here we come with the mama.
Yeah. He always said, quote, Mother always told me if something hurts you, go to God.
I'm telling you, the mom is, there's a big puzzle piece here.
Listen, sweet cheeks, I'm sorry if you call your mom mother.
But if you if anybody refers to their mom as mother, they are a serial killer.
Yeah. Whitney from Southern charm. I'm looking at you.
I know that you're a serial killer. Whitney, you listening?
If you call your mom mother, it's weird.
It does. And especially after a certain age.
It's like, what's happening? As an adult, if you're like, mother.
Hi, mother. Hello, mother. Mother always says, like, shut the fuck up and just call her mom.
Yeah, that's no good. It's weird, man. And so he also was quoted as saying...
Killing was, seemed to me, the thing you were supposed to do that was part of life.
Driving a car was part of life. Eating food was part of life.
To me, it seemed like killing was part of life.
Until I did it. Okay, so again, you're just somebody that...
Is a murderer. It's just part of it. It's part of you.
You're like Ted Bundy. And maybe you're saying that afterwards you didn't like it.
But that doesn't change the fact that you weren't insane when you did it.
You just didn't really afterwards. You were like, I don't know if I liked that.
I'll try it again, though. Well, that's the thing, because I'm sitting here saying like you're saying that you didn't like it, but then you did it four more times.
Yeah, it doesn't really make a whole. No, you liked it.
Uh, he did die at the age of 53 of skin cancer on June 12th, 1998.
An Oak Park Heights maximum security prison.
I wish that he had lived longer so that he could suffer in jail.
Yeah, it's... I just, this one is a strain and the mom is a big part of this pathology.
I'm telling you. I know. I need to know more about this. upbringing and this dynamic in this house i don't know maybe i swear there needs to be like a full investigative thing into this It's also interesting that he was abused by his stepdad, and she would tell him, if something hurts, you go to God.
Yes. So those two things are related. Yeah.
I think he's one of those that had a weird... weird obsession and fixation with his mother, but also hated her.
I think he's one of those. I think he's one of those that is like...
I fucking hate her, but I love her and I'm obsessed with her.
Like, you know, those weird, like, a dichotomy.
I feel like he's one of those. That is a wild case, man.
Yeah. The weepy voiced killer. I feel like next time I cry, I'm going to like think about this.
I know, right? yeah i'm gonna don't stop just listen i know and i know you shouldn't laugh at that but that's like really funny that's fucked like It's not fun.
That's fucked. Yeah, it's not funny. But the way he says it is funny.
Okay, thanks. Objectively funny. The way he says that is objectively funny.
I don't love, but when And you go, I don't know.
Like, okay. All righty. What's the address?
I don't know. I don't know. Like, well, fucking bring out your Google.
It's 1988. god damn it yeah why don't you have one oh man oh so yeah the weepy voice killer everybody Well, if you want to see what this bozo looked like, head on over to Instagram.
Morbid Podcast. Hit us up on Twitter. A Morbid Podcast.
Send us a gmail. Morbidpodcast at gmail.com.
We hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it weird.
But I'm sorry that you go out and kill people and then you You're like, I didn't mean to, but then I kind of think I did, but then I really did like it.
And oh my God, the copy machine on Mambo Avenue.
Ah. I don't know. Get ready for the 201st episode.
201. Woo. Thank you. If you like Morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
