June 27, 2023 • 34 mins
While laying low, the group builds an armory and gains a new member, who brings them drugs … and more victims. Zak Valentine’s career choices place the cult in dire straits. Desperate and broke, the members of Electus per Deus emerge from their safe haven to kill again – this time, for money.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
School of Humans.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
This show follows the investigation of serial murders and contains
material that may be disturbing.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Listener discretion advised.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
On the ground in Johannesburg, Jennifer and I spent a
lot of time in the car with Detective Ben Boysen.
The west Rand gold Mine looms in the distance over
Krueger's door. A fine dust blows from the hill into
the city, Stark trees, dead grass, dusty gutters lying the
(00:39):
gray streets. As Ben offered us as many insights like
this one about the state of the police force.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
So eventually there's about seventeen thousand cops in the whole
of South Africa fully seen sixty million people. So how
the hell do you think you're going to ever in
your life crime and get your end of a crime.
This will never happen.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
The South African police department and judicial system are often
so overwhelmed that unsolved cases go cold and then fall
by the wayside.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Before you can start actually investigating the cause decently. You've
got a next murder guise, and you've got a next
hijacking guys, and you've got to a next roberty guise,
and you continue to do the job. So yeah, this
is this is ma South Africa. You know, it's the
wild twist.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
This is one of the reasons EPD would continue to
evade justice for four more years after Michaela's murder. The
sights and sounds of South Africa stream past us. As
we left the bustle, the dreary, loud streets of Krueger
Store and ascended the green suburban hills with well manicured
lawns and quiet avenues that overlook the city. Ben set
(01:56):
the stage for the next tragedy. Is weary words build
out as he drove the pain and his voice was
unexpected and disarming.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
This country is you know, we're in a tunnel and
there's a big light outside and everybody think that light
is the sun. That light's not the sun. That light
is a train coming with a huge speed, and something
really bad is going to happen in the near future.
It can't go on like this. Somewhere along the line
(02:29):
things must change. But before things need to change, things
need to be at the worst.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
From School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts, This is Queen
Havoc and her Murder Cult. I'm your host Kurt Koopachak,
Episode six House of Cards. The staggering amount of incompetence
by law enforcement was already weighing heavy on Susette when
(03:02):
she was brought on in twenty twelve.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
There was a gap in our legal system and it
frustrated me. And to give for you all, but you're
not not receiving half of that back.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Susette did give her all for over twenty years. She
served her country on the force.
Speaker 6 (03:20):
I gave my life.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
I even saved my two kids aside to do what
was in my blood.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
And then there was the Cecilia Stein case. Detective Susette
could see that Michaela's murder was directly tied to the
case number debacle that allowed Marinda to walk when.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
It came in court. Mirinda couldn't be placed in this
guise because this guy's and I said, but she can't
be connected to this guys, so let her go, and
I let her go. That is what happened.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Detective Susette was fed up. The community was already racked
with grief and terrorized by the murders, and now she
feared for her own own family. As her then sixteen
year old daughter Shaney remembers.
Speaker 7 (04:04):
She was so stressed and so worried about me and
my brother and our safety that we could barely go somewhere.
And we respected my mom because at the time we
did not know exactly how dangerous those people were, so
my mom just showed us pictures of how they look like,
and if we see them in public, just go a
(04:24):
different direction.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
But the final blow arrived when Detective Susette confronted Captain
van Vick about the case number mix up. Captain van
Vick maintained that he wasn't responsible and that he was
following orders one's given to him by Colonel de Yager.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
When I found him to ask him what the hell happened,
I was sorry, but Dad said, listen, I'm done. I'm
done helping, I'm done assisting. I am withdrawing.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Just following orders just doesn't cut it, says journalist.
Speaker 8 (05:00):
I mean, as an investigative officer, he had to make
certain calls, not just say yon, I mean to what
Dioga is saying.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
In other words, Vinvick was the lead officer and shouldn't
have been just a yes man to Diager this issue
with the wrong case number, plus Venvick being a willing
pawn to Colonel di Yager and then the state's attorney
refusing to grant Susette arrest warrants for the other members
of Cecilia's gang. It was all too much for Detective Susette.
(05:30):
Plus her children's lives were now at risk too. The
strain became more than Detective Susette could bear.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
It was like it was in weeks that I left
the police. It just cloaked me and I just decided
that sad enough.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
After more than two decades of dedicated work, Detective Susette
Canot say quit the force all together, and shockingly, so
did Van Vick, who was still tracking the progress of
the investigation.
Speaker 9 (05:58):
I was devastated because I knew that Maranda Stein she
was somehow involved. But yeah, unfortunately our judicial system looks
in such a mana that the prosecutor decides not to
place the matter. Then they dined places bsically back to
SQUAI one. Like I said, I was devastated, and I
actually designed from the police a couple of months later.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
It's worth noting that wild Detective Susette Canot was on
the case murders fitting the pattern of the EPD killing
spree ground to a halt. Detective Ben Boysen suspects that
her focus on the group had a lot to do
with that.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
I know, if they're going to do something now, the
spotlight is on them, and that's why they stopped with
the killings and stuff.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
So the killing ceased in twenty twelve and the case
against Ria Grunewald went cold. She subsequently left town to
start a new life. Over the course of a single year,
law enforcement let the same murderer walk twice and lost
one of their most loyal investigators. Electus Perdais laid low
(06:59):
from her only twenty thirteen to late twenty fifteen, but
Cecilia kept them busy. They continued to do her bidding
while she reminded them all about the cost of doubt.
Here's journalist Maritzka Kotz there.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Lari told me straight up that Mikayla's murder was always
the example, and it was thrown in his face. You know,
like to say that the same can happen to you.
And I think the thing that freaked him out the
most was for four years they basically got away with
her murder.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Also during this period, Marinda got a new job as
a tenth grade English teacher the second rate Hammer wielding
killer was considered one of her school's best educators, continuing
to balance her to personas Her classroom was a repurposed
whole economics room.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
In the old days, it was a classroom where they
teach women to cook and to do nothing and all
that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
It's still bothsted storage closets filled with ovens and old
kitchen appliances. But Marinda made the class from her own
with religious posters and Bible verses on the wall.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
When you go inside, they will say she's the biggest
Christian on Earth.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Back home at Casana Flats, LaRue and Zach stockpiled weapons,
building up the hidden arsenal for EPD. The group had
moved beyond knives and hammers. They'd now graduated to firearms,
purchased illegally from a brothel owner Cecilia Knew.
Speaker 8 (08:31):
Was owned by a man and his wife, and the
men passed away, and then the widow gave them the firearms, revolvers, pistols,
automatic weapons, and then Zak was the one that went
to pick it up. He fetched the weapons.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
LaRue was put in charge of creating and maintaining the
hiding places for this rookie armory. Under Cecilia's orders, each
member of EPD chose their favorite gun they were to
name it. Marinda called her pistol Charlie, after Charles Manson himself.
While the killings may have stopped epd's collective goal to
(09:11):
be gods, or rather Secilia's warriors had not changed. Cecilia
had no plans for a peaceful existence. Also during this period,
Zach Valentine left his job at Discovery Life Insurance to
strike out as an independent agent, not making nearly as
much as he had been.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
During two thy fifteen. After Zach Valentine leaft Discovery and
started his own business and taking money from people, eventually
that money was used by them, there was no money anymore.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
This presented a major hurdle for EPD to clear. Marinda's
teaching salary was not enough to make up for Zach's losses.
This would essentially force EPD out of hiding. Marcel was
now living with Cecilia full time, carrying for Cecilia's two
young children. Psychologist Rosalind McNabb advocated for Marcel in court.
(10:12):
She painted a picture of what life was like for
the high schooler.
Speaker 6 (10:16):
She was on all sorts of drugs, before, which would
have also been aggravating factors in her committing the Crowns
because that's how she copd. She spaced herself out with
the drugs that she took.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
And there were plenty of drugs around, especially thanks to
a new recruit, the blue eyed Gaunt and weather John Barnard.
When money was tight, Cecilia made some scratch selling bootleg DVDs,
and sometimes she would trade them for the street drug cat.
(10:52):
Cat is a highly addictive stimulant similar to what's commonly
known as crystal meth. Through the exchange of bootleg DVDs
for KAT, Barnard found himself over time becoming one of
Cecilia's subjects, so Marcel and all the rest could easily
detach from their grim reality. Barnard had no idea that
(11:14):
he was living among a pack of killers. Like most
folks in the Krueger Stop area at the time, Barnard
believed that Rhea was the murderous mastermind that the cops
never managed to pin down. Their fledgling new member. Luke
hadn't panned out. He was now in protective custody, so
(11:36):
there was room, and Barnard was certainly a welcome addition
to the group, he had steady employment at a printing company.
His income helped address EPDs mounting money troubles.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Cecilia started thinking about how are we going to get
a lot of money because now he's suffering.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
John Barnard gradually began supporting Cecilia financially saving orphans over
or so he thought. He was also suspected to be
entwined romantically with Mirinda, and in November of twenty fifteen,
he proved his loyalty to EPD.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
John Barnard came with the idea that why don't you
rob my boss because he's got a big business and
he's going to start the theme park. But it was
only supposed to be a robbery.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Peter and Joan Meyer, a wealthy couple from Kruegersdorp, owned
the printing company where John Barnard worked. Since he was
one of their oldest employees, Barnard knew that the couple
was planning on opening a water park in the area,
a franchise, and they had been saving for some time.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
The Mayers is very very rich. John Barnett told Cecilia
that you know that they is hiding millions of friends
in the vault.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Jana Marx can firm Barnard as the initiator as well.
Speaker 8 (13:02):
He introduced the Mayas as victims first as for a robbery,
because he was under the impression they kept millions hidden
in a safe in cash.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Cecilia's pupils turned to dollar signs, and she began to
delegate responsibilities to her sheep. The worst part about this
narcissistic scheme. The saddest thing was that Cecilia plan to
manipulate the Meyer's own children to become involved, guaranteeing access
to the couple. Lieutenant Colonel Christelle Boison had an interesting
(13:35):
take on how Cecilia brought out the worst sides of
her followers. When we spoke with her. She quoted as saying,
that's often attributed to the indigenous Cherokee people of North America.
Speaker 10 (13:45):
There's an Indian proverb that's say, all of us has
two wolves in us, a good wolf and a bad wolf,
and whichever one you feed takes over.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Peter and Joan Meyer had two sons, Nicholas and Thaine.
Nicholas resided with his parents and then well he was estranged.
He struggled with addiction, and his parents had cut him
off because of his friendship with John Barnard, the newest
member of EPD. Fayne found himself hanging around Cassana Flats
(14:25):
in the orbit of Cecilia, Mirinda and Zach.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
He actually went with John Barnard to buy drax at
Cecilia's house.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
He knew Cecilia, Peter and Joan Meyer trusted John Barnard.
They practically helped raise him.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
Peter brought him in when he was still a child
and he was also a drug addict, and he assisted him.
He fired him a few times, but he eventually took
him back because he felt for him and he was
good in his work.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
So in the plot to rob the Myers thing was
an easy mark.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
I think because he's Bedens wanted to disown him because
of his drug abuse. You wanted money.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Fain of course never suspected that the people he was
dealing with were desperate and greedy killers.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
It was only supposed to rob his Betens, and he
gave him aloud of Da Housman, so that was actually,
in my view, robbery Da Dwindron.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
On November nineteenth, twenty fifteen, Peter Meyer receives a phone call.
The woman on the line is Mirinda, but she identifies
herself as Gloria, a representative from the Department of Trade
and Industry. She says the department is interested in helping
to finance their proposed water park project. Peter is suspicious
(15:52):
for one, he has not yet filed government paperwork to
start the franchise, and two, the only person who knows
of his plans to do so is his longtime employee,
John Barnard. Lured by an investment offer, Peter disregards his
gut feeling that something might be off and agrees to meet.
(16:17):
Zach creates counterfeit documents good ones on official government letterhead.
There are then three false starts before these bumbling criminals
can follow through on the robbery. First, LaRue, while preparing
the guns for the robbery, accidentally shoots himself with a
twenty two revolver and is rush to the er. Marinda
(16:40):
calls and reschedules with the Myers on their next attempt,
for reasons we can only guess at. Marinda, Zach, and
Marcel show up two hours early for their appointment. Peter
is not yet home from work, and Joan asks them
to return later. When they come back at the appointed time,
Myers are in the middle of dinner. Jennifer and I
(17:07):
stand outside the Myers grandiose home with Detective Ben Boysen.
It's an affluent area perched on a hillside. The house
looks like an Italian villa. The towering ten foot gate
surrounding it is ornate, and above its stone and casing
is electrified wire.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
Winde kamya on false pretendents that day are working for
the government, and they all prepare to assist them with
extra money to bould that Walter premises you open.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
During this very strange second attempt, the murder squad comes
into the dining room and sort of just stands there
awkwardly while the Myers dig into steak and potatoes. Mirinda
is clad in rhinestone jewelry and the most business casual
outfits she could find to cover her many lurking tattoos.
(18:02):
She launches into her investment pitch. Somehow it works. Before
they depart, Mirinda insists that they set one final meeting
to get the official paperwork signed. On Friday, November twenty eighth,
twenty fifteen, a day earlier than they'd agreed to meet. Mirinda,
(18:24):
Zach and Marcel show up again, hoping to take them
by surprise, and again Peter is not home. Over the
building's intercom, the Meyer's son, Nicholas says he'll call his father.
Nicholas reports back that Peter is busy and the appointment
is supposed to be the following day. The amateur assassins
(18:47):
are really hitting it out of the park, further peaking
Peter's suspicions.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
He didn't trust him, so he actually found one of
his business for instance, said you need to come to
my premises. I'm meeting this people tonight. That is said
in thime.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
This coworker and friend, whose name is Jason, agrees to
come over, but then he remembers that his kids have
a school recital that evening, so Jason tells his boss
he'll do everything he can to make it to the meeting.
Best case, he'll most likely arrive late. That night, Nicholas
gets a rare call from his brother Fain, asking him
(19:24):
to meet for drinks to catch up. Nicholas jumps at
the chance to see his kin. Shortly before seven pm
that Saturday, a silver BMW pulls up outside the Meyers home.
Inside the car are Zach, Mirinda, and Marcel LaRue stays home.
(19:46):
He's still healing from shooting himself in the growing. His sister,
Marcel goes in his place. She's a senior in high school.
Now that special time when most kids that age are
dreaming of their future, not climbing into a murder way again. Mirinda, Zach,
and Marcel open the car doors. They step out, guns
(20:08):
concealed under the clothes. Peter and Joan are both home
and welcome them in. As they make small talk, Peter
Meyer mentions that his colleague will be joining them in
about ten minutes. Adrenaline kicks in. Mirinda turns red and
locks eyes with Zach an unspoken agreement. It's now or never.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
But I took out the file home and pointed them,
and then Marcel put on them.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
The now ashen couple is seated on the floor, their
hands and feet bound.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
And then the O's team with the monies. And then
the guy said, but they have money. The money is
my house. I only go to a seven box.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
On him, Zach barks in their faces. He demands the
keys to they're safe. Peter Meyer pleads with Zach repeats
the truth. They don't keep money at home. The couple
is left alone with Zach as Mirinda and Marcel go
hunting for a safe that Barnard told them about. Scared
for their lives, Peter talks a mile a minute. His
(21:17):
chatter only fuels Zach's fury. Peter and Jant beg Zach
to have mercy, repeating over and over again that they
have no money in their home. Eventually, there's nothing more
to say. Silence hangs in the air as the couple
waits for Marinda and Marcel to return. The two come
(21:44):
back empty handed. They can't find a safe. That's bad
news for the Myers. Peter offers them what little cash
he has on hand in his wallet.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
It's not much, so you guys him to savent and
and Zak then became berserk, and he started stabbing them both.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
The poultry some infuriate Zach.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
Their husband start besiting Psalm twenty three.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He
makes me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me
beside the still waters. He restores my soul.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
And then he got really mad.
Speaker 10 (22:28):
Marshall told us when she testified Zach went berserk, she
said they didn't even recognize he was stabbing Joan and
stabbing Peter, and then after Peter going back to Joan,
and they wouldn't know when he was finishing, and they
had to tell him, listen, you have to finish now
because we need to get out of yet.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
At the climax of the bloodshed, the buzzer sounds. It's
Jason come to attend his boss's investment meeting.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
He saw Zach Valentine's vehicle and he praysed the button,
and then Marcel came into the intercom and told him, listen,
we're busy on now and there's water fighting and al
he must come later. And then he left.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Standing outside the imposing security gate of the Meyer's home,
Jason pulls his phone out and calls his boss Peter
to check the story. No answer. Jason calls him again
and again, still no answer. Jason gets back in his
car and drives off with no idea just how close
(23:42):
he came to death That night inside Zach's volcanic iron
frightens even Mirinda, which is saying a lot.
Speaker 11 (23:55):
Then Zack suddenly freaked out. Now why would he do that?
He went like a possessed person. I got fearful years
and they were lying on the floor ready, cable died
and everything, and he started stabbing them like.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Mirinda has to yell at Zach to stop. He finally does.
Then he stands up and grabs Peter's wallet. Before the
three of them had out the.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Door, they left only with his wallet.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Mirinda, Zach and Marcel killed Joan and Peter Meyer for
the grand sum of seven hundred rand, less than a
tank of gas for most of us. Cecilia was expecting
a much bigger payday when it came.
Speaker 8 (24:42):
Back and said, now, I mean seven hundred rands. She
was extremely, extremely angry. The fact that Zach killed them
like he did, like this whole outrage thing, angered even
more because that was never part of the plan.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
The killers split up the proceeds of their robbery doesn't
take long.
Speaker 8 (25:01):
The plan was to go rob them, and then the
robbery became a murder.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
As the knight wears on and the adrenaline leaches away,
Zach's mood shifts dramatically. He begs Cecilia for her forgiveness.
He swears his allegiance to her over and over. He
let his rage get the better of him. It won't
happen again, he promises. The groveling restores Cecilia's sense of power.
(25:29):
To show their loyalty, Cecilia makes her followers renew their
vows to her and swear a new oath of secrecy.
No one must speak of this mistake ever again. Once
again secure in Cecilia's favor, Zach and Marcel hit up
(25:53):
a nearby casino try to double their money. They invite
John Barnard.
Speaker 8 (25:58):
He gladly joined in the casina trip afterwards, to see
if they can win anything.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Neither he nor Zach have any luck on their side. Marcel, however,
wins big, bringing home an extra two hundred rand. Marcel
boasts to Cecilia when she gets home. Cecilia praises Marcel,
calls her quote an exemplar of God's good grace, and then,
(26:29):
with her typical confidence, Cecilia announces that a woman she knows,
a fellow victim of the Satanic Church, is suffering from
a kidney disease. It just so happens that she needs
exactly two hundred rand. The dutiful Marcel hands over her
winnings to Cecilia. That night, at around nine pm, Nicholas
(26:52):
Meyer and his girlfriend return home from a night out drinking,
they find his parents lying dead in a pool of blood.
Nicholas runs to them in horror. His girlfriend wast pull
him away so he doesn't compromise the crime scene. She
convinces him to walk outside, where Nicholas phones his brother.
(27:13):
When police finally arrive on the scene about an hour later,
it doesn't take them long to find solid forensic evidence.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
The envelope that Maranda brought with her that she was
supposed to work for the government. She left the envelope yard,
so when the police came to the crime scene, they
found the envelope and they found a thumbprint on it.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Again, it's Miranda's fingerprints. This time they're on the forged
government paperwork left on the Meyers coffee table. Would this
be what finally doomed them or would the police once
again match their incompetence. In order to help the police
with their investigation, the Meyers brothers hire a private detective.
(27:57):
He's thorough in his search for the killers. He quickly
hones in on Zach's car.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
But there's a lot of cameras on the roads, and
the private investigated went and he got camera footage of
Zach Valentine's vehicle leaving the vicinity.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Peter Meyer's friend and employee, Jason confirms that he spotted
a silver BMW in the Myers driveway that night.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
So eventually didn't they They came to Zach and Marenda said,
but listen, you were there.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Between the fingerprints and the vehicle ID, the cops have
enough to bring in Zach and Marender for questioning. When confronted,
the two killers improvise and.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
They said, yeah, we were there, but there were other people.
They were fighting with other people, and we didn't want
to get involved, so we left. But the next day
it was in all the newspapers that they were killed.
So why didn't you come to the police.
Speaker 8 (28:50):
They implicated another couple, so they Zack and Marenda had
this whole story worked out that they were at the
Meyer's house. I didn't deny being there, but they said
at some point they left, so they actually just blamed
the other couple.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
The lies kept coming.
Speaker 8 (29:04):
It was just a fabrication, but they stopped to that story,
and that was also the story in the statement, and
they even gave descriptions of the other couple, and the
police drew up identic kits of this other couple.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
So the cops began searching in Vain for people who
didn't even exist. Still, they see Zax BMW. The forensics
department searches the car top to bottom, inside and out,
and they find nothing, not a single hair nor blood
stain of evidence. Mirinda must have done one hell of
(29:38):
a job cleaning Zach's car of any traces of blood
or tissue. The police still had the Meyer's sons, Thane
and Nicholas in their sights. After finding his parents murdered
and before the police showed up, Nicholas, not knowing if
the killers were still in the house, grabbed a screwdriver.
When he didn't find anyone, he threw it in the
(30:00):
empty pool.
Speaker 8 (30:01):
Nicholas threw that screwdriver into the pool and it looked
very suspicious for the police. So that's why I took
them in for pushing and polygraphs and.
Speaker 7 (30:09):
All of that.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Nicholas was brought in for questioning alongside Mirinda and Zach.
That's when he made a positive ID, reporting that Zach
and Mirinda had shown up during dinner one night claiming
to be government officials. Even so, the police didn't have
enough to keep any of them in jail. No DNA
evidence to connect Zach and Mirinda to the murders, and
(30:32):
fingerprints aren't enough for a murder charge. So the four
of them, the real criminals and the Meyer boys, were
all released with the promise that they would be called
back in for a polygraph test. One thing to note
about this particular and often questioned forensic.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Tool, polygraphications that Africa cannot be used in a court
of flow.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
But they can narrow the focus of an investigation.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
Both of them filed the polygraph taste then the police
will know that listen, now we need to go deep
into this investigation. And he tried to get more information
to link them to the murders.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Fain and Nicholas are brought in first, nerves racked. They
don't do so well on the polygraph.
Speaker 8 (31:18):
So the siblings they actually failed.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
So the police remained skeptical about the brother's involvement. The
walls were closing in and Zach was fast becoming a liability.
Speaker 11 (31:34):
They were going to do a lie dedicted test, and
Zak knew he can't do the liight deddicted test because
they will see that he killed the.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Guy behind on his car payments. The bank sees the
silver BMW. He'd been spotted in now with no way
to get around independently, no steady income, and the police
hounding him to come in for a polygraph. Cecilia began
to question and the man who'd long been her ever
loyal piggybank, the.
Speaker 4 (32:04):
Need was decided that now he needs to die.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
On the next episode of Queen Havoc.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
He was found in a car with a pipe to
the exhaust and then they put said, Okay, committed suicide.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
That's really bad.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
You don't explain something to go, just pass away.
Speaker 11 (32:26):
We actually met Cecilia and the whole group, Zack and
Mirinda and all of them, And it's only afterwards that
I realized that we were being groomed.
Speaker 8 (32:36):
It could have been me and you. They were doing
regular jobs, showing up for appointment and they were killed.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Queen Havoc in Her Murder Cult is a production of
Schooly Humans and iHeart podcasts. Queen Havoc is hosted and
created by me Kurt Kupachack, produced and written by Jennifer Zucchini,
Julia Chriscau, and Kirk Kupachick. Lead producer is Julie Crisca.
Story editor is Saren Burnett. Senior producer is Amelia Brock.
(33:06):
Production manager is Daisy Church. Original music composed by Claire Campbell, editing,
sound design and scoring by Jesse Niswanger. Associate producers are
DaShan Moodley and Jermaine Kritterer. Additional producing by Ben Melman,
fact checking by Dennis Webster. Recording engineers are Graham Gibson,
(33:31):
Clay Hillenberg and Josh Hook. Brinda Stein was read by
Angelique Pretorious. Executive producers are Virginia Prescott, L. C. Crowley,
Brandon Barr, Jennifer Keeney and Kurt Kupachak. We want to
thank all of those who so generously welcomed us in
South Africa and shared their stories. We're incredibly grateful to
(33:53):
you all. We also want to acknowledge how traumatic these
events are for the victims and their family. Please respect
their privacy. If you or someone you know has been
affected by cult behaviors, there are resources available, including voices
for Dignity at Christine Murray dot com
School of Humans.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
This show follows the investigation of serial murders and contains
material that may be disturbing.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Listener discretion advised.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
On the ground in Johannesburg, Jennifer and I spent a
lot of time in the car with Detective Ben Boysen.
The west Rand gold Mine looms in the distance over
Krueger's door. A fine dust blows from the hill into
the city, Stark trees, dead grass, dusty gutters lying the
(00:39):
gray streets. As Ben offered us as many insights like
this one about the state of the police force.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
So eventually there's about seventeen thousand cops in the whole
of South Africa fully seen sixty million people. So how
the hell do you think you're going to ever in
your life crime and get your end of a crime.
This will never happen.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
The South African police department and judicial system are often
so overwhelmed that unsolved cases go cold and then fall
by the wayside.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Before you can start actually investigating the cause decently. You've
got a next murder guise, and you've got a next
hijacking guys, and you've got to a next roberty guise,
and you continue to do the job. So yeah, this
is this is ma South Africa. You know, it's the
wild twist.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
This is one of the reasons EPD would continue to
evade justice for four more years after Michaela's murder. The
sights and sounds of South Africa stream past us. As
we left the bustle, the dreary, loud streets of Krueger
Store and ascended the green suburban hills with well manicured
lawns and quiet avenues that overlook the city. Ben set
(01:56):
the stage for the next tragedy. Is weary words build
out as he drove the pain and his voice was
unexpected and disarming.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
This country is you know, we're in a tunnel and
there's a big light outside and everybody think that light
is the sun. That light's not the sun. That light
is a train coming with a huge speed, and something
really bad is going to happen in the near future.
It can't go on like this. Somewhere along the line
(02:29):
things must change. But before things need to change, things
need to be at the worst.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
From School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts, This is Queen
Havoc and her Murder Cult. I'm your host Kurt Koopachak,
Episode six House of Cards. The staggering amount of incompetence
by law enforcement was already weighing heavy on Susette when
(03:02):
she was brought on in twenty twelve.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
There was a gap in our legal system and it
frustrated me. And to give for you all, but you're
not not receiving half of that back.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Susette did give her all for over twenty years. She
served her country on the force.
Speaker 6 (03:20):
I gave my life.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
I even saved my two kids aside to do what
was in my blood.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
And then there was the Cecilia Stein case. Detective Susette
could see that Michaela's murder was directly tied to the
case number debacle that allowed Marinda to walk when.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
It came in court. Mirinda couldn't be placed in this
guise because this guy's and I said, but she can't
be connected to this guys, so let her go, and
I let her go. That is what happened.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Detective Susette was fed up. The community was already racked
with grief and terrorized by the murders, and now she
feared for her own own family. As her then sixteen
year old daughter Shaney remembers.
Speaker 7 (04:04):
She was so stressed and so worried about me and
my brother and our safety that we could barely go somewhere.
And we respected my mom because at the time we
did not know exactly how dangerous those people were, so
my mom just showed us pictures of how they look like,
and if we see them in public, just go a
(04:24):
different direction.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
But the final blow arrived when Detective Susette confronted Captain
van Vick about the case number mix up. Captain van
Vick maintained that he wasn't responsible and that he was
following orders one's given to him by Colonel de Yager.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
When I found him to ask him what the hell happened,
I was sorry, but Dad said, listen, I'm done. I'm
done helping, I'm done assisting. I am withdrawing.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Just following orders just doesn't cut it, says journalist.
Speaker 8 (05:00):
I mean, as an investigative officer, he had to make
certain calls, not just say yon, I mean to what
Dioga is saying.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
In other words, Vinvick was the lead officer and shouldn't
have been just a yes man to Diager this issue
with the wrong case number, plus Venvick being a willing
pawn to Colonel di Yager and then the state's attorney
refusing to grant Susette arrest warrants for the other members
of Cecilia's gang. It was all too much for Detective Susette.
(05:30):
Plus her children's lives were now at risk too. The
strain became more than Detective Susette could bear.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
It was like it was in weeks that I left
the police. It just cloaked me and I just decided
that sad enough.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
After more than two decades of dedicated work, Detective Susette
Canot say quit the force all together, and shockingly, so
did Van Vick, who was still tracking the progress of
the investigation.
Speaker 9 (05:58):
I was devastated because I knew that Maranda Stein she
was somehow involved. But yeah, unfortunately our judicial system looks
in such a mana that the prosecutor decides not to
place the matter. Then they dined places bsically back to
SQUAI one. Like I said, I was devastated, and I
actually designed from the police a couple of months later.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
It's worth noting that wild Detective Susette Canot was on
the case murders fitting the pattern of the EPD killing
spree ground to a halt. Detective Ben Boysen suspects that
her focus on the group had a lot to do
with that.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
I know, if they're going to do something now, the
spotlight is on them, and that's why they stopped with
the killings and stuff.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
So the killing ceased in twenty twelve and the case
against Ria Grunewald went cold. She subsequently left town to
start a new life. Over the course of a single year,
law enforcement let the same murderer walk twice and lost
one of their most loyal investigators. Electus Perdais laid low
(06:59):
from her only twenty thirteen to late twenty fifteen, but
Cecilia kept them busy. They continued to do her bidding
while she reminded them all about the cost of doubt.
Here's journalist Maritzka Kotz there.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Lari told me straight up that Mikayla's murder was always
the example, and it was thrown in his face. You know,
like to say that the same can happen to you.
And I think the thing that freaked him out the
most was for four years they basically got away with
her murder.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Also during this period, Marinda got a new job as
a tenth grade English teacher the second rate Hammer wielding
killer was considered one of her school's best educators, continuing
to balance her to personas Her classroom was a repurposed
whole economics room.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
In the old days, it was a classroom where they
teach women to cook and to do nothing and all
that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
It's still bothsted storage closets filled with ovens and old
kitchen appliances. But Marinda made the class from her own
with religious posters and Bible verses on the wall.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
When you go inside, they will say she's the biggest
Christian on Earth.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Back home at Casana Flats, LaRue and Zach stockpiled weapons,
building up the hidden arsenal for EPD. The group had
moved beyond knives and hammers. They'd now graduated to firearms,
purchased illegally from a brothel owner Cecilia Knew.
Speaker 8 (08:31):
Was owned by a man and his wife, and the
men passed away, and then the widow gave them the firearms, revolvers, pistols,
automatic weapons, and then Zak was the one that went
to pick it up. He fetched the weapons.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
LaRue was put in charge of creating and maintaining the
hiding places for this rookie armory. Under Cecilia's orders, each
member of EPD chose their favorite gun they were to
name it. Marinda called her pistol Charlie, after Charles Manson himself.
While the killings may have stopped epd's collective goal to
(09:11):
be gods, or rather Secilia's warriors had not changed. Cecilia
had no plans for a peaceful existence. Also during this period,
Zach Valentine left his job at Discovery Life Insurance to
strike out as an independent agent, not making nearly as
much as he had been.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
During two thy fifteen. After Zach Valentine leaft Discovery and
started his own business and taking money from people, eventually
that money was used by them, there was no money anymore.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
This presented a major hurdle for EPD to clear. Marinda's
teaching salary was not enough to make up for Zach's losses.
This would essentially force EPD out of hiding. Marcel was
now living with Cecilia full time, carrying for Cecilia's two
young children. Psychologist Rosalind McNabb advocated for Marcel in court.
(10:12):
She painted a picture of what life was like for
the high schooler.
Speaker 6 (10:16):
She was on all sorts of drugs, before, which would
have also been aggravating factors in her committing the Crowns
because that's how she copd. She spaced herself out with
the drugs that she took.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
And there were plenty of drugs around, especially thanks to
a new recruit, the blue eyed Gaunt and weather John Barnard.
When money was tight, Cecilia made some scratch selling bootleg DVDs,
and sometimes she would trade them for the street drug cat.
(10:52):
Cat is a highly addictive stimulant similar to what's commonly
known as crystal meth. Through the exchange of bootleg DVDs
for KAT, Barnard found himself over time becoming one of
Cecilia's subjects, so Marcel and all the rest could easily
detach from their grim reality. Barnard had no idea that
(11:14):
he was living among a pack of killers. Like most
folks in the Krueger Stop area at the time, Barnard
believed that Rhea was the murderous mastermind that the cops
never managed to pin down. Their fledgling new member. Luke
hadn't panned out. He was now in protective custody, so
(11:36):
there was room, and Barnard was certainly a welcome addition
to the group, he had steady employment at a printing company.
His income helped address EPDs mounting money troubles.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Cecilia started thinking about how are we going to get
a lot of money because now he's suffering.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
John Barnard gradually began supporting Cecilia financially saving orphans over
or so he thought. He was also suspected to be
entwined romantically with Mirinda, and in November of twenty fifteen,
he proved his loyalty to EPD.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
John Barnard came with the idea that why don't you
rob my boss because he's got a big business and
he's going to start the theme park. But it was
only supposed to be a robbery.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Peter and Joan Meyer, a wealthy couple from Kruegersdorp, owned
the printing company where John Barnard worked. Since he was
one of their oldest employees, Barnard knew that the couple
was planning on opening a water park in the area,
a franchise, and they had been saving for some time.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
The Mayers is very very rich. John Barnett told Cecilia
that you know that they is hiding millions of friends
in the vault.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Jana Marx can firm Barnard as the initiator as well.
Speaker 8 (13:02):
He introduced the Mayas as victims first as for a robbery,
because he was under the impression they kept millions hidden
in a safe in cash.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Cecilia's pupils turned to dollar signs, and she began to
delegate responsibilities to her sheep. The worst part about this
narcissistic scheme. The saddest thing was that Cecilia plan to
manipulate the Meyer's own children to become involved, guaranteeing access
to the couple. Lieutenant Colonel Christelle Boison had an interesting
(13:35):
take on how Cecilia brought out the worst sides of
her followers. When we spoke with her. She quoted as saying,
that's often attributed to the indigenous Cherokee people of North America.
Speaker 10 (13:45):
There's an Indian proverb that's say, all of us has
two wolves in us, a good wolf and a bad wolf,
and whichever one you feed takes over.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Peter and Joan Meyer had two sons, Nicholas and Thaine.
Nicholas resided with his parents and then well he was estranged.
He struggled with addiction, and his parents had cut him
off because of his friendship with John Barnard, the newest
member of EPD. Fayne found himself hanging around Cassana Flats
(14:25):
in the orbit of Cecilia, Mirinda and Zach.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
He actually went with John Barnard to buy drax at
Cecilia's house.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
He knew Cecilia, Peter and Joan Meyer trusted John Barnard.
They practically helped raise him.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
Peter brought him in when he was still a child
and he was also a drug addict, and he assisted him.
He fired him a few times, but he eventually took
him back because he felt for him and he was
good in his work.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
So in the plot to rob the Myers thing was
an easy mark.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
I think because he's Bedens wanted to disown him because
of his drug abuse. You wanted money.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Fain of course never suspected that the people he was
dealing with were desperate and greedy killers.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
It was only supposed to rob his Betens, and he
gave him aloud of Da Housman, so that was actually,
in my view, robbery Da Dwindron.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
On November nineteenth, twenty fifteen, Peter Meyer receives a phone call.
The woman on the line is Mirinda, but she identifies
herself as Gloria, a representative from the Department of Trade
and Industry. She says the department is interested in helping
to finance their proposed water park project. Peter is suspicious
(15:52):
for one, he has not yet filed government paperwork to
start the franchise, and two, the only person who knows
of his plans to do so is his longtime employee,
John Barnard. Lured by an investment offer, Peter disregards his
gut feeling that something might be off and agrees to meet.
(16:17):
Zach creates counterfeit documents good ones on official government letterhead.
There are then three false starts before these bumbling criminals
can follow through on the robbery. First, LaRue, while preparing
the guns for the robbery, accidentally shoots himself with a
twenty two revolver and is rush to the er. Marinda
(16:40):
calls and reschedules with the Myers on their next attempt,
for reasons we can only guess at. Marinda, Zach, and
Marcel show up two hours early for their appointment. Peter
is not yet home from work, and Joan asks them
to return later. When they come back at the appointed time,
Myers are in the middle of dinner. Jennifer and I
(17:07):
stand outside the Myers grandiose home with Detective Ben Boysen.
It's an affluent area perched on a hillside. The house
looks like an Italian villa. The towering ten foot gate
surrounding it is ornate, and above its stone and casing
is electrified wire.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
Winde kamya on false pretendents that day are working for
the government, and they all prepare to assist them with
extra money to bould that Walter premises you open.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
During this very strange second attempt, the murder squad comes
into the dining room and sort of just stands there
awkwardly while the Myers dig into steak and potatoes. Mirinda
is clad in rhinestone jewelry and the most business casual
outfits she could find to cover her many lurking tattoos.
(18:02):
She launches into her investment pitch. Somehow it works. Before
they depart, Mirinda insists that they set one final meeting
to get the official paperwork signed. On Friday, November twenty eighth,
twenty fifteen, a day earlier than they'd agreed to meet. Mirinda,
(18:24):
Zach and Marcel show up again, hoping to take them
by surprise, and again Peter is not home. Over the
building's intercom, the Meyer's son, Nicholas says he'll call his father.
Nicholas reports back that Peter is busy and the appointment
is supposed to be the following day. The amateur assassins
(18:47):
are really hitting it out of the park, further peaking
Peter's suspicions.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
He didn't trust him, so he actually found one of
his business for instance, said you need to come to
my premises. I'm meeting this people tonight. That is said
in thime.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
This coworker and friend, whose name is Jason, agrees to
come over, but then he remembers that his kids have
a school recital that evening, so Jason tells his boss
he'll do everything he can to make it to the meeting.
Best case, he'll most likely arrive late. That night, Nicholas
gets a rare call from his brother Fain, asking him
(19:24):
to meet for drinks to catch up. Nicholas jumps at
the chance to see his kin. Shortly before seven pm
that Saturday, a silver BMW pulls up outside the Meyers home.
Inside the car are Zach, Mirinda, and Marcel LaRue stays home.
(19:46):
He's still healing from shooting himself in the growing. His sister,
Marcel goes in his place. She's a senior in high school.
Now that special time when most kids that age are
dreaming of their future, not climbing into a murder way again. Mirinda, Zach,
and Marcel open the car doors. They step out, guns
(20:08):
concealed under the clothes. Peter and Joan are both home
and welcome them in. As they make small talk, Peter
Meyer mentions that his colleague will be joining them in
about ten minutes. Adrenaline kicks in. Mirinda turns red and
locks eyes with Zach an unspoken agreement. It's now or never.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
But I took out the file home and pointed them,
and then Marcel put on them.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
The now ashen couple is seated on the floor, their
hands and feet bound.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
And then the O's team with the monies. And then
the guy said, but they have money. The money is
my house. I only go to a seven box.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
On him, Zach barks in their faces. He demands the
keys to they're safe. Peter Meyer pleads with Zach repeats
the truth. They don't keep money at home. The couple
is left alone with Zach as Mirinda and Marcel go
hunting for a safe that Barnard told them about. Scared
for their lives, Peter talks a mile a minute. His
(21:17):
chatter only fuels Zach's fury. Peter and Jant beg Zach
to have mercy, repeating over and over again that they
have no money in their home. Eventually, there's nothing more
to say. Silence hangs in the air as the couple
waits for Marinda and Marcel to return. The two come
(21:44):
back empty handed. They can't find a safe. That's bad
news for the Myers. Peter offers them what little cash
he has on hand in his wallet.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
It's not much, so you guys him to savent and
and Zak then became berserk, and he started stabbing them both.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
The poultry some infuriate Zach.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
Their husband start besiting Psalm twenty three.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He
makes me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me
beside the still waters. He restores my soul.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
And then he got really mad.
Speaker 10 (22:28):
Marshall told us when she testified Zach went berserk, she
said they didn't even recognize he was stabbing Joan and
stabbing Peter, and then after Peter going back to Joan,
and they wouldn't know when he was finishing, and they
had to tell him, listen, you have to finish now
because we need to get out of yet.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
At the climax of the bloodshed, the buzzer sounds. It's
Jason come to attend his boss's investment meeting.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
He saw Zach Valentine's vehicle and he praysed the button,
and then Marcel came into the intercom and told him, listen,
we're busy on now and there's water fighting and al
he must come later. And then he left.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Standing outside the imposing security gate of the Meyer's home,
Jason pulls his phone out and calls his boss Peter
to check the story. No answer. Jason calls him again
and again, still no answer. Jason gets back in his
car and drives off with no idea just how close
(23:42):
he came to death That night inside Zach's volcanic iron
frightens even Mirinda, which is saying a lot.
Speaker 11 (23:55):
Then Zack suddenly freaked out. Now why would he do that?
He went like a possessed person. I got fearful years
and they were lying on the floor ready, cable died
and everything, and he started stabbing them like.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Mirinda has to yell at Zach to stop. He finally does.
Then he stands up and grabs Peter's wallet. Before the
three of them had out the.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Door, they left only with his wallet.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Mirinda, Zach and Marcel killed Joan and Peter Meyer for
the grand sum of seven hundred rand, less than a
tank of gas for most of us. Cecilia was expecting
a much bigger payday when it came.
Speaker 8 (24:42):
Back and said, now, I mean seven hundred rands. She
was extremely, extremely angry. The fact that Zach killed them
like he did, like this whole outrage thing, angered even
more because that was never part of the plan.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
The killers split up the proceeds of their robbery doesn't
take long.
Speaker 8 (25:01):
The plan was to go rob them, and then the
robbery became a murder.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
As the knight wears on and the adrenaline leaches away,
Zach's mood shifts dramatically. He begs Cecilia for her forgiveness.
He swears his allegiance to her over and over. He
let his rage get the better of him. It won't
happen again, he promises. The groveling restores Cecilia's sense of power.
(25:29):
To show their loyalty, Cecilia makes her followers renew their
vows to her and swear a new oath of secrecy.
No one must speak of this mistake ever again. Once
again secure in Cecilia's favor, Zach and Marcel hit up
(25:53):
a nearby casino try to double their money. They invite
John Barnard.
Speaker 8 (25:58):
He gladly joined in the casina trip afterwards, to see
if they can win anything.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Neither he nor Zach have any luck on their side. Marcel, however,
wins big, bringing home an extra two hundred rand. Marcel
boasts to Cecilia when she gets home. Cecilia praises Marcel,
calls her quote an exemplar of God's good grace, and then,
(26:29):
with her typical confidence, Cecilia announces that a woman she knows,
a fellow victim of the Satanic Church, is suffering from
a kidney disease. It just so happens that she needs
exactly two hundred rand. The dutiful Marcel hands over her
winnings to Cecilia. That night, at around nine pm, Nicholas
(26:52):
Meyer and his girlfriend return home from a night out drinking,
they find his parents lying dead in a pool of blood.
Nicholas runs to them in horror. His girlfriend wast pull
him away so he doesn't compromise the crime scene. She
convinces him to walk outside, where Nicholas phones his brother.
(27:13):
When police finally arrive on the scene about an hour later,
it doesn't take them long to find solid forensic evidence.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
The envelope that Maranda brought with her that she was
supposed to work for the government. She left the envelope yard,
so when the police came to the crime scene, they
found the envelope and they found a thumbprint on it.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Again, it's Miranda's fingerprints. This time they're on the forged
government paperwork left on the Meyers coffee table. Would this
be what finally doomed them or would the police once
again match their incompetence. In order to help the police
with their investigation, the Meyers brothers hire a private detective.
(27:57):
He's thorough in his search for the killers. He quickly
hones in on Zach's car.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
But there's a lot of cameras on the roads, and
the private investigated went and he got camera footage of
Zach Valentine's vehicle leaving the vicinity.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Peter Meyer's friend and employee, Jason confirms that he spotted
a silver BMW in the Myers driveway that night.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
So eventually didn't they They came to Zach and Marenda said,
but listen, you were there.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Between the fingerprints and the vehicle ID, the cops have
enough to bring in Zach and Marender for questioning. When confronted,
the two killers improvise and.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
They said, yeah, we were there, but there were other people.
They were fighting with other people, and we didn't want
to get involved, so we left. But the next day
it was in all the newspapers that they were killed.
So why didn't you come to the police.
Speaker 8 (28:50):
They implicated another couple, so they Zack and Marenda had
this whole story worked out that they were at the
Meyer's house. I didn't deny being there, but they said
at some point they left, so they actually just blamed
the other couple.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
The lies kept coming.
Speaker 8 (29:04):
It was just a fabrication, but they stopped to that story,
and that was also the story in the statement, and
they even gave descriptions of the other couple, and the
police drew up identic kits of this other couple.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
So the cops began searching in Vain for people who
didn't even exist. Still, they see Zax BMW. The forensics
department searches the car top to bottom, inside and out,
and they find nothing, not a single hair nor blood
stain of evidence. Mirinda must have done one hell of
(29:38):
a job cleaning Zach's car of any traces of blood
or tissue. The police still had the Meyer's sons, Thane
and Nicholas in their sights. After finding his parents murdered
and before the police showed up, Nicholas, not knowing if
the killers were still in the house, grabbed a screwdriver.
When he didn't find anyone, he threw it in the
(30:00):
empty pool.
Speaker 8 (30:01):
Nicholas threw that screwdriver into the pool and it looked
very suspicious for the police. So that's why I took
them in for pushing and polygraphs and.
Speaker 7 (30:09):
All of that.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Nicholas was brought in for questioning alongside Mirinda and Zach.
That's when he made a positive ID, reporting that Zach
and Mirinda had shown up during dinner one night claiming
to be government officials. Even so, the police didn't have
enough to keep any of them in jail. No DNA
evidence to connect Zach and Mirinda to the murders, and
(30:32):
fingerprints aren't enough for a murder charge. So the four
of them, the real criminals and the Meyer boys, were
all released with the promise that they would be called
back in for a polygraph test. One thing to note
about this particular and often questioned forensic.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Tool, polygraphications that Africa cannot be used in a court
of flow.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
But they can narrow the focus of an investigation.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
Both of them filed the polygraph taste then the police
will know that listen, now we need to go deep
into this investigation. And he tried to get more information
to link them to the murders.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Fain and Nicholas are brought in first, nerves racked. They
don't do so well on the polygraph.
Speaker 8 (31:18):
So the siblings they actually failed.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
So the police remained skeptical about the brother's involvement. The
walls were closing in and Zach was fast becoming a liability.
Speaker 11 (31:34):
They were going to do a lie dedicted test, and
Zak knew he can't do the liight deddicted test because
they will see that he killed the.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Guy behind on his car payments. The bank sees the
silver BMW. He'd been spotted in now with no way
to get around independently, no steady income, and the police
hounding him to come in for a polygraph. Cecilia began
to question and the man who'd long been her ever
loyal piggybank, the.
Speaker 4 (32:04):
Need was decided that now he needs to die.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
On the next episode of Queen Havoc.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
He was found in a car with a pipe to
the exhaust and then they put said, Okay, committed suicide.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
That's really bad.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
You don't explain something to go, just pass away.
Speaker 11 (32:26):
We actually met Cecilia and the whole group, Zack and
Mirinda and all of them, And it's only afterwards that
I realized that we were being groomed.
Speaker 8 (32:36):
It could have been me and you. They were doing
regular jobs, showing up for appointment and they were killed.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Queen Havoc in Her Murder Cult is a production of
Schooly Humans and iHeart podcasts. Queen Havoc is hosted and
created by me Kurt Kupachack, produced and written by Jennifer Zucchini,
Julia Chriscau, and Kirk Kupachick. Lead producer is Julie Crisca.
Story editor is Saren Burnett. Senior producer is Amelia Brock.
(33:06):
Production manager is Daisy Church. Original music composed by Claire Campbell, editing,
sound design and scoring by Jesse Niswanger. Associate producers are
DaShan Moodley and Jermaine Kritterer. Additional producing by Ben Melman,
fact checking by Dennis Webster. Recording engineers are Graham Gibson,
(33:31):
Clay Hillenberg and Josh Hook. Brinda Stein was read by
Angelique Pretorious. Executive producers are Virginia Prescott, L. C. Crowley,
Brandon Barr, Jennifer Keeney and Kurt Kupachak. We want to
thank all of those who so generously welcomed us in
South Africa and shared their stories. We're incredibly grateful to
(33:53):
you all. We also want to acknowledge how traumatic these
events are for the victims and their family. Please respect
their privacy. If you or someone you know has been
affected by cult behaviors, there are resources available, including voices
for Dignity at Christine Murray dot com
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