June 15, 2024 • 36 mins
On a seemingly ordinary day, an 11-year-old girl named Jaycee Lee Dugard was walking to her school bus stop, clad in her favorite all-pink outfit. Little did she know, this day would mark the beginning of an 18-year-long nightmare. In this gripping episode of In Time Crime, we delve into the chilling events of June 2, 2011, to unravel the heart-wrenching story of Jaycee's abduction and her incredible journey of survival.
Join your host, Robin Bagayoko, as we revisit the fateful day Jaycee was snatched by Phillip and Nancy Garrido. Discover the gut-wrenching moments, from the initial shock of her kidnapping to the years of torment she endured in captivity. Through vivid storytelling, Robin takes you through Jaycee's life behind closed doors, her resilience, and the ultimate redemption when two sharp-eyed officers at UC Berkeley finally uncovered the truth.
This episode isn't just about the darkness of those lost years; it's a testament to human endurance and the undying hope that one day, freedom would come. Tune in to hear how a young girl, stripped of her innocence and childhood, emerged as a beacon of strength and love for her daughters, conceived under the most horrifying circumstances.
Robin's narrative will keep you on the edge of your seat, offering a detailed look into the investigation, the failures, and the ultimate triumph of Jaycee Lee Dugard's spirit. Don't miss this compelling episode that underscores the importance of vigilance, hope, and the power of never giving up.
Stay tuned for more episodes of In Time Crime, where we bring you stories that remind us of the resilience of the human spirit.
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Music by- Jeremy Blake
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
An 11-year-old girl is abducted while walking to a school bus stop.
She will be held captive for 18 years.
Stay tuned as we go back in time to June 2nd of 2011 to tell the story of the
kidnapping of J.C. Lee Dugard in today's episode of In Time Crime.
(00:21):
Music.
(00:41):
Hello and welcome back to another episode of In Time Crime with me,
your host, Robin Bagayoko.
So we're back again and like I said on the previous, what is it, Crime Mini?
Yes. Yes, I this is like a bonus episode because I had past Sundays that I was
(01:01):
supposed to record and I never got around to it.
So here we are. We're going to get
it done today and there will be another episode released today as well.
So thank you guys for sticking it out with me. There's been a lot going on.
I think I said before that I've had like heat issues where it's kind of hot
(01:22):
in here and people have come out to fix the heat, but it still isn't working. And then we're moving.
I have two kids, a husband, child, life, okay, life.
Welcome back. I appreciate you guys joining me once again.
So like I said on the intro, today we're talking about J.C.
(01:43):
Dugard, an 11-year-old girl who was abducted and kept captive for 18 years.
Okay, so we're going to get into that today.
So first let me give you some backstory on JC.
So her father, Ken Slayton, that's her biological father, was not involved in
(02:09):
her life or in the investigation that followed her abduction.
Her mother, Terry, later married Carl Proben, a carpet constructor,
and gave birth to Dugard's half-sister, I'm talking about J.C.,
gave birth to J.C.'s half-sister, Shana, in 1990.
(02:33):
So although J.C. had a close relationship with her mother and sister,
she did not have a close relationship with her stepfather, Proben, or let's say Carl.
In September of 1990, the family relocated to to Arcadia, California, in Los Angeles County,
(02:56):
to Myers, a rural town south of South Lake Tahoe,
in search of a safer community.
At the time of her abduction, J.C. was in the fifth grade and looking forward
to an upcoming field trip.
So, on June 10th of 1991, her mother, Terry, a typesetter, left for work early in the day.
(03:26):
So, J.C., who was then 11 years old, was wearing her favorite all-pink outfit
as she made her way up the hill from her house against traffic to catch the school bus.
Halfway up the hill a gray
car approached her and she believed the man driving
was stopping to ask for directions the driver philip gorito used a stun gun
(03:51):
to render jc unconscious before abducting her while his wife nancy helped by
dragging jc into the car and removing her clothes leaving
only a butterfly-shaped ring that J.C.
Would conceal from them for the next 18 years.
(04:12):
Nancy then covered J.C. with a blanket and held her down as J.C.
Drifted in and out of consciousness during the three-hour drive to the Grotto's
property, 120 miles away in Attachow. The only time J.C.
Spoke was to plead that her parents could not afford a ransom.
(04:37):
The district attorney in J.C.'s case believed that Nancy had targeted J.C.
As a prize for Gerardo. We'll just read right here.
Carl, J.C.'s stepfather, witnessed the abduction from their home and saw two
people in a mid-sized gray car, possibly a Mercury Monarch, forcibly taking J.C.
(05:04):
He attempted to chase after them in a bicycle that was unable to catch up.
Some of J.C.'s classmates also witnessed the abduction.
Initial suspects, including Carl and Ken and Slayton.
So both suspects were her father and her stepfather initially.
(05:28):
Although they did not know each other, and Slayton had only had a brief relationship
with Dugard's mother, that's J.C.'s mother, in 1979, unaware that he even had a child.
So Carl passed several polygraph tests, and Slayton was also quickly cleared of suspicion.
(05:52):
The kidnapping ultimately led to the breakup of Terry and Carl's marriage.
So after the ordeal, I guess it put a strain on the relationship between J.C.'s mom and her stepdad.
(06:12):
So eventually they did get divorced, like it says here.
And her father, I guess he never knew that he even had a child with the mother, with Terry.
So he was never involved in her life, like I said initially.
So shortly after J.C. went missing, both local and national media in South Lake
(06:35):
Tahoe began covering the case.
The community mobilized with numerous volunteers assisting in the search and
distributing tens of thousands of flyers and posters across the country.
Pink ribbons, J.C.'s favorite color, were used as a symbol of her disappearance
(06:56):
and to show support for her family.
Terry established J.C.'s hope, coordinating volunteer and fundraising activities.
Including selling merchandise to cover expenses.
Several organizations, including ChildQuest International and the National Center
(07:17):
for Missing and Exploited Children, were also part of the effort.
The case garnered widespread attention and was featured on a national television show.
Over the following years, various events and activities were organized to raise
awareness for child safety feet and to keep JC's story in the public eye.
(07:40):
Upon arriving at the Gerarders' home in an unincorporated area of Attocho,
they took J.C., still with her head covered, behind their house,
where they had set up a series of run-down tents and sheds.
Gerardo placed J.C. inside a small shed that had been soundproofed. soundproof.
(08:08):
J.C. later revealed in her memoir and an interview with ABC News that upon arrival,
Gerardo handcuffed her, left her naked in the shed, and bolted it shut,
warning her that trained Doberman
pinchers outside the shed would attack her if she tried to escape.
(08:32):
Gerardo then forced Dugard, I keep saying Dugard, J.C., into a shower with him,
marking the first time she had encountered an unclothed man.
During her initial week in captivity, J.C.
Remained in handcuffs with Gerardo being her only human contact,
(08:56):
occasionally bringing her fast food and engaging aging in conversation.
He provided a bucket for her to use for relieving herself.
After a week, Gerardo raped Dugard, raped JC, for the first time.
A horrifying act that persisted at least once a week for the first three years of her captivity.
(09:22):
Let's go over this for just a second. so basically
she's 11 years old this
is an 11 year old young lady and it's
reading this part it's so sad this is her first time she's seen a man without
clothes she's 11 she seems so innocent she's 11 years old this man is so disgusting
(09:45):
let us continue so Gerardo later provided incited Jaycee with a television,
but she was prohibited from watching the news,
unaware of the search efforts for her.
About six weeks after her abduction, Gerardo moved her to a larger room next
(10:07):
door where she was handcuffed to a bed.
He rationalized the situation by claiming that the the demon angels permitted
him to take her and that she would assist with his sexual problems as society had ignored him.
(10:28):
During his methamphetamine binges.
But Gerardo would force JC to keep him company, performing sexual favors and
engaging in various activities.
He made her listen for voices he claimed to hear from the walls and often professed
(10:53):
to be a chosen servant of God.
These binges would conclude with Gerardo sobbing and apologizing to J.C.,
then threatening to sell her to people who would confine her in a cage.
Seven months into her captivity, Gerardo introduced J.C.
(11:16):
To his wife, Nancy, who brought her a stuffed animal and chocolate milk,
offering tearful apologies. However, in a 2011 ABC News interview, J.C.
Characterized Nancy as equally manipulative as Gerardo.
Nancy alternated between motherly concern and coldness and cruelty,
(11:42):
expressing jealousy and blame towards J.C.
J.C. described Nancy, who worked as a nurse home aide, as evil and twisted. it.
When Gerardo went back to prison for failing a drug test, Nancy took over as J.C.'s captor.
The Gerardos manipulated J.C. further by giving her kittens on two occasions,
(12:08):
which would later disappear mysteriously while Gerardo discovered J.C.
Writing her real name in a journal.
He forced her to tear out the pages, prohibiting her from saying or writing
her name again until her captivity ended 18 years later.
She was also denied access to medical care.
(12:32):
After almost three years of being held captive, Gerardo began to allow J.C.
Some freedom from her handcuffs for short periods, but she was still kept locked in a bolted room.
On Easter Sunday in 1994, they gave her cooked food for the first time and told
her they believed she was pregnant.
(12:55):
J.C., who was 13 at the time, had learned about pregnancy from television.
She prepared for the birth of her first daughter, which happened when she was
14 on August 18th of 1994.
After the birth of her first daughter, Gerardo raped J.C.
(13:15):
Less frequently, but he continued to do so when he was on drugs.
The last time Gerardo raped J.C.
Was the day her second daughter was conceived, who was born when J.C.
Was 17 on November 13th of 1997.
(13:39):
J.C. took care of her daughters, learned from television, and worked to protect
them from Gerardo, who continued to display anger and lectured them.
She coped with her captivity by planting flowers and homeschooling her daughters.
Gerardo wanted J.C. and her daughters to pretend that Nancy was their mother
(14:03):
and that J.C. was their older sister.
J.C. worked as a graphic artist in a print shop operated by Gerardo.
Customers of the printing business mentioned that they interacted with J.C.
And were impressed by her work.
J.C. had access to the business phone and email account during this time without
(14:29):
revealing her true identity to a customer.
Some witnesses saw J.C. at the Grotto household and interacting with people,
but did not indicate any distress or attempt to leave.
The private backyard area had sheds homemade tents a shower toilet and was surrounded
(14:51):
by a six-foot fence there was also a car matching the description of the one used in the abduction,
Law enforcement officers visited the residence at at least two occasions,
but did not request to inspect the backyard and did not find J.C.
(15:12):
Or her children in the areas they did inspect.
These oversights subsequently led to criticism of the authorities.
The police failed to realize that J.C.
Had been abducted in the same location as Philip Garado, previously kidnapping,
previous kidnapping, and rape.
(15:34):
Less than a year after her abduction, a man reported seeing J.C.
At a gas station near Garado's home and later leave in a yellow van,
which matched the van found in Garado's property. However, the police did not follow up on the report.
Several other occurrences, such as a juvenile injury at the Garrado's home and
(16:01):
a neighbor's report of children living in tents in the backyard,
were not relayed to the appropriate authorities.
In addition, on one occasion, a parole agent encountered a 12-year-old girl
at the home but failed to verify her identity.
Garado visited the FBI office and the UC Berkeley with J.C.'s daughters,
(16:28):
making unusual requests and arousing suspicion,
ultimately leading to his arrest and the rescue of J.C.
And her children. In a later interview, J.C.
Reiterated that her apparent loyalty to her captor was a survival mechanism
(16:48):
and not a result of genuine affection,
emphasizing the psychological impact of such traumatic experiences.
J.C.'s aunt, Tina Dugard, and a former business associate of the Garados,
Chevron Molino, have stated that J.C.'s children appear to be in good health.
(17:13):
Tina mentioned that when she met them after their rescue, they always looked
and acted like regular kids.
On occasion that Melina encountered the children while they were captive,
she noticed that they did not behave robotically and did not wear unusual clothing.
(17:35):
In the days following J.C.'s return, her stepfather confirmed that J.C.
And her daughters were in good health, intelligent, and their reunion was going
well, but they were taking things slowly.
He also mentioned that J.C. had developed a strong emotional bond with Gerardo,
(17:59):
and the two daughters cried when they found out about their father's wrath.
Tina DeGaulle reported that the daughters were smart, expressive, and inquisitive girls.
Honey Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,
stated that J.C.'s reappearance is significant for families of other long-term
(18:22):
missing children because it demonstrates that hope remains even in a long-term case.
Abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart emphasized the importance of maintaining
a positive attitude and focusing on the future as an effective approach to accepting what has happened. it.
(18:45):
Sean Hornbeck, also an abduction, sorry, there was a passing by, also an abduction.
Survivor, commented on the case, expressing that emerging from such a traumatic
experience is like entering a new world and that therapy can help survivors
(19:07):
move on with their lives.
Three weeks after her release, J.C. requested the pets that were raised in the home.
On October 14th, 2009, People magazine published the first verified photo of J.C.
As an adult on its cover.
J.C.'s memoir, A Stolen Life, a memoir, was published on July 12th of 2011 by Simon and Schultz.
(19:38):
Filters, receiving positive reviews.
Yes, her therapy with horses, an activity she enjoyed with her mother and sister.
After Gerardo's arrest, police thoroughly searched Gerardo's home for evidence of other crimes.
They also searched the neighbor's house since Gerardo had access to it.
(20:02):
Additionally, the homes and businesses of one of Gerardo's printing business
clients were searched by the police.
Law enforcement agencies from Hayward and Dublin, California,
conducted searches of the Gerardo's property for evidence related to missing
girls from those community, without any findings, without any findings.
(20:28):
In July 2011, Hayward Police announced that Garrado was still a person of interest
in the abduction case of Michelle Garish.
Please disregard my pronunciation of her last name.
Garishet. It's G-A-R-E-C-H-T. During an interview from his jail cell,
(20:55):
Garotto expressed optimism, claiming that the event at his house would be revealed
as a powerful and heartwarming story.
He also stated that he had turned his life around.
Garotto hinted at filing documents with the FBI that would have significant
(21:16):
impact when published, without disclosing further details.
He also denied harming J.C.'s daughters and asserted that their births had changed his life.
In legal proceedings, Garado and his wife pled not guilty to charges including
kidnapping, rape, and false imprisonment.
(21:38):
Nancy was granted bail, which, while there was a no-bail parole hold on Garado,
Nancy's defense attorney was removed from the case.
And a new defense counsel was appointed.
Both Corrados ultimately pleaded guilty to kidnapping and rape by force and
(22:00):
were sentenced to substance.
Substantial imprisonment terms. As Garrado was on parole for a prior crime at
the time of Dugard's kidnapping, J.C.
Sued the state of California for various law enforcement laps.
The state of California approved a $20 million settlement to compensate J.C.
(22:25):
Furthermore, J.C. filed a lawsuit suit against the United States,
accusing the federal government of failing to monitor Gerardo while he was a federal parolee.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed Dugard's civil claims
under the Federal Claims Act on the grounds of serving immunity.
(22:51):
In October of 2022, former parole officer Edward Santos Jr.,
who retired in December of 2021,
ended his silence by speaking out to KCRA-TV in Sacramento.
Santos revealed that he was not allowed to share his perspective on the events
(23:15):
leading to the arrest of Garrados and the rescue of J.C. Dugard.
He expressed frustration, stating, I wish the state of California would have allowed me to speak.
I was told not to speak to anybody at all. Just keep quiet. Don't say anything
and hopefully you'll keep your job.
(23:37):
That's the way I always felt.
Santos detailed his thorough search of the Garado's house and backyard,
finding no evidence of J.C.
He emphasized the importance of his actions on the day of Philip's arrest,
explaining that he played a key role in J.C.'s rescue by demanding to know the
(24:01):
whereabouts of the two young girls seen with Garrado on the UC Berkeley campus.
When conflicting stories about the girls' identities emerged,
Santos Santos persistently questioned both the Garados and Dugard,
leading to her identity being uncovered.
(24:22):
Santos regretted not finding Dugard during his initial visit to the Garados'
home and publicly apologized to her for the way he initially treated her during the interview,
acknowledging that he was wrong to have treated her as a suspect rather than a victim. him.
The California Department of Corrections confirmed Stantzl's role as a parole
(24:46):
officer, but did not confirm that he had been Phillips'
parole officer, citing safety and security concerns and ongoing investigations
and reviews following the Garado's arrest.
OK, so I tried to keep it sticking to the story on this episode.
I tried to make sure I got details down and kept it real formal as opposed to
(25:11):
how I regularly do it, where I go through it with you guys and then I kind of
break it down on my own thoughts.
How I did this episode, I didn't really like reading all the way through just
so that you guys could get information. I like to break it down along the way.
So I may go back to doing that on the next bonus episode coming up.
(25:31):
You guys can give me a thought, though, on letting me know if you prefer that
the whole story be read, just stick to a story.
I did forget to include the fact that the main reason why JC was rescued was
because Because two female officers at USC Berkeley were suspicious of Philip Garado.
(25:57):
And, you know, they kind of held to their suspicions because they're females.
Their female intuition was going off as officials and also as females.
They just had a feeling that something was wrong when he had came to the campus
to do some kind of give away some flyers or posters or something that he was doing, dealing with.
(26:20):
Some God activity that he was trying to do.
So they were suspicious of him then when he saw it, when they saw him with the
two girls and come to find out it was reported that he doesn't have children.
So that's why he was, they were like very suspicious of him and somehow it led
(26:41):
to them getting somebody on the case to finally, you know, get into custody.
Somebody on the case to finally get to the property and actually,
you know, look at the property more thoroughly.
And that's when they, you know, discovered JC.
(27:01):
So yeah, I think I unfortunately did leave that part out. So I do apologize for that.
But that is an important part of what happened to JC. It's pretty sad.
Like I said, she was 11 years old when this happened.
And this man has made her a
mother at 14 years old and again
(27:23):
at 17 years old like she was so young so
innocent and for you to be taken from a
young and innocent lifestyle to go through torture and manipulation and pregnancy
that you didn't ask for but regardless of that she did love her children And
(27:44):
she did take very good care of her daughters.
She, you know, she taught them like she learned from television because she
herself had a fifth grade education.
That's all she had. She was captured when she was in the fifth grade and held for these 18 years.
(28:05):
How long is the term of going to school?
Like you're in school until you're about 18 years old. And she was captured
at 11, which means she had about seven more years of schooling to do.
So with just a fifth grade education,
she did try to educate her daughters to the best of her ability.
(28:25):
What she did learn from watching television, what she learned from,
I guess, you know, being in the public for just a little bit.
She did try to instill that into her daughters. That's why they were not like,
you know, like acting like.
They were not a part of society because she taught them how to be like regular
(28:50):
kids. You know, she showed them affection.
She was like very motherly to her daughters, which is so wonderful for somebody
to have gone through all of that and still be so compassionate towards her children.
You know, there's people out here that have not gone through anything and they
have no compassion towards their own children.
(29:11):
And she has gone through so much. And even though these kids were conceived
with somebody that I'm pretty sure she looked at with disgust and she was,
I don't even want to imagine,
but to think that she had kids with a man, a grown man that captured her,
like abducted her and raped her.
(29:33):
And she still found it in her soul to be so compassionate and so motherly and
so caring to these kids that she did not plan on conceiving.
They came from rapes. They both came from rapes. And yet she still loved her kids unconditionally.
She still talks about her kids.
(29:54):
She still loves her kids. So like I mentioned, she does have a memoir and it is probably still sold.
I'm pretty sure it's still sold. You can get copies of it from maybe Amazon or other bookstores.
Her book, A Stolen Life, a memoir by J.C. Dugard.
(30:18):
Yeah, you can still purchase that, I'm pretty sure. I do apologize for not looking
to where it's available for purchase, but that is the name of the book, A Stolen Life.
So, like I said, it's so good that she is, I believe that's probably why,
you know, she has held on for this amount of time.
(30:39):
And she was fortunately able to be rescued, unlike other stories where you hear
of kidnappings where it ends up, you know, the story kind of ends a different way a lot of the time.
So because of the kind of compassionate person that she was,
it's probably a greater reason of why she was able to survive this ordeal and
(31:02):
come out even stronger on the end of it.
There are interviews with her that you guys could Google.
ABC News has interviews with her and it's all still available online.
I've watched it. I've watched a couple of documentaries about it.
(31:24):
I've watched the interviews that she did.
So, yes, you can definitely go look that up and just see.
She's such a wonderful, kind, lovely young lady.
So yeah you can go look that up and see
about her now she's in her 30s and she's
still such a wonderful person even though you know going through all of this
(31:47):
so yes definitely go check it out go check it out go google her name JC Dugard
and watch those documentaries so that that you can get a better intel on what happened to her.
I do believe everybody should watch this because it's very wonderful.
And I'm very glad that, you know, this ended the way that it did,
(32:12):
as opposed to, like I said, how it ends in many other situations where it's
not so fortunate, you know, they're not so fortunate to have ended up found and well.
So yeah, that's the story of J.C. Dugard.
I appreciate you guys once again so much for listening in, tuning in.
(32:35):
I'm going to consider this a bonus episode because there's still an episode
coming out on Sunday and I'm going to put out another episode after this for
another Sunday that I've missed, which was June 9th, I believe.
Yes, June 9th. So I'm going to put out a bonus episode for that day as well.
(32:55):
This one was for June 2nd and the story was for June 2nd of 2011.
And I just want you guys to pay attention real quick and notice that I'm doing
something here. This one was for June 2nd.
The next one is going to be dated June 9th, something, something.
(33:16):
So yeah, let me just break it down to you guys. Basically, I'm going to start,
telling the stories based on the current date that we are at.
So if we're at June, let's say, Say, for example, June, what is tomorrow?
June 16th. We're doing the June 16th story and the story will be based on June
(33:39):
16th, whatever year that story occurred.
So in time, crime will be doing that from now on. You guys, please give me your thoughts.
My email is available in the description for this video, for this audio.
Video do click on the link
tree so you can get information to everything
(34:00):
the email is in the
description so you guys can email me your thoughts I would appreciate it so
much I started this episode off a different type of way I'm trying to do something
a little different and I would really appreciate if I could hear from you guys
about whether or not you know that's a a good move or,
(34:22):
you know, I'm very open to suggestions.
So by all means, email me your suggestion.
Also, thank you once again for listening.
Click on the link tree to follow the TikTok page, Instagram.
YouTube is coming soon. I'm still working on it because I'm trying to do something
(34:44):
real creative for YouTube.
Where else am I? Facebook. Join the Facebook group. and join the Facebook page.
Can find me on Facebook if you're just straight looking on Facebook under Robin Bagayoko.
But like I said, it's easier to access if you just click the link tree,
(35:05):
everything is there for you to just click and go.
So yes, click that link tree and visit my social media platforms.
And you can also listen to this podcast on different platforms if you choose through the link tree.
So thank you you guys so much once again. I know I've said it 15 times.
Thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you so much for listening.
(35:28):
And you guys have a wonderful, wonderful day.
And stay tuned for the bonus episode today. And of course, stay tuned for a
regular episode coming back on Sunday.
I'm going to try to pick it back up because like I said, I've been going through a lot.
There's been the air's been down I got
(35:50):
kids life okay husband we're moving it's a lot it's a lot going on right now
but yes just stick with me okay you guys I really appreciate you so much thank
you once again and you guys have a wonderful afternoon outside.
Music.
An 11-year-old girl is abducted while walking to a school bus stop.
She will be held captive for 18 years.
Stay tuned as we go back in time to June 2nd of 2011 to tell the story of the
kidnapping of J.C. Lee Dugard in today's episode of In Time Crime.
(00:21):
Music.
(00:41):
Hello and welcome back to another episode of In Time Crime with me,
your host, Robin Bagayoko.
So we're back again and like I said on the previous, what is it, Crime Mini?
Yes. Yes, I this is like a bonus episode because I had past Sundays that I was
(01:01):
supposed to record and I never got around to it.
So here we are. We're going to get
it done today and there will be another episode released today as well.
So thank you guys for sticking it out with me. There's been a lot going on.
I think I said before that I've had like heat issues where it's kind of hot
(01:22):
in here and people have come out to fix the heat, but it still isn't working. And then we're moving.
I have two kids, a husband, child, life, okay, life.
Welcome back. I appreciate you guys joining me once again.
So like I said on the intro, today we're talking about J.C.
(01:43):
Dugard, an 11-year-old girl who was abducted and kept captive for 18 years.
Okay, so we're going to get into that today.
So first let me give you some backstory on JC.
So her father, Ken Slayton, that's her biological father, was not involved in
(02:09):
her life or in the investigation that followed her abduction.
Her mother, Terry, later married Carl Proben, a carpet constructor,
and gave birth to Dugard's half-sister, I'm talking about J.C.,
gave birth to J.C.'s half-sister, Shana, in 1990.
(02:33):
So although J.C. had a close relationship with her mother and sister,
she did not have a close relationship with her stepfather, Proben, or let's say Carl.
In September of 1990, the family relocated to to Arcadia, California, in Los Angeles County,
(02:56):
to Myers, a rural town south of South Lake Tahoe,
in search of a safer community.
At the time of her abduction, J.C. was in the fifth grade and looking forward
to an upcoming field trip.
So, on June 10th of 1991, her mother, Terry, a typesetter, left for work early in the day.
(03:26):
So, J.C., who was then 11 years old, was wearing her favorite all-pink outfit
as she made her way up the hill from her house against traffic to catch the school bus.
Halfway up the hill a gray
car approached her and she believed the man driving
was stopping to ask for directions the driver philip gorito used a stun gun
(03:51):
to render jc unconscious before abducting her while his wife nancy helped by
dragging jc into the car and removing her clothes leaving
only a butterfly-shaped ring that J.C.
Would conceal from them for the next 18 years.
(04:12):
Nancy then covered J.C. with a blanket and held her down as J.C.
Drifted in and out of consciousness during the three-hour drive to the Grotto's
property, 120 miles away in Attachow. The only time J.C.
Spoke was to plead that her parents could not afford a ransom.
(04:37):
The district attorney in J.C.'s case believed that Nancy had targeted J.C.
As a prize for Gerardo. We'll just read right here.
Carl, J.C.'s stepfather, witnessed the abduction from their home and saw two
people in a mid-sized gray car, possibly a Mercury Monarch, forcibly taking J.C.
(05:04):
He attempted to chase after them in a bicycle that was unable to catch up.
Some of J.C.'s classmates also witnessed the abduction.
Initial suspects, including Carl and Ken and Slayton.
So both suspects were her father and her stepfather initially.
(05:28):
Although they did not know each other, and Slayton had only had a brief relationship
with Dugard's mother, that's J.C.'s mother, in 1979, unaware that he even had a child.
So Carl passed several polygraph tests, and Slayton was also quickly cleared of suspicion.
(05:52):
The kidnapping ultimately led to the breakup of Terry and Carl's marriage.
So after the ordeal, I guess it put a strain on the relationship between J.C.'s mom and her stepdad.
(06:12):
So eventually they did get divorced, like it says here.
And her father, I guess he never knew that he even had a child with the mother, with Terry.
So he was never involved in her life, like I said initially.
So shortly after J.C. went missing, both local and national media in South Lake
(06:35):
Tahoe began covering the case.
The community mobilized with numerous volunteers assisting in the search and
distributing tens of thousands of flyers and posters across the country.
Pink ribbons, J.C.'s favorite color, were used as a symbol of her disappearance
(06:56):
and to show support for her family.
Terry established J.C.'s hope, coordinating volunteer and fundraising activities.
Including selling merchandise to cover expenses.
Several organizations, including ChildQuest International and the National Center
(07:17):
for Missing and Exploited Children, were also part of the effort.
The case garnered widespread attention and was featured on a national television show.
Over the following years, various events and activities were organized to raise
awareness for child safety feet and to keep JC's story in the public eye.
(07:40):
Upon arriving at the Gerarders' home in an unincorporated area of Attocho,
they took J.C., still with her head covered, behind their house,
where they had set up a series of run-down tents and sheds.
Gerardo placed J.C. inside a small shed that had been soundproofed. soundproof.
(08:08):
J.C. later revealed in her memoir and an interview with ABC News that upon arrival,
Gerardo handcuffed her, left her naked in the shed, and bolted it shut,
warning her that trained Doberman
pinchers outside the shed would attack her if she tried to escape.
(08:32):
Gerardo then forced Dugard, I keep saying Dugard, J.C., into a shower with him,
marking the first time she had encountered an unclothed man.
During her initial week in captivity, J.C.
Remained in handcuffs with Gerardo being her only human contact,
(08:56):
occasionally bringing her fast food and engaging aging in conversation.
He provided a bucket for her to use for relieving herself.
After a week, Gerardo raped Dugard, raped JC, for the first time.
A horrifying act that persisted at least once a week for the first three years of her captivity.
(09:22):
Let's go over this for just a second. so basically
she's 11 years old this
is an 11 year old young lady and it's
reading this part it's so sad this is her first time she's seen a man without
clothes she's 11 she seems so innocent she's 11 years old this man is so disgusting
(09:45):
let us continue so Gerardo later provided incited Jaycee with a television,
but she was prohibited from watching the news,
unaware of the search efforts for her.
About six weeks after her abduction, Gerardo moved her to a larger room next
(10:07):
door where she was handcuffed to a bed.
He rationalized the situation by claiming that the the demon angels permitted
him to take her and that she would assist with his sexual problems as society had ignored him.
(10:28):
During his methamphetamine binges.
But Gerardo would force JC to keep him company, performing sexual favors and
engaging in various activities.
He made her listen for voices he claimed to hear from the walls and often professed
(10:53):
to be a chosen servant of God.
These binges would conclude with Gerardo sobbing and apologizing to J.C.,
then threatening to sell her to people who would confine her in a cage.
Seven months into her captivity, Gerardo introduced J.C.
(11:16):
To his wife, Nancy, who brought her a stuffed animal and chocolate milk,
offering tearful apologies. However, in a 2011 ABC News interview, J.C.
Characterized Nancy as equally manipulative as Gerardo.
Nancy alternated between motherly concern and coldness and cruelty,
(11:42):
expressing jealousy and blame towards J.C.
J.C. described Nancy, who worked as a nurse home aide, as evil and twisted. it.
When Gerardo went back to prison for failing a drug test, Nancy took over as J.C.'s captor.
The Gerardos manipulated J.C. further by giving her kittens on two occasions,
(12:08):
which would later disappear mysteriously while Gerardo discovered J.C.
Writing her real name in a journal.
He forced her to tear out the pages, prohibiting her from saying or writing
her name again until her captivity ended 18 years later.
She was also denied access to medical care.
(12:32):
After almost three years of being held captive, Gerardo began to allow J.C.
Some freedom from her handcuffs for short periods, but she was still kept locked in a bolted room.
On Easter Sunday in 1994, they gave her cooked food for the first time and told
her they believed she was pregnant.
(12:55):
J.C., who was 13 at the time, had learned about pregnancy from television.
She prepared for the birth of her first daughter, which happened when she was
14 on August 18th of 1994.
After the birth of her first daughter, Gerardo raped J.C.
(13:15):
Less frequently, but he continued to do so when he was on drugs.
The last time Gerardo raped J.C.
Was the day her second daughter was conceived, who was born when J.C.
Was 17 on November 13th of 1997.
(13:39):
J.C. took care of her daughters, learned from television, and worked to protect
them from Gerardo, who continued to display anger and lectured them.
She coped with her captivity by planting flowers and homeschooling her daughters.
Gerardo wanted J.C. and her daughters to pretend that Nancy was their mother
(14:03):
and that J.C. was their older sister.
J.C. worked as a graphic artist in a print shop operated by Gerardo.
Customers of the printing business mentioned that they interacted with J.C.
And were impressed by her work.
J.C. had access to the business phone and email account during this time without
(14:29):
revealing her true identity to a customer.
Some witnesses saw J.C. at the Grotto household and interacting with people,
but did not indicate any distress or attempt to leave.
The private backyard area had sheds homemade tents a shower toilet and was surrounded
(14:51):
by a six-foot fence there was also a car matching the description of the one used in the abduction,
Law enforcement officers visited the residence at at least two occasions,
but did not request to inspect the backyard and did not find J.C.
(15:12):
Or her children in the areas they did inspect.
These oversights subsequently led to criticism of the authorities.
The police failed to realize that J.C.
Had been abducted in the same location as Philip Garado, previously kidnapping,
previous kidnapping, and rape.
(15:34):
Less than a year after her abduction, a man reported seeing J.C.
At a gas station near Garado's home and later leave in a yellow van,
which matched the van found in Garado's property. However, the police did not follow up on the report.
Several other occurrences, such as a juvenile injury at the Garrado's home and
(16:01):
a neighbor's report of children living in tents in the backyard,
were not relayed to the appropriate authorities.
In addition, on one occasion, a parole agent encountered a 12-year-old girl
at the home but failed to verify her identity.
Garado visited the FBI office and the UC Berkeley with J.C.'s daughters,
(16:28):
making unusual requests and arousing suspicion,
ultimately leading to his arrest and the rescue of J.C.
And her children. In a later interview, J.C.
Reiterated that her apparent loyalty to her captor was a survival mechanism
(16:48):
and not a result of genuine affection,
emphasizing the psychological impact of such traumatic experiences.
J.C.'s aunt, Tina Dugard, and a former business associate of the Garados,
Chevron Molino, have stated that J.C.'s children appear to be in good health.
(17:13):
Tina mentioned that when she met them after their rescue, they always looked
and acted like regular kids.
On occasion that Melina encountered the children while they were captive,
she noticed that they did not behave robotically and did not wear unusual clothing.
(17:35):
In the days following J.C.'s return, her stepfather confirmed that J.C.
And her daughters were in good health, intelligent, and their reunion was going
well, but they were taking things slowly.
He also mentioned that J.C. had developed a strong emotional bond with Gerardo,
(17:59):
and the two daughters cried when they found out about their father's wrath.
Tina DeGaulle reported that the daughters were smart, expressive, and inquisitive girls.
Honey Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,
stated that J.C.'s reappearance is significant for families of other long-term
(18:22):
missing children because it demonstrates that hope remains even in a long-term case.
Abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart emphasized the importance of maintaining
a positive attitude and focusing on the future as an effective approach to accepting what has happened. it.
(18:45):
Sean Hornbeck, also an abduction, sorry, there was a passing by, also an abduction.
Survivor, commented on the case, expressing that emerging from such a traumatic
experience is like entering a new world and that therapy can help survivors
(19:07):
move on with their lives.
Three weeks after her release, J.C. requested the pets that were raised in the home.
On October 14th, 2009, People magazine published the first verified photo of J.C.
As an adult on its cover.
J.C.'s memoir, A Stolen Life, a memoir, was published on July 12th of 2011 by Simon and Schultz.
(19:38):
Filters, receiving positive reviews.
Yes, her therapy with horses, an activity she enjoyed with her mother and sister.
After Gerardo's arrest, police thoroughly searched Gerardo's home for evidence of other crimes.
They also searched the neighbor's house since Gerardo had access to it.
(20:02):
Additionally, the homes and businesses of one of Gerardo's printing business
clients were searched by the police.
Law enforcement agencies from Hayward and Dublin, California,
conducted searches of the Gerardo's property for evidence related to missing
girls from those community, without any findings, without any findings.
(20:28):
In July 2011, Hayward Police announced that Garrado was still a person of interest
in the abduction case of Michelle Garish.
Please disregard my pronunciation of her last name.
Garishet. It's G-A-R-E-C-H-T. During an interview from his jail cell,
(20:55):
Garotto expressed optimism, claiming that the event at his house would be revealed
as a powerful and heartwarming story.
He also stated that he had turned his life around.
Garotto hinted at filing documents with the FBI that would have significant
(21:16):
impact when published, without disclosing further details.
He also denied harming J.C.'s daughters and asserted that their births had changed his life.
In legal proceedings, Garado and his wife pled not guilty to charges including
kidnapping, rape, and false imprisonment.
(21:38):
Nancy was granted bail, which, while there was a no-bail parole hold on Garado,
Nancy's defense attorney was removed from the case.
And a new defense counsel was appointed.
Both Corrados ultimately pleaded guilty to kidnapping and rape by force and
(22:00):
were sentenced to substance.
Substantial imprisonment terms. As Garrado was on parole for a prior crime at
the time of Dugard's kidnapping, J.C.
Sued the state of California for various law enforcement laps.
The state of California approved a $20 million settlement to compensate J.C.
(22:25):
Furthermore, J.C. filed a lawsuit suit against the United States,
accusing the federal government of failing to monitor Gerardo while he was a federal parolee.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed Dugard's civil claims
under the Federal Claims Act on the grounds of serving immunity.
(22:51):
In October of 2022, former parole officer Edward Santos Jr.,
who retired in December of 2021,
ended his silence by speaking out to KCRA-TV in Sacramento.
Santos revealed that he was not allowed to share his perspective on the events
(23:15):
leading to the arrest of Garrados and the rescue of J.C. Dugard.
He expressed frustration, stating, I wish the state of California would have allowed me to speak.
I was told not to speak to anybody at all. Just keep quiet. Don't say anything
and hopefully you'll keep your job.
(23:37):
That's the way I always felt.
Santos detailed his thorough search of the Garado's house and backyard,
finding no evidence of J.C.
He emphasized the importance of his actions on the day of Philip's arrest,
explaining that he played a key role in J.C.'s rescue by demanding to know the
(24:01):
whereabouts of the two young girls seen with Garrado on the UC Berkeley campus.
When conflicting stories about the girls' identities emerged,
Santos Santos persistently questioned both the Garados and Dugard,
leading to her identity being uncovered.
(24:22):
Santos regretted not finding Dugard during his initial visit to the Garados'
home and publicly apologized to her for the way he initially treated her during the interview,
acknowledging that he was wrong to have treated her as a suspect rather than a victim. him.
The California Department of Corrections confirmed Stantzl's role as a parole
(24:46):
officer, but did not confirm that he had been Phillips'
parole officer, citing safety and security concerns and ongoing investigations
and reviews following the Garado's arrest.
OK, so I tried to keep it sticking to the story on this episode.
I tried to make sure I got details down and kept it real formal as opposed to
(25:11):
how I regularly do it, where I go through it with you guys and then I kind of
break it down on my own thoughts.
How I did this episode, I didn't really like reading all the way through just
so that you guys could get information. I like to break it down along the way.
So I may go back to doing that on the next bonus episode coming up.
(25:31):
You guys can give me a thought, though, on letting me know if you prefer that
the whole story be read, just stick to a story.
I did forget to include the fact that the main reason why JC was rescued was
because Because two female officers at USC Berkeley were suspicious of Philip Garado.
(25:57):
And, you know, they kind of held to their suspicions because they're females.
Their female intuition was going off as officials and also as females.
They just had a feeling that something was wrong when he had came to the campus
to do some kind of give away some flyers or posters or something that he was doing, dealing with.
(26:20):
Some God activity that he was trying to do.
So they were suspicious of him then when he saw it, when they saw him with the
two girls and come to find out it was reported that he doesn't have children.
So that's why he was, they were like very suspicious of him and somehow it led
(26:41):
to them getting somebody on the case to finally, you know, get into custody.
Somebody on the case to finally get to the property and actually,
you know, look at the property more thoroughly.
And that's when they, you know, discovered JC.
(27:01):
So yeah, I think I unfortunately did leave that part out. So I do apologize for that.
But that is an important part of what happened to JC. It's pretty sad.
Like I said, she was 11 years old when this happened.
And this man has made her a
mother at 14 years old and again
(27:23):
at 17 years old like she was so young so
innocent and for you to be taken from a
young and innocent lifestyle to go through torture and manipulation and pregnancy
that you didn't ask for but regardless of that she did love her children And
(27:44):
she did take very good care of her daughters.
She, you know, she taught them like she learned from television because she
herself had a fifth grade education.
That's all she had. She was captured when she was in the fifth grade and held for these 18 years.
(28:05):
How long is the term of going to school?
Like you're in school until you're about 18 years old. And she was captured
at 11, which means she had about seven more years of schooling to do.
So with just a fifth grade education,
she did try to educate her daughters to the best of her ability.
(28:25):
What she did learn from watching television, what she learned from,
I guess, you know, being in the public for just a little bit.
She did try to instill that into her daughters. That's why they were not like,
you know, like acting like.
They were not a part of society because she taught them how to be like regular
(28:50):
kids. You know, she showed them affection.
She was like very motherly to her daughters, which is so wonderful for somebody
to have gone through all of that and still be so compassionate towards her children.
You know, there's people out here that have not gone through anything and they
have no compassion towards their own children.
(29:11):
And she has gone through so much. And even though these kids were conceived
with somebody that I'm pretty sure she looked at with disgust and she was,
I don't even want to imagine,
but to think that she had kids with a man, a grown man that captured her,
like abducted her and raped her.
(29:33):
And she still found it in her soul to be so compassionate and so motherly and
so caring to these kids that she did not plan on conceiving.
They came from rapes. They both came from rapes. And yet she still loved her kids unconditionally.
She still talks about her kids.
(29:54):
She still loves her kids. So like I mentioned, she does have a memoir and it is probably still sold.
I'm pretty sure it's still sold. You can get copies of it from maybe Amazon or other bookstores.
Her book, A Stolen Life, a memoir by J.C. Dugard.
(30:18):
Yeah, you can still purchase that, I'm pretty sure. I do apologize for not looking
to where it's available for purchase, but that is the name of the book, A Stolen Life.
So, like I said, it's so good that she is, I believe that's probably why,
you know, she has held on for this amount of time.
(30:39):
And she was fortunately able to be rescued, unlike other stories where you hear
of kidnappings where it ends up, you know, the story kind of ends a different way a lot of the time.
So because of the kind of compassionate person that she was,
it's probably a greater reason of why she was able to survive this ordeal and
(31:02):
come out even stronger on the end of it.
There are interviews with her that you guys could Google.
ABC News has interviews with her and it's all still available online.
I've watched it. I've watched a couple of documentaries about it.
(31:24):
I've watched the interviews that she did.
So, yes, you can definitely go look that up and just see.
She's such a wonderful, kind, lovely young lady.
So yeah you can go look that up and see
about her now she's in her 30s and she's
still such a wonderful person even though you know going through all of this
(31:47):
so yes definitely go check it out go check it out go google her name JC Dugard
and watch those documentaries so that that you can get a better intel on what happened to her.
I do believe everybody should watch this because it's very wonderful.
And I'm very glad that, you know, this ended the way that it did,
(32:12):
as opposed to, like I said, how it ends in many other situations where it's
not so fortunate, you know, they're not so fortunate to have ended up found and well.
So yeah, that's the story of J.C. Dugard.
I appreciate you guys once again so much for listening in, tuning in.
(32:35):
I'm going to consider this a bonus episode because there's still an episode
coming out on Sunday and I'm going to put out another episode after this for
another Sunday that I've missed, which was June 9th, I believe.
Yes, June 9th. So I'm going to put out a bonus episode for that day as well.
(32:55):
This one was for June 2nd and the story was for June 2nd of 2011.
And I just want you guys to pay attention real quick and notice that I'm doing
something here. This one was for June 2nd.
The next one is going to be dated June 9th, something, something.
(33:16):
So yeah, let me just break it down to you guys. Basically, I'm going to start,
telling the stories based on the current date that we are at.
So if we're at June, let's say, Say, for example, June, what is tomorrow?
June 16th. We're doing the June 16th story and the story will be based on June
(33:39):
16th, whatever year that story occurred.
So in time, crime will be doing that from now on. You guys, please give me your thoughts.
My email is available in the description for this video, for this audio.
Video do click on the link
tree so you can get information to everything
(34:00):
the email is in the
description so you guys can email me your thoughts I would appreciate it so
much I started this episode off a different type of way I'm trying to do something
a little different and I would really appreciate if I could hear from you guys
about whether or not you know that's a a good move or,
(34:22):
you know, I'm very open to suggestions.
So by all means, email me your suggestion.
Also, thank you once again for listening.
Click on the link tree to follow the TikTok page, Instagram.
YouTube is coming soon. I'm still working on it because I'm trying to do something
(34:44):
real creative for YouTube.
Where else am I? Facebook. Join the Facebook group. and join the Facebook page.
Can find me on Facebook if you're just straight looking on Facebook under Robin Bagayoko.
But like I said, it's easier to access if you just click the link tree,
(35:05):
everything is there for you to just click and go.
So yes, click that link tree and visit my social media platforms.
And you can also listen to this podcast on different platforms if you choose through the link tree.
So thank you you guys so much once again. I know I've said it 15 times.
Thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you so much for listening.
(35:28):
And you guys have a wonderful, wonderful day.
And stay tuned for the bonus episode today. And of course, stay tuned for a
regular episode coming back on Sunday.
I'm going to try to pick it back up because like I said, I've been going through a lot.
There's been the air's been down I got
(35:50):
kids life okay husband we're moving it's a lot it's a lot going on right now
but yes just stick with me okay you guys I really appreciate you so much thank
you once again and you guys have a wonderful afternoon outside.
Music.
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