August 20, 2024 • 12 mins
How could three teenage boys commit such a heinous act against an innocent 15-year-old girl? Join us as we unravel the horrifying case of Elyse Pahler , who was tragically murdered in Arroyo Grande, California, in 1995. Elyse's murder, driven by a twisted belief in a satanic pact, shocked the community and sparked a legal battle against the band Slayer, whose lyrics were alleged to have influenced the killers. We'll explore the gruesome details of the crime, the perpetrators' disturbing motivations, and the enduring pain faced by Elyse's family.
Hear about the legal aftermath, including the lawsuit against Slayer and the sentences given to the three teenage murderers. We also reflect on the parole hearing of Royce Casey, who expressed remorse but was ultimately denied parole. This episode not only delves into the tragic events but also grapples with the broader question of how society can comprehend and seek justice for such unfathomable acts. Stay tuned as we transition to our next chilling case, that of Michelle Kalina, and invite you to subscribe for more thought-provoking discussions.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It was 1995 when 15-year-old Elise Pollard was
(00:03):
lured from her home in ArroyoGrande, california.
Unbeknownst to Elise, threeteenage boys believed they had
made a pact with Satan.
Welcome to this episode ofHuman Wreckage True Crime
Podcast.
We are going to cover twodifferent cases.
The first case was the brutalslaying of 15-year-old Elise
Pollard.
This case is horrific andheartbreaking.
Let's get into it.
(00:24):
On the 22nd of July 1995,15-year-old Elise Pollard was
(00:52):
reported missing from her homein Arroyo Grande, california.
Elise was a freshman at ArroyoGrande High School when she
vanished without a trace.
The case would go cold foreight months, but in 1996,
somebody came forward with aconfession.
17-year-old Royce Caseycontacted police and led them to
Elise's body.
Her partially mummified remainswere splayed out in a South
(01:13):
Eucalyptus Grove located arounda quarter of a mile from her
home.
Elise had been strangled andstabbed to death.
She had been stabbed a total of12 times, but none of the stab
wounds were fatal.
She died by slowly bleeding todeath.
In addition to Casey, two otherteenagers, 16-year-old Jacob
DeLashmut and 15-year-old JosephFiorella, were arrested and
(01:34):
charged with murder, ganginvolvement, rape, torture and
conspiracy.
Following the arrest,prosecutors would reveal that
the three teenagers had formed amusical group to glorify Satan
and earn a ticket to hell.
They were accused of killingElise to commit the ultimate sin
against God by sacrificing avirgin.
They believed that in killingElise, the success of their band
(01:55):
named Hatred would improve.
The murder plot had beenconcocted by Fiorella and
DeLashma.
According to Casey, they pickedElise in particular for their
victim because she was ablonde-haired, blue-eyed,
reputed virgin.
They thought that thesespecific characteristics would
make her murder the ultimate sinagainst God.
Over the course of the weeksleading up to Elise's
(02:16):
disappearance, delashmut,fiorella and Casey had stalked
Elise.
On the night of her murder,they lured Elise out to the
Eucalyptus Grove on the NipomoMesa under the promise of giving
her drugs.
Here the foursome smoked somemarijuana before DeLashmut put a
belt around Elise's neck.
She was raped and tortured bythe trio.
Delashmut strangled Elise withthe belt, while Fiorella stabbed
(02:37):
her in the neck with a huntingknife they had brought along.
Afterwards, delashmut and Caseytook turns stabbing her.
As Elise was being murdered,she begged for help.
She called out to her motherand to Jesus.
Her pleas fell on empty ears.
As she lay, bleeding to death,the trio beat and kicked her.
Casey admitted to police thatElise was on the ground, praying
(02:58):
to God and calling for her mom.
Police believed that they thenraped the corpse of Elise.
They determined this by thedisposition of her body.
Fiorella's mother had toldpolice that he had told her
DeLashmut and Casey hadcommitted necrophilia, while one
of DeLashmut's friends toldpolice that he had boasted of
returning to Elise's body tohave sex with it.
In the aftermath of the murder,elise's family would file a
(03:20):
lawsuit against the band Slayer,alleging that their lyrics had
incited the teenagers to murderElise.
They were seeking monetarydamages as well as a halt to the
practice of marketing violentmusic towards juveniles.
Ultimately, the lawsuit wouldbe thrown out.
Slayer lyrics are repulsive andprofane, but they do not direct
or instruct listeners to committhe acts that resulted I the
(03:42):
vicious torture murder of Elise.
Poller wrote Judge Burke.
Fiorello would reach a pleaagreement in which he pleaded
guilty to first-degree murder inexchange for a sentence of life
in prison with a minimum of 26years.
At the sentencing phase,elise's father, david Poller,
said Joseph, it's a parent'sworst fear and lifetime pain to
outlive their child.
It's even worse knowing she wasmurdered, tortured and raped as
(04:05):
a virgin sacrificed on thealtar of Satan so that you can
earn a ticket to hell.
Casey pleaded no contest tofirst-degree murder and was
sentenced to life in prison,with a minimum of 21 years.
Delashmut also pleaded nocontest to first-degree murder
and was sentenced to life inprison, with a minimum of 26
years.
In 2021, casey had a shot atparole.
(04:27):
Some members of Elisa's family,including her father, said that
they did not oppose the release.
Casey was said to expresssincere remorse over the murder
and had been the one to confessand lead police to her body In
prison.
He had a 20-year record ofmodel behavior and had
participated in a number ofrehabilitation programs, earned
his JED and was working towardsa bachelor's degree in
(04:48):
psychology and sociology.
During his parole hearing, hedescribed Elise as a truly
wonderful person.
He said that while behind barshe had learned self-acceptance
and that when he was a teenager,he had a desire to portray an
image of being violent.
He stated that when he thinksof Elise, he thinks how immense
the suffering is that I caused,that Elise doesn't have her life
(05:10):
anymore because of me.
He added she had to feel somuch pain while I was murdering
her.
Casey would be granted paroleby the California Parole Board.
However, san Luis Obispo CountyDistrict Attorney Dan Dow wrote
a letter to the governoropposing the release.
In the letter, he wrote thatCasey has never adequately
explained why he participated insuch a sadistic and heinous
(05:32):
crime.
Ultimately, governor GavinNewsom would deny the grant of
parole, reversing the ParoleBoard decision.
All three men remainincarcerated.
It has been reported that themurder of Elise Pollard inspired
the 29 movie Jennifer's Body.
Our next case is about MichelleKalina.
She committed horrible acts.
Let's get into it.
In July of 2010, a young womanopened her mother's closet and
(05:56):
came across a gruesome discoverythe remains of five babies.
It was July of 2010 when policein Reading, georgia, received
an extremely disturbing phonecall from a young woman.
She said that she had foundwhat she believed were human
remains in her mother's closet.
Police arrived at the home andsaid they did not believe that
the remains were human and saidshe was free to throw them out,
(06:17):
which she did.
The following day, however, theyoung woman called back to say
she had found additional items.
Police came back to the homeand this time they determined
that the remains were indeedhuman.
The remains had been foundconcealed in coolers.
One set was also found filledwith cured cement.
The woman's mother, michelleKalina, was arrested and charged
with abuse of a corpse.
(06:38):
Investigators now had the taskof trying to determine what had
taken place.
They would discover that Kalinahad hid six pregnancies from
her husband and longtimeboyfriend.
Kalina had been having anextramarital affair and had
killed at least four of hernewborn babies.
Dna testing would show that theremains had come from five
separate bodies, four of whomhad been born alive.
(06:59):
The boyfriend was the father ofthree of the victims possibly
four and tests on the fifth hadcome back inconclusive.
It would be determined that thebabies were killed with
asphyxia, poisoning or neglect.
With the new, grim discovery,Kalina's charges were elevated
and she was charged withhomicide.
Kalina and her husband, jeffrey,had a 19-year-old daughter and
(07:19):
a 13-year-old son with cerebralpalsy, who died back in 2000.
Kalina had also given birth in2003 to a daughter who was the
product of Kalina and the manshe had been having a
long-standing affair with.
She had given this baby up foradoption.
According to Jeffrey, he hadsuspected at least once that his
wife could have been pregnant.
The boyfriend, who was neveridentified, claimed he had no
(07:42):
idea that Kalina had ever beenpregnant, although he added that
at one point he had noticed herabdomen was growing.
Kalina had claimed that she hadcysts on her fallopian tubes
that she needed to have drainedat hospital.
These alleged cysts returnedseveral times throughout their
relationship.
He said the affair had beenconducted between the years of
1996 and 2010 and investigatorsbelieved that the murders had
(08:04):
been carried out simply so thatKalina could hide the affair
from her husband.
I think she was hiding thembecause they were from the
boyfriend, said AssistantDistrict Attorney M Teresa
Johnson.
After Kalina's arrest, she saidthat she had forbidden her
disabled husband and daughterfrom going near the closet.
When the family moved to ahigh-rise apartment, kalina
brought the remains with her.
(08:25):
She had been able to concealthe pregnancies not only from
Jeffrey and her boyfriend, butto her co-workers as well.
She had held the same job for15 years, looking after elderly
patients.
While she earned praise at herplace of employment, she said to
investigators that she had beenan alcoholic for years and
often suffered from blackouts.
The case was perplexing notonly to the community, but even
(08:47):
experts.
Typically, when women killnewborns, they are usually young
, first-time mothers who areafraid to reveal their
pregnancies.
According to Jeffrey R McKee, aforensic psychologist at the
University of South Carolina,more often the death is designed
to avoid being detected aspregnant.
In December, kalina appeared incourt where she pleaded not
(09:08):
guilty.
Early the next year, however,it was reported in the media
that Kalina had negotiated aplea.
As details of the plea werebeing arranged, it was postponed
.
When Kaline's public defenderraised mental health issues, the
judge ordered that Kalinaundergo independent psychiatric
testing to determine whether shewas competent.
It would be determined thatKalina was mentally competent
(09:29):
and in August of 2011, shepleaded guilty to murder in five
counts each of abuse of acorpse and concealing a child's
death.
During the hearing, it wasdisclosed that Kalina had
secretly given birth to the fivebabies in her bathtub.
She had told a psychiatristthat she wrapped each baby up
and then stored it in a tub orcontainer, which she then put in
the locked closet.
(09:49):
According to Dr Jerem Gottlieb,kalina told him she thought
that four of the babies wereessentially stillborn and denied
that she had done anythingmalicious.
After several conversationswith Dr Gottlieb, kalina
acknowledged that the third babymay have moved.
He stated she said she mighthave wrapped the baby too
tightly.
Kalina acknowledged that thethird baby may have moved.
He stated she said she mighthave wrapped the baby too
(10:11):
tightly with a towel so that thebaby couldn't breathe.
This baby was found encased incement.
He went on to describe Kalinaas an alcoholic who was drunk
during the births and could notrecall exactly what had taken
place.
He additionally said that shesuffered from severe depression
and other mental health issues.
Kalina's defense lawyer hadsought leniency on grounds that
Kalina learned to deny realityas a victim of childhood sexual
(10:32):
abuse.
Dr Gottlieb suggested thatKalina had put memories of the
babies in a psychological closet.
The judge, however, did notagree with the defense.
She said that Kalina had putthe five babies in tubs and
containers like garbage andlamented the fact that she did
this five times.
Not once did she seek out help.
Kalina would testify during thesentencing phase.
(10:53):
She broke down into tears asshe recollected how she had
nightmares about the five babies, telling the judge I cry for
the babies and nothing I can docan bring them back.
I am very upset and ashamedabout what happened.
She would state that herboyfriend had refused her
request to wear condomsthroughout their affair, while
he had been asked to testifyduring the sentencing phase, he
(11:14):
refused.
Jeffrey would also testify,telling the judge that he would
have helped raise the babies,despite the fact they were not
his Sure, of course.
Day one, moment one, he said.
He said that he and Kalina hadnot been intimate for the past
18 years and he had not seen hernaked.
She was always slim, he said.
He said that once in 2003, hesuspected she could have been
(11:36):
pregnant, but when he spoke withtheir daughter she rejected the
idea.
Michelle Kalina wouldultimately be sentenced to 20 to
40 years in prison.
Thanks for joining me again.
It's hard to comprehend howpeople can commit such horrible
crimes.
It never feels like justice isfully served.
Definitely heartbreaking, andour prayers go out to the
families.
If you like what we do, pleasehit the subscribe button.
(11:59):
See you next time.
Please take care of yourselves.
It was 1995 when 15-year-old Elise Pollard was
(00:03):
lured from her home in ArroyoGrande, california.
Unbeknownst to Elise, threeteenage boys believed they had
made a pact with Satan.
Welcome to this episode ofHuman Wreckage True Crime
Podcast.
We are going to cover twodifferent cases.
The first case was the brutalslaying of 15-year-old Elise
Pollard.
This case is horrific andheartbreaking.
Let's get into it.
(00:24):
On the 22nd of July 1995,15-year-old Elise Pollard was
(00:52):
reported missing from her homein Arroyo Grande, california.
Elise was a freshman at ArroyoGrande High School when she
vanished without a trace.
The case would go cold foreight months, but in 1996,
somebody came forward with aconfession.
17-year-old Royce Caseycontacted police and led them to
Elise's body.
Her partially mummified remainswere splayed out in a South
(01:13):
Eucalyptus Grove located arounda quarter of a mile from her
home.
Elise had been strangled andstabbed to death.
She had been stabbed a total of12 times, but none of the stab
wounds were fatal.
She died by slowly bleeding todeath.
In addition to Casey, two otherteenagers, 16-year-old Jacob
DeLashmut and 15-year-old JosephFiorella, were arrested and
(01:34):
charged with murder, ganginvolvement, rape, torture and
conspiracy.
Following the arrest,prosecutors would reveal that
the three teenagers had formed amusical group to glorify Satan
and earn a ticket to hell.
They were accused of killingElise to commit the ultimate sin
against God by sacrificing avirgin.
They believed that in killingElise, the success of their band
(01:55):
named Hatred would improve.
The murder plot had beenconcocted by Fiorella and
DeLashma.
According to Casey, they pickedElise in particular for their
victim because she was ablonde-haired, blue-eyed,
reputed virgin.
They thought that thesespecific characteristics would
make her murder the ultimate sinagainst God.
Over the course of the weeksleading up to Elise's
(02:16):
disappearance, delashmut,fiorella and Casey had stalked
Elise.
On the night of her murder,they lured Elise out to the
Eucalyptus Grove on the NipomoMesa under the promise of giving
her drugs.
Here the foursome smoked somemarijuana before DeLashmut put a
belt around Elise's neck.
She was raped and tortured bythe trio.
Delashmut strangled Elise withthe belt, while Fiorella stabbed
(02:37):
her in the neck with a huntingknife they had brought along.
Afterwards, delashmut and Caseytook turns stabbing her.
As Elise was being murdered,she begged for help.
She called out to her motherand to Jesus.
Her pleas fell on empty ears.
As she lay, bleeding to death,the trio beat and kicked her.
Casey admitted to police thatElise was on the ground, praying
(02:58):
to God and calling for her mom.
Police believed that they thenraped the corpse of Elise.
They determined this by thedisposition of her body.
Fiorella's mother had toldpolice that he had told her
DeLashmut and Casey hadcommitted necrophilia, while one
of DeLashmut's friends toldpolice that he had boasted of
returning to Elise's body tohave sex with it.
In the aftermath of the murder,elise's family would file a
(03:20):
lawsuit against the band Slayer,alleging that their lyrics had
incited the teenagers to murderElise.
They were seeking monetarydamages as well as a halt to the
practice of marketing violentmusic towards juveniles.
Ultimately, the lawsuit wouldbe thrown out.
Slayer lyrics are repulsive andprofane, but they do not direct
or instruct listeners to committhe acts that resulted I the
(03:42):
vicious torture murder of Elise.
Poller wrote Judge Burke.
Fiorello would reach a pleaagreement in which he pleaded
guilty to first-degree murder inexchange for a sentence of life
in prison with a minimum of 26years.
At the sentencing phase,elise's father, david Poller,
said Joseph, it's a parent'sworst fear and lifetime pain to
outlive their child.
It's even worse knowing she wasmurdered, tortured and raped as
(04:05):
a virgin sacrificed on thealtar of Satan so that you can
earn a ticket to hell.
Casey pleaded no contest tofirst-degree murder and was
sentenced to life in prison,with a minimum of 21 years.
Delashmut also pleaded nocontest to first-degree murder
and was sentenced to life inprison, with a minimum of 26
years.
In 2021, casey had a shot atparole.
(04:27):
Some members of Elisa's family,including her father, said that
they did not oppose the release.
Casey was said to expresssincere remorse over the murder
and had been the one to confessand lead police to her body In
prison.
He had a 20-year record ofmodel behavior and had
participated in a number ofrehabilitation programs, earned
his JED and was working towardsa bachelor's degree in
(04:48):
psychology and sociology.
During his parole hearing, hedescribed Elise as a truly
wonderful person.
He said that while behind barshe had learned self-acceptance
and that when he was a teenager,he had a desire to portray an
image of being violent.
He stated that when he thinksof Elise, he thinks how immense
the suffering is that I caused,that Elise doesn't have her life
(05:10):
anymore because of me.
He added she had to feel somuch pain while I was murdering
her.
Casey would be granted paroleby the California Parole Board.
However, san Luis Obispo CountyDistrict Attorney Dan Dow wrote
a letter to the governoropposing the release.
In the letter, he wrote thatCasey has never adequately
explained why he participated insuch a sadistic and heinous
(05:32):
crime.
Ultimately, governor GavinNewsom would deny the grant of
parole, reversing the ParoleBoard decision.
All three men remainincarcerated.
It has been reported that themurder of Elise Pollard inspired
the 29 movie Jennifer's Body.
Our next case is about MichelleKalina.
She committed horrible acts.
Let's get into it.
In July of 2010, a young womanopened her mother's closet and
(05:56):
came across a gruesome discoverythe remains of five babies.
It was July of 2010 when policein Reading, georgia, received
an extremely disturbing phonecall from a young woman.
She said that she had foundwhat she believed were human
remains in her mother's closet.
Police arrived at the home andsaid they did not believe that
the remains were human and saidshe was free to throw them out,
(06:17):
which she did.
The following day, however, theyoung woman called back to say
she had found additional items.
Police came back to the homeand this time they determined
that the remains were indeedhuman.
The remains had been foundconcealed in coolers.
One set was also found filledwith cured cement.
The woman's mother, michelleKalina, was arrested and charged
with abuse of a corpse.
(06:38):
Investigators now had the taskof trying to determine what had
taken place.
They would discover that Kalinahad hid six pregnancies from
her husband and longtimeboyfriend.
Kalina had been having anextramarital affair and had
killed at least four of hernewborn babies.
Dna testing would show that theremains had come from five
separate bodies, four of whomhad been born alive.
(06:59):
The boyfriend was the father ofthree of the victims possibly
four and tests on the fifth hadcome back inconclusive.
It would be determined that thebabies were killed with
asphyxia, poisoning or neglect.
With the new, grim discovery,Kalina's charges were elevated
and she was charged withhomicide.
Kalina and her husband, jeffrey,had a 19-year-old daughter and
(07:19):
a 13-year-old son with cerebralpalsy, who died back in 2000.
Kalina had also given birth in2003 to a daughter who was the
product of Kalina and the manshe had been having a
long-standing affair with.
She had given this baby up foradoption.
According to Jeffrey, he hadsuspected at least once that his
wife could have been pregnant.
The boyfriend, who was neveridentified, claimed he had no
(07:42):
idea that Kalina had ever beenpregnant, although he added that
at one point he had noticed herabdomen was growing.
Kalina had claimed that she hadcysts on her fallopian tubes
that she needed to have drainedat hospital.
These alleged cysts returnedseveral times throughout their
relationship.
He said the affair had beenconducted between the years of
1996 and 2010 and investigatorsbelieved that the murders had
(08:04):
been carried out simply so thatKalina could hide the affair
from her husband.
I think she was hiding thembecause they were from the
boyfriend, said AssistantDistrict Attorney M Teresa
Johnson.
After Kalina's arrest, she saidthat she had forbidden her
disabled husband and daughterfrom going near the closet.
When the family moved to ahigh-rise apartment, kalina
brought the remains with her.
(08:25):
She had been able to concealthe pregnancies not only from
Jeffrey and her boyfriend, butto her co-workers as well.
She had held the same job for15 years, looking after elderly
patients.
While she earned praise at herplace of employment, she said to
investigators that she had beenan alcoholic for years and
often suffered from blackouts.
The case was perplexing notonly to the community, but even
(08:47):
experts.
Typically, when women killnewborns, they are usually young
, first-time mothers who areafraid to reveal their
pregnancies.
According to Jeffrey R McKee, aforensic psychologist at the
University of South Carolina,more often the death is designed
to avoid being detected aspregnant.
In December, kalina appeared incourt where she pleaded not
(09:08):
guilty.
Early the next year, however,it was reported in the media
that Kalina had negotiated aplea.
As details of the plea werebeing arranged, it was postponed
.
When Kaline's public defenderraised mental health issues, the
judge ordered that Kalinaundergo independent psychiatric
testing to determine whether shewas competent.
It would be determined thatKalina was mentally competent
(09:29):
and in August of 2011, shepleaded guilty to murder in five
counts each of abuse of acorpse and concealing a child's
death.
During the hearing, it wasdisclosed that Kalina had
secretly given birth to the fivebabies in her bathtub.
She had told a psychiatristthat she wrapped each baby up
and then stored it in a tub orcontainer, which she then put in
the locked closet.
(09:49):
According to Dr Jerem Gottlieb,kalina told him she thought
that four of the babies wereessentially stillborn and denied
that she had done anythingmalicious.
After several conversationswith Dr Gottlieb, kalina
acknowledged that the third babymay have moved.
He stated she said she mighthave wrapped the baby too
tightly.
Kalina acknowledged that thethird baby may have moved.
He stated she said she mighthave wrapped the baby too
(10:11):
tightly with a towel so that thebaby couldn't breathe.
This baby was found encased incement.
He went on to describe Kalinaas an alcoholic who was drunk
during the births and could notrecall exactly what had taken
place.
He additionally said that shesuffered from severe depression
and other mental health issues.
Kalina's defense lawyer hadsought leniency on grounds that
Kalina learned to deny realityas a victim of childhood sexual
(10:32):
abuse.
Dr Gottlieb suggested thatKalina had put memories of the
babies in a psychological closet.
The judge, however, did notagree with the defense.
She said that Kalina had putthe five babies in tubs and
containers like garbage andlamented the fact that she did
this five times.
Not once did she seek out help.
Kalina would testify during thesentencing phase.
(10:53):
She broke down into tears asshe recollected how she had
nightmares about the five babies, telling the judge I cry for
the babies and nothing I can docan bring them back.
I am very upset and ashamedabout what happened.
She would state that herboyfriend had refused her
request to wear condomsthroughout their affair, while
he had been asked to testifyduring the sentencing phase, he
(11:14):
refused.
Jeffrey would also testify,telling the judge that he would
have helped raise the babies,despite the fact they were not
his Sure, of course.
Day one, moment one, he said.
He said that he and Kalina hadnot been intimate for the past
18 years and he had not seen hernaked.
She was always slim, he said.
He said that once in 2003, hesuspected she could have been
(11:36):
pregnant, but when he spoke withtheir daughter she rejected the
idea.
Michelle Kalina wouldultimately be sentenced to 20 to
40 years in prison.
Thanks for joining me again.
It's hard to comprehend howpeople can commit such horrible
crimes.
It never feels like justice isfully served.
Definitely heartbreaking, andour prayers go out to the
families.
If you like what we do, pleasehit the subscribe button.
(11:59):
See you next time.
Please take care of yourselves.
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