Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This episode contains disturbing details of violence and hate.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Please listen with care.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Welcome to method and madness. This is unjust the murders
of Jeremy and Laurie.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I'm your host, Dawn.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Bob Caffeina arrived home on June ninth, two thousand and eight,
to find that his partner, Jeremy's Mazda wasn't in the
driveway and the front door of the house was wide open.
Inside the house, Bob looked for a note on the
kitchen counter, but there wasn't one. Out back, the couple's
dogs were.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Wandering the yard alone.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Any one of these things might have felt off together,
they were deeply alarming. That night, Jennifer Wagner got the
call her brother was missing. Bob told her he hadn't
seen or heard from Jeremy, and he hadn't left any
explanation behind. Jennifer didn't waste time. She knew her brother
(01:14):
better than anyone, and this just wasn't like him. Jeremy
lived a very patterned life, predictable even he was thoughtful,
responsible and reliable. She also knew that the next day
Jeremy was supposed to start a second job at a
salon called greenhouse, and that meant he'd be home early
the night before.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
He would have gotten a good night's.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Sleep, prepped ahead of time, and made sure to show
up on day one ready to impress. But Jeremy wasn't
home and he wasn't picking up his phone. Jennifer called
the police to report her brother missing, but they told
her it was too soon. She'd have to wait twenty
four hours before an official report could be taken.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
She called all local.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Hospitals, asking if anyone matching Jeremy's description had been admitted,
or if any unidentified patients might be him. Nobody had
seen him, and so she got to work. That same night,
Jennifer started creating missing persons flyers. Some might have thought
she was overreacting, but she knew better. She knew her brother.
(02:25):
As night turned to morning, both Bob and Jennifer waited anxiously,
hoping that at any moment Jeremy would walk through the
door or call. By ten am, they were out in
the neighborhood passing out flyers with Jeremy's photo and the
image of his car, taping them to street lights, storefronts,
and the front door of the local cass cafe. Each
(02:49):
hour that passed was excruciating. By five PM, Jennifer's worry
had turned into full blown panic. She went to the
nearest Detroit police precinct, even though twenty four hours hadn't
yet passed. She begged them to make an exception to
take her seriously to file the missing person report. One
(03:11):
officer agreed, she could see the urgency in Jennifer's face
and in Bob's. After taking down some initial information, the
officer stepped out to make.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
A phone call.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
When she returned, she told them they would need to
go to another precinct to answer additional questions. Jennifer's heart sank.
Why couldn't they answer questions there? Why send them elsewhere?
In that moment, Jennifer knew her brother was gone. A
(03:50):
kind man, a gentle soul, an infectious laugh and radiant smile.
That's how those who knew Jeremy Brent Wagner remember him.
This story takes us to Oak Park, a suburb just
outside Detroit, Michigan. Jeremy was born on March tenth, nineteen
seventy one, to Kathy and Bob Wagner. A few years later,
(04:14):
his little sister, Jennifer arrived and the two were thick
as thieves from the start. As an adult, Jeremy worked
as a hairstylist at a trendy salon on Main Street
in Oak Park. He lived with his partner of seven years,
Bob Caffina, in a charming home just east of Indian Village.
The two had first met at an AIDS benefit, and
(04:36):
their life together was full of warmth and shared passions,
including their backyard sanctuary, which Jeremy lovingly transformed with gardens
and coy ponds. Another great love animals. The couple had
four rescue dogs, and Jeremy often talked about his dream
of opening a sanctuary for neglected horses. On Monday, June ninth,
(05:01):
two thousand and eight, Jeremy had the day off. He
told a few friends he planned to go swimming.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
At Belle Isle Lush Park.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
On an island in the Detroit River, just fifteen minutes
from his house. Around three pm, he spoke with a
coworker by phone. It would be his last known contact.
Later that evening, Bob returned home. From the looks of things,
Jeremy had come home after his swim, but had gone
out again.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
His car was gone.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
There was no note and the dogs were wandering the
yard alone. By that night, Jeremy's absence had triggered alarm bells.
By morning, missing persons flyers were already being distributed. Then,
at nine thirty am on June tenth, workers at a
loading dock near Beaufet and Sylvester Streets made a horrific discovery,
(05:51):
a man's body in a vacant lot beside an abandoned warehouse.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
It was Jeremy.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Jennifer was the one who identified him. Her brother had
been brutally attacked, beaten, and stabbed with more than eighty wounds.
He had been discarded just two and a half miles
from his home, and the official cause of death was
blunt force trauma. The news sent shockwaves through Detroit's LGBTQ
(06:19):
plus community. How could this happen to someone so gentle,
so full of life? Jeremy Wagner was thirty seven years old.
He was creative, funny, endlessly kind. Clients, coworkers, and friends
all described him the same way, unforgettable. Police released few
(06:39):
details in the early days. Jeremy's Mazda MPV and his
wallet were missing. Was this the robbery gone wrong? A
random act of violence? Or something darker a hate crime.
A few promising leads trickled in. Several witnesses came forward
and told investigators that they'd seen Jeremy the night he
(07:01):
disappeared at a now closed goth bar called Mephisto's, located
in Hamtramck, about eight miles from Jeremy's home. He was
reportedly seen leaving the bar around midnight with an unidentified man.
Witnesses described the man as a white male believed to
be named Rich. He was heavy set, about two hundred
(07:23):
and fifty pounds or more and roughly five foot ten,
with light blonde or graying hair possibly receding. He had
a light beard and may have worked in hair styling,
possibly running a mobile or home based business. He was
also rumored to frequent another local.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Bar called Gold Coast.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Detroit homicide detective Sergeant Michael Martel told reporters that Rich
was not a suspect, but someone they hoped to identify
and speak with, but no one came forward with a
last name, and after that night, Rich never returned to Mephisto's.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Just three days.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
After Jeremy was found, police located his vehicle on cinderblocks
Mere Saint Clair and Warren, but no additional evidence surfaced.
Jennifer Wagner was skeptical about the reports placing her brother
at a bar, especially knowing he was set to start
a second job the next day, and she was right
(08:25):
to question the narrative. A toxicology report later confirmed that
Jeremy had no drugs or alcohol in his system. Determined
to keep his memory alive and his story in the
public eye, Jennifer did several televised interviews. She spoke of
her brother as not only her sibling, but her best friend.
Losing him, she said, had left a hole in her
(08:47):
heart that would never fully heal. In the days immediately
following Jeremy's murder, there was movement in the investigation, but
before long the trail went cold, tip stopped coming in.
The man known only as Rich vanished from public view,
and nearly two decades later, Jeremy's case remains unsolved. Here
(09:12):
is Jeremy's partner, Bob, who spoke to Fox two News Detroit.
My real horror comes from not knowing what his last
moments were like. Was he faced with terror? Was did
he feel alone? Was he calling for help? You know?
Was he tortured and for what reason. According to Bob,
(09:32):
the front door was open when he got home.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
That fateful night.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
That detail has always haunted him. It's possible, even likely,
that Jeremy's killer encountered him at the house, and since
Jeremy's car was later found abandoned, someone, possibly the killer
either drove it or forced Jeremy to. Also, as a
huge animal lover, Jeremy would never have left his dogs
(09:57):
alone outside. His wallet was miss which raised the possibility
of robbery, but Sergeant Mike Martell didn't think that added up.
Jeremy wasn't wealthy. It would have been an awful lot
of trouble for someone to go to. Martell said, with
not much to gain. He believed that Jeremy had been
with someone, someone he may have trusted, and that something
(10:19):
went terribly wrong. But if Jeremy had made plans to
meet up with someone that night, why were the dogs
left alone? Why didn't he leave a note or why
didn't he call or text his partner? And why hadn't
he answered his sister's calls. To those who knew him best,
it just doesn't make sense. Jeremy's friend Jamie didn't believe
(10:42):
he was ever at the bar that night, he'd stopped
responding to her texts earlier in the day. Jennifer, too
was skeptical. If Jeremy had been out late, especially with
an early workday ahead, she believed he would have stayed
in touch. Nothing was adding up, and while no one
knows for sure whether Jeremy's murder was a hate crime.
(11:02):
There were no witnesses, no slurs shouted, no named suspects.
The sheer brutality of the attack left many with a
sinking feeling, because over and over again, violence against LGBTQ
plus people has followed the same pattern, an interaction that
turns suddenly savagely deadly, an unexplained disappearance, a brutal end.
(11:28):
Sometimes a slur is shouted. Sometimes nothing is said at all,
but the cruelty speaks for itself. Was Jeremy targeted for
being gay? We still don't know, but as friends and
family know, he had no enemies. After his death, Jeremy's
loved ones rallied determined to keep the case in the
(11:50):
public eye. They organized a car wash, a concert benefit,
and circulated reward posters across Detroit with help from crime
stoppers and from an anonymous donor. They raised over seventeen
thousand dollars to hire a private investigator and to put
that money towards a reward for any information leading to
(12:10):
an arrest.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
I just hate to.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
See it come out of their pocket, Sergeant Martell' said
at the time. But I won't turn down any help.
It was a brutal assault. We've done everything we can.
Jennifer remains resolute this case can be solved with tips,
she said, We're in this for justice. We don't want
another person to go through this. Bob, Jeremy's partner, spoke
(12:36):
of their love with a kind of reverence that makes
the loss feel especially cruel.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
We were a perfect match emotionally and spiritually. We had
a wonderful life together. There was something he brought to
my life I may never have again, a certain kind
of wonderfulness. Investigators say Jeremy fought hard for his life,
so hard that they were able to collect DNA from
under his fingernails and hairs that were left at the
(13:06):
crime scene. With today's advancements in forensic science, it's entirely
possible that his murder could be solved with the testing
of the evidence. Sadly, Sergeant Mike Martel, who led the
case in its early days, passed away in twenty eleven
following a motorcycle accident. He was just forty one years old,
(13:28):
but the case remains open.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Here is your call to action.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
If you have any information about the murder of Jeremy Wagner,
no matter how small or how much time has passed,
you can remain anonymous. Call one eight hundred crime stoppers
or reach out to the Detroit Police Homicide Division at
three one three five nine six two two six zero.
(13:55):
Let's take a break. Jeremy Wagner was loved, He mattered.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
He still does.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
His murder has remained unsolved for seventeen years, and while
we don't know whether his killer was driven by hate,
we do know that anti LGBTQ plus violence has only
intensified in the years since his death. Sometimes the victim
is targeted for who they are, other times for what
they stand for. That was the case for Laurie Carleton,
(14:44):
a shop owner and fierce ally in Cedar Glen, California,
who proudly flew a Pride flag outside her store and
paid for it with her life. This is Laurie's story
If you take a d down Hook Creek Road in
Cedar Glen, California, you might think you've stumbled into a
(15:05):
Bob Ross painting, a serene mountain landscape framed by pine
trees and endless blue sky. As you pass the intersection
of Hook Creek and Oak Terrace, you'll spot a quaint
country style building that houses the town's post office. A
little farther down the roads, it's a small cluster of shops,
the Cedar Glen Trading Post, a clothing store, and a
(15:28):
boutique called Magpie, a carefully curated space full of charm
and creativity. Inside Magpie, you'll find an eclectic mix of apparel, books.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
And handmade gifts.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Canvas tots with the shop's name are tucked under wooden
end tables displaying glassware and candle holders. Floating shelves hold
framed art, potted plants, and small lamps. Sunlight streams through
tall front windows, warming cozy armchairs, and throw pillows that
invite visitors to l It's more than a store. It's
(16:02):
a reflection of community. Magpie is outspoken in its support
for local makers, ethically sourced goods, and independent artists. It's
the kind of place built with.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Intention and love.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Outside the front door, large galvanized planters overflow with flowers
and waving in the breeze off Lake Arrowhead are two flags,
an American peace flag and a Pride flag. This little
shop was quite literally adorned with flowers and rainbows, and
yet someone took issue with that. This case begins when
(16:37):
a fierce advocate living her dream is met with hate.
A gay woman shot and killed in front of her
partner at a gas station in Austin, Texas, her attacker
shouting anti gay slurs, BB gun pellets fired into a
(16:59):
crowd waiting outside an LGBTQ club in Kansas City. A
lit firecracker hurled into a Pride event in Hermosa Beach,
injuring two people. A twenty one year old man walking
on Manhattan's upreast side attacked and beaten by a stranger
yelling anti gay comments. A Pride flag stolen from a
(17:19):
home in Owensboro, Kentucky, replaced with a swastika spray painted
on the front door. And just a night before this
very episode was released, two teenage girls shot and injured
outside the historic Stonewall Inn after New York City's Pride
March one hundred and forty five. That's how many anti
(17:40):
LGBTQ plus incidents were reported during Pride Month in twenty
twenty three, three times more than the year before. But
rising up against the hate are the fighters, the allies,
the ones who believe that love and equality will win
in the end. Laura Carlton, known to many as Lauri,
was one of them. Born October fourth, nineteen fifty six,
(18:03):
in Los Angeles, Laurie was a creative from the start.
She began working in fashion during high school, later graduating
from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. She
built a career at Fred Siegel and Kenneth Cole, eventually
marrying the love of her life, Bort. Together they raised
a blended family of nine children. In twenty thirteen, Laurie
(18:28):
opened her own boutique, Magpie, on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City.
Eight years later, she opened a second location in Cedar Glen,
not far from the family's summer home near Lake Arrowhead.
The name Magpie was inspired by the bird and by
Lauri and Bort's shared love of collecting treasures during their
(18:48):
travels across the US, Europe, and South America. Opening a
shop in her happy place.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Felt like a dream fulfilled.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
At sixty six years old, Laurie knew who she was,
what she stood for, and poured every bit of herself
into her work. Though she didn't identify as queer, Laurie
was a proud and visible ally. She showed up to
Pride events. She stood for love, for inclusion, for basic
human dignity, and it wasn't performative. It was simply who
(19:19):
she was. By all accounts, Laurie was a remarkable human being.
After a rare and unexpected blizzard hit the area in
early twenty twenty three, she and Board opened Magpie's Doors
as a relief center, handing out food and supplies to
anyone who needed them. And when vandals repeatedly stole or
(19:40):
destroyed the Pride flag outside her store, Laurie had a choice.
Many people would have taken the hint stopped flying it
just to avoid the attention, but not Laurie. Each time
that flag was taken, she replaced it, sometimes with a
bigger one, because that's who she was. Quietly, fierce, steadfast
(20:01):
in her beliefs. It was around five pm on Friday,
August eighteenth, twenty twenty three. The sun was still shining,
temperatures in the seventies and weakened plans were just beginning
for the Lake Arrowhead community. Laurie was at her Cedar
Glen's shop when she saw a man approach from inside.
She watched as he took down the pride flag and
(20:23):
dropped it to the ground. Phone in hand, Laurie walked
to the front of the store and opened the door.
She stood just inside with the door propped open, and
asked the man what he was doing. Their exchange was brief,
but loud enough to catch the attention of a witness
near by. The man shouted anti gay slurs at Laurie,
(20:43):
pulled out.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
A gun and fired.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Laurie fell back onto the floor of her store. The
front door closed behind her. The man fired once more
into the glass door and fled. A nine one one
call was made and deputies from the Twin Peaks Sheriff's
Station responded immediately.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
At five p m.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Officers arrived to find Lorie Carlton, sixty six, already gone.
She'd suffered a single fatal gunshot wound. Within minutes, dispatcher's
received word of a possible suspect seen about a mile
away on Tory Road. Deputies tracked him down near Rouse
Ranch Road. The man was still armed and refused to
(21:25):
drop his weapon. When he fired at deputies, They returned fire,
fatally wounding him. Despite life saving efforts, the gunman was
pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was not immediately released.
In the span of minutes, Lourie Carleton, a mother, wife, artist,
(21:46):
and ally, was murdered simply for standing up for love,
and the man who took her life was also dead.
Laurie's family was notified of the devastating news. As words
spread that the beloved shop owner had been murdered, the
Cedar Glen community responded with shock and sorrow. Outside the
Magpie boutique, friends, neighbors and strangers left flowers, handwritten notes,
(22:11):
and artwork. Chalk messages filled the pavement. Tributes from people
who knew Laurie and those who didn't but who felt
compelled to honor her spirit. A similar memorial began to
take shape outside the studio city location. Magpie's social media
account posted a photo of Laurie outdoors, sunglasses on, surrounded
(22:33):
by nature, looking at peace. The caption read, in part,
to our amazing Magpie community with saddened but full hearts.
We grieve the devastating loss of Laurie Carleton, our fearless
leader and visionary, community builder and advocate, beloved wife and mom.
We are heartened by the outpouring of support and the
(22:56):
recognition of Laurie's incredible spirit, her appreciation of beauty and
love in all its expressions, and her unwavering commitment to
inclusion and equality for all. Deputies quickly confirmed what witnesses
had reported before he shot lur. The assailant tore down
the Pride flag and hurled anti gay slurs, one witness recalled,
(23:19):
but he seemed to pause flinch even just before pulling
the trigger. Over that weekend, national headlines broke California shopowner
shot dead over LGBTQ flag. California Governor Gavin Newsom issued
a public statement, quote, this is absolutely horrific. A shop
(23:40):
owner has been shot and killed by a man after
he criticized the Pride flag hanging outside her business. This
disgusting hate has no place in California. By Monday, authorities
confirmed the shooter as twenty seven year old Travis Kagucci,
a Cedar Glen resident. His family had reported him missing
(24:00):
just one day prior to the murder. Further investigation revealed
that Ikagucci's weapon wasn't registered to him and he didn't
hold a concealed Carrie permit. His social media trail painted
a disturbing picture on Twitter. His pin tweet showed a
Pride flag engulfed in flames, captioned what to do with
the LGBTQ flag. Another account link to him was found
(24:25):
on the extremist site gab. His posts were steeped in hate,
anti abortion, anti same sex marriage, comparing school children carrying
Pride flags to Nazi youth. Just hours before the shooting,
he wrote that America needed to repent for abortion, sexual immorality,
LGBTQ plus acceptance. The list went on. That's as much
(24:50):
space as I'm going to give him. When Laurie's family
was asked to comment on the shooter's identity, her daughter
Ari responded, we don't care about him. We want the
narrative to stay on our mom. Who she was, what
she stood for, and she's right. Many people, after seeing
their Pride flag vandalized once or twice, would have quietly
(25:12):
taken it down, and I wouldn't blame them.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Sometimes especially in a.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
World that feels hostiles. Survival means choosing safety over visibility.
It's the same reason so many queer couples won't hold
hands or show a public display of affection when they're
out and about. But Laurie didn't flinch. Her commitment to inclusion,
to creating a safe space for the LGBTQ plus community
(25:37):
wasn't performative. It was principle.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
It was love, and in my view, it's.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
That kind of quiet bravery that saves lives. Knowing that
someone sees you, stands with you, tells you that you belong.
Shortly after Laurie's murder, writer pastor and activist John Pavlovitz
wrote this quote. When you continually label queer people as predators,
when you repeatedly accuse teachers of being groomers, when you
(26:05):
declare drag shows and gay clubs as societal threats, when
you intentionally target transgender children and their parents, when you
perpetually traffic in irresponsible and dangerous rhetoric designed to generate
irrational fear of LGBTQ people, hate crimes are guaranteed. Laurie
wasn't just supportive. One employee recalled her saying, this is
(26:29):
my hill to die on, and tragically it was. But
Laurie's story doesn't end there. When the Carlton family returned
home on the night of her murder, they found a
package on their doorstep, a new Pride flag. Laurie had
ordered it days earlier to replace the sun faded one
at her Cedar Glen shop. Our twin daughters have since
(26:51):
taken over the Magpie business, and yes, they still fly
the Pride flag outside. In doing so, they carry their
mother's legs forward love, courage, community, equality and acceptance. Jeremy
Wagner and Laurie Carleton did not know each other. They
lived in different states, in different times, and lived very
(27:14):
different lives, but their stories intersect in a powerful, heartbreaking way.
Jeremy was a gay man, funny, thoughtful, creative. He loved animals,
had dreams of opening a rescue and lived a peaceful
life with his partner and their dogs. He never asked
to be anyone symbol. He just wanted to live his truth,
(27:36):
and he was taken violently in a case that remains unsolved.
Laurie was a mother, a wife, a business owner. She
wasn't part of the LGBTQ community herself, but she stood
alongside it unapologetically.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Two lives, two losses.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Jeremy's memory is carried and every client who sat in
his chair, in every photo his sister took to a
street light, in every laugh his partner still remembers. Laurie's
legacy flies with every Pride flag that still waves outside
the Magpie Store, with every small business that chooses to
be bold in love, and in every person who decides
(28:15):
that silence is just not an option. If their stories
leave you with anything, I hope it's this. You matter,
Your voice matters, and whether you're part of the LGBTQ
community or you're an ally, your visibility can be a lifeline.
Your bravery might just save someone else's. As Pride Month
comes to an end, Laurie's family encourages all of us
(28:38):
to be intentional about where we spend our money.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Do your research.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
If you want to support lgbtqia plus affirming businesses year round,
consider donating to Viva Rescue, a queer owned five oh
one C three nonprofit and animal sanctuary. Details are in
the show notes. Thank you so much for listening. Method
and Madness is a completely independent podcast, written, produced and
(29:06):
hosted by me.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
To find out more.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
About the show, including access to all episodes, visit Methoddmaddness
podcast dot com. To support the show, consider leaving a
rating or a review. To connect, I'm on Instagram at
Method and Maddness Pod, and you can find me on
TikTok and Facebook as well. To chat, suggest a case,
(29:29):
or to discuss the episode. You can reach out to
me at Method and Maddness Pod at gmail dot com.
That's it for this week. Until next time, take care
of yourself.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
You matter.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
For crisis support, text hello to seven four one seven
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