March 16, 2025 • 34 mins
How well do we truly know our friends? Can we discern when they are lying, or even worse, when they might be hiding a deadly secret?
In this episode, I delve into the unsettling story of Fred Roehler, who seemed to embody the perfect father and husband in the idyllic setting of Malibu, California.
However, beneath this facade of a picture-perfect family lies a chilling tale of deception, tragedy, and murder.
Join me as I unravel the mystery that Ivor Davis and his wife Sally, both seasoned journalists, uncovered about their close friend in their book The Devil In My Friend: The Inside Story Of A Malibu Murder.
FOLLOW the True Crime Reporter® Podcast
SIGN UP FOR my True Crime Newsletter
THANK YOU FOR THE FIVE-STAR REVIEWS ON APPLE Please leave one – it really helps.
TELL ME about a STORY OR SUBJECT that you want to hear more about
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
How well do we actually know our friends?
Can we tell if they are lying?
But a close friend actually be a stone
cold killer.
London born, Iv Davis,
a former foreign correspondent,
and his wife Sally, a former Bbc anchor,
had the journalist advantage in spotting deception,
(00:32):
Yet, they still learn the brutal truth about
a close friend.
Their book, the devil in my friend,
unfolds in Malibu, California.
Malibu in the seventies
was a hotspot
I mean, there was Larry H. There was
Steve Mcqueen. There was Ali Mcgraw, and all
(00:54):
the famous star Jane Fond.
And her then husband Roger Va,
they were our neighbors.
And and so if you were an ordinary
guy like me and like my friend fred
Ray.
You you kind of felt not out of
it, but certainly you led your own life.
So there were normal people like us,
(01:15):
And and it was a it was an
achievement people showed off a lot and what
I liked about Fred Re was he was
not a show off. It seemed. To me,
he drove around in a battered old car.
He wore clog, no socks,
and he seemed to be so down to
earth. To
(01:45):
Fred Whale marriage to Ver Johnson on the
beach in Malibu, California on Christmas Eve 19
77,
appeared to be a fairy tale ending to
2 tragic stories.
Var had been widowed 2 years earlier left
to care for her 2 children, Kimberly Aid
in Douglas 5.
Her husband had suffered from depression,
(02:06):
And jumped off the seventh story of a
building in Los Angeles.
Fred too was a widow
having lost his first wife g in a
flight attendant,
just over a year before.
He was raising their 2 children Heidi 7
and Kirsten 3 on his own.
Gene had drowned in their backyard pool, a
(02:28):
tragedy that unfolded in 10/19/7606
years after they were married.
On that fateful night, neighbors rushed to Fred
late night cry for help.
They found him cro beside the pool,
desperately giving his lifeless wife mouth to mouth
resuscitation.
(02:48):
Gene was declared Brain dead 5 days later,
and Fred made the heart wrench decision to
donate her vital organs.
To Stanford Medical Center.
Her life support was then turned off.
The police concluded that Gene had likely fallen
into the pool while drunk.
However, some of Jean friends aware that she
(03:10):
had been contemplating a divorce, pool Harbor
suspicions a foul play.
A fred staged and an elaborate funeral ceremony
on a chartered boat for 50 people.
Where he emptied her ashes for a small
urn over the ship's bow.
Guest drank her her memory tossing their wine
glasses and long stem roses into the water.
(03:34):
Among the guest was Vernon Johnson,
the woman who had soon become his wife,
Their relationship began 2 weeks after the funeral.
Davis and his wife had known Ver for
10 years.
She had been a teacher's aide at their
children's school.
According to Davis,
Ver
was a sunny, all American woman in her
(03:55):
early thirties.
She was tan, athletic, queued and sexy.
She reminded him of a cross between Natalie
wood and fe acid.
Fred Re was husky barrel chest,
6 foot 2 inches tall with 190
pounds of muscle.
Curly black hair, a bur black beard and
(04:16):
piercing pale blue eyes.
He was a marine engineer and Deep sea
diver.
He worked as a civilian consultant for the
Us Navy Pacific missile test center.
When Fred Re.
Became the the the handsome hun
of a widow,
all the women
who
(04:36):
were around malibu,
fan him. I mean, he was a good
looking guy was a strapping guy, a a
bright guy.
I mean, he he he looked like,
a Hollywood hun,
and a lot of women went after him
after they knew that his wife had died,
they didn't know the background,
after after his first wife died,
(04:56):
and you to take the kids to the
nursery school and then women you to say,
oh what a great guy is what a
wonderful.
Father is, you know, wish my husband was
like that. So Fred Re was
considered,
you know, prime real estate. I mean, Not
quite that. But but was was a hun,
malibu and
(05:17):
And then when he married Werner, everybody said,
whoa. Isn't this wonderful. True love at last.
The Malibu community
affectionately named the... Family of 6, the Brady
Bunch.
The ray family seemed picture perfect to outsiders,
Reminiscent of the popular Brady bunched Tv series
that it debuted in 19 69.
(05:39):
And he came to me 1 day.
And I knew what had happened. I knew
that he was a a widow,
and his wife, Werner was a widow,
and he had a new steps son,
because, you know, the gossip it was... You
know, he lost by both lost their spouses,
and he said, Either, you are the coach
of the Malibu lions kids soccer team
(05:59):
I wanna get close to my grand... My
son, my steps son Douglas,
and can I be your assistant coach? Well,
I mean, Of course. Of course, I said,
I I welcomed him warm. It was terrific.
He was wonderful as a an assistant coach
you came up to every game.
And though we knew nothing about soccer. He
was terrific. So IIII
(06:20):
got name very well. His son was the
same age. His son age 8 was the
same age as my son Gideon.
And we went to birthday parties, and we
knew it was a small community malleable, and
everybody sort of knew everybody else's business. So
that was it.
And then I and then I just jumped
forward at New year's day 19 81,
(06:42):
I pick up the paper.
And I see that Fred Re
had been out in a in in in
the channel Islands of Santa Cruz Island
with his new wife Werner
and this and his steps on douglas,
and they've... They're dead in a terrible bon
accident. Fred survives,
he's rescued
(07:03):
is taken to hospital,
and it's a terrible.
I mean, the the whole the whole malibu
is... The whole Malibu is in in in
in tears.
Fred Re had purchased a 150000
dollar, 50 foot yacht named the perseverance.
With plans to take his children out of
school for a 6 month sailing trip around
(07:24):
the world.
On 01/02/1981,
Fred set sail with his wife.
Their 4 children, his parents, his youngest brother
and wife and a new beagle puppy named
lady.
The kids had just received the pup for
Christmas.
They embarked on a 3 hour sailing excursion
(07:45):
to Santa a cruz Island.
The seas around the channel islands were cold
deep and
unpredictable at this time of year.
However, Fred Re was well acquainted with these
waters.
He had died for Lobster here
and extensively trained with Us Navy around this
chain of islands.
(08:07):
Once I anchored, re, his wife, Ver his
steps on Douglas
and the beagle pup climbed into a inflatable
rubber Ding
and headed to bird rock. Fred said...
They went out to Santa Cruz Island to
take pictures
of
a place called bird rock, and it's called
bird rock because it's covered in white...
(08:29):
Shit from birds, and it's a it's a
real...
I mean, it's not a tourist attraction, but
it's there.
And Fred went out to see them to
see it and went to with a new
beagle puppy lady, and he took lady. He
took Werner, and he took Douglas in his
little robert ding called a do.
And he said what happened was the the
(08:51):
the young puppy jumped out of,
a seagull,
and and Fred tried to grab the dog,
and when he grabbed the dog, the ding
overturned
and
and he was trapped by his camera strap
under the ding when he came up to
the surface,
He saw Douglas and Werner
(09:11):
struggling on their face. No. They weren't they
weren't breathing. He said, and he he grabbed
1 in 1 hand,
He grabbed
darkness in the other hand, he managed to
swim to bird rock. And with the dog
on his head.
Okay?
On his head on his head, and he
managed to push the dog up onto the
(09:32):
rocks to safety.
Alas
Werner and Douglas died, the dog survived, and
it sounds like a hit heroic father
trying to do what's best.
The crew of a passing yacht named the
sound of music heard ray cries for help.
They spotted a human figure bobbing in the
(09:53):
water.
Ray grasped his wife and steps sun in
his arms.
The out of music crew through a lifeline
and pull the trio aboard.
8 year old Douglas wore a securely fastened
orange life vest that showed no signs of
damage or water logging.
However,
he was ghostly pale with a bluish hue
(10:14):
like the appearance of his mother, Ver.
The crew administered Cpr.
Ver and Douglas expel water from their lungs,
but did not regain consciousness.
The coast guard responded to a made a
distress call.
Rescuers air listed the trio shore, but Ver
and Douglas had flat lined.
(10:35):
Fred Re,
emerge from the ordeal physically
unscathed, but appeared to be in a zombie
like state
unable to speak.
Following morning ray,
now twice a widow in 5 years.
Summoned his 3 daughters to his hospital room
and broke that devastating news.
(10:56):
He told them that all he could remember
was the beagle pup, lady
had jumped out of the Ding,
Re assured his daughters that no 1 was
at fault saying, god must have been ready
for mother and dog.
4 days later, Candy Hi called the Santa
(11:18):
Barbara Sheriff's department.
She told an official that she was the
neighbor in Malibu of Fred Re,
whose wife and steps on had drowned off
the coast of Santa barbara County.
And that she had been a close friend
of Ray first wife Jean who had drowned
in their backyard swimming pool,
In Gave a calm methodical description of the
(11:40):
events.
She declared,
the Guy murdered his first wife.
Are you going to let him get away
with this 1 too?
And then
believe it or not 3 months later.
I pick up the paper
and see that Fred Re
has been arrested for their murder.
(12:00):
And the reason he was arrested for their
murder was,
He collected
750000
dollars life insurance
on Douglas the boy. And his late wife,
and the cops arrested him. I must say
that that I believed he was innocent. I
believed he was a man who tragedy struck
(12:21):
twice and that's life. So there that was
malibu then.
After a 3 month murder
investigation, Fred Rae stood trial for 2 counts
of murder.
If convicted he faced the possibility of
(12:43):
execution in the gas chamber.
And I thought here is a good guy.
This... You know, this is a terrible injustice.
And then as I said,
we went to the trial which took place
in Santa Barbara, California
because Santa Cruz Island
is off the coast of Malibu is off
the coast of Ventura is off the coast
(13:03):
of Santa Barbara, but
police jurisdiction. And you know all about that
is Santa Barbara Sheriff.
And the Santa Barbara shares arrested Fred and
came up with this this
murder for insurance.
Davis and his wife Sally were so confident
that their friend was innocent that they advised
ray lawyers on how to defend him.
(13:25):
They attended the trial testified on his behalf,
Then let Ray family stay in their home
during the trial.
They regularly
communicated with Re in Jail.
It was a high profile murder for profit
trial prosecuted by Stanley Rote.
The hard nose, aggressive Santa Barbara District attorney.
(13:47):
The 11 month trial became a slug
between forensic and medical experts.
As each side tried to discredit its ci
evidence in poke holes and stories.
Prosecution witnesses argued that bruises on the victim's
heads were caused by rail knocking them out
with a wooden or from the ding.
(14:09):
Defense experts countered that it was caused by
bumping the side of the yard that had
rescued them.
The damning evidence that moved the jury,
was life insurance payouts.
Rail received more than 800000
dollars in life insurance payments
for the deaths of his wife in steps
on.
(14:29):
He had made the final payment on that
life insurance policy
just 4 days before the mother and son
drowned at Bird rock.
Against the advice of his lawyers,
re took the stand in his own defense.
I think when Fred Ra insisted,
then he, first of, wanted to do his
(14:50):
own openings. Statement that shows your ballot, and
the and the lawyer said, Fred will do
the opening statement. That's why you're here to
do. And then at the end of it,
they all said Fred do not testify.
Fred said I am testifying.
And he went up against Stanley Rode.
The brilliantly dogg,
Santa Barbara district attorney who was prose,
(15:12):
and it was a it was a a
bit of a shit show. The Murder went
to the jury on 05/03/1982
on the 1 hundredth day of the trial.
The jury had heard from 70 witnesses and
see 392
exhibits.
The trial proceedings were recorded in 7495
(15:32):
pages of testimony
at a total cost to the prosecution and
defense of almost 2000000 dollars.
4 The 7 woman 5 man jury deliberate
for 7 days.
They convicted ray for multiple murders,
and murder for profit of his wife,
Ver.
And when he was found guilty, I was
(15:52):
in shock, and my late wife Sally were
in shock, and we said we are gonna
find out
the truth. And we when we we do,
we would discover that I'm sure that Fred
is an Innocent man. In the punishment phase
of the trial,
Ray faced
execution in the gas chamber.
A 64 character witnesses including Davis,
(16:12):
told the jury that Fred Re was the
perfect husband, a great father, and an outstanding
member of the community.
Ray insisted in showing the 18 minute film
of his beach wedding tavern ver in Malibu.
The minister who performed the ceremony,
narrated the film,
but it was not a fairy tale marriage.
(16:34):
Re had persuaded his wife not to officially
register their marriage
So she could continue to receive her late
husband's
pension.
His 3 young daughters with pink bows in
their hair.
So as they beg the jury to spare
their father's life.
And he showed wedding photos and wedding movies,
(16:55):
and he even got
his young daughters
to come on the stand
and testify
in his defense. So I mean, and and
I wanna tell you we were all in
tears when the girls got up. And there
were kids, and they were saying don't send
my dad to the gas chamber blah blah
blah,
At the end of the 10 day punishment
hearing, the jury sent its re to life
(17:18):
without the possibility of parole.
Davis thought his friend had been wrongfully
convicted.
His family started visiting regular at fu prison.
Which was made famous by Johnny Ka iconic
song,
Fu prison blues.
When we would go up to Fu to
visit him. When I took my kids to
(17:39):
see him because they knew him. And we
sat in this our awful exercise yard up
on horrible benches, the kids were there, why
I talk to them I don't Know. I
talked to them because I thought he would
not... Be nice to see them. During the
trial.
Davis and his wife, Sally had decided to
write a book about the case, believing it
to be a gross miscarriage of justice.
(18:00):
That we said to Fred, we wanna do
a book, We think you're innocent.
And then after he was convicted, he called
us up and said go ahead and do
your book.
And so
because she had nothing to lose. So I
said, we're gonna do the book now Sally
and I gonna do the book now we
need some some some people. Who who, I'm...
Who you... We should talk to? Davis and
his wife traveled to Center, Indiana.
(18:22):
Ray
hometown.
Convinced that his character in background
would disprove any notion that he was capable
of murder.
That then I dug deeper as a as
you investigating reporter and know. And when you
dig deeper, you find facts that really
change your mind. And I must tell you
(18:43):
there was an Aha moment in this whole
thing. And I call it that because
What happened was I went back to his
hometown
in Indiana and spoke to the people that
he said, would tell me the truth about
the family. When I got back there, I
went to see his parents, and and then
I went to see school friends and girlfriends
friends and other friends and they all said
(19:05):
the same thing. They said if there was
a dollar in it,
Fred re did it. And in fact they
wouldn't speak to me at first
because they thought
that I was a private investigator
trying to get fred out of jail. But
when they... When I I promised that I
would not quote them by name, they opened
up to me, and they told me,
(19:25):
Fred Re, and insurance and Fred Whale family
insurance, it was like a common denominator,
in Indiana, a boat burned, in Indiana, a
house,
a guest house burned, in Indiana,
something else burned and they... And the dad
collected insurance and guess what, Robert,
in Malibu,
(19:47):
AAA house boat burned, a a guest house
burn, a car suddenly caught fire
mysteriously, and on each occasion,
Fred Re collected money. And so I guess
the jump from ina objects,
insurance claims to to real life people
was an easy 1 for him. And also
(20:08):
he bought himself a large yacht and was
was... He didn't earn much money as an
engineer. So
all those little elements, you know as an
as investigative report. You pull them all together,
and you go, oh my god, and the
back of the hairs at the back of
my neck.
Go crazy, I think with Sally, I say,
Fred did it.
He did it. But the idea and and
(20:29):
and you would understand this you deal with
so many criminals and police food who deal
with criminals,
the idea of jumping from a burnt boat
to a burnt to
car to. And to a human being, a
boy, the same age as my own son
seems
into,
unbelievable, but that's what happened. But it was
all an insurance scam for life insurance.
(20:52):
Yeah I I mean, it was an insurance
scam. So I mean...
What goes on? You know, I'm I'm gonna
throw the question back to you if I
may. Robert, you tell me you've dealt with
these criminals in your career. You know
soc pass, maybe not the moment you see
them and talk to them. What, you know,
what is it in their brain that makes
them different to you and I.
(21:13):
I know this,
they can be very, very charming.
Their Yes. But they're predators,
they know really how to assess
how to manipulate you? What interest you, which
your weaknesses are,
and they have
no compassion or no remorse,
about doing that maturation or killing you. Well,
(21:35):
can I judge interrupt? It's funny. You should
say that you've just hit in the nail
on the head. I have got letters that
he wrote to me. I've have got letters
that you wrote to 6 to 8 different
people, and there is a different person writing
a letter to each of these people. I
mean, if you're into Water Polo of your
into Baseball, he would write you about Water
Polo and Baseball.
(21:55):
But this was not... I mean, if as
a guy was 6. To 10 to 12
different
personalities.
And my letters were all about things that
the I liked, he knew, and you just
write a letter based on that, and so
now that we're talking,
some of it is coming clearer because, you
know, he was... I mean, what's your split
personality,
(22:15):
Are these are these killers that you know
about and so well? Are they split personalities?
All the things you mentioned a few minutes
ago are truthful, but what do you think?
0II don't think they're split personalities.
I think that they
they know what they're doing.
And I've dealt with many of them. Ray
did not like what Davis had learned about
his background.
(22:35):
He demanded transcripts of all of the interviews.
Davis refused and re terminated any future contact.
I and my wife Sally was stupid really.
We should have seen it. It's always easy
to say. After the fact that you are
because the the the things that I liked
about him and I testified in his penalty
phase what the great guy he was I
(22:56):
mean, I was a witness. So
when I went back and found out he
wasn't such a great guy that his family
were work... What would believe to be con
people for the reasons I've explained insurance. And
then we realized that he learned all he
knew about insurance claims
and double ind all that kind of stuff
from his father who also collected. So we
(23:18):
came back with a totally different attitude and
then we we dug a bit more deeply.
We we went through the the the the
court records
and and and and and discovered
so much more than we ever knew. For
for example, his first wife's death.
We thought it was an accident, but it
was not it.
(23:39):
And and there was so much we discovered
on that trip that didn't add up to
our belief that he was an innocent man,
and that's what happened. And we... And he
knew it. He knew it. So I as
soon as you knew it. He cut off.
You were a reporter, and so you see
detectives open this case dogg on him.
What was going on in your mind at
(23:59):
the time that, like, what did you ever
say to yourself? What am I missing here?
What are they saying that I'm not seeing?
The detectives were thorough, the detectives went back
3 or 4 times 3 times at least
to see him and talk to him again.
And then Fred kinda treated them well, he
was... He offered them drinks and a tea
and coffee.
(24:19):
And I I... And if you listen to
the transcript,
Fred
also cries at the right time listens,
I wasn't in on the interior interrogation, of
course. And then you can see that these
cops
know
something more than I do. And and because
I only saw...
I realized
the this the least the skin
(24:42):
of the game. And when once you dig
into the skin, you find
that things are rotten in the state of
malibu
for Fred bra. So
you know, the and the cops, and they
had no emotional attachment, and I did, but,
you know, kids, we had our same kids.
We were friends
birthday parties, we thought we knew him. We
(25:03):
were wrong.
Davis returned to the scene of the Johnny
at Bird rock on Santa Cruz Island.
The prosecution had argued that Ray struck his
wife and steps on with the Des wooden
oa,
rendering them unconscious.
But However,
Davis holds a different theory about what transpired
(25:26):
that day.
Fred Re
was a deep sea diver
who who who's made his career
setting cables under sea. He knew the waters
out there. He knew the the the territory,
like the back of his hand.
He had... It was an incredible diver. So
(25:47):
III don't think he hit them with oz.
I don't think he... He... I think ronnie
he did was, and I went out there
myself and swam.
Twice
to see how serious, you know, how bad
it was. And I think he just and
it sounds awful. He just grabbed them both,
and he took them under the water
and he's his breathing capacities he's a very
powerful man. And and and and when he
(26:09):
realized I run concerts he came up.
And he basically
that that waited you to be rescued.
Davis also discovered that life inside the regular
household was far from perfect.
He says Ray had a nasty
personality in a bad temper
behind closed doors.
(26:31):
Ray had a trouble.
Relationship with his 8 year old steps on
Doug,
who he was convicted of drowning.
Well, woman when my book came out.
1 of 1 of his werner best friends
called me and said I knew he was
a killer from the moment I saw him.
He was a took... He was a dictator
in the family. He terrorized his first wife,
(26:54):
and he and he and he would not
divorce his first wife. Is sick, and this
was a woman who was a babysitter center
for both
both families. So she knew him well. So
she told me she knew that he was
guilty, but there were a lot of people
who didn't. A lot of people who is
who were staunch defenders. And even today, I
think,
I think still his daughters
(27:18):
believe his innocence, and they'd probably get him
out on parole many times on for health
reasons.
So he has, he does have a small,
a small c of people who believe it
was innocent, but I think most people now.
Believe it was just guilty as hell.
(27:41):
December 2015,
regulars 2 biological daughters started a petition on
change dot org. In urging then California governor
Jerry Brown to free their father.
Brown did not grant cl.
1234
people signed in support of the petition
before it was closed.
(28:02):
Fred Ray as of 2024
is 81 years old and incarcerated at the
California state prison in Los Angeles County.
Is not eligible
parole.
Re sued the prison system in February 2024
for 1000000 dollars in damages for injury suffered
(28:23):
in a wheelchair accident.
After receiving kidney surgery,
his wheelchair hit a bump as guards escorted
radar back to his cell.
Ray alleged that the accident left him with
4 hernia that acquired surgery.
The case continues.
And every time I think about it, I
(28:43):
think Poor Douglas.
Great kid, beautiful boy.
He's no longer with us because his life
was snuff out so early. And Vernon was
a lovely lady. She was a kindergarten,
she taught out kids in kindergarten,
Werner his wife, Gina I didn't know, but
Werner, Werner his wife.
Was was charming,
and that's why the fairy tale story of
(29:06):
a woman who whose husband had died
and and a man who's why had died
getting together, their unified families
seems like a Hollywood happy ending, well it
wasn't.
I
How well do we actually know our friends?
Can we tell if they are lying?
But a close friend actually be a stone
cold killer.
London born, Iv Davis,
a former foreign correspondent,
and his wife Sally, a former Bbc anchor,
had the journalist advantage in spotting deception,
(00:32):
Yet, they still learn the brutal truth about
a close friend.
Their book, the devil in my friend,
unfolds in Malibu, California.
Malibu in the seventies
was a hotspot
I mean, there was Larry H. There was
Steve Mcqueen. There was Ali Mcgraw, and all
(00:54):
the famous star Jane Fond.
And her then husband Roger Va,
they were our neighbors.
And and so if you were an ordinary
guy like me and like my friend fred
Ray.
You you kind of felt not out of
it, but certainly you led your own life.
So there were normal people like us,
(01:15):
And and it was a it was an
achievement people showed off a lot and what
I liked about Fred Re was he was
not a show off. It seemed. To me,
he drove around in a battered old car.
He wore clog, no socks,
and he seemed to be so down to
earth. To
(01:45):
Fred Whale marriage to Ver Johnson on the
beach in Malibu, California on Christmas Eve 19
77,
appeared to be a fairy tale ending to
2 tragic stories.
Var had been widowed 2 years earlier left
to care for her 2 children, Kimberly Aid
in Douglas 5.
Her husband had suffered from depression,
(02:06):
And jumped off the seventh story of a
building in Los Angeles.
Fred too was a widow
having lost his first wife g in a
flight attendant,
just over a year before.
He was raising their 2 children Heidi 7
and Kirsten 3 on his own.
Gene had drowned in their backyard pool, a
(02:28):
tragedy that unfolded in 10/19/7606
years after they were married.
On that fateful night, neighbors rushed to Fred
late night cry for help.
They found him cro beside the pool,
desperately giving his lifeless wife mouth to mouth
resuscitation.
(02:48):
Gene was declared Brain dead 5 days later,
and Fred made the heart wrench decision to
donate her vital organs.
To Stanford Medical Center.
Her life support was then turned off.
The police concluded that Gene had likely fallen
into the pool while drunk.
However, some of Jean friends aware that she
(03:10):
had been contemplating a divorce, pool Harbor
suspicions a foul play.
A fred staged and an elaborate funeral ceremony
on a chartered boat for 50 people.
Where he emptied her ashes for a small
urn over the ship's bow.
Guest drank her her memory tossing their wine
glasses and long stem roses into the water.
(03:34):
Among the guest was Vernon Johnson,
the woman who had soon become his wife,
Their relationship began 2 weeks after the funeral.
Davis and his wife had known Ver for
10 years.
She had been a teacher's aide at their
children's school.
According to Davis,
Ver
was a sunny, all American woman in her
(03:55):
early thirties.
She was tan, athletic, queued and sexy.
She reminded him of a cross between Natalie
wood and fe acid.
Fred Re was husky barrel chest,
6 foot 2 inches tall with 190
pounds of muscle.
Curly black hair, a bur black beard and
(04:16):
piercing pale blue eyes.
He was a marine engineer and Deep sea
diver.
He worked as a civilian consultant for the
Us Navy Pacific missile test center.
When Fred Re.
Became the the the handsome hun
of a widow,
all the women
who
(04:36):
were around malibu,
fan him. I mean, he was a good
looking guy was a strapping guy, a a
bright guy.
I mean, he he he looked like,
a Hollywood hun,
and a lot of women went after him
after they knew that his wife had died,
they didn't know the background,
after after his first wife died,
(04:56):
and you to take the kids to the
nursery school and then women you to say,
oh what a great guy is what a
wonderful.
Father is, you know, wish my husband was
like that. So Fred Re was
considered,
you know, prime real estate. I mean, Not
quite that. But but was was a hun,
malibu and
(05:17):
And then when he married Werner, everybody said,
whoa. Isn't this wonderful. True love at last.
The Malibu community
affectionately named the... Family of 6, the Brady
Bunch.
The ray family seemed picture perfect to outsiders,
Reminiscent of the popular Brady bunched Tv series
that it debuted in 19 69.
(05:39):
And he came to me 1 day.
And I knew what had happened. I knew
that he was a a widow,
and his wife, Werner was a widow,
and he had a new steps son,
because, you know, the gossip it was... You
know, he lost by both lost their spouses,
and he said, Either, you are the coach
of the Malibu lions kids soccer team
(05:59):
I wanna get close to my grand... My
son, my steps son Douglas,
and can I be your assistant coach? Well,
I mean, Of course. Of course, I said,
I I welcomed him warm. It was terrific.
He was wonderful as a an assistant coach
you came up to every game.
And though we knew nothing about soccer. He
was terrific. So IIII
(06:20):
got name very well. His son was the
same age. His son age 8 was the
same age as my son Gideon.
And we went to birthday parties, and we
knew it was a small community malleable, and
everybody sort of knew everybody else's business. So
that was it.
And then I and then I just jumped
forward at New year's day 19 81,
(06:42):
I pick up the paper.
And I see that Fred Re
had been out in a in in in
the channel Islands of Santa Cruz Island
with his new wife Werner
and this and his steps on douglas,
and they've... They're dead in a terrible bon
accident. Fred survives,
he's rescued
(07:03):
is taken to hospital,
and it's a terrible.
I mean, the the whole the whole malibu
is... The whole Malibu is in in in
in tears.
Fred Re had purchased a 150000
dollar, 50 foot yacht named the perseverance.
With plans to take his children out of
school for a 6 month sailing trip around
(07:24):
the world.
On 01/02/1981,
Fred set sail with his wife.
Their 4 children, his parents, his youngest brother
and wife and a new beagle puppy named
lady.
The kids had just received the pup for
Christmas.
They embarked on a 3 hour sailing excursion
(07:45):
to Santa a cruz Island.
The seas around the channel islands were cold
deep and
unpredictable at this time of year.
However, Fred Re was well acquainted with these
waters.
He had died for Lobster here
and extensively trained with Us Navy around this
chain of islands.
(08:07):
Once I anchored, re, his wife, Ver his
steps on Douglas
and the beagle pup climbed into a inflatable
rubber Ding
and headed to bird rock. Fred said...
They went out to Santa Cruz Island to
take pictures
of
a place called bird rock, and it's called
bird rock because it's covered in white...
(08:29):
Shit from birds, and it's a it's a
real...
I mean, it's not a tourist attraction, but
it's there.
And Fred went out to see them to
see it and went to with a new
beagle puppy lady, and he took lady. He
took Werner, and he took Douglas in his
little robert ding called a do.
And he said what happened was the the
(08:51):
the young puppy jumped out of,
a seagull,
and and Fred tried to grab the dog,
and when he grabbed the dog, the ding
overturned
and
and he was trapped by his camera strap
under the ding when he came up to
the surface,
He saw Douglas and Werner
(09:11):
struggling on their face. No. They weren't they
weren't breathing. He said, and he he grabbed
1 in 1 hand,
He grabbed
darkness in the other hand, he managed to
swim to bird rock. And with the dog
on his head.
Okay?
On his head on his head, and he
managed to push the dog up onto the
(09:32):
rocks to safety.
Alas
Werner and Douglas died, the dog survived, and
it sounds like a hit heroic father
trying to do what's best.
The crew of a passing yacht named the
sound of music heard ray cries for help.
They spotted a human figure bobbing in the
(09:53):
water.
Ray grasped his wife and steps sun in
his arms.
The out of music crew through a lifeline
and pull the trio aboard.
8 year old Douglas wore a securely fastened
orange life vest that showed no signs of
damage or water logging.
However,
he was ghostly pale with a bluish hue
(10:14):
like the appearance of his mother, Ver.
The crew administered Cpr.
Ver and Douglas expel water from their lungs,
but did not regain consciousness.
The coast guard responded to a made a
distress call.
Rescuers air listed the trio shore, but Ver
and Douglas had flat lined.
(10:35):
Fred Re,
emerge from the ordeal physically
unscathed, but appeared to be in a zombie
like state
unable to speak.
Following morning ray,
now twice a widow in 5 years.
Summoned his 3 daughters to his hospital room
and broke that devastating news.
(10:56):
He told them that all he could remember
was the beagle pup, lady
had jumped out of the Ding,
Re assured his daughters that no 1 was
at fault saying, god must have been ready
for mother and dog.
4 days later, Candy Hi called the Santa
(11:18):
Barbara Sheriff's department.
She told an official that she was the
neighbor in Malibu of Fred Re,
whose wife and steps on had drowned off
the coast of Santa barbara County.
And that she had been a close friend
of Ray first wife Jean who had drowned
in their backyard swimming pool,
In Gave a calm methodical description of the
(11:40):
events.
She declared,
the Guy murdered his first wife.
Are you going to let him get away
with this 1 too?
And then
believe it or not 3 months later.
I pick up the paper
and see that Fred Re
has been arrested for their murder.
(12:00):
And the reason he was arrested for their
murder was,
He collected
750000
dollars life insurance
on Douglas the boy. And his late wife,
and the cops arrested him. I must say
that that I believed he was innocent. I
believed he was a man who tragedy struck
(12:21):
twice and that's life. So there that was
malibu then.
After a 3 month murder
investigation, Fred Rae stood trial for 2 counts
of murder.
If convicted he faced the possibility of
(12:43):
execution in the gas chamber.
And I thought here is a good guy.
This... You know, this is a terrible injustice.
And then as I said,
we went to the trial which took place
in Santa Barbara, California
because Santa Cruz Island
is off the coast of Malibu is off
the coast of Ventura is off the coast
(13:03):
of Santa Barbara, but
police jurisdiction. And you know all about that
is Santa Barbara Sheriff.
And the Santa Barbara shares arrested Fred and
came up with this this
murder for insurance.
Davis and his wife Sally were so confident
that their friend was innocent that they advised
ray lawyers on how to defend him.
(13:25):
They attended the trial testified on his behalf,
Then let Ray family stay in their home
during the trial.
They regularly
communicated with Re in Jail.
It was a high profile murder for profit
trial prosecuted by Stanley Rote.
The hard nose, aggressive Santa Barbara District attorney.
(13:47):
The 11 month trial became a slug
between forensic and medical experts.
As each side tried to discredit its ci
evidence in poke holes and stories.
Prosecution witnesses argued that bruises on the victim's
heads were caused by rail knocking them out
with a wooden or from the ding.
(14:09):
Defense experts countered that it was caused by
bumping the side of the yard that had
rescued them.
The damning evidence that moved the jury,
was life insurance payouts.
Rail received more than 800000
dollars in life insurance payments
for the deaths of his wife in steps
on.
(14:29):
He had made the final payment on that
life insurance policy
just 4 days before the mother and son
drowned at Bird rock.
Against the advice of his lawyers,
re took the stand in his own defense.
I think when Fred Ra insisted,
then he, first of, wanted to do his
(14:50):
own openings. Statement that shows your ballot, and
the and the lawyer said, Fred will do
the opening statement. That's why you're here to
do. And then at the end of it,
they all said Fred do not testify.
Fred said I am testifying.
And he went up against Stanley Rode.
The brilliantly dogg,
Santa Barbara district attorney who was prose,
(15:12):
and it was a it was a a
bit of a shit show. The Murder went
to the jury on 05/03/1982
on the 1 hundredth day of the trial.
The jury had heard from 70 witnesses and
see 392
exhibits.
The trial proceedings were recorded in 7495
(15:32):
pages of testimony
at a total cost to the prosecution and
defense of almost 2000000 dollars.
4 The 7 woman 5 man jury deliberate
for 7 days.
They convicted ray for multiple murders,
and murder for profit of his wife,
Ver.
And when he was found guilty, I was
(15:52):
in shock, and my late wife Sally were
in shock, and we said we are gonna
find out
the truth. And we when we we do,
we would discover that I'm sure that Fred
is an Innocent man. In the punishment phase
of the trial,
Ray faced
execution in the gas chamber.
A 64 character witnesses including Davis,
(16:12):
told the jury that Fred Re was the
perfect husband, a great father, and an outstanding
member of the community.
Ray insisted in showing the 18 minute film
of his beach wedding tavern ver in Malibu.
The minister who performed the ceremony,
narrated the film,
but it was not a fairy tale marriage.
(16:34):
Re had persuaded his wife not to officially
register their marriage
So she could continue to receive her late
husband's
pension.
His 3 young daughters with pink bows in
their hair.
So as they beg the jury to spare
their father's life.
And he showed wedding photos and wedding movies,
(16:55):
and he even got
his young daughters
to come on the stand
and testify
in his defense. So I mean, and and
I wanna tell you we were all in
tears when the girls got up. And there
were kids, and they were saying don't send
my dad to the gas chamber blah blah
blah,
At the end of the 10 day punishment
hearing, the jury sent its re to life
(17:18):
without the possibility of parole.
Davis thought his friend had been wrongfully
convicted.
His family started visiting regular at fu prison.
Which was made famous by Johnny Ka iconic
song,
Fu prison blues.
When we would go up to Fu to
visit him. When I took my kids to
(17:39):
see him because they knew him. And we
sat in this our awful exercise yard up
on horrible benches, the kids were there, why
I talk to them I don't Know. I
talked to them because I thought he would
not... Be nice to see them. During the
trial.
Davis and his wife, Sally had decided to
write a book about the case, believing it
to be a gross miscarriage of justice.
(18:00):
That we said to Fred, we wanna do
a book, We think you're innocent.
And then after he was convicted, he called
us up and said go ahead and do
your book.
And so
because she had nothing to lose. So I
said, we're gonna do the book now Sally
and I gonna do the book now we
need some some some people. Who who, I'm...
Who you... We should talk to? Davis and
his wife traveled to Center, Indiana.
(18:22):
Ray
hometown.
Convinced that his character in background
would disprove any notion that he was capable
of murder.
That then I dug deeper as a as
you investigating reporter and know. And when you
dig deeper, you find facts that really
change your mind. And I must tell you
(18:43):
there was an Aha moment in this whole
thing. And I call it that because
What happened was I went back to his
hometown
in Indiana and spoke to the people that
he said, would tell me the truth about
the family. When I got back there, I
went to see his parents, and and then
I went to see school friends and girlfriends
friends and other friends and they all said
(19:05):
the same thing. They said if there was
a dollar in it,
Fred re did it. And in fact they
wouldn't speak to me at first
because they thought
that I was a private investigator
trying to get fred out of jail. But
when they... When I I promised that I
would not quote them by name, they opened
up to me, and they told me,
(19:25):
Fred Re, and insurance and Fred Whale family
insurance, it was like a common denominator,
in Indiana, a boat burned, in Indiana, a
house,
a guest house burned, in Indiana,
something else burned and they... And the dad
collected insurance and guess what, Robert,
in Malibu,
(19:47):
AAA house boat burned, a a guest house
burn, a car suddenly caught fire
mysteriously, and on each occasion,
Fred Re collected money. And so I guess
the jump from ina objects,
insurance claims to to real life people
was an easy 1 for him. And also
(20:08):
he bought himself a large yacht and was
was... He didn't earn much money as an
engineer. So
all those little elements, you know as an
as investigative report. You pull them all together,
and you go, oh my god, and the
back of the hairs at the back of
my neck.
Go crazy, I think with Sally, I say,
Fred did it.
He did it. But the idea and and
(20:29):
and you would understand this you deal with
so many criminals and police food who deal
with criminals,
the idea of jumping from a burnt boat
to a burnt to
car to. And to a human being, a
boy, the same age as my own son
seems
into,
unbelievable, but that's what happened. But it was
all an insurance scam for life insurance.
(20:52):
Yeah I I mean, it was an insurance
scam. So I mean...
What goes on? You know, I'm I'm gonna
throw the question back to you if I
may. Robert, you tell me you've dealt with
these criminals in your career. You know
soc pass, maybe not the moment you see
them and talk to them. What, you know,
what is it in their brain that makes
them different to you and I.
(21:13):
I know this,
they can be very, very charming.
Their Yes. But they're predators,
they know really how to assess
how to manipulate you? What interest you, which
your weaknesses are,
and they have
no compassion or no remorse,
about doing that maturation or killing you. Well,
(21:35):
can I judge interrupt? It's funny. You should
say that you've just hit in the nail
on the head. I have got letters that
he wrote to me. I've have got letters
that you wrote to 6 to 8 different
people, and there is a different person writing
a letter to each of these people. I
mean, if you're into Water Polo of your
into Baseball, he would write you about Water
Polo and Baseball.
(21:55):
But this was not... I mean, if as
a guy was 6. To 10 to 12
different
personalities.
And my letters were all about things that
the I liked, he knew, and you just
write a letter based on that, and so
now that we're talking,
some of it is coming clearer because, you
know, he was... I mean, what's your split
personality,
(22:15):
Are these are these killers that you know
about and so well? Are they split personalities?
All the things you mentioned a few minutes
ago are truthful, but what do you think?
0II don't think they're split personalities.
I think that they
they know what they're doing.
And I've dealt with many of them. Ray
did not like what Davis had learned about
his background.
(22:35):
He demanded transcripts of all of the interviews.
Davis refused and re terminated any future contact.
I and my wife Sally was stupid really.
We should have seen it. It's always easy
to say. After the fact that you are
because the the the things that I liked
about him and I testified in his penalty
phase what the great guy he was I
(22:56):
mean, I was a witness. So
when I went back and found out he
wasn't such a great guy that his family
were work... What would believe to be con
people for the reasons I've explained insurance. And
then we realized that he learned all he
knew about insurance claims
and double ind all that kind of stuff
from his father who also collected. So we
(23:18):
came back with a totally different attitude and
then we we dug a bit more deeply.
We we went through the the the the
court records
and and and and and discovered
so much more than we ever knew. For
for example, his first wife's death.
We thought it was an accident, but it
was not it.
(23:39):
And and there was so much we discovered
on that trip that didn't add up to
our belief that he was an innocent man,
and that's what happened. And we... And he
knew it. He knew it. So I as
soon as you knew it. He cut off.
You were a reporter, and so you see
detectives open this case dogg on him.
What was going on in your mind at
(23:59):
the time that, like, what did you ever
say to yourself? What am I missing here?
What are they saying that I'm not seeing?
The detectives were thorough, the detectives went back
3 or 4 times 3 times at least
to see him and talk to him again.
And then Fred kinda treated them well, he
was... He offered them drinks and a tea
and coffee.
(24:19):
And I I... And if you listen to
the transcript,
Fred
also cries at the right time listens,
I wasn't in on the interior interrogation, of
course. And then you can see that these
cops
know
something more than I do. And and because
I only saw...
I realized
the this the least the skin
(24:42):
of the game. And when once you dig
into the skin, you find
that things are rotten in the state of
malibu
for Fred bra. So
you know, the and the cops, and they
had no emotional attachment, and I did, but,
you know, kids, we had our same kids.
We were friends
birthday parties, we thought we knew him. We
(25:03):
were wrong.
Davis returned to the scene of the Johnny
at Bird rock on Santa Cruz Island.
The prosecution had argued that Ray struck his
wife and steps on with the Des wooden
oa,
rendering them unconscious.
But However,
Davis holds a different theory about what transpired
(25:26):
that day.
Fred Re
was a deep sea diver
who who who's made his career
setting cables under sea. He knew the waters
out there. He knew the the the territory,
like the back of his hand.
He had... It was an incredible diver. So
(25:47):
III don't think he hit them with oz.
I don't think he... He... I think ronnie
he did was, and I went out there
myself and swam.
Twice
to see how serious, you know, how bad
it was. And I think he just and
it sounds awful. He just grabbed them both,
and he took them under the water
and he's his breathing capacities he's a very
powerful man. And and and and when he
(26:09):
realized I run concerts he came up.
And he basically
that that waited you to be rescued.
Davis also discovered that life inside the regular
household was far from perfect.
He says Ray had a nasty
personality in a bad temper
behind closed doors.
(26:31):
Ray had a trouble.
Relationship with his 8 year old steps on
Doug,
who he was convicted of drowning.
Well, woman when my book came out.
1 of 1 of his werner best friends
called me and said I knew he was
a killer from the moment I saw him.
He was a took... He was a dictator
in the family. He terrorized his first wife,
(26:54):
and he and he and he would not
divorce his first wife. Is sick, and this
was a woman who was a babysitter center
for both
both families. So she knew him well. So
she told me she knew that he was
guilty, but there were a lot of people
who didn't. A lot of people who is
who were staunch defenders. And even today, I
think,
I think still his daughters
(27:18):
believe his innocence, and they'd probably get him
out on parole many times on for health
reasons.
So he has, he does have a small,
a small c of people who believe it
was innocent, but I think most people now.
Believe it was just guilty as hell.
(27:41):
December 2015,
regulars 2 biological daughters started a petition on
change dot org. In urging then California governor
Jerry Brown to free their father.
Brown did not grant cl.
1234
people signed in support of the petition
before it was closed.
(28:02):
Fred Ray as of 2024
is 81 years old and incarcerated at the
California state prison in Los Angeles County.
Is not eligible
parole.
Re sued the prison system in February 2024
for 1000000 dollars in damages for injury suffered
(28:23):
in a wheelchair accident.
After receiving kidney surgery,
his wheelchair hit a bump as guards escorted
radar back to his cell.
Ray alleged that the accident left him with
4 hernia that acquired surgery.
The case continues.
And every time I think about it, I
(28:43):
think Poor Douglas.
Great kid, beautiful boy.
He's no longer with us because his life
was snuff out so early. And Vernon was
a lovely lady. She was a kindergarten,
she taught out kids in kindergarten,
Werner his wife, Gina I didn't know, but
Werner, Werner his wife.
Was was charming,
and that's why the fairy tale story of
(29:06):
a woman who whose husband had died
and and a man who's why had died
getting together, their unified families
seems like a Hollywood happy ending, well it
wasn't.
I
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.