June 14, 2023 • 44 mins
Growing up a gay man in a Mormon household probably isn't easy and when Gordon Ray Church was able to go to college, he likely became more comfortable in his skin. He met some supportive friends and even found himself a nice boyfriend. But when he stopped at the 7-Eleven to pick up cigarettes before Thanksgiving break, he met two men who would make him endure the worst night of his life. Originally broadcast December 7, 2022.
Please note this episode deals with violence against members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised.
Written and narrated by Schuyler Fastenau-Jones and executive produced by Daniel Fastenau-Jones. Additional voices by Jeremy Staple, Janette Zosche, Jordan Katcher, Krystal Mosley, Kayla Esmond, Katrina Marie Nunez, and Daniel Fastenau-Jones. Theme music by Tracy Zales.
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Please note this episode deals with violence against members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised.
Written and narrated by Schuyler Fastenau-Jones and executive produced by Daniel Fastenau-Jones. Additional voices by Jeremy Staple, Janette Zosche, Jordan Katcher, Krystal Mosley, Kayla Esmond, Katrina Marie Nunez, and Daniel Fastenau-Jones. Theme music by Tracy Zales.
Follow us on:
Check out our other shows:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
A note to listeners before we begin. Today's story includes scenes of violence against
the LGBTQ plus community and sexual assault, which may be triggering to some audience
members. In addition, there arehomophobic slurs. These are for historical accuracy
and do not reflect mine, thecast or the crew's opinions. Listener discretion
(00:21):
is advised. Now, I knowI can't be the only one here who
(00:44):
fantasized about a dream date. Rightback in college when I was single,
as the last pringle, I usedto envision a romantic evening with a strong,
muscular, likely masculine man who drovea pickup truck. I was in
rural Ohio at the time. Okay, I had to be at least a
little realistic when it came to whathe drove. Plus a truck is crucial
(01:06):
to this fantasy. Moving on,we'd drive out into the woods for the
night, staring up at the stars, telling each other how much we loved
one another. As the campfire crackled. Nick my fantasy boyfriend's name was always
Nick, would then pull up ablanket and I'd fall asleep in his muscular
arms, without any wild life thereto eat me in my sleep or bite
(01:29):
the shit out of my legs,like those pesky mosquitos always seemed to do.
It would be paradise. I thinkI was really into this idea because
my grandmother once told me that sheand Paul had done that once and it
sounded really sweet. Reality, Iwould have hated it. Also, Let's
be real, this version of Nickwould have never come close to being as
(01:52):
wonderful as my real husband is.Love you, poopoo. This dream date,
though, isn't too far off fromwhat a man named Jesse found to
be his ideal date with a mannamed Gordon. Picture it. Jesse and
Gordon were in that beautiful point ofa young romance where you feel love for
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the first time. Gordon, beinga twenty eight year old college student finally
free of the control of his religiousMormon parents, lays in an airstream trailer
with Jesse. He had likely nevercuddled another man before. For Jesse,
it was certainly an exciting new thing. He snuggled closer to Gordon, running
his hand through the guy's fluffy brownhair and smiling as Gordon in turn kissed
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his forehead. This is a firstfor me, you know. It's blaying
here with you. Gordon. Itmakes me never want to leave my house
again. Same, sweetie. Justlook at all the stars, lands and
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nuns of them. I wish wecould be up there, away from all
of this, away from all thestairs and hatred and gay cancer. AIDS
call it AIDS. Don't give thempower over it all right, But Jesse,
you don't have to worry about thosepeople, or AIDS or anything else.
(03:24):
I won't let anything hurt you aslong as I'm here. You're safe,
Okay, honey. Now look upat those stars and just soak in
their peace. Welcome to the originalDeadtime Stories, a podcast where I Skyler
(03:53):
Faston now Jones go beyond the crimeto investigate human psychology and history. Maybe
we don't make the same mistakes ofour ancestors. If you're a fan of
the show and you'll want to supportus, check out Patreon dot com slash
og Deadtime. We'll begin our nextchapter after these brief messages, and now
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on with the show. Imagine thestudent center on Southern Utah University's campus.
Back in November of nineteen eighty eight. This was Southern Utah State College and
Gordon ray Church was here to studytheater tech born in September fourteenth, nineteen
sixty. Gordon was a late bloomerwhen it came to attending college, but
this could be due to the factthat he grew up in an extremely religious
(05:04):
Latter Day Saint household. Gordon's friendssay his family was mostly supportive of his
studies, even if they weren't alltoo friendly with the friends he made while
doing said studies. These types offriends weren't raging alcoholics, or drug dealers,
or any type of people that myfamily would have been worried about me
befriending. Gordon's friends were people whosupported his lifestyle choices, asked, my
(05:29):
mother would call it. You know, people who are allies of the LGBTQ
plus community, people like Kathy Long. Hey, Gordon got you a coffee,
thanks Dall, and in return,I'll give you one of my mall
bros. I'm glad you know Ican't start my day without his sig and
(05:50):
a coffee. What can I say? I know my girls, well,
so enough chit chat, Let's discussthis final dinner party. Yes, so
the guys were thinking that we couldmeet up at their place, have a
drink or whatever, and then goto the restaurant. I think they're going
to make reservations. I don't know. Have to check that. Then we'll
(06:12):
celebrate and be grudgedly go home forThanksgiving break. Sounds like a plan,
a crude class. I'll see youtonight though, okay, Yes, and
don't be late, Kathy. Youknow I'm never late. To save money
on housing, Gordon lived with hisgrandmother. His family loved this arrangement because
(06:34):
it helped their son keep frugal whilealso ensuring that someone was present to take
care of the elderly woman. Well, Grandma, I'm all packed. I'll
see you at Mass Thanksgiving dinner though, okay, And if a snowstorm blows
in, I'll run back and shovelyou out so we can all be together.
Thank you, sweetheart, you're sucha good boy. Thanks Grandma.
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I gotta make a quick call andthen i'll be out of your way so
all those handsome young men can comeover. Oh, Grandma, chuckled,
asked. Grandson winked and grabbed thephone. Hello, Hey, Kathy,
it's me. I need to getsome six from the seven to eleven.
(07:16):
It's on the way, but Imight be a few minutes late. JOI
was hanging, so I won't Ipromise. Hey, Gordon, are you
here for your nightly diet coke?Not to night Bertie. Just a pack
of Marlboro's please. You got it, Hey, buddy, If you're not
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gonna buy anything, you gotta leave. A younger guy in his early twenties
with an atrocious mullet lazily peered overat the cashier from his post at the
beer cooler, just leaving punk weirdanyways, a buck fifteen, Gordon,
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Thanks, see you next time,asked Gordon, inhaled those lovely chemicals.
Mullet boy locked eyes. Gott alight for my buddy. Yeah, um,
(08:24):
let's see here. Thanks, I'mLance. That's my man, Michael.
Hi. So it's a nice night. So we was thinking about driving
through town. Maybe head up toPussy Hollow, see where things go.
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Gordon couldn't help but notice the mischievoussmile on mullet boy slash Lance's face as
he reached down to hike up hisjeans high enough to reveal a moose knuckle.
You can come if you want.I have to meet some friends.
But but psy Hollow so much funnerwith three yeah, and with you and
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us we'd have three, all right, I'm game, come on. Later,
(09:41):
testimony states that Gordon willingly led Michaeland Lance into his white Ford Thunderbird,
though I'm not sure if I believethat the three guys drove down the
main stretch of road, all fiveminutes of it. Yes, some of
Gordon's friends say. At one point, Lance rolled on his window. Hey,
hey, here's a good one.Whoa look it? God girl,
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come out, so doat of thescrew off next time? Honey, that's
Lance rolled the window back up.Gordon nervously pulled a strand of his longer
hair behind his ear. She waspretty. Huh yeah, man, what
did you think sexy? I guessso guess so come on, she's one
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of the hottest girls in this shittown. I honestly wouldn't know. I'm
gay. Lance gave Michael a knowingglance as he leaned forward and robbed Gordon's
shoulder. We know that, Champ. That's why we asked you up to
Pussy Hollow. Now, why don'twe blow out of town. He can
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be there for sunsets. Yeah,the three of us could have a real
good time. Gordon nodded and willinglydrove on ahead. Now. The stories
make it out to seem like hehad no fear of Michael or Lance.
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But again, I'm not so sureabout that though. I am an omniscient
narrator, so I know that thesetwo dudes were fresh out of jail on
parole. Had Gordon known that,he may not have been so keen to
drive out of town and into themountains. Oh shit, I'll leave my
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cigarette back in town. Michael feltup his jacket pockets and shook his head.
You go on up, but we'llmeet you in a few seconds.
Okay, what cigarettes? You've beenusing mine all night? I know I
wanted to tell you the plan.What plan? Sh keep it down.
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We're gonna rob that stupid queer.That's gonna be some real good fun.
No, now, come on beforehe gets nervous. Sunset's pretty. Michael
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and Lance took a seat, andI would like to imagine that the three
enjoyed a spectacular view. Michael periodicallyfished into his pocket, checking that the
knife was still there. Finally,he looked over at Lance and nodded,
well, kid, let's get going. Oh sure. As they were part
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way back to Gordon's car, Michaelunsheathed his knife and jabbed it into Gordon's
neck to serve as a warning.All right, fruitcake, how much money
you got in your pocket? Sonof a bitch? Probably expecting something shady
like this, Gordon pushed the largerman off and sprinted. What he couldn't
account for was how quick Lance andhis horrendous mullet were. The blonde shoved
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Gordon to the ground, which crackedhis jaw handbroke his elbow. Michael was
on top of Gordon in a flashand cut an X into the front of
his throat. Not the best idea, Now I'm pissed off. What did
you think Lance? Should I makehim feel like the little bitch he's Without
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waiting for an answer, Michael rippedGordon's pants down to his ankle before unzipping
his own. Please, my shoulder, my leg, They at least she's
a rubber stray down queer. Heshoved Gordon over the hood of the car
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before ripping open the condom and forcinghimself inside of Gordon's rectum. You like
that, don't ja? I betyou do. You looking queer, and
you're not gonna tell a soul aboutthis, because if you do lancing me
an, fuck your mom before killingher, and you're dead. Michael paused
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for a second, turning to Lancewith a smile. You want any Lance
raised an eyebrow, slightly concerned bythe question, then shook his head no
and turned to get back into thecar. I don't want no part of
this. Let me just pause asecond. This is the story, according
to Lance, but I shall seethroughout this chapter the tale varies depends on
(15:00):
who you ask. Let's rewind.Okay, Gordon's over the hood of the
car, pants down and likely gushingblood from his neck, and Michael's cracking
his knuckles before un zipping his fly. Now, I'm pissed off. Will
you think? Should I make youfeel like the little bitch you are?
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Yeah, it's your game. Doit to me, but I want you
to use a condom. Gordon fishedthe plastic package from his jacket and handed
it back to Michael, who slippedit on. Never done anna before,
might feel nice, According to Michael. He thrust inside of Gordon once,
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but then no, I'll get offon getting down on guys. Sorry,
man, too weird. Michael shovedGordon onto the hood again as he pushed
out and snapped off the condom,discarding it into nature for some poor woodland
creature to choke on later. SinceI wasn't there, I can't say which.
If either of these versions is real, I'm inclined to side with police
(16:10):
on it. There is no wayGordon would have asked to have sex with
Michael, let alone want to.His throat had a nasty gash and his
arm was broken. For God's sake, I don't think sex was anywhere close
to the forefront of his mind.My guesses Michael wanted to belittle Gordon,
so he forced his pants down andraped him. Can we please go back
(16:33):
to town now? I promise Iwon't breathe a word of this to anyone.
I just need to get to ahospital. He'll no see what this
faggot has in his trunk. Lotsof junk. But what are we rabbit?
All Lance hauled over tire chains andjumper cables, asked. Michael's eyes
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lit up. Gordon was too brokento move. He may have tried to
fight back, but his small framewasn't enough to handle Michael, who tied
him up. With Lance's help,they dumped Gordon into his own car.
Trump now don't get no smart ideaslike punching out the tail lights to wave
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down for help. And ain't gonnado nothing besides piss me off. More?
What are we gonna do to him? Now? Dump him in Dog
Valley? If anyone finds him,they'll think he was drunk and drove off
the road. I don't know aboutthis. If you're sending the car over
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the edge, what if he don'tdie and crawls back to get help,
crawls back, dipshit, He'll bleedout before that can happen. Besides,
I got a few more games Iwant to play with this little fagin were
games, Jesus Christ, I can'texplain every thing to you. Now shut
up and do what I say.God, you're tripping. Put on the
(18:07):
radio and chill. Dog Valley wasroughly eighty miles away, and poor Gordon
had to endure that whole hour anda half road trip trapped in the trunk
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of his own vehicle. He wasbeaten, sexually abused, and shivering.
Can you imagine being in his shoes? And on top of it all,
you know that these two goons aregoing to kill you when they get wherever
they're planning to drag you. Youcan't call for help, You're too weak
to do anything, and after allof the events of the last hour,
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you're probably too shaking up to eventhink straight. And the worst part,
like me, and was claustrophobic.His mother later said that he avoided elevators,
opting for stairs so he didn't feeltrapped. My heart breaks for dear
Gordon as I envisioned that terrible drive. Lance into Michael, dragged Gordon's still
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conscious body from the trunk and lethim fall into the dirt. Hold him
here while I get those jumper cables. Lance laughed nastily as he leaned into
Gordon's face. Hear that, princess, we got more games to play.
(20:00):
Shut up, Lance, Now turnhim over and put these on his balls.
Just do it. Lance shrugged andtook the cables from Michael, gently
pinching the ends open and shut,as if he was checking to make sure
they still worked. Then, witha slight giggle of triumph, he attached
the ends to Gordon's testicles while Michaelslowly walked back to the car. Make
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sure you ain't touching him. Lancekicked the side of Gordon's skull a few
times, for good measure before Michaelstarted the engine. The electrical currents quickly
flowed from the battery and into Gordon, causing his body to twitch and discomfort
as the current hit Our purps enjoyedwatching Gordon's pain before Michael finally decided to
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switch off the car. Did thatwake you up, bitch? It was
as if a wild animal had beenunleashed. Michael pulled to jack from the
trunk of the car and ran overto Gordon, holding the man's head in
place with his foot and then swingingthe jack as though it were a croquet
mallet and Gordon's head was the ball. He bashed towards beautiful face, over
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and over, grunting like before asthe blood splattered around him. Is he
dead? Of course he's dead,idiot? You think you'd survive that?
I just wanted to make sure.Hey, what are you doing with that
tire? Iron man? I thoughthe might enjoy getting fucked again on his
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way to Hell. Unapologetically shoved thetool into Gordon's exposed rectum, pushing it
harder and harder until he couldn't anymore. The damage was so severe that it
pierced Gordon's liver. Now It mayhave been Michael who saw it him my
sweet Gordon, or it could havebeen Lance, as I had just depicted.
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It just depends on which of theseship bags you ask, But there
is no doubt that they did thisthen, as if Gordon was nothing more
than trash. They tugged his lifelessbody up a small hill, tossed him
into a ditch, and covered himwith tree branches. Hold up, he's
got a nice watch. Wouldn't mindhaving me one of those? I'll take
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the wallet. Maybe his mommy anddaddy were rich, all right, All
right, let's go. Come on, it's freezing up here. Hey lady,
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this ain't going to be more thanmy five bucks, right, but
two whole outfits probably not? Oh, you got some stuff on your pants.
Michael and Lance followed the concerned thriftstore cashier's pointed finger down to their
bloody clothes. Oh that yeah,was out hunting rabbits last night. Did
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pretty well, made a mess ofourselves. Yeah, that's why we won
all these ugly clothes. It's allit's all that fits. But we need
to get this blood off. Andthank you, chatty. This chick don't
want to hear our life stories.Shore. Don't seven bucks, here's a
ten. Keep the change we canchange in here, right, sure,
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Just don't leave those bloody clothes inthere. I don't get paid enough to
clean up your mess. Don't worryabout that. Wearing a new set of
duds, the guys sped back home, dumping their bloody outfits in a drainage
ditch. As they went back intheir own neighborhood. Michael drop Gordon's car
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in of all places, his ownbrother's apartments parking lot, and then headed
for his parents' house. All right, just be cool. My pants like
it when I visit. So Mikey, good morning, son. This is
quite a surprise. And who's thismy roommate. Dad will remember? Hi?
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You, sir? Well, don'tjust stand there, Come on inside
your mom and I just scrambled upsome eggs, and we got plenty more
we can make. Honey, honey, Mikey's here. We'll scramble up at
least three eggs each for these boys. And Michael sit down right here and
tell me how you've been good,Dad, Just good. I just wanted
to grab something out of my room. Then Lance and I gotta go back
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home early, ship to work.Oh, you're such a good kid.
Ain't he a good kid? Withher back turned to them, Michael's mother
nodded as she cracked another egg intothe frying pans. What are we doing?
I'm putting that queer as watched outhere. Then we're gonna eat the
eggs and split. I want togo fuck Paula before that dude's ass stinks
up my dick. Oh and ifyou tell Paula I fucked a guy,
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I swear I'll do everything we didto him to you. I get it.
I ain't gonna say a word.Good Now, let's get back up
there. I'm starving. After enjoyinga nice breakfast with the fam, Lance
dropped Michael off at their apartment sohe could have sex with his girlfriend,
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and then headed back to where thewhole crime started. Seven eleven. The
wheels in Lance's mind were turning ashis hand fumbled over Gordon's wallet. He
checked over his shoulder and waited fora young couple to enter the convenience store
before dumping Gordon's empty wallet into atrash care. He sighed, believed to
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be rid of the evidence, andthen lifted the pay phone from its receiver.
He slid a few coins into theslot, dialed a number he knew.
My heart had waited impatiently as itrang. This is John, John,
it's Lance. Did you break anotherparole violation? Jesus, kid,
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you're one of the worst I've beenstuck with. You know that? Hi,
Yanna, shut up, John,I got something real important to tell
you, and you gotta listen.Okay, you gotta come get me.
Man, I just saw some guykill another guy. Our story continues in
(26:30):
a moment. Now back to thestory. So we was sorry, m
so we was right up here.Lance stood in the brightly lit yet freezing
(26:52):
cold Dog Valley with his parole officerJohn Grath, Attorney Scott Burns, and
Sheriff Robert Decker. Our mulletted murderercasually walked to the men over to the
makeshift grave, where Sheriff Decker kneltdown. He brushed the twigs and branches
aside to reveal the battered body ofGordon. His eyes squinted shut. Oh
(27:15):
crap, I do know this kid. How's that? Oh damn? Said
Scott as he took in the gruesomesight for the first time. His family's
really involved in our church. PoorNancy, I'll have to call the deputy
and to have him tell her hethere's a few doors down from them.
No, son, you're gonna haveto walk us through this thing from start
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to finish. Sure. Lance almostgrinned at the thought of recreating the night
they started a camera and he beganwalking them through the crime from start to
finish. So we got here naked, and says you're gonna kill me,
are you? And Michael says,no, you are not going to kill
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you. Sorry, man, butmind if I smoke. I've been aching
for a cigarette since we left town. Robert and Scott exchanged a quick look
without Lance registering, don't see whynot? So Michael killed Gordon? Yep?
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And you was just in the carthe whole time, that's right.
Did Michael say why he killed Gordonbecause he was a queer? Lance,
why don't you take a seat inthe cruiser for a minute while Scott and
me have a talk. Well,what do you think? I think?
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The kid's a damn liar. He'sbeen grinning the whole time, proud of
himself. If I witnessed a murderless than a day ago, I'd be
shaking and nauseous. And hardly ableto think, what about you? He's
not telling us the whole story.There's a chunk of hair wrapped around his
shoelace. And if I was abetting man, I put down money that
it was Gordon's. And you noticethat streak of red on them pearly white
(29:12):
shoes. Sure did. I wasleaning towards believing a story until I noticed
that while we were interrogating him atthe station. He's not just an innocent
bystander. M We're gonna arrest thisboy so he can't run away, whether
he's guilty or not, and we'llgive this Michael Archiletta a nice wake up
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call to what the fuck? Whothe hell are you? Michael Archiletta,
you are under arrest for the murderof Gordon Church. Put your hands up
where I can see them now.Michael and Lance were both in police custody
just a day or two after themurder. Oh and Gordon's car and watch
(30:00):
were recovered relatively quickly too, becauseMichael did such a great job of hiding
them. Yeah, they knew Homeboywas guilty as sin. Michael and Lance
would each have separate trials for Gordon'smurder, with Michael's happening first in December
of nineteen eighty nine. To behonest, I don't feel the need to
go into detail about this. Itwas clear from the start that he was
(30:23):
guilty. There was some talk ofchildhood trauma, but I won't glorify this
goof's backstory. After forty witnesses andabout three hundred pieces of evidence, the
jury deliberated for eight hours before announcingat five ten pm on December fifteenth that
Michael Archiletta was guilty of capital homicideand torture slaying. Five days later,
(30:47):
he was sentenced to death. Afew months later, in March of nineteen
ninety, it was time to seewhat fate would befall Lance would like his
partner in crime. Lance was foundguilty, but when it came time for
his sentencing, the defense team hada few tricks up their sleeves. During
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the penalty phase of the trial,Edward Wood, Lance's adopted father, took
the stand with watery red eyes.I'm sorry, excuse me. My boy
is a good kid. He mighthave been a little hyperactive, and he
(31:33):
dropped out of high school, butby golly, did he work hard.
He did the best he could inschool. The spot his speech and learning
problems. Lance's flower was being easilyinfluenced by other kids, and he hung
out with the wrong crowd in highschool, and that's why he did things
(31:55):
like steel motorcycle. My boy canmake something of his life if he gets
rehabilitation. It was Michael that madehim do something real awful that nut.
But if he's kept away from thosekinds of people, I know it'll be
a good boy again. When everybodyhad said their peace and Lance's crocodile tears
(32:22):
were dried up, the jury deliberatedfor three hours before realizing they could not
unanimously decide on death. As we'velearned from this show, if you can't
decide unanimously, the sentence defaults tolife in prison, which is where Lance
would resides to this day. Afterboth these trials, though we still don't
(32:45):
know the entire story, Michael blamedLance at his trial, and Lance blamed
Michael at his My guess is bothare at fault, but will never take
the blame. Obviously, though thejury chose to leave Lance's version of events
over Michaels, some people over theyears speculated that this was because Michael quote
(33:07):
unquote fit the mold of a killerbecause he was Hispanic, and, despite
his best efforts to hide them,had visible prison tattoos on his neck.
Lance, on the other hand,was a good white Mormon boy. He
couldn't possibly have murdered someone bad enoughto deserve death. Right. Did race
(33:28):
play a part in their sentencing?I can't say for sure, but I
truly would not be surprised. Asthe years turned into decades, Michael Archiletta
has remained alive and to this day, in twenty twenty two, continues the
fight to appeal his death sentence.He is cited incompetent lawyers and intellectual disability,
(33:49):
Lance testifying from prison that he wasthe one to blame, truly anything
to avoid the firing squad. Itdoesn't seem like the judges will ever take
his claims to heart, though,and he will either finally be executed or
die of natural causes behind bars.Lance, on the other hand, seems
to be enjoying prison life. Shemiss a maca, please, mister Wood,
(34:30):
my name is Renee Ckenzie. Youmay call me missus McKenzie or Renee,
but not cute little names like MissAmerica. Ah. Yes, Renee
McKenzie. This blonde came into Lance'slife in twenty twelve as a legal assistant
for a case against Sandra de Martin. But I'll let these two explain that.
Missus McKenzie, Oh, you're stillmarried to that old goat. My
(34:53):
husband is not old, mister Wood, he's a senator. Senators are old.
We are not here to discuss mymarriage. We're here to talk more
about your case against Sandra de Martin. There's a trial scheduled for December and
ninety to know more of the details. Well, sure, sugar, what
(35:14):
do you want to know? Itis my understanding that you had a special
relationship with miss d Martin. Thisbegan in two thousand and two. Yes,
ah, you're right so far,baby. Don You touched her and
kissed her, But she says younever consummated this relationship. She wishes we
would have. But I wouldn't havebeen able to fuck a prison guard even
(35:36):
if I wanted to. Oh,yes, I forgot she worked for the
prison. Mister. Would you havea habit of flirting with prison staff.
I'm a lonely boy, miss McKenzie. I long to be loved again,
But Sandy fuck that up. Royallywhen she failed to mention she had a
(35:57):
husband. She was going home too. I'm a good Mormon boy. I
don't commit adultery, and you toldthat to missus De Martine. Of course
I did, but instead of admittingit, she'd reach down my pants and
start to rub him, telling mehow much she wanted me. It was
just to distract me from the truth. So when I reported her for sexual
(36:22):
harassment, they transferred me out ofthat prison and pretended like her raping me
was okay. You think she rapedyou? She did. She jerked my
cock without consent. Consent something hedidn't have when sodomizing Gordon in nineteen eighty
eight. Interesting and might not say. The district court said this relationship was
(36:46):
consensual. Lucky for you, ourNinth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided the
power dynamics between prisoners and guards makeit difficult to discern consent from coercion,
which brings me here to fight thelower courts to convince them that it was
not consensual sex. We are youpaying attention, mister Wood? Oh,
It's hard to pay attention when themost beautiful woman in the world sitting across
(37:12):
from me at all I can pictureis her being married to a stuffy old
senator. Renee was at a lossfor words, but something about this murderer
made her heart flutter. She returnedto visit Lance over and over and at
the prison, thinking that it wasstrictly business, stopped monitoring the visits,
(37:35):
and then on February five, twentythirteen, a letter arrived, legal mail.
Hey look all this envelope says islegal mail. I wonder it was
returned to sender Lance. Would heysee what Lance had to say? Sweepy,
(38:04):
my cock stands at attention every nightthinking about you touch it with your
soft hands and warm lips. JesusChrist. Did the bosses know little miss
Renee's tempting a prisoner? They didnot, and Renee was soon barred from
seeing her lover boy until an investigationcould be opened. Long story even longer,
the two had fallen in love.Renee divorced her husband in November twenty
(38:29):
thirteen, then changed her last nameto Wood an anticipation of a marriage to
a man she knew had committed aheinous murder and was stuck for life in
prison. What a crazy I'm notcrazy. I was just lonely in a
twenty year marriage. I can't helpwho I fall in love with words missus.
Renee Wood has said in interviews solidShe married her prince Charming in early
(38:54):
twenty fifteen, and in March ofthat same year, filed a civil rights
action against Idaho prison officials because thosefolks had allegedly harassed her and Lance after
they tried to uncover corruption in theprison. On August thirteenth, twenty twenty,
their case was dismissed. I guessthey're still happily married, even though
(39:16):
Lance forgot her name for a momentduring the documentary Dog Valley. But it's
fine. They're in love. Lancehas admitted that he was never fully truthful
about what occurred that cold November nightwith anybody except Renee, who probably still
(39:39):
didn't get the full story. Butwhatever. Enjoy ted Bundy, sweetie.
I consider Lance and Michael to bekind of like Tanya Harding, like our
figure skater. The boys stories havechanged so much over the years that I
don't even think they know the realversion anymore. But enough about that.
(40:00):
Two slabs. Jesse Dulce, whoyou might remember dated Gordon, was also
interviewed for the Dog Valley documentary andexpressed a desire to have the victim's story
told instead of the killers, soon an uplifting note. Because of Gordon's
story and others like it, Utahpassed SP one O three in April of
(40:21):
twenty nineteen. This bill officially recognizedhate crime laws in the state, if
I understand it correctly. Before this, the laws were really watery, so
nothing could be considered a hate crime. It seems that Gordon's story coming to
light in twenty sixteen really helped pushthis legislation forward. Like Jesse, I
(40:42):
too want Gordon's story to be heard, since over the years it kind of
vanished. I think that this wasin part because his family was so heavily
involved with the Mormon Church, andthey may have been ashamed that their son
was gay and died the way hedid. Can't speak for them, of
course, and so few quotes existfor David and Nancy Church, making it
(41:04):
hard for me to get a feelfor who they really are. But we
do know that there was a manwho kept a special place in his heart
for Gordon. So for the moment, let's go back to that airstream trailer.
But as it's Sweetie, just lookat all those stars, millions,
(41:30):
millions of them. I wish wecould live in this moment forever, just
you and me, me too.But Jesse, look at me. You
don't have to worry about those mainpeople or anything else. Okay. I
won't let anything hurt you as longas I'm here. You're safe, Okay,
(41:57):
Any and Gordon, uh huh,It's gonna be okay. And just
look up at those stars and drinkin their peace. It's going to be
okay. Was written and narrated byme Skyler Faston Now Jones and executive produced
(42:22):
by Daniel Faston Now Jones. Voicetalent was provided by Jeremy Staple, Jeanette
Zosh, Jordan Catcher, Crystal Mosley, Kayla Esmond, Katrina, Marie Junez,
and Daniel Faston Now Jones. Ourtheme music was written and performed by
Tracy Zailes, with editing and sounddesign by Jordan Catcher. Thank you for
joining us for another chapter of theoriginal Deadtime Stories. If you enjoyed our
(42:45):
show, please leave us a fivestar review wherever you're listening. It helps
others find us and make sure thatwe don't do bad things to ourselves,
like growing out a mullet to beour ultimate fan. Check out patreon dot
com slash og Deadtime, where youcan get early access to episodes totally ad
free, or a behind the sceneslook at select stories. Our subscribers will
(43:08):
get an exclusive chat with me wherethey can learn more about Michael Archiletta's childhood
and what Lance's ex girlfriend had tosay about his new wife. So check
it out today. The link toPatreon, as well as our social media
accounts are in the episode description.Thank you for supporting independent artists. Our
(43:39):
Deadtime Stories Murderous road trip across Americacontinues next week to Arizona, where I
will continue pushing my gay agenda ontoyou. Until then, stay safe out
there. I don't want you tobecome the next chapter's topic. On the
original Deadtime Stories, This was alittle bit fast in our production.
A note to listeners before we begin. Today's story includes scenes of violence against
the LGBTQ plus community and sexual assault, which may be triggering to some audience
members. In addition, there arehomophobic slurs. These are for historical accuracy
and do not reflect mine, thecast or the crew's opinions. Listener discretion
(00:21):
is advised. Now, I knowI can't be the only one here who
(00:44):
fantasized about a dream date. Rightback in college when I was single,
as the last pringle, I usedto envision a romantic evening with a strong,
muscular, likely masculine man who drovea pickup truck. I was in
rural Ohio at the time. Okay, I had to be at least a
little realistic when it came to whathe drove. Plus a truck is crucial
(01:06):
to this fantasy. Moving on,we'd drive out into the woods for the
night, staring up at the stars, telling each other how much we loved
one another. As the campfire crackled. Nick my fantasy boyfriend's name was always
Nick, would then pull up ablanket and I'd fall asleep in his muscular
arms, without any wild life thereto eat me in my sleep or bite
(01:29):
the shit out of my legs,like those pesky mosquitos always seemed to do.
It would be paradise. I thinkI was really into this idea because
my grandmother once told me that sheand Paul had done that once and it
sounded really sweet. Reality, Iwould have hated it. Also, Let's
be real, this version of Nickwould have never come close to being as
(01:52):
wonderful as my real husband is.Love you, poopoo. This dream date,
though, isn't too far off fromwhat a man named Jesse found to
be his ideal date with a mannamed Gordon. Picture it. Jesse and
Gordon were in that beautiful point ofa young romance where you feel love for
(02:13):
the first time. Gordon, beinga twenty eight year old college student finally
free of the control of his religiousMormon parents, lays in an airstream trailer
with Jesse. He had likely nevercuddled another man before. For Jesse,
it was certainly an exciting new thing. He snuggled closer to Gordon, running
his hand through the guy's fluffy brownhair and smiling as Gordon in turn kissed
(02:37):
his forehead. This is a firstfor me, you know. It's blaying
here with you. Gordon. Itmakes me never want to leave my house
again. Same, sweetie. Justlook at all the stars, lands and
(03:00):
nuns of them. I wish wecould be up there, away from all
of this, away from all thestairs and hatred and gay cancer. AIDS
call it AIDS. Don't give thempower over it all right, But Jesse,
you don't have to worry about thosepeople, or AIDS or anything else.
(03:24):
I won't let anything hurt you aslong as I'm here. You're safe,
Okay, honey. Now look upat those stars and just soak in
their peace. Welcome to the originalDeadtime Stories, a podcast where I Skyler
(03:53):
Faston now Jones go beyond the crimeto investigate human psychology and history. Maybe
we don't make the same mistakes ofour ancestors. If you're a fan of
the show and you'll want to supportus, check out Patreon dot com slash
og Deadtime. We'll begin our nextchapter after these brief messages, and now
(04:41):
on with the show. Imagine thestudent center on Southern Utah University's campus.
Back in November of nineteen eighty eight. This was Southern Utah State College and
Gordon ray Church was here to studytheater tech born in September fourteenth, nineteen
sixty. Gordon was a late bloomerwhen it came to attending college, but
this could be due to the factthat he grew up in an extremely religious
(05:04):
Latter Day Saint household. Gordon's friendssay his family was mostly supportive of his
studies, even if they weren't alltoo friendly with the friends he made while
doing said studies. These types offriends weren't raging alcoholics, or drug dealers,
or any type of people that myfamily would have been worried about me
befriending. Gordon's friends were people whosupported his lifestyle choices, asked, my
(05:29):
mother would call it. You know, people who are allies of the LGBTQ
plus community, people like Kathy Long. Hey, Gordon got you a coffee,
thanks Dall, and in return,I'll give you one of my mall
bros. I'm glad you know Ican't start my day without his sig and
(05:50):
a coffee. What can I say? I know my girls, well,
so enough chit chat, Let's discussthis final dinner party. Yes, so
the guys were thinking that we couldmeet up at their place, have a
drink or whatever, and then goto the restaurant. I think they're going
to make reservations. I don't know. Have to check that. Then we'll
(06:12):
celebrate and be grudgedly go home forThanksgiving break. Sounds like a plan,
a crude class. I'll see youtonight though, okay, Yes, and
don't be late, Kathy. Youknow I'm never late. To save money
on housing, Gordon lived with hisgrandmother. His family loved this arrangement because
(06:34):
it helped their son keep frugal whilealso ensuring that someone was present to take
care of the elderly woman. Well, Grandma, I'm all packed. I'll
see you at Mass Thanksgiving dinner though, okay, And if a snowstorm blows
in, I'll run back and shovelyou out so we can all be together.
Thank you, sweetheart, you're sucha good boy. Thanks Grandma.
(06:54):
I gotta make a quick call andthen i'll be out of your way so
all those handsome young men can comeover. Oh, Grandma, chuckled,
asked. Grandson winked and grabbed thephone. Hello, Hey, Kathy,
it's me. I need to getsome six from the seven to eleven.
(07:16):
It's on the way, but Imight be a few minutes late. JOI
was hanging, so I won't Ipromise. Hey, Gordon, are you
here for your nightly diet coke?Not to night Bertie. Just a pack
of Marlboro's please. You got it, Hey, buddy, If you're not
(07:38):
gonna buy anything, you gotta leave. A younger guy in his early twenties
with an atrocious mullet lazily peered overat the cashier from his post at the
beer cooler, just leaving punk weirdanyways, a buck fifteen, Gordon,
(08:03):
Thanks, see you next time,asked Gordon, inhaled those lovely chemicals.
Mullet boy locked eyes. Gott alight for my buddy. Yeah, um,
(08:24):
let's see here. Thanks, I'mLance. That's my man, Michael.
Hi. So it's a nice night. So we was thinking about driving
through town. Maybe head up toPussy Hollow, see where things go.
(08:50):
Gordon couldn't help but notice the mischievoussmile on mullet boy slash Lance's face as
he reached down to hike up hisjeans high enough to reveal a moose knuckle.
You can come if you want.I have to meet some friends.
But but psy Hollow so much funnerwith three yeah, and with you and
(09:13):
us we'd have three, all right, I'm game, come on. Later,
(09:41):
testimony states that Gordon willingly led Michaeland Lance into his white Ford Thunderbird,
though I'm not sure if I believethat the three guys drove down the
main stretch of road, all fiveminutes of it. Yes, some of
Gordon's friends say. At one point, Lance rolled on his window. Hey,
hey, here's a good one.Whoa look it? God girl,
(10:07):
come out, so doat of thescrew off next time? Honey, that's
Lance rolled the window back up.Gordon nervously pulled a strand of his longer
hair behind his ear. She waspretty. Huh yeah, man, what
did you think sexy? I guessso guess so come on, she's one
(10:33):
of the hottest girls in this shittown. I honestly wouldn't know. I'm
gay. Lance gave Michael a knowingglance as he leaned forward and robbed Gordon's
shoulder. We know that, Champ. That's why we asked you up to
Pussy Hollow. Now, why don'twe blow out of town. He can
(11:00):
be there for sunsets. Yeah,the three of us could have a real
good time. Gordon nodded and willinglydrove on ahead. Now. The stories
make it out to seem like hehad no fear of Michael or Lance.
(11:20):
But again, I'm not so sureabout that though. I am an omniscient
narrator, so I know that thesetwo dudes were fresh out of jail on
parole. Had Gordon known that,he may not have been so keen to
drive out of town and into themountains. Oh shit, I'll leave my
(11:52):
cigarette back in town. Michael feltup his jacket pockets and shook his head.
You go on up, but we'llmeet you in a few seconds.
Okay, what cigarettes? You've beenusing mine all night? I know I
wanted to tell you the plan.What plan? Sh keep it down.
(12:18):
We're gonna rob that stupid queer.That's gonna be some real good fun.
No, now, come on beforehe gets nervous. Sunset's pretty. Michael
(12:41):
and Lance took a seat, andI would like to imagine that the three
enjoyed a spectacular view. Michael periodicallyfished into his pocket, checking that the
knife was still there. Finally,he looked over at Lance and nodded,
well, kid, let's get going. Oh sure. As they were part
(13:09):
way back to Gordon's car, Michaelunsheathed his knife and jabbed it into Gordon's
neck to serve as a warning.All right, fruitcake, how much money
you got in your pocket? Sonof a bitch? Probably expecting something shady
like this, Gordon pushed the largerman off and sprinted. What he couldn't
account for was how quick Lance andhis horrendous mullet were. The blonde shoved
(13:33):
Gordon to the ground, which crackedhis jaw handbroke his elbow. Michael was
on top of Gordon in a flashand cut an X into the front of
his throat. Not the best idea, Now I'm pissed off. What did
you think Lance? Should I makehim feel like the little bitch he's Without
(13:56):
waiting for an answer, Michael rippedGordon's pants down to his ankle before unzipping
his own. Please, my shoulder, my leg, They at least she's
a rubber stray down queer. Heshoved Gordon over the hood of the car
(14:16):
before ripping open the condom and forcinghimself inside of Gordon's rectum. You like
that, don't ja? I betyou do. You looking queer, and
you're not gonna tell a soul aboutthis, because if you do lancing me
an, fuck your mom before killingher, and you're dead. Michael paused
(14:37):
for a second, turning to Lancewith a smile. You want any Lance
raised an eyebrow, slightly concerned bythe question, then shook his head no
and turned to get back into thecar. I don't want no part of
this. Let me just pause asecond. This is the story, according
to Lance, but I shall seethroughout this chapter the tale varies depends on
(15:00):
who you ask. Let's rewind.Okay, Gordon's over the hood of the
car, pants down and likely gushingblood from his neck, and Michael's cracking
his knuckles before un zipping his fly. Now, I'm pissed off. Will
you think? Should I make youfeel like the little bitch you are?
(15:26):
Yeah, it's your game. Doit to me, but I want you
to use a condom. Gordon fishedthe plastic package from his jacket and handed
it back to Michael, who slippedit on. Never done anna before,
might feel nice, According to Michael. He thrust inside of Gordon once,
(15:46):
but then no, I'll get offon getting down on guys. Sorry,
man, too weird. Michael shovedGordon onto the hood again as he pushed
out and snapped off the condom,discarding it into nature for some poor woodland
creature to choke on later. SinceI wasn't there, I can't say which.
If either of these versions is real, I'm inclined to side with police
(16:10):
on it. There is no wayGordon would have asked to have sex with
Michael, let alone want to.His throat had a nasty gash and his
arm was broken. For God's sake, I don't think sex was anywhere close
to the forefront of his mind.My guesses Michael wanted to belittle Gordon,
so he forced his pants down andraped him. Can we please go back
(16:33):
to town now? I promise Iwon't breathe a word of this to anyone.
I just need to get to ahospital. He'll no see what this
faggot has in his trunk. Lotsof junk. But what are we rabbit?
All Lance hauled over tire chains andjumper cables, asked. Michael's eyes
(16:56):
lit up. Gordon was too brokento move. He may have tried to
fight back, but his small framewasn't enough to handle Michael, who tied
him up. With Lance's help,they dumped Gordon into his own car.
Trump now don't get no smart ideaslike punching out the tail lights to wave
(17:17):
down for help. And ain't gonnado nothing besides piss me off. More?
What are we gonna do to him? Now? Dump him in Dog
Valley? If anyone finds him,they'll think he was drunk and drove off
the road. I don't know aboutthis. If you're sending the car over
(17:42):
the edge, what if he don'tdie and crawls back to get help,
crawls back, dipshit, He'll bleedout before that can happen. Besides,
I got a few more games Iwant to play with this little fagin were
games, Jesus Christ, I can'texplain every thing to you. Now shut
up and do what I say.God, you're tripping. Put on the
(18:07):
radio and chill. Dog Valley wasroughly eighty miles away, and poor Gordon
had to endure that whole hour anda half road trip trapped in the trunk
(18:30):
of his own vehicle. He wasbeaten, sexually abused, and shivering.
Can you imagine being in his shoes? And on top of it all,
you know that these two goons aregoing to kill you when they get wherever
they're planning to drag you. Youcan't call for help, You're too weak
to do anything, and after allof the events of the last hour,
(18:52):
you're probably too shaking up to eventhink straight. And the worst part,
like me, and was claustrophobic.His mother later said that he avoided elevators,
opting for stairs so he didn't feeltrapped. My heart breaks for dear
Gordon as I envisioned that terrible drive. Lance into Michael, dragged Gordon's still
(19:38):
conscious body from the trunk and lethim fall into the dirt. Hold him
here while I get those jumper cables. Lance laughed nastily as he leaned into
Gordon's face. Hear that, princess, we got more games to play.
(20:00):
Shut up, Lance, Now turnhim over and put these on his balls.
Just do it. Lance shrugged andtook the cables from Michael, gently
pinching the ends open and shut,as if he was checking to make sure
they still worked. Then, witha slight giggle of triumph, he attached
the ends to Gordon's testicles while Michaelslowly walked back to the car. Make
(20:26):
sure you ain't touching him. Lancekicked the side of Gordon's skull a few
times, for good measure before Michaelstarted the engine. The electrical currents quickly
flowed from the battery and into Gordon, causing his body to twitch and discomfort
as the current hit Our purps enjoyedwatching Gordon's pain before Michael finally decided to
(20:51):
switch off the car. Did thatwake you up, bitch? It was
as if a wild animal had beenunleashed. Michael pulled to jack from the
trunk of the car and ran overto Gordon, holding the man's head in
place with his foot and then swingingthe jack as though it were a croquet
mallet and Gordon's head was the ball. He bashed towards beautiful face, over
(21:14):
and over, grunting like before asthe blood splattered around him. Is he
dead? Of course he's dead,idiot? You think you'd survive that?
I just wanted to make sure.Hey, what are you doing with that
tire? Iron man? I thoughthe might enjoy getting fucked again on his
(21:36):
way to Hell. Unapologetically shoved thetool into Gordon's exposed rectum, pushing it
harder and harder until he couldn't anymore. The damage was so severe that it
pierced Gordon's liver. Now It mayhave been Michael who saw it him my
sweet Gordon, or it could havebeen Lance, as I had just depicted.
(22:00):
It just depends on which of theseship bags you ask, But there
is no doubt that they did thisthen, as if Gordon was nothing more
than trash. They tugged his lifelessbody up a small hill, tossed him
into a ditch, and covered himwith tree branches. Hold up, he's
got a nice watch. Wouldn't mindhaving me one of those? I'll take
(22:23):
the wallet. Maybe his mommy anddaddy were rich, all right, All
right, let's go. Come on, it's freezing up here. Hey lady,
(22:45):
this ain't going to be more thanmy five bucks, right, but
two whole outfits probably not? Oh, you got some stuff on your pants.
Michael and Lance followed the concerned thriftstore cashier's pointed finger down to their
bloody clothes. Oh that yeah,was out hunting rabbits last night. Did
(23:07):
pretty well, made a mess ofourselves. Yeah, that's why we won
all these ugly clothes. It's allit's all that fits. But we need
to get this blood off. Andthank you, chatty. This chick don't
want to hear our life stories.Shore. Don't seven bucks, here's a
ten. Keep the change we canchange in here, right, sure,
(23:30):
Just don't leave those bloody clothes inthere. I don't get paid enough to
clean up your mess. Don't worryabout that. Wearing a new set of
duds, the guys sped back home, dumping their bloody outfits in a drainage
ditch. As they went back intheir own neighborhood. Michael drop Gordon's car
(23:51):
in of all places, his ownbrother's apartments parking lot, and then headed
for his parents' house. All right, just be cool. My pants like
it when I visit. So Mikey, good morning, son. This is
quite a surprise. And who's thismy roommate. Dad will remember? Hi?
(24:14):
You, sir? Well, don'tjust stand there, Come on inside
your mom and I just scrambled upsome eggs, and we got plenty more
we can make. Honey, honey, Mikey's here. We'll scramble up at
least three eggs each for these boys. And Michael sit down right here and
tell me how you've been good,Dad, Just good. I just wanted
to grab something out of my room. Then Lance and I gotta go back
(24:37):
home early, ship to work.Oh, you're such a good kid.
Ain't he a good kid? Withher back turned to them, Michael's mother
nodded as she cracked another egg intothe frying pans. What are we doing?
I'm putting that queer as watched outhere. Then we're gonna eat the
eggs and split. I want togo fuck Paula before that dude's ass stinks
up my dick. Oh and ifyou tell Paula I fucked a guy,
(25:03):
I swear I'll do everything we didto him to you. I get it.
I ain't gonna say a word.Good Now, let's get back up
there. I'm starving. After enjoyinga nice breakfast with the fam, Lance
dropped Michael off at their apartment sohe could have sex with his girlfriend,
(25:27):
and then headed back to where thewhole crime started. Seven eleven. The
wheels in Lance's mind were turning ashis hand fumbled over Gordon's wallet. He
checked over his shoulder and waited fora young couple to enter the convenience store
before dumping Gordon's empty wallet into atrash care. He sighed, believed to
(25:48):
be rid of the evidence, andthen lifted the pay phone from its receiver.
He slid a few coins into theslot, dialed a number he knew.
My heart had waited impatiently as itrang. This is John, John,
it's Lance. Did you break anotherparole violation? Jesus, kid,
(26:10):
you're one of the worst I've beenstuck with. You know that? Hi,
Yanna, shut up, John,I got something real important to tell
you, and you gotta listen.Okay, you gotta come get me.
Man, I just saw some guykill another guy. Our story continues in
(26:30):
a moment. Now back to thestory. So we was sorry, m
so we was right up here.Lance stood in the brightly lit yet freezing
(26:52):
cold Dog Valley with his parole officerJohn Grath, Attorney Scott Burns, and
Sheriff Robert Decker. Our mulletted murderercasually walked to the men over to the
makeshift grave, where Sheriff Decker kneltdown. He brushed the twigs and branches
aside to reveal the battered body ofGordon. His eyes squinted shut. Oh
(27:15):
crap, I do know this kid. How's that? Oh damn? Said
Scott as he took in the gruesomesight for the first time. His family's
really involved in our church. PoorNancy, I'll have to call the deputy
and to have him tell her hethere's a few doors down from them.
No, son, you're gonna haveto walk us through this thing from start
(27:38):
to finish. Sure. Lance almostgrinned at the thought of recreating the night
they started a camera and he beganwalking them through the crime from start to
finish. So we got here naked, and says you're gonna kill me,
are you? And Michael says,no, you are not going to kill
(28:00):
you. Sorry, man, butmind if I smoke. I've been aching
for a cigarette since we left town. Robert and Scott exchanged a quick look
without Lance registering, don't see whynot? So Michael killed Gordon? Yep?
(28:22):
And you was just in the carthe whole time, that's right.
Did Michael say why he killed Gordonbecause he was a queer? Lance,
why don't you take a seat inthe cruiser for a minute while Scott and
me have a talk. Well,what do you think? I think?
(28:48):
The kid's a damn liar. He'sbeen grinning the whole time, proud of
himself. If I witnessed a murderless than a day ago, I'd be
shaking and nauseous. And hardly ableto think, what about you? He's
not telling us the whole story.There's a chunk of hair wrapped around his
shoelace. And if I was abetting man, I put down money that
it was Gordon's. And you noticethat streak of red on them pearly white
(29:12):
shoes. Sure did. I wasleaning towards believing a story until I noticed
that while we were interrogating him atthe station. He's not just an innocent
bystander. M We're gonna arrest thisboy so he can't run away, whether
he's guilty or not, and we'llgive this Michael Archiletta a nice wake up
(29:34):
call to what the fuck? Whothe hell are you? Michael Archiletta,
you are under arrest for the murderof Gordon Church. Put your hands up
where I can see them now.Michael and Lance were both in police custody
just a day or two after themurder. Oh and Gordon's car and watch
(30:00):
were recovered relatively quickly too, becauseMichael did such a great job of hiding
them. Yeah, they knew Homeboywas guilty as sin. Michael and Lance
would each have separate trials for Gordon'smurder, with Michael's happening first in December
of nineteen eighty nine. To behonest, I don't feel the need to
go into detail about this. Itwas clear from the start that he was
(30:23):
guilty. There was some talk ofchildhood trauma, but I won't glorify this
goof's backstory. After forty witnesses andabout three hundred pieces of evidence, the
jury deliberated for eight hours before announcingat five ten pm on December fifteenth that
Michael Archiletta was guilty of capital homicideand torture slaying. Five days later,
(30:47):
he was sentenced to death. Afew months later, in March of nineteen
ninety, it was time to seewhat fate would befall Lance would like his
partner in crime. Lance was foundguilty, but when it came time for
his sentencing, the defense team hada few tricks up their sleeves. During
(31:10):
the penalty phase of the trial,Edward Wood, Lance's adopted father, took
the stand with watery red eyes.I'm sorry, excuse me. My boy
is a good kid. He mighthave been a little hyperactive, and he
(31:33):
dropped out of high school, butby golly, did he work hard.
He did the best he could inschool. The spot his speech and learning
problems. Lance's flower was being easilyinfluenced by other kids, and he hung
out with the wrong crowd in highschool, and that's why he did things
(31:55):
like steel motorcycle. My boy canmake something of his life if he gets
rehabilitation. It was Michael that madehim do something real awful that nut.
But if he's kept away from thosekinds of people, I know it'll be
a good boy again. When everybodyhad said their peace and Lance's crocodile tears
(32:22):
were dried up, the jury deliberatedfor three hours before realizing they could not
unanimously decide on death. As we'velearned from this show, if you can't
decide unanimously, the sentence defaults tolife in prison, which is where Lance
would resides to this day. Afterboth these trials, though we still don't
(32:45):
know the entire story, Michael blamedLance at his trial, and Lance blamed
Michael at his My guess is bothare at fault, but will never take
the blame. Obviously, though thejury chose to leave Lance's version of events
over Michaels, some people over theyears speculated that this was because Michael quote
(33:07):
unquote fit the mold of a killerbecause he was Hispanic, and, despite
his best efforts to hide them,had visible prison tattoos on his neck.
Lance, on the other hand,was a good white Mormon boy. He
couldn't possibly have murdered someone bad enoughto deserve death. Right. Did race
(33:28):
play a part in their sentencing?I can't say for sure, but I
truly would not be surprised. Asthe years turned into decades, Michael Archiletta
has remained alive and to this day, in twenty twenty two, continues the
fight to appeal his death sentence.He is cited incompetent lawyers and intellectual disability,
(33:49):
Lance testifying from prison that he wasthe one to blame, truly anything
to avoid the firing squad. Itdoesn't seem like the judges will ever take
his claims to heart, though,and he will either finally be executed or
die of natural causes behind bars.Lance, on the other hand, seems
to be enjoying prison life. Shemiss a maca, please, mister Wood,
(34:30):
my name is Renee Ckenzie. Youmay call me missus McKenzie or Renee,
but not cute little names like MissAmerica. Ah. Yes, Renee
McKenzie. This blonde came into Lance'slife in twenty twelve as a legal assistant
for a case against Sandra de Martin. But I'll let these two explain that.
Missus McKenzie, Oh, you're stillmarried to that old goat. My
(34:53):
husband is not old, mister Wood, he's a senator. Senators are old.
We are not here to discuss mymarriage. We're here to talk more
about your case against Sandra de Martin. There's a trial scheduled for December and
ninety to know more of the details. Well, sure, sugar, what
(35:14):
do you want to know? Itis my understanding that you had a special
relationship with miss d Martin. Thisbegan in two thousand and two. Yes,
ah, you're right so far,baby. Don You touched her and
kissed her, But she says younever consummated this relationship. She wishes we
would have. But I wouldn't havebeen able to fuck a prison guard even
(35:36):
if I wanted to. Oh,yes, I forgot she worked for the
prison. Mister. Would you havea habit of flirting with prison staff.
I'm a lonely boy, miss McKenzie. I long to be loved again,
But Sandy fuck that up. Royallywhen she failed to mention she had a
(35:57):
husband. She was going home too. I'm a good Mormon boy. I
don't commit adultery, and you toldthat to missus De Martine. Of course
I did, but instead of admittingit, she'd reach down my pants and
start to rub him, telling mehow much she wanted me. It was
just to distract me from the truth. So when I reported her for sexual
(36:22):
harassment, they transferred me out ofthat prison and pretended like her raping me
was okay. You think she rapedyou? She did. She jerked my
cock without consent. Consent something hedidn't have when sodomizing Gordon in nineteen eighty
eight. Interesting and might not say. The district court said this relationship was
(36:46):
consensual. Lucky for you, ourNinth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided the
power dynamics between prisoners and guards makeit difficult to discern consent from coercion,
which brings me here to fight thelower courts to convince them that it was
not consensual sex. We are youpaying attention, mister Wood? Oh,
It's hard to pay attention when themost beautiful woman in the world sitting across
(37:12):
from me at all I can pictureis her being married to a stuffy old
senator. Renee was at a lossfor words, but something about this murderer
made her heart flutter. She returnedto visit Lance over and over and at
the prison, thinking that it wasstrictly business, stopped monitoring the visits,
(37:35):
and then on February five, twentythirteen, a letter arrived, legal mail.
Hey look all this envelope says islegal mail. I wonder it was
returned to sender Lance. Would heysee what Lance had to say? Sweepy,
(38:04):
my cock stands at attention every nightthinking about you touch it with your
soft hands and warm lips. JesusChrist. Did the bosses know little miss
Renee's tempting a prisoner? They didnot, and Renee was soon barred from
seeing her lover boy until an investigationcould be opened. Long story even longer,
the two had fallen in love.Renee divorced her husband in November twenty
(38:29):
thirteen, then changed her last nameto Wood an anticipation of a marriage to
a man she knew had committed aheinous murder and was stuck for life in
prison. What a crazy I'm notcrazy. I was just lonely in a
twenty year marriage. I can't helpwho I fall in love with words missus.
Renee Wood has said in interviews solidShe married her prince Charming in early
(38:54):
twenty fifteen, and in March ofthat same year, filed a civil rights
action against Idaho prison officials because thosefolks had allegedly harassed her and Lance after
they tried to uncover corruption in theprison. On August thirteenth, twenty twenty,
their case was dismissed. I guessthey're still happily married, even though
(39:16):
Lance forgot her name for a momentduring the documentary Dog Valley. But it's
fine. They're in love. Lancehas admitted that he was never fully truthful
about what occurred that cold November nightwith anybody except Renee, who probably still
(39:39):
didn't get the full story. Butwhatever. Enjoy ted Bundy, sweetie.
I consider Lance and Michael to bekind of like Tanya Harding, like our
figure skater. The boys stories havechanged so much over the years that I
don't even think they know the realversion anymore. But enough about that.
(40:00):
Two slabs. Jesse Dulce, whoyou might remember dated Gordon, was also
interviewed for the Dog Valley documentary andexpressed a desire to have the victim's story
told instead of the killers, soon an uplifting note. Because of Gordon's
story and others like it, Utahpassed SP one O three in April of
(40:21):
twenty nineteen. This bill officially recognizedhate crime laws in the state, if
I understand it correctly. Before this, the laws were really watery, so
nothing could be considered a hate crime. It seems that Gordon's story coming to
light in twenty sixteen really helped pushthis legislation forward. Like Jesse, I
(40:42):
too want Gordon's story to be heard, since over the years it kind of
vanished. I think that this wasin part because his family was so heavily
involved with the Mormon Church, andthey may have been ashamed that their son
was gay and died the way hedid. Can't speak for them, of
course, and so few quotes existfor David and Nancy Church, making it
(41:04):
hard for me to get a feelfor who they really are. But we
do know that there was a manwho kept a special place in his heart
for Gordon. So for the moment, let's go back to that airstream trailer.
But as it's Sweetie, just lookat all those stars, millions,
(41:30):
millions of them. I wish wecould live in this moment forever, just
you and me, me too.But Jesse, look at me. You
don't have to worry about those mainpeople or anything else. Okay. I
won't let anything hurt you as longas I'm here. You're safe, Okay,
(41:57):
Any and Gordon, uh huh,It's gonna be okay. And just
look up at those stars and drinkin their peace. It's going to be
okay. Was written and narrated byme Skyler Faston Now Jones and executive produced
(42:22):
by Daniel Faston Now Jones. Voicetalent was provided by Jeremy Staple, Jeanette
Zosh, Jordan Catcher, Crystal Mosley, Kayla Esmond, Katrina, Marie Junez,
and Daniel Faston Now Jones. Ourtheme music was written and performed by
Tracy Zailes, with editing and sounddesign by Jordan Catcher. Thank you for
joining us for another chapter of theoriginal Deadtime Stories. If you enjoyed our
(42:45):
show, please leave us a fivestar review wherever you're listening. It helps
others find us and make sure thatwe don't do bad things to ourselves,
like growing out a mullet to beour ultimate fan. Check out patreon dot
com slash og Deadtime, where youcan get early access to episodes totally ad
free, or a behind the sceneslook at select stories. Our subscribers will
(43:08):
get an exclusive chat with me wherethey can learn more about Michael Archiletta's childhood
and what Lance's ex girlfriend had tosay about his new wife. So check
it out today. The link toPatreon, as well as our social media
accounts are in the episode description.Thank you for supporting independent artists. Our
(43:39):
Deadtime Stories Murderous road trip across Americacontinues next week to Arizona, where I
will continue pushing my gay agenda ontoyou. Until then, stay safe out
there. I don't want you tobecome the next chapter's topic. On the
original Deadtime Stories, This was alittle bit fast in our production.
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