Mike DeBardeleben (Part Three: Accomplices)

"I don't think she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I feel like someone was after her." On the morning of 18 April 2016, early-rising gymgoers began to arrive at the Creekside Church of Christ in Midlothian, Texas, a suburb on the southern outskirts of Dallas. There, inside the church, they expected to find their instructor, 45-year-old Missy Bevers.Bevers, a married mother of three, had woken up early and gotten to the church a little after 4:00 AM, well ahead of her fitness students. However, she couldn't have known that someone else had been inside that church for at least half an hour. Having donned dark police equipment from head-to-toe, this unknown subject seemingly waited for Missy to arrive...To see the footage of the unknown subject on the Midlothian Police Department's YouTube channel, please do so at the following link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUISKYJsJqwResearch, writing, hosting, and production by Micheal WhelanMusic composed and created by Micheal WhelanLearn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.meIf you would like to support this podcast, consider heading to https://www.patreon.com/unresolvedpod to become a Patron or ProducerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.

"None of this has a reasonable explanation. It's just mystery after mystery after mystery."Beginning in 2016, U.S. diplomats in Cuba began to report a wide range of symptoms, everything from nausea and headaches to permanent hearing loss and brain damage. These symptoms came upon suddenly, seemingly preceded by a strange high-frequency noise. Many believed they'd been attacked, and theories would surface ranging from a sonic device to weaponized energy beams.In the years since, some have disputed the very nature of these allegations, and others have theorized that the entire story is a widely-reported case of mass hysteria. Yet the telling of these "anomalous health incidents" has transformed from a strange medical mystery into a thrilling political whodunnit...Research, writing, hosting, and production by Micheal WhelanMusic composed and created by Micheal WhelanLearn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.meIf you would like to support this podcast, consider heading to https://www.patreon.com/unresolvedpod to become a Patron or ProducerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.

"That's when we found out our suicide victim was alive. It looks like he placed the body in the trailer to cover his disappearance."Early on the morning of 3 February 1994, authorities responded to a fire at a campground roughly thirty miles east of Las Vegas, Nevada. There, they discovered that a trailer had been set on fire, and the trailer's occupant - a Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps named Arthur Bennett - had seemingly perished in the flames.Years later, however, an arrest in southwestern Utah would cast doubt on the original assumption, when a man named "Joseph Benson" was arrested...Research, writing, hosting, and production by Micheal WhelanMusic composed and created by Micheal WhelanAdditional music includes "Unresolved Mysteries" by Ailsa Traves (podcast theme song, end credits)Learn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.meIf you would like to support this podcast, consider heading to https://www.patreon.com/unresolvedpod to become a Patron or ProducerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.

"I think this man's record and conviction do not fully apprise the court of this man's threat to society."Following his 1983 arrest, Mike DeBardeleben would stand trial for various offenses. First came a series of counterfeiting trials in Tennessee and North Carolina, which were then followed by a number of trials related to the violent crimes, abductions and assaults that DeBardeleben had carried out in Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. After receiving an almost-comical amount of time - 375 years plus two additional life sentences - DeBardeleben would slowly rot behind bars, before dying of pneumonia in January of 2011.Yet, despite so many of his secrets becoming known to the world, the mystery of Mike DeBardeleben's crime spree endures to this day...Research, writing, hosting, and production by Micheal WhelanMusic composed and created by Micheal WhelanAdditional music includes "Unresolved Mysteries" by Ailsa Traves (podcast theme song, end credits)Learn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.meIf you would like to support this podcast, consider heading to https://www.patreon.com/unresolvedpod to become a Patron or ProducerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.

"... Mike DeBardeleben is the best-documented sexual sadist since the Marquis de Sade. He's the one I used as the standard for all others."Awaiting trial for the litany of crimes he'd committed over several years, Mike DeBardeleben couldn't do anything as authorities continued to dig around in his background. They'd learned about all of his failures - his familial relationships, his schooling, his marriages, his business - but now began trying to figure out how that resulted in this career criminal, who stood accused of not just counterfeiting, but assault, rape, kidnapping, and murder.As investigators around the country began linking DeBardeleben to more than a dozen unsolved crimes, members of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit began analyzing the strange counterfeiter. What they learned was that this was not just a run-of-the-mill criminal. Rather, he was one of the most sadistic individuals they'd ever observed...Research, writing, hosting, and production by Micheal WhelanMusic composed and created by Micheal WhelanAdditional music includes "Unresolved Mysteries" by Ailsa Traves (podcast theme song, end credits)Learn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.meIf you would like to support this podcast, consider heading to https://www.patreon.com/unresolvedpod to become a Patron or ProducerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.

"I'll tell you what's going down. I had an ex-old lady who really pissed me off and f***ed me over. I just want to get back at women."After his arrest in May 1983, the Secret Service began looking into the background of 43-year-old Mike DeBardeleben to determine what he had been up to. Agents knew that the "Mall Passer" had been counterfeiting and distributing his own bogus $20 bills, but evidence indicated he had been up to much more than that over many years, stretching back to over a decade beforehand.As investigators nationwide began charting DeBardeleben's path through the country, they discovered that it happened to correlate with a number of other crimes. And coincidentally, Mike DeBardeleben managed to match suspect descriptions in not only unsolved rape cases, but even homicides...Research, writing, hosting, and production by Micheal WhelanMusic composed and created by Micheal WhelanAdditional music includes "Unresolved Mysteries" by Ailsa Traves (podcast theme song, end credits)Learn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.meIf you would like to support this podcast, consider heading to https://www.patreon.com/unresolvedpod to become a Patron or ProducerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.

"I feel that I have been unjustly tormented, degraded and shit upon by society... In order to regain an adequate self-image, I feel compelled to somehow restore my self-respect..."Shortly after his stint at Western State Hospital in Virginia, Mike DeBardeleben would begin a series of relationships with young women. All followed a series of repeated steps, centered around breaking down the women in question and making them dependent entirely upon Mike. This was usually accomplished through typical emotional abuser techniques, but also contained a significant element of physical and sexual abuse.Meanwhile, Mike's criminal behavior began to take shape in other troubling ways. First came simple schemes meant to take money from elderly women. After that came complex bank robberies. Then more violent crime followed. The women ensnared in Mike's life would become not only his wives, but also his captives. And in another sense, his accomplices...Research, writing, hosting, and production by Micheal WhelanMusic composed and created by Micheal WhelanAdditional music includes "Unresolved Mysteries" by Ailsa Traves (podcast theme song, end credits)Learn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.meIf you would like to support this podcast, consider heading to https://www.patreon.com/unresolvedpod to become a Patron or ProducerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.

"From an early age, I can recall wanting to please my parents but being frustrated by some of their unrealistic demands..."Following the end of the lengthy "Mall Passer" investigation, the Secret Service attempted to unlock the secrets of the man they'd arrested, 43-year-old Mike DeBardeleben. However, as they attempted to track down the machine he'd used to print his counterfeit bills, investigators ended up uncovering evidence of even more heinous crimes.As they learned more about the man they'd arrested, federal agents discovered that there had been ample warning signs for years. Dating back to his childhood, DeBardeleben had been abused and neglected by both of his parents, and had grown up in an environment that left him (and his siblings) emotionally scarred. In adulthood, he'd even been diagnosed as sociopathic and antisocial...Research, writing, hosting, and production by Micheal WhelanMusic composed and created by Micheal WhelanAdditional music includes "Unresolved Mysteries" by Ailsa Traves (podcast theme song, end credits)Learn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.meIf you would like to support this podcast, consider heading to https://www.patreon.com/unresolvedpod to become a Patron or ProducerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.

"His technique was to go from shopping center to shopping center, passing phony notes at malls. You can pass $20 bills in a real hurry that way."In August 1979, a prominent counterfeiter attracted the attention of the U.S. Secret Service. Having created his own bogus $20 bills, this individual would begin to distribute them throughout the continental United States, using them in at least 44 states and netting more than $130,000 in the process.Over roughly four years, federal investigators attempted to determine who this individual was and whether he was part of a larger network. Dubbed the "Mall Passer" for his propensity to launder his counterfeit cash through shopping centers and malls, Secret Service agents finally saw their chance to capture this mysterious individual in May of 1983. But when the opportunity came, these agents discovered that there was much more to this counterfeiter than they ever could have imagined...Research, writing, hosting, and production by Micheal WhelanMusic composed and created by Micheal WhelanAdditional music includes "Unresolved Mysteries" by Ailsa Traves (podcast theme song, end credits)Learn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.meIf you would like to support this podcast, consider heading to https://www.patreon.com/unresolvedpod to become a Patron or ProducerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.

"For us not to hear anything from her, we feel like something is definitely wrong. This has been a nightmare that won't end."On the evening of 29 July 2020, a silver Chevy Impala was found engulfed in flame in a Tacoma, Washington alleyway. This was a street that didn't receive much thru-traffic, so there weren't any security or surveillance cameras, making it the perfect place to torch a car and get away without being seen.Investigators would attempt to track down the owner of the vehicle, 50-year-old Diana Davis from nearby Auburn, but were unable to find her. Friends and family hadn't seen or heard from her since July 27th. As police would learn, Diana had last been seen in Tacoma, but had seemingly driven up to Seattle before going dark. Then, a week after her vehicle was discovered burning in an alleyway, Diana's remains were found roughly 70 miles to the east...Research, writing, hosting, and production by Micheal WhelanMusic composed and created by Micheal WhelanAdditional music includes "Unresolved Mysteries" by Ailsa Traves (podcast theme song, end credits)Learn more about this podcast at http://unresolved.meIf you would like to support this podcast, consider heading to https://www.patreon.com/unresolvedpod to become a Patron or ProducerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/unresolved--3266604/support.