The Tech Bro Murders Season 1 Episode 2

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00:00When we talk about tech bros, it is very stressful to be that good in Silicon Valley, to be that

00:16brilliant, that educated, and to have that kind of money.

00:20Sergeant Sandra Brown, Palo Alto Police Department.

00:23Silicon Valley has advanced so much since I was a little girl.

00:27It has become the epicenter of technology throughout the entire world.

00:31It's amazing.

00:33I spent my career investigating major crimes in Silicon Valley, like Forrest Hayes.

00:39I feel bad for the family and what they went through and what really came of this whole thing.

00:44We were both like, what the heck happened here?

00:47This exotic, beautiful woman is caught up in this murder case.

00:53Was this just an accident or premeditated murder?

00:58This case had all those elements.

01:00Google, prostitute, murder, not.

01:03Everybody wanted a piece of this.

01:04Working in Silicon Valley, I worked on homicide cases where the suspects were wealthy, the victims were wealthy.

01:27There's this bias that if you live in one of these affluent communities, murder doesn't occur.

01:34I have news for you.

01:40Murder occurs.

01:43Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Los Gatos.

01:48These zip codes where these homes were exclusive, they were very expensive, very protected, but crime doesn't have a zip code.

01:58Santa Cruz is a little bit south from Silicon Valley.

02:11Santa Cruz is very calm, relaxing.

02:16It's a beach town.

02:18It's beautiful.

02:18It's less than an hour from Silicon Valley, so a lot of money and people come there for vacation, come there to live, too, because it's a fun place to be.

02:29It's got surfing, skateboarding, mountain biking, sailing, anything you want to do.

02:36So it's sort of like the fun place where people come from all over, and especially from Silicon Valley.

02:42What you see in Silicon Valley is people work 24-7, there is no eight-hour workday, because everyone is trying to reach their goals, their dreams, their aspirations, and become the next Elon Musk or Steve Jobs.

02:57So Santa Cruz has become this place of respite.

03:04So you can go there, let your hair down, go out to your boat, go out to the beach, put on your flip-flops, and nobody will bother you, and you can get away from the high-pressure life that goes with being a high-tech entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, much like Forrest Hayes was.

03:21Forrest Hayes grew up in Michigan and started working in the automotive industry before coming to Silicon Valley.

03:38His earliest job at Silicon Valley was at Sun Microsystems, and then Apple doing hardware.

03:44Forrest came from a car company, was also in charge of operations and purchasing, and so a lot of those skills in terms of bargaining to people was transferable.

03:56Any part that went into building, say, an iPhone or a Mac, he was the person who procured them and signed all the purchase orders.

04:03At one point, he said to me that he thought he might be the first person in the Valley to sign a billion-dollar purchase order, and he signed three of them in a week.

04:10So he was a very high-level worker in Apple, and he would typically travel three weeks a month.

04:16He had to spend a huge amount of time in Asia, and he wasn't able to be with his family as much as he wanted to be.

04:23He had two teenage girls and also two young children under the ages of three.

04:29They lived across the street from us in Santa Cruz.

04:33Forrest was one of the nicest people I knew in Santa Cruz, a sweet, down-to-earth family man.

04:40Part of the reason why he moved from Apple to Google, because Google had much less requirements for travel.

04:48He was working in the Google X department.

04:54Google X was founded in 2010.

04:57It's a secret research and development division of Google, focusing on moonshot technology.

05:03Google X is all about what could be, you know, it's not something that's necessarily consumer-facing or right now.

05:11This is things that, what could we do in the future.

05:14It's kind of secretive, but I think in the 2010s and in that time, it was stuff like Google Glass, you know, driverless cars,

05:21and things that were outside the realm, like cutting-edge technology.

05:25So he was a pretty seasoned tech executive, and he was very well compensated for what he did.

05:35Forrest Hayes, in his position with Google and working for Google X, he became a tech bro.

05:39He had copious amounts of money, and so he put a lot of money into his passions, his toys, his cars,

05:45because he had the money to do it, and he wanted the best.

05:47Something he and I shared was the feeling that we had to spend our money to justify why we were working so hard.

05:57He worked so hard and so often, and in such a committed manner,

06:01that he felt he needed to reward himself with, with things.

06:09We had a $700,000 Porsche.

06:11He tricked it out, he dropped in a racing engine.

06:14He had two amplifiers that you'd buy for your house.

06:17But he was really impish about it.

06:20It wasn't like, you know, he wasn't full of himself with it.

06:22He was just a really down-to-earth, very nice guy who, I think, in my opinion,

06:27was struggling with the amount of work that he was giving.

06:32Certainly you could say money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure buys a lot.

06:39Forrest Hayes was a very capable and intelligent person,

06:43a person who's pretty decisive, but also impulsive.

06:49A friend of Forrest sent him a listing for this yacht,

06:53and then he just had to have it.

06:55Next thing you know, he's a yacht owner with, like, a 50-foot yacht.

06:59So, I mean, I think he knows what he wants and just goes for it.

07:02But it was so big that they didn't even have a slip for it at Santa Cruz Harbor.

07:07So, it was end-docked, meaning, like, it was on the end of it.

07:10And because of that, it's, like, a private place to do what he wants to do.

07:15I mean, what more does a guy want?

07:17Forrest Hayes pours over $200,000 into this yacht.

07:25Leather ceilings, high-tech security systems, cameras.

07:30He had everything he wanted, and he had the best of everything that he wanted.

07:36His yacht was called Escape.

07:38And it's interesting that he used that term, right, that title, Escape.

07:41Because when he wanted to escape from the Silicon Valley work,

07:47where his mind is constantly thinking of all these great ideas,

07:52that's where he went to.

08:02On November 22nd, 2013,

08:06Forrest Hayes has a conversation with his wife, and he tells her,

08:09I'm going to go down, I'm going to spend some time on Escape, his yacht.

08:17But Forrest doesn't come home.

08:20His wife, she's very concerned, and she calls the yacht captain

08:25and asks him to go to the yacht and see what's going on.

08:30When the captain arrives, he finds Forrest Hayes' body

08:33on the floor inside the yacht.

08:39Here's a healthy man, very active.

08:43How could he just wind up in this situation?

08:49There was no evidence of trauma,

08:51no evidence of a crime necessarily.

08:53But at the same time,

08:55something was amiss.

08:58So that was when the police were called.

09:01They saw Forrest Hayes' body

09:11on the floor

09:13inside the yacht.

09:17It would be easy for these police

09:20to say, oh, this is an accidental death,

09:22because they didn't see any signs

09:23of a fight or anything going on.

09:26But they also saw two wine glasses

09:30on the counter.

09:33Now that would tell me

09:34somebody else was here.

09:39That indicated to them

09:41that they either had a witness

09:43or a suspect.

09:44But this is not just a normal person.

09:49They know who Forrest Hayes is.

09:51He's a person that works

09:53at a very prominent, high-tech firm

09:56in a think tank.

09:57That's when they started looking into

09:59whether this could have been a homicide.

10:00The police were called

10:16to Forrest Hayes' yacht

10:18on November 23rd, 2013.

10:22They saw Forrest Hayes' body

10:24on the floor

10:26inside the yacht.

10:28They see two glasses of wine

10:30sitting on the counter.

10:32They also see his cell phone,

10:34which is in close proximity

10:35to the body.

10:36And when they look at the top

10:38of the roof line

10:38of the main cabin,

10:40they see cameras.

10:43There's this high-tech security system

10:46on the boat.

10:47And of course,

10:47police's next step is,

10:49well, can we get access

10:49to this video footage?

10:53The police are very excited

10:55about the cameras

10:56because there's some information,

10:57hopefully, on those cameras

10:59that might tell them

11:00what happened.

11:01But when they question

11:03the captain about it,

11:04the captain says,

11:05oh, those don't really work.

11:07They don't record anything.

11:10Which is disappointing

11:11to the police.

11:12They thought the videotape

11:14would give them the answers

11:15they were looking for.

11:17So at this point,

11:18the two wine glasses,

11:19they'll be collected

11:20and they will be processed.

11:22Those will be gusted

11:23for fingerprints.

11:24They have the body,

11:26which will go to the corners,

11:27which will have an autopsy.

11:29They'll figure out

11:30the cause of death.

11:31But they also have

11:32the cell phone.

11:33That cell phone could tell us

11:34who was the last person

11:35he talked to.

11:36It could also lead investigators

11:38to who may have been in the yacht

11:40with Forrest Hayes.

11:43Cell phones are key pieces

11:44of evidence that we're all

11:45carrying in all our pockets

11:46at all times that says

11:47everything you've ever done.

11:49And it's like a dream

11:50for detectives.

11:58So there's a guy, actually,

11:59at Santa Cruz Police

12:00who that's all he does

12:01is take someone's cell phone

12:03or any other computers

12:05and stuff,

12:05and they run it

12:06through this whole system

12:07that just extracts

12:08all your data.

12:09So after the investigators

12:11look on his cell phone,

12:12they check his digital footprint,

12:14they find that he actually

12:16has a profile

12:17on a website called

12:19Seeking Arrangement.

12:24Seeking Arrangement

12:26was a sugar daddy website.

12:28It was for men

12:29that were seeking

12:30an exotic,

12:31different experience

12:32that they don't find at home.

12:36This was a very high-cost activity.

12:40Dates on this website

12:41can range up to $3,000

12:42or $4,000 for an evening.

12:44This guy is a high-tech exec

12:49in the community.

12:51And also,

12:52according to

12:54Forrest Hayes' family

12:55and friends,

12:56he's just been

12:57the consummate family man.

13:00Everybody sees him

13:01as being a strong

13:02father and husband.

13:04He was married to his wife

13:05for 17 years.

13:07He had children.

13:08He had a beautiful home

13:11overlooking the ocean.

13:12He is a Google executive.

13:16On the surface,

13:18Forrest Hayes

13:18seems like the model

13:19of Silicon Valley's success.

13:22It doesn't make sense.

13:25And when they saw

13:27that he was interacting

13:29through the Seeking Arrangements

13:31sugar daddy website,

13:33that raised a lot of red flags.

13:36Was there a double life here?

13:39Is there more to this story?

13:41Is there more to this story?

13:46Investigators were really surprised

13:47at what they found

13:48on Forrest Hayes' phone.

13:49But they were in

13:50for a bigger surprise

13:51when the autopsy report

13:52came back.

13:56The medical examiner

13:57says that he died

13:58from heroin overdose.

14:02And he had

14:03an accidental death.

14:04But they can't let that lie.

14:07Heroin in his system

14:09is unusual,

14:10mostly because

14:11this is Forrest Hayes.

14:16We sometimes have this idea

14:18that people who use heroin

14:19are street-level thugs,

14:21street-level gangbangers.

14:23We don't think of someone

14:24who is a multimillionaire

14:25as using heroin.

14:27According to Forrest Hayes' wife,

14:32there's no indication

14:33that he has been

14:34a long-term IV drug user.

14:37The detectives think

14:38it's kind of unusual

14:39that somebody like Forrest Hayes

14:41would be using heroin.

14:42So, let me just say this.

14:47I spent my career

14:48investigating major crimes

14:49in Silicon Valley

14:50where high-tech

14:51and high-net-worth collide.

14:53And if there's one thing

14:54I've learned,

14:55it's that in Silicon Valley,

14:56there's a lot of pressure

14:58to succeed.

14:59And that pressure

15:00is like a valve

15:01that needs to be released.

15:03They need some way

15:04to release all of this

15:06stress and tension.

15:08But when that valve

15:09is released,

15:10it could lead you

15:10into a lot of trouble.

15:16The fact that there were

15:17street drugs

15:18like heroin involved,

15:20police, when they see that,

15:21are very suspicious.

15:23They say,

15:24this is something

15:25that we need to dig deeper.

15:27We need to get

15:27more information here.

15:29We need to connect the dots.

15:31Why did this man die?

15:32Who provided the drugs?

15:36Why were there

15:37two wine glasses?

15:39That was the key.

15:40to find that person

15:42who was on the boat

15:44with him.

15:47Originally,

15:47when the police

15:48questioned the yacht

15:49captain about the cameras,

15:52although the captain said,

15:54those cameras aren't working,

15:56these were great cops

15:58and they questioned that.

16:00Everything else in this ship

16:01is working.

16:02Why would you have

16:03cameras that don't work?

16:04And so they find somehow

16:08that this footage

16:09is on the cloud.

16:11The captain was trying

16:12to be loyal to Forrest

16:13and to protect him

16:14by saying the cameras

16:15don't work.

16:17The relationship

16:18that the captain has

16:19with the owner of the yacht

16:20was discretion.

16:22He probably knew

16:23that Forrest Hayes

16:24may have been involved

16:25in some other things,

16:26so he wanted to protect

16:28that reputation.

16:29But they now know

16:31that those cameras

16:32are working.

16:35So they have to get

16:36a search warrant

16:37in order to access

16:38the cloud

16:38where those videos

16:40were saved.

16:42And it took a long time.

16:44The search warrant

16:45is given.

16:46And after three months,

16:48they finally get a copy

16:49of what was on that video.

16:50And what they see

16:52is shocking.

17:05On November 23, 2013,

17:09Forrest Hayes dies

17:10under suspicious circumstances

17:12from an overdose

17:13of heroin on his yacht.

17:16We had this idea

17:18that people become wealthy

17:19and they're on the straight

17:20and they've done

17:21everything right.

17:22You have to remember

17:23that the DNA

17:25of Silicon Valley

17:26is risk-taking.

17:27You have very high-risk people

17:30that are willing

17:31to go all in.

17:32And sometimes they get involved

17:34in things that they shouldn't.

17:35You know,

17:36when the risk wears off

17:38of starting your own company

17:39or becoming very wealthy,

17:41you look to other ways

17:43of getting that adrenaline rush.

17:45And I think that's what you see

17:46with someone like Forrest Hayes.

17:50The video was

17:51the breakthrough in the case.

17:53What they saw in that video

17:55was the individual

17:56who was on Forrest Hayes' boat

17:58that night.

17:59That was a key piece of evidence.

18:01But it wasn't the end of the story.

18:02It was actually the beginning.

18:06Once the investigators

18:07obtain the video

18:08and they start to play it back,

18:10they see this young woman

18:12enter the yacht.

18:14Forrest Hayes greets her.

18:15They have a nice little hug.

18:18She has dark hair.

18:20She appears to be attractive.

18:22She's got tattoos

18:24all over her arms.

18:27They sit down.

18:29He pours a couple of glasses of wine.

18:31They have wine.

18:32And they talk.

18:33And after a few minutes

18:41she turns

18:44and she's going

18:44into her bag

18:45or her purse.

18:52She pulls out

18:53what appears to be

18:54a syringe.

19:05And she injects it

19:07into her arm.

19:17After she injects herself,

19:19Forrest Hayes holds

19:20his cell phone up

19:21with the flashlight on

19:22and he's aiming it

19:24at his arm

19:25and it appears

19:26as he's showing her

19:27where to inject him.

19:31So she also

19:33injects him.

19:38And as soon as

19:39she does that,

19:45Forrest Hayes slumps over

19:46and then he slides

19:48to the floor.

19:59And soon after,

20:01she gets up.

20:04She steps over

20:05his body.

20:09She leaves the yacht.

20:13And leaves Forrest Hayes

20:14behind.

20:16After the investigators

20:31observed this video,

20:32they're still not sure

20:33if they have an accidental death

20:35or if they have

20:36a cold-blooded,

20:36planned-out murder.

20:40Who is this mystery woman

20:42on the video?

20:43They had the tattoos

20:45on the woman

20:46in the surveillance video

20:47that were the calling card.

20:50They were the link

20:51to say,

20:52how can we identify

20:53who this person was?

20:58We know Forrest Hayes

21:00was on the site

21:01seeking arrangement.

21:04And so what they did

21:06is they looked

21:06at the profile pictures.

21:07Let's find someone

21:10who's advertising

21:11their services

21:11that has those

21:13distinctive tattoos.

21:15The profile pictures

21:17now became

21:18like a lineup.

21:21They're going through

21:23hundreds and hundreds

21:24and hundreds

21:24of profiles of women.

21:26And they're looking

21:26for those specific tattoos.

21:28And finally,

21:29they find a woman

21:31whose tattoos

21:32fit the tattoos

21:33on the woman

21:34in the video.

21:34Police now

21:38have a name

21:39to put

21:40to the face

21:41that they see

21:42on the boat.

21:45It's Alex Tickleman.

21:49Police start looking

21:50into who Alex Tickleman was.

21:53And what they found

21:53is someone

21:54who was bright,

21:56came from

21:56a successful family,

21:58moved all over

21:59the country,

22:00and she's from Canada.

22:01And so she was

22:02an interesting character

22:03in and of herself.

22:07She left this trail

22:09of social media stuff,

22:12things that she

22:13was interested in,

22:14and some of it's

22:16kind of dark.

22:18Her Twitter handle

22:19was kind of strange.

22:22It was

22:23baddest bitch,

22:24model,

22:25stylist,

22:27hustler,

22:27and exotic dancer.

22:28And when the investigators

22:32take a little deeper dive,

22:34they find out

22:34on her online footprint

22:36that she's into

22:36serial killers,

22:38death,

22:39you know,

22:39she's into

22:40blood and gore.

22:43And everybody wants

22:44to know,

22:44does that tell you anything?

22:47Who is this person?

22:49What does she know?

22:50And why did she do

22:52what she did?

22:53What is the common

22:54denominator

22:54between her

22:56and Forrest Hayes?

22:59Santa Cruz police

23:00find out

23:01Alex Tickleman

23:02is a daughter

23:04of a tech executive,

23:06actually,

23:06Bart Tickleman,

23:07who was the CEO

23:08of Synapsense,

23:09which is a tech company

23:10near Sacramento.

23:11Well, that's odd.

23:16It's very interesting

23:17that Alex Tickleman's

23:20father turns out

23:20to be a tech bro,

23:22Bart Tickleman.

23:24And for me,

23:25I remember seeing

23:25that name on buildings

23:26in Silicon Valley.

23:29Forrest Hayes

23:30is involved in tech

23:31in Silicon Valley.

23:33And between the two

23:34of them

23:34is Alex Tickleman.

23:36Is there some connection

23:37between Bart,

23:39Forrest,

23:39tech Silicon Valley

23:41in this case?

23:45How did she

23:46get hooked up

23:47into this website

23:48and become

23:49this high-priced

23:50call girl?

23:59I think Alex

24:00was troubled

24:02ever since she was

24:03a teenager.

24:04She's just in

24:04and out of trouble

24:05using drugs

24:06here and there.

24:07I think Alex's

24:09parents cut her

24:11off financially

24:12and expected her

24:13to support herself.

24:15I think she was

24:16on seeking arrangements

24:17for the money

24:18and she loved

24:19the tension.

24:20I mean,

24:21that's part of the

24:22reason why I almost

24:23didn't want to do

24:24this interview

24:24is because I know

24:25how much she just

24:26loves the world

24:27looking at her.

24:28So,

24:28that's kind of

24:29a double-edged sword

24:30on that one.

24:32My name is Chad Cornell

24:33and Alex Tickleman

24:35was the worst

24:36girlfriend I've ever

24:36had in my life.

24:42I met her

24:43on Facebook,

24:44actually.

24:46At the time,

24:46I was living

24:47with my band

24:48in Fair Oaks,

24:49which is in the

24:49outskirts of Sacramento,

24:50which is about

24:51six hours north

24:52of Silicon Valley.

24:55She had just

24:56moved into town,

24:57was looking for

24:57some friends that,

24:58you know,

24:59had, like,

24:59common interests

25:00and I noticed

25:01that she followed

25:02a lot of the same

25:03bands that I followed,

25:04so before we knew

25:05it, you know,

25:05we were hanging out.

25:08I thought she was

25:08very beautiful.

25:10She was a little

25:11reserved.

25:12She didn't really

25:13talk about her

25:13personal life so much.

25:15She more or less

25:16wanted to know

25:17what I was doing,

25:17what I was getting

25:18into,

25:19and any time I'd

25:20kind of ask her

25:21about her past

25:21or things like that,

25:23she would usually

25:23shy away from it.

25:26But I'd gone to

25:27her house a few times,

25:28met her parents

25:29and met her sister

25:29and they were

25:31really nice people,

25:32you know,

25:33upstanding citizens,

25:35right,

25:35they had money,

25:36really nice home.

25:38You know,

25:38it seemed like

25:39a little guarded,

25:41but they welcomed me

25:42in with open arms.

25:43I mean,

25:43I just thought

25:44they were really

25:44good, genuine people.

25:47She told me

25:48in the beginning

25:49that she was a model

25:49and that she had done

25:51a lot of modeling

25:52in the past.

25:53She showed me

25:54some of her clips

25:55out of magazines

25:55and stuff

25:56that are verified,

25:58and so when she would

25:59leave on these trips,

26:00she would tell me

26:01that she's going

26:01to model

26:02or she's going

26:02to a set,

26:03and I believed her,

26:04you know,

26:05because she would

26:05show me pictures

26:06afterwards,

26:07oh, here's some

26:07of the pictures

26:08that we took

26:08and da-da-da

26:09and all that stuff,

26:09and I just trusted

26:10her completely.

26:12At that point,

26:13I had no idea

26:14about Forrest Hayes

26:15or any of the

26:16Call Girl stuff

26:17at all.

26:18One night,

26:26we were just talking,

26:27having some drinks

26:28and stuff,

26:29and so, yeah,

26:30it was probably,

26:32I don't know,

26:33four or five months

26:34into our relationship

26:35where she finally said

26:36that she had a history

26:38with drugs,

26:40specifically heroin.

26:42She told me

26:42she'd become clean

26:43because her ex-boyfriend

26:45had died from

26:45a heroin overdose.

26:46The night that

27:02Forrest Hayes died,

27:03he died from

27:04a heroin overdose,

27:06and Alex Tickleman

27:09was at the scene.

27:12As the investigation

27:13goes forth,

27:14Santa Cruz police

27:15find out

27:16that Alex Tickleman

27:17was also involved

27:18in another fatal

27:19heroin overdose

27:21two months

27:22before Forrest Hayes' death.

27:36Dean,

27:37who's a prominent figure

27:38in Atlanta,

27:39owns a really successful

27:40nightclub out there.

27:41her relationship

27:43with him,

27:44she described to me

27:45as very rocky.

27:47She didn't really get

27:48into a whole lot

27:49of details

27:49about their day-to-day life,

27:52just that he didn't

27:53trust her

27:53and that his death

27:54was a complete accident,

27:57you know,

27:58supposedly.

27:58she was living at his house

28:17in Georgia,

28:18and she steps out of the shower,

28:24and he's on the floor

28:27overdosed on heroin.

28:31I think my boyfriend

28:32overdosed or something,

28:35like, he won't respond.

28:39Why do you think

28:40it's an overdose?

28:42Because there's nothing

28:44else it could be.

28:45Okay.

28:45Accidental or intentional?

28:48I think, oh,

28:49definitely accidental.

28:50So when the EMT arrives,

28:56they rush him

28:56to the hospital.

28:59But unfortunately,

29:00he's never revived,

29:03and he dies

29:05at the hospital.

29:08His death

29:09looks like it was an accident.

29:15The Atlanta police,

29:17at this point,

29:17have nothing to charge

29:18Alex with,

29:19and she leaves

29:19the area

29:20and goes to California.

29:33The Santa Cruz investigators

29:35start to investigate

29:36Alex Tickleman.

29:39They find out

29:40that she's living

29:40in Folsom, California.

29:43So they're keeping

29:44tabs on her.

29:47As the investigation

29:48goes forth,

29:48investigators cannot find

29:51any connection

29:52between Alex Tickleman's

29:53father,

29:54Bart Tickleman,

29:55who's another tech mogul,

29:57and Forrest Hayes.

29:59They're both tech bros,

30:01but there's no connection.

30:03They just both

30:04happen to work in tech.

30:07The question for the police

30:08is,

30:09is Alex Tickleman

30:10a murderer

30:11or a high-priced call girl,

30:13or both?

30:15And so what the police

30:16wanted to do

30:17is establish her M.O.,

30:18that she's this black widow,

30:20that death follows her,

30:23that she's engaging

30:25in this prostitution activity,

30:27that she brings heroin

30:28to the locations.

30:30That was a key part

30:31of the case

30:31and that she

30:32was the purveyor

30:33of the heroin.

30:34If they didn't establish

30:35her M.O.,

30:36we wouldn't have a case.

30:38Even though investigators

30:41have Alex Tickleman

30:42on the video,

30:44they don't call her

30:45and bring her

30:45into the station right away.

30:46They do a surveillance

30:47on her.

30:48They may have caught her

30:49under surveillance

30:50buying heroin,

30:51and maybe that's what

30:52they're looking for.

30:53They may have also

30:54just wanted to watch

30:55her day-to-day,

30:57collect some information,

30:58and that's normal

30:59investigative techniques.

31:01The police got a tip

31:10that she was ready

31:11to leave the jurisdiction,

31:12which created a sense

31:14of urgency

31:14in their investigation.

31:16So they set up

31:17a very elaborate sting.

31:23The Santa Cruz police

31:24have to lure her

31:25back to Santa Cruz,

31:26so they pose

31:27as this John

31:29named Sebastian

31:31on Seeking Arrangement.

31:33They pose as a rich guy

31:34who wants to meet up

31:35with her

31:35at a high-end

31:37beach resort

31:38just south of Santa Cruz

31:39on July 4th weekend.

31:43They started talking

31:44on the Seeking Arrangement's

31:46Sugar Daddy website

31:47about using drugs

31:49and sex

31:50to get her interested.

31:52And so they laid

31:53the bait for her,

31:54and she bit.

32:01on July 4th, 2014,

32:05Alex Tickleman goes

32:07to this resort

32:08thinking she's going

32:09to meet Sebastian,

32:10this Sugar Daddy.

32:14But she is met

32:15by law enforcement

32:16officers instead.

32:21When police arrest

32:23Alex Tickleman,

32:24they charge her

32:25with second-degree murder,

32:26destruction of evidence,

32:27and transporting

32:29and providing narcotics.

32:34Her booking photo

32:35was pasted

32:36across every media outlet.

32:39And when her picture

32:40hit the media,

32:42the firestorm of attention

32:43on this case

32:44captivated the country.

32:46This exotic,

32:50beautiful woman

32:51is caught up

32:52in this murder case.

32:54And I think that's why

32:55this case

32:55got so much momentum.

32:57Because of who she was

32:59and who Mr. Hayes was.

33:07After his death,

33:09there was an article

33:10in the local newspaper,

33:12and I was shocked.

33:13I was really astonished

33:15because it seemed

33:15so out of character

33:16for the forest that I knew.

33:18And my wife had

33:19the same reaction.

33:20We were both like,

33:20you know,

33:21what the heck happened here?

33:24And then,

33:25as we got closer

33:26to her trial,

33:27then more and more

33:28details came out.

33:29I really felt

33:30compassion for his family.

33:33Having to suffer twice,

33:34first when the incident

33:36happened and he died,

33:36and then secondly

33:37when it hit the media.

33:40As soon as I saw

33:42the headline,

33:42Santa Cruz,

33:43I went back to that day.

33:46And I realized,

33:48holy s***,

33:49she was with me that day.

33:51She told me the night

33:52before her plans

33:53and that she was going

33:54to a photo shoot.

33:56And then afterwards,

33:57some of the crew

33:58and some of her friends

33:59that would be there

34:00were going to go hang out

34:01on a boat

34:02on a big yacht

34:03in Santa Cruz Harbor.

34:07I said, fine,

34:08have fun, you know,

34:09let me know

34:09if you need anything,

34:10be safe.

34:10But later that night,

34:15she called me

34:16at like 2 a.m.

34:16saying that her friends

34:19had started partying

34:20a little too hard

34:20and they started

34:21doing heavy drugs

34:23and that because of her past,

34:25she became uncomfortable

34:26and had to leave.

34:27And so she wanted

34:27to come home to me,

34:28which I said, of course.

34:31I didn't know

34:32until after they arrested her

34:33that she was essentially

34:35just hiding out with me

34:36the entire time.

34:39This became a huge case.

34:41The day of the arraignment

34:42in Santa Cruz County

34:44Superior Court

34:44was the busiest

34:45and craziest day

34:47that I've ever seen there

34:48and felt my whole time

34:49covering court.

34:54Everybody wanted a piece of this

34:56because it had

34:56all those elements.

34:57Google, prostitute,

34:59murder, yacht.

35:01What do you want?

35:04Who is this killer

35:05call girl

35:06or the harbor hooker

35:07of Santa Cruz?

35:09Is there more

35:10to this story

35:12than just a man

35:13who lost his life

35:14due to drug use?

35:24Did she actually

35:26set this up

35:26or was it

35:27an accidental death?

35:28Well, her defense

35:29certainly portrayed this

35:30as why would you kill

35:32your sugar daddy?

35:33They said there's

35:33no motive here.

35:34There's no motive

35:35to kill

35:35and the prosecution

35:37portrayed her

35:38as this black widow

35:39type of individual

35:40who would entice

35:41these men

35:42and then leave them

35:43to die.

35:45And so it was

35:46two compelling narratives

35:47that played out.

35:49The defense portrayed

35:50this as mutually

35:51consensual,

35:52very dangerous

35:54and bizarre behavior

35:55but at the same time

35:57he agreed to it.

36:00What the police

36:01relied on though

36:03is that her behavior

36:04was so reckless

36:04that she has to bear

36:06some criminal responsibility.

36:08She was involved

36:10with a boyfriend

36:10in Georgia

36:11shortly before this

36:12and he died.

36:15Ms. Tickleman knew

36:16the dangers of heroin.

36:18But also the other key

36:20was that she didn't

36:21call 9-1-1.

36:23Had she called 9-1-1

36:25they may have not

36:26filed charges

36:27but she did not

36:29call 9-1-1

36:31cleaned up

36:32and left

36:32and when you listen

36:35to the Santa Cruz

36:36police department

36:37and their narrative

36:38it's that this individual

36:40was tidying up

36:41a crime scene

36:42and left him

36:43to die.

36:43I think people

36:45saw evil

36:46in that.

36:48But when you leave

36:49someone to die

36:50after you give them

36:51drugs like that

36:52you're looking

36:53at criminal prosecution.

36:58It looked like

36:59she was more concerned

37:01about her own well-being

37:01than his.

37:04She said

37:05this actually

37:05was an accident.

37:06She feels terrible

37:08about what happened

37:08this was all

37:09a huge mistake

37:10she didn't mean to.

37:11And later

37:14she told police

37:14that the reason

37:15she didn't call

37:169-1-1

37:17is because

37:18she didn't want

37:19Forrest's wife

37:19to find out.

37:21Alex Tickleman

37:21stood before a judge

37:22pleading not guilty

37:24to manslaughter

37:24as well as drug

37:26and prostitution charges.

37:27Her bail remains

37:28at $1.5 million.

37:30She was so callous

37:32that she literally

37:33stepped over

37:34the victim's body

37:35to retrieve

37:37her glass of wine

37:38and finish

37:38the glass of wine

37:39as the victim

37:40is laying there

37:41dying at her feet.

37:43I know the guy died.

37:45That's all we really knew.

37:46Jim Moore

37:47has worked around

37:47boats at the

37:48Santa Cruz Harbor

37:49all of his life.

37:50He says people

37:51had heard of a death

37:52aboard the yacht

37:53escape last November

37:54but nobody had any idea

37:55a prostitute was involved

37:57until now.

37:59She entered a plea agreement

38:00with the DA's office

38:01to plead to

38:02involuntary manslaughter

38:03but not premeditation

38:05or intent to kill.

38:07Alex Tickleman

38:12is sentenced

38:13to six years.

38:15She only spends

38:15half that time

38:16in custody

38:17due to good behavior

38:19and time served

38:20while she was

38:20in Santa Cruz County Jail.

38:32In 2017

38:33she is released

38:34from custody.

38:37And then

38:39after she was released

38:40she got deported

38:41back to Canada.

38:44So

38:45she's now

38:45living in Canada

38:46and she says

38:48that this experience

38:49changed my life

38:50and I'm clean

38:51and sober

38:51and I'll never

38:52return to that lifestyle.

38:56I've had zero

38:57contact with Alex

38:58after she was released.

39:00I mean

39:00obviously

39:00I broke up with her

39:01because I didn't

39:02trust her any longer.

39:04a lot of people

39:08think she was guilty

39:09of murder

39:09and they think

39:10she got away with it.

39:12But after the

39:13Forrest Hayes investigation

39:14Atlanta PD

39:16opened their case again.

39:18Alex Tickleman

39:19was indicted

39:20for the death

39:21of her ex-boyfriend.

39:22If she comes back

39:24into the United States

39:24of America

39:25she'll be arrested

39:26immediately.

39:27Silicon Valley

39:31is

39:31a risk-taking

39:33type of community.

39:35Risk-taking

39:35is in the DNA

39:36of Silicon Valley.

39:38So people

39:38frequently

39:40take great risks

39:41with their funds

39:42with their careers

39:43with their lives

39:43and sometimes

39:45that risk-taking

39:46behavior

39:46leads them

39:47into very dark

39:48places.

39:51I don't know

39:52what it's like

39:52to be a rich guy

39:53like to have

39:54the world at your feet

39:55and to get anything

39:56you want

39:56with a snap of a finger.

39:59Forrest was one

40:00of these high-tech

40:01executives

40:01in Silicon Valley.

40:03It's a lot of money

40:04if you can hack it

40:05but it's also

40:06a lot of pressure

40:08and a lot of work

40:08and it's

40:09how you handle it.

40:13Forrest took

40:13very high-pressure jobs

40:15and so I can imagine

40:16that he was looking

40:17for outlets

40:18for that stress

40:19and this is the path

40:20he chose to take

40:21which, you know,

40:22obviously was unfortunate.

40:24But the way

40:25that Forrest

40:25was portrayed

40:26was as this

40:27high-tech billionaire

40:28who had his

40:29expensive boat

40:30and had this

40:31heroin-fueled

40:32tryst with a hooker.

40:34There's some truth

40:34to that

40:35but I think also

40:36Forrest was just

40:36a really basic

40:37decent guy

40:38and a good father

40:39and just got caught up

40:41in some unfortunate events.

40:43I think the world

40:44needs to know

40:44that he's a very nice

40:45decent person

40:46that anybody

40:47would like to know.

40:51Wealth and power

40:52can make some people

40:53feel invincible

40:53but in Silicon Valley

40:55where money

40:56can buy you anything.

40:59If you go down

41:00the wrong path

41:01it can lead you

41:02down a dark road.

41:04For some people

41:05it's very difficult

41:06to know where

41:07to draw the line.

41:08She was handling

41:18millions of dollars

41:19in contracts.

41:20I knew right then

41:21something was wrong.

41:23Why would the rug

41:25and couch cover

41:26and the cushions

41:26be missing?

41:27He felt that he had

41:28no other choice

41:29but to take justice

41:30into his own hands.

41:32He shot somebody!

41:33Oh my god!

41:34Oh my god!

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