- 5 hours ago
The.Rookie.S08E15
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00:167-Matter-15, we're code 6 at the 911 call location.
00:20Any further contact from the distressed individual?
00:22Negative. Do you want me to start additional units?
00:24Uh, no. Give us a minute to scope it out first.
00:27You ready?
00:28Do I have a choice?
00:29Yes. That's a spirit.
00:39LAPD, we've received a distress call from this location. We are making entry.
00:46Oh, do you feel that?
00:53Feel what?
00:54Something evil's in here.
00:56It sure smells like it.
01:06I can't die.
01:08It's inside of me.
01:10It won't let me die.
01:12It won't let me die.
01:14Elise, show yourself.
01:19I can't die. It's inside of me. It won't let me die.
01:23Don't touch that, all right? Just call this in. Call it in.
01:25I need an RA to my location for a stabbing victim.
01:28So I usually sit right next to camera to keep the eyeline tight?
01:30Then I'll just sit on the other side.
01:32No, because then you'll split his look.
01:34Oh, hey, hi. Thanks, uh, thanks again for sitting down with me.
01:37Us?
01:38What? Oh, right, us. Uh, why are you filming?
01:42Oh, I just wanted to document the new partnership. Abigail was very excited.
01:45It's not a partnership.
01:46It's totally a partnership. The judge was very clear.
01:48The judge?
01:49My name is Abigail Tierney. I'm currently trapped inside a secret lab at Westview Psychiatric.
01:54All attempts at escape have proven fruitless.
01:57I may have inadvertently used some of Abigail's footage in my last documentary without gaining the proper permissions.
02:02Translation. He stole my intellectual property. I sued, and the judge gave him a choice.
02:07Pay me 200,000 damages or give me equal partnership in his next project.
02:11He never said equal, but you know what? Never mind. Let's focus on the story that we're here to tell.
02:16Seat.
02:19Perhaps the most shocking case of murder and mayhem we've ever seen. Would you say that's a fair assessment?
02:25Um.
02:26No, no. Stay back. Stay back. Stay back. You don't understand.
02:28Okay, relax here, okay? We're trying to help you. Who stabbed you?
02:31I stabbed myself. It's inside of me. I've tried everything else. I can't kill it. I can't die. See?
02:39No, don't pull it out. Don't pull it out.
02:42Oh, God.
02:45Oh, he died instantly. I mean, the wound was fatal. You can't stab yourself in the heart and survive.
02:52But the way the knife was lodged, he wasn't bleeding. Once he pulled it out...
02:58It was Blood Fountain City.
03:00Not exactly, but...
03:01As shocking as that was, it was far from the most shocking thing you found.
03:04Oh, we should get him to say that to set up the opening credits?
03:07That's not... We don't put words in people's mouths. It's a documentary.
03:13Yeah, it was, uh...
03:15It was straight-up crazy.
03:18There's a body in there?
03:20Cool!
03:21I may have finally found it.
03:25Please don't kill us.
03:26We will join your cult.
03:28Oh, God.
03:29You arrived on scene as the sergeant's supervisor?
03:32Yes. I got there before the ambulance. Not that there was any aid they could have rendered.
03:37Is there a reason you didn't want us to interview you with Tim?
03:40What? No. We're just... I'm just shaking it up.
03:45Let's stay focused. Were you the first to recognize the victim?
03:48Uh, sort of. I thought I knew his face, but it wasn't until we ran his prints that we got
03:54a name.
03:54Rich Rowley was retired LAPD.
03:57He had been with the department for 30 years and was a little bit of a legend.
04:01Mostly because he made a series of training videos from the mid-90s till his retirement in 2015.
04:07Which, by modern standards, are a little cringe.
04:11Hey, everybody. Rich Rowley here with another installment of...
04:17Now, today, we're going to be talking about proper cuffing technique.
04:22Excuse me, officer? I hurt my shoulder at the gym. Would you mind cuffing me in front?
04:29Pretty lady like you.
04:32What's the worst that could happen?
04:37You're welcome.
04:41Rich was a trip. The life of the party, at least early in his career.
04:46Then, as the years went on, he became a little, uh, crazy.
04:51Crazy how?
04:52He was deep into conspiracy theories. He, uh, had a real thing for cults and cabals.
04:58To be fair, Los Angeles does have a pretty dark history.
05:01But Rich took it to the next level.
05:03And his training videos got more and more intense because of it.
05:06We finally got around to updating the videos this last year.
05:09But that caused quite a controversy with some of the older officers.
05:12They said we were being insensitive.
05:15Why would updating training videos be insensitive?
05:17Even three years on, a lot of his friends were still mourning his death.
05:21And saw the videos as a way to keep his memory alive.
05:24I'm sorry. I thought Rich died six months ago.
05:26Yeah. He did. I'm talking about the first time.
05:30Divers are searching for any signs of retired Los Angeles police officer Richard Rowley
05:35after a sailing trip gone wrong.
05:38Coast Guard responded to a distress call this morning from Raleigh's wife,
05:42who says the 55-year-old fell overboard after the sailboat he was captaining was struck by a rogue wave.
05:49Anytime someone disappears from a boating trip, it automatically sets off alarm bells.
05:53Why is that?
05:54It's just an ideal place to cover up crime, throw a body overboard, weigh it down.
05:58The likelihood of us recovering it before it becomes fish food is low.
06:02And the circumstances were suspicious.
06:05By all accounts, Rich was a skilled sailor.
06:07It was a calm day.
06:08And the only witness to his demise was Darla Phillips,
06:11his on-again, off-again girlfriend who he married five days prior.
06:15So you suspected foul play?
06:19Not necessarily, but we couldn't rule it out.
06:21Why wasn't Rich wearing a light vest?
06:23He never did.
06:24He was a strong swimmer.
06:26He must have hit his head when he fell.
06:29Why didn't you jump in after him?
06:30I'm scared of dark water.
06:32Dark water?
06:33Water you can't see the bottom of.
06:36Just blackness.
06:37With condoms what lurking below.
06:40You stand to inherit Rich's entire police pension.
06:42That's quite a bit of money.
06:44How dare you?
06:45I just watched the love of my life die in front of me.
06:50We don't know that for sure yet.
06:52They haven't found his body.
06:54Unless you know more that you're not telling us.
06:59Go to hell.
07:00This interview was over.
07:02Did it ever occur to you that Rich might still be alive?
07:04As we said, we couldn't rule anything out.
07:06But there was no evidence that he'd faked his death.
07:10Until he turned up dead again.
07:11Needless to say, we had a few more questions for Darla.
07:14Helping someone fake their death isn't a crime.
07:16I checked.
07:17You're right.
07:18But profiting off of that death, collecting Rich's pension and his life insurance, it's fraud.
07:23Not to mention the resources that were wasted trying to recover his body.
07:27He could be facing some serious charges.
07:29So, tell us.
07:31Why did Rich want to fake his death?
07:35After Rich retired, he kind of fell apart.
07:39His drinking got worse.
07:41And his paranoia, he was always a little intense.
07:45But it started to get scary.
07:48He covered all his windows with newspapers.
07:51He started writing down the license plates of passing cars.
07:55What was he so afraid of?
07:56He said there was this group.
07:59Like a secret society of dangerous and powerful people.
08:04He'd been onto them for years.
08:06And he said that they found out about him.
08:08That he was in danger because of it.
08:10It was too much for me.
08:12So, I broke up with him.
08:14And then a year later, he showed up on my doorstep.
08:17And asked me to help him fake his death.
08:21In return for his pension.
08:23I needed the money.
08:24So, we got married.
08:26And we did the deed.
08:28And I never saw him again.
08:29So, you have no idea why there was a coffin in his garage.
08:33We'll probably hold this piece of the puzzle until the end of the first act.
08:37You know, hit the audience with a twist when it's dramatically expedient.
08:40You know, seems to manipulate him.
08:41All good storytelling is.
08:42Just tell us about finding the coffin.
08:45Uh, so, once I arrived and we secured the crime scene,
08:49we cleared the rest of the house and then we moved on to the garage.
08:56Oh.
08:57Oh.
08:58You don't think there's...
08:59There's a body in there?
09:00There, I absolutely do.
09:02Okay, are we gonna open it?
09:04Because I don't want to open it.
09:06What do you think?
09:07I mean, it's clearly been dug up.
09:10Given the state of the coffin, it's clearly been underground for a few years.
09:13If there is a body in there, it's likely long dead.
09:17Unless...
09:17Unless what?
09:19Unless he put a fresh victim in an old coffin.
09:25Oh, okay.
09:26Got it.
09:28Oh.
09:29Oh, God.
09:34The body belonged to a 54-year-old truck driver named Marcus Ford,
09:39who was the victim of an unsolved homicide back in 2020.
09:42How was he killed?
09:43He was stabbed in the heart.
09:46Just like Rich.
09:48Wait.
09:49Rich murdered Marcus Ford.
09:51Did I just solve the case?
09:51No, we were able to alibi Rich out.
09:56He was hospitalized with double pneumonia the day Marcus died.
09:59Medical records say he was so weak that he could barely get out of bed.
10:02Or that's what he wanted you to think.
10:04Moving on.
10:05Digging up a body is no easy task.
10:07Why would Rich go to all that trouble?
10:08Initially, we thought it was simply the demented act of a clearly disturbed mind.
10:14And in some ways, it was.
10:16But then we found the tattoo.
10:18At first, it was a little bit difficult to make out exactly what it was.
10:22A half a decade of decomp does a number on the skin.
10:25But when we looked back at the case file,
10:28there was a photo of it taken during the original autopsy.
10:31That's actually kind of sick.
10:32I wonder if there's a way to track down the artist.
10:34I've been meaning to start the sleeve on my other arm.
10:36Like, uh.
10:37To my collaborator's point, lots of people have tattoos.
10:41What was it about this one that jumped out at you?
10:43Well, something about it was familiar to both of us.
10:46But we couldn't place it.
10:48So we started asking around.
10:50And the answer couldn't come from a more unlikely place.
10:54I watched the Rich Rally training videos more than any person alive.
10:59So I recognized the symbol immediately.
11:02Sometimes citizens panic when they can't get in touch with their friends or loved ones.
11:07That is why we always advise the public to wait 24 hours before reporting someone missing.
11:13While most missing person reports stem from a lapse in communication,
11:16every once in a while, you'll encounter a true, workable case.
11:21Officer, help!
11:22My sister is missing!
11:24When's the last time you saw her?
11:25Last night at the bar.
11:26Her boyfriend said she never made it home.
11:29You always want to take a report like this one?
11:32Seriously.
11:33So Rich did the same symbol in his training videos that was tattooed on the body of a murder victim.
11:38What did you think that meant?
11:40Uh, I don't know.
11:41I can't believe I'm saying this, but Smitty was right.
11:45In lesson 187, the tattoo symbol was hidden in the background.
11:48Although, the instructions to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing person are wildly outdated.
11:54Anyways, it got me thinking.
11:56What if Rich put messages in other videos?
11:59What kind of messages?
12:01I'm not totally sure yet.
12:02I binged every single Rich training video I could get my hands on.
12:05Yeah, it's been a fun few nights.
12:06And I did find a few other possible leads, but there's a problem.
12:10The department's archive is incomplete, and without all of the videos, I can't be sure
12:13that I'm not missing a vital piece of information.
12:15So, what happened to the missing videos?
12:17So, when the training topics in the videos become outdated because of new laws or protocols,
12:23the department has to make new ones.
12:24And the obsolete videos are supposed to be digitized and archived for historical record.
12:30But Rich is... were just gone.
12:33Gone and destroyed?
12:34Like a cover-up?
12:35No one's saying that.
12:37Most likely it was a human error.
12:38You know, someone got lazy, didn't archive them.
12:42I tried reaching out to the production company that made the videos to see if they had any copies left.
12:46Bad news is, they went out of business a few years back and auctioned off all their equipment.
12:52What's the good news?
12:53Well, I managed to track down the auction logs,
12:57and I actually know the person who purchased the studio's old hard drives.
13:01Careful, I'm very ticklish.
13:03Like the Pillsbury Doughboy.
13:05Same.
13:05I hear it's, um, a sign of intelligence.
13:08Is that a fact?
13:09Then I am smart as the dickens.
13:11So, you purchased hard drives from Speak Now Studios?
13:14Yeah, Dropout was still in its infancy.
13:17I was building the company from the ground up.
13:19We had to be smart about how we were spending our money.
13:22We bought a huge amount of equipment secondhand.
13:24Hard drives, cameras, wigs.
13:26What? Wait.
13:28You bought secondhand wigs?
13:29Give them a little shake before we put them on.
13:31That's awesome.
13:32Do you still have that wig connect?
13:33Because I'd love a referral.
13:34My guy is...
13:36Back on track.
13:37Uh, the hard drives you bought contain police training videos.
13:40Did you happen to watch any of them?
13:41Of course.
13:42Rich Rowley, right?
13:44We were obsessed with those videos.
13:46We probably watched them, like, a dozen times.
13:48I'm Rich Rowley, and this is Survive the Streets.
13:52That's great.
13:53Vic can do the best impression.
13:54Do you think you'd be able to make copies for us?
13:57I totally would, but I can't,
13:59because we wiped all of those hard drives to use as servers months ago.
14:03Sorry, I couldn't be of more help.
14:05You'll still feature this interview, right?
14:09Yeah, probably not.
14:10Wait, you said you and the Dropout crew watched the video, like, dozens of times, right?
14:15Yes, sometimes on an edible. Mostly sober.
14:17I have an idea.
14:18Okay, so then you'd be like,
14:19don't forget to check the closet or you'll die.
14:21So, I don't know.
14:22I think it's a little bit more like, like,
14:23if you forget to check the closet, Freddie and Jason,
14:26and Chucky will rip off your screen.
14:28Okay, I think there's less foot stuff.
14:30I feel like he's like,
14:31and then your crazy met the ex-girlfriend
14:33who's been hiding in the hallway closet
14:35will chainsaw your face when you get home
14:37because you forgot to clear the room.
14:40Clear the room.
14:41Check the room.
14:41I think he was so close to pulling out a gun.
14:44What are you guys doing?
14:45That's a great question.
14:46They're reenacting the police training video
14:47since you guys wiped them off your hard drive.
14:49Oh, the Rich Rowley ones.
14:50Those are so funny.
14:52I actually stole one of the hard drives
14:53so I can watch it when I'm in the tub.
14:54Can you talk about your time, man?
14:56A little self-care, you know,
14:57trying to relax a little more.
14:58It's not working.
14:59Can we have it?
15:00If you want to borrow it, I could, you know.
15:02No, I think this is actually working great.
15:05Okay.
15:05You can keep this up.
15:06The riffing.
15:07Clearing the room.
15:07Help us.
15:08Okay, I finally finished watching
15:10all of the Rich Training videos,
15:11and there is a lot.
15:13Take lesson 277.
15:19My Azaleas!
15:20A cold case where victim Azalea Robinson
15:23was found stabbed near a ski resort.
15:26You're kidding.
15:27No.
15:27And in Lesson 290,
15:29Rich is holding a folder with a post-it note on the back
15:32with a brown star drawn on it.
15:33I'm lost.
15:34Right.
15:35So I looked up the cold cases
15:36to see if there were any victims
15:37with names like Star or Stella,
15:40and there was one hit.
15:42Stella Brown also found stabbed in the chest.
15:45In all, Lucy found clues
15:47pointing to seven different cold cases.
15:50But why was Rich hiding the names of murder victims
15:52in police training videos?
15:53Based on what we could piece together,
15:55he believed he had stumbled upon a conspiracy,
15:57a series of connected murders
15:59committed by person or persons unknown.
16:01If that were the case,
16:02why not just report his suspicion?
16:04He was a cop for 30 years.
16:05Well, Rich had a bit of a reputation
16:08within the department
16:09for, shall we say,
16:11magical thinking.
16:12So, unfortunately,
16:14his theory was dismissed out of hand.
16:16But why did he think
16:17the murders were connected?
16:18Well, for starters,
16:19they were all stabbed in the chest.
16:20But more importantly,
16:22each victim was found
16:23with a penny either in or on their person.
16:25What do you mean in?
16:26One had a penny in her stomach.
16:28Another had one shoved up his nose.
16:31Stella Brown lucked out.
16:32Hers was just clasped in her hand.
16:34And when we re-examined
16:35Marcus Ford's corpse,
16:36the Emmy found one inserted
16:38into the heel of his left foot.
16:40Why?
16:41Did we mention that
16:42they were all minted in 1930?
16:44Okay.
16:44Well, I just got goosebumps.
16:46Rich's autopsy also revealed
16:47that he had swallowed
16:48close to 50 pennies
16:49before he died.
16:50Gross.
16:51So at this point,
16:52was your theory...
16:53I actually have no idea
16:54what the theory would have been.
16:55Yeah, well, I would tell you,
16:56but we were way off the mark.
16:58Which we were about to discover
17:00when we got access
17:01to his cloud account.
17:03Okay.
17:05We may have finally found it.
17:08I am so close
17:09to getting some real answers.
17:13See that?
17:25Oh, my God.
17:29Oh, my God.
17:34No, no, no.
17:39For a guy pretending to be dead
17:41breaking into a secure military facility
17:43doesn't seem like the best idea.
17:45No, he wasn't just breaking
17:46into any military facility.
17:49It was Area 67.
17:51What does that mean?
17:52That's where the government
17:53keeps the aliens.
18:00So, Rich broke into
18:01a secret government base
18:02on the hunt
18:03for a massive conspiracy
18:04then stabbed himself
18:05in the chest?
18:05I mean, at that point,
18:06it's obvious what happened.
18:07Is it?
18:08Come on.
18:09Remember what Rich said
18:10right before he died?
18:11I can't die!
18:13It's inside of me!
18:14It won't let me die!
18:15Yeah, I'm not following.
18:17Rich was exposed
18:18to an alien parasite.
18:20It was inside him.
18:22Were you familiar
18:23with Area 67?
18:25I'd heard of it, yeah.
18:27There's this AM radio station
18:28I used to listen to
18:29back in Foxburg.
18:30Kept me awake
18:31when I was working late.
18:32The host was obsessed
18:34with UFOs.
18:35Val's Velvet Bunker?
18:36That's the one.
18:37He was a little bit out there,
18:39but always entertaining.
18:41Area 51 is theater.
18:44Do you believe,
18:45do you really believe
18:47the most secretive military
18:49installation in the world
18:50would let itself
18:51become a tourist attraction?
18:53No, no, no, no.
18:55Area 51 is the distraction.
18:57Area 67 is the real deal.
19:00You know why California
19:01has all those earthquakes?
19:03It's not San Andreas Fault,
19:05my friends.
19:06It's the sonic resonance
19:07from Area 67's
19:09underground testing chambers.
19:11Did you believe
19:12in his theories?
19:12No.
19:13No.
19:14Uh, like I said,
19:15just entertainment.
19:16Let's hear from a caller.
19:17Hi, name's John.
19:18Long-time listener,
19:19fourth-time caller.
19:19Hey, John from Foxburg.
19:22Welcome back.
19:22What have you got
19:23for us tonight?
19:23I swear to God,
19:25I just saw a UFO.
19:29John is such a common name.
19:31I'm open to the possibility
19:32of extraterrestrial life.
19:34You are?
19:35Yeah.
19:36I mean, it's a big universe.
19:37Anything could be out there.
19:38I don't know.
19:39People who claim
19:39to have seen aliens
19:40tend to be a little off.
19:42You were friends
19:43with a corpse, right?
19:43Well, yeah,
19:44we were more than friends,
19:45but fair enough.
19:46Okay.
19:47Legally,
19:48is it necrophilia
19:49if she only did
19:49over-the-clothes stuff?
19:50That's a great question.
19:51Oh, I definitely believe.
19:53In fact,
19:55I've been abducted
19:56by aliens.
19:57Really?
19:58Multiple times.
19:59Apparently,
20:01I'm a fascinating subject.
20:03I remember the last time
20:04Smitty was abducted.
20:06Turns out he partied
20:07too hard in Vegas
20:08and woke up in Wisconsin.
20:09Missing time.
20:11One of the hallmarks
20:12of alien abductions
20:14had binge drinking.
20:15The point is
20:16the government
20:17had little gray men
20:19in their secret labs
20:20for decades.
20:22What are they doing
20:22with them?
20:23They're implanting
20:24the aliens
20:24in unsuspecting hosts
20:26and taking over
20:26their bodies.
20:28You just never know
20:29who might be one of them.
20:32Some people
20:33in the station
20:34believed Rich
20:35stabbed himself
20:35to kill an alien parasite.
20:37But I wouldn't say
20:39that was a dominant theory.
20:41It wasn't long
20:41before we figured out
20:42Rich believed
20:43something darker
20:44and it was connected
20:46to the seven murders.
20:47Then why did Rich
20:48break into the army base?
20:49Yes,
20:50I remember the incident.
20:52Rich Rowley
20:52cut through a fence.
20:53He trespassed
20:54on government property.
20:55He was promptly apprehended
20:57and sent on his way.
20:58Do you have any idea
20:59what Rich was looking for?
21:00As it turns out,
21:01he was looking for me.
21:03But not because
21:05of any alleged aliens.
21:06So why did he come?
21:10This part is a little bit embarrassing.
21:15Before I found my calling
21:16in the military,
21:17I thought that
21:18I wanted to be an actor
21:19and I was in a few DTV movies.
21:23What's DTV?
21:24You're so young.
21:25Direct to video.
21:26They made all these
21:27super cheap movies
21:29back in the 80s and 90s.
21:30You make them
21:31as cheaply as possible
21:32and then hope
21:33that someone was drawn in
21:34enough by the cover art
21:35to rent them.
21:37A guy can't have a side gig?
21:39Totally.
21:39How did you get into acting?
21:40Some director scouted me
21:42when I pulled him over.
21:43He said I had a
21:45bitch and bod.
21:46Well, he wasn't wrong.
21:47But I gave it up
21:49because the people of this city
21:50needed a savior.
21:53Yeah, you are the model
21:54of public service.
21:55Right?
21:56Anyway,
21:57Rich became interested
21:58in this terrible B movie
22:00that I was in.
22:02I played a monk.
22:03It was called
22:04300 Days of Hell.
22:09Terrible B movie?
22:10That's what you called it?
22:12300 Days of Hell
22:13is the scariest film
22:14of the 1990s.
22:15Really?
22:15The Ring,
22:16Scream,
22:16Blair Witch Project?
22:17Which one of us
22:18executive produced
22:19a horror movie?
22:20Trust me,
22:20T-H-D-O-H
22:22is true nightmare fuel.
22:24It's not that scary.
22:25She may be watching
22:26the beginning
22:27of our relationship.
22:28When he was still
22:29trying to impress me.
22:31You want to watch
22:32it again tonight?
22:34I would.
22:35Totally.
22:36I do have plans, though.
22:40Yeah, I'm not
22:40watching that crap.
22:41Even if it is for a case.
22:42I see enough horror
22:44on the job.
22:45That being said,
22:46300 Days of Hell
22:48was our first real window
22:49into the rabbit hole
22:50that Rich had gone down.
22:51A rabbit hole
22:52filled with demons.
22:53Or rather,
22:54a demon.
22:55So Rich believed
22:56a demon had killed
22:57all those people?
22:57No, the killers
22:58were definitely human.
22:59Killers, plural?
23:00Yeah, there was
23:01different trace DNA
23:02on all the bodies.
23:04All from different subjects
23:04and none of them
23:05were in the system.
23:07Meaning?
23:08The murders were committed
23:08by a group of people
23:09with shared beliefs.
23:11A murder cult.
23:12The cult believed
23:13a demon named Malifus
23:15had been possessing people
23:16all across the city,
23:17jumping from host to host.
23:18and it was up to them
23:20to stop it.
23:26The legend of Malifus
23:28is centuries old.
23:29The first mention
23:30we see of him
23:31is 1433's
23:33Lesser Grimoire of Solomon
23:34by Slovenian Inquisitor
23:36Terencius Bruma.
23:38A reference text
23:40of demons
23:41and their attributes.
23:43Gnarly.
23:43Right?
23:44He's also known
23:46as the deceiver,
23:47the infestor
23:48and demon
23:48of 300 days.
23:50Why?
23:50Once summoned to Earth,
23:51Malifus won't rest
23:52until he finds
23:53a human host.
23:54After possession begins,
23:56he incubates.
23:58300 days.
23:59What happens
24:00after 300 days?
24:01He reaches full strength
24:03and his power
24:04becomes uncontainable.
24:06Uh-oh.
24:09If Malifus was summoned to Earth,
24:11how would one stop him?
24:13Bruma suggests
24:14killing the host
24:15might slow Malifus down,
24:16forcing him to
24:17regenerate
24:18before he can find
24:19a new host.
24:20A process that also
24:21can be slowed
24:22by the use of copper.
24:25It was the pennies.
24:27The pennies.
24:27It all came back
24:28to the pennies.
24:29Before 1984,
24:31U.S. pennies
24:31were 95% copper.
24:33So the copper
24:33in the pennies
24:34was meant to bind
24:35the demon,
24:35but what about
24:36the 1930 part?
24:37Are you familiar
24:39with numerology?
24:41Some ancient peoples
24:43and Taylor Swift
24:44believed there was
24:46a mystical connection
24:47between letters
24:48and numbers.
24:50Using the Chaldean method,
24:51the name Malifus
24:52becomes a digit 1930.
24:54So you're saying...
24:55We had a theory.
24:56Whoever killed
24:57those people
24:58believed the victims
24:59were possessed
25:00by Malifus.
25:01They had to
25:02reach Malifus' host
25:04before
25:04he reached
25:05his true form.
25:06A 1930 penny
25:07was the perfect tool.
25:08Yeah.
25:09Rich's talk of
25:10it's inside me,
25:11it won't let me die,
25:12he thought he was
25:13infested by this demon
25:14too, and that's
25:15why he killed himself.
25:17Wait, I thought
25:18Rich didn't believe
25:19in Malifus.
25:19Isn't that why
25:20he was trying
25:20to stop the cult?
25:21Yes, but years
25:22of obsession
25:23and paranoia
25:23can do a number
25:24on a person's psyche.
25:26It seems as though
25:26in the end,
25:27Rich could no longer
25:28distinguish fantasy
25:29from reality.
25:30And you got this theory
25:31from Rich's files?
25:32Well, we actually
25:33got it from Opus.
25:34And they say
25:35watching old horror movies
25:37isn't a good use
25:38of time.
25:39I never said that.
25:48Are we safe, brother?
25:50Is Malifus banished?
25:52His sigil is drawn.
25:54The right is spoken.
25:56We have sealed
25:57his last human vessel
25:58with copper.
26:06Heaven forgive us.
26:07Indeed, for hell
26:11will not.
26:14Midnight.
26:15The 300th day.
26:18Our task was done
26:20none too soon.
26:47Yeah, that was me.
26:52Do you guys want a glass?
26:53You got anything stronger?
26:56Fine, I'll just
26:57take a glass.
26:59Okay, I'll just
26:59I'll have nothing,
27:00actually.
27:01No fun for me.
27:03Yeah, that was
27:04my first big movie role.
27:06Well, my only one,
27:08really.
27:10Rich was so excited
27:11when I told him
27:12I booked it.
27:13He helped me run lines.
27:14Did Rich buy into
27:15the Malifus mythology?
27:16No.
27:18Weirdly, given all the
27:19conspiracies that Rich
27:20believed in,
27:21he was a total atheist.
27:23But I wouldn't have
27:24blamed him after
27:25everything that happened
27:26on that shoot.
27:27Like what?
27:30Before production
27:31wrapped,
27:31the DP was paralyzed
27:33driving to set.
27:34A stunt person
27:35had his leg amputated.
27:36There were divorces,
27:38bankruptcies,
27:38careers ended.
27:39One of the actors
27:41even died
27:42in his hotel room.
27:44People say
27:44the production
27:44was cursed.
27:46What about you?
27:47What do you believe?
27:48I believe the real curse
27:50was the director.
27:52He was a reckless
27:53maniac that didn't
27:54know how to run a set.
27:56Cuts!
27:56Cuts!
27:58Arthur!
27:59Arthur!
28:00Your strangulation,
28:01it has to be
28:03real.
28:04I want to feel
28:05a life draining
28:05from him.
28:06And you,
28:07you,
28:07you cannot move
28:09from your position,
28:10not even an inch.
28:12Guys,
28:12this ritual
28:14is extremely specific.
28:16Okay?
28:17Let's go again.
28:18Okay.
28:19I thought I was
28:19choking you pretty well.
28:20I'm sorry.
28:21Okay?
28:21I'm going to choke you
28:22a little hard.
28:22Ready?
28:23Douglas was real touchy
28:24about the religious stuff.
28:26I guess he had grown up
28:26in some sort of commune.
28:28And this was all based
28:29on stories he was told
28:30growing up.
28:31Okay,
28:31but what I heard
28:32is that they accidentally
28:33summoned Malifus for real.
28:35The director found
28:36some ancient tome
28:37and inserted the incantation
28:39and rituals verbatim.
28:41Ooh,
28:41I love that.
28:42And that's what got me
28:43thinking about the penny killings.
28:45We found the first victim
28:46just a little under 300 days
28:48after the summoning ritual
28:49was filmed.
28:50We knew Rich was aware
28:51of the Malifus legends.
28:52It was only natural
28:53to link them.
28:54So Rich thought
28:55that penny victims
28:56were killed by people
28:57trying to stop Malifus.
28:58Was he able to identify
28:59any of these killers?
29:00We know he tried.
29:03Hi.
29:03Hey,
29:04how are you?
29:04Jared.
29:05Hello.
29:07It's a pleasure
29:09to meet you, gentlemen.
29:10Pleasure to meet you, too.
29:11Why don't you tell us
29:12about yourselves?
29:12Yeah,
29:13we co-starred
29:15on a TV show together
29:17for 15 seasons
29:19called Supernatural.
29:21Yeah,
29:21we played Sam
29:22and Dean Winchester,
29:24brothers that,
29:25you know,
29:26tracked and fought
29:27Supernatural beings.
29:29Like K-pop demon hunters?
29:31No,
29:31no,
29:32not like that.
29:32I mean,
29:33you're kind of like that.
29:35Okay.
29:36Can you tell us
29:37about your encounter
29:38with Rich Rowley?
29:38Yeah,
29:39yeah,
29:39yeah,
29:40Rich Rowley.
29:40He came to a fan event
29:43we did last year
29:45at MonsterCon.
29:46Yeah,
29:46you know,
29:47most people show up
29:47and they just want
29:48the autograph
29:49for a photo.
29:51but Rich was
29:53sort of a different beast
29:54altogether.
29:55Yeah,
29:56yeah,
29:56he was super fixated
29:58on this one particular episode
30:00where we fought a demon.
30:01Malifus.
30:02Yeah,
30:03that one.
30:04Anyway,
30:05he seemed to think
30:06we,
30:06like,
30:07knew more
30:08about it
30:09than we were saying.
30:10More about what?
30:11Demon hunting.
30:12He kept, like,
30:13asking these
30:14super pointed questions
30:16like he was,
30:17I don't know,
30:18testing us
30:19or something.
30:19Did you have an answer?
30:21No.
30:22No,
30:22I mean,
30:22we didn't,
30:22we didn't come up
30:24with these stories,
30:24you know,
30:25we just did what
30:25the writers wrote.
30:26It's called acting.
30:28There's no actual
30:29demon hunters
30:29in real life.
30:30Exactly.
30:31Uh,
30:32that's not exactly true.
30:33There is at least one
30:35and it actually connected
30:37to the movie.
30:39We heard the director
30:40brought a priest
30:41named Father Simon McCabe
30:42to bless the set
30:43every day before filming.
30:44Well,
30:45it was either that
30:45or the whole crew
30:46was going to walk.
30:47Does that name
30:48mean anything to you?
30:51About 15 years ago,
30:52Lopez and I had just
30:53finished our rookie years.
30:55We responded to a,
30:55call it a house
30:56of a priest
30:57doing an exorcism
30:58with a 16-year-old girl.
30:59It had been going on
31:00for three days.
31:04Police!
31:07Help her!
31:08Please!
31:16Get away from her!
31:19Father!
31:20Father, forgive me!
31:21Father, forgive me!
31:27Did you feel like
31:28you'd seen the devil?
31:29The only thing in that room
31:30that belonged in hell
31:31was Father Simon.
31:32He kept saying
31:33he had to.
31:34The whole way
31:35to the station.
31:35I'm sorry I had to.
31:37I'm sorry I had to.
31:38Because he believed
31:39she was possessed.
31:40She had a brain tumor.
31:42That's what they found
31:43after the autopsy.
31:44She needed a doctor,
31:45not an exorcism.
31:46And he wasn't a man of God.
31:48He was a killer.
31:48The courts agreed.
31:50So Father Simon
31:51was convicted
31:52of first-degree murder.
31:53When we processed him,
31:54we found a penny
31:55in his pocket.
31:56Nothing else,
31:56just a penny.
31:57Didn't mean anything
31:58at the time,
31:58but after Rich
31:59connected those seven murders,
32:00it seemed likely
32:01he was involved.
32:02Involved?
32:03Like he killed them?
32:04No, Simon was already
32:05in prison when
32:06five of the murders
32:07took place.
32:08And his DNA
32:09didn't match any
32:10that was found
32:10on the corpses.
32:11But he could have been
32:13part of whatever group
32:14Rich was so afraid of.
32:15Which means he knew
32:16more than he had told us,
32:18so we had to go back.
32:20Officers,
32:21I remember you.
32:23You were the ones
32:23who tried to stop the ritual.
32:25I just wish
32:25we would have gotten here sooner.
32:26Becca Scott might still be alive.
32:28Oh, she was long gone
32:29before you arrived.
32:30The demon saw to that.
32:32Malifus?
32:34Do not say its name
32:36in my presence.
32:37Boy, are you afraid
32:37we may accidentally summon it?
32:39You may scorn me
32:42and my beliefs,
32:43but I have fought this evil.
32:44I know enough
32:45to fear its power.
32:46What's more evil
32:47than murdering a child?
32:49I took no pleasure
32:50in the act.
32:51I'm grateful I had
32:52the courage
32:52to do what was necessary.
32:54Courage?
32:54Tell us about the penny
32:56that was in your pocket.
32:57In the movie
32:58300 Days of Hell,
32:59Malifus is sealed
33:00inside his host
33:01with copper
33:01before he can be killed.
33:03Banished.
33:04Not killed.
33:05What's the difference?
33:07The demon is a
33:09parasite.
33:10It needs a host.
33:11Once you kill the body
33:12that inhabits it,
33:14find a new one.
33:15Becca Scott
33:16was just a single battle
33:17in a larger war.
33:19If you're in here,
33:20who's doing the fighting now?
33:23The Knights of Avila.
33:26Los Angeles
33:26has a long history
33:28of spiritualism,
33:30esoteric religions
33:30that go back
33:31over 100 years.
33:32So think
33:32Aleister Crowley,
33:34Jack Parsons,
33:34L. Ron Hubbard.
33:35He freaking loves this stuff.
33:37I do.
33:37Anyway,
33:39a lot of these groups
33:39started out
33:40as fraternal orders,
33:41similar to the Freemasons,
33:43where people would gather
33:44and share.
33:46Well, yeah,
33:46yes,
33:47and some women,
33:48and they would share
33:49new ideas,
33:50explore philosophies.
33:52They also liked
33:53partying,
33:54doing drugs,
33:55and performing
33:55weird sex rituals.
33:57Sign me up
34:00for the intellectual
34:01exchanging of ideas,
34:02obviously.
34:03So the Knights of Avila
34:04is one of these groups?
34:06It was.
34:06Like a lot of the
34:07similar organizations
34:08at the time,
34:08it fell apart
34:09when the founder died.
34:10It hasn't been active
34:11in 60 years?
34:13Then what was
34:13Father Simon talking about?
34:14Based on Tim and Lopez's
34:16conversation with
34:17Father Simon,
34:18we began to believe
34:19that the group,
34:20or at least the name,
34:22had been revived
34:23sometime in the late 90s
34:24to the early 2000s
34:26and rebranded
34:27as some kind of
34:28demon hunting cult.
34:30So Rich was actually right.
34:33There was a murderous
34:34cabal after him.
34:35It seemed that way,
34:36and we were getting
34:37close to discovering
34:39who their ringleader was.
34:42I found him.
34:43Found who?
34:44Doug Roberts.
34:45I want to fill
34:46a life training for him.
34:47Oh, you mean the director
34:48of the sad little
34:49demon porn?
34:50Where?
34:50I was going through
34:51some old industry trades
34:52from around the time
34:53THDOH was slated
34:54to come out.
34:55One of the articles
34:56mentioned that Roberts
34:57was a client of
34:58Stuart Wynecliffe
34:58at the Golden Talent Agency.
34:59The guy hasn't made
35:00a movie in 26 years.
35:01I doubt they still
35:02read him.
35:03Not actively, no,
35:04but I called their offices
35:05and I bribed her like...
35:07I talked one of the assistants
35:08into giving me the address
35:09where his residual
35:10checks are sent.
35:11It's downtown.
35:12Let's go.
35:12Uh, hold on.
35:13You just want to go
35:14doorstep the guy?
35:15If that means go
35:16knock on a door
35:16while also filming,
35:17then yes.
35:18Yeah, I'm not in the business
35:19of gotcha journalism.
35:20What about the business
35:22of making that paper?
35:24The guap?
35:25Money, guy.
35:27Come on.
35:27The doc business
35:27is oversaturated these days.
35:29We need footage
35:30that P.O.P.'s.
35:31And what pops more
35:32than blindsiding
35:33a potential cult leader?
35:35Come on.
35:36What's the worst
35:37that could happen?
35:39This is it.
35:41Okay.
35:42Um, uh, here.
35:43Here's your camera.
35:44Um, I don't operate.
35:46Oh, well.
35:50Now, you do.
35:53Let's go.
35:56What floor is it on?
35:58Eight.
35:58But, uh, there's an elevator.
35:59Don't worry.
36:06Are you sure it's that way?
36:08Yep.
36:10Nope.
36:11You know,
36:12at the risk of being called
36:13a scaredy cat,
36:14you do understand
36:15that this is inherently
36:17neither a wise
36:18nor safe activity.
36:19You're asking a woman
36:20if she understands
36:21that it's inherently dangerous
36:23to go anywhere
36:24or do anything?
36:25When you put it that way,
36:27I sound like an ass.
36:32Maybe we should
36:33come back?
36:34Hey, hello.
36:36Douglas Roberts.
36:36We're here to question you
36:37about murders and demons.
36:39That should get his attention.
36:42Oh!
36:44I am just an intern.
36:47So,
36:48clearly we're not deceased,
36:50which means...
36:51We saved you
36:52from certain deaths?
36:53I'm not sure
36:54how certain it was, right?
36:55Oh, it felt
36:56pretty certain to me.
36:57Please don't kill us.
36:58We will join your cult.
36:59Is there a membership fee
37:00or a secret handshake?
37:01I love a secret handshake.
37:02Ignore her.
37:03She's not right in the head.
37:04In fact,
37:04she has short-term memory issues,
37:05so if you let her go now,
37:06she won't remember any of this.
37:07Just shut up.
37:08No one's going anywhere.
37:09I mean,
37:09technically we're all
37:10going somewhere.
37:16All right, let him go.
37:17Get your hands up.
37:18Up against the jeep now.
37:20Let's go.
37:26Oh, my God.
37:27Yeah.
37:28Thanks for trying to save me,
37:30even though I'm the one
37:31who put us in danger.
37:32No problem.
37:34I was about to do the same thing,
37:36but you just beat me to it.
37:38I can be noble, too.
37:39No doubt.
37:40Yeah.
37:41I get very claustrophobic.
37:42Can I just point out
37:43how claustrophobic I get, please?
37:44So, when did you
37:45and Douglas meet?
37:47The movie.
37:48He was, you know,
37:50so commanding and driven
37:52and everything I wasn't.
37:53When did he start talking
37:54about killing the demon?
37:56It was at least a year after that.
37:59He would call me late at night
38:00and talk about the demon
38:02and how scared he was
38:03for the world,
38:04and eventually it started
38:06to make sense.
38:07And he told you
38:08that someone was possessed?
38:10Correct.
38:11Her name was Cynthia.
38:13Um, she cried
38:15when I tied her up,
38:16and she kept saying
38:17that she was not a demon.
38:19She begged me
38:20to believe her,
38:20and at that point
38:26he was very deep
38:27in my head.
38:29And then tonight,
38:30you know,
38:30all the lies
38:31he was spewing
38:31at the end,
38:33it was like somebody
38:34turned on the light switch.
38:35I could just see him
38:36for who he was.
38:38So pathetic.
38:42We'll need you
38:43to write up
38:43a detailed confession.
38:49I would like
38:50to make a deal.
38:52Uh, we have already
38:54located your co-conspirators.
38:55You don't really
38:56have anything to offer.
38:59You don't want to know
39:00what an alien spaceship
39:01looks like?
39:03I am all that stands
39:05between the world
39:07and damnation.
39:09So all of the people
39:10that you had targeted,
39:11they had to die
39:12for the greater good.
39:14Yes.
39:15And my heart breaks
39:16for each of them.
39:18But I will not let
39:19innocence fall to perdition.
39:21Okay.
39:22Have you had
39:22your fill of BS?
39:24God, yes.
39:25Okay, me too.
39:25So, uh,
39:26first victim.
39:29Cynthia Green.
39:30You dated for two years
39:31before she cheated on you.
39:32Marcus Ford.
39:33He worked as a teamster
39:34on your movie,
39:35then later sued you
39:36for non-payment.
39:38Pamela Jones
39:39wrote a scathing review
39:41of your movie.
39:42Really?
39:43I...
39:43I had no idea.
39:45All seven victims
39:46were people who
39:46wronged you in some way.
39:48You don't even believe
39:49in the demon.
39:50You just used it
39:51as a tool to get people
39:52with weak minds
39:53to do your dirty work
39:54for you.
39:57Exactly.
39:58I was the director.
40:00I think you'll find
40:00I never laid a finger
40:03on any of the victims.
40:04And I think you will find
40:06that Manson died in prison.
40:10All right.
40:12Uh, anything else?
40:13No, I think we got everything.
40:15Okay.
40:17That was a crazy one, huh?
40:18Tell me about it.
40:19And look,
40:20thanks so much
40:21for all of your time
40:21and for saving our lives.
40:23Anything from
40:24my favorite documentarian?
40:25Actually, the only documentarian
40:26I know.
40:26Not true.
40:27I'm a documentarian, too.
40:28Of course.
40:29Yes.
40:29Oh, speaking of,
40:31how did this whole
40:32working together thing go?
40:34Is this the start
40:35of a beautiful friendship?
40:36I don't know.
40:37I mean,
40:38we have very different styles
40:39and instincts
40:41and, well,
40:42basically everything,
40:42but I'd be open
40:44to do another collaboration.
40:47Oh, um,
40:49it's just I, uh,
40:50I kind of signed
40:51an exclusive three-film deal
40:52with Hulu.
40:54What?
40:54Yeah.
40:55I, um,
40:56I sent them a sizzle reel
40:56of this project.
40:57Just the me parts
40:58and, uh,
40:59they freaked,
40:59said I'm going to be
41:00the new face
41:01of true crime.
41:02Their words.
41:03Wow.
41:03I mean,
41:04you'd probably be able
41:05to bring him along,
41:06though, right?
41:07Oh, totally.
41:09Totally.
41:11I gotta go.
41:12But, uh,
41:13thanks again.
41:14Hello?
41:15No,
41:16I said Toronto
41:16and then camp.
41:19She'll probably call you.
41:22Yeah.
41:29I said Toronto
41:30I said Toronto
41:34I said Toronto
41:37I said Toronto
41:44I said Toronto
41:45and then camp.
41:45and then camp.
41:45and then camp.
41:45I said Toronto
41:46and then camp.
41:46I said Toronto
41:46I said Toronto
41:46I said Toronto
41:48I said Toronto
41:48and then camp.
41:48I said Toronto
41:58and then camp.
41:59Damn it.
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