November 12, 2018 • 30 mins
The Lit Killer murders gripped the small town of Hollow Falls a decade ago. My aunt, Beth Torres, was framed as the infamous serial killer who based their murders on scenes from classic literature. Now, I'm back at Hollow Falls High. The mission of this podcast is simple. To uncover the truth. To clear my aunt's name. To put the real killer behind bars. Or die trying. I'm Tig Torres and this is Lethal Lit.
EINHORN'S EPIC PRODUCTIONS & iHEARTRADIO PRESENT: LETHAL LIT: A TIG TORRES MYSTERY
Created & Executive Produced By: Heather Einhorn & Adam Staffaroni.
Written, Created, & Executive Produced By: Alex Segura & Monica Gallagher, Directed By: JB Blanc, Produced By: Aroop Sanakkayala, Chris Peterson, & Sandy Smallens.
With performances by: Rebecca Soler, JB Blanc, Matt Gumley, Paul Guyet, Jennifer Jiles, Rachel Oremland, Alba Ponce de Leon, Shelly Shenoy, Luke Slattery, and Gayle Artino
Post Production Supervisor & Mixer: Michael Sinterniklaas,Recording Engineer & Dialogue Editor: Michael Schneider, Sound Designer: Justin Kohler, Composer: Jared Faber, Art: Rebecca Mock, Creative Direction & Design: Ryan McCann, Creative Consultant: Monique Chavez, Studio Manager: Clark Cheng, Production Coordination: Gayle Artino & Laura Martin, Production Assistants: Rachel Slotky & Francesca Calo. Recorded at NYAV Post in New York City
Featuring the songs "Jupiter" performed by Donna Missal - Courtesy of Harvest Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises, and “Guardian Alien” Performed By Dana Williams,Written By Dana Williams (SESAC) and Aaron Pfenning (SESAC) -Courtesy of The Royalty Network, Inc. on behalf of Smiggs Songs (ASCAP), Cactus Palace (SESAC) and Dana Williams
Lethal Lit: A Tig Torres Mystery is a production by Einhorn’s Epic Productions for iHeartRadio.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, lethal listeners, tig torres here stay tuned for the
next episode of Lethal Lit. But before we dive into
today's episode, here's a quick word from our sponsor. You're
about to hear a recording of my aunt Beth taped
at a murder scene she was covering for the local paper.
(00:21):
Two months later, she was dead. It was ruled a suicide.
La was a twenty seven year old woman, brown hair,
brown eyes, five four approximately thirty five pounds, in visible
tattoos or markings. Cause of death unknown. She was found
(00:45):
with two small puncture ruins on the right side of
her neck, dried blood near the entry points. Before you
get too excited and bust out your twilight merch, this
isn't a vampire story. After she died, my aunt was
accused of being a serial murderer known as the lip Killer.
A note found inside the victim's purse, consistent with the
(01:07):
previous ones, reads, you're always a careful student. Now you
are master the colts from John Seward, a character in
Bram Stoker's Dracula. The lip Killer murders gripped the small
town of Hollow Falls a decade ago. By the end
of the killing spree six people, including my aunt Beth.
(01:28):
We're dead. The police discovered a handwritten note next to
our body and decided it was her confession. But my
aunt was no killer. The mission of this podcast is simple,
to uncover the truth, to clear my aunt's name, to
put the real killer behind bars, or die trying. I'm
(01:52):
tig Torres and this is Lethal Lit. Greetings, Lethal Lit listeners,
Welcome to the first episode of our podcast. Well, if
there are any of you out there listening, I'm new
to this whole podcast thing. My home, my past is
(02:16):
a burnt out burg known as Hollow Falls. Back in
the day, it was known for making iron. Now it's
known for board teens getting laid, dealing drugs, and oh yeah,
grizzly murders. My dad knew it was time to bail
once the town decided my aunt was a serial killer.
(02:37):
He wanted a better life for me, one that was
more gossip Girl West twin Peaks. So we ditched for
New York. But my dad lost his job. So now
I'm back in this time warp of a town, living
in my aboilas creeky old house. While he's looking for
new work, I'm here taking the opportunity to make things right.
(03:02):
The only way you can truly understand the lit Killer
is by understanding where they sprang from Hollow Falls. And
since the iron works closed, the only thing in this
town that still has a faint heartbeat is Hollow Falls High.
I managed to sneak through the first week of the
(03:23):
school year, plenty of dirty looks for the new girl,
a few old kindergarten classmates who wouldn't look at me
at all, but I guess that's to be expected. Here
we go on week two. In Pride and Prejudice, the
book Guys, Elizabeth Bennett says, there is a stubbornness about
me that never can bear to be frightened. My courage
(03:45):
always rises at every attempt to intimidate me. That's what
I'm thinking about now, because even though I'm stubborn, I'm scared,
and I need my courage to lead me towards some help.
I need to find out of my way. Psycho Junior Movement.
That's Tony del Canto us D, A approved jock with
(04:07):
resting more on face. He'll be important leader. Hell Man,
what's where I'm going? You're the one. No one wants
you here? Freak show we all know about you and
your messed up family. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
My debut at the school was a rocky one. Everyone
already knew exactly who tig Torres was. But while my
(04:27):
family wasn't loved around here, I still didn't expect to
be body slammed by the high school quarterback before eight am.
I needed to find some allies stat so after school
I decided to check out the student newspaper, The Talent First, guys,
I just wanted to think, Hi, newspaper staff, I'm t
(04:56):
we knew who you are. City Mouse. That's Max Winman.
He it can be a little extra. Sometimes you'll see
what's up. Dorus bored a small film authority, and that's
win Abbott. Both Max and Winner on the newspaper staff.
They don't hate me as much as they seem to. Now.
I'm actually looking for info on the serial murders that
took place here ten years ago. You mean the murders
(05:18):
your aunt committed. She didn't kill anyone, she was framed.
The real killer is still out there. This podcast I'm
starting is gonna put you. That's our friend Tony. I
told you he'd pop up again. You've got to swap
out the picture of me from Tuesday's game. Bro Coach
keeps calling me volcano face because of that giant sit
on my cheek, Show up my better side. You have
(05:39):
a better side. Yeah, that's the one that shows how
much more important football is in this town than whatever
feminazi slumber parties you plan in your kids. Lost, Tony,
you're killing an hostile vibe. That's Ali Price, editor of
the Talent. Oh my bad, sorry to interrupt your chat
with Jackie the Ripper over here. Just fix that shot.
So there's were picks of me actually throwing the ball.
(06:03):
And as for you don't murder anyone, okay, psycho Tony out?
Did he just say Tony out a third person himself?
But just give the meadheads some credit for finally noticing
I've been spotlighting that boulders it for the last three
Yearsues does win with the clap? Is he always such
(06:26):
an alpha douche? Yeah, he's pretty much just a walking
flat line. So why are you here again because you
want to talk serial killers? Yeah? Like I said, I'm
starting a new podcast and you need research people to
help you out with that. We're all kind of serial
killer experts around here. But I think you can handle
things when the research gets a little gory, a little
(06:47):
messed up. Messed up like an entire town thinking your
aunt was a murderer and blaming your whole fan for
the last decade. That sounds more sad than anything. And
I gotta handle on gory, like how Jeffrey Dahmer used
to feed his neighbor's sand jizzy made from his victor
lunch is canceled. Okay, okay, maybe you can't hang with
this crew. Hold on a sect? Is this? This is
(07:11):
the moment where I know I'm in the right place.
These Junior Sarah Kaneggs not only had a map of
the town hanging up in the newspaper office, but it
was loaded with color coded pushpins and strings. Each one
pointed to a lip killer murder, plus a photo of
the victim, along with one of my aunt Beth and
(07:32):
one of me. This is for a memorial edition of
the talent, ten years since the lid killer murders, the
town's only real claim to fame. You know, it's it
forever to get it approved, but our adviser, Mr Levinson
pulled the strings for us. Wow, So that's how you
knew who I was. You've already done a bunch of
the same research I have. I mean, you could have
picked a less freshmany photo. But whatever, it's cool. So
(07:56):
what's this week's topic? The lip Killer's Dracula style fourth murder?
Is it all podcasts and no play with you? Pretty
much until I prove my aunt's innocence And you think
you can do that? Oh? I know I can do it,
but I could also really use some support. I feel
like I'm an instant outcast here. I figured, since you
(08:18):
guys are already interested in this kind of thing, maybe
we could team up. What do you say, help a
new girl out? Cute? But why should we believe you?
Of course you think your aunt's innocence. She's your aunt,
but the evidence says otherwise. Yeah. True, But what if
the evidence the town wants us to believe is wrong.
(08:39):
What if the people in charge of the evidence we're
looking for an easy fix instead of the truth. Yeah,
I'm not really buying it. Maybe you're just trying to
convince yourself you will become a slaughter siren like your aunts. Fine, whatever,
I just thought maybe the newspaper staff would be less
gullible than the rest of this zombie town. Dude, have
you been recording our conversation this whole time? It's not
(08:59):
even like legal Relax Innocence project. I just had it
on in case you guys said anything useful, but no
worries he didn't. Taurus has some bite. I like it,
all right? Can you call us when you like have
some actual proof. In the meantime, can we get back
to whatever we were doing before this whole encounter? How's this?
(09:21):
Stop the presses? Everyone? It's the missing link a printed photo,
not guiltily. Wait is that bes Taurus? Do not call
her that? TESTI? TESTI Okay? So uh all right, it's
your aunt and you and we care because check your pinboard, Watson.
(09:44):
It was taken at the annual Hollow Falls Harvest Festival.
Look at the time stamp? WHOA? The lip Killer's fourth victim,
Mary Wozniak, was murdered on June eleven, two and eight.
The coroner's report gave the time of death that noon,
the time stamp on my photo one PM. Not enough
(10:06):
to prove her innocence, but just enough to make you
scratch your head and think that maybe, just maybe my
Auntbeth wasn't the lip killer, so had I gotten some
backup from Win Ali and Max? But I wasn't sure yet.
But I still needed to dive into the Hollow Falls
i'd missed out on after my dad and I skipped town.
(10:28):
The best way to do that would be by talking
to someone who had survived the last decade intact mostly. Okay,
can you state your name for the tape? Please, Abuela
no Ahuilla, your real name, Oh, Sophia Urabella. Thanks for clarifying.
(10:51):
I want to talk a little bit about Hollow Falls,
color Falls city, sip sucks, that's what You'rbeth. Bobby always
said to me, Mommy, I'm bored, Mommy, why do we
live here? I've heard it all before, Minina, So I'm
ready for you. This is my Aboila. She's wonderful, smart, funny, and,
(11:16):
let's be honest, a little crazy, and I wanted to
get a better sense of how the town had changed
since my dad and I left a Boila, I told
you this is for the podcast, which for you would
be kind of like an old radio show. I know
what a podcast is, right, Okay, So what can you
tell me about the town? What's the vibe like here,
(11:39):
vibe is bad, very very bad. But I don't know
how much you want me to say. I need you
to be honest, Ninya. I am always honest, you know that.
But in this town you don't want to say too much.
You know, there are a lot of people in this
town who don't like our family to Haboila. Okay, okay.
(12:04):
Hollow Falls used to be a nice place. But this
was years ago, when there were jobs, when people helped
each other. When you're Abuelow, God rest his soul first
moved us to Hollow Falls. But times change. When the
iron works closed, the jobs point away, and the town
(12:25):
it got different, different, how not trust. You didn't say
hi to your neighbors anymore. You locked your doors. The
whole town had gone to the birds. So many birds, birds, yes, yes,
so many birds. The whole town was infested with wings,
feathers to saois all over the place. I think that's
(12:49):
what created that monstro, that murderer who took my best.
Like I said, mostly intact, my interview with Aboila Sophia done,
and after getting nothing from the principal's office at school,
his assistant did a convincing impression of a brick wall.
It was time to hit the streets and dig up
some facts from the town itself. I decided my next
(13:11):
stop would be the Hollow Falls Police Department. They dropped
the ball in a major way when it came to
the lip killer case and totally took the easy way out.
But that doesn't mean they don't have info I could use. Hey, Hi,
how did you get back in? Um? I had an
appointment to see Detective Carver. Is she around here? Have
(13:31):
an appointment with Laura? That's odd? No, she's not around.
I'm a partner Detective Jake Lahne. Can I help you? Yeah? Actually,
I'm working on a project about the lit killer case,
and I wanted to talk to someone about where the
investigation stand. Well. I wasn't around back then, but I
know the cases officially closed. That reported did it? Why
(13:53):
would you want to do a project about such? Are
you sure she did it? Have you looked over the evidence?
I haven't. When we studied at the academy a bit.
It's kind of a haky case. Yeah, something about the
killer's suicide, how it looks different from the murder. Have
you lost your rookie mind? Oh? The sex of car.
This is Tig Torres, niece of Bes Torres, and you,
(14:18):
my young, inexperienced partner, are spilling confidential info about her
aunt's case to her. What's wrong with this picture, Lee Haine,
her aunt as for you, Torres, would be in your
best interest to turn off that recording device and walk
out that door immediately. The lit killer case is closed,
has been for a long time. Come on go. It's
(14:39):
hard to argue with a police detective asking well, demanding
you leave a police station. So I did, but Lehane's
loose lips gave me more than I expected, a little hope. Still,
I needed hard facts. Next up was the place where
my aunt Beth broke the lit killer story and where
it bro her. I ran into Win on my way
(15:04):
to the Hollow Falls Ledger, my aunt's old workplace. Once
a thriving daily paper, the Ledger was now a fading relic.
Hallow Falls Ledger. This is hang on a sec. Hi.
Can I help you too? Hi? We're Tig and Win
and we're high school students working on a report about
(15:25):
the lip killer. Is there anyone here who could help
us with our research? It's really important we get a
good grade. On this. We're always chasing them. Maze. I'm sorry,
I don't think we can help you. Is Sam Steiner here?
He used to work with Beth Torres back in the day.
Sam doesn't work here anymore, young lady, So I'm sorry. Well,
(15:47):
do you have a number where I could reach him?
And he's been gone for years since, well since the
truth about his partner came out and hit him hard.
You mean the lie hit him hard because it was all, Oh, ma'am,
Is there any way that you can help us find Sam? Look,
people come and go, especially in this business. It feels
like we've got a new wave of layoffs every week.
(16:09):
But Sam was out of here years ago, and last
I already harmited himself away in the woods. You need
more than that. They'll take a high see if you
can find him. My aunt Beth always said that a
big part of reporting was showing up and asking questions.
This time we barely got to ask any questions. But
just when I thought all of Hollow Falls was going
(16:30):
to be a massive black hole of info, I found
something in the place I should have checked first. Maya
Buda's houses on the edge of town. She's lucky. People
tend to leave her alone. Well, mostly there are the
occasional burnouts looking to egg the dump where Beth lip
Killer Torres grew up, and knowing how desperate the cops
(16:52):
were to close the lip killer case back then, I
knew they couldn't have gotten all of Aunt Beth's notes.
I felt like I had a good chance of finding
something police were too basic to see. And where better
to kick off my search for evidence than in Aboila's
giant rickety house. When stopped by and offered to help,
so I roped her into searching a What is attic
(17:14):
with me? She's taking a nap right now, Hence the
whispering where this police has death trap written all over it.
If I see a spider, I'm out. No promises. Maybe
the dust will keep them out. I came out of nowhere.
Are you sure this police is haunted? That was the
sound of me stepping on a loose floorboard. I have
(17:35):
the bruises to prove it. But what was underneath was
a gold mine. What is that? It was a fortune Teller,
an oregonmy paper game with folded parts that were labeled
with colors and letters. I tried a few combinations like
blue and z. But it left me flat. Maybe it
was nothing. Maybe I was looking for meaning in a
(17:56):
child's toy. I was still ending in that broken down attict,
trying to figure out what a piece of paper meant.
When I saw it a bookshelf across the room, my
eyes stopped on one book in particular, The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the story of a colonial woman forced
to wear a red a on her clothing because the
(18:17):
whole town decided to slut shame her. The story of
a woman who had become a pariah. Scarlet. That's got
to be it. It's one of the books on the
shelf here. So what though, I mean, everybody has a
copy of that book. That's the point. When these are
literary classics. It ties into the case directly. Check it out.
(18:41):
When I flipped from red to A there's a number
under that flap, three digits, like a page number in
a book. Please be a page number in the book.
Oh are you kidding me? Maybe it underestimated you girl. Thanks.
Here in the margins of the page, it says Duvall Street.
(19:05):
And look at the symbol on the facing page. I
ever seen that? No, that just looks like a bird
in a circle. But that address is near Hemlock Row.
My parents always said to avoid that strip. I can't wait. Okay,
I'm walking through town with Max and we're almost at
(19:26):
two Ball Street when said she needed a massive detox
after snorting up so much dust in my boils attic.
Max knows the drain better than I do, so he's
taking point. I haven't been all the way down here,
but I think we're close. This is kind of like
treasure hunting, right, I mean in this area, it's more
like dumpster diving. But still, Oh, there it is Ball Street. Hey,
(19:51):
that's actually kind of cool. Styles always where you least expected.
It was a diner dressed up like a Johnny rockets
on crap Ray Bradberry with a dash of Stephen King.
But why did my aunt's clue sent me here? Hey, kiddos,
are you staring at You're smoking them molly pills? I
(20:12):
wish I was. This is jaded waiter Phil. We found
him smoking outside the Star Diner. I kind of love him. Oh,
we were just admiring the design of this place. Is
this a bank scene? Who the heck is Spanksy? I
don't understand half of what you can't say today. This
place used to be nice, but now it's all ganda happy.
(20:34):
Look at that damn sign give me a freaking headache.
With every flicker, the A and Star diner was suffering
from a faulty bulb. The sign was also read a
red scarlet letter a bingo. After a few fruitless circles
around the sign, we almost gave up. But remember that
(20:55):
symbol we noticed in the book. It was crudely scratched
into the sign posts electrical panel. We pried it open
and found a small box with a tiny black cassette
tape inside. Aunt Beth must have used these for recording
her thoughts, her genius and Beth thoughts. Thankfully, even Hollow
Falls was within Amazon Primes rate, so I could find
(21:18):
a recorder to play it. But that wasn't all. In
the box with the mini cassette was a slip of paper.
Oh my god, damn, your aunt is literally passing us
notes from beyond the grave. Is it better for a
man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed
upon him? That sounds familiar. Let me look it up
(21:39):
on my phone. I was right. It's from a clockwork
orange whoa, We're totally on a treasure hunting dumpster diving adventure. Now,
what did I tell you? Our next move was to
try and get our hands on a copy of Anthony
Burgess's book. With that in mind, I headed to one
of the few useful places left in town, the Hollow
(22:01):
Falls Library. Man, I love the library. I'd forgotten how
many fond memories I had of the Hollow Falls branch.
Fond memories and Hollow Falls are two phrases you don't
hear together much. It just got so much personality, from
the old school clock tower to the retro filing system.
(22:21):
I didn't find any copies of clockwork orange, but I
did dig up an article about an internship program teaming
up the talent and the Hollow Falls Ledger. No such
program exists now, though not to self asked Mr Levinson
about why it was discontinued. Hey cordin yourself again? What no?
(22:41):
And just never mind? Yes, I am so. I got
bored and googled you last night. Weird. It seems you're
not a newvie when it comes to the world of
true crime. Take twar us or should I call you?
Elizabeth Salamander? Nine seven impressive? This is Ali again from
the newspaper, and apparently he frequents the same true crime
(23:04):
message boards. I do the screen name he mentioned. My
screen name is a jokey reference to The Girl with
the Dragon Tattoo books by Steve Larson. Hey, look, I'm
sorry we gave you a hard time when you came
by the talent. I know when and Max have been
partnering up with you. But if you want more help
with your serial killer research, my services are available to
(23:25):
and what services are the What is is this it?
Roof water? Oh god, it looks like get it over.
Remember our pal Tony del Canto, Well, that was his
(23:49):
body that crashed down in front of us. I've never
seen anything like that. I never want to again. Sure,
I've seen crime scene photos, read some messed up books,
but seeing something so gruesome in person, I'll never forget it.
The word on the street is suicide. But based on
(24:11):
what we've learned so far about this town, what do
you think? We want everyone to remain calm and the
investigation proceeds. Defective cover me have everything under control. That
was Principal Ronald Block's attempt at calming the student body
in the wake of Tony's death. While anyone could have
(24:31):
their reasons for jumping from a clock tower, from what
we know of Tony so far, does he seem like
the type. Turns out, Tony's background was more complicated than most.
Tony's dad, Big Tone, was a major businessman in Hollow Falls.
He was, also, along with five others, a victim of
(24:52):
the lit killer, which explains why Tony was such a jerk.
To me, he thought my aunt murdered his dad, But
this wasn't someone who had given up on at all.
No one believes us, but Ali and I know that
blood dripped before the body fell. And guess what was
found next to Tony's shattered body? A shell, A broken
(25:13):
conk shell with a number painted on it. Ten twelve
to anyone else, random, but to me, my aunt Beth
died on October twelfth, two thousand and eight. The crime
scene has been mostly cleared, so we're back in the
library using the prehistoric microfiche again. Scrolling through early October
(25:35):
two thou and eight editions of the Hollow Falls Ledger
to see, wait, this is all wrong. The front page
of the newspaper is completely blank. What are those numbers?
The newspaper front page on the day of my aunt
Beth's murder was not new to me. Someone had tampered
with the microfish and wiped the story. In its place
(25:57):
was the number eight to three point nine, followed by
the letters G O L eight two three. Well, it
can't be another date. When we had first got into
the library, we grabbed a copy of Lord of the
Flies by William Golding because it has a deadly fall,
R I P. Piggy and a conk shell. But the
(26:17):
library copy of the book had turned up nothing until now.
What you think the number could be the book? That's
the connection, like it's the eighth book in the second
it's the Dewey decimal number. Look for Lord of the Flies.
The d D number is A to three and the
G O L has got to be Golding, not bad Torres.
(26:39):
How do we know what book it is? What about
this one free fall by guess who William Golding? Seems appropriate?
And there's something stuck in between the pages open it.
There's a note card and also a highlighted passage. Are
(27:00):
is partly communication but only partly The rest is discovery.
What what does the note say? Hello again hollow falls?
I have to say It's so good to be back.
Equally delightful to find another young tourists to play with.
Who knew all it take was one precocious little team
(27:21):
to get me all riled up again. Quite the plot twist,
don't you think? Keep reading? This one's going to be
a real page turner. The words even coming out of
Ali's mouth made my skin grow cold. The lit killer
is back and they know who I am. How much
(27:42):
blood is on my hands now for reopening this casket?
What have I unleashed? Things? Just got real. I'm going
to keep pressing and I'll have another chunk of lethal
It ready to share soon. Stay tuned on the next
(28:03):
episode of Lethal litt Get this on tape. They're all
on Killer just returning on me? Is true about leg Stool?
Get the hell on far Freak Take. Iinhorn's Epic Productions
(28:45):
and I Heart Radio present Legal Lit, a Take Tourist
Mystery created an executive produced by Heather Einhorn and Adam
Staffaroni written, created and executive produced by Alex the Gurra
and Monica Gallagher. Mr Erected by J B. Block, Produced
by A Rupe, Senna, Kayla, Chris Peterson, and Sammy Smallen.
(29:06):
Art by Rebecca Mock, Creative direction and design by Ryan mccamn,
with performances by Rebecca Silaire, J B. Block, Matt Gumley,
Paul Guide, Jennifer Giles, Rachel orum Land, Alba Ponsteleone, Shelley Shnoy,
Luke Slattery and Keil Artino. Post production supervisor Michael Sinterer Nicholas,
(29:29):
recording engineer and dialog editor Michael Schneider, mixer Michael sinter Nicholas,
sound designer Justin Koehler, composer Jered Faber, Creative consultant Monique Chavez,
studio manager Clark Chang, Production coordination Gail Artina and Laura Martin.
(29:50):
Production assistant Rachel Slotsky and Francesca Colo. Recorded at n
y Vy Post in New York City, featuring the song's
Jupiter performed Idona Missile courtesy of Harvest Records under license
from Universal Music Enterprises. And Guardian Alien performed by Dana Williams,
written by Dana Williams s C. S A C and
(30:12):
Aaron Fetning s E. S A C. Courtesy of the
Royalty Network, Inc. On behalf of Smig's songs Ascaps Captus
Pallace s C. S A C. And Dana Williams Letha
litt A Take Torres Mystery is a production by Ironhorn's
Epic Productions for I Heart Radio Had to Take Torrest
(30:33):
dot Com to share theories, discover new evidence, and follow
case updates. For more information, visit Einhorn's Epic Productions dot
com
Hey, lethal listeners, tig torres here stay tuned for the
next episode of Lethal Lit. But before we dive into
today's episode, here's a quick word from our sponsor. You're
about to hear a recording of my aunt Beth taped
at a murder scene she was covering for the local paper.
(00:21):
Two months later, she was dead. It was ruled a suicide.
La was a twenty seven year old woman, brown hair,
brown eyes, five four approximately thirty five pounds, in visible
tattoos or markings. Cause of death unknown. She was found
(00:45):
with two small puncture ruins on the right side of
her neck, dried blood near the entry points. Before you
get too excited and bust out your twilight merch, this
isn't a vampire story. After she died, my aunt was
accused of being a serial murderer known as the lip Killer.
A note found inside the victim's purse, consistent with the
(01:07):
previous ones, reads, you're always a careful student. Now you
are master the colts from John Seward, a character in
Bram Stoker's Dracula. The lip Killer murders gripped the small
town of Hollow Falls a decade ago. By the end
of the killing spree six people, including my aunt Beth.
(01:28):
We're dead. The police discovered a handwritten note next to
our body and decided it was her confession. But my
aunt was no killer. The mission of this podcast is simple,
to uncover the truth, to clear my aunt's name, to
put the real killer behind bars, or die trying. I'm
(01:52):
tig Torres and this is Lethal Lit. Greetings, Lethal Lit listeners,
Welcome to the first episode of our podcast. Well, if
there are any of you out there listening, I'm new
to this whole podcast thing. My home, my past is
(02:16):
a burnt out burg known as Hollow Falls. Back in
the day, it was known for making iron. Now it's
known for board teens getting laid, dealing drugs, and oh yeah,
grizzly murders. My dad knew it was time to bail
once the town decided my aunt was a serial killer.
(02:37):
He wanted a better life for me, one that was
more gossip Girl West twin Peaks. So we ditched for
New York. But my dad lost his job. So now
I'm back in this time warp of a town, living
in my aboilas creeky old house. While he's looking for
new work, I'm here taking the opportunity to make things right.
(03:02):
The only way you can truly understand the lit Killer
is by understanding where they sprang from Hollow Falls. And
since the iron works closed, the only thing in this
town that still has a faint heartbeat is Hollow Falls High.
I managed to sneak through the first week of the
(03:23):
school year, plenty of dirty looks for the new girl,
a few old kindergarten classmates who wouldn't look at me
at all, but I guess that's to be expected. Here
we go on week two. In Pride and Prejudice, the
book Guys, Elizabeth Bennett says, there is a stubbornness about
me that never can bear to be frightened. My courage
(03:45):
always rises at every attempt to intimidate me. That's what
I'm thinking about now, because even though I'm stubborn, I'm scared,
and I need my courage to lead me towards some help.
I need to find out of my way. Psycho Junior Movement.
That's Tony del Canto us D, A approved jock with
(04:07):
resting more on face. He'll be important leader. Hell Man,
what's where I'm going? You're the one. No one wants
you here? Freak show we all know about you and
your messed up family. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
My debut at the school was a rocky one. Everyone
already knew exactly who tig Torres was. But while my
(04:27):
family wasn't loved around here, I still didn't expect to
be body slammed by the high school quarterback before eight am.
I needed to find some allies stat so after school
I decided to check out the student newspaper, The Talent First, guys,
I just wanted to think, Hi, newspaper staff, I'm t
(04:56):
we knew who you are. City Mouse. That's Max Winman.
He it can be a little extra. Sometimes you'll see
what's up. Dorus bored a small film authority, and that's
win Abbott. Both Max and Winner on the newspaper staff.
They don't hate me as much as they seem to. Now.
I'm actually looking for info on the serial murders that
took place here ten years ago. You mean the murders
(05:18):
your aunt committed. She didn't kill anyone, she was framed.
The real killer is still out there. This podcast I'm
starting is gonna put you. That's our friend Tony. I
told you he'd pop up again. You've got to swap
out the picture of me from Tuesday's game. Bro Coach
keeps calling me volcano face because of that giant sit
on my cheek, Show up my better side. You have
(05:39):
a better side. Yeah, that's the one that shows how
much more important football is in this town than whatever
feminazi slumber parties you plan in your kids. Lost, Tony,
you're killing an hostile vibe. That's Ali Price, editor of
the Talent. Oh my bad, sorry to interrupt your chat
with Jackie the Ripper over here. Just fix that shot.
So there's were picks of me actually throwing the ball.
(06:03):
And as for you don't murder anyone, okay, psycho Tony out?
Did he just say Tony out a third person himself?
But just give the meadheads some credit for finally noticing
I've been spotlighting that boulders it for the last three
Yearsues does win with the clap? Is he always such
(06:26):
an alpha douche? Yeah, he's pretty much just a walking
flat line. So why are you here again because you
want to talk serial killers? Yeah? Like I said, I'm
starting a new podcast and you need research people to
help you out with that. We're all kind of serial
killer experts around here. But I think you can handle
things when the research gets a little gory, a little
(06:47):
messed up. Messed up like an entire town thinking your
aunt was a murderer and blaming your whole fan for
the last decade. That sounds more sad than anything. And
I gotta handle on gory, like how Jeffrey Dahmer used
to feed his neighbor's sand jizzy made from his victor
lunch is canceled. Okay, okay, maybe you can't hang with
this crew. Hold on a sect? Is this? This is
(07:11):
the moment where I know I'm in the right place.
These Junior Sarah Kaneggs not only had a map of
the town hanging up in the newspaper office, but it
was loaded with color coded pushpins and strings. Each one
pointed to a lip killer murder, plus a photo of
the victim, along with one of my aunt Beth and
(07:32):
one of me. This is for a memorial edition of
the talent, ten years since the lid killer murders, the
town's only real claim to fame. You know, it's it
forever to get it approved, but our adviser, Mr Levinson
pulled the strings for us. Wow, So that's how you
knew who I was. You've already done a bunch of
the same research I have. I mean, you could have
picked a less freshmany photo. But whatever, it's cool. So
(07:56):
what's this week's topic? The lip Killer's Dracula style fourth murder?
Is it all podcasts and no play with you? Pretty
much until I prove my aunt's innocence And you think
you can do that? Oh? I know I can do it,
but I could also really use some support. I feel
like I'm an instant outcast here. I figured, since you
(08:18):
guys are already interested in this kind of thing, maybe
we could team up. What do you say, help a
new girl out? Cute? But why should we believe you?
Of course you think your aunt's innocence. She's your aunt,
but the evidence says otherwise. Yeah. True, But what if
the evidence the town wants us to believe is wrong.
(08:39):
What if the people in charge of the evidence we're
looking for an easy fix instead of the truth. Yeah,
I'm not really buying it. Maybe you're just trying to
convince yourself you will become a slaughter siren like your aunts. Fine, whatever,
I just thought maybe the newspaper staff would be less
gullible than the rest of this zombie town. Dude, have
you been recording our conversation this whole time? It's not
(08:59):
even like legal Relax Innocence project. I just had it
on in case you guys said anything useful, but no
worries he didn't. Taurus has some bite. I like it,
all right? Can you call us when you like have
some actual proof. In the meantime, can we get back
to whatever we were doing before this whole encounter? How's this?
(09:21):
Stop the presses? Everyone? It's the missing link a printed photo,
not guiltily. Wait is that bes Taurus? Do not call
her that? TESTI? TESTI Okay? So uh all right, it's
your aunt and you and we care because check your pinboard, Watson.
(09:44):
It was taken at the annual Hollow Falls Harvest Festival.
Look at the time stamp? WHOA? The lip Killer's fourth victim,
Mary Wozniak, was murdered on June eleven, two and eight.
The coroner's report gave the time of death that noon,
the time stamp on my photo one PM. Not enough
(10:06):
to prove her innocence, but just enough to make you
scratch your head and think that maybe, just maybe my
Auntbeth wasn't the lip killer, so had I gotten some
backup from Win Ali and Max? But I wasn't sure yet.
But I still needed to dive into the Hollow Falls
i'd missed out on after my dad and I skipped town.
(10:28):
The best way to do that would be by talking
to someone who had survived the last decade intact mostly. Okay,
can you state your name for the tape? Please, Abuela
no Ahuilla, your real name, Oh, Sophia Urabella. Thanks for clarifying.
(10:51):
I want to talk a little bit about Hollow Falls,
color Falls city, sip sucks, that's what You'rbeth. Bobby always
said to me, Mommy, I'm bored, Mommy, why do we
live here? I've heard it all before, Minina, So I'm
ready for you. This is my Aboila. She's wonderful, smart, funny, and,
(11:16):
let's be honest, a little crazy, and I wanted to
get a better sense of how the town had changed
since my dad and I left a Boila, I told
you this is for the podcast, which for you would
be kind of like an old radio show. I know
what a podcast is, right, Okay, So what can you
tell me about the town? What's the vibe like here,
(11:39):
vibe is bad, very very bad. But I don't know
how much you want me to say. I need you
to be honest, Ninya. I am always honest, you know that.
But in this town you don't want to say too much.
You know, there are a lot of people in this
town who don't like our family to Haboila. Okay, okay.
(12:04):
Hollow Falls used to be a nice place. But this
was years ago, when there were jobs, when people helped
each other. When you're Abuelow, God rest his soul first
moved us to Hollow Falls. But times change. When the
iron works closed, the jobs point away, and the town
(12:25):
it got different, different, how not trust. You didn't say
hi to your neighbors anymore. You locked your doors. The
whole town had gone to the birds. So many birds, birds, yes, yes,
so many birds. The whole town was infested with wings,
feathers to saois all over the place. I think that's
(12:49):
what created that monstro, that murderer who took my best.
Like I said, mostly intact, my interview with Aboila Sophia done,
and after getting nothing from the principal's office at school,
his assistant did a convincing impression of a brick wall.
It was time to hit the streets and dig up
some facts from the town itself. I decided my next
(13:11):
stop would be the Hollow Falls Police Department. They dropped
the ball in a major way when it came to
the lip killer case and totally took the easy way out.
But that doesn't mean they don't have info I could use. Hey, Hi,
how did you get back in? Um? I had an
appointment to see Detective Carver. Is she around here? Have
(13:31):
an appointment with Laura? That's odd? No, she's not around.
I'm a partner Detective Jake Lahne. Can I help you? Yeah? Actually,
I'm working on a project about the lit killer case,
and I wanted to talk to someone about where the
investigation stand. Well. I wasn't around back then, but I
know the cases officially closed. That reported did it? Why
(13:53):
would you want to do a project about such? Are
you sure she did it? Have you looked over the evidence?
I haven't. When we studied at the academy a bit.
It's kind of a haky case. Yeah, something about the
killer's suicide, how it looks different from the murder. Have
you lost your rookie mind? Oh? The sex of car.
This is Tig Torres, niece of Bes Torres, and you,
(14:18):
my young, inexperienced partner, are spilling confidential info about her
aunt's case to her. What's wrong with this picture, Lee Haine,
her aunt as for you, Torres, would be in your
best interest to turn off that recording device and walk
out that door immediately. The lit killer case is closed,
has been for a long time. Come on go. It's
(14:39):
hard to argue with a police detective asking well, demanding
you leave a police station. So I did, but Lehane's
loose lips gave me more than I expected, a little hope. Still,
I needed hard facts. Next up was the place where
my aunt Beth broke the lit killer story and where
it bro her. I ran into Win on my way
(15:04):
to the Hollow Falls Ledger, my aunt's old workplace. Once
a thriving daily paper, the Ledger was now a fading relic.
Hallow Falls Ledger. This is hang on a sec. Hi.
Can I help you too? Hi? We're Tig and Win
and we're high school students working on a report about
(15:25):
the lip killer. Is there anyone here who could help
us with our research? It's really important we get a
good grade. On this. We're always chasing them. Maze. I'm sorry,
I don't think we can help you. Is Sam Steiner here?
He used to work with Beth Torres back in the day.
Sam doesn't work here anymore, young lady, So I'm sorry. Well,
(15:47):
do you have a number where I could reach him?
And he's been gone for years since, well since the
truth about his partner came out and hit him hard.
You mean the lie hit him hard because it was all, Oh, ma'am,
Is there any way that you can help us find Sam? Look,
people come and go, especially in this business. It feels
like we've got a new wave of layoffs every week.
(16:09):
But Sam was out of here years ago, and last
I already harmited himself away in the woods. You need
more than that. They'll take a high see if you
can find him. My aunt Beth always said that a
big part of reporting was showing up and asking questions.
This time we barely got to ask any questions. But
just when I thought all of Hollow Falls was going
(16:30):
to be a massive black hole of info, I found
something in the place I should have checked first. Maya
Buda's houses on the edge of town. She's lucky. People
tend to leave her alone. Well, mostly there are the
occasional burnouts looking to egg the dump where Beth lip
Killer Torres grew up, and knowing how desperate the cops
(16:52):
were to close the lip killer case back then, I
knew they couldn't have gotten all of Aunt Beth's notes.
I felt like I had a good chance of finding
something police were too basic to see. And where better
to kick off my search for evidence than in Aboila's
giant rickety house. When stopped by and offered to help,
so I roped her into searching a What is attic
(17:14):
with me? She's taking a nap right now, Hence the
whispering where this police has death trap written all over it.
If I see a spider, I'm out. No promises. Maybe
the dust will keep them out. I came out of nowhere.
Are you sure this police is haunted? That was the
sound of me stepping on a loose floorboard. I have
(17:35):
the bruises to prove it. But what was underneath was
a gold mine. What is that? It was a fortune Teller,
an oregonmy paper game with folded parts that were labeled
with colors and letters. I tried a few combinations like
blue and z. But it left me flat. Maybe it
was nothing. Maybe I was looking for meaning in a
(17:56):
child's toy. I was still ending in that broken down attict,
trying to figure out what a piece of paper meant.
When I saw it a bookshelf across the room, my
eyes stopped on one book in particular, The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the story of a colonial woman forced
to wear a red a on her clothing because the
(18:17):
whole town decided to slut shame her. The story of
a woman who had become a pariah. Scarlet. That's got
to be it. It's one of the books on the
shelf here. So what though, I mean, everybody has a
copy of that book. That's the point. When these are
literary classics. It ties into the case directly. Check it out.
(18:41):
When I flipped from red to A there's a number
under that flap, three digits, like a page number in
a book. Please be a page number in the book.
Oh are you kidding me? Maybe it underestimated you girl. Thanks.
Here in the margins of the page, it says Duvall Street.
(19:05):
And look at the symbol on the facing page. I
ever seen that? No, that just looks like a bird
in a circle. But that address is near Hemlock Row.
My parents always said to avoid that strip. I can't wait. Okay,
I'm walking through town with Max and we're almost at
(19:26):
two Ball Street when said she needed a massive detox
after snorting up so much dust in my boils attic.
Max knows the drain better than I do, so he's
taking point. I haven't been all the way down here,
but I think we're close. This is kind of like
treasure hunting, right, I mean in this area, it's more
like dumpster diving. But still, Oh, there it is Ball Street. Hey,
(19:51):
that's actually kind of cool. Styles always where you least expected.
It was a diner dressed up like a Johnny rockets
on crap Ray Bradberry with a dash of Stephen King.
But why did my aunt's clue sent me here? Hey, kiddos,
are you staring at You're smoking them molly pills? I
(20:12):
wish I was. This is jaded waiter Phil. We found
him smoking outside the Star Diner. I kind of love him. Oh,
we were just admiring the design of this place. Is
this a bank scene? Who the heck is Spanksy? I
don't understand half of what you can't say today. This
place used to be nice, but now it's all ganda happy.
(20:34):
Look at that damn sign give me a freaking headache.
With every flicker, the A and Star diner was suffering
from a faulty bulb. The sign was also read a
red scarlet letter a bingo. After a few fruitless circles
around the sign, we almost gave up. But remember that
(20:55):
symbol we noticed in the book. It was crudely scratched
into the sign posts electrical panel. We pried it open
and found a small box with a tiny black cassette
tape inside. Aunt Beth must have used these for recording
her thoughts, her genius and Beth thoughts. Thankfully, even Hollow
Falls was within Amazon Primes rate, so I could find
(21:18):
a recorder to play it. But that wasn't all. In
the box with the mini cassette was a slip of paper.
Oh my god, damn, your aunt is literally passing us
notes from beyond the grave. Is it better for a
man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed
upon him? That sounds familiar. Let me look it up
(21:39):
on my phone. I was right. It's from a clockwork
orange whoa, We're totally on a treasure hunting dumpster diving adventure. Now,
what did I tell you? Our next move was to
try and get our hands on a copy of Anthony
Burgess's book. With that in mind, I headed to one
of the few useful places left in town, the Hollow
(22:01):
Falls Library. Man, I love the library. I'd forgotten how
many fond memories I had of the Hollow Falls branch.
Fond memories and Hollow Falls are two phrases you don't
hear together much. It just got so much personality, from
the old school clock tower to the retro filing system.
(22:21):
I didn't find any copies of clockwork orange, but I
did dig up an article about an internship program teaming
up the talent and the Hollow Falls Ledger. No such
program exists now, though not to self asked Mr Levinson
about why it was discontinued. Hey cordin yourself again? What no?
(22:41):
And just never mind? Yes, I am so. I got
bored and googled you last night. Weird. It seems you're
not a newvie when it comes to the world of
true crime. Take twar us or should I call you?
Elizabeth Salamander? Nine seven impressive? This is Ali again from
the newspaper, and apparently he frequents the same true crime
(23:04):
message boards. I do the screen name he mentioned. My
screen name is a jokey reference to The Girl with
the Dragon Tattoo books by Steve Larson. Hey, look, I'm
sorry we gave you a hard time when you came
by the talent. I know when and Max have been
partnering up with you. But if you want more help
with your serial killer research, my services are available to
(23:25):
and what services are the What is is this it?
Roof water? Oh god, it looks like get it over.
Remember our pal Tony del Canto, Well, that was his
(23:49):
body that crashed down in front of us. I've never
seen anything like that. I never want to again. Sure,
I've seen crime scene photos, read some messed up books,
but seeing something so gruesome in person, I'll never forget it.
The word on the street is suicide. But based on
(24:11):
what we've learned so far about this town, what do
you think? We want everyone to remain calm and the
investigation proceeds. Defective cover me have everything under control. That
was Principal Ronald Block's attempt at calming the student body
in the wake of Tony's death. While anyone could have
(24:31):
their reasons for jumping from a clock tower, from what
we know of Tony so far, does he seem like
the type. Turns out, Tony's background was more complicated than most.
Tony's dad, Big Tone, was a major businessman in Hollow Falls.
He was, also, along with five others, a victim of
(24:52):
the lit killer, which explains why Tony was such a jerk.
To me, he thought my aunt murdered his dad, But
this wasn't someone who had given up on at all.
No one believes us, but Ali and I know that
blood dripped before the body fell. And guess what was
found next to Tony's shattered body? A shell, A broken
(25:13):
conk shell with a number painted on it. Ten twelve
to anyone else, random, but to me, my aunt Beth
died on October twelfth, two thousand and eight. The crime
scene has been mostly cleared, so we're back in the
library using the prehistoric microfiche again. Scrolling through early October
(25:35):
two thou and eight editions of the Hollow Falls Ledger
to see, wait, this is all wrong. The front page
of the newspaper is completely blank. What are those numbers?
The newspaper front page on the day of my aunt
Beth's murder was not new to me. Someone had tampered
with the microfish and wiped the story. In its place
(25:57):
was the number eight to three point nine, followed by
the letters G O L eight two three. Well, it
can't be another date. When we had first got into
the library, we grabbed a copy of Lord of the
Flies by William Golding because it has a deadly fall,
R I P. Piggy and a conk shell. But the
(26:17):
library copy of the book had turned up nothing until now.
What you think the number could be the book? That's
the connection, like it's the eighth book in the second
it's the Dewey decimal number. Look for Lord of the Flies.
The d D number is A to three and the
G O L has got to be Golding, not bad Torres.
(26:39):
How do we know what book it is? What about
this one free fall by guess who William Golding? Seems appropriate?
And there's something stuck in between the pages open it.
There's a note card and also a highlighted passage. Are
(27:00):
is partly communication but only partly The rest is discovery.
What what does the note say? Hello again hollow falls?
I have to say It's so good to be back.
Equally delightful to find another young tourists to play with.
Who knew all it take was one precocious little team
(27:21):
to get me all riled up again. Quite the plot twist,
don't you think? Keep reading? This one's going to be
a real page turner. The words even coming out of
Ali's mouth made my skin grow cold. The lit killer
is back and they know who I am. How much
(27:42):
blood is on my hands now for reopening this casket?
What have I unleashed? Things? Just got real. I'm going
to keep pressing and I'll have another chunk of lethal
It ready to share soon. Stay tuned on the next
(28:03):
episode of Lethal litt Get this on tape. They're all
on Killer just returning on me? Is true about leg Stool?
Get the hell on far Freak Take. Iinhorn's Epic Productions
(28:45):
and I Heart Radio present Legal Lit, a Take Tourist
Mystery created an executive produced by Heather Einhorn and Adam
Staffaroni written, created and executive produced by Alex the Gurra
and Monica Gallagher. Mr Erected by J B. Block, Produced
by A Rupe, Senna, Kayla, Chris Peterson, and Sammy Smallen.
(29:06):
Art by Rebecca Mock, Creative direction and design by Ryan mccamn,
with performances by Rebecca Silaire, J B. Block, Matt Gumley,
Paul Guide, Jennifer Giles, Rachel orum Land, Alba Ponsteleone, Shelley Shnoy,
Luke Slattery and Keil Artino. Post production supervisor Michael Sinterer Nicholas,
(29:29):
recording engineer and dialog editor Michael Schneider, mixer Michael sinter Nicholas,
sound designer Justin Koehler, composer Jered Faber, Creative consultant Monique Chavez,
studio manager Clark Chang, Production coordination Gail Artina and Laura Martin.
(29:50):
Production assistant Rachel Slotsky and Francesca Colo. Recorded at n
y Vy Post in New York City, featuring the song's
Jupiter performed Idona Missile courtesy of Harvest Records under license
from Universal Music Enterprises. And Guardian Alien performed by Dana Williams,
written by Dana Williams s C. S A C and
(30:12):
Aaron Fetning s E. S A C. Courtesy of the
Royalty Network, Inc. On behalf of Smig's songs Ascaps Captus
Pallace s C. S A C. And Dana Williams Letha
litt A Take Torres Mystery is a production by Ironhorn's
Epic Productions for I Heart Radio Had to Take Torrest
(30:33):
dot Com to share theories, discover new evidence, and follow
case updates. For more information, visit Einhorn's Epic Productions dot
com
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