Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard

Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard

Mark Stover was a talented dog trainer, better known as the dog whisperer of the Pacific Northwest. He was charismatic and attracted the attention of wealthy blonde heiress Linda Opdyke. They built a business together, along with a marriage. But Linda said Mark also had a dark side and when she tried to leave the marriage, he obsessively followed. She sought the protection of a security expert Michiel Oakes who soon became the new love of her life, her knight in shining armor. But when blood was found in Mark’s home and he was reported missing, detectives went looking for Michiel. In this dark love triangle, just who was the hunter and who was the hunted? Join 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant for Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress, and the Bodyguard, a gripping six-episode podcast that unravels this dark story.

Episodes

A Betrayal Like No Other | Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings

April 23, 2024 • 2 mins
Pamela Hargan was a successful businesswoman and a devoted mother to three adult daughters. The Hargans were a typical suburban family until one day, Pamela was gunned down in her own home and her youngest daughter, Helen, was found dead upstairs. 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant unpacks the web of evidence from the complex case of the Hargan killings, revealing treacherous motives of jealousy and a family fortune. Get early, ...
Mark as Played

Home From Texas | Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings

May 8, 2024 • 32 mins
Pamela Hargan lived in a wealthy Virginia suburb, surrounded by family: her daughters Megan and Helen and her granddaughter all lived with her in her million-dollar home. From the outside, the Hargan women had it all. But when Pamela and Helen were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide, detectives had to ask: what was going on inside the Hargan household? Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Fami...
Mark as Played

The Boyfriend | Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings

May 15, 2024 • 34 mins
On the day that Helen Hargan and her mother Pamela were found dead, Helen's boyfriend Carlos spent hours convincing 911 dispatchers to send help to the Hargan house. By the time police arrived, it was too late. But Carlos' story would blow a hole in the theory that the Hargan killings were a murder-suicide. Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple...
Mark as Played

A Killer in Plain Sight | Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings

May 22, 2024 • 33 mins
When detectives started investigating the deaths of Helen and Pamela Hargan, they came to a much different conclusion than the first responders on the scene. This was not a murder-suicide; it was a double homicide. But who could have killed the mother and daughter? Police began to zoom in on a single, shocking suspect. Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings by subscribing to 48 Hours P...
Mark as Played

The Impersonator | Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings

May 29, 2024 • 35 mins
Investigators think they know who killed the Hargan women, but can't seem to get a confession. Then, a representative from Capital One bank sent them recordings of some strange phone calls made the day before the shootings. Someone pretending to be Pamela Hargan called the bank wanting a wire transfer for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Those recordings would expose a motive. Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Blood is Thic...
Mark as Played

Toe on the Trigger | Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings

June 5, 2024 • 30 mins
Detectives finally arrest a suspect in the Hargan family murders. But at trial, defense attorneys argue a new theory for how the killings might have happened. And that theory might cast enough doubt to throw the entire trial into question. Get ad-free access to episodes of Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. The series is widely available everywhere else you get your podca...
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The Aftermath | Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings

June 12, 2024 • 36 mins
How to make sense of this incomprehensible tragedy? Detective Brian Byerson has been in touch with Ashley Hargan weekly since her mother and sister were killed. She not only testified at trial; she made some dramatic moves after she discovered the truth. Get ad-free access to episodes of Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. The series is widely available everywhere else you...
Mark as Played

Who Was The Hunter & Who Was The Hunted? | Trained to Kill

April 2, 2025 • 2 mins
When celebrity dog trainer Mark Stover disappeared from his home in Washington State, leaving behind a scene covered in blood, no one knew if Mark was the victim or the perpetrator. As detectives unraveled the clues, they discovered a twisted story fueled by a love triangle between Mark, his heiress ex-wife, and her new boyfriend. Was Mark the hunter, or the hunted? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visi...
Mark as Played

Puppy Love

April 9, 2025 • 34 mins
Mark Stover trained the dogs of the rich and famous. When Linda Opdycke, the daughter of a multi-millionaire, hired him to train her new attack dog, they started combining business and pleasure. Their partnership lasted for more than a decade before disputes between the two ripped their lives apart. Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard by subscribing to 48 Hours P...
Mark as Played

The Hunter

April 16, 2025 • 35 mins
Linda Opdycke fled her family’s property and lived on the run, determined to separate from her husband Mark Stover. In her efforts to defend herself against what she called his relentless stalking and harassment, Linda met a former security expert who thought he could help her deal with her ex. Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus o...
Mark as Played

Secret Meetings

April 23, 2025 • 32 mins
After police got an anonymous tip that Mark Stover was transporting drugs, he became paranoid that Linda Opdycke was out to get him. In a battle between exes, each side claimed the other was escalating the situation to a deadly point of no return. That’s when Linda’s new boyfriend Michiel Oakes said Mark found a new target. Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard by ...
Mark as Played

The Bundle in the Back

April 30, 2025 • 32 mins
Michiel Oakes said he tried to negotiate with Mark Stover to end the vicious back and forth. But the way he told the story, everything went wrong during their final meeting, on October 28th, 2009. The day Mark disappeared and the day Michiel was pulled over by police. Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. The serie...
Mark as Played

Put Up or Shut Up

May 7, 2025 • 35 mins
Detectives compare how the evidence found at Mark Stover’s house measures up to Michiel Oakes’ version of events. They discovered cell phone records, witnesses, and surveillance video that painted a more premeditated picture. Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. The series is widely available everywhere else you g...
Mark as Played

Time Will Tell

May 14, 2025 • 38 mins
Mark Stover’s body was still missing when the trial over his death began. Michiel Oakes said the body would prove his innocence, and that he would reveal everything when he took the stand. Get ad-free access to episodes of Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. The series is widely available everywhere else you get your podcasts. Subscribe to 48 Hours+: h...
Mark as Played

Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover

June 3, 2025 • 56 mins
When celebrity dog trainer Mark Stover mysteriously vanished, authorities were left with many unanswered questions. Soon into their investigation, they unearthed a dark love triangle, with Mark placed squarely in the middle. So what transpired on the morning of October 28, 2009, that left one man dead and another claiming self-defense? And more importantly, was Mark Stover the hunter or the hunted? Listen in as Peter Van Sant sit...
Mark as Played

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