...the actual killer had a name. Police tracked him down—then let him go...
On April 1, 1983, Detective Andrew Monsue visited me at Sylmar Juvenile Hall. I told him about John Michael Ryan, Jr. — my former roommate, inside the family home the day before the murder, told by my mother she had no work for him, gone. Monsue took notes, then flew to Gulfport, Mississippi, to interview him.460A
Monsue later admitted under oath: "I INTERVIEWED NUMEROUS PEOPLE, BUT NEVER ANOTHER SUSPECT."164 The predisposition showed in Gulfport. In his May 4 interview he told Ryan he was there mainly to eliminate him as a suspect165 — and afterward reported he had "CONVINCINGLY CLEAR[ED]" him.461 The record flatly contradicts the claim. What follows is the evidence Monsue had in hand and chose to ignore.
- Ryan left Gulfport on March 6 and reached Los Angeles, 1,700 miles away, at about 11:00 P.M. on Monday, March 7 — three days before my mother was robbed and murdered.464 Four hours after the approx. 11:00 am attack, he checked into a Hollywood motel ten miles from the house.483 He left California the next day.465
- Ryan was inside the Lisker home on March 9 — the day before the murder — asking my mother for work to earn money.466 She had none for him.
A call from the Lisker phone at 10:22 A.M. on March 10 went to a number that differed from Ryan's mother's by one digit — a "2" where hers was a "6." *
* While Bruce still has the original March 1983 phone bill, in the interest of Ryan's mother's privacy (who still uses the number) he will release the information contained in the bill only to the courts examining this matter.I told police I had arrived at about 11:00 A.M.,180 but I was not watching the clock, and that was a rough guess. Working backward from my 11:26 call to the fire department,454 I most likely reached the driveway at about 11:15 or a little later. [My own account] Paramedics arrived at 11:34.387 The State argued my mother could not have survived much longer than forty-five minutes without treatment,561 placing that 10:22 call inside the attack window. The odds that three of four final digits of a randomly dialed number match Ryan's mother's, from that house, on that day, are vanishingly small.
$150.00 was stolen from my mother's purse on March 10467 and never recovered.468 Ryan claimed he left Gulfport with "$52 AND SOME CHANGE. PROBABLY $53."469 The expenses he himself acknowledged to Monsue exceeded that figure before the trip was over:
- March 7 — city bus, L.A. Bus Station to Sepulveda & Victory: $1.40.470
- March 8 — taxi south on Sepulveda to Burbank Boulevard: approx. $3.50.512 †
- March 9 — city bus, Van Nuys toward Hollywood: 80¢.472
- March 10 — room #18, Hollywood Tropics Motel: $21.50.473
- March 10 — beer at a bar: approx. $1.00.474 †
- March 10 — "nickel bag" of marijuana: $5.00.475
- March 10 — city bus back to Hollywood: 80¢.476
- March 10 — sold two joints (credit): −$2.00.477
- March 11 — Trailways bus, L.A. to Phoenix: $21.00.478
- Unspecified dates — sandwich: approx. $1.00;479 † cigarettes: approx. 90¢;480 † potato chips: approx. 40¢;480 † Coca-Cola: approx. 35¢.480 †
† Since no exact costs were specified in the interview for the indicated expenditures, estimated 1983 prices are listed here. Every effort has been made to use conservative (i.e., low) estimates out of fairness to Ryan. But even these clearly illustrate the impossibility of his story.Monsue's own notes of his interview with Ryan's father record that "MICHAEL HAD $50.00 CASH ON HIM."469,481 By that figure he overspent by $5.65 (by Ryan's own $52, by $3.65) — before any transit expense for the 1,700-mile trip. But Ryan's father later declared that his son had not had fifty dollars, only the twenty given him by the Harrison County Detention Center on release.680 Deficit: $35.65. With $20.00 in hand Ryan could not have afforded the $21.50 motel room rented four hours after my mother was robbed of $150.00.
Then the return leg. The father reported his son arrived at the Gulfport bus station with $60.00.681 Starting with $20.00 and spending a documented minimum of $55.65, Ryan got home with $60.00 — meaning he acquired at least $95.65 along the way. That is the amount stolen from my mother, less whatever he spent. Monsue interviewed the father; that he failed to learn these facts strains credulity, and makes it the more troubling that he declared Ryan cleared and walked away.
- Ryan claimed he was at the Hollywood Tropics Motel — ten miles from the house — at 11:00 A.M., minutes after the attack.482,483,484 The alibi collapsed when Monsue obtained the motel records: actual check-in, 3:00 P.M.485
- Ryan registered at the motel under the alias "Mark Smith,"486 with no coherent explanation.487 A false name is consistent with a person who has just committed a violent crime.
- The night before leaving Gulfport, Ryan placed several calls into the area around the Lisker home — two to Van Nuys.488 They may have reached an accomplice, or checked my or my parents' whereabouts. Despite CARD's resources, Monsue appears never to have identified the recipients; he asked Ryan and accepted the answer.
- Ryan claimed that on the day of the murder he had been in a violent knife fight in which he stabbed an unidentified Black man in the shoulder.489 Entirely unsubstantiated — and conveniently positioned to explain any blood a witness, such as the motel clerk, might have noticed on his clothing, hands, or face after a five-weapon attack. Monsue never challenged him, nor does he appear to have checked local hospitals.
- Ryan said he used "Mark Smith" because he was frightened after the knife fight.490 But he had earlier told Monsue he checked into the motel before the fight occurred.489 Monsue noted the contradiction, then dropped it.
- Before Monsue arrived, Ryan told Gulfport Sheriff's investigator J.W. Langford he had spent the night before the murder — March 9 into March 10 — walking the streets.491 To Monsue he reversed course: he had slept in either Laurel or Coldwater Canyon.492 Monsue had Langford's full report in hand before traveling. He never confronted the contradiction.
- Ryan said he could not remember which canyon, Laurel or Coldwater.492 Yet he had recently been an in-patient at Coldwater Hospital's drug-abuse ward, on Coldwater Canyon.493 A canyon with a personal connection is not difficult to recall.
- Ryan's only lodging expense over the entire five-day trip came hours after my mother was attacked and left for dead.494 March 10 was also the first moment he could have afforded the $21.50 room, having left Gulfport with $20.00. [Cf. § VII (4)]
- Ryan had a violent history — aggression, threats of murder, knives.495,460A,684 His juvenile record reportedly includes a knife assault that sent him to the California Youth Authority's Ventura School, which he boasted about. His father later declared that Ryan had always been extremely violent,682 dishonest,683 and deeply fascinated with knives.688 In 1993, Ryan threatened to kill his father and stepmother,684 destroyed his father's office, vowed "IF THE COPS COME I WILL KILL THEM," and assaulted the responding St. Johns County, Florida, Sheriff's deputy before being subdued.685,693 His father did not know whether his son had killed my mother — but had no doubt he was "ABSOLUTELY CAPABLE OF IT."686
- Ryan knew the layout of the Lisker home — every room that held a weapon used in the attack, and where money was kept. He had been in the kitchen less than twenty-four hours before the murder496 — where the steak knives were stored — and on prior visits in my bedroom665 and my parents'. Those rooms held the trophy497 and exercise-bar498 weapons.
- Ryan had firsthand knowledge of the divisions within the Lisker family — particularly, by his own account, between me and my mother.499 Anyone with that knowledge would have understood that an attack on her would focus suspicion on me, giving the perpetrator time to escape, clean up, and destroy evidence.
- Ryan made a point of his uncertainty about dates and times throughout his account.500 Asked whether he had seen me on Thursday, he said no, then said of the last ride I gave him, "I THINK IT WAS THURSDAY," and finally that it was Tuesday.501
- Ryan denied ever using freebase. His counselors at the Palmer Drug Abuse Program told Monsue he had.502
- Ryan had no apparent reason to travel 1,700 miles to Los Angeles. No job prospects. No place to stay.503
- Ryan justified the trip by claiming tensions with his father were so severe he had to escape Gulfport.504 He also told Monsue he had intended to return to Gulfport from the moment he left.505 Monsue never confronted the contradiction.
Ryan carried a yellow tote bag through the Los Angeles trip. Its handles were yellow cord.506 ‡ When I found my mother, a length of bloody yellow cord was wrapped around her throat — consistent with the ligature marks documented at autopsy.630 The cord's origin was never determined508 and is not attributable to anyone but Ryan and his bag.
‡ In fairness, it should be noted that Bruce is presently the only witness that Ryan's bag used such cord for handles.- Two days before the murder, Ryan was walking directly toward the Lisker home. I intercepted him on Orion Avenue, drove him to the freeway on-ramp at Haskell Avenue — his claimed destination — and dropped him off.509 In Gulfport he drew Monsue a map showing how close to the house he had been. Monsue never raised the proximity.
- During the months Ryan slept on my couch, he came to treat the Lisker home as a ready source of cash — earned or stolen.510
- There were no signs of forced entry250 other than the kitchen window I had myself entered through.257 The killer was almost certainly known to my mother and admitted by her. Ryan frequented the home510 and had demonstrated as much less than twenty-four hours earlier, when he knocked and was received.511,466,496
- Ryan said he slept in the carports at Burbank and Sepulveda because they were the closest suitable ones to his bus stop at Victory and Sepulveda.512,514 False. Three hundred feet north of Victory and Sepulveda stood my apartment at 6500 Sepulveda — where he had previously slept on my couch — and the building immediately north had enclosed, street-hidden carports. Burbank and Sepulveda, by contrast, sits roughly halfway between my apartment and the Lisker home; the pedestrian tunnel under the San Diego Freeway at Camarillo Street shortens the walk further. The Orion Avenue point where I intercepted Ryan on March 8 [Cf. § VII (21)] lies between Camarillo and Huston — consistent with his having come through that tunnel toward the house. His chosen carport placed him ideally to move into and out of the neighborhood. Monsue never raised any of this.
- Ryan told Monsue he had been aggressively rationing money throughout the trip — barely eating, spending as little as possible.515 Yet when he visited my mother on March 9, by his own account nearly starving three days from home, he accepted only a glass of water from a woman who had been a gracious host on prior visits.466 Monsue never raised the inconsistency.
- Less than two months after his former roommate's arrest for that roommate's mother's murder, Ryan explained his vague and contradictory account: "I HAVEN'T BEEN REALLY THINKING MUCH OF IT — CAUSE I DIDN'T DO IT."500 Not believable. He had spent time with my mother twenty-four hours before her murder, then sat in a Gulfport jail cell twenty-one days waiting for the LAPD detectives he knew were coming.518 Rather than press, Monsue encouraged him to get his story straight500 and reassured him he was not a suspect.165
- Ryan told Monsue he could only afford a bus ticket as far as Phoenix and hitchhiked the rest of the way home.478 His father reported the lie: Ryan rode a bus the whole way and was picked up at the Gulfport bus station.687 Monsue had interviewed the father, noted no pickup, and never confronted Ryan — or the implication that he had somehow afforded a full ticket despite his claimed finances.
- Ryan never asked Langford or Monsue the obvious question: how had my mother been killed? It is almost as if he already knew.
- Ryan minimized a fascination with knives.692,688 His father confirmed he had one.688 I had told Monsue the same on April 1.460A Monsue took him at his word — even though Ryan, during the same interview, admitted practicing knife-throwing into my apartment door.692
- Ryan's father asked his son directly whether he knew anything about my mother's murder. Ryan became extremely upset. His father never raised the subject again.689
- Ryan offered two explanations for the "Mark Smith" alias.487 First, as noted [Cf. § VII (9)], fear from the knife fight — but he had told Monsue he checked in before the fight. Second, that his real ID showed him at sixteen and motels required guests to be eighteen. Yet he had used his father's old Navy base ID to buy beer at a bar — an ID that must have listed him at twenty-one. He could have rented the room on that same ID under his own name (also his father's, differing only in "Sr." versus "Jr.") — unless he meant to conceal his identity. Monsue never confronted the obvious lie.
Ryan's thinly veiled lies must have been apparent to a trained homicide detective. He was summarily cleared, and the prosecution of me continued uninterrupted.
On June 28, 1996 — two days after what would have been my mother's eightieth birthday — Ryan ended his life by heroin and alcohol overdose.696 His suicide note made no mention of me or the murder. Whatever his role, whoever his accomplices, he took the truth with him.
I have tried to forgive him — not for his benefit, but for mine. I do not want to carry the poison of hatred, and by most measures I have succeeded. Forgiveness is a process, not a decision. Still, the world is better off without him in it.
Footnotes
164.
↩
Q:"DID YOU INTERVIEW ANOTHER SUSPECT CONCERNING THIS CRIME?"
A:"I INTERVIEWED NUMEROUS PEOPLE, BUT NEVER ANOTHER SUSPECT."
165.
↩
MONSUE:"I'M JUST TRYING TO ELIMINATE YOU [as a suspect] MORE THAN I AM ANYTHING ELSE . . . THAT'S WHY I AM HERE FOR."
180.
↩
A:"... BRUCE HAD INFORMED ME THAT HE HAD ARRIVED AT HIS PARENTS' HOUSE SOMETIME IN THE VICINITY OF ABOUT 11 O'CLOCK THAT MORNING."
250.
↩
"DETECTIVES OBSERVED THE WINDOW, DIRECTLY ABOVE THE SINK IN THE KITCHEN, THAT SUBJECT STATED HE HAD COME THROUGH TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE HOUSE. DETECTIVES NOTED THAT THE BREAK-IN HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT DAMAGE TO THE WINDOW GLASS OR THE FRAME OF THE WINDOW.";
and:
Q:"AND WHAT DAMAGE, IF ANY, DID YOU SEE TO THE SCREEN?"
A:"I NOTICED NONE."
257.
↩
"DETECTIVES OBSERVED THE WINDOW, DIRECTLY ABOVE THE SINK IN THE KITCHEN, THAT SUBJECT STATED HE HAD COME THROUGH TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE HOUSE. DETECTIVES NOTED THAT THE BREAK-IN HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT DAMAGE TO THE WINDOW GLASS OR THE FRAME OF THE WINDOW."
387.
↩
and per the paramedics' statements to police, they arrived with officers Prado and Derousseau at exactly 11:34 A.M.
454.
↩
A:"I WAS ABLE TO ESTABLISH THAT IT WAS 11:26 [A.M.] WHEN THAT TELEPHONE CALL WAS MADE [by Bruce] TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT."
460A.
↩
"MICHAEL RYAN 17 YRS.. MAYBE 18 YRS.
"3-8-83 -- SAW HIM ABOUT A HALF A BLOCK FROM MY PARENT HOUSE. HE WAS WALKING TOWARD MY PARENTS HOUSE FROM THE TUNNEL NEAR ORION AND THE 405. IT WAS AROUND 1200.
"3-9-83 MY DAD TOLD ME HE WAS AT MY [parents'] HOME ON 3-9-83.
"RYAN HAS DONE ARMED ROBBERY WITH KNIFES BEFORE.
RYAN WROTE A LETTER TO MY GIRLFRIEND WHEN HE WAS IN JAIL FOR ONE OF THE ROBBERY. HE WAS ARRESTED BEFORE WE LIVED TOGETHER, LONG TIME BEFORE.
"COULD CHECK WITH PEOPLE A PALMER DRUG CENTER FOR INFORMATION ON RYAN. HE USED TO LIVE WITH A COUNSELOR NAMED IRA__________.
"PALMER DRUG CENTER -- OCEAN PARK BLVD, SANTA MONICA, CALIF.
"MICHAEL HAD THREATENED MY [life] ONCE WITH A THROWING KNIFE. HE WAS ALWAYS THROWING THE KNIFE IN THE WALLS OF THE APARTMENT.
"✓ WITH STEPHANIE 424-8829, 494-8829, LAGUNA BEACH
✓ WITH APRIL, SAME AS STEPHANIE
✓ WITH IRA AT PALMER.
✓ MICHAEL PARENTS LIVE IN SIMI VALLEY, (PARENTS SAME LAST NAME)
✓ WITH APRIL, SAME AS STEPHANIE
✓ WITH IRA AT PALMER.
✓ MICHAEL PARENTS LIVE IN SIMI VALLEY, (PARENTS SAME LAST NAME)
"MICHAEL KNOWS THAT I GO TO MY PARENTS HOUSE FOR MONEY; I HAD TOLD HIM THAT MY PARENTS WERE 'MONEYBAGS', 'BUT THEY WERE MY PARENTS AND HE WAS A THIEF.'
"MICHAEL HAS ROBBED HOUSE AND STOLEN GUNS AND OTHER STUFF WHILE HE LIVED WITH ME.
"ROYCE WALKER STOPPED BY MY APARTMENT THAT MORNING. HE WAS THERE FOR ABOUT 3-5 MINUTES.
"MICHAEL AND I LIVED TOGETHER FOR TWO MONTHS. I CHARGED HIM $100.00 A MONTHS -- HE HAD ASKED ME ABOUT STAYING [text obscured in copy] BECAUSE HE WAS ON THE STREET.
"MY MOTHER WOULD ALLOW ANYONE WHO KNEW ME IN THE HOUSE.
"MY PARENT HAVE ONCE LOANED ME AND MICHAEL $60 EACH TO GO TO THE WHO CONCERT. THE CONCERT WAS IN (I CAN'T REMEMBER WHEN IT WAS) [Edit: may be Oct 28/29, 1982 ?]
"I DON'T KNOW IF MICHAEL EVER WENT INTO MY PARENTS HOUSE WHEN THEY WASN'T HOME. I DON'T THINK HE DID, BECAUSE I NEVER TOLD ANYONE HOW TO GET INTO THE HOUSE, THAT WAS KIND OF MY SECRET.
"THE DAY I SAW MICHAEL, HE TOLD ME HE WAS GOING TO A FREEWAY ON-RAMP.
"MICHAEL WAS ALWAYS DRINKING. MICHAEL DID SPEED AND SMOKED POT ALOT. HE USED NEEDLES FOR THE SPEED.
"MICHAEL IS OBSESSED WITH SATAN AND THE DEVIL -- HE ALWAYS HAD THE HEAVY METAL MAGAZINES AROUND.
"I FINISHED THE 10TH GRADE, I STARTED THE 11TH, BUT I JUST [obscured] STOPPED BECAUSE I WORKED.
"MICHAEL WAS ALWAYS WRITING 666 AND DOING STUFF LIKE THAT. HE WAS INTO OZZY OSBOURNE -- YOU KNOW HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE OBSESSED WITH THE DEVIL.
"I NEVER WAS REALLY INTO THAT SORT OF THING, WE WERE DIFFERENT.
"WENT [with] LISA FOR SIX [months].
"THE LAST PLACE THAT I WENT TO I-HOP LAST TO APPLY FOR A JOB -- THEN WENT TO MY APARTMENT TO CHANGED [sic] CLOTHES THEN WENT TO MY PARENTS HOUSE.
"THE ONLY TWO FRIENDS OF MINE, WHO KNEW WHERE MY PARENTS LIVED WAS
-MICHAEL RYAN
- JOHN SCAPICCHIO -- LIVED AT TROPICA MOTEL ON VENTURA BLVD (VENTURA &
VINELAND)
- JOHN SCAPICCHIO -- LIVED AT TROPICA MOTEL ON VENTURA BLVD (VENTURA &
VINELAND)
"LAST TIME I SAW JOHN WAS A DAY OR TWO BEFORE CRIME."
461.
Citation to be added.
↩
464.
↩
MONSUE:"I KNOW THAT YOU LEFT MISSISSIPPI HERE ON A BUS ON THE 6TH OF MARCH AND THAT YOU WERE IN CALIFORNIA FROM THE 6TH OF MARCH TO THE 11TH OF MARCH."
and:
MONSUE:"WHAT TIME OF THE DAY DID YOU ARRIVE INTO L.A.?"
RYAN:"11 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT."
and:
MONSUE:"SO A THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MONDAY NIGHT. RIGHT?"
RYAN:"YEA."
465.
↩
MONSUE:"... THE OTHER THING IS, WHY THAT PARTICULAR DAY YOU DECIDED TO LEAVE THE VALLEY AND GO TO HOLLYWOOD AND CHECK INTO A MOTEL AND THEN THE FOLLOWING DAY YOU LEAVE TOWN. BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU LEFT MISSISSIPPI BECAUSE YOUR OLD MAN WAS NOT GOING TO PUT UP WITH YOUR BULLSHIT ANY MORE. GETTING HIGH, DOING EVERYTHING ELSE."
RYAN:"I NEVER GOT HIGH WHEN I WAS DOWN THERE. I NEVER GOT DRUNK. HE'S FULL OF SHIT.";
and:
RYAN:"DON'T YOU THINK THAT IF I WOULD HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT [murder], I WOULD HAVE BEEN GONE THAT SAME DAY, AND I WOULD HAVE. I WOULD HAVE."
MONSUE:"WELL, THAT VERY THING ENTERED MY MIND AND THAT IS WHY I WONDERED WHY YOU DECIDED TO GO TO HOLLYWOOD, ALL OF A SUDDEN. BECAUSE YOU DON'T NORMALLY GO TO HOLLYWOOD TO BUY YOUR DOPE, TO SCORE OR DO ANYTHING OF THAT TYPE STUFF. YOU'RE ALWAYS A VALLEYITE. YOU'VE BEEN A VALLEYITE, AS FAR AS I KNOW, ALL THE TIME. THE ONLY REASON THAT I CAN THINK OF YOU LEAVING TOWN LIKE THAT IS BECAUSE YOU WERE CONCERNED ABOUT SOMETHING. THAT'S WHAT I THINK. IT STRUCK ME ODD THAT WE HAVE MRS. LISKER BEING KILLED AND YOU DECIDING THAT SAME DAY TO END UP IN HOLLYWOOD IN A HOTEL. THAT BOTHERS ME A LITTLE BIT, BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT I KNOW, THAT ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND ALL YOUR CONNECTIONS AND EVERYTHING ELSE ARE THERE IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY.";
and:
MONSUE:"WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE L.A. ON FRIDAY [March 11]?"
466.
↩
"RYAN also stated later on in the statement that he had been to MRS. LISKER'S
on Wednesday to go get some water and to see if MRS. LISKER had any work for
him to do to make some money, at which time MRS. LISKER advised she did not
have any work and that she had to leave because she had to meet up with
someone. "
467.
↩
"MR. LISKER ALSO WAS ASKED IF HIS WIFE USUALLY HAD MONEY IN HER PURSE. HE INFORMED DETECTIVE THAT SHE SHOULD HAVE HAD APPROXIMATELY $150.00 BECAUSE THURSDAY WAS HER NORMAL SHOPPING DAY.";
and:
MONSUE:"THERE WAS MONEY MISSING AT THE HOUSE.";
and:
RYAN:"O.K. HOW MUCH MONEY WAS SUPPOSE TO HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF FROM MRS. LISKER?"
MONSUE:"WELL, I KNOW THAT MR. LISKER GAVE HER ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, WEDNESDAY NIGHT, $150 TO BUY GROCERIES WITH ON THURSDAY."
468.
↩
Q:"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN BACK TO THAT LOCATION?"
A:"I THINK A TOTAL OF FOUR TIMES."
Q:"DID YOU FIND $150 IN THE RESIDENCE ON MARCH 10, 1983?"
A:"NO SIR, T DID NOT.";
and:
A:"AT NO TIME HAVE I EVER FOUND THE $150."
469.
↩
MONSUE:"AND HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU HAVE WHEN YOU LEFT MISSISSIPPI?"
RYAN:"$52 AND SOME CHANGE. PROBABLY $53."
MONSUE:"O.K. SO WHEN YOU GOT TO HOLLYWOOD, YOU HAD AT LEAST $30, $31 OR $32. RIGHT?"
RYAN:"NO I HAD, WHEN I GOT INTO HOLLYWOOD, THAT ONE NIGHT I HAD ABOUT FORTY SOMETHING DOLLARS. I HAD ABOUT, I HAD ABOUT, CLOSE TO $50 ON ME, CAUSE I WAS PLANNING ON GOING BACK TO MISSISSIPPI SO I DIDN'T WANT TO SPEND MY MONEY.";
and:
"WIT STATED THE TRIP WAS A 48 HOUR BUS AND THAT MICHAEL HAD $50.00 CASH ON HIM." [emphasis added)
470.
472.
↩
RYAN:”…THEN WEDNESDAY NIGHT, A, THAT WAS WHEN I FOUND MY CLOTHES MISSING. THEN I TOOK OFF AND A I WENT, TOOK A BUS TOWARD HOLLYWOOD AND A TOOK A BUS AND I SLEPT, SLEPT IN LAUREL CANYON. I THINK IT WAS LAUREL CANYON, COLDWATER, ONE OF THE CANYONS.";
and:
MONSUE:"AND YOU DID NOT SLEEP IN THE APARTMENTS THAT NIGHT [March 9]. RIGHT? HOW DID YOU GET INTO COLDWATER CANYON OR LAUREL CANYON?"
RYAN:"WELL, I WALKED, I TOOK A, I TOOK A BUS, THE LAST BUS THAT ,WAS GOING DOWN A VENTURA BOULEVARD. THAT WAS, I TOOK A BUS, I TOOK THE, I THINK IT WAS THE 86, THAT WENT THROUGH VAN NUYS. I TOOK IT DOWN THERE AND I STARTED WALKING THE REST OF THE WAY."
473.
↩
RYAN:"... AND I GOT DOWN THERE INTO HOLLYWOOD THURSDAY MORNING REAL EARLY AND A THEN I GOT A MOTEL. THAT WAS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD. IT WAS NEXT TO A PIZZA HUT. AND "
MONSUE:"WHAT TIME DID YOU GET TO THE HOTEL? DO YOU REMEMBER?"
RYAN:"I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 11 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. AND A I STAYED THERE. I THINK IT COST ME SOMETHING LIKE $21 A DAY, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, $5 FOR THE DEPOSIT ON THE KEY, AND A STAYED THERE AND WALKED AROUND, SPUN AROUND, WENT TO A BAR IN HOLLYWOOD."
and:
featuring Ryan's signed alias, "Mark Smith," and noting the cost of single occupancy of room no. 18 as $20.00 plus $1.50 tax. [View Registration Card]
474.
↩
RYAN:"... WENT TO A BAR IN HOLLYWOOD. YOU KNOW, HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD AND A I BOUGHT $5 WORTH OF SOME POT FROM THIS A MEXICAN GUY. THAT, IT WAS RIGHT OFF OF SUNSET BOULEVARD, I JUST WENT AND I WENT TO THE BAR AND I WAS DOWN THERE AND I DRANK A BEER. I BOUGHT A BEER AND I DRANK A BEER AND A, AND I WAS WITH THIS, I WENT IN THE BACK OF THIS BAR, AND I HAD THIS JOINT AND I WAS SMOKING IT AND THIS BLACK GUY WALKED UP AND ASKED ME IF HE COULD HAVE A COUPLE HITS, AND I SAID SURE."
475.
↩
RYAN:"... YOU KNOW, HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD AND A I BOUGHT $5 WORTH OF SOME POT FROM THIS A MEXICAN GUY. THAT, IT WAS RIGHT OFF OF SUNSET BOULEVARD, I JUST WENT AND I WENT TO THE BAR AND I WAS DOWN THERE AND I DRANK A BEER."
476.
↩
RYAN:"WELL, I WALKED UP AND DOWN LOOKING FOR A CHEAP MOTEL, THE CHEAPEST MOTEL I COULD FIND, AND, WELL ACTUALLY I WAS GET, I WAS GET DOWN TO MISSISSIPPI THAT DAY, AND I GOT DOWN, DOWNTOWN L.A., AND I DECIDED, WELL, I'LL JUST STAY IN HOLLYWOOD FOR THE DAY."
MONSUE:"HOW DID YOU GET DOWNTOWN L.A. FROM"
RYAN:"FROM WHERE?"
MONSUE:"FROM LAUREL CANYON OR COLDWATER CANYON?"
RYAN:"I WALKED IT, AND I TOOK A BUS BACK FROM L.A. DOWNTOWN L.A. I TOOK THE"
MONSUE:"YOU WALKED FROM LAUREL CANYON OR COLDWATER CANYON TO DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES BUS STATION?" [Subject is changed]
477.
↩
RYAN:"I WENT IN THE BACK OF THIS BAR, AND I HAD THIS JOINT AND I WAS SMOKING IT AND THIS BLACK GUY WALKED UP AND ASKED ME IF HE COULD HAVE A COUPLE HITS, AND I SAID SURE. AND THEN HE ASKED ME IF HE COULD BUY SOME POT AND I TOLD HIM THAT I ONLY HAD ABOUT 4 OR 5 JOINTS LEFT. SO HE ASKED ME IF HE COULD BUY A COUPLE OF JOINTS, SO I SAID SURE. SO I SOLD HIM A COUPLE JOINTS."
478.
↩
"$21.00 OR $23.00 SPENT FOR HIS BUS TICKET TO PHOENIX, ARIZ."
and:
RYAN:"... KICKED BACK, SMOKED A JOINT AND THEN I WENT BACK TO SLEEP. THE NEXT MORNING I A, TOOK OFF DOWN TO THE TRAILWAYS BUS STATION. BOUGHT, GOT ALL MY MONEY THAT I HAD, AND GOT AS FAR AS I COULD AND THAT WAS TO PHOENIX, ARIZONA. IT COSTS $21/$22. AND FROM THERE I HITCH-HIKED ALL THE WAY BACK DOWN HERE."
And:
"... THE ONLY MONEY THAT HE HAD SPENT WAS FOR A BEER, A SANDWICH, CIGARETTES..."
479.
↩
"... THE ONLY MONEY THAT HE HAD SPENT WAS FOR A BEER, A SANDWICH, CIGARETTES..."
480.
↩
MONSUE:"HOW DID YOU EAT FOR 3 [sic] DAYS?"
RYAN:"A, VERY WISELY. I ATE LIKE A BAG OF POTATOE [sic] CHIPS, BUY A COKE, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.. I BOUGHT A ,PACK OF CIGARETTES. BOUGHT CIGARETTES. I DIDN'T USE THAT MUCH."
481.
Monsue's Handwritten Notes of Interview with Ryan's Father (John Michael Ryan, Sr.), 1983
↩
482.
Postulated at between 10;40 and 11:00 A.M. by Deputy Medical Examiner Irwin L. Golden, who said my, mom could likely have survived her wounds a minimum of fifteen and a maximum of forty-five minutes absent life-saving emergency treatment.
↩
483.
Actually 10.36 statute miles, per a popular mapping software title.
↩
484.
↩
Located at 5200 W sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, California [Photo]
RYAN:“…AND I GOT DOWN THERE INTO HOLLYWOOD THURSDAY MORNING REAL EARLY AND A THEN I GOT A MOTEL. THAT WAS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD. IT WAS NEXT TO A PIZZA HUT. AND”
MONSUE:“WHAT TIME DID YOU GET TO THE HOTEL? DO YOU REMEMBER?”
RYAN:“I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 11 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING. AND A I STAYED THERE.”
And:
MONSUE:“SEE, THE OTHER PROBLEM THAT YOU GOT HERE, IS THAT YOU SAY YOU TELL ME YOU CHECKED INTO THE MOTEL ON THURSDAY MORNING AROUND 11:00 O’CLOCK. WELL, THAT’S BULLSHIT. I WENT TO THE MOTEL. YOU CHECKED IN AT 3:00 O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON.”
RYAN:“THEN IT WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND 3. I DON’T REMEMBER.”
MONSUE:“YEA, YOU SEE, THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING. YOU CONVENIENTLY NOT REMEMBERING WHAT’S IMPORTANT.”
RYAN:“WELL THAT.”
MONSUE:“YOU BETTER GET YOUR STORY TOGETHER MICHAEL.”
485.
↩
MONSUE:“SEE, THE OTHER PROBLEM THAT YOU GOT HERE, IS THAT YOU SAY YOU TELL ME YOU CHECKED INTO THE MOTEL ON THURSDAY MORNING AROUND 11:00 O’CLOCK. WELL, THAT’S BULLSHIT. I WENT TO THE MOTEL. YOU CHECKED IN AT 3:00 O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON.”
RYAN:“THEN IT WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND 3. I DON’T REMEMBER.”
486.
↩
MONSUE:"YOU SEE, WHAT I AM SAYING TO YOU, MICHAEL, IS THIS. IF YOU TALK TO EVERYBODY, THEY PAINT A DIFFERENT PICTURE THAN WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO PRESENT TO ME. EVERYBODY TELLS ME THAT YOU ARE A VERY COCKY, SELF-ASSURED, VIOLENT PERSON, AND THAT MAY BE, BECAUSE YOU ARE HIGH AND YOU ARE TRYING TO BE MEEK AND ALL THIS WITH ME TODAY. SEE, WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT IT DOESN'T JIVE WITH WHAT I ALREADY KNOW ABOUT YOU. I WOULD WANT TO KNOW ALSO WHY YOU PARTICULARLY PICKED THE NAME OF MARK SANDERS, OR WHATEVER IT IS, MARK SMITH TO SIGN IN ON." [emphasis added];
487.
↩
MONSUE:"WHY DID YOU USE THE NAME OF MARK SMITH WHEN YOU CHECKED IN THE HOTEL? YOU HAD TO GIVE YOUR MOTHER'S ADDRESS."
RYAN:"JUST AFTER THE INCIDENT. I WAS SCARED. THE INCIDENT WITH THAT COLORED GUY."
MONSUE:"THAT HAPPENED AFTER YOU CHECKED INTO THE MOTEL."
RYAN:"I DON'T KNOW. NEVER GIVE WELL, ONE, ANOTHER REASON IS THAT, IS THAT A, YOUR NOT, YOU HAVE TO BE 18 TO GET INTO A MOTEL. MY ID SAID I WAS ONLY 16. I DIDN'T SHOW MY ID."
MONSUE:"AT THE BAR YOU DID DIDN'T YOU?"
RYAN:"A NAVY BASE ID. SEA BEE. FROM THE SEA BEE. MY DAD WAS IN THE SEA BEES. AND I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STAY IN THE HOTEL. NOT TOO MANY PLACES YOU CAN SLEEP, SLEEP IN HOLLYWOOD." [emphasis added]
488.
↩
MONSUE:"AH HA. WHO LIVES IN SIMI VALLEY THAT YOU KNOW, THAT YOU CALL?"
RYAN:"A, I KNOW A FEW PEOPLE IN SIMI VALLEY. I KNOW A"
MONSUE:"THAT YOU CALLED FROM MISSISSIPPI? FROM YOUR DADDY'S HOUSE, JUST BEFORE YOU LEFT?"
RYAN:"OH, BEFORE I LEFT. A, I CALLED A, I CALLED A BOBBY."
MONSUE:"BOBBY WHO?"
RYAN:"A GIRL THAT I KNEW. I DON'T KNOW 'HER LAST NAME. I HAVE HER WHOLE NAME IN MY WALLET. I CALLED HER UP AND I WAS DRUNK ONE NIGHT, AND I CALLED HER UP JUST TO TALK TO HER."
MONSUE:"YEA, WHO DID YOU CALL IN VAN NUYS THAT SAME NIGHT?"
RYAN:"I DIDN'T CALL ANYBODY IN VAN NUYS."
MONSUE:"YOU MADE FOUR TELEPHONE CALLS THE NIGHT BEFORE YOU LEFT MISSISSIPPI. TWO TO VAN NUYS, ONE TO SIMI VALLEY, AND ONE TO YOUR MOTHER IN THOUSAND OAKS."
RYAN:"YEA, I MIGHT HAVE TRIED TO CALL, I DON'T KNOW WHO I TRIED CALLING."
MONSUE:"O.K. LET'S COVER SOME OTHER STUFF THAT I NEED COVERED REAL QUICK HERE."
RYAN:"THE PHONE CALLS THAT I MADE WAS NOT HERE. I PHONE CALLS THAT I MADE, I THINK THAT I WAS IN DALLAS. WHEN I. CALLED MY MOM."
MONSUE:"YOU CALLED FROM YOUR FATHER'S HOUSE."
RYAN:"THEN I REIMBURSED HIM."
MONSUE:"YOU MIGHT HAVE REIMBURSED HIM, I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT. BUT I HAVE THE PHONE BILL FROM YOUR FATHER'S SAYING THAT YOU CALLED. THEY ARE ON THE PHONE BILL. O.K. LET ME ASK YOU A COUPLE OF OTHER QUESTIONS. WHAT THE HELL IS INDIGO WEED?"
RYAN:"IN WHAT?"
489.
↩
RYAN:"... AFTER THAT I WAS LEAVING THE BAR AND A I LEFT THE BAR AT THE BACK OF THE BAR, I WAS YOU KNOW, WALK OUT TO SUNSET AND TAKE A BUS DOWN TO THE MOTEL I WAS STAYING AT AND THIS BLACK GUY CAME OUT AND HE ASKED ME IF I HAD A SOME POT ON ME AND SOME MONEY. AND I TOLD HIM, ' NO I DIDN'T' . [sic] AND A. THEN HE STARTED USING THAT BLOOD TALK TO ME, YOU KNOW, LIKE, WHITE BOY AND SHIT LIKE THAT, AND THEN HE TOLD ME THAT I HAD BETTER GIVE HIM MY MONEY AND MY POT AND I TOLD HIM THAT I WASN'T GONNA GIVE IT TO HIM. SO THEN HE PULLED OUT, I THINK, A STILETTO OR AND I HAD LIKE A LITTLE TIN KNIFE. AND I PULLED IT OUT AND A I GOT HIM SOMEWHERE AROUND THE SHOULDER. I WAS THE ONE WHO ATTACKED HIM FIRST. AND A I GOT HIM ABOUT WHERE, ABOUT RIGHT SHOULDER, SOMEWHERE ABOUT THERE AND I STARTED RUNNING AND HE STARTED YELLING AT ME THAT HE WAS GONNA FIND ME AND GET ME AND A FROM THERE I TOOK OFF, RAN TO SUNSET, RAN ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE APARTMENTS. GOT TO THE APARTMENT. I TOOK MY ID AND STUCK IT BETWEEN THE MATTRESS. KICKED BACK, SMOKED A JOINT AND THEN I WENT BACK TO SLEEP."
490.
↩
MONSUE:"WHY DID YOU USE THE NAME OF MARK SMITH WHEN YOU CHECKED IN THE HOTEL? YOU HAD TO GIVE YOUR MOTHER'S ADDRESS."
RYAN:"JUST AFTER THE INCIDENT. I WAS SCARED. THE INCIDENT WITH THAT COLORED GUY."
MONSUE:"THAT HAPPENED AFTER YOU CHECKED INTO THE MOTEL."
491.
↩
"RYAN THEN STATED THAT HE STAYED UP ALL THAT NIGHT, WALKING THE STREETS, UNTIL THE MORNING OF MARCH 10 WHERE HE WENT A MOTEL ON HOLLYWOOD BLVD."
492.
↩
RYAN:" THEN WEDNESDAY NIGHT, A, THAT WAS WHEN I FOUND MY CLOTHES MISSING.
THEN I TOOK OFF AND A I WENT, TOOK A BUS TOWARD HOLLYWOOD AND A TOOK A BUS AND I SLEPT, SLEPT IN LAUREL CANYON. I THINK IT WAS LAUREL CANYON, COLDWATER, ONE OF THE CANYONS. STAYED THERE ONE NIGHT. AND I GOT DOWN THERE INTO HOLLYWOOD THURSDAY MORNING REAL EARLY AND A THEN I GOT A MOTEL. THAT WAS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD. IT WAS NEXT TO A PIZZA HUT. AND "
THEN I TOOK OFF AND A I WENT, TOOK A BUS TOWARD HOLLYWOOD AND A TOOK A BUS AND I SLEPT, SLEPT IN LAUREL CANYON. I THINK IT WAS LAUREL CANYON, COLDWATER, ONE OF THE CANYONS. STAYED THERE ONE NIGHT. AND I GOT DOWN THERE INTO HOLLYWOOD THURSDAY MORNING REAL EARLY AND A THEN I GOT A MOTEL. THAT WAS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD. IT WAS NEXT TO A PIZZA HUT. AND "
493.
↩
Had Ryan disembarked a bus at Ventura Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon, he would have found himself in familiar territory indeed, since for all practical purposes he lived on Coldwater Canyon for the duration of his in-patient stay.
MONSUE:"WHEN YOU WERE IN COLDWATER HOSPITAL, YOU ESCAPED. YOU HAVE PROBLEMS THERE. YOU WOULDN'T STAY THERE. YOU WOULDN'T GO SEE THE."
RYAN:"IN COLDWATER HOSPITAL. I NEVER AWOL 'ED FROM COLDWATER CANYON."
MONSUE:"WELL, THE RECORDS SHOW DIFFERENT."
RYAN:"THAT I AWOL'ED FROM THERE. I NEVER DID. YOU CAN GO BACK AND ASK MY THERAPIST, JIM BENNETT, HE'LL TELL YOU THAT I NEVER ESCAPED. I'VE HAD PROBLEMS DOWN THERE, ANGER PROBLEMS, FRUSTRATION, CAUSE I DIDN'T."
MONSUE:"I TALKED TO JIM."
494.
↩
Prior to March 10, Ryan had slept in the carports at or near Burbank and Sepulveda Boulevard and, he claimed, the night before my mom was robbed and killed in Laurel or Coldwater Canyon, he couldn't recall (likely a retrospective lie to distance himself from our house as the crime approached) —
RYAN:"... AND I GOT DOWN THERE INTO HOLLYWOOD THURSDAY MORNING REAL EARLY AND A THEN I GOT A MOTEL ... I THINK IT COST ME SOMETHING LIKE $21 A DAY, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, $5 FOR THE DEPOSIT ON THE KEY, AND A STAYED THERE AND WALKED AROUND, SPUN AROUND, WENT TO A BAR IN HOLLYWOOD.";
and:
MONSUE:"... YOU SPENT $21.50 FOR THE HOTEL ROOM AND YOU PUT A $5 DEPOSIT DOWN.";
and:
"RYAN THEN STATED THAT HE STAYED UP ALL THAT NIGHT, WALKING THE STREETS, UNTIL THE MORNING OF MARCH 10TH WHERE HE WENT TO A MOTEL ON HOLLYWOOD BLVD. NEXT TO EITHER A PIZZA HUT OR A PIZZA INN AND STAYED IN ROOM 18 OR 8, REGISTERED UNDER THE NAME OF MARK SMITH OF 365 PEPPERWOOD COURT, CITY OF ONE THOUSAND OAKS."
495.
↩
(scan in Monsue's Notes of Interview with Ryan's Counselors)
MONSUE:"YOUR DAD IS SCARED OF YOU."!
RYAN:"I DON'T KNOW WHY."
MONSUE:"BECAUSE YOU ARE ALWAYS HIGH AND STRUNG OUT."
RYAN:"I WAS NEVER THAT HIGH WHEN I WAS LIVING WITH HIM.”
MONSUE:"AND EVERYBODY THAT I TALKED TO, YOU FATHER, YOUR MOTHER, YOUR FRIENDS, THE , AND EVERYBODY SAYS THAT YOU ARE A VERY VIOLENT PERSON WHEN YOU ARE HIGH."
RYAN:"I DON'T ."
MONSUE:"YOU LIKE TO HURT PEOPLE."
RYAN:"ONE THING, I DON'T SEE IT. O.K. I GET, I GET ANGRY AND ANNOYED. O.K. I SHOW IT IN MY FACE, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T, I DON'T HURT PEOPLE. I, WHEN I WAS IN THE DRUG ABUSE HOSPITAL, I NEVER STRUCK ANYBODY. WHEN I WAS IN ZAPP, [i.e., PDAP, the 12-Step Palmer Drug Abuse Program] I NEVER STRUCK ANYBODY."
MONSUE:"WHEN YOU WERE IN COLDWATER HOSPITAL, YOU ESCAPED. YOU HAVE PROBLEMS THERE. YOU WOULDN'T STAY THERE. YOU WOULDN'T GO SEE THE."
RYAN:"IN COLDWATER HOSPITAL. I NEVER AWOL'ED FROM COLDWATER CANYON."
MONSUE:"WELL, THE RECORDS SHOW DIFFERENT."
RYAN:"THAT I AWOL'ED FROM THERE. I NEVER DID. YOU CAN GO BACK AND ASK MY THERAPIST, JIM BENNETT, HE'LL TELL YOU THAT I NEVER ESCAPED. I'VE HAD PROBLEMS DOWN THERE, ANGER PROBLEMS, FRUSTRATION, CAUSE I DIDN'T ."
MONSUE:"I TALKED TO JIM."
RYAN:"I NEVER AWOL'ED FROM THERE."
MONSUE:"PEOPLE FROM ,YOUR COUNSELORS, AND A COUPLE OF PEOPLE IN YOUR GROUP, TOLD ME OF A COUPLE OF INSTANCES WHERE YOU PULLED A KNIFE ON SOMEBODY IN ONE OF THE MEETINGS."
RYAN:"I PULLED, THAT'S NOT TRUE. THAT IS NOT."
MONSUE:"YOU SEE, WHAT I AM SAYING TO YOU, MICHAEL, IS THIS. IF YOU TALK TO EVERYBODY, THEY PAINT A DIFFERENT PICTURE THAN WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO PRESENT TO ME. EVERYBODY TELLS ME THAT YOU ARE A VERY COCKY, SELF-ASSURED, VIOLENT PERSON, AND THAT MAY BE, BECAUSE YOU ARE HIGH AND YOU ARE TRYING TO BE MEEK AND ALL THIS WITH ME TODAY. SEE, WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT IT DOESN'T JIVE WITH WHAT I ALREADY KNOW ABOUT YOU. I WOULD WANT TO KNOW ALSO WHY YOU PARTICULARLY PICKED THE NAME OF MARK SANDERS, OR WHATEVER IT IS, MARK SMITH TO SIGN IN ON.";
and:
MONSUE:"THE OTHER PROBLEM THAT WE HAVEN'T EVEN TALKED ABOUT HERE IS ON YOUR WAY BACK TO MISSISSIPPI HERE, YOU STOPPED AT YOUR UNCLE'S HOUSE, OVER IN HOUSTON, OR SOME PLACE THERE, AND YOU TOOK HIS CAR, AND YOU TOOK SOME MONEY OFF OF HIM.";
and:
MONSUE:"NO, BUT IF I WAS TRYING TO BUILD A CHARACTER [a Freudian slip?], BE A GOOD CHARACTER WITNESS FOR YOU, IT WOULDN'T. SO THAT ."
RYAN:"O.K. I, I, I'VE ALWAYS HAD A BEHAVIOR PROBLEM. BEHAVIOR PROBLEM CAME FROM MY JERK DAD THAT LEFT ME ALONG TIME AGO, AND I'VE ALWAYS HATED HIM FOR IT AND MY STEP-FATHER ALWAYS USED TO BEAT ME WHEN I WET THE BED WHEN I WAS SIX YEARS OLD AND COULDN'T HANDLE IT, YOU KNOW. THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY I, I'VE NEVER HAD A HOME AND I'M NOT SUPPOSE TO BE, YOU KNOW, AND I AIN' T GONNA LAY DOWN A GUILT TRIP OR NO SOB ASS STORY, YOU KNOW, TEAR JERKER, CAUSE I DON'T NORMALLY DO THAT. I'VE NEVER, WHEN I WAS IN THE PROGRAM, I'VE NEVER HIT ANYBODY AND THAT WAS TWO YEARS. I'VE NEVER LAYED A HAND ON. I'VE THREATENED PEOPLE, YEA. I THREATENED TO KICK PEOPLE'S BUTT, INSIDE THE PROGRAM, BUT I NEVER DID IT."
MONSUE:"WELL, WHATEVER YOU DID, YOU WERE EFFECTIVE. BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T TRUST YOU EITHER."...
MONSUE:"HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE OLD EXPRESSION, WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE A DUCK, AND YOU WALK LIKE A DUCK AND YOU TALK LIKE A DUCK, THAT YOU PROBABLY ARE A DUCK? ...";
and:
RYAN:"... AND I HAD LIKE A LITTLE TIN KNIFE. AND I PULLED IT OUT AND A I GOT HIM SOMEWHERE AROUND THE SHOULDER. I WAS THE ONE WHO ATTACKED HIM FIRST. AND A I GOT HIM ABOUT WHERE, ABOUT RIGHT SHOULDER, SOMEWHERE ABOUT THERE AND I STARTED RUNNING ..."
496.
MONSUE:"WELL, SOMEBODY IS NOT TELLING ME THE TRUTH. AND IT LOOKS, LIKE TO ME MICHAEL, THAT IT IS YOU. LET'S GO BACK OVER THIS TIME HERE. YOU SAY YOU WENT TO MRS. LISKER'S HOUSE ON WEDNESDAY. WHAT TIME OF DAY DID YOU GO THERE?"
RYAN:"I WAS THERE, SOMEWHERE IN THE AFTERNOON, I GUESS."
MONSUE:"AH HU. WAS ANYBODY ELSE THERE?"
RYAN:"NO. SHE SAID THAT SHE HAD AN APPOINTMENT SOMETIME TO GO AND GET THE DOG."
MONSUE:"DID YOU TAKE ANY MONEY FROM HER?"
RYAN:"NO, NO, I DIDN'T."
MONSUE:"O.K."
RYAN:"DID SHE SAY ANYTHING TO MR. LISKER THAT I TOOK MONEY?"
MONSUE:"SHE TOLD HIM THAT THERE WAS MONEY MISSING. SHE WASN'T SURE WHETHER YOU TOOK IT OR BRUCE TOOK IT. BRUCE SAID THAT YOU TOOK IT.”
RYAN:"O.K. WHEN I WENT INTO MRS. LISKER'S HOUSE. I WENT TO USE THE BATHROOM AND SHE GAVE ME A DRINK OF WATER. I WALKED INTO THE KITCHEN WITH HER." [emphasis added]
(Though it should be noted that Monsue's notes of his interview with my dad reveal no such claim of missing money in the day preceding the crime)
↩
497.
↩
"DETECTIVE MONSUE WAS ADVISED BY DETECTIVE LANDGREN AT THIS POINT [in the investigation] OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE TROPHY BEING THROWN AT VICTIM AND THAT IT BELONGED TO SUBJECT AND HAD BEEN ON THE DESK IN HIS ROOM."
498.
↩
Q:"AND THE EXERCISE BAR WHICH IS PEOPLE'S 3, WHERE WAS THAT GENERALLY KEPT?"
A:"KEPT IN THE MASTER BEDROOM WHICH WAS DESIGNATED AS BEDROOM 1 NEXT TO THE LAUNDRY BASKET."
Q:"BEDROOM 1 YOU ARE REFERRING TO THE DIAGRAM, PEOPLE'S 8?"
A:"THAT IS CORRECT."
And this is where the bar was found by police when they arrived:
"ALSO IN THE MASTER BEDROOM, RESTING AGAINST THE WESTERN WALL NEXT TO THE DRESSING TABLE, WAS AN EXERCISE BAR. THE BAR WAS APPROXIMATELY 3 FEET LONG AND 2½ OR 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER. ON ONE END OF THE BAR, THERE WERE BLOOD STAINS."
499.
↩
MONSUE:"... BRUCE AND SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE THAT I TALKED T0, HAS TOLD ME THAT BRUCE AND HIS MOTHER DID NOT GET ALONG VERY WELL. YOU SHOULD PROBABLY KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT THAT RELATIONSHIP AS ANYBODY. HOW DID BRUCE FEEL ABOUT HIS MOTHER?"
RYAN:"HE THOUGHT SHE WAS A BITCH."
MONSUE:"DID HE EVER FIGHT .WITH HER?"
RYAN:"THE CLOSEST VIOLENCE HE CAME WAS PUTTING A BIG DENT IN HIS MOM'S CAR DOOR."
MONSUE:"WHEN YOU SAY VIOLENCE, TELL ME ABOUT THAT?"
RYAN:"I MEAN LIKE GETTING REALLY HOT, REALLY MAD."
MONSUE:"WHAT DID HE DO?"
RYAN:"I, I, I DIDN'T SEE IT OR ANYTHING. HE CAME UPSTAIRS ONE DAY, CAUSE I GUESS HIS MOM TOOK HIM SOMEWHERE AND A, HIS MOM SAID SOMETHING AND HE GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND HE KICKED THE DOOR REALLY HARD, AND HE SAID FUCK YOU, AND STUFF LIKE THAT. MRS. LISKER TOLD ME ABOUT THAT TOO. SHE TOLD ME THAT, THAT SHE WAS REALLY EMBARRASSED BECAUSE THERE WAS A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE STANDING AROUND WHEN HE DID THAT."
MONSUE:"HOW DID BRUCE FEEL ABOUT HIS MOTHER?"
RYAN:"HE DIDN'T LIKE HER."
MONSUE:"EXPLAIN THAT, HE DIDN'T LIKE, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"
RYAN:"CAUSE SHE ALWAYS NAGGED HIM AND BITCHED TO HIM AND LIKE THEY COULDN'T BE IN THE SAME ROOM TOGETHER MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES."
MONSUE:"DID HE EVER SAY HE HATED HIS MOTHER? YOU HAVE TO ANSWER THE QUESTION."
RYAN:"YES, HE SAID HE HATED HER."
MONSUE:"DID HE EVER TALK ABOUT HURTING HER?"
RYAN:"NO."
500.
↩
"AT THE TIME OF THE INTERVIEW, RYAN WAS NOT CERTAIN OF THE DATES OR TIMES OR PLACES IN QUESTION.";
and:
MONSUE:"YEA, YOU SEE, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. YOU CONVENIENTLY NOT REMEMBERING WHAT'S IMPORTANT."
RYAN:"WELL THAT."
MONSUE:"YOU BETTER GET YOUR STORY TOGETHER MICHAEL."
RYAN:"O.K. LISTEN, THIS HAPPENED LIKE OVER A MONTH AGO, MAYBE TWO MONTHS AGO."
MONSUE:"YEA, BUT WHEN SOMEBODY IS KILLED, MY FRIEND, IT STAYS IN YOUR MIND, AND YOU HAVEN'T HAD MUCH DOPE SINCE THEN. YOU HAVE BEEN IN HERE FOR A GOOD PORTION OF THAT TIME AND YOU HAVE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO DRY OUT AND GET YOUR THOUGHTS TOGETHER AND GET YOUR STORY TOGETHER."
RYAN:"I HAVEN'T BEEN REALLY THINKING MUCH OF IT. CAUSE I DIDN'T DO IT."
MONSUE:"YOU BETTER BE THINKING A WHOLE BUNCH ABOUT IT. BECAUSE YOUR ASS IS GONNA BE BACK IN CALIFORNIA IN JAIL UNLESS I CAN GET SOME STRAIGHT ANSWERS OUT OF YOU TODAY."
RYAN:"I DIDN'T, I DID NOT, I'VE NOT EVEN, I DIDN'T HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.I AM SERIOUS AND I'M BEING HONEST. I DID NOT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS, AND I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING'ABOUT FREE-BASE AND COCAINE, CAUSE I NEVER FREE-BASED BEFORE IN MY LIFE."
MONSUE:"THAT'S BULLSHIT. CAUSE YOUR COUNSELORS AT THE TELL ME THAT YOU D0. THAT YOU DO THAT, THAT YOU DO MUSHROOMS, YOU DO ALL KINDS OF SHIT.";
and:
MONSUE:"WELL, YOU SHOULD BE GETTING PISSED-OFF CAUSE YOU ARE BEING ACCUSED OF SOMETHING VERY SERIOUS AND THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU ARE GOING TO GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THIS, IS TO TELL ME WHAT I CAN CHECK ON AND SO FAR YOU HAVEN'T GIVEN ME ANYTHING WITH THE EXCEPTION OF KEITH'S NAME THAT I CAN VERIFY. NOW, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING NOW FOR ABOUT AN HOUR." [Ryan's response, if any, obscured in copy]
MONSUE:"I NEED TO KNOW NAMES, PLACES AND TIMES WHERE YOU WERE, SO I CAN GO BACK TO CALIFORNIA AND GET ON MY HORSE AND CHECK THESE THINGS OUT."
RYAN:"O.K. A."
MONSUE:"TWENTY-ONE DAYS IN A MISSISSIPPI JAIL IS NOT LIKE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IN THE CALIFORNIA STATE PRISON."
501.
↩
MONSUE:"DID YOU EVER SEE BRUCE ON THURSDAY?"
RYAN:"AH AH. (NEGATIVE)"
MONSUE:"YOU NEVER DID SEE HIM AT ALL?"
RYAN:"LAST TIME I SAW HIM WAS, OH HE GAVE ME A RIDE, I THINK IT WAS THURSDAY. WHEN WAS IT. HE GAVE ME A RIDE TO VENTURA BOULEVARD, BUT I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT DAY IT WAS."
MONSUE:"WAS THAT THE DAY YOU WERE AT THE GALLERIA OR WAS THAT THE NEXT DAY?"
RYAN:"I THINK IT WAS, I THINK IT WAS TUESDAY. HE GAVE ME A RIDE."
502.
↩
RYAN:"... AND I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FREE-BASE AND COCAINE, CAUSE I NEVER FREE-BASED BEFORE IN MY LIFE."
MONSUE:"THAT'S BULLSHIT. CAUSE YOUR COUNSELORS AT THE TELL ME THAT YOU DO. THAT YOU DO THAT, THAT YOU DO MUSHROOMS, YOU DO ALL KINDS OF SHIT."
503.
↩
MONSUE:"WHY .DID YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE L.A. ON FRIDAY?"
RYAN:"CAUSE I WANTED TO GET BACK TO MISSISSIPPI. CAUSE I, YOU KNOW, I HAD A PLACE TO STAY OUT HERE AND I DIDN'T HAVE A PLACE TO STAY IN L.A."
504.
↩
MONSUE:"... BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU LEFT MISSISSIPPI BECAUSE YOUR OLD MAN WAS NOT GOING TO PUT UP WITH YOUR BULLSHIT ANY MORE. GETTING HIGH, DOING EVERYTHING ELSE.";
and:
MONSUE:"AND THE OTHER PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE .IS THE FACT THAT YOU CAME TO CALIFORNIA BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T GONNA LIVE DOWN HERE ANY LONGER AND YOU DECIDED TO PICK UP AND LEAVE AGAIN THE DAY AFTER THIS HAPPENED."
505.
MONSUE:"O.K. SO WHEN YOU GOT TO HOLLYWOOD, YOU HAD AT LEAST $30, $31 OR $32. RIGHT?"
RYAN:"NO I HAD, WHEN I GOT INTO HOLLYWOOD, THAT ONE NIGHT I HAD ABOUT FORTY SOMETHING DOLLARS. I HAD ABOUT, I HAD ABOUT, CLOSE TO $50 ON ME, CAUSE _I WAS PLANNING ON GOING BACK TO MISSISSIPPI SO I DIDN'T WANT TO SPEND MY MONEY." [emphasis added]
Why would Ryan plan to travel another 1,700 miles to return to the intolerable living arrangement which according to him existed at his father's Mississippi home so soon after escaping it?
↩
506.
RYAN:"... SO THE NEXT DAY I CAME BACK, THE NEXT NIGHT I CAME BACK, AND MY CLOTHES WERE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CARPORT. I WENT LOOKING FOR THEM, AT FIRST I DIDN'T SEE THEM, CAUSE THEY WERE LIKE RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CAR. SO I CAME BACK AND SAW THEM IN FRONT OF THE CAR AND I PICKED THEM UP AND STUCK THEM BACK INSIDE MY TOTE BAG AND I TOOK OFF TO FIND A BETTER PLACE TO STAY." [emphasis added].;
and:
MONSUE:"WHAT PART OF THE CANYON DID YOU SLEEP ON?"
RYAN:"A, I CLIMBED UP INTO THE WOODS AND I JUST PUT ON ALL MY, A LONG SLEEVE STUFF FROM MY TOTE BAG AND CRASHED. WENT TO SLEEP." [emphasis added]
Though I am, by my own admission, the only present witness to Ryan's tote bag handles having resembled the yellow cord I found around my mother's neck.
↩
508.
↩
Q:"DID YOU FIND ANY OTHER QUANTITY OF ROPE, MATCHING THE THREE-FOOT PIECE OF ROPE THAT YOU DID FIND, ANYWHERE IN THE LISKER PROPERTY OR AUTOMOBILES?"
A:"NO."
Q:"DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE SOURCE OF THAT ROPE--"
A:"NO, SIR, I DO NOT.";
and:
Q:"THERE'S BEEN A ROPE DESCRIBED ON DIRECT EXAMINATION THAT WAS FOUND IN THE RESIDENCE AND HAD BEEN MARKED AS THE PEOPLE'S EXHIBIT. I BELIEVE IT IS 7-A, AN ENVELOPE AND A ROPE. "OTHER THAN THAT ONE PIECE OF ROPE THAT HAS BEEN MARKED 7-A, DID YOU FIND ANY OTHER ROPE AT THE LOCATION SIMILAR TO THAT ROPE?"
A:"NO, I DID NOT. THERE WAS NONE SIMILAR."
Q:"DID YOU FIND ANY ROPE LIKE THAT IN BRUCE'S CAR?"
A:"NO, I DID NOT."
509.
↩
MONSUE:"O.K. TUESDAY. YOU SAID THAT THAT NIGHT YOU SLEPT IN THE CARPORT. WHAT DID YOU DO ON TUESDAY?"
RYAN:"... TUESDAY, OH YEA, I WAS GONNA GO TO MY MOMS HOUSE IN THOUSAND OAKS. I WAS GONNA HITCH-HIKE AND A. I THINK IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN TUESDAY. I WAS GOING TO THE FREEWAY, THE ON-RAMP TO GET DOWN TO THOUSAND OAKS, AND BRUCE PICKED ME UP. I SAW BRUCE ON THE WAY AND I WAIVED HIM DOWN, AND HE PICKED ME UP AND HE DROPPED ME TO THE ON-RAMP. AND WHEN I GOT TO THE ON-RAMP THERE WAS ANOTHER GUY STANDING THERE AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE HADN'T HAD A RIDE IN 3 HOURS. SO I DECIDED, OH WELL, I AIN'T GONNA GET A RIDE IF BOTH OF US ARE STANDING THERE, SO I LEFT, TOOK OFF. WENT TO THE GALLEREA, YOU KNOW THE GALLEREA." MONSUE:. "WHICH ON-RAMP WERE YOU HITCH-HIKING AT?"
RYAN:"IT WAS THE ONLY ONE TO _GO DOWN VENTURA. I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE IT WAS."
MONSUE:"WHAT WAS IT NEAR? WHICH MAJOR STREET?"
RYAN:"I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW HOW THE GALLEREA'S RIGHT HERE AND HERE IS THE HILTON. I WAS WALKIN DOWN HERE, NO, O.K. HERE IS THE HILTON AND HERE IS THE GALLEREA AND THERE IS LIKE A TUNNEL THAT COMES, TUNNEL THAT GOES UNDER THE FREEWAY, AND I WAS WALKING DOWN THAT STREET TO GO DOWN TO THE FREEWAY."
MONSUE:"AND THAT WAS ON TUESDAY?"
RYAN:"I THINK THAT WAS ON TUESDAY. BRUCE, I SAW BRUCE COMING DOWN THERE, I GUESS HE WAS AT HIS MOMS HOUSE. AND HE PICKED ME UP AND I ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD GIVE ME A RIDE TO THE FREEWAY. HE GAVE ME A RIDE TO THE FREEWAY AND I WAS AT THE ON-RAMP FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES, THEN I STARTED WALKING BACK. AND A I WENT TO THE GALLEREA, I WALKED AROUND THERE FOR A LITTLE BIT. AND THEN I THINK I TOOK OFF BACK TO THE APARTMENTS."
To clarify, Ryan was walking north on Orion Avenue near the tunnel under the 405 Freeway. This tunnel opens onto Orion, at Camarillo Street. The Hilton hotel which Ryan uses as his bearings in this account, is located at Orion Avenue and Ventura Boulevard. The freeway on-ramp to his mom's house was, according to Ryan, the on-ramp to the westbound Ventura Freeway at Haskell Avenue. This was the last place I saw Ryan before my mother's murder.
And:
"THE DAY I SAW MICHAEL, HE TOLD ME HE WAS GOING TO A FREEWAY ON-RAMP."
510.
↩
RYAN:"... I WENT ALOT OF TIMES, I WENT OVER TO MRS. LISKER'S HOUSE TO WORK, WITHOUT BRUCE. I WENT THERE AND WORKED FOR HER ALOT OF TIMES. SHE CALLED ME UP, SHE CAME AND PICKED ME UP. I WENT TO WORK FOR HER. SHE DROVE ME BACK TO THE APARTMENTS.";
and:
RYAN:"WEDNESDAY MORNING, I THINK I WENT BACK TO THE APARTMENTS. WEDNESDAY MORNING, I KNOW THAT THE GALLEREA WEDNESDAY. I WENT TO THE APARTMENT AND I WENT TO THE GALLEREA. THEN I STOPPED BY MRS. LISKER'S HOUSE TO USE HER PHONE AND A TO SEE HOW SHE WAS, YOU KNOW, AND I WAS GONNA ASK HER IF SHE HAD SOME WORK FOR ME TO D0. SHE USED T0, SHE ALWAYS USED TO LET ME DO WORK AND A SHE DIDN'T HAVE WORK FOR ME TO DO SO ME AND HER SAT DOWN AND TALKED FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES.";
And:
“MICHAEL KNOWS THAT I GO TO MY PARENT'S HOUSE FOR MONEY; I HAD TOLD HIM THAT MY PARENTS WERE 'MONEY BAGS,' 'BUT THEY WERE MY PARENTS AND HE WAS A THIEF.' ";
and:
"MY PARENT [sic] HAD LOANED ME AND MICHAEL $60 EACH TO GO TO THE WHO CONCERT. THE CONCERT WAS IN (I CAN'T REMEMBER WHEN IT WAS)."
511.
↩
"MY MOTHER WOULD ALLOW ANYBODY WHO KNEW ME INTO THE HOUSE.";
512.
↩
MONSUE:"SO YOU ONLY STAYED THE ONE NIGHT AT THE CARPORT IN BRUCE'S APARTMENT. RIGHT?"
RYAN:"NO, IT WAS NOT AT HIS APARTMENT, IT WAS ON SEPULVEDA AND BURBANK. RIGHT OFF THERE."
MONSUE:"IT MUST HAVE BEEN ABOUT 2 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING BY THE TIME YOU GOT THERE."
RYAN:"WELL, I TOOK A CAB TO A BURBANK AND SEPULVEDA FROM VICTORY AND SEPULVEDA."
MONSUE:"WHAT TIME OF DAY WAS THAT?"
RYAN:"THAT WAS AT NIGHT, THAT WAS ABOUT, YEA, IT HAD TO BE ABOUT 2 O'CLOCK, SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE, LATE AT NIGHT."
MONSUE:"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"
RYAN:"CAUSE THAT WAS THE ONLY CLOSE APARTMENTS GOING THE OTHER WAY THAT HAD CARPORTS."
514.
↩
MONSUE:"WHAT TIME OF THE DAY DID YOU ARRIVE INTO L.A.?"
RYAN:"11 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT."
MONSUE:"AND THAT WAS DOWNTOWN L.A. RIGHT? THE BIG BUS STATION.”
RYAN:"L.A. BUS STATION." !
MONSUE:"AND HOW DID YOU GET OUT INTO THE VALLEY? WHICH BUS DID [you] RIDE?"
RYAN:"THE BIG BUS 84. I THINK IT WAS THE 84 AND I CAUGHT THAT ON I THINK 3RD STREET OR 13TH STREET. AND IT TOOK ME ALL THE WAY, TOOK ME TO VAN NUYS AND VICTORY BOULEVARD. THEN I TOOK THE 164 THAT WENT RIGHT UP VICTORY TO SEPULVEDA AND THAT'S WHEN I GOT OFF..."
515.
↩
MONSUE:"O.K. SO WHEN YOU GOT TO HOLLYWOOD, YOU HAD AT LEAST $30, $31 OR $32. RIGHT?"
RYAN:"NO I HAD, WHEN I GOT INTO HOLLYWOOD, THAT ONE NIGHT I HAD ABOUT FORTY SOMETHING DOLLARS. I HAD ABOUT, I HAD ABOUT, CLOSE TO $50 ON ME, CAUSE I WAS PLANNING ON GOING BACK TO MISSISSIPPI SO I DIDN'T WANT TO SPEND MY MONEY." [emphasis added];
and:
MONSUE:"YOU SPENT MORE THAN $52."
RYAN:"IT WAS UNDER $52."
MONSUE:"O.K. YOU HAD TO SPEND MORE THAN THAT. YOU CAN'T LIVE. JUST TO BUY A PACK OF CIGARETTES, A PACK A DAY."
RYAN:"I, I'VE LIVED ON MY OWN FOR A LONG TIME AND I KNOW HOW TO BUDGET MY MONEY AND I CAN GO WITHOUT EATING."
518.
↩
MONSUE:"TWENTY-ONE DAYS IN A MISSISSIPPI JAIL IS NOT LIKE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IN THE CALIFORNIA STATE PRISON."
561.
630.
"7. ON THE BACK OF THE NECK THERE ARE PATTERNED ABRASIONS ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE. ON THE LEFT SIDE THERE IS A SINGLE LINEAR MARK, TRANSVERSELY ORIENTED, 3 INCHES IN LENGTH AND 1/4 INCH IN WIDTH. THIS IS LOCATED 8 INCHES BELOW THE TOP OF THE HEAD. THERE IS A DISTINCT DIAMOND SHAPE TO THIS MARK. ABOVE THIS THERE IS A SINGLE LINEAR ABRASION, 4 INCHES IN LENGTH AND 1/8 INCH IN WIDTH, SEPARATED FROM THE DIAMOND SHAPE PATTERN BY RED ABRADED SKIN. ON THE RIGHT SIDE THERE IS A SINGLE LINEAR ABRASION CONSISTING OF 2 STRANDS SEPARATED BY A DISTANCE OF 1 INCH. THEY INTERSECT AT THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE NECK WHEN THE AVERAGE WIDTH OF EACH MARK IS 1/16 INCH."
[View Autopsy Diagrams]
↩
665.
↩
MONSUE:"DID HE [Bruce] EVER SHOW YOU HIS ROOM AT HOME? DID HE HAVE ANY WORKOUT EQUIPMENT THERE?"
RYAN:"I'VE BEEN IN HIS ROOM, BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING."
680.
↩
"20. I READ THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW OF [my son] MIKE BY DETECTIVE MONSUE REGARDING THE DORKA LISKER MURDER. I NOTICED MANY AREAS IN WHICH I BELIEVE MIKE LIED TO DETECTIVE MONSUE . ... MIKE SAID HE HAD MORE THAN FIFTY DOLLARS WHEN HE DEPARTED FOR LOS ANGELES ON THE BUS FROM GULFPORT. PERSONNEL FROM THE DETENTION CENTER [which Mike had just been released from] TOLD ME THEY GAVE HIM $20.00."
681.
↩
"MIKE RETURNED TO GULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI A FELT DAYS AFTER HE LEFT [Los Angeles]. MY WIFE AND I HAD NO IDEA HE WOULD BE RETURNING. WE RECEIVED A TELEPHONE CALL FROM MIKE TO PICK HIM UP AT THE GULFPORT BUS DEPOT. WHEN I PICKED HIM UP AT THE BUS DEPOT MIKE HAD A TOTE BAG WITH HIM AND ABOUT $60.00 IN CASH."
682.
↩
"2. MIKE FIRST STARTED BREAKING INTO HOUSES TO STEAL THINGS WHEN HE WAS NINE YEARS OLD. HE WAS ARRESTED NUMEROUS TIMES AS A JUVENILE AND AN ADULT FOR A VARIETY OF OFFENSES INCLUDING BREAKING AND ENTERING, BURGLARY, GRAND THEFT AUTO, ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON, RESISTING [arrest] WITH VIOLENCE AND BATTERY ON A POLICE OFFICER. "3. MIKE TOLD ME, AS DID HIS MOTHER, THAT HE WAS DIAGNOSED AND RECEIVED TREATMENT AS A MANIC DEPRESSANT. "4. MIKE HAD A FASCINATION WITH KNIVES. "5. MIKE HAD A PROPENSITY TO LIE ABOUT VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING AND HE DEMONSTRATED THIS TRAIT HIS ENTIRE LIFE. "6. DURING MIKE'S LIFETIME I TRIED TO HELP HIM IN MANY WAYS BUT EVERY TIME I TRIED, HE WOULD RESORT BACK TO HIS ANTISOCIAL, CRIMINAL AND OFTEN VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, "7. MIKE FREQUENTLY ABUSED ALCOHOL AND DRUGS. WHEN HE WAS HIGH FROM THE DRUGS AND ALCOHOL, HE WOULD OFTEN BECOME UNCONTROLLABLY VIOLENT. A PRIME EXAMPLE OF MIKE'S UNCONTROLLABLE RAGE OCCURRED IN 1993 WHEN MIKE WAS LIVING IN JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA AND WAS WORKING FOR MY COMPANY. MIKE CAME TO MY SHOP AND WAS COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL. HE STARTED DESTROYING EVERYTHING IN MY OFFICE AND BEAT MY WIFE'S CAR WITH A SLEDGE HAMMER. WHEN I TOLD HIM TO STOP OR I WOULD CALL THE POLICE[,] MIKE SAID GO AHEAD 'IF THE COPS COME I WILL KILL THEM.' WHEN THE POLICE OFFICER ARRIVED MIKE ASSAULTED HIM. A FIGHT ENSUED. AFTER MIKE WAS ARRESTED HE WAS CHARGED WITH BATTERY ON A POLICE OFFICER AND RESISTING [arrest] WITH VIOLENCE. A COPY OF THE POLICE REPORT FOR THIS INCIDENT IS ATTACHED AS ATTACHMENT B [Note #693].1' 118.- MIKE THREATENED TO KILL BOTH ME AND MY WIFE. MY WIFE AND I WERE BOTH AFRAID OF HIM. I TOLD MY WIFE TO NEVER BE ALONE WITH MIKE FOR FEAR HE MAY KILL HER."
683.
↩
"5. MIKE HAD A PROPENSITY TO LIE ABOUT VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING AND HE DEMONSTRATED THIS TRAIT HIS ENTIRE LIFE. "6. DURING MIKE'S LIFETIME I TRIED TO HELP HIM IN MANY WAYS BUT EVERY TIME I TRIED, HE WOULD RESORT BACK TO HIS ANTISOCIAL, CRIMINAL AND OFTEN VIOLENT BEHAVIOR.";
and:
"10. I READ THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW OF MIKE BY DETECTIVE MONSUE REGARDING THE DORKA LISKER MURDER. I NOTICED MANY AREAS IN WHICH I BELIEVE MIKE LIED TO DETECTIVE MONSUE. SOME EXAMPLES INCLUDE MIKE DENYING THAT HE WAS FASCINATED WITH KNIVES WHEN I KNOW HE HAS BEEN FASCINATED WITH THEM ALL OF HIS LIFE. HE CLAIMED THAT HE REALLY WANTED TO LEAVE MISSISSIPPI FOR CALIFORNIA. THE DETENTION CENTER CALLED ME TO ADVISE THEY COULD NOT CONTROL HIM AND ASK[edl ME TO TAKE HIM. I REFUSED. THEY TOLD ME THEY WERE THROWING HIM OUT AND PUTTING HIM ON A BUS FOR CALIFORNIA. MIKE SAID HE HAD MORE THAN FIFTY DOLLARS WHEN HE DEPARTED FOR LOS ANGELES ON THE BUS FROM GULFPORT. [But] PERSONNEL FROM THE DETENTION CENTER TOLD ME THEY GAVE HIM [only] $20.00, THE DAY AFTER THE MURDER, MIKE STATED HE TOOK A BUS FROM LOS ANGELES TO PHOENIX AND HITCHHIKED THE REST OF THE WAY TO GULFPORT. I KNOW HE DID NOT HITCHHIKE BECAUSE I PICKED HIM UP AT THE GULFPORT BUS DEPOT."
and:
"12. I AM AWARE THAT MIKE WAS IN DORKA LISKER'S HOUSE THE DAY BEFORE THE MURDER. I AM ALSO AWARE THAT MIKE WAS IN THE VICINITY OF DORKA LISKER'S RESIDENCE THE DAY OF THE MURDER. FURTHERMORE, I READ IN THE TRANSCRIPT OF DETECTIVE MONSUE'S INTERVIEW WITH MIKE THAT MIKE LIED ABOUT HIS WHEREABOUTS AT THE TIME OF THE MURDER. I DO NOT KNOW IF MIKE WAS INVOLVED IN THE DORKA LISKER HOMICIDE BUT THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND HE WAS ABSOLUTELY CAPABLE OF IT."
684.
↩
"8. MIKE THREATENED TO KILL BOTH ME AND MY WIFE. MY WIFE AND I WERE BOTH AFRAID OF HIM. I TOLD MY WIFE TO NEVER BE ALONE WITH MIKE FOR FEAR HE MAY KILL HER."
685.
↩
"7. MIKE FREQUENTLY ABUSED ALCOHOL AND DRUGS. WHEN HE WAS HIGH FROM THE DRUGS AND ALCOHOL, HE WOULD OFTEN BECOME UNCONTROLLABLY VIOLENT. A PRIME EXAMPLE OF MIKE'S UNCONTROLLABLE RAGE OCCURRED IN 1993 WHEN MIKE WAS LIVING IN JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA AND WAS WORKING FOR MY COMPANY. MIKE CAME TO MY SHOP AND WAS COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL. HE STARTED DESTROYING EVERYTHING IN MY OFFICE AND BEAT MY WIFE'S CAR WITH A SLEDGE HAMMER. WHEN I TOLD HIM TO STOP OR I WOULD CALL THE POLICE[,1 MIKE SAID GO AHEAD 'IF THE COPS COME I WILL KILL THEM.' WHEN THE POLICE OFFICER ARRIVED MIKE ASSAULTED HIM. A FIGHT ENSUED. AFTER MIKE WAS ARRESTED HE WAS CHARGED WITH BATTERY ON A POLICE OFFICER AND RESISTING [arrest] WITH VIOLENCE. A COPY OF THE POLICE REPORT FOR THIS INCIDENT IS ATTACHED AS ATTACHMENT B [Note #6931,"
686.
↩
"12. I AM AWARE THAT MIKE WAS IN DORKA LISKER'S HOUSE THE DAY BEFORE THE MURDER. I AM ALSO AWARE THAT MIKE WAS IN THE VICINITY OF DORKA LISKER'S RESIDENCE THE DAY OF THE MURDER. FURTHERMORE, I READ IN THE TRANSCRIPT OF DETECTIVE MONSUE'S INTERVIEW WITH MIKE THAT MIKE LIED ABOUT HIS WHEREABOUTS AT THE TIME OF THE MURDER. I DO NOT KNOW IF MIKE WAS INVOLVED IN THE DORKA LISKER HOMICIDE BUT THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND HE WAS ABSOLUTELY CAPABLE OF IT,"
687.
↩
"... THE DAY AFTER THE MURDER, MIKE STATED HE TOOK A BUS FROM LOS ANGELES TO PHOENIX AND HITCHHIKED THE REST OF THE WAY TO GULFPORT. I KNOW HE DID NOT HITCHHIKE BECAUSE I PICKED HIM UP AT THE GULFPORT BUS DEPOT."
688.
↩
"4. MIKE HAD A FASCINATION WITH KNIVES."
and:
"I NOTICED MANY AREAS IN WHICH I BELIEVE MIKE LIED TO DETECTIVE MONSUE. SOME EXAMPLES INCLUDE MIKE DENYING THAT HE WAS FASCINATED WITH KNIVES WHEN I KNOW HE HAS BEEN FASCINATED WITH THEM ALL OF HIS LIFE."
689.
↩
"2. MIKE FIRST STARTED BREAKING INTO HOUSES TO STEAL THINGS WHEN HE WAS NINE YEARS OLD. HE WAS ARRESTED NUMEROUS TIMES AS A JUVENILE AND AN ADULT FOR A VARIETY OF OFFENSES INCLUDING BREAKING AND ENTERING, BURGLARY, GRAND THEFT AUTO, ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON, RESISTING [arrest] WITH VIOLENCE AND BATTERY ON A POLICE OFFICER,"
692.
↩
MONSUE:"BRUCE TOLD ME YOU HAD A FASCINATION WITH KNIVES. TELL ME ABOUT THAT, THAT YOU LIKE KNIVES. THROW A KNIFE, YOU USED TO THROW IT AND IT WOULD STICK IN THE WALL."
RYAN:"JOHN CAME BACK. JOHN FOUND A KNIFE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS, IT WAS A LIKE A HAND MADE KNIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I WENT DOWN, SITTING THERE, AND I WAS THROWING THE KNIFE AND I STUCK IT IN THE WALL. AND I SAT THERE AND I, NOT THE WALL, THE DOOR, AND I SAT THERE AND I KEPT THROWING IT AT THE DOOR AND THAT WAS ABOUT IT."
693.
696.
Citation to be added.
↩