Let's Go To Court! - 232: Cameron Diaz & the Murder of a Criminal Defense Lawyer

Episode Date: October 19, 2022

Cameron Diaz had a lot going on. Her latest movie, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, was about to hit theaters. With the release just days away, a photographer named John Rutter reached out to her. John had photos of Cameron from about a decade earlier, when she was a 19-year-old model. He’d shot the photos for a racy S&M lingerie editorial. He told Cameron that people were offering him millions of dollars for them. Then he offered to sell them to her, for a discount. Then Brandi tells us about the murder of Leslie Vaughn. Leslie was a successful criminal defense attorney whose work sometimes put him in close contact with violent people. So when Leslie was shot in his home one evening, the list of potential suspects could have been long. But the behavior of Leslie’s son, Brian Vaughn, made investigators think that perhaps the killer was right under their nose. And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Kristin pulled from: “Photographer convicted of trying to blackmail Cameron Diaz,” by Michelle Caruso for the Seattle Times “Cameron Diaz photographer convicted for topless photo plot,” by Gil Kaufman for MTV.com “‘I’m proud of topless shots,’” by David Sanderson for the Evening Standard “Cameron Diaz photographer headed to jail,” by Todd Peterson for People.com “Actress takes the stand in trial of photographer,” by Cara Mia DiMassa for The Los Angeles Times “Man who blackmailed Cameron Diaz over topless photos faces jail,” by Catherine Elsworth for the Daily Telegraph “Photos develop into court case,” by Cara Mia DiMassa for The Los Angeles Times “Jail for Diaz dirt,” by David K. Li for the New York Post In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Shattered Innocence” episode Forensic Files “Brian Vaughn: A Student-Athlete Kills” by Rebecca Reisner, forensicfilesnow.com “Teen Convicted of Dad’s Murder” by Associated Press, The Marshall News Messenger “Brian Leslie Vaughn v. State of Texas” justia.com YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 35+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!  

One semester of law school. One semester of criminal justice. Two experts. I'm Kristen Caruso. I'm Brandi Egan. Let's go to court. On this episode, I'll be talking about Cameron Diaz. And I'll be talking about a criminal defense lawyer. Oh, will you?

I will. Brandi, buckle up, because it's time for me to expose you Why? What did I do? What did you do? I don't know Okay, I'll give you a hint You messed up big time and destroyed the trust

and love of our patrons We're talking about this still? Here's the thing everybody I thought we would just talk about it on our recently recorded bonus episode um here's what happened or maybe you should tell you should tell because you're the one who made the terrible error i sent out some supreme court welcome thank you cards um without signing them, unfortunately.

So the people were really excited because they got my signature, which is all you want, really. But, you know, they were told that they could get yours as well. Yes. And so they did feel lied to. So, you know, some people reached out. And I thought we had the problem pretty much under control. You know, we had a couple people reach out. And Brandy, I joined the Let's Go to Court fan group on Facebook and I saw someone else in there.

I know. They already messaged me on Discord. I know. Four people got cards that were not signed by me. Oh, you think four? I think way more. Thousands. Millions even.

If you have been affected by this issue, please reach out for a class action lawsuit that we will file against Brandy. I feel terrible about this. Yeah, you should. It's a terrible thing. So, Kirsten is a terrible friend for continuing to make me feel bad about it. You know, here's the thing. These people, you know, it's not a huge deal or anything. It's just that, like, they had trust issues with kids.

Stop it! And they were, like, working through them. Uh-huh. And I've really set them back in their treatment. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's just trauma. It's okay. Great, thank you.

You're welcome. You're welcome. You did! Brandy messed up. Thank you. She handles it really well, everybody. Yeah, I hate making mistakes, so I apologize to anybody who got a card without my signature. Brandi, how do you handle mistakes?

I hate it. Do you just beat yourself up? Absolutely. Relentlessly? So what are you telling yourself right now? I've got to be more careful when I'm doing the fucking cards. I have such a system. I literally have no idea how this happened.

I know how it happened. How did it happen? I think you were like, oh, I've got to do some work for the podcast. Oh, wait. Where's my shot of fireball? And you took a shot of fireball. Just like it was a mess is what I think. Did a couple lines of coke.

Absolutely. Maybe threw in some ibuprofen. We just don't know. We don't know how wild it got. We just know that the cards suffered as a result. My work has suffered. And so you screwed over the people

who support us monetarily. How's it feel, Brandi? It feels terrible. Is this what it means like boulevard of broken dreams join our patreon at the five dollar level or higher and you know maybe you'll get both our signatures. You'll definitely get mine. My sincerest apologies to anybody who got a card without my signature. I don't think she's serious, guys. I don't think she's taking this seriously at all.

I'm taking it very seriously. Her awala is full of fireball right now as we speak. Oh, God. Can you imagine? That would be terrible. It would be so bad. Fucking disgusting. Yes.

You'd be a mess. I would be. I'd just be puking all over the sex dungeon. Oh, right. Randy, you know how I know you're a good friend or maybe just in such a spiral of feeling guilty about your own stuff that you— Wow. Well, you haven't pointed out. Like, I kept waiting for you to point out my latest big blunder with the podcast. Well, I wasn't going to be a dick to you.

I was being a dick to you. What's my big blunder, Brandy? Well, the little merch issues. Is that what you're talking about? Everybody, we have a little merch issue. I put up the merch that um we have left over from obsessed fest uh there's not much but it's on the website now and uh i miscounted the merch miscounted it a little bit um and so i had to email a couple people be like i'm terribly

sorry i said i had that sweatshirt in fact i, I do not. I do not have it. I do not. I will send you stickers as an apology. Yeah, I was waiting for you to throw it back at me. No! I'm not gonna do that! See, I don't... I wouldn't mind. Oh, we'll see. I would, so... Well, now I feel like a dick.

No, it's fine. I'm totally fine fucking up the cards. I've already given myself 30 lashings over it. Well, now tell us about a criminal defense attorney, Brandi. It's not my turn to go first. It's not? I went first last time and the time before, didn't I? Right, because we did an episode where I didn't do one.

So I'm going first? It's an even-numbered episode one, so it's an even-numbered episode. You go first on the even-numbered episode. I thought we were mixing up a little. I'll go first if you want me to. No, it's fine. It's fine. I'll shoulder the burden. Okay, here we go.

See, now I've got to zoom in on my screen. I'll go first. No, I've already zoomed in. Thank you to Cara Mia DeMassa for her coverage of this case in the Los Angeles Times. Let's talk about Cameron Diaz. Yeah, let's talk about her. Ever heard of her? I sure have.

What's your favorite Cameron Diaz film? Hmm. Ever heard of her? I sure have. What's your favorite Cameron Diaz film? I mean, there's something about Mary's classic. I mean, yeah, it's kind of, what else are you going to say, really? All right. Cameron Diaz was raised in Long Beach, California. And fun fact, she attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, where, get this, a fellow named Snoop Dogg was also in her class. Oh, she went to school with Snoop D-O-double G? Were they friends?

Did they have classes together? No, she bought weed from him, right? I don't know. I swear that's like a story that's been told. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. I would like to know more.

So would I. Do you think they were both on the yearbook together? No. Oh, not cool enough. On the yearbook? Yeah. On the yearbook staff? No.

There's no way Snoop Dogg was on the yearbook staff, Kristen. Oh, you think he was a late bloomer. He wasn't cool enough to be part of the yearbook staff in high school. Yes, that's what I mean by that. Okay. All right. Well, as you might imagine, Cameron Diaz is and has always been stunningly beautiful. She's the ultimate California gal. Blonde hair, tanned skin, gorgeous blue eyes, hot bod. Yeah, she surfs.

Yeah, she looks like she surfs. She's one of those people who is so good looking that they had no choice but to go into modeling. Yeah. And so she did. I mean, not really. Like, do you have a choice? Right. No.

When she was 16 years old, she signed a contract with Elite Model Management. Heard of them. She started off, yeah, we've watched American Ex-Top Model. Pretty much experts. She started off in a lot of catalog work, but she pretty quickly landed ads for Calvin Klein and Levi's. And get this, when she was literally 17, she was on the cover of Seventeen magazine.

Wow, would you look at that? Hey, that is cute. The following year, she was in a commercial for Coca-Cola. So Cameron was doing really well as a model, but she was kind of bored. She kept getting booked for these vanilla modeling jobs. And after a few years, she just got... You don't usually see hot girls on the vanilla labels.

Oh, okay. Oh my god. Yeah, it's usually like really ugly girls, right? No, just typically just like a vanilla bean. Brandy, that was good. Thank you. I tip my hat to you. Brandy, that was good.

I tip my hat to you. So she got sick of, after a few years, she got sick of just. You really threw me the fuck off with your little crack about vanilla. Anyway, what I'm trying to tell you is she wanted to be a part of more interesting photo shoots for Pepper. So in 1992, when Cameron was 19 years old, she reached out to a photographer named John Rutter. At the time, John was known for doing a lot of artsy, edgy shots that often ended up in European magazines. So the two got together and they did an S&M leather fashion lingerie shoot. What? What? Okay, she's how old at this point? 19. All right. She's a model. Okay. You seem scandalized.

I am. The photo shoot was pretty racy. In one photo, Cameron held a chain around a male model's neck. She wore leather boots, fishnets, a bustier, a leather vest, and one must assume she paired all that with her finest pair of jorts. I just thought it was weird that they left out, you know, what was on her bottoms. You didn't see any of these pictures? No, no, I did not. And you are about to find out.

Oh, okay. Find out why? Yeah. I mean, did you think I was just like telling you? What do you think we're doing here, Brandi? How did I get here? Were you dropped here by a stork? In some of the photos, Cameron was topless and the photo shoot was videoed.

Cameron really enjoyed herself. She thought the photos were, you know, racy and kind of circusy was the word she used. They were so different from what she usually did. But the shots never really went anywhere. They never ended up being released. I think I saw one source said that like one of the shots ended up in like some random magazine. All right. You know, oh well. Cameron Diaz kept doing her thing. A couple years later, her agent encouraged her to audition for a new Jim Carrey movie. The Mask!

Mm-mm. Cameron was a little intimidated because she'd never done any acting ever, but she auditioned for the role and she got it. It's interesting that you think it's The Mask. It's actually The Shawshank Redemption. Stupid. And Jim Carrey's not in that. Is that not him? No!

I know about films, Brandi, so... Did it occur to you that maybe you're wrong here? No, it was the mask. And it became the highest grossing film of 1994. She looks beautiful in it. Oh my. She is smoking hot. Lord. Yes. Like

outrageously hot. Yes. That red dress. Yes. Hello. Yes. Okay. Anyway. Was that like the first time you saw me? You're like, oh my God. Yes. With your half curled under, half flipped up bangs.

That is so rude. Okay. I had fucking straight across bangs, so maybe I was jealous. You're like, wow, she's got variety with those bangs. you're like wow she's got variety with those bangs anyway that's very hurtful but i'm gonna be a professional and continue on with this story which by the way is just a random story it has nothing to do with anything there's no court stuff about to happen right yeah the mask really changed cameron's career from that point on, she was an actress.

She starred in a bunch of comedies, including My Best Friend's Wedding, and of course, There's Something About Mary. And after that, she tried her hand at dramatic roles in Being John Malkovich and Any Given Sunday. I've never seen either of those. Me neither. Oh, actually, I have seen Any Given Sunday. I've never seen either of those. Me neither. Oh, actually, I have seen any given Sunday. I think she plays like the manager of a football team, and you see dongs in the locker room. Do you really? Yes.

Big dongs. Swinging dongs. Close-up shots of dongs, or just like dongs in passing? I think it's pretty much in passing, but I was pretty young when I saw it, and I may have been traumatized by it. You know, it's not often you see domes in films.

No! Yeah. I really hate that. Yeah. They show women all the time. Yes, you see tits nonstop. What's so precious about a penis that we can't see that as well? Yes.

Game of Thrones. Sorry, I'm still mad. It's been years. A lot of people are mad about the finale. I'm mad about the lack of dongs. Just make it fair, you know? Anyway. She became an A-lister.

Her paychecks got beefier. The accolades rolled in. She was nominated for three Golden Globes, Brandi. She was? Yeah, eventually. I'm kind of working Golden Globes, Brandi. She was? Yeah, eventually. I'm kind of working outside the timeline a little bit. Time is a construct. She also got a Critics' Choice Award.

Oh, okay. For what? Do you know? I don't. Okay, great. I forget I asked. She was on top of the world. And then she starred in a movie that would make all other movies look like dog shit

i'm talking of course about charlie's angels starring cameron d drew barrymore and lucy lu as crime fighting ass kicking detectives that's right I don't think I need to tell you that the movie was a huge hit. It grossed $264 million. Wow, that's pretty good. Well, yeah. The movie was fun, action-packed, a little goofy.

It came with a bomb-ass soundtrack. And yes, Kyla owned the CD. And yes, I did borrow it. Did you give it back? Hell no. The soundtrack included and yes I did borrow it did you give it back hell no the soundtrack included Independent Women by Destiny's Child

Groove is in the Heart by D. Light and of course Brandy You're a Fine Girl by The Looking Glass with an intro from Tom Green. Yeah.

Tom Green sang it in the movie. Yes, it's true. It parlayed into the Looking Glass version. I had it on a burned CD. But you know, Brandi, not everyone appreciates great art in its time. Roger Ebert gave the film half of one star. Oh, no. The film critic for The New York Times wrote, of course it's terrible, but did it have to be this bad?

Oh, no. The San Francisco Chronicle called it an utter debacle. A debacle? An utter debacle. Wow. I think they're taking it too seriously. Yeah. But you know what they say.

Fuck the haters. This thing made money. Let's make another one. Just a couple years later, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu were back at it again for Charlie's Angels full throttle. I never saw that one. I think I saw both of these films. I remember seeing the first one. I don't remember seeing this one.

It's really amazing when you consider how few films I've seen that I saw both of these. Had plenty of time to see the Charlie's's angels movies you make time okay when something's a priority you make time by this point cameron had become even more popular she'd starred as princess fiona in shrek oh yeah she'd starred in the criminally underrated film The Sweetest Thing, followed by the epic stinker Gangs of New York. The Sweetest Thing is a wonderful movie. Yes. It's very good. It's so underrated, right?

It is, yes. And Gangs of New York sucks balls. Yeah, it's not good. Oh, my gosh. That's one of those movies I get mad thinking about because I thought the trailer looked so good. I did, too. And then I was bored to fucking tears. Everyone was because that movie is five years long.

Yes, it is. It's so long. It's terrible. Yes. Boy, oh boy. Charlie's Angels Full Throttle was posed to be another moneymaker even though Brandy didn't see it apparently. No.

Did it flop? We're not there yet though Brandy didn't see it, apparently. No. Did it flop? We're not there yet, Brandy. Keep your pants on. Keep your jorts on. Yeah, I'm rocking jorts today. It was scheduled to be released in the summer of 2003, and there was a big ad campaign behind it. Everything was going great.

Nothing could go wrong. Summer of 2003. There's a chance we saw this movie together. Yeah, that's why I think you're full of shit when you say you haven't seen this. I think we for sure saw this together. You really think you didn't see this movie? I really didn't think I had, but that timing, we for sure went and saw it together. Yeah.

You're talking out your ass, Brandi. And I won't put up with it. You know we went to the AMC 30. Yeah, for sure. But it was at this time, just a few days before the movie was set to premiere, that the photographer, John Rutter, came a-knockin'. It had been 11 years since Cameron posed in that S&M shoot, and all of a sudden, John wanted to talk.

He reached out to Cameron and her agent and her manager and her lawyer, and he gave them some bad news. What's with your face, ma'am? What, he blackmailed them? her lawyer and he gave them some bad news. What's with your face, ma'am? Would he blackmail them? I'm going to release these pictures? No. What do you do? Do you know this story?

No. I never heard this either. I think it's wise. I don't know anything about this. Well, OK. So here's what was going on. Somebody wanted to buy the photos from that photo shoot. They were willing to pay like $5 million. And this person or outlet, you know, didn't have good intentions. They wanted to buy

the photos so that they could portray Cameron Diaz as a bad angel. He said they were going to use the photos against her. He said these buyers were planning to run the photos in a huge magazine spread and in campaigns on buses and billboards. What? They wanted to release it in time for the Charlie's Angels full throttle premiere. What? Yeah, that's what they wanted to do who's buying them whoa okay rude please don't ask any questions just know that it's all very true and it's happening okay is he making this whole thing up john was i currently have two theories i'm gonna keep them both to myself

no no share them no brandy damn it come on okay so he he nobody's nobody wants to keep them both to myself. No. No. Share them. No. Brandy, damn it. Come on. OK. So he – nobody wants to buy them from him. He's hoping to cash in on Cameron Diaz's star value at this point. That's my first theory. wants to purchase them and talk about how dare we use the word angel in correspondence with this clearly satanic woman in her leather and dog collars and whatever and don't, you know, don't tread on the good name of the Lurd. Those are my two theories currently. Personally, I love the second one.

I love the idea of a religious group putting up like really fucking sexy pictures of Cameron Diaz and be like, see, this is proof it's bad. She's no angel!

And then they'd be so surprised when everyone was like super turned on and really into it. Beaten off to the floor. That's enough. Gosh, we keep getting mayo on these ass. Oh, God. We're going to have to hose down the bus again.

What is happening? I think people are throwing their bologna sandwiches at it. Brandy, John was just a good guy. No, he wasn't. Yeah, he was. He said that instead of selling the photos to this scummy mystery person, he'd be willing to sell the photos instead to Cameron for like a measly $3.3 million. $3.3? dollars. 3.3? Yeah. Okay. Pocket change, bitch.

So he's just extorting her. No, he's giving her a discount. And, you know, he was willing to give her like two days to come up with the money, so that was nice because I'm sure the bank was about to close. Did he like deliver her a letter that just like cut out magazine pieces demanding this money? He's playing it real cool.

So I think this is interesting. Initially, it seems that Cameron didn't think she was being extorted. In fact, she says at first she actually offered to do a deal with John where they would jointly sell a few of the photos to like a reputable outlet and, you know, give a portion of the proceeds to charity. She figured that if these photos had to come out, they could work something out together. But John didn't want to do that. Yeah, John was not on board for that idea. And finally, Cameron asked the question that you asked a few minutes ago, which was, who are these people who want to buy these photos and, you know, put up this, I mean, buses, billboards for real? Yeah. John refused to tell her.

It was focus on the family. They were like, I know what we'll do. We'll show everyone Cameron Diaz's tits. And they'll just be disgusted. Wait, could you see her tits? Yeah, she was topless. That's the way topless photos work. I think I missed that they were topless.

You were so focused on the jorts. That's right. No, she was topless. You were so focused on the jorts. That's right. No, she was topless in a few of them. Oh, okay. So they just put like little Jesus heads over your nipples. Brandy. John refused to tell her who these mystery buyers were. Because they didn't exist.

And that's when she realized, okay, this dude's up to something. Yeah. And she called the cops. For what it's worth, John claimed that the photos were his. He'd done nothing wrong. He had a photo released with Cameron Diaz's signature on it. What do you think of that? Well, I mean, he's probably right legally. I'm you think of that?

He's probably right legally. I'm sorry. Is that a word? Legally. Legally he's thinking. Well, I mean, if he has a photo release, like... He should be able to sell them to whoever he wants to. Right. Yeah. Including

Focus on the Family. Yeah. Or Pat Robertson or whoever. The 700 Club. What else do we have here? Police searched his apartment and gathered up his computer and found evidence that someone using that computer had added Cameron Diaz's signature to the photo release

using a little program called Photoshop. Oh, he didn't really have a photo release. I mean, he did have one. Not a legit one. Which makes sense, because otherwise, what the fuck is he doing talking to Cameron Diaz? If he really had a photo release, he'd just sell them to whoever the fuck he wanted.

Yeah, in theory. What does that mean? In theory. How dare you? How dare you? I sounded nothing like that. Try it again, but sexier. No, like, I could see, like, if I've got these sexy photos of you, which I have many of them, just tons of shoeboxes full of them.

I could see, you know, like, hey, I've got this rando who wants to buy them off eBay. Do you want to buy them instead? Okay. Right? I mean, like. Sure. Yeah. Sure. Okay. i'll entertain the idea

so john rudder was charged with attempted grand theft forgery perjury and extortion yeah though the extortion charge was later dropped. Why? Just calm down. I mean, he seems to be extorting her to me. You know, it was probably that thing where they were like, eh, this is going to be the hardest one to prove. We've got all this other stuff. We'll just spend our time on those. That's right. Okay. So he was in big trouble in criminal court. And then Cameron sued him in civil court. And the judge in that case issued a permanent injunction against the sale or use of those photos and the video that went along with it. Oh, that's why you've never seen them. That's right.

I get it now. I'm all cut up to speed now. That's right. I'm all cut up to speed now. That's right. Meanwhile, in July of 2005, John Rutter's criminal trial kicked off in front of a jury of six men and six women. In his opening arguments, Deputy District Attorney David Walgren laid out the whole situation. Walgren?

Yeah, like Walgreen. Yeah, but with only one E. E-ish. Yeah, like Walgreen's, but not as E-ish. He said that John had come to Cameron days before the release of Charlie's Angels full throttle to put maximum pressure on her. Full throttle, maximum pressure, get it? I think I do. But I'm not sure. He saw this as his payday.

He talked about all the professional success that Cameron had enjoyed in recent years. He said her career had skyrocketed. Mr. Rudders didn't. That's a sick burn. He said that investigators had discovered evidence on John's computer that he'd used Photoshop to put a fake signature on the model release form. Did I murder the model release form? The model release form. I'm a murderer, you know what that means. Also, he said that the fake signature wasn't even a real fake signature.

Apparently, it had been lifted off of a publicity still from the movie Feeling Minnesota, which doesn't sound like a real movie at all. Feeling Minnesota, what a terrible title. Yeah. What does that even mean? I don't know. You never know when you're just kind of like... Feeling Minnesota. Feeling Minnesota. I don't know you know ever know when you're just kind of like for you and feel in Minnesota so don't you assume it's like a movie where she has okay this I can totally picture okay

just to go back to her small town that she grew up in it's called feeling Minnesota and it's there that she gets in touch with her own feelings yeah and there's a lot of shots of her looking out on the lake. Yeah. Uh-huh. Well, where have you been, honey? I haven't seen you around in a while. Yeah, because she's been too busy in the big city. Right, right.

Yeah. But now she's back home. She doesn't like it at first. All the feelings. She's been shoving them down deep. And now they're coming out. They are. Now that she's feeling Minnesota.

That's right. Yeah. Now they're coming out. They are. Now that she's feeling Minnesota. That's right. Yeah. Could just be a movie about Cameron Diaz humping the literal earth of Minnesota. We can't rule that out.

We can't rule it out because we haven't seen the film. I've never even heard of the film. Okay. I'm going to Google it because like that's – surely that's not a real movie, right? I've never heard of it. Okay. Feeling Minnesota. Would you look at that?

14% on Rotten Tomatoes. I will read you this now. Don't – hold on. Don't look at the summary. I'm going to read this to you. Okay. It has Keanu Reeves in it and Vincent D'Onofrio. Who's Vincent D'Onofrio?

D'Onofrio. Who's Vincent D'Onofrio? D'Onofrio. Jesus. Sam Clayton, played by Vincent D'Onofrio, his marriage to ex-stripper Freddie, played by Cameron Diaz, comes about when she's strong-armed into the match. What? By Red. What? A Red. What?

A club proprietor who once did her a favor. But Reddy falls in love with Keanu Reeves, Sam's brother, and the pair try— I'm so confused. What? The pair tries to escape the situation together. It isn't long before both Sam and Red catch up to them, resulting in threats against the two of them. What? Deanna Aykroyd against the two of them. What? Dan Aykroyd's also in this movie.

What a letdown. Our movie was better. I agree. People would have actually seen our movie. I'm sorry. Siskel and Ebert gave the film two thumbs up. Really? That's according to Wikipedia.

I mean, it looks like there's quite a bit of violence in here, and it's called a romantic comedy. This says it's a crime comedy film. Directed by Stephen Bagelman. Also described by him. Yes. Because directors are often asked to describe their movies. To describe their films. All right.

Well, that was a fun adventure. Wonderful. So this signature was lifted off of a publicity still. Ma'am, what are you looking at? I'm reading the soundtrack listing. See if there's anything good on there. It also has Brandy, You're a Fine Girl on it. It has Ring of Fire on it, but it's done by Bob Dylan.

Couldn't afford the Johnny Cash one. I can't imagine that the Bob Dylan version is much cheaper. How does that grab you, darling? What? It's a song by Nancy Sinatra. Oh, okay. All right, are you done, man? I'm done.

There's also a song called Blasting Fonda on there. Blasting what? Which is what you used to do in your basement. What? Blasting what exactly? Fonda to do in your basement. What? Blasting what exactly? Fonda? Fonda! Oh, yeah.

Yeah, that's when you do squats with Jane Fonda. That's right. Love Jane Fonda. Big fan. How do we get Jane Fonda on the podcast? That's never happening. You know what? You don't dream big enough.

Really, what am I thinking? That I could get Jane Fonda on the podcast, but my co-host can't even sign a card. You dick! Anyway, what I'm trying to tell you is like the signature that was on the feeling of Minnesota. Yeah, it's not her actual signature. All right. Well, boy, I didn't realize you had already jumped ahead. Oh, God.

John? Anyway, how do we get our version of feeling Minnesota made? I think you and me, Norm and David, we just took a road trip to Minnesota. What role do you play? I think you could be the city gal coming in. I'd like to be your mother who's sick. I'd mostly like a lot of scenes where I can just lay down and go, come closer. Anyway, John Rudder's...

Wait, was it her real signature? I'm not real clear. Shut up. You know the whole story. I didn't even have to tell you that story. You just knew it. And you're saying apparently the listeners already caught on too. For those of you who haven't put it together yet, this is our second episode of the week. They would never guess. They say, we can't tell the difference

between when you do just one episode a week and two episodes a week. You just keep it together really well. You don't sound too tired or fucked up in any way. Any hooters. John Rutter's defense attorney, Mark Worksman. You say that three times and I have to leave the room and somebody else's tits have to come in here. That's right. I thought you were referring to Mark Worksman.

It had been a minute since I said any hooters. That's two times, Kristen! Anyway, he told the jury quite a different tale. He said, this is the case of a rich and powerful movie star who, through this prosecution, is seeking to crush and destroy John Rutter. No, it's fucking not! Yes, she's seeking to crush and destroy! She's trying to extort Cameron Diaz. No, she's trying to crush and destroy him.

His star was rising all the way to the top until that feeling Minnesota. He said that the only thing his client was guilty of was being a nice guy. He'd offered to sell the photos to her instead of to some other

magazine, you know? No one else ever wanted the pictures. He was just being nice, Brandy. After all, he owned the images so he could do whatever the hell he wanted with them. I guess nice guys really do finish last. Ma'am, try not to vomit in the middle of the podcast. The prosecution called some of the other models who'd been at the photo shoot that day. They also called two IT nerds who testified that the signature on the model release form appeared to be forged. They called Cameron's manager, Rick Yorn, who'd been at the meeting with John Rudder.

And he told the jury that at the meeting, he'd immediately felt that John was trying to extort Cameron. On cross-examination, John's defense attorney pulled out an issue of Maxim magazine. He showed him a photo of Cameron and Drew and Lucy all posed seductively. So seductive. And he said, essentially, isn't this just as lurid as the 1992 photos? Right? Indeed. That has nothing to – OK.

So Peter was like, no, that's comparing apples and oranges. My thing is like even if they were like raunchier or whatever, that's not what this is about. No, it's not. It's about extortion. Yes. Distortion. Yes. Cameron Diaz took the stand wearing a brown sweater and tweed pants, and I'm sure she looked chic as hell, although I could not find a photo.

She testified that she didn't sign a model release at the 1992 photo shoot. She said that the signature on that release was absolutely 100 percent not hers. She said that as a model, she'd always been taught not to sign a photo release, especially at a photo shoot, without her agent knowing about it. She also told the jury that she hadn't ever really worried about those 1992 photos. She hadn't given them much thought, really. But as soon as John reached out to her about them, she knew that it was about her being a celebrity. She talked about that moment when he wouldn't tell her the names of the people who supposedly wanted to buy and disseminate the photos. And that was the moment that she realized he was trying to use her. And inseminate the photos.

Gross. Fun fact, you can't inseminate a bus. You can try, and it's been attempted many times. But you would not be successful. Because they'll just hose it right off. That's right. She said, I was furious. I have a temper with certain things when people come after me.

I've never felt so violated. It leaves a hole in my chest. I was sick to my stomach. A big part of the defense was the idea that Cameron Diaz was a big actress who was now embarrassed by her past. She was embarrassed by what she'd done at the photo shoot, and now she was trying to make it go away. But she told the jury that she didn't have any problems showing her breasts and that she'd felt the photo shoot was a safe environment. You know, it was a professional photo shoot. And that actually her boobs looked pretty good in those photos.

So, you know, she had that going for her. Yeah, they were taken when she was, what, 19? Yeah. Yeah. And she's Cameron Diaz. Yeah, I bet her tits looked amazing. At one point during cross-examination, defense attorney Mark Worksman busted out a little bulletin board to which he had pinned four of the Maxim magazine pictures, which with Cameron in a bikini and Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu were also there. I assume they were in bikinis too.

And Mark goes, it was a sexy movie, right? And Cameron goes, thank you, I guess. Like, you fucking weirdo. What? What? After the prosecution rested, the defense made a motion to dismiss the case. And Judge Michael Pastor was like, nice try. We're going to keep it moving.

The defense called John Rutter's former agent, Frank Moore. Frank testified that John had always been vigilant about getting models to sign photo releases. He said they were standard for photo shoots. On cross-examination, the prosecution was like, OK, but do you know if Cameron Diaz signed a release? And Frank had to admit that he didn't. I'm really surprised that the photo release wasn't just standard practice, right? Yeah, I am too. Right? That seems odd.

I would assume that any photo shoot you would go on, you – I mean these are the things I don't know. I don't know. I've never been a model. So it is shocking. I know. John Rutter testified in his own defense. He claimed that he had never been trying to blackmail Cameron Diaz. He had merely been offering her the first right of refusal. He'd just been trying to kind of do the right thing. He thought he was the rightful owner of those photos. He had no idea her signature had been forged. But when the two-week trial came to a close, the jury found John Rutter guilty. He was facing six years in prison. Wow. I know, right? Oh, well, okay. What do you think of that?

I mean, that seems like probably too much. I kind of agree. Yeah. I mean, this is really shitty. It is. What he did is shitty. But six years in prison. The judge deemed him a flight risk, so he was immediately taken into custody. John's defense attorney told the media that his client

was devastated. He said that, quote, this was an epic battle between a rich and famous celebrity and a hardworking photographer. He implied that the DA had given Cameron Diaz special treatment because of her celebrity status. And of course, that offended the prosecutor, so he went to the media and said, we don't tolerate forgers and criminals who seek to take advantage of celebrities or anyone else. Had the victim been anyone other than Cameron Diaz, he would have been prosecuted in the same courts, in the same manner and with the same diligence. To which I say, bullshit. But, you know, whatever. Yeah, of course Cameron Diaz is going to get preferential treatment.

Yes. This is my favorite part. Are you ready? I am ready. At the sentencing, John told the judge that this had all been a misunderstanding. Oh, yeah? He said, quote, I deeply regret the perception that I had done wrong. What?

Yeah, he regrets the perception that I had done wrong. What? Yeah, he regrets the perception. You know how when you regret that other people think you did the wrong thing? Yeah, okay. That's my favorite apology ever. Oh, my gosh. I do have regrets, and it's that you're wrong about me. Yes! I regret how stupid everyone is.

Oh, my gosh. For not loving me. Yeah. He said, I never intended any harm. It's a shame this whole mess ever happened. Oh, boy. Then he said this. And this is beautiful.

Your Honor, I beg for your compassion. It's like I'm living a modern version of John Steinbeck's The Pearl. My pearl, my life, my loved ones have been turned upside down. I'm not familiar with The Pearl. So that's the one where the fisherman's all excited. He thinks he's found this really valuable thing, and it just, like, results in tragedy. Okay. So he's just like.

Yeah. Okay. Good for him. John asked to be placed on probation and said that as soon as he got out of custody, he couldn't wait to help underprivileged kids. He was just, like, so desperate to help the kids. The fuck does that have to do with anything? What? What don't you understand, Brandy?

He's a wonderful man. Is that a mitigating factor? He's going to go help the kids? He can't fucking wait to get to those kids. That sounds bad. The judge was not moved. He was unimpressed by John's lack of remorse. He said the thing about helping underprivileged kids was too little too late.

Oh, that was too much. There are dogs howling right now. The prosecution asked that John be sentenced to three years and eight months, and the judge agreed. Cameron didn't attend the sentencing. She was probably busy looking really chic somewhere. I think she was probably like in a oversized oatmeal covered oatmeal covered. I meant oatmeal colored sweater. Yeah, she probably was. Yeah. I love that movie The Holiday. Yeah, I love that movie. It's just beautiful. Yes. Oh, it's so good. Anyway,

John appealed his conviction, but a three-judge panel was like, nope, appeal denied. But they still had that civil suit looming overhead, and John decided that it was time for no more Mr. Nice Guy. Oh, yeah? Yeah, so he countersued Cameron Diaz. Are you fucking kidding me? I wish I was. On what fucking grounds? Fraud and breach of contract.

And he sued her for $10 million. Okay. And in 2006, Judge Val... Oh no! The judge went too far in her script like an idiot. Oh my God. And in 2006,

Judge Valerie Baker ultimately dismissed John's countersuit and awarded Cameron Diaz an undisclosed amount of damages. Why is it undisclosed? Do you want me to just make up a number? Yes, please. $25,000. Not enough. And, you know, Cameron was like, I'm fine.

I'm going to give it to the kids. I'm going to help out those underprivileged kids that John was so desperate to get to. And that, Brandi, is the story of a dude who tried to fuck with Cameron Diaz. Oh, my gosh. I loved it. I had never heard that before. I've never heard that either. I thought it was kind of wild.

Yeah, it is wild. It really didn't get a ton of media coverage. I've never heard it, and I'm constantly looking at media. wild. Yeah, it is wild. It really didn't get a ton of media coverage. I've never heard it and I'm constantly looking at media. Oh, right. Do you need to get more of a little drinky drink there? No,

I will soldier on. Okay, great. Let's talk about a criminal defense lawyer then. Oh, I just took a slurp of my drink and it was really loud and I'm very sorry. Let's talk about a criminal defense lawyer then. Well, I don't think you had to start over. I mean, I think people could have lived. You think they heard through it?

Okay. A shout out to an episode of Forensic Files. Almost this whole thing comes from an episode of Forensic Files. Okay. Here we go. Here we go. In the late 1990s, Leslie Vaughn was a well-known and well-respected criminal defense attorney in San Antonio, Texas. Leslie lived in this beautiful house on a private cul-de-sac in the suburbs with his wife, Madeline, and their two sons, Brian and Chris, 16 and 12, respectively.

I'm always so thrown when a Leslie is a man. Oh, you didn't expect him to be a man. No, no. I'm always so thrown. Their house was very impressive. It sat at the end of a long gated driveway on a nice little chunk of land, just over two and a half acres. Are you going to give me an address? I'm not because I believe some of the family members still live at this address. Oh, OK.

Yeah, no. And you're afraid of what I will do. No, I just don't think that would be proper. It had four beds, three baths, about 3,100 square feet. All right. There's a lot of footage of the house on this episode of Forensic Files. And I was pleasant. I was pleased by what I saw.

What was the most impressive to you? The driveway. Okay. It's like a double gated entrance that just like. And do they have the trees lining? I mean, yeah, there's trees fucking everywhere. But what I really liked is that like while it's on a piece of property, it's like the property is behind the house. So the house sits on a cul-de-sac and then they have neighbors.

Oh, see. I don't like that. Oh, I do like that. No, that's terrible. OK, great. Wait. I like having neighbors. I don't know my neighbors though.

So why do I care? Exactly. Don't you want more privacy? You'll find out. It's good they have neighbors. Oh, OK. No, for real. I – see. I know you want more privacy? You'll find out it's good they have neighbors. Oh, okay. No, for real. I know you don't want neighbors.

No, I always think it's a real shame when you're driving down the road and you see somebody with a nice big chunk of property and their house is like right up on the road. And I always think, well, don't you want more space? Oh, I get what you're saying. Don't you want a little more privacy? Yeah. space. Oh, I get what you're saying. Don't you want a little more privacy? Yeah. So everybody's driveways,

like everybody's driveways, were at the, like in the cul-de-sac. But then everybody's houses were set farther back anyway. Are you sick of me? No. Brandi, we have your bachelorette party. I know, I'm so excited! You can't be sick of me. I'm not sick of you. Leslie's wife, Madeline Vaughn, was a registered nurse, and on November 9th, 1998, she left for her overnight shift at Methodist Heart Hospital between 10 and 10.30 p.m.

This left Leslie at home with Brian and Chris. Leslie went to bed in his second-floor bedroom, as did Chris, but Brian stayed up. It was just before 1.30 a.m. on November 10th, 1998, when Brian reportedly heard a loud bang or pop come from the direction of his dad's bedroom. Concerned, Brian grabbed his younger brother, who was like either asleep in his room or hanging out in his room. Brian went in, got him, took him to his own bedroom and was like, stay here. I'm going to go check this out. I'll be right back. And so then he went down the hall to check out the noise he had heard.

Brian knocked on his dad's door, but he didn't get a response. So he tried the handle, but the door was locked. Brian called out to his dad through the door, but again, there was no response. So Brian listened for a little bit and he heard his father snoring. So he assumed everything was okay. Just as he was about to walk away, though, the snoring turned to this like wet, gurgling sound. Brian was now super concerned that something was wrong. So he went to his room, grabbed his brother Chris, and they headed to the house of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd, the Vons' neighbors.

When the Floyds answered the door, Brian explained to him that he believed there was an intruder or something like that at their house. He explained that he'd already called 911 and he asked them to take Chris in while he went back to the house to wait for the police. Oh gosh. And they agreed. So they brought Chris into the house. Wait, how old is this kid? He's 16. No. Right. So he, and then Brian leaves and goes back to the house. When the police arrived at the Vaughn house, they broke down the door to Leslie's room and found him dead in bed. There was a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. Leslie Vaughn was 44 years old. There was a large chunk of limestone on the floor in the bedroom and there was shattered glass everywhere. In the room was a set of French doors that led to a balcony off the bedroom.

The glass on one of those doors had been broken, presumably by the large rock, and that was presumably how the killer had gotten in. I don't understand. Thank you. But it was kind of odd that someone had gained access this way because there

was no, there weren't stairs or a ladder or anything to the balcony. They would have had to like scale the side of it. Right. Nothing in the room appeared to have been touched and nothing was missing. Clearly robbery wasn't the motive here. So investigators started to wonder if this had been a hit. Leslie Vaughn was well respected for the work he did in criminal defense, but he had represented people with possible

cartel ties and people with ties to organized crime. Just days before his death, actually, I think just like the day before his death, a federal prosecutor recalled overhearing Leslie Vaughn tell an acquaintance that he feared he may be a target due to his work. He said he knew that was the risk he took in his line of work, though. And so police initially focused on maybe a disgruntled former client, something of that nature. client something of that nature the family had actually been receiving harassing phone calls or according to this episode of forensic files harassing phone calls i hate it when people say i don't like it one bit the worst is sexual harassment yeah it sounds so much worse it does sound worse so the family had been getting these phone calls like multiple phone calls a day for like weeks leading up to this. And they'd just be like someone breathing on the line and then they'd hang up.

And multiple family members can attest to this? Yes. And the phone logs were there, but all of the numbers were untraceable. And so that didn't really go anywhere. So police are looking at this possible angle. But also as standard procedure, police also needed to rule out those closest to Leslie. Investigators thought his wife, Madeline, had a bit of an odd response when she was notified of Leslie's death. She was emotional.

She was super upset. But she never asked how Leslie had died. Yeah, that's super weird. I agree. They checked the hospital records though and she had been at work the night that Leslie was killed.

She never left the premises. So did she hire someone? I mean, it's possible, right? But they didn't really think so. So then they started looking at who else was in the house with Leslie that night. That left just 12-year-old Chris and 16-year-old Brian. When they started looking at Brian,

they quickly discovered that his version of events for the night wasn't really matching up with the timeline that others could confirm, and it didn't match the evidence at the scene. They also learned that Brian and Leslie had gotten into a big fight the night of the murder. Investigators learned that Brian had been begging his father for a new car for weeks. He didn't like the used car he'd been driving, but Leslie had refused. He said that Brian's grades were really bad and like he's like, you want a new car, you get your grades up and we'll talk. Yeah, I mean, that sounds fair. Yes. Or infuriating, depending on whose side you're on, I guess. Yes. So conveniently, when Brian was told by

his father that there was nothing wrong with his car oh something happened mysteriously caught fire caught fire uh-huh dude do less yeah it was declared a total loss well i bet it was you light a car on fire yeah so it appears that at the time there was like a lot of like side eye at Brian about this, but no actual investigation took place. Yeah. Cars don't just light on fire. Right. Okay. Yeah, so no criminal investigation took place.

Nothing happened. They got an insurance payout for the car. Yeah. I don't know. I'm surprised the insurance. Okay, well. Yes. All right.

Was he punished by being given a new car? No. So on November 9th, Brian and Leslie had gone to a car dealership to look for a replacement car. But Brian was super upset when his father only offered to get him another used car. Brian wanted. Nay. only offered to get him another used car. Brian wanted, nay, Brian needed a brand new car. He could not settle for a used car, would not settle for a used car. What kind of brand new car?

I'm not sure. They showed like a little sporty thing in the reenactment, but who knows? Probably had his eye on a brand new Subaru. Yes, I believe that's it. That's what all the kids want. Yeah. Well, this kid is a brat and a father killer. So Brian and his dad got in this big fight about it right there in the dealership.

And they left without making a purchase. Well, yeah. I'm not buying you a car if you're going to be a dick. Right. So back at home that evening, the fight continued. Brian was a super talented basketball player. Like he was in line to be getting like a collegiate scholarship to continue playing basketball. And he threatened to quit the basketball team if his dad wouldn't buy him a new car. Bullshit.

Right. Bullshit. But Leslie would not budge. team if his dad wouldn't buy him a new car. Bullshit. Right. Bullshit. But Leslie would not budge. Yeah, he's an attorney. He knows a bluff when he hears it. Yeah. So investigators learn about this and they're like, could an argument over a new car possibly be enough to push Brian to murder his own father?

And they were like, yes, because Brandy's telling this story. We all know how this is going to go. So, yeah, police were like, yeah, I think that really might be the case here. And so they started picking apart Brian's version of the night's events, which admittedly, admittedly, admittedly. Stop it. We were going to cut that part where I said it wrong, Kristen. Now we can't.

Admittedly, it wasn't that hard to do as he was a 16-year-old boy and not some criminal mastermind. Yeah. First, there was the timeline. Brian told the police that he had heard the pop just before 1.30 a.m. He'd listened at the door for a bit and then he'd taken Chris to the neighbor's house after calling 911. And the neighbors, the Floyds, had told investigators that Brian and Chris

had come to their door at 1.24 a.m. They had specifically remembered looking at a clock in their bedroom when they heard the knock on the door because of the odd hour. Yeah, no, that makes sense. The time totally stuck out to them. They were sure it was 1.24 a.m.

But when they checked the 911 call logs, Brian hadn't placed a call to 911 until 1.46 a.m. Investigators theorized that Brian had spent the 20 minutes from the time when he left the Floyd house to when he called 911, murdering his father and staging the scene. Wow. So he'd gotten Chris out of the house while his dad was sleeping, and then he'd gone back, taken his father's own gun, gone into his bedroom, shot him while he slept, and then thrown the rock through the window to make it – or through the – Balcony door.

French door. Yep. That's the symbol for French door. Everyone, she's gesturing like she's trying to get an airplane to land. And then locked the bedroom door and left it, like closed it behind him, and then called 911. That's really fast. That's really fast. It is really fast. I would agree.

Pretty quickly, investigators had determined that the evidence at the scene had to have been staged. Despite heavy rain in recent days, there were no footprints or ladder marks on the ground below the balcony. So for that to be the entry point into this house, they would have left marks. They would have tracked mud across the balcony and there was none. It did

appear that the glass in the French door had actually been shattered when the rock had been thrown through it. But investigators believe that Leslie was already dead when the glass was broken. Because the glass shards had ended up all over the bed on top of Leslie's body, meaning that the sound of shattering glass right next to where he was sleeping didn't wake him up. Yeah, there's no way. A further investigation of the glass shards also revealed...

Also. Why did that say also like that? I don't know. Also. It reminded me of how London says ham, ham, ham. You shouldn't let your baby smoke. That's what I say. Anyway, the glass shards, when they looked further into those, they realized that they weren't just in the bedroom.

They'd been tracked out of the bedroom, down the hall a bit, and into a bathroom. This is so disturbing. Yeah. Investigators believed that Brian had inadvertently done this when he'd left the room after killing his father. So he killed him, broke the glass, and then tracked the glass down the hall, not thinking about it, obviously. And then tracked the glass down the hall, not thinking about it, obviously. And then he'd gone into the bathroom to wash his hands, knowing that he needed to wash the gunshot residue off his hands. So here's a kid whose dad is a criminal defense attorney who thinks he's like smart enough to pull off the perfect crime, right? He knows like enough stuff to do a couple of things he should have done, but not enough to really cover up his tracks. Yeah. So they like were able to trace the tracks of

these glass shards into the bathroom, onto the bath mat in front of the bathroom sink. There was also a small amount of blood and tissue on the wall, something maybe that had been cast off when he'd shot his dad. So by his story, there was no reason for that to be there because his whole story is that he went to check on his dad, couldn't get in the door. Yeah. Doors locked. Investigators had dusted Leslie's entire room for fingerprints and they had found no foreign prints. They only found prints of the Vaughn family members in there. And on the French door leading to the balcony, they only found one set of prints, Brian Vaughn's prints. then there was the 9-1-1 call so brian had made a huge misstep on the call brian had called 9-1-1 and told the dispatcher that he believed his father had been shot he said he'd been calling

out to him and he'd received no response he tried the door he couldn't get into him. It was locked. And then he made a very incriminating error. Brian said, he's bleeding around the mouth area. Well, yeah. How would you know that? And the dispatcher was like, did you go in the room? And Brian said, no, the door's locked. But the dispatcher had caught the error. Well, yeah. She asked, how do you know he's bleeding then? And Brian tried to backtrack. He said he'd heard a shot ring out and he'd heard gurgling. And the dispatcher asked again, okay, you can't get in the room because the door is locked, right?

And Brian said that was correct. And so the dispatcher pressed him and said, so how do you know he's bleeding from the mouth then? And Brian said, so how do you know he's bleeding from the mouth then? And Brian said, I don't know that. Yeah. But obviously at this point the damage had been done. When they listened to this 911 call paired with the other inconsistencies in the story, Brian was arrested and charged with the murder of his father.

The prosecution also announced that they would be trying Brian as an adult. When Brian Vaughn's murder trial began in January of 2000, the prosecution admitted to the jury that this case was very circumstantial. They'd never recovered a murder weapon. They believed. Really? Yeah. They believed that Brian had killed his father with his own gun, a Smith & Wesson 9mm, but

they'd never recovered it. How did he have the time to? I don't know. Wow. OK. They'd also never recovered any bloody clothes, which they admitted like he should have had some bloody clothes from cast-off blood. Hmm. And there was no damning DNA in the case.

In fact, Brian's hands hadn't even tested positive for gunshot residue that night. But what they did have was a very compelling narrative and Brian's own words in that 911 call. I'm really shocked, though, that they don't have bloody clothes or a murder weapon when this all happened so quickly. In a 20-minute time period. That doesn't really make sense to me. Is it possible that he killed his dad and ditched the stuff before he went to the neighbor's house? Because nobody – that timeline, dad's in bed, brother's in bed, so he's the only one up. And then after he'd done those things, he then comes back to the house, stages the broken door and everything, and then calls 911. That would honestly make maybe a little more sense to me.

I agree. I think that's the only way the timeline works because how does he ditch the things in the 20 minutes and kill his dad? It also like – I mean if the plan is to kill your dad, then this thing of taking your brother to the neighbor's house, saying something bad has happened and that you're going to go back like – that's a big risk. I agree. Because like – I mean obviously you never know how you're going to react in a situation like that. But I really don't think –

You would let a 16-year-old kid go back to the house by themselves. Fuck no. No, I don't either. No. I'd be like, you're staying here. I agree. I do think that he had to – his dad had to have already been dead at that point. I kind of do too.

Yeah. Because this is such a tight timeline. Huh. OK. The gun and the clothes have never been recovered. Wow. Yeah. So then the prosecution lays out out their theory for the jury.

So they – all the stuff that I've already walked you through, they believed that he had killed his dad, staged the scene and then called 911. So they backed up their theory with the timeline of the 911 call and the evidence from the scene. And then when it was the defense's turn, Brian took the stand in his own defense. And he stuck to his version of events, holes and all. He said that he had not gone to sleep yet when he heard what he thought sounded like a pop or a gunshot go off inside the house. He said he was scared. And so he went to his brother's room. He woke him up.

He brought him into his own bedroom. And then he went to his brother's room. He woke him up. He brought him into his own bedroom. And then he went to investigate the noise. He said he went to his father's bedroom, tried the handle. It was locked. And then he called out to his dad and got no answer. He said he could hear his dad snoring. And so he returned to his room and waited for a while. his room and waited for a while. And then he started thinking about the noise and he decided to go back and check on his dad again. And so it was then that he returned to the like his dad's

bedroom door that he heard that gurgling sound. And so now he was really concerned. And so he decided at that point that it was time to call the police. And on the stand, he sticks with the timeline that he called the police before leaving the house and taking his brother to the neighbor's house. This doesn't match with what the 911 call logs say, but he stuck to his version. So he says he called the police and then he quickly left the house with his brother, took his brother to the Floyd's house and then came back just in time for the police to get there. I couldn't really find any source that talked about how this – how his testimony was taken. source that talked about how this – how his testimony was taken. I can't imagine it went well because it doesn't – there are no facts to back this up.

There's no evidence to back his version up. There's only evidence to poke holes in it. I mean, again, without the murder weapon and without his bloody clothes, I mean, there's some big pieces of evidence missing. I agree. I really think there are. I think it's very circumstantial. I think it's hard to explain what he said on the 911 call, though. Unless the explanation from it, this is OK. Unless the explanation from it – this is – OK. What if he's – He hears the gurgling. Surmising from the noise he heard that his dad is bleeding.

Like that's the jump that he makes in his brain without explaining it out loud to the dispatcher. That makes sense to me. I agree. Although I couldn't find that that is what the defense tried to argue. I bet they did. I'm sure they did. Right. It's such an obvious thing and like especially if you're traumatized and, you know, yeah, maybe shit comes out a little funny.

I don't know. Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Ultimately, though, a jury convicted Brian Vaughn of the murder of his father. When the verdict was announced, Madeline Vaughn cried out in the courtroom. She said, oh, dear God, no, I can't lose them both. When Brian Vaughn heard the verdict read, he had like a surprised look on his face.

Yeah. And then he began weeping as they took him into custody. Brian Vaughn was just 17 at the time of his conviction and he was sentenced to 33 years in prison. Wow. He appealed his sentence on the grounds that the circumstantial evidence was not enough to convict him. Mm-hmm. But his appeal was denied. Here's the thing that I think about this case.

If you believe that he did it. Mm-hmm. He did it really poorly. And he was a 16 year old kid he did he was a kid who committed a childish crime like he committed it like a child not well thought out not well planned out and he did it for a childish reason that his dad wouldn't buy him a car if you believe what the prosecution says so why wasn't he tried as a child? I hate that he was tried as an adult. Yeah, I mean I hate that he was tried as an adult too.

But I also – I mean if you're trying to argue that he did this, I don't think you can say that he did a terrible job with it if the murder weapon and the bloody clothes cannot be found. You're right. We're never recovered. You're right. That is a really good point. Honestly, I think if I were on a jury, I would have a tough time with this one.

I would too. I really would. I don't think this one. I would, too. I really would. I don't think the case against him is very strong. I think what he said on the 911 call does sound damning when you first hear it. Did you hear the audio? I did hear the audio. Okay. So how did he sound?

I mean, he sounded very calm on it. And he sound – but I will say that when she – when the dispatcher was like, wait, did you go in the room? He's like, no, no, no. The door's locked. I didn't. It did sound like he was trying to track a little bit like he caught what he'd said, like he got the mistake made. I think he very well could have done this. I just I.

Oof. I think he very well could have done this. I just – oof. I think the fact that they can't find the murder weapon and they can't find bloody clothes. I think that – and this was – this all happened in such a tight time period. And I mean really the only thing saying he's lying about the time period is the neighbors. Although I do think there's something to be said for when you wake up in the middle of the night you do look you do look at the clock yeah so but could they be wrong i don't know what if it was 142 exactly well exactly that's what i'm saying like what if

they just misremembered it and then and then a kid goes to prison for 30 years. Yeah, 30 years. Oh. What if it was as simple as that? What if they— I do think it's very interesting that Leslie had said, what, the day before? Mm-hmm. That he felt like—

And he felt like he could be a target. So Brian Vaughn went to prison. He served his time. He became eligible for parole in 2017. And according to an updated airing of this Forensic Files episode, he was granted parole in 2017. There were like no news articles about this beyond the initial trial. And like there was like one article about the trial. But he would be like 40 years old now.

Huh. This one scares me. I agree. That's not a ton no to me it's a really good hunch I mean I think yeah

you know it makes sense yeah but I don't know that it would be enough for me to put somebody away I don't know either I don't think it is I think if I was on I don't think it is.

I think if I was on this jury, I think I would have a really hard time convicting him. But I'd also be upset because I think there's a good chance he did. Gosh, I don't know. I'm so torn about this one. I really am. And that's the story of a murder of a criminal defense attorney. Gosh. Either way, that poor family.

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. When I read that his mom just like. It would be awful. Awful. Awful. And his little brother.

I mean. So there was also a moment in the investigation. They questioned the brother. They asked him, could Brian kill your dad? And he said, I don't know. They said, would Brian kill your dad? He said, I don't know. And they thought that was really damning that he said, I don't know. I don't agree.

No, he could never do that. He'd never hurt him. I don't agree. I don't either. Because what? That kid's 12? I mean, you know. He's also just gone through something horribly traumatic. His dad has just been murdered in his house.

Well, and you also, you don't know how a kid is taking that question. Like, is it physically possible? Yeah. Well, you know, maybe it is. Yeah. Does it go against what i know of my brother yeah so i don't know yeah yeah i don't think that's a smoking gun which by the way they never they never found that's right hmm that's interesting yeah i don't like it one bit i know

oh you know what i think we should do now? Take some questions from our Discord? Yeah, we should go to those disappointed people in the Discord. You stop it! Does it really make you feel bad? No, I already just feel bad enough, so. Why? Because I hate messing stuff up.

But Brandi, we all mess things up. Not me. I am perfect. I'm like Mary Poppins. Practically perfect in every way. We've located the problem, people. To get into our Discord, all you have to do is sign up for our Patreon at the $5 level or higher. You get to chitty chat the day away.

You get all the bonus episodes. You get our Zoom calls. And if you go for the $10 level, you get all that. Plus, you get ad ad free episodes a day early plus 10 off on merch and you can order merch and maybe we have it and maybe we don't it's a real mystery oh andrew skeezy skunch b asked y' all have a favorite book you're reading at the moment? You reading anything good? I just finished The Christie Affair, which I really liked.

Are you familiar with it? I'm not. OK. You know how Agatha Christie, you know what? I'm just now realizing this might be one of those stories that I'm obsessed with, but no one else is. OK. Agatha Christie's husband was cheating on her. He tells her, I want a divorce i'm gonna go

marry this new lady she was devastated so she fucked off murdered him no okay it would be a much different story she fucked off and disappeared for like i think it was like 11 days or something i can't remember what'd she do she like hid out and there was this, you know, huge search for her. She wasn't a super famous author at that point. She'd had quite a few books published. But like, I mean, this was a wild story and she had basically been camped out at a spa. Yeah. OK, that sounds amazing.

So this this book, it's like a historical fiction. I really, really enjoyed it. I just finished The Silent Patient, which we talked about a couple episodes ago. I really enjoyed it. Currently, though, I am reading. I don't know if everybody heard that I met Damien Echols at Obsessed Fest, but I met Damien Echols at Obsessed Fest. But I met Damien Eccles at Obsessed Fest. And then I was looking through my Libby app, which is my library app, seeing what they had for audiobooks.

And it turns out that they have Damien Eccles' Life After Death in audiobook form, which is read by Damien. So it is as if I'm hanging out with him every day while he tells me his life story. So that's what I'm listening to right now. He's going to get a restraining order. Stop it! No, that's good because, you know, sometimes you get an audiobook by a person like you really are excited about and then they're not the ones who read it. Yes, exactly. I was so thrilled when I saw it was read by him he's a really soothing voice yes he does he really does when we watched him in that panel i mean like every time he spoke

it was like oh my yes i mean that guy's pretty fucking profound yes i actually what i literally wrote like voice wrote a quote on my way here because I thought it was such a poignant moment in his book. So this is what he said. He said, people in this country believe the corrupted are the exception. They're not. They're the rule. And then he said – because he's talking about his experience with the police and like they were just terrible to him. Like they just tried to beat a confession out of him basically.

They put him in a cell with no bathroom, no water, no food for like eight hours at a time, 12 hours at a time, a whole day one time. Like anything to get a confession out of him. And he said that like he had always believed that police were the good guys until that. He had no idea. And then the other thing he said is that people ask me all the time if I'm upset at Jesse Miskelly for accusing me. And he said, I'm not. It wasn't his fault.

He's not the one that accused me. It was the police. Mm-hmm. His book is so well written. Yeah. It's amazing to hear his story from him i've actually read his book before um but it's like really different hearing him well i mean do you reread books at all i don't i i have a couple books that i read but i don't generally reread a lot of books but it is it's been years since i read his book so it's's, but it's just like, it's like, I've never heard it before. Yeah. I mean, sometimes it just hits you differently at a different time in your life. Absolutely. PTSD out the wing-wing

asks Brandy, would you guys ever consider running a poll on discord to let us pick the bonus episode cases? Okay. So we actually used to do this, like, in the early days of Patreon. And it actually, like, okay, it makes it like when you're in school and you're forced to read a book. You know what I mean? Like, somehow being, like, shoehorned into a topic makes the topic not fun anymore. Yeah. So we stopped doing it. Yeah, we stopped doing it because we felt like the episodes weren't as good. Yeah.

Yep. Because our spirits weren't into them. You know, we're artists. That rather never be able to wear pants again or would you rather be bald for the rest of your life? No wigs or hats allowed. Oh my gosh, you should see her face. She's outraged. Are you personally offended by this question? I don't know how to answer it.

I know how you'd answer it. I mean, I think I have to go pantsless. Exactly. You'll go pantsless. I fucking love my hair. I know. I know. Yeah. Yeah, I think I have to go pantsless. Exactly. You'll go pantsless. I fucking love my hair. I know. I know. Yeah. Yeah, I'd have to, which sounds horrible. Really?

I mean, you don't like it? Well, gosh. Can I wear dresses? Sure. Okay. I don't have to just like porky pig it. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, okay.

I mean, I assume not. All right. Great. Yeah. I mean, what are you going to do with your life if you're porky pigging it everywhere? I mean, I've become a shut-in. I can't leave my house. No, no, no.

You're allowed to wear skirts. Oh, okay, great. And dresses and jorts. Sure. All the jorts you could ever want. Okay, great. I haven't seen you in a skirt in a long time. You don't wear a lot.

You don't care for them. I used to wear skirts a lot when I was, you know, professional. They kind of hit my body weird and, you know, I'm freakishly shaped. It's fine. Oh, my gosh. Everyone, Brandy and Norm both maintain that their bodies are weird. Your bodies are not weird. What?

It's fine. No, it's not. They have. Oh, geez. You don't want to talk about it? No, it's fine. Like, because I'm very hippie and buddy, the skirts have to sit pretty high on me. And it's not a look that I think is super flattering on me.

So I love a dress. I think a dress looks good on my body. I feel like you would look crazy hot in a pencil skirt. I probably would. And that is what I would tend to wear. Yeah. Yeah. You would look crazy hot in a pencil skirt.

I'll take that under consideration. I hope you will. I'll take that under consideration. I hope you will. Eat the Nachos asks, I'm listening to old episodes. Brandy, is your embarrassing memory of flashing your underpants in school the reason you're never nude? Probably. I mean, it's probably part of it.

It's probably a whole bunch of shit all wrapped up in it. It is. It is. It's so much shit. It's probably a whole bunch of shit all wrapped up in it. It's so much shit. Yeah. I mean, that's a part of it. Probably a small part of it. Yeah. The main part of it comes from me thinking my body is freakish.

You know, I wasn't going to say that, but it's like, man, we just heard the answer to the other question and that's the answer to this question. Yeah, it's because you think your body is freakish. Yes, it is. Oh, okay. I know the answer to the other question and that's the answer to this question. Yeah, it's because you think your body is freakish. Yes, it is. Oh, OK. I know the answer to this. Mix Fritz asks, what could you give a 40 minute presentation on with no preparation? Cannot be a specific case. OK, so this was actually an assignment in a speech class that I took one time and you were given like literally a topic

right then you had to give the teacher like three topics that you could do and then they picked one I did mine on dental hygiene or she did everyone Brainy has amazing teeth I know a lot about dental hygiene because my mom was a dental hygienist for years. And so, yeah, I could give a 40-minute presentation on dental hygiene like that. What could you do? What were your other two topics that you had? I can't remember. I can do nothing without preparation. Nothing?

You couldn't get up and fucking bullshit your way through a skincare presentation? No. I really – my thing. You said no. No, my thing for any public speaking, the only way I feel even remotely okay, and not even a little okay, just remotely okay, is if I have rehearsed, rehearsed, rehearsed, rehearsed.

Okay. So yeah, the idea of like standing up and bullshitting for 40 minutes, no. Sounds terrible. Also, listening to someone riff for 40 minutes, that sounds terrible, too. You know what I hate? What? The disrespect of, oh, I'm just going to get out there and wing it. Oh, yeah, I don't like that either. No. I to get out there and wing it. Oh, yeah.

I don't like that either. I would never come to something unprepared. Yeah. No. No, I think people are fooling themselves when they're like, people won't know. Yeah. People will know. People will know.

I don't know what this question is, so I'm going to ask it to you, Kristen. Okay. You can tell me. Malarkey of the highest order wants to know, pronto pup or corn dog? What? What's a pronto pup? Ew, what is that? I'm Googling it.

I'm Googling it. A pronto pup. It's an amusement park and carnival food similar to a corn dog, but it's made with flour mix. What is this? I think this is a, yeah, it's a Pacific Northwest thing founded in Portland, Oregon. They would fuck with a corndog. Yeah. What do you need that for? Fucking corndog is great.

I don't know. I never had a pronto pup. Oh, this is a family podcast wants to know, have you ever used a peeling foot mask? Have you used one of those? No, they freak me out. Those baby feet things. Baby feet? Yeah, that's what it's called. It's called baby feet. Really? You put it on your foot. You put like this little like sock thing on your foot. You let the stuff soak in. You take it off. Your whole foot peels off. Oh, I need that. I think I do need that. You do. I told you. You do it. I'll watch. Okay. Well, I told you about it. You do it. I'll watch. Okay.

Well, I told you about that time. Oh, my gosh. This was so embarrassing. Everyone, before Obsessed Fest, I needed a pedicure. Like, it had been a little too long, and I have gross feet. I just do. I have men's feet. I have my dad's feet attached to my ankles.

And running, you know, makes your feet gross too. So I went to this new salon for the first time. I, you know, wanted to try it out. They had great ratings and, you know, it was very nice. And I got a pedicure and the guy looked at the bottom of my feet and goes, and then he put the lotion on them and said he was just going to let that soak for 10 minutes. And I felt ashamed. Okay. So I also had a pedicure shaming.

You did? I did. So I had gotten a gel pedicure and then like I'd gone too long. And so I picked all the gel off so that I went in for a new pedicure before Obsessed Fest. And the guy looked at my feet and he was like, you know, sometimes just every so often if you just take like a nail brush and just this will get the crusty stuff off your nails. So there were little remnants of the gel. So on there he thought it was like foot gunk.

And I was like oh no. I had gel on. I picked it off and he goes oh okay. That is disgusting. He thought I just had like gunk. And he's trying. He thought I just had like gunk. And he's trying to gently tell you, you know, if you wash yourself.

If you wash your feet every now and again. Your body won't be covered in a disgusting crust. Oh, that is nasty. And I'm guessing you had black on your toenails, right? So it was like a black crusties. Oh, my God. That's correct. That is terrible.

Oh, have you seen these? I wonder about this, too. Nancy Drew wants to know, Kristen, would you ever buy a mini fridge for your skincare products? Okay. I'm not going to lie to you. I've thought about it, but I think it's too much. It's a step too far, don't you think? It's a step too far. I you think i mean it just it seems like wouldn't it feel good though i know it would feel it would

feel great but i think i would feel lazy and silly even though i mean here's the thing like i so i used to have one of those you know like gel mask things for your eyes that you're supposed to like keep in the refrigerator. Oh, yeah. And I kept it in the refrigerator. The problem is I never actually put it on because it was downstairs. Well, yeah. That's why you need it in your bathroom. No, I understand.

But I kept thinking like that's ridiculous. I can walk downstairs and I never did. And then finally after two years of the thing, Norm told me, you know. It was time. It was time. It was stuck behind the capers. You keep capers? I don't, but Norman likes capers because he's weird.

He likes little hard salty peas. Capers are disgusting. Yeah, I'm not into capers. No. They shouldn't be. Oh, my gosh. Okay. Suspicious Midwest Salad asks, are there any plans to create an LGTC cookbook?

It could feature recipes of your favorite foods, suspicious Midwest salads, Dr. Pepper-inspired dishes, or perhaps have some connection to past cases. I love that idea. I think that's so fun. It is. Oh, we'd have some connection to past cases. I love that idea. I think that's so fun. It is. Oh, we'd have some disgusting recipes. We sure would. Popcorn fucking salad. No, we –

We'd put like a little disclaimer that Brandy barfed when she ate this. Yeah, that popcorn salad was disgusting. Yeah. The other thing is we don't have the right – those recipes. Yeah, we'd have to tweak them. Make our own versions. So you'd have to test a bunch of – Oh, no.

Never mind. This is a terrible idea. And to keep it fair, we'd have to put in one that makes you throw up. So like if you liked it too much, we'd have to not put that one in the cookbook. Okay. Hate it. Thanks. Thanks for the idea that I initially thought was great and then now hate.

Hmm. Okay. I'm interested in this Brandy this is from two-time jury alternate Brandy weirdest head of hair you've ever worked with what's the weirdest head of hair you've ever worked with I used to cut this guy's hair who just had like really, really stick straight hair. Like every hair grew directly out from the scalp. And so it was really hard to get his hair to lay in a way that looked intentional. Wow. Yeah. Like literally every hair grew straight out from where it was on the scalp. And it was coarse enough that it would just stick straight out from there.

Well, do you kind of have to do a buzz cut in that case? You got to go pretty short. Yeah. So you can work with the top a little bit because some product can help. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. You got to take it pretty short. Okay.

And it's difficult to blend. I bet. Yeah. No, I bet if you get a crappy haircut, it shows. Yes. Yes. Probably even just a good haircut could show. Yes, absolutely.

Okay, like three people have asked this, so I will answer it. Steer Queer Y'all asked, what is London going to be for Halloween this year? She is being Boo from Monsters, Inc., but like in the monster costume. So I had this idea. That's what I wanted her to be like. I had it like immediately after Halloween last year. Yeah. And then like I'm going to wear a Sully shirt and David's going to wear a Mike Wazowski shirt.

And then if Jack goes trick-or-treating with us, we'll get him a themed costume to go with it. It's just I've decided if he will be with us that night yet. Don't worry. We're not leaving Jackson out. it. It's just I've decided if he will be with us that night yet. Yeah. Don't worry. We're not leaving Jackson out. And so I got her the Boo costume and it came and I was worried that she wouldn't

maybe know for sure who Boo is because Monsters, Inc. is a movie she's seen but it's not one of the things that she watches like repetitively. Right. But I pulled it out of the package and she goes, Boo! And so she got really excited. So now I'm even more excited that she's going to be good for Halloween.

She's going to be so cute. And so are you and David. That's right. Cinnamon Toast Bitch asks, Brandy, what is your shampoo and conditioner recommendation for fine hair that's been bleached? I've heard Verb is good, but spending $20 per bottle is a little

scary. I'll do it because I love my hair, but I want to make sure it's absolutely worth it. That's 100% my recommendation, but not just verb, specifically verb ghost. So their ghost line is specifically for... Spooky people. No, it is reparative, but it is weightless. So it's exactly what you need. You need that little bit of repair because you have chemically treated hair, but you want something weightless for your fine hair. So please get Verb Ghost shampoo and conditioner. What do you recommend for us dry, curly, thick gals? So Verb has a curly line. They just came out with it.

I have not tried it yet, though. So you don't know. All right. All right. All right. I'll just stick with what I find at Costco. Should we move on to Supreme Court induction? Yes, we shall. I'm not.

Nor am I. Anywhere near where I need to be. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. nor am I anywhere near where I need to be oh no oh no oh you know what this is it's called karma baby and it comes around everyone karma's only a bitch if you are Kristen

oh boy everyone folks it appears we will not be doing If you are, Kristen. Oh, boy, everyone. Folks, it appears we will not be doing Supreme Court inductions today. And Kristen, why don't you tell the folks why? It's Brandi's job to compile the list. And it seems like she fucked it up. It's not Brandi's job to compile the list. Oh, my gosh. You know what?

I broke out into a cold sweat as I was scrolling because I thought, I haven't updated this list in a while. I've basically roasted Brandy this whole fucking episode and the bonus episode. And in this very week

I sold merch that we didn't have. I gave refunds but still. And now I I sold merch that we didn't have. I gave refunds, but still. That's right, yeah. And now I didn't prepare the list for the Supreme Court Inductions. Might be time for us to hire an assistant. Well, all right. I guess that concludes this episode.

I guess we're not doing any super-score deductions on this episode. Oh, yeah. Sign up for our Patreon. You won't be disappointed. Good grief. Oh, boy. Anyway, thank you, everyone, for all of your support. We appreciate it so much.

If you're looking for other ways to support us, please find us on social media or on Facebook, Instagram, Patreon, Twitter. Please subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen and then head on over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a five-star rating and review. For our professionalism. That's right. Also, while you're at it, subscribe to The Gaming Historian on YouTube. Oh, yeah. Yeah, do that. What else can you subscribe to? I don't know. That's probably good enough. That's good. Yeah.

Go subscribe to my husband, The Gaming Historian. The sexiest man in all of YouTube. Is that what they say about him? That's what they say. Oh, okay. I did give him a new haircut today. It's looking nice. Mm-hmm. I know. And that's what we say.

Okay. It really threw you off tonight. I have Supreme Court inductions. It did. Be sure to join us next week when we'll be experts on two whole new topics. Podcast adjourned. And now for a note about our process.

I read a bunch of stuff, then regurgitate it all back up in my very limited vocabulary. And I copy and paste from the best sources on the web, and sometimes Wikipedia. So we owe a huge thank you to the real experts. I got my info from reporting by Cara Mia DeMassa for the

Los Angeles Times, as well as reporting from the Seattle Times, MTV and People.com. I got my info from an episode of Forensic Files, an entry from Forensic Files Now.com, the Marshall News Messenger and the Court Record. For a full list of our sources, visit LGTCpodcast.com. Any errors are, of course, ours, but please don't take our word for it. Go read their stuff.