Murder With My Husband - 133. Leslie Anne Mazzara and Adriane Insogna - The Halloween Rage

Episode Date: October 10, 2022

On this episode of MWMH, Payton and Garrett discuss the double homicide of Leslie Ann Mazzara and Adriane Insogna. LIVE ONLINE SHOW TICKETS HERE! https://www.moment.co/murderwithmyhusband https://linktr.ee/murderwithmyhusband  Case Sources:  Abcnews.go.com, “Sole Survivor of Napa Killings Speaks, by ABC News, October 6, 2005 Latimes.com, “Suspect Consoled Victims’ Families,” by Rone Tempest, September 30, 2005 Cbsnews.com, “Nightmare in Napa,” CBS News, April 19, 2007 Napavalleyregister.com, “Chief Melton retires after 10 years with Napa police,” by Kerana Todorov, December 20, 2014, updated January 2, 2015 Napavalleyregister.com, “ “by Marsha Dorgan, December 6, 2006, updated May 18, 2018 Napavalleyregister.com, “Napa double-murder to be featured on Oxygen,” by Maria Sestito, October 14, 2017 Napavalleyregister.com, “Breaking the code,” by Alisha Wyman, March 22, 2010, updated December 12, 2013 Napavalleyregister.com, “Marriage dissolutions,” April 20, 2008 Napavalleyregister.com, “Napa prosecutor wins top honors,” by Marsha Dorgan, May 25, 2007 Napavalleyregister.com, “What made Copple kill?” by Marsha Dorgan, January 21, 2007 Napavalleyregister.com, “Copple admits guilt in double murder,” by Marsha Dorgan, December 6, 2006, updated May 18, 2018 Napavalleyregister.com, “Breaking News: Thursday 6:30 p.m. Update – Copple sentenced in Napa double murder,” by Marsha Dorgan, January 11, 2007 Napavalleyregister.com, “Cell phone S.O.S.,” by Kevin Courtney, December 15, 2006 Napavalleyregister.com, “Copple pleads guilty to double murder charges,” by Marsha Dorgan, December 7, 2006 Napavalleyregister.com, “Survivior of murder scene tells her story,” by David Ryan, October 6, 2005 Napavalleyregister.com, “DNA points to Copple as the killer,” by Marsha Dorgan, October 1, 2005 Napavalleyregister.com, “Police: Copple ‘knew we were closing in,’” by Marsha Dorgan, September 30, 2005 The Weekly Calistogan, “Murder reward fund goes to help several charities,” by Marsha Dorgan, March 8, 2007 The Weekly Calistogan, “Copple makes the move to San Quentin,” by Marsha Dorgan, January 25, 2007 The Weekly Calistogan, “Double murder suspect pleads not guilty,” by Marsha Dorgan, July 20, 2006 Sfgate.com, “NAPA / House invaded, 2 women killed / Third roommate escapes the attack, calls 911 for help,” by Pamela J. Podger, November 2, 2004 Legacy.com, “Leslie Mazzara Obituary” Legacy.com, “Adriane Insogna Obituary” findagrave.com Swordandscale.com, “Jealous Rage to Double Murder in Napa Valley,” blog, October 26, 2017 redfin.com zillow.com contactout.com Forensicfilesnow.com, “Eric Copple: Unfiltered Rage,” by “RR,” February 16, 2018 Assisted research and writing by Diane Birnholz Links: https://linktr.ee/murderwithmyhusband Ads: Native: www.nativedeo.com/husband Betterhelp: www.betterhelp.com/husband Ethos: www.ethoslife.com/husband  Simpli Safe: https://simplisafe.com/mwmh HelloFresh: www.HelloFresh.com/Husband16 and use code husband16 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Yes, you energy, energy for everything. Captain Banner now to learn more. Hey everybody, welcome back to our podcast. This is Murder with My Husband. I'm Peyton Moreland. And I'm Garrett Moreland. And he's the husband. And the husband.

Alright you guys, just a reminder, merch is out and available. It's our special edition, well special Halloween edition, I guess. So if you want to check that out, it's at fanjoy.co slash mwmh or at the link in our bio or in the episode notes. All right, we are going to jump right over into Garrett's 10 seconds today. We went to Disneyland last week and it was really fun. It's so weird because growing up, I went to Disneyland quite a bit, but now it is just, it is so crowded. Yeah, it's absolutely insanely crowded. And I guess if you don't know any better, you don't know the difference. It doesn't matter to you. But I feel like growing up, like when

I would go to Disneyland, like we would ride, I'd ride Splash Mountain like 10 times in a row. I don't know, like we'd go a couple times a year and it just wasn't crowded and now it's just so crazy. Yeah, it was very busy, still very fun, but very busy. Very busy. Anyways, with Disneyland, that was super fun, but other than that, I'm gonna kinda make this 10 seconds about you guys today. Cool.

All right, we just wanted to give a special shout out to Anthony. He teaches AP Chem, AP Chem, correct? Yep. He teaches AP Chem in Michigan, a class I never took because I was not smart enough, but thank you for teaching it. Samantha actually messaged in and said that Anthony has used at least one of our episodes to teach his kids about things. And now the kids listen and apparently he listens, Samantha listens, and we just thought that message was so super cool so we wanted to bring it up.

See parents, we are a teaching resource. Every kid tune in. Pretty soon you're going to see us in every single school across America. Oh, what an ambitious goal. Thank you. I'm never gonna happen, but that's okay. And another thing before we kind of jump in everything,

someone sent to our PO box custom Air Force ones, a bunch of murder with my husband designs, what post about it? They are sick. I think her name was like Lolo B. Creations. Yeah, on Instagram. She did amazing. They are so cool.

And I'm so excited to wear them out. So yeah, we'll post pictures of them. They're really cool. All right, that is my 10 seconds. I think the next four months, I'm just going to be in sweatpants and sweatshirts. Always. Every time, every time during this year. Fall is coming.

I don't want to be dressed for the next five months. Wake me up when February ends. And we'll be back in regular clothes with that note. Let's hop into another episode. All right. Our case sources are abcnews.go.com LA Times.com CVS news.com. NapaValleyRegister.com, the weekly Call of Stogen, legacy.com, findagrave.com, swordenscale.com, Redfin, Zillow, and forensic files now.com.

Zillow. All right. Buying some houses today. I really do be looking them up. All right. at the end of the day. So, we're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day.

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We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. We're going to go to the next day. in the heart of California's wine country. It serves as the sea of Napa County, and it's primarily known for its wine and wineries. Now, Napa is considered a very safe place to live, and according to ABC News, prior to Halloween 2004, there hadn't been a murder there for two years.

But we know the context of this podcast and how we are always breaking those considerations. The population of Napa is about 75,000 people and the town is described as upscale and charming. Our case takes place in a particular neighborhood within Napa which, according to neighbors, is described as, quote, very quiet, sort of leave it to be where people wave to each other and walk their dogs. They must not have any choice. It wouldn't be so nice. And it was in this friendly neighborhood that three young girls decided to room together in one of the four bedroom two bath homes. And those three women were 26-year-old Leslie Ann Mazzara, 26-year-old Adrian Insana, and their friend Lauren. Now, according to one source, Adrian Insana, and their friend Lauren. Now, according to one source, Lesley, Adrian, and Lauren met in college and became friends,

and then later decided to rent the house in our story together. But most other sources claimed that actually Adrian and Lauren were good friends in college far before Lesley entered the friendship. Adrian and Lauren already renting the house, just them too in early 2004, and then it was only after college that Leslie moved to Napa from South Carolina and became friends with them,

and then by June 2004 had moved in with them into this house. So according to family, Leslie made friends quickly and easily. She was outgoing and beautiful. And so it wasn't surprising that shortly after meeting both Adrienne and Lauren, she was invited to move into the home in Napa as their third roommate. And although the girls were all young and in their 20s, neighbors described all three of them as very nice people and good neighbors.

As renters, they were quiet and respectful of the long-term families nearby, which was very appreciated. Now before we go any further in the story, I do want to get to know Leslie, Adrian, and Lauren a little bit more. So you, Garrett, and listeners, really have a good concept of them as we move ahead. So Leslie was born on August 1st, 1978 in Orlando, Florida. She was described as bubbly and a beauty queen. At some point, she moved from Orlando to South Carolina and actually competed for the 2003 Miss South Carolina in a beauty pageant contest. She was 2002 Miss Wilmiston. Now Leslie was also a member of the Greenville Ballet Company. She graduated in 2003 from the University of Georgia where she earned her bachelor's

degree in philosophy. She was a member of the Karate Club and the lacrosse team there, and afterwards she met Adrian and Lauren, like we said. Leslie had two brothers and was close to both her grandma and mother, Kathy Harrington. Now according to sources, Kathy was the major reason that Leslie even moved to Napa after graduation. The story kind of conflicts, but Kathy, a minister in her own life, either thought the move would be good for her daughter or she herself lived in Napa and wanted Leslie to be

closer. We're not sure. But after moving in with her friends and settling in Napa in 2004, Leslie began working for a local winery as a tour guide and sells coordinator. Now Adrian and Sana was born on December 30th 1977. Adrian was from a nearby town and in high school she was actually involved in a terrible car accident that resulted in years of recovery. Adrian didn't allow this setback to stop her though, and she graduated from high school in 1996.

After meeting Lauren in finishing college, she had an engineering degree and was working as a civil engineer for the Napa Sanitation District at the time of our story. She had attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which if anyone has been listening to the podcast your own backyard, you are very aware of this college and its campus. A little rundown for Garrett who is not aware. Back in 1996, college freshman Kristen Smart, not to be confused with Elizabeth

Smart, was attending Cal Poly when she vanished after she was last seen after a party Stumbling back to her dorm room with a known Classmate who was very much a creep. I never really put together the difference that Kristen smart and Elizabeth smart I mean, I know their two separate people, but I would always see like those names come up And I think in my head I just always thought they were the same person even though they had different names It just I you know, I don't look into it much and I would see those names and be like oh smart I don't think you're the only one I think people often get them confused So from the beginning this guy this creeper had a long history of drugging assaulting and terrorizing women

He was the main suspect in the case, but they never found Kristen's body and they couldn't prosecute him. The podcast, Your Own Backyard, comes along, and he decides to re-examine the case. And he turned a lot of new attention onto it in recent years, which ended up with police basically finally arresting Paul Flores, who was the boy who walked her home that night.

Now the trial is ongoing currently right now, and your own backyard is following along and giving us updates. It's a great series podcast that I would recommend if you are wanting a new one. So back to our story, Adrian became an officer with the Society for Civil Engineers in college and as a longtime girl scout herself,

she continued to be involved as a longtime Girl Scout herself, she continued to be involved as a Girl Scout troop leader. She played volleyball, softball, and was active in many charities, and Adrian was close with her mother, her father, her stepmother, and brother. So now, Lauren was the third housemate like we've discussed, and Lauren had a political science degree and was an all-state athlete. Now out of respect for what I learned about while researching, I'm not going to go any further into Lauren's life at this point. So these are the three girls,

the three young roommates in our story, who by all accounts were successful, driven, and hardworking women, with their whole lives ahead of them. But we know where this story is going. And because it's our Halloween episodes this month, we also know that by the time October 2004 rolled around in Napa, California, something bad was about to happen

to these girls, something that should never happen to anyone. Now remember how I said Leslie's mother was part of the reason she moved to Napa and met the two other girls? Well, it wasn't just that. Back in South Carolina, Leslie had actually gone through a pretty bad breakup with a young man named William Lee Youngblood Jr. Now the breakup was not going well.

His last name is Youngblood. Oh, cool. He's not a rapper. He was going to say Z-Rapper? No, he's not. That's kind of your actual name is Youngblood. Oh, cool. He's not a rapper. He was gonna say Z-Rapper? No, he's not. That's kind of your actual name is Youngblood. It's not a rapper name. Like his name is, you know, Jordan time.

It's like, my name is a little baby, Youngblood, whatever it is. Right. But his actual name is Youngblood. Yeah, so he is not taking his breakup with Leslie Well. He began making Leslie uncomfortable, calling her all of the time, and it was to escape him that Leslie decided

to take her mother's advice and move to Napa. But this wasn't the only boy drama happening in the friend group around this time. According to sources, Adrian was really good friends with a girl from work, and this girl's name was Lily Prudum. Now Lily and Adrienne had known each other for quite some time, and had somewhat merged

their friend groups. When Adrienne and Lauren moved into their new rental back in early 2004 before they've met Leslie and she moves in, it was actually Lily's group of friends who helped and then stayed afterwards for a housewarming party. So Lauren, Adrienne and Leslie had a pretty good, solid social life and group of friends by this summer. But it wasn't going to be easy because more drama, boy drama, was about to hit them. Lily, Aedrian's friend we just met, was actually engaged to a man named Eric Kapel.

But later in that year, Lily and Eric decided to call off their engagement. And just like Leslie and William, Eric was not handling it well. He didn't understand how Lily could give up on him. Now, going through this tough time, Adrian decided her friend Lily needed support, just like they had given Leslie. They decided to plan a trip to Australia

to try and get away. Adrian felt it was important to be a good friend and give trip to Australia to try and get away. Adrian felt it was important to be a good friend and give Lily a place to try and heal. And also at this point, William and his family have still not left Leslie alone. Despite the fact that she's moved away, she's moved in with two other girls. She's Matt Lilly. They continue to reach out to her to bother her to call her. I mean, I'm really kind of thinking of an episode of friends here. You have these three girls, Leslie, Adrian, and Lauren living

together. They've met Lilly. But now they're being dragged into Lilly's mess with her and her fiance who are now calling it off. But you also have Leslie's ex-boyfriend back home who's still bothering her. And they're just trying to live their life as new roommates. You know what I mean?

This is what happens when a group of young people get together. It just ends up being chaos with all of these friends involved. Even to the point that as October rolled around, Leslie ended up bringing a guy home one night. She was actually dating a lot during this time. I think probably just trying to get her ex out of her head, right? And the other roommates ended up hearing her in the guy, you know, having fun.

There's a watch in TV. All night long. And they stayed up, they giggled about it, they talked about it, having fun. There's a watching TV. All night long. And they stayed up, they giggled about it, they talked about it, and they decided just not to say anything. They're like, okay, we'll just let them keep having fun. But this was just their life, the fun life of living with roommates. And eventually, how do we enrolled around?

It's October 31st, 2004, and everyone in the girl's lives have different plans for the night. The air was kind of anxious, because Lillian Eric's wedding was originally planned for the next day, and then Lillie called it off, so now it's not happening. And I'm sure it was kind of this awkward thing. Everyone was kind of skittering around. So because of this, Lauren, Adrian, and Leslie,

the three roommates decided to just stay home that night and hand out candy to the neighborhood trick-or-treaters. They decided to put out some jackalanners and even made specially prepared treat bags for their kids. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I mean, I think as like, young girls, you have the energy, you're like, oh, this will be so fun, the kids will love these.

So that's what they did. They spent the night. They would never do that now. Never. Never actually in general. Well, we actually do, by, we have not had good Halloween experiences because every year we've bought candy and we've never had trick or treaters.

At one time we ran out of candy. Yes, way back when. Because we barely had any candy. Yeah, because we were like, oh, there won't be that many. And they came by and I thought, give them apples, like what else does it do? And then the next year we double, tripled the candy and not, we had two trick or treaters.

So we just left the bowl out there and someone ended up taking it. Yeah. So neighbors and left the bowl out there and someone ended up taking it. Yeah. So neighbors and parents actually remember the fun atmosphere from the girls' home that night. Everything was happy. Everyone was having fun. The kids really loved the special bags.

Eventually though, the knocks became less and less as the late hours of Halloween approached. Kids were at home, completely hungover on sugar, and the three roommates, Lauren, Adrian, and Leslie decided to just call it a night. So it's now past midnight on Halloween, and it's dark up and down the roommate's street. This was a family neighborhood and everyone has turned in. But it was some time between 1.30 and 2am that Lauren was woken up in her downstairs bedroom by a motion sensor security light tripping

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That's rocket money.com slash husband rocket money.com slash husband So Lauren was the only roommate who slept on the main floor of the shared home, Adrian and Leslie actually both roamed upstairs in the house. So she was the only one to see this light go on. Well it woke her up from sleeping. And as Lauren came to, she also heard the faint sound of her dog, Chloe, a golden Labrador retriever, growling. Now this would have been extra creepy to me.

First, this light goes on, and now your dog that's sleeping in your room is growling. But when you have roommates, it's hard to immediately jump to worst-case scenario. Adrienne had a lot of cats who sometimes would trip the sensors, so when her dog let out like a warning low bark, Lauren quieted her down, comforting her and lays back down sheets.

She's like, dog, Chloe, listen, sweetie. And that thing is going down, comforting her and lays back down sheets. She's like dog, Chloe, listen, sweetie. Yeah. And that thing is going on. We're going to go back to sleep. It's probably just one of your enemies, the cats, right? Oh, no. Okay. Uh huh. According to ABC news.go.com, Lauren began drifting back to sleep when just minutes later, she heard someone enter the house and begin climbing up the girls' staircase to the

second floor. Now, although a little spooked, Lauren came to her senses and began shaking her head. Oh no, she thought. Leslie's little boyfriend has come over again, and it's about to be another night of the listening in on their lovemaking. Now, despite this, Lauren didn't want to be a poor sport, so she just stayed in her own bedroom and quieted down her now alert dog. She's like, I'll just let them do their thing. I'm not gonna make a problem out of this.

I'm just gonna go back to sleep. Lauren then laid back down once again, closed her eyes and tried to relax. But no one was expecting what would wake up Lauren next. Just a bit later, her eyes snapped open. Her body completely frozen with fear. She woke up to the sound of blood-curdling screams coming from upstairs. She could hear Adrian screaming over and over. Please help. Please help.

Matt, that's... No, I can't. I can't. Now, you have to imagine how terrifying this moment is. Holy crap. This is truly the epitome of freeze, fight, or flight. Like, you wake up, you hear this, and you're like, what do I do? What does she do at this point? They're not in her room. Whoever's there is not in her room.

So as Lauren opened her bedroom door to run up the stairs and help, she freezes in total panic. She's so scared that she can't get her body to take another step. She finally alerts and begins to move when all of a sudden the intruder begins running through the upstairs hall and bounding down the stairs. Now her bedroom is downstairs. This person is smashing and breaking things along the way there. That out of control. This is insane. Afraid whoever it was is now heading for her room. Lauren makes a split second dash to the kitchen running through the kitchen and out to the back yard.

But it was only once she got out of the door and into the yard that she realized she had picked the wrong way to run in her fear. She was now stuck in the back yard surrounded by a six foot fence with no way out. Oh, you jumped that thing. Well, if she had just run to the front door, she could have kept running to get help. And now she's like, why'd I run this way? But she only had a split second to decide. Hearing the intruder still inside the house and getting into the kitchen, Lauren decided to leap behind whatever was near her to hide.

She's like, since I can't make it over the fence, I'm just gonna hide. She sat in fear. Lauren could hear the intruder struggling in the kitchen. She thought she could hear them struggling with the blinds of the window, but eventually it went quiet, the noise is stopped. Okay, so the intruder's in the kitchen. Right.

Is he fighting with Adrienne in the kitchen, according to Lauren right now? Not that she can tell. She doesn't think Adrienne's in the kitchen. She all she can hear is the intruder in the kitchen, according to Lauren right now. Not that she can tell. She doesn't think Adrien's in the kitchen. All she can hear is the intruder in the kitchen. She's hearing nothing else. And he's just breaking things. Making noise, messing with the blinds, the window.

Like, she doesn't know what they're doing. The intruder is, but she can still hear stuff going on. Okay. So as she sat in fear, Lauren, like I said, could hear the intruder struggling, but eventually it goes quiet. But Lauren then begins to hear Adrian's pleas from upstairs in the house still.

Oh my God. So she can still, although it's gone quiet, she can kind of hear Adrian's still calling for help. So not even sure if the intruder was gone or was still inside. Lauren stood up out of her hiding spot and made her way back inside the home to help her friend. She ran into the kitchen and reached for the phone to call 911 but the line was dead. She could not get the call to go

through no matter how frantically she tried. Oh no grab a knife. Scared out of her mind. She set the phone down and began tip towing through the home. Imagine this, up the stairs and two Adrian's bedroom. She needed to figure out what was going on. She needed to help her friend. Now, I want to stop here and talk about how brave Lauren is being in this moment to go back into that house. She had to have been absolutely terrified. This is a huge risk to herself and her life. Like, she could hear something bad happening there

and she chose to walk back in. So Lauren is trying her best right now. But she can't even get the freaking phone to work. Like, how is this phone broken? I can't imagine it. None of us can. I'm going to directly quote from the ABC News article to describe the scene that Lauren walked into once she got upstairs. Once she opened her friend's bedroom door. Quote, the entire bedroom

floor was covered in blood. Oh, no, Leslie was faced down in a pile of clothes with stab wounds all over her upper body and arms. A few feet away, Adrian was crouched behind her bed alive, but no longer able to speak and rapidly bleeding to death from multiple stab wounds. Oh, Lee crap, this is nuts. So both of her roommates are in one room upstairs. Stabbed. Stabbed.

When Lauren discovered what had happened while she was just down in her bedroom, as if not already scared enough, she really begins to panic. Imagine opening the door and seeing this. She ran to her bedroom and looked around for her cell phone. It was not a very good cell phone. This is 2004. Of course, of course she had a cell phone.

But she runs for it, leaving bloody footprints throughout the home because she's now walked into the floors covered in blood. She walks in, finds this and goes back down. I guess it makes sense. 2004. Mm-hmm. So she called 911 from the cell phone and talked to the operator and tell the line went dead too. So after this incident, the Napa Valley actually would

upgrade their 911 system for people calling from cell phones. This is not weird that the line goes dead because they didn't have the infrastructure to support it, I guess. The 2004 system that was in place at the time involved the California highway patrol getting the initial 911 call from cell phones and then them needing to call a separate dispatch center which often resulted in costly delays. So are they on the way then?

They're on the way. But she just keeps getting disconnected. This may have affected how quickly the Napa police were dispatched to the crime scene, though, because there was all this back and forth. Now a lone again, off the line with cops, and still unsure if whoever had done this was still in the home with her, Lauren decides to run out front and get into her car. She grabs Chloe, her dog first, locks herself in the car and begins driving away from the house all while calling

911 again. Now before anyone begins dissecting the choices that Lauren made here. Oh, I haven't even thought twice about it. Yeah, I do want to say that through the chaos, the fear and the trauma, Lauren absolutely did the right thing here. Honestly, better than most of us probably could. Getting out of there, if the whereabouts of the attacker was unknown, was absolutely the correct thing to do. Yeah, I don't know what you're supposed to do. I mean, yeah, I don't even think we should dissect it. Right. She called for help first. Dispatch was on their way and now she needed to stay safe. She needed to get out of there. So when police arrive on scene, they clear the area. Whoever had done this was no longer at the girls' home.

Police make their way up to the bedroom, and the reality of what had happened that night was gruesome and disturbing. Leslie Mazzara was already dead. No! She had been dead when Lauren first discovered them. Police discovered that Adrian Insana was barely alive, but it was too late. She died just a short time later

and was unresponsive from the time she had been found. So Lauren's two roommates literally were stopped to death. Neither victim had been sexually assaulted and despite the mess, nothing had been stolen from the house. Atraumatized and distressed Lauren is interviewed and then sent to stay with relatives as the entire neighborhood lays in shock. And we always talk about survivor's guilt, right? It's real, it's sure. Imagine how Lauren feels. What are the things that are running through her mind? I am absolutely devastated and heartbroken for her that, you know, there's three victims to this story. You know what I mean?

So two weeks after the murders, a candlelight vigil is held for Leslie and Adrian. All of their friends attend. Because of the tragedy, the friend group grew closer and Lily and Eric decided life wasn't promised. They called their engagement back on, and in February 2005, three months after the murders, they were married. They dedicated a section of their wedding to Leslie and Adrian, Adrian's mother, spoke at it in memory of the girls.

Following the murders, a massive investigation began, and the FBI were invited in. The police bring in a bloodhound to track the killer's scent. According to SFGate.com, this bloodhound was, quote, following a scent near Highway 29, but investigators had no solid leads. Who does this? Right?

This whole thing is absolutely mind-blowing. The police shut down the house for 10 days so they could process the crime scene. And they collected drop of blood outside the broken kitchen window on or on a set of blinds from the window sources differed but either way there's blood collected from the kitchen and they believe this blood came from the killer. I feel like there's got to be evidence all over the place right I mean he ran through the house he was super messy right he climbed to the. I mean, it's got to be evidence all over.

So in order to preserve the crime scene investigators use ladders to see inside the house and take photographs which is actually very brilliant because there's nothing worse than a like corrupted crime scene. Mm-hmm. The police suspect that this was not a random attack. The killer seemed to know where he was going and who he was targeting, so they can't help but wonder why had Lauren been spared. Why kill only two of the three roommates? After evaluating the crime scene, investigators determined that they believe Leslie was the intended target, but Adrian heard the attack and ran into the room, which would also make sense by Lauren was spared.

Maybe one girl was only that to target, but Adrian heard and ran in. A $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest was offered by a group of Napa Valley businesses. The most popular lead, police found, had to do with Leslie Mazar as old boyfriend, whose father, William Lee Youngblood senior, was reportedly obsessed with her and her beauty. So when they start learning about Leslie, not only does she have this ex-boyfriend, Mr. Youngblood, who can't get over her, they also learn that his dad had like this weird, creepy infatuation with her that he told people about.

Oh, weird, okay. And they also discover that this dad, her ex-boyfriend's dad, had called her twice on Halloween night. So not only is he infatuated with her, he tried to reach her twice Halloween night. But both William and his father were apparently in South Carolina, where they're from at the time of the murders, and both were later cleared by the DNA evidence. Neither of their blood matched. Now, this doesn't mean they're completely cleared, but it's a pretty weird thing that there's blood in the kitchen that doesn't match to them.

Police follow up so many leads during this investigation. They conducted over 1,300 interviews and they collect 218 DNA samples from various individuals, mostly young men who had a connection to the victims. However, none of these DNA samples are a match to what they believe is the killer's blood. The investigation started by looking into the men who were closest to the two women and then spread out as they weren't getting any DNA matches. They asked retired police detectives to come back on duty to help with the investigation.

And the issue they were running into is they had two, quote, very popular women who had numerous friendships, social contacts and co-workers. They had to sift through all of these relationships to try and pinpoint people of interest. I mean, they had a large friend group. You have three different girls who are very close with three different friend groups that they've somehow merged. Look, it's gotta be someone obvious, though. Right. So Leslie was new in town. And like I said, she had been on a variety of blind dates since her arrival.

So there were many men to sift through to her just alone. Despite the fact that police had collected amounts of evidence, they never found a murder weapon. They do however collect two camel Turkish gold cigarette butts from inside the house and this promises to be a solid lead because number one there is DNA on the cigarette butts and two none of the girls smoked let alone smoked such a specific brand. Why would he leave cigarettes there? Right. It's weird but police are like this has to be from the killer.

Yeah, yeah. Because even Lauren says, no, I don't know who would have left that. I don't know anyone who's even smoked here recently. Police eventually matched the DNA from the blood found in the kitchen to the DNA on the cigarette butts. OK. So they're like, this is a lead. This is a lead.

We now have two sources of DNA. We're pretty sure this is the killer. It feels even more sure now that they found the cigarette butts. So they have now confirmed the killer is number one a smoker. And number two, smokes a relatively unusual type of cigarette. This is in a very common cigarette. So in September of 2005, 11 months after the murders, police decide that these cigarettes are the only major lead they have to find someone to compare against the DNA.

They have exhausted all other efforts. Because of this, after going back and forth on the pros and cons, they decide to go public with this information. They want to keep it private because they feel like it was just another way to put a nail in the coffin if they do find a suspect. But also, they're running out of lead, so they hope someone will recognize this brand, recognize

someone who might have done this, put two and two together, and then say, hey, this might be your suspect. At a press conference, they alert the media that whoever had killed these two women back on Halloween night in 2004, smoked a very distinct brand of cigarettes. And to everyone's surprise, all it took was this announcement to make waves in this case. And although police had announced this in hopes of someone coming forward and turning someone else in, that wasn't what happened. It didn't end up being a friend of a friend because one person came forward, not with information, but with a confession.

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I definitely am a big supporter of it. It's helped me manage my stress and anxiety and really helped me work through difficult times. Therapy is not just for major traumas. It's for anyone who wants to learn positive coping skills, set healthy boundaries, and become the best version of themselves. It's about staying connected to what truly matters, as you navigate life's challenges. Here's how it works. Simply fill out a brief questionnaire and better help will match you with a licensed therapist

who meets your specific needs. If you ever feel they need to switch therapist, you can do so at no additional charge. That therapy be your map to a better life. Is it betterhelp.com slash husband today and get 10% off your first month? That's betterhelp.htlp.com slash husband. One man came forward and turned himself in for the murders of Leslie and Adrian after this announcement. Okay. He claimed he was nervous police were closing in. And that man was Lily's now husband, Eric Coddle. So this was Eric who had helped the girls move into this home and celebrated with them that night. Eric who had attended their funerals and their vigils.

Eric who had gotten their funerals and their vigils, Eric who had gotten married to Lily, the girl's almost best friend, three months after the murders, Eric who had asked Adrian's mother to speak about her daughter and the victims at their wedding. Eric who smoked camel-turkish gold cigarettes and had been avoiding police for over a month. Eric Coddle turned himself in, shocking his wife, Lily, claiming he was the murderer and that the DNA in the case would surely match him.

So before we go forward, did Billy's boyfriend have a good relationship with the girls at all? A close relationship or was it just kind of like in a acquaintance level. Yeah, so basically what happened is Lauren and Adrienne move into the department and Adrienne gets this new job. At this new job, she meets Lily.

Now Lily is engaged to Eric. Yes. Now because Adrienne and Lily start becoming friends, I mean, they're going to the gym together, they're spending all their time at work together. They begin hanging out. Casually, Lily brings her fiance, Eric, over. There was no close connection.

Eric had only been in the house once. He was more in acquaintance of the roommates. Lily was more the friend of the roommate. So it really doesn't make, where's the motive here? So then Lily could potentially be involved. Could potentially, yes, she could be involved. She could have set this up or something, but police are still kind of feeling like, why? Like you're, you're, you're kind of barely connected to the girls. I mean, you are in their life, but it just doesn't make sense. So back in August 2005,

please, like I said, had contacted Lauren to ask if she knew anyone who smoked. Lauren is our living roommate. At first, she couldn't think of anybody. But then she remembered that back on the day, her and Adrian moved in, and Lily, their friend, brought her fiance over, Eric, he had smoked in the house. But Adrian, Leslie, and Lauren barely knew Eric. Like we just talked Eric, he had smoked in the house. But Adrian, Leslie, and Lauren barely knew Eric. Like we just talked about, he was very shy, he was quiet, he was not social at all. He was almost like this character in Lily's life that they knew, but they were way closer with Lily than Eric.

Lauren doesn't even know why Eric would target them. They had nothing really to do with him besides maybe the fact that they had taken in Lily his fiance when things had gotten hard between the two. So despite the fact that police were confused about what motive there could possibly be for Eric to kill the girls. Before he's turned himself in this is a month before while they're talking to Lauren They decided to just bring him in and test his DNA. He hadn't been tested somehow But he won't come in willingly every time police try, he's never home. He's hard to find. Okay.

A month or so later, police make the announcement publicly. They're looking for a guy who smokes this kind and then Eric willingly comes in and confesses and turns himself in. So just days after police release the information on September 28th, 2005, Eric Coppel is arrested and held without bail. One police ask him why he came in. 28th 2005, Eric Coppill is arrested and held without bail. One police asked him why he came in. He said he was suicidal.

And when he told his family, they encouraged him to turn himself in instead of taking his own life. So as either come in and tell police or take his own life, which is why he even came in in the first place. Every time police asked about the actual killing itself or motive because they're just as confused as we are Erick claims he was having a mental block and couldn't tell them He does tell them that back on Halloween 2004 he grabbed a military style knife from his home and drove to his fiance's

Friends house. He says he stood out front smoking a cigarette then recalls climbing through a front room window and heading upstairs to a bedroom. What? He says after that. Zero explanation, basically. Yeah, he says after that, his eyes were closed and he can't tell them anything else. He says after the killings, he drove home and burned his bloody clothes. He tells police that he can't remember what he did with the knife. So do you think he is saying this because he's trying to plead insanity? Or do you think it's true?

And I guess we'll never know. Well, my first instinct is that he didn't actually do it and he's covering for someone which is why he won't tell any details because he doesn't know what happened. Okay, yeah. That was my first instinct while listening. But we still have the DNA.

If that blood is his, then he was there. Yeah, and I feel like it's gonna, yeah, exactly. So police claimed he provided enough detail to prove he was the killer. He was saying things that only the killer would have known, like the fact that he brought zip ties to the murder, but dropped them while climbing in through the front window. And then the zip ties were found underneath the front window.

I mean, someone could have told him that, but yes, correct. But it's not something they released publicly, but he still didn't tell them why or how, and they couldn't fathom why or how. They couldn't come up with a motive. Police sent Eric's DNA to the lab to be tested and they began informing the victim's family about the arrest. Adrian's mother claims no one was more shocked than she was to hear this news. She claimed that Adrian considered Lily one of her closest friends. And now her

fiance killed her daughter. And the reason that she even spoke at their wedding in the first place, her and Eric's wedding was because Lily and her daughter, Adrian, were so close. Her mother was convinced that whoever had done this had had to have not known her daughter. It had to be a stranger. And now she's finding out that the person that did this was someone that she's hugged since her daughter's death. She's talked to him.

She's supported him at his wedding. Eric Kapel is charged by the Napa County D.A.'s office with two counts of murder when the DNA evidence comes back to be his including special circumstances of using a knife and committing a crime involving multiple victims in October of 2005 Lauren the third roommate who avoided being murdered likely by the virtue of the fact that her bedroom was on the ground floor and her door was shut Spoke publicly for the first time. Her televised interview on Primetime aired on October 6, 2005.

As reported by ABC News, quote, she said, still, I can't sleep. Basically, it was a horror movie. That's what I thought. Exactly what I thought was when I was up there. In this interview with Lauren, Primetime asked her why she thinks Eric didn't kill her. She says, quote, I don't know. I just happen to have my door close that night. That's it. That's the only thing I can think. She says that she told law enforcement to test Eric's DNA once the police told her that they believe the murderer left behind cigarette butts at the crime scene. Now, pernapeavali register.com quote. And so then my

brain started going, okay, you know, we didn't really associate with a lot of smokers, and then it took a couple seconds and I went, wait, Eric smokes. And then I remembered that he had been in the house, and then I asked, have you checked into his DNA and the police told me no. A whole year later, on December 5th, 2006, Eric pleads guilty to two counts of first degree murder

with special circumstances of lying in wait using a knife and committing a crime involving multiple victims as part of a plea agreement with the state. The plea deal allows him to avoid the death penalty for the two murders. The plea agreement provided that Eric would receive life without the possibility of parole, and it also provided that Eric wouldn't appeal

and that he would never profit off the crimes. NapaValleyRegister.com says, quote, he can never talk about what happened that night except to clergy or family members. He may not discuss the facts of the case with the media or anyone dealing with writing a book. Why not? Just for profit? Yeah, because he can't profit off of what he's done. Interesting, because I feel like that would maybe help in getting answers. And I'm just told why. I think so, but also if the victim's family have come forward and say we'd just rather I'm not be able to talk about it, then to have answers, then of course they're going

to put that in the plea agreement, because the victim's family will be heavily involved in the plea agreement. So I'm going to assume that's what happens. Oh man, I'm so confused. Yeah. The courtroom was packed, both with victims, family, and friends, along with people who still supported Eric Kapo, including Lily, her parents, and Eric's mother.

So Lily is still married to him and still supporting him at this court hearing for his plea deal. Oh. The plea agreement was an accordance with the victim's family's wishes, like we just talked about. At the sentencing hearing, the victims's families and friends sat on one side while Eric's supporters sat on the other.

Maybe I'm missing something, but supporters. I... Well, this is what we talked about on a recent episode. Supporters for killing someone. Maybe that's me just not being understanding, but I don't understand. Not supporters for killing someone., supporters of their loved one. They're supporting Eric as a person, not the actions he's committed. We already discussed this.

Gary said that would be very hard for me to continue to sit by and- And these are all personal opinions. Right. This doesn't have to do with the case. I just, I think it's crazy. You just don't understand why Lily would still go and sit if he murdered her best friend essentially. Who best friends?

So, yeah, best friend. Correct. So, the victim's family at this hearing spoke about the impact the murders had on them, and then Eric spoke himself. This always happens at sentencing hearings. He claimed that he suffers from depression and he has been suicidal his whole life. He said he came from a broken home and deeply regrets his actions. He claims he still has no explanation for his actions other than

the fact that his relationship with Lily was in jeopardy. She just called off their wedding and he was angry and full of rage. So we're getting to the motive, which that's probably the motive, but why them? But he just to the motive, which that's probably the motive. But why them, but he just doesn't want to say that's what the motive was. Right. Lily Coppill, her new last name, supported her husband throughout the process and

thanked the victim's families for not pressing for the death penalty. She said, quote, I wish with all my heart that these events could have been avoided. However, she then shocked and upset some of the families by also saying the following quote, Eric, there's nothing you could do to make me love you any less. These words are just as true today as they were on that

afternoon. Oh my gosh. Yeah. These quotes come from CBS News.com and I always think about these sentencing hearings and, you know, okay, it's a lot tone raffle. Right. Well, I watched Dahmer and in one of the episodes, you see his victims' families come in and give statements and it's just all the emotion in that courtroom. I mean, you get a chance to say how you feel, but then you have to sit and listen to his wife get up and defend him. You know what I mean? And it's just hard. It's so much emotion packed into one, one little courtroom. Apparently a suicide note was found from around the time Eric turned himself in. And in it, he writes about his jealousy of the friendship between his future, all his wife, Lily and the victim Adrian.

Cause remember, they spend a lot of time together, but that, like, we still don't have a very clear motive here, was he going out to kill Adrian because of their friendship? It just, it all seems still a little confusing. Also, it's so selfish. Like, everything he's doing is so selfish. So it's like, well, I'm writing a suicide note

because I'm jealous. It's just all so selfish. My empathy is just zero. Right. I mean, I assume most everyone that's listening is probably the same. Right. But it's just that I feel like he's trying to get empathy

when it's all just, it's all selfish reasons. Right. Well, a huge investigation was done in this case, which ultimately led to the killer, right? However, what's been frustrating for law enforcement and for all of those involved, and I'm sure all of us listening, is trying to understand what the true motive could possibly have been for such a brutal crime. We're talking multiple stab wounds, stabbed to death to different girls.

Murder never makes sense, but that's especially true in this case. The DA in this case has a theory and he says it's all about Eric's relationship with Lily. November 1st, 2004 would have been their wedding day and instead, Eric was alone. That was the night the girls were killed. CBS News.com says, quote, he wanted Lily to be there for him. And I do think that he was resentful of other friendships that she had at the time that kind of took him away from them. One comment that Eric made at his sentencing was, quote,

I was afraid my relationship with Lily. The singular ray of light in my black world was in peril of collapsing. In his own tortured mind, Eric maybe believed Adrian was poisoning Lily's feelings for him. Maybe Adrian was the reason she had called off their wedding. And now Lily was supposed to save his life and he was so excited for this wedding and now he's placing the blame on Adrian possibly. But this theory still doesn't explain why he attacked Leslie first then. We know Leslie was

attacked first before Adrian. So there are rumors that maybe Eric had made a pass at Leslie and not only had she denied him but she threatened to tell Lily. But I've seen no credible source report that I think these are just like hometown murder or rumors. Yeah. I do believe that maybe his passing wedding day with a called off wedding that he was thinking was going to save him out of his depression and turn his life around could have been a trigger and he did fall into a pit of rage. Maybe he did go to attack Adrian, but he found Leslie first and couldn't control himself. Either way, it's all bad. That's just me trying to

make sense of this. By 2008, Eric and Lily were officially divorced. She changes her name back while he was serving his life sentence. The house in Napa, which was the scene of the brutal crime, was sold a few months after the murders. This case has been featured on snapped 48 hours and also a book was written about it called Nightmare in Napa by a 48 hours producer Paul La Rosa. The $100,000 reward money was never paid out since Eric Coppall turned himself in and confessed. However, instead of keeping the money, the businesses decided in 2007 to donate the money to various charitable causes with the majority of it going to causes chosen by the victim's families. The pain of losing a loved one to murder lasts a lifetime for the survivors of a crime.

I always say it and I'll say it one more time, there are always more victims than just one in these cases. Adrienne's mother has said, quote, she still fills the pain of her daughter's loss. But with the support of friends, acquaintances, and caring individuals in the valley, she said she's been able to gain some peace of mind. Quote, in the last couple of years, I have kind of rejoined the human race. It's never going to be the same, but now I am living life and experiencing joy and having fun. The way I'm living now is the new normal. Leslie's mother said, quote, I think that I'm certainly better, but there are reasons for that

citing her spiritual work and actually advocacy for abolishing the death penalty. And what about Lauren? Lauren is still alive, but like I said, based on the research I found, we're not going to dig into her, share her last name or anything like that, because she did survive the crime. She's a survivor, and I don't want to invade her privacy as the living victim. But that is the case of Leslie Ann Mazzara and Adrian Esanna, who were murdered on Halloween night. This case kind of frustrated me,

but I think it's because I feel like he did have a reason and I feel like he copped out by saying that he blocked out because then later he slowly starts getting to, well, it might have been this. Maybe I was mad. Maybe it was this. And he just probably didn't want to talk about it. And he just, it was easier from the say,

I don't know, I blocked out, but it was me put me in prison. And I know it's fine because I'm, I just, hopefully at this point, all the families have closure. And it's obviously hard to heal from that, but hopefully they have closure and they didn't need the other information. I think that's why it kind of upset me because it just felt like a selfish, obviously a selfish, anything that's to with murder selfish, but it just felt like a big cop out to me.

Right, and maybe it just would be nice to be able to look at the families and say, I was being selfish, I thought Adrian was taking or whatever the reason is. This is why I did it, I can't explain it, I was in a rage, I've being selfish. I thought Adrian was taking or whatever the reason is. This is why I did it. I can't explain it. I was in a rage. I've been suicidal. I was in a very bad spot, but this is why. And maybe it doesn't matter.

So I mean, maybe they don't care. Move it on now. So we're moving on, but. But it does feel like just one last thing. Correct. You know what I mean. All right, you guys. We hope you have a good week. And we will see you next time with another episode. I love it. And I hate thing. Correct. You know what I mean. Alright you guys, we hope you have a good week and we will see you next time with another

episode. I love it. And I hate it. Goodbye.