Murder With My Husband - 223 - The Infamous Interrogation of Ryan Waller

Episode Date: July 1, 2024

On this episode of MWMH, Payton and Garrett discuss the murders of Ryan Waller and Heather Quan. Links for Patreon, Podcast, and Social Media https://linktr.ee/murderwithmyhusband Ads: Prose: www.pros...e.com/mwmh  Betterhelp: www.betterhelp.com/husband HelloFresh.com/Husband14 and use code husband14 for up to 14 free meals, plus free shipping! Modern Fertility: www.modernfertility.com/husband - $20 off Case Sources: This is MONSTERS - The Story of Larry and Richie Carver EXPLORE WITH US - The Haunting Case of Ryan Waller The Waller Family - Ryan Waller Shooting https://celebsaga.com/ryan-waller-wikipedia-death-or-injuries/ https://medium.com/crimebeat/when-the-suspect-is-a-victim-f4a019da6999 https://www.maricopacountyattorney.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=185 https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/azcentral/name/heather-quan-obituary?pid=85856224 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:27 Benefits vary by card, other conditions apply. Hey everyone, it's Peyton here. I just wanted to check in before this episode starts. If you are an original Murder With My Husband listener, you might recognize the title and let me explain to you why. So as you guys know, last week I updated you that Garrett and I were having some family emergencies and life happens and we decided that we were both going
Starting point is 00:00:51 to pick one of our favorite Murder With My Husband episodes, just a Murder With My Husband original, something that really represents us and do a blast from the past, repost it, let you guys re-listen to it so that we can have a buffer and kind of get back on our feet over here. Again, everything is okay, just life happens and we need some time.
Starting point is 00:01:13 So I hope you guys can support this, re-listen to these episodes. They are two of our very best. Garrett and I took this decision very seriously and I'm excited for you to listen. Also keep in mind that there's still new content on Onomedia. We have Rise and Crime. I have Into the Dark which is posting new episodes, new content and then we're always over on TikTok, on Instagram posting things so you don't have to
Starting point is 00:01:37 miss us too much. Again, this is just a blast from the past. I hope this is fun to go back and re-listen to these episodes. They are good ones and you're not going to want to miss it. Okay? I love you guys and I'm just going to let you get into it. Hey everybody, welcome back to our podcast. This is Murder With My Husband. I'm Peyton Moreland. And I'm Garret Moreland.
Starting point is 00:01:55 And he's the husband. And I'm the husband. This week has been such a long week. It feels like it's been so long since we last recorded recorded but I feel a lot better just sitting down right here I feel like we have a community of love and support so thank you so much for making this be the place that I want to go after a long week we just wanted to say thanks to everyone who is supporting our ads and supporting us and supporting the show we really appreciate it and a reminder that patreon is ad free so if you'd rather support the show that way you can check it out at patreon.com slash murder with my husband
Starting point is 00:02:30 All right, Gare. We forgot your ten seconds last week. We had some difficulties and everyone has been waiting for it So what is your ten seconds? I am telling the story this week. Just kidding. You can't say that Oh my gosh, people really want you to tell the story. I should have paused a little bit longer just to see if everyone was like, oh my gosh. I keep telling him that you guys keep sending in a request for him to do it and he just, he won't do it. I will do one eventually. One of these days.
Starting point is 00:02:58 Okay, but what's your real 10 seconds? My real 10 seconds, a couple. I'm still playing pickleball. Arlan is still green. And the last one is the other day I was scrolling through the DMs and there's a DM that said a group of us, a group of guys, they listened to the podcast and it's a bunch of construction workers and they all work on it while they're building homes. I don't know exactly. I forgot
Starting point is 00:03:21 because it was a while ago and I just tried to find it but I couldn't find it I forgot because it was a while ago. Yeah, and I just try to find it But I couldn't find it, but he said if you could do a shout out, that'd be awesome I thought it was I thought it'd be pretty funny. They're all like working it. Anyways, so I saw the DM shout out Our DMs have been very packed and we are very behind and they've been flooded and so we're trying our best But just know that we are seeing your messages and you are not forgotten about because there are a lot in there right now. Anyways, I hope they're listening to this.
Starting point is 00:03:51 Yeah, me too. Okay, so our case sources this week is some YouTube videos. This is Monsters, explore with us, the Waller family, and then also celebsaga.com, medium.com, maricopa-county-att, attorney.org and legacy.com. So our case this week begins in 2006 in Glendale, Arizona. It's actually Christmas Day and families everywhere are spending time together on their days off, but specifically father and husband Don Waller is looking forward to Christmas dinner that night with all of his children.
Starting point is 00:04:25 But as dinner starts and the Waller's adult son, 18-year-old Ryan Waller, fails to show up for the family dinner, the whole entire family is confused. They try calling, but they get no answer and their confusion turns into worry when the night comes to a close and they still haven't seen or heard from their son Ryan. Don decides to head over to his son's apartment in the late hours of Christmas night, but he also actually calls the police to have them come along and be the ones to conduct the welfare check on his son at his apartment in Phoenix. So with Don Waller waiting outside, the police arrive at the apartment.
Starting point is 00:05:02 They knock, but no one answers. They announce themselves and knock again, and this is when they hear the deadbolt unlock from the other side of the door. Standing there at the door is missing Ryan Waller himself. He's alive, but he does have an intense bruise over one eye that is now like completely swollen shut. Like you can't even see his eyeball.
Starting point is 00:05:24 He also has some other minor scratches can't even see his eyeball. Okay. He also has some other minor scratches and bruises to his face. The police ask him like, hi, are you Ryan Waller? And he doesn't reply. He just looks at them. They tell him they are here to conduct a welfare check because his father called them because he missed the family's Christmas dinner that night. And once again, Ryan really doesn't respond.
Starting point is 00:05:44 He just kind of stares at the police. They look inside the house from the front porch kind of like looking around him and they notice a woman laying on the couch. They ask Ryan, okay hey what happened to your eye? Like why is it black? Why is it swollen shut? And once again he says nothing. I wonder, I was gonna say it sounds like there's almost someone behind him. Well there is a woman laying on the couch behind him. A little on edge, the police ask him, hey is that your girlfriend Heather on the couch? They tell him your dad told us that she was supposed to come along too, that you had been with her, so we're checking to make sure she's okay too. And Ryan responds with I don't, I don't know. He, I don't know who that is on the couch.
Starting point is 00:06:26 They ask him, okay, well, is that woman back there sleeping? And Ryan becomes defensive. He says he doesn't know, he becomes very annoyed with them. He's being short, he's rolling his eyes. Police tell him, hey, well, we need to go inside. We need to check on her too. Like we're here for your girlfriend, Heather too. Ryan becomes agitated with them at this point.
Starting point is 00:06:46 He says, he says, no, he's like, no, you can't come in. And they say, okay, Ryan, calm down. We're the police and we get to come in because we need to like perform this welfare check. But Ryan really isn't using like complete sentences. It's more just like short answers. He just seems very annoyed with cops. Eventually the police tell him he's gonna have to move over so they can check on her and so he does step aside.
Starting point is 00:07:08 Upon entry into Ryan's apartment, Phoenix police come upon a disturbing scene. 21 year old Heather Kwan, Ryan Waller's girlfriend, is on the couch, but it's pretty clear to police that she is not asleep or alive or well. She's dead, huh? Heather is dead on the living room couch. Police noted that she had been shot in the head. Don Waller, Ryan's father, is waiting outside for any news.
Starting point is 00:07:35 He is relieved when the front door opens and the police walk out with what appears to be his son. The bruise on the side of Ryan's face kind of made him do a double take. But after a second look, he confirms that is his son, Ryan Wallise on the side of Ryan's face kind of made him do a double take, but after a second look he confirms that is his son Ryan Waller walking out with police. The relief Don fills is quickly overcome with confusion when he also notices that the police are escorting his son Ryan out of the apartment in handcuffs. Ryan is taken to a police car and put into the back seat of it, like basically in holding. Phoenix police had dispatched paramedics for Heather to also assess the situation.
Starting point is 00:08:08 And when they arrived shortly after around 1.30 AM, they rushed in to tend to Heather, but they too confirm Heather's status and they deem her too far gone. Like there's nothing they can do. The responders walk back out to their vehicle and they drive away. This seems too simple.
Starting point is 00:08:26 Like he just answered the door, his girlfriend's dead on the couch inside. Like it seems like he's annoyed. He doesn't want him to come in. Right. There's going to be more to the story. Well, I'll find out. So why was Ryan Waller would appear to be injured, but sitting handcuffed in the back of a police car while paramedics drove away?
Starting point is 00:08:44 Police say that after finding Heather dead on the couch, they asked him what happened. He once again wouldn't talk much. He just kept saying he didn't know. Almost like he's in shock. Almost like he's in shock. They ask him why he was in there with her dead on the couch and like didn't call the police. He ignores them. He says he doesn't know. He doesn't know. When he would talk, he would like kind of contradict his last sentence. He doesn't know what happened, but he mentions the names Alicia and Eric, like out of the blue, he just starts mentioning these people. The strange behavior from a very conscious and coherent and also alive Ryan, combined with his dead girlfriend
Starting point is 00:09:21 on the couch, made police suspicious and they immediately look at him as a suspect. They quickly assumed that Ryan and Heather had gotten into a fight that morning that escalated to him shooting her and so they're going to bring him in for questioning. What I thought is weird is it didn't seem like he was trying to hide her. Well, he was like annoyed and agitated, but it was very obvious. There was a woman on the couch behind him. He didn't like put her in a different room. Yeah, nothing. When someone knocked on the door, like nothing. But he was defensive when the police got there. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:09:51 So as Don Waller stands outside watching the scene unfold, which is police investigating the crime scene, the medical examiner looking at Heather Kwan's lifeless body inside, Ryan Waller is eventually driven away to the police station to be interrogated. He had been sitting in the back of the police car for over three hours as they like sat there and worked the crime scene, got the paramedics there, sent them away. And they eventually arrive with him at the station around 5 a.m.
Starting point is 00:10:18 So we are now going to dissect the infamous hour long interrogation footage of Ryan Waller. And this footage is what breaks this case. So hold onto your seats. Every detail in this interrogation is vital, which is why we will be dissecting it. We will try to insert some of this footage onto YouTube and maybe some audio clips here and there. So the footage begins with Ryan alone, sitting alone in the interrogation room.
Starting point is 00:10:45 He is now changed into a white jumpsuit. He's handcuffed to the table with one arm. He has a very noticeable large and graphic bruise to one of his eyes. It's so large that you can see that his eye is swollen shut from the corner camera that's in the room. He also has noticeable bruises on his face. As he sits alone in the room, you can tell that he's uncomfortable, he's agitated, and occasionally he lets out like these short moans, like or sighs or moans, like he's just, he's not talking,
Starting point is 00:11:17 he's just kind of letting out these noises. He stands up and sits down multiple times, but he's still handcuffed to the table. So every time he stands up, he like gets gets tugged on and then he sits back down. I think it's strange that he hasn't denied anything yet like it wasn't me I don't know what happened or... Yeah nothing nothing just I don't know I don't know throws a few names out. Eventually a detective comes into the room to take some pictures of Ryan and
Starting point is 00:11:41 it's during these pictures that Ryan talks really for the first time in the footage. I just want to go home. You're not gonna go home. I know. They're like, hey, can you turn to the side? And he'll turn and then just say, I just want to go home. I just want to go to sleep.
Starting point is 00:11:58 I just want to go home. That's all he's saying. The detective kind of mumbles back to Ryan at this point. You can hear him and he says, you should go to the doctor if you're going anywhere. And Ryan's like, why? Is it because of my eye? And he's like, yeah. And Ryan says, is my eye bad? And the detective tells him, yeah, I would say it's really bad. During all of this, Ryan is still periodically letting out like these weird noises. Eventually, another detective comes in to start the interrogation. And one of the first things he asks Ryan is if he knows why he's in here and being questioned.
Starting point is 00:12:35 Ryan says no. He's fidgety and distressed. He can't stop moving. And from an outside perspective, it's almost like he's really annoyed that he's sitting in there being questioned. Has he not looked in the mirror at his eye? No. He didn't know what his eye looked like, yeah. But it's swollen shut, like he can't even, and it's big, like the bruise is almost half of his face. I can just imagine him going like, is it bad?
Starting point is 00:12:57 Yeah, he points up to it and he goes, is it really bad? Okay. When the detective begins to read Ryan his Miranda rights, he asks Ryan if he's ever seen cops or CSI to try to explain to him like what he's doing. And Ryan goes, no. And the detective is like, you haven't seen cops? And he's like, no. He goes, okay, well, I'm reading you your rights. And then Ryan goes, yes, I have seen it. What? So the detective's already like, okay. After the detective reads Ryan his rights, he asks him, okay, what's the highest grade
Starting point is 00:13:32 you made it into school? Like he's trying to get some details on Ryan. He's, I mean, detectives do this. They like set up a relationship with them first before they jump right into the heavy questions, right? So he says, what's the highest grade you made it to in school? And Ryan says, I don't know. I don't know. And he's like, well, like, did you like, did you graduate? What's
Starting point is 00:13:51 the highest grade? And he says, eighth grade. Did you graduate? Yeah. Have they talked to the dad at this point? Yes, they've talked to him, but not a not a ton. Like they just said, we're taking him in for questioning basically so the detective says Do you have a GED? I don't know You don't know what? I don't know I just want to go home
Starting point is 00:14:17 You're not going to go home right now He basically just he wants to go home That's how it feels. Yes. So the detective asks Ryan, okay, do you have a girlfriend? And Ryan just kind of goes, he then asks if he knows Heather
Starting point is 00:14:34 because Heather is the woman on the couch. And so he's, the detective is kind of like, he's ignoring me. So I've got to start jumping into like these questions. So he says, do you know Heather? And Ryan says, mm-hmm. And he says, okay, what's Heather's know Heather? And Ryan says, mm-hmm. And he says, okay, what's Heather's last name? And he says, mm-hmm.
Starting point is 00:14:48 What in the world is going on? He says, okay, what's the last name? And Ryan's like, I don't know her last name. And he's like, you don't know Heather's last name. And he goes, it's Kymann, which is not Heather's last name. And he says he can't spell Kymann. He's like, it's Kymann, okay, can you spell Kymann?
Starting point is 00:15:06 And he's like, no. So the detective's like, why is he lying about these simple things that don't matter? Like he knows Heather, but he's not telling me her real last name. Yeah, I mean, he doesn't sound like he's there at all. Exactly. The detective is like obviously suspicious of this behavior.
Starting point is 00:15:23 Ryan is acting like he barely knows Heather, even though Heather was just found in his house where she was murdered. Ryan was dating Heather, and no matter what happened at that house, he would have feelings about what he's being asked, but he's acting like he wasn't even there. He's like not even pretending to care.
Starting point is 00:15:42 He asks how old Heather is, and Ryan says 16 or 17. We know Heather is 21 years old. The detective asks more questions about Heather and the majority of the answers from Ryan are, I don't know, or sentences that don't really make much sense like we've seen before. Eventually the detective asks Ryan what happened to his face.
Starting point is 00:16:02 You remember who hit you? Oh, I don't know. I think it was Heather. You remember who hit you? Oh, I don't know. I think it was Heather. Why would Heather hit you? I don't know. It was an accident. I forget why. What was an accident?
Starting point is 00:16:14 Heather's last name? No. What was an accident? Heather hitting me. He just completely jumped back to the subject they were talking about earlier. Yeah. Even though they had moved on to Heather hitting him. So do they keep interviewing him? Are they gonna just stop and be like we need to take a break?
Starting point is 00:16:32 Well, so I think the detective here is thinking this is pretty common like sometimes if they're questioning someone they'll go in and they'll purposely act like this or they'll purposely lie or be defensive or be like too smart for the detective. And it's not like, I mean, he's acting agitated. He's frustrated. He's raising his voice. He's like, I don't know. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:16:56 He's acting annoyed. And so I think the detective is also on edge. You know what I mean? Yeah. So despite the confusion, the randomness and the irritation in Ryan's voice, the detective keeps on asking about the injury, but his answers only get worse from here. Ryan says that Heather hit him with her hand
Starting point is 00:17:15 and then when he's asked why, he replies with, she was helping Christina with her head doing her hair. And the detective is like, Ryan, who is Christina? And Ryan says she's on the couch. And the detective asks, Okay, what's Christina's last name? Like, what does Christina look like? And Ryan raises his voice and in a very annoyed tone says, I don't know, I really don't know, man. So confused. So the detective asks more questions about this new Christina. But after some more annoyed, I don't know, man. So confused. So the detective asks more questions about this new Christina.
Starting point is 00:17:47 But after some more annoyed I don't knows, the detective displays frustration. He begins shaking his head. You can tell he's annoyed. He's probably so confused as well. And he's just annoyed with Ryan's behavior. Like, Ryan's not answering any questions. He's ignoring him half the time.
Starting point is 00:18:01 So at this point, the detective starts asking Ryan about a couple different people that he had like mentioned earlier back at the crime scene and Ryan claims to know none of them. So after some back and forth of this the detective just jumps right to the point. He's annoyed you can tell he's annoyed so he just jumps right to it. He asks Ryan what happened last night. What happened last night? I don't know. You don't know? I really don't. I just wanna go to sleep and go to sleep. The detective tries asking more questions
Starting point is 00:18:33 about Christina on the couch, and Ryan says, no, Heather was on the couch. Oh my gosh, this is giving me a headache. So when the detective confronts him about the contradiction in his statement, he's like, Ryan, you just said Christina was on the couch. Ryan once again raises his voice. He's moving, he's agitated, he's slamming down in his chair.
Starting point is 00:18:53 And he says, I don't know, I just want to go to sleep, man. I just want to go to sleep. The detective asks, okay, we're going to start over. What happened last night? He's like, I don't know. The detective is like, why is your nose all beat up? He's like, I don't know. Who is Heather? Eric's girlfriend. Okay, Heather's Eric's girlfriend? No, she's my girlfriend. I don't know. I don't know. I just want to go to sleep. I don't know. I don't know
Starting point is 00:19:17 how the detective is still asking him questions. I'd be so frustrated. I'm frustrated and you're just listening to this. So once again, the detective asks, okay, let's go back to what he just said. So Heather hit you in the eye, right? Like you said that earlier, Heather hit you in the eye. Ryan goes, no, Alicia did. He's just saying random names.
Starting point is 00:19:38 What is going on? So the detective asks, okay, then why did Alicia hit you? And he says, she probably hit it on something. Confused, the detective asks, okay, then why did Alicia hit you? And he says, she probably hit it on something. Confused, the detective asks, hit what on something? And he's like, I don't know, I don't know. So as you can tell, this interrogation is going in circles. It's not cohesive, it's not productive. But it's as if the only, like only the detective knows that.
Starting point is 00:20:01 It seems like Ryan isn't even comprehending or recognizing how his story is changing. Like he can't even keep up with the conversation enough to realize that he just said it was Heather and then Alicia and then Christina. Only the detective is like, am I real? Like, is this happening right now? Is this what's really going on?
Starting point is 00:20:21 So the detective just flat out kind of tells Ryan in a very forceful voice, you know that girl in your house is dead. That girl that was behind you in the house, she's dead. And Ryan says, Heather? And the detective says, you tell me. And Ryan says, the girl on the couch is dead? And he says, I don't know if she's on the couch. Ryan then says something that will confuse everyone even more. Well, these people came over, Ruchi and his dad, with a shooting arrow, bow and darts. You know what I'm talking about?
Starting point is 00:20:55 Yeah. They hit me and her with those. That's it. And Heather wasn't there. And Eric wasn't there. It was just me and Heather it's like he's in a dream right now Yes So Ryan has now been in the interrogation room for over 30 minutes
Starting point is 00:21:12 And this is the first time that he's mentioned intruders coming over like really it's the first time he's talked about any Possibility of what could have happened that night And he also name drops Richie and his dad, these two, another two names. So the detective, thinking that Ryan is finally creating a fake story that somewhat explains how his girlfriend was dead on his couch, asks them again, okay, okay, so what,
Starting point is 00:21:38 tell me exactly what happened. Ryan says that Richie and his dad tried to break in through the back and that Richie used to live there in that apartment as a roommate of his. And that Richie and his dad hit him because they were trying to get their stuff. So the detective then asks, okay, and they did this with a bow and an arrow. And Ryan says, mm-hmm, they each had two revolvers and they didn't let off any shells. So the detective, extremely annoyed, tells Ryan, you just said they had bows and arrows.
Starting point is 00:22:08 He's not even, he's speaking English, but he's not speaking English. He's like, you just said they had bows and arrows and now they have revolvers? And Ryan goes, no, that's what I meant. They had revolvers. I meant they had revolvers. So this next part is the most important part
Starting point is 00:22:23 of this whole footage. The detective asks, okay, what happened next? And Ryan says, they shot us both. And the detective says, they shot both of you with revolvers? And Ryan says, yeah, they shot me in my eye. They have revolvers. Yes. And then what happened? And then they shot us both. They shot both of you? Yeah. Where'd they shoot you at?
Starting point is 00:22:47 I got shot in the eye. You got shot in the eye? I think so. With a revolver? I think. I don't know man, I don't know. Holy crap. And the detective says you don't know a lot Ryan and he says did you shoot Heather? And Ryan's like no I didn't shoot Heather. The detective says, tell me the truth, Ryan. He's so frustrated. Ryan says, Richie and his dad came over, and I don't know, I don't know, they came over. He says that they put him in a sleeping hold,
Starting point is 00:23:19 and he lived through it. I'm almost starting to believe him, because this story is so confusing. Yes. So the detective's like, OK, Ryan, what's a sleeping hold? And he just continues to say, I don't know. I really don't know.
Starting point is 00:23:33 The detective confronts him with what has gone on in this interrogation. He says, OK, Ryan, listen up. According to you, Heather hit you. No, Alicia hit you. No, Heather and Christina are on the couch. Never mind, Alicia, Christina, and Eric aren't even there. Richie and his dad broke in through the back and shot him with bows. Never mind, it was revolvers
Starting point is 00:23:52 and then they shot him in the eye. And he's like, mm-hmm. The detective is like, okay, was the gun a BB gun? Ryan goes, no, it was a revolver. The detective says, Ryan, if they shot you in the eye with a revolver you wouldn't be talking to me right now. Ryan says, how do you know? He says, because you'd be dead. Ryan says, well I thought that too man. He just says over and over he wants to go to sleep, he wants to go to bed. The detective says, that's not going to happen bud. Like your girlfriend was just found dead on your couch and you're lying right now. You can't even tell a straight story. He asks if Richie and his dad shot Heather after they broke in through the back door of the kitchen. Ryan says yes and this part takes a lot of pull from like an insinuation from the detective
Starting point is 00:24:38 as he tries to piece together Ryan's story for him. And so he's like maybe Richie and his dad knocked and you open the door and they push their way in and they shot you and he's like yeah yeah yeah and he goes and then they shot Heather in the face and he's like yeah yeah. Oh and Ryan says that during this time he was trying to get up off the ground but he saw Heather sleeping so he just laid back down. Okay. The detective says none of this makes sense. He confronts Ryan saying right now You're saying that you've been shot in the eye with a revolver Ryan says yes, the detective doesn't believe him He tells Ryan to tell the truth. He asks him what happened to Heather last night
Starting point is 00:25:16 What did you do to Heather last night and Ryan says? Her dad came and shot up the whole house. Oh my gosh I can't so the detective at this point, you can see, he throws his arms up in the air in frustration. I've seen some pretty frustrating interrogations where people are lying. They're not telling the truth. I've never seen a detective so frustrated.
Starting point is 00:25:37 He throws his arms up, and he's like, her dad came and shot up the house. And he's like, yeah. And he goes, so Richie is Heather's dad Ryan says mm-hmm Ryan says that after he was shot in the eye he tried to go back to sleep and he didn't call 911 because he wanted to go to sleep because the detectives like okay well if Richie Heather's dad who is not Heather's dad by the way Heather's dad is not no but according to Ryan's story right now
Starting point is 00:26:03 it is after he shot her why didn't Ryan call 911? He's like, well, I just wanted to go to sleep, man. He's like, okay. So the detective asks, why did you shoot Heather Ryan? He goes, I didn't. She was shot once by her brother, I swear. So it was Richie, her dad, and now her brother. The detective says, and you were shot in the eye too.
Starting point is 00:26:24 Ryan says yes. Okay, I want to reiterate something to you. The whole half of his face basically is black. His eye is completely swollen shut. So I'm thinking, don't know, so when he said he got shot, does he mean he actually got shot with a gun or a bow and arrow? He said no, I meant a revolver. He said I got shot with a gun or a bow and arrow? He said, no, I meant a revolver. He said I got shot with the revolver. So I'm thinking that a revolver, he had a gun or there was a gun and a revolver hit his face. Oh, like with the butt of the gun or whatever? That's what I'm kind of thinking. Not that he was actually shot with a bow and arrow.
Starting point is 00:27:01 But he was hit with one and that's why he's saying that. Yeah. Okay, so at this point, with all of the things going on, with him being so agitated, with him talking in circles, not making sense. I think, sorry, before you go on, I think he probably has a concussion. Yes. I mean, half of his face is bruised.
Starting point is 00:27:20 So that could be why he's speaking like this. I have no idea. Yeah. So the detective at this point, his frustration starts to turn into like worry. Okay. Because he's like, Something's wrong.
Starting point is 00:27:34 Something's wrong. Like he's like, something's wrong. I'm not sure what's going on, but he's not even making sense. All he wants to do is go to sleep. And so he's like like he starts to worry so he asks Ryan hey can I take a closer look at your face because he starts to think okay maybe this guy has a really bad concussion and he needs to be seeing
Starting point is 00:27:53 a doctor right now not talking to me so he says can I take a closer look at your wounds he stands up and he's still a little frustrated you can tell but he's trying to figure out what's going on so he looks at Ryan's face and the second he touches like Ryan's head, Ryan goes, Oh, my head hurts. So the detective like abruptly gets up and exits the room at this point. Like he just walks out of the room and when he comes back into the room, it's like a completely new detective, but it's the same guy. His demeanor has changed the way he's talking. His changed.
Starting point is 00:28:28 He comes walking back in and in a very compassionate and calm voice, he tells Ryan that the fire department is coming back and they're going to take him over to the hospital. They've, they've dispatched the fire department to come look at him. Okay. Ryan goes, you're taking me to the hospital? And he's like, yeah. And he goes, why? I don't want to go to the hospital. I just want to go to bed. And the cop uncuffs him and says, we just need to make sure you're okay. The cop uncuffs him. So he was a suspect and he was cuffed, but now he's uncuffed. All right. So what happened? He just needs to make
Starting point is 00:29:01 sure he's okay. So they both sit there and they wait despite Ryan's pleas to go to sleep. He's like, I don't want to go to the hospital. I just want to go to sleep. Finally, the paramedics enter the room and as they do, the detective mumbles, you're not going to believe this one. He tells them, I looked closer at his face. He keeps telling me that he was shot or hit by a revolver And he starts whispering and he says, I think these wounds right here near the nose is a gunshot entrance that passed through his nose and went into his eye. Oh my gosh. So he's actually shot.
Starting point is 00:29:36 So the fire department walks in, they start looking at him and it's a big rush. Holy crap. And you guys are all probably as heartbroken and sick as I was when I first heard this because now what you know, this whole story is awful. Yeah, like he was telling the truth. He was telling the truth.
Starting point is 00:29:56 But he couldn't speak because he was just shot in the face. He literally has a bullet in his eye. Holy crap. Yes, so Ryan Waller was shot in the face, the bullet lodging in his head. And then he was forced to wait in his house, holding on to life, until the police showed up and arrested him, holding him in the backseat of a cop car for hours, and then demanding he talk to them, treating him
Starting point is 00:30:24 like he was a criminal for almost a whole hour before finally calling for medical attention to him. So they literally had no idea. I mean, could you just not tell that he was shot? You couldn't tell he was shot. There was no blood. I mean, you would think if someone was shot in the face,
Starting point is 00:30:40 they would die, number one. And number two, there was no blood. But looking at him and we will post pictures, he needed to see medical attention. The second he answered the door and they saw his face. Yeah, I haven't seen the picture yet. That is how bad his face is. Like I'm saying the tiny little corner,
Starting point is 00:30:59 like you can see how injured his face is just from the corner camera. Poor guy. I don't know how paramedics showed up You can see how injured his face is just from the corner camera poor guy. I Don't know how Paramedics showed up to look at Heather on the couch to make sure he was she was dead While Ryan was in the back of the cop car and they never once stopped to make sure he was okay Okay, even though half of his face was black and you couldn't even see his eye because it was so swollen. So did he live? Is he okay?
Starting point is 00:31:27 So Ryan Waller was actually held by police for roughly six hours with a bullet in his brain. How was he a lot? Wait, a bullet was in his brain? Yes, it's in his eye, which went into his brain. And he had obvious signs of trauma and pain. Like he was sounding like he was not okay He wasn't even speaking coherent sentences six hours during which he was experiencing worsening brain damage
Starting point is 00:31:55 Six hours where he could have been getting surgery for his active injuries and at this point the police department is hoping that it's not true They're hoping this isn't a bullet because if if it is, there really is a bullet in Ryan's head. They have neglected a victim for hours. Even after he had tried to tell them he had been shot. He said, I've been shot and they sat in there for another 30 minutes questioning him. At 6 30 a.m. Ryan was taken to the hospital after casually walking out of the room when they tell
Starting point is 00:32:26 him his ambulance is there. This part of the video was gut-wrenching to watch because he there's a piece of paper that they put on the table so if he has notes he wants to write he can and as he gets up they're like hey buddy your ambulance is here and he stands up and he looks at the table and he grabs this piece of paper that has no writing on it at all And he walks out with it He grabs it like it's important and he walks out with it because he's that confused or guy and my heart just breaks for him in that moment I That's so hard because I
Starting point is 00:32:58 Don't I don't know. I mean I wasn't there but the way you were telling it. It just sounded like he was being kind of crazy I don't know but I'm sure if maybe if I saw his face I would have thought differently yeah well after being rushed to the hospital with what doctors determined to be life-threatening injuries and in critical condition police went back to Ryan's apartment and checked it out they tracked down Richie the possible ex-roommate that Ryan had been kind of talking about, and discovered that Ryan's sad and fogged recollection of the events that night were true. On December 23rd, 2006, Ryan and Heather were
Starting point is 00:33:38 spending a night in together eating pizza, being in love, when they heard a knock at the door. Some sources say that Richie and Ryan had actually gotten into a fight when they like lived together that possibly involved a standoff with guns and so Richie came back that night for revenge. Richie and his dad, Larry, ambushed Ryan and Heather. Ryan fought back trying to force the door closed. So they knocked. He opened it, realized it was them, tried to force it closed. But Richie got his arm through the door and shot Ryan in the face twice. Oh my gosh, that's horrible.
Starting point is 00:34:16 The first bullet was the one the detective finally noticed. And the other one actually skimmed the side of his head, taking a piece of his skull and then exiting. Ryan fell to the floor and Richie and Larry pushed their way in. They reportedly only walked over to Heather on the couch and shot her because she was a witness. They took some weapons and a computer from the house and they left thinking both Ryan and Heather were inside dead. Richie Carver was sentenced to a term of natural life in 2008 and Larry, his father, initially was released because the only physical evidence from the crime was only linked to Richie and all police had were Larry's wife's confession that he
Starting point is 00:34:56 told her he did it so they had to let him go because Did Richie not tell them that his dad was with him? But according to AJ Wiseman with TheMedium. medium calm Heather Kwan's family actually appealed to Arizona Legislators to use what is now known as Heather's law which revokes the marital privilege law So Larry Carver was finally reindicted in November 2011 and he was convicted of first-degree murder and is also Serving a life term is so crazy. I didn't think that he was convicted of first-degree murder and is also serving a life term. It's so crazy. I didn't think that he was shot. I thought maybe he was just, oh my gosh, I'm mind blown. Yeah. So after being rushed to the hospital, Ryan was immediately taken into surgery where they had to remove a section of his brain. He had a
Starting point is 00:35:44 shattered eye socket, swelling, bleeding, bone and a section of his brain. He had a shattered eye socket, swelling, bleeding, bone and bullet fragments in his brain. It's also known for sure that his one eye was removed due to the damage, but there is speculation that the hospital actually removed both eyes in order to appropriately fix the damage to the brain. So this guy sat here with the police and then went to surgery and got both of his eyes taken out because it was that bad. So he's permanently blind. Okay. If you remember,
Starting point is 00:36:12 I said that this happened the night of the 23rd, but Ryan wasn't found until Christmas, the night of the 25th. So this means not only was Ryan held by police for that long, he also spent almost two whole days shot and confused in his apartment with his girlfriend decomposing on the couch. It's crazy. No one knows what happened during this time, but it's heartbreaking to even think about those two days that he spent so confused in his house. So if you're confused right now, you have to understand that Ryan was shot in the brain. It ruined the part of his brain. He couldn't function. He could,
Starting point is 00:36:54 he could function like he could talk. He could walk. He could kind of follow a conversation, but he wasn't there. He wasn't there. His brain had been shot. He's more just kind of like a robot. Like he, it took a ton of pushing for him to even be able to say I was shot. I don't even think he knew he had been shot until this detective and pushed him over and over and over again.
Starting point is 00:37:18 And he was trying so hard to remember that he finally like said it. And this is why he said, bow and arrow, no revolver no Heather no Alicia or guy he was just and this is why he wanted to go to sleep yeah he was in so much pain but he because he had been shot in the brain he couldn't look at the detective and say I've been shot I need help yeah he couldn't he couldn't say it Ryan's life after the injury has remained private out of respect for him and his family.
Starting point is 00:37:47 He was permanently blind though, but because of the injuries, Ryan also repeatedly suffered seizures. And heartbreakingly, he passed away at the age of 28 on January 21st, 2016, due to a seizure caused by these injuries. So to me, that means that Ryan was not an attempted murder by Richie and Larry Carver. He was murdered by Richie and Larry Carver because he died at a very young age because
Starting point is 00:38:17 of the injuries from them. According to a YouTube comment supposedly from the Waller family on this is monsters episode about this case The Waller family said for all of you that have asked if we filed a lawsuit against the Phoenix police We did we had a 15 million dollar lawsuit against the city of Phoenix The lawsuit went on for nearly three and a half years and just three weeks before the trial was set to start, the city filed a motion for dismissal with the court because they had stated that they had found a brain expert that said the six hour delay where Ryan was with the cops in Ryan's treatment probably didn't make a difference in his outcome and that he would have had the same damage had he received treatment right away or six hours later.
Starting point is 00:39:03 The Waller family says, I paid an expert witness brain surgeon a $10,000 retainer and he would have testified something a whole lot different. He would have testified that when a brain is bleeding it is swelling and when it is swelling catastrophic damage is being done so every minute that he was with the police was critical. Totally. This motion went before Judge Robert Boudoff and he dismissed our case. There's no doubt in my heart or mind that he was paid off. There's no way that this should have been dismissed. There were many other issues besides the six hour delay.
Starting point is 00:39:36 What about pain and suffering? What about extremely irresponsible negligence? The City of Phoenix attorneys, police officers, and detectives involved in this case were collectively corrupt in getting this case dismissed and swept under the rug. We were three weeks from getting our day in court when magically they got this case dismissed because they knew if it had gone to a jury, there's no way they would have had a chance. But rather than take responsibility for their horrible crimes, they showed they are not much better than the two men that shot Heather and Ryan. Dang. Poor Heather and Ryan. Hey poor Heather and Ryan, that's horrible. And even if Ryan looked only badly beaten, he should have been examined first. If you remember one of
Starting point is 00:40:15 the first things said in the interrogation video is a detective saying if you're gonna need to go see anything you need to go see a doctor. Yeah. Him saying is my eye that bad Yeah, I would say it's really bad. So they knew. They knew that something was wrong, but they just thought he was the suspect. Once again, the boyfriend, the husband is the first suspect always, which is how he was immediately treated as a suspect. No one has been held liable or accountable for the negligence that happened that day.
Starting point is 00:40:43 It was really disturbing for me, and I cried watching the interrogation footage knowing what we all know now. You feel so disgusted when this sweet victim with a bullet in his brain who is barely functioning walks in this room is moaning. It almost seemed comical like it was an act. But think if you can sit here and say,
Starting point is 00:41:03 this is almost comical, it doesn't make sense. Where was the adult in the room saying, this doesn't make sense. Something's going on. Something is wrong. Where was the adult to say, half of his face is black. There is a hole in his nose. The bullet entered the tip of his nose,
Starting point is 00:41:20 exited through the side of his nose and lodged in his eye. There is a bullet hole in his nose and No medical treatment for six hours. Yeah, it's insane He was in such distress. He was so confused He's in so much pain in the video and you can tell the human body is a complex thing and you want to believe that if he Had been shot he wouldn't be able to talk he wouldn't be able to to walk, but his brain had been hit. He had immense swelling and bleeding. His thoughts were second by second. He was living in the moment. That's why he didn't remember what he had been asked before or after. Like his brain just wasn't there. He was in survival mode and I think the only reason he was
Starting point is 00:41:59 able to actually recall what happened was because the detective was pushing him so hard and he just kept saying, I don't know. I don't know, man. He was frustrated. He couldn't remember. He couldn't figure it out. Ryan Waller is a hero. He was strong enough to capture his and his girlfriend's murderers all on his own. After being shot twice, he was able to say what happened after being shot twice. He cared and he fought
Starting point is 00:42:26 So there is this website called legacy.com where people can be remembered and Heather Marie Kwan has a profile on there So you can log on and you can read the amazing things people have written about her and who she was before She was a victim of this senseless crime. It's really beautiful. Like I love this website. I will be using it from here on out. Heather was a graduate of Mountain Ridge High School. She completed her education at Glendale Community College. And at the time of the crime, she was a student at ASU. She wanted to become a defense attorney. She was a volunteer as a big sister
Starting point is 00:43:00 with the Valley Big Brother Sister Program. She gave friendship to those who needed it most and she was strong-willed. So we are taking this day to remember Heather and Ryan and what they went through, Heather being a victim of a senseless crime and Ryan being a victim of a senseless crime and then continued to be treated as a suspect.
Starting point is 00:43:20 So crazy, when you were telling the story, I had no idea. I thought honestly, because I didn't see any pictures of him. Yes. So you were telling the story, I had no idea. I thought, honestly, because I didn't see any pictures of him. So you were just reading me the interview or telling the story of the interview. It just sounded like he was like on drugs. Like I said, like it didn't sound, it didn't sound real. And here's my thing.
Starting point is 00:43:41 Like if you, I kind of wish we could go back. If you would have showed me the picture, if that would have changed how I was viewing the story. I mean, it's bad. Like he looks badly beaten up, but he's talking. He's walking. He's being defensive. So I think-
Starting point is 00:43:57 You thought maybe they thought he was just on drugs or something. And I think when he first answers the door, you're not like, oh, this is a victim. But the second he can't put a sentence together, this is why this interrogation footage is so infamous. Because he's sitting there the whole time with two gunshot wounds to his head.
Starting point is 00:44:15 Horrible, I thought there was gonna be some good news, but there was- No one's been held accountable. There's no good news, Heather died. Brian died. It's, yeah. What we can do is continue to tell the story and help him receive the justice, like publicly that he deserves and help Heather be recognized.
Starting point is 00:44:35 Yeah. That is this episode for this week. Thank you again for all of your support. We love you guys so much and we will see you guys next week with another episode. I love it. And I hate it. Goodbye

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