Lost Hills investigates the dark side of Malibu, California. Beneath a seductive facade, this city of billionaires, celebrities, and surf bums is hiding something menacing. On September 16, 2009, 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for failing to pay her bill at a restaurant in Malibu, CA. After being released from Lost Hills Station shortly after midnight, she disappeared. Eleven months later, her naked, skeletal remains were discovered in a canyon some six miles away. For nearly 15 years, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Mitrice’s friends and family, and generations of internet sleuths have tried to crack the case. To this day, her death remains an unsolved mystery. The truth lies in the remote Malibu community where Mitrice was last seen. And now, finally, people are starting to talk. Hosted by Dana Goodyear (The New Yorker) and produced by Western Sound and Pushkin Industries. Show artwork copyright Francesca Gabbiani. Subscribe to Pushkin plus to hear the whole season early, and ad free. Find Pushkin plus on the Lost Hills show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm. Follow us @losthillspod on Twitter and Instagram for a deeper dive into the stories.
Enjoy this episode from Cautionary Tales. In 1827, Edinburgh, Scotland was a world centre for anatomical study, but there was a shortage of cadavers for medical students to dissect. Two men, William Burke and William Hare, spotted a grim business opportunity. They began sourcing bodies - by any means possible...
Host Tim Harford's hair-raising story explores a question: what makes some markets acceptable, and others repugnant?
If you enjoy it, find Cautionary Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Dana lays out all the evidence, and we await results from forensic testing. We reconnect with Mitrice’s loved ones, as they celebrate what would have been her 39th birthday.
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A round of cold calls yields brand new information tying the Person of Interest to Mitrice. We return to the fort in the woods, and make a startling discovery.
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The home of a local firefighter is infiltrated by an informant hoping to get more information on the Person of Interest. And a hike planned for Dark Canyon instead leads to the Lost Hills Station.
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A 2011 exhumation of Mitrice’s remains leads to a second autopsy. Meanwhile, a woman describes a disturbing encounter in Monte Nido around the time of Mitrice’s death.
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We learn everything we can about our Person of Interest — a longtime member of the Monte Nido community, who went from golden boy to convict to off-the-grid survivalist living in the woods. We check his criminal history and discover a troubling pattern of violence.
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Looking for a way into Dark Canyon, we follow a former pot grower on a treacherous route, and pay a visit to the Porn Ranch, which borders Dark Canyon. Plus, a retired LASD sergeant reveals that there was a Person of Interest in the case.
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Eleven months after her disappearance, Mitrice’s naked remains are discovered in an abandoned pot field in Dark Canyon, just above Monte Nido. Deputies on scene make a controversial decision, sparking conflict with the LA County Coroner. And Mitrice’s recovered clothing goes missing.
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Three years before Mitrice’s arrest, Mel Gibson was arrested for drunk driving on Pacific Coast Highway. An interview with the arresting officer, James Mee, reveals the power wielded by celebrities in Malibu. Would Mitrice’s story have ended differently if she were rich and famous?
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As the months pass with no sign of Mitrice, rumors abound. Law enforcement questions the artist behind a creepy mural. And deputies raid a fort in the wilderness looking for human remains.
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Six hours after her release from Lost Hills Station, Mitrice is spotted in the rural community of Monte Nido. Investigators find Mitrice’s footprints, and neighbors report unusual disturbances around the time of her disappearance.
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