EPISODE 6

The Circle is Small

Original Air Date    10.01.2018

In This Episode

Payne introduces a few key sources…
There’s a lot of finger pointing going on here.

“If it was so obvious and true, that person would already be in custody.” - Chris Halsne, Investigative Reporter

Transcript

Chris Halsne: 00:00 One of the names that keeps coming up as a criminal record, is well known to the police, different jurisdictions, and as you heard everybody in town thinks is the drug hookup. That's that, does it have anything to do with this case? I have no idea. That's the frustrating part. Just because somebody in town is on everybody's radar, rumored to be some bad guy that might be involved in Kristal's disappearance, doesn't make it true. In fact, if it was so obvious and true, that person would already be in custody, because the Sheriff's department knows the name, and I suspect that they've checked it out every which way, and have some suspicions on their own whether he's the right guy. I think he knows what's going on, and I think that some of his associates may even know more. We certainly know who Catfish is. I know that Catfish and his friend have been spoken to by detectives, so they shouldn't be surprised that their name is coming up. The real balance journalistically is what are the liabilities of reporting somebody's identity who may ultimately never be charged or directly be involved. I guess one that comes to mind is the Richard Jewel case at the Atlanta Olympics, the bombing, the security guard. He came to help, he had to be the guy, everybody reported it, can't take it back, right, wasn't him. So we always balance here the need to do those kinds of things.

Chris Halsne: 01:57 If you watched our initial investigation, we have a blurred mugshot, and he knows that's him. His mom probably knows that's him, his friends probably know that's him. So there is some not public identity, but I think we let him know that we know. There he is. If they're just dealing, moving product, they don't want to make any waves, and violence creates waves. Call the police, they call 9-1-1, here comes the ambulance, they say who did this, but it can ruin financial stream. So the players that we're talking about there, I don't think they're dangerous everyday. But I have no doubt if they're cornered that they know how to get out of trouble

Payne Lindsey: 04:38 I talked to a new source about Catfish. We'll call this person Calvin. Calvin told me after Kristal went missing, three people in Crestone seemed to change noticeably. Dready Brian and two other men. We'll call them Landon and Jack. According to Calvin, these three individuals encouraged psychological breakdowns shortly after her disappearance.

Calvin: 05:01 My knowledge is limited [inaudible 00:05:08] the ones who I guess were involved or were not involved, and really what it comes down to is Brian, you gotta start there. That's the way it is. Catfish had nothing to do with it on the end of, on the end of I basically I believe that she was killed, okay. I do believe her and Brian got into an argument, Brian killed her, and then they disposed of the body. I'm not sure who they are, but I'm pretty sure if you talk to Landon, Jack, and Brian, if you get those three, you'll be able to figure it out.

Payne Lindsey: 05:58 Do you know what happened, like what the situation was?

Calvin: 06:01 I don't know, I know that what had happened is that Brian, the summer before had wrecked her car, and she had filed for civil suit. I think that what happened is that maybe Brandon and Brian had raped her and that she tried to come back on them. That's what I'm getting from the information that I have. I mean, I honestly thought it was Catfish at first, but once I started talking to Catfish, I mean, document, got to basically know Catfish, it wasn't him at all. He may have, in all, I hate to say this, but he may have helped him cover it up, but the only reason he did that is because they involved him. And I don't even think that's the case really. There's no really, what I saw is from a distance, because I'm a friend of everybody that was probably involved. Is I saw a complete psychological breakdown from Landon, Brian and [censored]. The paranoia of all three of them just went through the roof.

Calvin: 07:19 Landon went from being a standard meth psychosis to being completely paranoid at all times, even when he was sober or not. Thinking that people were following him, I mean, [inaudible 00:07:29] mentioned they had found Kristal's body, he completely freaked out. Jack, he ended up being committed. Then you look at Brian, and from what I've seen, and I know his ex-wife and I know all the other girlfriends he's been with, there's a violence behind him, like a dark, it doesn't come out right at first, but when they're alone it happens.

Calvin: 07:58 Also, I would, just to help you out, I'd talk to, you know what's funny, can I call you back in a little bit?

Payne Lindsey: 08:08 Yeah, sure man.

Calvin: 08:11 Okay, because my friends just showed up. I'll be back in town here in about thirty minutes to an hour okay.

Payne Lindsey: 08:15 Yeah man, just give me a shout.

Calvin: 08:16 I'm willing to help you, dude, cause I think this is bullshit man. Honestly, it's they've taken value on human life that shouldn't have been placed.

Payne Lindsey: 08:26 They placed a value on a human life where it shouldn't have been placed. About two months later.

Calvin: 08:41 It's rumor she was blackmailing them. Blackmailing him, because they had raped her. They drugged her and raped her. Landon, he almost shot Catfish's hand off. I talked to people that were there. They said they were arguing over Kristal, about Kristal, about what had happened, and that's when he shot his hand.

Calvin: 09:07 Landon was staying at my house one night and he woke up and he was like, I didn't do it, I know what he said, I didn't mean to do it. That's what he said, I didn't mean to do it to her. And then I've heard Catfish several times. Catfish was like, I didn't think they'd kill her, I've heard him say that a couple times. Just not general night terrors, he's actually said that twice. For one thing, he's very standoffish about the whole thing, which is another indication that he maybe had something to do with it. He's agoraphobic, I mean, he has a hard time dealing with people besides people he knows very well.

Calvin: 09:45 He's only been that way since he got into a car accident I'd say about fifteen years ago. He brings it up quite a bit, to the point where it's not, see, he's such an emotional human being that if he did commit an act like that, it would have devastating, devastating psychological effect on him. I mean, I'm not a trained psychiatrist or psychologist or anything, but just from my point of view. Honestly, he didn't display any of that, but he does have regret there, which means that his regret is probably due to some involvement in some way. Whether it's ex post facto, taking care of the body after it was all said and done, or whether it be that he had something to do as far as planning it or paying for it or something of that nature.

Calvin: 10:33 Catfish's house is completely destroyed all the time. I wasn't there and I didn't see it, but right after the girl disappeared, that house was completely spotless, I mean, you could eat off the floor. Catfish has also been accused of drugging and raping other women. Catfish is not a stupid person, he's quite far from stupid. If he was gonna plan anything, it would be to the T. They would dispose of the body in a way, and I'm thinking that they moved the body more than once would be my guess. That they did three, maybe three or four different times, and then finally they incinerated it would be my guess. That's what I've heard.

Calvin: 11:13 This is a small community, and people talk. It's funny, because these guys go around talking about this, I guarantee it. Otherwise how would you hear these things? They're basically dosing each other with LSD to basically drive each other insane. If you wanna get dosed, that means you're gonna drop some acid, but, I mean, if you're getting dosed, that means somebody's either trying to kill you, drive you insane, or push you to a point to where your mental state can't handle the amount of drugs that you're on.

Calvin: 11:47 There's several people that have been dosed around here through methamphetamines specifically. They walk around fighting shadow people for the rest of their lives, you know, shit like that. It's not very nice, you gotta watch what you do around here. A lot of people are scared of Catfish. I'm scared of Catfish a little bit. His family has power. They have major, major power.

Calvin: 12:11 I'm willing to work you man, I'm willing to work with CBI, you know what, screw these guys, I mean, I know that they all had something to do with it, and you know what, honestly they haven't turned out to be that great of friends anyway. Something needs to be done. If they are guilty, then justice should prevail. This is murder we're talking about here. This is murder. Murder and rape.

Payne Lindsey: 12:45 At this point, I've heard a lot of insane and frankly scary stories. All revolving around this group of so called friends. Some of these things I've heard before. That Catfish never cleaned his house, and then one day, he suddenly did a full sweep. And also that Catfish's family had a fairly prestigious background. I talked to Landon to get his perspective. Things didn't seem to look good for this group of friends, if that's even what they are.

Landon: 13:10 Yeah, I'd be happy to talk with you about anything you wanna know about it, I do know the ins and outs of Crestone pretty much, but exciting stuff. Are you gonna be in the area? I mean, it's not necessarily directly related to your story, I honestly was not present for anything that went down with that young lady, and I don't know anything but that, but I was around enough people. I happened to meet the young lady probably a matter of two weeks before she went missing for a five or ten minute conversation, so that's the extent of my relationship with her and my knowledge of her. I don't know her well, I met her in passing, I guess briefly before she vanished. But I do know some of the characters accused in this you, it's just, factually I don't know anything, I don't have any you know, solid information that would help anybody in the resolution in this whole terrible missing, I'm quite certain it was foul play and there's the whole dynamic of the relation and such, but go ahead and you ask the questions you wanted to, I would like to meet with you in person if you're ever in the area.

Payne Lindsay: 14:28 What do you think happened to Kristal?

Landon: 14:30 That's getting right into the nitty gritty of it. You know, there is an element of manipulation and blackmail going on with her. I happen to be friends with for a few years, we were, I lived in the same neighborhood as he did when my fiance and I were breaking up, it was kind of a hard time for me, so I made friends with him and we hung out. Then, you know, we didn't get along, and later he went out for my world, he was connected to some big strains of...It's a great illusion anyway, all those frequencies and vibrations are existing are illusions and we're transcending the planet, right now actually there's there's sparks, stream of consciousness of love, never letting love in, it's coming, that's the only vibration left.

Landon: 15:40 Anyway, so I'm not worried, I have no fear surrounding it, I'll tell anybody anything I know, I never had any fear or any guilt, but this is a lot of the information out there that I was involved somehow because I happen to be sort of going over to his house and this and that, and we were still having some sort of friendship at that time. But, yeah, thousands of emails to that type of effect of slander, using a computer program to make it look like my phone number was texting somebody else's phone number. The numbers and stuff go to my girlfriend, and my number had a conversation, all that type shit really didn't hurt my reputation, because people can love and trust me, had to be like well what.

Landon: 16:32 You know, it doesn't just come out of nowhere, rumors start somewhere and there's always some version of the truth, we're programmed to believe in love. Like things are good, how do you feel about your life these days and everything? Do you feel recent changes or energies seem different, or any kind of vibrancy or synchronicities in your life they're like, ding ding, or hearing numbers are coming at the right times. Crazy small world shit, or no?

Payne Lindsey: 17:07 I mean, I don't really know, it's hard to say. I haven't figured out life entirely, yet, but I look at it as one big learning experience.

Landon: 17:15 Oh you will soon, bro, my brother you will soon. When you come into full awareness and knowledge of what's happening on the planet, it's big bro. Big. Like portals opening, like they could be opening now, but by 2018, there's a... This shit is kind of crazy, I sound like I'm nuts right?

Payne Lindsey: 17:39 Landon's thoughts were a little far out there. But as far as Kristal's story, he gave more convincing details than I had gotten from anyone else so far.

Landon: 17:49 I mean, was I there for anything of that nature? No, I wasn't. I went over to the persons house, Catfish's house, and she was there, and at the time I'd take out the trash for him and stuff, you know, I kind of did some work for him, things he couldn't do. She was there and I met her and she was trying to help me take out trash and she had a pretty positive vibe about her, and I was just plain as obvious that there was an element of manipulation dynamic between the two of them.

Landon: 18:30 I didn't know this, she tried to help me take the trash off the deck, I was appreciative of that, although you know, I just kind of put two bags together and left cause I'd be back later that doesn't sound weird. And the next day...what's up man...you can go over to see what he was... I didn't talk to him for a week after that, maybe a week or two, I don't even remember you know. He's so crazy, he tried to go even crazier on purpose I think so his credibility would be in question I feel like.

Landon: 19:10 I was going through so much that I didn't have capacity to be sticking out trying to do the best work, especially in my situation it would have been extremely dangerous too, still a lot of people would consider what I'm doing extremely dangerous. What I went through...poisoned me with LSD, hired people to steal from me, hired people to beat me up, put libel, slander, all sorts of fucking crazy stories out there about me.

Landon: 19:41 Jack, I believe was there at the time of whatever went down. He got dosed with a live drug and he went off... this guy used to follow the Grateful Dead for a long time, and he came up with this thing where he's like, eventually, hang on a second, trying to figure out where these lights are coming from.

Landon: 20:10 Anyway, I don't know for sure, bro. The rumor mill has generated so many rumors I'm in three quarters of them, and I didn't have a thing to do with it, don't know what happened, nobody saw me because I'm not in that little clique.

Landon: 20:23 There was a part of my depression that took me to some places where I was just like survival, hibernation mode. I was just kind of like, my reputation was getting stomped on. So people who used to just wave in this little community, friendly was starting to get these looks of doubt, in a small town of five hundred to a thousand, fifteen hundred people, in peak season.

Landon: 20:52 Your reputation is everything, it's kind of most of the story catches a little bit of wind somehow, everybody wants, that's the nature of programming people, it doesn't even matter exactly what you're doing. If you're doing anything with any sort of inkling or inference or the mere vague appearance, all those stories are true in those minds, you know what I'm saying?

Landon: 21:18 I was unable to find employment, people were chasing and harassing me. People were trying to beat me up, steal my computers or my phone, attack my Facebook, I lost an email I've had for ten years, I had it through college and everything, I could never get it back, they attacked me with everything they had. They were plotting against my fucking demise...

Landon: 21:42 Because I'm the one good guy hanging around with all these pieces of shit, right? And they're like fucking he's not like this, we hate him. Lets set him up for whatever I can. Maybe I was being a little bit, poor judgment of character when I decided who to hang out with and who to trust because of my depression and self destructive nature, you know.

Landon: 22:03 I was basically trying to live by myself with my two dogs and my truck and cut fireworks for a living. But I gave all that, I told a few guys you can have all that, look through it, figure out whatever they could from it, I told them that with full permission, and they never got back to me, I don't know what the fuck happened with that.

Landon: 22:20 There was one dig through. I'm gonna tell you, I really don't want to dwell on this, but, the last thing I'm trying to talk about these days... honestly might as well, it never happened bro. It's in the past, not only that but it was all this fear, we're over here... Man, if you're in the love train, you're gonna send with the rest of the planet, if you're not, then you're out kind of thing.

Landon: 22:48 Most of it's a lie I think. There's 144,000 of us on the planet that have been, that are coming together to unify that vibration. 144,000 healers, masters, warriors that have communicated tons of times, I'm living with people that were famous people throughout history, they're reincarnating and coming back as masters. For me the first contact team for this fucking extension. It's fucking out there.

Payne Lindsey: 23:18 While I was talking to Landon, someone else got on the phone. I still don't know who she was.

Unknown woman: 23:26 I love you with all my heart, hi Payne.

Payne Lindsey: 23:32 How you doing?

Unknown woman: 23:33 Wonderful, how are you, love?

Payne Lindsey: 23:35 I'm doing great.

Unknown woman: 23:38 Oh gosh. Payne, come and meet your creator, she's amazingly, amazingly beautiful, full of love in every moment.

Landon: 23:51 Yeah buddy, you gotta come down and... there's your story, or maybe not.

Unknown woman: 23:54 The masters are coming home, Payne, and maybe you're one of them.

Landon: 24:00 Maybe you'll do both stories, but, you know, I don't know.

Unknown woman: 24:00 He's one of them.

Payne Lindsey: 25:51 Shortly after Kristal went missing, an anonymous person had a phone call with Dready Brian. They recorded this call and shared it with me, and I'd like to share it with you now, because the story seems to get a little muddled.

Dready Brian: 26:21 I know this is not like her for sure. The last time I actually saw her was, geez, it was like a little over a month ago, but I think, just like two and a half weeks ago or whatever at the last drum circle, I think I was there. I could swear I heard her singing. Somebody else said they thought, but the last time I talked to her, there was a day after the full moon, the full moon before that, it was the day after that, and she said, she came in, she called me on the street, she was up in her apartment there, and she's like, hey Brian, I think Catfish put some fucked up shit on Facebook about you, you know what I mean, because we like got, we had an argument and got, I did some work in the house and he didn't pay me for it, and it was just a thing we had.

Dready Brian: 27:01 She's like you know, I was over there, and she told me, she said she didn't remember, but she said she thought he might have drugged her or something. She had to clean his house, too, and that was the last conversation I had with her, but I could have swore she was at the last drum circle.

Payne Lindsey: 27:19 Again, another person swearing they saw Kristal at the July drum circle.

Dready Brian: 27:25 I wasn't...you know that, I was just drumming for six hours straight, drinking and smoking. I don't remember a whole lot about the evening except the drumming, but I could have swore I heard her voice, that's the last, geez it's been, I guess the last drum circle was two and a half weeks ago, and before that it was like six weeks ago.

Dready Brian: 27:43 The last time we went up was like a couple weeks ago, so I guess the one before that would be six weeks ago, wow, it's been a long time, damn. You sure, I could have swore I kept hearing, you know that voice of hers. I could have swore she was singing in the chanting, you know the vocable things. The only places we hung out were at mutual friends houses, and at her house. Without Melissa once, she's friends and we saw a movie, but as far as like what spots she would go to, I really don't know, because we're like, kind of becoming friends again. We had a bit of a turbulent past you know.

Payne Lindsey: 28:19 Meaning wrecking her car.

Dready Brian: 28:21 We were like super close, I would know where her specific spots would be you know what I mean. There were people that were concerned about her, for sure. She did go over to Catfish's, we talked about that, where like, it was four or five days and they had to get up at like three in the morning or whatever, but she did go to Catfish's after that.

Payne Lindsey: 28:44 How do you know that Kristal went there?

Dready Brian: 28:47 I talked to Catfish. When this shit happened, I went over there, I was just over there a few days ago talking to him. I don't know, he seems, he's a pretty transparent guy, he's a cancer you know, he's not super good at hiding his emotions, and I didn't like, he didn't seem nervous or lying, or if he was he must be a sociopath, but I really didn't get the vibe that's what it was, but obviously something happened that you know.

Dready Brian: 29:24 I brought her here for the first time like two and half years ago when we were living in Gunnison, and I know all their bends, you know, she was with some pretty righteous people, I can pretty safely say that out of that whole group of friends she hung out with, she was probably partying the hardest, it seemed like to me.

Payne Lindsey: 29:53 The same anonymous source received a message from Catfish. I was shared the messages and was able to validate their authenticity. The anonymous source says this: have you heard any rumors? What do you think happened to her? Catfish says, I heard so many rumors it is interfering. Brian, that's all I can say at the moment. Other than I will do anything to help. The source says, oh wow, why do you say Brian? Catfish says, he told me he did it, I told the CBI and he showed his confession on messenger.

Meredith: 30:41 Up and Vanished is an investigative podcast told weekly. Produced for Tenderfoot TV by Payne Lindsay, Mike Rooney, and me, Meredith Stedman, with new episodes every Monday. Executive producers Payne Lindsay and Donald Albright, additional production by Resonate Recordings, as well as Mason Lindsay, Rob Ricotta, and Christina Dana. Our intern is Hallie Bedol. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set. Our theme song is Ophelia, performed by Esa Rose. Our cover art is by Trevor Isler. Special thanks to the team at Cadence 13. Visit us on social media, via at Up and Vanished. Or you can visit our website up and vanished dot come, where you can join in on our discussion board. If you're enjoying Up and Vanished, tell a friend, family member or coworker about it, and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review on Apple podcasts. Thanks for listening.