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Table of Contents
Highest Praise for Caitlin Rother Also by Caitlin Rother Title Page CAST OF PRIMARY CHARACTERS Dedication Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Epilogue: A FIVE-HOUR CONVERSATION WITH JOHN GARDNER Author’s Note and Acknowledgments Copyright Page Notes
CAST OF PRIMARY CHARACTERS
Investigators:
Sheriff Bill Gore; Lieutenant Dennis Brugos; Sergeant Don Parker; Sergeant Dave Brown; Detectives Mark Palmer, Pat O’Brien and Scott Enyeart; Jan Caldwell; Escondido police lieutenant Bob Benton; Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory examiner Bob Petrachek; California Department of Justice Special Agents Tyler Burtis and Sonja Ramos; FBI Supervisory Special Agent Alex Horan; and forensic anthropologist Madeleine Hinkes
Defense attorneys:
William Halsey, Deputy Public Defenders Michael Popkins and Mel Epley
District Attorney’s Office:
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Deputy District Attorney Kristen Spieler
John Gardner’s family:
Mother Cathy Osborn, half sisters Shannon and Sarina; father “Dirty John” or “DJ” Gardner; stepfathers Dan and Kevin; aunt Cynthia; grandmother Linda; stepmother Deanna Gardner, half sisters Mona* and Melissa*
Gardner’s ex-girlfriends:
Jennifer “Jenni” Tripp, Patricia Walker*, Donna Hale (mother of his twin sons), and Jariah Baker
Chelsea King’s family:
Brent, Kelly and Tyler King
Amber Dubois’s family:
Mother Carrie McGonigle, mom’s boyfriend Dave Cave, half sister Allison; father Maurice “Moe” Dubois and his partner, Rebecca Smith; and grandmother Sheila Welch
To the memories of Chelsea King, Amber Dubois
and all the other girls and boys who have been lost
to sexual predators. By shedding light on these dark events,
I can only hope that this book will help prevent
similar tragedies in the future.
Chapter 1
John Gardner’s mother was worried. The bipolar mood swings, erratic behavior and suicidal impulses that had periodically plagued her thirty-year-old son since he was a child were not only back but worse than she’d ever seen them.
When Cathy Osborn left her condo for her psychiatric nursing job the morning of February 25, 2010, John was asleep on the futon in her home office, where he stayed when he visited. Cathy called his cell phone and texted him numerous times throughout the day to see how he was doing, but she got no response. When he didn’t answer his phone, something was usually up.
That evening after work, John was still missing in action, so she decided to combine her usual run with a search for her wayward son, an unemployed electrician and unmarried father of twin sons. Having completed fifteen full marathons, as well as fifteen half marathons, Cathy routinely jogged five to seven miles around Lake Hodges in nearby Rancho Bernardo Community Park. But she was so worried about John and his well-being that she didn’t really feel like doing the full route.
She jogged about a mile through the neighborhood, turned at the white railing off Duenda Road, and started down the narrow path that widened as it left the residential area and fed into the vast, beautiful open space of the San Dieguito River Valley. Depending on the time of day, sometimes she couldn’t see another soul for miles in any direction. It was so peaceful out there, far away from the stresses of the city. So isolated. So still. And so deadly quiet.
But her nerves were on edge that evening as she ran along the sandy trail at dusk. She jerked to an abrupt halt, startled to see a snake off to the right. Once she realized it had no head and posed no danger, she continued heading toward the slate blue of the lake up ahead, hoping to find John in one of his usual haunts. He’d told her that he liked to sit on the benchlike boulders that were positioned along the trails, posted with informational placards about the Kumeyaay Indians and the natural wildlife habitat. Knowing his two favorites overlooked a waterfall and the lake, she kept her eyes peeled for