Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline Extra 20201226

Commune. We were all having meals together. There were lots of parties. A Swimming Pool. A fleet of cool cars. It seemed like a kids fantasy. It was called Angels Landing. A special place for a chosen few. A community of free spirits, but also, someone come to suspect, troubling secrets. She fell and hit her head and drowned. It started with a strange sudden death. Then another and another. He had been crushed under a vehicle while working on it. All ruled accidents, but were they . It didnt smell right. For investigators a journey into the supernatural. He would say, even though we couldnt see her, she was there. Who or what had a grip on this place . Amber was the angel of death. Amber was the angel of death. She would come around when someone was going to die. A tale of dark power and diabolical prophecies. He predicted my mom was going to die. You might as well be telling me to goley on the moon. That wasnt something that could happen. The thought of leaving was scarier than the thought of staying. I never once thought about leaving. I thought about killing myself but i didnt think about leaving. Rolling out fast downtown grid toward the wide open flatlands north of wichita, kansas, it would be easy to slip past the clusters of homes and wheat fields, not notice them at all. Maybe that was the point. The nondescript compound did have a whimsical name. Angels landing, and it was home to a large put together family, a commune, really, including two sisters. We had a great relationship. I had everything i wanted. But Angels Landing gnawed at a county detective. For years he could not shake the place or the people who lived there from his mind. You thought there was a criminal scheme going on. It didnt smell right. It was a game of cat is that mouse. After a did he go aid long obsession, his hunch would be proved right. It turned out to be far more sinister than anyone could imagine. We had kept this a secret for ten years. And no one knew. He would uncover a supernatural tale of angels and demons. An investigation into the saga of a traveling family dabbled in most of the seven deadly sins. Amber was the angel of death. Did you believe it . Yes. He could see the future. Lies, plenty, lust, greed, murder. Angels lasting had all of that and more. All i could think about was how are they going on believe me . This is such a crazy story. What if they dont believe me . Growing up near kansas city, missouri, the two sisters sarah and emily had about as normal a life as any suburban girls in the midwest. My sister and i used to play together when we were younger. My mom, it seemed like she was always home with us and my dad was always there for dinner and things like that, it seemed like. Their dad built houses. Mom, jennifer, a realtor, sold them. And the girls were close despite a sevenyear age gap. We would go fishing together. She would take me to the pool every day during the summer. Things like that. We were close but we fought like siblings. Sarah was 16. Emily just 9 and a star student. I was teachers pet and i was usually one of the top in my class. So you were always prepared. Yeah. I was a suck up. You said that. I didnt. [ laughter ] totally was. I didnt know it then but i was. Everything was easy sailing for the girls until their parents lives went in different directions. That must have been traumatic, huh . It was. It was really a surprise. How did your mom tell you girls . We were driving in the mini van one night and she said, girls, ive decide that had your dad and i are going to separate. And i didnt know what that meant. They ended up sleeping if separate bedrooms for a few days and then she said they were getting divorced. I knew they were getting divorced. I dont know why. They never fought in front of us or anything. Thats always tough for kids. That summer, their mom was showing houses to a new client. A man named lou castro with his long hair and western hat looked for all the world like well healed young cowboy. He seemed really charismatic and outgoing and friendly and like he had a lot of money. He would tell everybody that he had cattle in south dakota. That he was trading socks. He told me he had a bunch of cars in texas somewhere. That he owned a mansion down there. This softspoken man was looking for a Country Property for his somewhat new agy family commune just ground south dakota. A young married couple, their baby girl and a young woman from north dakota. Jennifer found them just the right parcel. Even after turning over the keys, there was something about that lou castro guy that emilys mom found irresistible. He had become more than a client. At first he was just somebody mom was doing business with. They would go to lunch often. As you look back, what do you think went on with your mother . I dont know. Something was going on. Something was. And something was going on with lou, too. No sooner had he settled down in greater kansas city than his family commune was on the move again. And guess who was going with them. Jennifer, the realtor, and her two girl. What did your dad think . My dad was devastated. Just like that, in the fall of 2001, emily, sarah and their mom were packing up a uhaul and heading out for a fresh start on life. You have to leave your play mates, your class kids. At first i was really upset. Then it seemed like a new adventure and thats what mom needed to do. The new home for all three was a ten acre mini farm north of wichita. They moved in with lou and his family commune in a spread they called Angels Landing. The girls mom bought the adjoining ten acres and built a second house. After they added a Swimming Pool and a place for amp tvs, they put up a third house. We were all having meals together. On we didnt really do chores. While the girls mom resumed her real estate business, lou organized the down time. He would throw parties about every weekend. There was a lot of drinking. Other people would write their kids over. We would go swimming. I would take care of the little kids west played pool. Pretty normal. A little lavish but pretty normal stuff. Lou loved toys with engines and there were a couple of workshops big enough to garage his enormous radio controlled planes and a fleet of snazzy cars. Going to a dealership and buying a corvette was like going to a toy store and picking out a model car. That is how quickly he would just and go pick them out and say, all right, i want it. Corvettes in dodge viper . We had suburbans, tahoes, trail blazers, big trucks. They had vanity plates. Angel one, angel two, and so on. A lot of is it a kids dream. Yeah. I got everything i wanted. While the sisters did stay in touch with their dad who had moved nearby, lous promise of what have your heart desires found sweet spot. Lou asked me what i wanted for my birthday. I would love to have a horse but i know it is expense sgrif too much work so we wont do it. No, if you want a horse, you will get a horse. You were the little girl who got a horse for your birthday in. I was. I got three horses. You were the princess of the house. That didnt always sit well with sister sarah so the other young mom in the family, brians wife trish, sometimes stepped in to the referee their sibling rivalry. There were ways to do things and you did it her way and thats what you expected. What did you think of trish . She was wonderful. I loved her like another mom. So she was really substitute mom in a lot of big things. She was. So the sisters will never forget that awful day in june 2003. Emily, just 11 years old, found herself standing by the Swimming Pool. Trish was floating in the shallow end of the pool face down. A beach sandal floated on the water. Trish was dead. Coming up, the horror of losing one of their own. For emily and everyone else, the sunny life at angels handling had changed in an instant. It was very traumatic. And later, more shocks in store. Mysterious accidents, dark threats involving the spirit world and one seemingly demonic transformation. He wouldnt blink. He would get this terrible grin that just looked evil. When angels and demons continues. D demons continues. Its gentle on her skin, and out cleans our old bargain detergent. Tide pods plus downy free. Safe for sensitive skin with eczema and psoriasis. The only thing a disaster cant destroy is hope. Donate now at redcross. Org just two years after leaving missouri to make a living with moms friends in wichita, kansas, the two sisters were still living in the family commune called Angels Landing. Lou who had money and spare time was the patriarch and trish who was married to brian and had a baby daughter took care of the home. Trish kind of was the one that would be there before we went to school and after we went to school because my mom had to work. Did you like her in. I loved her. I loved her. So what happened in june 2003 of Angels Landing came as a sudden life altering shock. The day began normally enough for the sisters. We all had gone to lunch. Trish and her daughter, a friend of mine and her baby, and then lou and my sister. And then we came back to the house after lunch, and trish and emily and the baby were going to clean the pool. That was the plan for the afternoon. Right. And lou and i would go to davis moore. The car dealer. Correct. So you go to the car dealer swhip lou . Uhhuh. Back at the Swimming Pool, something truly awful had happened. I called 911. Stheld operator that trishs toddler had fallen sue tinto th pool. When trish tried to save her, she fell backward. She fell and hit her head and drowned. And the baby was in trouble in the pool. Right. You rescued the baby but you couldnt help. Right. Emily got baby out of the pool. Because she was just a williams of a thing, try as she might, she could not lift trishs body out of the water. Hopeless. Across town, sarah and lou were checking out cars at the dealership when sarahs phone rang. I received a phone call from emily. And she says that trish fell in the pool. I need you to come home. Did she say that trish was dead . Yes. So this is shocking news. You all just had lunch a few hours before. And now youre hearing that trish is dead. Uhhuh. They raced back home to Angels Landing where police and emts were on the scene. There was no reason to think she was under the influence of anything at this time. They had pulled her fwrod the pool and taken photographs. A single beach sandal floated on the surface. Pieces of her hair clip were in the pool. It had snapped apart when she banged her head. And there were small bruises and a cut on trishs forehead. The medical examiner determined her death was due to a freakishly bad accident. Trish was just 26 years old. Trish was gone. Yeah. The family was in a state of shock. Trish had been the mother in the house the way you talk about her. Yeah. For you, too. Absolutely. It was really hard. It breaks my heart. And it was hard for lou. Trish was someone he regarded as his best friend. Lou had met trish in the mid 1990s in south texas after serving in the navy as a plane mechanic. For eight years they were inseparable travelers, moving on to south dakota and ending up in wichita. It was very traumatic. As the family commune tried to come to terms with the tragedy, trishs husband brian embraced his little daughter closer. Gradually they all got on with their lives. Then with a . Youre going back to school that doing the usual things . Exactly. Still it was hard for the family to put trishs death behind them. And Something Else was troubling them. Sxlim sarah had a protection trish wasnt the first person in the family commune to die. They had recently met a teenager on the fringe of the commune and he told a story with painful echos. Coming up a tale of tragedy and mystery. I knew something wasnt right. And then he just told me. Hey, your mom and sister are missing. Two members of the commune vanished into thin air. When angels and demons continues. S and demons continues. Inside, it turns liquid to gel. For incredible protection, that feels like nothing but my underwear. Always discreet. Since youre heading off to dad. I just got a zerowater. But weve always used brita. Its two stagefilter. Doesnt compare to zerowaters 5stage. This meter shows how much stuff, or dissolved solids, gets left behind. Our tap water is 220. Brita . 110. Seriously . But zerowater let me guess. Zero . Yup, thats how i know it is the puresttasting water. I need to find the receipt for that. Oh yeah, you do. burke stomer happy anniversary. customer for what . burke every year youre with us, you get fifty dollars toward your home deductible. Its a policy perk for being a farmers customer. customer do i have to do anything . burke nothing. customer nothing . burke nothing. customer nothing . burke nothing. customer hmm, that is really something. burke you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. See ya. kid may i have a balloon, too . burke sure. Your parents have maintained a farmers home policy for twelve consecutive months, right . We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum burke start with a quote at 1800farmers. Our bargain detergent couldnt keep up. With us. Turns out its mostly water. So, we switched back to tide. One wash, stains are gone. Daughter slurping dont pay for water. Pay for clean. Its got to be tide. At angels happeneding, the family commune was slowly menning after the devastating loss of trish hughes who had drounl in the Swimming Pool. They saw her husband a broken man left to raise a daughter. Brian loved trish more than anything in the world. And he loved his daughter immensely. He was a really good person. He missed his wife. Brian was sad. As they coped with the loss. They, emily and sarah had a flash back and pieced together another incident when tragedy struck the family, about two years before. I wasnt there. Im glad i wasnt there. That would just be more that i had lost. Not long before trishs death, the sisters met 15yearold cody griffin from texas who had also once been on the fringes of the family commune. He had been close to trish and lou. They were really good friends. They would do a lot together. Codys mom was something of a flower child. She was extremely loving, very free spirited. Everything was spontaneous. There was no planning. She could say, lets get in the car and drive somewhere. Could have been a hippie. Maybe. Just extremely loving, very accepting. There was no, youre right or wrong because of who you are. She just loved everybody equally. Was she a disciplinarian . To an extent. She didnt let us get away with terrible things. But at the same time, i mean, she let us make our own mistakes. When cody was growing up in Corpus Christi in the mid 1990s, his mom mona was going through a difficult divorce and financial trouble. She, cody is that codys youngster moved in with their good friends, trish and lou in the apartment complex. I can remember lou taking to us baseball practice. My sister, picking her up from cool and stuff like that. His mom mona and trish took turns cooking for what was the beginning of the commune. So it was living together. When they decided to they wanted to pick up sticks and move to south dakota, mona wanted to go, too, and to take cody and his sister lindsey along as well. It was just like yesterday. And i told her, no, im not leaving. And i had gotten extremely upset. The very thought of being so far away from his dad was so much for cody. What did she say . Yes, you are . Youre going with us . No. She let me make decision. She wouldnt want me to do something i didnt want to do. In late 1998, gleen and codys younger sister lindsey ended up leaving and settled near south dakota where one christmas, cody paid them a visit. It was an extremely small home. It was in the mountains. We cut our own christmas tree. Off the grid kind of a cabin . Yeah. It was a tight squeeze for sure but the family commune was growing. It was here that trish met and married brian, the auto mechanic and they had a daughter. Mona, codys mom, had also found a boyfriend a rapid city realtor and experienced plane pilot. You were okay with that . Of course i wanted my mom to be happy. I looked forward to meeting him. Did you ever meet him . No. One friday in february of 2001, mona and her boyfriend decided to take daughter lindsey on an exciting birthday trim to nebraska. Exciting because monas boyfriend would fly them there himself. They took off from rapid city. But not long after, something went terribly wrong. How did you find out about the plane . Moy dad called me inside. He just looked at me. I knew something wasnt right. Then he just told me, hey, your mom and sister have been missing. Your dad must have been ripped up, huh . There is nothing you can say. He didnt, there was no way that he could explain to his son that his sister and mom are gone. And imagine you hope somebody has crawled out of wreckage and theyre waiting for search and rescue to find them. Thats the only thing could i pray for. He was a praying for a miracle, moanas sister lease a got a phone call from another sister. And shes crying hysterically and she said that mona and lindsey had left on a plane and the plane had never reached its destination. And they didnt know where it was. Monas boyfriend hadnt foiled a flight plan so the plane could be anywhere. Rugged territory. Correct. In the bad lands area, we assume. Or nebraska. We really had no clue. But in south dakota, luke castro, a former navy plane mechanic, was on it. When lisa paid a short visit to help find her sister and niece, lou was in constant touch with search and rescue. . Softspoken, nice, funny, friendly. He seemed very concerned. Very distraught over moana and lindseys disappearance. Very helpful. He was very gracious. Whatever we wanted. So thank goodness we had luke at the helm. Yes. He seemed to have plenty of time. He seemed to know everybody. They knew him. We were grateful that there was somebody that had taken control and was keeping us in the loop also. At a gathering of school friends, he seemed especially popular with the girls. They were mesmerized by him. Was he telling stories, jokes . Laughing. He knew them all quite well west could tell. Was there something a little creepy about it . I dont want to plant an idea here that didnt exist. They all knew lou but they didnt know lindseys mom. I just found strange. Six weeks after the plane went missing, lisa and cody got the news they were dreading. The wreckage had been found. There were no survivors. I went to the internet to see what was posted by the newspaper and it was just debris. So you know, during the six weeks, five weeks that we were aware of the plane crash and during the search, there is a little part of you that still hopes. Somebody is under a tree with a little camp fire going . Exactly. Intellectually, you know pits not possible. But emotionally, you are still hoping that some unforeseen reason, some miracle will occur and youll get that call where they say, we found them and theyre alive. When did you find out they found the wreckage . My dads birthday is march 13. And i believe it was sometime after. That i remember my dads birthday. How do you tell somebody happy birthday when youre searching for your daughter . Then they found the wreckage. Uhhuh. How did they tell you . I guess the only way he knows how. They found him. So that is it. It wont have a miraculous ending. Cody traveled back to rapid city and once again saw luke other seemed distraught. He starts crying and he tells me my little sister was never supposed to be on the plane. He tells me if my mom would have only been on the plane, he said you know i would have taken your sister and we would have left. He would have become documentive father. Right. How would he know . Looking back dourgs wonder what he meant by . Every day. Every day. An ntsb investigation into the cass found no the mechanical problems with the plane leading toward a theory that bad weather contributed to the crash. When do you miss your mom and sister the most . Times when youve been growing up. Cody, i dont think you need to put any words to it. You really cant. Lou and trish, not blood relatives, determined burial place for mona and lindsey. Surprised, she raised an eyebrow when she saw her sister and nieces obituary in a south dakota if newspaper. It lists myself, her two sisters and the her brother. Where did we pick up a brother . Later, as emily recalled the awful story of the plane crash, she, too, remember lou telling her what he told cody. He said that lindsey wasnt supposed to die. Whatever that meant in 2003 with trish in the Swimming Pool, they werent the only ones making sense of it all. A local detective was also taking an interest in the plane crash and the death of trish hughes and whatever else might be going on at Angels Landing. Something wasnt adding up. Coming up, one thing was adding up. The death toll of commune members. And another was just around the corner. We got the call that he was crushed under the car he was fixing. When angels and demons continues. Ons continues. Finding understanding doesnt have to be. Together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. Go to autismspeaks. Org Authorities Say that massive rv explosion in downtown nashville that left three people injured and danieled over 40 businesses was an intentional act. The nashville chief of police said possible human remains have been found near the site of that blast and the mayor has issued a state of emergency. More news later. Now back to dateline extra. In late 2003, after the drowning death of 26yearold trish hughes, the mood at Angels Landing was grim. The sisters watched as the family commune patriarch lou tried to cheer everyone up. Another young woman had joined the family come unit. Soon she and lou were engaged with a little girl on the way. And as the clouds lifted over Angels Landing, shiny new rides appeared in the drive. Before trish died, there was three corvettes and everybody else had an suv. And then after trish died, it got more and more and more extravagant. More vehicles. Higher priced vehicles. The salesmen must have been lick go their chops to see him coming. We all had the dealership owners cell phones. Speed dial. Yeah. In fact luke spent 1. 5 million on cars in a few years. And his lavish generosity didnt stop with the family. Civic minded lou was showered after he donated 19,000 toward a brand new police vehicle. And cops were always welcome at the extravagant parties thrown by lou at Angels Landing. One of the officers dated one of the women there for a while. That was me. That was you. Uhhuh. But not everyone in uniform was joining in the fun. It didnt smell right. A local informant gave a check it out to ron goodman who was an undercover narcotics officer. He recruited two Law Enforcement heavyweights. The detective was eyeballing the commune, zeroing in on lou castro. Why did you become interested in him in particular . He drew attention to himself. Kind of flashy. He had what explained to be unexplained wealth. High optioned vehicles. Each vehicle had an angel vanity plate with a number after it, 1, 2, 3, 4. Maybe he had old family money. Inheritance. Sure. And that was something we had to look at without violating any of his thoughts. You thought there was a lot of smoke around this guy but you didnt know where it was coming from. There was and it kept billowing when he learned about the death of trish hughes. So her death triggered your interest. It absolutely did. Good win wanted to find out had a lou castro was. He ran castros name this Law Enforcement data bases and quickly discovered, he was trying to put his finger on a man who seemed to have no past. A virtual ghost. And not long after trish hughes death, he trolled the internet. I started researching and i started noticing there were other deaths associated with him. He landed on that obituary of mona and her daughter lindsey. And bingo. There was lous name. That was the first time i had seen lou castro in print. Underlying his suspicion about the unexplained wealth, he theorized he had a drug case. I had worked drug cases. Unexplained wealth is something that you look at to determine if that is how this person might be earning their money. So goodwin set out to collect 47 Angels Landing. He began with the trash bags. Maybe inside, there was evidence of drugs, incriminating documents or a finger print. So maybe if you can get a finger print, somewhere hell be in the system and you can come up with a name. They couldnt come one anything. They could not. Frustrating. There was no evidence of drugs and nearly three years later, there were still no clues as to who lou castro was. But in 2006 came another shocking coincidence. I didnt wreck it. Brian hughes, trishs husband, an experienced mechanic raising their daughter in the commune suffered an unimaginable accident. As emily tells it, brian was visiting family in south dakota. One day he called and so that to lou for a little while. And then he asked to speak to his daughter. He was still in wichita. And the story goes that he told her goodbye. He told his daughter goodbye. Right. And then a couple hours later we got the call that he had been crushed under the car that he was fixing. Brian was dead. Really . That didnt make any sense to emily. He would have put blocks under the tires. He knew his way around a vehicle. Right. And then he was dead. Yeah. The bodies were piling up. Five now. But none of the findings in any of the cases including brians concluded there was foul play. It was classified and still is classified as an accident. Detective goodwin decided he would have to find a new way. What drove you . There had to be someone he was hiding from. The mystery of lou castro, his true identity. One thing was for sure. Goode win wasnt going to let this go. Coming up, yet another member of the commune meets a tragic end. But this time, a light bulb would go off. What we saw was a pattern. As investigators dig into lous past. He starts to seem like ghost. There should have been credit records, drivers license records, and we could find none. And my water broke. At only 23 weeks. Andrew we had to stay in the hospital for 10 weeks, 1000s of miles from family. Our driver kristin came along in our most desperate hour. Suzanne bringing us homecooked meals and gifts. Andrew day after day. We wanted to show you something. Kristin oh my god Andrew Kristin is the most uncommonly kind person that weve met. Suzanne thank you so much. In 2007, wichita detective ron goodwin was investigating lou castro at Angels Landing. A commune of about a dozen people. He was also keeping count of the mysterious deaths. Five so far. Mona, her boyfriend and her daughter lindsey had perished in the plane crash. Trish had drowned in the Swimming Pool and now brian had been crushed to death beneath a car he was working on. While all the deaths were deemed to be accidents, really, he wonder how could any family be so unlucky . What baffled him most was he didnt who know this central man looks castro, really was. Rifling through Angels Landing trash cans hadnt worked. What do you do next . One day when i was out on a day off, i happened to see lou castro with a female in an suv vehicle. And i followed them to a restaurant on the north end of town. Goodwin sat in the restaurant, watched and waited. And then after they had finished, i contacted the manager and asked him if i could collect the dishes and the glasses that they had used at that table. The idea was to get fresh finger prints that could maybe i. D. Castro. Thats a pretty cool move. Did it work . It didnt work west tried every piece of dinner ware on the table. Hes still a mystery man as far as i. D. Thats right. So goodwin tried another finger print ploy. He took some glossy photos, walked up to lou castros home and cooked up a story about burglaries in the neighbor costly lou recognize any of the people or cars in the photos . So you hand these glossy eight by tens to the guy you believe is lou castro. He takes the envelopes and holds them between his palms. And once theyre out of the envelope, he moves them around with his finger nails and does not pick up the photos. He knew what you were doing. He did. It raised my suspicions even more that he was trying hide the from Law Enforcement. Frustrated, goodwin needed help. He called a detective in the d. A. s office, clint snyder, who had worked high profile cases. Like the notorious wichita btk serial killer. It was an amazing story when ron told it to me. All these mysterious deaths. In this business, dont believe in coincidences. I felt like ron was on to something. And he enlisted another big gun to help i. D. Castro. John sullivan. We checked our fbi data bases and private data bases. I had the offices go out and get photographs, pull arrest records. We checked every lou castro that we could find in the u. S. And none maxed the lou castro that we had living in wichita. How unusual is that . The. The fbi with all its resources, cannot come up with a name and an i. Dorks a guy. Thats extremely unusual. Specially in this day and age. Everybody has a trail. There should have been credit records, drivers license records, all sorts of records. And we could find none. None of the car purchases, the property deeds, even the utility business at Angels Landing were under the name lou castro. They were all under the names of commune members. But just as goodwin was feeling stumped, another extraordinary tragedy was about to shake Angels Landing. It happened in 2008 when sarah was almost 24 and emily, 17. I called mom after school to have dinner with her. And she didnt answer her phone. And i was so angry with her. Because she ignored my phone call. About 30 minutes into the test that i was taking, they pulled me out of class. My dad was there. He said weve got to go. And he started driving me to my house. And i said, dad, we have to go to the hospital. And he said no, emily, we dont. 911. Their mothers car had swerved into the oncoming traffic. She had hit a gravel truck head on. On a rural road. So your mother is suddenly dead. An awful event, maybe a distraction, or maybe she had to turn away from trouble. We really dont know. No idea. She had just bought a little yorkie. And for the past couple weeks, she had been happy. What did the investigators say . They said it was an accident. You and your sister and your father lives a longer period away. Tell me about it. That was one of the hardest periods of my life, right after mom had died. Meanwhile the investigators couldnt ignore the head on highway death. The sixth in eight years in the same family commune. Does that amp it up even more . I think we all were. We saw a pattern. About every two and a half years, there was a mysterious death, deemed each time to be an accident. While the officers suspected lou castro was somehow involved, they had no hard oeevidence on which to arrest him. They had to wait. Wasnt that easy. We didnt want to tip him off. If he knew we were looking at him, he could get up and move and change the way he does business. And you still didnt who know he was in 2009, he did exactly what they feared. He took off. But just as the investigators thought he might slip away, they got their first big break. Coming up, a troubling encounter. He was very angry with me. Scary angry. Then someone knew gives detectives the first look inside the mysterious world of Angels Landing. The authorities were very interested in what you had to say. Yes. When angels and demons continues. Well played. vo add some thrill to your wish list. At the season of audi sales event. Get exceptional offers now. Coto build a house, you need ary ststrong foundation. [music playing throughout] the same is true for building a business. Blackowned businesses are an integral part of americas foundation. They lay the groundwork for other black businesses like mine that turns concrete into something beautiful. Im kimberley robles, and im the owner and founder of robles concrete design. The Citi Foundation is helping our Community Partners facilitate more loans to blackowned businesses. Its moving day. And are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. It only takes about a minute. Wait, a minute . But what have you been doing for the last two hours . Delegating . Oh, good one. Move your Xfinity Services without breaking a sweat. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Xfinity makes moving easy. Go online to transfer your services in about a minute. Get started today. The man known as lou castro was linked to six mysterious deaths in the u. S. And didnt know how or why. Luke castro has slipped away. Left wichita. It happened suddenly. After her hmothers death in a car crew, they were traumatized. Were moving to tennessee. He said we really needed to go. I was angry for him for wanting to move and i wanted to stay and lou said emily, were doing this for you. For you . Yep, he said were going to be closer to vander build vande college i wanted to go to. This move was for me. Flattering to hear. How do you say no when the entire thing is about you . Youre still the princess. Emily was 17 and sarah was 24 edging away from the smoothering nest. I moved out. How did you do that . They were leaving to go to tennessee and i didnt want to go and i just lost my mom and didnt want to stand the thought of losing my dad. My daddy is so important to me. Did you tell lou to his face, im not going. Im not getting in the car . Yes. How did that go down . Very angry with me. Scary angry. I just did i cant. Im not doing that. I dont want to be that far away from my dad. I dont. There is no way. Emily might have gone to live with her father, but she remained with the commune. I wasnt going to leave what i considered my family. And your dad was part of another family back when. I still visited my dad and loved my dad but thats just not where i was going to live. So as the family and emily moved to a beautiful colonial home on acre rage in tennessee, star ra stood her ground in wichita. She could exhale at last and one evening she went out and met a guy. His name was daniel in the National Guard and as they fell in love, she began to spill the buried secrets of her past. You think nobody can have these dark stories part of your life but you had awful, awful things to tell. Uhhuh, yes. Sarah was still in touch with the family commune now living in tennessee, and daniel wanted to know more about this lou character sarah was telling him about. I started researching these deaths to try to figure out how much of it was related to this individual. Which is exactly what Law Enforcement was doing on the outside of this, trying to look in to figure out where the puzzle lay. What did you feel about these stories . A lot of mixed emotions. I didnt know how to handle it at the time because it was fresh and new to me. Just stuck with her and decided lets try to make thinkig thing secretly, daniel decided to take action. You put together a remarkable letter for the fbi. Yes. Took guts to do it. I was just pretty much just tired of me carrying all that information myself. I found out enough that i believe that it should be in somebody elses hands that can do something with it. Daniel laid out his suspicions, painting an alarming picture of the Angels Landing commune, a series of mysterious deaths, silence enforced with sickening threats and a big clue to where the money might have come from and at the center of it all, the man who called himself lou castro. For this veteran of the wars in afghanistan and iraq reporting to the authorities carried its risks. Did you worry about that . I did. But i decided this was something i have to do and the chips will fall where they fall. Turns out the authorities were very, very interested in what you had to say . Yes. In december 2009, nearly seven years after the wichita investigation began, the detectives and fbi agent got the first break, the email from daniel. In the email he told us what he thought was happening but the great thing about it, we had for the first time somebody on the inside to confirm suspicions. Saying you guys need to look at lou castro. Yes. We have a cooperating witness that will help us determine who lou castro is. In secret without sarah knowing, they brought daniel in and peppered him with questions. He related to us how lou castro and the others had moved to a residence in colombia, tennessee. We were reluctant to talk to his girlfriend because we didnt want to tip off lou castro or anybody else. And daniel, their inside mandel livered the moma man delivered the mother load. Brought me pictures can you identify these people. At the gate looking watching cars come and go and youre able to put the picture together for them . Correct. With daniels email and intel, good win, snider and sullivan got an official green light to pursue castro and try to take him out of business. Johns counter part in tennessee obtained a license tag on a vehicle there registered to a person by the name joe venages. We had a new name we thought could be a new Family Member or potentially lou castro. At the same time as the investigators were looking for joe, they were following money transferred from the Angels Landing family to their new home in tennessee. The money had transferred from wichita kansas area banks to colombia, tennessee banks. Emily remembers the day lou set up a new account. Did you go to the bank with him that day he opened the account . I did. You dont know the local authorities had been looking at him for years in wichita . No. After they got in touch with the bank, the investigators pulled the Security Camera video. There clearly visible was emily and there was a man called joe venagas opening an account. Who did you see in the image . Lou castro. Lou castro of wichita is joe venagas of tennessee . Thats correct. The investigators believed he was neither and now hed been made. Identity fraud is a federal crime so the investigators had grounds to arrest him. A week later, they moved in. Coming up, investigators finally get inside the doors of the commune. And later, sinister stories of Angels Landing dark angel. Amber was the angel of death. She would come around when somebody was going to die. Then youll hear from lou castro himself when angels and demons continues. N angels and demons continues. Vicks vapopatch. Easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. Trusted soothing vapors, from vicks she always wanted her smile to shine. Now, she uses a capful of therabreath healthy smile oral rinse to give her the healthy, sparkly smile she always wanted. crowd cheering therabreath, its a better mouthwash. At walmart, target and other fine stores. Its a striking Colonial House deep in the countryside outside nashville, tennessee and in 2010, this was where lou castros house full lived. There was lou, his fiancee and their daughter emily was there, too and other commune members. Based on information sarahs boyfriend daniel supplied to the three determined investigators, the fbi was now bird dogging the property but inside, emily and the other occupants were oblivious. So tennessee the house was very nice. You werent happy about leaving your classmates and life in wichita but were you pleased at the pros spegpects in tennessee . I was. It was hard going to school but i started focussing on getting to college and things like that. Emily recalls there had been so many changes and one change in particular was unusual, lous name. Lou wanted to be called joe. How did he explain that to you . Im not going to be lou. Dont call me lou over here anymore. I think because he didnt have the proper like identification to actually get legitimately established as lou, so he needed like an actual Social Security card and an actual drivers license. Investigators back in wichita found out that lou was now going by the name joe. They believed he had committed identity fraud, which gave them what they needed to make an arrest. We went to the front of the residence. Knocked on the door. Mr. Castro and his common law wife answered the door. We actually approached him as joe venages. We called him joe venages to his face and he said he was not joe venages but lou castro so he went back to his old identity. Was he shaky to see Law Enforcement at his front door . I dont think so. He was confident he would be able to explain away why we were there. The officers charged him, arrested him and served the property. What did you find . Paper documents, commuputerc 11 weapons, guns inside the house. Any smoking guns . No. Emily had been on her way home from school when she got a k call from detective goodwin. He said emily, where are you . I said i dont know who you are. He said im detective goodwin. Where are you . You need to come home. I showed up and goodwin and sullivan came out and i just about fainted and goodwin had to practically carry me into the house because i was terrified. What did they tell you it was all about . I dont remember. I remember that i didnt tell them anything. Lou himself was continuing to confound the officers by not giving up his real name. Were frustrated. We swept him away to the jail as fast as possible. We wanted his fingerprints immediately and to know who he was and that didnt occur. Castros fingerprints didnt show up in any federal database, and even after a sixhour interview, he didnt crack. So after the search warrant, after the tennessee trip, we came back to wichita partly happy because we had arrested lou castro, but we still didnt know who he was at that point. So when castro pleaded guilty to i. D. Fraud and sentenced to two years in federal prison, good wwin believed that was a py to avoid much bigger charges, many serious crimes over many years and he was determined to get to the truth. Seven years after opening up his investigation into Angels Landing, he set off to the police he believed his true beginning began. Coming up, the discovery that would break the case wide open. I snatched it out of his hands and said where did you get that . And emily makes a troubling discovery about lou. That was the price of being his Little Princess . Right. When angels and demons continues. Angels and demons continues. At fidelity, youll get the planning and advice to prepare you for the future, without sacrificing the things that are important to you today. Well help you plan for healthcare costs, taxes and any other uncertainties along the way. Because with fidelity, you can feel confident that the only direction youre moving is forward. And through the woods this holiday season. Remember, safe drivers save 40 with allstate. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Call a local agent, or 1800allstate for a quote today. I and nothing has really worked mifor me. Until now. Nd years. With nurtec odt, i have felt such relief. I am able to go about my day as if nothing happened. Nurtec is the only quick dissolve treatment for migraine attacks that can get many people back to normal activities and last up to 48 hours with just one dose. Dont take if allergic to nurtec. The most common side effect was nausea. For more information, go to nurtec. Com the nemesis of detective ron goodwin, a pman that called himself lou castro was behind bars after confessing to i. D. Fraud. After seven years of investigating, goodwin was just getting started. He believed castro was involved in much more serious crimes, heavy duty stuff. Ysterious deaths, the plane crash that killed mona and beth of brian hues under a collapsed vehicle. The inexplicable head on tragedy in which sarah and emilys mom jennifer died and trish hughes drowning. The phone trail took them to south texas. Patricia hughs was from beeville, texas. Goodwin questioned tricias family and said he went with a guy way back when. A guy named daniel perez. Have you heard that name . Never. Daniel perez, goodwin immediately contacted the local authorities and it turned out there was a record of a daniel perez. And a mug shot. They faxed that to me that day. I remember when ron finally got the fax from texas, and i snatch it out of his hands and said where did you get that . It was obvious it was the person we knew as lou castro but he was daniel perez. We got our guy here. Lou castro was daniel perez born in texas in 1959. The record showed he pleaded no contest to two sex crimes in the mid 1990s but the cases had been dismissed because he was believed to be dead. The person believed in south texas to have been dead for many years. Wasnt dead because you saw him in wichita. You seen him driving corvette. Thats right. He was on the land. He was on the land. In kansas and tennessee interviews with the Angels Landing commune helped good win connect the dots between six states and more than a dozen commune members over a period of about 15 years. And Something Else happened, emily wrote a letter to lou whale he was serving time for i. D. Fraud. I said im finally going where i want to go, and im doing the things i want to do. He wrote me back and chewed me out for not caring about him. That was the price of being his Little Princess. I was saying that i was happy, and he took that as a slap in the face. And i stopped talking to him. Instead, emily started talking to the investigators, but warily. She and sarah trickled out their stories, fearful they, too, might be implicated in whatever goodwin suspected. It took a lot of questioning and lots of tears and lots of detective goodwin telling me that it was going to be all right and that i wasnt in trouble. Sarah and emilys whole terrifying saga began when sarah was 17 and emily 10. A supernatural world began to emerge soon after their mom got to know the man they called lou in 2001 as they prepared to move into Angels Landing. Mom said, you know, emily, i think sarah was in the car, too, but she said does lou seem kind of special to you . I said hes pretty nice. Shes like well, hes actually a sere. A sere . A sere. Mom said he had told her that he was hundreds or thousands of years old and that he could see what was going to happen in the future, and that the reason we followed him was that she just had that instinct and just knew that she needed to be close to him because he could protect her and keep her safe because he knew what was coming. Did you believe it . I mean, i was a little skeptical at first but i think when youre 9 or 10 and your mom says this is really whats happening, you give it a little more credibility. And it wasnt just emily and sarahs mom. Others at Angels Landing believed lou was a direcrect de dant and had the pow toer to ma it rain. I heard incidents lou was dead or an animal was dead and he made them better. Did you believe it . Yes. He could see people from the past, like people that had already died he could see those people, too. See them because he said he was an angel. Lou said your mom is right. I am hundreds of years old. This isnt really my body. Ive died several times, but this is just the one im in light now. What did you think . It seemed really cool. You know, it was like being so special and being around this thing that nobody else gets to do. Your very own angel. Yeah, like seeing santa claus. You get really excited when youre 10 years old and he was telling us that he would take care of us and he would always make sure that we were safe. But safety meant lou needed control. He was the one that told everybody what they were going to do and when they were going to do it and how they were going to do that. Bossy guy . My way or the highway . Kind of. He was very good at like manipulating you i guess you could say. Was your mom vulnerable . He seemed to know where peoples buttons were. Yes, very much so. Hes stepping in like the boss, huh . Yeah, he acted like he was my dad. What do you think that thing was he put together that you got pulled into, sarah . A cult. Cult. The guy you only knew as lou castro was the cult leader . Yes. What was the thing he had . Did you feel the power . Yeah. He could say crazy things and you think hes telling you the truth . Yeah. Detective ron goodwin was listening to this but nothing could have prepared him for what came next. Lou castro, the sere had three angel alter egos. They were always watching over him. Daniel, amber and arthur. Like arthur was mean. And daniel was kinder. But you didnt want to meet either of these no, no. Amber was the angel of death. So if she would come around when somebody was going to die. He could see who was going to die, is that something he yes. Said was in his powers . Right. Did you ever see that personality in him . I did. When amber had sort of taken over him, how was he different . You know in movies like the best one that i can think of is the dark night when heath ledger is the joker and he has a terrible grin on his face and do puts his head to the side and has bug eyes. Lou wouldnt do that. He wouldnt blink and get this terrible grin at your pain. Things like that that just looked evil. The sisters say before their moms death, castro had a terrifying vision. He predicted my mom was going to die. How did you feel about this . Devastated. It was awful. The outlandish stories were shocking to ron goodwin, a seasoned detective who was about to discover more about lou castros power over life and death. Emily was about to take the detective back to the summer day in 2003 when trish hughes drowned in the Swimming Pool. Her story is trish hughes is not an accidental drowning. Thats right. Coming up, what emily heard. Her splash, a Little Scream like a shreek. And what emily saw. I lost it. When angels and demons continues. Angels and demons continues. Smooth driving pays off. With allstate, the safer you drive the more you save. You never been in better hands. Allstate. Click or call for a quote today. The only thing a disaster cant destroy is hope. Donate now at redcross. Org im dara brown. Investigators are investigating a massive explosion in downtown nashville believed to be an intentional act. Three were injured close to the blast were damaged. There is currently in indication of fatalities, authorities believe they could have found human remains at the blast site. A curfew is in effect until sunday afternoon. Live updates all night but now back to dateline extra. Detective ron goodwin was scarcely able to take in the story of the cult at Angels Landing. Sisters emily and sarah recounted that lou castro whose real name was daniel perez brainwashed them into believing he was a sere and he took on the personalities of dark manipulative angels that could predict someones death. They said they believed it really happened. Eight months later, emily at last took the detective back to 2003 and the tragic death of trish hughes. This was a different story than the one she told at the time back when she was 11 and began with a prediction similar to the one lou castro made before her moms death in 2008. She tells of an incident prior to Patricia Hughes drowning in the Swimming Pool. About a week before tricias death, emily, trishs toddler and trish herself was sitting at a table when lou castro the sere had a vision. He said, you know, emily something really big is going to happen and he said trish is going to die, and i started crying. He said its okay. Its her time. She says castro told her not to worry. While he couldnt be there when trish died because it would destroy his power as a sere, he would still bring trish back to life. And, you know, shell come back. Do i understand that trish is listening in on this . Right. Shes hearing this described . Yes. Is she startled . Does she say not me, im not going along with this . No, she was quite involved. On the appointed day, the Angels Landing family had gone out to lunch. We had just gotten back from lunch and he said all right, were going to go to the dealership to look at a car. I think it was for sarah but i dont remember. And he said but the pool needs to be cleaned so you and trish are going to stay here and clean it. Youre going to stay here and clean the pool. Yep. He said emily, its time. I said okay. She says lou began to set up the cleaning equipment for the pool a few feet away from the workshop. He said youre going to wait inside the shop with the little one. I said okay. So i gave trish a hug on the diving board and i started crying and she said why are you crying . I said because im going to miss you. And she said it will be okay. Then emily took the toddler. Waited inside the workshop where there were some new kilt tttens a few minutes go by and there is a splash. There is a Little Scream. A little bit of a scream. Uhhuh like a shreek and then lou came in and he was panting or out of breath and looked sad and arms were wet. She says lou gave emily a critical order. Wait 20 minutes and then go out there. Make sure you and the baby jump in so that youre wet and call 911. So we went and played with the kittens in the shop and i waited. It was fwas an agonizing 20 min trying to entertain the little girl. Knowing trish was outside. Time goes by. You leave the shed. Go over to the pool. Yeah, we went to the pool. Trish was floating in the shallow end of the pool face down. So i got the baby and i jumped in. Just to get yourself wet. Yeah. Because you had to you had a story that had been fed you. Right. That you have attempted to rescue the baby. Yeah. How awful. Youre seeing trish floating dead there in the pool . I lost it. Even so, emily called 911 just as ordered by castro and told the story trish slipped trying to rescue the baby and died and in the 20minute window, lou took sarah to the car dealership. Did he give you a hint what was going on that day, sarah . No. What do you believe lou did at the pool that day . I believe he drowned trish. Not an accident at all . No. Pushed her head under the water and killed her . Yes. Detective ron goodwin believed sarah and emily were duped. He said with his powers as a sere, he had put her in a time warp convincing her for many years she wasnt even at the pool when trish drowned. So innocent 11yearold emily waited and waited for lou to bring trish back to life but she was gone and for years her death remained an accidental drowning. I know that it was because of the story that i told and there is a lot of regret that comes along with that. But youre not to blame for this. You do get that, right . Trying to come to terms. Goodwin was now grasping the full extent of castros hold over emily at Angels Landing. The control that he had over her was unlimited. She would do anything for him. She truly believed he was this person. And with emilys story, he had the evidence hed been seeking for so many years of castros crimes. So now based on this little girls story, young woman but telling the story of what she saw and took part in as a little girl, you got a murder case. Yes. As if hurter wasnt enough, emily and sarah had more to tell. There were more crimes to reveal even more ugly stuff. Sarah and emily were about to take the investigators into their truly dworld. Coming up, the dark truth at the heart of Angels Landing. Ill let you tell as little or much of it as youd like. H o. tis the season to save a bundle. Bundle auto and home, and save up to 25 with allstate. Bundling just feels good this time of year. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Call a local agent, or 1800allstate for a quote today. Wichita detective ron goodwin listened in horror as emily and sarah revealed the awful story of trish hughes murder at Angels Landing but nothing, not the email from daniel, the story about trishs drowning or his wildest suspicions about lou castro could prepare him for what he was about to hear next. Emily, here is the really difficult part of your story and tell as little or much of it as youd like. You shared the bedroom with lou. Yes. As a fourth grader . Yes, i was 10. 10 years old. Yes, and i was in his bed every night. He convinced me this is what i need to do to take care of him and this is my job. Why did he say he needed you . He said that for a sere, he needed to have a pure little girl to have sex with him so he could survive. And that would recharge his batteries as the angel who is hundreds, maybe thousands of years old. Right and he would validate it with old biblical stories or things like that about how little girls are special and that he really needed a little girl and that i had to take care of him. Did you think it was wrong or out of line at the time . No. I wanted to take care of him. Thats what i was supposed to do. Its hard to explain, but i loved lou. I loved him quite a bit. And so i did it. It was uncomfortable and it was painful and it breaks my heart now. You know, its really hard for me to look at pictures of myself when i was little, but. Your childhood was stolen from you. It was. By this man. It was. Even when castro got engaged and had a child, the abuse didnt stop though emily was pushed out of the bedroom. Crazy to say, were you a little jealous . I was. I definitely was. I was 12 and i felt like i was getting divorced. For sarah, the awful reality was not dissimilar. She, too was subjected to the mind games as he sought to control her. Like trying to drive a wedge between my sister and i. Were you jealous of emily . Uhhuh. He tried to make he jealous of her, yes. And she says castro was more violent with her than he was with her sister. If you didnt follow lous way, what would happen . He would rape me. Rape you . Uhhuh. How awful. I mean, there are hundreds and hundreds of times and i cant tell you every single time but you try not to remember those things. How old were you when it began . 17. Castros abuse was backed up by threats if the girls didnt obey. He said he would take me to purge tory. He would threaten people to take them to purge tory so they would forever be in limbo. Yes. It important to remember, he, lou would never make the threats. It was the angels inhabiting his body who would make these threats so the next morning hed wake up and be like mama, i love you. Im so sorry. And like really. Where is your mom at when this is going on . It was like usually really late at night. And so she would be sleeping in her house. Because you by then had two or three different properties, right . Yeah. What about the other adults. There is brian. There is tricia. People coming and going to the pool parties and seeing things, nobody intervened. Nobody saw it. You know, i think thats really important, nobody saw the abuse and ive spoken to people who were there and i guarantee you nobody knew. He was very careful. I never had a bruise. Except psychologically. Right and i was always with him so it wouldnt be weird to disappear for an her or two, you know. Nobody knew. But castro didnt just manipulate the girls for sex, he ordered sarah secretly to videotape a young child in a bathroom, orders backed up with the most sadistic of threats. Was he happy with what you showed . No, he made me do the twice because he said the first time i didnt get what he needed me to get. If you had said no, im not going to take the video camera and go with the little girl, what would he have done to you . Hed say im going to make your Worst Nightmare come true, ill kill your dad. The same reason she never told her dad about the abuse. He was always threatening to kill my dad. That was his big goto thing for you . Yes, because im a daddys girl. He knew that. Uhhuh. The acute fear he instilled in her was worse when he had been drinking. One evening he was brand dishing an assault rifle. He put a gun at my head. At you . Yes, because he was angry with me. He enjoyed the pain. He enjoyed making people miserable, and making people terrified. He enjoyed it. But so great was castros power that leaving didnt seem to be an option for the young girl. You didnt have any money and a plan b but you did have your dad back home. I think thats a pretty common thing for people in these types of situations that everybody says well, you could have left then and you could have left then but that didnt seem like a possibility. The thought of leaving was scarier than the thought of staying. The scary part is what if hes right, i am useless. What if hes right, nobody will love me. What if hes right and he is a sere . And does have an avenging angel. Right. That will come get you. Thats scarier than staying. You believed that would happen . I did. I know i physically could now but i never thought about leaving. I thought about killing myself but not leaving. How did you get over that . You dont. I have ptsd. Im not at all surprised. Ron goodwin believed hed been told of crimes that could see daniel perez, aka lou castro already in prison behind bars for a very long time. Hes a sexual predator who is willing to do anything to get his way and do what he wants to do, live life the way he wants to live and hell stop at nothing including murder and rape and he didnt stop at anything. After the investigators presented evidence to the d. A. , they wanted until castro completed his twoyear federal prison sentence and immediately rearrested him and he ended up being charged with 28 counts. Firstdegree murder. Child exploitation as well as multiple counts of actual crimes and fraud. Kansas versus daniel perez was heading to the court. As witnesses filed into the courtroom, the investigators wondered if their star witness emily perhaps so vulnerable would hold up when she saw the man she knew as lou castro sitting before her. How much guts and courage does this young woman have . I cant imagine what it took for her to get to the point where she is ready to do that. This is a guy she had seen brandishing guns, right, around the family compound. Yes. Making physical, verbal threats. Yes. And now shes going to take him on . Yes. And she understands this . She does. Coming up, despite all the evidence at least one part of this case may not be a slam dunk. This was the only count that had the testimony of one individual so yes, it was the most difficult to prove. And later, facetoface with the man accused of being the evil heart of Angels Landing. When angels and demons continues. Angels and demons continues. I love audible because its changed my life for the better. Whatever question i have i feel like theres an avenue to seek the answer. Hit that app and you start a story, youre on an adventure. Download a new book within seconds and its ready to go. Theres something for everybody on audible. I like short stories. Short stories are easy. Theyre quick. I like long and like intricate stories, thats really what i love. Audible originals. I like biographies. Selfhelp. Fantasy. True crime podcasts. I love it so much. I can literally listen to anything. I can do it any time. And any place. And you know, for as long as i like. Getting really into a story can totally transform where you are and your mindset. Its really cool. Every time i learn something new, it just fuels the curiosity to explore more, to learn more. Theres anything and everything. To start your free 30day trial, just text listen 17 to 500500. To start your free people are saving hundreds in a land not so far away, on the most Reliable Network with xfinity mobile. They can choose from the latest phones or bring their own. And because they get nationwide 5g at no extra cost, they live happily ever after. Again again your wireless. Your rules. Your way to stay closer together this holiday season. Switch and save up to 400 a year on your wireless bill. And get 150 off when you buy a samsung a series phone. Learn more at xfinitymobile. Com. At segwick County District court. Determine whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. Daniel perez a. K. A. Lou perez is on trial. Charged with the murder of trish hughes and sex crimes including child and plexploitation and fr. No charges in the other mysterious deaths. Emily and sarah would testify but not yet at the time wanting to make public identities and face down the accuse that controlled them both for so many years. I cant imagine how antsy you must have been walking into the courtroom. Right. Because the case depends on you. All i can think about is how are they going to believe me . You know, this is such a crazy story. What if they dont believe me . The state mr. Bennett and i will ask you to hold him responsible and find him guilty. District attorney mark bennett and assistant d. A. Kim parker prosecuted the sprawling case. Were you worried about explaining this thing to a jury what it was about . Sure, we had facts from across several states, facts that involved a multitude of victims and witnesses. This is like an i max movie and you went with the epic version of daniel perez story. Why did you do that . Cant understand it, otherwise. If you cant tell the whole story, the jury would be lost. The prosecution had won a key ruling before trial when the judge allowed evidence from beyond kansas to be entered. So criminal accusations that goodwin, snider and sullivan had uncovered from texas through the midwest would be heard by the jury. An individual by the name of Patricia Hughes had died. The d. A. Alleges trish hughes might have been a willing participant in the death, it was nonetheless perez that held her head under water. The distinction between homicide and suicide is suicide is at your own hand and literally, homicide the hand of another. His hand was necessary to complete this act. There was circumstantial evidence presented to prove the charge and the star testimony of one witness, emily, 11 years old at the time of tricias death. Was this the weaks part of the case you had to work the most on . This is the only count with the testimony of one individual so yes, it was the most difficult to prove. I kept thinking nobody is going to really think its as bad as it was. Nobody is going to think he should serve life in prison. Beyond emilys account, the prosecution put on an Expert Witness to testify to the Small Businesses on top of trishs head consistent with finger pressure and the broken hair clip found in the pool bottom got there not because trish stumbled but someone pushed on the top of her head as she was held under water. Moving on, the nextploitation o carried a life sentence. This was the incident sarah was forced to videotape a child as she got undressed. How did it feel . Terrifying. I thought he was going to jump across the table and get me. Even then . Uhhuh so i tried my best to not even look at him and my dad was on one side of the room and kim, she was over there. I had plenty of other people i could look at. But you were still shaky scared. Oh, yes. The d. A. S alleged perez ordered sarah to take videos of the child at least twice. We found all this 1rvideo on the computers in tennessee. Among other sex crime charges, sarah and emily and one other witness testified about the same Sexual Assault that took place one evening. All three independently described this. It was surreal to sit in front of 12 people i dont know to tell them terrible things in graphic detail that happened when i was 10. And there were more witnesses. Another four young women from three states, alleged victims unaware of one another agreeing lou castro claimed angels were controlling him as he assaulted them sexually. The m. O. Of attacking victims was similar. Yeah. Didnt know each other, of course. Thousands of miles apart. In their store ies, essentiay the same. The fraud charges revaealed the big picture. You didnt have to go far down the paper trail to realize perez signed nothing, the car loans, the mortgage applications, all filled out by his followers. The prosecutors said he manipulated Family Members into using their own names to buy the real estate and lavish toys and it got worse. It turned out that trish, mona and lindsey who died in the plane crash, brian hughes, the mechanic and emily and sarahs mother that died in a car crash all had two things in common. Daniel perez had predicted each of their deaths and each had juicy Life Insurance policies, payouts totaling 4. 2 million were made to commune members perez controlled. It seemed when they were running low, someone would die and there would be a big insurance pay off. Was it that boldface a pattern mark . Absolutely. Get down into the less than 10,000 in the account, sometimes less than 5,000 and thats around the time somebody would die. With that explanation, the d. A. Summed up the case against 55yearold daniel perez. Its a story of domination, control and manipulation. The most vulnerable. It spans 15 years multiple victims, multiple deaths, multiple Life Insurance policies and he moves through several states so he can satisfy his own sexual appetite. Daniel perez was about to take the stand and tell the court that it had all been a big misunderstanding. Next, youll hear him speak directly to us. Coming up. Mr. Perez, ive heard you described as cult leader, child rapist, who are you . When angels and demons continues. Angels and demons continues. [ thunder rumbles ] [ engine rumbling ] [ beeping ] [ engine revs ] uh, you know theres a 30minute limit, right . Tell that to the rain. [ beeping ] for those who were born to ride, theres progressive. For years, he traveled through texas and the midwest going by the name lou castro. In tennessee, he was joe venegas. You do solemnly swear the testimony youre about to give he faced his own defense. This time in his own name. Daniel perez. Reporter perez told the court that everything about his story had been invented by the prosecution. There were no angels, no demons, no sexual crimes, no insurance fraud, and certainly no murder. Perez sat down with dateline and we went over the points of his defense. I have heard you described as cult leader, child rapist, someone thats very good to have off the streets. Who are you . Im no one in particular. Im just, im just me. Reporter do you think you can see into the future . Are you a prophet, a seer . No, sir. Reporter why are you telling people you can . I never told them anything. Reporter who are your angel alter egos . Are they still around . The good angel, the mean angel, the angel of death . Theres no such thing. And they werent alter egos. If i was having sex with somebody i dont want anybody else calling me by my name. So youd call me anything you want to call me, just dont call me lou. And thats what they chose and thats what they did. Reporter explaining his wealth, he says after being charged with sex crimes in the mid90s, he left texas not because he was fleeing the authorities, but because he was on an illicit job, something he never revealed to investigators or in court. I was just a mule. I was just moving money. Thats it. I delivered money and i got paid for it. Reporter is this illegal money . Yes, sir. Reporter you still got the money . Yes, sir. Reporter what are you worth . What do you think . I dont know. Reporter half a million . Probably close to. Reporter as for the alleged murder of trish hughes in the Swimming Pool, did he sit emily and trish down at a table and predict trishs death . Did you tell her her time had come . Did you tell little emily that trishas time had come . No. No. Reporter and have that little girl set up an alibi for you to be out at the car dealership and no, sir. Reporter so youre saying they made up all that stuff about trisha in the pool . No, i was not there. I was at davis moore chevrolet. Reporter well, theres no question you were at the at the car dealership later on. Key question, it wasnt your hand on Trisha Hughes head pushing her beneath the water, killing her . Nobody killed Patricia Hughes. Reporter heres the thing. When, when investigators look at you, what theyre telling is the court that bad things happen to people that know you, but theres a big infusion of insurance money in. Lets go back to the plane incident. Did you rig that plane to crash and kill those three people . No, sir. Reporter years go by and then its trishas time in the pool. A few more years go by and its brian, the husband, trapped underneath the car. Yes, he passed away in south dakota. Reporter passed away. Did you have anything to do with the no, sir. Reporter death of brian hughes . No, sir. Reporter did you play mind games with jennifer to make her drive into that truck . No, sir. I had nothing to do with anyones death. Reporter what about the instructions he allegedly gave sara with the video camera . You didnt order somebody to take these obscene naked pictures of this little girl . No. They found the pictures and the videos on her computer, not mine. Has anyone considered that fact . That she is the one that was doing it . Reporter are you a pedophile . No, sir. Reporter do you have an appetite for little girls . No, sir. Reporter so raping the 11yearold never happened . No. Reporter thats the allegation. It is, but im not. Reporter that the thing that you get up for in the morning is to drive your flashy cars around and look forward to raping a young girl. Thats what youre about. Thats not the reality. Reporter sara says that you raped her hundreds of times. No. Reporter hundreds. No. Reporter thats what she testifies to in court. Yes, she did. Yes, she did. Reporter that makes you a monster . Yes, it would. It would make anyone a monster. Reporter so what are you saying . You didnt do it . No. No. They were of age and they were of willing and consent. We were just just having fun. Reporter the stories that come out from these people that used to be in your family is that you were manipulating them, you were gonna go kill their father. They felt absolutely terrorized by you. And one of them was dating a Police Officer. We have Police Officers, Law Enforcement that hang out at the ranch for at least eight years. Its not logical. I mean, how are you gonna sit there and be raping an individual and that individuals not gonna run to a Police Officer thats standing right there . And go say, hey, listen, this is taking place, you know . Reporter the prosecution is gonna put together a story that you are a very unlucky guy with all of these people around you dying every few years and a lot of money coming into the family. How do you explain that kind of pattern, that circumstantial pattern they say is your criminal enterprise . I mean, i cant explain i i cant explain it. Reporter were you a cult leader . No. There was no commune. There was no cult. Reporter and thats in essence what daniel perez told the jury. The state had it all wrong, top to bottom. The jury got the case and retired to deliberate. In about three hours it was back with a verdict. Judge Joseph Bribiesca read it to the court. Count one, guilty of murder in the first degree. Reporter daniel perez was found guilty on all 28 counts. Tell me about the moment. It was surreal. When i heard the first count of first degree murder read as a guilty verdict, thats almost all you heard. Reporter then again and again and again, 28 times. 28 times. Reporter the following month, he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. For the first degree murder of trish, and the exploitation of a child. The evidence conclusively shows that he used people as mere objects. Reporter he received another 33 years for the other charges. The 55yearold would not be eligible for parole for more than 80 years. Some speculate he might have been involved in the other deaths, like the car crash in which emily and saras mom died. Do you think theres more to it . Probably. Reporter or that plane crash in which codys mom and sister were lost . Perez was a plane mechanic in the navy. He did it. Some way, somehow, he found a way to alter the aircraft. Reporter you believe . In my heart, i do. Reporter you dont have any evidence to say that . I cant prove anything. Reporter his heart goes out to emily and sara. I lost my mom and sister. But those girls lost i cant even imagine. Reporter so who is daniel perez . He used so many different stories that its hard to piece them together. Reporter hes just a guy from south texas . Right. Reporter telling stories. Right. Reporter buying toys. Right. Reporter destroying lives. Right. Reporter for what reason . He liked it. He realized that if he could find a way to generate capital without having to work, he could have access to whatever sort of things his heart desired, things including me and my sister. Reporter in the end, it was tenacity and doggedness that took perez down. I would not have my life back if not for the detectives. And mr. Bennett and ms. Parker, the d. A. S. Its amazing what theyve given me. Reporter the last time we sat down with sara and emily, they were trying to move on. But still reflecting on the shocking abuse. Your mother knew nothing about all of this . Do you think . Looking back, she had to have known. Reporter youd think. She must have lost her mind. Theres no way that my mom would allow that to happen to her children. Reporter does it feel over . Or is it still going on for you . Part of it is over. Reporter just part. The part of being under his thumb . In a way, thats over. But ill never get my mom back, or those years back that i lost with my dad and my sister. Those are gone forever. Reporter your mom must have been in a very bad place. Looking back, i think she was. Reporter the sisters are now closer, and to their dad, too. There were many, many times my dad could have given up, and he never did. He cried, and wanted to know why i never told him. Reporter in your mind, you were keeping him safe from the demon. Sara is now married, and emily, too. Both want to help others with their story. I think there are people out there experiencing similar things that i did, being manipulated and abused, who are scared to leave. Reporter those people might not have a good one looking out for them, riding up with a white hat and a posse. But there are white hats out there. There are a lot of people who care. Maybe i can help somebody. At least i want to. I think some sort of lightness has to come out from all of his darkness. Im craig melvin. And im natalie morales. This is dateline. Did you shoot your parents . No. Either one of them . No. Youre not a murderer . Im not a murderer. Madison holton, high school senior, accused killer. I literally got chills. This is a huge deal. The father had come home and found a lot of drug paraphernalia. They were having issues with him. It was hurting her heart to have this happen. Distraught parents, a rebellious teen. A family meeting explodes into violence. That situation goes from calm to murder in 11 minutes . Yeah