A terrible discovery leads to an ongoing mystery

foreign [Music] deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website well folks here's my new backyard said 47 year old Nadia medley as she filmed her surroundings with her smartphone it was Wednesday May 10 2017 antonadia stood alone in the middle of a sprawling Paddock on the rural outskirts of Caldwell Idaho Nadia slowly panned her phone capturing the overgrown grass and wild flowers that encircled her in the distance were trees and the fences of neighboring properties there wasn't a cloud in the blue sky and all was silent aside from the gentle sounds of birds chirping kind of liking this just a little bit Nadia remarked she honed in on a rundown fence with broken wires that needed fixing Nadia explained that rebuilding it was one of the projects she had to work on her feet was one of her three pet dogs sniffing and chewing on grass dogs are the only thing that's grazing now Nadia joked but that will change the land had so many trees that the house where Nadia lived wasn't visible from where she was standing the pleasure she took in the peaceful country home was evident in her voice so she narrated her video tour of the property Nadia filmed the Farm's Hen House where their chickens were kept before pausing on a small building further away [Music] hey shed she explained yep baby we're loving it foreign [Music] [Music] just one week earlier Nadia had moved to the Caldwell farm from her previous home in the city of Ogden Utah she kept her friends back in Utah up to date on her new life in Idaho via her Facebook page there they could watch the video Nadia filmed of her new backyard it looks right down your alley a friend commented that's so pretty wrote another it's a ton of work Nadia admitted but added that she was loving Idaho already a few days later Nadia posted a photograph of her front yard being pilted with rain during a storm on Thursday May 18 one of Nadia's dogs clambered onto a tree with her as she took a break from all the yard work she shared a photo of this too writing this silly dog climbed a tree with us today a month into her time in Caldwell Nadia completed a survey of 34 questions about her likes and dislikes she posted the results to her Facebook page question 25 asked are you where you want to be in life Nadia's answer to this was simply yes Nadia was originally from Germany she had immigrated to the United States on her own where she met and married an American man named Todd medley the two worked together in a pet store they also bred small animals at their home to make extra money in 2002 the couple had their first child a girl they named Payton almost a decade later in 2011 Nadia gave birth to her second child who died shortly thereafter three years later in 2014 while Nadia was still dealing with the loss of her baby Todd suffered a heart attack and died with no other family in the United States apart from Todd's relatives who lived Interstate Nadia and Payton grew extremely close they bonded over their love of animals and did fun activities together such as swimming and picnicking Nadia described Payton as one of her favorite people when two short stories that Payton had written were published in her school's annual writing Anthology Nadia was incredibly proud [Music] despite her deep connection with her daughter Nadia still struggled Utah felt like a strange place to her at times Nadia loved the state's natural beauty but as a staunch atheist she found it's overwhelmingly religious culture quite foreign the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were in Utah and many of Nadia's Neighbors in Ogden were church members finances were also a difficulty Todd hadn't left behind any money when he died and now Nadia was a Sole Provider she began working as a massage therapist at an Ogden Spa one day in 2015 a man in his late 50s arrived for an appointment his name was Mike Bollinger and despite the age difference Nadia felt a spark right away Mike was warm and Charming with a wide smile both loved hiking and exploring the graveyard doors Mike was also an atheist and his values aligned with nadias the two soon began dating Nadia's friends were thrilled for her it was clear that Mike had brought happiness back into her life he was also great with Payton sometimes picking her up from school or taking her out for lunch he became something of a father figure teaching Payton outdoor skills like shooting or playing with her in the Autumn Leaves Payton seemed to a door Mike almost as much as her mother and soon she'd started calling him dad Mike Nadia and Payton attended concerts and festivals together went to the baseball and hiked and camped in Yellowstone National Park because Mike worked as a pilot he often had to travel for a few days at a time he made up for his absence by taking Nadia and Payton on vacations or other Adventures that Nadia documented on her Facebook page by the beginning of 2017 Nadia and Mike had been together for almost 18 months things were going so well that Nadia felt ready to ask Mike an awkward question her single income wasn't a lot and she was having trouble making her mortgage payments Nadia had seen Mike's paycheck and knew he made more than ten thousand dollars a month so she wondered if he might be able to help her out financially Mike was troubled by the question he had divorced his wife a decade earlier and anadia was the first woman he'd been involved with since then becoming financially entangled with another seemed far too serious for him and he worried that the relationship was moving more quickly than he was ready for after a conversation about the matter the couple broke up [Music] Mike had recently been offered more consistent work based out of Boise the capital city of Idaho he'd purchased a rundown Farm in the city of Caldwell about 28 miles west of Boise the property was around one and a half acres and it had a fully equipped Farmhouse that was built in 1964. [Music] from the outside it looked like a modest weatherboard home but it had four bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as a spacious kitchen as he was nearing retirement age Mike thought the property would be a Scenic spot to live out his golden years the farm needed lots of work but it was a project Mike was Keen to take on yet not having Nadia in his life made Mike realize what he'd be giving up if their relationship didn't progress further despite no longer being a couple they had stayed in touch and still spoke regularly both of them missed one another and found being apart very difficult [Music] within a few weeks they decided to get back together proving how serious he was about their relationship Mike asked to Nadia and Payton to live in Caldwell with him Nadia accepted his offer she looked forward to settling in the countryside and starting a new phase of their lives as a family the setting also suited the animal loving Payton who would have plenty of room for all her pets which included dogs cats rabbits chickens birds fish and one snake Nadia planned to raise livestock and to keep horses on the land in late March 2017 Nadia shared the news of her upcoming move interstate on Facebook posting here we come [Music] just over a month later on Thursday May 4 2017 nadir and Payton headed north to join mayak in Idaho with spring in full bloom the Caldwell Farm was green and covered in wildflowers Nadia and Payton loved it from the moment they arrived they and Mike spent a lot of time Outdoors working on the repairs that needed to be done around the property Nadia posted photos and videos of her country life online while encouraging her friends to visit anytime [Music] on Friday June 9 Nadia was scheduled to drive to Utah to pick up some horses for the farm but she never arrived wondering what was going on the horse sellers tried calling her cell phone there was no answer it all seemed a bit strange but as the sellers didn't know Nadia well they didn't think much of it as well as being an enthusiastic social media user Nadia was reliable and replied to messages quickly when her friends stopped hearing from her they wondered if something was wrong Peyton's friends noticed that she'd fall on silent too the last time she'd replied to a text message was on Thursday June 8. as she was ordinarily glued to her phone this seemed rather odd still it was the summer and she just moved to a new place so they wondered if maybe she was just busy working outdoors and caring for her animals Mike's family hadn't heard from him either he had two sons from a previous marriage and neither had spoken to him in days when more than awakened past with no word from the cordwell farm authorities were asked to perform a welfare check deputies from the county sheriff's department arrived at the property on Monday June 19. the area was eerily quiet there was also a foul odor in the air the deputies entered the Farmhouse calling out to anyone who might be inside but there was no reply although there were no people in the house the deputies did find the bodies of several dead dogs cats and pet birds it appeared as though the animals had starved to death other pets including some rabbits and a snake were still alive outside the deputies checked the hen house it was full of dead chickens They too had apparently died of starvation not far from the hen house was a hayshed the worst smell seemed to be emanating from there [Music] inside the deputies discovered a blue tarp covering something on the floor underneath were the bodies of three people decomposed beyond recognition due to the summer heat [Music] when a teacher by the name of Cheryl Baker was in her late 40s she caught a flight to Alaska and found herself seated next to a very engaging man Gerald was warm and friendly and the two hit it off they wound up exchanging phone numbers and began dating when they were both back at home in Utah in 2010 when Cheryl was 50 and Gerald was 53 they married Cheryl who was artistic and creative made her own wedding dress the two had a lot in common both enjoy traveling hiking and horseback riding Cheryl practiced Hinduism and attended the SRI Ganesha Temple of Utah Gerald took an interest in the faith and would go to the temple with her he even ended up learning Sanskrit a classical language of South Asia so he could better understand the Hindu texts but the couple had their differences too Geraldine knew a lot about surviving in the wilderness and would sometimes act as a guide for hunting parties Cheryl hated guns and would have to leave the room whenever Gerald returned from one of these trips she couldn't stand being in the same space while Gerald cleaned his firearms overall though the couple's friends and family were struck by how happy they seemed in 2016 six years after their wedding Cheryl and Gerald went on a rafting vacation together when they returned Cheryl was glowing as though she'd just been on her honeymoon she raved about what a wonderful time she and Gerald had together at around this time Cheryl was in her late 50s and had been a teacher for almost four decades in 2017 she toured at Greenwood Charter School in Harrisville a city just a few miles north of her home in Ogden Gerald worked as a charter pilot so he was sometimes away for days at a time but he'd been offered a more stable job based out of Boise in Idaho the couple began to think about their future and what they wanted their retirement to look like they decided to buy a rural property fixing it up together would be a fun project after Cheryl left her teaching position in Utah the couple purchased the farm in the small town of Caldwell on Thursday May 4 2017. the plan was for Gerald to move there right away and start working on things that needed fixing such as the plumbing and painting meanwhile Cheryl would keep living at their house in Ogden and to get it ready to be sold the couple stayed in touch during their time apart and on Saturday June 3 they traveled to New Mexico together to attend the wedding of one of Gerald's relatives several days later on Tuesday June 6 57 year old Cheryl worked her final day at the Greenwood Charter School she was leaving the job to start preparing for her retirement by this time Cheryl and Gerald had owned the farm in Caldwell for a month but she still hadn't seen it in person now that she was no longer working it seemed like the perfect time to surprise Gerald with an impromptu visit Cheryl wanted to see the farm for herself and also spent some time with her husband on Thursday June 8 she let some friends know that she was headed up to the farm the next time anyone heard from her was several days later on Sunday June 11. one of Cheryl's friends received a strange text message from her it read take care of my dogs I don't know if I'm coming back when Cheryl's brother heard about this message he wasn't concerned Cheryl and Gerald loved to travel so perhaps they went on a last minute camping trip somewhere but another week went by with no word from the Kabul meanwhile in Caldwell Police had received multiple calls requesting welfare checks on Mike Bollinger and Nadia and Peyton medley the three lived on a farmhouse not far out of town and no one had heard from them for 10 days when deputies arrived at the farm they were met with the grisly scene multiple pets had died of starvation after being seemingly abandoned hidden under a tarp in the hayshed were three bodies believed to be those of the three missing residents all had been killed with a single execution-style gunshot to the Head identification at the scene wasn't possible the summer heat had sped up the decomposition process considerably and the trio had likely already been dead for at least a week and a half one of the bodies appeared to be that of a woman in her late 40s another belonged to a teenage girl it seemed fairly certain they were Nadia and Peyton medley but the third body wasn't Mike Bollinger [Music] Mike's full name was Gerald Michael Ballinger but he typically went by Mike born in Wyoming in 1957 he grew up surrounded by Wilderness which fostered his interest in the outdoors his family belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also known as the LDS or Mormon church it is a branch of Christianity that was founded in the United States foreign 1976 when he was 19 years old Mike traveled to Manila in the Philippines for his LDS mission serving as a missionary is considered a rite of passage for young LDS members and is a way for the church to recruit new members all over the world when Mike returned to the United States he began studying at an LDS College in Idaho where he met another young church member named Jacqueline Garcia who went by Jackie the pair married at the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City Utah in 1978. almost immediately Jackie knew she'd made a terrible mistake the newlyweds argued a lot and during one fight Jackie was sprawled across the floor while Mike loomed over her Jackie saw how angry he looked and asked you wanted to hit me didn't you Mike simply replied yes eventually he began acting on this desire and beat Jackie often at times she feared Mike was going to kill her he also regularly cheated on her and lied constantly Jackie tried everything she could think of to fix things she contacted Mike's parents to tell them what was going on she called a domestic violence hotline she sought couples counseling through the church and sent Mike to therapy aimed at abusive man but Mike refused to change his behavior eventually Jackie went to her church bishop and asked for help getting a divorce [Music] a divorce was granted and in 1988 the pair went their separate ways Jackie was granted Soul custody of their two sons but they still visited their father on occasion when the boys returned home to Jackie after a stay with their father the younger one told his mother that Mike had hit him Jackie called Mike and told him he was not to hit their children Mike said nothing but the next time his sons visited he sat them both down and said that whatever happened at his house was to stay at his house [Music] not long after he and Jackie were divorced Mike Bollinger remarried his second wife was a woman whom he'd been having an affair with then years later Mike met a teacher named Cheryl Baker on a flight to Alaska Cheryl had no idea that Mike was already married when they started dating when his wife found out he was cheating and that marriage ended as well then Cheryl married Mike in 2010 oblivious to everything that had been going on at his end Mike moved into Cheryl's home in Ogden as far as anyone could tell they had a very happy relationship Cheryl never shared any complaints or concerns about Mike at all despite his past as a faithful LDS churchgoer with Cheryl he embraced Hinduism like she did Mark traveled a lot for work but the couple also found plenty of time to enjoy their Hobbies together and then in 2015 Mike met the recently widowed Nadia Medley at the massage parlor where she worked Mike then initiated an affair with Nadia Cheryl's loved ones were adamant that she had no idea Mike was being unfaithful Nadia's friends were equally certain that her strong morals meant she would never have become involved with a married man they knew that Mike must have lied about his marital status in order to form a relationship with her plus she had posted openly about her relationship with Mike on Facebook a number of times if they had been having an affair surely she wouldn't have done that given what a small community Ogden was it was remarkable that no mutual acquaintances of the two women had seen the posts and said something about the matter however it also appeared that Mike and Cheryl weren't social media users although Nadia shared photos and videos of Mike he wasn't tagged in any posts only later would it come out that Nadia had mentioned a couple of mild concerns to her friends she thought it was strange that Mike never stayed over at her place and she'd only visited his house once at the time they put this down to the fact that Mike said it was his first relationship in 10 years perhaps he felt shy or thought it wasn't appropriate to stay at Nadia's with her teenage daughter in the house Nadia's house in Ogden was just eight miles away from Cheryl's a couple of years later in early 2017 Mike convinced Cheryl to buy a farm in Caldwell with him saying it could be their retirement home Cheryl borrowed money against the house she already owned to finance the purchase which was made in her name the same day that the purchase of the farm was finalized nadir and her daughter Peyton moved to Caldwell investigators couldn't understand why Mike would move Nadia and Payton into a home that was owned by his wife who thought she would be joining him there soon they wondered if Mike's plan had been to kill Cheryl after using her to buy the Caldwell property so he could form a full-time family with Nadia and Payton perhaps when Cheryl had decided to make an unannounced visit this plan had been foiled the Caldwell property was large but it wasn't isolated there was another house about 50 feet away on one side and a second about 30 feet away a neighbor said she'd heard what sounded like a woman screaming in the middle of the night sometime between June 6 and June 10. but she couldn't be sure if it was a person or an animal so she hadn't reported it to the police others thought they'd heard gunshots on or around June 10. they hadn't thought anything of it at the time as it wasn't unusual to hear shooting in the rural area DNA confirmed that the three bodies found in the Farm's hayshed were those of Cheryl Baker and Nadia and Peyton medley the last time anyone had heard from Nadia or Payton was on Thursday June 8 the same day that Cheryl drove to the farm detectives suspected that Cheryl had arrived at a time when Mike wasn't around finding Nadia there instead Cheryl began to talk to the other woman and the two of them figured out that they had both been manipulated and lied to by the same man then Mike returned home and became enraged upon realizing his deceit had been found out maybe Cheryl had threatened to divorce him leaving him with no assets as both property Deeds were in her name he then shot dead all three women including the teenager who viewed him as a father to avoid the consequences of his actions but then there was the strange text message Cheryl had sent to a friend on June 11 asking for them to look after her dogs because she might not return investigators believed Mike might have sent this message from Cheryl's phone the fact that he was nowhere to be found indicated he had gone on the Run and he had a 10-day head start on investigators Mike bollinger's photograph was shared widely throughout Idaho and Utah in the hope he might be recognized he was 60 years old 140 pounds and six foot one with gray hair and brown eyes soon tips were flooding in from people who had seen him on Saturday June 10 Mike had breakfast in Nampa a city just 10 miles Southeast of Caldwell then he drove his pickup truck all the way back to Ogden Utah he went to a local dealership where a 2007 Ford Focus that he and Cheryl had owned was being serviced Mike picked up the car and began to drive it instead of his truck on either June 11 or June 12 a surveillance camera in Swan Valley Idaho captured Mike entering the city he had driven back to the state he had fled the day after that another surveillance camera caught the moment that Mike paid an entrance fee to the Bridger Teton National forest located east of Idaho in Wyoming the bridge at Teton National Forest is a 3.4 million acre Forest that sprawls across Western Wyoming it sits adjacent to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and is a Haven for outdoor enthusiasts who love camping and hiking on Wednesday July 12 approximately one month after the triple homicide Mike bollinger's 2007 Ford Focus was discovered parked at the forest's Pacific Creek Campground it was a remote campsite and it seemed the car had been left there for some time investigators were aware that Mike was a competent Outdoorsman who would have no issues with trekking into the nearby Wilderness his experience as a pilot might have meant he was also familiar with the forest from the air [Music] law enforcement used police dogs infrared technology and helicopters to scour the area it was difficult to Reign to navigate on foot due to the rocky ground and thick vegetation [Music] because Mark was considered armed and dangerous Searchers were on high alert the entire time just in case he tried to Ambush them local communities and subdivisions were also checked as were abandoned farmhouses but no trace of Mike Bollinger was found one week after the Ford Focus was discovered Park ranges in nearby Yellowstone National Park spotted an SUV being driven by a lighthead man the vehicle was similar to the sort law enforcement thought Mike might have acquired if he'd left a bridge at Teton National Forest two Rangers pursued the SUV in two separate vehicles forcing the driver to pull over also in the car was a woman and a seven-year-old girl [Music] the Rangers blocked in the vehicle and soon more law enforcement officers arrived after about an hour they permitted the driver to show them his identification his name was Brett the passengers in the car were his wife and daughter and they were on vacation from Missouri the officers explained that they were looking for a wanted killer and showed Brett a photograph of Mike Bollinger Brett couldn't see any resemblance except that they both had light gray hair the family were permitted to leave news later broke that they were planning to sue the officers alleging that they had held them at gunpoint for an hour with no explanation [Music] other sightings of The Wanted fugitive continued to trickle in someone thought they'd seen Mica driving in Salt Lake City after Mike's Ford was found a river guide in Idaho spotted some men by Henry's Fork a tributary of the Snake River the god thought the men were behaving suspiciously one of them looked like Mike none of these sightings could be confirmed investigators considered the possibility that Mike had taken his own life somewhere deep in the forest however they wondered why he would travel so far from home in the days after the murders if he'd planned on killing himself why not do so at the farm back in Caldwell perhaps he had hitched a ride with another car out of the forest Hunter left his Ford Focus abandoned there to shake the police off his tail in an interview with newspaper the Idaho Statesman Mike's first wife Jackie Garcia described Mike as a prolific liar and possibly a sociopath another person who knew Mike but wished to remain anonymous agreed quote if you know about sociopaths you know they're unlikely to kill themselves he would have to feel guilty and he doesn't have a conscience a friend of Nadia medley also spoke to the newspaper saying she felt Mike was too egotistical to take his own life in late 2017 her family was hiking in Bridgeton National Forest near the Pacific Creek Campground they came across a junction where two Trails met standing there was a disheveled man who looked to be in his early 60s he was alone and to look to ill-equipped to be hiking in winter he had no backpack water or safety protection and his face was very weathered The Man passed by the family and kept his head down the entire time when investigators heard about the interaction they suspected the man could have been Mike Bollinger months went by with no further developments in the case then in mid-2018 a gun was found in Pacific Creek it was closer to Yellowstone National Park than the Bridget Teton forest and was fully loaded investigators wondered if it belonged to Mike but it was in good condition and didn't look as though it had been exposed to the elements more than a year after the murders in August 2018 authorities regrouped and carried out another search of the Bridget Teton Forest roughly 20 investigators from multiple agencies split into four groups to cover a four-mile radius of wilderness north of the Pacific Creek Campground they started at the junction where a family had spotted a suspicious looking man at the end of 2017. cadaver dogs went with them if Mike was still in the forest investigators doubted that he was still alive it had snowed towards the end of 2017 and the Snow Line was right by the Pacific Creek Campground Mike would have had to survive a bitterly cold winter without any proper gear or provisions even for an experienced Hunter and God like him that would have been extremely difficult the forest was also home to grizzly bears wolves and mountain lions if Mike hadn't taken his own life or died from the elements there was every possibility that he'd been killed by a predatory animal Searchers didn't recover Mike's remains however they did find some other kind of evidence they wouldn't say publicly what this evidence was but they told the media it indicated Mike had never left the forest and had died in there they put out a bulletin advising people visiting the forest throughout the summer and fall to keep an eye out for anything that looked like scattered clothing or human remains if Mike had died during the winter then Wildlife would have scavenged his remains when the snow thawed nothing of significance was ever recovered [Music] enough evidence was found in Mike's abandoned Ford Focus and at both of his properties to confirm he was responsible for killing Cheryl Nadia and Payton detectives have not publicly disclosed what that evidence is Mike Ballinger has formally been charged with three counts of first-degree murder yet as of late 2022 law enforcement remains confident that he is no longer alive Mike Bollinger was described as a chameleon who could mold himself to be whatever a particular woman wanted with his first wife Jackie he was an LDS churchgoer like she was when he met Cheryl he began attending a Hindu temple with her and even learned Sanskrit then with Nadia who was an avowed atheist he said he didn't believe in God either those who met Mark described him as warm and Charming he had a charismatic personality and was romantically involved with many women some wondered if he had found another woman to con and was living in hiding with her somewhere others speculated that maybe Mike had used his pilot's license to fly out of the country and start a new life overseas though no evidence has been found to support this Cheryl Baker is remembered as a kind gentle and creative woman as well as an excellent teacher for over 30 years she worked at the Utah school for the deaf and blind teaching children with hearing impairments sometimes she bought school supplies and clothing for students who couldn't afford them and she also searched for funding grants for the school in 2011 her hard work was recognized when she was awarded Teacher of the Year by the University of Utah College of Education her final job at Greenwood Charter School saw her teaching art classes this was a perfect fit for Cheryl who was a talented artist herself at the Utah school for the deaf and blind a memorial bench has been installed in Cheryl's honor two months after the murders Nadia medley's brother-in-law Mark medley visited The Farmhouse where she and Payton were killed he had to sort through their personal belongings and found the ordeal very upsetting Mark has described in audio as independent and stoic with the deeply nurturing side this side was most evident when she was caring for her many pets and in how she was Raising her daughter Peyton when Nadia and Payton were killed Mark medley had been in the process of rebuilding his relationship with them he lived Interstate but had recently been getting to know his niece better via phone calls and emails in one interview he stated it felt like Payton and I were just starting to get to know each other and then this happens it's a hard pill to swallow Peyton had her own YouTube channel where she posted videos about her life in one she painted her mother's face blue and purple with glitter to resemble the Galaxy in her final video which was posted around New Years of 2017. she talked about how she wanted to do things that would make her happy and encouraged viewers to do the same do something that will impact your life for the better don't just wait for the right moment because guess what there will never be a bright moment we don't have enough time in this world to just keeping waiting for the right moment because eventually we'll just give up what we wanted to do won't seem important we'll lost the interest and we'll just live our lives not knowing you know that we did that we'll just live our lives in the what ifs and that's not okay you need to put yourself out there because we have one short in life and no matter what you believe happens afterwards we have one life and you need to live it the way you want to [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Casefile Presents

Views: 18,800

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Id: SpF8FvGW5Ss

Length: 44min 19sec (2659 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 17 2023