- [Narrator] We all hear
warnings from a young age about the importance of trusting our gut in dangerous situations. We're told to be cautious
of suspicious strangers, especially after dark, and always to be safe rather than sorry if we feel that something is off. Sometimes it can be easy
to brush off this advice. We may think that there's
no way anything terrible could actually happen
to us in our own lives. We've all heard stories
and movies and on TV of deranged killers and
coldblooded psychopaths, but if we really came face
to face with these monsters in a dark parking lot one night, how would we react? Would we fight for our
lives, flee out of fright, or freeze, unable to move
and paralyzed by fear? (woman screams) The woman we interviewed for today's episode unwittingly
discovered her answer to that question on a pitch
black night, back in 1998. What is up, EWU crew?
(suspenseful music) We love hearing real life true
stories from our listeners just like the one you
will be hearing today. If you or someone you know have had a similar unsettling encounter that you would like to share, please reach out to us to speak about setting up an interview that could be featured in an EWU episode. As always, be sure to hit the
like button and subscribe. Now let's get into it. Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog. Were like two peas in a pod. Born only two months
apart in the mid 1960s, they grew up as indisputable best buddies, navigating their youth side-by-side in the small town of Linden, a quaint rural area of California, nestled a little way south of Sacramento and 95 miles East of San Francisco. During their childhoods, they lived on the exact same street within the quiet farming town, which had a tiny population
of less than 2000 people. Wesley had affluent parents who made the young boy's
life very comfortable and he was never left wanting
for material possessions. However, his outwardly idyllic
family life held dark secrets that his parents tried to keep
hidden from the public eye. The Shermantines had a
collective reputation in the town for being people you didn't want to cross unless you wanted to risk
being ominously dealt with. Despite young Wesley's harsh home life, with expectations for perfection, he and Loren were never afraid
to get their hands dirty and they spent most of their time outdoors in the rugged wilderness, hiking through the surrounding hills or hunting and fishing in the woods. In 1984, the pair graduated
from Linden High School and despite their
troublemaking tendencies, it seemed as if they were
headed on the right path. However, just one year later, an incident would shock the whole town, sending it into disarray and throwing these two fresh graduates into the eye of suspicion. A local teenage girl named
Chevelle "Chevy" Wheeler went missing on October 16th, 1985. She had been dropped off
at school in the morning, just like any other day, but she apparently had other
plans for the afternoon. She confided in some of her girlfriends that she had an exciting meetup to attend. She was going to skip class
to hang with a boy she knew. But when Chevy gleefully
snuck off the school grounds that day, neither she nor her friends could have ever guessed that this was the last time
the innocent young student would ever be seen alive. When Chevy failed to return
from her secret excursion, Wesley was identified
as a person of interest. Authorities pinned him down as the boy that Chevy had made plans to meet up with, unfortunately for Wesley,
word of his troublesome antics and mischievous inclinations
had traveled fast in the small town and his
reputation had preceded him. Townspeople knew that he
and Loren had gotten into some shady business throughout the years like roughhousing, drinking, and, most concerningly, hard drugs. Specifically, the two boys had begun to heavily use a methamphetamine. If you're familiar with drug terminology, you may be realizing how the
duo got their infamous title. The word speed and the
moniker Speed Freak Killers originated from the influence of meth on the pair's violent activities. Authorities and theorists alike believe that this behavior-altering
drug was largely responsible for the boys's alleged killing frenzies, and Chevy's sister later
shared an important detail during the ensuing investigation that aligned all too well
with Wesley's known drug use. She reported that young Chevy
had mentioned her intentions to smoke marijuana with Wes
at their hangout that day. Accordingly, because of Wesley's already questionable public image and connection with 16-year-old Chevy, the police obtained a search warrant and investigated the young
man's secluded hunting cabin. Inside the small building, they discovered blood. At first, they couldn't be sure if this evidence was meaningful. After all, it was a hunting cabin. Perhaps the blood was
from a freshly caught deer and indeed Wesley and his folks maintained that previously slaughtered
game was to blame for the red stains. But when the blood was tested, the results seemed to confirm
law enforcement's worst fears. The blood type matched Chevy's. And then another strange turn of events fueled police suspicion. Allegedly Wesley, who was
fairly well acquainted with the Wheeler family, had confidently shown up at Chevy's home the day after she went missing, pulling up casually in his
pickup truck and playing dumb when her concerned mother
and father asked him what had happened to
their beloved daughter. He apparently laughed at the
parents' frantic questioning and shrugged off the implications
of Chevy's disappearance with a sort of smug nonchalance, asking them how he could
possibly know anything. Despite his surety that
he wasn't under suspicion, authorities were already on his trail after finding the
incriminating blood samples. As concerning as this revelation was, the fact remained that
the police were unable to locate any concrete
evidence to charge Wesley. DNA analysis technology was
not sophisticated enough at the time to garner
any real conclusions. So the case went cold
and Wesley walked free. (gun roars) Over a decade later, police would discover
that Loren and Wesley, the two young troublemakers
they had let walk free, went on to orchestrate
what some have estimated to be 72 murders between 1984 and 1999. The deadly streak is thought to have begun around the same time as their meth abuse, when the two were only
about 18 or 19 years old. How the duo pulled off this deadly stunt for so long without detection
is hard to say for certain, but another missing person case that began 14 years after Chevy's pulled the elusive young
men back into the spotlight. On November 14th, 1998,
Cyndi Vanderheiden, a 25-year-old woman who had
grown up in San Joaquin County, just as Wesley and Loren did, suddenly and inexplicably
vanished without a trace. Nobody quite knew what to
make of her disappearance as just earlier that same day, Cyndi had eaten lunch and
casually shopped with her mother before heading to a karaoke
night at Linden Inn. This establishment was
one of the two bars owned by Cyndi's father. Both of which that Wesley
and Loren had frequented for quite a while. On this particular day, Cyndi dropped her car off
at her dad's other bar before meeting up with a friend and the two rode to the Linden Inn excited for a fun night of
singing and letting loose. Now Cyndi's older sister
reportedly had a fling with Loren at one time so when Cyndi
saw him and Wes at the bar, she struck up a casual
and friendly conversation. After a relatively uneventful night, Cyndi's friend gave her a
ride back to her vehicle, which she had left behind
at her father's other bar before following Cyndi home as she drowsy drove down the
deserted streets at 2:00 AM. After the friend was sure that Cyndi had safely pulled
into the driveway of her home, she drove away, secure in the knowledge that Cyndi had made it back safe and sound to the household where both of her parents were already asleep. And indeed the next morning, Cyndi's parents would report
hearing their daughter pull into the driveway in the
wee hours of the night, but it appeared that Cyndi herself had never entered the home. In the morning, she was nowhere to be seen and while her mother grew
increasingly nervous, her father decided to
call up Cyndi's workplace and see if she had somehow managed to wake up, get ready,
and depart for her shift, without either parent knowing. This seemed like the
more obvious solution, but unfortunately Cyndi's
parents' misgivings were confirmed when they
were shockingly told that Cyndi had never shown up for work. Her father immediately began
driving around town in a panic, searching for any possible
signs of his missing daughter. But what he soon discovered
didn't help to ease his worries. Cyndi's car was abandoned
in a local cemetery. Her money, cell phone,
and purse were all inside, but of course there was no Cyndi. When the police arrived to investigate, their first instinct was
to suspect foul play, but they couldn't deny
that there were no signs of a struggle present at the scene. Over 1000 citizens dedicated their time to searching for the missing
girl over the following weeks. But to no avail. By then, authorities were putting the puzzle pieces together. What a strange coincidence, they thought, that Wesley was not only a primary suspect in the disappearance of
Chevy all those years ago, but now he was also one
of the last witnesses to interact with Cyndi
before she vanished. Attempting to delve
deeper into this theory, they focused on searching
the isolated hills and scouring mine shafts that Wesley and Loren
were known to frequent. After these intensive searches, they were left empty handed. Still, with all reasoning to believe that Wesley was involved, the police couldn't turn a
blind eye to the smug young man. In 1999, they searched his vehicle and, once again, found blood, but this time the bodily
fluid definitively identified as that of Cyndi Vanderheiden. While these DNA analysis
results were being confirmed, the police began laying the groundwork for their case against Wesley. And to do that, they knew their best bet was to get his faithful friend,
Loren, to start talking. He was brought in for interrogation. And although he was
initially a bit tight lipped, he soon began to spill
secrets of a magnitude that went way beyond the scope
of what anyone had expected. At first, he was defensive and refused to throw Wesley under the bus. - [Interrogator] He gets pretty
wild when he's doing drugs or when he's cranking and when
he's drinking, doesn't he? - I guess he does.
- [Interrogator] He gets pretty wild, doesn't he? - I don't know, wild enough I'd say. - [Interrogator] Did
you ever think that Wes would be capable of forcin'
a girl to have with him? - I don't know, I don't know. Probably, maybe, maybe not. - [Narrator] But in an
interview soon after, Loren had a change of heart
and opened up a lot more. - She probably went back
to go back to her car. She said that several times, you know? Wes was ignorin' that lady. I was still in the back
seat and say (indistinct). This isn't good. Well, he started tellin'
her to do stuff, you know, and it's kind of a back and
forth argument kinda thing, and I mean do to stuff as in... Acts, I guess, is what you'd call it. I mean, he's gettin' wilder and wilder and wound up more and more. I told him at one point, I said, "Wes, don't kill her man. "Take her back to her car." I got in the car, I started backin' up. He turned and looked at me
one time and I was gone too. I didn't know what to do. Well... - [Narrator] His speech
is hard to decipher in this dated footage, but he seems to describe something about Wes holding down the victim. - He was, you know, on top of her like, kinda holdin' her down, you know? And I guess it musta been towards the end, I can remember (indistinct). I mean (beep). I can't believe that (beep). Just dyin', you know? - [Interrogator 1]
That's what he told her? - I said it down there. - [Interrogator 2]
That's what he told her? - Yeah. - [Narrator] He then makes a point to claim that Wesley tried
to get him to join in on the foul acts, but Loren, of course, says he refused to get physically involved. - Tryin' to get me to do this and that and I wouldn't do it. I told him no way. He took a blanket out of his
truck and wrapped her up. Put her in the trunk. I almost don't even know where I was. I mean, I was there, but
my mind was just gone. I was just sittin' there,
comatose, felt like. I wanted to (indistinct) bad and I had to believe (beep)
but you can't and (indistinct). - [Narrator] The interrogator asks Loren if this new story is the truth, since it directly conflicts with what he had told them
earlier about Wes's innocence. Loren nods that, yes, this story is an accurate
retelling of what really happened that night with Cyndi. In yet another interrogation session, Loren shares the sad details
of Cyndi's last moments. He also says Wesley boastfully asserted that he would not be going to prison. - She tried to bargain
with him, more or less. Kind of a, you know, please let me go and then you know- I don't know if it was trying to talk but maybe she just said calm down when she tried to talk to him. I don't know if she was trying
to calm him down or not. - [Interrogator] What was his reaction? - I guess it wasn't to
try to calm down, it was- And then she started screaming again. She was talkin' calm though for a minute. Then she started screaming again. - [Interrogator] When he
said, so what's the story. What did you tell him? - I don't think I gave a reply. I don't remember giving him a reply. - [Interrogator] When he asked you or he told you, I'm not going to prison, did he just say that or
did you ask him, well, why did you kill her? - I guess he- (suspenseful music) I didn't ask him that, I- He said it. - [Interrogator] He just said it? - I'm not going to prison. (beep) already told on me. My reply I think was to his, bet you don't wanna see me for a while was I wish I could turn the clocks back. I said I wish I could
turn the clocks back. - [Narrator] Loren goes on
to confirm his accusations that Wesley was behind it all, the assault, the murder, everything. He makes a show of claiming
to be scared of his accomplice and says that he feels ashamed that he didn't more to help Cyndi. If he could turn back time, he says he would've tried
to find a better way to assist and maybe even
save the helpless victim. - [Interrogator] Wes Shermantine? - Yep. - [Interrogator] You're
scared of Wes Shermantine. And he's your friend? - Like I said, we've been
friends for a long time. That's why he gets me scared. 'Cause he just (indistinct). What he is, what he turned
into Satan, (indistinct), as well as my friend. - [Interrogator] Are you scared
because he's unpredictable? - Yes sir. - [Interrogator] What
else were you scared of? (Loren mutters) What was the other one? - I was more ashamed than
to do it the other way. - [Interrogator] Ashamed of what? - He was (indistinct). - [Interrogator] I think at
one time you had mentioned being ashamed of what, Loren? - I mean, not being able to do anything. Not being able to say- - [Interviewer] Do nothing for what? - For Cyndi. - [Interrogator] To be able to stop it? - Yeah. - [Interviewer] If you had
to do it all over again, would you have stopped it? - I would've tried to
figure out a better way, would've tried to. - [Narrator] The officers warned Loren that Wes had already made
incriminating statements, confessing that the duo in question had already hunted everything,
including the ultimate game. - [Interrogator] Wes is
making comments about you. Things such as, you know, Loren and I have hunted
just about everything, including the ultimate game. And you know what that ultimate game is? - There is no ultimate game for him. - [Interrogator] He's implicating you. What I foresee here is that
when we haul Wes in here, he's gonna pin it on you. - [Narrator] It is clear to see the trust and loyalty
Loren once had for Wes was dissipating as the
interrogators carefully selected their words to drive a
wedge between the friends. And just as planned, Loren would go on to
reveal a slew of crimes he said Wesley had committed,
outside of the Cyndi case. Loren first explained that
the previously unsolved death of a hunter from Utah in
1994 had been Wesley's doing. According to Loren's tale, Wesley had deliberately shot the man dead for no apparent reason after
crossing paths with him. Loren continued to spout
his surprising confessions. He reported that Wesley
was behind the murder of a man named Henry Howell
who had been discovered in his parked car on the side of a highway with his head and mouth
grotesquely bashed in. As Loren tells it, Wesley
jumped at the opportunity after seeing the
vulnerable man pulled over and immediately stopped the car to seize the victim's shotgun and used the weapon to end
Howell's life before robbing him. It was only a matter of time before Wesley himself was
brought in for questioning. In the disturbing interrogation footage, he's asked what he thinks the chances are that the blood discovered
in his car belong to Cyndi. He deflects the question. - [Interrogator] You tell me,
what are the possibilities of Cyndi's blood being in your trunk? - I don't know that it is Cyndi's blood. - [Interrogator] We're telling
you it's 169 million to one. - Then I don't know how it got in there. - [Narrator] He then makes a
weird noncommittal statement, saying that he would have
already been long gone if he had been up to no good with Cyndi. His whole attitude towards
the situation is clearly not that of a concerned friend who is worried about Cyndi's wellbeing. - If I had something to do
with Cyndi's disappearance, I probably would've been
gone a long time ago. - [Interrogator] Are you
afraid of anybody out there, is somebody threatening you? - No. - [Narrator] The annoyance is evident in his facial expressions
and tone of voice as he recounts the night at
the karaoke bar with Loren. He says they talked with
Cyndi, but left the bar when it shut down for the night. He's asked what he thinks
about the possibility of Loren's involvement in the case. - [Interrogator] Loren
might be responsible for Cyndi's blood in your trunk? - I didn't say that. - [Interrogator] Okay, I don't know. I thought that's where you were going. - I can't blame the one
because I don't know. - [Interrogator] Is there
somebody else involved? That night? The fact is, Wes- - I wish I'd ever stopped at
that (beep) bar that night. - [Interrogator] Well,
you're not the only one, Wes. So do we. We wouldn't be here right now and we're sure Cyndi
didn't and everybody else. The scenario is this, Cyndi's blood is in the back of your car. No question about it. It's proven scientifically. - [Narrator] The interrogator becomes increasingly frustrated
as Wesley visibly shuts down and refuses to reveal
any helpful information. They try to make him
understand the benefits of coming clean, but
he's just not having it. - [Interrogator] Loren is responsible and you're just trying to
help your childhood buddy, trying to protect him. That's what you're doing. - [Wes] Not trying to help him. - [Interrogator] If you
wanna go down the boat- - I'm not trying to help him. - [Interrogator] Has he
threatened you in the past? - Loren's threatened a lotta people. - [Interrogator] Well,
has he threatened you? - Yeah, he's pulled a
gun on me before too. - [Interrogator] If there's something that happened that night,
you have to tell us now. It's as simple as that. We can't make it any simpler for you. If you lied in the past, I
don't care about the lies. I want the truth of what
happened that night. There's blood in your car. There's a simple explanation. He knows it. I know it. It's there. Take the opportunity. - I want a lawyer present. - [Interrogator] Okay. - [Narrator] But it wasn't long before Wesley began to
shift the blame completely onto his accomplice, as
Loren had done to him. Their hesitation and
unwillingness to speak in initial interviews completely vanished and the duo continued
to turn on one another as the investigation continued. At one time, the two lifelong friends
had been roommates who enjoyed each other's
company in a small apartment. Now, watching the
interviews, you cannot tell that the two had ever felt
anything resembling trust or friendship in one another. They became something
more like arch enemies, taking every opportunity they
could to blame their partner and pin all their horrible
deeds on the other person. Both were charged with Cyndi's murder, along with two others from the 80s. At this point, all inhibition
on Loren's part was gone. And he went into excruciating details to explain the horrors that
Wesley had inflicted upon Cyndi. According to him, Wesley drove the trio to an isolated spot after they
had all smoked meth together in the cemetery and he proceeded to assault
the unsuspecting young woman, before taking a knife to her throat. Apparently they had all agreed to meet up that night for drugs, but Cyndi had no idea
the dangerous situation she was condemning herself to when she agreed to get into Wesley's car. Loren confessed that Cyndi had begged him to help her throughout the
assault, calling him Slim, an old nickname she had given him, but rather than try to assist
the desperate girl in any way, he chose to remain unresponsive,
watching from the car as Wesley committed atrocious
crimes against Cyndi and then ended her life. After their 1999 arrest, the Speed Freak Killers
faced their trials in 2001. Wesley went first, and after an unsuccessful
attempt to deny his involvement and place all the blame on to Loren, he was found guilty of
murder on four accounts. But even in this hopeless situation, Wesley still managed to
maintain his arrogant and sinister disposition,
refusing to reveal the location of his victims' bodies,
unless he was rewarded with the advertised $20,000 prize money. This request was, unsurprisingly, denied. At first, we wondered what
use Wesley would even have for that sum of money in jail. But apparently his plan was
to pass it down to his sons. Regardless, his sick little
scheme didn't work out and he even denied an opportunity
to avoid the death penalty in exchange for the body
location information. He really was stubborn,
through and through, even in the face of certain death. Loren was given a bit more
of a lenient sentence. It seems that the court
viewed him as the accomplice to Wesley's criminal masterminding. He was sentenced to 78 years in prison. But even though the law may
have taken a little pity on Wesley's partner, they made a decision that
is almost incomprehensible in it's foolishness. Following an appeal in 2004, Loren's convictions were overruled. The argument was made
that he had been coerced into revealing implicating
information against his will and that he had not received
proper and fair treatment during the interrogation process. He was paroled in 2010,
but due to an uproar of public disapproval
over the court's decision to free Loren, especially from
the victim's family members, no California county wanted to take him. In response, Loren was made to live in a trailer near the prison. This living arrangement sought to please the concerned
public who, for good reason, didn't want the convicted
killer roaming free. But his carefree life of
liberty didn't last for long. The Speed Freak Killers had
long since dropped any illusions of support or camaraderie between them and Wesley was not happy to hear how easy his partner
had gotten out of his sentence when he himself was
landed, the death penalty. In the true fashion of a
vindictive soul seeking revenge at any cost. Wesley decided
to take an eye for an eye and reveal all to authorities. This meant he promised
to create detailed maps to lead law enforcement straight to where the bodies were buried, a move that spelled disaster for Loren, who was just beginning to
feel like he had gotten away with his crimes scot-free. Loren had always maintained
his own innocence and pushed all the
responsibility onto Wesley, but clearly he had an inkling that whatever was to be
found along with the bodies would prove disastrous for him. Immediately after it was
announced that a bounty hunter by the name of Leonard
Padilla had bribed Wesley into releasing the secret locations and information about the victim's bodies in exchange for a payment of over $30,000, Loren was found dead in his trailer. It was January of 2012, and he had taken his own
life by hanging himself. A ghastly scene reported to the police by an anonymous caller. And this unceremonious death brings us to our interview with the one woman who may have managed to
escape the deadly clutches of the Speed Freak Killers. As per her wishes, we will be keeping her name
and identity anonymous. We want first to emphasize that, as she herself acknowledges, there is no way to be sure if
the men she crossed paths with were, in fact, the Speed Freak Killers or just another pair of sketchy guys with an uncanny resemblance
to the famous duo. However, the time and
place she described line up almost too perfectly with the Speed Freak Killers'
recorded active period. Although it's almost
impossible to confirm her story with complete certainty, if it was actually the two
serial killers she came across that night, then that would
make her the one and only woman ever to escape the deadly duo. (dramatic music) With the devastation that the
two men left in their wake, she's glad to have not stuck around to confirm their identities that night. She shared with us, her reason for coming forward so long after the alarming night in 1998. - [Victim] Yeah, so the thing is, is that I know a lotta people wonder why, you know why I never
said it before, you know, but like during the time I just, I was trying to piece everything together and things kinda started making
sense as I went, you know? - [Narrator] Regardless, we are so glad that she finally felt brave
enough to come forward and share her story for the
first time ever with us. She had a very thoroughly written timeline of events prepared to explain
what happened that night. - [Victim] It was just,
yeah, it happened in 1998 and I had went with one of my
girlfriends to Delta College, San Joaquin Delta College,
to apply, you know, for school and dropped her off at home, probably around like, it was
close to 9:00, you know, PM. And I had recently, I joined a gym and so I forgot I had to,
you know, make a payment. So I was, oh man, I need to deposit some money, you know, towards my membership. So the bank is like
right across the street from where my girlfriend lived at and it's a B of A, Bank of America. It's on 700 Kettleman
Lane, West Kettleman Lane. And so anyhow, I was there
and in my car and I got out, 'cause you know, back in 1998, you had to get out to get
the envelopes, you know, to make your deposit. So that's what I did. I got out, got my envelope,
sat back in the car. And then my instinct
told me to lock my doors 'cause I had a Monte Carlo
two door back in the day. And then I locked my
doors and then I wanna say as I'm writing my, you know, deposit slip, I wanna say maybe like
five, 10 minutes after that, here comes a car, like
screeching in the parking lot and that alerted me and I looked up and to my right-hand side, which would've been my passenger side. I saw this car. It was not a van. It wasn't a truck. It wasn't, you know, it was just a car, like a small-sized car. I don't remember the
exact car that it was, but I just remember it
parking right next to me on my passenger side. And I was already scared because I heard the screeching
as it parked next to me. And so I quickly turn
on my car and I mean, it happened so fast. I turn on my car and as
I was reversing my car, I just remember looking
to my right hand side and I saw this white male
with a long ponytail braided. And I just remember his face. It just looked very scary. And as I look at the
pictures of Loren Herzog, it was his face. You know, I just picture, you know, I just see that face, that same face. And it was so coincidental
because of the fact that it was two males. So the passenger, there was a
passenger male with dark hair. I just remember that. I didn't see his face. I only saw the white male
with the blonde hair. And I remember him being tall like, 'cause I looked up, but I got
outta there so quick that, I mean, I put it in reverse
and I saw that really quick and then I just hit it
on drive and took off. And of course I was super distraught. I was scared because, you know, I was thinking it was
just an attempted robbery or something, you know
what I mean, at the moment? I'm like, oh my God, they
were trying to, you know, rob me or whatever. And so I just wanted to get
somewhere safe and drove home. My mom was like, what's wrong? You know, 'cause I was crying and she was like, oh, what's wrong? You know, and I was
like, I don't know, Mom, somebody approached me at the bank and my mom was like, I told you, you know, don't to the bank late at night. So 'cause it was after nine, a little bit after nine when I went. And so thank God I made it safe. I made it outta that situation. - [Narrator] She had
luckily managed to get out of the close scrape without a hitch, but as the weeks and months went on, her strange experience in the parking lot would continue to weigh on her mind. And the more she thought about it, the more certain she grew that the two men she had seen
that night were, in fact, the Speed Freak Killers in the flesh. This realization was catalyzed by the widespread coverage
that Cyndi Vanderheiden's case was receiving in late 1998. - [Victim] Around November, December when Cyndi Vanderheiden became missing is when I started seeing all her. I just saw a lotta like
posters everywhere of her face and you know, she was missing. And I was like, I wonder, you know, this must be a local girl and it didn't really make
sense even then, you know? I couldn't connect the dots then, but anyhow, that happened. And then when Shermantine, Wesley Shermantine started speaking up about all the, you know,
like where, you know, the bodies were buried, things like that. I was like, you know what? I bet you anything and I just started kinda
following the story and I was like, I don't know why. I just have that feeling that those are the two men
that approached me that night. You know, it just started making- Everything was so coincidental. The height, and then they
mentioned his height, which was Loren Herzog. He was six foot something, the height. Just the two men. And then when there was
a particular interview that happened between Wesley Shermantine that he mentioned and I was
trying to look for the video because I wanted to, you
know, piece it together before I even spoke to you guys, you know? 'Cause I saw it somewhere. I just don't know exactly
what video it was, but it was an interview
where he said, you know, there was only one woman that got away and he mentioned it was at a gas station, but you know, when you're high on drugs, I mean, you can't really recall where- I'm assuming that that's,
you know, the situation, but anyhow, there are a lotta
gas stations in that area. They might've gone to gas station before they even approached me. Do I know for sure that it
was them that approached me? No, it's not for sure. But when you look at
the timeline, the dates. I live in Lodi. So Lodi's not too far from
Linden and Clemens area, do you know what I mean? Everything's just so coincidental that I was like, I don't know. I just have a feeling
that those two monsters, you know, I call 'em
monsters because they were, you know, they were the
ones that approached me. I just got away. And then when he mentioned
that part, I was like, wow, this is just too close, you know? - She described how she was
encouraged by her brother to tell the story of what
happened to that night. Initially, she had been hesitant, as she knew people would be skeptical if she claimed she had come face to face with the Speed Freak
Killers, without any proof, but all the same, she knew there
was a more important reason why she had to share her story. - [Victim] And so my
brother was encouraging me. He goes, you know, Sis, you should talk about that, you know? And I'm doing it more as an awareness because I did put myself in
an unsafe situation, you know? Being a young lady. And I would like to, you know, just put out there as an
awareness to others, like women, you know, just to be careful, you know, to look, you know, make
sure they look around, you know, the surrounding,
things like that, because, you know, I wouldn't be here talking
about this right now if I wouldn't have taken off because these people were very, they were very brutal. They were murderers, you know? - [Narrator] We discussed how lucky it was that she had immediately
locked her car doors when she sensed something sinister. You would expect kidnappers to creep up slowly and
stealthily on their victims so as not to alert the
person they were after, but in this case, the woman was grateful
that she didn't wait to scope out the situation. She locked the door,
turned on the car engine, and began to reverse almost immediately. - [Victim] That's what saved my life, to be honest with you. Is the fact that I heard
the screeching as they were- What it is is they wanted, whatever they were trying to do, they wanted to do it really quick. You know what I mean? And it was just, yeah, I mean, 'cause as soon as I heard the
screeching, I'm like, okay, who's screeching in here? 'Cause if you look at
the parking lot there at Bank of America, it's a
pretty closed-in parking lot. It's not too have of an open
space, if that makes sense. You have to actually
drive in there, right? And so I was kinda like thinking like, you know, what's going on? So that alerted me to look
up and be like, oh whoa, this doesn't look good. And that was the first
thing that came to my mind. I was like this doesn't
look good, you know? It's kinda like that
flight or fight kind of, you know, situation. I immediately, when I saw that, I immediately locked my doors and I- I'm sorry, no, no, I locked
my doors previous to that. I'm sorry. I started my car. I started my car. And then, I mean it, 'cause
they drove up quick, you know? And I already had my doors locked, but my car started right away. Thank goodness. That's another thing my
mom told me, she goes, you know what, I'm so thankful that that car started up
right away when it did, because we always had a hard
time starting up the car, you know? So yeah, I was able to
get away from them and- I mean, if it was them. I'm assuming that it was them
just based on the timeline and everything is just so
coincidental, you know? You know, at the time when it happened, I was thinking, oh, I mean, not that it's a minor thing, but I was just kinda thinking, it was just an attempted
robbery, I'm sure. You know, something stupid like that, you know, I wish I would have reported. I didn't because I was so terrified. I was just like, (groans). You know, and I was young,
too, you know what I mean? You're young, you're just kind of, oh, it's just somebody being stupid. But then as time went by, I was like, wow, these guys might've been the ones that approached me, you know? And thank goodness I'm here to, you know, just tell that bit of the story, you know? - [Narrator] The fact
that she may never know the true intentions of the menacing men
that night is haunting. And after reading the horrible things that Wesley and Loren had
done to their victims, she's beyond grateful that
she thought fast that night. - [Victim] I mean, just
following the stories, you know, I don't know. And that's what I was afraid of, too, as I was taking off. I was like, are these
guys gonna follow me? You know, that's the first
thing that came in my mind. I just remember seeing, you know, when I see pictures of Loren Herzog, I just remember seeing that face. And I remember it just
scared me, you know? And I just remember him being tall and he was the first one out at the car. It's like he was trying
to get out to, you know, either open up my car door. I don't know but I wasn't gonna hang out to see what was gonna happen next. - [Narrator] We thanked her
for being gracious enough to share her chilling encounter with us and asked how this experience had affected the rest of her life. - [Victim] I don't go to
the banks at night anymore. I don't do that. And I still live in Lodi, so every time I drive by that area, it always, of course,
brings back those memories of like that moment that
that happened to me. And, you know, I mean, I've shared it with my younger sisters and
just, you know, my daughter, my own daughter, you know. Hey, whatever you do, be careful, beware of your surroundings. You know, that kinda thing. Because I don't want what happened to me to happen to anybody else. You know, because, like I said, that could have been a very bad situation. It could have been bad. You know, I wouldn't be
here to tell the story today if I didn't take off when I did, you know? And I'm really grateful, you know, that I'm here because I know
there's a lot of families that don't have their loved ones because of these two people, you know? And yeah, it's a sad situation, you know, but yeah, definitely
has changed me a lot. I'm very careful about things now. - [Narrator] We are so glad
that our interviewee escaped the two sketchy men she saw, regardless if they were indeed the elusive Speed Freak Killers, or simply to nameless,
faceless men looking to cause trouble for a young
woman in a dark parking lot. But there is no denying
that the Speed Freak Killers had a brand of their own,
unmatched in cruelty, vicious acts, and disregard
for the sanctity of human life. One conclusion that many investigators and theorists have come
to is that the duo seem to have found a sick
satisfaction in the killings. They usually didn't have any clear motive besides just enjoying
the gruesome activity of assaulting and
murdering innocent people. A pattern seems to be evident in their exploits
involving female victims. The two appear to lure their victims in with the promise of drugs. And once the girls were alone with them, sometimes having willingly
entered their vehicle, finishing the task was easy
for the heartless pair. But young girls weren't
the only target demographic of the Speed Freak Killers. Wesley, or maybe both he and Loren, most likely killed for sport, picking a large portion
of their victims randomly and acting on rash impulse. The picture authorities often
paint of the duo gives Loren a bit more sympathy than Wesley. Experts have said that in
most serial killer duos, the two individuals involved
are rarely of equal power within the operation. And to them, it is glaringly obvious that Wesley was the real mastermind behind these deadly crimes, while Loren was more
of a passive follower. But the difference in blame is minuscule. Both men hold the responsibility for the countless lives lost and families left devastated and confused for years at the disappearances
of their loved ones. In the end, Wesley and
Loren were only convicted for a small fraction of the murders they are speculated to have committed. Howard King and Paul Cavanaugh
are among the known victims of the duo, both having been shot in their vehicles in 1984. As recently as March, 2020, gruesome discoveries of
remains have been made that are believed to be tied
to the Speed Freak Killers. A bone was found in a
San Joaquin County well by a local farmer, which is eerily similar to human remains that were discovered a few years earlier and linked to the Speed Freak Killer case. Sheriff Withrow was reported as saying, "This is somebody's
resting place right now. "And this is somebody's loved one. "And we're going to recover
this in a legal manner, "in an investigative manner." For now, the remains are
still under investigation. In a news article, Ross Proviance, a Linden High
School graduate commented, "I used to live in the area "where these swipes ran around. "I kicked them off the
ranch several times. "They know where all the deep
open wells are out there. "I've offered to come
down on my own expenses "to show sheriffs where
these possible sites are. "I have worked on all
the windmills out there. "That's what I did for a living. "No response." The real number of total
victims who lost their lives at the hands of the Speed Freak
Killers may never be known. Wesley, as the only surviving witness to the horrific crimes, may have even lost count
himself, but their story and the daunting tale
our interviewee shared both speak volumes about the importance of always remaining aware and cognizant of one's surroundings. There are sick people
like Wesley and Loren out in the world who wish to
take advantage of others for their own twisted pleasure. It is always best to be
safe rather than sorry, and to avoid situations and individuals that could have dark motives. If you ever feel like something
is off, trust your gut. (suspenseful music)
