遇害：布里塔尼·麦格隆

我们是不是还漏了什么别的？

Did we, like, miss anything else?

他有没有在别的地方出现过？

Like, does he show up anywhere else?

他们确实发现了一份特别的报告。

And they do find this one report that stands out.

这份报告来自一名赶到现场的副警官，当时刚发现布列塔尼。

It's from a deputy who was there on scene right after they had found Brittany.

放学后不久，薇尔特和查德又回到了那栋房子，查德的行为特别古怪。

And sometime after school, Velvet and Chad show back up at the house, and Chad is acting straight up weird.

他浑身发抖。

He is shaking.

明显很紧张。

He's visibly nervous.

坐立不安的。

He's all fidgety.

紧张得 Velvet 都让他别那么紧绷，说那个副警官人挺好的。

So nervous that Velvet actually tells him to chill out, that the deputy's a nice guy.

他们当时可能只当是事情太压人了，才导致他这样。

And maybe they chalk it up to the stress of the situation.

这种事一般人根本遇不上，所以当时谁也没当回事。

Like, this is a situation most people don't find themselves in, so they didn't do anything with it at the time.

但现在，他们想再找 Chad 谈一次。

But now now they wanna have another conversation with this Chad guy.

他一开始不太愿意配合。

He's reluctant to comply at first.

可一旦开口，他就把一整天的行程从头到尾都说了一遍。

But when he does, he gives detectives a play by play of his entire day.

每一个地方他都讲得特别细，简直像在没人问之前，就急着要给自己找不在场证明。

Like, he's extremely detailed about every stop that he made, almost like he's trying to establish an alibi before anyone even asks him for one.

以下是 Chad 说的经过。

And here's what Chad lays out.

他说，那天早上离开那家人家后，他开车去了ALCO，他姑姑在那里上班，姑姑让他顺路去Sonic买份早餐。

He says that after he stopped by the family's house that morning, he drove to ALCO where his aunt works, and she asked him to pick up breakfast for her at Sonic.

但他没直接去，而是先回了家换衣服——后来警察回忆说，好像是因为天气原因。

But instead of going straight there, he says that he went home first to change clothes for what law enforcement later remember as being, like, some weather related reason.

比如那天太热了之类的。

Like, maybe it was, like, too hot or something.

然后他才去的Sonic。

Then he goes to Sonic.

买完早餐，他又回了ALCO把吃的送过去。

Then he goes back to Alco to drop off the food.

之后，他提前十五分钟到了上午十点的眼科预约。

And then after that, he says he arrives fifteen minutes early to his 10:00 eye appointment.

大概十一点四十左右，他离开了诊所。

And then he left the doctors at around 11:40 or so.

接着，他在十一点五十五分去学校接了Velvet。

From there, he picks up Velvet from school at 11:55.

他们去了银行。

They go to the bank.

然后去吃午饭。

They go to lunch.

午饭后，查德和薇尔特下午一点半又回到了眼科诊所。

And then after lunch, Chad and Velvet go back to the eye doctors at 01:30.

他们为什么要回去？

Why do they go back?

我不清楚。

I don't know.

报告里大概没提这件事。

It probably it's not in the reports.

我猜他们是去取处方药、眼镜之类的，反正就是这类东西。

So we say, I'm I'm assuming to, like, pick up a prescription or glasses or something, whatever.

看完眼科后，他们去了保险公司，接着是花店，再去了另一家店，最后又回到了ALCO。

But after the eye doctor, they go to the insurance office and then a flower shop, then another store, back to alco.

这么多地方要跑啊。

That's a lot of stops.

是啊。

I know.

最后，查德和薇尔特在警方之后不久就到了案发现场。

And then finally, that is when Chad and Velvet end up at the crime scene shortly after law enforcement.

咱们就大概定在三点三十分到四点之间吧。

So let's call that somewhere between, like, 03:30 and four ish.

好的。

Okay.

当调查人员开始核对他的时间线时，大致上是能对得上的。

And when investigators start trying to verify his timeline, it does check out, sort of.

查德确实去了他上午十点预约的眼科门诊。

So Chad did go to his eye doctor appointment that was scheduled for 10AM.

不过他说他到得挺早的。

However, he's saying he got there early.

对。

Mhmm.

但根据两名工作人员的说法，查德其实是10点20分才到的。

But according to two staff members, Chad actually showed up late at 10:20.

他们记得很清楚，因为他还特意打了个电话通知他们自己会迟到，说车子出了点问题之类的，这挺奇怪的。

And they remember this clearly because he even called to give them a heads up that he was gonna be late, said that he was having car trouble or something, which, like, weird.

我觉得他跟侦探们提过车子出问题的事。

I don't think he mentioned any car trouble to detectives.

不过，也许他只是在诊所找了个借口，好让自己显得没那么可疑，你知道的。

But, like, maybe he was just, like, using an excuse at the doctor's office, like, to, like, make up for the like, you know, just to get out of it.

对吧？

You know?

有道理。

Sure.

但如果车子没出问题，那他到底为什么迟到呢？

But then why was he really late if he didn't have car trouble?

好问题。

Great question.

还记得吗？查德说那天早上他回家换了衣服，因为天气太热了。

And remember how Chad said that he went home and changed his clothes that morning because it was, like, too hot weather.

这有关联。

Related.

嗯，有可能。

Well, sure.

也许这就是原因。

Maybe that was the reason.

但我们查了天气记录，那年五月的早晨，德克萨斯的气温其实挺温和的。

But we pulled the weather reports, and it was fairly mild for Texas that May morning.

最高六十多度，最低七十出头。

High sixties, low seventies.

所以侦探告诉我们，他们发现他换衣服的这个理由站不住脚。

So detectives told us that they found that excuse for why he might have been in different clothes when people saw him.

他在监控里出现的时候，状态很不对劲。

And when he showed up on surveillance footage, weak.

他们知道布列塔尼不只是被杀了。

And they know Brittany wasn't just killed.

对吧？

Right?

她是在一个小房间里被活活打致死的。

She was beaten to death in a small room.

凶手很可能浑身都是她的血。

Chances are that her killer was covered in her blood.

你不可能穿着一身血到处走。

Like, you can't be walking around like that.

别忘了，最早引起侦探注意的一点是，家里的淋浴间好像用过。

And don't forget, one of the earliest flags to detectives was that the shower in the house appeared to have been used.

没错。

Right.

随着他们继续深入调查查德的说辞，他们发现，尽管查德在一天中的大部分时间都有人证或监控录像证明他的行踪，但还是有一个很小的时间段他完全不在任何人的视线里。

And as they keep digging into Chad's story, they realize that even though he is accounted for for a lot of the day, either by people or with surveillance video, there is this small window of time where he wasn't.

从早上9点21分他出现在便利店的监控里离开，到10点20分医生办公室说他终于到诊，这中间有一个多小时的空档。

From around 09:21 when he shows up on surveillance footage leaving the alco store until about 10:20 when the doctor's office says that he finally shows up for his appointment.

所以他是怎么在短短一小时内完成开车、杀人、清理血迹这些事的？

So he would have had to do all that driving, commit the murder, and clean himself up in, like, an hour?

是的。

Yeah.

但你看他那段时间里去的每一个地方，其实都离得特别近。

But all the stops I mean, again, it's it's just like the stops he made in that that little window.

对。

Mhmm.

这些地点全都挤在很小的范围内。

They're, like, in a super close radius.

从便利店到案发现场，开车也就六分钟。

Like, from the alco to the crime scene, it's, like, six minutes.

哦。

Oh.

于是他们对查德也采取了和其他人一样的处理方式。

So they give Chad the same treatment that they do everyone else.

把测谎仪专家叫来。

Bring in the polygrapher.

终于，他们得到了第一个明显的失败结果。

And finally, they get their first big fat fail.

这当然不能说明一切，但结合其他间接证据，它确实是个线索。

Obviously, this doesn't mean everything, but along with the other circumstantial evidence, it is something.

是的。

Yeah.

他们只是还需要更多证据。

They just need something more.

因为我觉得，一直让人困惑的，是动机到底是什么。

Because I think the thing that was partially haunting everyone was why.

因为当他们询问布里塔尼的家人时，家人说根本不认识这个男人。

Because when they talk to Brittany's family, they say they didn't know this guy from Adam.

这是他们第一次听说查德·卡爾这个名字。

This was the first time they were ever even hearing the name Chad Carr.

根据布里塔尼的妈妈和妹妹说，他俩就像擦肩而过的过客，偶尔打个照面，但顶多算个熟人。

And according to Brittany's mom and sister, he and Brittany seem to just be like ships passing in the night, like orbiting each other from time to time, maybe, sure, but like simply acquaintances.

他只是杰夫妹妹的男朋友。

He was just Jeff's sister's boyfriend.

这可不是他们单方面的说法。

And this isn't just coming from them.

所有他们接触过的人，都没法证明查德和布里塔尼有什么实质联系。

No one they talked to could connect Chad to Brittany in any meaningful way.

就连我们整个调查过程中，唯一挖到的信息是，布里塔尼曾经跟一位姨妈提起过他，但没提名字，只说他是维尔瓦的男朋友，还说这人让她浑身不舒服。

And even in all our reporting, the only thing we were able to dig up is that Brittany had mentioned Chad before to an aunt, not even by name, just calling him Velva's boyfriend, but she said that he gave her the creeps.

再说动机，我们清楚知道，屋里没丢任何东西，所以他不可能是趁她睡觉时闯进来偷东西，结果被她撞了个正着。

And listen, when you talk about motive, like, we know nothing from the house was stolen, so it's not like he went to the house to try and take things while she was sleeping and then she surprised him.

有人专门去那个房间杀她。

Someone went to that room to kill her.

这正是他们的目的。

That was the goal here.

我觉得，肯定跟性有关，毕竟她全身赤裸，内裤也不见了。

I mean, to me, there has to be some kind of sexual component, though, like, with her being naked and her underwear missing.

我同意。

I agree.

但没人能指出，查德以前对布列塔尼说过或做过什么，能预示会发生这种事。

It's just that no one can point to anything that Chad ever said or did that would be a precursor to this, at least not to Brittany.

不过，当他们调查查德的过去时，发现了一些无法忽视的事情。

But when they did look into Chad's past, there was something hard to ignore.

几年前，2001年，一名女子向警方报案，说查德用千斤顶扳手砸了她的头——这个工具你可能不太熟悉。

You see, years earlier, in 2001, a woman reported to deputies that Chad assaulted her by hitting her in the head with a jack handle, which I don't know if you're familiar with that.

就是那种轮胎撬棒。

It's a, like, a tire iron.

是的。

Yeah.

就是可能用来杀害布列塔尼的那件武器。

The kind of weapon that Brittany was possibly killed with.

那件他们始终没找到的武器。

The weapon that they've never been able to find.

你听好了。

And listen.

一旦你听到这起另一起袭击的细节，就很难不注意到其中令人毛骨悚然的相似之处。

Once you hear the details of this other attack, it's hard not to draw some chilling parallels.

荒野本该是宁静之地，但对某些人来说，却成了悲剧发生的场所。

The wilderness is meant to be a place of peace, but for some, it became the setting of tragedy.

播客《公园掠食者》讲述的是人们在最意想不到的地方——茂密的森林、偏僻的小径，或星空下的露营地——遭遇危险的真实故事。

The podcast Park Predators explores true stories of people who encountered danger where they least expected it, deep in forests, along remote trails, or while camping under the stars.

每一集都深入剖析一个案件，像《犯罪 Junkie》一样，秉持严谨的调查和引人入胜的叙事风格。

Each episode examines a different case with the same careful research and storytelling you get here on Crime Junkie.

你现在就可以在任何播客平台收听《公园掠食者》了。

You can start listening to Park Predators now wherever you get your podcasts.

根据我们掌握的报告，那是2001年圣诞节前两天，在德克萨斯州同一个小镇温斯伯勒。

According to the report we have, it's a couple of days before Christmas in 2001 in the same small town of Winnsboro, Texas.

一位我们叫黛比的女士，当时正在她父母开的录像带店里上晚班，这时查德·卡尔带着他妻子来了。

A woman we're gonna call Debbie was working the second shift at her parents' video store in town when Chad Carr drops by with his wife.

妻子？

Wife?

是的。

Yeah.

他以前结过婚。

He'd been married before.

到他和薇尔瓦约会、布列塔尼遇害的时候，他显然已经离婚了。

He's obviously divorced by the time he was dating Velva, by the time that Brittany was murdered.

但据说是他十八岁那年就早早结了婚。

But apparently, he had gotten married pretty young, like when he was 18.

德比认识查德。

Now Debbie knew Chad.

他和她即将离婚的丈夫是好朋友。

He was good friends with her soon to be ex husband.

于是他们聊了起来，德比提到她父母家这个假期住了不少人。

So they get to talking, and she mentions how her parents have a bunch of people in town staying at their place for the holidays.

她和女儿的空间越来越挤了。

Space for her and her daughter was getting tight.

报告里只说她打算当晚睡在拖车里。

So she was actually gonna spend the night in the report just says the trailer.

我不确定这拖车是她以前和丈夫住的地方，还是她家拥有的，反正不清楚。

So I don't know if this was like her old place with her husband or if her family owned it or what.

她和女儿打算去那儿住，这样就不必睡沙发了。

But her and her daughter were gonna go there so that they didn't have to sleep on the couch.

这事没什么特别的。

So there's nothing to this.

查德和他妻子走了。

Chad and his wife leave.

黛比十点下班，去妈妈那儿接上女儿和狗，大概十一点到了拖车那儿。

Debbie gets off work at ten, picks up her daughter and her pup from her mom, and then goes to the trailer at around eleven.

黛比说，她把女儿哄睡之后，自己留下来看电影。

Now Debbie says she puts her daughter down in bed and then she stays up watching movies.

她时睡时醒，迷迷糊糊的。

And she was kinda like dozing in and out.

直到凌晨五点半，她才去卧室，想挨着女儿睡一会儿。

So finally, at like 05:30 in the morning, she went to the bedroom to sleep next to her daughter.

可她刚躺下，狗就开始狂叫。

But shortly after laying down, her dog starts barking.

这不太对劲。

That's not normal.

她愣在那儿听了会儿，接着听见树叶被踩碎的声音——像是有人走路，然后就是前门被敲响。

So she kinda like sits there still for a second, and then she hears leaves crunching, like footsteps, and then knocks on her front door.

于是黛比起身，走向门口的路上，她就看清了外面站的是谁。

So Debbie gets up and as she's making her short walk to the front door, she could see who was standing outside.

是查德·卡尓。

It's Chad Carr.

他正贴着玻璃往里看，黛比一开门，他就看见她了。她直接问了句再明显不过的问题：你这么晚来干嘛？

He's like looking through the glass and she could tell that So he spotted she goes to the door and opens it and asks Chad the obvious question, like Why are you here?

大清早的？

At this hour.

他说：哦，我刚好在这附近接个同事。

And he says, oh, I was just in the area picking up a coworker.

明白了。

Okay.

但她直觉一下子警觉起来。

But her spidey senses go off.

她认识他说的那个同事。

Like, she knows this coworker that he mentioned.

他报了个具体名字，可那人根本不住这附近。

Like, he gave her a specific name, and that person doesn't live around here.

于是她半信半疑地重复了一遍名字：‘你去接他？’

So she says the name kind of skeptically, like, you're picking up that guy?

就是他？

Like him?

对。

Yeah.

这时候查德赶紧改口。

And that's when Chad, like, backtracks.

啊，不是。

Oh, like, no.

不是那个人。

Not that guy.

其实是他一个朋友。

It was actually one of that guy's friends.

这其实不重要。

Like, it doesn't matter.

他本来就不在家，不过他说这都无所谓。

He's not home anyways, but that's neither here nor there, he says.

我过来是因为看到你拖车外面有个人。

I stopped by because I saw someone outside your trailer.

我开车过来的时候，一辆小车突然开走了。

And as I pulled up, this small car sped away.

这自然让她很担心。

Now this obviously worries her.

于是她说：那你就在前门廊待着吧。

So she's like, okay, can you just like stay here on the front porch?

帮忙留意一下。

Keep an eye out.

我去把女儿叫上，收拾下东西。

I'm gonna like get my daughter together, get our stuff.

我们打算回我父母家。

We're gonna go back to my parents' house.

于是她去卧室收拾东西。

So she goes to the bedroom to get her things.

等她回到客厅，发现查德根本没待在前门廊，而是站在那里，完全违背了她的要求。

And when she comes back to the living room, she sees Chad standing there very much not on the front porch like she asked.

但她似乎并不担心，因为查德是来帮她的。

But still, she doesn't seem concerned because Chad's there to help.

对吧？

Right?

她又跟他说了一遍：听好了，我就只是收拾点东西。

So she told him again, like, listen, I'm just gonna get my things together.

她想从他身边走过，蹲下身去捡地上的东西。

And she goes to like move past him and she kneels down on the floor for something.

这时，查德问了她一个让人毛骨悚然的问题。

And then Chad asks her this chilling question.

你确定这里没别人了吗？

Are you sure there's no one else here?

当然了，她肯定觉得没别人啊。

Like, of course, she's sure.

你这话什么意思？

Like, what do you mean?

对啊。

Yeah.

接着，他朝她头上打了一记。

And then came the blow to her head.

这一下没把黛比打晕，但把她打懵了。

This didn't knock Debbie out, but it stunned her.

她一下子跳起来，大喊：你刚打了我头！

So she, like, jumps up and yelled, you just hit me in the head.

她打开灯，看见查德手里拿着一个红色的千斤顶把手，上面有橡胶握把。

And when she flicked on the light, she saw Chad with a red jack handle that had a rubber grip.

查德看起来也愣住了。

And Chad seemed stunned too.

他一直在说：天哪。

He was saying, oh my god.

我要进监狱了。

I'm going to jail.

求你别告诉任何人。

Please don't tell anybody.

什么？

What?

我不确定她当时是真这么想，还是只是吓懵了，出于自保，但她跟他说她不会说出去。

And I don't know if she meant it at the time or if she was just in shock or survival mode, but she told him that she wouldn't.

她只想着去接女儿。

She just needed to get her daughter.

可当她走进房间，弯下身去抱女儿时，感觉血正从脖子上往下流。

But when she went to the room and, like, bent down to pick up her daughter, she felt blood dripping down her neck.

于是她用双手往后摸，碰到了被击中的地方。

And so she, like, reaches back with both hands, touches the spot where she'd been hit.

当她低头看手时，手上全是血。

And when she looks at her hands, they are covered in blood.

天哪。

Oh my god.

查德看到这一幕，立刻开始道歉。

And when Chad saw it, he just began apologizing.

但那时候哪有时间道歉。

There wasn't time for apologies, though.

她告诉他，必须马上去医院。

She told him she needed to get to a hospital now.

他得开车送她去，他就这么做了。

He needed to drive her, and he did.

她头上缝了三针才把伤口合上。

She had to get three staples in her head to close the wound.

我现在不知道她到底跟医院的工作人员说了什么，也不确定查德有没有陪她进去，但我感觉她还在努力理清那天到底发生了什么。

Now I don't know what exactly she told staff at the hospital or if Chad went in with her, but I think that she was still trying to make sense of what had happened.

所以在报警之前，她先去找了查德的妻子。

So before going to police, she actually went to Chad's wife first.

查德的妻子告诉她，那天查德回家时行为特别反常，情绪很低落。

And she's told by her that when Chad got home that day, he was acting really off, upset.

她问查德怎么了，一开始他只说他做了一件特别糟糕的事，但她一直追问不放。

And when she asked what was wrong, at first, he would say that he had just done something really bad, but she, like, kept pressing him.

我不能让我的丈夫就这么轻描淡写地说‘我干了件坏事’。

I'm not gonna let my husband be like, I did something really bad.

然后

And then

好吧。

be like, okay.

明白了。

Cool.

谢谢。

Thanks.

到底是什么事这么严重？

Like, what what was really bad?

他最后还是告诉了她。

And he finally told her.

至于他具体对妻子说了什么，我就不太清楚了。

Though what his exact words were to his wife, I don't know.

我知道的是，圣诞节第二天，黛比终于鼓起勇气去报警，说了那天发生的事。

I just know that the day after Christmas, Debbie finally worked up the courage to report what had happened to police.

但当警察找上查德时，他说这完全是一场误会，还编了一整套说辞。

But when they go to Chad, he says this was all a big misunderstanding, and he has, like, this whole story.

他说，之前某天，他在常去吃早餐的加油站遇到一个男人，那人想跟查德的老板谈个工作机会。

So he says that on some previous date, he had met some guy at a gas station where he normally eats breakfast, and that guy wanted to talk to Chad's boss about a job.

所以查德打算在22号早上接上那人，送他去上班。

So Chad was gonna pick this guy up the morning of the twenty second and take him to his work.

但这个 guy，说来也怪，他连人家叫什么都不知道，也找不到那人的家。

But this guy, who by the way, he can't even name, he couldn't find his house.

于是他就抄了条乡间小路，从黛比家旁边经过，想着能快点到目的地。

So he took this rural road that went by Debbie's house, like, back to wherever he was going because it was a faster way.

他说自己看到她家门前停着一辆小车，就下车去看看她是不是没事。

Now he says that he saw a small car parked in front of her place, so he went to see if she was alright.

那他是不是每看到有车停着的房子都要停下来查一查？

And is he stopping at, like, every house with a parked car?

因为确实啊。

Because Right.

嗯，有道理。

Like Okay.

车停在那里。

There's a car there.

人肯定也在。

She's there.

我们都知道。

We know that.

但他就说，我走到门口，看看她有没有事。

But he's like, so I got to the door, see if she's alright.

她说：‘你吓到我了，我刚听到有人走路的声音。’

And she's like, oh, you scared me because I heard somebody walking.

所以他说她被吓到了。

So he says that she was scared.

她本来打算跟着他一起回镇上。

She was gonna follow him back into town.

于是他在客厅等着，她去收拾东西。

So he waits in the living room while she went and gathered her things.

但后来，有个人从旁边走过，他被吓了一跳，顺手用千斤顶把手打了过去，结果一愣：天哪。

But then at some point, he gets startled by some person walking by and hits them in the head with the jack handle and realizes, oh my god.

我居然打中了黛比。

I accidentally hit Debbie.

黛比，你特地来找的那个人，你跟她聊过，你了解她。

Debbie, the person that you're there specifically for, you've talked to, you know

这地方就她一个人，是个拖车。

The only person in the this is a trailer.

我们可不是住在五千平方英尺的大房子里。

We're not in, like, a 5,000 square foot home.

我们就住在一个小拖车里。

We are in a small trailer.

你知道她就在那儿。

You know it's her there.

而且呢，其实啊，

Well, and also, like,

那个千斤顶？

the jack handle?

我们干嘛要带这个东西？

Why do we have it to begin with?

我不确定

I don't know if

他是不是拿着它来敲的门。

he, like, showed up at the door with it.

好像根本没人提过这东西。

It's like there's nothing mentioned in

难道就靠一个千斤顶扳手就操作了？

Like, didn't just, like, operate with, like, a jack handle in

他手里拿着它。

his hand.

所以我不确定他是不是带着它来敲的门。

So I don't know if he, like, came to the door with it.

再说，根据黛比的说法，他整个说法就是：我看到有人在附近，所以我不确定他一开始就有这东西。

Again, his whole thing, at least according to Debbie's story, is like, oh, I saw someone around, so I don't know if he, like, had it initially.

我不清楚他是不是又出去拿了，这玩意儿到底打哪儿来的，完全说不清，尤其是他怎么把它带进拖车里的。

I don't know if he went back out and got I have no idea where this thing came from as far as, like, him bringing it into the trailer.

对。

Mhmm.

我知道他妻子说，这东西是他跟朋友借的。

I do know that it comes up that his wife says he actually borrowed this thing from a friend.

所以这根本不是他的，我不明白，他刚好有这东西是巧合，还是

So it's not even his, which I don't know if it's just like a coincidence that he has this thing or

我的意思是，他是不是因为这东西不是他的，才拿它当武器用？

I mean, or he's using it because it like like, as a weapon because it's not his?

对，就是这样。

Like this yeah.

还有，他当时为什么会在那里？

And also, like, why was he there

一开始他就该在那儿吗？

in the first place?

我不懂他为什么非得出现在那儿，这完全说不通。

Like, I don't understand why he would stop like, why he exists in this, like, space at all.

嗯，这里来个转折。

Well, so here, plot twist.

我本来觉得，这事儿好像没什么动机。

I originally thought it seemed like there wasn't a motive for this.

就像布列塔尼那案子一样。

Like, kind of like in Brittany's case.

对吧？

Right?

你说，为啥会是

Like, it's like, why

为啥选这个人？

Why this person?

没错。

Right.

因为警方报告里根本找不到任何动机的线索。

Because there's nothing in the police reports that goes to motive.

是因为你知道她会一个人待着吗？

Is it just because you knew she was gonna be alone?

还是说，你只是她前夫的朋友，之类的？

Is it like you're her almost ex husband's friend, like, whatever?

但后来我们从几个了解内情的人那里听说，报告里的内容可能并不是完整真相。

But then we learned from a couple of people close to the situation that what was in the reports may not be the actual full story.

不出所料。

Surprise, surprise.

据说，查德和黛比一直有婚外情。

Allegedly, Chad and Debbie had been having an affair.

而且，黛比正打算告诉查德当时的妻子。

And apparently, Debbie was about to spill the beans to Chad's then wife.

显然，他对此非常不满。

And, obviously, he was not happy about that.

这就解释了为什么她拖了一阵子才报案。

Which that makes way more sense why she took a minute before filing any kind of report.

是的。

Yeah.

如果真是这样，那一切就都说得通了。

And if that's true, it all kind of clicks into place for me.

但这一点恰恰是这次袭击和对布列塔尼的袭击之间的关键区别。

But it actually is the one thing then that really differentiates this attack from the attack on Brittany.

对。

Right.

因为他和这里的人有关系。

Because, like, he has a connection here.

对。

Right.

我们去问了，没人想到，因为第一次听说这事的时候，我简直惊呆了。

And we asked and nobody thought because I because the first time I heard this, I'm like, oh my god.

你觉得查德和布列塔尼之间有什么吗？

Do you think there was anything with Chad and Brittany?

我们问了所有人。

And we asked everyone.

没人觉得他们之间有什么关系。

Nobody thought they had anything going on.

他和布列塔尼之间的联系，基本上等于没有。

His connection to Brittany is still pretty much nada.

在那之后，查德接下来四年没有再犯案，但那是因为他因为对黛比的这次袭击被判了刑。

Now Chad doesn't commit any more offenses for the next four years, but that's because he ends up serving time for this attack on Debbie.

他对袭击指控认了无罪抗辩，最终被关进监狱，直到2006年初才出来。

He pled no contest to the assault charge he was eventually hit with, and he stayed in jail until early two thousand six.

但刚出狱几个月，他就被指控性侵前妻。

But just a few months after getting out, he's accused of sexually assaulting his ex wife.

前妻，毕竟她在他坐牢期间早就另过生活了。

Ex, because she had obviously moved on while he was in jail.

是的。

Yeah.

还有所有

And for all

关于黛比的那些事。

the Debbie stuff.

不到一年后，布列塔尼遭到残忍杀害，他成了主要嫌疑人。

And then less than a year after that, Brittany is brutally murdered, and he becomes the main suspect.

有了他之前的记录、不牢靠的不在场证明，以及测谎失败，警方有足够的理由对他姑姑家进行搜查——他当时就住那儿。

With that past, a shaky alibi and a failed polygraph, detectives have enough to get a search warrant for his aunt's place where he'd been living.

他们想找任何能直接把他和案件联系起来的物证，比如沾血的衣服、凶器，或者布列塔尼失踪的内裤。

They're looking for anything to physically link him to the crime, bloody clothes, a murder weapon, Brittany's missing underwear.

哦，没错。

Oh, yeah.

他们确实找到了一些有意思的物品作为证据，比如一条白色短裤，上面有疑似血迹，还有一件白色T恤，也沾着血，一条灰色滑雪面罩，还有女性内裤。

And they do find and take some interesting items into evidence, like a pair of white shorts with what appears to be drops of blood on them and a white T shirt that also appears to have blood on it, a gray ski mask, and women's underwear.

两件。

Two pairs.

一双是粉色的，七号码。

One is pink, size seven.

另一双是白色的，五号码。

The other is white, size five.

这两双上面都没发现血迹，什么都没有。

And there's no blood on either pair or anything like that.

而且我们知道，那时候查德正在和薇尔特交往。

And we know Chad is dating Velvet then.

对吧？

Right?

可能是她的东西。

Like, could be hers.

于是他们去找杰夫的妈妈，她说那双粉色的、七号的，是薇尔特的。

So they go to Jeff's mom, and she says the pink ones, the size seven ones, those are Velvet.

她很清楚这一点。

She knows that.

但那双五码的，家里没人认领。

But the size five, no one in that house seems to claim those.

于是他们去找布列塔尼的妈妈。

So then they go to Brittany's mom.

果然，她告诉他们，五码正是布列塔尼平时穿的尺码。

And sure enough, she tells them that the size five is the exact size that Brittany wore.

那他们锁定查德了？

So they've got Chad?

还没那么肯定。

Not quite.

这次搜查是在谋杀案发生两个多星期后才进行的。

This search didn't happen until more than two weeks after the murder.

据执法人员说，等调查人员拿到内裤时，它们已经被洗过了。

And according to law enforcement, it seemed like the underwear had been washed by the time that investigators got ahold of them.

所以尽管他们把内裤送去化验了，但结果并没有明确证明布列塔尼和这些内裤有关。

So even though they do send them off for testing, nothing comes back that would definitively link Brittany to the underwear.

好的。

Okay.

杰夫还记得那天早上她上床时穿的是白色内裤吗？

Did Jeff remember her underwear being white that morning when she got into bed?

他能认出来吗？

Like, could could he have ID'd them?

我也有同样的疑问，但我们手头所有的文件里，都没有记录有人专门问过杰夫这个问题。

This this was my question too, but in all of the documents we have, there is no record of anyone specifically asking Jeff this.

所以我不清楚。

So I don't know.

麦迪逊曾试图联系他，想问这个问题，还有其他很多事，但到目前为止，我们还没收到他的回复。

And Madison tried reaching out to him to ask about this along with a lot of other things, but as of this recording, we haven't heard back from him.

好的。

Okay.

但还有其他衣服，比如短裤和衬衫。

But there was other clothing, like the shorts and the shirt.

那些血迹是谁的？

Like, whose blood was on those?

我不知道。

I don't know.

听起来，对那些衣物的检测也没得出什么有用的结果。

It sounds like the testing didn't come back with anything useful on those either.

要么结果不确定，要么可能是查德的，但总之没给他们提供任何线索。

Like, either it was inconclusive or maybe it was Chad's, but, like, it didn't give them anything to go on.

那在杰夫家案发现场的其他物证呢？

What about all the stuff at the actual crime scene back at Jeff's house?

那可是个暴力现场啊。

Like, this was a violent scene.

我觉得现场肯定留下点什么，比如她指甲里之类的，总该有点东西吧。

I I think that there'd be something there, like, maybe under her fingernails, just something.

关于指甲，我们确实问过这事。

The fingernails, so we asked about those.

据说布列塔尼的指甲太短了，所以那边也没找到有用的东西。

Apparently, Brittany's were too short, so, like, nothing helpful there.

但你说得对。

But to your point, yeah.

没错。

Yeah.

你肯定会觉得，案发现场总该留下点什么吧，尤其是他们觉得这凶手作案后还待够时间冲了个澡才走。

You'd think there would be something somewhere at that scene, especially because they think that this is a killer who apparently sticks around long enough to take a shower before leaving.

所以他们才会特别检查淋浴间，连排水口都不放过。

And that's one of the reasons that they actually test the shower, including the drain.

但问题就在这儿。

But here's the catch.

据警长说，那栋房子里总共就一个卫生间。

According to the sheriff, there's only one bathroom in that whole house.

所以那是个大家共用的空间。

So it's a really shared space then.

就算他们能证明查德去过那间浴室，其实也说明不了什么。

Even if they can place Chad in that bathroom, it kinda means nothing.

那倒不一定，如果真能证明他去过，那这个证据还是有用的。

Well, except for the fact that it it kinda might, if they can place him there.

因为查德当时跟警方说的一句话，我觉得特别有意思。

Because apparently, Chad makes a specific statement to authorities that I find really interesting.

警方告诉他正在化验证据的时候，他大概是这么说的：那个女孩身上还有那个房间里，都不会有我的DNA。

When they tell Chad that they're in the process of testing evidence, he says something like, my DNA will not be on that girl or in that room.

我本来还以为他会提前解释为什么自己的DNA会出现在那里呢。

I honestly was expecting him to, like, preemptively explain why his DNA was there.

我懂的。

I know.

所以我才觉得奇怪啊，但他完全没这么做。查德在最初的证词里说，他从来没进过那栋房子。

That's why I was, like, surprised, but he doesn't do In his original statement, Chad says that he never went inside that house.

他说的是就那天早上没进，还是从来都没进过？

Is he talking, like, just that morning or ever?

我的意思是，我觉得他指的是谋杀当天，但即便如此。

I I mean, I think he's just talking about the day of the murder, but, like, still.

所以像他这样的说法，我忍不住想，这到底是源于他打扫得特别干净的自信，还是因为他真的清白？

So a statement like that, I have to wonder, like, does that come from, like, the confidence from being so meticulous about cleaning up after yourself or from being innocent?

我知道辩护律师会怎么辩解。

I mean, I know what a defense attorney would argue.

因为在初期，现场发现的大部分东西都属于布列塔尼或者房子里的其他人。

Because in the early days, most of what they find at the scene seems to belong to Brittany or people living in the house.

没有一样能明确指向外部袭击者。

Nothing that clearly identifies an outside attacker.

明白了。

Okay.

但如果查德之前确实去过那栋房子，他算不算外部袭击者呢？

But would Chad technically count as an outside attacker if he'd been at the house at some point?

我明白你的意思。

I mean, I know what you're saying.

我觉得我绕来绕去的，好像说得有点含糊。

Like, I feel like I'm, like, dancing around, so I feel like I'm being a little cryptic here.

这是因为调查人员对DNA相关的信息守口如瓶。

And that's because investigators were tight lipped with us surrounding DNA stuff.

但据我了解，如果他们早期真有什么发现，要么结果模糊，要么样本太少，根本没法锁定明确的嫌疑人。

But from what I could gather, if they did have anything early on, it was either inconclusive or too limited to point to like a sure suspect.

所以在那段初期，调查几乎就停滞了。

So in that early time frame, like, the investigation starts to slow way down.

你开玩笑吧。

You're kidding me.

他们手上有那么多线索啊。

Like, they have so much.

不可能。

No.

那Velvet在这整个事情里头到底在哪？

And where is Velvet in all this?

他们指控的这个杀人嫌犯，是她的男朋友。

Like, this is her boyfriend they're accusing of murder.

说实话，我觉得她一开始根本没说多少话。

You know, I don't I don't think she's saying a lot initially.

听上去他们那天只在案发现场问了她几句，因为那时候她正在上学。

I mean, it sounds like they're really only talking to her at the scene that day because, she was in school when this happened.

对。

Right.

是吧？

Right?

后来他们把注意力全放在查德身上，就再没正式找过她，至少没再认真调查过。

And then after they're, like, focused on Chad, it doesn't seem like they circle back around to her, at least, like, in any real formal way.

也许她当时还跟他在一起，他们觉得她会站在他那边。

Maybe she was still with him for a little bit, and they thought that she would take his side.

我不确定。

I don't know.

但她没跟他长期在一起。

But she doesn't stay with him, like, long term.

这点我肯定知道。

Like, I know that for sure.

他们分手后不久，她主动去找了警察，想跟他们谈谈。

And sometime after they break up, she does actually seek out police because she wants to talk to them.

她觉得自己掌握了一些能帮上忙的信息。

She thinks that she has information that could help them.

荒野本该是宁静的地方，但对一些人来说，却成了悲剧的发生地。

The wilderness is meant to be a place of peace, but for some, it became the setting of tragedy.

播客《公园掠食者》讲述的是人们在最意想不到的地方——深林中、偏僻小径上、或星空下露营时——遭遇危险的真实故事。

The podcast Park Predators explores true stories of people who encountered danger where they least expected it, deep in forests, along remote trails, or while camping under the stars.

每一集都深入调查一个案件，像《Crime Junkie》一样，注重严谨的调研和叙事。

Each episode examines a different case with the same careful research and storytelling you get here on Crime Junkie.

你现在就可以在任意播客平台收听《公园掠食者》了。

You can start listening to Park Predators now wherever you get your podcasts.

布里塔尼·麦格隆遇害大约八个月后，薇尔瓦主动要求和警方谈谈查德。

About eight months after Brittany McGlone's murder, Velva asked to have a conversation with police about Chad.

她告诉警方，那天有些细节现在回想起来总觉得不对劲。

She tells them there were things about that day that now, looking back, don't sit right with her.

她说，那天下午查德来学校接她的时候，感觉有点不对。

She says that when Chad picked her up from school that afternoon, something was off.

他看起来很紧张，而且她闻到一股特别的气味。

Like, he seemed nervous, and there was this distinct smell that she remembers.

是她用的那款沐浴露——柔润乳木果香型。

It was her body wash, soft soap ultra rich shea butter.

这让她感到毛骨悚然，因为据她所知，查德那天根本没在她家洗过澡。

And this is chilling to her because to her knowledge, Chad hadn't showered at her house that day.

根本没必要洗啊。

There would have been no reason to.

顺便说一句，我之前说过，她前一天晚上根本没在自己家过夜。

Because by the way, I told you she hadn't even stayed at her house the night before.

你还记得吗？

Remember?

对吧。

Right.

那天晚上，他们俩在他姑姑家一起过夜。

The two of them spent the night together at his aunt's house.

她从那儿直接去了学校。

She went straight to school from there.

他送她下车的时候，身上一点那种味道都没有。

And when he dropped her off, he didn't smell like that.

于是她就问他，你洗澡了吗？

So she asked him, like, did you take a shower?

他回答说，洗了。

And he says, yes.

接着她很自然地问，你是在我家里洗的吗？

So then she asked the natural follow-up question, did you shower at my house?

但他就是不按她说的来回应。

And he just doesn't answer according to her.

有时候，沉默比任何话都有分量。

And sometimes silence speaks volumes.

后来他们去了她家。

Now they went to her house.

对吧？

Right?

事情就这么慢慢展开。

And the scene was unfolding.

这确实让人分心。

It was understandably distracting.

对吧？

Right?

所以也许，那时候就不该再追问了。

So maybe, like, you don't press in on it then.

我们知道至少有一名警员注意到查德的行为很反常。

And we know at least one deputy is flagging how strange Chad is acting.

但薇尔特说，他那天剩下的时间都怪怪的。

But Velvet says that he was acting odd the rest of the day too.

比如，之后他不想一个人待着。

Like, he didn't wanna be alone afterward.

有次她说，他还打电话叫他姑姑来陪他。

And at one point, she says that he even called his aunt to, like, come be with him.

所有这些看起来都

Which all of this seems

有点夸张，毕竟大家都觉得他根本不太认识布里特妮。

like a little bit dramatic when he acts like, is saying, everyone agrees that he barely even knew Britney.

对吧？

Right?

没错。

Yes.

接着，薇尔特向调查人员提供了一个他们一直找不到的关键线索——可能的作案动机。

And then Velvet gives investigators something that they have been struggling to find, a possible motive.

不只是因为他有暴力倾向。

Outside of just a propensity for violence

总算有了。

Finally.

她说，查德之前抱怨过，布里妮可以留在杰夫家过夜，但他却不行。

She says that Chad had complained before that Britney was allowed to stay overnight at Jeff's house, but he wasn't.

等等。

Wait.

就因为这个？

That's it?

这就是动机？

That's that's the motive?

这竟是她过去八个月里能想到的全部理由。

That's all she can come up with in the last eight months.

而且说实话，单凭这个，动机并不充分。

And look, on its own, it's not a strong motive.

没错。

No.

这甚至可能根本就不是动机。

It might not even be the motive.

老实说，我觉得这根本说不通，因为从布里塔尼的妈妈帕特里夏那里我们了解到，上完夜班后留宿根本就不是布里塔尼平时会做的事。

And quite frankly, it doesn't even really make much sense to me because from everything we learned from Brittany's mom, Patricia, sleeping over after the night shift wasn't even something that Brittany really ever did.

等等。

Wait.

如果他

If he

如果他不能留宿，那一旦在屋里某些地方发现他的DNA，岂不是连个合理的解释都没了？

wasn't allowed to stay over, wouldn't that take away any, like, innocent explanation for his DNA to be in a, like, some specific places of the house if they were to ever find it?

如果。

If.

但不管他们手里有什么证据，显然都不足以让负责人觉得该继续推进。

But whatever they do have, it's apparently not enough to make the people in charge think that they should move forward.

所以即使韦尔瓦做了陈述，之后好几年也都没什么变化。

So even after Velva gives her statement, nothing much changes for years.

拖得越久，线索就越少，案子也越来越冷，直到一位新的警长真的来到镇上。

And the longer it sits, the more leads dry up, the colder and colder her case gets, until a new sheriff comes to town, literally.

嗯，严格来说也算吧。

Well, kind of literally.

2021年，新上任的警长是凯莉·科尔，但他其实从一开始就在当地执法部门工作，就在布列塔尼遇害的同一个县。

In 2021, there is a new sheriff, Kelly Cole, but he'd actually been there from the very beginning, working in law enforcement in the same county where Brittany was killed.

他对案情了如指掌。

He knew the details.

他知道当初的失误，现在终于有了权力去纠正这些错误。

He knew the mistakes, and now he has the authority to try and make it right.

于是他真的开始行动了。

So he does try.

他和警长迈克·奇尔森一起重新梳理了所有材料——旧报告、旧访谈、旧物证，而所有线索的核心，始终是同一个名字：查德·卡尔。

Alongside captain Mike Chilson, they start going back through everything, old reports, old interviews, old evidence, and at the center of it all is the same name they had before, Chad Carr.

自布里塔妮遇害以来，查德就没消停过。

Because in the years since Brittany's murder, Chad hasn't stayed out of trouble.

他后来因性侵前妻被判了十年监禁。

He went on to serve ten years for sexually assaulting his ex wife.

这很关键，因为现在的调查人员不再只是盯着一个嫌疑人。

And that matters because now investigators aren't just looking at a suspect.

他们看到的是一整套模式。

They're looking at a pattern.

这种模式让布里塔妮的家人无比愤怒——因为这次他甚至都没被要求登记为性犯罪者。

A pattern that frustrates Brittany's family because Chad didn't even end up having to register as a sex offender after this.

我知道我们一直在苦苦寻找一个明确的动机，但也许根本就不存在什么深层原因。

And I know we've been searching for a strong why here when there might not really be one at all.

也许真正的动机，只是他骨子里对暴力的渴望，而且对象并不只是女性。

So maybe the why is just an appetite for aggression and not just with women.

我们拿到的法庭文件提到，他过去曾有多起虐待动物的事件，一起涉及一只猫，另一起涉及多只流浪猫和小猫。

Court filings that we got our hands on alleged prior incidents of animal cruelty, one involving a cat and another involving multiple stray cats and kittens.

当科尔警长和奇尔森队长重新审视时，并没有发现什么全新的证据。

As Sheriff Cole and captain Chilson are taking their fresh look, it doesn't appear like they uncover some brand spanking new evidence or anything.

他们最终认为，其实早就足够采取逮捕行动了。

They just ultimately believe that there had been enough to move forward with an arrest all along.

所以之前的管理层根本就没打算追究。

So the previous administrations just didn't even wanna try then.

听上去就是这样。

Sounds like it.

十五年过去了，到了2022年，查德·卡尓终于因一级谋杀被逮捕。

So over fifteen years later, it is now 2022, Chad Carr is arrested for capital murder.

在向我们描述那一刻时，奇尔森队长说，查德一点都没惊讶，反而看起来像是松了一口气。

While describing that moment to us, captain Chilson said that Chad didn't even seem surprised, but rather it felt more like he was, he believes, maybe relieved.

而且，连DNA都没被提及，我们就听说查德已经开始改口，不再坚持自己当天没进过那栋房子了。

And without anything ever even coming up about DNA, we were told that Chad was already changing his story about not being inside the house that day.

他一上来就跟得州巡警说，自己那段时间频繁进出那栋房子。

He preemptively starts indicating to a Texas Ranger that he'd been in and out of there all of the time.

所以他以为他们找到了什么证据。

So he was thinking that they found something then.

也许吧。

Maybe.

我不确定。

I don't know.

但他已经被关进监狱了，这是多年来这个案子第一次真正有了进展。

But he's booked into jail, and for the first time in years, it feels like this case is moving forward.

对布列塔尼的家人来说，这让人情绪翻涌。

And for Brittany's family, it's overwhelming.

这是一种希望，甚至可能是愈合的开端。

It's hope, maybe even the start of healing.

但在这种案子中，我们知道，逮捕只是开始，不是终点。

But in cases like this, we know that an arrest isn't the end.

这其实只是下一步流程，尤其在德州，因为重罪案件必须经过大陪审团审理才能开庭。

It's just like the next step, especially in Texas, because before a felony case can go to trial, it has to go through a grand jury.

检察官需要陈述他们认为的案发经过，以及为什么应该以谋杀布兰妮的罪名起诉查德·卡尔。

Prosecutors have to lay out what they believe happened and why Chad Carr should stand trial for Brittany's murder.

他们花了差不多整整九十天的决定期限，最后大陪审团决定不起诉，意味着不会进行审判。

A decision takes just about the full ninety days that they're given to decide, and then the grand jury returns a no bill, meaning there will be no trial.

这怎么可能呢？

How is that possible?

我是觉得，这个案子在我看来证据一点都不薄弱。

I mean, this is, to me, like, far from a weak case.

你听着，我特别理解你不是现在就想给人定罪。

Listen, I especially that you're not convicting.

你是说这个案子应该走审判流程。

You're saying there should be a trial.

我同意这个看法。

I agree.

根据 sheriff Cole 和 captain Chilson 的说法，问题不在案子本身。

According to sheriff Cole and captain Chilson, they say the problem wasn't the case itself.

而是他们说，大陪审团根本没听到他们完整的证据。

It's that they say the grand jury never heard all of their case.

他们这话是什么意思？

They say that mean?

他们表示，关键证词，包括他们自己的证词，根本没呈上，整个流程在完整情况还没来得及彻底展开前就结束了。

They say that key testimony, including their own, was never presented, and the process ended before the full picture could really be totally laid out.

但其实，现在说这些也没用了。

But, like, it doesn't matter now.

结果都是一样的。

The results are the same.

就是说

Like

而 Chad 就这样自由地走出了法庭。

And Chad just walks away a free man.

布列塔尼的家人又回到了原点。

And Brittany's family is left right back where they started.

明白了。

Okay.

我澄清一下，双重危险原则不适用于大陪审团。

Just to be clear, double jeopardy, it doesn't apply to grand juries.

对吧？

Right?

它只适用于正式的审判和裁决。

Like, actual trials and verdicts.

所以。

So

你说得对。

You are correct.

因此，如果将来这个案子提交给新的大陪审团，他们决定起诉，查德·卡尓仍然可能受审。这就是为什么这份‘不予起诉’决定并没有让调查人员停下脚步。

So Chad Carr could still stand trial for this case if it ever went to a new grand jury and they chose to indict, which is why, like, this no bill didn't stop detectives from working this case.

他们还在审查证据。

They're still reviewing evidence.

他们还在寻找突破口。

They're still looking for a way forward.

至于法医方面， sheriff 说话非常谨慎。

And when it comes to the forensic side of things, the sheriff is careful with his words.

他明确表示，大部分证据都已检测过，结果基本都说得通。

He makes it clear a lot has already been tested, and most of what has come back makes sense.

这些DNA要么来自Brittany，要么来自房子里的人，但他接下来说了一件很耐人寻味的事。

It's either Brittany's or people living in the house, but then he says something very interesting.

他承认，还有一部分DNA正在分析中，是淋浴间里找到的，但不属于房子里任何一个人。

He acknowledges that there is DNA they're still looking at, that DNA recovered from the shower that doesn't belong to someone who lived in that house.

他目前不愿多说，至少现在还不行。

He won't go into more detail than that, at least not yet.

因为按他的话说，还有些事情需要保密，有些方向还在调查，有些证据可能至关重要——这意味着案子远没结束。

Because in his words, there are still things they have to protect, still avenues that they're going down, still evidence that could matter, which means this isn't over.

对调查人员来说不是，对布里塔尼的家人更不是。

Not for investigators and definitely not for Brittany's family.

现在的问题不是会不会有新的发现。

The question now isn't if something else comes.

我觉得只是时间问题。

I think it's when.

我们试了各种办法联系查德·卡爾。

We tried reaching out to Chad Carr every which way we could.

电话、脸书，甚至寄了信到我们觉得他现在可能住的地方。

Phone numbers, Facebook, even sent a letter to where we think he might be living now.

但截至这次录音，他还没回我们。

But as of this recording, he hasn't responded to us.

我最想直接问他的是：你有没有杀害布里塔尼·麦格隆？

The number one question that I wanted to ask him directly is did you murder Brittany McGlone?

因为直到今天，奇尔森队长都说，他不认为查德·卡爾曾明确否认过杀害布里塔尼。

Because to this day, captain Chilson says that he doesn't believe Chad Carr has ever explicitly denied murdering Brittany.