Silence of the Lambs is arguably one of the best psychological thrillers of all time and sadly many aspects of the movie are inspired by real people and events. Buffalo Bill in particular is based on a few different serial killers including Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Gary Heidnik. Most people are familiar with Bundy and Dahmer, but Heidnik's crimes haven't received the same amount of attention. In this episode we discuss Heidnik's life and crimes, as well as the lives of his victims. We talk at length about what he did, why he did it, and how his victims were let down by the justice system too many times. He was a sadistic man who brutally tortured his victims, so please listen with caution.

Sources

“Gary Heidnik.” Criminal Minds Wiki, criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Gary_Heidnik.

“Gary M. Heidnik.” Wikipedia, 25 Aug. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_M._Heidnik.

Janos, Adam. “Gary Heidnik’s Unspeakable Crimes: An Interview with the Serial Killer’s Attorney.” A&E, 14 Jan. 2021, www.aetv.com/real-crime/gary-heidnik.

Karimi, Faith. “His Gruesome Crimes Were a Basis for “Silence of the Lambs.” the Sister of One of His Victims Has Mixed Feelings about His Execution.” CNN, 19 Mar. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/03/19/us/gary-heidnik-pennsylvania-death-penalty-cec/index.html.

Oliver, Mark. “Serial Killer Gary Heidnik: The Real-Life Buffalo Bill Who Fed One of His Victims to His Prisoners.” All That’s Interesting, All That’s Interesting, 24 Jan. 2019, allthatsinteresting.com/gary-heidnik.

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A group of hikers was traveling down a logging road on their way to a rentable hut, located in the remote Canadian wilderness, when they stumbled upon a burnt truck with personal belongings scattered around it. Feeling as though they had discovered a crime scene, the hikers decided to take pictures before turning back, calling police as they drove. It took RCMP Officers two days to get to the scene and they noticed that things had been moved since the hikers had been there. They found that the truck belonged to a man named Marshall Iwaasa, who was nowhere to be found. His family told police that the last time they saw him was six days before his car was found at the end of the logging road. They told officers that on that night he had driven two hours from his house to his mom’s house in order to help her with something. He didn’t stay for too long and he told his mom that he planned to stop at his local storage unit before driving back to his place. He never mentioned plans to drive FOURTEEN HOURS to Pemberton, British Columbia. So how did his truck get there? And why? Nobody knows and he has not been seen since. As if the case wasn’t strange enough, evidence was uncovered that linked Marshall’s disappearance to another man, named Daniel Reoch… who had also gone missing. Despite the bizarre circumstances, the RCMP stated they do not believe any foul play occurred.

Sources:

Barely Sociable. “The Pemberton Incident - an Unsolved Mystery.” YouTube, 30 Oct. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yueni460aM. Accessed 10 Sept. 2024.

Thuncher, Jennifer. “Squamish Vigil Aims to Keep Daniel Reoch’s Memory Alive.” Squamish Chief, Squamish Chief, 27 Nov. 2023, www.squamishchief.com/local-news/nov-26-squamish-vigil-aims-to-keep-daniel-reochs-memory-alive-7837653. Accessed 10 Sept. 2024.

Wikipedia Contributors. “Disappearance of Marshal Iwaasa.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Aug. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Marshal_Iwaasa. Accessed 10 Sept. 2024.

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Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz met Felix Verdejo when the two of them were very young, because they attended the same school growing up. Their friendship blossomed into a romantic relationship when they were in high school. Keishla loyally supported Félix as he chased his dreams to become a professional boxer. At 18 years old Félix qualified for the 2012 olympics. He didn’t end up medaling but a professional spot was waiting for him when he got home to Puerto Rico. The beginning of his professional career was explosive. He held the WBO lightweight title for multiple years. He was expected to be the next big boxing star. Unfortunately he got in his own way and ultimately ruined his career and his life. The beginning of the end began to cheat on Kieshla with an underage girl named Elisa Maria Santiago Sierra. She was 14 and he was 18. He broke up with Kieshla to “date” Elisa, but he never actually stopped seeing Kieshla. When Elisa turned 18, Félix proposed and she said yes. I assume she was not aware of his transgressions with not only Keishla, but several women. Elisa became pregnant with Félix’s daughter and Félix took full advantage of the situation - crafting his image to make him look like a devoted husband and father. But cracks in his image started to appear to the public when Elisa found out about his cheating and threw him out of the house. She did take him back after he promised to change his ways, but it would take a lot longer to patch up his public image. When Kieshla ended up pregnant, Félix knew it was all falling apart. He tried to convince her to get an abortion, but Kieshla refused. She wanted the baby even if Félix didn’t want to step up and be a father. This caused Félix to spiral into planning the murder of his first love and their unborn child,.

Sources:

Acevedo, nicole. “An Ex-Boxer Is Convicted in Heinous Killing of His Pregnant Girlfriend.” NBC News, 31 July 2023, www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-femicide-focus-verdejo-conviction-killing-pregnant-keishla-rcna97304.

Daily, Juan. “Keishla Rodríguez’s Sister: Verdejo Expressed No Emotion When Hearing Guilty Verdict.” San Juan Daily Star, San Juan Daily Star, 31 July 2023, www.sanjuandailystar.com/post/keishla-rodr%C3%ADguez-s-sister-verdejo-expressed-no-emotion-when-hearing-guilty-verdict#:~:text=Keishla%20Rodr%C3%ADguez%20Ortiz. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

“District of Puerto Rico | Félix Verdejo-Sánchez Sentenced to Life in Prison for Kidnapping Resulting in Death, and Intentionally Killing an Unborn Child | United States Department of Justice.” Www.justice.gov, 3 Nov. 2023, www.justice.gov/usao-pr/pr/felix-verdejo-sanchez-sentenced-life-prison-kidnapping-resulting-death-and-intentionally.

Ghost of Crime. “The Double Life of Felix Verdejo - Boxing Star and Murderer || True Crime Documentary.” YouTube, 23 May 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCaimYSeaOs. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

https://www.facebook.com/peoplemag. “Olympic Boxer Félix Verdejo Gets Life for Throwing Girlfriend off Bridge after Pressuring Her to Get Abortion.” Peoplemag, 2021, people.com/olympic-boxer-felix-verdejo-gets-life-murdering-girlfriend-8391294. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

Rafael, Dan. “Felix Verdejo Named ESPN.com Prospect of the Year - ESPN.” ESPN.com, ESPN, 24 Dec. 2014, www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/12075915/felix-verdejo-named-prospect-year. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

Victor Torres Montalvo. “MOCION SENTENCIA LUIS CADIZ MARTINEZ.” Scribd, 2022, www.scribd.com/document/741021823/MOCION-SENTENCIA-LUIS-CADIZ-MARTINEZ. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

Wikipedia Contributors. “F.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 July 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.

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