3x14: Psycho Spitter Killer

[00:00:11] This story took place in the early 80s when I was around 21.

[00:00:27] After spending a few days with my sister and her husband on their farm, I was traveling

[00:00:32] back to my parents' house located in South Ohio.

[00:00:37] I was driving an old four-speed Ford F-150 pickup truck.

[00:00:42] A pleasantly basic vehicle with a long stick shift handle, large steering wheel, bench seat

[00:00:48] with only the essential dials and gauges on the dashboard.

[00:00:54] It also had wings.

[00:00:55] Remember those?

[00:00:56] Wind wings?

[00:00:57] They were those small triangle shaped window panes that sat on the front of the driver's

[00:01:03] and passenger side windows.

[00:01:06] You'd crack them open a bit and they'd do a great job of sucking out cigarette smoke

[00:01:11] or they could spin open and nearly backward so they caught the air as you drove down the

[00:01:15] road and the wind would rush in and cool you off on a hot day.

[00:01:20] Life then and in my early 20s was relatively uncomplicated and I traveled reasonably light.

[00:01:29] Next to me in the cab was a red owl grocery bag that held some extra Levi's flannel

[00:01:34] shirts toothbrush, a little weed and a half box of shotgun shells.

[00:01:41] Leaning between me and that paper sack was a double-barreled side-by-side shotgun encased

[00:01:47] in a thick fabric case butt end on the floor.

[00:01:51] I smiled as I glanced at the gun case reminiscing of hunting quail with my brother-in-law

[00:01:57] and riding horses with my sister.

[00:02:00] Like I said, my life was pretty uncomplicated and simple things brought me so much joy.

[00:02:07] Like the joint that I was smoking as I tooled down that hot and muggy highway.

[00:02:12] Little did I know that life was soon going to get very weird.

[00:02:17] Ashing the doobie out the window, I then placed the roach in the ashtray, turned

[00:02:22] on my turn signal and turned onto a rest-stop exit ramp.

[00:02:27] I had several more hours to go before home and thought that I should take the opportunity

[00:02:32] to pee and grab a vending machine coffee.

[00:02:35] I loved those coffee machines.

[00:02:37] 50 cents would buy you a paper cup with poker cards printed on it filled with fresh ground

[00:02:43] coffee.

[00:02:45] What a sack of shit, fresh ground coffee, my ass.

[00:02:50] I'm guessing that the machine had a little motor that made a whirling sound that made

[00:02:56] me think something was being ground, but the coffee tasted pretty good.

[00:03:01] I'd push all the quote-unquote extra buttons concerning cream and sugar.

[00:03:08] Returning to my truck, carrying my super fucking hot coffee, I saw that a guy was standing

[00:03:14] near the passenger side door.

[00:03:16] Odd, I thought, since there weren't any cars near my vehicle.

[00:03:20] And when he saw me, he placed his hand on the door and said,

[00:03:24] Hey, can I catch a ride with you?

[00:03:26] What the fuck, I thought.

[00:03:29] That's rather bold.

[00:03:30] He looked to be about my age and we were nearly identical in height and weight, 6'2",

[00:03:36] medium build and we both had brownish hair.

[00:03:39] A little creeped out but more flustered than anything, I answered.

[00:03:43] Probably not, I'm not even sure we're going the same way.

[00:03:47] Man, he said, with a look of contempt.

[00:03:51] There's only one way you can go when exiting, east.

[00:03:55] And that's the way I need to go.

[00:03:58] Trying to think fast, not wanting to give this stranger a ride, I stalled by staring

[00:04:03] out to the freeway.

[00:04:05] He began to plead, man, come on, I've been waiting a long time and besides,

[00:04:11] you're going my way.

[00:04:13] Only half listening and standing near the driver's door.

[00:04:17] The coffee was burning my fingers.

[00:04:20] Come on, he said sternly again.

[00:04:24] Other than being a little forward, I didn't sense any danger from him and

[00:04:28] though I really didn't want to entertain anyone, I reluctantly said, okay.

[00:04:34] Opening my door, I set my coffee on the dash, slid in and reached across and

[00:04:38] unlocked the passenger door.

[00:04:41] He opened the door and got in.

[00:04:43] He then slammed the door, tad too hard.

[00:04:46] I thought but said nothing.

[00:04:49] I slowly reversed out of the stall.

[00:04:51] I then steadied my coffee with my left hand and put the truck through its

[00:04:55] forward gears and onto the freeway with my right.

[00:05:00] Appreciate it, man, he said, never offering a handshake or his name.

[00:05:06] Along the way we conversed but it was fractured.

[00:05:09] Mostly one sided questions from me.

[00:05:12] So where are you headed?

[00:05:14] Ohio.

[00:05:16] Ohio, cool me too, you live there?

[00:05:19] Yeah, returning to live with my dad.

[00:05:23] Where from?

[00:05:25] I was in the army and then around, just around.

[00:05:32] It then lights up a cigarette which I thought was rude not because of

[00:05:36] the smoke but because he never asked if it was cool.

[00:05:41] We rode in silence for a good while and from time to time he'd roll down

[00:05:45] his window and spit out a big loogie.

[00:05:48] However, as time went on his spitting became more frequent, more audible,

[00:05:53] making loud hacking noises as he accumulated copious amounts of flim to expel.

[00:06:00] With those actions I was becoming unsettled.

[00:06:03] Again I began asking questions thinking it may distract him and

[00:06:08] reduce the slobber exiting my vehicle.

[00:06:12] So you're going to live with your dad?

[00:06:14] I asked.

[00:06:16] What the fuck do you care?

[00:06:18] He snarled and continued.

[00:06:20] And besides, I don't wanna talk about my fucking dad.

[00:06:24] Sorry, I won't mention your dad.

[00:06:28] He then lights up another cigarette.

[00:06:30] As he smokes it he flicks the ash onto the floor.

[00:06:33] And when he finished, he flicked the butt to my side of the cab and

[00:06:38] it bounced spraying sparks and hot embers all around my feet.

[00:06:44] Shocked, I look at him.

[00:06:46] In his eyes they were dark with an expression that said, yeah, what about it?

[00:06:52] I could feel my butt pucker.

[00:06:55] It was then very apparent that I had made a grave mistake by

[00:07:00] allowing this man into my truck.

[00:07:03] My mind raced.

[00:07:04] And at that moment I decided that I would ignore the butt incident and

[00:07:08] put my attention back on the road.

[00:07:11] Really, what else could I do?

[00:07:13] I couldn't take my hands off the wheel as we traveled 55 miles an hour.

[00:07:18] Thankfully he turned his attention back to the accumulating and

[00:07:22] launching globs of snot.

[00:07:25] However each time he rolled down the window,

[00:07:28] an unsettling howl of wind would fill the truck and then he left it open.

[00:07:35] Wind and road noise then continually filled the cab.

[00:07:39] And when I looked over, I received the same, what the fuck are you gonna do?

[00:07:44] Look.

[00:07:46] It was then that I knew I needed to act but how?

[00:07:50] What?

[00:07:51] I didn't know.

[00:07:53] I could pull over but how would that play out if he decided to attack me?

[00:07:58] The gun was useless to either one of us if we struggled.

[00:08:01] It would have to be uncased and loaded with shells, shells that were inside

[00:08:06] the red owl bag.

[00:08:09] And for that to happen,

[00:08:10] one of us would have to be incapacitated.

[00:08:14] What the holy fuck was it going to do?

[00:08:17] Suddenly an exit appeared and I abruptly turned and began the descent.

[00:08:24] What the fuck are you doing?

[00:08:26] He shouted and continued, I need to get to my dad, you fucking asshole.

[00:08:30] I need to eat, I replied with my voice crackling.

[00:08:36] He became more agitated and put his hand on the paper suitcase that

[00:08:41] separated us as he leaned closer to me, the eyes burning into my head.

[00:08:49] Running the stop sign, I turned off the ramp.

[00:08:52] And thankfully, a skelly truck stop was right there.

[00:08:56] Then it quickly turned into the well that parking lot.

[00:09:00] The psycho man released his grip from the paper sack and

[00:09:04] sat up, feigning more of a relaxed look.

[00:09:09] He then said, yeah I guess I'm hungry too.

[00:09:13] I drove directly to the front entrance, stopped and said,

[00:09:18] I'll park the truck and I'll be right in.

[00:09:21] He gave us a booth, knowing he had little chance being that we were then very conspicuous.

[00:09:27] He put his hand on the door handle.

[00:09:30] But then he paused and looked at me with a slight sad look.

[00:09:35] Go ahead, I said, I'll be right in, I promise.

[00:09:40] He pushed the door open and got out.

[00:09:42] Before the door even shut, I jammed the vehicle into gear and roared away,

[00:09:48] spraying dirt and gravel all over the man.

[00:09:52] Fuck you, I yelled, opening my window as I sped off.

[00:09:56] Fuck you, you fucking piece of shit.

[00:10:00] Tires squealed as my truck exited the gravel lot.

[00:10:04] My middle finger raised out the window as I sped toward the ramp.

[00:10:09] Many years later in 1991 and living in northeast Wisconsin with my wife and

[00:10:15] family, the evening news came on.

[00:10:18] An anchor woman said something to the effect of breaking news tonight.

[00:10:23] Milwaukee police have arrested a man said to be connected to multiple murders

[00:10:27] throughout the Midwest.

[00:10:29] It was then that I recognized the man pictured on the news and

[00:10:35] my butt puckered again.

[00:10:37] It was the same man I had given a ride to many years ago.

[00:10:42] His name was Jeffrey Dahmer.

[00:10:45] Dahmer was to become known as the Milwaukee Monster, who committed the

[00:10:50] murder and dismemberment of 17 men and boys from 1978 to 1991.

[00:11:11] I live in Brisbane, Australia.

[00:11:13] For those of you unaware of it, Brisbane is the capital city in the state of

[00:11:18] Queensland and the third most populated city in Australia after Melbourne and

[00:11:23] Sydney. With major cities come the common crime issues.

[00:11:27] Breaking enters, assaults, drug activity and the like.

[00:11:31] Saying that Brisbane and Australia on a whole is a relatively safe country

[00:11:38] with low rates of murder and gun related violence.

[00:11:42] The story takes place back in May of 2000 when I was 16 years old.

[00:11:48] I had led a pretty sheltered life.

[00:11:51] Good Catholic education, caring and protective parents, your typical

[00:11:55] loud Italian style family dinners every night of the week.

[00:12:00] My family lived in a new-ish estate in a northern suburb of our city.

[00:12:05] Houses were new with young families inhabiting them, parents becoming fast

[00:12:10] friends, kids playing cricket in the street.

[00:12:13] It was all pretty much sunshine and lollipops.

[00:12:17] Crime was never an issue.

[00:12:19] And as kids we'd spend all of our days out on our bikes and down by

[00:12:24] the creek resurfacing our meals and then free to roam the twilight

[00:12:29] and into the night with friends.

[00:12:33] I was the youngest of three children with a gap of six years between

[00:12:37] myself and my middle brother.

[00:12:39] Due to this, I was accustomed to being left at home alone from an early age.

[00:12:46] My older sister moved out when I was 13 and my brother had a raging

[00:12:50] social life after high school.

[00:12:53] My parents did pretty well on the social front also.

[00:12:56] And if I hadn't organized a sleepover with my friends, I'd often find

[00:13:00] myself sitting at home alone on a Saturday night.

[00:13:04] On a weekday that started out like any other in our quiet neighborhood,

[00:13:08] the presence of police cars began to slowly increase.

[00:13:13] In a matter of an hour, sounds of helicopters and police sirens

[00:13:18] caused widespread concern as residents poured out into their yards.

[00:13:23] My parents overheard something about a shooting in the suburb over and were

[00:13:28] quick to turn on the TV and wait for the next news update.

[00:13:33] Breaking news came in thick and fast over the local TV stations

[00:13:38] and the next suburb over and only a few streets from our house.

[00:13:42] Two police officers had been ambushed after responding to a dispute call.

[00:13:48] We'd soon find out that the resident in question was named Nigel Peroti.

[00:13:53] And he had come to meet the officers at their car when he lifted his

[00:13:56] silenced, sawed off 22 caliber rifle and shot directly at them.

[00:14:02] All three officers were critically injured and Nigel escaped on foot.

[00:14:08] The manhunt was on two days past with no sign of Nigel.

[00:14:13] Police presence increased and the whole country was now waiting

[00:14:17] with bated breath as the story maintained momentum.

[00:14:22] This was a big deal for the country and our city

[00:14:27] where scenarios such as these weren't common occurrences.

[00:14:32] Information spewed out about Nigel.

[00:14:35] He suffered severe psychological issues and was forced to live with his father.

[00:14:41] He constantly threatened his neighbors and had tried to legally change

[00:14:45] his name to Jesse James as a tribute to the gun toting outlaw.

[00:14:50] My teenage imagination ran wild as the thought of the crazed killer

[00:14:56] roaming my neighborhood quickly consumed me.

[00:14:59] Now I would walk about a kilometer to my best friend's house most days.

[00:15:04] The walk would take me through a bike trail and bushland,

[00:15:09] which ran by a creek and an old water tower.

[00:15:13] Despite the things going on and still no sightings of Nigel,

[00:15:19] the Saturday of that week I was set off to hang out and play video games for the day.

[00:15:25] Heading home at dusk, thoughts of Nigel started entering my brain.

[00:15:31] Pictures had been released of the wiry gunman showing off

[00:15:34] a two-thesis grinn and wide eyes that seemed to look straight at you.

[00:15:41] I picked up my pace as I took the bike track through the trees

[00:15:45] and as my mind was playing tricks on me, I could hear rustling and laughter.

[00:15:52] I was now at full speed.

[00:15:55] I was glad to make it home where a sense of safety washed over me.

[00:15:59] My mom told me that her and my father would be out for the night

[00:16:03] and that I could order pizza for myself if I felt hungry.

[00:16:06] As they left, I was feeling a bit tense.

[00:16:10] I triple checked that everything was locked and made sure that all the blinds were closed.

[00:16:15] Trying to ease the tension,

[00:16:17] I headed to my older brother's room to see what new reading material

[00:16:21] he had acquired in his bottom drawer.

[00:16:25] I soon headed downstairs to our TV room

[00:16:28] and put on some light Saturday night entertainment.

[00:16:31] Hey hey it's Saturday.

[00:16:34] To all you Aussie listeners out there, you get me.

[00:16:37] I eased into the couch and slowly got lost in the innocence of variety TV.

[00:16:44] Then out of nowhere,

[00:16:47] four huge thuds that a clenched fist would make on the window right next to the couch

[00:16:53] that I was laying on.

[00:16:55] I froze.

[00:16:56] My heart was in my throat.

[00:16:58] My stomach was upside down and it went silent.

[00:17:04] I was paralyzed and I couldn't move.

[00:17:08] 20 seconds must have passed but it felt like an eternity.

[00:17:14] Then the banging again.

[00:17:15] The fists were frantically punching the side of the glass door on the main side

[00:17:20] of the TV room.

[00:17:22] Let me in!

[00:17:23] Let me in!

[00:17:26] I heard a voice yell.

[00:17:28] Time stopped for me.

[00:17:31] My fighter flight kicked in and I flew.

[00:17:34] I headed straight up the stairs and bolted to the front door.

[00:17:38] In a flash, I unlocked it and headed right out.

[00:17:42] At breakneck speed, I started running.

[00:17:45] And I had no idea where I was going.

[00:17:47] I had just kept running.

[00:17:49] I ran out of breath and stopped.

[00:17:51] My mind wasn't working.

[00:17:53] What the fuck was that?

[00:17:55] The sensible thing to do would have been to find a neighbor and ask them to call the police.

[00:18:00] But no, I was paralyzed with fear and the only thing that made sense

[00:18:05] was for me to hide in the park down the street

[00:18:08] to keep an eye on the house until my parents came home.

[00:18:12] I find a spot amongst the bushes as I lay low.

[00:18:17] There he was, in the distance.

[00:18:20] I saw a shadowy figure licking around the front of the house.

[00:18:24] Working his way around every window, every door, looking for an entry point.

[00:18:30] I never locked the front door as I escaped.

[00:18:33] It would only be a matter of time before he worked that out.

[00:18:38] My heart was beating out of control.

[00:18:40] What if he ambushes my parents?

[00:18:43] All of the what-ifs in the world.

[00:18:46] Do I go back there?

[00:18:48] Do I get closer?

[00:18:49] Do I somehow figure out how to save my parents?

[00:18:54] He must have worked his way into the backyard again as I kept my eyes close on the front door.

[00:19:02] All of a sudden, a car pulled into the driveway and I saw the silhouette of a man

[00:19:07] get lit up as the headlights passed over him.

[00:19:10] He jumped and darted over the fence and into the yard of a neighbor.

[00:19:15] It was my sister.

[00:19:16] My sense of relief was quickly overthrown with fear.

[00:19:20] I got up and ran toward her.

[00:19:23] Get back in the car! I screamed.

[00:19:26] She saw me darting at her and expressed confusion.

[00:19:30] What's wrong?

[00:19:31] She grabbed me and I pushed her into the car and got myself in.

[00:19:36] I couldn't get the words out as much as I tried, I couldn't.

[00:19:41] I just told her to drive.

[00:19:43] She looked concerned.

[00:19:46] You didn't see him? I said.

[00:19:48] See who?

[00:19:49] I explained everything the best I could, but it must have sounded like jumble.

[00:19:55] She calmed me down and we drove to her boyfriend who lived a few suburbs away.

[00:20:00] From there, we called the police who were quick to send out a patrol car moments later.

[00:20:05] Squads of cars followed as we went back to meet the police.

[00:20:09] I gave a description and told them all of what happened.

[00:20:13] My sister said she had never seen someone look like her.

[00:20:19] As close to a ghost as I did that night.

[00:20:23] The police stayed with me and my sister until my parents returned

[00:20:27] where they were informed of my night.

[00:20:31] The next day, a bush walker found Nigel's body near that old water tower

[00:20:36] that I had walked by the day before.

[00:20:39] He had shot himself in the head and the bulletin informed us that he had been dead for only six hours.

[00:20:47] I'll never know if it was Nigel who tried one last ditch effort to find refuge

[00:20:53] or perhaps involved me in some elaborate escape plan.

[00:20:57] But to this day, I always close the blinds and triple check the locks on all of my windows and doors.

[00:21:05] Nigel, I know we'll never meet again, but thanks for turning me into the security nut

[00:21:11] that I am today.

[00:21:17] My older brother Peter was a troubled child growing up.

[00:21:30] Even though I was too young to understand what was going on,

[00:21:34] I knew that he was not in a good place.

[00:21:37] He would often hide in my room upstairs while my parents did their best to discipline him.

[00:21:43] My brother's problems reached a peak in high school.

[00:21:46] He was 16 and I was 8.

[00:21:49] When Peter reached sophomore year of high school,

[00:21:52] my brother started hanging around the wrong crowd.

[00:21:56] We lived in a nice suburb neighborhood, but that didn't mean that there weren't a few bad apples here and there.

[00:22:04] These kids were your typical early 2000s grungy skaters.

[00:22:09] You know, those old commercials they used to show in school about saying no to drugs?

[00:22:15] These kids were a prime example of the quote,

[00:22:19] druggies in those commercials offering drugs to other kids.

[00:22:25] In this new group of kids, my brother meets a girl named Hilary.

[00:22:30] She was a 19 year old senior at his high school and the designated pack leader of his new group of friends.

[00:22:39] My brother was young, shy, and easily influenced.

[00:22:43] I think that's what initially drew her to him because she wasted no time in taking advantage of that.

[00:22:51] My brother and Hilary quickly started dating.

[00:22:53] She was his first girlfriend and he was soaking up every bit of attention that she gave him.

[00:22:59] As with most things at the time, my parents did not approve of Peter's relationship with her.

[00:23:05] Hilary was intimidating.

[00:23:07] She dressed in all black, chain smoked, and had dyed hair which was pitch black.

[00:23:15] Since these things are mostly physical, my parents didn't speak up about their discomfort with her.

[00:23:20] She was polite enough in person and Peter was head over heels.

[00:23:25] The longer my brother hung out with this new group of friends, the worse his behavior got.

[00:23:31] My parents were starting to get worried about his health and safety and started

[00:23:35] to keep a closer eye on him. This is when they discovered my brother had been sneaking out at

[00:23:42] night to see Hilary. His room was the only one on the first floor and it had a window that he could

[00:23:49] easily climb out of. For my parents, this was the final straw. My dad nailed the window shut

[00:23:59] and they told Peter he was no longer allowed to see Hilary or that group of friends again.

[00:24:06] My dad had my brother join the wrestling team, which he was the coach of. He figured this would

[00:24:13] help my brother with discipline and making friends that were better influences. My parents figured

[00:24:20] that the situation was handled but it was merely the start of their problems. Soon after Peter

[00:24:27] broke things off with Hilary, things started happening to my family. I was oblivious to

[00:24:33] most of the stuff happening but my mom recently filled me in after the subject of Hilary came up one

[00:24:39] day. One early morning, my dad walked out to his truck only to discover it had been vandalized

[00:24:46] in the middle of the night. Someone had keyed the word bitch into the side of the truck.

[00:24:53] It also looked like the hood of the truck had been beaten with a baseball bat.

[00:24:58] My parents notified the cops but there wasn't sufficient evidence that it was Hilary's

[00:25:03] handiwork. After my parents called the cops on the truck, they started receiving anonymous threats

[00:25:09] in the mail. The threats ranged anywhere from burning our house down with all of us inside

[00:25:15] to kidnapping my sister and I and brutally murdering us. At this point, my dad was working

[00:25:22] the night shift. This left my mom home alone at night with us three kids. She told me every night

[00:25:30] my dad was working and would stay up all night sitting just inside the front door holding a

[00:25:35] kitchen knife. This continued for months. Things did not stop with the death threats though.

[00:25:43] I distinctly remember walking to the bus stop one morning and Hilary was standing on the

[00:25:49] other side of the street just staring at me. As young as I was, I didn't realize her intentions.

[00:25:56] When I came home from school that day, I casually mentioned seeing Hilary at the bus stop to my

[00:26:02] mom. After that, my mom started walking me to the bus stop and waiting with me.

[00:26:09] Hilary continued to show up at my bus stop a few more times before she realized

[00:26:15] my mom was going to keep coming with me. I always wonder what would have happened

[00:26:20] if I had never mentioned Hilary showing up to my mom. One morning, Peter came to my mom in a panic.

[00:26:30] He had found handprints on his window. Hilary had been coming to his window and watching him

[00:26:37] sleep. It also looked like she had tried to open the window but couldn't since there were nails

[00:26:45] holding it closed. My family was living in fear of this girl. We never knew what she was going

[00:26:53] to do next and the police weren't exactly helpful. One night as my mom was putting my sister

[00:27:00] and I to bed, I heard a crash from downstairs. She raced downstairs knife in hand and came face

[00:27:09] to face with Hilary standing in our kitchen. She had broken the glass on the back door so that

[00:27:15] she could open it. My brother was standing between Hilary and my mom. Hilary began pleading

[00:27:22] with Peter. She was trying to convince him to run away with her. When she saw my mom with

[00:27:28] a knife in her hand, she ran. My mom decided that she was done with all of it and that it

[00:27:35] could go no further. She reported the break into the cops who now had enough evidence

[00:27:42] to link the previous crimes to Hilary. Hilary spent time in prison for the threats,

[00:27:48] vandalism, and break-in. Just to be safe, my parents got a restraining order on her

[00:27:54] and since she was an adult pursuing a minor, she is now a registered sex offender.

[00:28:00] Hilary has since been released and now has a husband and kids. She has not bothered us since.

[00:28:08] Most of the kids in the group my brother hung out with died young from overdoses.

[00:28:14] My brother got his life together with the help of my parents and a much healthier group of

[00:28:20] friends. He married his high school sweetheart and they're both doctors.

[00:28:26] Hilary, if you're still out there, let's not meet.

[00:29:12] As always, send your stories into Let's Not Meet Stories at gmail.com if you'd like to hear them

[00:29:17] on the show and email me any questions to Let's Not Meet Podcast at gmail.com and follow me on

[00:29:24] Twitter at Let's Not Meet Cast. Don't forget to sign up for the Patreon if you'd like to

[00:29:30] hear additional stories and bonus episodes. Head over to patreon.com forward slash Let's

[00:29:36] Not Meet Podcast to join now and support the show. I'll see you guys next week for a brand new episode

[00:29:43] of Let's Not Meet.