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Welcome to the Serial Killer Podcast. The podcast dedicated to serial killers. Who they were, what they did and how. Episode 181. I am your Norwegian host, Tamas Rosland Weyberg Thun. We left off last time with the tragic and horrible death of young William and Cole Neer.
It was heart-wrenching to read and write about their fate, especially as a father of a young boy myself. I cannot even begin to fathom the grief and agony their poor father went through as a result of the heinous and depraved acts of Wesley Allen Dodd. Tonight we come to the penultimate episode in our tale of the Vancouver child killer. Dodd's actions are so depraved and heinous
that I had severe trouble getting through this episode. The material is not speculative, but it is the truth. It is ugly, horrible, and I hope that it will serve to remind us all of what monsters walk amongst us. So again, listener discretion is very much advised.
As always, I want to publicly thank my elite TSK Producers Club. Their names are...
Magic Man, Madeline, Meow, Missy, Nick, Oakley, Operation Brownie Pockets, Robert O, Robert R, Russell, Sabina, Skortnia, Scott, Sputnik, The Radio, Trent, Val, and Vanessa. You are the backbone of the Serial Killer podcast, and without you, there would be no show. You have my deepest gratitude. Thank you.
I am forever grateful for my elite TSK Producers Club, and I want to show you that your patronage is not given in vain. All TSK episodes will be available 100% ad-free to my TSK Producers Club on patreon.com slash the serial killer podcast. No generic ads, no ad reads, no jingles. I promise.
And of course, if you wish to donate $15 a month, that's only $7.50 per episode, you are more than welcome to join the ranks of the TSK Producers Club too. So don't miss out and join now. Imagine, if you will, dear listener, a scene similar to the one in the film Apocalypse Now.
The opening scene in that marvelous film depicts a young man in a dimly lit room. Fan rotating above his head, dirty curtains hanging limply by the window, bed in disarray, booze all over the place. A scene of desperation and angst. In our scene, however, switch out Martin Sheen's Captain Benjamin L. Willard for a far more sinister character.
While detectives from the Vancouver Police Department ran down one fruitless lead after another in an investigation that took its toll on them mentally and physically, Wesley Allen Dodd spent his evenings after work sitting alone in his small duplex apartment planning his next hunt. Perhaps he drank heavily, perhaps not. I have not been able to find out whether Dodd was a drinker or not.
In any case, we know he was usually naked while alone in his filthy and cluttered apartment. Soon after he murdered the Neer brothers, he wrote in his diary that he, and again here I quote, must spend more time with the boy or girl before killing, and make sure that the body is hidden better, end quote.
He began to study area maps, and marked off locations both in Vancouver and in Portland, across the Columbia River in Oregon, where he felt he would have the best odds at finding children to rape and murder. He also spent a lot of time reading the newspapers, as much to relive the near-murders in fantasies as to find out just how much the cops really knew about the killer.
He discovered that he got a raging erection not just from reminiscing about rape and murder, but reading about himself in the news. When he was finished reading, he always clipped out the newspaper articles and attached them to his notebook. Afterward, he would take out his diary of death from his briefcase, which he kept locked and hidden safely beneath his bed, and make his entries on any given day.
The following entry from Wednesday, the 6th of September, 1989, a mere two days after the Nair murders, serves as an example, and before I quote, I must warn you that the following is extremely graphic. I quote, While most of my future victims will die in various ways, I also hope to have some long relationships with children as well.
I'd like to make some child porno movies. I also hope to get before and after photos of my sex murder victims as well. When crotch-fucking the ones to die, I'll clean the kid real well before killing and deposit my sperm in something to remove it, as it is forensic evidence. When butt-fucking, I'll use a well-greased rubber. May fuck either way before or after they die.
"'depending on whether they're bloody or not. "'Some of them will also be forced to perform certain acts on me. "'I think I got more of a high out of killing than molesting. "'I had fantasized previously of my stomach against a boy's back, "'my arms around him and over his arms. "'He is blindfolded so as not to see the knife I'm holding "'to a point just below his breastbone.'
Just read, you'll see what actually does occur. Just writing this, and reading previous story about my first murder, makes my cock stiff. I must find it sexual. I'll note that the Oregonian is a morning paper, and the Colombian an afternoon paper. The news articles will be numbered in the order they are paired. The same number on different articles indicate they all came from the same edition of paper.
Number one is two different articles being about the killing, then about the boys' lives. Police don't even know Cole was molested, even though his pants were down. Maybe that's the way to go. Leave no indication of rape? Nah, too much. I want to do would be obvious. End quote. After finishing up his diary, Todd masturbated again while he fantasized about murdering Billy and Cole Neer.
or some other child that he had sexually molested or exposed himself to. Dodd slept like a baby after having spent himself absolutely in no way being bothered by inflicting such extreme misery, pain, and death upon others. He wasn't particularly worried about being caught, either. He had evaded capture so many times that he viewed himself as far superior to the police.
it was not until thursday the seventh of september that any of the news reports about the near murders gave him cause to worry up until that point the news reports had indicated only mild concern but the article that had appeared in the columbian vancouver's daily
that day had very much alarmed him it described how the police had talked to kids and other witnesses who had been at the park on the day of the killing and how a police artist had drawn a sketch of a man seen at the park that day the sketch dodd realized as he looked at it in horror actually resembled him
While it did not come close to being an exact likeness of him, certain features, particularly the eyes and the moustache, were strikingly accurate. He quickly decided that he would have to spend more time at home, indoors for a while, and would go out only when necessary to avoid being recognized. He also considered changing his appearance in some way, such as wearing a hat.
As one day followed another, Todd continued to fantasize and make his plan for future kills. Unable to go out and hunt for children at his usual haunts of parks and movie theaters out of fear of being caught, Todd found other avenues to express his depraved desires. As a substitute for going out, he began to graphically enter many of his most gruesome thoughts into his diary.
Again I quote, and again I must warn you. What follows is truly graphic and despicable in nature. Just had a brilliant thought. I must purchase an audio cassette recorder. That way I'll later be able to log exact words and reaction descriptions during a rape, molest, operation, murder, etc.
"'That will do until I can afford the more expensive camcorder with sound. Kidnap victims will not be told anything until I can do it on tape. In surgery, with live patients, whether they are conscious or not, they'll have to be tied down, hands loosely overhead to keep them from coming into the way. To prevent bouncing, tied tightly to table around chest and waist, possibly abdomen also.'
Tired knees to maintain legs at desired location and at ankles to avoid feet kicking up and down. May do surgery with or without pain relief or sedation. Can obtain unconsciousness by keeping them awake late, then giving several sleeping pills. Murder methods. Fastest.
Stabbing, slicing throat. Too messy. Slowest, starvation, thirst. Slow, bleeding to death. Blood could be caught in jars. Medium, suffocation, drowning. Uses, possibilities. 1. Drown. 2. Hang by neck. 3. Plastic bag over face. 4. Strangle with hands or rope.
5. Pillow tight over face. 6. Hog tie and tape over nose and mouth. 7. Amputate privates, a little at a time, until bled dead. 8. Stab. 9. Slice throat. Too messy. 10. No food and or water. 11. Drugs. Full bottle sleeping pills?
12. Start experimental surgery on live conscious blindfolded, tied down victims. For my first incident, knife was best choice, as my kill would have to be quick and easy for the chosen location. Decided that this next incident would have a cleaner kill. Probably choking to have a clean body.
I want a better location for this incident so I feel more comfortable and can take more time for various types of sex before and after killing the child. One possibility is kidnapping. At home, I'd have all the time I need. One thing for certain is for this incident, the sex will take longer and death will be something different than stabbing." End quote.
At the end of the entry, Dodd made a drawing of a crude torture rack he intended to build out of wood. The picture included a disturbing drawing of a child tied to the torture rack. Despite all of his careful planning and detailed fantasies of what he wanted to do, Wesley Allen Dodd somehow managed to make it through most of the month of October without molesting or killing any children.
By his own admission, as evidenced by the entries in his diary, he had waited patiently for things to cool down regarding the murders of Billy and Cole Neer before resuming the hunt for his next victim. He very much wanted to act on his desires, but even more than he wanted to rape and murder, he wanted to avoid being locked up in federal prison for the rest of his life.
So he took his time and he made sure that any activities he planned would only come to fruition if he was certain he would not be caught. The new Boost Mobile Network is offering unlimited talk, text, and data for just $25 a month for life. That sounds like a threat. Then how do you think we should say it? Unlimited talk, text, and data for just $25 a month for the
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i know first-hand how extremely difficult it is to make time for self-care but it's good to have some things that are non negotiable for some that could be a night out with the boys chugging beers and having a laugh for others it might be an eating night
For me, one non-negotiable activity is researching psychopathic serial killers and making this podcast. Even when we know what makes us happy, it's often near impossible to make time for it. But when you feel like you have no time for yourself, non-negotiables like therapy are more important than ever.
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And so it was that on the 28th of October, at about 5.30 p.m., when Dodd arrived at Oaks Park, an amusement center situated near the east bank of the Williamette River beneath Portland's Selwood Bridge, the park was much like a carnival, with rides for children and adults, food and game boots, even a large roller skating rink.
It was nearly always crowded, especially on Saturday nights, which Dodd knew would make it easier for him to separate children from their parents or from older siblings and babysitters. It was Dodd's first visit to the park, and he was enthralled. Kids were everywhere, and it was noisy. He blended right in with the crowds, and no one paid him any mind as he began to single out possible choices.
He soon saw one boy, about eight years old, standing near a ride called The Spider. Dodd strolled over to him, thumbs in the waistband of his jeans, and began making idle conversation. He told the boy that he had something he wanted to show him, and was nearly able to convince the child to follow him to a secluded area at one end of the park.
But just as they were about to leave, an adult got off one of the rides and started walking towards them. Dodd, as soon as he realized that the adult was with the kid, took that as his cue to get out of there. He knew the child would tell their parent about the strange man who had tried to get him to follow along. A grave error. Dodd left Oaks Park half an hour after he had arrived, more frustrated than ever.
Even though he knew he was running a high risk after his blunder at the park, he did not give up on hunting for a victim. He drove around off southeast Portland looking for potential victims as well as hunting grounds. He found something of great interest. Richmond School, located at southeast 41st Street and Grant Avenue, was very poorly lit in the evening. When he circled back,
He noticed three small children, about seven to nine years old, playing on the school grounds. He waited around to see if he could manage to separate the oldest boys from the youngest. But when he drove back after circling the school, the children had disappeared. The next day, the 29th of October, a Sunday, Dodd drove back to the school. The boys were still there, he observed as he circled the block.
He saw another three- to four-year-old boy, whom he thought was with an adult. But when he parked his car, a yellow 1974 Ford Pinto station wagon, on Sherman Street, on the opposite side of the school from where the kids were playing, he realized that the adult he thought he saw was only about twelve years old. Dodd leaned up against a telephone pole and watched the kids in the playground for a while.
One bigger child and his little brother left, and two eight- to nine-year-old boys were playing with a football toward the far end of the school. Another eight- to nine-year-old boy sat on a playground structure and watched the other boys as they passed the ball back and forth to each other, their backs to Dodd and yet another boy, four to five years old, who was playing by himself on a mound known as the Volcano.
The mound was a solid climbing structure made out of concrete, at the top of which there was a slide that led down to the other side. The boy, who was approximately twenty feet, about seven meters, to Dodds' left, seemed to be having a lot of fun as he climbed the stairs to the top and slid down the other side. After growing tired of the slide, the little boy moved over to the base of the mound and played quietly by himself.
After watching him for a few more minutes, Dodd walked over to the little boy. When Dodd said, Hi, the little blonde-haired boy looked up at him and smiled. Dodd asked the boy if he would like to make some money and have some fun. The boy seemed unsure at first, but was not frightened by Dodd. Finally, he shook his head no.
Dodd was not fazed by this, instead urging the boy to join him and assuring him it would be fun. Dodd reached out his hand, and the boy took it. They walked together toward the end of the school building, and soon walked out of sight of the other children, unseen by anyone. Dodd told the boy they were going to his car. The boy said, and I quote, "'I don't want any money.'
He probably remembered what his dad always told him about never getting inside a car with a stranger. Dodd picked him up and held him in front of him. Still smiling, he told the boy they were still going, and that he would take the boy to see his father and ask him if it was okay. The mention of going to see his dad seemed to allay what little fear, if any, that the boy had about going with Dodd.
When they got to Dodd's car, he put the child inside through the driver's side, and within seconds they were driving away from the school. The boy protested at first, saying that he lived in the opposite direction. Dodd answered in a chilling voice, and I quote, We're going to my house and play some games. Just do what I tell you, and I promise I won't hurt you.
But you'll have to be quiet when we get there. My landlady does not like little kids. End quote. When they were a few blocks from the school, Dodd asked the boy his name. The child dauntlessly told the killer that his name was Lee, and holding up four fingers, he told Dodd that he was four years old.
Bored that his brother would miss him while he was gone, Lee started to cry a couple of times during the short trip to Vancouver. But Dodd reached out and held his hand again and assured him that he would be okay and that they would have some fun, just like his brother was having fun with his friends. It was 1.30 p.m. when they arrived at Dodd's apartment. Both the landlady and the other tenants were gone.
To Dodd, it was perfect, almost too good to be true. Dodd picked up Lee and started to carry him from the car, but the boy protested, saying that he could walk. So Dodd put Lee down, and Lee, in his inviolate innocence, followed Wesley Allen Dodd into his apartment.
Shortly after entering his apartment with Lee, whose last name was Isele, Wesley Allen Dodds sat the child down on his bed and took his photograph with the Polaroid camera. He then brought out his briefcase from beneath the bed, unlocked and opened it, took out his pink photo album labeled Family Memories. As he sat next to Lee on the bed, Dodds thumbed through the nude photos for the boy to look at.
Lee, however, exhibited only mild interest in the pictures. He was so young and innocent that he probably did not understand what the pictures were. After putting away the photo album, Dodd, speaking in a calm, quiet voice, instructed Lee to take off his clothes. Lee seemed to ignore him, and Dodd repeated the instructions while pulling off one of Lee's shoes.
Dodd sensed a little resistance, but removed Lee's other shoe and both of his socks, after which Lee pulled off his jacket and shirt. Dodd continued to coax the child to take off the rest of his clothes, and Lee pulled off his pants and Ghostbuster's underpants in the same movement. Dodd immediately had Lee lay on his back on the bed and securely fastened the ropes, which he had pre-attached to each corner of the bed, to Lee's naked ankles and wrists.
He then snapped the second photo and released Lee from the restraints. Dodd removed his clothes, too, and for the next hour proceeded to molest Lee Isseli by performing oral sex on the boy. What happened next is a bit odd. Dodd untied the boy. Then he sat quietly in thought for a few moments, and then added, and I quote, I'm sorry I don't have any toys for you to play with.
Would you like to go to K-Mart? I'll buy you a He-Man or a RoboCop toy, and then we can go to McDonald's for a burger if you'll spend the night with me. The boy, out of fear and also the promise of toys and McDonald's, agreed. While at K-Mart, Lee began thinking about his dad and brother again and started crying. As Dodd attempted to calm him down, Lee kept saying that he wanted to go home.
At one point, Lee's pleas caught the attention of a store employee, and Dodd calmly explained that he was caring for his sister's child, who wanted to go home but couldn't, not just yet, anyway. Dodd's explanation seemed to satisfy the store employee, after which Dodd selected and paid for a RoboCop toy. The toy helped calmly down, and they ate hamburgers together at McDonald's.
Afterward, Dodd allowed Lee a few minutes to play on the playground equipment outside the fast food restaurant. They were back inside Dodd's apartment by 6.30 p.m., and Lee continued to play with his new toy. Dodd, meanwhile, had already begun making plans to kill Lee Isele. By 9.45 p.m., Lee was in bed asleep, and by 10 p.m.,
Dodd had the boy, as well as himself, nude again. Dodd molested Lee throughout the night as he slept. At one point Lee woke up, but he was too tired and sleepy to pay much attention to what Dodd was doing to him. He apparently did not mind, or perhaps did not even notice that he was nude. According to Dodd's extremely detailed diary, Lee woke up at 3.15 a.m.
At this point, Dodd gleefully told the boy that he was going to kill him in the morning. Naturally, the small child started crying. When his crying got quite loud, Dodd tried to calm the boy down by telling him he was only joking, exhausted from fear, confusion, and from the fact that he was a very small boy in the middle of the night. Lee went back to sleep. At 5.30 a.m., Dodd decided it was time to kill Lee.
As Lee lay sleeping on his back, Dodd crawled over him and positioned himself on Lee's left side and leaned into him, his body pinning Lee's right arm under a pillow. Holding Lee's left wrist with his left hand, Dodd had Lee totally pinned, and he choked him with his right hand. Lee awoke and struggled violently and managed to free his legs.
Dodd tightened his grip on the boy's neck, but his hand became fatigued and he was forced to choke Lee with both of his hands. He tightly gripped Lee's throat for about fifteen seconds until Lee ceased struggling and lay motionless. Dodd waited about twenty seconds, then blew air into Lee's mouth one time to determine if he could be revived.
At first it seemed as if he could not be revived, but twenty seconds later he started slow gasps. Dodd choked him again for approximately another minute until he lay still again. When Dodd released his grip, however, Lee began gasping for air again and opened his eyes. Dodd, by this time in a near frenzy, grabbed a rope that he kept by the bed and wrapped it around Lee's neck.
Dodd tightened the rope and pulled the boy into an upright position with the ligature, and watched as Lee's chest heaved, unable to draw air into his lungs. Holding the rope tight with his right hand, Dodd placed his other hand beneath Lee's buttocks and picked him up. He carried him to the clothes closet and held him up by just a rope with one hand while he moved the clothes on the clothes bar aside with the other.
Dodd left Lee hanging in the closet for about ten minutes while he cleaned up the room and snapped a picture with his Polaroid of Lee. By now, Lee Iselle was dead. At 5.45 a.m., he cut the rope and laid the dead boy on the bed. He attempted to engage in post-mortem oral sex with his victim, but soon gave up.
He checked for a possible heartbeat and breathing, found neither, and placed Lee's body on the shelf in the closets behind pillows, blankets, and a sleeping bag. When he came home from work, Dodd stuffed Lee's nude body in trash bags and threw it in some bushes near Vancouver Lake. He burned Lee's clothing in a trash barrel, except for the boy's underwear, which he kept as a souvenir of the crime.
I don't know.
Until your ultimate demise. What if we just say forever? Okay. $25 a month forever. Get unlimited talk, text, and data for just $25 a month with Boost Mobile forever. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers will pay $25 a month as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited plan. Selling a little or a lot?
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That we come to the end of part two in the saga of Wesley Allen Dodd. Next episode will bring this ugly saga to a close. So as they say in the land of radio, stay tuned. What follows is a message to my dear Norwegian listeners in Norwegian. Som du kanskje har fått med dig er seriemordepodden nå langsert.
Finally, I wish to thank you, dear listener, for listening.
If you like this podcast, you can support it by donating on patreon.com slash theserialkillerpodcast, by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, facebook.com slash theskpodcast, or by posting on the subreddit theskpodcast. Thank you. Good night, and good luck.
