Demise by Design (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

0:00Today, I'm going to tell you three stories that are all about people who thought they'd come up with the perfect plan, but instead, they actually planned out their own demise. But before we get into today's stories, if you're a fan of the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right place because that's all we do, and we upload two, three, even four times every week. So if that's of interest to you, the next time you take the follow button on a haunted investigation, lead it into the basement, lock the door, toss the key, and run. Okay, let's get into our first story called The Perfect Wife.

0:53The story of Southern New Hampshire University started in 1932 above a small storefront. Almost a century later, SNHU offers over 200 degree programs online. There are no set class times, so learning fits around your schedule, and courses are career-focused to help strengthen your skills. But the best part of the story? SNHU's online tuition rates are some of the lowest in the entire country. This could be your next chapter. Visit snhu.edu slash Mr. Ballin today. Auto insurance should not be one-size-fits-all, especially for people whose lives definitely aren't. That's why USAA Auto Insurance offers coverage designed for the military and their eligible families.

1:36When your life demands precision, USAA gets the details right, like helping you find savings on auto insurance when you switch. Visit usaa.com slash auto quote to see how much you could save. Membership eligibility and product restrictions apply and are subject to change. USAA means United Services Automobile Association and its affiliates, San Antonio, Texas. One evening in July of 2016, a woman named Bei carried a bowl of rice to the dining table at her home in the city of Liu Zhou, China. Her two teenage kids and her ex-husband, Qin, were already seated and they were talking and they were laughing.

2:13But when Bae came over and set the rice down and took her seat, the mood changed. It was like everybody suddenly got very quiet and began passing the dishes around in this sort of tense silence. So Bae and Chin had a very complicated relationship. They'd officially gotten divorced six years earlier. Like, they are not married anymore. But at the time when they got divorced, they had agreed to keep living in the same house to keep the family together. Now, this had been very hard on everyone, Bei, Chin, their kids, for the first couple of years, but eventually they sort of got used to it. And then actually, after a few years, the two, Bei and Chin, they actually began to fall in love all over again.

2:59And they had even begun talking about getting remarried, but they hadn't gotten remarried yet. And so again, just a few years ago, it seemed like they were on a path where the family would be whole again, they'd be married again, and nothing had really happened yet, but that's the path they were on. But then a few months ago, everything had changed. Chin had begun acting increasingly cold and distant toward Bae. And even though, again, they'd been divorced this whole time, they were always very cordial, but now there was like this icy front that he was putting up. And then, just a few days ago, Bae had discovered very likely the reason behind this.

3:37She found out that Chin was seeing another woman. Now, Bae, she obviously understood that Chin can do this if he wants to. They are divorced. I mean, they live together, they have kids together, but they're not a couple here. You know, she knew logically he could do that, but it just really hurt her. You know, for years now, she was thinking, you know, we're going to get remarried, and now it's like, what's this about? And so Bae, after finding out about this, she confronted him about what she called the affair, even though, again, it's not really an affair. but it had just turned into a huge fight and they hadn't made up yet.

4:14And so now the tension between them was palpable as they sat at the table together. Like it was so clear. There's like this huge conflict that is just totally unresolved. But now as Bae looked around the table at her family, she felt a wave of not, you know, anger anymore, but longing. She did love Chin still. And she also loved having him and her kids all under one roof sharing meals together and like being a true family. And she wondered, you know, maybe if she could just show Chin how amazing she was and how good he had it with her and their family here, maybe he would stop seeing this new girlfriend of his.

4:56So the next morning after Chin left for work, it was like Bae was on a mission. She spent the entire day cleaning the house and picking up all of Chin's dirty underwear and all his laundry, doing his clothes. I mean, she made the house look spotless. And by the time Chin finally came home from work that night, she had prepared this beautiful meal that was all ready for him. And even though Chin really didn't have a huge reaction to any of her efforts, it didn't matter because Bey knew this is like a mission she's on. She is gonna show him that she is the best he's ever gonna get. And so the next day, she did it all over again, picked up after Chin and made the house so beautiful, cooked more food.

5:37He comes home, sort of doesn't care. And the day after that, and the day after that, she was just being the perfect wife. But eventually, it did sort of wear on her that it's like, he doesn't even seem to be noticing. But still, she was not ready to give up. And so after about a week of this, Bae was in her kitchen, you know, dutifully cooking this big meal for Chin and her kids, even though Chin wasn't even home and he wasn't answering his phone, so Bae didn't even know if he'd be home to eat this food. And her kids weren't home either. I mean, it really was like truly nobody cared or even noticed that she was trying so hard to be the perfect wife here.

6:13But just then, Bae's phone rang on the counter, and she glanced at the screen, and she saw it was her daughter calling. So Bae picked it up, and right away she heard her daughter, who sounded really panicked, saying there was a huge problem. She explained to her mother that her dad, Chin, was in the hospital, that he had apparently had this really painful rash, and that had led him to go to the hospital because it wasn't going away. But now he was having trouble breathing, and the doctors were saying it was very, very serious, that he might not survive. And hearing this, Bay immediately felt this knot in her stomach.

6:50Her heart began to race, and she told her daughter it was going to be okay, she'd be there soon. and then she hung up the phone and with shaking hands, she grabbed her keys and her purse and she headed out the door, but she didn't go to the hospital. So Bae had been so desperate to show Chin that she was the perfect wife for him, that she had completely thrown herself into all the housework and the cooking and the cleaning to prove to him that she was better for Chin than his new girlfriend. Except she took this idea of, like, outperforming the new girlfriend a step too far. In addition to all the genuine efforts that Bay was making to tidy the house and make food and all that stuff, she also was doing something to Chin's laundry with a very specific intention in mind.

7:38She was soaking Chin's laundry in something called paraquat, which is an herbicide that causes burning and peeling when it comes into contact with skin. Bay's hope was that this would cause a rash on Chin, and it would make him think that his new girlfriend was dirty and she had given him a sexually transmitted disease that she's so gross, like get rid of her. However, it was not until Bay got that call from her daughter that she finally realized just how toxic Paraquat really was, especially when applied in very high concentrations to very sensitive areas of skin. And so Chin, he's unknowingly wearing these poisoned underwear, and eventually the paraquat seeped through his skin into his bloodstream and did permanent damage.

8:29And so when Bae got that call from her daughter and realized clearly it's because of her that Chin is this sick and that he might even die because of what done, she felt so guilty that instead of going to the hospital, she immediately went to the police and turned herself in. And unfortunately, two days after that, Chin would die from the poisoning. He died from organ failure. Ultimately, Bay was charged with intentional injury and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

9:08You'll love YouTube Premium. Hi, I'm Sean Evans from Hot Ones, and I want to tell you about YouTube Premium. It has offline downloads, so you can watch without Wi-Fi. Background play, so you can lock your phone, and it still plays, baby. Oh, and it is completely ad-free. Yes, I said it, ad-free. Try YouTube Premium for two months free at youtube.com slash premium. Trial eligibility varies, terms apply, cancel anytime. time. I'm Livvy Dunn, All-American gymnast and Viore athlete. When you travel and train as much as I do, you find happiness where you are. On the mat or on the sand, movement and comfort are essential.

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10:55Our next story is called Thou Shalt Not Steal.

11:03One night in the winter of 1620, a soldier whose name was Jan was crouched in this dark, cramped church loft in the city of Prague. And what he was doing is he was waiting for the people who took care of this church to lock up for the night and leave. Jan had actually been in this hiding spot for hours at this point. His legs were going numb from the awkward position he was in. But he knew this was going to be worth it. Because as soon as the church was empty, he'd have free reign of the place. and he could take whatever he wanted. So Jan was part of an army that fought for the Habsburg Empire, which ruled most of Europe at the time, and they had just won this huge battle and taken over this city, Prague.

11:46And since the battle was now all done, Jan and many of his other soldiers were supposed to go home soon. But before Jan left, he felt like he deserved some spoils of war, And he'd heard that this specific church was filled with all these gold and jewels, and it had not been ransacked. Like, lots of buildings in Prague had been ransacked by this point by the invading army, but the church had gone untouched. Very likely because it's a sacred building, and even the invading army recognized that. But Jan, he could care less about the sanctity of this building. He had snuck in earlier that day, pretending to be a worshiper, And he had seen that the rumors about this place being full of incredible jewelry and gold, it was right.

12:32Pretty much everywhere he looked, there were things to steal, like beautiful gilded furniture and little jewelry pieces that worshipers had left around as offerings to the church and its saints. I mean, this place was like a gold mine. But what excited Jan the most was up on the church altar. Up there, there was this huge statue of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus on her lap, with one hand behind his head and the other gently resting on his stomach. And this statue had a massive gold chain around the Virgin Mary's neck, which Jan really wanted to steal. So he had snuck up to this cramped church loft to wait for his chance to do just that.

13:13Just then, Jan heard the heavy front doors of the church close with a bang, and after that, it was complete silence. He waited a few more minutes just to be sure, and then when he knew the coast was clear, he got out of his hiding spot, he stretched, and he made his way towards the altar. Moments later, Jan found himself looking up at this huge statue of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, and his eyes were fixated on that gold chain, which was truly just stunning, enormous. And he was thinking, man, it's going to be really easy just to slip that thing right off of there. However, the statue itself was huge, and it was also up on this ledge above the altar.

13:57And so to just physically get to the chain was going to be a challenge. Like, he couldn't reach it. I mean, he'd literally have to climb up to get to it. But luckily, there was a stool right nearby. And so he went over, he grabbed the stool, he put it in front of the statue, and then he began climbing basically up the statue and the ledge to get up to this chain so he could hook it off her neck and take it. But right as he reached the point where he'd be able to grab the necklace, he reached for it, and as his fingers were about to close around the chain, he suddenly felt this tight, searing pain in his arm.

14:31And when he looked to see what had happened, he screamed. The next morning, a priest walked into this church to set up for morning service. And as soon as he walked inside and looked towards the front altar, he froze. Because there was a man dangling from the statue of the Virgin Mary, and he was kicking his feet like mad and begging the priest for help, like he was stuck and couldn't get down. The priest had no idea what was going on here, but he immediately hurried up the aisle to try and help the guy. But when he got there, he saw that the man was actually like caught on the statue, like he was totally trapped in some ways.

15:10However, when he got there and he saw how this man was stuck on the statue, the priest just stared in total disbelief because what he was seeing was either a miracle or an act of divine vengeance. Because the Virgin Mary's hand, which had been resting on Jesus, was now reached out and was wrapped around the dangling man's arm, like the statue had literally grabbed him. Now the priest is thinking, like, how is this even possible? None of this makes any sense. But when he tried to pull the man away and to help free him, the hand wouldn't let go. The man was truly stuck. And so in the end, they actually cut Jan's arm off at the elbow.

15:57That's how they got him down. And the instant his arm was severed, witnesses say the Virgin Mary's grip relaxed and his arm was released. Jan was arrested for trying to steal from the church, and he actually was thrown in prison. However, the experience changed him so dramatically that after he was released from prison, he entered a monastery and became a monk. Now, this story happened 400 years ago, and so we don't really know what happened. I mean, maybe the statue of the Virgin Mary came to life and grabbed Jan's arm and pinned him there like the priest claimed and like Jan claimed. Or maybe Jan, after climbing up the statue, fell and got sort of trapped, like hooked, on the statue's arm.

16:42Maybe that happened. And maybe they overreacted and lopped his arm off. I mean, we don't know. But what we do know is that his arm really did get cut off because they kept the arm. And today, his severed arm, his withered and dry severed arm, is hanging from a meat hook by the entrance to that church in Prague to discourage anyone else from trying to steal from the Virgin Mary.

17:15I'm Livy Dunn, All-American gymnast and Viore athlete. When you travel and train as much as I do, you find happiness where you are. On the mat or on the sand, movement and comfort are essential. That's why I live in Performance Joggers by Viore. Made from DreamNet fabric that's made of 89 % recycled materials. Effortlessly soft and made to move as much as I do. My happiness starts here, in the softest joggers on the planet. Get 20 % off your first purchase at viore.com slash Libby. That's V-U-O-R-I dot com slash L-I-V-V-Y. Exclusions apply. Not only will you receive 20 % off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on U.S.

17:58orders over$75 and free returns. Go to viori.com slash Libby and discover the full versatility of Viori clothing. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions. A rug shouldn't just fit your room. It should make your home feel finished. Ernesta creates designer-quality rugs custom-fit to the exact size of your space, so every room feels beautifully pulled together. Explore Ernesta's range of options, all ready to be custom-cut, finished, and delivered to your door in as little as two weeks. Start with five samples for just$10 and get$50 toward your rug when you order. Visit Ernesta.com today.

18:36That's E-R-N-E-S-T-A dot com.

18:42Our third and final story of today's episode is called A Place to Hide.

18:50Just before sunset in June of 1997, a 31-year-old man named Nasiruddin rode a horse through a snowstorm in the mountains of northern Pakistan. His younger brother, Kathiruddin, followed right behind him on his own horse. Nasiruddin was desperate to get them out of the mountains before the sunset. Because when it did, the temperature would get dangerously low, and continuing to follow the trail in the dark was like a death sentence. I mean, the ridge that they were on now and would have to continue riding out of the mountain range was, you know, icy, it was steep, there were all these jagged drop-offs, and so one wrong step, and you were dead.

19:30Now, the reason these brothers were even traveling through this very dangerous mountain pass in the first place is because they had recently been pulled into this violent feud with some neighbors of theirs. And in fact, it had gotten so bad that they had been forced to evacuate their village and they couldn't travel along the main roads anymore where they could be seen. And so here they are taking this horrible sort of back roads way. And now on top of all the hazards they were facing, it also had begun to snow. And so Nasiruddin and his brother, they're They're racing against the sun setting.

20:04They're making their way. They're getting hit with all the snow. They can barely see anything because of it. And then as they're racing along, a gunshot sounded from somewhere down the mountain. And then a bullet whizzed past Nasiruddin's ear. He could hear it snap next to his head. Nasiruddin realized their neighbors had found them, even out here. Like, they've been found. This feud is spilling over into other areas. And he knew he and Kathir Rudin, his younger brother, were exposed out here. And so Nasir Rudin desperately began looking around for somewhere they could take cover from the gunfire that was going to continue to come their way.

20:42And he saw there was a cave off in the distance in the cliff face. Like they just had to go a little bit further and they could get inside of this cave. And it seemed like it was their only chance. And so Nasir Rudin yelled out to his younger brother to follow him. but his voice was sort of drowned out by the wind and the snow and there was more gunfire and so he didn't know if his brother even heard him. And so Nasiruddin, as more and more rounds are being fired at them, they're landing pretty close, he just drove his heels into his horse's flank and rode for the cave. Nasiruddin's heart was pounding in his chest as he reached the actual cave entrance.

21:19But right as they were about to go inside, meaning him and his horse, his horse pulled up sharp and refused to enter. And so Nasiruddin, he just hopped off his horse and dragged it by the reins to get it inside of this cave. And then once he was in the cave, he turned around, hoping, of course, that his brother, Kithiruddin, would be right behind him. But he didn't see his brother at all. It was just the wind and the snow whipping outside and just the sound of more gunshots being fired. And, you know, Nasiruddin knew it's like he should go out there and try to save his brother, but he also thought, if I poke my head out of this cave, I might just get shot right then and there.

21:58And, you know, hopefully my brother, who he's smart, he knows what he's doing, I'm sure he's found cover somewhere else. And so Nasiruddin decided to hunker down and just wait. But just then, Nasiruddin noticed this light in his periphery, and he turned and he gasped because this cave was apparently not an ordinary cave. This cave was glowing. All around him, the walls and the ceiling, they shimmered with this intense blue light. It was so mesmerizing that for a second it was like time just stood still and Nasiruddin forgot all about his brother. He just stood there trying to make sense of these glowing walls.

22:39He didn't understand it. It was like he had stepped into another world here. But then, more gunshots erupted outside, breaking Nasiruddin out of his trance. He whirled around. He's hoping maybe his brother's in the cave now, but he's not. It's just him and his horse. And he just thought, you know, I can't stay here while, you know, this is going on out there. I have to go out and find my brother. And so Nasiruddin, he took two steps towards the entrance, then felt this rush of cold air, and the floor disappeared beneath him. Outside the cave, Kathiruddin, so Nasiruddin's brother, had found some cover.

23:16He was crouched down behind some rocks with his horse lying down next to him. Kathir Rudin had seen his older brother go into that cave, but he had not been able to follow him with all the shooting. He knew if he got out from behind the rocks, he'd be a dead man. So he had just stayed. And he continued to stay there behind those rocks until it got dark. And at that point, you know, the shooting had stopped and had been done for quite some time. And so he got up and he runs over to the cave, pulling, literally pulling his horse behind him. And when he stepped inside of this cave, the cave was pitch black.

23:51Kithir Rudin couldn't see anything at all, certainly not his brother. But he did feel this unsettling chill, like there was just something off about this cave. And so he called out for his brother, but there was no response. And so Kithir Rudin, he, by touch alone, because he can't see anything, he felt his way to the back of the cave. And the cave turned out to actually be quite small, but it was totally empty. And there was no sign of his brother or his horse. And this just didn't make any sense. I mean, Kithiruddin, from where he was behind that rock, he had a view of the entrance to this cave.

24:29And he had just come in here. There are no other exits. There's only one way in or out. And the whole time Kithiruddin had been taking cover, he basically was watching the cave. He was looking for his brother, you know? And he never saw his brother or the horse leave. The whole time he was there. So there's nowhere else he could have been. And so the idea that they're not in here, it just didn't add up. But at this point, Kithiruddin knew it was simply too dark and too cold to effectively look for his brother. So he just hopped on his horse and headed to a nearby village for the night. The next morning, when Kithiruddin woke up, he went right back out to that mountainside, to that cave, and he looked again for his brother and his brother's horse.