Kristen Modafferi

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1:29ahead show off a little find shoes to get you at prices that get your budget head to your dsw store or dsw.com today dsw let us surprise you voices for justice is a podcast that uses adult language and discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics including violence abuse and murder this podcast may not be appropriate for younger audiences all parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some names have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:13Today I'm discussing the case of Kristen Modafferi. In 1997, 17-year-old Kristen finished her first year of college at North Carolina State University. But after classes ended, she had no plans to enjoy a lazy summer. Instead, she devised a plan to take another class across the country in California. It would be a few short months to enjoy the Golden State and gain some independence as she entered adulthood. She was smart, ambitious, and had a solid plan. But just 23 days after she landed in California, she disappeared. This is the case of Kristen Montefiore. Turning 18 and moving to California, especially in the 90s, was a dream for so many American teenagers.

2:59This was only further solidified by the media. So many of these iconic 90s cult classic TV shows and movies were set in the Golden State. Think Clueless, The Craft, Beverly Hills 90210, Saved by the Bell, Moesha, Party of Five, the list is seemingly endless. There was also the music scene, with bands like Green Day, The Offspring, Sublime, Blink-182, Rage Against the Machine, Third Eye Blind, and no doubt all getting started in California. This boom of culture also extended to technology in Silicon Valley, like the birth of the World Wide Web and the first iMac. Combine all that with classic attractions like their beautiful beaches and iconic landmarks like Disneyland, the Hollywood sign, and the Golden Gate Bridge, California seemed to have it all in the 90s.

3:45It was truly a moment in American history that feels unlike any other. I really want to drive home that it wasn't just a place. It was a fantasy that represented freedom, sunshine, beauty, fame, and the promise of becoming someone bigger than you were before you came. So personally, I totally get why 17-year-old Kristen Monteferi wanted to spend the summer there in 1997. She pitched it to her parents in the spring, and while they weren't jumping for joy at the idea, it was clear Kristen had a plan and a good head on her shoulders. There was no real reason to tell her no. While she was born in Danbury, Connecticut in 1979, the second of four daughters to her parents Debbie and Bob, she moved with her family to Charlotte, North Carolina when she was 10, and she was your classic, gifted, overachiever described as brilliant, spirited, and precocious.

4:35She skipped a grade in elementary school, and her mom Debbie told Andrew Chammings and Katie Dowd with SFGate that Kristen would even correct her teachers. Eventually, she graduated from Providence High School in Charlotte, and her near-perfect SAT scores helped her earn a four-year Park scholarship to North Carolina State University, where she was an industrial design major. That scholarship basically covered everything. Tuition, fees, room and board, books, and more. It's one of the best scholarships I've ever seen, and Kristen definitely deserved it. Her freshman year in 1996 and 1997 went well.

5:11So well that she wanted to take another course over the summer, a photography class offered through her school's honors program. There was just one thing, one hurdle that she had to get over. The class was at UC Berkeley in California, and Kristen was still 17. But Kristen is brilliant. She has a plan. She uses message boards to research programs and find a room to sublet in Oakland for$500 a month before even approaching her parents. She has this all buttoned up and ready to go. She's also going to pitch this to her parents in a way that they can't refuse. After all, they are the ones who brought her to the Bay Area in 1994 on a family vacation and sparked her love for this part of California.

5:55Plus, she would be 18 by the time she made the trip. So Kristen pitches this idea to her parents, and they're a little torn. Her mom says she was pretty leery about it and didn't want Kristen to go. She felt like she was just too young and not mature enough. But Kristen pushes back. According to Debbie, she tells her mom she really wants to go. She basically says, come on, are you really gonna say no? And her dad, Bob, is on board. He thinks it'll be good experience for Kristen. In the end, both of Kristen's parents see how excited she is to spend the summer in the Bay Area. And again, her plan is solid.

6:31There was really no good reason to tell her no. So, Kristen pays the$900 for tuition for the class with her own money and lands in California on June 1st, 1997, her 18th birthday. She was excited she had a plan and a good head on her shoulders. It was only for a summer, but it was her first taste of freedom away from her family. a real chance to spread her wings. She was following the same dream so many American teenagers had in 1997 to go to California, and she made it happen through hard work and perseverance. It feels like she did everything right to get to this point. But on just the 23rd day of Kristen being in California, something went terribly wrong.

7:15Two days later, her parents got the first available flight out and then drove straight to the Oakland Police Department to discuss her disappearance. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. In March, we celebrate International Women's Day. It's a moment to celebrate women's strengths and progress, while also recognizing how much we carry every day. Between caring for others and managing unseen responsibilities, women's emotional well-being can easily be overlooked. Therapy can offer a space for women to take care of themselves in the way that they deserve. Women have created such an amazing support system for me.

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9:53Kristen Monteferi landed in the Bay Area on her 18th birthday, June 1st, 1997. First on her agenda is moving into her room at 274 Jane Avenue in Oakland. It's an apartment she'll share with four male roommates. They largely haven't been named in the media, but we do know that they were at least a few years older than Kristen, and have been described as young professionals. We also know that they were used to living with a woman. Kristen's actually subletting the room from another young woman who was away for the summer. The living situation has been described as you might imagine a house of five young people living in a pretty exciting city to be.

10:31There are a lot of people coming and going all the time. Work, friends, parties, again, it's five young people living together. But Kristen gets moved in and everything seems to be going well. In just a few days, she also secures a job at Spinelli's Coffee Shop. It's about 10 miles from where she's staying, just across the Bay Bridge at a shopping center called the Crocker Galleria. She also got a second job at the cafe inside the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. That's about half a mile away from Spinelli's. Her photography class at Berkeley doesn't start until June 24th, so she's got about three weeks to settle in and just enjoy her time there.

11:08According to reporting by SFGate, Kristen established a pretty solid routine. She'd catch the BART from 19th Street for her 7 a.m. shift at Spinelli's, work until about 3 p.m., and then explore and photograph the city. She also signed up for belly dancing classes at the local YMCA. Of course, we don't know everything about Kristen's time in California. Most of what we do know comes from her roommates and co-workers, but they even say that Kristen spent most of her time outside the house working, exploring the city, and taking photos. Which makes sense to me. She's new to the city, so she's spending a lot of time alone.

11:45But of course, she's not always alone. We know that Kristen is smart and sensible, but she's also an 18-year-old looking to have a good time. About two weeks into her stay, on Friday the 13th, she goes to a concert that feels like peak 90s entertainment. It's the live 105 Music Festival at the Shoreline Amphitheater right off the South Bay. It's a beautiful venue. The lineup includes bands like Blur, Social Distortion, and the iconic Fiona Apple, just days after she released her single Criminal, which would later launch her into stardom and earn her a Grammy. It seems like a great show, and it appears Kristen felt the same way, because she stays so late that she misses the last train home.

12:29It's definitely not the best situation for anyone to be in, let alone somebody brand new to the area, but she finds a solution. She ends up splitting a cab with a man she met at the show and spends the night at his apartment. While other teenagers might use this as an excuse to sleep in the next morning, Kristen doesn't. She makes it for her morning shift at Spinelli's without skipping a beat. It really seems like she found a good balance between having fun and keeping up with her responsibilities. Things seem to be going great for Kristen. Until she misses her first day of class at Berkeley on Tuesday, June 24th.

13:03Now, we do have some conflicting reporting on what happens next. A lot of articles we have detailing Kristen's case say that on the 25th, one of her roommates, 24-year-old Griffin Cherry, called Kristen's parents to tell them that she was missing and that he'd already told the Oakland Police Department. However, in an interview with Paul Boyd for WSOC-TV, Kristen's father Bob said, quote, We wound up calling the house where Kristen was renting a room and found out that she had been missing, and nobody had bothered to call us to let us know. So I'm going to go with Kristen's dad on this one. But at this point, he's really not panicking.

13:42He adds that when he got this information, he assumed that there must have been some type of misunderstanding. That is, until he followed up with the Oakland PD. It seems that no one had seen Kristen since she left her shift on the morning of Monday, June 23rd. Her roommates explained that they assumed Kristen was just out with friends. I mean, as we know, she has stayed the night in another location on at least one occasion. But when Kristen still wasn't home by Wednesday, they did become concerned. So when Kristen's parents hear all of this and confirm that she actually is missing, it sends them into a state of shock.

14:19but they do still take action. They catch the first flight out of North Carolina that they can on Friday, June 27th. From the airport, they drive directly to the Oakland Police Department. They get there at about 4 p.m. According to reporting by Matt Birkback for Reader's Digest, when her parents finally get there and speak to the officer at the front desk, they're told that the detective assigned to Kristen's case has left for the weekend. It's disappointing But not as disappointing as what they hear next Of course, Kristen's parents aren't just gonna sit by for the weekend and wait for something to happen They want to know what's being done And the officer tells them that there's basically nothing to be done At this point, they don't consider Kristen's case to be a high priority Though she's technically an adult They're treating her case kind of like a runaway Voluntarily missing But again, Kristen's parents are not giving up They hire private investigator Graham Despernine And he's not just any run-of-the-mill PI He's former FBI And became the chairman of the board of the World Investigators Network He's good and has influence Which I'll talk about in just a bit That weekend, Kristen's family and the PI get right to work Despernine begins interviewing Kristen's roommates and co-workers while her family canvases the area handing out flyers.

15:43Kristen's little sister Megan was only seven, but she also helps in the efforts. They get a lot done over the weekend. When they speak to Kristen's roommates, they say Kristen wasn't home very often. She'd usually leave her work around dawn and spend her afternoons exploring the city, art galleries, and beaches. Of course, they take a look at her room too, and it was untouched. Her laundry was still hanging on the clothesline in the back, and it's discovered that she left behind an uncashed payroll check for about$400. Combine that with the fact that Kristen's Berkeley class was already paid for in full, it looks like she had every intention of coming back.

16:21By the end of the weekend, they are able to put together a pretty solid timeline of Kristen's last day to share with the Oakland Police Department on Monday. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. fiscally responsible, financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by Quince.

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18:22After a full weekend of investigating and canvassing, Kristen's family and the P.I. they hired were able to compile a timeline of Kristen's last movements before she went missing. Here's what they found. Kristen made it to her 7 a.m. shift at Spinelli's. During her shift, she asks her co-workers for directions to an area called Land's End in San Francisco, but she also mentions going home after work. At 3 p.m., Kristen clocks out. She's wearing her black Spinelli shirt, tan pants, and a long-sleeved blue plaid flannel shirt. She's also carrying a green Jansport backpack with a black mesh pocket.

19:00And there is something out of the ordinary at this point. Kristen hangs out in the Crocker Galleria Mall. Now, the act itself isn't the most alarming, obviously. It's just not something she normally does. She's usually running somewhere after work. But for some reason, on this day, Kristen sticks around for a bit, and at 3.45pm, one of her co-workers sees her on the second floor of the mall talking to a blonde woman. This is the last official sighting of Kristen at this point. So her family and the P.I. take all of this to the Oakland PD. And at this point, Detective Mahaney, the head of the missing person division says that due to the involvement of the PI, they put Kristen's case in the priority pile.

19:43He would later say, quote, at the time we had over 800 open missing persons cases. Those included runaways, which were probably 90 % of the caseload. Another 5 % were people who just wanted to duck away for a while. There were very few cases like Kristen's, end quote. And it seems clear that Kristen likely didn't leave on her own accord with no intention of returning. Kristen's sister Allison tells investigators that when she last spoke to her a few days before she went missing, it seemed like she was having the dream summer. They actually promised to continue their conversation at another time after being interrupted.

20:21Again, everything is pointing to Kristen not leaving voluntarily. So they get to work to try to figure out what happened. They do all the routine things like check hospitals and jails, but nobody has seen Kristen. They interview her roommates, and they appear to be very consistent and forthcoming, so they're all cleared. But speaking with them does bring up a large point of confusion in her last movements. They say that about 48 hours before Kristen was last seen, she went to a party at a beach in Land's End. But this contradicts what Kristen's co-workers say, at least in a way. Remember, they say Kristen asked for directions to Land's End that last day, but if she'd already attended a party there, that doesn't really make any sense.

21:07Many investigators have talked about this in Kristen's case, and in the end, they weren't able to confirm if Kristen ever attended the party. In fact, they weren't able to confirm that the party ever happened at all. But this, again, gets even more complicated when the PI brings in bloodhounds. They track Kristen's scent from Crocker Galleria out the door, then they go west on Geary Street into the Tenderloin neighborhood. This leads the PI to believe that Kristen may have taken the 38 Geary-Mooney bus to Land's End, and Mahaney says outright to SF Gate that she probably did. Now, the dogs would later pick up her scent again near the Sutro Baths at Land's End, but they lost the scent near the water and near a tunnel by the baths.

21:51They actually do this twice and get the same exact result. So let's talk about this area. It was designed by a very rich man named Adolf Sutro in 1894, hence the name Sutro Baths. It's north of Ocean Beach and physically separated from the ocean. It kind of looks like an infinity pool elevated above the beach. It's honestly a beautiful area, and it attracts a lot of tourists and locals. So it's complicated. It seems that Kristen was there at some point, hence the dogs picking up her scent. But was it at the party a few days before she went missing? Or did she go there after work on the day she was last seen?

22:33Maybe it was both. The fear is obviously that something happened at the beach, whether it was foul play or an accident like being caught by a rogue wave. Either way, the lead is so promising that the Coast Guard and U.S. Parks Police are brought in to search, but nothing's found. They also learn that there's basically no federal or state funding to help them expand their search. Kristen's family says that they knew that they were on their own, but that they weren't giving up. In fact, Debbie says, quote, You can either crawl in a hole and die and give up, or you can fight, end quote. So they fight.

23:12They buy billboard space and contact every media outlet they can to help share Kristen's case. and we know that with media coverage often comes new leads. On July 10th, an anonymous man called the KGO TV news station with a tip about Kristen's case. He said that he lived near Kristen's workplace and he knows what happened to her. So here's what he says. He claims that two women made sexual advances towards Kristen and when she tried to fight them off, they killed her. He says this all happened in a car near the old Tower Records store on Market Street in Castro. Then they drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and dumped her body, quote, by a wooden bridge on the way to Point Reyes, end quote.

23:58The caller points his finger to two employees at the YMCA. But when Mahaney speaks with the women, he doesn't seem to find the tip credible, and they're cleared soon after. Eventually, police were able to trace the call to 36-year-old John Anuma But he says it was all a prank He was just trying to get back at the women for supposedly getting his girlfriend fired It's obviously cruel But in giving this false tip, he ends up shining a huge spotlight on himself It seems he has a known history of abusing women he met through personal ads which is terrifying because eventually police discover a copy of the San Francisco Bay Guardian in Kristen's room, and when they take a closer look, they see that there's a personal ad circled.

24:47It says, quote, Friends. Female seeking friends to share activities. Who enjoy music, photography, working out, walks, coffee, or simply enjoying the beach, exploring the Bay Area. Interested? Call me. End quote. It's a huge lead that could point to John. The problem is they don't know if Kristen put the ad out herself or if someone else did. So they go to the publisher. But they say that they've purged the records and don't have a way to see who posted it or if anyone responded. It's a huge letdown. This is still one of the biggest mysteries in Kristen's case. Did she post the ad or did she plan on responding to the ad?

25:32Unfortunately, we can't say for sure even to this day, but due to the wording of the ad lining up so closely with Kristen's interest, police do think that she likely placed it herself. So they go all in on John at this point. They track down the girlfriend that John claims was wrongfully fired from the YMCA, and they discover something very interesting in her diary. It seems that some of the pages are missing, pages from before Kristen went missing. They look like they've been ripped out. When investigators ask her about this, she says John ripped them out, telling her that what she wrote could hurt him.

26:10But she also denies knowing anything about Kristen or ever meeting her. So take that for what you will. They also speak to an ex of John's who tells them he'd threatened her in the past, saying, quote, you know I'm going to have to kill you. I can't let you go. Now you know what happened to Kristen Montefiore. end quote. There's obviously some pretty scary stuff against John at this point, so they get search warrants to look at his home. But all they really find is blood that after testing proves not to be human. They speculate that he killed one of his ex-girlfriend's cats out of revenge. It's obviously a very horrible thing, but it's not enough for them to arrest John for anything related to Kristen, so nothing happens.