Chapter 113: Blood in the Hudson-The Bag Murders, Addison Verrill, and The Exorcist Curse

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Every story has a beginning, but not everyone has an ending.

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In the shadows of headlines and buried police reports lay

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the voices of the missing, the murdered, and the forgotten,

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waiting to be heard and have their stories told. This

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is the Book of the Dead, a true crime podcast

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where we remember forgotten victims of heinous crimes, reopen cold cases,

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re visit haunting disappearances, and uncover the truths buried beneath

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the years of silence. I'm your host, Courtney Liso, and

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every week we turn to another chapter, one victim, one mystery,

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one step closer to justice. Brought to you by Darkast

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Twist Witchcraft, the occult, extremist beliefs, murder. Tune in to

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persuasion and supposed possession, anything in everything that borders the

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Hello, Hello, Welcome to the next chapter in the Book

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of the Dead. In nineteen seventy three, William Friedkin's The Exorcist,

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based on William Bladdie's novel of the same name, hit

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movie theaters and became the blueprint for any and all

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possession movies that followed. While it originally released to mixed reviews,

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The Exorcist, which follows the story of twelve year old

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Reagan McNeil's possession by the demon Pizuzu, has become a classic,

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commonly referred to as one of the greatest horror films

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of all time, though the movie has a legacy that

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has followed its success for decades. In its shadow is

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an alleged curse that has added another layer of darkness

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to the Exorcist impact. While the production of the movie

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was already struggling under the weight of Friedkin's unconventional and

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highly demanding directing style, the cast and crew also experienced

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a variety of setbacks, injuries, accidents, and deaths that occurred

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even after the cameras stopped rolling. Many people believed these

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occurrences were the result of demonic activity and involved everything

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from situations that halted production, which included the set burning

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down but Reagan's bedroom surviving unscathed, as well as another

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set flooding, rendering it completely unusable. Additionally, even more serious

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circumstances occurred, impacting the well being of the cast and crew,

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like the severe back injuries sustained by both Linda Blair

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and Ellen Burston, two different set workers losing a digit,

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and actor Jack McGowan dying a week after filming his scene.

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And McGowan wasn't the only person connected to the film

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that died either. Relatives of both Linda Blair and Max

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Bonciddo both died during filming. As a result of all

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of this, Freed can really believe that a demon of

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some sort was trying to stop the movie from being made.

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According to a nineteen seventy four article in Castle of

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Frankenstein magazine, Friedkin said of the alleged curse quote, I'm

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not a convert to the occult, but after all, I've

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seen on this film. I definitely believe in demonic possession.

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There are things that cannot be treated by medical or

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psychiatric means. It seems strange, foreign and impossible, but it exists.

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With all this being said, this alleged curse also spawned

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a killer, one that was convicted of one murder but

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has been suspected of multiple others. This is the murder

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of Addison Barrel. Now, before we can talk about Addison Barrel,

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we have to talk about what was happening in New

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York in the years prior to Addison's murder. For decades,

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especially after the nineteen sixty nine Stonewall riots, Greenwich Village

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was a haven for not just the LGBTQ community, but

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also a place of acceptance and inclusivity for minorities from

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all walks of life living there for countless reasons. The

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rowhouses lining the streets, while worth millions of dollars today,

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offered at the time cheap rent and attracted a variety

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of people from artists to immigrants, on married couples and

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same sex couples. And this diversity offered many the comfort

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of living openly as who they really were. Gay bars, clubs,

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and shops lined the streets, most notably on McDougall and Christopher,

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and the community was unapologetic about the way they lived

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their lives. However, that's not to say that there wasn't

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danger just under the surface, and the gay community was

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still fighting for the right to live the way they

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wanted to. Sure, some parts of New York were becoming

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more accepting of the gay population, but there were plenty

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who weren't. Senator Tom Dwayne told Inside Edition quote, if

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you walk down certain streets, you were in danger. Many

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people would be probably drunk and still drinking, which made

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them even easier to cause harm to And it's just

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scary to even think about now. While attacks on the

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gay community were happening frequently, the media was not focused

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on reporting what was happening, contributing to the vulnerability of

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the men in the area because these crimes were in

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essence being hidden from the public. This may or may

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not have been intentional, but either way, it was clear

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that the media wasn't doing its part to call for

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diligence in keeping community members safe, whether that was due

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to a sheer lack of care for these men or

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or due to overwhelming bigotry and homophobia that was still

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rampant across the country. Of course, this is an incredibly

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small overview in what was going on in New York

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during this time, but men being attacked for their sexuality

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wasn't limited to assault. They were being murdered as well.

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From nineteen seventy five to nineteen seventy seven, bags containing

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the dismembered body parts of at least six different men

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were washing up on the shores of the Hudson River

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in three month intervals. According to an article for Inside Edition,

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these bags all allegedly displayed a logo from the NYU

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Medical Center Neuropsychiatric Unit. However, these remains were never able

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to be traced back to any man reported missing, as

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they lacked distinctive markings and there were never any remains

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found that could lead to identification through fingerprints or dental records.

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According to an article for news Day, the only thing

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police could speculate was that the victims were gay men

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based on the clothing found with the remains that could

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be traced to shops in Greenwich Village known for selling

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to the gay community. Like much of the attacks occurring

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in New York at that time, the media was silent,

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treating the brutal murders as being of little interest to

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their readers. However, one man was vocal in his outrage

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over the lack of coverage and the target that had

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seemingly been painted on the community's back. Arthur Bell, who

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was a writer for the Village Voice as well as

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a gay man, expressed his disdain for mainstream media and

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the dangers of being so nonchalant about the murders, covering

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them himself, urging the public to stay safe and be

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aware of who they were interacting with. There was little

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to no investigation on the back murders, let alone a

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possible suspect, until nineteen seventy seven, when another murder is

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committed in Greenwich Village. On September fourteenth, nineteen seventy seven,

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a man was killed in his apartment at to Horatio Street.

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He had his skull crushed by what was identified to

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be a metal skillet and he was stabbed in the heart.

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The man was identified as being variety film critic Addison

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Berrell Junior. Now, there is unfortunately a critical lack of

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information on who Addison was and what his life was like.

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What I can tell you is that He was born

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on August eleventh, nineteen forty one, in New Haven, Connecticut,

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and he had a brother and sister. He graduated from

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Princeton University in nineteen sixty three, and he spent three

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years in Nigeria with the Peace Corps before going on

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to write for a Variety, which he did for almost

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ten years, primarily writing tongue in chee commentary about the

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porn industry. According to Arthur Bell, Addison was very private

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about his personal life. Quoting Variety publishers said Silverman is saying,

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quote what Addison did after work was his own business. Addison,

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though was well known in the gay club scene, regularly

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visiting the more salacious bars and clubs in the village.

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While his friends and associates said that Addison wasn't necessarily

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interested in the kinkier sex scene, he was very interested

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in visiting these bars and clubs because he enjoyed being

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around the other people that frequented them, and this was

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mainly because of their attitudes. Stewart Byron, an author, set

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up Addison's visits to these clubs. Quote. He made some

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of the bars in like ties and earlier the roadhouse

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people came over to him. At these places, he always

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had his own little corner where he'd dispense wisdom and gossip. Now,

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when Addison's body is found, there was a clear sign

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of a struggle, and given the brutal way in which

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he was killed, it was clear that this was a homicide,

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though police seemed unwilling or uninterested in really pursuing an investigation. However,

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they were operating under the assumption that Addison's murder was

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the result of a robbery gone wrong, which not everyone

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was convinced of. Arthur Bell was adamant that Addison had

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known his killer, even just briefly, and was insistent that

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this was no botched robbery. He said quote the TV

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tape recorder and typewriter had not been taken. Lieutenant John

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eyuchaness of homicide, believes that the murderer was either looking

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for cash or jewelry. Several empty beer cans and half

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finished bottles of liquor were discovered. It was not a

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break in crime. Vyl had brought his assailant home or

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allowed him into the building. Now police were able to

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track Addison's movements in the early hours before his death,

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believing that he had been to a few bars that evening,

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first to ties and Anvils before going to the mind

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Shaft and leaving at around six am, where he had

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spoken to multiple men. At the lack of initiative from

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the police, as well as a critical lack of reporting

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from the media save for a brief mention on the

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nightly news, Arthur Bell wrote an extensive article in The

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Village Voice expressing his frustration for the lack of care

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being shown to members of the gay community. He said,

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quote to this reporter, the oversight is unforgivable because of

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Addison Beryl's prominence and the nature of the crime. His

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killing underscores the vulnerability of a majority of gay men,

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especially in the early morning hours when the libido overrules

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common sense. But what is one to do? Give up sex,

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stay at home and watch Darsky and Hutch. We're all

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aware that there are psychopaths roaming the New York streets,

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and they don't advertise their intentions on their t shirts.

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When they zero in on gay men, the sentiment often

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express is they brought it on themselves. Each year, there

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are approximately four sexually oriented murders of gay men in

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the Greenwich Village area. Seldom did the papers report the crimes.

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Not all of the killers are apprehended. Often witnesses are

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afraid to speak up because of their closeted status. Media

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coverage or lack of it is a problem within the

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gay community itself. No matter what a reporter writes, it

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is likely to incite half of the population. While police

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had little to go on in terms of a suspect

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and lack the wherewithal to be proactive and looking for one,

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Arthur's article caught the attention of an individual claiming responsibility

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for Addison's murder. According to in magazine, eight days after

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the discovery of the body, Arthur received a phone call

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from an unknown male. This man said, quote, I like

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your story and I like your writing, but I am

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not a psychopath. The man claimed to have met Addison

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at a gay bar on Christopher Street called bad Lands.

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They leapt together at around three am before heading to

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the mind Shaft, where they stayed until the early hours

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of the morning, taking a cocktail of different drugs before

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going to Addison's apartment to have sex. According to All

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That's Interesting, the man said, this is when things went wrong. Quote,

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something hit me. Addison hadn't been reciprocal. It wasn't just

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the sex act itself that wasn't reciprocal. It was the

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sole act too. I wanted a lasting thing, something that

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would go beyond sex into friendship, a lover or marriage.

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I decided to do something I'd never done before. This

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man claimed that they went to the kitchen and grabbed

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a skillet, hitting Addison over the head with it, before

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taking a kitchen knife and stabbing Addison through the chest.

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The man went on to say that he stole fifty

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seven dollars from Addison's wallet, as well as his MasterCard, passport,

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and some clothes, before leaving the apartment and going to

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buy alcohol. According to Arthur, the man also mentioned an

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interesting detail. The man said quote, I'd like to atone,

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but I don't want to give myself up. I wouldn't

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be able to practice again. I'd lose my license. Arthur,

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of course, goes to the police and reports the call,

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and the police, according to Esquire, confirmed that the details

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about the missing debit card is something only the killer

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would know, but there still isn't much police can do

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to identify the suspect. They tell Arthur to go home,

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they would provide police protection and to wait for another

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phone call. At around eleven thirty that evening, Arthur again

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receives a call, but the person on the phone was

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not the same man as before. However, they know the

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identity of the original caller. According to the second person,

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who to my knowledge has never been identified, the first

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caller to contact Arthur was a friend of his, a

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former X ray technician. This person was identified as thirty

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six year old Paul Batesen, and this caller claimed that

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Paul had confessed to him that he had killed Addison Verel.

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Now not too much is known about Paul Batesen either.

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He was born on August twenty fourth, nineteen forty in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

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His father was a metallurgist, which means he studied metals

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and their alloys and how they behaved, their applications and behaviors.

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Bateson's mother died of a stroke in nineteen sixty nine,

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and his father remarried. And he also had a brother

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who had tragically committed suicide that same year. According to

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an interview he gave with Arthur Bell, Bateson had served

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in the military, being deployed to Germany, where he developed

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an alcohol abuse problem quote, because there was not that

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much to do. By the time Batesen had returned home

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from his deployment, he had stopped drinking. However, in nineteen

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sixty four, he moved to New York and met a

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man involved in music, and spent the next few years

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00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:12.559
drinking very heavily, to the point that he was regularly

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drinking a court of vodka a day at minimum. Bateson

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said the drinking made him passive, and when he was

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00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:22.880
deep into it, he could barely leave his home quote

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00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:26.359
after a few shots, I'd shave and get dressed. Then

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by the time I was ready to step into the world,

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I'd have consumed a court and I had no energy

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00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:35.240
left to move. When the relationship ended, Bateson moved to Brooklyn,

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commuting to Manhattan, where he worked as a neuro x

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ray technician at NYU Medical Center. This was when he

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met William Friedkin, who had come to the center to

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scout extras for the Exorcist. While Friedkin was there, he

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walked into the radiology lab and witnessed an angiogram being performed.

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An angiogram, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is a diagnostic

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procedure that is used to findages or narrowing in a

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patient's blood vessels. This is done by injecting contrast eye

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into the bloodstream and using X ray imaging to determine

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how the blood flows within the vessels. This procedure is

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00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:16.759
done to diagnose things like coronary or peripheral artery disease,

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00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:22.319
blood cloths, and aneurysms. As fried Can observe this procedure,

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00:18:22.519 --> 00:18:25.119
a spray of blood shot out as the patient was

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00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:29.359
being injected with contrast, and Friedkin was so inspired he

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00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:33.960
wanted to put the scene in his movie. The angiogram

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00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:36.480
scene in The Exorcist is touted as being one of

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the most disturbing scenes in the movie, and this is

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00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:43.599
in part because Friedkin asked everyone present in the room

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00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:47.200
that day to be extras in the scene, including Paul Bateson,

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00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:50.640
in an effort to make the scene more real. In

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00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:53.839
the scene, Batesen actually has a few lines talking to

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00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:57.920
Reagan about the procedure as it's being performed. Batesen was

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00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:00.799
well liked at the hospital, with his college doctor Barton

283
00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:04.759
Lane saying of him quote, he was the most experienced

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00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:07.880
and he was the best. He taught me an awful

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00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:11.519
lot and I considered him a good friend despite being

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00:19:11.559 --> 00:19:14.599
so well liked. Two years after the movie came out,

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00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:17.480
Bateson was let go from his job as a radiographer.

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Following this, he struggled to find work, working odd jobs

289
00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:24.400
cleaning apartments and working as a cashier at a theater

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00:19:24.519 --> 00:19:28.880
that featured pornography, and according to what Bateson told Arthur Bell,

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00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:32.880
this is when his already struggling social life really started

292
00:19:32.920 --> 00:19:36.319
to suffer. While he was a regular patron of the

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00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:39.720
village's leather bars with his friends, his frequent drinking made

294
00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:43.599
him less popular to be around. He said, quote, nobody

295
00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:48.839
likes a drunk. That's stigma. As time passed, there were

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00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:52.079
brief periods of sobriety, and Bateson would make the effort

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00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:56.279
to attend AA meetings, but it never lasted, and before

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00:19:56.359 --> 00:19:58.920
long he was off the wagon, drinking to the point

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00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:02.720
of incoherence, floating from bardi bar to find a companion,

300
00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.759
which is how he ultimately would meet Addison Beryl. On

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00:20:07.799 --> 00:20:12.200
September twenty third, nineteen seventy seven, after waiting three days

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00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:15.640
for him to return to his apartment, police entered Bateson's

303
00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:19.400
home on East twelfth Street, they found Bateson drunk on

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00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:22.920
the couch, and according to Esquire, he told police he

305
00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:25.799
knew why they were there and gestured to a copy

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00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:28.640
of The Village Voice on the floor, displaying the article

307
00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:33.119
Arthur had written about Addison's murder. Upon being taken into custody,

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00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:37.960
Bateson became agitated, but provided police with an identical confession

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00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.400
to the one he had given to Arthur on the phone.

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Bateson was charged with martyr and sent to Riker's Island

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to await trial. While there, Arthur Bell visited him to

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00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:52.000
conduct an interview and asked Bateson how he thought the

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00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:57.480
trial would go. Bateson said, quote, probably a long jury trial.

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A lot of people will be hurt, parent friends. I'll

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00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:05.640
be judged not guilty. Then I'll tear up my roots

316
00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:08.759
and settle somewhere else and try to grow new roots.

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During the preliminary trial, Batesen tried to claim that his

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00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:16.519
confession was made while he was intoxicated and he had

319
00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:18.839
not been read his miranda rights prior to giving it.

320
00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:22.039
He also claims that he was not the one to

321
00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:25.279
make the original confession to Arthur and had told police

322
00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:27.119
details of the murder that he had read in the

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00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:31.920
paper in an attempt to get his confession thrown out. However,

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00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:35.839
the judge determined that Bateson's constitutional rights had been maintained

325
00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:39.759
and the police had followed the appropriate procedures during his arrest.

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00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:43.519
It was determined that his confession, as well as Arthur

327
00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:47.279
Bell's original article, could be presented as evidence during the trial.

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00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:52.759
During Bateson's nineteen seventy nine trial, he continuously declared his

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00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:56.079
innocence in Addison's murder, insistent that he had nothing to

330
00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:59.240
do with it. The state tried to make the argument

331
00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:02.799
that not only was he responsible for Addison's murder, but

332
00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:06.200
Batesen was also responsible for the remains that had been

333
00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:10.319
washing up on the shore of the Hudson River. However,

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00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:13.119
the transcript for this trial has never been released, so

335
00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:17.000
while this argument was definitely made, there's no indication of

336
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:20.799
what evidence the state had to support this, though I

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00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:25.920
realistically can't imagine it was very much Ultimately, Bateson, though

338
00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:29.759
optimistic that things would go in his favor, was found

339
00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:35.119
guilty Aboudison Beryl's murder. At his sentencing hearing that April.

340
00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:38.240
The prosecution leaned on the bag murders to support their

341
00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:41.960
argument for a harsh sentence. This was based on an

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00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:44.720
alleged confession that Bateson had made to a friend of

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00:22:44.759 --> 00:22:49.160
his name's Richard Ryan. Ryan claimed that Beateson had told

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00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:52.039
him that he had killed other men and had disposed

345
00:22:52.039 --> 00:22:56.880
of their bodies in the river. Prosecutor William Hoyt argued, quote,

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00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:00.559
he told mister Ryan that killing is easy, that getting

347
00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:04.200
rid of the bodies is the hard part. He said

348
00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:06.240
that he cut up his victims and put the parts

349
00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:10.039
in plastic garbage bags to dispose of them. I would

350
00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:12.799
also point out to the court that the police have evidence,

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00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:17.279
though there is not direct proof connecting them to this defendant,

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00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:21.160
that there were six bodies, tourses of which were found

353
00:23:21.160 --> 00:23:24.400
floating in the Hudson River wrapped up in plastic garbage bags.

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00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:29.000
In all six cases, examiners have said that the person

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00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:31.400
who cut up those bodies was a person who was

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00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:35.160
either a butcher or a person with medical knowledge because

357
00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:39.319
of the way the cuts were done. Now, the judge

358
00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:42.279
did ultimately rule that the bag murders were quote to

359
00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:46.480
ephemeral to have any connection to this case, and sentenced

360
00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:51.279
Bateson to a minimum of twenty years in prison. Incidentally,

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00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:55.359
after the trial, William Friedkin read about the conviction in

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00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:58.880
the paper and the accusation that Batesen was responsible for

363
00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:03.920
the murders of six others men, and Friedkin remembered him.

364
00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:07.400
In an interview he gave to the Hollywood Reporter, Friedkin

365
00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.079
said that he recalled that Beatesen was a nice young

366
00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:13.400
man and that he called Beatesn's lawyer to request a

367
00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:18.119
meeting with him. Friedkin said, quote, he was very cheerful.

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00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:21.640
He said, I remember killing this one guy. I cut

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00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:23.240
him up and I put his body parts in a

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00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:26.559
plastic bag and throw it in the East River. Well,

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00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:29.039
this is how they got him. At the bottom of

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00:24:29.079 --> 00:24:31.880
the bag, in very small print that you can't even read,

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00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:35.599
it said property of the NYU Medical Center Neuropsychiatric Center.

374
00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:39.039
He said, that's the only one I remember. But they

375
00:24:39.079 --> 00:24:42.079
want me to confess to another five or six. And

376
00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:44.680
I said, what are you going to do? He said, well,

377
00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:47.319
I'm thinking it over because if I confess to six

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00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:51.519
or seven of these, they'll lower the sentence. I will say, though,

379
00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:54.240
that this alleged deal that he had with the police

380
00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:58.839
or the prosecution has never been substantiated as fact, and

381
00:24:59.559 --> 00:25:03.720
It's been alleged that Friedkin kind of exaggerated this conversation

382
00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:08.480
that he had with Batesen. Friedkin, partially inspired by what

383
00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:12.440
was said, signed on to direct his nineteen eighty film Cruising,

384
00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:15.759
starring Al Pacino as a cop going undercovered a track

385
00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:18.720
down the murder of gay men in New York, and

386
00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:21.599
this was based on a book written in nineteen seventy

387
00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:25.599
by Gerald Walker. The movie was released to mixed reviews,

388
00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:29.880
and many in the LGBTQ community protested the film's production,

389
00:25:30.519 --> 00:25:34.839
citing that it was detrimental to the community. Arthur Bell

390
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:38.720
was also incredibly vocal about his disdain for the film,

391
00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:42.799
saying it quote promises to be the most oppressive, ugly,

392
00:25:43.079 --> 00:25:48.160
bigoted look at homosexuality ever presented on the screen. Arthur

393
00:25:48.359 --> 00:25:52.880
also slammed Friedkin in another article her Village Voice, saying, quote,

394
00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:56.839
had Friedkin dealt with any gay groups, he'd have had

395
00:25:56.880 --> 00:26:01.000
an understanding of the insightful nature of his script. If

396
00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:03.880
he had a sense of social justice, perhaps he'd have

397
00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:07.200
altered the script, which in effect says that the murder

398
00:26:07.240 --> 00:26:11.480
is the result of gay sex. Now. Friedkin, for his part,

399
00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:14.400
did admit years later that the movie came off as

400
00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:16.920
tone deaf in a time where people were fighting for

401
00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:21.039
their rights and actively fearing for their safety. In two

402
00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:24.119
thousand and three, Paul Beatesen was released from prison and

403
00:26:24.440 --> 00:26:28.799
he disappeared completely. No one is sure where he went

404
00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:32.000
or what happened to him, but it's assumed that he

405
00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:36.680
died some time in twenty twelve. As for the bag murders,

406
00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:40.920
all six victims have yet to be identified and the

407
00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:45.599
murders have never been solved. Paul Batesen is believed to

408
00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:48.559
be the only suspect in that case, but there has

409
00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:52.519
never been any evidence that definitively tied him to the victims.

410
00:26:54.599 --> 00:26:57.799
In the years that followed, Bateson's former colleagues were shocked

411
00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:01.839
by what he had done. Lane told Esquire quote, when

412
00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:05.400
you do radiology, even though there's the radiologist who's kind

413
00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:09.119
of the doctor, you also have a very important support team.

414
00:27:09.319 --> 00:27:12.400
And I couldn't have done it without Paul. He was

415
00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:16.480
really excellent. I didn't realize until many years later that

416
00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:19.359
he had killed a man. I thought it was bizarre.

417
00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:23.200
I just had no idea. And doctor Ajax George, who

418
00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:26.160
appeared in the angiogram scene with bates And said quote.

419
00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:30.319
People were shocked. There was no inkling in his behavior

420
00:27:30.359 --> 00:27:34.440
that would raise any suspicion. He was very good with patients,

421
00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:37.440
and he was extremely smart. He was an asset to

422
00:27:37.480 --> 00:27:41.480
the department. Now, whether or not you choose to believe

423
00:27:41.519 --> 00:27:45.279
in the Exorcist curse, it's impossible to ignore the strange

424
00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:49.640
events that unfold it on set. Equally undeniable is the

425
00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:54.079
fact that Paul Bateson, a man many including Arthur Bell,

426
00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:58.799
described as handsome and charismatic, may have fueled those rumors

427
00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:04.759
through his actions. Yet beyond the stories and speculation lies

428
00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:08.880
a terrible truth. He took the life of Addison Barrel,

429
00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:14.519
a man deeply loved and respected within his community. Addison's

430
00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:18.240
murder left a profound and devastating impact on those who

431
00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:21.440
knew him, and it's a loss that was made even

432
00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:25.599
more profound when taking into consideration that the media simply

433
00:28:25.640 --> 00:28:29.440
didn't care enough to talk about him. And that's made

434
00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:32.400
evident in the fact that it is so hard to

435
00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:38.200
find information about Addison's murder, about the bag murders, and

436
00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:44.519
even about Paul Bateson. There's really nothing out there. And

437
00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:46.920
it's sad to see that a man that was so

438
00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:50.240
well loved in his community and made such an impact

439
00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:55.160
with his commentary about the films he reviewed, has been

440
00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:59.359
essentially forgotten because the media couldn't be bothered to talk

441
00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:02.880
about him aster his death. And it's equally as sad

442
00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:06.400
that the victims of the bag murders have never been

443
00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:10.599
identified because the media couldn't be bothered to talk about

444
00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:14.240
the men who were killed when the remains were first found,

445
00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:16.960
which has absolutely helped contribute to the fact that none

446
00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:21.720
of these men have been identified yet. As always, I

447
00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:25.400
thank you so much for listening, and I hope you

448
00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:29.839
have a wonderful week. I will see you in the

449
00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:33.440
next chapter of the Book of the Dead. Bye, guys,

450
00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:40.119
Another page closed. But the story isn't over for the

451
00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:44.440
families left behind, the pain doesn't end when the headline's fade.

452
00:29:44.599 --> 00:29:47.559
And for the victims, we owe them more than silence

453
00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:52.359
for our on salt cases. If you have any information,

454
00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:55.400
please reach out to local authorities or visit our show

455
00:29:55.440 --> 00:29:59.960
notes for links and resources. Someone out there knows something,

456
00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:04.640
Maybe it's you. Thank you for listening to the Book

457
00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:07.720
of the Dead. If this story moved or spoke to

458
00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:11.559
you in some way, talk about it, share it, keep

459
00:30:11.640 --> 00:30:18.440
their names alive. Until next time, I'm Courtney Liso. Stay safe,

460
00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:23.640
stay curious, and stay vigilant. And remember the dead may

461
00:30:23.680 --> 00:30:27.000
be gone, but their stories will not be forgotten.