Episode 3

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Published on:

5th Jun 2025

Season 1: State v Steffen Baldwin / Episode 3: Who is Steffen Baldwin?

Season 1: State vs Steffen Baldwin / Episode 3: Who is Steffen Baldwin?

Steffen Baldwin fooled the animal welfare world with his “masked persona”, presenting himself as a dog savior when in fact he was harming and killing the dogs he was asked to help. But how does someone evolve into this? What factors in someone’s childhood effect the person we become?

In this episode, Author James Renner, talks about his research into Baldwin’s childhood and early adulthood to help our audience understand a bit of the person behind the mask. We may not truly understand him, but this will give us some insight to the early influences that helped developed him into the monster he became.

RATE, SHARE and LIKE this episode to help us reach more people! This can happen anywhere, and together we can make a difference in the lives of animals our communities.

Transcript
DrG:

Hi, and welcome to the Animal Welfare Junction.

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This is your host, Dr.

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G, and our music is written

and produced by Mike Sullivan.

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Today, this is Episode Three

of our Season One series, State

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of Ohio versus Steffen Baldwin.

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And this episode is named "Who

is Steffen Baldwin", because

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some of our followers may know

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some things about him.

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But I don't know that anybody

really knows who Steffen was or is.

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So today we're gonna learn

a little bit about him.

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Uh, just a reminder for our listeners, the

series talks about sensitive topics such

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as animal abuse and domestic violence.

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So take care of yourself if

there's a part of this podcast

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that is hard for you to listen,

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take a break, hit the fast forward

button, and, you know, come back

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when, come back where you're ready.

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Um, today we have a really special guest.

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We have author James Renner here

to discuss with us about Steffen.

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Thank you so much for being here.

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Welcome to the Junction.

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James Renner: Yeah, no, thank

you very much for having me.

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It's, it's interesting, I, I met you

in court and, uh, I remember giving

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you a card and, um, it, I did not know

the kind of tornado of activity that

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would follow that, that, that meeting.

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And then, you know, here, here we are

talking about it, you know, a couple

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months later and it's still one of the

most bizarre stories I've ever heard.

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DrG: Yeah.

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Right.

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And, and it's like the last episode

was "The Rabbit Hole" because, I

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mean it is a rabbit hole and, and

you could not ask for more different

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types of scams in one individual.

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Yes.

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As all the things that,

that Steffen has done.

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James Renner: That's for sure.

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Yeah.

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It's, it's, you know, as I feel kind

of like an archeologist digging into

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his past and trying to figure out

like what's, what's authentic and, and

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what's not, what's stuff that he just

made up and it's been very difficult.

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But I do have a, a little

insight into, you know, who he

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was and, and where he came from.

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DrG: For members of our audience that may

not know who you are, can you let them

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know who you are and what you normally do?

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James Renner: Um, my name's James Renner.

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Uh, I'm a native Ohioan.

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I live here in, uh, Akron, Ohio.

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And, uh, I am mostly known

for, uh, my true crime books.

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Um, I started out as a reporter, uh, at

a place up here called Scene, kind of

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like our village voice, uh, newspaper.

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And after, uh, Scene I be,

I wrote books full time.

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I've written a couple novels,

but mostly true crime.

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Books.

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I'm mostly known for my book on

the disappearance of Maura Murray.

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Uh, it's called True Crime

Addict, and it came out in:

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And this is about, uh, a young

woman who, um, was a student at the

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University of Massachusetts Amherst.

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And, in February of 2004, she

emailed her professors and said,

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there's been a death in the family.

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Hold my work till the end of the week.

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And that was a lie.

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Nobody died in her family.

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She went to the bank, emptied out

her bank account, which was only

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about 280 bucks or something, bought

a bunch of liquor, way more liquor

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than like one person would need.

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Then drove up into the White Mountains of

New Hampshire and around 7:30 that night,

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she crashed into a snowbank in front

of like three houses on a country road.

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And so the people living in

those homes heard the crash.

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They called 911.

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Between the time of the accident

and when the first officer responded

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to the scene, it's a window of

about five to seven minutes.

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And sometime in that span of

five to seven minutes more

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disappears, never to be seen again.

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They never found a body.

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Uh, they don't know what happened to her.

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They don't even know why she was up

in the MO mountains to begin with.

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But of course, uh, Maura, um, one

thing you should know about her

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is before she became a student at

University of Massachusetts Amherst,

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she was a cadet at West Point.

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And that becomes important in this story.

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Uh, so, um, yeah, I'm a

journalist, I'm a writer.

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I've, I've a storyteller.

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That's, that's what I do.

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DrG: Yeah.

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And you bringing this up, because

that's kind of why we met, right?

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Like you, you were not at Steffen's

sentencing necessarily because of

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the crimes that he had done about the

animals, but it's because he is somewhat

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related to the Maura Murray story.

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James Renner: Correct, yes.

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So again, the book came out in 2016, and

I still get tips sometimes about the case.

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I've got a website about the case,

so people find me pretty easily.

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But over the years, those tips have

kind of died off, uh, quite a bit.

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But I was in, in March, um, one day.

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It's a Thursday.

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I'm, I'm sitting, uh, working

on my podcast and planning

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to have just a normal day.

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I got my cup of coffee.

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I sat down nine o'clock, I think

it was 9:00 AM on the nose.

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My phone rings.

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And on the other end is, um, a,

uh, a person who knows about the

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case and, uh, you know, it was

a, became a source for the story.

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And they, they said, Hey,

uh, do you want to, um.

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Can I tell you a story?

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And I, I'm always, you know, sure.

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You, you called me, you know, I,

I'm assuming it's about a crime.

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Let's, let's talk.

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And they, they started telling me

the story about Steffen Baldwin

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and, you know, everything that

happened with these, these animals.

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And, you know, it was a

terrible story, but I had no

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idea what it had to do with me.

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And, you know, we talked for about

20 minutes and finally I'm like.

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You know, um, I, you know, I had this

thought even like, oh, I'm, you know,

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I gotta find a way to get out of this

conversation 'cause you know, this doesn't

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have anything to do with what I'm doing.

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And then this person tells me that, um,

after they happened to know that after,

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uh, Baldwin was arrested, the police

entered his fingerprints into aphis,

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which is the database that the FBI keeps

for fingerprints, and the next day.

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The New Hampshire State Police called

police here in Ohio and said, Hey,

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uh, we got a match to this fingerprint

that you just put up in our database,

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and it's a match to the unsolved

disappearance of Maura Murray.

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And so suddenly my ears perked up.

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I'm like, oh, okay.

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I know why this person is calling me now.

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So when Maura Murray got into that

accident, they processed the car

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and they dusted it for prints.

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Somewhere inside the car, and I've

been told by, by Steffen himself that

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it was found on a CD or CD case that

that's where they found his fingerprint.

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I have not been able to confirm

that with with police, so I don't

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know for sure if that's where his

fingerprint was, but they found his

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fingerprint connected to the case.

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And the lead detective at the

time for the Maura Murray case

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was a man named Chuck West.

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And when he spoke to police

here in Ohio, he told them

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Steffen had become his number

one suspect in the case.

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And so suddenly I'm like, wow, I

gotta, I gotta, I gotta see if I

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can, what's going on with Steffen.

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I gotta see if I can talk to this guy.

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And I was told that his

sentencing was that very day.

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And uh, you know, coincidentally it's

here in Ohio, you know, I think it was

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about a two hour drive from me, so.

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I jumped in the car right away and

I drove down to the courthouse.

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I'm not gonna pass up that opportunity.

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And so I get to the courthouse about

a half an hour before the sentencing,

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and I walk into the courthouse and, uh,

you know, it's a, a Union County right?

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Is where it was.

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Yeah.

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And it's a, yeah.

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Correct.

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I mean, it's a very small courthouse.

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It's a, um, and so there, there's

not a lot of places to go anyways.

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I, I walk into the courthouse.

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Walk upstairs and there's Steffen

standing outside the courtroom

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doors next to his lawyer.

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And I go up and introduce myself

and uh, and I realized this is

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probably the only opportunity I'm

gonna get to talk to this guy.

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So I started asking him

questions right away.

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I said, you, do you remember Maura Murray?

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And he said, yes.

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He said they met at West Point

when they were both cadets there.

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This would've been back

in:

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Maura Murray was a cadet, Steffen was

there, and, uh, he said they met there

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and he was very, very fond of her.

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He, he cared a lot for her.

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And, I then learned that when they kind of

met when she got in trouble at West Point.

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Uh, one of the times she got in

trouble at West Point, and according

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to Steffen, and I'd heard this rumor

before, but Maura was found, uh, after

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a night of partying, found passed

out on the lawn, uh, on, on campus.

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And that's a big, that's

a, that's a big deal.

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That's a big infraction.

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So she had to go in front of

the judicial review board.

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And Steffen was one of the students

that was helping with that, that

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process, and helped her through the

process of the judicial review board.

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And they, for whatever reason, connected,

um, you know, that's kind of a pattern

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in Steffen's life, you know, these, these

women that, that he meets and quickly

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becomes, um, closer with, uh, and.

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Uh, that's what, that's

what happened there.

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He, um, you know, they, he said that he

was in a relationship with Maura for a

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little while and, uh, there is a little

bit of proof of that, uh, because, um,

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they both got in trouble one day when

another cadet walked into Steffen's room

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and discovered Maura and Steffen in bed.

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At West Point, it's a big deal.

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If you're caught, the, the way they refer

to it is if you're on the same horizontal

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surface as a member of the opposite

sex, that's, that's a big infraction.

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So, uh, Steffen got into some trouble

for that and, and so did Maura.

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Um, and, you know, so they, uh,

essentially they were kind of hooking

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up, you know, as, as young people do.

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And he wanted, wanted it to be a little

bit more, and thought that maybe it

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was, but then one day they're on a bus

traveling somewhere and he asks her

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to sit with him and she, she says, no,

I've, I'm kind of seeing this other guy.

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And that's when she went over and

sat next to this guy named Bill

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Roush, who she ends up in a very,

um, long-term relationship with.

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And he was her boyfriend at

the time of the disappearance.

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So, um, you know, he has this interaction

with Maura and I, you know, I said, well,

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hey, you know, how'd your fingerprint

get in her car when she went missing?

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Because you knew her in 2001

and she went missing in:

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Um, and he, and he said, that's when

he said that the FBI who talked to

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him just a year ago, by the way,

he was, you know, so he is still

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interesting to the investigation.

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Um, they, he says that they told him

his fingerprint was found on a cd and

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he's like, yeah, we used to, you know.

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When we were hanging out, I'd make CDs for

her, I'd burn CDs, and I'd give it to her.

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Um, you know, it as kind of like a mix

tape, and he says, so that's, that's

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why my CD's on the car, uh, in the car.

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Or why my fingerprint's in the car.

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But, you know, I have a lot of

questions about that, you know, the

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least of which is like, how long

does a fingerprint, uh, stay on a cd?

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Uh, especially one that, you know,

more of a, if you're listening to those

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CDs a lot, my biggest question is, was

it on the CD that was actually in the

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player at the time of the accident?

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That would be very interesting

to me, but the police have

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been very quiet about that.

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Um, oh, one other thing about West

Point that I found interesting is that

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Steffen, neither Steffen nor Maura

actually completed West Point, and

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they both left this institution that

you fight really hard to get into.

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They both left within like

a week or two of each other.

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Steffen left in December of 2001

and Maura left in January of:

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Um, the reason she, she left is she

was, uh, she got caught stealing

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from the commissary at Fort Knox

and they were going to remove

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her from the Corps of Cadets.

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Uh, but they allowed her to

withdraw before her, you know,

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quote unquote sentencing.

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So she had to leave.

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Um, he, it was kind of

his choice to leave.

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And, and for somebody like Steffen who

really doesn't like to fail in anything,

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um, there's, that's a big question for me.

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Like, why did Steffen leave West Point

when he only had two years to, to go?

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Um.

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So, and, and maybe he even had

less, he might have been three

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years into it, I don't know.

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Um, so yeah, so that's, that's his

intersection with the Maura Murray case.

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And so since I've learned that, I've

been doing a, a lot of research into

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who this guy is and where he comes

from, and, you know, I can, I'm

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happy to go into that a little bit.

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DrG: No, absolutely.

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I mean, and you know, people.

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Ask me about, this is really interesting,

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do you think that he could

have hurt a person or whatever.

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But I do veterinary forensics and I

know that there's a link between animal

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cruelty and interpersonal violence,

and somebody that's cruel to animals

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can be violent to people as well.

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So we'll see how, how this develop

and hopefully we can have a bonus

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episode at the end of the series

about, yeah, Steffen and and Maura, so.

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Sure.

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Guess what I let, let's start

at the beginning, like, who

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was Steffen, uh, as a child?

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Like what was his upbringing?

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James Renner: So it's my

understanding that, um, and I

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have talked to Steffen's father.

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I had a, I had a short interview with him.

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Um, so it's coming from that.

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It's also coming from Steffen's

autobiography, which I

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was able to get a copy of.

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He was, he had written like more

than a hundred pages of this.

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Autobiography that he was

keeping in on his computer.

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And that became a part of

discovery in this whole case.

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It was part of what they

swiped from the computer.

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So I was able to read that and

that gave some insight too.

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But, um, so, you know, he comes from a,

um, a big family, but at the beginning

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it was just him and his older brother

and they both had the same mom and dad,

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uh, lived in New Jersey at the time.

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And his parents went through

a very contentious divorce

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when Steffen was still young.

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And, um, uh, he and his brother and his

mom kind of disappeared for a while.

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Uh, his mom kind of absconded with

the boys and his father didn't know

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where she was for, for a while.

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And then he gets a call one day

and it's from the mother, Barbara.

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His mom's name is Barbara and

she calls him from California and

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says, we've moved to California.

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Um, you know, the boys need you.

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Uh, and so to his credit, he was living in

New York at the time, I believe upstate.

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He moves to California, upends his life,

and, and moves to be closer to the boys.

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Uh, and,

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coincidentally, he was in the

animal, uh, care business.

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You know, he's running a, um, a, a, a

non, I believe it was a nonprofit too.

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But he was, he was working with

animal care, uh, out there, and he

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ends up taking custody of the brother

and Steffen stays with his mother.

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And that ends up having

a big impact on his life.

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Because according to him, his mother

was very abusive, would often hit

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him, would always yell at him.

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They lived in dirt poor neighborhoods,

uh, around LA, so it was also dangerous.

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He said, uh, you know, in his

autobiography he talks about

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just reading books at home.

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And because he, there's, it was too

dangerous to go outside to play.

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That's kind of, but you know, because

of all that reading, he excelled at

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school, which is how he eventually gets

on the track of getting into the West

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Point Academy that feeds in, or the west.

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It's kind of a West Point prep school

that feeds into, that's how he gets

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into the West Point, um, academy.

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So, uh, he, you know, he,

he's very, very intelligent.

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Um.

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He had definitely been

abused in his childhood.

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He has a very contentious

relationship with his mother.

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Um, and it was a rough, you

know, no doubt about it.

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He had a very rough childhood and, um,

you know, there were, it sounds like there

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were times that if they weren't homeless,

they were pretty darn close to it.

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Uh, he was homeless for a time as an adult

around the time that Maura went missing.

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Um, there is a chunk of time, from

when he leaves West Point in December

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of 2001 to when he, he starts

popping up again like around:

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And by then he's living

in California again.

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There's, there's chunk of like

three years where it's really hard

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to find anything out about the guy.

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Um, but he eventually marries

a, a woman out in California.

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That's how, in a way, he comes to Ohio

because she was originally from Ohio.

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They started having trouble

in their relationship.

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Um, he claims that she was abusive

to him, um, just like his mother.

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Um, and they end up moving to

ohio to try to save the marriage.

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They get to Ohio, they, they get,

they break up, they get divorced.

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And that's, that's kind

of what leads him here.

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And that's when he starts getting

involved with the animals here in Ohio.

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Um, there are a couple weird

things about his, his family.

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His mother's missing.

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Um, which when I first heard that, I'm

like, really like, and, but I looked

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into it and sure enough, nobody's really

eard from the mom since about:

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I.

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Uh, you know, it's strange.

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Uh, when I talked to his father, he said,

you know, he said something strange too.

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He said, yeah, nobody's

heard from her since:

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As far as I know, she could be dead

and buried in the desert, which is

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very, you know, that's kind of an

odd, very specific jump to make.

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Yeah.

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DrG: Yeah.

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James Renner: So I don't

know what's up with that.

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Steffen, from what I understand,

turned down some offers from people

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that, uh, offered to try to find her.

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Um, and then here's another odd

thing about Steffen and the timing

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around the Maura Murray case.

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He so in Maura disappears

in February,:

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About, so that happens in February.

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In, I think August, later that summer,

he starts applying to change his name

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because when he was at West Point

and all the way up until, uh, the

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end of 2004, he was known as Steffen

Finkelstein, and everybody at West

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Point remembers him as, as Finkelstein

or Fink, you know, they called him.

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And so, but then just a couple months

after Maura disappears, he, this adult

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man is like, I gotta change my name.

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And that's when he

becomes Steffen Baldwin.

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Uh, Baldwin was his mother's maiden name,

and when somebody asks him, he's like,

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well, I did that to honor my mother,

you know, the mother who's now missing.

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And, you know, he doesn't really seem too

interested in trying to track her path.

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Uh, yeah.

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So it's, it's very strange the

timing of that name change.

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It's very rare for a man to

change their name, you know?

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Um, especially at that age.

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I've seen it with like teens and, and

children who, you know, wanna honor

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their, like, adopted father or something.

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But, you know, the dude's like,

what, 24 years old at the time?

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Um, 23, somewhere around there.

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So, yeah.

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It's, you know, everything

about this guy's strange.

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But, so to sum it up, he, he,

he had an abusive background.

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In his autobiography, he talks a lot

about how he puts on this mask of being

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this happy, easy to like type of guy,

but inside, you know, it's, it's dark

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and he doesn't really understand himself.

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Um, and he judges people and thinks

he's smarter than everybody else.

352

:

And, uh, you know, he, in his

autobiography says that he always thought

353

:

he'd end up either homeless or dead or in

prison, and he just has this sense of doom

354

:

that that's where his life is gonna lead.

355

:

Like.

356

:

Why do you think that, you know, why,

what is it that's happened that you think

357

:

that that's the, the outcome of your life?

358

:

And I guess now, you

know, he, he was right.

359

:

You know, he's in prison.

360

:

DrG: Yeah.

361

:

And I know that he, he often

mentioned about her, his mom

362

:

having mental health problems.

363

:

I think he even said that she

was bipolar and then she was

364

:

either into drugs and or alcohol.

365

:

So that was part of the, part of the

problem that he had with her growing up.

366

:

And I remember him being

on a, on a podcast.

367

:

Um.

368

:

That he was talking about how he

enrolled in the military because

369

:

he needed to get away from his mom.

370

:

James Renner: Mm-hmm.

371

:

DrG: Right.

372

:

Yeah.

373

:

And, but

374

:

James Renner: then you're gonna change

your name to your mother's name, right.

375

:

Why do you do that?

376

:

DrG: It's, yeah, exactly.

377

:

It's like this person is abusing me and,

uh, you know, has made my life miserable.

378

:

And I ran away from her.

379

:

And, and he changed his name

before he, she disappeared.

380

:

James Renner: Yeah.

381

:

Yeah.

382

:

Very bizarre.

383

:

DrG: The, the other thing that

that is of interest is like you

384

:

see patterns repeating, right?

385

:

When people have traumas in childhood,

then they can potentially bring

386

:

those traumas into adulthood and

either be a victim or victimized.

387

:

And it feels like his relationships

with women, uh, I mean, he talks

388

:

about himself being a victim with

his wife, whether that's true or not.

389

:

We don't know, but his relationships

with other girlfriends, it's almost

390

:

like he was making them into his mother.

391

:

James Renner: Oh yeah.

392

:

I could definitely see that.

393

:

I don't think that's a big leap at all.

394

:

I've talked to a couple of his former

girlfriends and he was abusive.

395

:

You know, he was a very scary individual.

396

:

He lived with a woman out

in California for a while.

397

:

I think, I think it was even like after

he knew he was under investigation

398

:

here in Ohio, um, and that he probably

knew this indictment was coming down.

399

:

He entered into this relationship

and kind of tricked this woman into

400

:

thinking he was somebody he was not.

401

:

And uh, she is so upset, she was very

nice, but she cannot talk about it yet.

402

:

You know, she can't talk about anything

that happened yet because she's still

403

:

processing the, what he put her through.

404

:

Um, there was a, a girlfriend

here in Ohio that I spoke to

405

:

that says he pulled a gun on her.

406

:

Um, and that, you know, was, was

same thing, just a scary guy when

407

:

he'd, when he'd take that mask off

and show them who he really was.

408

:

So, um, yeah.

409

:

Uh, and, but, so I don't think it's a

big leap that he was, you, you know,

410

:

that these women were in some way, like

a substitute for his mother and trying

411

:

to act out like how in his mind he, he

should have acted to her back in the day.

412

:

I can definitely see that.

413

:

DrG: Yeah.

414

:

Kind of like he was, uh, you

know, he was a child and he was.

415

:

Unable to defend himself from his

mom and now he's, you know, getting,

416

:

getting women who are vulnerable, who

are young and then getting them in

417

:

this path of destruction and you know,

to a point then standing up to them.

418

:

Yeah.

419

:

And, you know, taking it out on them

the way that maybe he wishes that he had

420

:

done to his mom, or, I mean, his mom is

missing maybe what he did to his mom.

421

:

James Renner: Well, you know, he also

has two former girlfriends who are dead.

422

:

I, I, strike that.

423

:

You know, maybe three.

424

:

You know, we don't know

what happened to Maura.

425

:

Um, but the two here in Ohio,

although, you know, very unlikely he

426

:

had anything directly to do with it.

427

:

You know, the police believe

it was the way he treated these

428

:

women that led them to, you know,

one had a, a, an a car accident.

429

:

She was, she had, um, drugs in her

system, the other, you know, overdosed.

430

:

And she was sober before

Steffen pulled her into his, um,

431

:

influence and it messed her up.

432

:

And, you know, you know the story better

than I do, but you know, it's one guy who

433

:

is the common link to three, you know, to,

to two dead women and two missing women.

434

:

Uh, you know, you at some point you

have to like, ask yourself like, what

435

:

are the, you know, what are the odds?

436

:

For, for all that to be innocent.

437

:

Um, you know, who, who else is

connected to that, that much,

438

:

you know, just bad things.

439

:

And, and Carmen, and we haven't

even talked about the animals,

440

:

you know, and this guy left a

path of destruction in his wake.

441

:

I.

442

:

DrG: And, you know, again, that's

where I, I wouldn't doubt if he's

443

:

related to anything with Maura or

his mom or anything like that, just

444

:

because it, it follows a pattern.

445

:

And, and he was very good at showing,

like, he even says his mask, you know,

446

:

he would go in front of of people and

be very well spoken and listen and

447

:

process and understand what you wanted.

448

:

And then.

449

:

That was what he wanted as well.

450

:

Yeah.

451

:

Right.

452

:

So your goals were his goals,

and that's how he got, you know,

453

:

the trust of a lot of people.

454

:

But on the inside he was

a, a very dark person.

455

:

James Renner: Yeah.

456

:

I also think, you know, he talks

in his autobiography a little bit

457

:

about how he, he doesn't really

even know, you know who he is.

458

:

You know, that I, I think whatever, like

the, the original Steffen that was in

459

:

there, I think got lost through all the

abuse and everything else that happened,

460

:

and I think he was becoming aware of that.

461

:

I don't think Steffen knew who he was.

462

:

Um, and I, I think that was a, a major

source of, of conflict inside his mind.

463

:

Um, it's, it's certainly interesting,

uh, so you know whether or not he, is it,

464

:

what I'm interested in is trying to figure

out if I can link him to Maura after they

465

:

left West Point and I asked him, when

we talked that day at the courthouse,

466

:

I said, did you, you know, did, did you

ever see Maura again after West Point?

467

:

And he said, no, no, no, no, no.

468

:

That was the last time I saw her.

469

:

He said, uh, in fact, I've

never been north of Connecticut.

470

:

But in his, uh, in some of his text

messages, he's talking about places that

471

:

he'd loved to live, and one of them is New

Hampshire, where more Murray disappeared.

472

:

And that's a weird thing to say,

like if you haven't ever been there,

473

:

like how would you know you'd like

it enough to wanna live there?

474

:

But that's not proof.

475

:

Um, but he did lie when he said he

is never been north of Connecticut.

476

:

I did find out that he was at a party

with some West Point cadets in Boston,

477

:

but that might be, you know, maybe he

didn't count that because it was just a

478

:

weekend and not too far north anyways.

479

:

Um, but, you know, he, he definitely was.

480

:

DrG: Another of the things is like

the relationship with his dad, right?

481

:

Mm.

482

:

Like there's, there's a lot with

that, including the fact that he

483

:

hired somebody to find his dad.

484

:

Is that, is that correct?

485

:

James Renner: I.

486

:

I never found anything about him

trying to track down his dad.

487

:

I think I remember hearing that rumor,

but as far as like the stuff on his

488

:

computer from, I mean, I was able to

find his dad in about five minutes.

489

:

You know, he's not that

difficult to track down, so it's

490

:

a weird thing for him to say.

491

:

Um, and uh, I did, when I did talk

to his dad, I could tell that his

492

:

dad does care for Steffen, because

I was, I was the one that told his

493

:

dad that Steffen was in prison.

494

:

He, he didn't know that.

495

:

And I talked to him, I think, uh,

Baldwin was sentenced on a Thursday.

496

:

And then I talked to, I think I

talked to the dad on a Saturday.

497

:

Um, so it was still pretty new.

498

:

And when I told him that his son

was in prison, you know, for maybe

499

:

15 years, uh, you could, it took

the wind out of him, you know?

500

:

Which is weird when put next to

Steffen's autobiography because there

501

:

are stories in there about his father.

502

:

He claims that his father was abusive.

503

:

Um, and there's a letter that he wrote

to his father that's just scathing.

504

:

But, uh, I, other than like him

not adopting Steffen, um, and from

505

:

my understanding it was Steffen's

choice to stay with his mother.

506

:

But, um, I can't find anything

that suggests that the father was

507

:

actually abusive or dangerous the

way that Steffen makes him out to be.

508

:

DrG: I mean, if Steffen made the

choice, why did he made the choice

509

:

to stay with his mom versus go with

his dad and is it like a regret

510

:

that he made the wrong decision.

511

:

Mm-hmm.

512

:

And he has to say, well, I didn't

go with him because he was abusive.

513

:

James Renner: Yes.

514

:

You know?

515

:

Yeah.

516

:

My hunch is that, that he made that

decision because there was, you know,

517

:

his father would've supervised him,

you know, that, but with his mother,

518

:

there, there was no supervision.

519

:

You know, there was, there was no money

and, you know, hard to get food, but at

520

:

least she wasn't telling him, you know?

521

:

Um, she wasn't, I don't know, he could

pretty much do what he wanted as long as

522

:

he stayed inside and, and read his books.

523

:

DrG: In some of the future episodes we're

gonna be talking to people from, um, Top

524

:

of Ohio Shelter, TOPS , which is somewhere

that he worked for a bit of time.

525

:

And one of the, one of the issues that

they were having was about how he,

526

:

like he wouldn't show up to work or

he came into work and would disappear,

527

:

uh, for hours and, and not clock in.

528

:

And he admits to some of

that in his biography, right?

529

:

James Renner: Yeah.

530

:

In his biography, he very

clear about what he was doing.

531

:

He's like, "yeah, I was

supposed to be at work.

532

:

And, you know, uh, I instead I'd blow off,

you know, these, these people that were

533

:

counting on me and go home and spend the

day watching porn and masturbating and

534

:

getting high", you know, and, uh, there

was a part of him very clearly that not

535

:

entirely in control of his compulsions.

536

:

And I'm, I'm, I'm glad you mentioned

this too, you know that the times

537

:

that he isn't where he is supposed

to be because his girlfriends too,

538

:

Talk about how he would take

these trips and disappear for

539

:

sometimes a week at a time.

540

:

Didn't know where, where they were.

541

:

There was one girlfriend he had in

here in Ohio where he took off on

542

:

a trip and you know, it three or

four days into it, you know, he left

543

:

her to take care of the dogs, and

you know, she's having a hard time.

544

:

So she calls him and he yells at

her for interrupting his "me time",

545

:

you know, for, for his alone time.

546

:

And, and he's traveling the country.

547

:

He's just like driving around the country.

548

:

Um, and the, when I heard about that,

of course my mind goes to Israel Keys,

549

:

you know, this, this famous serial

killer who would just, uh, same thing.

550

:

You know, he had kind of a normal life,

but he would just disappear sometimes

551

:

and he would disappear and take these,

he would take a flight and then he'd

552

:

rent a car from wherever he landed,

and he'd drive a thousand miles and

553

:

commit these crimes and then drive back.

554

:

And like he was trying

to cover his tracks.

555

:

I'm not saying that, that

that's, that's who Steffen is.

556

:

I don't know.

557

:

But these actions are the actions of a

sociopath, you know, and, and somebody

558

:

capable of being that type of person.

559

:

DrG: I think that sociopath is the,

is the right word for him because,

560

:

you know, sociopaths lack empathy.

561

:

They take advantage of people and

they have no cares for the harm

562

:

that they're causing to people.

563

:

Yeah.

564

:

Um, and those are some of the things

that we're gonna discuss as well

565

:

is like, you know, some of the

people that he harmed, like he stole

566

:

money from a homeless person, like.

567

:

Who does that, right?

568

:

And, and he just moves on and doesn't care

like the people that he was taking the

569

:

animals and he's doing these things and

he's hurting them and he doesn't care.

570

:

His girlfriends, you know, and, and he,

he talks about how he was so affected

571

:

by, uh, his one girlfriend's death

in particular, but he never showed

572

:

that actual, you know, being upset.

573

:

It's again, just telling people what

he feels that they wanna hear or

574

:

they need to hear to believe him.

575

:

Yeah,

576

:

James Renner: I don't think he understands

what the emotions are, or empathy is.

577

:

Like, it's, it's even more

than like, lacking it.

578

:

I don't think he understands what it is.

579

:

Um, and you know, I, I'm sure a lot

of that can be attributed to the

580

:

abuse in, in childhood, but, um.

581

:

He's definitely a, a very interesting

psychological study for somebody.

582

:

You know, even the, how he drifted

into the field of caring for these

583

:

dangerous, potentially dangerous animals

is interesting to me because one,

584

:

it's what his dad did and, you know,

according to him, he hated, his dad.

585

:

Never wanted to be like him, but he, he

did the exact same thing his dad did.

586

:

But also like, does he feel some sort of

kinship with these, with these animals?

587

:

Because he knows like, is that what he is?

588

:

You know, is he a dangerous

animal that is trying to be

589

:

rehabilitated, trying to be better?

590

:

Um, I think there's a very

interesting parallel with, with that.

591

:

But I don't know.

592

:

Yeah.

593

:

Well, I'm not a psychologist.

594

:

Right.

595

:

DrG: And and the scary part of that though

is that if that's what he was doing, you

596

:

know, he was ending up giving these happy

stories of adoption and rehabilitation,

597

:

but in reality, he was killing these dogs.

598

:

Yeah.

599

:

So what, you know, if he's looking at

it that way, what was his end game like?

600

:

You know, is, was he just trying

to, to find the happy place?

601

:

And if not, then that was the end.

602

:

James Renner: I always wonder that is

the, for as a true crime writer, that

603

:

is the most fascinating question for me.

604

:

I'm always wondering about

what these men's end games are.

605

:

Um, any, any serial killer, but any

conman too, they get so deep into it,

606

:

there's no way it can end well and.

607

:

So, and that had to be going

through his mind at some point.

608

:

He passed a point of no return

and, you know, had to know that

609

:

it was gonna catch up to him.

610

:

And, um, you know, I was thinking

about this the other day and

611

:

somebody had a quote from a movie I.

612

:

And I'm trying to remember what movie

it is and I, I, I'm drawing a blank, but

613

:

the, the quote, you know, this person

went up to, oh, I know what it was.

614

:

It was, uh, the, the

movie was Children of Men.

615

:

Have you ever seen it?

616

:

DrG: Yes, I have

617

:

James Renner: very good sci-fi,

but like grounded in reality movie.

618

:

And there's this, uh, businessman,

you know, dealer who, you know,

619

:

the world is falling apart.

620

:

He's gathered like priceless

art in his, in his house, and

621

:

he's still like conning people.

622

:

And the the main character goes

up to him and says, you know,

623

:

how do you think this ends?

624

:

Like, aren't you, you know, don't

you know that like you, you shouldn't

625

:

be having a good time, that this

is not gonna end well for you.

626

:

And what he says in response

is, I just don't think about it.

627

:

I think that's, that's

what these people are like.

628

:

They just don't think about it.

629

:

Um, and if you can put those

blinders on, you can pretend

630

:

that the end is not gonna come.

631

:

DrG: And I mean, for him, he got away with

things for such a long period of time.

632

:

Right.

633

:

That if you can get away with

it and then you step it up.

634

:

You get away with that and you step

it up and you get away with it.

635

:

I mean, it's never ending.

636

:

Like he's, he's getting reinforced

by those around him that he can

637

:

do whatever he wants with zero

consequence to his actions.

638

:

James Renner: Yeah.

639

:

I wonder like if we could peak five

years into the future, like how much

640

:

more we, we will know, you know, about

what he's responsible for and how long

641

:

he is gotten away with that stuff.

642

:

DrG: No.

643

:

Absolutely.

644

:

Do you think, you know, like he, he

talks about the reasons that he moved,

645

:

um, or he stayed in Ohio was because of

his kid, but then he went to California.

646

:

Like, is there anything on his

autobiography or anything that

647

:

talks about him as a father,

how he sees himself as a father?

648

:

James Renner: Yeah, he talks about

that a little bit, um, in that like

649

:

the first time he felt any sort of

650

:

empathy and emotion was

when his son was born.

651

:

But I gotta tell you, I don't

know that I believe that either.

652

:

And, and here's, here's why.

653

:

Because there's, um, evidence from

other witnesses and his texts and

654

:

emails where, um, you know, he's driving

around in the, in his car with his

655

:

son completely high out of his mind.

656

:

And, um, but he has a rule that like,

he won't get high if there's, there's

657

:

somebody else's kid is in there with him.

658

:

But he doesn't care if

it's his own kid, you know?

659

:

So maybe he felt a little something,

but, you know, even with his own kid,

660

:

you know, he's putting his, his son in

danger without really caring about it.

661

:

And he is, you know, when

somebody questions him about

662

:

it, he's like, no, it's my kid.

663

:

What, you know, I can do whatever I want.

664

:

DrG: Yeah.

665

:

And well, and when he, when he.

666

:

Fled to California thinking that he was

gonna be able to avoid the investigation

667

:

and the charges here in Ohio, you, I,

I have a kid that is about his son's

668

:

age, and to me, I would not move.

669

:

I don't care about the job.

670

:

I don't care about what I.

671

:

Waits for me on the other end

if I'm so attached to my child

672

:

that I wanna stay with them.

673

:

Right?

674

:

Yeah.

675

:

I either take my kid with me or I

stick around until my kid is an adult

676

:

and then he can make his own decisions

and then I can, I can move on.

677

:

So that was kind of out of

character for somebody that says

678

:

that he loves his kids so much.

679

:

James Renner: Yeah, you don't,

yeah, you don't abandon your

680

:

kid, you know, no matter what.

681

:

Um, I think that's very telling.

682

:

DrG: Yeah.

683

:

And, and for somebody who feels

that he himself was abandoned or he

684

:

was not treated well, right, yeah.

685

:

You would think that he more

than anybody would wanna shelter

686

:

if he truly feels that way.

687

:

James Renner: You know, something else

that I noticed, um, you know, especially

688

:

after reading all this stuff, uh,

that he even says in his own words,

689

:

you know, he's, so, even after all of

this, I know he's a dangerous person.

690

:

Um, I know he's done terrible things,

but when I met him outside the

691

:

courtroom that day, he's charming.

692

:

You know, he has a way of talking to

you and looking in your eyes that puts

693

:

you, at least at me, at that moment

when he wants to, puts you at ease.

694

:

And I find found myself like, feeling

a little sorry for him for a moment.

695

:

Um, and because he, you know, one

reason is he was acting like he was

696

:

walking out of the courtroom that day.

697

:

You know, I'm like, you

know, have you made plans?

698

:

Are you, you know,

taking care of yourself?

699

:

He's like, oh yeah, it'll be fine.

700

:

You know, I'm not worried.

701

:

And then he, you know, he goes in

there and he's not getting out for,

702

:

you know, 15, 15 and a half years.

703

:

Um, so he, even with all that

turmoil inside, he has a way to

704

:

mask and present as if he's done

nothing wrong and it's believable.

705

:

He's got some sort of

magic charisma, you know,

706

:

DrG: I mean, some of the,

well-known serial killers.

707

:

That's how they got their victims, right.

708

:

James Renner: Ted Bundy.

709

:

Yeah.

710

:

You know, handsome and could

convince you to do anything.

711

:

DrG: Exactly.

712

:

And you know, he has the, the whole,

his charisma and then he picked

713

:

the right, the right field animals.

714

:

Because that's where, you know, a

lot of people, people that, that care

715

:

about animals, like care about animals.

716

:

Yeah.

717

:

And it's, and sadly, it's easy to take

advantage of somebody that, that wants

718

:

to see the best for these animals.

719

:

James Renner: It ended up working out

very poorly for him too, because that

720

:

community is also very, like when you

do something wrong to an animal, they

721

:

will unite and burn the world down to

come after you, you know, which is what

722

:

he found out in the in the end there.

723

:

DrG: Does he talk at any point in

his autobiography or anywhere that

724

:

you have listened about his real

feelings as far as animals and the,

725

:

you know, the taking care of animals,

sheltering training, that kind of stuff?

726

:

James Renner: Not that I've seen, no.

727

:

Um, which is odd now that you mention it.

728

:

Um, I don't know that he is.

729

:

It, it, I don't know if he

feels that or, or processes.

730

:

I, I, I wish I could take a peek

inside his mind, but it seemed

731

:

very transactional to him.

732

:

Um, but you would, you would

know that better than me.

733

:

I mean, it, I, I think the way he defended

some of these, um, some of these animals

734

:

that, that died at, you know, uh, because

of his influence, um, at the very least.

735

:

Um, you know, oh, they were, you

know, um, they were dangerous anyways,

736

:

or, you know, they, you know, it's a

dog, you know, it's a, I don't know.

737

:

It was very odd.

738

:

DrG: Yeah.

739

:

That was, I know what to

740

:

James Renner: make of it.

741

:

DrG: I know that was something

really interesting in that

742

:

podcast that, that he spoke with.

743

:

That, you know, he, he talks about

how animals need rehabilitated, and

744

:

how he can learn about a

dog and all that stuff.

745

:

But then later on during it, he says

like that, like, it's just a dog.

746

:

Like it's, it's what they do.

747

:

Like, you know, you can't, you can't

change them, you can't fix them.

748

:

And he talks about how the best

predictor of an animal's future

749

:

actions is their past actions.

750

:

Mm-hmm.

751

:

DrG: But he also is trying to say

that this dog bit, but that doesn't

752

:

mean that it's gonna bite again.

753

:

So like all this contradiction of things.

754

:

James Renner: Yeah.

755

:

Yeah.

756

:

That's why I don't think there's,

it's almost like there's, there's

757

:

no like core to, to, to his psyche.

758

:

You know?

759

:

It just kind of like pivots to like

whoever he's talking to or whatever

760

:

he needs to get out of the situation.

761

:

But somewhere deep down they're,

they're, you know, I don't

762

:

know what that person is.

763

:

Um, yeah.

764

:

Yeah.

765

:

Again, a very interesting

psychological study, at the very least.

766

:

DrG: Yeah.

767

:

Knowing him and, you know, knowing all

the, all the lies that he, that he said

768

:

and all the things that he did, and how he

got away with things, that, that was the

769

:

first time that I really kind had a good

look into him was during that podcast.

770

:

Even though I don't feel that

he was telling the truth, I

771

:

could see how he had analyzed.

772

:

Oh yeah, the host.

773

:

Sure.

774

:

And he was telling the host, I mean,

he was one with the host, right?

775

:

Yeah.

776

:

Like every, every experience

that the host had, he had, yeah.

777

:

And it's like, yeah, man, me too.

778

:

Me too, me too.

779

:

And he bonded with this guy and he just

read him perfectly and he just told

780

:

him everything that he wanted to hear.

781

:

And that's where, you know,

like some of the things that.

782

:

In one place he says is not okay.

783

:

And that interview was okay because

that's where he felt that he needed to go.

784

:

So really, really good at reading people.

785

:

Absolutely.

786

:

And that's why he was able to

get away with things for so long.

787

:

James Renner: Absolutely.

788

:

I, I think, um, when I met him, you

know, there was, this has happened just

789

:

a couple times in my life with, with true

crime reporting, where I meet a suspect.

790

:

And,

791

:

he was like this where I could tell

he knew more about me within 10

792

:

seconds of meeting me and talking to

me than I would ever know about him.

793

:

Like it's a supernatural, almost

way that these people have of

794

:

reading another human being.

795

:

To know like, what buttons to

push, what things to say, what

796

:

this person needs to hear.

797

:

Um, I, I run into that just a couple

times and it's always creeped me out.

798

:

Um, but I never realized it until later.

799

:

I'm like, oh.

800

:

Oh, okay.

801

:

Um.

802

:

But was there ever a moment where you

got like a, just a red flag or, or just

803

:

a creepy feeling, a vibe or anything?

804

:

DrG: Yeah, I mean, when, like, to

start with, when I met Steffen, I

805

:

was giving a presentation on, I.

806

:

I say like, like signs of animal

neglect and I believe it was

807

:

primarily in puppy mill dogs.

808

:

And then he was presenting at

that same, uh, that same day.

809

:

And he was talking about like the,

the role of the animal control

810

:

officer and what people can do and.

811

:

He, he saw that I was interested

in animal cruelty and neglect.

812

:

Like back then forensics was not a huge

field and there wasn't a lot for me to do.

813

:

I had started, uh, well actually not

even at the, at that time I started

814

:

working with, uh, Humane World for

Animals, that was HSUS, years later.

815

:

But he picked up on the fact that

that's what I wanted to do, and

816

:

I think he figured, Hey, I, I.

817

:

I got this.

818

:

Right?

819

:

Yeah.

820

:

Like he, he came to me and he's like,

yeah, we can do this and boots on the

821

:

ground and I can do the investigation

and you can do the vetting.

822

:

And in my eyes it was like perfect.

823

:

Right?

824

:

Like I met the, almost like the

Mulder to the Scully, right?

825

:

Yeah.

826

:

Like that, that combination of people that

have a same goal and they bring different

827

:

things into that, that partnership.

828

:

Yeah.

829

:

DrG: And he, you know, and that's how

he was able to take advantage of it.

830

:

Now the, the thing with me

is that I'm, I'm personally

831

:

not a super trusting person.

832

:

Like that's just the, the way I am.

833

:

Uh, and I'm not also a

very emotional person.

834

:

So.

835

:

He knows what to say or whatever.

836

:

I never thought that he was cute.

837

:

I was never attracted to him.

838

:

I was never like, you know, into that.

839

:

So he, he didn't have that over

me that he had over other people

840

:

Yeah.

841

:

DrG: That wanted to be with him.

842

:

Yeah.

843

:

Like, I truly wanted a working

relationship and a partnership.

844

:

Sure.

845

:

Um, so as we started working in different

things, he started not, not doing the

846

:

things that he was responsible for.

847

:

And, and at first it's like,

well, he's just, you know,

848

:

scattered or irresponsible.

849

:

Yeah.

850

:

But it became a pattern.

851

:

Ah, so

852

:

DrG: little by little I started

doing less and less with him.

853

:

And then with money, it looked like

he was not utilizing money properly.

854

:

Yeah.

855

:

And that he was spending money

that was supposed to be for the

856

:

nonprofit on personal stuff.

857

:

Yeah.

858

:

So I started distancing myself from it.

859

:

Uh, I can say that I never in my wildest

dreams thought or knew that he was

860

:

doing the scam that he was doing as

far as saying that the animals were

861

:

adopted or that they were trained and

rehabilitated and euthanizing them.

862

:

James Renner: Ugh.

863

:

Yeah.

864

:

DrG: Um, you know, like that was,

that was a big hit for me because

865

:

we euthanized some of these dogs.

866

:

You know, there were a lot of

other veterinarians that, that,

867

:

that did it, and some other dogs

died under unknown conditions.

868

:

Yeah.

869

:

But.

870

:

DrG: It's the being used a weapon to

kill, kill these dogs for him, right?

871

:

Yeah.

872

:

Um, so, you know, the, the

manipulation to that point.

873

:

Um, but yeah, I, it,

it was, I would say I.

874

:

It probably took a good year, and I

feel like I worked with him for years.

875

:

I worked with him for almost,

for only about two years.

876

:

Wow.

877

:

And to me, it felt like an eternity.

878

:

Sure.

879

:

Right.

880

:

Um, and, and yeah, it's, you know, as

I said on my, uh, victim statement is,

881

:

I have to admit that he had me con too.

882

:

Yeah.

883

:

He knew how to, he knew what I,

what I needed and what I wanted.

884

:

He pretended to be able

to, to offer that to me.

885

:

Yeah.

886

:

Um, and you know, by the time we, we

found out it was a little bit too late.

887

:

James Renner: I wonder how he's

doing, um, how a personality

888

:

like that does in prison.

889

:

Like sometimes, you know, that's

the best place for them, the

890

:

structure, the routine of it.

891

:

Uh, but other times, like, it just,

you know, they just can't handle it.

892

:

And I, I like, I'm really wondering

like, which, which, which, how

893

:

that shakes out for him, you know?

894

:

DrG: Yeah.

895

:

And it's, yeah, it'll, it'll take

time to see how things go and if

896

:

he is able to get off early or if

he has to do his full sentencing.

897

:

And even if he, or when he gets out,

gonna be, it's gonna be interesting to

898

:

see how that, how that goes for him.

899

:

James Renner: And, and since he's

incarcerated now, they, they do have

900

:

his DNA on file, you know, if, if that

were to ever, you know, have any sort

901

:

of match, I mean, fingerprint and Maura

Murray's car maybe can be explained

902

:

away, but, you know, if, if they get,

uh, in any sort of DNA, but again,

903

:

we don't know what happened to Maura.

904

:

We don't know that it's a murder.

905

:

Um, we, you know, there's all sorts

of possibilities on the table.

906

:

All we know, you know, just like his

mother, all we know is she's missing.

907

:

Which again, is, you know, when

you think about it, it's very hard.

908

:

Um, people go missing, but usually they,

they're found or their body is found

909

:

and Maura has been missing since 2004.

910

:

His mother's been missing since 2007.

911

:

Nobody's found either

body, which is very rare.

912

:

Um, so yeah, that's

something I wonder about too.

913

:

DrG: Yeah, it, it's, I mean,

as you said, he is a very

914

:

interesting psychological case.

915

:

Yeah.

916

:

And it would be, it would be very

interesting if somebody decided to

917

:

take that on and try to figure out

what's going inside of, inside of his

918

:

head, if anybody can get it in there.

919

:

James Renner: Yeah.

920

:

DrG: Yeah, thank you for being here

and, and again, hopefully we can have an

921

:

update as far as your findings and let

people catch up on, on Maura's story.

922

:

James Renner: That'd be great.

923

:

Uh, in the meantime, I am

continuing to research into Steffen.

924

:

I'm reaching out to former

cadets at West Point.

925

:

Um.

926

:

If you knew him from West Point as Steffen

Finkelstein, I'd be very happy to talk, to

927

:

talk to you if you're listening to this.

928

:

And, um, so there, there are a

couple things that I'm trying

929

:

to, to trace down still.

930

:

Um, and, uh, you know, I, if

I find anything, I'll, I'll

931

:

absolutely let you know.

932

:

DrG: Excellent.

933

:

And how can people get ahold of you?

934

:

It's like if somebody has information,

how can they get that information to you?

935

:

James Renner: Yeah, all my contact

and anything you wanna know about

936

:

this is, um, at james renner.com.

937

:

DrG: Excellent.

938

:

Well, so

939

:

James Renner: that's the best place,

940

:

DrG: right?

941

:

Well, again, thank you for spending this

time for with us and going over this.

942

:

I think that it gives, especially

people that don't know who we're talking

943

:

about, and it'll give him a good idea.

944

:

And this sets a good base to start

talking about all the things that he did.

945

:

James Renner: Yeah.

946

:

Well, good luck with it.

947

:

I'm, I'm glad you're doing this

and, and it's important and I'm sure

948

:

it'll, um, kick up some new leads.

949

:

So, so keep doing what you're doing.

950

:

DrG: Excellent.

951

:

Thank you for being here and

for everybody that's listening.

952

:

Thank you for listening,

and thank you for caring.

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About the Podcast

The Animal Welfare Junction
Veterinary Forensics
The Animal Welfare Junction is a podcast developed to bring awareness to different topics in animal welfare. The host, Michelle Gonzalez (Dr. G) is a veterinarian who provides affordable veterinary care in the State of Ohio, and also a Forensic Veterinarian helping with the investigation and prosecution of cases of animal cruelty and neglect.
The topics presented are based on the experiences of Dr. G and our guests and include discussions about real cases, humane projects, and legal issues that affect animals and the community. Due to the nature of the discussion, listener discretion is advised as some topics may be too strong for some listeners.

About your host

Profile picture for Alba Gonzalez

Alba Gonzalez

Michelle González (DrG) was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Her passion growing up was to become a veterinarian. She obtained a B.S. in Zoology at Michigan State University and the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at The Ohio State University, followed by a 1-yr Internship in Medicine, Surgery, Emergency and Critical Care at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In 2006 she founded the Rascal Unit, a mobile clinic offering accesible and affordable sterilization, and wellness services throughout the State of Ohio.
Dr. G is involved in many aspects of companion veterinary medicine including education, shelter assistance and help to animals that are victims of cruelty and neglect.
DrG completed a Master’s degree in Veterinary Forensics from the University of Florida and a Master’s in Forensic Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University. She is currently enrolled at the University of Florida Forensic Science program. She assists Humane organizations and animal control officers in the investigation, evaluation, and prosecution of cases of animal cruelty and neglect.