The Plot (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Ah, lads watching the football, like the lords of all creation. Ah, that's never a yellow. Game's gone. But who knows what the fates have in store for the 5.3 kick-off. That's why NoviBet are stepping in with an almighty offer that's built for the big games, where customers can get up to 10 euro back as a free bet on losing bet builders on the biggest Premier League and Champions League matches every week.

I declare this a most generous offering. NoviBet, more power to you. T's and C's apply, 18 plus bet responsibly, gamblingcare.e.

Noe (0:30)

There are a few stories that are as difficult to comprehend as the one I'm about to share with you today. How anyone could allow something like this to happen is just beyond me. This episode is not going to be gratuitously violent. However, it is going to be highly disturbing. As such, fewer discretion is advised. But before we get into today's story, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious Deliberate in Story format, then you come to the right podcast because that's all we do, and we upload twice a week, once on Monday and once on Thursday. So if that's of interest to you, please offer to mount the five-star review buttons, brand new 75-inch TV to their wall. But when you do, purposefully miss all of the studs. Also, please subscribe to the MrBallen Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, so you don't miss any of our weekly uploads. Okay, let's get into today's story.

SPEAKER_1 (1:29)

Ah, lads watchin the football like the lords of all creation.

Ah, that's never a yellow. Game's gone. But who knows what the fates have in store for the 5.3 kickoff. That's why NoviBet are stepping in with an almighty offer that's built for the big games. Where customers can get up to 10 euro back as a free bet on losing bet builders on the biggest Premier League and Champions League matches every week.

I declare this a most generous offering. NoviBet, more power to you. T's and C's apply 18 plus bet responsibly gamblingcare.e.

Noe (1:59)

Rachel Berkheimer was born on January 16th, 1984 in Everett, Washington, which is a city that is located 25 miles north of Seattle and sits on the banks of the Puget Sound, which is a large inlet of the Pacific Ocean. At the time of her birth, Rachel's parents, Bill and Denise, already had one child, a daughter named Megan. And so when Rachel arrived, they decided their family was complete. Initially, there was some concern that Rachel could have some health issues because by the time she was two and a half years old, she still was not talking. And so her parents were concerned she could be deaf. But shortly after they went to a specialist about her hearing, Rachel would say her first words. And then from that point onward, her parents could not get her to be quiet. As a youngster, Rachel had a huge imagination. In preschool, she would pretend her fingers were imaginary friends, and she would speak to them during class, often getting in trouble because of this. She also had a prized collection of troll dolls, who she gave very intricate backstories to. By the time Rachel was in grade school, she had developed a keen sense of humor. Specifically, she had the gift of mimicry. She could basically become any of her friends or her family members, and everyone thought it was really funny. In addition to her bubbly personality, Rachel was also a very gifted athlete, who was always one of the very best players on her basketball, soccer, volleyball, or track team. All this despite growing to be only 4 foot 11 inches tall. Speaking of her smaller stature, even though she was not self-conscious about it, Rachel did wear 4 inch platform shoes virtually everywhere she went, including just going out to the mailbox. In high school, unsurprisingly, Rachel became very popular. Her father joked that he was her answering machine because her many, many friends would call the house day and night looking for her. But despite this abundance of friends, Rachel took all of her relationships very seriously. She never forgot anybody's birthday, and she would even sometimes send out these random cards that weren't even on birthdays to her friends and to her family members, just telling them how much she loved them. By 2001, when Rachel was 17 years old and in her third year of high school, it just seemed like she was this amazing person who was destined to live a totally charmed life. However, this would not last. Of all of her friends, Rachel's best friend was an 18-year-old boy named Corey Haynes. She had met him when they were young and they had quickly become soulmates, at least according to their families. However, their relationship was not a romantic one. It was more of a brother-sister style relationship. They spent nearly all of their time together, and in the rare times they were not together, they could always be found speaking on the phone. In the summer, following Rachel's third year of high school, Corey was riding in a car with three other students from his and Rachel's school. Rachel was not with them. And at some point, the driver of the vehicle lost control of it and started to flip off the road. And when it finally came to a stop 100 feet away from the road, Corey and one of the other student passengers, a 17-year-old named Levi Whiting, were both unfortunately deceased. When Rachel heard the news about this crash, she fell apart. Not only was Corey literally her best friend in the world, but she was also very close with Levi as well. And so over the rest of that awful summer, Rachel spent most of her time crying in her bedroom, looking at pictures of her and Corey and her and Levi. Her older sister, Megan, would say that Rachel was just beyond heartbroken. It was like all of the joy and happiness that normally characterized her was just gone.