Something is Wrong
This is the story of murderer and fugitive Peter Chadwick, the man who left his two boys all alone and waiting at the bus stop on Wednesday, October 10, 2012. We’re going to tell you what we can about his crimes, and the police department’s investigation into his wife’s death. And we’re going to explain how Peter Chadwick has escaped justice – so far.
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Chapter 1: The Boys at the Bus Stop
It’s a Wednesday afternoon in October. It’s been a typical autumn day for Southern California. Sunny, but cool, with a high around 70 degrees near the coast.
In the middle of a residential neighborhood, surrounded by large two-story 1960s tract homes and spacious yards, there’s a small private school. Pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, about 560 students. It’s the kind of school that many parents dream of. For those who can afford it, this school is worth every penny. Great teachers, small class sizes, a focus on developing the character of their well-rounded students. The internet is full of five-star reviews, praising everything from the academics to the arts programs to the way the school handles bullying.
When class gets out for the day at 3:15, the quiet neighborhood sees an influx of cars as parents shuttle their children home, or to sports practice, or to music lessons. The school also offers a private bus service, providing transportation to a handful of nearby cities, and allowing parents to retrieve their children a little closer to home.
Today, just like every other day, two brothers board the bus bound for Newport Beach. They are 9 and 12, lanky and slender, with mops of shiny dark hair. And, just like every day, they get off the bus at the stop near San Joaquin Hills Road and Newport Coast Drive, to wait for their ride home.
But today won’t be like every other day. They wait and watch as their classmates jump into the backseats of minivans and SUVs and sedans. By ones and twos, the small group at the bus stop dwindles, until they are alone. And still, they wait.
A woman named Gwenn picks up her own children from a similar bus stop on Bonita Canyon Drive. As they make their way home, Gwenn chats with her kids about their day. Suddenly, something else draws her attention: the two boys, still waiting at the bus stop.
She recognizes them. She must feel that it is strange, that the Chadwick brothers are never here this late. And she’s right. Their dad always picks them up promptly. Or… he always has before.
(Intro)
Welcome to “Countdown to Capture”. I’m Jennifer Manzella, your host for this podcast and the spokesperson for the Newport Beach Police Department. This is the story of murderer and fugitive Peter Chadwick, the man who left those two boys all alone and waiting at the bus stop on Wednesday, October 10, 2012. I’m going to tell you what I can about his crimes, and the police department’s investigation into his wife’s death. And I’m going to explain how Peter Chadwick has escaped justice – so far.
In this episode you’ll also hear from another person: Lieutenant Bryan Moore, who, back in 2012, was a detective assigned to this case.
Chapter 2: No Answer
Gwenn knows the Chadwick family well; they are her neighbors, after all, and their kids go to the same school. There are the two younger boys – the ones who are waiting for a ride home – and an older brother who’s 15 and away at a prep school in Ojai, California.
Their mom, Quee Choo (who is known as Q.C.) is not the kind of mom who would let her boys wait at a bus stop. She’s a devoted and engaged parent, a stay-at-home mom with a definite preference for structure and schedules. Her boys are all polite and well-behaved, and she runs an ordered and peaceful home – no small feat with three sons.
Her command center includes a whiteboard with a weekly family schedule, motivational messages to her children, and reminders to focus on their health and their homework. She is a meticulous, active, and doting parent. This past weekend, for example, was spent researching supplemental math programs for her younger children, taking her older son (who was home for a weekend visit) out for his favorite Asian foods (foods that he doesn’t get enough of while he’s at boarding school), and emailing family to begin planning the Thanksgiving festivities (six weeks early). Motherhood is the center of Q.C.’s life, her greatest pride and joy.
This is not the kind of woman who forgets to pick her boys up after school. And Gwenn knows it. Without hesitation, she pulls over. The boys have already been waiting for over an hour. The older brother has a cell phone, but hasn’t been able to reach his parents. Surely, there must be some explanation… but Gwenn won’t leave them there alone any longer. She loads the boys into her car for the short drive to their house.
They drive past the guard shack and enter the gated community that these families call home. When they arrive, Gwenn walks the boys up to the front door of the Mediterranean-style two-story house. They knock, and ring the doorbell, but there is no answer. There are a few packages piled up on the porch; deliveries that would normally be taken in right away. The door is locked, and the boys do not have a key. They’ve never needed one before.
The brothers have no idea where their parents are. Q.C. is a stay-at-home mom, her husband Peter works from home, and there’s nowhere else they should be at this time on a weeknight.
Gwenn takes everyone back to her house, and feeds the boys dinner while she tries to track down the Chadwicks. No luck. She decides to pick up the phone one more time, and call for help.
A few minutes later, a dispatcher at the Newport Beach Police Department is entering notes from her call into the Computer Aided Dispatch system, or CAD, as we say. Law enforcement loves a good acronym.
It’s the type of call she sees often enough: a “Welfare Check”. Basically, it’s a request to go knock on a door and see if someone is ok. Sometimes the caller is out of town, and worried about a friend or loved one who hasn’t returned their call. Sometimes the concern is for a person who has threatened suicide, or who has an illness. Other times it’s an employee who hasn’t showed up for work… or a parent who hasn’t picked their children up after school.
It’s hard to not imagine the worst… because only the worst makes any sense. Has there been a car crash, a fall down the stairs, a gas leak, a medical emergency? Something so dire that neither Peter or Q.C. could make other arrangements for their boys, or answer when they called from the bus stop?
It’s now after 7:00, and there is still no sign of anyone at the Chadwick home. While an officer knocks on the door, dispatchers continue to call Q.C.’s cell phone – no answer. Calls to Peter’s cell go straight to voicemail. There’s no answer on the home phone either. The next round of calls is to local hospitals and trauma centers. No, they’re told, there’s no one at Hoag Hospital or Western Medical Center under those names or matching those descriptions.
Chapter 3: Something is Wrong
By 7:45, with no success in locating the Chadwicks, NBPD officers prepare to enter their home. Most of the lights are off. As they go room to room, they find no sign of Q.C. or Peter. Almost everywhere, they see evidence of the order and structure that Q.C. prides herself on… with a few notable exceptions.
The officers take note:
[Lt. Moore’s voice shown in italics]
In the kitchen, there are two plates on the counter, and all the makings of a light lunch being prepared, and then abandoned.
The door that joins the home to the garage has been left ajar.
The family safe is open and empty.
And, upstairs in the master bathroom, there are a few details that could almost go unnoticed – things that, perhaps, could easily be explained if Q.C. or Peter happened to walk through the door, shocked at the unexpected police activity in their orderly home, with an understandable excuse for their absence.
But, with two people missing, these small details have only one meaning: something’s wrong.
The bath mat is rumpled and slightly out of place. There is a towel on the floor. On the side of the Jacuzzi tub, there are shards of broken glass. It looks like one of the decorative vases on the deck of the tub’s been broken. Inside the tub, there is a faded reddish smudge and, on the wall, there’s a few faint drip marks, tinged with a ruddy brown color.
Blood. They look like tiny droplets of blood. And suddenly, the otherwise pristine master bathroom looks like a crime scene.
[Lt. Moore’s voice shown in italics] Activity increases. Search warrants are requested, and granted. CSI responds and starts photographing everything. Officers start taking notes, talking to neighbors, looking for more evidence, clues, anything. There are more calls to hospitals, and calls to friends and family. The NBPD enters both Peter and Q.C. into the Missing Person System.
And all the while, there are questions swirling, spoken and unspoken. Where are the Chadwicks? And are they ok?
As the three Chadwick brothers go to sleep that night, their minds are spinning. Fear, confusion, dread… so many big emotions for such small boys. These brothers, who are used to being surrounded by stability and comfort and love, must feel very helpless. And very alone.
Where are the boys now? Who has them??
The boys are now growing into young men – the oldest is 21. After Peter’s arrest, other family members took care of them… In interest of their privacy, we won’t be able to say where they are now.
I feel terrible for those boys. I wonder if the boys still get interviewed by the NBPD still as of date, just to see if the dad has tried to reach out to them?
We do interview the family. It’s not easy on them, of course… But it’s necessary. Only one thing would bring closure, and an end to the pain of having to open up this wound time and time again: finding Peter and bringing him to trial.