Dumped

In this episode, we’ll tell you about the search for Q.C. Chadwick, and the beginning of the NBPD’s first homicide investigation of 2012.

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Peter Chadwick, at the time of his arrest

Peter Chadwick, at the time of his arrest

Peter Chadwick, at the time of his arrest

Peter Chadwick, at the time of his arrest

Peter Chadwick, a week after his arrest

Peter Chadwick, a week after his arrest

The Dumpster on Muth Valley Road

The Dumpster on Muth Valley Road

The Dumpster on Muth Valley Road

The Dumpster on Muth Valley Road

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Chapter 1: Safe Harbor

A quick internet search will tell you quite a bit about Newport Beach: a coastal city in Southern California, known for its large boat-filled harbor, population approximately 87,000. The popular Balboa Peninsula has two piers, plus the Balboa Fun Zone (an old-school amusement park with a Ferris wheel), and sweeping ocean views. Local beaches include the Wedge (known for its immense waves) and Corona del Mar State Beach.  Visitors often remember the gorgeous coastline, the sophisticated shopping and dining, or the quaint frozen banana stands of Balboa Island.

Crime rates in Newport Beach are low.  What crime there is is almost exclusively what we call property crime: theft, burglary… crimes where people take other people’s stuff.  Violent offences – like assault, robbery, rape, and homicide, account for about 5% of the overall crime rate.  Homicides in particular are a rare occurrence.  In a remarkable year, there are three; many years, there are none.

In October 2012, the homicide rate for the year is still at zero.  With the disappearance of Q.C. Chadwick, and her husband’s odd tale of death and body theft, NBPD detectives have a feeling that that statistic is about to change.

(Intro)

Welcome to “Countdown to Capture”.  I’m Jennifer Manzella, your host for this podcast and the spokesperson for the Newport Beach Police Department.  So far, I’ve told you about the mysterious disappearance of Peter and Q.C. Chadwick, on Wednesday, October 10, 2012.  Their three sons, ages 9 to 15, are feeling shocked, afraid, and very, very alone.  By the next morning, Peter Chadwick has surfaced in San Diego, California, about 100 miles away from Newport Beach, and about four miles from the Mexican border.  He tells a strange tale, of a mysterious man named Juan who murdered Q.C., and then stole her body after holding Peter captive for hours.

Today, I’ll tell you about the search for Q.C., and the beginning of the NBPD’s first homicide investigation of 2012.

In this episode, you’ll hear the voices of Lieutenant Bryan Moore (who was a detective assigned to this case back in 2012), and Detective Sergeant Court Depweg (who is the supervisor overseeing this case today).

Chapter 2: Collection

On Thursday, October 11, investigators from the NBPD arrive at the Arco gas station on Del Sol Boulevard in San Diego.  They accompany Peter Chadwick back to the San Diego Police Department.  And there, the evidence collection begins.

[Lt. Moore’s voice shown in italics]

Item 5540: one shirt, long-sleeve, khaki button up, size large.  Shirt shows several small tears and dried spots with blood-like coloring.

Item 5541: one pair of tube socks, white.

Item 5542: one pair of pants.  Levi blue jeans, size 34/30.  Possible blood staining.

Item 5543: one pair of shoes.  Hush Puppies, black, size 9.

Item 5544: one belt, size 36.

Item 5545: one pair of underwear.  White, Kirkland brand, size 34.  Possible blood staining.

There are evidence swabs too: from Peter’s mouth, fingernails, and the various wounds and scratches that cover his upper his body.  A hair sample is taken.

Peter so far, has been sticking to his story… for the most part.  The major points stay the same: Juan, Q.C.’s body being loaded into Peter’s car, the hours of driving.  Some details change, disappear, reappear.  But, in a direct quote from a police report:

[Lt. Moore’s voice shown in italics] It became evident that the facts, as presented by Peter, were not only unsubstantiated, but lacked plausibility.

It becomes clear that, whatever the other details may be, Q.C. has been killed and her husband Peter was involved.

[Lt. Moore’s voice shown in italics] Based on the evidence found at the residence, the defensive type injuries/scratches to Peter’s neck, and the inconsistent statements given to investigators, Peter Chadwick was placed under arrest for 187(a) PC – Murder.

Peter is placed in the backseat of a department car, and he begins his journey to the NBPD jail.

Chapter 3: Telling the Boys

Ever since the two youngest Chadwick brothers were left sitting at their school bus stop on Wednesday afternoon, their worlds have turned upside down.  By Thursday night, their worlds will change forever.

All that they know is that their parents (two people who they have only known to be stable, responsible, organized, and loving) have disappeared without any explanation.  The boys are extremely concerned about their parents’ welfare.  They have every reason to worry.

Their questions are heartbreaking: Are our mom and dad ok?  What if they got into a car accident?  Why aren’t they answering their phones?  When are they coming home?  And who is going to take care of us until they get back?

All three brothers attend their regular classes on Thursday, until Detectives pick them up from school (the two youngest from their elementary school in a nearby town, the oldest from his prep school several hours away).  That evening, the boys are reunited; they will need whatever comfort they can draw from each other.

One more person is also on-hand… Q.C.’s brother David, who is close to all three of his nephews.  He has already been given the horrifying news of his sister’s death, and taken some time to compose himself.  He joins the boys, ready to offer all the support and comfort he can.

[Lt. Moore’s voice shown in italics] 9:00 pm.  The Chadwick boys have been notified of their mother’s death, and that their father has been taken into custody for his involvement in her death.  The three boys are devastated by the news.

Detectives and social workers and Uncle David do all they can to console the boys, but it cannot ever be enough.  This is a wound that will never heal.

Chapter 4: Dumped

A week has gone by.  There have been countless interviews… friends, family, neighbors, witnesses, and – of course – Peter Chadwick himself.  Property logs and evidence lists grow longer by the day.  Search warrants yield phone records, emails, bank statements… But a major piece of the puzzle is still missing: the victim.  Where is Q.C.?

Sixteen hours.  That’s how long it was from the time the silver Lexus SUV left the Chadwick home on Wednesday afternoon to the time a San Diego Police officer searched the empty back seat for any sign of Q.C on Thursday morning.  At some point during those sixteen hours, the body of the petite 46-year-old mother vanished.  Days ago, a teletype was sent to all law enforcement agencies in Arizona and Nevada:

[Sgt. Depweg’s voice show in italics]

Newport Beach Police Department in California has been involved in a homicide investigation.  Suspect (husband) and victim (wife) failed to pick up their children from school.  Investigation has revealed that a physical altercation occurred inside their residence.  NBPD has subsequently arrested the husband (Peter Gregory Chadwick) for murder.  We have been unable to find his wife’s body during the investigation as of today’s date.  Suspect was taken into custody near the U.S. / Mexico border in San Diego, California.  It is possible that the suspect may have driven to the states of Nevada or Arizona on October 10-11, 2012 and may have disposed of the victim’s body.

We are looking for a Quee Choo Lim Chadwick, DOB 6/16/1966, described as a female of Asian descent, 5’3” tall, 120 pounds, brown hair and eyes.  No identification is on her person.

At 3:21 p.m. on Thursday, October 18, an NBPD Detective gets out of his car and starts shaking hands.  He introduces himself to a sergeant and three deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.  They are on Muth Valley Road in Lakeside, California.

This area is considered suburban San Diego, but it is a far cry from the orderly tract homes of Orange County.  Sprawling plots of mostly undeveloped land are dotted with the occasional home, or winery, or horse corral.  There are long driveways, and all the buildings (eight, along this particular mile-and-a-half of road) are set far back from the street.  This is not an area with regular weekly municipal garbage pick-up or armies of wheeled trash cans that appear and disappear like clockwork.  Instead, the end of each winding driveway is marked by a dumpster.

Over the course of this week-long investigation, these officers of the law – and a number of their coworkers – have searched for the body of Q.C. Chadwick.  Men and women in both San Diego and Orange Counties have checked ravines, industrial parks, secluded areas… and a number of dumpsters.

The group of five splits up.  The deputies start at the far end of Muth Valley Road and move east.  They will search the area, and peer into each dumpster that they pass.  The detective from Newport Beach drives alone to the intersection with Wildcat Canyon Road, intending to do the same moving westward, and meet the deputies back where they began.

But he will not make it beyond the first driveway.

The dumpster here is a deep blue color, its surface mottled with stains and dents and scratches.  Some black graffiti is painted across the front.  It sits on a dirt pad, surrounded by dry brush, about twenty feet from the road.  Another thirty feet beyond, there is a black iron gate hung with signs announcing “no trespassing” and “private property”.  The building at the other end of the driveway is almost a quarter of a mile away.  The spot is secluded and quiet, and it would be pitch black after dark.

The detective approaches the dumpster slowly.  He notices a strong odor and an overabundance of flies circling above the hinged lid.  An experienced investigator, he already knows what he’s about to find.

Peering inside, he sees that the dumpster is full to the brim of discarded items.  Trash bags, old shoes, magazines, wine bottles, cardboard boxes, Styrofoam cups, a broken CD tower.  His eyes narrow.  His heart begins to race.  For a moment, he forgets to breathe.   At the bottom of the dumpster, he sees a spot of vivid green.  He dons a latex glove and gently moves the garbage bags aside.  The swathe of green is a blanket, wrapped tightly around something long – it stretches almost the entire width of the dumpster.  He backs away and calls for San Diego Sheriff’s Department CSI.

He has finally found Q.C. Chadwick.