FILE 406 / 15 July 2023 / 68 MIN / express

Not Even A Little Sorry

Flagstaff, ArizonaListen

The town

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We're going to Flagstaff, Arizona. about 0:03:20

History, in brief

Town note

The town has two mottos, the City of Seven Wonders and Dark Sky City.

about 0:05:11

Town note

The area was settled long ago because of fertile land created by volcanic ash eruptions in the 11th century.

about 0:05:37

1894

In 1894 it was recommended to Percival Lowell as the site of the Lowell Observatory, which was built on Mars Hill.

about 0:05:53
All 10 history facts

Town note

The town has two mottos, the City of Seven Wonders and Dark Sky City.

about 0:05:11

Town note

The area was settled long ago because of fertile land created by volcanic ash eruptions in the 11th century.

about 0:05:37

1894

In 1894 it was recommended to Percival Lowell as the site of the Lowell Observatory, which was built on Mars Hill.

about 0:05:53

1894

Flagstaff became a town that year, 1894, and grew rapidly with the railroad.

about 0:06:05

Town note

Local businessmen lobbied for Route 66 to pass through the city, and it did, which helped it grow.

about 0:06:18

1930

In 1930 Pluto was discovered from Flagstaff at the observatory.

about 0:06:23

Town note

The observatories chose the moon landing sites for the Apollo moon missions.

about 0:06:31

Town note

In the 1970s and 1980s downtown declined, but it was revitalised in the 1990s.

about 0:06:53

2001

In 2001 it was recognised as the world's first international dark sky city by the International Dark Sky Association.

about 0:07:00

The figures, as told

Money

Median home value$565,400
Median household income$51,758
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2023

Population

"76,028"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:04:09

College students

"30,000"

Comparison: "students at Northern Arizona University". No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:04:15

Population at the time of the murder

"about 35,000"

Comparison: "in the 1980s". No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:04:18

Median household income

"$51,758"

Comparison: "a little lower than the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:04:29

Median home cost

"$565,400"

Comparison: "almost double the national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:04:39

The reviews

3.0 / 5 · average of 5

5 stars

“The nature is beautiful and everyone is friendly; the reviewer would not change a thing.”
about 0:07:44

5 stars

“A Phoenix transplant loves the move and the fresh pine air, though downtown and the college can be busy.”
about 0:07:53

3 stars

“Fun and great at times but it also sucks; the seasons are beautiful, but snow and icy roads can shut the town down at 7,000 feet.”
about 0:08:21

1 star

“High alcoholism, high child abuse, cliques that hide things, high cost of living and bad streets; only one star because there is no zero.”
about 0:09:00

1 star

“If you are not wealthy, do not bother coming here; the last line is a sad comment on what Flagstaff has turned into, where you cannot even have a nice trailer park.”
about 0:09:28

In Arizona

Closest episodes

  1. The Couple That Kills Together... Blames Each OtherWilliamson, Arizona · 31 October 201899 km / 62 miShow on map
  2. Crushed Skulls & Missing Golf ClubsPrescott, Arizona · 26 January 2023100 km / 62 miShow on map
  3. Lust, Death, Insanity... And A PotatoBagdad, Arizona · 19 August 2022157 km / 98 miShow on map
  4. Death In The DesertCongress, Arizona · 31 July 2026162 km / 101 miShow on map
  5. A Bloody Desert TrailWittmann, Arizona · 17 March 2022177 km / 110 miShow on map

The story

Rita was from Greensburg and had been living with her mother in New Stanton, working at an Eat'n Park off the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The couple knew nobody in Flagstaff. They took a two-bedroom apartment at Northeast Street with a young woman who was a co-worker, and all three worked at the Jack in the Box at East Santa Fe Avenue. Rita asked what would happen if she died. They went to bed at about 5.30am after apparently making up.

He and Rita got up at about 1.30pm and resumed the argument. Rita told him she loved him and would leave him so that he could prove he could live alone. The fight lasted thirty to forty-five minutes. Each time she reached the front door he pulled her back and beat her. At least you'd be dead.' He found a necktie, wrapped it round her neck and strangled her three times, twice thinking she was dead before she breathed again. The third strangulation killed her.

About fifteen minutes later he had sex with her corpse. Half an hour after that he checked her pupils, dressed, walked to a nearby bowling alley and telephoned the police, claiming he had seen a man assaulting a woman. Flagstaff police found Rita dead in the bedroom. The autopsy recorded a myriad of contusions, abrasions and lesions, bite marks on her right hand, arm and breast, a swollen face and signs of manual and ligature strangulation. The cause of death was strangulation.

He said he could not break the mental hold his mother had on him, that he wanted permanent security and that he had killed Rita to continue the relationship. The killing caused an outcry because two other young women had recently been murdered in Flagstaff, Aina Langstaff on 7 November 1987 and Sarah Saganisto on 13 June 1987, both with bite marks.

An Arizona judge found him competent to represent himself and he waived further review.

The case

Murder of Rita Bryer

Victims

Rita Kathleen Bryer (23). About 22 weeks pregnant; from Greensburg, Pennsylvania; worked at a Jack in the Box; engaged to .
her unborn child. About 22 weeks gestation; was initially charged with second-degree murder over the death, but the charge was dismissed.

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 15 July 2023.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

the roommate. Rita and co-worker and roommate at Northeast Street; argued with the night before the murder
Brian McKee. friend who told his mother that believed Dante was the god of Terrasia
Dr. Michael Baylis. psychologist who evaluated competence
Paul McMurdy. assistant attorney general who prosecuted the case and recommended life

The timeline

  1. 1987 Rita Bryer, 23 and about 22 weeks pregnant, lives with her mother in New Stanton, Pennsylvania and works at an Eat'n Park off the Pennsylvania Turnpike. (Eat'n Park)about 0:12:16
  2. November 7, 1987 Aina Langstaff is killed by stab wounds, with bite marks and no evidence of sexual assault.about 0:36:33
  3. November 1987 Rita and move to Flagstaff, Arizona, leaving his mother behind.about 0:16:42
  4. November 1987 They move into a two-bedroom apartment at Northeast Street with a young woman co-worker. (Northeast Street apartment)about 0:18:11
  5. November 1987 All three of them work at the Jack in the Box at East Santa Fe Avenue. (Jack in the Box)about 0:18:22
  6. November 10, 1987 A telephone call with his mother leaves very depressed.about 0:20:47
  7. late night, November 10, 1987 and Rita argue about his dependence on his mother from midnight until five in the morning; the roommate joins in and Rita asks what would happen if she died. (Northeast Street apartment)about 0:20:27

Last meals

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode