Murder of Philip Inhofer - A Stranger In My Home - S03 EP08 - True Crime

do you like it at 58 Philippine Hoffer gets a  new lease on life he was a great Granddad he was very happy really proud to work at McClellan  Air Force Base I was building relationship back with my father he lives each day like it's his  last he had gotten this convertible two-seater Mercedes just trying to look kind of like  a Playboy you guys need anything in town the more gold he got on his fingers it's like the  more tense things got he's an escort service I was shocked just me and the guys

having a little  bit of fun I didn't really know everything about his lifestyle until new habits lead him  to a terrible fate I was scared to death just like a wave of heat that came from my  head and flowed all the way out my toes it was just one of the most brutal murders  that I'd ever seen [Music] knocking safe a terrible Silence has fallen on the already  quiet town of North Natomas California it was about 7 25 in the evening and it was right when Final Jeopardy started  I'll never ever for

get it it was a Thursday hello hi there I'm calling from your dad's work have you spoken to him lately  uh no not in a few days why Phil's boss called and and said that he  hadn't been to work and she was concerned that is strange thanks for calling me as  a former military man it's unlike Philip to be late let alone not show up at all I  know that's not like my dad I'm going over to my dad's is everything okay I don't  know so I'm gonna go find out [Music] car isn't in the driveway  and the lig

hts are all off and it it just looks like no one's home foreign wait a minute wait a minute I  have to go check I have to see if my dad is in there or something  is going on I opened the door dad is anybody home and I don't know if you've  ever had to go to anybody's house that isn't yours and try and find the light or any light  for that matter but I couldn't find the lights made my way to the refrigerator  opened the refrigerator for light dad and then I found about a three  foot puddle of dri

ed blood in my mind I thought hey my dad just  got hurt maybe he's just at the hospital a dark feeling comes over Henry something  again came to me and said no you gotta check this place out you need to look  through everywhere is anybody home I've walked from his den into his bedroom then I decided hey you know I should  look in the closet I should just look and see you know what's going on something  told me look in the closet you dummy [Music] I found my father face down naked and he had  a p

lastic bag over his head I almost vomited and I was scared to death Julie you need to get  over here dad's dead Juliana are almost immediate immediately I was just horrified um just  scared we were both just terrified scared we thought he had killed himself at that point  we both thought he put a bag over his head and totally suffocated Henry calls 9-1-1 I just thought that he'd been so down he'd been  so bummed out and he had no passion about anything except Philippine Hoffer has no history of 

suicidal Behavior well we're in North Natomas after a long career in the military 58 year old  Philip moves to the quiet area of North Natomas from Placerville California to be near his son  and granddaughter he was somebody who loved to tell corny jokes he was the king of the the  Groner type of joke you know the grandpa style of joke recently divorced from his second wife  he's enjoying his new chapter as a grandfather I think he looks hungry do you think he looks hungry  well would he eat ic

e cream really he was a great Granddad A-Plus granddad our oldest daughter Erica  was his first grandchild and he adored her he just loved her he'd only had Sons so this was the first  little girl his first grandchild she had so much of a relationship with him and he's he just always  wanted to take her places and just adored her it's also an opportunity to get to know his son after  spending years abroad I was building relationship back with my father I was a rebellious teen and  he and I didn'

t see eye to eye it's nice to have you around after all these years strange but nice  tell me about it it's like I guess I'm trying to make up for lost time me too we had a pretty weird  relationship growing up because he was a military guy and he was gone quite a bit you know he did  Korea he did Vietnam and then he also did Thailand would you like some tea yes please I wish it  could have been more loving more hug everyone take a picture I just wanted to know the guy and  give him a fair equal

shocked at being my dad Philip finds a job as a civil servant nearby he  was very happy really proud to work at McClellan Air Force Base but soon the newly singled Philip  finds life in North Natomas a little too quiet for his taste it was very quiet I mean night if  you were out there you could hear the crickets if you live next door to somebody  you could probably hear a pen drop he's eager to get back on the scene and date he  really loved to go square dancing and you know just try and have

somewhat of a social life but  soon square dancing is no longer cutting it for Philip I don't think there's a lot of action going  on there for him he decides to live it up a little he had gotten this convertible two-seater  Mercedes in the car I think he thought he looked marvelous you know he's wearing  like those big gaudy gold nugget rings and gold chains around his neck and had his shirt  unbuttoned a little bit more than he used to he was putting antennas on the back of his car  fake you u

sed to have a phone permanently mounted in your car and you'd have a little antenna  on the back well he'd buy the antenna but he never had the phone he just proceeded to go out  try and meet folks basically have a social life of some sort he went from you know the square  dance guide the gold nugget guy in like a blink so when he is out on the prowl we'll say in  his ride driving up and down the streets with his babe magnet stuff all the tools that he  could get he seemed like he was happy just

to be doing that they were just gaudy displays  of look how much gold I have hey I got this I've got this bracelet I've got this ring I've got  this I've got this cool chain too if you want to see it really just seemed to me like this guy that  was kind of going through an identity crisis and trying to present himself in such a way that he  might attract people a certain type of person he he basically was buying things as I said to make  himself appear greater than he was in real life but even

that stops being enough I found a list [Music] sure why not on this list  they have women and it shows what they do what they don't do and their  height their weight are you serious and so I asked him using an escort service come  on just me and the guys having a little bit of fun really yeah I try and pin him down do you  imagine if Juliana finds out about this hey what I do and who I do it with is my business  all right okay turns out that's not the only secret Phil is hiding that was the only

  person that he would uh want to spend time with I was shocked see you soon I didn't  really know everything about his lifestyle newly divorced Philippine Hoffer is looking  for love in all the wrong places using an escort service much to his son Henry is dismayed  just me and the guys having a little bit of fun I was very embarrassed when my father started  seeing women or or purchasing their services for lack of a better word Sunshine through  maybe he just felt that it was a no hassle Arrang

ement and that he could just have a life  like that even so Philip often finds himself alone I don't think he liked being alone I don't  think that's him in January of 1991 Philip phones an escort service and asks for one of his  regular girls hi is Christine available tonight would she be able to bring along one of her  friends as well Christina brings one of her new roommates Jade cabading to meet  Philip hey ladies welcome come on in it's good to be back Phillip oh I love your dress and who h

ave we here I'm Jade it's nice to meet  you hi there James come on in Philip is struck by Jade's beauty that was the first time that Jade  had accompanied Christina over to Phil's home when they were there Phil became very enamored  with her and of course she was very attractive she was young vivacious oh that's nice she was  beautiful girl she was tall her figure was perfect she had long legs Jade had blonde hair she'd  dressed welled she liked to wear nice clothing put her makeup on and and re

ally looked good  really looked great she was very friendly she was a people person she could adapt to whatever  the situation was quickly she had really good manners [Music] he told somebody she was  a prostitute they probably wouldn't have believed her because she just didn't fit that  you know that stereotype that people kind of think what prostitutes look like but she's a very  attractive woman Jade is legendary at the Mustang Ranch brothel where the girls work she had to  repeat customers t

hey were enthralled with her I mean she was so I don't know she was like a magnet  bam whenever she was in a lineup they were picking her so she made more money than anybody made out  there I was attracted to her as a woman that's how attractive she was I don't do women so well thank  you honey she was so gorgeous she was incredible let me just say it like that Philip only has eyes  for Jade you know Jade's a really beautiful name thanks baby it's my namesake Johnstone  I really like to see you

again from that point on Christina didn't go back Jade  started seeing Philip he just took right to her that was the only person that he would uh want to  spend time with he just liked everything about her I mean here was this Sleek good-looking young  woman that paid attention to him and wanted to be with him he was just taken by surprise and  he was really spinning with her Phil wanted to be with her he was willing to pay good money to  help her because I think she told him that she had all th

ese debts and Phil was was a nice person  you know he was a kind man and he appreciated her company loved being with her and she  reciprocated and he had no problem paying money Christina is not pleased he believes  Jade is monopolizing Philip's time and money still seeing Phil Right yeah you  know he wants to see me all the time what that's the last time I introduced you  to a John with money don't call him a John his name is Philip her girlfriends they were angry  at her and they were they tol

d me nasty things about her this could be my ticket baby my way out  they were just angry because Jade wound up with the prize and they were jealous they were angry  Jade was triumphant she had told her co-worker you know that Phil loved her and that she cared  about him giving them the sense that she wanted to leave the business and to have a real life  you know settle down have her have a real life hi there when she's not working Jade spends  more and more time with Philip often driving long h

ours between the Mustang Ranch in Reno  and Phillips home in North Natomas California you know she thought this was for real as does  Philip who doesn't know what to tell his son and daughter-in-law they in turn don't know what  to make of the new Philip hey guys just on my way out to Sacramento to get them gold hubcaps  for the Bands you guys need anything in town uh no Dad we're good thanks okay so this Playboy  dude riding around with his shirt unbuttoned in his Mercedes and his gold nugget r

ings yourself it  started to bother me I'm worried about letting him take my little girl out what has gotten into your  dad I mean this is this is weird the more gold he got on his fingers it's like the more tense things  got but Philip doesn't care he's in love wow hey I love it I love it I mean he was giddy about  her because she was just so attractive and um you know and he liked the fact that she would  be a lot of fun he just liked everything about her show me some more including her love 

of flashy and expensive things she did have expensive taste she had the most beautiful  luggage I've ever seen and the clothes that she had they were beautiful I mean it's like  something you buy on Rodeo Drive or something you look beautiful baby we'll take  that one thank you baby oh yeah oh this goes perfectly look all right we'll take it yeah oh thank you  Phil was now taking care of her monetarily he was paying some big amounts of money  for her company and he was also buying her things and

uh take her shopping and Phillips  family still doesn't know about Jade Henry sorry just drop by and say hi how's my favorite  granddaughter doing she's not here right now you kind of like come in the front door and oh gonna  use your bathroom and I gotta go and he would never even sit down and relax he was just kind of  looking around and fidgety and so it's like what are you doing if you want to stay come on sit  down it's it's everything all right yeah yeah Lots going on you wouldn't underst

and oh you wouldn't understand  that's all he said to me you wouldn't understand like that I know I knew him well enough and I sensed that  something was going on and my big concern was for his personal safety from harming himself  but Philip's not depressed far from it his problem is that he's in love and it's costing  him and how have you been all day today while we were out shopping Philip was selling some of  his more marketable items to buy Jade things as a couple they make compromises Phil

ip I  really can't stand little dogs like that oh come on how can anybody hate this little  guy I think I might be allergic or something can you please just take care of it I  really can't stand it all right baby [Music] see what I can do and Philip makes radical  changes at home hey no problem gotta go hey uh where's the pooch today gone what do you mean oh just too much hassle  he was leaving hair everywhere and I said what you don't have your company no I don't have  that dog anymore I didn't

like that dog really yeah see you soon I was surprised how do you  tell a little girl the puppy's not here anymore Grandpa got rid of it we won't understand why  it was just so sudden and so out of the blue the strange Behavior continues when Philip  shocks his son Henry with a question so what do you think I could get for the old bait  magnet you mean the car I thought he was not okay what's gotten into you Dad you know maybe I  uh maybe I need a change or something you've got what you wanted

this whole time you finally have  your your Bling mobile but you you love that car I'm just curious all right it's not a crime and  I said dad why do you need another one because Jade likes and wants his car that's why Philip  might have wanted to know if by giving it to her you know how much money would he really be  losing because she wanted the car I don't see what the big deal is you know how much  of how much of the car I love my car too and baby I think that it became a real problem in the

  relationship her wanting this car and him not wanting to par with it that's not the only  problem so you want to go shopping tomorrow I'd love to Darling but I think we'd be better  off taking a break from shopping for a while but Philip you promised it came to a point where it started to weigh on  him heavily the amount of money he was spending and things that he was doing in the end Philip  can't bear to part with the car Philip loved that car I don't think that he really wanted to  get rid

of it perhaps to make it up to Jade the couple starts making serious plans I love you yeah  you too baby I can't believe I found you there's a difference between sex and love and so I think  after a while he wanted to find love as well as sex what do you think if we were two make this  permanent the two of us together we could even put up a little picket fence Jade thought that  that she and Philip were going to be married I can see it two of us together forever Jade realized that Phil was  fall

ing in love with her I love you and that he was the first man that really  loved her yeah I love you too that was one of the reasons she wanted to leave Mustang  Ranch leave the business and move in with him so on March 5th 1991 Jade asks her friend Dana  to drive her two hours from Reno to the outskirts of Sacramento to start her real life really  doing it you're really going yep that's it I actually met the perfect guy it's great  Jade had told everybody she was leaving Mustang Ranch and so Da

na knew driving her down  there that uh you know that could be the last time she would see her because she said she  wasn't coming back to the ranch taking the highway pass to Sacramento is not advised  except a terrible storm has hit the Sierra Nevada mountains coincidentally the same  Highway where Jade's car had spun out of control a week earlier she had rolled her car up  on Mount Rose highway just don't think it's safe all right but another day and I said to her I'll  give you a ride but I

want to wait till the next morning until let's see if the snow clears the  next day the Storm shows no signs of letting up they decide to drive anyway it was snowing up on  the pass um I had to go like five miles an hour for two hours up there it was it was awful she  was quiet on the drive up all the way up to the snow she was kind of getting a little I don't know  antsy edgy I don't know what you want to call it but excited maybe they finally arrived thanks  so much for the ride hopefully see

you soon I gave her a hug and I said  I hope everything's okay she gave him a hug and he gave her a hug they  were smiling and he was real excited to see her from the looks of it well I missed you I  missed you too excitement is just a Prelude to what's going to happen next it was just the  most traumatic thing you could ever imagine oh I was horrified I was scared to death it was just  one of the most brutal murders that I'd ever seen unbeknownst to family and  friends Philippine Hoffer's girlf

riend moves in with him one day  later he's found dead in his home the First Responders arrived shortly  after his son Henry calls 9-1-1 it's clear to them that this was no suicide just like a wave of heat that came from my head  and flowed all the way out my toes just this is just unreal and it's like these flashes of light  on the side of your eyes and it was just odd how is this possible and I was so concerned for my  husband as he's in shock you know it was it was it was just the most trauma

tic thing you  could ever imagine what did they do to him look at this thinking about what how did we arrive  here what could we have done differently to help him to save him along with the horror comes grief  you know my daughters just lost her grandfather that was the part that just broke my heart that it  was just every imaginable horrible thing it's just god-awful how am I gonna tell her how do you  explain this to a six-year-old at that moment I just I was sad because we were just starting

to  work things out that's what really had saddened me lead detective John Cabrera is  immediately called to the scene it was just one of the most  brutal murders that I'd ever seen there was a large blood stain in the carpet that's  where I saw the victim Phil and Hoffer lying you know on his stomach with a plastic bag wrapped  around his head and he was just covered in blood I could see that he had suffered numerous stab  wounds on his arms hands his back and I noticed that his throat had been

slashed the knife  was lunged into him and then broken off this is a brutal murder this is someone that went  into a rage and just didn't know when to stop we also find that his skull had been fractured his jaw his teeth were bashed in just  tremendous amounts of blunt force used the first thing I saw when I looked in the  bathroom was the shredded shower curtain and secondly all the blood that was  in the tub on the shower curtain on the walls there was blood everywhere  this was just a viciou

s brutal attack I think one of the most important  things that I found in the home that night while doing the crime scene is  a piece of paper on the bed stand [Music] this piece of paper it had  the name of jade cabining Jade's name was on two pieces of paper in  the house you know one of the piece of paper was on an envelope and the address  matched the paper on the bed stand so in my mind I knew this is someone  whose name has appeared in this home twice so there has to be some significance 

behind it you know if he was seeing anyone yeah um he was dating a few girls but uh nothing  serious I asked him a lot of questions about from what was going on and he really didn't have a  whole lot of information other than you know some of the other girlfriends that Phil that had along  the way no one seems to know anything about Jade I think his father just wanted to keep that  information somewhat to himself no idea because knowing that she came from an escort service that  I think Phil jus

t didn't want to upset his sons you know his daughter-in-law Mercedes is gone it  wasn't in the driveway the clown in the garage he loved that car Cabrera immediately has an APB sent  out for the car he checks the Sacramento address but there's no sign of the mysterious Jade finally  a lead after getting hold of Philip's phone records detective Cabrera spots a call from a man  named Michael Parker in a town called Soda Springs California the phone number and the city just  seemed a little odd so

I followed up on it yeah hi um I'm looking for someone by the name of Jade  cabatting I told him I'm calling this number because this phone number happens to be in a dead  man's phone bill but why I was probably in shocked for a couple weeks I don't know we were terrified  because the person who killed him was on the Run after Philippine Hoffer's body is found violently  stabbed and bludgeoned in his home detective John Cabrera begins a desperate search to find  the one woman who may know what

happened Jade cabading but she's nowhere to be found his  only lead is a man by the name of Michael Parker well I met Jade last week during the storm on  Donner Pass she was in an accident this girl runs up to him saying gosh I'm so thankful  you could help me so Jay just left the car that had spun up and they ended up back  at Michael's house and she was talking about she worked at Mustang Ranch and that she  was going to Sacramento to pick up a Mercedes now I'm saying wait a minute you know th

is name  Jade now it becomes significant because she was in route to Phil's house to pick up her Mercedes  and we're starting to put the dots together we contacted Mustang Ranch tried to find out more  about Jade we finally found out what her true name was and that was Michelle Kaminsky [Music]  Mustang Ranch also gives Cabrera the names of Michelle or Jade's friends including Dana I just  gotten out of the shower I had to tell him I had a nap wasn't all the way dressed and I said who  is it and

they said um homicide detectives Dana is horrified to find out what happened to  Phillip and I just lost it I said oh my God wow you're gonna have to tell me everything  you know Dana gives Cabrera disturbing details about her drive to North Natomas  with Jade on our way to Phillips she told me to stop she wanted to stop at  Target and I said sure So we stopped at Target um she went into the lawn and garden department  she got rat poison and I said what are you gonna do with rat poison how much

do you think  it would take to get rid of your boyfriend I was kind of just really like wow  did she just really ask him that Dana thought she was just talking kind of  crazy so she didn't pay much attention to her I was just shocked about what had taken place  Jade is now the primary suspect but that's not all Cabrera learns he then tracks down Jade's  former roommate and co-worker Christina Christina had told me that one of the things that Jade or  now Michelle had told her is that look she t

ried to electrocute him she had thrown a radio into a  previous husband's bathtub and electrocuted him seen a story Cabrera can't find clear evidence  this took place there were different stories some of the girls said she had electrocuted her husband  in the Santa Cruz area one of the other Witnesses said that this had occurred in Florida we never  found anything of such in my investigation Cabrera also learns Michelle has a fascination  with the dark side she tattooed a ring of bats around her

left arm and then she tattooed  vampire bite marks on the back of her neck and then from these bite marks she had red blood drops  tattooed so it looked like something had bit her some say that she worshiped Satan she apparently  liked this kind of Gothic Fantasy Land of vampires and Voodoo and black magic and devil worship and  human sacrifice and attempted murders of every man that she would get involved with it's now been  three weeks since Cabrera learned Jade's real name and she still can'

t be found when he tracks  down Michelle's second ex-husband Jason the story takes an even darker turn he'd thought that she  was putting rat poisoning in his food because he became extremely ill there was a report made about  the possibility that his wife was trying to kill him this time the evidence cannot be discounted  [Music] I mean it was just unbelievable it's more urgent than ever to locate Michelle and the days  are slipping by a beautiful lethal woman is on the loose she was gone she j

ust seemed to vanish  in thin air whereabouts unknown Henry and Juliana live in fear uncertain where she will show up  next can you turn down the volume for a sec does this person know where we live that same  car from before did you lock the door I think so I remember we slept all the lights on and  we put golf clubs on all the doors it we were terrified it was just utter chaos utter chaos the  FBI is called in to put a nationwide bulletin out you know for her and Enlisted the assistance  of th

e FBI and other law enforcement agencies to help us in and make an attempt to locate her  Cabrera also reaches out to the media Michelle is nicknamed Batgirl and the story catches fire  once she appeared on these national television shows the story about her and our search for  her we started getting phone calls from all over the United States we're getting phone calls  for people that said yeah she'd been by here finally there's a breakthrough two weeks after the  Nationwide bulletin a police o

fficer from Biloxi Mississippi is on routine Patrol when he notices  two women pulled off to the side of the road hi can I help you some cop happens to be driving  by and he wonders what they're doing there and yeah sure you can look around and they've got this  it's like a rider truck with a big box on the back the officer takes a closer look at the truck discovers silver Mercedes parked in it so he gets up in the  vehicle no plates however you know all vehicles have a VIN number he runs the VI

N number and  it automatically comes back to a hit that the vehicle belonged to a murder victim in Sacramento  California at that particular time he places both individuals under arrest Cabrera does not waste  a moment and immediately flies to Biloxi I was so relieved you know I thought good now this ends  and it ends now but what he learns there is far more bizarre than he anticipated some sort of  devil worshiper and she's in her zone now she saw snakes and it was like a monster that's  not a

crime of passion that's the nightmare detective John Cabrera has finally  Tracked Down The elusive Michelle Kaminsky also known as Jade or Batgirl  two thousand miles away in Mississippi he questions both Michelle and Crystal  her friend found with her in the van Crystal was kind of you know blank on anything  about Michelle she didn't even know her name was Michelle she knew her as Julie Nelson Crystal  was released she had really nothing to do he turns to Michelle I asked her did you stab fill

  in Hoffer we were going to try and make it work we were going to get married then  she told me I heard the man I loved I'm just gonna step out for a sec okay I'll be waiting for you I decided to take some LSD it's doing a lot of it at the time the LSD kicked in and I went to get  back in the shower but it was awful it was awful there is a cloud of  smoke coming out of the shower she said that she saw snakes coming up from Phil's  neck she saw snakes and it was like a monster it was a nightmare

Phillip was a beast  there were creatures coming out of him falling out of him of him some other entity something was telling me to eliminate him he  was a dark force I needed to get rid of [Music] Satan told her he would protect her [Music] is everything all right okay Put The Knife Down  Jay she's stabbing him and by doing so she's shredding this shower curtain I kept hurting him  I couldn't stop it from happening putting his arms out and by putting his arms out he's receiving  all of these d

efensive wounds on his fingers on his palms of his hands on his forearms because  all he wants is for this to stop he tried so hard but he couldn't I was too strong she's some  sort of devil worshiper and she's in her zone now she breaks the first knife off in him and  then she continues on with the second knife [Music] and if that wasn't enough to  make sure it was over [Music] he used her aluminum baseball bat on Phil's  head [Music] you know kind of a coup de gras making sure uh if he wasn't

dead he would  be dead after she was uh done with him the autopsy shows Philip was  stabbed a total of 32 times okay so what happened next I dragged the body into the closet at dinner and went to bed Satan was the only one there for me he was guiding  me through everything the LSD details however are difficult to verify you know I'll never know if  she took LSD the only thing I can say is that all of her roommates co-workers said that she'd  taken over two three hundred hits of LSD she loved to

be on LSD the day after the murder  Michelle leaves North Natomas and asked her what did you do with all the rags what did you do  with whatever you used and she said well uh Satan told me to take them so I could sacrifice him  according to Michelle Satan also told her to steal the car you know she talked about his license  plate his license plate ends with six six six that was to her a sign apparently  that Satan was alive and well she had to have the car painted silver to  purify it for Satan

Michelle is charged with homicide [Music] on May 14 1991 she makes her  first appearance in court amuda media's circus the satanic Batgirl looks more like a Laura Ashley  doll they dressed her up like a Catholic school girl I wanted to jump across the island rip  her head off to be real honest with you the defense argues that she endured a difficult  childhood and that the jury should show some leniency she had sustained some physical abuse  emotional abuse so she was portrayed as a girl that ha

d had a miserable upbringing the  prosecution maintains that it was a cold and calculated crime Michelle would go to any  lengths to get what she wanted including murder she killed my father because she wanted his car  that's the only reason why she killed him she had convinced my father that she was serious you know  I can see it and my father was gullible enough I love you to believe her and maybe let her  in yeah I love you too but I don't think that he really wanted her there because he woul

d be  embarrassed to have such a young girl at his home if his son came home on April 1st 1994 Michelle  Kaminski is sentenced to 26 years to life she blew up a bunch of lives that day she didn't just  kill him she altered the destiny of several people forever I think the most heartbreaking thing  for me when he died was the grief I felt for the loss that my daughter had because that was  her Grandpa she loved him I I wanted to know my dad as an adult and and see if we could have a a  loving fat

her-son relationship I never had that I wish that he could have just lived long and  died a natural death you know been able to see all his great-grandchildren that he has today  would you like some tea yes please he was a good man he would help you out if you needed help  and most of all he cared about people [Music] thank you [Music]