Henry McCabe

Criminology is a true crime podcast that may contain discussion about violent or disturbing topics. Listener discretion is advised.

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 427 of the Criminology Podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson.

And this is Mike Morford.

Morph, what's going on this week, buddy?

Not too much. What's going on with you?

I don't know. It's getting cold here, man. It's, uh, high in the sixties and, uh, I, I don't feel it, but my family's like sitting in the living room freezing. They're all bundled up.

Well, I know you've got a nor'easter heading up there this weekend and I think down here it's, it's supposed to get into the sixties at night. So I'm probably going to have the, uh, the sweatshirts out too.

Well, sixties at night is cool. I'm good with that. That's good sleeping weather, man.

And that once you get that Florida blood, it gets cold. That sixty feels like thirty.

It does change you. I'm sure it does change you. Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shout outs. We had support from Alexis Witt. So that's amazing. We really appreciate it.

Yeah. Thank you so much, Alexis. That really helps us out. And for anyone else that wants to support the show, head over to patreon.com/criminology to get started.

All right. It's time to jump into this week's case. And you know, every once in a while, we have one of those cases that just doesn't make a lot of sense and it makes you scratch your head, almost like you're putting a puzzle together without all of the pieces. And that's what this case is like. The case involves a lot of strange details, a weird and unsettling voicemail. And while the case is technically closed, we really don't know everything that happened. We're talking about the bizarre 2015 death of a man named Henry McCabe.

Henry McCabe was born and grew up in Liberia during unrest in that country. He and his family left for Ghana where he completed high school. After high school, Henry immigrated to the U.S. in 2003, where he was excited to start the next chapter of his life. He settled in California. It wasn't long before Henry would find love in his new state. In 2004, he went to a party where he met the woman he would marry, Corinne. They had a lot in common, including the fact they were both from Liberia and they really hit it off. By 2015, a decade later, the couple was married with two young daughters who were 10 and two. By this point, the family had moved to Mounds View, Minnesota. Henry worked

there as an auditor with the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Corinne was an author. By all accounts, the couple had built a nice life for themselves and were looking forward to the future. But in September of that year, a puzzling tragedy would unfold that would derail their future.

On Sunday, September 6th, 2015, Henry was alone because his wife Corinne had gone back to California to visit her family and had brought the couple's two children with her. Some reports indicate that she was making plans to move back there and speculation has ranged from she was going to separate from Henry or that the family had financial issues. It's not clear what she had in mind, but officially, police would describe her as going to California on vacation. One thing that is clear is that while his wife and kids were away in California, Henry appeared to be bored and maybe a bit lonely. That's when

he decided to call a friend of his named Jonathan Thomas, who goes by JT. When Henry called him, JT was at a barbecue at the home of a mutual friend. Henry was upset that no one had invited him to the barbecue. So he called the host and they told him he could come over if he wanted to. So he did. Once Henry got to the party, he met up with another man named William Kennedy, who went by Papoose. Papoose and Henry were not close friends like Henry and JT were. They were more like acquaintances. And Morph, I, I kind of understand this. You know, I've had stretches where my wife and the kids were away. You know, sometimes

they go on vacation, uh, by themselves. I'm working. I can't go. It does sometimes get boring. You know, when you're, uh, at home for a week by yourself, normally the first day or two is awesome, right? You just have all this freedom. You can do whatever you want. And then very quickly you start missing everybody and you get bored. But the thing I don't understand is calling up, you know, the person who's having this party and you're kind of like, uh, why wasn't I invited? And then what are they gonna do? They say, hey, if you want to come, come. I, I don't know. I would kind of feel awkward. Like they didn't

invite me, but I'm basically inviting myself?

Yeah. And it's interesting point. We don't know the full relationship between Henry and the homeowner. We know that his, his good friend was there JT. So it could have been one of those things where, you know, the homeowner didn't really know Henry, but he knew JT. But, you know, he maybe felt guilty and said, yeah, come on over. And I think for Henry, this was an important group of people because I think most of them were Liberian and he probably felt, you know, close to them and had a, a special bond. So hanging out with them would probably be, you know, something that would make him happy while his family was gone.

But maybe even a little more strange that he wasn't invited. I don't know.

And it makes you wonder, could there have been something, you know, that we don't know about that was going on that he wasn't invited? As far as anyone could tell, nothing strange or unusual happened at the barbecue. It was just friends hanging out, talking and having fun. The barbecue ended sometime between 10 and 11 PM. It was Labor Day weekend and the next day, a Monday was a holiday. So after the barbecue, Henry wanted to keep the party going. First, he and Papoose went back to Henry's apartment. Papoose went because he wanted to go to the club later and had to kill time before he went because if he went home, he'd have to stay there with his wife. So it was just the two of them at the apartment until they left for the club, although Henry's nieces were there at the time.

When they left, Papoose drove. Just before 11:30, Henry walked up to the drive up ATM at TCF Bank in North Town. He withdrew $200 from his account. Surveillance cameras would reveal that he was visibly unsteady as he walked and he actually urinated in the corner and then ran across the parking lot out of frame. We know he wasn't running away from anything or anyone because this is not when he disappeared or met any kind of harm and no one else was captured in the footage. After the ATM withdrawal, Henry and Papoose

ended up at Club Selavi, which was inside a bar called Pavlitski's on Highway 65. So it sounds to me more of that, you know, just based on the description of him in the surveillance footage, you know, he was probably pretty intoxicated by this time. I mean, he had been at a party, a barbecue, most likely drinking. Now it's, you know, getting close to midnight. He's visibly unsteady. He's urinating, you know, near this bank ATM somewhere.

Safe to say that, that he probably had some alcohol in his system.

Yeah. We don't know how regularly he drank or partied, went out to clubs, that kind of thing. But it was, you know, the weekend, a holiday weekend. He didn't have to work the next day, presumably his family's gone. So, I mean, I can see him letting off some steam, having a little bit of fun and, you know, sleeping in the next day, maybe something along those lines. Henry called his friend JT and talked him into coming out to join them at the club. JT took him up on the offer and headed to the club along with his girlfriend. When JT and his girlfriend got there, Henry was in the VIP section and Henry apparently gave JT his wallet, saying he deserved it because he had missed JT's birthday. A bit later, he told JT to pay for a round of drinks with the card in his wallet. When JT tried to

pay, the purchase was declined. So JT used some of the cash that was inside the wallet. At that point, JT went to tell Henry about the card declining, but he couldn't find him. This was around 1:30 AM. Now it doesn't seem like something nefarious had happened to Henry. It was more likely a case of a busy, dimly lit club where it's hard to find someone.

And you know, back in the day when I used to drink, I don't really drink much anymore, but you know, when I did go to clubs and all of that, we would go, you know, as a group, friends. At a certain point, once there's enough alcohol involved, you got a busy club, it's dark, it can be very hard to find people. You know, I, I remember times where we just lost someone, but it's because they left, they went with somebody else, they did something and they just didn't tell the rest of the group.

Yeah. It's been a long time since my club and drinking days too. Uh, I was never really a fan of, of the club scene because of the, you know, the lights, the music, the, you know, some of them are packed and you're rubbing elbows with people and it was just too loud and too chaotic for me. And if you did want to leave and you were looking for your ride or your friend to say, hey, let's cut out of here. Half the time you couldn't find them because it was so, you know, dark and busy. And, you know, it seems like this was a situation there.

So basically what you're saying is you were old when you were young.

Well, I guess, yeah. I was a, a little bit of a funny dud when it came to that. To the club scene, I guess.

Oh, say that again.

When it came to the club scene, I guess.

At 1:40 a.m., another friend that was there that night, Calvin Johnson, saw Henry and Papoose leave together. This is the last time anyone other than Papoose saw Henry McKay. At 1:50, Henry's phone called JT's phone, but JT didn't hear it and missed the call. Shortly after that, JT left the club. JT was driving home when, just after 2 a.m., Henry's wife, Corinne, called him from California. She said Henry was acting weird, and she was worried about him, and asked JT to see if he was okay. And JT assured her he would. JT then called Henry's phone,

and Henry answered. JT explained to him that Corinne was worried about him. But Henry said he was almost home and not to listen to Corinne. JT then called Corinne back and told her everything was fine, because Henry was almost home. On the surface, you know, this all seems like a case of someone just having too much to drink, and maybe not being totally coherent. But since Henry was almost home, you know, JT wasn't all that worried. And this is definitely something I remember more from my drinking days, my clubbing days, whatever you want to call it. You know, when people get a bunch of alcohol in them,

you know, some people just don't handle it that well. And obviously, depending on how much you drank, it can be hard to communicate with people. And, and some people definitely change, and, and not always for the better. Once they get a lot of alcohol in them, I just thought it was a little strange, right? That Henry saying, "Don't listen to Corinne", to his friend JT. I thought that was a little odd, a little cryptic.

I wonder if this is one of the dynamics, you know, in the relationship between Henry and Corinne. Maybe she's a little bit more conservative and wants Henry to go home and go to sleep. And he's like, "No, I want to cut loose a little bit." And she's in California, so she's a little bit out of your pocket, so to speak. She can't really do anything. She's enlisting the help of JT to try and figure out what's going on. And, you know, he's relaying to her, "Everything's fine. Henry says he's, he's cool. He's almost home. Don't worry about it." So I think at that point, she was probably relieved.

Well, I think it's a good point, because I'll tell you what, my wife knew exactly what I was like. If I, I got too much alcohol in me, I mean, I was frank to tank. So she would be worried in a situation like this. There's no doubt about it.

But just before 2:30 in the morning, Minnesota time, Henry called Corinne in California. She answered, and she could tell Henry was on the other line, but couldn't tell what he was saying. She thought he may have accidentally called her, like a butt dial. But the call became concerning, as she could just hear what sounded like screaming and moaning. Corinne tried to make a three-way call, adding Henry's older brother Timothy on the line, so that he could try to help. But he didn't answer her call. The call went to voicemail, and this is the portion of the call that we can hear in the following clip, which is a bit over a minute long. But it really demonstrates how strange the call was.

So no doubt, Morph, that is a very strange voicemail, right? It's, you know, there's not a lot that you can really make out. But, you know, if that was someone you cared about, if that was a loved one, it's hard to think that you wouldn't be worried about them if you heard that.

Yeah, I think we've all received, you know, sometimes butt dials, where somebody is talking, you can hear their TV playing in the background, and you listen just to make sure that they're not trying to call you, and then you finally hang up. So maybe she thought that's what this was at first. But when she started listening, you know, there's no doubt she would have been concerned about what she was hearing, because it was pretty disturbing.

And I go back to something that you said, right? She's in California, she's out of pocket. So that, to me, makes it that much more concerning. I mean, you're pretty far away. It'd be different if you could just jump in your car and go to where you thought this person was. She doesn't have that option. Quince is all about fewer, better pieces. Their clothes are made with premium materials, built to last, and designed to become the ones you reach for every day. And that has definitely been my experience. I'm in love with Quince's activewear lineup. And that's what I tend to gravitate to. That's what I tend to grab every day.

Quince specializes in everyday staples that work harder, like their ultra-soft organic cotton tees and premium Mongolian cashmere sweater. If you're still hanging on to the same worn-out basics, Quince makes it easy to upgrade. Everything at Quince is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen. So you're paying for high quality, not brand markup. And it's not just clothing. Quince has become my go-to for everything from hotel-quality bedding and bath essentials to premium cookware and travel must-haves. Upgrade your everyday. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to quince.com/criminology. Get free shipping on your order

and 365-day returns, now available in Canada and the UK, too. That's Q U I N C E dot com slash criminology. Losing weight on your own can feel like a fight. You keep losing. Weight Loss by Hersch offers access to the FDA-approved Wegovy pill and the Wegovy pen. Wegovy is the first-ever GLP-1 weight-loss medication available in a pill. And it also comes as a pen, so you've got options. With Wegovy, you can lose up to 20% of your body weight. People lost an average of 14% body weight at 64 weeks in a clinical trial of Wegovy alongside diet and exercise. To get started with Wegovy, just go to forhers.com

and complete an online consultation with a licensed provider, who will determine if a prescription is appropriate. And Hersch doesn't stop there. Nutrition and lifestyle guidance are part of the plan, along with access to 24/7 messaging with your care team. So support is always in reach. Ready to reach your goals? Visit forhers.com/criminology to access personalized, affordable care for weight loss, hair, menopause, and more. Individual results may vary, and stopping treatment may result in weight gain. Weight Loss by Hersch is not available in all 50 states. Wegovy is the registered trademark of Novo Nordisk AS. To get started and learn more, including important safety information,

Wegovy clinical study information, and restrictions, visit forhers.com. Despite how strange that call was, and being worried about Henry, Corinne ended up falling asleep, likely thinking that, you know, he would call her back and explain the call later. But he never did. No one had heard from him. His brother Timothy, after listening to the voicemail the next morning, was immediately concerned and reported Henry missing on the morning of the 7th. Timothy called Corinne, and she left the kids in California with family and headed home to Minnesota. Officers went to Henry's apartment to perform a welfare check and found that it was unlocked.

Henry wasn't there, and there was nothing out of the ordinary at the apartment. No sign of a struggle, no note, nothing to indicate where Henry was.

So this situation now has gone from a bizarre phone call, and now Henry's nowhere to be found. Police are at his apartment, but he's not there. It doesn't look like he's been there. And, you know, Corinne's so worried, she comes home all the way from California. And this seems like a situation that's spiraling pretty quickly, and there's a lot of concern for Henry.

Yeah, I can imagine the people who knew him, friends, family, his wife, they would be concerned. But what are police to think at this point, right? They go do a welfare check. The door's unlocked, which is a little strange to me because I always keep my doors locked, but it's not illegal. There's nothing inherently wrong with it. And Henry's not there, but they don't see anything that would denote, you know, further concern. He's just not there.

Interviewing Henry's friends that were with him during the night before he vanished, investigators found out that Papoose hadn't been planning to leave the club with Henry or drop him off anywhere. Papoose told the police that he was getting into his car to leave the club when Henry just got in and asked him for a ride. Papoose said he dropped Henry off at a gas station. He claimed it was the Super America located on 73rd Avenue Northeast and Minnesota Highway 65 in Fridley, but no one in the area could remember seeing Henry there. And when police checked the gas station surveillance footage, there was no sign of Henry on it. So police at this point, it seems, had some interest in Papoose's story since it didn't seem to line up with the surveillance footage.

The question was, did Papoose get confused and give police the wrong gas station after having too much to drink? Or did he play a role in Henry's disappearance?

Police then were able to gather Henry's cellphone activity and found that his phone last pinged in or near Creekview Park in New Brighton. It seems this location is where he was when the recorded call took place, which makes some sense with what we'll learn in a bit. But this is miles away from the gas station. Papoose claimed he left Henry at and nowhere near Henry's home. Investigators reached out to contacts in California and Liberia in case Henry had returned to one of the places from his past. Corinne and others told investigators that Henry was very invested in Liberian politics and wanted to run for president there someday.

Coworkers noted that Henry wanted to move back to California. While all of this information was of interest, none of Henry's friends had direct info on where he was. And more, I want to go back to, you know, Papoose for a little bit, right? When you're the last person thought to have been with someone who is then later reported missing. Well, you know, obviously, police are gonna want to talk to you. And then, when you give this story that you dropped a person off at a gas station, but no one remembers seeing you, you don't show up on surveillance footage.

Okay, that's probably going to make you look a little more suspicious than what you even did before. But what if you had nothing to do with whatever happened to the person? I was just thinking about that, like, that would be such a tough position to be in.

Yeah, and it could just be simply, not that he's lying or had anything to do with Henry going missing, but maybe he just mistakenly gave them the wrong gas station, got confused with a different gas station. It could be something as simple as that. The political angle forced detectives to go down a rabbit hole. There are reports that Henry's father was poisoned in Liberia during the war for political reasons. Henry was an outspoken person here in the United States, and he was involved with local politics. This caused concern that Henry's disappearance was part of some kind of politically motivated retribution. Henry was also once the president of a union, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees. Investigators also dug into a potential union-related beef

that someone may have had with Henry, but neither the political or union angles panned out. There was no evidence that Henry's disappearance was tied to either.

Investigators eventually found out that the last place Henry was seen was actually at the Holiday Gas Station in Fridley. This is much closer to Creekview Park, the last known phone pin. The search was narrowed to the Fridley and New Brighton area, north of the previous search perimeters. Once again, police considered whether Papoose had sent them to look into the wrong area, to misdirect them. But he wasn't from the area, and it was the middle of the night. They had all been drinking, and Papoose told police he had been taking directions from Henry, who by all accounts was intoxicated.

So whether he drove to the wrong location at the direction of Henry or just specified the wrong location to authorities, it isn't out of the question for him to have been mistaken. We also don't know what the exact wording was that Papoose used in talking to police, meaning that, you know, if he actually said, I left Henry at this store located at this specific intersection, or if he just simply mentioned a gas station and then agreed with authorities local to the area, started filling in the gaps, trying to be helpful.

But the wrong location of the gas station wasn't the only reason people felt Papoose might know more about what happened to Henry. Papoose said that Henry accidentally left his keys in the coupler of his car, and that neither of them noticed. So Henry had no keys and no wallet since he had given it to JT, and he was dropped off at a random gas station. How likely is it that Henry would ask to be dropped off at the gas station instead of just asking to be dropped off at home? Some people think that maybe for some reason, Henry didn't want Papoose to know where he lived. And if that's the case, then why? Did Henry know something about Papoose that he was worried about? And if so, why would he go clubbing with him?

I think this demonstrates a little bit more that Henry and Papoose knew each other, but they weren't good friends like Henry was with JT. So I don't think they were able to put a lot together about the relationship, and it opens up speculation, you know, what did Henry know about this guy that he might not want him to know where he lived? That would seem to indicate something shady. But, you know, as we just mentioned, if Henry knew something about Papoose that was shady, why would he go out clubbing with him? So it almost makes me doubt that there was anything shady at all.

But it all adds to the mystery, right, of this case? And you have to ask all these questions. In online forums discussing the case, Papoose isn't the only one. People are suspicious of, JT gets a lot of suspicion too. According to Papoose, JT effectively cut Henry off that night by taking his wallet so that he wouldn't be able to buy any more drinks. But JT said Henry insisted that he take it. So, you know, the question is asked, why would either of them lie about how Henry and his wallet parted ways? Also, JT isn't the one who had his keys.

He wasn't the last person to see him a lot. That person was still Papoose.

The Minnesota Community Policing Services, a non-governmental nonprofit unrelated to any police department, initially offered a $10,000 reward for information regarding Henry's whereabouts. But according to the Star Tribune, in the middle of October, the group's chief executive, David Singleton, took back the offer because of what he called Corinne's willingness to mislead the public. To this day, we don't know just what that statement meant. It certainly seems to be implying that Corinne knew more than she said or was outright telling lies. However, Corinne's side of the story, which is somewhat supported by police reports, is that she stopped working with David Singleton because she apparently felt that he was being inappropriate to her

and not because she had something to hide. Singleton denied her claim of being inappropriate.

And David Singleton isn't the only person to have some kind of falling out with Corinne. Gregory Evans, who at the time ran a website called Hacker for Hire, was contacted by Corinne, who hoped he could find Henry's whereabouts by following his digital trail. He became so suspicious of the public story surrounding Henry's disappearance that he actually started his own podcast. His website and the podcast have since been taken down. Many speculate he feared legal action. From Corinne, after heavily implying she had something to do with Henry's disappearance. And importantly, Henry's brother Timothy started to suspect

that Corinne wasn't telling authorities everything. I think we should point out that one of the main things making him suspicious was that Corinne told investigators she felt that Henry was still alive and may have gone back to California or Liberia. And it's important that police have never named Corinne as a suspect in the case. And they have stated they verified she was physically in California when he vanished. So there's no doubt, Morf, that more than one person was suspicious of Corinne. You know, you have this David Singleton guy who's saying,

you know, he, his group is gonna offer up a reward and then reportedly takes it back because...

He's saying that Corinne is misleading the public. You have this Gregory Evans guy. I don't know. I mean, you know, the saying where there's smoke, there's fire is a saying for a reason. But, you know, the authorities seem to have vetted Corinne and, you know, have never named her a suspect or, or anything like that. So I don't know what you make of it.

When you're married to someone that goes missing or they're murdered, they meet with foul play, whatever the situation, police always are going to look at you first and have to consider you. I think in Corinne's case, she had an airtight alibi being in California. That doesn't mean she couldn't have played some kind of role in Henry disappearing. But, you know, as far as her doing something to him directly, you know, we know she's ruled out because she was across the country. One of the strangest clues police had to work with was the mysterious voice message. There are plenty of theories out there about why Henry is making this strange sounds on the voicemail.

Many of the theories have Henry being attacked by at least one other person and tortured in some way, either being drowned, being waterboarded, being strangled, or even being tased. The sounds he was making were to many almost inhuman and sounded like he was in agony. According to JT, during their last phone call, just 15 minutes before the voicemail, Henry sounded fine. He didn't say anything that wasn't making sense and he didn't sound like anything he did in the recorded phone call. This has led some to speculate that Henry was drugged or poisoned due to how rapid the onset of his incoherence was. But the effects of alcohol can come on quickly, especially if you drank somewhat quickly.

Yeah, I mean, the effects of alcohol can, you know, hit you pretty quickly. But it's hard for me to think that Henry could have a phone conversation with JT and sound, you know, fairly fine. And then 15 minutes later, leave, you know, this really strange incoherent voicemail. 15 minutes is a very short period of time more for it just to be the effects of alcohol. To change that much in 15 minutes, that's, that's kind of tough to buy.

Yeah, that would be alarming for someone to change that rapidly. But I also have to wonder how coherent and sober was JT? If he was really intoxicated too, maybe he wouldn't have even realized that Henry was, you know, making all these weird sounds or being abnormal, you know, acting strangely because he might've been intoxicated. So I wonder what his clarity level was.

We mentioned that Henry's case is talked about on online forums and, you know, let's face it, people jump to conclusions a lot of times on those sites. The fact that Henry's wife and children were in a different state at the time of his disappearance makes some people think that Henry knew his life was in danger. So he sent them away to protect them. One theory is that he was about to uncover something major during an audit or that he had recently discovered something someone wanted to keep hidden, something they might kill for. But Henry hadn't been working as an auditor for very long. He wasn't one of the higher ups at work.

And it's unlikely that the kind of work he did would uncover a scandal so great that someone felt they had to kill the auditor to keep the secret.

Online sleuths also jumped on the fact that Henry had, according to the Star Tribune, used the alias Joseph B. Tuku. The obvious question was, why would he have an alias? Was he involved in something shady? It may be more common than most people realize for people to assume a new name when they move to a different country, especially if their birth name is hard to pronounce or would make them stick out. People in the United States would be used to a name like Henry McCabe, which is more common and maybe easier to pronounce than Tuku.

Yeah, and that's an interesting take, right? As a person who was born in the U.S., I've lived my whole life here. The thought of needing an alias is laughable. I mean, I would never need one. But if I came from another country and I had a, you know, a name that made me stick out in the new country where I was moving, maybe it was hard to pronounce. Maybe he just wanted to change. He wanted a different name. I don't know.

Yeah, from what I understand, it is very common that people will, when they move to America, take on a more traditional American name. And that might've been what happened here. But when, you know, a strange case like this happens and you're missing, people look at every little thing and wonder if there's something more to it.

Well, yeah, because in a case like this, right, you're grasping for straws. Especially when you look online, people are analyzing every little thing because they're trying to, you know, crack something. They're trying to find that one nugget that is going to answer some questions. On October 2nd, 2015, almost a month after Henry vanished, an anonymous letter was received by the New Brighton Police Department. It said that Henry McCabe's body was partially buried near water and that a search and rescue dog would be needed to find it. It also said that there was a young woman who had seen the burial,

but was afraid and could only come forward if she could remain anonymous. And authorities could assure she would be protected. Now, it's not clear if police didn't take the letter seriously or not, but it seems as if no search for Henry was done. In response to the letter at the time, another interesting clue came into police when it was discovered that after Henry's disappearance, his work hotspot was still being used. They thought Henry might be accessing it and was still out there someplace. But it turned out that the hotspot was left at the McCabe home. His nieces had connected to it to play video games.

This was a big letdown for police, but a month later, answers would finally come. Unfortunately, so would more questions.

Around 4:30 PM on November 2nd, just short of two months since Henry had vanished, authorities in New Brighton received a call about a body in Rush Lake. Someone had been kayaking when they saw what was unmistakably a dead human body floating face down in the water. Due to decomposition, dental records were needed to confirm the person's identity. But police believed early on that it could be Henry McCabe, since Rush Lake was only about three miles away from where Pappus dropped him off. This now brought the anonymous letter sent to New Brighton Police telling them to look for Henry near water back into the fold for investigators because this body had been found in New Brighton. Police tried to retrieve prints and DNA from the envelope that the letter was sent in, but came up empty.

But let's go back to this anonymous letter. What did it really say? Henry McCabe's body was partially buried near water. Okay. I mean, that's not super, super specific. Now, I don't know how many bodies of water are in this area. There are a lot of lakes in Minnesota. There's a lot of water. So when we say that, you know, police didn't just kind of jump on it, is it because they didn't know where to start?

It seems like they took some interest in that letter. Once this body was found in the water, the body that they thought would turn out to be Henry's. And they took these steps to try and ID the, the letter sender. Unfortunately, they couldn't do that.

Yeah, well, it's going to take on even more significance, right? After a body is found. And I don't know the geography of the area. Rush Lake might be the only body of water. You know, in that area, but how big is it? And where do you start looking?

Yeah, I think if that letter had said his body's at Rush Lake, then that would be a lot more compelling.

But also more for me, who is this young woman? Who, as described in the letter, had seen the actual burial, but was afraid to come forward? And then also, how was there a burial? When this body is then later found floating? Did it, you know, surface? Was it not buried very deeply? Did water, you know, expose it? And then it ultimately ended up floating? Lot of questions here. Dental records confirmed that the body pulled from the water was indeed Henry's. According to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office,

there were no signs of foul play and no trauma to the body found during the autopsy. The coroner ruled the death as probable drowning and his official manner of death as undetermined. As a result, the new Brighton Police Department did not consider his death suspicious. Backing up, the lack of suspicion by police was that Henry was found with cash and his cell phone in his pocket, and he was still wearing designer shoes, a watch and a 14 karat gold wedding band. So a robbery gone wrong seemed very unlikely.

A toxicology test run on Henry's liver tissue found no drugs of any kind in his system. There was alcohol detected in the system, but the medical examiner was unable to determine his actual level of intoxication at the time of his death. The decomposition process creates ethanol after death. So trying to figure out a person's blood alcohol concentration at the time of death is tricky. Adding the fact that the body was decomposing in water, which can dilute the tissues and make the alcohol content drop. So we had multiple factors changing the amount ultimately detected by the toxicology test.

But how important is it now, you know, to look back on some of the surveillance footage? Right? We talked about it. He appeared to be, you know, pretty heavily intoxicated in some of the videos. Now, does it make it more likely for someone to have an accident near water? When they're intoxicated? And I think the answer is definitely yes. But then you have to ask the question, why was he out by, you know, this lake in the first place?

Yeah, I think we mentioned that it was what? Three miles from where they determined that Papoose dropped him off? So did he walk three miles while he was intoxicated? How likely is that?

Yeah, so let's go back to our younger selves, right? And everybody listening can do the same. I don't know, after a hard night of party, that, you know, one of my thoughts was ever, I'm gonna walk three miles and hang out by a lake. I just don't remember that ever being a, a driver or something that would pop into my head.

Yeah, I was the kind of person that would be looking to sit down on a park bench and go to sleep or something like that and not walk three miles.

The autopsy report notes that Henry was missing tooth number three, which people assume is one of his front teeth. This is suspicious to a lot of people because his friends at the club surely would have noticed that he was missing a tooth, which means it had to have happened after he was dropped off. But tooth number three is actually toward the back of our mouths. Depending on how big Henry smiled or opened his mouth, it may not have been noticeable. It could have been missing long before he died.

One thing does stand out as quite odd to many people. Henry's cell phone was found in his right pocket. Its battery had been removed and was found in his left pocket. That doesn't happen naturally from being submerged in the water. That had to happen before he entered the lake. And as we'll discuss, call logs prove the battery was still in the phone until September 10th, four days after Henry vanished. The call we heard isn't the last activity made from Henry's phone. His phone placed a call to the same number 24 times on September 7th, and then once on September 9th and September 10th. The calls on the 7th started around 3:30 in the morning. So an hour after the mysterious voicemail we heard.

So it seems this couldn't be a drunken accident in the middle of the night where Henry fell into the water while drunk shortly after Papoose dropped him off. Where was he until at least September 10th? And if Henry didn't die at 2:30 in the morning, days earlier after a night out of drinking, then how and when did he end up dead in Rush Lake?

And to me, Morph, this is a huge mystery in this case. You know, from everything that we've talked about, it made it seem as though, you know, Henry most likely died that night. But now you have this strange phone activity and that has to be analyzed. Is the phone making calls? Someone using this phone to make calls up to four days after Henry was last seen? Well, what does that mean? Was Henry placing calls? Was somebody using his phone to place calls?

If it's the latter, then that means somebody at some point had to pull the battery out, stick the battery in one of his pockets and stick the phone in Henry's other pocket.

Yeah, this has been a pretty strange case up to now, but this to me is the strangest part of it. Because we have to assume it's, it's Henry making the calls or someone else. If it's Henry, where was he for those days that he was missing? If it's someone else, who is it? And how did they have access to his phone?

Yeah, because I think in some instances, right? You could theorize that somebody just happened to find a phone and they just decided to use it. But that would be very unlikely here that an innocent person would have found the phone and then it later ends up in Henry's pocket. According to police, the number Henry's phone kept calling belonged to a woman in Texas. By the time investigators called it, the number was no longer in service. Now, it's unclear if it was already out of service when Henry's phone was calling it or not. There are rumors that Henry was having an affair with a woman from Texas,

but it's unclear if he was and even if he knew the woman whose number was called. And again, we technically don't know that it was Henry who was making those calls. Even if it was him, it's not clear that he was intentionally calling the number or was butt dialing. But it does open up some possibilities that either Henry was alive and well days after he was last seen and was able to use his phone, or that someone else had access to it, used it, and then placed it on Henry's body before it was pulled from the river.

One theory is that Henry was despondent and had taken his own life. Digging deeper into Henry's life, it looks like he was in some kind of trouble. Maybe nothing dangerous, but he was certainly experiencing some financial issues. He was apparently broke and one of his recent rent payments had bounced for insufficient funds. He had also been struggling at work and had received a negative performance review. Coworkers were aware that Henry wanted to move back to California. And we mentioned earlier that there's not clarity on the situation between Henry and his wife and whether they plan to stay together. It's also unclear what was going on at work. It seemed that Henry was generally well liked by his coworkers and liked to cook to be able to bring in food and share with them.

Everyone at work had good things to say about Henry.

Police officially closed Henry McCabe's case after finding no evidence of foul play. To this day, many people are puzzled by that choice, especially after the cell phone usage and battery removal that we discussed days after he vanished. It seems likely that police think that he was alive for, you know, a few days before he wound up dead in the water, either on accident or as a result of suicide. Henry's family members do not believe that his death was an accident. His wife, Corinne, told the spokesman recorder, someone did this to him. And his brother Timothy said, I believe he was murdered.

Sadly, Henry's mother was not able to attend his funeral. She wasn't granted an expedited visitor visa to be able to enter the United States. So she was in Liberia during the services.

It seems like the biggest clue in the case is the strange voicemail from Henry, but it's only led to more questions and a lot of debate. The audio has been enhanced and listened to over and over with opinions mixed on what Henry said in the call, or if it's even Henry talking. There are many different interpretations of what Henry or others could be saying in that voicemail. It's clear to everyone that someone is talking, but it's hard to pick out words. A lot of people agree that whoever is talking is clearly upset. It sounds like they may be crying or even sobbing and wailing, actually. Some people believe that they hear uncontrollable vomiting. It sounds painful and guttural and that maybe Henry was being tortured or drowned. But after these sounds, there's more of what sounds like talking and more crying.

The call only ended because the voicemail timed out and cut off.

And we keep coming back to this voicemail, Morph, because it is an important piece of the case. You know, if what some people believe is true, which is Henry is actually being hurt, drowned, even killed on this voicemail. Well, then that would mean it's not him making the calls for those days afterward. But if the sounds don't mean that that's what was happening, then it opens the possibility that, you know, he was alive for, you know, three days or so after the time that, you know, he was last seen and he could have been using the phone.

Yeah, I think the key to solving this case may be those days after he went missing. You know, if anybody was able to come forward and say they talked to him, you know, face to face or directly, they know he was alive, you know, might help establish that it was him that could have been making those calls, but nobody's come forward to say that. And if it wasn't him using the phone, what happened? How did they have it? How were they making the calls? And then how did the, the phone and battery ultimately wind up back in Henry's possession?

So as we wrap this case up, I mean, obviously there are still a ton of questions, right? How and why did Henry McCabe wind up in that lake? When did he wind up in it? And if he was alive during the time his phone was being used for three days, where was he during that time? Unfortunately, since the case is closed, we may never get more information about the death of Henry McCabe. But I think it's easy to see, right? Why many people are fascinated by this case. There is a ton of mystery, a ton of intrigue,

and a lot of unanswered questions and not just kind of simple, clear cut questions. These are very strange questions or, you know, strange pieces of information that lead to questions.

Yeah, some of the clues in this case are like something out of a mystery novel from Agatha Christie. You've got this strange phone call that's recorded. You have the phone being used after he disappears and then winding back up. And then you also have this mysterious letter that tells police to look near the water and then Henry's ultimately found near the water. So, you know, makes me wonder, was there something to this letter? Did somebody know? And maybe they didn't want to come forward, but they wanted police to take, be on the right trail? Or was it just a coincidental thing and it has nothing to do with Henry's case?

And one thing that keeps coming back to me about the letter is the mention of a woman. And it says that she actually witnessed the burial, but she doesn't want to come forward unless she knows she can be protected. Okay. Was there actually a woman involved? Or was that somebody just trying to misdirect the police? The other thing, Morph, that we didn't spend a lot of time talking about, we brought it up, was, you know, Henry's union ties, his political aspirations. Could some of those things had something to do with what happened to him? Again, just adds to the questions, right? And the mystery.

Yeah, I think if there was a clear cut motive for why someone might want to harm Henry, it might lead to answers. But, you know, from all accounts, people liked him. His coworkers said he was friendly. He cooked food for them, brought it into the office. Nobody really had anything bad to say about him. And I think that lack of motive is, is only hindering answers in this case from coming.

Yeah, because I always think motive is so important, right? If you can figure out the motive, most times I think investigators can crack the case or at least find the direction to head in. But when you can't find the motive, it seems to make things so much more difficult. And I think that's kind of what we have here. But no doubt, a big mystery. But that's it for our episode on Henry McCabe. As always, if you love the show, but haven't done so yet, take a minute, go out, leave us a review, a rating. Also, keep telling your friends. Word of mouth about the podcast really goes a long way.

If you want to find us on social media, we're on every major platform. Just search for Criminology Podcast on your favorites. And for news about the show, old episodes and more, head over to our website, criminologypodcast.com. And if you want to join a discussion group about the cases we discuss in the show, head over to Facebook and search for Criminology Podcast, discussion and fans.

So that's it for another episode of Criminology, but Morph and I will be back with all of you next Saturday night with a brand new episode. So until then, from Mike

And Morph.

We'll talk to you next week.

Take care, everyone.

And now that we've wrapped up our case, we want everyone to check out this preview from our friends over at A Date with Dateline. It's a great podcast that Morph and I think you'll like.

This is a public service announcement brought to you by the podcast, A Date with Dateline. How to get away with not getting murdered and winding up on Dateline. Kimberly, what's first?

First and foremost, Katie, don't let your smile light up a room.

If your laugh can be described as contagious, rein that in.

Be wary of potential lovers you may meet on the internet, especially those whose deceased spouses came from money and died mysteriously.

Keep a sharp eye out for extramarital geometry. The most dangerous kind of triangles are love triangles.

Remember, nothing good ever happens at the bottom of the stairs or in the bathtub.

If your husband or wife asks you to go on a spontaneous hike to an unknown location, just say no.

And finally, when it comes to life insurance, deny, deny, deny. You don't have any, you're worth nothing.

Please subscribe to A Date with Dateline Podcast, wherever fine, informative podcasts are found, for more tips on how to not wind up on Dateline. I'm Josh Mankiewicz, and I approve this message.