uncover

How Tony Shalhoub’s ‘Breaking Bread’ uses food to uncover history

Tony Shalhoub is loath to compare his upcoming CNN series, “Breaking Bread,” to the travel food shows hosted by his frequent collaborator Stanley Tucci, who directed him in the gourmand classic “Big Night.”

“I don’t consider myself a foodie,” Shalhoub says in a video interview. “He is the ultimate foodie, amazing chef. He really knows what he’s talking about and I don’t know anything.”

But Shalhoub, best known these days as one of the stars of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” makes up for his lack of knowledge with utter enthusiasm. As host and executive producer of “Breaking Bread,” premiering Sunday at 9 p.m. Pacific, he traipses the globe trying different breads and bread-related products while uncovering stories of how these staples relate to migration, labor and his own family history. In fact, the legacy of Shalhoub’s father, who settled in Wisconsin after leaving Lebanon, is present in multiple episodes. The elder Shalhoub’s love of the stuff served as one of the inspirations for the whole enterprise.

“We were eating most often bakery bread rather than just commercial store-bought packaged bread, and he really had a great appreciation for it and wanted to model that for us,” Shalhoub says.

Still, Shalhoub’s goals go beyond food porn. Days before the premiere, Shalhoub spoke about why he sees “Breaking Bread” as being about something bigger. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

How did doing a food show even come to you?

Well, I was so enamored of Stanley [Tucci’s] show.

I was going to ask if Stanley had something to do with it.

We never really talked about it a lot, but I’ve been inspired by Stanley for so many things. But even prior to his travel food show [“Searching for Italy”], a nephew of mine [Michael Matzdorff], when I lived in Los Angeles, came to me and he was making bread at the time. This was way before the pandemic, when that became the thing to do. We got into talking about bread, and I was so impressed by what he was doing in his own kitchen, and he just casually mentioned, “Wouldn’t it be cool to explore bread making all over the globe?” We got a pitch together. It didn’t really get a lot of traction then, and this was a couple decades ago, but the idea stayed with me. I mentioned it to another friend who’s a producer on the show, Tamara Weiss, and she just kind of had this great idea to reformat it, and I guess the timing was right.

Was this your nephew that appears in the Tokyo episode or a different nephew?

This is an older nephew than that. I have many nephews and many nieces and they’re all geniuses. But there’s another leg to this too, aside from my fascination with bread and bread around the world. I’ve been acting for so many years and felt very fortunate with all of the breaks that I’ve gotten. But I’ve been starting to feel a little bit like I wanted to reconnect to the world again, in some way. When you are working and your experiences are mostly coming through scripted, mostly fictional stuff, after a while, there’s that possibility that you start to feel a little disconnected from actual life and the world. That also was one of the main drivers here. I wanted to meet new people, travel to new places or even familiar places, but with a different point of view. In a lot of ways, it’s been eye-opening. The food component aside, I’ve found it’s been really good for me. You get out of your own head and out of your own sphere, and you’re reminded that there’s so much else going on out there.

How did you choose where you were going to go? So many of the places have a personal connection for you: You said you wanted to start in Lebanon, where your father is from, but the political situation didn’t allow for it so you went to Brazil, where there is a large Lebanese population. You spend time in New York, where you live, and Wisconsin, where you are from.

We initially had a list of about 12 different locations, and some of those were locations that I just thought, “Boy, it would really be fun to travel there.” When we got into it with CNN, you know, especially for the first season, they wanted for me to have a personal connection to each of these locations. We gave them a list of about 10 places, and they chose six. So obviously New York, because this is now my second time living here in the city, and I love it. I consider it my home and where so much of my career has taken place. I think Marseille, because even though I traveled to France several times, is a place where my father, when he was immigrating from Lebanon over a hundred years ago, as many immigrants did, had to stop in Marseille in the process. We’ve always been curious about that part of his journey because we knew about his departure from Beirut, and we knew about his arrival in Ellis Island, but we didn’t know about the middle part of his journey. So we were able to explore that and get some more new information about that.

Members of your family also show up, including your daughter Josie Adams and another nephew. Why did you want to involve them?

Whenever there’s a discussion about bread or about food in general, it mostly stems from or grows out of my childhood, growing up, my parents, my other older relatives, and I guess that’s the closest connection for me. It has been such a part of what connects us all.

Two men flank a woman standing at a table with dough on the surface.

Tony Shalhoub with his daughter Josie Adams and pastry chef Pierre Ragot in the Marseille episode of “Breaking Bread.”

(CNN Original Series)

How did your relationship to bread, clearly something you love, change over the course of making the show?

The main takeaway was that the show, for me, really became more about the people that I met than the product itself. There were familiar things, some of them done in a kind of innovative and new way and other things that I had not experienced before or tasted before, but [it was] really more about the people and their devotion to that work and the reasons that they become so obsessed and so devoted to that kind of work. For me, the show really becomes about those stories and those histories, whether it’s a family history or a story about immigration or a story of a war-torn country. To be really frank about it, bread is really more the vehicle that brings us into these other discussions.

I want to say this in a very tactful way, but the risk of doing this kind of show is that there is a point, I believe, of diminishing returns when we talk about food. This is my fear. It was like, will someone stand up and say, “Stop it.” There’s so many important things that are going on that deserve our focus and our attention, but because we’re talking about food, it’s inevitable because we have to have it every day. It sustains us, and that’s all fine and good, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I want bread to be that thing that sparks other conversations.

In the Marseille episode, you uncover part of your father’s story, discovering details of his trip to America in the municipal archives. What was that experience like?

It was quite moving and also doing it with my daughter and having those discussions with my daughter. She didn’t know my father because he passed away before she was born. But I don’t think I would’ve had the opportunity or the access to uncover these things had I not been doing this show at this time in that city. It would’ve just gone undiscovered and unknown.

Obviously, you’ve eaten on screen before, that’s part of an actor’s job, but did you think about how you were going to react to what you try?

I didn’t really think about it or plan it. I wanted to figure out ways to avoid or sidestep stock reactions. “God, that’s delicious.” Of course, that’s what everyone says when they’re eating something exciting and new. But I was really trying to stay open and rather than using words, a lot of times I just felt I let it go into my body and my body kind of did the work.

There’s a moment when you almost do a little dance.

Because some of this stuff just transcends words.

Was there something you tried that truly surprised you?

Certainly, I think given the amount of pastry I consume and have consumed in my lifetime, I thought that Mary O’s Irish Soda Bread scones were kind of a revelation. I’ve made scones. I’ve had scones. I love them, but this was revelatory. In Brazil they couldn’t grow wheat for a time, and before they were importing it, they were relying on cassava flour everywhere. They make a cheese bread. They were making it out of cassava flour, which is delicious, not heavy, and no gluten and all of that, and with cheese. Somehow miraculously, you’re eating these things and you’re never feeling full or bloated.

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Texas border agents uncover meth shipments valued at $50 million

Sept. 4 (UPI) — A pair of drug seizures by Customs and Border Protection agents along the Texas-Mexico border has netted methamphetamine shipments with an estimated street value of $50 million, the agency announced on Thursday.

In the first and larger of the two, agents stopped a truck hauling aluminum burrs that was concealing $37 million worth of the drug through the Colombia-Solidarity cargo facility in Laredo.

“Physical inspection led to the discovery of four sacks of alleged methamphetamine with a combined weight of 4,241 pounds concealed within the shipment,” a release from CBP said.

In the other seizure, agents seized 488 packages of what they believed was methamphetamine with a street value of $13.2 million in a commercial truck hauling a load of broccoli at the Pharr international cargo facility in Pharr, Texas.

Nearly 1,500 pounds of the drug was concealed in the roof of the truck, CBP said.

The seizures are the latest in a series of drug stops along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas.

In June, agents seized a load of amphetamines valued at $6.7 billion being smuggled across the border at the Pharr crossing by someone in a stolen sports sedan.

“The cargo environment continues to be a top choice for trafficking organizations but our CBP officers, along with our tools and technology, are a force to be reckoned with,” Carlos Rodriguez, port director of the Pharr port said at the time.



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Love Island fans gutted as they ‘uncover major reason’ Billykiss and Cach won’t last

Love Island fans were over the moon when they saw Billykiss and Cach have a one on one chat – but others have ‘worked out’ why they won’t work on the outside

There were tears and revelations in tonight’s Love Island, as the Islanders came to terms with what happened during last night’s shock recoupling. Amid all the drama, Boris and Billykiss called it quits.

Billykiss was later seen chatting to Cach who had broken things off with Toni – and fans who had been rooting for the couple were ecstatic. However, other fans were left gutted as they uncovered a major reason the two wouldn’t work on the outside – and it’s to do with a former Islander.

Boris and Billykiss met during Casa Amor and it seemed like they formed an instant connection. However, during last night’s recoupling speech, fans noticed there was something off between the pair – as Billykiss didn’t gush over her partner.

Billykiss and Cach
Billykiss and Cach were seen having a chat in tonight’s episode

In tonight’s episode, it became evident that the initial spark between the pair had disappeared – as they called it quits. Billykiss then told Cach the news. She made it clear she wanted to get to know Cach – and they both agreed to get to know each other as well as others.

Before entering the villa, it was rumoured Billykiss had previously dated season 8 finalist, Dami Hope. Cach and Dami also happen to be friends – leaving fans gutted.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter one fan penned: “Billykiss and Cach is not gonna happen cos Billykiss is his friend’s ex #loveisland,” while another agreed: “billykiss is damis ex girlfriend and dami is cach best friend (in case ppl are wondering why they aren’t exploring each other)”.

Boris and Emma
Boris and Emma shared a kiss in the hot tub shortly after he ended things with Billykiss(Image: ITV)

“Please do not suggest Billykiss and Cach coupling up. That’s Dami’s ex (Cach’s best friend), and he’s trying to keep it respectful,” said a third.

However, other fans were more hopeful: “now let’s hope CACH AND BILLYKISS can get together,” said one, as another agreed: “pls i just want billykiss x cach.”

Boris on the other hand, wasted no time in getting to know another bombshell however, as he quickly made his move on Harry’s ex Emma. Things went from steamy to steamier as Boris asked Emma whether she wanted to spend the night in the Hideaway, before sharing a kiss.

Emma was previously coupled up with Conor, however he called things quits as he thought Emma was becoming too involved in the drama with her ex Harry. He’s now coupled up with Shakira who he’s been friends with from the start.

How will their relationship progress?

Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .



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Fearne Cotton helps travellers uncover lesser-known Ibiza ‘for same price as a club entry’

Fearne Cotton is enjoying the single life – and unearthing a refreshingly different side to party Island Ibiza – and we’ve tried and tested it just for you….

Fearne Cotton doing yoga in Ibiza
Fearne gets her zen on with GetYourGuide in Ibiza

Most of us have jetted off to Ibiza for a holiday to remember (and some cracking stories to bring home) – or at least had pals heading to the famous White Isle for some serious clubbing, probably followed by quite the hangover the following morning as they languish poolside.

But TV presenter and former radio DJ Fearn Cotton is hoping to open travellers’ eyes to a very different side to beautiful Ibiza – an island she’s loved and visited each year for a long time now – which you can sample in less than a day. The perfect, chilled-out accompaniment to any holiday to the party hotspot.

Fearne cotton in red swimsuit on boat
The former radio DJ looked radiant during her boat trip

The 43-year-old mum-of-two, who is positively glowing and clearly enjoying the single life following her recently split from ex-husband Jesse Woods after 10 years of marriage, wants travellers to the party island to think about alternative days out when they’re there, as research reveals that over a third of British travellers would actually avoid bars and clubs while visiting the beloved Spanish island.

As gorgeous Fearne says “Trust me, we’ve all had some Ibiza experiences we can’t quite remember. That’s why I’m back to experience another side of the White Isle with GetYourGuide. And I promise you, I won’t forget it.”

Having now followed in the star’s footsteps, we can confirm that yes, it absolutely is possible to hit up Ushuaia Ibiza for a superstar DJ set one day, and find yourself indulging in a spot of yoga in a magically unspoilt location the next. In fact, it’s a must.

Enter Ibiza: Unplugged wellness experiences – a genius collaboration between Happy Place founder Ferne and GetYourGuide which, at a remarkably reasonable 40 euros – a price which would just about get you into one of Ibiza’s top clubs, you can step away from the madness for a day and try something refreshingly different.

Fearne and local guide in ibiza
Local guide Pablo is a fountain of knowledge on everything from the best clubs to the best secret covers

The experience, which is a half-day itinerary, includes a beautiful sunrise hike, a boat trip (or a relaxing ‘snooze cruise’ as Fearne puts it) with a stop off for swimming in the most crystal clear waters you’ll ever experience, where the views across the Formentera are nothing short of spectacular, a yoga class in the cool pine forest overlooking a secluded cove and a zen-inducing sound bath. Heaven..

During our escape to the sun-soaked isle, where we also sampled the chic vibes of 5 star hotel The Mondrian Ibiza, perched above the stunning turquoise waters of Cala Llonga, we tested out Fearne’s lush itinerary ourselves. And yes, we can tell you, it’s the perfect anecdote to the buzzing party spots, even if you’re ready to hit the town the next day.

Kicking off with an easy to moderate hike – which sets off at around 6am so you’re not trekking in baking temperatures, takes you up the mountain to a spot where you have a stunning view of tiny uninhabited island Es Vedrà at sunrise. Perfect golden light for the Gram, if you really must!

Fearnw Cotton on hike in ibiza
The sunrise hike offers views like no other, as Fearne discovered

A tiny, rocky island which stands at roughly 400 metres high, Es Vedrà is seen as a mystical location by locals and travellers alike – one that’s associated with a magnetic, positive energy which many, sceptics included, have said pulls them back to the island, time and again.

It’s with this stunning view that GetYourGuide travellers can then settle in under a beautiful sun-dappled pines to indulge in some yoga with a brilliant local teacher. Ours was incredible, she located exactly where my back problems lay and offered me a mini-massage, as we attempted our downward dogs.

That’s another thing – like the hike, the yoga session is perfect for beginners and pros alike. Everything can be done at your own pace – with the help of hunky guide Pablo Leonard, co-founder of travel company Into The Island.

Pablo is more than happy to chat about life on Ibiza, throw in some local restaurant recommendations (we visited Monkey Ibiza with its outdoor pools and boho food-to-table Aubergine with its beautiful garden on his recommendation and both get our vote). Hell, he’ll even rustle you up a nifty mango-based sangria during your boat-trip, if you play your cards right.

Fearne doing yoga move on mountain in Ibiza
Fearne shares her best secret spots on the curated experience

Wellness advocate Fearne, who admits Ibiza is her ‘happy place’, says:: ‘I first visited Ibiza 20 years ago and fell in love with the island’s energy and people. There’s something truly magical about this place and however hectic my life gets, a trip here will always bring me back to myself.

“Over the last two decades I’ve discovered the best secret spots for sunrise hikes, chilly dips and soulful yoga sessions. And this summer I’m going to let you in on some of my hidden gems.

“With GetYourGuide I’ve curated the perfect way to unplug and spend a chilled day in Ibiza, guided by true experts that know the island like the back of their hand. And the best thing about it? It’s all for the price of a club entry. So treat yourself to a night off!”

And mental health advocate Fearne’s love of a more low-key vibe on occasion seems to be reflected in the habits of a whole lot of discerning holidaymakers these days.

According to a survey by GetYourGuide and YouGov, around 1 in 30 British travellers avoid clubbing and hangovers – to make sure they’re getting the greatest benefit out of their holiday activities.

Fearne cotton on a boat in ibiza
It’s not hard to see why Ibiza is Fearne’s happy place

It would seem it’s also the hefty price of drinks (32%) and club entry (32%) which are putting more than a third of club-loving British from hitting the clubs when abroad – with British travellers three times more likely to pick a holiday because it has a well-known spa (13%) as opposed to a banging nightclub (4%).

After experiencing GetYourGuide ambassador Fearne’s carefully curated Ibiza activities for ourselves we are converted to the idea that you can go wild one night, find your inner zen and take in some jaw-dropping scenery the next. Ibiza, you’re a special place. We will be back…

Ibiza Unplugged is running on selected dates throughout August, and has been co-created with trusted GetYourGuide partner, Into The Island.

Bookings are live now for ‘Ibiza: Unplugged’ on the GetYourGuide website and app www.getyourguide.com– available on a first-come-first-serve basis on 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd August 2025.

* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.



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Detectives investigating UCLA student’s murder uncover stunning betrayal

The railroad tunnel in which John Doe #135 was found had spooky graffiti and a dark mystique, the kind of place kids dared each other to walk through at night. People called it the Manson Tunnel — the cult leader and his disciples had lived nearby at the Spahn Movie Ranch — and someone had spray-painted HOLY TERROR over the entrance.

By June 1990, occult-inspired mayhem had become a common theme in the Los Angeles mediasphere. The serial killer known as the Night Stalker, a professed Satanist, had been sentenced to death a year before, and the McMartin Preschool molestation case, with its wild claims of ritual abuse of children, was still slogging through the courts.

So when venturesome local teenagers discovered a young man’s body in the pitch-black tunnel above Chatsworth Park, the LAPD considered the possibility of occult motives. The victim was soon identified as Ronald Baker, a 21-year-old UCLA student majoring in astrophysics. He had been killed on June 21, a day considered holy by occultists, at a site where they were known to congregate.

Undated photo of Ronald Baker wearing sunglasses and a tie-dye T-shirt.

Ronald Baker in an undated photo.

(Courtesy of Patty Elliott)

Baker was skinny and physically unimposing, with a mop of curly blond hair. He had been to the tunnel before, and was known to meditate in the area. He had 18 stab wounds, and his throat had been slashed. On his necklace: a pentagram pendant. In the bedroom of his Van Nuys apartment: witchcraft books, a pentagram-decorated candle and a flier for Mystic’s Circle, a group devoted to “shamanism” and “magick.”

Headline writers leaned into the angle. “Student killed on solstice may have been sacrificed,” read the Daily News. “Slain man frequently visited site of occultists,” declared The Times.

Baker, detectives learned, had been a sweet-tempered practitioner of Wicca, a form of nature worship that shunned violence. He was shy, introverted and “adamantly against Satanism,” a friend said. But as one detective speculated to reporters, “We don’t know if at some point he graduated from the light to the dark side of that.”

Crime scene investigators holding flashlights examine a dead body in a tunnel.

Investigators examine the scene where Ronald Baker’s body was found.

(Los Angeles Police Department )

People said he had no enemies. He loved “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” singalongs, and worked a candle-making booth at Renaissance faires. He had written his sister a birthday card in Elizabethan English.

Had he gone into the hills to meditate and stumbled across practitioners of more malignant magic? He was known as a light drinker, but toxicology results showed he was heavily drunk when he died.

In this series, Christopher Goffard revisits old crimes in Los Angeles and beyond, from the famous to the forgotten, the consequential to the obscure, diving into archives and the memories of those who were there.

Had someone he trusted lured him to the tunnel? How was his death connected to the raspy-voiced man who placed calls to Baker’s father around that time, demanding a $100,000 ransom in exchange for his son’s life?

A portrait of Nathan Blalock in a crisp, green Army uniform.

U.S. Army photo of Nathan Blalock.

(U.S. Army)

Baker’s housemates, Duncan Martinez and Nathan Blalock, both military veterans in their early 20s, had been the last known people to see him alive, and served as each other’s alibis. They said they had dropped him off at a Van Nuys bus stop, and that he had planned to join his Mystic’s Circle friends for the solstice.

There had been no sign of animosity between the roommates, and Baker considered Martinez, an ex-Marine, one of his best friends. They had met working at Sears, years earlier.

Martinez helped to carry Baker’s casket and spoke movingly at his memorial service at Woodland Hills United Methodist Church. His friend was “never real physically strong, like a lot of the guys I know,” Martinez said, but was the “friendliest, sweetest guy.”

His voice filled with emotion. “He would talk to anybody and be there for anybody at the drop of a dime,” Martinez continued. “And I just hope that it’s something I can get over, because I love him. It’s just hard to think of a time without Ron.”

But something about the roommates’ story strained logic. When Baker’s father had alerted them to the ransom calls, the roommates said they had looked for him at Chatsworth Park, knowing it was one of Baker’s favorite haunts. Why would they assume a kidnapper had taken him there?

Duncan Martinez, wearing a white T-shirt, stands in a police interview room.

Duncan Martinez in an LAPD interview room.

(Los Angeles Police Department)

There was another troubling detail: Martinez had cashed a $109 check he said Baker had given him, but a handwriting expert determined that Baker’s signature was forged.

Martinez agreed to a polygraph test, described his friend’s murder as “a pretty unsensible crime” and insisted he had nothing to do with it. “I’ve never known anybody to carry a grudge or even dislike Ron for more than a minute, you know,” Martinez said.

The test showed deception, and he fled the state. He was gone for nearly 18 months.

He turned up in Utah, where he was arrested on a warrant for lying on a passport application. He had been hoping to reinvent himself as “Jonathan Wayne Miller,” an identity he had stolen from a toddler who died after accidentally drinking Drano in 1974, said LAPD Det. Rick Jackson, now retired. Jackson said Martinez sliced the child’s death certificate out of a Massachusetts state archive, hoping to disguise his fraud.

In February 1992, after being assured his statement could not be used against him, Martinez finally talked. He said it had been Blalock’s idea. They had been watching an old episode of “Dragnet” about a botched kidnapping. Martinez was an ex-Marine, and Blalock was ex-Army. With their military know-how, they believed they could do a better job.

They lured Baker to the park with a case of beer and the promise of meeting girls, and Blalock stabbed him with a Marine Corps Ka-Bar knife Martinez had lent him. Baker begged Martinez for help, and Martinez responded by telling his knife-wielding friend to finish the job.

“I told him to make sure that it was over, because I didn’t want Ron to suffer,” Martinez said. “I believe Nathan slit his throat a couple of times.” He admitted to disguising his voice while making ransom calls to Baker’s father.

But he never provided a location to deliver the ransom money. The scheme seemed as harebrained as it was cruel, and Martinez offered little to lend clarity. He sounded as clueless as anyone else, or pretended to be. “You know, it doesn’t completely click with me either,” he said.

“They ruined their lives, and all of the families’ lives, with the stupidest crime,” Patty Baker Elliott, the victim’s elder sister, told The Times in a recent interview.

Ronald Baker stands next to his sister, Patty, who is wearing a graduation cap and gown.

Ronald and Patty Baker at her college graduation in the 1980s.

(Courtesy of Baker family)

In the end, the occult trappings were a red herring, apparently intended to throw police off the scent of the real culprits and the real motive.

The killers “set this thing up for the summer solstice, because they knew he wanted to be out, hopefully celebrating the solstice,” Jackson said in a recent interview. “What are the chances, of all the days, this is the one they choose to do it on?”

Jackson, one of the two chief detectives on the case, recounts the investigation in his book “Black Tunnel White Magic: A Murder, a Detective’s Obsession, and ‘90s Los Angeles at the Brink,” which he wrote with author and journalist Matthew McGough.

Blalock was charged with murder. To the frustration of detectives, who believed him equally guilty, Martinez remained free. His statements, given under a grant of immunity, could not be used against him.

A detective sits at a desk in a squad room.

Det. Rick Jackson in the LAPD’s Robbery Homicide Division squad room.

(Los Angeles Police Department )

“I almost blame Duncan more, because he was in the position, as Ron’s best friend, to stop this whole thing and say, ‘Wait a minute, Nathan, what the hell are we talking about here?’” Jackson said. “He didn’t, and he let it go through, and what happened, happened.”

Martinez might have escaped justice, but he blundered. Arrested for burglarizing a Utah sporting goods store, he claimed a man had coerced him into stealing a mountain bike by threatening to expose his role in the California murder.

As a Salt Lake City detective recorded him, Martinez put himself at the scene of his roommate’s death while downplaying his guilt — an admission made with no promise of immunity, and therefore enough to charge him.

“That’s the first time we could legally put him in the tunnel,” Jackson said.

Jurors found both men guilty of first-degree murder, and they were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

In June 2020, Baker’s sister was startled to come across a news site reporting that Gov. Gavin Newsom had intervened to commute Martinez’s sentence, making him eligible for parole. No one had told her. The governor’s office said at the time that Martinez had “committed himself to self-improvement” during his quarter-century in prison.

The news was no less a shock to Jackson, who thought the language of the commutation minimized Martinez’s role in concocting the kidnapping plan that led to the murder. He said he regarded Martinez as a “pathological liar,” and one of the most manipulative people he’d met in his long career.

Martinez had not only failed to help Baker, but had urged Blalock to “finish him off” and then posed as a consoling friend to the grieving family. The victim’s sister remembers how skillfully Martinez counterfeited compassion.

“He hugged everybody and talked to everybody at the service,” she said. “He cried. He got choked up and cried during his eulogy.”

A prosecutor intended to argue against Martinez’s release at the parole hearing, but then-newly elected L.A. Dist. Atty. George Gascon instituted a policy forbidding his office from sending advocates. The victim’s sister spoke of her loss. Jackson spoke of Martinez’s gift for deception.

“It was like spitting into the wind,” Jackson said.

The parole board sided with Martinez, and he left prison in April 2021. Blalock remains behind bars.

Rick Jackson and Matthew McGough, in dark suits.

Rick Jackson and Matthew McGough, authors of “Black Tunnel White Magic.”

(JJ Geiger)

For 35 years now, the retired detective has been reflecting on the case, and the senselessness at its core. Jackson came to think of it as a “folie à deux” murder, a term that means “madness of two” and refers to criminal duos whose members probably would not have done it solo. He regarded it as “my blue-collar Leopold and Loeb case,” comparing it to the wealthy Chicago teenagers who murdered a boy in 1924 with the motive of committing the perfect crime.

An old cop show about a kidnapping had provoked the two young vets to start bouncing ideas off each other, until a plan took shape to try it themselves. They weighed possible targets. The student they shared an apartment with, the Wiccan pacifist without enemies, somehow seemed a convenient one.

“You have to understand their personalities, especially together,” Jackson said. “It’s kind of like, ‘I’m gonna one-up you, and make it even better.’ One of them would say, ‘Yeah, we could do this instead.’ And, ‘Yeah, that sounds cool, but I think we should do this, too.’”

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