All language subtitles for Devil.In.Suburbia.S01E02.WEBRip.x264-ION10

Now we have an old truck,
it's got the panic button
on it, you can push it.

And that panic button
is not for someone
attacking you,

no the panic button
is "I can't find my car!"

[crowd laughs]

And so I start
walking up and down,
following the honk.

Now, if you see me
at Walmart...

...just smile and wave
and say...

..."That's our pastor."

[crowd laughs]

You gotta love him
'cause the bible says so.

[laughing]

[Chris Clyatt]
Yeah, it's kinda weird
to drive by.

You know, it's kinda
force of habit just to look,

and go, "Oh, there's
Calvary Chapel."

So that's where
the building is

and it used to have
the sign right here.

It brings up
some bittersweet emotions.

You know,
we had good memories here

and, uh, there were
a lotta great people
at this church.

And they really, uh,
worked hard to be
the hands and feet of Jesus.

I remember people
having problems finding it,

looking for a traditional
church building
with a steeple.

This was an old grocery store.

We forget...

...how faithful the lord
has been in the past.

And we forget the promise
of God's word

which tells us that nothing
can separate us from his love.

[Clyatt] You know, we had
a lotta good times here.

But then you think about
all the events that happened.

And it kind of gives you
that little sick feeling
in your stomach.

[Detective Nesli Suhi-Moore]
You and James
are literally the only people

that can provide answers
that we need.

[James Flanders]
We know you guys
are the only ones--

[Tanya Flanders]
I don't understand!

I don't understand why this...

[Detective Suhi-Moore]
At this point,
we're just looking for help.

What kinda things
are you talking about?

[Tanya] This whole thing
just has blown us
out of the water.

I'm still stunned by it.

[opening theme playing]

You're thinking:
"I'm gonna find life,

I'm gonna find meaning,
I'm gonna find purpose,

I'm gonna find satisfaction,
I'm gonna find peace.

I'm gonna find
all of these things

through what I get,
what I achieve,
what I accomplish."

Where's the emphasis?

[repeated] I.

And Jesus is saying,
"You know what?
You're missing out."

[Karen Glisson]
James was my pastor.

We shopped around
for a long time for churches,

and the very first time
we went in there
we never left.

He was just, um...

[clicks tongue] he was
an incredible young man.

You were just instantly
drawn to him.

And you wanted all
the knowledge that he had
in his head,

you wanted it all too.

Romans 8:28,

We know that all things work
together for the good for them
that love the Lord

for those who've been called
according to his purpose.

We know that,
but then when it comes
to our own lives

we forget it, don't we?

[Clyatt]
He was less of a preacher
and more of a teacher.

And he really broke it down.

Like he would take uh, a verse

and you'd read, like,
three words
and he'd go, "Okay, stop."

Page by page,
sentence by sentence.

It would take him a... a month
to do a chapter.

He was my mentor.
He was my teacher.

He was my connection to God.

Hi.

[Clyatt] He wasn't
just straight-laced.

It was kind of cool
to see James

riff on the guitar
every once in awhile.

[Glisson]
Tanya is James' wife.

They had a little
two man group.

I play the cajon conga.

And I sing.

[Clyatt] She'd kinda
liked being
behind the scenes.

Being the support for James.

They made a great couple.

They were kind of...
They had that good balance
with them.

You're comin' in
at the wrong spot.

The right spot feels wrong.

The wrong spot
is feeling right for you
but it is wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I'm not nervous,
I'm just excited.

[giggles] Very excited!

[Glisson]
Well, I remember when Marie
first came to the church.

She was cute as a button.

She had the greatest
little smile.

And she could wear
the most precious
little hairdos.

And always smiling,
always smiling.

[Rose Bridges]
My sister, Marie...

God, she was gorgeous...

...inside and out.

She would tell... everybody
how beautiful they were.

Even when she didn't
believe that she was
beautiful herself.

So we all grew up
in Angeles city, Philippines.

And I would never change that
for the world.

It was just a simpler
life there.

We came to the United States
due to a volcano erupting.

How many people can say that?

[Bridges] Her journey,
her story, was different.

We had lost touch
for a little bit.

But she always wrote,
she was really good
about that.

And she had issues.

But she was getting
her stuff together.

We don't stray too far
away from each other.

Like, we need our family.

No matter how crazy,
family's family.

[Dennis Barber]
When she started working
with my wife,

she was like a...
another part of our family.

Marie was goin' down
a kinda dark path.

She had an episode.

She had got out of her car,

I guess just totally
frustrated with herself.

Just walking down
the road contemplating life.

And this lady stops by
and picks her up,

and takes her to church.

[Glisson] She really
wanted to find
a church family.

And she did.

I remember her showing me
one of James' sermons.

As believers,
we get all wacky.

We've got this little
mountain in front of us,

we forget there is a bigger
mountain behind us

that God took us through
and we're okay.

[Bridges] God helped her
get through a lot

of whatever demons
she was facing.

Feeling loved
and giving that love
in return.

It's a time of getting
our focus back where
it needs to be.

It's a time of helping us
not to forget...

...what's really important.

[Barber] She was happy,
real happy.

They had a house
support system there

that was part of her
healing herself.

And then she came by.

She's like, yeah I'm gonna go
and I'm gonna live with James
and... and Tanya.

[Glisson] They took her
in and I thought
that was wonderful.

Everybody goes through
hard times,

especially when you move
to a new community.

and you don't know anybody.

But then...

...James came out one Sunday,

I mean and just stood
up on that stage,

and he just said
that "We've been wanting
to have a baby."

And Marie was the surrogate.

Mean, you wanna talk
about some jaws droppin'.

It was just like,

"Here it is,
this is today's announcement."

You know, and everybody
just about dropped
their teeth.

[Bridges] I think a lot
of people feel that's odd.

But her and I, at one point,

actually talked
about being a surrogate...

...for one of our friends.

It wasn't like
"Oh, you would never
do that."

I thought they're payin'
her bills because she's gonna
be a surrogate for them.

In vitro fertilization
type thing.

And she's gonna be a nanny
so it makes perfect sense.

I figure as long
as these people
are helpin' Marie out...

...she should be all right.

[Barber] Beautiful child.

But then a couple months later

Marie came to the house
for a visit.

Marie was trying to be happy.

But you could tell
she was very nervous.

She was so nervous
she had hives...

...all over her body.

She kinda put it off,
like she didn't really know

but it's not really
a big deal.

But it was to us.

And then,
a couple of days later...

we got a text message
from Marie.

So October 19th,
when the mass text
was sent...

Who writes like that?

Double-spaced.

Indentation.

As if you were writing
a proper, formal, letter.

So that...

...struck me as odd.

We didn't have any inkling
that Marie was in trouble.

But my wife texts her back
and is like,

"Well, what about the baby?"

Marie always spoke of James,

and if she did speak
of Tanya it was after James.

For her to put Tanya...
in front of James name,

it made no sense whatsoever.

Something's wrong.

This is not right.

I'm leaving to do something
I've always wanted to do.

I just remember that part.

Very vague.

Very vague.

And I had...

...of course, seen her before.

And she seemed fine,

as far as her mental
health went.

And I think that
if she were to do
something like that?

She would at least
tell one person.

[Barber] We couldn't get
in contact with her
after this text message.

We contact Tanya and James.

Say, you know,
"What's goin' on
with Marie?"

"Oh, we don't know, she left."

My wife contacted everybody,
friends, family.

I was riding around.

Goin' to their house.

"Have you seen
or heard from Marie?"

[Bill Eddins] It was reported
to the sheriff's office

that Marie Carlson
was a missing person.

Well, of course,
that's a very difficult issue,

whether or not someone
is a missing person.

James Flanders expressed
to law enforcement
that it was not unusual

for Marie to leave
and stay gone for even
a few days.

- You know.
-[Special Agent Austin] Right.

[Glisson] There was talk...

...in the church
that Marie had left.

I can't say that it was
she was considered missing
at that particular time.

[Eddins]
What's always important
in any investigation

is to speak in detail
with the last person

to have contact
with the missing person.

James and Tanya
were very helpful
to us,

in developing the case.

Everybody's looking
at me. [laughs]

James Flanders indicated
the last day that he saw
Marie Carlson

she had been in a bad mood
and wanted to be alone.

Tanya decided she would
take baby Grace
and go to Destin...

...to help with the Christmas
shopping.

After that, Marie got
in an argument with him,

Later, Tanya
decided she wanted
to look for Marie.

[Eddins] Marie's truck
had been dropped off
there on the 18th,

the day after
she went missing.

[Bridges] Maybe she did
just take off.

It wouldn't be out
of the realm of possibilities

for her to have
gone somewhere.

I wanted that.
I wanted her just to show up.

You know, and just be like,
"Sorry, y'all.

I'm back though."

You know, and just...

You know, and be like,
"Hey, don't ever do
that to me again.

Don't worry me
like that again."

You know?
I wanted that, badly.

[Eddins] Investigators
did an excellent job

determining her credit card
had not been used.

She had not gotten
on an airplane
and flown anywhere.

She hadn't gone on the bus
and gone anywhere.

[Barber] Three days after
she went missing,

James and Tanya
put all of her items
in storage.

And they said,
"We've paid it up
for so many months."

We're like, "Okay,
we'll take over after that,

'cause we don't want
her stuff to be abandoned."

So they gave us the key.

All these things
that it just seems like
she just left behind.

And we just handed
all that over to the police.

[police siren wailing]

[Barber] She had no money.

Now, if she'd a sold her truck

and if she'd used
her bank account...

Yeah, there's a possibility
there, you know.

But who's gonna leave
town with nothing, you know?

I mean, doesn't make sense.

I told my wife.
I'm like, "You know what?"

I'm like, "Somebody
in that church
has to know something."

I remember she was telling
me about it

and then I was like,
"Oh, I wanna see pictures"
you know.

Saying she was a surrogate.

And I was like...
[blows raspberry]

That's clearly your child.

That is clearly not...

...the child of two
white people.

[scoffs]

[Eddins] We discussed
the matter and agreed

that it was a very suspicious
situation.

And additional investigation
needed to be done.

[Eddins] You want
to follow the case
wherever it takes you.

When we learned that
the pregnancy occurred
"the old fashioned way"...

...the investigators
wanted to make sure
that they understood

the true nature
of the relationship

between James and Tanya
Flanders, and Marie Carlson.

Tanya seemed to be
honest about the nature
of the relationship

with the baby
and the way that the child
was conceived.

[Barber] We didn't think
it was a polygamist situation.

We thought it may...
may have that element.

But we really didn't
want to believe it,
I guess.

We only found out
when we got control
of her possessions.

We opened her bible up
and on one side of the bible

it said, "Marie",
and on the other side
it said, "Flanders".

Totally took me
by surprise.

I like, "Oh, wait,
she thinks she's married
to this guy."

[Barber] With Marie,
it was almost like
she was weightless

when she walked
through the room.

The weightless feeling
that a bird has
when you see it fly?

That's the spirit
that Marie had.

She was vulnerable
because she was so giving.

So if she ran across
somebody that... was a taker.

She would give away anything.

The inner circle...

...consisted of James, Tanya,
and anybody who worked
back in the office.

They were in charge
of everything.

Everything.

They were very, very close.

[Glisson] I'm a member
of the baby boomers.

Yeah, we were wild
and crazy in the '60s
and all that,

but we still had our scruples.

He's supposed to be
your example.

He's your Moses.

He's the shepherd
and we're the sheep.

It's hurtful.

Very hurtful.

They knew what was going on,
I'mma tell you that right now.

You cannot convince me
for one second...

...that they didn't know
the whole story of what
was going on...

...from the get-go.

It was a very
suspicious situation.

And it was very suspicious

as it related to James
and Tanya.

Our office, and myself,
just felt that there was
something fish going on.

[phone dialing]

[phone dialing]

[Bridges] Investigators
are asking you questions.

Now you're leaving up
in the middle of the night,
you know, with Grace.

Why would you do that? Why?

[Glisson] I didn't
know what to think.

I mean, he was my pastor,
he was my teacher.

[Eddins] Once they left,
and went to Arizona,

most of the investigation
that could be done,
had been done at that point.

And we simply did
not have enough evidence
to proceed forward,

so it kind of had to languish.

[Bridges] This is
a little big town.
People talk.

And I was, like, somebody has
to know something.

Come on! Nobody?

So I was bartending,
and overheard a conversation.

They said her name...

... Marie.

By the time I had
an opportunity to go back,
they were gone.

But I overheard
someone sayin',
"She's in the backyard."

What's interesting
to me is Jesus tells us
to love our enemies.

Now, whenever someone
is backstabbing me, lying
about me, gossiping about me,

trying to tear me down,
or whatever, you know
what I want to do?

My feelings say choke
the life out of them!

[congregation laughing]

Yes, and so that means
we have to take control

of our feelings
and our emotions,

and say, "Okay, I'm gonna set
those things aside right now.

God, what is the loving
thing to do?"

[Eddins] The tip came
into Crime Stoppers

that the body was buried
in the backyard.

James and Tanya had left
and were living
in Arizona at that time,

so it was determined
that the yard
should be searched.

Not knowing really killed us.

We had to know where she was.
We had to put her at rest.

[Speed] I was the forensic
anthropologist
in the district,

and the investigator
that handles any kind
of, um, buried bodies.

My job is the recovery,

and to be able
to contribute to giving
answers to the family.

In 2012, they obtained
a search warrant,

and they went to the Flanders
residence with cadaver dogs.

There were multiple questions.

They weren't sure,
was she in the backyard,
was she in the side yard?

But there's a lot of ways
to be able to recognize
a clandestine grave.

Is the grass different
in this area?

We're taking ground
penetrating radar.

There's just this huge
level of hope that this
is where she is.

[dog barking]

But unfortunately,
they did not find Marie.

God! Do you care
if I have a cigarette?

Time to take a break
'cause that just, like...

You wanna know why I like
livin' in the boondocks?

-[Tanya] Why?
-I'll show you why.

-Ready?
-[Tanya] Yeah.

[James] Okay, hold on!

-[Tanya laughing]
-[James] Whoo!

[shouting] Welcome
to the boondocks!

[Eddins] In 2012,

they initially tried
to forensically
examine the computer,

but were unable to do so.

[Eddins] Four
years later, in 2016,

the forensic abilities
had developed dramatically.

Law enforcement was able
to get into the computer,

providin' a lot of texting
with James Flanders
from her iPhone.

It wasn't just a situation
where it was decided that she
was gonna be a surrogate,

and he had sex with her
on the one occasion.

There was
an ongoing relationship.

We also learned
about the geography
of the cell phones.

When Marie Carlson's
group text went out,

the location
of that phone was
in James' and Tanya's house.

That was a major factor
in our belief that something
untoward had happened to her,

and that, in fact,
James Flanders sent out
the group text himself.

And when you put
it all together,

we had sufficient evidence
to seek an arrest warrant,

and I felt that we had
sufficient evidence
to obtain a conviction.

[dog barking]

Ah! I saw him
get arrested on TV.

He was in his camouflage
pants, I'll never forget that.

He didn't look like
the same James,
he didn't look as confident.

And, uh, he wasn't spreadin'
the news, you know,
he was in the news,

and I liked that.

Yeah, mmm-hmm.

[Clyatt] I remember
seein' in the news,

and him bein' walked
through in handcuffs,
and a prison jumpsuit.

It just looked so strange.

I just remember thinkin'
how do things go downhill that
fast that here you are,

and why'd you not hit
the breaks when things
were going bad.

[Eddins] I met
with James Flanders
to interview him,

and what I observed
was a person that was very
articulate under great stress.

And I knew then that
it was going to be a very
difficult case to prosecute.

Cause it was a no body case,
even in view of the facts
and circumstances we had.

If it went to a trial,
he could be a very
difficult adversary.

The defense attorney indicated

that he would like to know
what would happen
if he could give us the body.

At that time, I'd been a trial
lawyer for over 40 years,

I've never had a decision
that was any more difficult.

We had to consider
pleading to manslaughter.

[Bridges] It was hard,
it was hard to not know
where she was.

I remember I was driving
through Arizona,

and I just lost
it because I was, like...

... She could be anywhere.

She could be out
in this dessert,

this vast nothingness,
and we would never find her.

And that's unfortunately
why we took the plea.

[Eddins] So as a result
of the offer, we agreed

that he would give
a statement, and tell
the truth about what happened.

[Eddins] And they got into
an argument, she grabbed
him and he grabbed her.

[woman] You good, sir?
All right, let's go
to the front then.

[sobbing]

[Speed] They were there
in 2012, and unfortunately,
they did not find Marie.

I kind of became the lead
on scene in the recovery
because of my expertise.

When we started the dig,
as I was going down,

um, I hit a portion
of the blanket.

And then I exposed part
of her lower extremity

that was, um, not wrapped
in the blanket.

The first thought was kind
of a big exhale of...
okay, she's here.

He buried her so deep that
what is used for locating

a clandestine grave,
didn't work.

But having him point out
where she was,
was the big difference.

It's kinda hard to watch,
'cause it makes you...
I mean, it makes me mad.

Oh, okay, so she's here,
and you want to have a moment.

You know, it just of makes
me kind of infuriated

to watch him get
so emotional over
something that he did.

That's that feeling
that comes up, like, no!

You shouldn't be emotional
like this, you did this.

[Bridges] During
the court proceedings,

I never felt that much
animosity towards somebody.

I wanted to just, like,
"Look at me, look at us."

You're looking above
and around, look at us!

Look at... look
at what you did.

Ugh, I abhor you.

[Bridges] How did
people believe you?

Because I see
right through
your [bleep] !

Now, whenever someone
is backstabbing me, lying
about me, gossiping about me,

trying to tear me down,
or whatever, you know
what I want to do?

My feelings say choke
the life out of them!

[congregation laughing]

Then you laugh about it.

And so that means
we have to take control

of our feelings
and our emotions,

and say, "Okay, I'm gonna set
those things aside right now.

God, what is the loving
thing to do?"

Kill her!

[exhaling]

I wanna... I wanna just
choke the stew out of him,
just like he talked about!

See how you like it!

Boy, I could say some really
foul words right now.

I feel so sorry
for Marie's family.

I don't know what
I could do for them.

I don't know what in the world
I can ever say to them,

'cause they are never
gonna have any comfort.

That's not enough.
That's not enough time.

I just hope that karma does
what she's good at doin'
with him.

When that time comes.

[Clyatt] Now, I really don't
know what somebody's
fully capable of

if a pastor of a church
is capable of that.

A pastor should
value life, period.

You killed somebody
and you buried 'em
in your backyard.

How much worse can you be?
That... It doesn't
get any worse than that.

[Bridges] Tanya has done
a great job of raising her.

Now, granted it should
have been my sister, or maybe
both of them together,

whatever their plans were
but she's well taken care of.

[Grace screaming]

[Grace playing]
Somewhere
in the middle...

[Barber] I want Grace to know
that her mother loved her,

and we saw that
when she brought
her over to see us.

And, uh, I want her to know

that if she ever wants to see
her mother, all she has
to do is look in the mirror,

and she's always
there with her.

Just look in the mirror.

[exhaling]

[crying]

Oh, I love you.

[Bridges] She needed
to be known differently.

She was not just a victim.

Not just someone
who decided to shack up
with, you know, a couple.

I don't want
her memory
to be that.

She was a wonderful mom,
a wonderful sister,
a wonderful daughter.

I just know she wants
to be remembered
in a good light.

'Cause she was light.

Oh.