The Dark Legacy of Mark Kilroy: A Spring Break Nightmare

[00:00:00] From executive producer Billy Bush, the story of a man that waited his whole life to fall in love, to have a family.

[00:00:09] That man was lucky enough to do that with a woman he had known for half of her life.

[00:00:14] Rachel was a pilot, a trauma nurse and a lawyer. And she got pregnant.

[00:00:19] It was clear that their baby was going to have the best mom.

[00:00:24] The problem is that Rachel meticulously concealed her 22-year marriage, hiding behind elaborate lies and deceit.

[00:00:34] She lied about being a pilot, lied about being a trauma nurse and a lawyer.

[00:00:38] And worst of all, she lied about being pregnant and having cancer.

[00:00:47] This is my story. Join me for the Rachel Cancer Scam everywhere you get your podcasts.

[00:00:53] The case featured in this episode has been researched using police records, court documents, witness statements and the news.

[00:01:02] Listener discretion is advised. All parties mentioned are innocent until proven guilty and all opinions are my own.

[00:01:28] Hey everyone. My name is Nikki Young and this is Serial Napper, the true crime podcast for naps.

[00:01:35] I'm back with another true crime story to lull you to sleep or perhaps to give you nightmares.

[00:01:42] It's spring break 1989, a time for fun and relaxation.

[00:01:48] But for one Texas college student, a week of sun and sand would turn into a nightmare.

[00:01:54] When Mark Kilroy vanished in the Mexican border town of Matamoroso side of a bar, the initial response from authorities was anything but swift.

[00:02:04] Local Mexican police treated it like any other missing person report.

[00:02:08] But for those who loved him, the clock was ticking.

[00:02:12] Mark's family, his friends and a growing number of volunteers knew that this wasn't just any ordinary case.

[00:02:19] It was something far darker, far more sinister.

[00:02:24] What followed was a twisted tale of ritual sacrifice, drug smuggling and unimaginable brutality and torture.

[00:02:34] As the days passed, the case grew colder.

[00:02:37] And yet something far more chilling was unfolding in the shadows of Matamoroso.

[00:02:43] Something that would soon make Mark Kilroy's name synonymous with a dark chapter in criminal history.

[00:02:50] Less than a month after his disappearance, Mark's body was discovered, along with 14 others, buried on a remote ranch.

[00:02:59] What happened in those dark weeks he was missing would reveal the horrors of a cult led by the sadistic Adolfo Constanzo.

[00:03:08] So, dim the lights, put your phone down, and listen to the chilling story of Mark Kilroy and the reign of terror by a murderous gang that shattered a deeply religious and superstitious border town.

[00:03:22] So let's jump right in.

[00:03:24] Mark James Kilroy was a young man destined for greatness.

[00:03:29] Born on March 5th, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois, he was the golden child.

[00:03:35] He grew up with his devout Catholic family in the quiet town of Santa Fe, Texas, where he would come to be known not just for his academic brilliance, but for his warmth and kindness.

[00:03:46] From a young age, Mark stood out amongst his peers.

[00:03:50] He was incredibly sharp and he just picked things up really easily.

[00:03:55] He had a bright mind, but he also had this natural ability to connect with others, making him a well-liked guy with several different friend groups.

[00:04:06] Whether it was his involvement with the Boy Scouts or his love for sports, basketball, baseball, and golf being his favorites, Mark always gave it his all.

[00:04:16] After graduating from Santa Fe High School at the top of his class in 1986, Mark's future seemed limitless.

[00:04:23] He first attended Southwest Texas State University on a basketball scholarship, but his ambition led him to transfer to the prestigious University of Texas in Austin, where he pursued his dream of becoming a doctor.

[00:04:37] A pre-med student at the time, Mark worked tirelessly, balancing the demands of his studies with spending time with his friends, which he really valued.

[00:04:48] Which is why, when he was asked to go away for spring break with his three closest buddies, he said yes, even though he had a full plate.

[00:04:58] So, on March 10th, 1989, Mark, along with his friends Bradley Moore, Bill Huddleston, and Brent Martin, they set out for a much-needed break to South Padre Island, Texas.

[00:05:11] This is a spot well-known by college students looking for fun in the sun as a top destination for white sandy beaches, beachfront clubs, and bars.

[00:05:22] Every year, thousands of young partygoers flock to South Padre Island looking for a good time, which is exactly what Mark and his friends found.

[00:05:33] They spent the first few days drinking, lying on the beach, napping, and, of course, partying with all of the other students who were there for the very same thing.

[00:05:44] Then, they decided to venture out a little further.

[00:05:48] Because the island is located along the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, it was easy for the group of guys to make their way across the border to Mexico.

[00:05:56] They decided it might be fun to take a day trip over to Matamoros, another popular tourist destination with a lively nightlife.

[00:06:07] They parked their car at the Gateway International Bridge, and then they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border by foot.

[00:06:15] The plan was to do a bit of bar hopping.

[00:06:18] They stopped at several popular bars for a drink before landing at Los Sombreros.

[00:06:23] It was a new bar that they hadn't been to before and had a short line when they arrived, but it quickly became packed with people.

[00:06:32] They had a few drinks before moving on to the Hard Rock Cafe, where they enjoyed a night of drinking and dancing.

[00:06:40] Later, Mark's friends would say that they kind of lost track of him.

[00:06:44] He had met a young woman, and he spent most of the night dancing with her.

[00:06:48] At around 2 a.m., they decided that it was probably time to head back to the island.

[00:06:55] The guys found Mark standing outside of the club talking to the young woman, and they all agreed that it was probably time to start walking back.

[00:07:03] They headed on foot towards the Gateway International Bridge, where they would cross the border back into Texas.

[00:07:10] However, the streets were really busy that night with other tourists and partygoers, and Mark's friends, they lost sight of him in the crowd.

[00:07:19] And Mark's friends, well, they lost sight of him in the crowd.

[00:07:24] Still, he knew the way, so they just figured that they would wait for him near the border before crossing.

[00:07:30] But Mark never showed up.

[00:07:32] After waiting around for a few more hours, they figured that he would turn up by the morning.

[00:07:38] Perhaps he had decided to take a cab back to the hotel.

[00:07:42] So they got into their car, and they left.

[00:07:45] But the following morning, the group of guys were shocked to find that Mark still had not returned.

[00:07:51] This is when they decided to call the police to report him as missing.

[00:07:55] One of the biggest problems in this case is that everyone who was there the night that Mark disappeared was heavily intoxicated,

[00:08:04] and memories about what had happened, they were fuzzy.

[00:08:07] They tried to piece the puzzle together.

[00:08:10] Did they see him talking to anyone else?

[00:08:12] Had he maybe walked off in the wrong direction and then gotten lost?

[00:08:16] One thing was for sure.

[00:08:19] It wasn't like him to just take off without telling them.

[00:08:22] He was an extremely responsible person.

[00:08:25] One of Mark's friends, Bradley Moore, would later say,

[00:08:28] quote,

[00:08:29] He was drunk.

[00:08:30] We were drunk.

[00:08:31] And we lost him.

[00:08:32] There's no way he left with somebody else.

[00:08:35] Something has happened.

[00:08:37] I've known the guy ever since kindergarten.

[00:08:39] He wouldn't go off and just not call us.

[00:08:43] They decided to return to the downtown core of Madame Rousse, where all of the bars were located.

[00:08:49] Maybe he had just passed out somewhere.

[00:08:51] They asked around to see if anyone had seen him,

[00:08:54] but there was no sign of Mark.

[00:08:56] No one had seen anything.

[00:08:57] No one had seen anyone that looked like him.

[00:09:00] Their idyllic spring break vacation was very quickly turning into a nightmare.

[00:09:06] At first, Mark's disappearance was treated like any other routine missing person case.

[00:09:12] Again, the local Mexican police,

[00:09:14] they just thought that he was likely a young man who had gone off from his friends to have a bit of fun,

[00:09:19] but he'd turn up eventually.

[00:09:22] However, for Mark's family and friends, they knew that this wasn't just an ordinary case.

[00:09:28] His parents, Jim and Helen Kilroy, they refused to sit around and wait for the news.

[00:09:34] They knew in their hearts that their son, he wasn't just lost.

[00:09:39] Something can happen to him.

[00:09:41] With the agony of not knowing weighing heavily on them, they decided to take action.

[00:09:46] Without hesitation, Mark's dad boarded a flight to Mexico, determined to join the search in person.

[00:09:53] The family offered a $15,000 reward, hoping that it would spark someone's conscience or at least appeal to their wallet.

[00:10:02] Flyers with Mark's smiling face were plastered across both sides of the border,

[00:10:07] pleading for anyone with information to come forward to help bring Mark home.

[00:10:12] And yet, despite the mounting efforts and the reward, the case seemed to stall.

[00:10:19] Mark's friend Bill had been the last person to see him outside the nightclub,

[00:10:23] but he had also been intoxicated, so again, his memory, it was really fuzzy.

[00:10:28] It was hazy.

[00:10:29] So, he was placed under hypnosis to explore whether his subconscious mind could recall any crucial details.

[00:10:37] Under hypnosis, Bill remembered seeing a Hispanic male with a cut on his cheek wearing a blue plaid shirt.

[00:10:44] This man gestured towards Mark in English, prompting Mark to stop and engage in a conversation.

[00:10:51] Later, in an interview with the Washington Post, Bill recounted hearing the stranger ask,

[00:10:56] Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?

[00:10:59] He clarified,

[00:11:01] It was just a quick glimpse. I'm not even sure if Mark responded.

[00:11:04] So, was this a real memory?

[00:11:07] And if so, could this man in the blue plaid shirt be involved in Mark's disappearance?

[00:11:13] Eventually, Mark's story was picked up by America's Most Wanted, and it began making headlines across the country.

[00:11:20] Side note, was anyone else's true crime obsession completely sparked by America's Most Wanted?

[00:11:25] I swear, as a child, I watched it religiously, and I always felt like someday,

[00:11:31] I might recognize one of the people that they were searching for.

[00:11:35] Of course, I never did.

[00:11:36] But that show was a great resource for finding missing people and catching the bad guys.

[00:11:42] They really should consider bringing it back.

[00:11:44] Let's start a petition.

[00:11:46] Unfortunately, there weren't any valid tips that came through the show.

[00:11:50] However, all of this media attention, it really put the spotlight on both U.S. and Mexican authorities,

[00:11:57] who were forced to escalate their efforts to find Mark.

[00:12:01] Three weeks would pass before authorities would catch an unlikely break.

[00:12:05] Now, I'm going to try my very best to pronounce these Spanish names,

[00:12:09] but truly, some days, I struggle to even speak English, my native tongue.

[00:12:14] In early April, across the Mexican border, a checkpoint was set up by local police,

[00:12:20] where they were stopping cars and checking the vehicles for drugs.

[00:12:24] A gang member named Serafin Hernandez-Garcia, who was the nephew of well-known gangster Elio Hernandez-Rivera,

[00:12:32] he drove right through the checkpoint, causing law enforcement to chase him back to this ranch

[00:12:38] where his family had a complex drug smuggling operation.

[00:12:41] The ranch was called Santa Elena, and it was located just outside of Matamoros,

[00:12:48] and it belonged to Adolfo Constanzo, an unimaginably evil man.

[00:12:54] Of course, when the police discovered this getaway driver's vehicle parked on the ranch,

[00:13:00] they decided to search the property, and they found 30 kilos of marijuana.

[00:13:05] But that's not all they found.

[00:13:08] When they raided a storage shed that was on the property,

[00:13:12] they found what they believed to be a place where devil-worshipping and black magic had occurred.

[00:13:18] Amongst the empty bottles and cigar butts on the floor,

[00:13:21] there were melted candles, a blood-stained altar, and cauldrons lying around.

[00:13:28] Worst of all, it smelled like death,

[00:13:32] something that you just can't mistake anything else for.

[00:13:35] It smelled like something or someone had recently died there.

[00:13:39] Before any further investigation could be or would be conducted,

[00:13:44] a healer was needed to be called in to neutralize the black magic and to cast out the demons.

[00:13:50] But until that happened, officers refused to remain on the ranch property.

[00:13:56] Once it was cleared, Mexican authorities unraveled horrors beyond anything that anyone could have imagined.

[00:14:03] A violent, ritualistic, drug-smuggling cult.

[00:14:08] In speaking with a caretaker who worked at the ranch,

[00:14:11] they learned that Mark Kilroy had been at this property.

[00:14:15] After being shown a photograph of Mark,

[00:14:18] the caretaker said that he remembered seeing the young man

[00:14:21] handcuffed in the back of a vehicle which was parked in the equipment yard.

[00:14:25] But he hadn't seen him again since then.

[00:14:29] Investigators hauled several of the gang members into an interrogation room,

[00:14:33] including gang boss Elio Hernandez Rivera and his nephew, Serafin Hernandez Garcia.

[00:14:40] After questioning them for hours, Serafin began to talk.

[00:14:45] He said that they were a part of this group, which was really a cult,

[00:14:51] led by Adolfo Constanzo,

[00:14:53] and they performed human sacrifices to gain supernatural powers and protection against law enforcement.

[00:15:00] It's time for a quick break and a word from tonight's sponsors.

[00:15:04] Hang on, I'll be back before you know it.

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[00:16:35] Now back to our story.

[00:16:40] Here's a little bit about Adolfo.

[00:16:43] Adolfo Constanzo was born in Miami, Florida

[00:16:46] to a young Cuban immigrant who was just 15 years old

[00:16:49] when she gave birth to him.

[00:16:51] He grew up in an Afro-Caribbean community.

[00:16:54] His mother practiced and taught him Santeria,

[00:16:57] which fuses Catholicism with Afro-Cuban religion.

[00:17:01] So while he was baptized Catholic and had even served as an altar boy when he was young,

[00:17:07] he was also heavily exposed to other religions closely related to voodoo.

[00:17:13] Adolfo grew up believing that he had special powers at the insistence of his mother.

[00:17:18] And as a teenager, he began to practice Palo Mayombe,

[00:17:22] which is a religion that is said to have some dark elements to it.

[00:17:26] Typically, rituals practiced within Palo Mayombe involve human and animal remains

[00:17:32] and performing sacrifices in order to gain powers.

[00:17:36] However, I want to note here that today,

[00:17:38] neither Santeria nor Palo Mayombe involves the killing of humans.

[00:17:42] So that's really important to know.

[00:17:45] But yet, Adolfo, he focused his interest specifically on this aspect of the religions.

[00:17:51] He was also getting into a bit of criminal trouble.

[00:17:55] His stepfather at the time was into dealing drugs,

[00:17:58] so he didn't have the best role models or anyone really looking out for what he was doing.

[00:18:03] He got kicked out of prep school,

[00:18:04] and he was arrested for several petty crimes, including shoplifting and vandalism.

[00:18:10] When he moved to Mexico as an adult,

[00:18:13] he presented himself as a powerful witch doctor,

[00:18:16] and he pretty quickly gained a following,

[00:18:19] especially from people involved in the Mexican drug trade.

[00:18:23] He would perform animal sacrifices and cast these protection spells for his rich drug cartel clients.

[00:18:30] These people were incredibly superstitious and looking for any sort of

[00:18:35] black magic that could keep the police away from their dealings.

[00:18:39] This is how he formed his own cult,

[00:18:41] which would be dubbed Los Narcosatanicos,

[00:18:45] or in English, the Narcosatanists.

[00:18:48] They operated on the secluded Santa Elena Ranch,

[00:18:52] and they smuggled drugs,

[00:18:54] they performed human sacrifices,

[00:18:56] and they felt invincible against the police force.

[00:19:01] Adolfo was known as the Godfather,

[00:19:03] and he was seen by his followers as more godlike than human.

[00:19:07] He used a combination of fear and pure brainwashing to keep them in line.

[00:19:13] One of Adolfo's followers,

[00:19:16] Serafin,

[00:19:17] admitted to kidnapping and murdering Mark Kilroy as part of one of these human sacrifice rituals.

[00:19:23] He claimed that Adolfo wanted the group to target a white male,

[00:19:27] so they went downtown to the area of Matamoros,

[00:19:31] where drunk tourists like to party,

[00:19:33] and they found Mark standing outside the club.

[00:19:36] They lured him near the truck,

[00:19:39] where other gang members were waiting to jump him,

[00:19:42] and then they dragged him into the vehicle before driving off.

[00:19:46] At one point on the journey back,

[00:19:48] Serafin had to pee,

[00:19:50] so they stopped on the side of the road so that he could urinate.

[00:19:53] That's when Mark tried to make a run for it,

[00:19:56] but unfortunately,

[00:19:57] one of the other members caught him,

[00:19:59] tossed him in the back seat,

[00:20:01] and handcuffed him to make it harder for him to escape again.

[00:20:04] Once he was taken back to the Santa Elena ranch,

[00:20:07] he was kept alive for about 12 hours,

[00:20:11] handcuffed in the back of this vehicle.

[00:20:13] Just after dawn,

[00:20:15] the ranch caretaker came to give him some eggs,

[00:20:17] bread,

[00:20:18] and water to eat,

[00:20:19] an act of kindness,

[00:20:21] before he would be tortured in the most brutal of ways

[00:20:25] and offered as a human sacrifice.

[00:20:28] Now,

[00:20:28] trigger warning here for,

[00:20:30] well,

[00:20:31] everything.

[00:20:31] What Mark Kilroy endured that night?

[00:20:35] It was unimaginable brutality.

[00:20:38] It was mid-afternoon when the cult members returned to the vehicle for Mark.

[00:20:42] They put duct tape over his eyes and mouth,

[00:20:45] and then they guided him to the shed.

[00:20:48] In this disgusting human slaughterhouse,

[00:20:51] which would have smelled like pure death,

[00:20:53] he was tortured and sodomized.

[00:20:56] Then he was walked out to a field where he was killed with a machete,

[00:21:01] which one member used to hit him in the back of the head and neck.

[00:21:05] His brain was removed,

[00:21:06] and it was cooked in a pot.

[00:21:08] Some of the members said that this was done to the brain so that it could be used to cast spells,

[00:21:13] while other members said that they would be able to gain Mark's intelligence by consuming it.

[00:21:19] Then the rest of his remains were prepared for burial.

[00:21:24] Serafin would lead investigators out to the field on the ranch where there was a piece of wire sticking out of the ground,

[00:21:30] signifying that Mark's body was buried below.

[00:21:34] When the police began to dig him out,

[00:21:36] they found that the other end of the wire was attached to Mark's spinal column.

[00:21:41] This was done intentionally so that once his body had decomposed,

[00:21:46] they could easily pull out the bones in his vertebrae to make into a necklace,

[00:21:51] to wear as a trophy,

[00:21:53] which they believed warded off danger.

[00:21:56] Mark's legs had also been cut off just above the knees

[00:21:59] in order to make it easier to bury him.

[00:22:02] What had been done to Mark was sickening,

[00:22:05] but it was just the tip of the iceberg.

[00:22:08] As investigators continued digging in the field,

[00:22:11] they would uncover a dozen more corpses.

[00:22:14] In total, police excavated 15 mutilated bodies, including Mark's.

[00:22:20] One was that of a young boy,

[00:22:22] while one body belonged to a police officer.

[00:22:24] Most belonged to members of rival gangs.

[00:22:28] Three of the bodies would never be identified.

[00:22:31] Some appeared to have been killed with a knife,

[00:22:34] while others had bullet holes in them.

[00:22:36] There was at least one body that had been burned,

[00:22:39] and another appeared to have been hanged.

[00:22:42] Most were completely mutilated,

[00:22:44] with their hearts ripped out and their eyes and ears and genitals removed.

[00:22:49] On the ranch property,

[00:22:51] in that shed that was more like a human slaughterhouse,

[00:22:54] police found cauldrons with bloody sticks standing up in them.

[00:22:58] They found a variety of vessels filled with vile substances

[00:23:03] believed to contain a mixture of both animal and human body parts,

[00:23:07] pieces of flesh and hair,

[00:23:10] pots that appeared to have been used to boil human parts.

[00:23:15] They found severed chicken and goat heads,

[00:23:17] and a blood-caked machete,

[00:23:19] which had clearly been well used.

[00:23:21] Told by members of the cult,

[00:23:24] as the story went,

[00:23:24] The sacrifice would first be tortured,

[00:23:27] then killed by having their throat cut or their head chopped off.

[00:23:31] Body parts like the brain, heart, and testicles would be removed and boiled in a pot,

[00:23:37] and then consumed by those in the cult,

[00:23:39] who believed that it would give them powers or wisdom.

[00:23:43] Then, whatever remained of their victim

[00:23:45] would be buried in the field behind the killing shed.

[00:23:48] Some bones were kept,

[00:23:50] to be worn as necklaces to ward off further danger.

[00:23:54] Initially, the victims were chosen from among the enemies,

[00:23:57] competing drug dealers or corrupt cops who had violated their agreements.

[00:24:02] But as time passed,

[00:24:04] their targets seemed to become more random.

[00:24:08] During one of these executions,

[00:24:10] the group had taken a matamorose cop.

[00:24:13] However, when the officer pulled out a gun

[00:24:15] and began to fire on the cult members,

[00:24:17] they had to shoot him dead right there,

[00:24:19] which meant that they couldn't perform their planned human sacrifice.

[00:24:23] The group was then ordered to find another victim immediately.

[00:24:28] They came back with a 14-year-old boy

[00:24:31] who had been abducted by throwing a sack over his head

[00:24:34] while he was out looking for a lost goat.

[00:24:38] He was believed to be their youngest victim,

[00:24:40] but they did not show him any mercy.

[00:24:43] When they returned to the ranch,

[00:24:45] they decapitated him with a machete.

[00:24:47] After the last few bodies were exhumed from the field at Santa Elena,

[00:24:52] it was decided that the best course of action

[00:24:54] would be to burn down the death shed or that human slaughterhouse.

[00:24:59] Amongst the ashes,

[00:25:00] a wooden cross was placed.

[00:25:02] But this wouldn't stop members of the community

[00:25:05] from continuing to show up at the ranch and dig,

[00:25:09] hoping that they might find the remains

[00:25:11] of their missing family members

[00:25:12] so that they might finally lay them to rest.

[00:25:16] Unfortunately,

[00:25:18] Adolfo would never face trial

[00:25:20] or be punished for his crimes

[00:25:22] for creating this murderous, cannibalistic cult.

[00:25:26] He, along with several other cult members,

[00:25:29] fled to Mexico City after the police raid.

[00:25:32] People on both sides of the border

[00:25:34] were terrified of the implications.

[00:25:36] There was even a rumor that

[00:25:39] these Satanists were going to kidnap children

[00:25:41] and sacrifice them

[00:25:43] if the police continued their pursuit

[00:25:45] to find the cult leaders.

[00:25:47] Horrified parents pulled their children out of school

[00:25:49] just in case.

[00:25:51] There was an international manhunt

[00:25:53] to find Adolfo and his group,

[00:25:55] which led the police to a small apartment building

[00:25:58] on May 6th.

[00:26:00] As a SWAT team moved in on them,

[00:26:02] Adolfo and a few of his members,

[00:26:04] they barricaded themselves inside

[00:26:06] as Adolfo began to throw money out the window

[00:26:09] and burn it on the stove.

[00:26:10] He refused to let anyone else have it.

[00:26:13] Then he fired shots at the officers

[00:26:16] before asking his men to shoot him

[00:26:19] and his right-hand man

[00:26:20] with a machine gun,

[00:26:22] which they did.

[00:26:23] Their bodies would be found by police

[00:26:25] inside the apartment.

[00:26:27] However,

[00:26:28] some of the others involved

[00:26:30] would be punished,

[00:26:31] including

[00:26:32] a young woman named Sarah Aldrate,

[00:26:35] who was a high-ranking member of the cult

[00:26:36] and arrested at the scene.

[00:26:39] Sarah didn't fit the bill

[00:26:40] for what you would envision

[00:26:41] when thinking of a murderous cult leader drug lord.

[00:26:45] At one point,

[00:26:46] she had been an honor student

[00:26:48] and a cheerleader.

[00:26:49] However,

[00:26:50] when she was induced to Adolfo

[00:26:52] when she began dating a drug dealer,

[00:26:54] she became one of his main recruiters.

[00:26:57] She was young and very pretty,

[00:26:59] much more approachable for the men

[00:27:02] that she wanted to either

[00:27:03] kill or do her bidding.

[00:27:06] Adolfo gave her the nickname

[00:27:07] La Madrina,

[00:27:09] or the Godmother.

[00:27:11] Sarah attended college

[00:27:12] in Brownsville, Texas,

[00:27:14] which allowed her to work

[00:27:15] on both sides of the border.

[00:27:17] While most people had no idea

[00:27:20] that she was capable of such a thing,

[00:27:22] some fellow students found it

[00:27:24] a bit odd

[00:27:25] that she drove around in a car

[00:27:27] that had an embedded telephone in it.

[00:27:30] This was the late 80s

[00:27:31] and car phones,

[00:27:32] they just,

[00:27:33] they weren't really a thing.

[00:27:34] But she needed to be able

[00:27:36] to communicate

[00:27:37] with the other members.

[00:27:39] Sarah was living a double life,

[00:27:41] astute college student by day

[00:27:43] and the leader

[00:27:44] of a killer drug smuggling

[00:27:46] called By Night.

[00:27:47] One of her college instructors

[00:27:49] would say,

[00:27:50] she was an outstanding student,

[00:27:52] kind,

[00:27:53] approachable,

[00:27:54] and always courteous.

[00:27:55] I wish I had more students like her.

[00:27:58] In 1988,

[00:28:00] Sarah,

[00:28:01] who served as president

[00:28:02] of the Soccer Booster Club,

[00:28:04] was honored as the outstanding

[00:28:05] physical education student.

[00:28:07] She somehow balanced

[00:28:09] her cult life

[00:28:09] with her academic workload

[00:28:11] and still had time

[00:28:12] for extracurricular activities.

[00:28:15] And here I am,

[00:28:16] struggling to find a moment

[00:28:17] to brush my hair some days.

[00:28:19] According to the other members,

[00:28:21] Sarah had often made them watch

[00:28:23] the 1987 horror flick,

[00:28:25] The Believers,

[00:28:26] which I personally

[00:28:27] have never seen.

[00:28:28] But it's about

[00:28:29] a New York City cult

[00:28:30] that performs human sacrifices

[00:28:32] in order to gain power,

[00:28:34] protection,

[00:28:34] and money.

[00:28:35] Sound familiar?

[00:28:37] This was just another tool

[00:28:38] used to brainwash them

[00:28:40] into believing that

[00:28:41] what they were doing

[00:28:42] was all real.

[00:28:43] At first,

[00:28:44] Sarah tried to paint herself

[00:28:45] as another victim

[00:28:46] of the cult

[00:28:47] when she was arrested.

[00:28:48] She was just manipulated

[00:28:50] and threatened

[00:28:51] into doing their bidding.

[00:28:52] She acted sympathetic

[00:28:53] about what had happened

[00:28:54] to Mark Kilroy,

[00:28:56] but the authorities,

[00:28:57] they weren't buying it.

[00:28:59] After her arrest,

[00:29:00] they searched her apartment

[00:29:01] and they found an altar

[00:29:03] with black candles

[00:29:04] and what appeared to be

[00:29:05] blood spatter on the walls.

[00:29:07] At least five other cult members

[00:29:10] would be prosecuted

[00:29:11] for their role

[00:29:11] in the killings

[00:29:12] of the 15 men

[00:29:13] found on the property.

[00:29:14] They were charged

[00:29:15] with capital murder

[00:29:16] and drug trafficking.

[00:29:18] Serafin Hernandez-Garcia,

[00:29:20] who had led the police

[00:29:21] to the property that day

[00:29:22] and was one of the first

[00:29:24] to confess,

[00:29:25] he would serve

[00:29:25] as a key witness

[00:29:26] for the prosecution.

[00:29:28] This was of little comfort

[00:29:30] to Mark's parents,

[00:29:32] James and Helen,

[00:29:33] who had to live

[00:29:34] with the graphic image

[00:29:35] of what their son's

[00:29:36] last night on earth

[00:29:37] was like.

[00:29:39] Surprisingly,

[00:29:40] in a media interview,

[00:29:41] they would say

[00:29:42] that they had no anger

[00:29:43] towards his killer

[00:29:44] and they asked

[00:29:45] that everyone pray

[00:29:47] for their souls.

[00:29:48] Mark's dad,

[00:29:49] James,

[00:29:50] went as far as to say

[00:29:51] that if the killers

[00:29:52] were to go to heaven

[00:29:53] and meet Mark,

[00:29:54] he hoped that they would

[00:29:56] apologize for what they did.

[00:29:57] In my opinion,

[00:29:59] if there is a heaven,

[00:30:00] I don't think

[00:30:01] that's where they're headed.

[00:30:03] James and Helen

[00:30:04] would go on

[00:30:04] to create a non-profit

[00:30:06] organization

[00:30:06] in Mark's name,

[00:30:08] which was dedicated

[00:30:09] to fighting substance abuse.

[00:30:10] According to the website,

[00:30:12] quote,

[00:30:13] In May 1989,

[00:30:15] the Mark Kilroy Foundation

[00:30:16] non-profit organization

[00:30:18] was formed.

[00:30:19] The primary goal

[00:30:20] was to unite organizations

[00:30:22] and individuals

[00:30:23] in the community

[00:30:23] in the prevention

[00:30:25] of substance abuse.

[00:30:26] The foundation

[00:30:27] has since been involved

[00:30:28] in drug and violence

[00:30:30] prevention,

[00:30:31] education,

[00:30:31] and rehabilitation.

[00:30:34] Scholarships are awarded

[00:30:35] throughout the year

[00:30:36] to eligible applicants.

[00:30:38] The Kilroys

[00:30:38] have spoken

[00:30:39] throughout Texas

[00:30:40] at schools,

[00:30:41] organizations,

[00:30:42] and churches.

[00:30:43] They have put

[00:30:44] any and all money

[00:30:46] given to them,

[00:30:47] including all the book

[00:30:48] sale monies,

[00:30:49] into the foundation's

[00:30:50] anti-drug

[00:30:51] and violence

[00:30:52] prevention efforts.

[00:30:53] The Kilroys

[00:30:54] would tell Rolling Stone,

[00:30:55] quote,

[00:30:56] We're definitely

[00:30:56] putting our energy

[00:30:58] into the fight

[00:30:58] against drugs.

[00:30:59] For that reason,

[00:31:01] we don't look back.

[00:31:02] We try to look forward.

[00:31:04] Well,

[00:31:05] there are much better

[00:31:06] people than

[00:31:07] I could ever

[00:31:07] pretend to be.

[00:31:08] In December 2014,

[00:31:11] Helen Kilroy

[00:31:12] passed away

[00:31:12] at the age of 70.

[00:31:14] She is buried

[00:31:15] right next to her son,

[00:31:17] Mark,

[00:31:17] but she died

[00:31:18] with a trauma

[00:31:19] that no mother

[00:31:20] should ever have

[00:31:21] to experience.

[00:31:23] What happened

[00:31:24] to Mark Kilroy

[00:31:25] and the brutality

[00:31:26] that occurred

[00:31:27] on the Santa Elena

[00:31:28] ranch

[00:31:29] has had long-lasting

[00:31:31] effects.

[00:31:32] The U.S.

[00:31:33] State Department

[00:31:33] has long since

[00:31:34] warned Americans

[00:31:35] not to travel

[00:31:36] to Matamoros

[00:31:37] and the surrounding

[00:31:38] areas

[00:31:39] due to crime

[00:31:40] and kidnapping.

[00:31:41] In 2023,

[00:31:43] four South Carolina

[00:31:44] residents

[00:31:44] were recorded

[00:31:45] on camera

[00:31:46] being abducted

[00:31:47] in broad daylight

[00:31:48] by a heavily armed

[00:31:49] group of men

[00:31:50] near the Matamoros border.

[00:31:52] They were traveling

[00:31:53] into the city together

[00:31:54] so that one of them

[00:31:56] could get a cheaper

[00:31:57] tummy tuck.

[00:31:58] Two would later

[00:31:59] be found dead

[00:32:00] and one wounded.

[00:32:03] No one thinks

[00:32:04] that this kind of thing

[00:32:05] is ever going

[00:32:06] to happen to them

[00:32:07] but as Mark's friend

[00:32:09] Ryan Fenley

[00:32:10] who was supposed

[00:32:11] to go to Mexico

[00:32:12] that spring break

[00:32:13] but instead went skiing

[00:32:14] says,

[00:32:15] all it takes

[00:32:16] is one time.

[00:32:19] That's it for me tonight.

[00:32:20] If you want to reach out

[00:32:21] you can find me

[00:32:22] on Facebook

[00:32:23] at Serial Napper.

[00:32:24] You can find my audio

[00:32:26] on Apple or Spotify

[00:32:27] or wherever you

[00:32:29] listen to podcasts.

[00:32:30] I post all of my episodes

[00:32:31] in video format

[00:32:32] over on YouTube

[00:32:33] so go check it out.

[00:32:35] And if you're watching

[00:32:36] on YouTube

[00:32:37] I'd love if you can

[00:32:38] give me a thumbs up

[00:32:39] and subscribe

[00:32:40] because every little bit helps.

[00:32:42] I'm also on Patreon

[00:32:44] so if you'd like to get

[00:32:45] your Serial Napper episodes

[00:32:47] early and ad-free

[00:32:48] hop on over

[00:32:49] and check out the details

[00:32:50] at patreon.com

[00:32:52] slash Serial Napper.

[00:32:54] Until next time

[00:32:56] sweet dreams

[00:32:57] stay kind

[00:32:58] especially in the comments.

[00:33:02] Bye.

[00:33:02] Bye.