West
California woman suspects relative was a serial killer after uncovering family secrets: ‘It shook me’
Sierra Barter has wondered if her step-grandfather could have been a serial killer.
“I remember my mom mentioned she Googled the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders,” the 32-year-old told Fox News Digital. “She was freaked out about it. … And I was just like, ‘This is too much. I can’t think about this right now.’
“But then, maybe a couple of days later, I went, and I looked at it – really looked at it,” she shared. “It shook me. It is not a fun thing to imagine that somebody that you spent time with or that you have photos of yourself with … could have committed these kinds of crimes. … It’s an unsettling feeling.”
DEAD APPALACHIAN TRAIL HIKER, ‘MOSTLY HARMLESS,’ LEFT A TRAIL OF MYSTERY: ‘HE DIDN’T WANT TO BE FOUND’
Sierra Barter discovered a new side to her late step-grandfather, Jim Mordecai. (Max)
The California woman’s quest to uncover the truth is being explored in a new four-part documentary on Max, “The Truth About Jim.” It details how Jim Mordecai, a respected high school teacher and star football player, had a history of alleged physical violence and sexual assault against women and girls.
The docuseries features interviews with Mordecai’s daughters, extended family members, a private investigator and law enforcement.
Sierra Barter is hopeful for justice for the victims of the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders. (Max)
Mordecai died in 2008 at age 67. Barter was 15 at the time. But there have always been rumblings about who Mordecai really was. And when Barter finally began asking questions, she wasn’t prepared for the answers.
“After he died, that’s when I learned the truth about what caused my mother to have a separation from my grandmother,” she said. “Then it started to make sense about why there was so much division in the family.”
Sierra Barter spoke to several women in “The Truth About Jim,” including her grandmother, Judy Mordecai, who has since changed her last name. (Max)
Growing up, Barter always knew that her mother, Shannon, detested Mordecai. She even went a full decade without speaking to her mother Judy, Mordecai’s third wife.
“It really started with Sierra talking to her family about Jim,” director Skye Borgman told Fox News Digital. “That’s when they opened up to her about how evil he was to so many women. … Jim’s family was traumatized. … And it was hard to hear stuff like that. But it was also very humanizing and very brave.”
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
The documentary alleged Mordecai repeatedly raped one of his stepdaughters from the time she was 13 years old. Other family members and alleged victims claimed the patriarch terrorized them with threats and violence. Some women in the documentary alleged Mordecai viciously bullied them and that he preyed on teen girls.
Several of Jim Mordecai’s accusers spoke out in the documentary. (Max)
“Sitting down with my grandma was hard,” Barter admitted. “I’m very, very close to her. She was always milk and cookies grandma … but it was difficult to hear these things about someone I love so much. … But it was also such an honor to get to know her as a woman and understand how strong she was and what she went through.
“Hearing my aunt’s stories had a huge impact on me,” Barter added. “We were thankful we were free of Jim at that moment. … It was hard to hear how these women, women I shared giggles with, who dressed me up like a doll and all of that, were enduring such suffering behind closed doors. It was heartbreaking. … It was devastating to hear what was taken from them at the hands of their father.”
Sierra Barter looking at photos of Jim Mordecai. (Max)
Through conversations with loved ones, Barter made a disturbing connection between Mordecai and the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders. The series of at least seven unsolved homicides involving young women took place in the North Bay Area between 1972 and 1973. Two other suspects include serial killers Ted Bundy and the Zodiac Killer. Three of the victims had been bound and two were hogtied.
Sierra Barter wondered if Jim Mordecai could have been the Zodiac Killer. However, the documentary showed there wasn’t any compelling evidence to support that claim. Barter still believes there may be a connection between Mordecai and the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders. (Max)
The documentary alleged Mordecai frequently threatened to hogtie women and “throw them into a ditch.” He also allegedly threatened to kill one of his ex-wives when she asked for a divorce and said, “If you try to get the girls, I will slit their throats,” referring to their children.
Mordecai also kept a collection of cheap, random women’s jewelry.
Sierra Barter said she was stunned by her family’s revelations. (Max)
The documentary revealed Barter handed over some of Mordecai’s personal belongings containing possible DNA to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation is still ongoing, it noted.
SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER
Sierra Barter, her mother Shannon Barter (right) and grandmother Judy Mordecai (left) at a storage unit looking at Jim Mordecai’s knife. (Max)
“These cases are very old,” Barter admitted. “There’s a lot of evidence that isn’t there anymore. There’s a lot of follow-up that needs to happen. A lot of people have passed away. But I’m still hopeful. Maybe there’s a chance we can finally get some answers for these families.”
Sierra Barter driving in Santa Rosa. (Max)
At one point in the documentary, Barter wondered if there was a possibility Mordecai could have been the Zodiac Killer. The identity of the infamous murderer, who killed at least five people during the ‘60s, is still unknown today. However, the documentary showed that there wasn’t enough compelling evidence to link Mordecai to the crimes. Her theory ultimately unravels.
In 2021, a team of specialists who investigate cold cases, known as The Case Breakers, claimed the Zodiac Killer was Gary Francis Poste, who died in 2018. However, no one has ever been charged or identified in the murders.
San Francisco Police circulated this composite of the Bay Area’s “Zodiac Killer.” (Getty Images)
At the time, Fox News Digital reached out to the Vallejo Police Department and the FBI and unsuccessfully tried reaching out to relatives of Poste. The San Francisco Police Department said it was unable to speak about potential suspects in the Zodiac case because it remains an ongoing investigation.
Arthur Leigh Allen, who has been frequently listed as a suspect, died in 1992.
Barter is still waiting for answers. But she feels free of Mordecai and his shadow, she said.
GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB
Sierra Barter said she “gained her family back” after the documentary’s release. (Max)
“I’m just really happy I gained my family back,” Barter said. “It’s not fun to have a fractured family. … But I’m grateful that I don’t have to live with Jim lurking in the sphere anymore. … And I’m so grateful to be surrounded by a group of women reminding me to speak up.
“There’s not a lot of Jim’s childhood that survived,” Barter reflected. “I can only assume that people who are hurt tend to hurt other people. But I don’t want to make excuses for him. There is always an opportunity to get help, which he did not choose to do. I’m not sure why he did the things that he did. I think he was feeling powerless, and that’s why he took his anger out on people and tried to take their power.
“The Truth About Jim” is available for streaming. (Max)
“But, frankly, I’m not so sure if I want to know why. I’m just thankful that these women are now speaking up against him. He’s not able to rest with the idea that he was this great man because we all know that he was not.”
“The Truth About Jim” is streaming on Max.
Read the full article from Here
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Resident’s Tour of Surveillance Infrastructure Shows System ‘Greater Than Sum of Its Parts’ | KQED
Independent writer Larry Kubin toured the city to find a wide network of surveillance.
In an aerial view, an automated license plate reader is seen mounted on a pole on June 13, 2024, in San Francisco, California. Independent writer Larry Kubin of The Fogline toured the city to find a wide network of surveillance, including Flock Safety cameras. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
He found around 700 San Francisco Police Department drone flights in February alone, a rundown of city-owned tech, separate private cameras and a push for even more surveillance.
Among the tech are around 400 Flock Safety automated license plate readers used by SFPD. Police Chief Derrick Lew said this week that out-of-state and federal law enforcement agencies had “improperly” accessed the data, after the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center queried the system hundreds of times.
The incident prompted SFPD to stop sharing Flock data with NCRIC and another agency, the Western States Information Network.
It wasn’t the first of the city’s problems with Flock. In 2025, an investigation by The San Francisco Standard revealed that SFPD had allowed out-of-state agencies to search its system 1.6 million times, a possible violation of state law. Some SFPD personnel also appeared to make searches on behalf of federal agencies.
The Bay Area cities of Santa Cruz, Mountain View, El Cerrito and the town of Los Altos Hills have canceled Flock contracts over worries of improper data sharing, all of which learned their own data had been searched in similar ways. Santa Clara County also iced the company out, and Berkeley council members last month approved a contract extension but not an expansion.
Flock’s attention in the media, plus a 2019 look at Seattle’s surveillance infrastructure, was part of Kubin’s inspiration for the tour.
“I wanted to look more into that because my initial reaction was, like, ‘Oh, reading a license plate, that’s not so bad,’” Kubin said. But then he started spotting cameras in “postcard views” of the city and places where people chill. He said it feels like a much different world than when he was growing up.
“We shouldn’t have to need this much technology. We shouldn’t need a police surveillance technology inventory that’s continuing to expand,” Kubin added.
For that, he in part blames the city’s voter-approved Proposition E. The 2024 ballot measure allows SFPD to roll out new surveillance technology for a full year without an official policy.
“I’m just picturing where we are now and whether it can become like a sci-fi TV show, right? They’re not doing this now, but you can see with these new powers of things like Proposition E,” Kubin said. “The checks and balances are a bit looser.”
Proponents of the measure have defended it, with a former spokesperson for the Yes on E campaign saying officers are “highly trained and should be trusted to make smart decisions” about the use of drones in high-speed chases.
SFPD’s surveillance network has increased in recent years. The Department opened its fully operational Real Time Investigation Center at its headquarters last year. Mayor Daniel Lurie touted it as an important resource in his efforts to keep the city safe and clean.
The center houses a central hub that synthesizes real-time data from Flock cameras, drones and other public safety cameras. As of the reopening, the center helped make at least 800 arrests, according to ABC7.
But the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation is a critic of the center and how it came to be.
EFF said that these centers, which other cities like San Jose have too, are “basically control rooms that pull together all feeds from a vast warrantless digital dragnet.”
SFPD’s center was funded partly through Prop. E, with later additional backing from crypto billionaire and Ripple CEO Chris Larsen. Larsen, through Ripple and his nonprofit San Francisco Police Community Foundation, gifted $9.4 million to the new headquarters.
Larsen’s support was another inspiration for Kubin’s deep-dive into surveillance. He said that, while Larsen’s “crypto billionaire” title was not enough for him to be upset, his name had come up a lot in funding increasing police technology.
Kubin said that the introduction of each surveillance tool in isolation — Flock automated license plate reader cameras, drones, ShotSpotter technology and so on — might’ve made sense at the time for safety. But he worries that it soon evolves into something else.
“The fact that all those different modalities are coming together into this Real-Time Investigation Center – the whole of that is now greater than the sum of its parts,” Kubin said.
Denver, CO
Glitz and glamor take the stage in Monty Python’s “Spamalot” at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Audiences heading to Denver for the upcoming run of “Spamalot” will see plenty of glitz, glamour and even some costumes that have become fan favorites over the years.
Ahead of the musical’s visit to Denver from Aug. 11-23, CBS Colorado was given an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the production while it was playing at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.
The tour took place backstage inside a costume gondola, where ensemble member Claire Kennard showcased some of the elaborate wardrobe pieces featured in the show.
One of the standout costumes is the production’s “Laker Girl” outfit, which Kennard said is packed with intricate details.
“This is our Laker Girl costume. As you can see, we have the nude mesh, so there’s a little bit of a nude illusion. There’s that fish net aspect in there, the ruffles to mimic the coral, the pearls. There’s just a lot of little details that our costume designer, Jen Caprio, thought very thoroughly about,” Kennard said.
Kennard also highlighted one of the ensemble’s showgirl costumes, noting that each performer wears a different color variation.
“So this is our showgirl costume. Each of the girls, there are four ensemble girls, we have different colors, and I am the teal. Which is my personal favorite color. We have tail feathers that are right over here, which are my second favorite part of this costume,” Kennard said.
The costumes are designed to help bring the musical’s over-the-top comedy and spectacle to life.
“(We have) lots of glitz and glamor, and we shine on stage,” Kennard said.
Fans of the musical may also recognize some familiar pieces when the production arrives in Denver. Several of the most popular costumes from the original touring production of “Spamalot” remain on the road and will be featured during the Denver stop.
The Tony Award-winning musical, based on the comedy of Monty Python, will be performed in Denver from Aug. 11 through Aug. 23. Tickets and more information are available on the DCPA website.
CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
Wilyer Abreu hit a two-run homer, Connelly Early gave up two hits and a run in six innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 5-1 on Saturday night.
Early (6-5) struggled in the first inning, giving up a run on two hits, but didn’t allow another hit through the rest of his six innings, although he did hit three Mariners with pitches. He had seven strikeouts and two walks.
Tyron Guerrero pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts, Garrett Whitlock went 1-2-3 in the eighth and Danny Coulombe worked a clean ninth.
Abreu homered off Seattle starter Emerson Hancock (5-4) with two out in the fourth, a shot to center field for his ninth of the season.
The Red Sox tacked on three runs in the sixth inning, with Abreu scoring on a wild pitch and Caleb Durbin and Marcelo Mayer hitting back-to-back RBI infield singles off reliever José A. Ferrer.
The Red Sox stole three bases in the game, with Durbin swiping two.
The AL West-leading Mariners dropped to 39-39, marking the first time they have been .500 since May 29.
Up next
Boston LHP Payton Tolle (3-4, 2.93 ERA) was set to start against RHP Logan Gilbert (5-4, 3.43) on Sunday in the series finale.
-
News21 minutes ago
US strike on an alleged drug boat kills 2, leaves 6 survivors, in the eastern Pacific Ocean
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoL.A. heat advisory issued as temps expected to surge through midweek
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoPlymouth’s Channell-Watkins joins local hockey players on PWHL Detroit
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoSan Francisco Resident’s Tour of Surveillance Infrastructure Shows System ‘Greater Than Sum of Its Parts’ | KQED
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoArgentina fans gather in Dallas for ‘Banderazo Argentino’ ahead of World Cup match
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoInvestigation underway in Miami Gardens after hit-and-run leaves a man in critical condition – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoJets were 300 feet apart in Boston close call that forced Delta flight to abort landing, expert says
-
Denver, CO3 hours agoGlitz and glamor take the stage in Monty Python’s “Spamalot” at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts
