Jack Irwin

True Crime All The Time

This episode of True Crime All the Time explores the mysterious disappearance of Jack Irwin, a lonely Korean War veteran living in a remote cabin on Mount Baldy in California. In early 1999, after befriending Marsha

Key takeaways

• Jack Irwin's disability and reclusive lifestyle made him vulnerable to manipulation by those who sought access to his wealth.
• The trust agreement signed shortly before his disappearance strongly implicates the two women in his death.

Main topics

• Jack Irwin's life as a reclusive Korean War veteran
• His neurological disorder (dystonia) and its impact on his social interactions

Notable quotes

'It was like he was very careful on what he spent. No, he didn't.'

Conclusion

Jack Irwin's tragic death underscores the dangers of isolation and vulnerability in the face of financial

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:34) Hello everyone and welcome to episode 526 of the True Crime All the Time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and with me as always is my partner in true crime, Mike Gibson. Gibby, how are you? Hey, I'm doing good. Speaker 2 (0:45) How about you? Speaker 3 (0:46) I'm doing great. Speaker 2 (0:46) Yeah. Speaker 3 (0:47) I'm having a little throat issue that I got to work through, but hopefully we can make it through this episode. Yeah, I hope so. Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shout outs. We had Seth Kelly. Hey, Seth. Stacey Martinez. What's Speaker 2 (0:59) going on, Martinez? Speaker 3 (1:00) Shirley Bernier jumped out at our highest level. Thanks, Shirley. Or Bernier. I'm still not sure which one it is. Kate. Just Kate. Sharon McPherson. Hey, Speaker 2 (1:10) Sharon. V. What's going on, V? Jamie Silk. Thanks, Jamie. And Speaker 3 (1:15) last but not least, Linda Klein. I love that, Linda. Yeah, I appreciate the new support. And then if we go back into the vault. Speaker 3 (1:24) This week, we selected Kaylee Kelly. Kaylee Kelly. Look at that. Thank you for that. Love Speaker 2 (1:29) it. Speaker 3 (1:29) So we have an episode out right now on True Crime All the Time Unsolved, where we're talking about a Michigan lawyer named Peter Kinsler. In 1976, he was shot in the head outside of his home. 50 years later, his murder remains unsolved, but authorities recently announced, Gibbs, that they have some very promising new leads. I'm loving Speaker 2 (1:52) this. Speaker 3 (1:53) Yeah. I think this is one that may end up being solved sooner than later. And then next Thursday's TCAT is on Carlicia Freeland Gaither. When she was 22 years old, she was abducted one night in Philadelphia, but Carlicia survived. Speaker 2 (2:12) She's one tough cookie. Speaker 3 (2:14) Yeah. I mean, through bravery, intelligence, compassion. She also. had some helpful witnesses who assisted with the investigation leading to her rescue three days later. So it's a little bit of a different type of episode for us. But, you know, the person who abducted her was a very bad individual. Oh, Speaker 2 (2:37) absolutely. Speaker 3 (2:38) Involved in other crimes as well. Speaker 2 (2:40) But I would love to meet her and shake her hand. Oh, Speaker 3 (2:42) yeah. I can't say enough amazing things about her. Yeah. Speaker 2 (2:46) All Speaker 3 (2:46) right, buddy. Are you ready to get into this episode of true crime all the time? I am. We're talking about Jack Irwin. Jack Irwin was a lonely retiree who lived in a cabin on Mount Baldy in California. In early 1999, he befriended Marsha Johnson and Judy Geller, a couple who were interested in buying his home. A month after signing a trust that gave the. women full access to his assets in the event of his death, Jack disappeared. Oh, that's Speaker 2 (3:19) not good. No. Speaker 3 (3:21) I think we know who the first suspects are going to be, right? I think so. Jack Irwin was a Korean War veteran. At the time of his death in 1999, he was 71 years old and living out his retirement in this cabin in Mount Baldy, which has been my nickname for a number Speaker 2 (3:43) of years now. I Speaker 3 (3:43) was Speaker 2 (3:43) going to say, do they know that many people call you Mount Baldy? They do now. Speaker 3 (3:49) Jack purchased his cabin in 1981, according to the LA Times. No one was quite sure where he lived before that, but he was born in the Midwest. There was talk that Jack had either a cousin or a sister with whom he had a falling out years earlier over a home he owned in West Covina, California. So obviously the information on Jack's early life is a little sparse. Right. But Jack never married, and he mostly kept to himself. Kind of like a loner. Yeah, maybe. In a detailed 2005 article on this case, LA Weekly reported that Jack suffered from dystonia, a progressive neurological disorder that affected his fingers, foot, and his vocal cords. Never heard of that before. I have never heard of that either. But it was said that it was hard for Jack to make friends because of his disability. which made speaking difficult for him. It was hard for strangers to understand or hear him when he talked. It was also difficult for Jack to walk. When Jack did talk about his disability, which was rare, he said different things to different people. For example, he told neighbors Bob and Gene Walker he was injured by a hand grenade. In Korea, LA Weekly reported that Jack was wounded while working on a helicopter. copter medevac team in Korea. He was smoking a cigarette and saw what he thought was a football flying over a tent. He woke up in the hospital in Japan and discovered he'd been injured by a hand grenade. And then Jack was discharged from the army after this. But Jack told his neighbors, Tom and Sandy Bailey, that his disability started after he returned from Korea. So it's kind of strange, right? It Speaker 2 (5:45) is. If Speaker 3 (5:46) you really were injured by a hand grenade, that seems like the story you would want to tell because, you know, it's kind of heroic. You were injured in the line of service. Right. Not sure why he would want to change that up. But it's also been reported that Jack struggled with depression and once told Tom Bailey there were times he wanted to die. I get it. You know, a lot of people struggle with depression. You know, this dystonia that he had, it sounds like it was pretty debilitating. Speaker 2 (6:24) Yeah. Speaker 3 (6:24) I'm sure it was not easy. I'm Speaker 2 (6:27) sure add it to his depression. Yeah. Speaker 3 (6:30) Sources reported that before the war, Jack was active. He enjoyed racing cars, motorcycles, and speedboats. And then after coming home from the army, he withdrew. and didn't leave home unless it was necessary. Speaker 2 (6:45) So it sounds like the war messed him up. Speaker 3 (6:48) Well, it changes a Speaker 2 (6:49) lot Speaker 3 (6:50) of people. Has changed a lot of people throughout the years. Jack went to the grocery store, made trips to the VA hospital, and went to the Mount Baldy post office to pay bills. Neighbor Bob Walker told the LA Times he didn't trust a soul. He was really protective of himself. He didn't have much to say about his life or his family or anything, but he was a very sweet guy. Jack's cabin was simple, but he kept it in immaculate condition, according to neighbors. And he slept on an old army cup. He had no stereo, no TV, but he read voraciously. And he bought his clothing from thrift stores. So he's a reader like me. Yeah. I know you're a voracious reader. Yeah. He also is giving off a little bit of some Jack Reacher vibes. Speaker 2 (7:44) He is, isn't he? Speaker 3 (7:45) Because, you know, Reacher likes to buy his clothes from thrift stores. Jack was said to be extremely frugal and never even came close to spending the $722 disability check he received every month. Speaker 2 (8:02) Liking this guy. Speaker 3 (8:03) He sounds. Very similar to you. You are frugal. I'll use that word rather than some of the other words I've used to describe you in the past. But, you know, let's talk about this. $722 a month, even in the 90s. That doesn't seem like a ton to live on. No. I Speaker 2 (8:29) mean. Speaker 2 (8:31) Not going to get all the extra stuff you want when you go out to the grocery. Speaker 3 (8:35) But it sounds like he didn't want the extra stuff. No, he didn't. It was like he was very careful on what he spent. Yeah, I think he was. But despite his Spartan lifestyle, Jack had a significant amount of money in savings. Or maybe because of it in some ways. At the time of his disappearance, he was worth around $250,000. due to a real estate investment per the LA Weekly, Jack kept about $10,000 in cash around his house and often carried a wallet full of cash. And I do think in some ways, you know, that's been a generational thing. Obviously, it's been an era thing as well, right? In times past, when you didn't have debit cards and you didn't have this, this, and this. People carried a lot more cash. But even when those came out, you know, when I was pretty much exclusively using a debit card, my grandfather still paid everything with cash. Speaker 2 (9:39) Oh, yeah. He Speaker 3 (9:40) didn't trust anything but cash, I guess. Oh, that's how my dad was. Tom and Sandy Bailey were the closest thing Jack had to family. Sandy worked at the Mount Baldy post office, so she saw him regularly when he came in. to get money orders, to pay bills also sounds like, you know, he probably didn't have a traditional bank account. Yeah. Maybe not. I don't know. exactly what he had, but he's, he's, you know, most people who are using strictly money orders to pay their bills, that means they don't have a checking account. Sandy told the LA times that she adopted Jack over the years. She invited him over for meals and took him books. Speaker 2 (10:26) That's awesome. Get some free meals, some free books. Speaker 3 (10:30) Just people being nice. I like that, man. I do too. I love it. Jack's heating in his cabin. broke down every year, and she always offered him a place to stay. You know, just good people, I think. Speaker 2 (10:44) Good neighbor right there. Speaker 3 (10:45) According to LA Weekly, Jack's cabin got so cold on winter nights that the water froze in the toilet bowl. Now Speaker 2 (10:53) that's a Speaker 3 (10:54) problem. It seems very cold. Although Jack could afford to buy propane, he believed the propane man cheated him and refused to have his tank filled out of principle. Now I understand principle. Yeah. I also understand freezing to death. And you know, when I want to use the restroom, I'd like to be able to flush my toilet. Yeah. I think everybody would. And not have to go on a solid block of ice. First of all, you might accidentally freeze something that might be very vital to you. Yeah. If you sit down on the. eau de toilette. Speaker 2 (11:34) Yeah. I just think there's times to be frugal and there's times not to be. Speaker 3 (11:40) Yeah. Because even as frugal as you are, you wouldn't go to this length. Jack accepted Sandy's offer one winter and spent two months in their home. And when her son was born in 1987, Sandy named Jack the Godfather. So they were pretty close. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Jack brought her son gifts every year on his birthday. But he still kept mostly to himself and only accepted her dinner invites on rare occasions. In January 1999, Jack decided he'd had enough of the harsh winters and decided to sell his cabin. He got in his car and drove down the mountain to Upland, where he bought a four-bedroom house on a cul-de-sac. He paid $160,000 cash. Speaker 2 (12:29) Oh, Speaker 3 (12:29) see. All that frugalness paid off. It did, but it sounded like he was done living like the Unabomber and he wanted to live like most people in society. That month, Jack met Marsha Johnson and Judy Gellar, a couple who were interested in buying his cabin. The women agreed on a sale price of $48,000 to be paid directly to Jack. over 10 years in monthly installments. Speaker 2 (13:00) A little land contract deal. Speaker 3 (13:01) It sounds like it. Jack offered to let them have his washer, dryer, and fridge. At first, Marcia didn't want it. But when she looked inside the fridge and saw that it contained nothing but peanut butter and Rice Krispies, she felt bad for Jack. It was later that Marcia admitted, I began to wonder how I could use him in my life. And that's such a strange thought. Yeah. I think for most people, right? Most of us don't look at someone and just naturally ask the question, how can I use this person? Right. How can I use them to get what I want? But there are some people who do that. Oh, absolutely. Very bad individuals out there. Jack welcomed Marsha and Judy's company. They cooked for him. They cleaned for him. And there seemed to be a strong friendship forming between the three. And I do think this is a guy who, you know, was lonely, right? So to have these two women in his life, he probably really enjoyed that. Yeah. The company. Speaker 2 (14:09) Yeah. The Speaker 3 (14:09) intention. Marsha worked as a computer programmer and Judy worked as a substance abuse counselor in prisons. She had recently been transferred. from San Diego to the California Institution for Women in China. Now, it has been reported that Marsha had a long history of mental illness. According to court records, Marsha suffered a nervous breakdown. At the age of 10, she was sexually abused by her next-door neighbor. At the age of 13, she said her family was mentally sick and her mother never Talk to her. She never said she loved me. She also showed me naked to my father. Okay. Very strange. Well, I don't know if strange encapsulates it. Speaker 2 (15:02) Yeah. Speaker 3 (15:02) Correctly. This family is jacked up. For sure. Now, she went through some terrible things here. Sexual abuse at a very young age. She had a nervous breakdown at a very young age. You got to wonder, though, how much of that came from this family environment. Probably a lot. Sounds like she wasn't maybe just abused by the next door neighbor. Speaker 2 (15:29) Yeah. Speaker 3 (15:29) That's what I'm thinking. Marsha claimed that her father beat her. Her grandfather tried to rape her and a violent ex-boyfriend almost killed her. Speaker 2 (15:39) I mean, why would you even want to be around men after all that? Speaker 3 (15:44) Yeah. I don't know how you could. trust any men, right? Going through those types of things at an, a fairly early age. Speaker 2 (15:55) I mean, and those are the men that, you know, you should always have the most trust in, right? Your dad, your granddad. Should be looking out for you the most. Speaker 3 (16:05) That's for Speaker 2 (16:05) sure. Boyfriend. Speaker 3 (16:07) Folks, you know, August is the perfect time to hit the reset before the autumn rush begins. And honestly, at least for me, I can't think of a better place to start than my closet. And that's why I love shopping at Quince. And Quince is all about fewer, better pieces. Their clothes are made with premium materials built to last and designed to become the ones you reach for every day. And my wife and I have been ordering from Quinn's for a couple of years now. And this is definitely true. We find ourselves