Summary
Overview
This episode covers the decades-old unsolved murder of Joyce LePage, a WSU student who disappeared in July 1971 and was found dead in a canyon months later. The investigation examines multiple suspects and theories, including members of her meditation group who lived near where her car was found, her roommate Bruce with a history of concerning behavior, and other individuals in her life that summer. Despite 55 years passing, there's a $100,000 reward and ongoing investigation, with new focus on her roommate Bruce Beerbaum.
The Meditation Group Connection
Joyce was deeply involved in transcendental meditation through SIMS and was planning to move into a house at 400 Howard Street with meditation group leaders Mike and Celeste Lindbergh and their roommate Mark Wadley. The house was just a few doors down from where Joyce's abandoned car was found on Opal Street. When police investigated, Mark seemed nervous and Mike behaved suspiciously by driving past his own house when officers were there, only returning after they left.
- Joyce was an initiated member of SIMS (Student International Meditation Society) and practiced transcendental meditation
- She was planning to move in with Mike and Celeste Lindbergh and Mark Wadley at 400 Howard Street, just 3-4 houses from where her car was found
- Mark told police he noticed Joyce's car parked nearby but claimed he didn't know she was missing
- Officer noted Mark seemed nervous during questioning
- Mike Lindbergh drove past his house when police were there and only returned after they left
" I don't know why it would show that, but maybe I am holding back because I feel a certain responsibility towards Joyce. "
Mark Wadley's Disturbing Past
A letter from Joyce to her boyfriend revealed shocking information about Mark Wadley that was never properly investigated. Joyce wrote that Mark had been institutionalized for trying to strangle people and was suspected of being an informant in a major drug bust. Despite these serious allegations appearing in Joyce's own handwriting, investigators never followed up on this information or thoroughly examined Mark's background.
- Joyce wrote in a letter that Mark 'once stayed at a mental institution for trying to strangle people'
- She also suspected Mark was an informer to narcs for a big drug bust two years prior
- No past or present investigator has looked into these allegations about Mark
- Mark's polygraph showed he couldn't be eliminated as a suspect, with notable heart rate spikes when asked if Joyce was alive and if he'd been in her car
" I discovered that Mark once stayed at a mental institution for trying to strangle people. He also, I suspect, was the informer to a narc for this big drug bust two years ago. "
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