Maggie Freleng
Appearances
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Additionally, Peter hosts the Blood is Thicker podcast and Train to Kill, which we'll be talking about today. So, Peter, thank you for joining me on OpenVanish Weekly. We are so excited to have you.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
This simplified timeline is only part of the story. Once Michael was arrested, more would be revealed. Authorities would soon discover that on October 24, 2009, Michael traveled to Anacortes. At 7 p.m., he arranged to meet with his ex-wife, Jennifer, and when they met, he told her he was in town for a job. But it was going to be dangerous.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
He left her home around 10 p.m., telling her he needed to go take care of his job. The next day, Michael sent her an email that the job had failed, but he might be back in a few days. Authorities would state that the interaction with his ex-wife in the days leading up to October 28th were very strange and may have been a failed first attempt by Michael to harm Mark.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
In the aftermath of Mark's death, we now know that Michael had a close call with authorities on the afternoon of October 28th. When Michael moved Mark's remains to his SUV, he cut through the private property of a nearby residence.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
The owners of the property saw a man moving things from a white station wagon to a black SUV, and one of the women stated she felt the men may have been moving a body, so the women called authorities. Around 12.30 p.m., the police located the SUV and pulled Michael over to question him about trespassing.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
The officer says he denied it, claiming he was making a phone call, but he looked nervous and it looks like his back seat was filled with camping gear. But due to the information at the time, the officer didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't until the following morning that authorities would respond to Mark's home and find the bloody scene.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
After his close call with police, Michael called his ex-wife Jennifer and asked her to meet him at a nearby Starbucks. Jennifer would later state that when Michael arrived, he looked disheveled, had a rust-colored stain on his jeans, and asked if she knew where he could find some bleach. The two drove to the beach and when they arrived, Michael continued acting strange.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
At one point, he disappeared for 20 minutes to use the bathroom. And when he came back, he confided in her that he was in trouble. He told Jennifer that he had been pulled over earlier and said if they knew what was in his car, he would have been arrested and would go away for a long time.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Understandably, Jennifer didn't know what to make of all this and she became scared so she didn't ask any more questions. With the revelation of these additional details, authorities felt Michael's account of things wasn't holding weight. But did this additional information point to Michael's guilt? Ultimately, it would be up to a jury to decide. Here's Rob with how the trial unfolded.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
OK, so to start, I just want to let listeners know if they don't know who you are, one of the correspondents for 48 Hours for how many years now?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
So did Michael Oakes act in self-defense or was this a personal vendetta against Mark? When we come back, we'll bring you the rest of my discussion with Peter Van Sant.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
And now here's John with this week's critical missing case.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Nearly 50 years as a reporter and correspondent. That is amazing. And I just want to list off some of your journalism accolades. Three Murros, multiple Emmys, a DuPont. I mean, you have done some incredible work that's taken you to North Korea, Bosnia, Albania. You reported on September 11th, Katrina.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
All right, we're back. You've now heard the story of the deadly love triangle between Michael, Linda, and Mark. A tragic, avoidable death that doesn't leave a whodunit question. We know Michael killed Mark, but is there more to this story? That brings us to Peter Van Sant's new podcast, Trained to Kill. Peter, backing up, in 2011, you did a two-part series for 48 hours during Michael's trial.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
And now you've come back over a decade later to do it in podcast format. And one of the reasons I heard you say is that you wanted to do this because you have more room in the podcast to explore the human nature of what happened.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
I guess as a journalist, my question for you is, what is that like to report on so many different kinds of stories?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
I am so curious about your opinions. And I wasn't going to ask, but I'm glad you said that because I'm so curious.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Well, so that brings me to two questions I have. I wanted to ask you, have you ever turned the lens on yourself and thought, am I capable of these things, knowing how level-headed and smart and covering a million of these stories? Have you thought that? Are you capable of some of these things you've seen these characters get into?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Besides your connection to Seattle and knowing a lot of these places and backdrops, why come back to this story? I'm sure there's many you could come to, and this one is seemingly closed. Michael's in prison. So why come back to it?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Linda, maybe? Yeah.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
I do find it fascinating that Michael will not say where the body is. You know, he said where he put it, quote, I'm doing air quotes, but it's not there.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
When you became a journalist, did you ever think you would be in this true crime niche?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
If the body is found, can they resentence him? Like, why won't he say where it is?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
So, Peter, where can folks find the podcast? What is it called? Tell us about it. Where can we go?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
So what is next for you? You have this podcast out, Trained to Kill. We are also excited to listen.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Plug the book. What's it called?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
I think that's why I did it too. And I think I've really enjoyed this interview because you know all the things that you've said about the human condition and human nature and That is why I do podcasting as well.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
I thought about it when I entered this industry and I said, you know, there's something so intimate about a voice being in your ear and not seeing them, not being distracted by backgrounds or setting or like, why is this person in a warehouse for this interview? Things like that, that you're just like distracted by. And I think that it's just so intimate to have
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
voice in your ear and that is what you're hearing and you're creating this world based on what you're hearing and that's why I like audio personally and I'm excited for you to dive into that more.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Peter, thank you so much for joining me. I could talk to you for five more hours, but I'm going to let you go because I know you are busy.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
We may never know the full story of what happened to Mark Stover, and that's why Peter is determined to keep digging. But beyond that, one thing that stands out to me is the desperation these people feel to stay safe and keep their loved ones safe. And I think that's what Peter is homing in on. The story is about human nature and human condition.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
The things we do for love, for our families, and an instinct to stay alive when authority's hands are tied. There's certainly evidence that Mark was not innocent in all of this. But what's tragic is he seemed to be turning things around before he was killed. Maybe he was moving on, and this was a vendetta on Linda's behalf, and a man with a hero complex wanting to save his damsel by any means.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
To this day, Michael, his four children, and Linda maintain his innocence. Y'all, thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Up and Vanish Weekly. Be sure to tune in next week as we dig into another new case. Until next time.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Yeah, so that actually gets us to Train to Kill. So 2011, you did a two-part series, and then you have now come back over a decade later to do it in podcast format. Tell me a little specifically about Train to Kill. How is the podcast different than your 48 Hours investigation?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Right. And I know this particular story is close and important to you. I mean, you've come back and covered it again after a decade. So let's take a few minutes to cover the basics of the case and then we'll get to your experience investigating it, Peter.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
This podcast discusses mature and sensitive content, including descriptions of violence that may be triggering for some audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Hey y'all, welcome to Up and Vanish Weekly. I'm your host, Maggie Freeling. Today's case isn't a whodunit per se with a super urgent call to action. We mostly know what happened.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
The story of what happened to Mark Stover, to me, is representative of the worst in human nature and what can happen to, I believe, any of us when backed up against a wall and feeling desperate. It's a love triangle, and so it can be confusing to follow who is who. So let me try to break down who the main players are. Let's start with Mark Stover. Mark had a rough childhood.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
He lost his father, half-brother, and sister at a super young age. It made his mom really distant, so Mark's life was basically about survival. When he was a teenager, he was gifted a German Shepherd puppy and Mark and this puppy immediately bonded and he developed a passion for dogs. This dog gave him purpose and helped turn his life around.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
So Mark eventually studied dogs and became a dog quote guru and started a successful dog training business with high profile clients. Some Seattle local celebrities like Pearl Jam's lead singer Eddie Vedder, Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. The business was super successful. He was called the dog trainer to the stars or the dog whisperer of the Pacific Northwest.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
So that is Mark Stover, celebrity dog trainer. Linda Opdyke is the daughter of a multimillionaire, Wally Opdyke. He is an entrepreneur in the Washington state community. And so Linda hires Mark Stover, the celebrity dog trainer, to train her dogs. They meet regularly for dog training. And eventually the two of them connect and start building a relationship.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
In 1992, the couple launches a dog business together. And then in 2002, they were married. But after the marriage is when things take a turn. Linda says Mark's demeanor changed. He became aggressive and developed a reputation of threatening and intimidating people. She says he would get easily angered over finances and became obsessive over how she spent money.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
In 2005, after 14 years of being together, they separated. And by 2006, Linda says she was moving on, but Mark wasn't. She says he virtually started stalking her. He would call her 50 to 100 times a day with threats, one of them being, quote, this is war. This is goddamn war. Her home security camera showed him stalking her house in the night.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
And at one time he broke into her home in the middle of the night with a gun. A year later, 2007, Mark agrees to a divorce but is apparently obsessing over their wedding photos and leaves her a message, you know I'm a guy that can hold a grudge until I'm dead, and I can hurt you too, and I know how to do it.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Linda calls the police, but they say they don't have enough evidence to arrest him for stalking, which sounds odd to me. She has a video of it, but either way. Linda starts training herself in self-defense. She stalks her home with 20 guns and seeks out more security. This is how she finds Michael Oakes.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Michael Oakes is a weapons expert, self-taught security expert. He's a single father to four. His second wife says that Michael has a superhero mentality. He's strong enough to take out any bad guy who's harming the weak. So Michael and Linda, they get in a relationship and he and his children move into her house. At this point, Mark is still in the picture, allegedly stalking Linda.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Mark's friends and family say he's moved on from Linda. He's in a serious relationship. He's in a good place. Things are looking up. The new woman who he's with says he was nothing like Linda described and that Linda was the one causing problems. To me, this is a nightmare with children involved, guns involved, and desperate people.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Presenting Up and Vanished Weekly: Peter Van Sant discusses Mark Stover
Instead, this case is emblematic of the best and worst of human nature. This case is a love triangle and murder that has kept the attention of veteran journalist and award-winning correspondent for 48 Hours, Peter Van Sant. Peter has had a nearly 50-year career as a journalist, where his true crime and justice reporting is featured across multiple CBS News broadcasts and platforms.