Narrator / Peter Van Sant
Appearances
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
That's a very famous winery in Washington, Seoul. all over the world.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Linda is her parents' only daughter.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
That's Nancy Corbin, Linda's mother. She admits that she wasn't entirely thrilled when Mark and Linda started dating.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Nancy let her daughter make her own choices and was even supportive when Mark and Linda decided to go into business together. Linda said she'd been interested in opening a dog boarding business. In 1992, Linda and Mark opened Island Dog Adventures. Linda ran the boarding part of the company, and Mark handled the dog training. You essentially were the CEO, right?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Linda thought Mark's reputation in the industry helped. and her parents leased Linda the perfect place to set up shop.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Kickett Island and the surrounding area once belonged to the Swinomish tribe. Besides a clearing for some buildings, the island is a thick forest with tall Douglas firs and Western red cedars.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Their house was at the end of a long, narrow driveway that felt like you were almost entering Jurassic Park. The sprawling property, filled with wildflowers, hills, and beaches, made it seem otherworldly. Business started booming. Over time, Island Dog Adventures turned into a million-dollar operation.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Linda said that despite their success, Mark started to become obsessed with money, tightly controlling her spending.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
You guys have a million-dollar business. He's upset that you bought an avocado.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Most of their attention was going to the business and not each other.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Despite her concerns, Linda was committed to making things work.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Then Stephanie went up to the house to the bathroom. As she walked up the driveway, she saw tire marks from the car and some spots of blood on the gravel. Stephanie assumed that the blood belonged to Ding, Mark's guard dog. Ding recently had surgery.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
On May 17th, 2002... Mark and Linda were married in a small wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas. She was 38. He was 50.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Victoria, Mark's sister, showed me photos from the wedding.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Mark has on a dark suit, and Linda is wearing a black dress, holding a white bouquet of flowers.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
But Mark seemed different to Linda after the wedding.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
What happened? What went wrong?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Linda wanted to move off the island, but she said Mark dug in his heels. He wanted to stay.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Linda said she watched Mark's whole demeanor intensify.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
According to Linda, Mark developed a reputation for threatening locals. He would even use his dogs to intimidate people.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
After nearly 14 years together, including three years of marriage, Linda decided that she couldn't do this anymore.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
she moved out of their home. Linda left the island that was owned by her family to start anew, set off on a new path alone. But she said Mark followed.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
The fallout from their collapsed marriage started a nasty back and forth that would culminate in that bloody scene at Mark's house.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Coming up on Trained to Kill, the dog trainer, the heiress, and the bodyguard.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
The blood wasn't the only sign something was wrong.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
From 48 hours, this is Trained to Kill. The dog trainer, the heiress, and the bodyguard. Produced by Sony Music Entertainment. I'm your host, Peter Van Sant. Judy Tigard is the executive producer of 48 Hours. Original reporting by 48 Hours producers Ryan Smith and Liza Finley. Jamie Benson is the senior producer for Paramount Audio and Maura Waltz is the senior story editor.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Recording assistance from Alan Pang and Reginald Bazile. Special thanks to Paramount Podcast Vice President Megan Marcus. It is written and produced by Alex Schumann. Stephanie Serrano is our editor. Our executive producer is Shira Morris. Our associate producer is Zoe Culkin. Theme and original music composed by Hansdale Shee. Cedric Wilson is our sound designer and mixed the episodes.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Stephanie stepped inside. She noticed a bedroom door that was usually never shut was closed. And as she went into the house, Stephanie saw three big spots on the floor. Did they have a color?
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
We also use music from APM and Epidemic Sounds. Fendall Fulton is our fact checker. Our production manager is Tamika Balans-Kolasny. I'm Peter Van Sant. If you're enjoying the show, be sure to rate and review. It helps more people find it and hear our reporting. You can listen to Train to Kill early and ad-free right now by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Stephanie was worried. She kept calling Mark, but he never answered. Stephanie hoped the blood was from Ding's surgical wounds. She was doing her best to avoid imagining the worst. But the next morning, when she came back to work, she was startled to see Ding sitting by the back door.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
An unsettling feeling hit Stephanie.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Stephanie called 911. Mark's new girlfriend had also called the police after not hearing from him. Soon after, sheriff's deputies arrived on scene. Investigators believed the bleach, the blood, and Mark's vanishing act all added up to one inescapable conclusion.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
But detectives had no idea they were about to step into a hall of mirrors where nothing was as it seemed.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
They soon discovered a story tangled in obsession.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
We have some of the truth, but we don't have all of it. But who was the hunter and who was the hunted? I'm Peter Van Sant. From 48 Hours, this is Trained to Kill. The dog trainer, the heiress, and the bodyguard. Episode 1, Puppy Love. Puppy Love The coastline of Washington State, just north of Seattle, is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Back in the 1800s, my ancestors were homesteaders on an island not far from Anacortes, Washington. It's gone now, but one of my great-greats even had a small apple orchard on Orcas Island. Anacortes is the gateway to the San Juan Islands. where ferry boats depart to these wooded jewels.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
I go hiking, swimming, and fishing for Dungeness crabs, and have always considered the small harbor towns here my gateway into tranquility and peace. That's why I was stunned when 48 Hours first got word about this murder. And then I learned that at the center of it all was a celebrity dog trainer.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
That's Victoria Simmons, Mark Stover's younger sister. She said some of Mark's clients included Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and Seattle mariner Ichiro Suzuki.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Mark offered private training lessons. He could teach basic obedience, but his wealthiest clients wanted him to train their pets to become protection dogs. This is audio from a video of Mark training a dog. He's standing in what looks like a gravel driveway, wearing a dark raincoat and his trademark brown hat with a round brim.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Mark was Mark Stover, Stephanie's next door neighbor and her boss. Stephanie was a dog trainer at Mark's facility in Anacortes, Washington, an island community about 80 miles north of Seattle. He had built a successful business working with the dogs of the rich and famous and had earned the nickname the Dog Whisperer of the Pacific Northwest. That morning, Stephanie made her short commute to work.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
A handler releases the dog. The dog sprints and bites hard enough to lock onto Mark's leg, which is covered in padding. And a tug of war ensues between the growling dog and Mark. Mark commands the dog to stand down. Right away, the dog lays on the ground looking straight ahead and awaits the next command.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
His niece Julia, Victoria's daughter, said Mark sometimes expressed his love for dogs in eccentric ways.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
She said it smelled horrible. But one day, they went for a drive.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
But Mark didn't start out rich at all. In fact, just the opposite. And his upbringing was far from easy.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
This is Victoria again, Mark's sister. They grew up in the Seattle area in the 1950s and 1960s.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Their mother's second marriage also then fell apart.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Mark struggled in school. According to Victoria, the family didn't know how to help him.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
And then their mother's third husband died of cancer.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Mark got in touch with the family's old vet. He encouraged Mark to join the Washington State Search and Rescue Canine Unit.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Mark eventually started to train dogs in private sessions where he'd go to people's homes. In a news article from 1981, Mark is described as a disciple of the famous behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner. Skinner studied how rewards and punishment can condition behavior in humans. Mark applied that to dogs by training them with punishment and reward.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Was your brother an innovator in the dog world? I believe he was. As for cats, Mark was once quoted saying that he didn't like cats because he wants something he can control. He added, dogs are easy to change. It's people that are hard to change. See, I can't put a choke chain around them. Mark started training dogs in the 1970s and by the 1980s was a well-established canine guru.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
She assumed Mark had already left to meet a client in Seattle.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Mark never married during that time. Then, in the early 90s, when Mark was nearing 40, a wealthy potential client called.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Linda Updike was the daughter of Wally Updike, one of the wealthiest businessmen in the state of Washington.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Mark and Linda met regularly to train her dog. A bond was starting to form.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Mark definitely had a way with dogs, and at times, he could be charismatic with people.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
After eight or nine months, their relationship evolved. And even though Linda was 12 years younger than Mark, his sister says Linda was his type.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
For one of their first dates, Mark asked her to go fishing.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
It was 2009, three days before Halloween, a time when the boundaries between the living and the dead become blurred. Stephanie Poore said the dogs next door were going crazy.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Linda grew up camping, fishing, and hunting. They connected over a love for nature and the open air. What started purely as business turned personal, and they set out to build a relationship and a successful company at the same time. They were coming together despite being from two different worlds. While Mark's family had struggled, Linda Updike was the daughter of a millionaire.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
Mark had a reputation as a bit of a pit bull, intimidating and impatient.
Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard
Puppy Love
And tell me also about your father. He's a famous man in the state of Washington, a very successful man in the state of Washington.