SURVIVING: Ernest Pine

Hi, crime junkies, even though I don't sound like it, I am your host Ashley Flowers and I'm Brett and even though I'm sick

There is no way I was going to keep me from telling this story this week because this is an urgent warning for the people of

Elizabeth town Kentucky. There is a man living among you who committed one of the most violent

heinous crimes on a neighbor that he barely even knew for a reason no one knows

With her grandchild in the other room. He brutalized this woman and then went home to make supper and watch TV like nothing

happened and the only reason police knew where to go looking for him and the mountain of evidence that

Proof to committed this crime is because the victim wrote his name in her own blood and

Somehow managed to survive so she could warn others about this church-going father who

Masqueraded as a good man

This story is going to be hard to hear but no one else is talking about it

So I want to warn you because some in the community have long wondered whether this survivor was the only victim of

Ernest Pine

You

The neighborhoods that surround rough river lake in Kentucky are quiet ones

It's over an hour away from any big city and really gives those nothing bad happens here kind of vibes

To those who don't know

But anyone who lived there in August, 2008 found out the hard way that evil can reside anywhere

And they learned that lesson at the expense of one woman a woman who is still so scared of the man who

Masqueraded as normal that she asked us not to use her real name, so I'll call her Linda

And the day that changed Linda's life forever was August 25th, 2008

That's when Linda was home babysitting her 22-month-old granddaughter who was asleep on the couch

And Linda was next to her just watching TV when she got a knock at her door

It was a little after 7pm at the time the sun was still out

Wouldn't be setting for like a couple of more hours that time of year

And in a place like this where you know all your neighbors

Linda didn't even hesitate to open her front door

And it was for a neighbor Ernest Pine

Now the two exchange friendly greetings and Ernest told Linda that he was there to talk to her husband about a boat dock

That either he has or maybe one that he was building and he wanted her husband to work on it because he's an engineer

Now Linda's husband wasn't home and she told Ernest as much said he would be back in a half an hour or so

And Ernest seemed happy with that and turned to leave

And as he made that motion signaling to Linda that their very normal very safe interaction was over

Just when her guard was completely down and she went to close the door

That is the moment he pounced

Ernest shoved the door open and forced his way inside and before she can even process what is happening

Linda feels the butt of a gun against her head and she hears Ernest in her ear

He says

Turn around bit you are going to die

Every nerve ending is on fire and she believes him

Even before he pulls out the six-inch hunting knife and zip ties

Which by the way he had to have brought with him this was planned

And in that moment she knows that this isn't a situation where she can just appease him

Give him what he wants in he'll leave what he wants is to kill her and so she fights

He's trying to get her to put her hands behind her back and to tie them with the zip ties, but she won't let him

So he hits her with the gun three times but Linda keeps fighting

And for a moment she pulls her arms free and she reaches for the side door

That leads to the garage hoping that she can get her German shepherd that is in there

But right as she is about to open it Ernest grabs her again

He pulls her back and this is when he's able to tie her arms

And he tells her that if she tries that again, he will not just kill her

He will also kill her granddaughter too

Now Linda knows that that little girl could wake up any second so she makes a request

She asks Ernest to move her to the small laundry utility space that they have just off the kitchen

So that whatever is about to happen to her won't be witnessed by her granddaughter if she does wake up

And Ernest complies

He drags her to that room and she hears the lock click behind them

Now Linda is still not giving up in that moment

She manages to pull her arms out of the zip ties

But Ernest is bigger than her

He overpowers her

He cuts off all of her clothes and for the next 15 minutes

That feel like a lifetime to her

Ernest sexually assaults her with objects that he finds nearby

While Linda tries to fight him off

Now at one point Linda is able to push him to the ground

And that's when he starts cutting her with his knife

And he tells her that she is not getting out of this room

She has to die because she knows who he is

And that's when he pulls out his gun and aims it right at her head

And she hears it go off

But somehow by some miracle the round just zips past her head and hits the wall

So he fires again

But this time it's just the click of the trigger she hears

No shot

The gun

Jammed

But in that half second that Linda thought she'd been saved

That's when Ernest grabs Linda by the head

And slices her throat ear to ear

When Ernest lets her go

Her body just falls limp onto this pile of towels

And even though at that moment she is sure she's going to die

She still won't give up

She is pressing the towels against her neck

Trying to use them to like stop the bleeding as best she can

And she uses every ounce of energy she has

Every ounce of will power that she has left to hold on as long as possible

And to hold as still as possible

Because she's trying to convince Ernest she's dead

Now it's quiet so she can hear him unlock the door

Leave the room

But then he comes back and he just like

Stams over her

And all of a sudden Linda feels this searing pain because he's stabbing her

And he does this over and over again leaves

Comes back and stabs her leaves comes back and stabs her

And all the while somehow she is managing to play dead

Finally she hears a new sound

Ernest is running the sink in the utility room

Now he thinks she is dead on the floor

And he is washing his knife and washing his hands above her

Before leaving the room one last time

Then she hears the front door open and close

And even then she cannot bring herself to move

Like he could come back and if he does

If he stabs her one more time

That might really be it for her

So for another 10 long minutes

Linda just lies there bleeding on this heap of towels

Wondering if her utility room is going to be the last thing she ever sees

And when she's sure that he's not coming back to clean up anymore

That's when Linda takes her finger

And in her own blood begins to scroll Ernest's name on the wall

She wants people to know who did this to her

And when she finishes the final e in his last name pine

Somehow maybe it's the adrenaline that's been rushing through her body

Or just the drive to protect her granddaughter

At that moment Linda pushes herself up off the floor

And she makes her way out of the utility room

Into the kitchen where she can see her granddaughter

In the living room on the couch who think God is still asleep and unharmed

So she makes a b-line for the front door to lock it

And the next to the door is their security system

So she presses the panic button which triggers a 911 call at 812 pm

Ending her hour in hell with Ernest

Now she has never had to use this button before

She doesn't even know how quickly police will respond or if they will at all

So she goes back to the kitchen and starts making calls while she's still bleeding out

She calls her son-in-law who lives next door

And then she hangs up and calls her husband and begs him to come home

They both call 911 to to make sure they know to send an ambulance not just police

And Linda is somehow still conscious and talking when first responders get their 820 pm

And as more and more people show up and she's loaded into an ambulance

She is able to relay what happened to her

And more importantly who is responsible

So as they airlift her to university hospital in Louisville for emergency surgery

The sheriff goes to the home of Ernest Pine

Just a one minute drive away

Positions outside his home and calls his landline

When Ernest answers the sheriff asks him to come out of his home

But he doesn't say why

Now it's dark now around 9 pm

And Ernest emerges from his front door

Blinded by a cruiser's spotlight

And as the sheriff arrests him and place him in the back of a car

A deputy notices that he wreaks of alcohol

But he is coherent enough to answer questions after he's read his Miranda rights

They ask him, is anyone else inside?

No he says, my wife said a dog showed 2 hours away

Were you at Linda's house earlier tonight?

No

But when the sheriff says like, so if a neighbor told me that they had seen you on the front porch earlier

Then you're saying that neighbor would have been lying

And this is when Ernest starts backtracking

Saying well you actually yeah, I did go over there to talk to her husband about a boat dock

But Linda said that he wasn't home so I just left

Okay, your name is written in her blood

But I don't think he's pieced that together yet

Like I don't think he knows that she's the neighbor who saw him

I mean he knows what he did to Linda

So I think at his mind she should not be alive

Linda is dead so calm, cool and collected

He just answers their questions

And acts like this is some big misunderstanding

The sheriff asks Ernest if he has any weapons at home

Ernest mentions like 2 or 3 long guns in the sheriff's like

Yeah, but what about a handgun

Now Ernest thinks for a while and he's like well, oh yeah, I do have this 22

It's in a toolbox in the basement

Perfect

So he's taken to the station

And somewhere between when he's put in the back of the sheriff's car

And when he gets to the station before the recorded interview with him begins

Investigators give him a heads up

Like oh by the way, it wasn't just a neighbor who saw you on her porch

It was the victim herself who I did you

And by the way, we're getting a warrant to search your house for that gun

And anything else we can find

And also before their interview starts with him

They're getting as much background on Ernest as they can

But honestly, the more they learn about this guy

The more shocked they are by this crime

And the more they have to be thanking their lucky stars that Linda survived

Because without her, I don't know if they would have ever gotten to Ernest

Because 58 year old Ernest does not fit the profile of a violent offender that they might have gone looking for

Because he's been married to the same woman for his whole adult life

They have two kids, grandkids

And he has no adult criminal record that they can find

Know what else they can't find?

Any connection to Linda

I mean aside from living a minute away from her, they don't seem to really know one another

Or have any history

I mean like Linda and her husband would wave to Ernest when they would walk their dogs

But that was it

And even in that like barely any words are spoken between them

And Ernest was never alone with Linda or anything like that

So by the time Kentucky State Police Investigators get in a room with Ernest

Hours after his arrest

They are dying to get to the heart of their questions

Why?

And I'll warn you

What you're about to hear

The actual interview audio

Between Ernest and the detectives

It is explicit and troubling

Okay, my name is Detective Jason Brooks

We're going to detect the state police

The date is always 26

2008 time is 135 hours each and stand your time

We're currently in the

Brooklyn Ridge County

Sheriff's Department

Myself and Detective Matt Johnson

The Detective State Police

We'll be attempting to interview Ernest time

Ernest Pat

You can't run an influence alcohol or any drugs

Anything like that

I've never taken one tonight but don't

You're not

Not intoxicated or anything like that

We'll have to talk to you about

The incident at the night why you here

Would you be willing to talk to us about that

I'm not real sure what the incident is about

Do you have any idea of why you're in here

I don't have a red paper

What's the fault with the incident it was me

Uh-huh

And that's why we're no

Okay

We're in the back of a car

Okay

The incident

All right

Who was this neighbor

You said this

Was he

Crossed

We know

2000

Okay

And how did you

Learn that she

Say that you were a solider

When the sheriff called

On phones and come on your house

Okay

Did he tell you

What the uh

Accusation was also

And she said I did

Okay

Did you in fact

Assault miss

Tonight

Have you been over to miss

House tonight

I went over

So I want to talk to her husband

What were you going to talk to him about

He built both dogs

And I just got reason to go

from it

Mm-hmm

And the guy that

Said he's gonna do it

He's gonna put him in this weekend

Like you have to show him up

So I'm gonna talk to him

What did she tell you

You wasn't home

Okay

And then one after

No I didn't

Went back

Okay

So you went back home

What did you do when you went back home

Get ready

Or sit and watch what you did

You remember what you were watching

No

You living home by yourself

On water

Okay

You're watching home and on

No, she's watching the red dog, so

Have

How long have you lived at the residence

Where you live now

About a year

I'm not sure

I mean we just got the hospital

Do you know

I mean you have

Any other clients

But with the

We talked to over two or three times

That just casual conversation

Or walking down the street

Or we'd be walking down the street

Probably how you doing

Why do you think

If she was assaulted

Which she named you

As being the person that assaulted her

I don't know

That's the fact that I did it in her front door

Of course the reason you're here

Is for you

Seriously

I don't know if I have to use it

University of Louisville Hospital

Right now

As we speak

And she

Said told several people

That

You were the person

That did this to her

However

You're saying

That's not true

Is that correct?

Why would she accuse you

Of doing this if you didn't have anything to do with

I said

I was with door

And she balled like her back

I don't know

Yeah

We know what's been done

What's happened

We'll find out what's happened

That's what we do

I mean, that's such a job

But

We talk to people all the time

Because

It's kind of like it's not normal

But hey

It's

It's kind of there's always a reason

That something happens

And we want to try to find out why

So we can

prevent it from happening again

Here's the situation

When I miss fire

We're going to search

Your residence

And we're going to search

Residents for evidence

And we're going to find

Evidence

In those places

Okay

The evidence

I believe is going to show

That you're not telling us the truth

Right now

I believe that the evidence

That we're going to find

The state

Mr. We're getting from other people

Is going to show

That

What you're telling us is not the truth

That you in fact

Did go over

To

Tows

And assault her

Tonight

I hope that you're not the type of person

That goes out here

And sits and thanks

That horrible

Evian

Terrible

Things

To do the people that

Praise on

On innocent people out here

And

And just

Try to torture them

And do terrible things to them

I would rather thank you

To the person that made a simple mistake tonight

And just

Did something that was totally out of character

And would not

Normally do

But the evidence is going to show

That

That you were there

And that

You had something to do with this

And I need to know from you

Which type of person you are

If you're that evil type of person

I'm thinking about on this end

Or if you just made a mistake tonight

And did something that was totally out of character

That would never happen again

That's not going to

Not go

So I don't think the evidence is not much

Okay

When we go in there

And we find evidence

In your home

On your person

In

Tows

It shows

That you're not telling us

The truth

How do you think a prosecutor

And a judge is going to view that

Are they going to say

This is the type of person

It might have a mistake

They're going to say

This is the type of person

It's enough to straight up lie

To those detectives

When he knew good and well

That there was evidence that

Showed

He had done something like this

What do you think a prosecutor

Is going to say

What do you think a jury is going to say

About something like that

You had a bunch of evidence

I guess it's

Have to say that

It's if we say

If we say that

A bunch of evidence here

For you

Then that might

Thank you

You want it

That was your kind of honest

I don't know what evidence you can do

You should probably hear some situations

Like

We're talking with you here

Because it's what we did

Okay

Oh

There's not a big one reason

While we have to be talking to you

This is your opportunity

Got to help yourself

The good thing here

Is that she hasn't died

Okay

She won't tell you to do it

She was actually involved

You want to take me to a hospital

I'm going to test it

Okay

Because if I don't take a pill

That is nothing going to happen

Okay

So I'm not going to have some of the

Medica in me

Then there wouldn't have been a sexual assault

And the first one

Did I say you have stuck your penis inside over

Okay, what's the sexual assault

Well, any type of assault they involve

Yes, her

Any type of assault they involve her

Sexually

They involve her vagina

Okay

Our reinies

To be a sexual assault would be a rape

Okay, well then

Then say you didn't sexually assault

Well, it's okay

Well, that's what she's saying

Well, that's because we're at

We haven't done anything

Oh, there we've got it

It's what she's saying

Okay

Maybe you tell something a little different

In the case

I would against church

Not exactly

Okay

Because I mean there's going to be

Have a day

I was going to call

All right, what she said

If she said it was a sexual assault

What was a sexual assault

What she's saying

Did you

Stuck some things up in her vagina

And her anus

Some foreign objects

And they not be sexual assault

I mean it could we could

Very well

If that wasn't for sexual gratification

Why not be sexual assault

But what we're saying is this is what she's telling us

Okay, we're here to talk to you

And get your side of the story

Your side

Side of the story

That's what you're saying

No, but

Mr. Byrd

Mr. Byrd

Mr. Byrd

You don't understand

That 95% of the

Accusing that your body gives off is not very

Okay, we've been doing this and that

I know you're very nervous

And you've been trying

Probably the military

About talking about friends

Like it's not like normal

And looking on

Okay, so no

I know they've

I know different than you are

Okay, yeah

Y'all have to be one that

And that's the same pairs to you

But

That doesn't make me a bad person

No

It's not my kids

They can

The daddy's bad person

In my family

My wife

They can their husband's a bad person

That's what it comes down to, Mr. Byrd

If you're not a bad person

We know that

But right now, all that we have

Is to take her side

For

And that's put in you as a terrible person

And that's all these people are going to hear

Except he's saying

Wouldn't he

Didn't do it

Get no out of that

For no evidence

Prove it

And then only

Will you prove it

And I'm backed into a corner

And I've got no other options

Then I'll say I did

If you're an outside person

You see somebody do that

Would you going to think

You're going to think

That man is not sorry

That man's going to do it again

And the only reason he finally

That step to it was because he knew

He had no other options

That's the only reason

And that person there

There's no sympathy

There's no comfort in the process

And to be thrown out

The f**k balls for all we care

Get rid of them

That's for the less person we need in this world

What's with those people?

Play

You know what

You'll get on the stand

And point you out and say

He's the one that did it

He did this to me

We're going to show pictures of what happened

We're going to listen to her story

About what happened

We're going to present the evidence

That we're probably going to find here

In a short while

Against you

And

You're going to get better

And say

I don't know what she's talking about

It wasn't me

I walked back home

That's it

I don't know what else to tell you

Other than it's my word against hers

Take that

I tell you what's going to happen to you

A jury member is going to sit there and listen to that

And go

He's full of crap

He's lying

He's lying just like he lied to those detectives

Right there

And if that's what you want to do

My all means

That's fine

Because I'll tell you what

Challenge accepted

If Ernest Pine wasn't going to talk

The evidence would do the talking

For him

I mean, what more do they even need though

Linda wrote his name in blood

I mean, like if I knew they weren't

And she's telling any living soul

She came in contact with

Of course, she was airlifted off

That it was him

But like, you heard the man

He framed this as a

He said she said situation

And we unfortunately live in a world

That requires a hell of a lot more than the word of a woman

So buckle up

Let's go get that irrefutable proof

That no one can argue with

Starting with Ernest's own body

By the time their interview with him ended

They had a warrant to search him

And collect his DNA

And while he sat in that room talking to them

He had this cut on his thumb

And scratches on his lower back

And blood on his watch

And more smeared on one of his shoes

The shoes he is wearing

And back at Ernest's house

They find that 22 caliber handgun

That he told them was in the toolbox

In the basement

There is still blood on that

And it is jammed just like Linda said

It turns out that it jammed

Because Ernest loaded it with the wrong ammo

But the ammo that they found

Matched the 22 caliber round

Still lodged in Linda's utility room wall

Ernest also had multiple hunting nights

In his place

One of which had human blood still on it

And there were sandals

With blood still on them too

That matched a tread of a bloody

Footprint found at the crime scene

And not just like in her house in general

At the entrance of the utility room

Where Linda was attacked

They collected zip ties

That matched what Linda described

In her account

Along with green rope tied into a noose

And even more smudges of blood around his house

In her home

They also took into evidence

The multiple items

That were used to sexually assault her

And make no mistake

Ernest can sell his bullshit story

All he wants that if he didn't use his penis

Like does that really count as assault?

Yes

Absolutely

And the detectives might have been trying to like play along

To get him to confess

But they agreed too

Because

Anyone

Anyone who hears what he did with those objects

Knows what a sick and twisted monster Ernest actually is

And the fact that he couldn't use his limp dick

Doesn't change a thing for me

Now Linda had to undergo

In almost 19 hours surgery

Where she needed about 17 pints of blood

For a blood transfusion

And hundreds of stitches

Her husband told us that

Doctors said the knife missed her vital organs by millimeters

And I tell you all of this

Linda's story, the details of it

Not to be overly graphic for entertainment or shock value

We asked Linda's permission to go into detail

And she allowed it because

She

And we want you to know

Exactly who Ernest Pine is

She and her family want you to really understand

What he is capable of

And what kind of threat that he could be

To other women out there

Because

At Ernest indictment hearing in 2008

The one where he gets slapped with seven charges

Linda's family learns

For the first time

That she may not have been his first victim

Now Linda and her husband they didn't go to that

She was still recovering

So her husband's dad went in their place

And so he was the one who first felt

This big mix of emotions

Thrilled as he came in

That this man would be facing real charges

And then horror

When the strangest thing happened

Right before the hearing started

Something that you won't find

And any of the case files or reporting

Linda's father-in-law happened to sit right behind

This guy at the hearing that he didn't know

And this guy turned around and asked him

If this was the courtroom that Ernest Pine was going to be in

Linda's father-in-law said yes

And went on to explain Linda's case a little

And the next thing that came out of the other man's mouth

Set a chilling and ominous tone

For the next year to follow

While they waited for a trial

According to Linda's family

The other man said that he was there for his

Daughter-in-law too

Because he believed

16 years before Linda's attack

Ernest murdered her

Linda's father-in-law was shocked to hear this

I mean Ernest had never been convicted of any other crimes

Let alone murder

And the truth is as far as I can tell

For all of the years before this

Ernest was never even a suspect in this other woman's case

The only reason this other man learned about him

And knew to show up to this hearing

Was because allegedly

That man said a state trooper called him

The night before this indictment hearing

And described how Linda was found

And when he heard the details

It was almost unbelievable

So for police to call this guy

I mean that means they must be seeing the similarities too

They're hard to miss

And police later said as much to local press

And when our team dug into her case

I was shocked at what they found

So this other woman was 29 year old

Elena Sanchez Hawkins

And 16 years before Linda's attack

And just an hour away from Ruff River Lake

In Elizabethtown, Kentucky

Elena was raising two little boys with her husband Mike

The date was January 8th 1992

And that day started off like any other

Elena woke up her eight year old for school

Made him breakfast, walked him out to the front porch

To watch him get on his bus at around 7am

Her husband Mike was already at work

But he called like he did every morning to check in

And make sure the morning was going smoothly

And on that 7am call, everything was fine

But an hour or two later

Elena's sister told us that Mike called his wife back

Because he had won some radio contest

And gotten a free dinner

He was excited about it, wanted to tell her about it

But when he called the phone was just ringing

And ringing and ringing with no answer

Which was odd

I mean Elena worked mostly nights at a gas station

So she could be home with their three-year-old son

During the day, so she usually was there to pick up

So he tried calling back again

And this time the call was picked up

But it wasn't Elena on the other end

It was his three-year-old's voice that he heard

And Mike's like, okay, hey, put mom on the phone

And what his son said next is still burned into my brain

Mama's bleeding

I don't think Mike's brain tried to make excuses

He didn't ask more questions

He just immediately left work and raced home to a scene

That I am sure continued to haunt him throughout his life

Elena was lying, half on the couch, covered in blood

With her hands tied behind her back

And her throat was slit from ear to ear

And breath, there was truly blood everywhere

Now thankfully, their son had been left physically unharmed

So Mike scooped him up and called 911

The crime in 92 Elizabeth Town was just as shocking

As Linda's would eventually be in Rough River Lake in 2008

It didn't matter that this was a bigger city

This just didn't happen here

And police were quickly stumped by the crime

Now it seemed like Elena knew her killer

Because there was no forced entry

And even though this was a pretty rural neighborhood

Where people didn't always lock their doors

A family member told us that Elena usually did

Especially when Mike was gone

They also remembered there being glass in the door

And there was definitely a window next to the door

So Elena would have been able to see

Whoever was on the other side

It's not like it was just like a solid wall

And she was blindly opening

Right

And also nothing seemed to be taken from the house

So killing Elena seemed to be the only goal

But there was no one in Elena's life who raised suspicions

We know obviously they looked at Mike

Because as we know they always checked the husband

But he had a salad alibi

He was at work

So he was cleared pretty quickly

And police didn't believe that he had anything to do with her death

Not that he just didn't do it

He didn't arrange it nothing

And as they made their way through others close to the family

No suspects emerged

Or at least none that have ever been reported on

Or that the family knew about

Because the cases still unsolved

All of our records requests and interview requests

Were denied by law enforcement

And did her sons see anything?

Mike's brother told us

That at some point in the morning

The son had pulled up a chair in the kitchen

To get a snack out of the fridge

Or like off the counter or something

And in that moment

The little boy remembered seeing a man in the house

Now we weren't able to talk to Elena's younger son

So exactly what he saw the man

Doing if he even remembers is unclear

But it must have been something that spooked him

Because one of Mike's brothers told us

That eventually he went into a bedroom

And hid inside a toy box

But you think if it was someone that the family knew

Even at three he might have been able to like

Recognize them or remember who they were

Yeah I mean like my daughters is coming out of the three stage

I think she could

But like also our brains are capable of shielding

A lot to like protect us from trauma

So who knows at that young of an age

What about any neighbors around

I mean this is happening in the morning

On a weekday people are

Driving to work, out and about

Like there's people around

That's insane

This crime was so bold

According to a local paper called

The News Enterprise

Investigators believe that she died

Sometime between 7am and 10am

And I mean we looked up her address

And from what we could tell

It was kind of a rural area

Outside of town

The houses were pretty spread apart

So again, bold for time of day

Like people could just come by

Mailman whatever

But I do think that like this attacker

Was protected in the fact that like

There was not like a next door neighbor

The way there are

And like a lot of suburbs that you see

But even though the neighbors were spread apart

Like police talk to as many people as they could

They even set up a roadblock

To question anyone who drove past Elena's house

In the morning on their way to work

And from all of that

They did find someone who came forward

Saying that they saw a

Black Nissan Datson pickup truck

Parked in Elena's driveway

Now they didn't see a person or anything

But the truck is important

Because as far as we can tell

Police were never able to connect anyone

In her circle

Or beyond

To that kind of car

So

Eventually

It was considered that this

Could be everyone's nightmare scenario

Just this random

Roaming psychopath

Who targeted Elena for

Who knows what reason

Was it just that day that he saw her

Had he been

Watching her

Now if you have her loved ones told us

That in the weeks leading up to her murder

Elena did mention this weird guy

That was watching her during her night shifts

At the gas station she worked at nearby

During her shifts

Elena sat in one of those like

Glass boxes in the middle

People could like drive up to her

If they wanted to buy something

And this weird guy would drive by

But he would never

Talk to her or anything like that

He would just

Stare at her

Now everyone we talked to said

Elena wasn't somebody who got scared easily

And she could stand up for herself

But this guy freaked her out

Enough that even though

The door to her box was locked

She would call Mike and his brothers

And ask them to come down when this guy showed up

But every single time they got to the gas station

The guy was gone

Now

As far as everyone remembers

Now

Elena never described this guy

Or what he was driving

And it doesn't seem like police

Were ever able to track this guy down either

But it's the gas station guy somehow figured out

Where she lived

And showed up at her house

Like he said like she could see

Out in front of the door before she opened it

I doubt she would have opened the door

For someone that was already keeping her

I don't think so

So circling this back to Linda

What are all the similarities

And what like if anything

Is different in these two situations

Okay so first of all

Everyone we talked to

Who has seen both Elena and Linda

Told us that they looked a lot alike

Both women were dark hair

Tan short like around five feet tall

Both women were bound

Both had their throats cut

Now as far as we know

Elena wasn't tied using zip ties

One of Mike's brothers remembers

That it was a cord from the blind

So

Her attacker seems a little less prepared

Than Ernest was with Linda

16 years later

And I can't tell you if the same type of weapon was used

Because just like Ernest took the knife with him

Elena's attacker did the same thing

Also they were each attacked in their home

A child was present in each case

Which might be a coincidence

But we know in Linda's case

That Ernest used her granddaughter

As leverage to make her comply

Could Elena's killer have done the same thing

Like I wonder if a child in the home

Was something they were looking for

Rather than just like

Like knowing they could use that kind of against their victim

Rather than just like something that will happen to be there

Right

Now we know that Linda was sexually assaulted

But it's not totally clear if Elena was

I mean according to what KSP

Had told other reporters in the past she was

But Elena's brother told us something totally different

He said that he talked to someone in the coroner's office

Who told him that based on what she read in the report

She didn't think Elena was sexually assaulted

Well who's definition are we using here too

Right because you also have Ernest over here saying

That what he did to Linda wasn't sexual assault

And we know that's total BS

Right and I've seen before people

Even like in an official capacity

Interpret like a lack of semen as a side

So yes

If she too was assaulted with an object

My question would be what's their trauma left behind

Well I feel like the one thing that seems obvious

Is that they're for sure was no semen

Or we'd be talking about like DNA

All these years later right

That might actually be wrong

Which I know sounds bananas

But without police cooperation

I can't really tell 30 years later

So like I said

There is old reporting that has KSP saying

That she was assaulted

And they have DNA they said in that same stuff

They don't explicitly say that it was from the sexual assault kit

And in talking with Elena's family so many years later

Like different people remember different things

One person remembered that the DNA at the crime scene

Was semen

Another said that they thought it was maybe like skin

From underneath Elena's fingernails

They had something

Whatever they had

Whatever they were able to do with that in the early 90s

It didn't go anywhere

And so Elena's case went cold quickly

Now in 2004 Elena's husband Mike ended up passing away

From surgery complications

And that same year

Police told the family that they had stopped

Testing the DNA they had

Because they didn't want to destroy the little bit they had left

So Elena's loved ones

Including her kids who now have lost both parents so young

They were just left hoping that someday

Somehow they would get the answers that they've been waiting so long for

So four years after that

When they get word about Linda's attack

And Ernest

They get this surge of hope

Maybe this is it

And this is when I told you that police came out in the press

And even they said that they saw the same similarities

This is why Elena's father-in-law went to Ernest indictment hearing

Where he met Linda's father-in-law

And he probably planned to attend the trial

But a trial never happened

In the 10 months after the attack on Linda

Ernest ends up seeing the writing on the wall

And just like detectives, probes, and Johnson said he would do

Ernest waited till he was backed into a corner before he finally admitted what he'd done

On June 17th, 2009, about 10 months after Linda was attacked

Ernest pleads guilty to

1st degree burglary, attempted murder, 1st degree rape, and 1st degree sawdemy

Kidnapping, 1st degree criminal mischief, and 2nd degree assault

Now the judge gives him sentences for all of those things

But allows him to serve them concurrently instead of consecutively

So that means he isn't stacking time for each count back to back

He gets to serve one term the longest one 20 years

You know, it never ceases to amaze me how you get a lighter sentence for attempted murder

Like just trying to murder someone

Because you like didn't do it right?

Right, like you told her she was going to die that day

You kept coming back to the room and stabbing her to make sure she was dead

It was kind of multiple attempted murders of one person

And just because by some miracle she survived

You get out of prison to maybe do this again to somebody

Like what are we-

It doesn't make any sense

What are we doing here?

And it is the strangest thing to me

Because once he goes away for his attack on Linda

All of the talk about the similarities to Elena's case

Just stops

And to date

No official connection between Ernest and Elena has ever been made

Wait, so it wasn't his DNA?

I didn't say that

I don't know if it was because police wouldn't talk to us

And even the family has never-

Like Elena's family has never been able to get a straight answer about this either

They have asked and they just keep getting the same party line that they have gotten

For years

This case is unsolved

And open and investigators are waiting for technology to move forward

Before they can retest that DNA

I feel like if they actually had a DNA profile to compare

They would at least come out and confirm it's not him, right?

You would think

But at least one family member told us that they remember

Police testing the DNA they had against a few people back in the day

Now they don't know who was tested or cleared from that

And we couldn't confirm that so I don't know

Like there is something so confusing

About the DNA stuff in Elena's case to me

Like something does not feel right

Well I kind of wonder if maybe they're waiting

Till closer to the time that Ernest is set to be released

Like that gives them kind of a ton of time to make a really solid case against him

If they think it's him like he's safely behind bars

He can't hurt anybody else

They have this like chance to really develop

He was safely behind bars

This is that's past tense

This is what I'm saying about this episode

This is how I got put on this case

Ernest got an early release this summer

Early release this summer he's out

On August 19th, 2025

Ernest Pine was released on parole

After serving only 17 of his 20-year sentence for Linda's attack

Yeah I was trying to do the math

I'm not good at it

How is that even possible?

How does a guy like this who did something like that?

Get out

To me you already got a gift by getting to serve them

Right like just certainly

Right exactly

He's already getting kind of a pass

So he got to serve them concurrently

And under Kentucky's violent offender law

You can be considered for parole after you serve 85% of your sentence

In this case 20-year sentence has about 17 years

Now our sources said that Ernest spent a lot of time like

leading Bible study and Sunday school while he was in prison too

Which they believe the parole board

Like like

Model considered

Yeah when they approved his release

Ashley I'm sorry

I don't care how many Bible studies he led

You don't get to torture a woman and then shave literal years

Off your prison time

Just because you said your prayers

Amen

And by the way

It's like

Oh sure, forgiveness, second chances, whatever

But I have a hard time believing that Ernest

Found God in prison

Because he knew the guy's number before he went away

A source close to Ernest's own family

Who asked to stay anonymous

Told us that at some point after Ernest moved to Elisabeth Town

Like way back in 1986

We're talking even before Elena's case

He and his wife joined the praise band at this mega church

A mega church that oh by the way is located in Elisabeth Town

Just two and a half miles away from the gas station

Where Elena worked according to her brother-in-law

Wait, so Ernest for sure has a connection to the area

Where Elena lived back in 1992

Yeah

We learned that he lived in the same town as Elena

When she was murdered in 1992

Not just before in 1992

And the potential ties don't stop there

So when we found out that Ernest lived in Elisabeth Town in 1992

Right away we began to wonder

Did he know Elena?

Yeah

It doesn't seem like it

Or at least it does not seem like she knew him

But then we talked to that source who was close to Ernest's family

And they had a few theories on how Ernest and Elena's paths could have crossed

So Ernest was in the army which is what brought him to Kentucky

He was actually stationed at Fort Knox before he retired

And then he moved into a house only about five miles away from Elena's

And our source told us that after Ernest retired

He was having a really hard time finding a job

So for a while he delivered pizzas for dominoes

And of course like we don't know where he delivered pizzas or anything like that

I do imagine that you called dominoes and were like

I can't

We cannot confirm

But are the source that we talked to kind of has always wondered

If he could have maybe delivered a pizza to the Hawkins house or in their neighborhood

Like that's a bit of a stretch to me

This is less so though

The source also said that when Ernest started working at a nearby break factory

He would work the night shift and then get off early in the morning

And remember when he was arrested after Linda's assault

A deputy said that he smelled alcohol on his breath in the patrol car, right?

Yeah

Well our source went on to claim that Ernest had a drinking problem

That he hid from his family

So he would usually drink during the day after his shift

And did while they were all out of the house

But Elizabeth Town was a dry town at the time

So you could only buy alcohol in Boston, Kentucky

Which was like the next town over

And if what our source told us is true

Which we have not been able to confirm yet

To get to Boston from the break factory

Or his house

Ernest would have had to have drive right past Elena's house

And that probably would have been right around the time

That she was putting her son on the bus to school in the morning

And remember that truck that someone saw in her driveway the day she died

Mm, the black dead son

Well, our source told us that Ernest had bought his daughter a tan or beige Chevy S10s sometime before that

Now if you look at the photos in S10 looks really similar to a Datsun

Yeah, but I don't know if you could confuse those colors though, right?

Big difference, but I did look it up

And sunrise that day would have been at around 8am

So if Elena is attacked sometime like between 7 and 10, 7, 30 and 10

It may have still been dark when that witness spotted the truck

I mean, yeah, it seems worth tracking down the truck at least just to like

Get eyes on it, feel like

Yeah, I don't know if police ever like did

Because when a reporter looked into this and shared our sources information with current detectives

We were told that they still have not followed up

Wouldn't they have talked to his family though at some point during the investigation into Linda's case?

They tried

So in our records request, there was one audio file from when detectives went to the home of Ernest's daughter

And her husband, they didn't want to talk then

And they basically direct police to Ernest Lawyer some guy named Roger and his associates

Because it sounds like when they tried to answer questions before people in their family were not happy with them

Take a listen

Right, and Ernest is your family?

Yes

Okay, all right

What we wanted to do is to talk to you and your mom for a while

We would actually, if Roger or if you all have an attorney representing you all

We didn't do that basically

You know, what I told you the other morning and everything at 7am

And hopefully we were wanting to be able to just help you and make

Answer a few more of your questions and just find out basically we just don't know why

This has really happened and I think that's what we're trying to find out

We all have a good why

I mean, we know the who, what, when, where?

We just don't know why

And you know, we just basically just want to find out if your dad had any mental issues in the past or don't any medications

Or as a history of alcoholism or has been abusive in the past

Or anything like this, just small stuff like that for your family

Just basically doing your mom questions, you can answer

And that's really that all it was

Okay, sure

Well, I'm basically getting the cap of paper from my face

And what about this?

But let me just get back to you talk about that and then if I get it

I'll call you all back and let you down

As far as I can tell, Ernest's daughter did not call them back

And actually out of all of our attempts to reach his children or ex-wife or him directly so he could respond to allegations

This was the only response we got

A voicemail

Yes, I'm calling on behalf of the letter you sent to Ernie Pine

Your information is inaccurate

He is not interested in speaking with either of you on anything

And please stop harassing him

Thank you

Who was that?

We don't know, she didn't say

Maybe someone close to him?

Could be a family member?

I mean, we were told that Ernest's family stood by him after Linda's attack

Stood by him

How?

I mean, like, they might not even believe that he did it

How can you, like, make yourself believe that there's a literal mountain of evidence

I don't know

I know, I like, I get how hard it would be to accept that your husband or your dad did something that heinous

But there's also a bit of a line for me, like denial, trauma, families of predators can be victims too, do not get me wrong

But when you help shield them from accountability, that is when I think you're crossing over

What do you mean?

Well, so Linda's attack left her with serious medical debt

Before she was even discharged, they had a quarter of a million dollar lien on their house

And it took her husband ten years to pay that off

And like, I just want to take a second because this is the side of these cases that does not get talked about enough in my opinion

Survivors don't just have their physical well being taken from them

And their emotional and mental health totally wrecked their safety taken away

Like, on top of all of that

It's like the logistics of it

They often have to pay

Yeah, literal money for what their attacker did with money they often don't have

A crime like this seriously just like rips apart every aspect of your life

Yeah, but I think about in this case like can't they sue Ernest? Like he had money, right?

Yeah, we were told by our source that he did

But Linda's husband told us that none of that money has gone to her

So this is what played out

So Linda had to wait for the criminal trial to end or like all of that before they could actually file a civil suit

And her husband told us that during that time Ernest and his wife got divorced and his assets were all transferred to her

So from what he can tell, all Ernest has now to his name is his pension which I guess is protected

Which I didn't know that that's how it worked but that's still his

And Linda's husband told us that he did try to fight for that money, money that Linda deserves

But they just couldn't keep up the fight because lawyers cost too much

Yeah, you need money to get the money

Yeah, now on the one hand what I'll say is like in any other scenario like this where say the wife and family are blindsided

It would be like the wife's whole life savings up in smoke too

And I'm not saying the perps family has to be left destitute if they did not know anything or did not participate

Like, but neither should Linda

Right, like you said earlier there are lots of victims in this case

Yeah, and I haven't seen anything in the source material to suggest that they got a dime to help

So it feels to me like everyone on Ernest's side chose to support Ernest and protect themselves

And as cruel as the financial burden has been on Linda and her family the emotional toll is seriously just as real

Linda lives with physical and emotional challenges from the trauma like I said

She is now back in therapy because Ernest has been released and it has brought all of this back up for her

I mean ever since that night

2008 Linda has never been left alone

She is always with her husband or a trusted friend or family member

And her husband has faced his own challenges too

He had a stroke in 2013 and his doctors told him that all of this stress and worry that he carries could have been a factor

But you know what he told us that he loves Linda

They have been married for 47 years now

And he would do anything to protect her and their family

When Linda's husband went to one of Ernest's hearings after his parole

He said that in his opinion, Ernest didn't even show any remorse

Even after all these years

And he has never made any kind of formal apology to Linda or her family

One of those hearings was about a no-contact stay away order

Which meant that Ernest couldn't be anywhere near Linda or her granddaughter for like 10 years

But Linda's husband told us that when the judge asked him if he understood that, he didn't even answer

So the judge had to ask him again, like, do you understand that?

And he says, like, yeah, I got it

Which to Linda's family felt like he was not taking it seriously

And so now, that neighbor who left Linda for dead

lives just about an hour away from her

Even though he is 75 years old now, we know what he's capable of

And there is so much anger and fear that you can feel from everyone who has been affected by this case

And Elena's family lives with that same anger and fear because

Her killer, whoever he is, is still out there somewhere

Elena didn't get the chance to name her killer

And her family told us the little that's out there about her doesn't even begin to paint a picture of who she was

So I do want to share a few of their memories

They said Elena never met a stranger like she loved people and she loved to sing

That's actually her voice you're hearing from a recording that her sister shared with us

She was her son's best friend and the sister everyone wishes they had

And girl was 4-11 but she may as well have been like 8 feet tall

Like nothing scared her, she never backed down from a fight to protect the people she loved

And Elena's son told us that he has never given up on getting justice for his mom

And until the day he dies, he is going to keep looking for her killer

Maybe that killer things he'll never be caught

But if someone out there listening knows something that can change that, you need to come forward now

You can either call the Kentucky State Police Post 4 or you can email us

Tips at audiochuck.com and we'll forward it on

We'll be putting KSP Post 4 information and our tips email in the show notes

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, you can contact Reigns National Sexual Abuse hotline

We'll have their number and other resources for survivors of sexual assault in our show notes

You can find all the source material for this episode on our website, crimejunky.com

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