Death in the Vatican. I'm Jason Horton. I'm Rebecca Leib. And this is Ghost Town.

On May 4, 1988, Pope John Paul II is having an evening like any other,

preparing for bed inside of his luxurious apartments in Vatican City. But just 100 yards away,

he hears gunshots. Jard, the Pope would come to realize that part of the elite army that

protects him would be unraveling. Aloas, Easterman, the newly appointed Swiss guard commander,

Easterman's glamorous ex-model wife, Gladys Meza Romero, and Cedric Torne, a corporal in the Swiss

guard would all be dead. While most blame the murders on the young unstable Cedric Torne,

who killed Eastman and Romero before putting his 7-millimeter pistol in his own mouth and pulling

the trigger, the truth is far more complex, conspiratorial and high-profile. Containing theories that

include the Masonic Temple, East German secret agents, and a top secret Polish anti-communist organization.

Today, we're talking about the Swiss guard murders. At 121 acres with a population of 453

residents, Vatican City is the smallest country in the world by both area and population.

The Vatican City State is an ecclesiastical or sacri-dotal monarchical, hope I said that right,

to jurisdiction, ruled by the Pope, who, as you know, is the problematic head of the Catholic church.

We could do many, many episodes on the Pope and the Church itself. I think that might be a little

too intense. For now, we're not going to focus on the Pope, but the elite army used to guard the Pope.

They're called the Guardia Sphysera, or Swiss guards. If you've ever been to Vatican City,

you'll know them through their blue doublets and blue berets, or often wearing yellow, green,

blue, and red striped puffy-sleeved outfits that make them feel more like, in my opinion,

gestures than guards? I don't mean to make fun of them. I just mean, as a point of reference,

their outfits are incredible and very memorable. In fact, these Renaissance era uniforms are

among the oldest uniforms in continuous use, though contrary to legend, the artist Michelangelo

...