0:00.0	Death in the Vatican. I'm Jason Horton. I'm Rebecca Leib. And this is Ghost Town.
0:20.3	On May 4, 1988, Pope John Paul II is having an evening like any other,
0:26.2	preparing for bed inside of his luxurious apartments in Vatican City. But just 100 yards away,
0:33.2	he hears gunshots. Jard, the Pope would come to realize that part of the elite army that
0:38.8	protects him would be unraveling. Aloas, Easterman, the newly appointed Swiss guard commander,
0:45.4	Easterman's glamorous ex-model wife, Gladys Meza Romero, and Cedric Torne, a corporal in the Swiss
0:52.4	guard would all be dead. While most blame the murders on the young unstable Cedric Torne,
0:58.6	who killed Eastman and Romero before putting his 7-millimeter pistol in his own mouth and pulling
1:03.6	the trigger, the truth is far more complex, conspiratorial and high-profile. Containing theories that
1:10.5	include the Masonic Temple, East German secret agents, and a top secret Polish anti-communist organization.
1:18.2	Today, we're talking about the Swiss guard murders. At 121 acres with a population of 453
1:26.2	residents, Vatican City is the smallest country in the world by both area and population.
1:32.2	The Vatican City State is an ecclesiastical or sacri-dotal monarchical, hope I said that right,
1:38.0	to jurisdiction, ruled by the Pope, who, as you know, is the problematic head of the Catholic church.
1:45.2	We could do many, many episodes on the Pope and the Church itself. I think that might be a little
1:51.2	too intense. For now, we're not going to focus on the Pope, but the elite army used to guard the Pope.
1:59.0	They're called the Guardia Sphysera, or Swiss guards. If you've ever been to Vatican City,
2:04.6	you'll know them through their blue doublets and blue berets, or often wearing yellow, green,
2:10.4	blue, and red striped puffy-sleeved outfits that make them feel more like, in my opinion,
2:17.2	gestures than guards? I don't mean to make fun of them. I just mean, as a point of reference,
2:22.3	their outfits are incredible and very memorable. In fact, these Renaissance era uniforms are
2:28.5	among the oldest uniforms in continuous use, though contrary to legend, the artist Michelangelo
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