234: Tessi was raped in the rain

What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media

True Crime, Documentary, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2025

⏱️ 86 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When you meet someone for the first time, do you trust them by default? I like to think that I just assume the best of a stranger, until they prove they aren’t worthy of my trust. But that can be dangerous in some cases. There were a couple of people who were partners in a business and they were looking for office space to rent. They searched online and found an ad for what looked like the perfect space. They met the owner there and he showed them around. They paid him first and last month’s rent using Venmo, and planned to sign the lease agreement the next day. They got the keys and moved everything in. But they never heard from the owner again. After a couple of days they still weren’t able to reach him. Then the next day, the ACTUAL owner showed up, asking who they were any why they had moved all their stuff in, since he was planning to lease the space out soon. The original fake owner was a disgruntled employee. He made out with a few thousand dollars, handed over the keys, and disappeared. But that whole scam hinged on trust. My guest today is Tessi. She lives in Montana but was traveling outside the US. She met a young man and she didn’t have any specific reason to not trust him. But he was not someone to be trusted. Links to local articles: https://www.usexpatcostarica.com/authorities-provide-assistance-to-tourist-who-was-raped-in-tortuguero/ https://www.usexpatcostarica.com/american-identified-suspect-of-rape-in-tortuguero/ https://qcostarica.com/court-imposes-six-months-of-preventive-detention-against-suspect-of-raping-a-american-tourist-in-tortuguero/ Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/234 Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai. Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well) Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS. Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up. Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns! Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Try Mint Mobile for 3 months, for just 15 bucks a month - MintMobile.com/WHAT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Scott. A couple of things I need to mention before we get into today's episode. First, Meredith and I will be doing an online meetup on Zoom this coming Wednesday, November 5, 2025. I'll talk about that at the end of this episode, so hang around for that. And second, today's story comes with a content warning as it includes graphic discussion of sexual assault.
0:23.6	If you have kids in the car, maybe listen to this one later.
0:27.6	Okay, let's get on to today's story.
0:35.6	When you meet someone for the first time, do you trust them by default?
0:45.2	I like to think that I just assume the best of a stranger until they prove they aren't worthy of my trust.
0:52.6	But that can be dangerous in some cases.
0:56.1	There were a couple of people who were partners in a business and they were looking for
0:59.9	office space to rent.
1:02.0	They searched online and found an ad for what looked like the perfect space.
1:06.7	They met the owner there and he showed them around.
1:09.7	They paid him first and last month's rent using Venmo and planned to sign the lease agreement
1:15.5	the next day.
1:19.2	They got the keys and moved everything in, but they never heard from the owner again.
1:25.2	After a couple of days, they still weren't able to reach him. Then the next day,
1:30.8	the actual owner showed up, asking who they were and why they had moved all their stuff in
1:37.4	since he was planning to lease the space out soon. The original fake owner was a disgruntled employee.
1:45.0	He made out with a few thousand dollars, handed over the keys and disappeared.
1:52.0	But that whole scam hinged on trust.
1:58.0	My guest today is Tessie. She lives in Montana but was traveling outside the U.S. She met a young man and she didn't have any specific reason to not trust him. But he was not someone to be trusted.
2:25.0	Real people in unreal situations.
2:31.3	The eerie silence when I walked in, and he's just staring at me.
2:33.7	I was like, hello, like, are you okay?
	...

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