It's October 14, 1976 and the Kingdom of Tonga, an archipelago of 169 islands in the Pacific Ocean. Deborah Gardner, a 23 year old American Peace

Corps volunteer, is heard screaming from her room by a local boy. He runs in to see a tall Westerner dragging her body out

through the doorway, but then drops her body and makes a getaway on a bicycle. There hasn't been a murdering Tonga for years.

Will justice be served? Find out tonight.

Grab a beer and pull up a deck chair. I'm your host,

Cambo, and this is True Crime Island.

Another True Crime Podcast. So tonight we go to the Paradise Islands of Tonga way back in the 70s. Tonga is basically a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean and

it's a kingdom so it has a king. The main island Tong Tonga Tappu, is protected by lagoons and limestone cliffs.

It's home to the rural capital of Nukuilofa, as well as Beach Resorts.

It has a population of around 100,000 people.

The American Peace Corps was stationed there during the 70s. The Peace Corps, according to

wiki, is a volunteer program run by the United States government. The stated

mission of the Peace Corps includes providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States

to understand American culture, and helping Americans to understand the cultures of other countries. The work is generally related to social and

economic development. Each program participant, a Peace Corps volunteer, is an American citizen, typically with a college degree who works

abroad for a period of two years after three months training. Volunteers work with governments, schools, non-profit organizations, non-government

organizations and entrepreneurs in education, business, information technology, agriculture and the environment.

After a 24 months of service, volunteers can request an extension of service.

So in 1974, an almost hippie, 23-year-old Emil Hans is lured by the exciting prospect of going overseas as part of the American Peace

Corps and would be chosen to go to Tonga.

He taught pottery and jewelry- at Pepperdine at university but didn't see his future there.

In Tonga he would meet up with a guy called Dennis Priven, who was described as a 24-year-old brooding Maths Whiz from Brooklyn with a serious soul,

...