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The Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect

He Didn't Deserve to Live

The Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect

Lemonada Media

True Crime

4.61.9K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2024

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

An early morning snowstorm means Jordan Rasmussen, a father of three, has to share a ride with his coworker to a meeting he expects will be tense. Jordan gets in the Jeep riddled with bullet holes. He never comes home.

For more on the Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect, including pictures, find us on social @theletterpodcast or visit our website, theletterpodcast.com. If you want to hear more and would like to support us, please consider subscribing on Apple podcasts for access to our bonus episodes. We drop a bonus episode every week.

Written by Amy Donaldson and Andrea Smardon.
Production and sound design by Andrea Smardon, Nina Earnest and Aaron Mason. Mixing by Trent Sell.
Special thanks to Becky Bruce, KellieAnn Halvorsen, Ryan Meeks, Ben Kuebrich, Feliks Banel, Josh Tilton and Dave Cawley.
Main musical score composed by Allison Leyton Brown.
With Lemonada Media, Executive Producers Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs.
For WorkHouse Media, Executive Producer Paul Anderson.
And for KSL Podcasts, Executive Producer Sheryl Worsley.

The Letter is produced by KSL Podcasts and Lemonada Media in association with WorkHouse Media.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Levene.

0:02.0

The last night of Jordan Rasmussen's life wasn't especially remarkable.

0:11.0

The only reason anyone finds it memorable is because those who love him

0:15.1

most say it perfectly encapsulates who he was. No one remembers exactly what time the

0:21.6

32-year-old accountant pulled into the driveway of his single-story home the night of March 4th, 1982.

0:27.0

But they do remember it was late enough that two of his children were already asleep.

0:31.0

Jordan was working late when he received an unexpected phone

0:34.4

call. That call would change his plans for the following morning, and that change of plans

0:40.1

would cost Jordan Rasmussen his life.

0:49.0

When he walked into the house, he found a familiar scene. His eight-year-old son and his five-year-old daughter in bed,

0:51.0

while his youngest, 16-month-old Chad, was wide awake.

0:55.4

His wife, Diane, wasn't home.

0:57.4

She was playing indoor tennis with a friend, leaving the children in the care of a babysitter.

1:02.1

And as he often did, Chad was protesting bedtime.

1:05.0

Deans remembers it was her husband who unlocked the secret of getting Chad to sleep.

1:10.0

Neighbors remember seeing Jordan almost every night, walking Chad around the block, trying to get him to sleep.

1:20.0

Was he fussy, maybe? He didn't want to go to sleep?

1:24.0

So that was kind of their nightly ritual.

1:27.0

But it was already dark that night,

1:32.0

so Jordan offered to drive the babysitter to her house, just a couple of blocks away.

1:37.0

And he brought Chad along for the ride.

1:39.0

But when they returned home, Jordan realized the doors were locked, and he didn't have his key.

...

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