Cold Blooded: Jordan

This is Deborah Roberts here with another weekly episode of our latest series from 2020 and ABC Audio, Cold-Blooded Mystery in Alaska.

Remember, you can get new episodes early if you follow Cold-Blooded Mystery in Alaska on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Now, here's the episode.

In the weeks after Dr.

Eric Garcia's death, police learned a lot about Jordan Joplin.

They came to believe Jordan was a thief, that he stole Dr.

Garcia's vast collection of valuables.

Police also surmised that Jordan and Dr.

Garcia had been involved romantically, judging from the handwritten notes found in both men's homes.

And police also found a disturbing video on Jordan's cell phone.

It appeared to show Dr.

Garcia gasping for air and near death, lying on the couch where police discovered his body.

The video put Jordan in the room with Dr.

Garcia as he lay dying.

But damning as the video was, it wasn't quite a smoking gun.

Police knew Dr.

Garcia's ultimate cause of death was a morphine overdose.

But remember, No morphine had been found in Dr.

Garcia's house.

Police still didn't know how that fatal dose ended up in the doctor's system.

So,

what happened before Jordan began recording that video?

What unfolded between Jordan Joplin and Dr.

Eric Garcia was years in the making.

What in Jordan Joplin's life led him to this moment?

And how did his relationship with Dr.

Garcia Garcia

go so terribly wrong?

I'm Chris Connolly from ABC Audio and 2020.

This is Cold Blooded: Mystery in Alaska.

Episode Five:

Jordan.

Jordan's dream was just to take care of everybody.

He just wanted to take care of everybody.

He always said that.

When I get older, Aunt Sandy, I'm going to get rich and I'm going to take care of all you.

Sandra Flores was raising three boys in rural Washington when her younger sister moved to town after a divorce.

Her sister's youngest, Jordan, was a year and a half old at the time.

They were living in Forks, Washington.

Forks was once a prosperous logging town.

Today, it's better known as the hometown of dreamy, fictional vampires, as in the movie Twilight.

If you hate the cold and the rain so much, why do you move to the wettest place in the continental U.S.?

Stephanie Meyer, the author of the Twilight Books, said she picked Forks for its climate.

She thought it was a logical habitat for vampires.

For young Jordan, the dark mossy woods were a place to explore and expend almost endless kinetic energy.

And Sandy says Jordan spent his childhood climbing trees and catching snakes.

Because he was curious, he was rambunctious.

But it got rough for him after a while because he was very

impulsive.

I think it's the word to use.

He would, instead of thinking about it, he would just do something and then go, oh, wow, that was fun.

Let's do it again.

Jordan was one of five children in the house.

He had two older sisters from his mom's previous marriage, plus his stepdad's two kids.

In that busy household, Sandy says she thinks Jordan often felt overlooked.

I think Jordan was getting into trouble for attention.

And I think that's what it was.

He realized he was getting more attention getting into trouble than doing good things and not getting attention.

And we told him that.

We straight up told him that you're doing this just to get attention.

And he's like, oh, yeah, nobody pays attention to me.

And he's right.

He was right.

Sandy says she thinks Jordan especially craved attention from his mother.

Jordan looked for a lot of solace from his mom, which she gave him.

You know, she gave him a lot of love and comfort.

that he really needed that he couldn't get anywhere else but from his mom.

But as Jordan got older, it seemed he was able to find love and attention in other places.

Jordan had lots of girlfriends.

I met lots of girlfriends.

He'd had to bring them by and show Aunt Sandy, this is so-and-so, Aunt Sandy.

I met her and so-and-so.

We're really in love.

It's like, okay, well, in the next month, it'd be somebody different.

He was very like high energy, and so that was just that positivity was kind of infectious.

Jordan was all grown up by the time he started dating Jessica Everton.

They met in Bonnie Lake, Washington, working at a food bank that was run by Jessica's father.

Jessica knew Jordan was there for community service.

What she says she did not know is that it was ordered after Jordan was convicted of two felonies, after abandoning his car and then claiming it had been stolen.

Investigators became suspicious when they noticed Jordan had filed an insurance claim three hours before reporting he had left the vehicle on the side of the road.

Jordan began doing his community service, and soon he and Jessica were seeing each other.

His zest, his positivity, I mean, he was intoxicating.

He was very, very big into his appearance and so he was big into his muscles.

He was definitely good arm candy.

But Jessica says Jordan's focus on his appearance wasn't only to keep her interested.

He was an aspiring stripper.

How did he look with his shirt on?

Gorgeous.

You would take him out and meet your friends with him?

Yes.

Usually he would perform some kind of sexual dances with them if we were out at the bar.

I would tell him how I did not appreciate those dance moves.

I didn't need to see him having sex with my friends on the dance floor.

Jessica learned to live with Jordan's gyrations.

But in December 2010, Jessica says, she got a wake-up call.

We were shopping at Walmart and then we walked out.

And as we walked out, we got swarmed.

They're accusing me of stealing and I'm flabbergasted.

Walmart Security accused the couple of shoplifting a number of GPS units from the store.

The police showed up and we were arrested.

We were both placed in the same squat car.

The police report noted that Jessica and Jordan both said the theft was his idea, but both were charged.

And what happened to the charges against you?

They ended up getting deferred because I wanted the whole thing over behind me.

I wanted no part of any of it.

I said I'll do my community service.

I won't commit this crime again.

Jordan, on the other hand, pleaded guilty to theft.

He received a suspended jail sentence and more community service.

Jessica says after the Walmart incident, she ended the relationship.

We broke up and then

I came home one day to dozens and dozens and dozens of roses,

vases of roses all over my front steps.

Jessica took this grand gesture as Jordan asking her to take him back.

But she did not.

And she says that made Jordan angry.

Jordan's not very nice when he's angry.

So when I quit responding to his phone calls and to his text messages, and when I block him, then he starts having other people call me and text me.

What are those messages saying that you're getting?

At one point, it was if I can't have you, nobody can.

He did have somebody call me at work.

It was a female.

I'm not sure who this female was, because when I got on the phone, it was him saying he wanted me to take him back, and he started threatening my family.

I knew the lengths he was going to try to get in touch with me.

I didn't put it past him.

Jessica took action.

I went to the courthouse.

I told them exactly what he did, exactly what he said.

I get a restraining order against him.

What happened after you got the restraining order?

He stopped.

In court papers, Jordan Joplin denied all of Jessica's claims.

He said he had moved on with his life and had a new girlfriend.

And other women in Jordan's life remember him in more positive terms.

I used to work in public transportation as a dispatcher,

mainly mainly with taxis.

Back in 2012, Crescenta Lawrence was on duty and down in the dumps.

She says that's when a kind stranger came into her life.

On a horrible day of mine, he randomly called and

was asking for a cab, but he noticed that I didn't sound too upbeat or too ecstatic, I guess.

He asked me if I was okay and told me his name.

And he was like, you know what, I think I just want to hang out with you.

And I was really down in my life at that time when I, when he called, and

I just felt so lifted.

I actually did meet him for a drink one day.

And I just sat there and listened to him talk.

The stranger, of course, was Jordan Joplin.

Over the course of that drink, And in the days and months after, Chrysanta says she and Jordan became close friends.

She says Jordan opened up about his life, about his travels, and about his son, whom he loved deeply.

And she says Jordan listened to her troubles.

He became her rock.

Jordan made certain to

be there, helped me with the bills when I didn't even ask for it.

He was an angel.

I was just happy to be a piece of furniture in his life.

He radiated such energy about him that anybody would want to be around him.

And anybody sometimes meant just about everybody.

He was so confident he'd have two, three girlfriends at the same time, as a matter of fact, in the same truck, showing up at my house.

One of the girls, she goes, I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to stay away from him.

Eventually, Crescenta helped Jordan with some networking.

I had a few connections that I got him into

the adult industry.

He started working as a dancer first, but what he wanted was more attention based on him.

He was such an attention hog.

He got that from dancing, but Jordan wanted to really, really make a name for himself.

So we got him into something a little bit more heavier.

Sam's loaded.

Here to see the house.

He started making some movies, same-sex.

In one film, titled The Garage Part 4, Jordan starred as a college student looking to rent a room.

Beautiful house.

So you like it?

Yeah, it's very big.

Jordan performed under multiple names, including Rob Stonebridge and Logan Cruz.

Remember, Logan is the name he used when he made one of those welfare check calls.

Nobody's heard from him yet.

What's your name?

My name's Logan.

Well, my real name is Jordan Joplin, but everybody calls me Logan.

Sorry.

Around the time Jordan was beginning to pursue a career in adult entertainment, he got some news from Back in Forks.

In January 2015, his mom died after a battle with cancer.

She was 51.

Jordan's aunt Sandy says, after that, Jordan didn't seem the same again.

That affected Jordan big time, losing his mom.

That was his only link to sanity, was his mom.

To this day, I don't think he's gotten over it.

Jordan and I talked at least once a month, and then after his mom passed, we started talking at least once a week.

But once he hit Alaska, I didn't see much of him after that.

Once he went up to Alaska, everything kind of changed.

Over the next two years, Jordan made frequent trips to Ketchiken, Alaska to visit Dr.

Garcia.

Dr.

Garcia sought to keep the relationship a secret, telling loved ones close to nothing about Jordan.

But after his death, those secrets came out.

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The story of Jordan Joplin's life contained chapters that were quite risque.

Friends say he dated multiple women at once, worked as a stripper, acted in adult films, and grew cannabis without a license.

Sometimes his impulses took him not just outside polite society, but outside the law, and he had the rap sheet to prove it.

Dr.

Eric Garcia's life could not have been more different.

His path in life was a picture of respectability.

As a teenager, he'd become fascinated by medicine.

He went on to become a skilled surgeon, beloved by his colleagues and patients.

In his free time, he traveled the world, often treating his mom and dad to luxury cruises.

He was a good son, a good doctor, and one would think he might have made a good life partner.

But loved ones say Dr.

Garcia's devotion to work often left little room for a personal life.

Here's his brother, Saul.

I know that he dated when he was young, and mostly I know this from my sister because my sister actually got more into his business than I did.

So

I think I left those topics alone.

Saul didn't discuss romantic matters with his older brother.

That's just how their relationship was.

And as years went by, that's how it stayed.

I got married, my brother got married, my sister got married, then it was just him that hadn't been married.

I was wondering, will he get into a relationship with somebody?

But as time went on, I realized that

that was just not in his cards.

By all accounts, Dr.

Garcia was kind, charming, accomplished, and of course, flush with cash.

Why hadn't he found someone to share his life with?

The easiest explanation was his work, that he was totally devoted to his job.

But Saul Garcia suspected there might have been something else that his brother was grappling with.

I never really challenged him or questioned him as to,

his preferences.

But certainly it would have been

something hard to discuss with my mom or my dad.

So I think my brother saw that too.

So he didn't want to go there.

A few years after moving to Ketchikin, Dr.

Garcia went to the doctor himself after experiencing shortness of breath.

He was told he he needed heart surgery.

We mentioned this in episode two.

He was medevaced to Seattle, where doctors performed a triple bypass.

Saul Garcia remembers that brush with death as a turning point.

I was there for the surgery and afterwards, and

I don't know if it was the anesthesia or the sedation that they gave him, but he was like, oh, I love you so much.

And I mean, he was just expressing that he should have been with us more, that he spent so much time, you know,

working.

And,

well, I mean, he kind of fell into a little bit of a depression right after, and he re-evaluated his life and

he thought, well, maybe it's time for me to enjoy my life some more.

It was around this time that Jordan says he gave Dr.

Garcia a massage and that the doctor tipped him $500.

He had been without any relationship, without anything for so many years, so lonely.

Carlos Gonzalez was one of Dr.

Garcia's closest friends.

He knows that he's older now, and I believe it's kind of like catching up all those things that he had missed

through his life.

Loved ones say even if they weren't privy to Dr.

Garcia's full romantic history, their impression was that his experience with dating was very limited.

And even with his renewed interest in romance, Dr.

Garcia remained the same as he ever was in one key way.

Totally private.

He never mentioned anything about

any type of relationship or romantic involvement with anybody or anyone.

He kept a lot of his personal life to himself.

I didn't know a lot about him until after his passing.

Bob Jackson, Dr.

Garcia's realtor, turned friend.

Remember, Bob was among the first people in Dr.

Garcia's life to meet Jordan Joplin.

It was that chance encounter at Bob's office, where Dr.

Garcia clammed up and seemed eager to get his new friend out of there.

I didn't even ask who he was.

I mean, I,

and Dr.

Garcia introduced him as his friend.

And after that, said almost nothing.

So the whole thing was awkward.

On that day in Bob's office, Bob says Dr.

Garcia seemed to freeze.

He seemed unwilling or unable to explain who Jordan was or who Jordan was to him.

In hindsight, his loved ones wonder, had Dr.

Garcia, this deeply private man, inexperienced in love, had he he gotten in over his head?

In life, Dr.

Eric Garcia was able to keep private a relationship he pursued in secret.

But after his death, that control was gone.

Police Sergeant Eric Mattson.

During the investigation, we were able to secure a warrant to search Jordan Joplin's cell phone.

There were several files in the phone, pictures, videos, text messages.

The relationship between Dr.

Garcia and Jordan Joplin was mostly long distance.

And so the contents of Jordan's phone provided a detailed record of their romantic relationship.

A lot of what police found was standard fare for a new relationship.

There were flirty texts.

Jordan, you look hot.

Eric, just for you, my love.

There were statements of devotion.

Jordan, you are more than the love of my life.

Eric, you are everything to me.

And then there were also more challenging moments.

Jordan, I miss you.

Eric, I don't know if you realize that the weekends are when I miss you the most, since I am not working or interacting with other people, and I am home alone by myself.

And I am not doing anything except thinking about you.

Police also found signs of a more toxic side to the relationship.

In a text exchange a few months before Dr.

Garcia's death, Jordan told Dr.

Garcia that he had had surgery to have a tumor removed.

Dr.

Garcia wrote, cancer from where?

What part of the body?

Jordan replied, colorectal.

Dr.

Garcia wrote, I'm completely devastated.

But police found nothing else in Jordan's phone to indicate he had cancer.

No mentions in texts with other friends.

No emails from doctors.

Only those messages to Dr.

Garcia.

Jordan later admitted that he had lied to Dr.

Garcia about having cancer.

He said he lied because he wanted sympathy.

Jordan's play for sympathy came a few weeks after an alleged incident that left Dr.

Garcia's friend Carlos deeply troubled.

On his birthday in 2016,

I called him to say, to wish him happy birthday.

I called him a few times.

I believe like two or three days, just he just disappeared.

He didn't answer my calls.

A few days later, Dr.

Garcia called Carlos back.

He said he'd been hiking and fell.

He sent Carlos a photo showing his lower back all torn up.

Unrelated to his back injury, Dr.

Garcia said he was scheduled to have hernia repair surgery in Seattle.

He asked if Carlos would accompany him.

Carlos said yes.

Two or three days before the surgery, he told me, listen, I have something to tell you.

He said that

I have been involved with this person.

That person was with me for my birthday here in Ketchikan.

He told me, listen, wait here.

I'm going to prepare this drink for you.

That was the last thing he remembered.

Carlos says that Dr.

Garcia told him, when he came to, he was naked, lying on the second floor of his house.

Carlos said, that Dr.

Garcia found this odd because he remembered having that drink on the first floor and that Dr.

Garcia then said his lower back injury was not from hiking it was consistent with being dragged up a flight of stairs and Carlos says dr.

Garcia told him something else he said

today I found something that really scared me

I found a note

with his handwriting saying,

if you are going to be suicidal, we cannot continue as a couple.

And I said, you have to call the police, you have to call the police, this is dangerous.

For months afterward, when Carlos called Dr.

Garcia, he said he would raise these concerns.

Have you been in contact with this person?

Has he called you?

He told me, no, no, no, we have not been in contact any longer.

I was always asking about this person, Jordan Jopling.

He was always denying that he was there.

In fall 2016, Dr.

Garcia had that hernia procedure, and Carlos flew to Seattle to be with him.

We talked on the phone many times later, but that was the last time I saw him.

alive.

A few days after police found found Dr.

Garcia's body, they took into evidence a letter that was discovered at the doctor's home office.

The letter appears to have been written by Jordan, stating that he no longer wants to be in Dr.

Garcia's life because the doctor is suicidal.

Later, when police reviewed the contents of Jordan's cell phone, they found several photos taken around the time of the alleged incident that Carlos describes.

In the photos, Dr.

Garcia appears to be unconscious on a couch, his shirt covered in what looks to be vomit.

Loose pills and pill bottles are scattered on the floor around him.

A few photos are close-ups of the pill bottles.

The labels read Valium and Oxycodone.

Months later, when Jordan called in the welfare checks, he told police he was concerned about Dr.

Garcia, in part because of a previous incident involving pills.

He was told me that he wanted to commit suicide, and I haven't heard from him, so I'm getting worried.

And the last time he did this, he actually did take a bunch of pills and stuff.

Okay.

I don't know how

Jordan and Dr.

Garcia continued a relationship.

I don't know.

And I don't think...

I will ever know.

By the summer of 2017, Sergeant Eric Mattson had learned more about Jordan Joplin than he ever wanted to know.

From text messages, bank records, evidence collected at Jordan's house, and much more, Ketchik and police had uncovered the tangled web that was Jordan's life.

With all that evidence in hand, police settled on a theory of the case.

Officer Devin Miller.

Dr.

Garcia,

with all his amazing abilities, was a vulnerable man.

He met

a predator by the name of Jordan Joplin,

who was able to convince this man to support him in every way.

And he stole everything of value that Dr.

Garcia had, including his life.

And yet, this unifying theory had a missing piece.

Dr.

Garcia had died by a lethal dose of morphine.

There was still the question out there as where did the morphine come from?

There was no direct evidence that put morphine, Dr.

Garcia's ultimate cause of death, in Jordan's possession.

A year passed without any such evidence.

Then another.

And then.

He was like, you know, if I wanted to be able to just to like off myself one day, like, how much do you think I would need?

And I was like, well, why would you talk like that?

Police have a breakthrough.

Cold-Blooded.

Mystery in Alaska is a production of ABC Audio and 2020, hosted by me, Chris Connolly.

Produced by Camille Peterson, Shane McKeon, and Kiara Powell.

Edited by Gianna Palmer.

Our supervising producer is Susie Liu.

Music and Mixing by Evan Viola.

Special thanks to Liz Alessi, Katie Dendas, Janice Johnston, Joseph Reed, Gary Wynn, Xander Samaris, Chris Donovan, Michelle Margulis, Tom Berman, Sandy Evans, and Pat Lalam.

Josh Cohan is our director of podcast program.

Laura Mayer is our executive producer.

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