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The Last Date
18 Plays16 days ago
A chance meeting at a Costco food court sparks a romance but quickly spirals into something far darker.
What begins with a Mariners date ends in a chilling chain of deception, disappearance, and violence.
Strange texts, a missing mother, and a terrifying attack on her son leave a family desperate for answers.
As investigators close in, the suspect’s shocking behavior only deepens the mystery.
This is the haunting real life case of Leticia “Leti” Martinez Cosman and it is one you will not forget.
⚠️ Content Warning: This episode includes references to abuse, trauma, and death. Listener discretion is advised.
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Beneath the Evergreens, where murder, mysteries, and mayhem lurk in the shadows of the Pacific Northwest. I'm Jess. And I'm Anna. From haunted forests and unsolved disappearances to true crime cases buried deep in the moss and the mist. We're digging into the secrets hiding under the evergreens.
00:00:19
Speaker
Each episode will explore real cases, eerie encounters, and the legends that keep the Pacific Northwest up at night. So grab your flashlight, lock your doors, and join us Beneath the Evergreens.
00:00:32
Speaker
Beneath the Evergreens.
00:00:54
Speaker
Welcome, malcolm welcome, welcome. I am really stoked to be here with you today on this fine Friday afternoon. Oh, thank you, Jess. That's very kind. I'm very excited to be here as well. The weather is beautiful.
00:01:06
Speaker
do you have any plans for this beautiful weather? Just sitting outside, I think. am i Maybe I'll go on a run, a walk, eat my dinner outside. I don't know. But I feel like I need to enjoy the sunshine while it's here. i feel like spring, it's going to be sunny and then it's going to rain tomorrow and then I'm going to be mad I didn't take advantage of it.
00:01:24
Speaker
For sure. I feel like there's nothing more beautiful or picturesque than the west side of Washington state when spring is here. oh my gosh.
00:01:35
Speaker
Stunning. Stunning. The snowcapped mountains come out and oh my gosh, it's clear for miles and miles. It's lovely. I love it. um I do have one shout out that I want to give yeah to Mr. Henderson.
00:01:49
Speaker
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback and just for being an engaged listener. We really appreciate you. Thank you so much for being here and i hope you keep listening. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Henderson. Yes.
00:02:00
Speaker
I'm really excited for your case today. Me too. I'm just going to jump right into it. I love it. The story we I have for you today starts out with the first state but ends with kidnapping, robbery, and even murder.
00:02:16
Speaker
I'm engaged. Yes. This is a crazy story. um And we're actually switching it up a bit. I feel like I tend to tell you stories that happened, you know, years and years ago. Kind of a historical lesson as well. This is very recent. This story took place a couple years ago, actually.
00:02:33
Speaker
It's so recent that I remember the whole thing happening. And I remember like learning information piece by piece as the story progressed. So I'm super excited to talk to you about it now.
00:02:44
Speaker
Yes. I hope I've heard of it. Or maybe I hope I don't hear of it. I don't know. Let's do this. I feel like you've heard of it. Without any more introduction, let me tell you about the case of Leticia Leti Martinez-Cosman.
00:02:57
Speaker
Have you heard about that? Does that name ring any bells? Like vaguely, but I couldn't tell you anything about it. Okay. So- Story starts on March 19th, 2023. So little over three years ago.
00:03:10
Speaker
Leticia was at a Costco food court in Seattle where she met Brett Michael Gitchell. Just randomly. They both happen to be at Costco at the same time, which like, I mean, i don't know you've seen the Costco food court in Seattle, but like that place is popping. There's so many people there all of the time. That's because not only is it a good deal, but it's delicious. Oh my goodness. I will die on the hill of Costco pizza being far superior than anyone else's pizza. Oh my god Absolutely. Absolutely. I love Costco pizza.
00:03:39
Speaker
This is, yeah. Okay, quick moment to fangirl over Costco's Food Corp, but I had a strawberry banana smoothie from there last weekend. So good. Oh, my God. Delicious. every Everything there is just oh chef's kiss. oh Have you had their calzone?
00:03:54
Speaker
That wouldn't really hit the spot. i have not, but I am a big fan of the chicken bakes, which I feel like are kind of the same thing, but not at all. I mean, similar-ish, but I think Halzone is like in a league of its own. It's so good.
00:04:07
Speaker
Okay. going to have to get that. Highly recommend. Highly recommend. Okay. Well, back to the real reason we're here. so Leticia and Brett connected over their shared love of the Mariners. I believe he was wearing a Mariners hat at the food court and that's how they got talking.
00:04:22
Speaker
And they even decided to go to a Mariners game a couple of days later. Kind of go on a first date, if you will. wow Yeah. Love it. Seems very kind of old school in a cool way, right? I feel like it's very rare that we meet people out in the wild in this time of online dating.
00:04:37
Speaker
This is very true. Yeah. So they they went to the game together a couple days later and they had a great time. So Leti even took a selfie of the two of them smiling and laughing and sent it to her friend that was with her when she met Brett at the at Costco.
00:04:51
Speaker
Little did she know, though, that days later, that picture would be plastered around the city and on the news as people searched for her because she went missing. I hate that. this i remember This photo really stands out in my brain. And literally, whenever I think of this case, I can just I see it.
00:05:07
Speaker
I feel like we'll post it in our episode notes. Okay. But I feel like everyone here has like has seen that photo in some capacity. I'm looking it up because I feel like that photo is triggering.
00:05:19
Speaker
Yes, I do know this. Leti and Brett went to the the Mariners game, like I said, and Leti was lastly last seen leaving T-Mobile Park with Brett at around 10.30 p.m. on March 31st.
00:05:31
Speaker
So security footage from the parking garage shows them walking back to her car together. But the next day, her family and friends received kind of strange text messages from her that set off some alarm bells. um There wasn't anything that's like necessarily alarming in the text. Like it wasn't – they weren't like harming herself or being in danger and anything like that.
00:05:51
Speaker
They just didn't sound like her. Like, you know when you're texting someone, you can sense their tone. Yeah. Like if I get a text from my mother and that's a little short and direct, I'm like, oh, that that's mom. She's totally fine. I get the same text from my sister.
00:06:04
Speaker
That's not you. something Something is horribly wrong. Something is wrong. are in danger. You're either very mad or something is awry. Yes. Yes. Yes. So these text messages were concerning to her family and friends. And when they tried to call her to follow up to see if, yeah, she was mad, if there was just something going on, she wouldn't answer.
00:06:22
Speaker
So, again, they're so they're getting they're getting really concerned. And when they couldn't make contact and verify that she was okay, they actually reported her missing on April 2nd.
00:06:33
Speaker
Timeline-wise, March 31st is when they went to the game. April 1st is when they're getting the weird texts. or Her family is getting weird texts from her phone. April 2nd is when they report her missing. Okay.
00:06:46
Speaker
So... While Leti's family is getting these weird messages, they're kind of, they're concerned about her. They're looking for, looking for her. On April 1st, Brett was busy filling up her car with gas um and then driving out towards Snoqualmie Pass. i hate that. Seems a little suspicious, right? Yeah. Like, unfortunately, in my mind, why does he even have her car? Literally. um But I think yeah think we all kind of know what's going on. And unfortunately, it only gets worse from here. The sad thing is, too, is she looks so happy.
00:07:18
Speaker
Right? In that great photo. Like, she looks... She's one of those people that has that smile that just, like, draws you in. was, like, heartwarming smile. Like, you can just, like... I feel like it's her in her eyes, Yeah. She just looks so happy. Looks like a beautiful person. Yeah.
00:07:31
Speaker
Yeah. So, in the early morning hours of April 2nd, so before Leti's family reports her missing, at around 2 a.m., Leti's son, who lived at home with her and had some intellectual disabilities...
00:07:45
Speaker
was woken up by a strange unknown man knocking at his door. So not the door of his the house. It sounds like the like his bedroom door. Like they were already in the house. ah That is my worst nightmare.
00:07:58
Speaker
Right? my God. So he's knocking at the door. And when her son wakes up, the strange man says that Leti was in an accident and he was there to drive the son to the to the hospital to see her.
00:08:13
Speaker
And I mean, i don't know about you, but if someone tells me that my mom was in a horrible accident, it's the middle of the night. Your brain's not firing all cylinders, Especially they're knocking on on your actual bedroom door.
00:08:24
Speaker
would think, okay, well, she had to give the keys to let me know. Yeah. Also, like, fight or flight, right? Like, you're just, like, trying to process everything. So Leti's son gets in the car with this man, and they start driving. It sounds like they start driving down south towards Renton.
00:08:41
Speaker
So they're driving for a ways where and eventually the man stops the car, gets out, gets into the backseat of the car, and then starts strangling Leti's son. What the hell? yes Yes. He is strangling him, ah honestly trying to kill him. And her son is fighting back. He ends up biting the guy in the arm and then escaping out of the car and hunts and like hides in some bushes that are nearby.
00:09:06
Speaker
So what a terrifying experience. Right. Oh, my gosh. And at this point, they don't even know really know that his mom is missing. They just know they can't quite contact her. So I'm just imagining all of this like craziness going on in the family. yeah But anyway, so let's get out of the is able to escape, gets out of the cars, hiding in bushes. And that's where he calls his dad.
00:09:29
Speaker
And his dad says, you know, call call the police right away. Like get someone out there. So police comes out, come out. They find the son. He's okay. The man that actually actually tried to kidnap him has has left. He's escaped.
00:09:42
Speaker
And when her son is talking to police, he said that, you know, the man, he, yeah, he tried to strangle me. And he just kept saying that he didn't want me to get institutionalized since my mom was gone.
00:09:54
Speaker
What? Like almost trying to frame it like some kind of like, like saving mercy. Yeah. yeah Yeah. Right. it It's weird. It's really weird.
00:10:04
Speaker
Or how about just not kill people? That could just be a thing. Crazy. I don't know about that. Okay. So her son is ends up being okay. I mean, he was injured, but he was still alive and he ends up making pretty much a full recovery. However, couple hours later, they find that there's a car burning in Seattle. Like a car is full on on fire.
00:10:25
Speaker
They end up figuring out that it is Leti's car, that the man, who they have now identified as Brett. So they finally said, you know, Brett kidnapped the son, kidnapped her son.
00:10:38
Speaker
And then took that car, set it on fire after after the son escaped. Oh, my God. Okay. So, yes. And this, ah again, this is all happening on April second One day.
00:10:48
Speaker
Wow. Yes. Yes. It is this happening fast. So now most people, after they they murder someone, they attempt kidnapping, they torch a car. Yeah. You're probably going to like try to lay low, right?
00:11:02
Speaker
Probably going to go hide out somewhere in like the remote parts of the state, maybe go into a forest. No. No, our guy Brett. April 4th, he went to the Costco in Seattle, same Costco that he met Lethia the month prior, and pried open a jewelry case and stole $10,000 worth of diamonds. That's really smart.
00:11:24
Speaker
Wow. Go you. Brilliant, right? so the article that I read states that loss prevention followed him out of the store and was able to record his license plate.
00:11:35
Speaker
But what I'm a little bit confused about is if they intervened at all. i'm I'm just imagining someone like trying to pry open a jewelry case. Like that takes some time. Yeah. It was super quick and no one had time to intervene. I'm just, I'm in my head. I'm just imagining him like spending like 30 minutes prying this case and people just kind of staring and then following him around the store, which I imagine is untrue.
00:11:59
Speaker
But um it does. It's kind of right? It is very odd. So April 4th, he ends up escaping with the jewelry. Oh, this is on April 4th. Sorry. April 4th is when he stole it. Yes, April 4th.
00:12:11
Speaker
Yeah. So again, back to the timeline. The Mariners game, Leti and Brett was on March 31st. April 1st is when Leti's family gets those weird texts.
00:12:22
Speaker
Early morning of April 2nd is when Leti's son gets kidnapped. And then later on that morning, that's when the car is found on fire. April third Kind of un-eventful. Nothing happens.
00:12:33
Speaker
April 4th, we have but the Costco robbery. And then that brings us to April 5th. So Brett shows up at the Costco in Shoreline to steal, to shop, don't really know.
00:12:49
Speaker
However, he was quickly detained by employees after they recognized him from a communication sent up by the Costco store. So they basically sent out alerts saying, hey, keep back keep an eye out for this guy. He stole all this. So they kind of corral him into a room and they call the police. Good on them. I think I would be scared, honestly. Right?
00:13:09
Speaker
Yes. Some like guts or you're not in the right mind. You know, like I feel like it's more the way. Anyways, they they corral him. Seattle police come and arrest him. And when they brought him in for questioning, they noticed that he is like trying to slyly remove a Mariner's wristband from his wrist and put it in his pocket.
00:13:28
Speaker
Okay. Almost like he's trying to pretend that he, like, maybe he was recently at a Mariners game, but he doesn't want anyone to know that. Interesting. Interesante.
00:13:40
Speaker
So Felice asked him, you know, did you ever, did you know Leti? Did you know her son? Were you at a Mariners game with her? He says, nope. I didn't know her. Didn't know her, never met her.
00:13:51
Speaker
But then, remember that? I told you about that photo. The one that she took of of them together and sent to her friend. Yeah. Please show him that photo. And he goes, yeah, no, I guess you caught me. i was there.
00:14:03
Speaker
So we're not dealing with a mastermind here. I don't. First of all, I don't get how he was smiling for the photo. He knows the photo was very affectionate in this photo, too.
00:14:15
Speaker
Right. Did he not think it would go anywhere? Such incriminating proof that you guys were together and you were with her on her last day alive. why Why is this guy surprised?
00:14:26
Speaker
And why is he even trying to say he didn't know her? i don't know. Especially because his head is on her shoulder and they're both smiling like pretty adoringly at the camera. The beginnings of love type smile.
00:14:39
Speaker
you So you can't even say like, oh, we were just sitting next to each other. She must have just snapped a picture because, I don't know, she thought it was cute or something to send over friend. No, this is like you were clearly together. Exactly. Exactly. it it doesn't It's really weird to me.
00:14:55
Speaker
After he saw the photo, quickly changed his tune. It was like, yeah, no, we did know each other. So once he was in custody, police were able to get his cell phone and start tracking some of the data and trying to kind of track his whereabouts the last couple of days.
00:15:10
Speaker
While doing that, that's when they see that he spent about 20 minutes in some remote part of Renton. in the early morning hours of kind of sounds like either late april 1st or early april 2nd so before he kidnapped her son he's kind of in this this really rural spot where there's not really any houses from what i can see it's almost like right off 157 if you're familiar with that area kind of pretty wooded tall grass not a place you would visit unless you're doing something that you don't want anyone to see
00:15:43
Speaker
They go and look and it's it actually turns out to be not far from where he took Leti's son after he kidnapped him. um Kind of the same vicinity. And when they search there, they do find Leti's body. They actually end up finding it on April 11th and they determine that her cause of death was strangulation. that's so sad which right the part that kills me is that he did this to her and then he was about to do the exact same thing to her son for no apparent reason like in his head may he may seem like he had conducted some kind of reasoning for it but like it it seems wild to me and i don't i don't see any motive at all for any any of it it's like some serial killer shit
00:16:32
Speaker
Yeah. Right. From what I can tell. So his trial actually hasn't happened yet. He's been charged with so many different things. Murder, kidnapping, robbery, arson, essentially everything for all that yeah crime spree that we talked about.
00:16:47
Speaker
And he's been in jail. I think the his bail is set at like five million dollars right now. So it doesn't seem probable that he'll get out before trial. Right now, or that's kind of where the story end We're kind of in limbo. Obviously, it hasn't been proven in court yet that Brett was the killer, but it seems quite confident yeah that I can quite quite confidently say that it seems like he's the guy.
00:17:09
Speaker
Does he have, like, a history of this behavior? Or is it just... Do you know? if or is this just... So it sounds like he does have some felonies in the past. He has had some odd behavior, potentially some um domestic violence. It sounds like he was being evicted at some point, on like noise complaints. But nothing that would immediately indicate that he was going to murder someone next. You know, like it also isn't really a clear like progression in behavior.
00:17:40
Speaker
Yeah, and one of the things that I'm interested in coming out in trial is what the motive is. Because we still don't know. Did something happen between him and Leti? she Did she want something that he didn't want or vice versa? Yeah. Was was it a robbery gone wrong? i have no idea. It's just... I don't... Like... That is such a severe escalation from what you see in the picture of them, again, adoringly sitting together,
00:18:08
Speaker
to her ending up strangled to death and then for you to go back and almost so if he went to rent in in that wooded area before he went to pick up her son it's like he was i don't know if he was saying goodbye or saying hello and like oh i'm gonna do this to your son too and then he like goes to her son's house but that's c great that's wild right yeah it it doesn't it doesn't make sense Note to self, don't meet potential suitors at Costco.
00:18:39
Speaker
Exactly. Well, I just think back to every time I said, oh, I just want to meet someone organically, like at a bar, at a restaurant or something. This is probably the biggest pro to online dating. At least maybe you can suss some people out ahead of time. Most of them just show their cards right away with the first first incoming text. But that is, wow, I'm in shock.
00:19:03
Speaker
Right? Right. So I remember when this case broke and kind of following it day by day and hearing about, oh, her son was now kidnapped and now this was happening. just remember thinking like this, this can't be real.
00:19:18
Speaker
This whole story does not, like it seems made up. It seems like something you would see in a story or like excuse me not yeah a ah a movie. But no, it did happen. And I I'm just more and more intrigued with Brett's mental state at the time. Like what was going on where he thought that murder was the answer, then kidnapping was the answer and then decided to go on this crime spree. Like what what were the events leading up to it? And what what what happened? What what actually happened?
00:19:47
Speaker
It is bizarre to take somebody's mother away from them and then go and kidnap them and say, oh, let me just go ahead and murder you and let me do you a favor so you don't get institutionalized.
00:19:59
Speaker
First of all, it sounds like he had a decent relationship with his dad if you could call him while he's in the forest and say, what come help me. Right? Yeah. That is such a irrational.
00:20:11
Speaker
ah That's so weird. It's just the whole thing is bizarre.
00:20:16
Speaker
i So this almost reminds me a little bit of, you know, the the Idaho murders. And it was reported that before one of the victims was killed, someone heard heard the killer say um something along the lines of like, I'm trying to help or something like that.
00:20:34
Speaker
And it's almost like I i wonder if in the psychology of murderers, if they have some kind of savior complex in a way. Like, oh, I'm just I'm saving this person by making sure this whole of this other horrible thing doesn't happen to them while I commit to this heinous act on them as well.
00:20:51
Speaker
Yeah, like rationalization of their behavior. So I don't know. I don't know if they have guilt, but man. What an interesting... And then I couldn't imagine being in the car. So having someone knock on my bedroom door, getting into a vehicle with this person, thinking I'm going to see my mother, them pulling over and getting out of the car and me just being like, what is going on? And then just all of a sudden being strangled. that is...
00:21:17
Speaker
Yeah, the poor man, right? It's traumatizing. But also like at the same time, right? He doesn't know what what's happening with his mom. She so could still be alive. Like they're still just putting the pieces together that she's just like sending weird text messages.
00:21:32
Speaker
So I imagine hearing, oh well, like I'm putting you, I'm going to save you from being institutionalized because your mom's not here. And then you're like, wait, my mom my mom's gone? Like what? like that you know yeah That's just got to be a harrowing experience in totality.
00:21:47
Speaker
Do we know, did they ever say why he went to, like on the first, he filled up her gas tank and went to, where did he think go? Went to towards a Snoqualmie Pass. Snoqualmie Pass.
00:21:59
Speaker
I don't know. Part of me thinks like, was he looking for a spot to... what One, like was she still alive? Was yeah was he looking for a places like some secluded place to to leave her body? I don't know. It seems far enough away, especially if he came back to Renton. It seems like he's comfortable in the like South Seattle area. So Snoqualmie Pass seems pretty far away for that.
00:22:21
Speaker
Very bizarre. The whole thing is weird. Once the trial happens and if we get new more information, we'll do a follow-up episode. Because I feel like right now is there's just more like questions than answers, really.
00:22:35
Speaker
Yeah, 1,000%. And why does he like Costco so much? I think that's the easiest question to answer. It's amazing. The pizza.
00:22:45
Speaker
but Problem solved there. Next. ah That is a story that I have for you guys today. That was so entertaining in a...
00:22:57
Speaker
good way entertaining and then in a very very bad way so i don't want to say these are good stories because i feel like it's not a good story but it's like sure it's it's a good story yeah it's something so it's like fascinating stuff and again fascinating that this happens in real life like this combination of horrible events yeah i feel like it's very rare that we see this many horrible things happen at the same time in the same story like you just kept compounding and getting worse and worse and worse
00:23:26
Speaker
Thank goodness that these people are not very bright. Right? That's all got to say. Well, that's it for today's dive into the dark corners of the Pacific Northwest. If you love the stories or shivered a little, be sure to subscribe and follow so you don't miss what's lurking beneath the evergreens next time.
00:23:43
Speaker
Thanks for joining us on Beneath the Evergreens. We appreciate you diving into the mysteries with us. Until next time, keep your eyes open and your doors locked, especially your bedroom doors. i was literally going to say, especially your bedroom. Don't let anyone in.