Wasn't too difficult to see where this story was going. It's so awful and angering that some people decide to end someone else's life because they're so bloody terrible at their own.
I can't stop thinking of chris's parents. Just them knowing they were exchanging emails with their sons murderer while thinking its their own son they were speaking to. That's so sad
@@jannashereenewray This has happened in so many missing and presumed murdered cases now, that families have got to realize they need to ask for an actual phone call, a zoom call or meet in person sooner than later!!! This is happening where the evil crazy psychopaths are using e-mail and text messages to impersonate the victims!!! So very sad 😢, my thoughts and prayers are with Chris’s entire family and dear friends!!!!!
@@jannashereenewray thats just insane my goodness I can't imagine how you feel that this could happen to you and your other family members... I'm just so shocked 😔I pray you guys only have good blessings ❤
Imagine the man you loved abruptly broke it off with you via text or email. You're hurt, confused and angry. Probably tried to reach out with no response. A whole year passes and you find out that the man you loved, never broke up with you. His life was taken by a sorry POS. I can only imagine all the emotions that ran through that lady, once she discovered the truth! So sad! Prayers to his family and loved ones.
I know how it feels. I know how it feels I didn't find out the full truth until eight years later. To this day I feel regret for not being home the night he needed me and angry that someone lied and when they were caught in the LIE they felt they had to kill him. I didn't find out the full truth of the story until I went to the 10-year reunions and the best friend of his killer show me the whole sordid truth. There's this immense feeling of relief that he didn't leave you because he didn't love you. He was killed because he did because the person who took him away couldn't stand the fact that he couldn't let you go.
Melonie Grayson. There WAS no lady.He was dead the day he went to make a deal with his crooked partner. The girlfriend, and the later "playboy model" was all a made up story by the killer. All the communications with Chris's family was all by email. ( that's the way I have interpreted it anyhow)
Once you'd said one was a chill surfer type and the other was a straight laced college educated man, it was immedietely obvious who the pyschopath was.
Yep, police totally dropped the ball on this one - they didn't even identify the crime scene, until that PI pointed out all the blood spatter to them! Useless.
@@hx5525 Unbelievable, huh? You usually see that kind of sloppy mistake when it's a working class victim nobody cares about, ie someone without a family to put pressure on police to catch the killer. But Chris came from a respectable, middle class family. I guess they would have been on the detectives' backs more about it all, if they hadn't been stalled by the false trail the killer left. That bought him a lot of time. It's horrible to imagine Chris driving to that meeting like a lamb to the slaughter, clueless he would be viciously ambushed as he stepped into that office. Chris and his killer were chalk and cheese in every way. Chris could no more kill someone than he could kick a puppy, everyone said he was a decent, gentle guy. He was raised right, by loving parents. That's why he didn't recognise his business partner was dangerous - that kind of psychopathy was totally alien to him. He would never have believed it possible his partner would murder him. Poor guy, his whole life ahead of him - then he crosses paths with an asshole who values money above human life, and will financially benefit by killing him. Horrific.
Nobody can tell a story like this guy. Usually when other people tell stories I get bored and lose focus, when I watch this guy I am so focused and engaged.
Just posted a hour ago and we’re all here like crackheads on a loyalty program. “Got anymore of those strange, dark and mysterious in story formats“ (scratches neck)
Frrrr, my ex got pissed at me when we were togeather bc I watched one video of his while at the bfs (now ex) house, then proceeded to watch every video hes ever created over the following like 2 weeks, driving? Listening to it in my car At his place n hes playing vids? Watching. Doing work? Listening. Working? Listening. Sleeping? I honestly hardly did at all n when I did I fall asleep watching them 😅😅
I’m sure they did too. But Chris made excuses for why that wasn’t possible. I’m sure his gf was freaked out for being broken up with via email or just ghosted.
@@shuffman8094 I would have harped on my son to call me collect from an airport, hotel, public payphone...any phone within his vicinity. If he kept avoiding me or making excuses, I would have known within the first week...that's just me though.
As soon as I heard Chris *texted* his family to say he broke up with his girlfriend and was going on a long international trip, I thought, "Chris is dead and this text is being sent by his murderer." I've watched enough Mr. Ballen videos to see the signs.
You missed an amazing part of this story... Chris’s brother ran into chris’ “playboy gf” and asked her about Chris. She didn’t know him. This is what kickstarted the investigation
That was it! I just left a comment asking about her being discovered by someone and denying knowing Chris. Forgot it was the brother. But then how did the real girlfriend not know he was missing if they didn't break up?
@@lalonguecarabine4952 I’m sure there was some breakup conversation and if you were the girlfriend and didn’t know any better I guess you would just think he’s a PoS who breaks up via text and just write it off... I’m thinking there is more to this part of the story but not all that relevant I suppose
I feel so bad for Chris.. he seems like a decent and wise guy, living his life to the fullest with his career and relationship, only to be so brutally taken away by a cold-blooded gambling addict….!
Off-topic, but gambling is the reason I'm giving up on Pro-Football. I hate gambling bc it's the lifeblood of the Mafia (juice loans) and the NFL is embracing it openly bc it's another source of revenue. Corruption is corruption. And the NFL is corrupted...just like Ed.
As soon as I heard vacation I thought, "Oh no... He is dead in a ditch." The guy should have said he went cave diving. That never ends well and the bodies are rarely retrieved.
Cave diving is actually pretty safe for trained cave divers. Most of the deaths are amateurs or regular divers that don’t follow a few simple rules like staying on a line at all times or just not being prepared with the right equipment and thinking the can handle it. Dive talk is actually a really good and amazing channel that covers a lot of cave diving stuff. They’re gonna be doing reacts to some of mrballens videos soon I highly recommend them they have a lot of great stories and video footage over there
The only thing I find really upsetting is that after all this, and after being caught, Ed INSIST he's innocent and will not reveal where he hid Chris' body, in which Chris' family will never get the full closure they needed
Yep because Ed is a psychopath...no benefit to gain by revealing where body located. Zero empathy. Expect nothing from a psychopath, not even basic common decency far less remorse to want to give family closure.
@@bryduhbikeguy Well that's a gross statement. It seems that you may have some psychopathic tendencies yourself. Let's say they executed him or you felt "satisfied" after he was brutally tortured and murdered by other convicts only to find out too late that he WAS innocent the entire time. If he is in jail for life, he could be released. What would that say about a society that murdered an innocent man or let convicts brutally murder him and then felt satisfaction about it? I'm not saying that he is innocent, but that potential exists in all murder cases and the damage of wrongfully executing an innocent is a price far too high merely to satiate your bloodlust. You are not looking for justice, justice has already been served in this case the guy is never coming out of prison, you are looking for revenge. Thank god you are in no position of power that society has to listen to your "opinions" on how to deal out justice.
From what I have seen on this case, Chris' dad was a retired cop, or something along those lines. He actually had doubts at one time about the emails. So, he sent an email to Chris asking him some questions about his childhood, that he thought only Chris would know the answers to. But, Chris answered them correctly, so he thought that this had to be Chris sending the emails. Later, his brother went to Las Vegas and ended up seeing the woman that Chris was supposed to be seeing and had brought on the trip with him. But, she had no idea who he was or what his brother was talking about. Later, they tracked Ed's cellphone out to some desert, where they think that Chris' body is. Ed said that "some guy" came to take the body, but has no idea where the body actually is. They searched the area where they traced his phone to to try to find his body, but have had no luck finding him. Ed tried to say that Chris was really drunk and tried to attack him in the office, and when Ed pushed Chris away, he fell back hitting his head and that is how he died. That was when he had the mystery guy come in and take his body somewhere. That was his excuse for there being blood in Chris' office at the time. Which, they said that there was way too much blood in the office to have been caused from just a fall like that, and that is when his story fell apart. Even though he still tries to say he was innocent and that it was all an accident. Which we know is a flat out lie. I guess Ed had gone out to the place where they think Chris' body is multiple times, and moved the body before he was actually arrested for it. I feel so bad for his family and the fact that they truly believed that their son was on this trip, especially after his father asked the questions he thought only his son would know the answers to. Just shows how much of a psycho Ed was, that he would take the time to dig through and find the answers to these questions just to try even harder to cover this up. There are some scary psychopaths out there, and you truly have to be careful who you "trust" in your life.
I heard that the way Ed found the answers to Chris’s dad’s questions was because he had a separate email conversation with Chris’s brother talking about the time that the dad was asking questions about, and Chris’s brother unwittingly gave Ed the answers just laughing it up about those times. The brother and dad found out later that was how he outsmarted them about Chris. Truly he was an awful person.
Do you know what happened to Chris girlfriend the one he was going to marry? It didn’t mention that anywhere.. surely she would question where Chris just disappeared to?
He would've prolly gotten away with it if it wasn't for the blood splatters. He put in sooo much effort but couldn't be bothered to paint the wall? I don't like painting but damn man.
I can't imagine having enough money to spend six figures AN HOUR and not care, let alone drop (or make) six figures on one thing. Ever. This whole story is insane.
@@Grand_marquee He still had that amount for long enough to go gamble it. Doesn't excuse how he got it. The man is an ass for doing any of what he did, let alone not giving up the location of the body.
My husband was a good friend of Chris and his family so this story is very close to our hearts. 💔 This is a very crazy, complicated story but you've done a good job squeezing the gist of it into 12 minutes. Bottom line... Ed is a sociopath. And Chris knew it. I hope Ed rots in his tiny jail cell.
Dang. I'm so sorry for your husband's loss. It must've been devastating for Chris's family and friends because, though this all may sound trite, he really did seem like an amazing person who loved life and had his whole life just ready to continue to be lived with his gf and to pursue whatever career path he wanted to pursue, or maybe even to retire, if he'd actually been able to leave that horrible partner Ed and their lead gen company.
@@staciacarney8085 Thank you for your kind words. Your assessment is spot on - Chris was definitely one who loved life and could have absolutely become whatever he set his mind to. He accomplished so much at his young age, just to have it taken away by a sociopath. We just hope that one day his family might be able to locate him and give him a proper burial.
@KDA (G) IDLE Well, the local police really f***ed up the initial investigation at the building but I'm sure they did after the PI got involved. At one point, they searched in this random little town near San Diego because Ed had rented a vehicle and drove it out there for no apparent reason. If I recall, they knew this because he ran out of gas and had to call for service. The other theory was that Kenny Kraft (who was the guy who was driving Chris' car, staying in his apartment and wearing his clothes) had disposed of the body but they never really charged him with anything in the end.
@@sambucajay They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but Chris looked a really warm, approachable guy in his photos - his killer, not at all. It's tragic his whole life should be taken from him, and all for money. Money is nothing. His life was priceless! If only Chris had sensed how dangerous Ed was, he never would have agreed to meet him alone. He went to that final business meeting like a lamb to the slaughter, clearly unaware of the violence he was capable of. The blood spatter on walls and ceiling show he was ambushed as he walked in - he was a young, fit guy, I guess Ed wanted to overpower and kill him fast. Horrific - my heart breaks for him and all who love him.
Chris was my husbands cousin and they grew up together, and this whole case was horrible for their family. There are definitely a few details being left out of the story like Chris' family tried contacting him through way more means than just emails and some other stuff but yeh this man that killed him is a monster and still to this day they haven't gotten closure because of his body never being found.
Make sure to tell the like button that you’ve prepared some pie for them, but fill it with their favorite filling. It’s been through a lot. #BeNiceToTheLikeButton
@@Hungryforapples how would you feel if thousands of fans of strange, dark and mysterious delivered in story format the attacked you 3 or 4 times a week?
It's amazing how people can spiral out of control. Everyone has a breaking point. Ed's came out with the aide of a gambling addiction. So sad that he won't give peace to the family and tell them where Chris' body is.
Not to worry - Ed will never know another moment's peace, as he wastes away in a concrete box for the rest of his life and has to look over his shoulder every time he picks up the soap in the showers.
I grew up with Ed Shin. He was always a bit off. He once walked home from school with me in 2nd grade but didn't tell his mom. His mom was looking all over for him. Eventually my mom realized he never notified his family so we drove him back to the school where his mom was hysterical. All of us were surprised by this story though. He had just posted a happy picture of his child birth a day before he was arrested at LAX.
Hopefully by that time, they'll make properly fitting dentures without the whistle! Kinda creepy grandpa who tells the children stories about serial killers and rapists but OKAAAAAY....
By then we will be too old for scaries and he will be reading Grimm’s Fairytales online for Kiddie’s everywhere (our grands and great grands) who of course will find more comfort in tales of woe and dark endings like Hansel and Grettle who are cooked alive. Instead of the Disney twist for stories like Cinderella and all the others that ended up turned around to have a happily ever after.s. Lol
I think it shows what's wrong with RUclips and other media, and our priorities as a society. These videos are about human misery. Young people should not be able to watch them. But a couple of cusses makes them inappropriate. Crazy.
@@no_peace as if cursing and swearing is any better? I think we shouldn't watch them..because many degenerated humans already would create more disgusting humans as baby's to be born then kids then teenagers then adults and the cycle of degeneracy repeats itself. It is stupid to show ANYONE who hasn't seen it before Gore,death,violence. As "Entertainment" I'm wrapped around this myself. Though I make it exceptional to gore. I watched malevolent gore sadistic videos and shows . If one says it doesn't drain the soul and humanity away from you you're liying to yourself and that's reality based on morality valued and everything good. All pshycopaths are made not born. They're made after being born.
He's blowing up. He don't need netflix. They will suck his soul from him and merch him in a way that won't be good. Then they will take a % from him and dump him like a bag of crap when they have used him up. Atm Mr ballen is his own boss. Works his own hrs. And had time for his family. Xx
I love how you articulate the details in a forward direction. You motivate me to communicate better to the people in my life. Thank you in so many ways.
That's an excellent way to describe John's style. Watch his first one and notice how ordinary and slow and self-conscious his delivery was compared to how he honed his acting, pace, memorization without appearing he's prepped and rehearsed. Great performances, Mr. Ballen, you've got star power. 🌟
I can't get enough of the MrBallen channel. Seen them all (avoiding the ones with demons) and recommended the channel to other people. I feel so bad for Chris and his loved ones. Ed was a monster.
RIGHT?! I've only ever seen ONE correction in the comments and it was a simple mix up with dates. Accidentally said something occurred back in '99 when it apparently took place in '91. What makes it reflect even better on Mr. Ballen is that when they DID correct him, he simply apologized for the mistake and actually thanked them for the info. (As well, I believe he pinned tht comment so others could see) Not many on YT would be so mature imho lol So not only does he have an impeccable accuracy rating with details, but he's got the good grace to not make mountains out of these molehills. Truly an excellent storyteller.
The issue isn't errors so much as he leaves out a lot of facts. I don't fact check the stories regularly because, well, if people believe whatever they hear on RUclips, that's kind of on them.
I’ve seen at least 3 comments from credible 1st or 2nd hand witnesses saying they couldn’t believe that MrBallen was covering their friend or old neighbors case and how thankful they were for how he respectfully told their stories. I agree he always shows respect as if he’s their real friend.
I love the fact that MrB. speaks with his hands. This is what keeps people watching him. (I also talk with my hands) he doesn't just sit still and tell a story.
That's it for me too! He's so fully engaged, his arms are moving, his head moves around, it would be boring if he just sat completely still staring straight into the camera for the while story but his body language adds so much drama.
As soon as you said “Ed was this church going family man” and that chris was a chill surfer bro i basically gathered that ed was the said psychopath in this situation. Ed underestimated Chris’ loving family and cop dad who can smell bs a mile away.
I’ve seen this story somewhere and also, Chris’ brother just so happened to run into the “playboy” bunny at a club and asked her about Chris and she had no idea who he was.
I showed my girlfriend you're youtube and she's watching every single episode. Me and her never watch the same RUclipsr so its cool talking about the content you made.
@@Psichotica7 I think like allot of youtubers he was manipulating the (shorts and community polls) to get an advantage, not a problem with me, RUclips fucks with creators so hard they need to resort to this stuff just to survive being cancelled.
I've been binge watching your videos all day. The way you tell these stories are so entertaining. I've watched similar videos like yours and within the first few minutes I almost fell asleep. They were mono toned and not interesting. You have one hell of a talent Mr Ballen. Keep up the good work
I find myself getting to work early to squeeze in a story before my day begins. And have a few friends being totally intrigued at lunch with john’s stories. Keep it up mr ballen. You da man.
I Don’t know if you read it MR. BALLEN , but when Chris’s father started being suspicious of the fake e mails, he actually sent a message to “chris” asking him a personal question , surprisingly enough Shin did know half of the answer, but that wasn’t enough to convince Steve he was actually talking to his son. Here is what I found: In an August 2, 2010, email, Steve asked Chris to name the lake they used to live on and what type of boat he used to ski behind. “Chris” was only able to name the lake. xoxo
Either Mr Ballen or someone else covered this. I remember the video discussion, but can't remember who's video. Sometimes Mr Ballen will cover a single case in a short so it may have been him.
So sad for Chris and all his loved ones especially Erica. I won't be surprised if Ed probably burnt or dismembered the body of Chris. That man Ed deserves an even worse sentence than he got. Prayers for Chris and his family 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
As soon as I heard that Ed was a gambling addict I knew that he was 'the' psychopath in this story. Gambling, racing, skydiving, and other high-risk behaviors are very common amongst psychopaths (and sociopaths to a slightly lesser degree). 😞 He likely won't disclose the location of Chris' body, because he feels like it is the last little bit of control that he still has over law enforcement and Chris' family... (I'm a neurobiologist and psychopharmacologist by trade).
I agree. He will never tell where his body is for the exact reasons you stated... It's his last "thing" he has control over and it gives him a euphoric feeling to know he controls some part of his loved ones lives as well as the police and detectives and even the public. Ed may even have more victims, someone like that usually does before the one that gets them caught... Though, he wasn't very smart either when it came to the simple common sense things.
@@jamielynn6151 Psychopaths often don’t turn deadly but are frequently very successful in business & politics as their lack of empathy enables them to make brutal, high risk decisions that can pay off extremely well. “It is not the image we like to have when we think of business leaders. But troubling research indicates that in the ranks of senior management, psychopathic behavior may be more common than we think - more prevalent in fact than the amount such seriously aberrant behavior occurs in the general population. The hallmarks of the psychopathic personality involve egocentric, grandiose behavior, completely lacking empathy and conscience. Additionally, psychopaths may be charismatic, charming, and adept at manipulating one-on-one interactions. In a corporation, one’s ability to advance is determined in large measure by a person’s ability to favorably impress his or her direct manager. Unfortunately, certain of these psychopathic qualities - in particular charm, charisma, grandiosity (which can be mistaken for vision or confidence) and the ability to “perform” convincingly in one-on-one settings - are also qualities that can help one get ahead in the business world.” From: The Disturbing Link Between Psychopathy And Leadership By Victor Lipman
He claimed that the person he hired to dispose of the body drove it out into the Nevada desert and he doesn't know where it is. This was before he recanted his confession.
Imagine Chris poor girlfriend thinking that the man she was going to marry one day just left her to be with a playboy girl. I’m glad the truth came out
@@dougspidermanhappy Haha I'm guessing it would make most people happier on some level, even though you'd be mostly devastated and feeling guilty for being glad he didn't leave you and go on a global year long vacation.
No I mean she must have thought that was out of character for him and maybe thought he was a horrible guy that didn’t love her but in reality he still loved her and only death could keep them away 😢
I think she would doubt herself and her ability to read non verbal messages. Her ability to trust would certainly be damaged. So not happy that he is dead just knowing she wasn't deluding herself about the relationship. ♡
To think that the. way the Justice System is set up, he's really only got a little while longer until he can appeal and go free. All's he needs is a good lawyer.
Have you heard about the “cursed hospital”? I’m surprised you haven’t done a story on it. Mount Caramel - Grove City in Columbus, Ohio. Look it up, it was built a year or two ago, and has seen several deaths even while it was being built.
I absolutely LOVE when I click on one of these expecting it to be an ‘’ok’’ story, but nothing amazing because the title or description just doesn’t seem too exciting to me. Then I get immersed to mrBallen’s storytelling and it ends up blowing me away and becoming one of my favorite’s 😆 those are the best videos!
why didnt he clean the blood after the murder tho that's the confusing part, he just said whatever ima leave this office building with blood everywhere and no one will suspect a thing
That's exactly what happened. No one suspected a thing, right up until his brother was going to go to Costa Rica. It was almost a full year before they even went into that office, and only because a detective happened to ask if he could take a look while talking to the land lord.
Actually I listened this story at some documetary and the police searched that room before but didn't find anything,but his mother was sure that there must be something and she went with this private investigator and they found a tiny little blood dot near the light switch and then called the cops to spray luminol and the room glowed.
Another Awesome Mr.Ballen story. I love it when notification pops up for this channel. Someone give this guy his own primetime TV show because he would knock it out of the park.
The worst part is the family has to deal with the trauma of knowing that they were talking to his killer. And almost the feeling of going crazy and not knowing what's true etc bc it's shocking to find out things weren't at all what you were being told
How many people realized with the first text, that Ed was actually the one texting, and would set up a storyline over time to cover for his obvious actions against Steve.
Oooh well over the 1/2 MILLION MARK!!!!!!! MASSIVE CONGRATS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!! So well deserved💯well done you!!!!! Thank you for hrs of entertainment and the work and research you put into your videos it's so much appreciated!!! I love binging on your playlists every night going to sleep. Love from Ireland 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
What confuses me is why nobody in the family bothered or thought to check with the girlfriend he'd supposedly dropped to try and verify that part of the story.
Right? Or why didn’t the girlfriend contact the family ??? And the idiot guy never in that entire year thought to clean up the murder scene? If he had cleaned up properly and paid off that last month, I bet he would’ve gotten away with murder
The made up gf was Tiffany Taylor who was a famous playmate so I would suspect the story straight away,she would’ve been easy enough to get in contact with to verify the story. I mean no disrespect but his family were pretty stupid to believe those emails
@@Gos1234567 You can't blame the family, murder is an alien experience for most people and it's the last thing they'd expect to happen to a successful, clean living son. It's the police who deserve criticism here - they clearly failed to examine the office which was the last place Chris was known to be alive. If they had, all that incriminating blood spatter would have told them he was dead, it was the crime scene, and the prime suspect was his business partner Ed. By the time they got on the case (thanks to a private investigator), Ed had successfully disposed of Chris' body. Thankfully they got a murder conviction without it - but they might not have done, 'no body' murder cases are always harder to prove. And Chris' loved ones must suffer the pain of not knowing where his remains are, or holding a funeral for him. A tragic case. Chris went to that final business meeting like a lamb to the slaughter, unaware of the violence Ed was capable of - and was about to unleash on him. Poor guy.
Addiction of any kind can be fatal. Stop the addiction, and usually problems go away. Dude literally had it all to blow it all away. Good thing dude got caught. Always fun to watch. Great video
“I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain-and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light. I have looked down the saddest city lane. I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet When far away an interrupted cry Came over houses from another street, But not to call me back or say good-bye; And further still at an unearthly height, One luminary clock against the sky Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right. I have been one acquainted with the night.” - Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower, But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf, So eden sank to grief. So dawn goes down to day, Nothing gold can stay. Robert Frost
Mr Ballen is a perfect ad for RUclips premium cuz it’s the best videos to listen to while you sleep and with premium you can have the screen off. Put this on Spotify please
It’s so comforting to know that whenever I find myself gaining faith in humanity, I can tune into Petty Officer Ballen, and realize, I’m not such a bad guy. So here’s to you, keeper of my sanity. You never let me down.
This channel is growing in subscribers so fast. You deserve it Ballen. It shows in your stories that you put in a tremendous amount of time putting all of it together. 👍🏼
The moment it went from 'Chris decided to sell his half of the company to Ed, so Ed could do what he wanted and Chris would have a million' I pretty much knew anything after would likely involve Ed bullshitting to cover up his killing Chris or something along those lines
Ya, that part didn't make a lot of sense. He doesn't have 800K to pay his debt, but he has 1M to buy out Chris... 🤔 Wait, what? Like, it would have made more sense the other way around, Chris buying Ed out for the bargain price of 800K but then he wouldn't have had the extra cash or time to go on his sailing trip around the world lol
@Topsey Crets Because we had the information that there is a psychopath in the story i knew it immediatly when he introduced him. When i know there is a psychopath i go for the guy who seems the most normal since thats what intelligent psychopaths do. They understand they are very much not like normal people so they try to figure out what other people consider normal and mimic exactly that. So i was pretty sure the family guy with a wife and 3 kids is the bad guy in this story. Especially after he said the first thing he did with his money was going to Vegas i had no doubt about it. Having 3 kids at home and the first thing that comes to his mind is blowing all his earings in casinos?
the part that interested me the most was that Chris only talked via email. Now just think about it, they are using mobile data while traveling the world at sea which is i think unlikely due to different countries having their own cell phone configurations that would prevent such happening. And for the emails to be sent from out at sea we would need to assume that he would be using such means of data. However at that point why not use texts or phone calls? That's when I thought something was wrong. It's a dumb reason but why emails?
The Lay-Z-Boy in our area has the tag line "because that's all we do, and we sure have created a lot of beautiful rooms in the process".. Every time you say "because that's all we do" my brain automatically finishes with the Lay-z-boy tag line 😅
Probably already too late but like button is at the bottom of the screen on your shirt at 11:26.
Edit: Looks like it has a red plus on it or something
The like button
How did you get a plus sign when I saw a thumbs up at the bottom of the screen?
Great job bud. Congratulations on your pinned comment.
@@kathiehoskins813 What?
You beat me
Wasn't too difficult to see where this story was going. It's so awful and angering that some people decide to end someone else's life because they're so bloody terrible at their own.
Yeah, what is worse is that someone is someone you knew as your own business partner
AND GREEDY!
Wonder if Ed was a gambler before he started earning a lot of money. Amazing how his addiction mushroomed.
Yeah no shit like one dude lives his life better than the other guy, And is killed for it....
Well Said!
I can't stop thinking of chris's parents. Just them knowing they were exchanging emails with their sons murderer while thinking its their own son they were speaking to. That's so sad
it wasn't just his parents...it was also his grandparents and other members of his family. Chris was my cousin.
@@jannashereenewray I'm so sorry for your loss Shereene 😢. That man is despicable!!!
@@jannashereenewray Very sorry for your loss Shereene.
@@jannashereenewray This has happened in so many missing and presumed murdered cases now, that families have got to realize they need to ask for an actual phone call, a zoom call or meet in person sooner than later!!! This is happening where the evil crazy psychopaths are using e-mail and text messages to impersonate the victims!!! So very sad 😢, my thoughts and prayers are with Chris’s entire family and dear friends!!!!!
@@jannashereenewray thats just insane my goodness I can't imagine how you feel that this could happen to you and your other family members... I'm just so shocked 😔I pray you guys only have good blessings ❤
Imagine the man you loved abruptly broke it off with you via text or email. You're hurt, confused and angry. Probably tried to reach out with no response. A whole year passes and you find out that the man you loved, never broke up with you. His life was taken by a sorry POS. I can only imagine all the emotions that ran through that lady, once she discovered the truth! So sad! Prayers to his family and loved ones.
I know how it feels. I know how it feels I didn't find out the full truth until eight years later. To this day I feel regret for not being home the night he needed me and angry that someone lied and when they were caught in the LIE they felt they had to kill him. I didn't find out the full truth of the story until I went to the 10-year reunions and the best friend of his killer show me the whole sordid truth. There's this immense feeling of relief that he didn't leave you because he didn't love you. He was killed because he did because the person who took him away couldn't stand the fact that he couldn't let you go.
@@valiantsfelinesmccarty6678 so sorry for your loss. And the piece of Shite got away with it for 8yrs !
But I feel for you
Melonie Grayson.
There WAS no lady.He was dead the day he went to make a deal with his crooked partner. The girlfriend, and the later "playboy model" was all a made up story by the killer. All the communications with Chris's family was all by email. ( that's the way I have interpreted it anyhow)
@@cathatbatmat4796 .
Yes mate, I'll admit I got that wrong
@Detective Dahlia It was ED who was embezzling money. Not Chris.
Mr Ballen : " One of the people in this story is a psychopath..."
Like Button: " You're telling me !!!"
Exactly that 😆
LFTOL
😂😂
Hahaha
Same! 😂
Once you'd said one was a chill surfer type and the other was a straight laced college educated man, it was immedietely obvious who the pyschopath was.
Yeah, them surfers are proper nutters.😂🤣✌️
Touche!
Surfers are chill till you steal their wave!!😂
Right!!
The housekeeper. 😳
its crazy how that private investigator just happening to be there might be the only reason Ed was brought to justice
Yep, police totally dropped the ball on this one - they didn't even identify the crime scene, until that PI pointed out all the blood spatter to them! Useless.
Cops are very lazy. There is no prosecution unless evidence falls into their laps or there is an obvious candidate to pin it on.
Dude goes missing, police does not investigate the place where he was last seen...
@@hx5525 Unbelievable, huh? You usually see that kind of sloppy mistake when it's a working class victim nobody cares about, ie someone without a family to put pressure on police to catch the killer. But Chris came from a respectable, middle class family. I guess they would have been on the detectives' backs more about it all, if they hadn't been stalled by the false trail the killer left. That bought him a lot of time.
It's horrible to imagine Chris driving to that meeting like a lamb to the slaughter, clueless he would be viciously ambushed as he stepped into that office.
Chris and his killer were chalk and cheese in every way. Chris could no more kill someone than he could kick a puppy, everyone said he was a decent, gentle guy. He was raised right, by loving parents. That's why he didn't recognise his business partner was dangerous - that kind of psychopathy was totally alien to him. He would never have believed it possible his partner would murder him.
Poor guy, his whole life ahead of him - then he crosses paths with an asshole who values money above human life, and will financially benefit by killing him. Horrific.
KARMA MAYBE?!? "Ain't it a b*tch!"
I love how he makes 10-20 minute videos feel like 5 minutes.
Yasss! Great way to pass the time while I wait on my husband to get off work at 2am!
I play it 1.5 speed shortening the time of the videos.
I know right usually it's the other way around.
I’m always sad when the story ends!
It's the pace and delivery. Other channels with crime/scary story telling I watch in 1.25 speed lmao
Nobody can tell a story like this guy. Usually when other people tell stories I get bored and lose focus, when I watch this guy I am so focused and engaged.
True!! Dude can definitely tell a story. I wish I could tell a story like this guy does
100%
This guy has the decency to thank his subscribers. We should be thanking you man, you were a navy seal, thank you brotha
And, while it's possible that he's just a terrific actor, he genuinely seems like a very cool guy, and I'd love to "meet" Mrs. Ballen sometime.
@@lipshamorrissey4636 Cringe
@@lipshamorrissey4636 why his wife?
@@azureoverlord9346 ....why is that cringe? I think Mr Ballen would be awesome to meet. Seems like an awesome guy.
@@WyattRyeSway Just kidding. Yeah it would be nice if we could go to camping with him and have him telling all those stories in front of campfire
Just posted a hour ago and we’re all here like crackheads on a loyalty program.
“Got anymore of those strange, dark and mysterious in story formats“ (scratches neck)
🥸who , me? 🤫
I did meth for 23 years.
MrBallen is a much better addiction.
But that made me laugh hard!
😂
😂🤣
Frrrr, my ex got pissed at me when we were togeather bc I watched one video of his while at the bfs (now ex) house, then proceeded to watch every video hes ever created over the following like 2 weeks, driving? Listening to it in my car
At his place n hes playing vids? Watching.
Doing work? Listening.
Working? Listening.
Sleeping? I honestly hardly did at all n when I did I fall asleep watching them 😅😅
As a parent, I would have wanted to talk to my adult son over the telephone if he was traveling overseas just to know everything was okay with him.
💯
@@karanbirsinghbhullar ‼️
I’m sure they did too. But Chris made excuses for why that wasn’t possible. I’m sure his gf was freaked out for being broken up with via email or just ghosted.
@@shuffman8094 I would have harped on my son to call me collect from an airport, hotel, public payphone...any phone within his vicinity. If he kept avoiding me or making excuses, I would have known within the first week...that's just me though.
@@jackoh991 2008. No excuses.
As soon as I heard Chris *texted* his family to say he broke up with his girlfriend and was going on a long international trip, I thought, "Chris is dead and this text is being sent by his murderer." I've watched enough Mr. Ballen videos to see the signs.
Haha so true man, ive heard this exact scenario countless times.
Not even texted. Emailed. Such a huge red flag.
@@nalie0 Facts
I have the same common sense to pick up on clues like that.
exactly haha
You missed an amazing part of this story... Chris’s brother ran into chris’ “playboy gf” and asked her about Chris. She didn’t know him. This is what kickstarted the investigation
In Las Vegas right?
Interesting!
@@AlexTheFollowerofJesusChrist 10 seconds ago
That was it! I just left a comment asking about her being discovered by someone and denying knowing Chris. Forgot it was the brother. But then how did the real girlfriend not know he was missing if they didn't break up?
@@lalonguecarabine4952 I’m sure there was some breakup conversation and if you were the girlfriend and didn’t know any better I guess you would just think he’s a PoS who breaks up via text and just write it off... I’m thinking there is more to this part of the story but not all that relevant I suppose
Joe is the most private investigator looking private investigator I’ve ever seen😂
So true ☺️😂
Lol I think he looks like he’s wrestles alligators
Lmao right?
RIGHT! THANK GOD FOR JOE!
And the cops of this jurisdiction seem pretty… Sketchy themselves huh?
@@nicolechafetz3904 hahahaha
We all love you Mr. Ballen thank you for your service.
That's what I said
Get your tongue out of his bottom please
Ghaaay
Amen
Yes just yes
I feel so bad for Chris.. he seems like a decent and wise guy, living his life to the fullest with his career and relationship, only to be so brutally taken away by a cold-blooded gambling addict….!
Off-topic, but gambling is the reason I'm giving up on Pro-Football. I hate gambling bc it's the lifeblood of the Mafia (juice loans) and the NFL is embracing it openly bc it's another source of revenue. Corruption is corruption. And the NFL is corrupted...just like Ed.
Good thing Joe the P.I. was there
It really is sad. Chris had so much to live for and this creepzoid murdered him.
The kind of business he made his money with was not a decent one though.
@@harrietharlow9929 So because his business wasn’t to your liking, that means he deserved it?
My heart sinks every time I hear “ so that’s gonna do it guys” signaling the end of the video ...
Awe lol
Same
Aw! IKR. I'm starting to see imitators but there's only one Mr. Ballen.
Get a life
@@tonysoprano3921 I was looking for a reply like this
As soon as I heard vacation I thought, "Oh no... He is dead in a ditch." The guy should have said he went cave diving. That never ends well and the bodies are rarely retrieved.
He must have known Chris’s family were dumbasses and believe anything
@@Gos1234567 you're a disgusting person
Had a "fake passport" lol why fake? That sealed it to
Thanks for the idea, Abby. Now I just need a business and a business partner.
Cave diving is actually pretty safe for trained cave divers. Most of the deaths are amateurs or regular divers that don’t follow a few simple rules like staying on a line at all times or just not being prepared with the right equipment and thinking the can handle it. Dive talk is actually a really good and amazing channel that covers a lot of cave diving stuff. They’re gonna be doing reacts to some of mrballens videos soon I highly recommend them they have a lot of great stories and video footage over there
The only thing I find really upsetting is that after all this, and after being caught, Ed INSIST he's innocent and will not reveal where he hid Chris' body, in which Chris' family will never get the full closure they needed
Yep because Ed is a psychopath...no benefit to gain by revealing where body located. Zero empathy. Expect nothing from a psychopath, not even basic common decency far less remorse to want to give family closure.
Most psychos think if they act long enough that can beat the system. You have to remember these mfs have been gaslighting people their whole lives .
It bothers me that they are allowing Ed to continue breathing.It would be satisfying to read that a group of fellow convicts dissected him instead.
Thats the ONLY thing you find upsetting??
@@bryduhbikeguy Well that's a gross statement. It seems that you may have some psychopathic tendencies yourself. Let's say they executed him or you felt "satisfied" after he was brutally tortured and murdered by other convicts only to find out too late that he WAS innocent the entire time. If he is in jail for life, he could be released. What would that say about a society that murdered an innocent man or let convicts brutally murder him and then felt satisfaction about it?
I'm not saying that he is innocent, but that potential exists in all murder cases and the damage of wrongfully executing an innocent is a price far too high merely to satiate your bloodlust. You are not looking for justice, justice has already been served in this case the guy is never coming out of prison, you are looking for revenge. Thank god you are in no position of power that society has to listen to your "opinions" on how to deal out justice.
From what I have seen on this case, Chris' dad was a retired cop, or something along those lines. He actually had doubts at one time about the emails. So, he sent an email to Chris asking him some questions about his childhood, that he thought only Chris would know the answers to. But, Chris answered them correctly, so he thought that this had to be Chris sending the emails. Later, his brother went to Las Vegas and ended up seeing the woman that Chris was supposed to be seeing and had brought on the trip with him. But, she had no idea who he was or what his brother was talking about. Later, they tracked Ed's cellphone out to some desert, where they think that Chris' body is. Ed said that "some guy" came to take the body, but has no idea where the body actually is. They searched the area where they traced his phone to to try to find his body, but have had no luck finding him. Ed tried to say that Chris was really drunk and tried to attack him in the office, and when Ed pushed Chris away, he fell back hitting his head and that is how he died. That was when he had the mystery guy come in and take his body somewhere. That was his excuse for there being blood in Chris' office at the time. Which, they said that there was way too much blood in the office to have been caused from just a fall like that, and that is when his story fell apart. Even though he still tries to say he was innocent and that it was all an accident. Which we know is a flat out lie. I guess Ed had gone out to the place where they think Chris' body is multiple times, and moved the body before he was actually arrested for it. I feel so bad for his family and the fact that they truly believed that their son was on this trip, especially after his father asked the questions he thought only his son would know the answers to. Just shows how much of a psycho Ed was, that he would take the time to dig through and find the answers to these questions just to try even harder to cover this up. There are some scary psychopaths out there, and you truly have to be careful who you "trust" in your life.
I heard that the way Ed found the answers to Chris’s dad’s questions was because he had a separate email conversation with Chris’s brother talking about the time that the dad was asking questions about, and Chris’s brother unwittingly gave Ed the answers just laughing it up about those times. The brother and dad found out later that was how he outsmarted them about Chris. Truly he was an awful person.
Yup, Ed doesn't deserve to keep breathing
Do you know what happened to Chris girlfriend the one he was going to marry? It didn’t mention that anywhere.. surely she would question where Chris just disappeared to?
@@jennagunderson2378 I wondered that as well and if she were still alive.
He would've prolly gotten away with it if it wasn't for the blood splatters. He put in sooo much effort but couldn't be bothered to paint the wall?
I don't like painting but damn man.
I can't imagine having enough money to spend six figures AN HOUR and not care, let alone drop (or make) six figures on one thing. Ever. This whole story is insane.
Exactly
Lol he obviously didn’t have the money otherwise he wouldn’t have stolen or killed to afford it
I know!!
@@Grand_marquee He still had that amount for long enough to go gamble it. Doesn't excuse how he got it. The man is an ass for doing any of what he did, let alone not giving up the location of the body.
I just got back from vegas, I can’t even imagine dropping that much money in a hour.
I just can't stop wanting to watch the strange dark and mysterious
Samee
@@phantom941 felt
In story format
2 good
Delivered in story form
My husband was a good friend of Chris and his family so this story is very close to our hearts. 💔 This is a very crazy, complicated story but you've done a good job squeezing the gist of it into 12 minutes. Bottom line... Ed is a sociopath. And Chris knew it. I hope Ed rots in his tiny jail cell.
Dang. I'm so sorry for your husband's loss. It must've been devastating for Chris's family and friends because, though this all may sound trite, he really did seem like an amazing person who loved life and had his whole life just ready to continue to be lived with his gf and to pursue whatever career path he wanted to pursue, or maybe even to retire, if he'd actually been able to leave that horrible partner Ed and their lead gen company.
@@staciacarney8085 Thank you for your kind words. Your assessment is spot on - Chris was definitely one who loved life and could have absolutely become whatever he set his mind to. He accomplished so much at his young age, just to have it taken away by a sociopath. We just hope that one day his family might be able to locate him and give him a proper burial.
@KDA (G) IDLE Well, the local police really f***ed up the initial investigation at the building but I'm sure they did after the PI got involved. At one point, they searched in this random little town near San Diego because Ed had rented a vehicle and drove it out there for no apparent reason. If I recall, they knew this because he ran out of gas and had to call for service. The other theory was that Kenny Kraft (who was the guy who was driving Chris' car, staying in his apartment and wearing his clothes) had disposed of the body but they never really charged him with anything in the end.
@大哥哥EricApparently. 😉 This was sent to me by a relative who follows this channel, so kinda random.
@@sambucajay They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but Chris looked a really warm, approachable guy in his photos - his killer, not at all. It's tragic his whole life should be taken from him, and all for money. Money is nothing. His life was priceless!
If only Chris had sensed how dangerous Ed was, he never would have agreed to meet him alone. He went to that final business meeting like a lamb to the slaughter, clearly unaware of the violence he was capable of. The blood spatter on walls and ceiling show he was ambushed as he walked in - he was a young, fit guy, I guess Ed wanted to overpower and kill him fast. Horrific - my heart breaks for him and all who love him.
Chris was my husbands cousin and they grew up together, and this whole case was horrible for their family. There are definitely a few details being left out of the story like Chris' family tried contacting him through way more means than just emails and some other stuff but yeh this man that killed him is a monster and still to this day they haven't gotten closure because of his body never being found.
Whatever happened to Chris’ GF? Why did she not report him missing. He just broke up with her over text (being really Ed) and that was it?
strange dark and mysterious in story format is always a banger
Agreed
Don’t forget when he bully’s the like button
Facts
Yes agreed
@Dookie Chips same bro
Make sure to tell the like button that you’ve prepared some pie for them, but fill it with their favorite filling. It’s been through a lot. #BeNiceToTheLikeButton
yes
yes
The like button deserves everything that’s been done to it
I love the like button
@@Hungryforapples how would you feel if thousands of fans of strange, dark and mysterious delivered in story format the attacked you 3 or 4 times a week?
It's amazing how people can spiral out of control. Everyone has a breaking point. Ed's came out with the aide of a gambling addiction. So sad that he won't give peace to the family and tell them where Chris' body is.
It’s sad but his body probably doesn’t even exist anymore
Not to worry - Ed will never know another moment's peace, as he wastes away in a concrete box for the rest of his life and has to look over his shoulder every time he picks up the soap in the showers.
@@jackoh991 Agree. That's how psychopaths roll.
I grew up with Ed Shin. He was always a bit off. He once walked home from school with me in 2nd grade but didn't tell his mom. His mom was looking all over for him. Eventually my mom realized he never notified his family so we drove him back to the school where his mom was hysterical. All of us were surprised by this story though. He had just posted a happy picture of his child birth a day before he was arrested at LAX.
I doubt you grew up with him
Why sir?
Anyone else addicted to the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in story format.
Why yes i am 😆
totally addicted
Yup....
And I have almost seen all of them😢😢😢
Have a good one😃
I cant help it.
Yes
When you already know the story but stay for it delivered in THIS story format.
I wanna hear mrballen as an old grandpa telling stories, with the slightest whistle in his voice
We all all be watching him in many many years in hologram virtual reality 🤣😂✌️
Fuck yeah, I wanna memorize stories like this so I can be like that. Best grandpa ever
You’re the only one that wants a whistling narrator.
Hopefully by that time, they'll make properly fitting dentures without the whistle! Kinda creepy grandpa who tells the children stories about serial killers and rapists but OKAAAAAY....
By then we will be too old for scaries and he will be reading Grimm’s Fairytales online for Kiddie’s everywhere (our grands and great grands) who of course will find more comfort in tales of woe and dark endings like Hansel and Grettle who are cooked alive. Instead of the Disney twist for stories like Cinderella and all the others that ended up turned around to have a happily ever after.s. Lol
I like that you tell these disturbing stories without swearing or showing the really grotesque photos. 👍🏼
My favorite RUclips channel!
I think it shows what's wrong with RUclips and other media, and our priorities as a society. These videos are about human misery. Young people should not be able to watch them. But a couple of cusses makes them inappropriate. Crazy.
Concur 1,000%. He doesn’t sensationalize or go over the top. He uses just the right amount to keep us in suspense.
@@no_peace Why shouldn't young people learn about human mysery, to your opinion, and why don't you use your name, conversing online..?
@@no_peace as if cursing and swearing is any better? I think we shouldn't watch them..because many degenerated humans already would create more disgusting humans as baby's to be born then kids then teenagers then adults and the cycle of degeneracy repeats itself. It is stupid to show ANYONE who hasn't seen it before Gore,death,violence. As "Entertainment" I'm wrapped around this myself. Though I make it exceptional to gore. I watched malevolent gore sadistic videos and shows . If one says it doesn't drain the soul and humanity away from you you're liying to yourself and that's reality based on morality valued and everything good. All pshycopaths are made not born. They're made after being born.
@@danielhoward755 to be honest it doesn't matter. The point still stands. We're watching it for entertainment how does this not bother anyone?!
Caught it at 4 mins of being loaded on YT and already 1.5k likes! This dude is a legend!! Love his story telling!
I saw that, on my end it was 1.1k at 3 mins that's crazy as hell. Just shows the result of great content 🤘🏼
So true
15 mins 3k likes
He's blowing up. He don't need netflix. They will suck his soul from him and merch him in a way that won't be good. Then they will take a % from him and dump him like a bag of crap when they have used him up. Atm Mr ballen is his own boss. Works his own hrs. And had time for his family. Xx
I love how you articulate the details in a forward direction. You motivate me to communicate better to the people in my life. Thank you in so many ways.
That's an excellent way to describe John's style. Watch his first one and notice how ordinary and slow and self-conscious his delivery was compared to how he honed his acting, pace, memorization without appearing he's prepped and rehearsed. Great performances, Mr. Ballen, you've got star power. 🌟
I can't get enough of the MrBallen channel. Seen them all (avoiding the ones with demons) and recommended the channel to other people. I feel so bad for Chris and his loved ones. Ed was a monster.
Thought I was the only one avoiding the demon vids 😂
spoiler alert!
Why do you guys avoid the demon vids
@@AnthonyGonzalez-zy5zm They're too spooky :'D
@@AnthonyGonzalez-zy5zm just scared 😂
Dude is incredibly good at research. I've never ONCE seen a correction in any of his videos comments
RIGHT?! I've only ever seen ONE correction in the comments and it was a simple mix up with dates. Accidentally said something occurred back in '99 when it apparently took place in '91. What makes it reflect even better on Mr. Ballen is that when they DID correct him, he simply apologized for the mistake and actually thanked them for the info. (As well, I believe he pinned tht comment so others could see) Not many on YT would be so mature imho lol So not only does he have an impeccable accuracy rating with details, but he's got the good grace to not make mountains out of these molehills. Truly an excellent storyteller.
The issue isn't errors so much as he leaves out a lot of facts. I don't fact check the stories regularly because, well, if people believe whatever they hear on RUclips, that's kind of on them.
I’ve seen at least 3 comments from credible 1st or 2nd hand witnesses saying they couldn’t believe that MrBallen was covering their friend or old neighbors case and how thankful they were for how he respectfully told their stories. I agree he always shows respect as if he’s their real friend.
Anyone else who sees mr ballen posted and gets excited to watch it?
Yes and I miss the old days when I would sometimes be maybe 8th commenter lol
Oh, yeah, I'm well addicted. Will need rehab if he ever stops.
I get as excited about seeing what flannel he’ll wear as I do about hearing his stories.
@@jaclynnschaefer same I love how he always had a flannel and and backwards hat on in every video
@Willow May yesss I'm so happy he posts so often but his videos are so addicting it's like we need more
I feel like everyone who finds Mr ballens channel binge watches every video hes ever made
Truth 👍
Ikr
🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️
I DID THIS
Truth
“So thats gonna do it guys” hurts more than “i think we should breakup”
LOL
I love the fact that MrB. speaks with his hands. This is what keeps people watching him. (I also talk with my hands) he doesn't just sit still and tell a story.
I sometimes use my hands when I'm talking to myself in my head, not speaking out loud. My coworkers thought
That's it for me too! He's so fully engaged, his arms are moving, his head moves around, it would be boring if he just sat completely still staring straight into the camera for the while story but his body language adds so much drama.
Anyone else watch every video? Now you’re just waiting for that notification? 🥲❤️
YES 🥲
Yep
Omg yes. When he doesnt post i go to his channel and check....just in case i missed something.
Me. Watched them all in 1 week. Found this channel 1 week ago and I genuinely think I have an addiction
Yeah👍
I cant imagine why anyone would dislike this man's videos. Literally all he does is tell stories in a very compelling way.
Some people click the dislike button to show they dislike the people within the story which makes no sense but 🤷♀️
@Logan Bryan I think it's a culture thing maybe? not as common as when youtube was in its early stages but still done by some people
Bitter people who couldn't tell a decent story to save their lives.
I'm a big fan of adding anxiety, fear, and paranoia to my life in story format. Looks like I've come to the right place.
🤣Well that's all we do, so, welcome.
@@lipshamorrissey4636 It's good to be home.
As soon as you said “Ed was this church going family man” and that chris was a chill surfer bro i basically gathered that ed was the said psychopath in this situation. Ed underestimated Chris’ loving family and cop dad who can smell bs a mile away.
I’ve seen this story somewhere and also, Chris’ brother just so happened to run into the “playboy” bunny at a club and asked her about Chris and she had no idea who he was.
They did this story on an episode on the ID channel....I think it was one of those 'People Magazine Investigates' episodes.
what kind of social circles are they all running in?
@Justin Ward-Angelucci well thank you 🤗
Mike of That Chapter
This man could tell a damn good story about paint drying mysteriously.
@Chris Authement Spoiler alert: the brush did it
John's channel is, I think, the first channel that I subscribed to after watching only two videos.
Keep it up, man!
Thank you!
I was so impressed that I subscribed after just one
I have spent entire days listening to this guy and, I've got to be honest, it was not a waste of time!
"I just need some time to myself."
In these type of stories, that phrase scares me.
I showed my girlfriend you're youtube and she's watching every single episode. Me and her never watch the same RUclipsr so its cool talking about the content you made.
That's so cool. Glad to see you two finally like something similar.
This made me smile. Good to hear!
It’s very enjoyable when you share similar or same content with someone you love-and they get hooked!
Lol
your so lucky too have you're gf into the same things as you
That chapter also has good videos you'll both be hooked on that too
@@gerardomata5042 "Tree"
Respect.
Got over 1 million subs
Over a hundred million views in total
.... and doesnt have ads scattered all over his videos. Respect 🙌
Mr.Ballen is just about to hit 3 mil subs. You telling me he gained about 1.5 mil subs in just one month?
@@Psichotica7 The dude on point. He Blessed with Story Telling abilities no 🧢
@@maficolamakhata Wow, very impressive. But totally deserved. I'm so addicted to this channel myself. I just found him under 2 weeks ago.
@@Psichotica7 I think like allot of youtubers he was manipulating the (shorts and community polls) to get an advantage, not a problem with me, RUclips fucks with creators so hard they need to resort to this stuff just to survive being cancelled.
I've been binge watching your videos all day. The way you tell these stories are so entertaining. I've watched similar videos like yours and within the first few minutes I almost fell asleep. They were mono toned and not interesting. You have one hell of a talent Mr Ballen. Keep up the good work
I find myself getting to work early to squeeze in a story before my day begins. And have a few friends being totally intrigued at lunch with john’s stories. Keep it up mr ballen. You da man.
I rewatch many of these with my bf. This is the ONE person we can BOTH listen to.
I Don’t know if you read it MR. BALLEN , but when Chris’s father started being suspicious of the fake e mails, he actually sent a message to “chris” asking him a personal question , surprisingly enough Shin did know half of the answer, but that wasn’t enough to convince Steve he was actually talking to his son.
Here is what I found:
In an August 2, 2010, email, Steve asked Chris to name the lake they used to live on and what type of boat he used to ski behind. “Chris” was only able to name the lake.
xoxo
Correct, I saw someone else cover this case and I remember that point.
I read that as well,soooo crazy
Either Mr Ballen or someone else covered this. I remember the video discussion, but can't remember who's video. Sometimes Mr Ballen will cover a single case in a short so it may have been him.
I now permanently listen to you when at work, no music anymore, it makes my day go by so much faster and I love the creepy and mysterious stories.
So sad for Chris and all his loved ones especially Erica. I won't be surprised if Ed probably burnt or dismembered the body of Chris. That man Ed deserves an even worse sentence than he got. Prayers for Chris and his family 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
I can't get enough of watching you tell stories. I know people have already told you but you do have a wonderful gift!!
Chris seems like such a nice guy. It's terrifying that this crazy psychopath killed him, leaving his whole family to grieve.
Ruined the video for me.
.....ruined
And still wouldn’t give up the body...
Why did you think he was a nice guy, if one of the few things we learned from this video about him was that his job was basically scamming people?
Mr ballens hand gestures during these videos are amazing
He is just so into telling the story. Also he just knows how to grab people's attention even through his body language.
I am so addicted to Mr Ballen I find myself going back and re-watching stories that I have already watched and I still find them interesting...
Idk why, but I love his hand gesture when he says “Let’s get into today’s story” 🤷♀️
As soon as I heard that Ed was a gambling addict I knew that he was 'the' psychopath in this story. Gambling, racing, skydiving, and other high-risk behaviors are very common amongst psychopaths (and sociopaths to a slightly lesser degree). 😞 He likely won't disclose the location of Chris' body, because he feels like it is the last little bit of control that he still has over law enforcement and Chris' family...
(I'm a neurobiologist and psychopharmacologist by trade).
That's interesting, I didn't know that. What else can you tell me?
I agree. He will never tell where his body is for the exact reasons you stated... It's his last "thing" he has control over and it gives him a euphoric feeling to know he controls some part of his loved ones lives as well as the police and detectives and even the public. Ed may even have more victims, someone like that usually does before the one that gets them caught... Though, he wasn't very smart either when it came to the simple common sense things.
@@jamielynn6151 Psychopaths often don’t turn deadly but are frequently very successful in business & politics as their lack of empathy enables them to make brutal, high risk decisions that can pay off extremely well.
“It is not the image we like to have when we think of business leaders. But troubling research indicates that in the ranks of senior management, psychopathic behavior may be more common than we think - more prevalent in fact than the amount such seriously aberrant behavior occurs in the general population.
The hallmarks of the psychopathic personality involve egocentric, grandiose behavior, completely lacking empathy and conscience. Additionally, psychopaths may be charismatic, charming, and adept at manipulating one-on-one interactions. In a corporation, one’s ability to advance is determined in large measure by a person’s ability to favorably impress his or her direct manager. Unfortunately, certain of these psychopathic qualities - in particular charm, charisma, grandiosity (which can be mistaken for vision or confidence) and the ability to “perform” convincingly in one-on-one settings - are also qualities that can help one get ahead in the business world.” From: The Disturbing Link Between Psychopathy And Leadership
By Victor Lipman
Racing? Do you mean racing cars, or. . . .
They should tack a year onto his sentence for every year he does not reveal where the body is
Wow he could have at least told them where his body is and give his family some closure😔
@Last Chance I guess he’s a true psychopath only cares for himself... horrible
@@deannaweaver5961 well that is one sign of a psychopath, no empathy
@@dantealighieri1265 I could never understand it but I guess that’s a good thing
@@deannaweaver5961 yes that is indeed good^^
He claimed that the person he hired to dispose of the body drove it out into the Nevada desert and he doesn't know where it is. This was before he recanted his confession.
Really, this is an extraordinary story about a property manager who actually did something useful during his career.
Imagine Chris poor girlfriend thinking that the man she was going to marry one day just left her to be with a playboy girl. I’m glad the truth came out
I guess you’d rather know someone was dead...?! than left you for a playboy bunny. I’m not saying you’re right or wrong
@@dougspidermanhappy Haha I'm guessing it would make most people happier on some level, even though you'd be mostly devastated and feeling guilty for being glad he didn't leave you and go on a global year long vacation.
No I mean she must have thought that was out of character for him and maybe thought he was a horrible guy that didn’t love her but in reality he still loved her and only death could keep them away 😢
I think she would doubt herself and her ability to read non verbal messages. Her ability to trust would certainly be damaged. So not happy that he is dead just knowing she wasn't deluding herself about the relationship. ♡
To think that the. way the Justice System is set up, he's really only got a little while longer until he can appeal and go free. All's he needs is a good lawyer.
Have you heard about the “cursed hospital”? I’m surprised you haven’t done a story on it. Mount Caramel - Grove City in Columbus, Ohio. Look it up, it was built a year or two ago, and has seen several deaths even while it was being built.
I’m surprised the like button trusted us with his kids
I absolutely LOVE when I click on one of these expecting it to be an ‘’ok’’ story, but nothing amazing because the title or description just doesn’t seem too exciting to me. Then I get immersed to mrBallen’s storytelling and it ends up blowing me away and becoming one of my favorite’s 😆 those are the best videos!
why didnt he clean the blood after the murder tho that's the confusing part, he just said whatever ima leave this office building with blood everywhere and no one will suspect a thing
That's exactly what happened. No one suspected a thing, right up until his brother was going to go to Costa Rica. It was almost a full year before they even went into that office, and only because a detective happened to ask if he could take a look while talking to the land lord.
Actually I listened this story at some documetary and the police searched that room before but didn't find anything,but his mother was sure that there must be something and she went with this private investigator and they found a tiny little blood dot near the light switch and then called the cops to spray luminol and the room glowed.
I know right?! He probably couldn’t wait to get back to playing cards and loosing that money. He clearly never watches this show
@@lea88pu yes! The blood they found with their eyes was very very small and the killer had just not seen it, so he didn’t clean there
He did clean, just missed a spot. The photo Mr Ballen showed was not an actual photo of the crime scene. It was just an example of blood splatter.
me: okay it’s 12AM i should go to bed
mr Ballen: *uploads*
my plans: *g o n e*
Dang. Nearly 12pm here
Mrballen is a global hit
Exactly me right now ! 1:30am! 🇦🇺
It’s 8am in California haha
it's 10:55 am currently :)
Mr.Ballen has the nicest comment section and he deserves it
You are the best, people might say I’m crazy for falling to sleep to scary stories but your soothing and soft voice really helps man!
Literally the only channel I tap like for BEFORE I watch the damn video. 😂
i refuse to believe that after all we’ve put the like button through, he still has enough trust to have kids.
I sadly did... help me please
Trust? I'm surpised theres anything left of him to even live lol.
Like button is very kind
Plot twist, the like button is a criminal mastermind and that's why MrBallen tells is to do these things to the like button
😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 Funny af. U made me chuckle x
Another Awesome Mr.Ballen story. I love it when notification pops up for this channel. Someone give this guy his own primetime TV show because he would knock it out of the park.
The worst part is the family has to deal with the trauma of knowing that they were talking to his killer. And almost the feeling of going crazy and not knowing what's true etc bc it's shocking to find out things weren't at all what you were being told
How many people realized with the first text, that Ed was actually the one texting, and would set up a storyline over time to cover for his obvious actions against Steve.
Me
I thought it was probably going to be Ed when the first picture of him came up. But to be fair it was a 50/50 guess lol
Who is Steve?
You mean Chris? Yup, me too
i recognized this from another vid
Tricked my sister into babysitting the like button for me so I can watch in peace 😂
Yo he needs to pin this fire funny ass comment
Your supposed to babysit the kids not the like buuon smh some one take this comment down
This is great
But at least he thinks it's funny too! Mr ballen 💟 your comment....lucky!
@@articsneeze7575 so how about "make the like button babysit your kids so you can watch in peace"
"He promptly killed him..." MrBallen makes murder sound very proper. "Musn't be late to the the murder, heaven forbid!
This makes no sense
@J. D. I started laughing when he said that. He certainly does have a way with words.
@@connor5339 ok
looool
When you’ve committed to uploading 3 to 4 times a week, verbosity is not a virtue.
Oooh well over the 1/2 MILLION MARK!!!!!!! MASSIVE CONGRATS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!! So well deserved💯well done you!!!!! Thank you for hrs of entertainment and the work and research you put into your videos it's so much appreciated!!! I love binging on your playlists every night going to sleep. Love from Ireland 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
What confuses me is why nobody in the family bothered or thought to check with the girlfriend he'd supposedly dropped to try and verify that part of the story.
Right? Or why didn’t the girlfriend contact the family ??? And the idiot guy never in that entire year thought to clean up the murder scene? If he had cleaned up properly and paid off that last month, I bet he would’ve gotten away with murder
The made up gf was Tiffany Taylor who was a famous playmate so I would suspect the story straight away,she would’ve been easy enough to get in contact with to verify the story.
I mean no disrespect but his family were pretty stupid to believe those emails
What happens when people take words for it.
‘He’ would have emailed her aswell.
@@Gos1234567 You can't blame the family, murder is an alien experience for most people and it's the last thing they'd expect to happen to a successful, clean living son.
It's the police who deserve criticism here - they clearly failed to examine the office which was the last place Chris was known to be alive. If they had, all that incriminating blood spatter would have told them he was dead, it was the crime scene, and the prime suspect was his business partner Ed. By the time they got on the case (thanks to a private investigator), Ed had successfully disposed of Chris' body.
Thankfully they got a murder conviction without it - but they might not have done, 'no body' murder cases are always harder to prove. And Chris' loved ones must suffer the pain of not knowing where his remains are, or holding a funeral for him.
A tragic case. Chris went to that final business meeting like a lamb to the slaughter, unaware of the violence Ed was capable of - and was about to unleash on him. Poor guy.
Does anyone else still hear Mr Ballen's voice when scrolling through the description, saying there's nothing down here?
petition for MrBallen to stream horror games when he's not busy being an amazing youtuber, tiktoker, and dad
Yes 🙌🏻
Good idea!!
Man, while I feel you, I want to watch him paintball.
@@GDF589 yessssss
When 1 10-15 minute video turnes into an all nighter 🙌🏼🙌🏼
Exactly. Every time.
Is it me or are these stories continuing to get more and more interesting?
its just you
Everyone gangsta til the strange dark and mysterious is delivered in story format
Didn't even notice he only uploaded this 10 seconds ago :D
Addiction of any kind can be fatal. Stop the addiction, and usually problems go away. Dude literally had it all to blow it all away. Good thing dude got caught. Always fun to watch. Great video
“I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain-and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.
I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.” - Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower,
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So eden sank to grief.
So dawn goes down to day,
Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost
Mr Ballen is a perfect ad for RUclips premium cuz it’s the best videos to listen to while you sleep and with premium you can have the screen off. Put this on Spotify please
no !
Do you work for RUclips premium? Lol. I’m just kidding.... but do you? LOLA.
@@mandygraves997 How did you know ?! Busted. No i'm not gonna do it. Ask somebody else
You can turn the screen off anyways.
It’s so comforting to know that whenever I find myself gaining faith in humanity, I can tune into Petty Officer Ballen, and realize, I’m not such a bad guy. So here’s to you, keeper of my sanity. You never let me down.
🤣Right? As long as they grade on a curve in the Afterlife, I should get a decent spot in a nice neighborhood, maybe with room for a pony.
@@lipshamorrissey4636 Hopefully I'll be looking for a roommate, if you wanna bunk together? I would definitely have a pony room. Lol
I love the way he tells a story. I like the energy mr ballen puts into it
This channel is growing in subscribers so fast. You deserve it Ballen. It shows in your stories that you put in a tremendous amount of time putting all of it together. 👍🏼
The moment it went from 'Chris decided to sell his half of the company to Ed, so Ed could do what he wanted and Chris would have a million' I pretty much knew anything after would likely involve Ed bullshitting to cover up his killing Chris or something along those lines
Ya, that part didn't make a lot of sense. He doesn't have 800K to pay his debt, but he has 1M to buy out Chris... 🤔 Wait, what? Like, it would have made more sense the other way around, Chris buying Ed out for the bargain price of 800K but then he wouldn't have had the extra cash or time to go on his sailing trip around the world lol
@Topsey Crets Username is awesome
@Topsey Crets Because we had the information that there is a psychopath in the story i knew it immediatly when he introduced him. When i know there is a psychopath i go for the guy who seems the most normal since thats what intelligent psychopaths do. They understand they are very much not like normal people so they try to figure out what other people consider normal and mimic exactly that. So i was pretty sure the family guy with a wife and 3 kids is the bad guy in this story. Especially after he said the first thing he did with his money was going to Vegas i had no doubt about it. Having 3 kids at home and the first thing that comes to his mind is blowing all his earings in casinos?
Yeh, a company making that much money and he sells for one million? Not.!
the part that interested me the most was that Chris only talked via email. Now just think about it, they are using mobile data while traveling the world at sea which is i think unlikely due to different countries having their own cell phone configurations that would prevent such happening. And for the emails to be sent from out at sea we would need to assume that he would be using such means of data. However at that point why not use texts or phone calls? That's when I thought something was wrong. It's a dumb reason but why emails?
Moral of the story ladies and gentlemen be careful you may just be working with or even hanging with a psychopath
And beware of greedy people
It's less likely that 2 psychopaths work together, so if you wanna prevent working with a psychopath - be the psychopath yourself. 🙂
@@suso3123 😂😂
The best channel for stories period.
The one dislike is from that Psychopath
😂
It's from the like button
Thank God my brother-in-law has been helping me keep my sanity in the hospital w these videos.
Speedy recovery!
@@lipshamorrissey4636 💖
Good luck with that
@@azureoverlord9346 Thank u. Dilaudid is amaze-balls!!!!
The Lay-Z-Boy in our area has the tag line "because that's all we do, and we sure have created a lot of beautiful rooms in the process"..
Every time you say "because that's all we do" my brain automatically finishes with the Lay-z-boy tag line 😅
And he sure has created a beautiful fan base in the process. 🙂
There's an old lawyer commercial where the guy says, "It's all I do, and I do it well."
That pops into my head 😆