0:00

When a young woman named Patty vanishes

0:02

without a trace, her best

0:04

friend launches a desperate search.

0:06

The trail leads to Cat

0:09

Torres, a charismatic influencer with

0:11

millions of followers. Her social

0:13

media presence showcases a picture-perfect

0:15

life, and she promises her

0:17

followers are spiritual awakening. All

0:19

they have to do is follow

0:22

her lead. But behind the

0:24

glamorous posts and inspirational quotes.

0:26

A sinister truth unravels. From

0:28

wondering, don't cross cat is

0:30

a chilling investigation that asks

0:32

the question, if an influencer

0:35

promised you a dream life,

0:37

what would you sacrifice? Based

0:39

on the Brazilian true crime

0:41

saga that captivated a nation.

0:43

Don't Cross Cat is a

0:45

story of ambition, control, and

0:47

the lives destroyed by empty

0:49

promises. What starts as an

0:52

investigation into a missing person's

0:54

case, explodes into a story

0:56

of manipulation, coercion, and human

0:59

trafficking, all orchestrated behind a

1:01

curated social media facade. When

1:03

influence turns into control, how

1:05

far would you go to

1:08

get everything you always wanted?

1:10

I'm about to play a

1:12

clip from Don't Cross Cat.

1:14

Follow Don't Cross Cat on

1:17

the wondering app or wherever you

1:19

get your podcast. Excuse

1:21

me, how you doing?

1:23

Excuse me, how you doing? Doing

1:26

well. We're journalists from

1:28

Brazil and we're writing a

1:31

story about your former neighbor.

1:33

Oh, the biggest news that's

1:36

ever hit this neighborhood. Probably

1:38

the only one. I'm not

1:40

the first Brazilian to set

1:43

foot in Leander, Texas. And

1:45

the Brazilian women who came

1:47

and lived here before me made

1:49

quite the impression on their neighbors.

1:52

Wayne Murray lived across the street

1:54

from them. You said that you

1:56

might know something you might have

1:59

spoken to them. says that

2:01

in Leander people do two

2:03

things. Wave to each other

2:05

and then mind their business.

2:07

At least Wayne did. Then

2:09

in 2022 that's when these

2:11

new neighbors moved there right

2:13

across the street. They were

2:15

not terribly friendly. We had

2:17

this traffic circle, right? So

2:19

I would come in, I'd

2:21

wave to them, they never

2:23

wave back. And there was

2:25

something else about his new

2:27

neighbors. Very pretty young woman.

2:29

They looked like super models.

2:31

Very attractive blonde and a

2:33

pretty attractive brunette. Tall, thin,

2:35

gorgeous, right out of the

2:37

latest Victoria Secret Fashion Show.

2:39

I mean, I'm super gay

2:41

and even I can see

2:43

it. And it wasn't just

2:45

having a house full of

2:47

gorgeous Brazilian women in a

2:49

nondescript American suburb that was

2:51

unusual. One day, he just

2:53

stopped seeing them seeing them.

2:55

The house was empty. The

2:57

women were gone. Eventually a

2:59

rental company came to clear

3:01

the house. They put out

3:03

the girl stuff in the

3:05

front yard for anyone to

3:07

take. Which was interesting. We

3:09

got quite a bit of

3:11

this stuff. We just took

3:13

the bags, we looked later.

3:15

I did keep the voodoo

3:17

dolls. Voodoo dolls. I got

3:19

three voodoo dolls. May I

3:21

took a look at now?

3:23

Sure. Well come on in.

3:26

One of the women was

3:28

a social media influencer famous

3:30

in Brazil with more than

3:32

a million followers I was

3:34

there because well, I'm kind

3:36

of an influencer myself But

3:38

that was basically an accident.

3:40

I'm a journalist first and

3:42

I've made a name for

3:45

myself investigating stories in Brazil

3:47

where things aren't quite what

3:49

they seem and That's what

3:51

brought me to Texas because

3:53

the woman who lived there

3:55

cat tourists Seemed like she

3:57

had a picture perfect life

3:59

online Wain told me

4:01

the more he looked through the

4:04

stuff. Wain told me the more

4:06

he looked through the stuff the

4:08

women left behind, the more questions

4:11

he had about them. They had

4:13

an altar in their yard, not

4:16

a Christian altar. Because she had,

4:18

I can never remember the name

4:20

of the, pronounced the name of

4:23

the drug. I wasca. That's it.

4:25

That Brazilian drug? They had packages

4:28

of dried orbs. And it has

4:30

what they're good for. Good for

4:32

romance. Good for this. Good for

4:35

that. Three of them were also

4:37

good for exorcisms. And that was

4:39

in all. One thing I found,

4:42

I still have it, it's a

4:44

leather collar and like a leather

4:47

plate and these chains and there's

4:49

a handle on it when I

4:51

finally buckled it up. It's for

4:54

a dog. That's why I was

4:56

meant to ask. Was it the

4:59

human hardness? Wayne

5:02

started to wonder if he

5:04

had been getting a little

5:06

carried away. But soon he

5:08

would see reports of what

5:10

was really going on in

5:12

that house, and he would

5:14

realize that maybe he was

5:16

right to have been suspicious.

5:18

Because there was something troubling

5:20

going on, something dark, dangerous

5:22

even. Lane, a place friend.

5:24

Hi, I'm calling because I

5:26

would like to know if

5:28

your guy did a well,

5:30

there's Jack, or that you're

5:32

missing for a Brazilian girl.

5:34

is an officer going to

5:36

go over there and talk

5:39

to him because they really

5:41

need to. Could I speak

5:43

with a person that's in

5:45

charge of the investigation that's

5:47

going on for those three

5:49

girls that are from Leander?

5:51

I'm helping a family that

5:53

has a girl, anything, and

5:55

they've been attacked. It's only the

5:57

caring to be honest. on Wundery Plus.

5:59

Join Wondery Plus in

6:01

the Wondery app or

6:03

on Apple Apple Podcast.