Delia D'Ambra

He was a much larger man than Bill, some sources say almost 300 pounds, so trying to move him to the truck via mule was quite difficult.

So they decided to drag the game warden's body about a half mile away and dispose of him in the nearby river.

Just prior to that though, Claude had actually suggested they dismember him and scatter his remains, but neither man had the stomach to go through with that.

After that, Claude used kerosene to torch all of the areas in and around the compound that were bloody.

Then, the men built two fires where they burned some of the victims' belongings, as well as the ropes they used to move the game warden's bodies.

When they left the trapping compound and Jim's truck, Claude remarked that they needed to take Bill's body to one of his friend's houses in Paradise Hill, Nevada, who could help them dispose of it.

Throughout their five or so hour journey to that location, Claude told Jim that he was sorry he'd gotten him involved in the matter, but once again emphasized that what happened between him and the wardens was justified.

He claimed Bill and Conley had basically invaded his space and the shootings were merely an act of self-defense.

But in the back of Jim's mind, he kept replaying everything that had happened and he couldn't quite figure out how exactly Claude's version of events was self-defense.

But fearful for his own life, he didn't argue with his friend because he didn't want to meet the same end as the game wardens.

So Jim just kept playing along.

Around 11 p.m., the pair arrived in Paradise Hill and met up with a couple named George and Liz Nielsen.

George and Liz operated a tavern out of their house, and at that time of night, they were just about to close up.

Claude explained to George that he had Bill Pogue's body in the back of Jim's vehicle, but they'd left Conley Elms' remains somewhere in the Owyhee River not far from the trapping compound.

Instead of stopping right then and there and telling Claude to beat it, George, who producers for the FBI files described as having a similar resentment for law enforcement as Claude, agreed to help the men cover up the crimes.

George told Claude that they could use his pickup truck to transport Bill's body to a burial site in the Nevadan desert.

So after moving Bill's body into George's truck, Claude drove away and Jim watched his friend fade into the desert just northwest of the city of Winnemucca.

A few hours later, in the morning, Claude came back to the Nielsen's home, took a shower, changed his clothing, and packed some of his things before getting money, food, and a ride to an area about 15 miles away from the couple's house.

With him on that trip were George and Jim.

After getting out, Claude met up with another friend in a different car and then vanished.