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MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

Listen Now: Don't Cross Kat

Wed, 09 Apr 2025

Description

Kat Torres has the insta-perfect life. She is rich, gorgeous and not ashamed to share it. Her posts about witchcraft and “alien baths” drew in over a million followers, all chasing the dream of a lifestyle like hers. But as she gathers more followers around her, the secrets beneath her fame grow darker and more dangerous.One woman sets out to bring back her best friend who has fallen under the spell of this modern-day guru. And what begins as a search for a missing friend soon puts her on a collision course with Kat.Based on the hit Brazilian podcast, journalist Chico Felitti uncovers a gripping story of influence, control, and those who dare to fight back.Listen to Don’t Cross Kat: Wondery.fm/DCK_MrBallenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Audio
Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the story behind Patty's disappearance?

Chapter 2: Who is Kat Torres and why is she influential?

0.429 - 20.061 Advertisement Narrator

When a young woman named Patty vanishes without a trace, her best friend launches a desperate search. The trail leads to Cat Torres, a charismatic influencer with millions of followers. Her social media presence showcases a picture-perfect life, and she promises her followers a spiritual awakening. All they have to do is follow her lead.

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20.461 - 34.348 Advertisement Narrator

But behind the glamorous posts and inspirational quotes, a sinister truth unravels. From Wondery, Don't Cross Cat is a chilling investigation that asks the question, if an influencer promised you a dream life, what would you sacrifice to get it?

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Chapter 3: What dark truths lie behind Kat's social media presence?

34.828 - 56.18 Advertisement Narrator

Based on the Brazilian true crime saga that captivated a nation, Don't Cross Cat is a story of ambition, control, and the lives destroyed by empty promises. What starts as an investigation into a missing person case explodes into a story of manipulation, coercion, and human trafficking, all orchestrated behind a curated social media facade.

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56.62 - 68.287 Advertisement Narrator

When influence turns into control, how far would you go to get everything you always wanted? You're about to hear a clip from Don't Cross Cat. Follow Don't Cross Cat on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Chapter 4: How did the investigation into Patty's case begin?

79.944 - 89.646 Journalist 1

Excuse me, how are you doing? Doing well. We're journalists from Brazil, and we're writing a story about your former neighbors. Oh, wow! The biggest news that's ever hit this neighborhood.

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Chapter 5: What do neighbors say about Kat Torres and her household?

90.086 - 92.047 Neighbor 1

Probably the only one that will.

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94.227 - 106.77 Neighbor 2

I'm not the first Brazilian to set foot in Leander, Texas. And the Brazilian women who came and lived here before me made quite the impression on their neighbors. Wayne Murray lived across the street from them.

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Chapter 6: Why did the neighbors find Kat's household unusual?

107.25 - 110.831 Journalist 2

They said that you might know something, you might have spoken to them.

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111.151 - 126.436 Neighbor 2

Wayne says that in Leander, people do two things. Wave to each other and then mind their business. At least Wayne did. Then, in 2022, that's when these new neighbors moved there, right across the street.

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Chapter 7: What happened to Kat's neighbors and the house in Leander?

126.916 - 134.498 Neighbor 1

They were not terribly friendly. We had this traffic circle, right? So I'd come in, I'd wave to them, they'd never wave back.

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135.111 - 137.172 Neighbor 2

And there was something else about his new neighbors.

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137.852 - 146.315 Neighbor 1

Very pretty, young woman. They looked like supermodels. Very attractive blonde and a pretty attractive brunette.

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147.035 - 176.877 Neighbor 2

Tall, thin, gorgeous, right out of the latest Victoria's Secret fashion show. I mean, I'm super gay, and even I can see it. And it wasn't just having a house full of gorgeous Brazilian women in a nondescript American suburb that was unusual. One day, he just stopped seeing them. The house was empty. The women were gone. Eventually, a rental company came to clear the house.

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177.297 - 182.902 Neighbor 2

They put out the girl stuff in the front yard for anyone to take, which was interesting.

183.749 - 196.576 Neighbor 1

We got quite a bit of this stuff. We just took the bags. We looked later. I did keep the voodoo dolls. Voodoo dolls? Voodoo dolls. I got three voodoo dolls. May I ask to take a look at them? Sure. Well, come on in.

198.337 - 220.346 Neighbor 2

One of the women was a social media influencer famous in Brazil with more than a million followers. I was there because, well, I'm kind of an influencer myself. But that was basically an accident. I'm a journalist first, and I've made a name for myself investigating stories in Brazil where things aren't quite what they seem.

222.307 - 242.979 Neighbor 2

And that's what brought me to Texas, because the woman who lived there, Cat Torres, seemed like she had a picture-perfect life online. Wayne told me the more he looked through the stuff the women left behind, the more questions he had about them.

244.417 - 269.939 Neighbor 1

They had an altar in their yard. Not a Christian altar. Because she had, I can never pronounce the name of the drug. Ayahuasca. That's it. That Brazilian drug. They had packages of dried herbs. And it has what they're good for. Good for romance. Good for this. Good for that. Three of them were also good for exorcisms.

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