Ugly Duckling: A True Life Story of Beauty, Manipulation and Murder

by Phillips, Royal

  This was my introduction to Gary Triano, whose wife and two children were at the hotel next door. I felt tricked into being used as a cover for Pam’s affair.

  She managed to get tickets to Shirley McLain in Is The Glass Half Empty Or Half Full. Pam drank all the complimentary drinks at our table, and as we left, she indicated there were no spa appointments for us yet. I told her I didn’t like being an unknowing alibi and she yelled at me for not being more upbeat. As our exchange escalated, she came at me and pushed me up against the brick façade of the hotel. I was alarmed because I had never seen her angry or out of control. Her demeanor was usually so cold and unruffled.

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  NEW YEAR’S DAY 1985

  Back at the Hotel, Pam sat on a small couch with her hands in fists. It was 3 AM.

  “I‘m leaving now. You don’t need me here. You can get back to your married man.”

  She stonily replied, “I knew you would run. You always run.”

  “Yes, I run from people that use and trick me.”

  She taunted me, “Look at you all bothered. You know you will never be successful. You just don’t have it in you to be calm.”

  “That’s right, Pam. I am more emotional than you. I don’t dull my emotions with drugs and alcohol. And on that note, I’ve never had problems with being frigid either. Fancy that!”

  I grabbed my overnight bag and headed for the elevator. The cold January desert night air stung at my face as I waited for my car to be brought around. Tears were streaming down as I drove back to Santa Barbara, stopping only for gas and some hot tea in Baker. When I saw the gray Pacific, I started to relax. It was New Years Day.

  I sat in the silence of my home and felt the emotions of what had just happened. I found the silver case and chip in my purse. I wrote both Pam and Gary letters expressing myself truthfully, returning the chip and case. Later, when Captain Jim returned, he told me that a $25 chip is nothing in Las Vegas. That high rollers throw around $100 chips like candy.

  The phone rings and it is Ed, wanting to know what hotel Pam is in. I lie to him saying I had a huge fight with her and I am too upset to even remember. She is still married to Stu, having a relationship with Ed and banging the married Gary.

  Letter to Gary Triano

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  THE MAKING OF MY VIDEO-1985

  I have contacted Barrie Schwartz as the producer. Barrie was an instructor at Brooks Institute of Photography and had been on the Shroud of Turin research team in Italy. We will take over the KEY-TV station and build a set for this event. I must storyboard the entire script and find pregnant "actors". I have also hired Marta, Mike Love's assistant to be my assistant. I know from experience that she is very responsible and competent in her work. Marta had already come to me for childbirth classes before her son's birth in May 1983. This will be easy. Barrie says it will take a few months to film and edit. My years of little theater acting will now pay off. Thanks, Mutzie, for my childhood elocution and drama lessons.

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  DECEMBER 17, 1985

  My nephew Putzie’s first stretch in jail helps him create other schemes. After being released he returns to Tucson and decides to take another plane to Latin America. On November 27, 1984, he was busted in Texas on the runway as he tried to leave the country. Pam says he was paranoid from coke use, freaked, and handed the officials a passport belonging to someone else who was dead. He goes to jail again, this time simply for bad ID. Putzie who has now become J.R. (as in Frank Phillips, JR.) is sent to Boron, California. He stays in a low security prison in the middle of the Mojave Desert that he calls Club Fed. I write him often, he tells me that I am the only family member that does. I made the mistake of stamping his envelope with a roller skating rat. He had a huge reaction!

  One day he finds Jesus.

  And one day he simply walks out and never returns to finish his sentence. Pam dreams that he is in Peru and is found dead near Lake Titicaca. She has chart readers and psychics and mediums try to reach him. No one hears from him, and we all pray that he is alive.

  Prison letter from Putzie

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  MARCH 8, 1986

  One afternoon Pam took my darling daughter Paige to the Tucson airport, and Gary flew them in his private plane to the Burbank Airport in California. There was no co pilot. They went for dinner in Van Nuys. Paige tells me he seems to be showing off. I had no knowledge of this until afterward.

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  APRIL 28, 1986

  Pam sends me a letter and mentions her bank balance three times. She calls the bank to listen to her balance. I am happy for her but at the same time I wonder if she ever listened to me about being at peace within herself. She seems so driven.

  She is also happy her divorce from Stuart is now final.

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  AUGUST 29, 1986

  I get a letter from Pam telling me about the wedding. She hopes I will attend. She updates me on her real estate holdings -selling this house, buying and remodeling that house, building another house, etc. She says she is excited, in love, and making her financial goals, with nothing to complain about. Everything seems perfect to her.

  It seems things have cooled with Ed.

  _____

  SEPTEMBER 3, 1986

  I look at the hand-lettered invitation. It is gold and flashy. Very different from your first Tucson wedding at sunset that had a western theme. Very. No cowboy boots here. This will be on a yacht, boarding at the Glorietta Bay Marina, Coronado Island. Black Tie. I reflect on how you always like the most formal. I make a cup of Earl Grey tea and sit with this written request. I helped you with wedding #1 to Stuart Siegel. I hated what transpired in Las Vegas last New Years. I have shut the door to my heart after the Las Vegas trick. My feelings were crushed at being used as a cover. You are marrying a guy that cheated on his wife and two kids. Gary must have gotten a speedy divorce. I wonder how his children feel about Pam. I sense a sinister union. I write you and explain that I cannot attend this wedding. In my deepest soul I begin to separate from you. I cannot go down this path. I can only wish you luck.

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  OCTOBER 8, 1986

  My brother Merv calls and tells me about Pam’s Triano wedding. She and Gary were married on a yacht called the “Zumbrota” that left from Coronado Island. Merv also tells me they said “For Richer and Richer” instead of “For Richer and Poorer” when they said their vows. They cruised the San Diego bay for the reception. I didn’t feel bad about not being there. I felt I had done the correct thing.

  Pam and Gary’s wedding invitation 1986

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  JANUARY 2, 1987

  In the honeymoon photo, Pam looks like an absolute movie star aboard the Orient Express. Her hair is super blond. There they are: the flowers. Pink roses. She always has to have flowers. She adores them. I scope out the photo on the Christmas card. She looks very, very happy. I am thinking that Señor Gary is giving her the fairy tale life she always wanted. First Class all the way. Yet, somehow I feel that same lurking evil. I hope I am wrong.

  Honeymoon on Orient Express

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  SEPTEMBER 19, 1987

  Curiously, I don’t hear from Pam anymore. Her boasting has drifted away. Merv is the one who calls and tells me that Pam has had a baby boy named Trevor. They pick actor Lee Majors to be his godfather. I am surprised that she has wanted a child. I think she must really love Gary because she kept this baby. I wonder just what kind of mother she will be. I wonder if she learned anything from exposure to all my childbirth teachings, and her trips to see Doctor Weininger.

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  JUNE 10, 1988

  Death of Mutzie

  She finally died! This bizarre powerful woman who planned her death as carefully as the sober part of her life. Not very many people attended her funeral as she had alienated hordes of people through her revenge and drunken behavior. I notice there is no Pam. Frank arrived with Todd. I wonder why Pam didn’t show up. Mutzie’s father, an alcoholic, d
ied of cirrhosis of the liver, and she carried on the gene. While she was in a coma, I’d visit her and softly speak…tell her she was safe and in Gods hands. I would urge her to go dance with the angels that were surrounding her. I looked all around at the oil paintings she had created through her Palm Springs life and appreciated her artistic talents. I thanked her for all the lessons she had taught me like what NOT to do. I asked the nurses to talk to her for 45 minutes after her death as I believe the soul does not leave the body until then. They promised me they would carry this out. So finally, she is released from her tormented life. I have warm hands and no tears to shed. Her three children did not cry. My heart was at ease at the funeral at the little Indian Catholic church, Our Lady Of Guadalupe in Palm Springs and later in Chicago, she was placed into the Queen of Heavens Mausoleum. My business with her was completed 100%. Yes, this woman so terrifying at times, whom I tried to love but mostly hated and desperately wanted to please, was now dead.

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  TO SOCIETY ISLANDS

  DECEMBER 9, 1988, FRIDAY

  I take number one son, Randy to Polynesia to sail on the WINDSONG and SCUBA dive.

  Randy learned to dive at CATE SCHOOL when he was 16. He is now helping me as this is my first warm water dive ever. I got my PADI certification in Santa Barbara in the Channel Islands where the visibility was about 2 to 3 feet and the water was 48 degrees. Only one orange Garibaldi damselfish is visible in the sea there. Now I was facing turquoise warm water with a plethora of colorful fish. You could see forever. I am in total ecstasy.

  This sailing ship has Randy captivated as he learned to sail when he was young. It has computerized controls and can unfurl its sails in two minutes. Billowing white sails reach to the sky. There is a Norwegian crew and we are in heaven.

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  DECEMBER 13, 1988

  We dive every day at various islands. We learn about native life of all the islands and on Bora Bora we experience a shark feed.

  Randy eats pineapple at lunch and has an allergic reaction where upon the ship’s doctor is summoned. She says it’s an allergic reaction, etc. She is young, blond, pretty and French.

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  DECEMBER 14, 1988

  We dive 80 feet down along a beautiful coral reef and saw an abundance of fish. It is like fairyland to me. When we get back I go to the sauna and Randy and I meet for tea. Now his ear hurts. I go to get the ship’s blonde doctor again for Randy. We go to the little hospital. His ear is only inflamed. She gives a spray for the ear and two painkillers. We order dinner in the cabin.

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  DECEMBER 15, 1988

  We stop on Verandah Disco as the movie we wanted to play in our cabin has already been taken. I have a Perrier and start to dance alone. No one is there. Later Randy dances nervously with me. Soon I am at full tilt. The French doctor arrives and dances with Randy. The ships officer, third in command, Mr. Ingle asks me to dance. He is astounded Randy is not my husband and apologizes for us being left alone socially. He admires me and my breasts. He can’t believe I have 3 kids, blah, blah, blah. Pretty Dr. Lisette Martin asks Randy to dance over and over. They have quite an evening.

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  DECEMBER 16, 1988

  Randy and I watch the Norwegian Captain water-ski in the lagoon as we eat breakfast. I notice he isn’t allergic any more…and no more ear aches. Hmmmmm. We are in the emerald hued bay of Moorea. Today we go on a helicopter ride over jagged peaks and view the lovely huts over the blue water. This is nicer than Bora Bora. We go diving and this time feed a Dragon Moray Eel, but he sneaks back and steal’s the dive masters sack of chum fish from another hole! I keep checking to see if Randy’s ear is okay. He signals back that all is okay. I am laughing in my mask.

  I pledge to myself to dive the world.

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  SEPTEMBER 16, 1992

  Erik who is now 25 is going to Egypt, Israel, and will SCUBA dive in the Red Sea with me. We will cruise the Nile on the Sun Goddess II. We have the best female guide along to teach us all about ancient Egypt, the temples and the pharaohs.

  Son Erik and Royal in Egypt

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  SEPTEMBER 18, 1992

  Our guide, Mona, fell in love with Erik because he was the youngest of our group and the same age as her own son. Also, Erik was interested in everything and enthusiastic.

  The Nile is the longest river in the world, stretching north for approximately 4,000 miles from East Africa to the Mediterranean. Erik and I would sit on top of the boat as we floated along and listen to music. He would say, “Mom, we’re on the Nile!!” over and over. We really learned about the ancient culture. We enjoyed every minute in Egypt.

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  OCTOBER 10, 1992

  We flew to Israel to wait for our diving adventure in the Red Sea. We went off on our own without a guide. I rented a tiny Fiat and Erik placed his travel speakers in the back window. We bopped along the desert roads listening to OINGO BOINGO. In the beginning I pushed in the clutch and Erik would work the gearshift.

  I discovered there were no walls in Jericho and that Erik and I were often making faux pas about Jewish religious laws. We were cited for putting milk in our tea because we had just eaten meat. I had not studied about this country and we were meeting it head on. Making lots of mistakes out of ignorance.

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  OCTOBER 13, 1992

  We went to sobering Yad Vashem (the Holocaust memorial) where Erik had to sport a paper yamaka.

  Of course, we saw the old city of Jerusalem where they were shooting at each other and wearing bulletproof vests. We only passed a few kibbutzes.

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  OCTOBER 17, 1992

  We floated in the jelly like Dead Sea. We went to a spa where not one word of English was spoken and the therapists looked like hatchet faced crones. We were bruised after our vigorous treatments. I talk to Erik about Pam and wonder how she is. She adored spas.

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  OCTOBER 20, 1992

  We drove across parched Israel (the size of New Jersey) down to Elat. That is where we boarded our dive boat, FANTASY, that once belonged to an Arab sheikh. The walls were lined with blue velvet.

  I am on the boat about ten minutes when I meet an attractive blond named Cathy from Canada. I ask her if she uses up air quickly and she replies, No. She is a dive master and a nurse. I tell her that my son Erik is a kamikaze diver…meaning that he moves about rapidly and uses up all his air quickly. So Cathy and I agree to be dive buddies. We have the same enthusiasm about this adventure. We are perfectly matched. I wish Pam would learn how to dive so we could share the adventure.

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  OCTOBER 22, 1992

  Cathy had to do some land work with her visa when I did a night dive with a man named Greg. We saw beautiful sea anemones, and large coral fans, Parrotfish and Lionfish. The colors at night are so bright. Greg was in front of me going through a small cave when I got caught in the rocks above me. When I tried to free myself, I sensed my hoses were hung up and decided not to move. I had to place my mind in a very serene place and do slow breathing while I waited in the dark cave for Greg to notice that I was missing behind him. One of the first rules in diving is to always know where your buddy is. Clearly Greg was an alpha. I was relieved when I saw his flashlight and noticed I was stuck in the rocky cave. He helped me out. We were down 54 minutes. It was an awfully long time. It was very tiring.

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  OCTOBER 23, 1992

  Erik has a hard time with the Israeli guys on the back of the boat at night. They like to put down and ridicule the United States. Erik defends our country wonderfully.

  They didn’t change their point of view.

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  OCTOBER 29, 1992

  The diving in the Red Sea is spectacular. My first live aboard experience. My favorite thing was being greeted with a warm towel and a plate of fresh orange slices when I surfaced. We saw wrecks from olden times and all types of fish in clear water, but I must say that this i
s, without a doubt, one of the very best places I have ever been diving. Unspoiled and just absolutely non-paralleled.

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  OCTOBER 30, 1992

  We are at port. The Egyptian officials will come aboard, and the Israelis will come aboard before we can disembark. We went through the Egyptian customs. It took us a couple of hours. Now the Israelis will go over the boat and make sure there is nothing on or under our boat. Like mines. Then we have to go through customs again. We take a plane from Elat to Tel Aviv. Today is Paige’s birthday and I call her. We spend the night in Tel Aviv and then to Switzerland. Erik and I laugh as we review our trip. Especially the high seas the last night. I spent two and a half hours on the top deck with Erik hanging on to my pressure points for seasickness. He has been a fantastic traveling partner.

  We then took a taxi to the airport after sort of a Chinese fire drill of paying for everything, which was just insane, because nobody had the proper information. Israel was the worst country of red tape security I have ever experienced and I’ve been around the world.

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  OCTOBER 31, 1992

  We took a tour of Zurich. Clean and organized. The exact opposite of where we came from. Switzerland today and California tomorrow.

  Erik was a perfect traveling companion.

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  NOVEMBER 1, 1992

  So ends another journey. What’s next, Royal?

  Frank’s family skiing, Edina, MN

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  NEW YEARS DAY 1993