The Tour Guide, The Cover-Up, and The Death of Lauren Bajorak
About this episode
This episode explores the case of Lauren Bajorak, who fell to her death under suspicious circumstances involving her tour guide, Manuel Blanco Vela, and the subsequent fight for justice by her mother, Carrie.
He was the man every study-abroad student wanted on their trip - charismatic, always around, always at the party. Manuel Blanco Vela ran a wildly popular tour company for American college students exploring Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Parents thought their kids were in safe hands. They weren't. This episode follows Gabrielle, a 19 year old student who was drugged and sexually assaulted by her own tour guide on what was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime ... and who, years later, would open a Facebook message that changed everything: "Manuel Blanco Vela killed my daughter." That message came from Carrie, whose 21 year old daughter Lauren supposedly fell ten stories to her death from Manuel's apartment balcony in 2015 - on the same night he took two heavily intoxicated students home alone. Lauren's blood alcohol was nearly at coma level. Manuel's was 0. The case was closed with no charges. Carrie spent the rest of her life fighting for answers. We're unpacking the pattern - the champagne, the "safety" warnings that kept women isolated with him, the sangria nights, the blackouts - and how one survivor's spreadsheet, one viral post, and one TODAY show interview cracked open a…
Topics covered
- sexual assault
- tour guide
- college safety
- investigation
- true crime
- victim advocacy
Keywords
- Lauren Bajorak
- Manuel Blanco Vela
- sexual assault
- tour guide
- college students
- investigation
- true crime
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