Transcript

One Percent

From Sword and Scale · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 24 min · 3,102 words · 25 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "One Percent", an episode of Sword and Scale published January 17, 2026 (24 min, about 3,102 words). It mentions 9 people, works and ideas, including Francis Woke, Kathy Anderson, mental illness, Menllo Park, Daniel Gersevich.

What this episode is about

On December 12, 2018, a chaotic 911 call leads police to a frenzied scene in Menlo Park, where a blood-covered man holds another at knife point, culminating in a shocking revelation about his actions. As he is apprehended, the suspect cryptically states that he “had to join the 1%,” leaving law enforcement and observers bewildered by the dark implications behind his words.

Key takeaways

  • In a tech utopia, a gamer became a killer; the blend of ambition and madness is haunting.
  • It’s not just Silicon Valley’s startups that crash; sometimes it’s lives, dreams, and sanity that shatter.
  • Kathy cultivated gardens; her death reveals how fragile the beauty of life truly is amidst ambition.
  • From friendship to deception, a cryptocurrency scam turned nightmare—just another tale in today’s world of tech.
  • Behind a bloody smile lies a chilling truth: ambition doesn’t guarantee success, but it can mask horrors.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Menllo Park, Kathy Anderson, mental illness, 1%
  2. – 10:00: Daniel Gersevich, Gabriel Liddell, Francis Woke, Kathy Anderson
  3. – 15:00: mental illness
  4. – 20:00: Francis Woke, Kathy Anderson
  5. – 23:43: Francis Woke, mental illness, March 2023

Notable quotes from "One Percent"

  • Garden, the way every spring it would come alive like something out of a painting. Before her retirement, Kathy was a professional arborist. People in the neighborhood still called her for advice on soil, roots, weather cycles.
    about Kathy Anderson · at
  • You know this man? Daniel looks at the photo. His eyes don't flinch. Yeah, he says. That's Gabriel. Gabriel Liddell.
    about Gabriel Liddell · at
  • Roughly 4 years back, Daniel attended a cryptocurrency conference in the valley.
    about Daniel Gersevich · at
  • Altogether. He'd drink pots of coffee and keep himself awake. Once caffeine was no longer cutting it, he'd turn to Adderall. As you might already know, aderall is just as much…
    about Adderall · at
  • Cincinnati, and over time, he seemed to be improving. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to mental illness, and crazy people tend to hide they're…
    about mental illness · at
  • Somewhere between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific coast, Francis had a different kind of awakening. To join the elite 1% of society, a sacrifice had to be made. And it…
    about 1% · at
  • Ahead of trial, Francis Woke pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
    about Francis Woke · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Francis Woke — Person · Primary perpetrator / central subject · 4 mentions · first at
    He is identified as the killer who murdered Kathleen Anderson in Menlo Park and is the narrative focus from arrest through conviction and sentencing.
  • Kathy Anderson — Person · Victim · 3 mentions · first at
    She is the homicide victim whose death, background, and relationship to her boyfriend anchor the case details and emotional context.
  • Daniel Gersevich — Person · Key witness / former roommate · 2 mentions · first at
    He provides the backstory of Francis Woke's behavior, alias use, stimulant abuse, paranoia, and eventual eviction that preceded the murder.
  • Gabriel Liddell — Person · Alias identity used by Francis Woke · 2 mentions · first at
    This name is presented as the false identity Francis used with Daniel Gersevich, highlighting deception and instability prior to the crime.

Concepts & topics

  • mental illness — Concept · Core topic (insanity/psychosis framing) · 3 mentions · first at
    The episode repeatedly frames Francis's behavior through psychosis, delusions, medication noncompliance, and an insanity defense debated by experts and jury.
  • 1% — Concept · Motivating delusion / narrative motif · 1 mention · first at
    Francis claims he had to 'join the 1%' and frames the murder as a sacrifice to become elite/wealthy/eternal, reflecting delusional ideology.
  • Adderall — Concept · Contributing factor (substance use) · 1 mention · first at
    Francis is described as using Adderall to stay awake, worsening insomnia, appetite suppression, and delusional/paranoid behavior.

Places & events

  • Menllo Park — Place · Primary crime location · 2 mentions · first at
    The 911 call, police response, and victim's residence are described as occurring in Menlo Park, establishing the setting for the homicide.
    To most, she was a 62-year-old woman living in Menllo Park. To him, she was something more. She was my best friend, he says, and the kindest person I've known. He tells them about her.
  • March 2023 — Event · Verdict/sentencing timeframe · 1 mention · first at
    This date anchors the case resolution: Francis Woke is found guilty and sentenced.
    Unanimously agreed that Francis knew exactly what he was doing the moment he entered Cathy's home. and in March of 2023 was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to…

Full transcript with timestamps

It's the night of December 12th, 2018 when a 911 call comes into the Menllo Park Police Department. The operator can barely make sense of the man on the other end. He's screaming, panicked, incoherent. Then finally, a full sentence cuts through the chaos. There's a lot of blood. Deputies are immediately dispatched and start tearing through the upscale neighborhoods, past gated homes on their way to Val Pariso Avenue. Moments later, the tires of multiple cruisers screech as they pull up to the curb outside a well manicured lawn. As they rush to the front porch with weapons drawn, the shrill screams from inside the home become louder.

Deputies find two men standing in the hallway. One is in his late 50s and holding a large knife to the throat of the other who looks to be in his late 20s. He's barefoot, rail thin, shirtless, and drenched in blood. The deputies start shouting commands. Drop the knife. Put your hands in the air. The man, covered in blood, steps forward as the old man stumbles back, hitting a countertop and dropping the knife on the floor. When the deputy reaches for the suspect, his hands slide off his wrists, slick from the blood running past his elbows.

Finally, the cuffs snap into place. As the deputy guides him to the cruiser, he notices blood dripping from the corners of his mouth. His pulse quickens. What did you do, you sick [ __ ] The deputy demands. He doesn't answer. Instead, he slowly lifts his head and flashes an eerie smile, revealing his jagged, decayed teeth stained from the burgundy liquid pulled inside his mouth. Finally, he speaks. I'm sorry, but I had to. I had to join the 1%.

Welcome to Sword and Scale Nightmares. True crime for bedtime. Where nightmare begins now. The deputy stands silent, frozen in fear. He doesn't know what to make of what the bloody man just said. From the back of his cruiser, the suspect looks down at his bare feet and then back at the deputy. I tried, he said. But I wasn't very good at it. I've never done it before. Sweat beats form on the deputy's head. He chokes on his spit and nervously asks. Good at what? The man pauses for a beat. And the deputy's jaw drops when he hears him say, "She's in the basement. I have a mental problem and I very seriously killed that woman. Outside the home, flashing lights of emergency vehicles bathe the sidewalk. Neighbors gather while paramedics wheel out a stretcher covered by a white sheet. The old man, the one with the knife, is gently led out of the home into the back of an unmarked car. The next several moments

are a blur. One minute he's holding a man at knife point, the next he's inside a cold interrogation room being grilled by a group of detectives. Authorities spared him the grief of asking what happened to his friend. They already knew. Instead, they asked about his relationship with the victim. I'm her boyfriend. Well, I was, he says with tears in his eyes. Kathy, he says quietly. Her name was Kathleen Anderson. To most, she was a 62-year-old woman living in Menllo Park. To him, she was something more. She was my best friend, he says, and the kindest person I've known. He tells them about her garden, the way every spring it would come alive like something out of a painting. Before her retirement, Kathy was a professional arborist. People in the neighborhood still called her for advice on soil, roots, weather cycles.

She knew what to plant, where to plant it, and how to keep it alive. She loved nature. He says she understood it better than most people understand other people. That day, something felt off. She hadn't brought in her trash bins. He decided to check on her that night. The front door was unlocked and he walked inside completely unaware of the nightmare waiting.

A few doors down in a separate interview room, detectives are speaking with someone else, a young man named Daniel Gersevich. Daniel doesn't know Kathy or her boyfriend. Their lives were completely separate until just now. He's in his mid20s, an upand cominging tech mine in Silicon Valley. At the start of this interview, detectives share a photo. Did you know this man? Daniel looks at the photo. His eyes don't flinch. Yeah, he says. That's Gabriel. Gabriel Liddell. The room shifts. The detectives exchange confused glances. Stop lying. One of them says, "We know you know who this is." Daniel is equally confused. He doesn't know what the hell's going on.

After some contentious back and forth, investigators tell him the truth. The man in the photo, the man Daniel said he once lived with, isn't Gabriel Liddell. It's Francis Woke. Daniel stares down at the image and then slowly the color drains from his face. There is no Gabriel. His former roommate, who'd slept on his floor for 6 months, had given him a fake name. The shock settles in. It was like he'd just seen a ghost. He told him where it all started back in 2014. Roughly 4 years back, Daniel attended a cryptocurrency conference in the valley.

That's when he bumped into Francis, who introduced himself as Gabriel. The two got to chatting and instantly clicked. They talked for hours about the future of modern innovation and their plans to make a difference in the world. At one point, Francis also mentioned that he was looking for an apartment. Thinking it would be beneficial for both of them, Daniel eventually offered Francis a place to stay. It sounded like a win-win. Shared rent, shared vision. So, they came up with a plan. join forces, work on a project together, and co-found a startup that was sure to make them both rich. During his police interview, Daniel told detectives that he and Francis were well on their way to launching this groundbreaking technology. It wasn't fartcoin, was it?

I hope not. On the surface, everything was working out except that Francis didn't have a job. You see, whenever Daniel asked him about finding work to support himself before their big payday, Francis scoffed at the idea. Clocking in for a paycheck was beneath him. In his eyes, he was smarter than everyone else, particularly women. They say you never really know someone until you live with them. And from Daniel's perspective, that couldn't have been more true. He started to pick up on Francis's bizarre world views. Daniel remembers how easily Francis turned any conversation, no matter the topic, into a platform for misogyny. He blamed women for the pitfalls of civilization and referred to them as societal rot. From there, things only got worse. While Francis was undeniably talented and highly intelligent, good ideas don't pay the rent, you know. When Daniel returned home from his 9 to5, ready to start his

second shift working on the software, he'd find Francis pacing between his desktop and frantically scribbling indecipherable notes on his whiteboard in the living room. Over time, Francis became so obsessed with the project that he stopped sleeping altogether. He'd drink pots of coffee and keep himself awake. Once caffeine was no longer cutting it, he'd turn to Adderall. As you might already know, aderall is just as much a stimulant as it is an appetite suppressant. Francis was already a pretty small guy, and eventually he stopped eating entirely. Now a full-blown insomniac, addicted to speed, Francis started to become even more delusional than he was before.

He was extremely paranoid and started rambling to Daniel about Microsoft, claiming they were spying on him, tracking his IP address, and that the software they were developing was a threat to corporate tech giants all over the world. I'm sure they were very scared. But that wasn't the worst of it. One day, out of nowhere, Francis started tearing apart the room, dragging furniture from wall to wall, flipping chairs, and throwing electronics through the air like a wildman. When Daniel confronted him, he found Francis in the kitchen opening cabinets, pulling out dishes, and smashing them onto the floor. According to what Daniel told police, that was the last straw. That was it. That was too much. The instability, the chaos, it wasn't worth the promise of a big payday. It wasn't worth the effort, the trouble. Dealing with crazy people will drive you crazy. After about six months of putting up with this

nonsense, Francis was kicked out of the apartment unceremoniously. Just like that, he was homeless. No plan, no money, no safety net. I don't know how people let themselves get like that. Just his laptop and the clothes on his back. From there, he bounced around the Bay Area, sleeping in cafes, park benches, and even on people's lawns. Eventually, he spotted a vacant balcony at one of the dorms on the Stanford University campus. He scaled the second floor balcony and lived there for weeks unnoticed. Then one afternoon, he slipped and fell trying to climb down. He broke his leg.

Students called 911 after seeing a malnourished man crawling in the middle of the street. Francis refused medical attention, but when the EMT saw the bone poking through his jeans, they basically forced him to the back of an ambulance against his will. While at the hospital, he was unruly, calling the female staff incompetent and useless. Once he was fixed up, the kind folks at the hospital couldn't get rid of him fast enough. And after hobbling out of the hospital on crutches and a fresh new leg cast, he was back out on the streets on his own.

Meanwhile, his family back in Ohio was trying to get a hold of him. His cell phone was shut off long before his roommate kicked him out. They knew something was wrong. What they didn't know was that their son, already hospitalized twice for psychosis, was unraveling again. Then one night, after weeks of radio silence, Francis appeared on his parents' doorstep in Cincinnati, nearly 2,300 miles from where he'd last been seen. His mother opens the door and freezes. She doesn't recognize him. His eyes are sunken. His clothes and leg casts are crusted with grime, and he reeks of body odor. "Mom," he says, but it doesn't sound like him.

Then he starts rambling. nonsense about frequencies in his head about unlocking some kind of system. His words come fast, frantic, but his eyes are vacant. This is the worst she's ever seen him. She's been worried, sick, and is just happy that he finally made it home. Besides a broken leg, at least physically, Francis is in one piece, she thinks. For the next year, she tried everything she could to get Francis help. He met with countless mental health professionals while in Cincinnati, and over time, he seemed to be improving. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to mental illness, and crazy people tend to hide they're crazy. Without his parents' knowledge, Francis eventually stopped taking his meds. He was quietly becoming convinced the treatment he'd been receiving was a means to silence him, an attempt to turn him into uninformed sheep like the rest of the population. Before long,

delusions of corporate overlords out to get him came flooding back like they'd never left. Then one morning in early December of 2018, Francis vanished without a trace. His parents immediately notified the police, but he was long gone. While they scoured Greater Cincinnati searching for him, Francis was already on a bus back to California. On the way there, he stayed awake, listening to voices in his head that were only growing louder. "Don't [ __ ] out," they whispered. "Just do it." He'd been up for days. But somewhere between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific coast, Francis had a different kind of awakening. To join the elite 1% of society, a sacrifice had to be made. And it didn't matter who. By the time the bus's hydraulics squealled to a halt and the doors swung open, the plan was set.

That was Francis's time to become eternal. It's the morning of December 12th, 2018. Francis Woke has been walking for hours. The city shifts around him, but his tunnel vision keeps him focused. He's no longer in control, nor does he have a say in where he's going. He only knows his role in the mission and that his destiny depends on it. He looks like a walking skeleton. Skin and bones have TKED over 40 miles at this point. Finally, he recognizes a shift in class when he turns into the wealthy neighborhood off of Valpariso Avenue. He sees the shiny cars parked in the mansion's driveways and white lights festively strung around the tall evergreens. He takes it as a warm welcome, a sign that he's in the right place.

He chooses a house. After walking onto the front porch, Francis opens the unlocked door and walks inside. From the doorway, he sees her in the kitchen, cutting fresh vegetables from her garden, moving ignorantly between the stove and the counter, humming a tune. How stupid she is, he thinks to himself. Only a woman would be so foolish to allow a stranger to wander into her home like this. He takes a few more steps. He's right behind her now, so close that the stench of expensive perfume stings his nostrils. The aroma only angers him. Then Kathy hears it, the sound of a man breathing down her neck. She immediately turns to see a disheveled man 6 in from her face. Before she has time to scream, she's knocked to the floor. She yells, but it's no use.

Francis is on top of her now, throwing punches until the blood from her nose covers her face. Her vision blurs with each blow to the head. The last thing she sees before fading to black is two distorted hands reaching towards her throat. Francis uses every muscle in his fragile frame to squeeze as hard as he can, but he's not strong enough to finish the job. Kathy begs for her life and Francis's eyes dart across the room, searching for a tool. There on the kitchen island, he notices a pencil next to a pad of paper. With his victim lying helplessly on the tile, he reaches up to grab it and drives it into the old woman's eye. Kathy lets out an excruciating scream that only excites him. Over and over, he stabs until her eye is just an open cavity.

Kathy's body twitches. Her screams slowly fade. But Francis doesn't quit with one last thrust to the victim's unrecognizable face. He feels it break through her skull into her brain. Finally, she stops moving and Francis snaps the tool off, leaving half of it inside. With sweat pouring down his face, he stands to catch his breath. He's content that she's dead, but knows he's far from finished. The voices visit him again, reminding Francis of the second half of the plan. He stumbles through the house, his bare feet leaving streaks of blood until he finds a rusty hands saw in the basement. When he arrives back at the kitchen, he leans over Cathy's body and starts sawing at her neck. He tries to remove her head, but his arms are too weak, his stomach hollow from days without food. Francis needs nourishment, but not to survive.

He reaches down, grabs a handful of flesh, and starts to consume his victim. Francis has completed his mission, but he's disappointed. He doesn't feel any more enlightened. He doesn't feel any more powerful. In fact, there's no transformation whatsoever. Just the taste of blood and an empty stomach. Hours later, he wakes from her bed and hears a man's voice calling out inside the house. "Kathy, are you home?" Francis doesn't hesitate and heads down to greet him. "Don't [ __ ] move. Where's Kathy?" The man hollers out, but Francis says nothing. He just stands there and stares. The old man reaches for a knife to keep the killer at bay, right before scrambling for a cell phone to call 911.

When Francis was questioned following his arrest, he admitted to the murder dismemberment and that he tried to eat Kathleen's body. He didn't know her and had chosen the home at random. Francis went on to explain how a higher power had visited him, instructing him to kill and eat the rich. Wonder where he got that. By doing so, he'd become wealthy, just like Kathy, and he'd be able to live forever, all happy and healthy and full. Toward the end of his interview, Francis said that if it were a man standing in the kitchen that night, he would have simply walked out. I guess that's not his particular preferred cut of beef.

Ahead of trial, Francis Woke pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He was seen by various psychiatrists. Some deemed him insane, while others didn't, bringing into question yet again what the point might be of this particular subject. In the end, the jury unanimously agreed that Francis knew exactly what he was doing the moment he entered Cathy's home. and in March of 2023 was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to 26 years to life in prison. A few weeks after the murder, a neighbor witnessed a man climbing through Cathy's window. When the authorities arrived, they saw it was Cathy's boyfriend. He was holding a small plant. They could tell he was distraught and clearly grieving.

The man told police he was sorry and that he just wanted something to remember her by. As for his roommate, Daniel, he's since moved to Berlin where he became the founder of a different cloud-based software company. He seems to be doing just fine and I'm sure is more than thankful having dodged the proverbial bullet. If you enjoyed the show, please consider joining Plus at swordandscale.com/plus. But if you can't, consider leaving us a positive review on your preferred listening platform. Sweet dreams and good night.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "One Percent"?

Francis Woke (Guest), Daniel Gersevich (Guest), Kathy Anderson (Guest), Host (Host).

What is "One Percent" about?

On December 12, 2018, a chaotic 911 call leads police to a frenzied scene in Menlo Park, where a blood-covered man holds another at knife point, culminating in a shocking revelation about his actions. As he is apprehended, the suspect cryptically states that he “had to join the 1%,” leaving law enforcement and observers bewildered by the dark implications behind his words.

What is mentioned in this Sword and Scale episode?

9 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Francis Woke, Kathy Anderson, mental illness, Menllo Park, Daniel Gersevich, 1%. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "One Percent"?

The episode runs 24 min; the transcript is about 3,102 words in 25 timestamped sections.

More from Sword and Scale

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.