Murder With My Husband - 69. Brandi and Liz - The Best Friends

Episode Date: July 19, 2021

On this episode of MWMH, Payton and Garrett discuss the story of Brandi and Liz. This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault and violence that could be disturbing to some listeners. LIVE ONL...INE SHOW TICKETS HERE! https://www.moment.co/murderwithmyhusband Case Sources: I survived S1 Ep 2— https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B089NWV48R/ref=atv_dp_season_select_s1 https://www.timesreporter.com/article/20080328/NEWS/303289817 https://www.timesreporter.com/article/20140320/NEWS/140329901 https://www.morningjournal.com/news/man-confesses-to-killing-teen/article_2d7e19b6-2860-5412-9c30-868e347be575.html http://kymberlihagelberg.com/index.php/2017/05/15/true-crime/ House of Horror - Kidnapped, The Road to Hell Links: https://linktr.ee/murderwithmyhusband  AD LINKS: Betterhelp www.betterhelp.com/husband Amazon www.amazon.com/husband Charlottes Web https://www.pntra.com/t/SUNITEtOSU1DSEpNTUlOQ0dORkdOTw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Everyone has their own idea of wealth. Our Bank of Texas Wealth Management team is here to help make yours a reality. Bank of Texas is a trademark of the OKF and NA, number FDIC, Equ back to our podcast. This is Myrta with my husband. I'm Peyton Moreland. And I'm Garrett Moreland. And he's the husband. And I'm the husband. Once again, we are in a different studio. So if you're watching on YouTube, it looks different. Again, we are at Cloud 10 Studios and it's awesome. I'm loving it.
Starting point is 00:00:52 If you are watching on YouTube, please give us a thumbs up and leave a comment and subscribe. We love reading the comments on there. And if you are listening in on podcast and are able to leave a review and subscribe, please do that. If not, we're just happy to have you here.
Starting point is 00:01:07 And I think next week we will be back at our normal house studio. So. So if you're getting anxiety watching, because it looks different, don't worry. We are soon going to be back to normal. Gary, do you have your 10 seconds for this week? I think I do. Actually, this week I was just curious
Starting point is 00:01:22 what everyone's different suggestions were as far as like TV shows So if you haven't you good TV shows please send them my way Other than that, I don't know Peyton. I've just been hanging out with some family in California So yeah, the problem is is everyone's probably like me and is watching crime documentaries Which he does not want suggestions for so if you have anything anything, not crime related, then send those over. Don't send those my way. Send them my way. Okay, our case sources this week are timesreporter.com,
Starting point is 00:01:53 morningjournal.com, and a episode of House of Horror Kidnapped called the Road to Hell. Oh, well. Okay, our case begins on May 23rd of 2000. We are in the small town of New Philadelphia, well. Okay, our case begins on May 23rd of 2000. We are in the small town of New Philadelphia, Ohio. Brandy Hicks and Liz Razer are best friends and having a celebratory sleepover at Brandy's house before their high school graduation this upcoming week.
Starting point is 00:02:20 They had met a church back in sixth grade when Brandy moved to town and instantly became best friends. Okay. That night, they attended Brandy's choir banquet at the Buck Eyed Career Center and after they decided to drive to a local video store named Hollywood video in the new town mall because just like everyone in the 2000s, they want to rent a movie. Good old blockbuster. Oh my gosh, I loved blockbuster nights with my family. Like, there was no better Friday night than when my parents would pack us all up in the car and let us go pick a movie. And we would stay in there for like 30 minutes.
Starting point is 00:02:54 And my parents would be like, come on, just pick a movie already, it was fun. Brandy and Liz make it to the video store and each pick out some movies on their way out of the store and back to the car. They are approached by a man in a baseball cap with black curly hair sticking out. The man told the best friends that he was stranded and could they please give him a ride home.
Starting point is 00:03:15 It would take roughly 10 minutes to get there and he would give them $20 if they will give him a ride home. Knowing that they were in a small town, the girls must have thought it was safe, they tell him yes and all three of them get into Brandy's car As the man is directing the girls to his house 10 minutes pass and he tells them just a little bit longer down the road It's now been 15 minutes and Brandy and Liz begin to worry There were less and less houses the further out of town they drove and it was past nine o'clock so it's dark outside. Okay. The girls ask him again, hey, how much longer? You know, just let us know when to turn and he keeps telling him, oh, just a little bit longer down the road. Growing uneasy,
Starting point is 00:03:53 Brandy decides to pull the car over. She tells the man who had seemingly been harmless at first that if his house was not much farther, he could just get out and walk from this point, right? This was the farthest they could take him. She mentioned that it was a school night and they had graduation coming up and so they really did need to get home. The man listens to the girls and then calmly says, would it make a difference if I had a gun? The girls are scared and confused. The man asks them if they have any money, they tell him, no, we don't have any cash, we also don't have cell phones. The man commands them to continue driving down the road
Starting point is 00:04:29 and hesitantly they do what he asks. He never pulled the gun out though. Oh, he did it was asked them. If it mattered if he had a gun, yes. And I think he was making it pretty clear like the way he was saying it. He was insinuating that he had a gun. Yeah, I guess I was wondering if he was bluffing or not.
Starting point is 00:04:44 You know what I'm saying? Yeah. You gave me that look. So, he leads them to a road that led to a hay filled off harm in hill road. And once on top of the small hill and they've been driving quite a ways, he tells Brandy to stop the car, cut the engine, and put her hands on the steering wheel. Once under control, the man directs Brandy to take her shoes off and unlace them. He then tells Liz to use Brandy's shoe laces and tie her best friend's hands to the wheel. And he would check them to make sure
Starting point is 00:05:16 they were tight, which he did. What time of night is it again? It's like 9.30pm. Okay, I guess I'm trying to think if there's other cars going past them. So they were in town when they first picked him up. And so I'm assuming they thought it was going to be safe. But he kind of made them drive farther and farther out of town to where there's not much houses, there's not much street lights.
Starting point is 00:05:38 So no, I'm assuming there's no one drive at this point because they did drive up into a field. Yeah, yeah. After Liz ties up Brandy's hands, the man gets out of the car. The man was named Matthew Vaca, a 27 year old father of three. And this night, he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Matthew opened the passenger side door and told Liz to get out of the car. She was hesitant to leave Brandy, her best friend. And so he dragged Liz out of her seat while Brandi was still tied to the steering wheel. Oh my gosh. He let her up the hill and eventually together they disappeared
Starting point is 00:06:14 into the trees. And you have to think Brandi's still sitting in the car with her hands tied to the steering wheel, just watching them walk away. I'm sure that was just like the most distressing, scary thing you could see. Now, warning this next part is going to be disturbing for some listeners so you can go ahead and forward if you want. But once leading her far enough away, Matthew proceeded to slit Liz's throat with a knife. Oh my gosh. Seemingly unprovoked. Like, there's nothing really going on. He just takes her up there and does that. Yeah. He then stabbed her so many times that he literally broke the knife he was using to stab her. Just for no reason. Yeah, like no reason at all.
Starting point is 00:06:53 Why in the world? Okay. So leaving Liz's dead body on the ground, Matthew walked back to the car where Brandy was tied up. And keep mine. Like, Brandy doesn't know what just happened to her best friend. He went over to the driver's side door, opened it up and yelled for her to get out. Brandi yelled back, you're an idiot. I obviously can't get out of here. You made my friend tie my hands up. Like she gets mad.
Starting point is 00:07:15 Oh, what the heck? And this makes Matthew mad. So he grabs the knife and he slices the shoelaces to cut them so that her hands are no longer tied and then he pulls Brandy out of the car. He's forcefully leads her up the hill and randomly stops up there and then begins just smoking a cigarette,
Starting point is 00:07:34 not talking to her. They're both just standing there. And I think at this point he's thinking about what to do next. For whatever reason, Matthew decided to lead Brandy back down to the car and put her back inside the vehicle into the back seat. He got into the driver's seat and began driving them away. So during the drive, very casually, he looks over at Brandi and he tells her, I just killed your best friend.
Starting point is 00:07:58 Like just randomly. So Brandi doesn't react, I guess how he wants her to react. Like he wanted to react. Yes, and I guess she just kind of sat there. Okay. And so he tells her, just kidding. I actually let your friend go and I gave her directions to get back to town. So she's just walking back to town and she's fine. So while driving Matthew notices a cop pull up behind them, add a stop light and he begins to panic.
Starting point is 00:08:26 He tells Brandy that if she even attempts to open the door, he will shoot her and the cop. Okay. So Brandy doesn't do anything. So Matthew then drives Brandy near Riverbank of the Tuscarawa's River and gets her out of the car. He begins leading her down some railroad tracks in the dark. Oh my God.
Starting point is 00:08:44 There was nothing around, but he lied to Brandy as they were walking, telling her that if they kept following the railroad tracks, they would eventually get to the police station. So at this point, I think he has like an idea of what he wants to do. Well, I think he has a sadistic reason for continuing to give like each of these girls hope and then seeing the look on their face when it's taken away because he's lying. There is no police station down the road. And so why tell her that?
Starting point is 00:09:14 He did kill her friend. So why tell her, oh, never mind, no, I didn't. Oh, he just wanted some sort of reaction. I agree. So as they're walking, they come across like a railroad bridge. So bridge over the river. Okay. And it's probably a 25-foot drop down. And Matthew just abruptly stops walking. Right after the bridge
Starting point is 00:09:33 there was an abandoned train car on the tracks. And so Matthew kind of stops here and asks Brandy if she has any jewelry on her. She's like these rings, like cheap rings that I have. And so he makes her give him the two rings she was wearing. And then he asks her how badly she wanted to live. And she's not tied up at this point, right? She's just walk free, just following him. But she knows he has a knife, correct. She saw him, you know, but he doesn't have a gun. It sounds like he hasn't pulled it back to the gun thing. Yes, he hasn't pulled it out. And so he asks her how badly do you want to live? And once again, it's just like a he's trying to see her reaction. Yeah, he just playing games. So Brandy says just a simple more than anything. Uh-huh. Like I obviously don't want to die. At this point Matthew makes Brandy take her own close
Starting point is 00:10:22 off and then proceeds to sexually assault her inside the train car, the abandoned train car. Oh my gosh. It's horrible. So, he then made Brandy get redressed as he smoked another cigarette. Matthew decides at this point to tell Brandy that he's going to let her go. She can follow the train tracks and find the police department. What? But they would need to backtrack a little bit back to the car.
Starting point is 00:10:47 So he could have some time to get away before she makes it to the police station. Does that make sense? Yeah. She's like, we're going to walk back the way we came. I'll get in the car and then you can go to the chances. Oh, the original car, not like the broken down car. No, no, no, they're at the broken down like track car. He wants to walk back to her car. Okay, got it.
Starting point is 00:11:07 As they were crossing back over the bridge to get back to the car, plans change. It has now been three hours since Matthew had began, you know, terrorizing the girls. Matthew at this point makes Brandy Nill on the edge of the bridge. So he pushes her to the edge of the bridge. So he pushes her to the edge of the bridge. There's like a railing obviously, and he says, Nill down.
Starting point is 00:11:29 So she nails down. He then took her shoelace that he had gathered from the car and began strangling Brandy from behind. He thought she was dead, but Brandy eventually woke up because as we all know, it's a lot harder to strangle someone that looks in the movies. So at this point, he tries to snap her neck three times,
Starting point is 00:11:49 but couldn't figure out how. Because once again, it's a lot harder to snap someone's neck when it looks in the movies. And this just pisses him off even more. Like at this point, he's getting aggravated. He's trying to kill her. She won't die of choking. Is she just on the ground or what's going on?
Starting point is 00:12:04 Yes, she's going in and out of consciousness because he chokes her thinking she's dead She loses consciousness, but wakes back up. Okay. He began beating her up at this point choking her until she's no longer breathing Basically doing anything he can to kill her and I will say this is an awful way to die and took a while So I'm not going to go into detail here because basically you're just beating someone to death. He then tried to lift her body up over the railing, but her feet got stuck when he tried to push her over. Oh my gosh, his guy is insane. Yeah, so she's just hanging there. Like he pushes her over but her feet get stuck so she doesn't drop. Do you know what drugs and he was on?
Starting point is 00:12:42 No, it didn't say he said that he was under the influence. Okay. Matthew then has to untangle the body of Brandy, like hit her feet as they're tangled up so that she'll drop into the water. The body eventually fell head first, the 25-foot drop into the shallow river. Matthew spent some time on the bridge after killing Brandy and dumping her body into the river and eventually he decided to just get back in the car and drive away. So it was the middle of the night
Starting point is 00:13:11 when the girls family realized they were missing. And a search party is sent out. And the next day, a man named Jeff Molenex calls authorities claiming to have information about a murder. He told police that his brother-in-law had taken him up to a location on Harman Hill Road claiming that he had killed two girls the night before. He showed him the crime scene, he showed him Liz's dead body, and
Starting point is 00:13:34 even found part of the knife that broke off. So Lizzy Liz is for sure then. I mean she had her. Do you know how many times she was stabbed? It didn't specify. And I'm yeah like I couldn't find a source on it, but. It's so crazy. I mean, we've- We've- We've talked about it before.
Starting point is 00:13:51 It's, usually when it's that many times, like it's in here. Enough to break the knife. It's some sort of just crazy. Yes, yes, yes. It's a lot more intimate than just, you know, shooting somebody. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:14:02 He says that together him and his brother-in-law through the piece of broken knife into the river, and then once alone, Jeff contacted police because he didn't want to spook Matthew while they were up there. Like while he's up there showing him, he didn't want to be like, dude, you need to go to police because,
Starting point is 00:14:19 you know, he scared for his own life. Matthew was actually on probation for Grand Theft and forgery at the time that he kidnapped these two girls and killed them. So, police arrested him immediately and held him on probation violation at the county jail while the county prosecutor and police reviewed the case and searched for evidence. So, this is just like a couple, like early morning hours. It was during the early hours of the investigation that a mind-blowing discovery was brought
Starting point is 00:14:49 into the police station by an off-duty cop. He had been driving down the road that night when something had caught his attention. It appeared to be a bloody injured teenage girl on the side of the road. Oh, okay. So. on the side of the road. Okay. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Have you ever found yourself at a crossroads unsure of which direction to take in life?
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Starting point is 00:18:55 She played dead in the river and eventually pulled herself out and got to the road. And she hadn't been stabbed or anything, right? No, but she had been stabbed or anything right no, but she had been stringed I mean sexually assaulted so earlier that night when Matthew had pulled the girls up onto the top of the hill and gotten out of the car Liz and Brandy looked at each other in the car and cried Liz reached over and grabbed Brandy's tied hands on the steering wheel and told her she loved her Brandy told Liz she loved her too and that she was so sorry that she picked the steering wheel and told her she loved her. Brandi told Liz she loved her too and that she was so sorry that she picked the guy up. Liz told Brandi, no, no, we both decided to pick him up. It wasn't just your fault. And then Matthew opened up Liz's door. Oh, it's a heartbreaking.
Starting point is 00:19:38 Brandi told Liz everything was going to be fine and they would see each other again as Matthew pulled her out. Brandi says at this point in time they're panicking so they're both just saying, I love you, I love you. Everything's going to be fine as he's pulling her out of the car. Oh my God. Because they're just trying to reassure each other that it's going to be okay. I just don't understand why, I mean, I guess he tried to kill both of them, but by, but one, he stabbed X amount of times and the other one, he just killed,
Starting point is 00:20:05 but didn't really kill. Like, he had to have known that there was a chance she would live. Well, when he threw her over, he thought she was dead because she had been like incapacitated for a while. So I think he thought he had successfully, yes. I think he thought he had successfully choked her
Starting point is 00:20:23 because she was unconscious Brandy sat in the car and waited and waited and waited while Matthew walked Liz up and spent the time killing her She was horrified when Matthew came walking back down to the car alone without Liz She doesn't know why she yelled back at him when he told her to get out. She doesn't know why she said you're an idiot. Yeah. But she felt like he was going to kill her as he walked her up the hill when he got her out of the car. She was worried about her family and friends. And if they would figure out what happened at this point, she's like, I'm pretty sure Liz is dead. And I'm pretty sure he's taking me up there to kill me too. And our friends and family are going to be able to find our bodies. Yeah. Brandy had actually looked over and seen something on the ground and Matthew grabbed
Starting point is 00:21:10 her face and turned it like when they got to the top of the hill he grabbed her face and turned her head the other way. And she didn't realize at the time but she was looking at Liz's body on the ground. But she didn't know what it was. She just saw like a mound. What? Exactly. Wait, how did it get there? Because he had walked Liz up earlier and killed her. Oh, oh, I always was thinking you did separate directions. Oh, no, no.
Starting point is 00:21:33 You went separate directions. Like past Liz's body with my, so remember how I said earlier, I think he's just like sadistic and wants to see her reaction. I think the only reason he walked her up there and then turned right, right back around was to see how she reacted to seeing her reaction. I think the only reason he walked her up there and then turned right back around was to see how she reacted to seeing her best friends box.
Starting point is 00:21:49 It's like he wanted her to beg and wanted her to freak out. But to think, how is she doing that? She didn't because she didn't understand that that was Liz. It was dark outside. She didn't understand that that's what she was looking at. When Matthew said he had actually let her go, Brandy became concerned for the fact that she was still with him. So she believed him. When he said, oh actually let her go, Brandy became concerned for the fact that she was still with him. So she believed him. When he said, Oh, just kidding, just kidding.
Starting point is 00:22:09 I, I, your friend, right, she believed him. Oh, it's even more sad. Yeah. She didn't think that he had actually killed this because remember, she didn't know that that's who she had seen up on the hill. And so then she's like, Oh, thank goodness. Liz is all right. But then she's like, wait, if Liz is all right and he let her go, why am I still here? Then she's like, crap, I'm the main target. Like he kidnapped both of us because he only wanted me, which that would be like just terrifying. Matthew was making small talk with Brandy
Starting point is 00:22:39 the whole time they were walking down the railroad tracks. And Brandy began talking about her friends and family and hopes of making him see her as a real person who mattered. And we've seen this before with survivors. They do their best to try to, you know, humanize themselves in hopes that they played the emotions of their killer of like,
Starting point is 00:22:58 well, maybe I just won't kill her. I can't believe she's alive. I know. It's insane. I'll tell you how she survived. Brandy felt like the sexual assault lasted hours in the train car and she knows it doesn't, but that was completely horrific.
Starting point is 00:23:13 And she actually remembers him throwing her clothes violently back on top of her after and saying get dressed. And she remembers how small that made her feel that after he had just done that he just casually threw her clothes back on top of her. And you said he had three kids, correct? Yes. He's a father. That's horrible. So Brandi got dressed in the train car and then just stayed on the ground because she was scared about what was going to happen next. Brandi didn't understand what was happening at first when he walked her back and made her get on her knees and he began strangling her.
Starting point is 00:23:48 She didn't understand what was happening because it would happen from behind. She just remembers that she couldn't breathe and then blacking out. Yeah. When she regained consciousness, she realized that Matthew didn't know yet that she had just woke back up.
Starting point is 00:24:01 So she decided to hold her breath in hopes that he would think she was dead. She begins playing dead. That's so smart. She said that Matthew began kind of like tapping her body to see if she was awake. And so she just like kept her eyes closed and held her breath. And then he began kicking her and beating her up. Because I think he thought if she is awake, this will wake her back up if she's alive. And so she tried her best to continue playing dead, even though she's getting beat up, like kicked, kicked, but eventually she couldn't hold it anymore and he kicked her once and all the air came out.
Starting point is 00:24:35 She gasped, she opened her eyes and he was like, oh, she's still alive. She's still alive. Oh, it's the nightmare. Yes, she says at this point, Matthew climbed on top of her and this is when he tries to snap her neck But obviously it's a little harder and he couldn't successfully do it and she remembers seeing him just get mad That he wasn't strong enough or couldn't figure out how to do this
Starting point is 00:24:54 She remembers hanging barely conscious from the bridge just like going in and out in and out of all of this Unbeknownst to Matthew, the current rain that happened a couple days before had raised the level of the river quite a bit that was running underneath. So when he finally pushed an unconscious brandy into the water, she regained consciousness as soon as she hit the water.
Starting point is 00:25:20 Yes, and she didn't hit her head or anything. It's just she was fine. And so as she woke up, she was like, oh, I think he pushed me off the water. Yes. And she didn't hit her head or anything. And so she was fine. So as she woke up, she was like, Oh, I think he pushed me off the bridge. Like she realized that he pushed her off the bridge. And she was floating with her head in the water. And she decided not to turn over. I can't believe she didn't scream or anything. I guess is she hit the water. Yeah, like I think natural reaction. You'd be like, Oh my god. Oh,
Starting point is 00:25:42 yeah. And she immediately woke up and was like, I have to pretend I'm dead. Like he thinks I'm, he thinks he just killed me. That's so crazy. And so she just floats in the water, like down the stream, or down the river, pretending to be dead. And then how long did she float for?
Starting point is 00:25:58 So she doesn't float very far because as she's floating along, she kind of goes under the bridge. Yeah. And as she's under the bridge, she reaches out and grabs a log. Oh, okay. Because she doesn't want to come out the other side and have him see her. She grabs a log, but just sits there. So in case he comes down, he'll think,
Starting point is 00:26:15 oh, she just got snagged or something. And slowly, inch by inch, she starts like pulling herself out of the water using the log, but not wanting to make any noise, not wanting to like cause a scene or anything. She could still hear Matthew's footsteps on the bridge above her. No, what? So he was probably smoking another cigarette as well, I guess. Exactly. On the bridge and she's hiding underneath the bridge, he thinks she's dead and she's like,
Starting point is 00:26:42 I've got to be so quiet, I've got to slowly pull myself out of this room. Wow. If I want to live, I'm sure after what seemed like forever and it was forever, she sat in the water under the bridge for an hour, pulling herself out. Was it cold? Yes, it's cold, it's nighttime, it's cold.
Starting point is 00:26:59 I mean, it's September. Okay. But she finally feels like she can't hear him anymore. She thinks he's gone. And so she pulls herself like completely out. At this point, she decides that she's going to swim across the water to the other side and come up on the other side of the bridge. Just in case he's kind of close still there and she can't have a chance to run away. So she gets up, she climbs up back to the bridge and looks around for him. She can't see him.
Starting point is 00:27:25 So once she feels like it's clear, she starts making her way, following along the railroad tracks, thinking there's a police station because that's what he told her. I would be so scared to move. I would too. Like just thinking, what if I run into him or something crazy? She had to pass by that train car that she was literally, brutally assaulted in to get to where she thinks
Starting point is 00:27:51 to police station. Do you know how scary that would be? To pass back that car and be like, is he in there? Is he hiding? Is he waiting for me? Does he know that I'm alive? Did he think I was dead?
Starting point is 00:28:00 Like that would be so scary. She gets up, she gets to the railroad, and she finally comes to a road. Like after walking the railroad, she finally, she never hits a police station. So she finally gets to a road, but at the road, a couple cars passed by and no one stops and helps.
Starting point is 00:28:18 Because I think she's, she looks like a crazy person on the side of the road. Well, she was just beaten and yeah. She's bloody, she's just beaten and she's bloody. She's covered in blood. Poor girl. This is crazy. Struggling to walk.
Starting point is 00:28:29 Like she's just fallen a 25-foot drop into a river. Finally, a truck pulls over for her and stops to check on Brandy. And she feels so relieved. The man who stopped happened to be an off-duty police officer and drove 17-year-old Brandy directly to the hospital and actually stayed there with with her the whole time. I think just so she was felt comfortable and she remembers filling
Starting point is 00:28:55 comfort out of the fact that that police officer stayed with her. Brandy eventually was able to give the police a description of the man and when it was released, the sketch, when it was released, the sketch, when it was released, Matthew's mother actually contacted the police after his brother-in-law contacted the police and said, hey, that's my son on that sketch. So not only did his brother-in-law go to the police in tournament originally, his mom. His mom also did. So there was no family loyalty.
Starting point is 00:29:23 Yeah, it's not at all. So Brandy thinks if she had actually known what happened to Liz, if he hadn't told her just kidding, I let your friend go. She doesn't think she would have survived being beaten and dropped like she I think she says the thought of Liz still being there and her family still being there is what kept her fighting hiding under the bridge for an hour like holding on. Yeah. She says that she was forced to grow up that night, like in one night she was forced to grow up and see the reality of the world. And for years she struggled with why she got the opportunity to live when her friend didn't. It's always the worst about the hard part about survivor stories. Yes, yes.
Starting point is 00:30:04 Well, and a lot of times survivor stories we do, it's just one survivor. Yeah. But, you know, she's gonna have this survivor guilt now because her friend was killed. Multiple. At court, Brandy confronted Matthew about her best friend Liz.
Starting point is 00:30:17 So instead of getting up there and being like, you beat me, you hurt me, she gets up and says, you killed my best friend Liz, and you don't know what a beautiful soul you took off of this or that's what she says during her victim impact statement. Brandy asked the prosecution to not seek the death penalty in this case. And so Matthew was sentenced to a 96 year long prison sentence. Oh, good.
Starting point is 00:30:41 According to Kimberly Hagelberg, he will be eligible for parole in 2096. Oh, so it's... No, he will die before. Hold die before, okay. Brandy went on to get happily married and love spending time with her three kids. Awesome. Good for her. She named her first-born daughter Emma Elizabeth after her best friend Liz. Brandy knows that her kids are the reason she's still here.
Starting point is 00:31:03 So she said that question went on answered about why Liz and not her until she had kids. And then she realized the reason I'm still here is because I'm going to raise these kids. I just don't understand like, like what a psycho. What a psycho. Like what an absolute, just crazy person. Just out of nowhere, they're just driving home and yeah. According to Katie Alberti with the Times reporter dotcom, Brandi says, I want to make something positive about what happened to me shortly after it happened.
Starting point is 00:31:32 My mom and I were watching TV and we saw this little girl on a talk show sharing her story. It was almost identical to what happened to me and Liz and it made me feel better seeing how she could get through it. From that point on, I decided that any chance I got, I would show people how to get out of that kind of situation. I want to try and help as many people as possible by sharing my story. That's so awesome. Which is why we are re-sharing her story here today.
Starting point is 00:31:56 According to Lee Elliott with Timesreporter.com, Liz's family has gone on to write a book called Through My Tears, A Wash In Forgiveness. And this is about her family's decision to forgive Matthew for killing their daughter that night. Liz's mom, Becky says, I had a choice. I could agree or disagree, and I chose forgiveness because it freed me from whatever I was going to have to face. It gave me the peace and strength to move forward.
Starting point is 00:32:25 So in memory of Liz and our prayers go out to Brandy and Liz's family, that is the story of Brandy and Liz. Man, I like these ones, survivor ones because people survive, but one person didn't, so it's kind of just a... I like listening to the story, all I could just feel so bad for the fact that she survived and she was like
Starting point is 00:32:47 Oh, I'm a survivor like I'm a survivor, but that also comes along with this guilt of the fact there Yeah, there's so much more to it and he also spent so much more time with Brandy than he did with Liz I think I contributed to the fact that he was just maybe under the influence and Yeah, not like thinking clearly and obviously just not a good person. Yeah, obviously a complete crazy person. Yeah, like oh my gosh, that's so crazy. And he actually had no prior history of violence, which is weird. Yeah, like none of his past charges, nothing like that was ever advised. Well, last two weeks was kind of the same. Exactly. And then he goes on to what he thinks. He thought he killed both girls.
Starting point is 00:33:28 He didn't know that he, that Brandi had survived. Well, he probably thought he was gonna get away with it. Uh-huh. Well, I don't think so. He don't think so. He brought his brother-in-law up to the bottom. Oh, yeah, that's right. I think he was trying to get help,
Starting point is 00:33:39 not realizing that his brother-in-law was gonna turn right back around and vote the police. Yeah, what do you think was gonna happen? Yeah. All right, so that is our case this week. And we just wanna say thank you to all of our new listeners and all of our original listeners. We seriously, I know we say it all the time,
Starting point is 00:33:56 but we love you guys so much. Sometimes we just sit and read our reviews and our comments. Yeah. Really, it's just, it's what keeps us going. Like it's like, sometimes we're like, why are people so nice to us? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:34:09 And Peyton puts so much time into this. So, thank you to her, obviously. I just kind of sit. Thank you to you guys. I just kind of sit here and watch her. So. Okay, and we will see you guys next week with another episode.
Starting point is 00:34:20 I love it. And I hate it. Goodbye.

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