True Crime with Kendall Rae - Man Living a Double Life Murders Fiancée 2 Days Before Their Wedding? The Murder of Molly Watson

Episode Date: August 4, 2022

Molly's YouTube Channel ## Graphic Designer Application: https://forms.gle/bMedRm6DcFiraWp88 Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagra...m Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - kendall@INFAgency.com

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Hello everyone and welcome back to my channel. I am so happy to have you here with me for another video. If you are new, welcome. Let's go ahead and get into this case. This one is truly wild. I know I say that for so many cases. This one is really mind-blowing. The amount of twists and turns and just how this all unfolded is unbelievable. Let's just jump right in. I want to start by telling you about Molly Watson. So Molly Nicole Watson was born in Moberly, Missouri in December of 1982. She had one other brother named Tim and the two of them were very close growing up and throughout their lives. Molly was a very spunky and vivacious person. She had a lot of passion for life and everything that she did. Her loved ones describe her as someone who is just always authentically herself.
Starting point is 00:00:59 You know, Molly was her own unique person and she wasn't afraid to let her personality shine. Molly had Asperger's, but this was never something that, you know, held her back in any way. It was something that she actually really embraced. It gave her a different type of passion for life. She was an amazing friend and she never molded herself in to fit in with others. She liked to stand out from the crowd and one of her many passions was her YouTube channel. Hi everybody, it's Molly. And today I am just kind of doing a general vlog. She called it like a weekly vlog.
Starting point is 00:01:34 And that's where she would share a lot of her personal life, different aspects of her life, share her talents and her hobbies. I figured I would just kind of give a little bit of background on me so you kind of get to know me. I am 34. I work in education right now. I have two degrees in psychology, a bachelor's and a master's. I'm working on a third, not a third, well a third degree, second masters in counseling and I am very much a huge geek. I hate being called a nerd because as I have always heard it put, nerds know, geeks do. So I am very much a hands on geek.
Starting point is 00:02:24 I like most things geekdom. I'm a huge fan of things like Marvel and Disney for that matter. And like she mentioned, Molly was a total geek and proud of it. She loved video games, making costumes, making props for her cosplay. She also loved animals. She had five cats and she really enjoyed reading and singing. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine. And one thing that she really loved was nail polish and nail art. And she actually started
Starting point is 00:03:03 her own nail polish business at one point called a shine spark. She first got into the whole nail polish world as a hobby when she met some other women online who liked making nail polish as well. She then decided to order the materials that she would need in order to make her own and just kind of let her creativity run wild with it. And another reason why she was inspired to start her own nail polish business is because traditional nail polish is often very expensive. It can be extremely overpriced and she had lower prices than popular brands. The name of her company, Shine Spark, was inspired by two things. First, her love of sparkly things. And second, there was actually a like maneuver in her favorite video game and it's called the Shine Spark. So she thought it was perfect. Molly loved to match
Starting point is 00:03:45 her nail polish to whatever color she was wearing that day. And her two favorite colors were pink and green. Molly's favorite place to travel was Florida because she loved going to Disney and Harry Potter world. And Molly was also incredibly smart. She had two psychology degrees, a bachelor's and was eventually going to go back and get a second master's degree. So clearly she was very intelligent. So Molly was in her early twenties when she first got married to her first husband. However, their relationship actually ended after two years. They ended up getting a divorce, but during that divorce process, Molly ended up finding out that she was pregnant with their son. And during her pregnancy, Molly actually reconnected with this woman that she went to kindergarten with. And her name was
Starting point is 00:04:29 Amber Brady. And what's funny is the two of them actually remembered not liking each other when they were growing up, but something had changed and they were very fond of each other as adults. So fond of each other that the two of them ended up falling in love. And Amber ended up helping Molly raise her son, whose name is Declan. And he was born with cerebral palsy. And the first few years of their relationship was great. It was very loving and happy. And while she and Amber were dating, Molly ended up getting a job working in the Moberly Correctional Center. And she seemed to be really happy with this job. However, a lot of that happiness may be from meeting someone new at work. That's where James Addy comes into the picture. He was a lieutenant officer at Moberly Correctional. He had spent many years working there way before Molly
Starting point is 00:05:16 to earn this very important role. Molly and James instantly made a connection. And so while they're starting their relationship, Molly is still in a relationship with Amber and Amber has no idea that this is going on. And one time Molly and James were actually at a motel together, hooking up and Amber goes there and catches them. She literally tracked them down. She goes up to the motel door, knocks on it, and Molly answers the door and James is in the background getting dressed and leaving. So obviously this is when Molly and Amber break up. Amber was not happy about this and cheating wasn't really in Molly's character normally, but there was something about James that just drew her in and it wasn't long until
Starting point is 00:06:04 the two of them started officially dating. Now James was older than Molly, about 16 years older. He was born on the 4th of July in 1965 in Missouri, and he entered the Marine Corps as a teenager and had been married several times before he met Molly. And when James and Molly became official, he told her that he was married, but he and his wife, Melanie, were in the middle of their divorce proceedings. He claimed to her that the process was just taking a long time, which sometimes divorce can take years and years. And he said that one of the main reasons it was taking so long was because they had two children involved, which does make it more complicated. They had a son and a daughter of their own. Now, Molly's family was a little bit sus about this relationship
Starting point is 00:06:45 from the start. All they knew about him is that, you know, Molly had met him at work and that she was madly in love with him. Everyone that saw the two of them together noted that they seemed very into each other, especially Molly, that she was smitten by him, you could say. They said that they had never seen her so in love with someone before. But like I said, her family was concerned about the relationship and they were very just unsure about James, especially her brother Tim. Right away, he said he thought that James was a con man who was just using his sister for her money. He said that Molly was paying for everything that they did. He also claimed that James just gave him bad vibes from the start.
Starting point is 00:07:28 Some of the family members described him as being kind of a ghost, that he wouldn't look people in the eye when talking to them. And his personality was just so different than Molly's. But at the same time, they saw how happy Molly was and that she was clearly really in love with this guy. So they wanted to support her. Tim definitely had his concerns, but he felt like it wasn't his place to intervene because his sister was so happy. So Molly and James dated for seven years. And then finally, in October of 2017, James told Molly that his divorce was final. And Molly took this as an opportunity to then ask James, the love of her
Starting point is 00:08:06 life, to marry her. James said yes. And Molly was over the moon excited and very excited to plan her wedding. It was something that she had always dreamed of. She even hired a wedding planner to make sure that their day was absolutely perfect. And Molly was just so, so excited for her wedding. perfect. And Molly was just so, so excited for her wedding. She wanted it to be absolutely perfect down to every little detail. She was highly involved in the whole process. She even had two wedding dresses because she couldn't decide on one. I remember meeting her. She was so excited. She wanted a Disney themed. She was really sweet. I love working with her. Everything was going, you know, according to plan. She was really excited. I loved working with her. Everything was going, you know, according to plan. She was really excited for their wedding that was coming up in 2018. But
Starting point is 00:08:50 in Christmas of 2017, tragedy struck James. His ex-wife, Melanie, who he had just divorced, had gotten into a very serious car accident and was being put on life support. He told Molly that Melanie was still alive, but in really, really bad condition. But even though this horrific accident had happened and Melanie was on life support, they decided to continue with their wedding plans. They had a date set already. Their wedding was going to be on April 29th, 2018 and a location booked. So, you know, things were moving forward. But, you know, Molly understood that this was a really hard time for James, especially for his kids. And he was trying to support his kids as their mother was on life support. But everything seemed to be in place for their big day that was coming up in April. However, just a week before the wedding,
Starting point is 00:09:44 However, just a week before the wedding, tragedy struck again. James tells Molly that Melanie had unfortunately passed due to her injuries from the car accident. So now it's just days before their wedding and James has to, you know, comfort their kids and plan a funeral for his ex-wife. And they kind of threw the idea around of canceling their wedding. they kind of threw the idea around of canceling their wedding. You can actually see in this email exchange between Molly and her wedding planner that things seem to be up in the air as a result of Melanie's death. It says, so I spoke with James and we're just going to have to kind of wing it and hope that he's able to make it. I think his ex-wife slash kid's mother passed over the weekend from a car accident at Christmas. So he's all over the place helping his kids through this and taking care of things for them as well as the wedding. And then she discusses times that she could possibly meet with the wedding planner to do their final walkthrough of everything.
Starting point is 00:10:37 However, James was able to pull it together and told her that he still wanted to move forward with the wedding. So that week, he and Molly went to the Randolph County Recorder of Deeds and got their marriage license. As far as Molly knew, she was going to be getting married in just a few days. The process of getting a marriage license isn't long, but it does require the couple to bring in a valid form of identification and their social security card. They must also sign documentation, including one that states that they are not currently married and that the statements they had provided are the truth. However, the man who was helping them with their marriage license actually felt unsettled by James.
Starting point is 00:11:17 He felt like something was off, particularly when he had asked James if he had been married before. he had asked James if he had been married before. James had a weird reaction. The guy said he seemed kind of rattled by the question and asked him, why do you need to know that? And James had been married before, obviously. Actually, he had been married four times before. But regardless of him acting weird about that question, they proceeded with getting their license. And he and Molly left that day on April 25th with their marriage license in hand. But things took a very different turn on April 27th, 2018, only two days after getting their marriage license and two days before their wedding. So a man named Glenn McSparran was driving to his mother's house on the 27th to drop off his daughter.
Starting point is 00:12:05 And he was so tired that he drove through a shortcut that led him through the intersection of Route M and Highway 151. And it was very common for him to take this shortcut. He had done it many times before right through this dirt road. And it was a pretty, you know, desolate area, but it wasn't uncommon for people to drive through it from time to time. So on his way to drop off his daughter, he saw what appeared to be two vehicles. And at first he didn't think much of it. He did, however, stop and he spoke with a man who he identified to be white and older in age. He was just passing by and he asked this man if he needed help.
Starting point is 00:12:40 You know, he thought maybe they were stuck or something like that. But he seemed to think everything was fine and he continued on his way. Only 30 minutes later, around 10 p.m., Glenn drops off his daughter and then he drove back through the grove and he noticed this time that there was only one car, but he noticed more than that. He also noticed that there was a body just lying on the ground. He knew something was very, very wrong right away. He thought that this person could be deceased. And immediately he calls 911. So they encourage him to get out of the car and
Starting point is 00:13:17 try to see if this person is still alive. He gets out and he can tell that they're not. So when police arrived at the scene, they began working to identify this person. And after running the vehicle's registration, they were able to determine that the body found was Molly Watson. From their initial reports, they thought that Molly had been struck in the back of the head, that there was some type of blunt force trauma that killed her. And they knew right away that this was a homicide. But once they were able to look further into her injuries, they actually discovered that she had been shot once, execution style, in the back of the head.
Starting point is 00:13:54 They thought maybe this could have been a robbery, but they quickly, you know, kind of ruled that out because she was wearing her engagement ring. And if someone was robbing her, they would have taken that. They searched her car for any clues, And that's where they found her marriage license sitting on the passenger seat. So after hours of collecting evidence, a handful of officers looked up James Addy's address and went to his home to deliver the notification of death. And by the time they got to his residence in Santa Fe, it was just after 2.30 a.m. Now, obviously, giving someone,
Starting point is 00:14:26 especially someone who's about to be married to this person, a notification that they have passed is extremely difficult. But when they got to the house and knocked on the door, they were very surprised to see Melanie Addy at the door. James's wife of 23 years, who is still very much alive. And she was just as confused as they were. She remembers that they were asking who she was at her own home because they thought they were at the home of Molly Watson's fiance. And they were at the home of Molly Watson's fiance, but they were also at the home of his wife and his daughter, who was in high school and living there at the time. So once police kind of clarified who she was, they brought James and Melanie in for
Starting point is 00:15:12 questioning. And at first, Melanie was really confused. She actually thought that one of James's co-workers had died and they were just, you know, telling everyone that he worked with that this coworker had passed. She couldn't quite understand what was going on. She didn't fully grasp that this person was actually listed as his fiance on their marriage license. James had always told Melanie that he had zero tolerance for anyone who cheated and just thought it was the worst thing you could possibly do. So Melanie was asked if she knew Molly and she said no. Eventually they explained to her who Molly was and how she was connected to her husband and she was totally shocked. She said that her husband had been sleeping at home every single night. He'd always been with her at the end of the day and he never
Starting point is 00:16:00 seemed like he was unhappy in their marriage. But it suddenly dawned on her that oftentimes he would get off work at three and he wouldn't be home until five. Every time she would bring that up, it would always end up in an argument and they never really got anywhere. She never really figured out where he was or what was taking him so long to get home. But she never thought it was cheating because James was so adamant that he hated cheaters. So police asked Melanie if James had any weird behavior that day. And she said, no, he was home. He seemed completely normal. All she did know was that that evening he went out with a coworker and she didn't think much of it. And she went to bed before he got home. So in the early hours of April 28th, the day before
Starting point is 00:16:45 James and Molly are supposed to get married, Melanie's at their house trying to dig up evidence that James had been having this relationship. She went into the basement where he kept a lot of his stuff, a lot of his tools. She thought if he was hiding anything, it would probably be down there, but she couldn't find anything. Then she goes up to the attic thinking maybe it's possible he had some evidence of his secret relationship up there. And she was right. Up in the attic, she finds several boxes that have Molly's name on them. Turns out many of Molly's belongings had been being stored in their home without Melanie having any knowledge of it. Then she came across a locked chest and she was able to open it. And when she did, she uncovered photo albums of Molly and James documenting their seven year
Starting point is 00:17:35 relationship with each other. And there were photos of trips that the two of them had gone on to places like Florida and Mexico. And Melanie remembered when James took those trips, each with a different story about, you know, why he was going or who he was going with. He told her he was going to Florida for a sniper training for work. And then he was invited by some male friends to go to Mexico, which he first turned down because he didn't want to go without his wife. But Melanie actually was the one who encouraged him to take that trip to Mexico with his friends and realized only now that he was actually there with another woman, Molly Watson. And if that wasn't the worst of it, it turns out James had taken Melanie on a trip to Mexico just months after he had enjoyed that same vacation with
Starting point is 00:18:18 Molly. Literally took her to the same restaurants, the same experiences. He did it all again with Melanie and acted like everything was fine. Obviously, Melanie's daughter is still living at home at the time, so she kind of had to put on a brave face for her, but she was devastated and so confused, so heartbroken. But the next day was her daughter's junior prom, and she didn't want, you know, all this to ruin that event for her. But when her daughter came down on the morning of the 28th, she knew something was wrong. She knew that something was up with her mom right away and her grandparents were there, which was surprising to her. So they ended up explaining to her that her father was
Starting point is 00:18:54 taken in for questioning, but they didn't explain for what. It wasn't until after prom that a friend of hers pulled up an article shared on Facebook, and that's where she learned everything. And obviously it was such a shocking way to find out that her father had been cheating on her mother for one, but was also considered a suspect in his mistress's murder. And what was especially striking to her is she recognized Molly Watson. She had met her before. So their daughter's name is Emma, and she was going to be going to Comic-Con with some of her friends a year earlier, and she needed a costume. And her father tells her, I know someone who makes costumes. So he literally drove Emma over to Molly's house one day, and the two of them sat down and talked about what she
Starting point is 00:19:45 wanted her costume to look like. She had no idea that she was actually meeting her father's girlfriend. So obviously police wanted to question Emma when they found out that she had actually met Molly and she had some important information regarding her father's alibi that night. James had told police that he had left his home around 7 p.m. that night to meet up with that co-worker, but his friend wasn't home, so he came back around 8 30 p.m. Although Emma's version of the story is slightly different and doesn't put James getting back home until 10 p.m. She told investigators that her father did leave around 7, like he said, but that night in
Starting point is 00:20:25 particular, she had to stay up a little later to finish some homework. So she was in the dining room around 10 p.m. when he got home, and she was sure that that was the time. He asks her what she's still doing up. She explains that she had to stay up a little later to do some homework. So he says, okay, and he goes and does a load of laundry and takes a shower, then comes back and says goodnight, gives her a hug before he goes to bed. And that was it for him for the night. So this means that James's whereabouts were unaccounted for during the time of Molly's murder. Investigators even called up this friend that he supposedly was supposed to get together with that night. this friend that he supposedly was supposed to get together with that night. And this co-worker did know James, but he said that they definitely weren't friends and did not have plans to hang
Starting point is 00:21:10 out that night. So it's really starting to look like, you know, James is involved in Molly's murder. So investigators are going over all the evidence that they have trying to officially link him. And there were several key pieces of evidence. The two most important bits of evidence were one, a tire track that was found at the crime scene, and two, a white t-shirt that was found just a few hundred feet away from Molly's body. They brought in an expert in tire track analysis to confirm to police that the track found at the crime scene was consistent with the right rear tire of James's vehicle. And Emma identified the t-shirt as belonging to her father. And she was certain about that
Starting point is 00:21:48 because she had actually made that t-shirt for him at school one day. The t-shirt also tested positive for gunshot residue and DNA from Molly's blood. However, James's DNA was not found on the t-shirt or at the crime scene at all. But prosecutors believe that they had more than enough evidence to charge James at the crime scene at all. But prosecutors believe that they had more than
Starting point is 00:22:05 enough evidence to charge James with the murder of Molly Watson. And so his trial date was set for April 26th, 2021. So through their investigation, the police and the prosecuting attorneys believed that Molly was killed by James when she found out about his wife, who he was still married to and who was still very much alive. In her opening statement, the state prosecutor set the scene for the jury. On the evening of April 27, 2018, a choice was made. The body of Molly Watson was found on a rural, unpaved, dusty road in Monro-Powell, Missouri, by a passerby who was taking a shortcut home from his mother's house in the late evening. Molly had been shot once, contact range, in the back of her head.
Starting point is 00:23:00 Her engagement ring is still on her hand. Then she goes on to explain how the police came to learn her fiancé's identity. While they were still on the scene, officers went and looked at Molly's wedding website, that they were able to see it still up online, and found the name of her fiancé, James Addie. And they set off to notify who would certainly be a devastated fiance. Most of the trial's first day was spent introducing the crime and describing the relationship between James and Molly. The jury learned how in love Molly was and how eager she was to finally marry her boyfriend of seven years. Even the defense really leaned heavily on the idea
Starting point is 00:23:40 that James and Molly were very much in love, that they had this really romantic relationship. And they said that, how could he kill someone who he loved so much? During the first day of trial, they also presented all of the evidence that they had that proved James Addy was guilty of killing Molly Watson. You know, the tire print, the t-shirt, and also some phone data that linked James to the crime.
Starting point is 00:24:04 Evidence showed that the day before her murder, Molly made several online searches for Melanie's obituary. And when nothing came up, the police and prosecutors believed that she then confronted James and he had to make a decision. Which life did he want to pursue? Because he was clearly living two different lives. And more key information came from Molly's phone through an app called DriveSense, which tracks your driving data and location to help you better improve your driving patterns in the future. And data from this app showed that Molly drove for 22 minutes
Starting point is 00:24:34 to get from her home to the location where she was murdered. Her phone also showed that she and James had a 22-minute phone call that evening, which corresponded to the exact time of day that she was in the car. And a search of her cell phone showed that she and James texted the day of her murder about Melanie's funeral arrangements. He said, the funeral is tomorrow. I love you. My nerves are shot. I'm getting ready to head to the airport in St. Louis to pick people up for the funeral. She said, I'm sorry, sweetness. I love you so, so much. Is that why you were
Starting point is 00:25:04 getting sick earlier? Are you okay? Talk to me, please. But just one day before, she was unable to find anything about Melanie's death or car accident for that matter. However, Molly was an extremely trusting person. She had been given no indication that her fiance was lying to her. And even if she did, her loved ones believed that she may have looked past this because of how deeply she cared for him. The tire print was a big part of the trial. A perfect tire print in the damp soil just feet from Molly's body. The right rear tire of James Addy's car was identified as the source of the tire print bound to speed from all its body. They brought in the expert who compared the tire tracks with James's vehicle and he testified to the comparison and his analysis was that they were a match. This is a chart that I had made after my comparisons, during my comparisons, and it just kind of lists out the numbers one through 11, and they correspond between the tire and the impression.
Starting point is 00:26:14 So on the left side, you see the number, top left, you see number one, and what's circled on the tire corresponds to the number one on the impression itself and then it just went through one through 11. So you have 11 areas of individual characteristics? Yes. Is that in your training and experience is that a lot? It's sufficient enough for an identification. And what conclusion did you draw if any about the tire and the cast? My conclusion was that particular tire made that particular impression. And if the tire print wasn't enough, a search of James's home showed that his vehicle was covered in mud the day after Molly's death. So it's obvious that he had been driving through that area where Molly was killed. The second day of trial also had a lot of different testimonies.
Starting point is 00:27:07 In addition to the experts who testified, several others took the stand. When Glenn took the stand, he explained how he came across Molly's body. I went to take my daughter to my mother's, and I went to take the shortcut through the creek because we were both tired. And we came upon a pair of headlights down by the creek and then I could tell there was another car facing away from me. So the car drives towards you. At some point does it stop and the person gets out?
Starting point is 00:27:35 Yeah, he jumped out and like come to the end of the door but I couldn't get up with all the glare and everything. I was having a hard time seeing. And that's when I yelled at him. I said, hey, is someone stuck down there? And he said, I don't know where they're at. It's going to be a while. And you keep saying he.
Starting point is 00:27:54 This person was a man? Yeah. Okay. Can you tell us anything else about what that person looked like? Well, he appeared to look older. I couldn't get a really 100% clear look at him. And then judging by his voice also, he sounded older. Another important piece of testimony came from the man at Randolph County, recorder of deeds.
Starting point is 00:28:13 Remember how he had gotten weird vibes from James that day? How James didn't want to answer any questions about his previous marriage. He clearly was worried that they would pull up that he was still married to someone. However, in reality, there is no database to have confirmed his current marital status. So when James said he was not married at the time he and Molly went into the office, there weren't any issues. Would you be able to verify if someone was already married? Absolutely not. There's no statewide marriage database or national marriage database or anything? No. But you rely on the parties to accurately represent that? Yes,
Starting point is 00:28:53 and that's why I ask them if it's a true statement. Of course, the defense did their best to try to cast doubt over the jury that James was responsible for the murder. For example, James's lawyer said that he paid off a $4,000 balance they had on something related to their wedding the day that she died. They argued, you know, if he was planning to kill Molly, why would he spend money on their wedding? Although the prosecution was able to argue that this was clearly to throw people off, you know, his scent, that it was to make it look like he didn't have this plan ahead of time. And Melanie also testified and it was very emotional. And in her testimony, she answered many questions, including about her car accident, which she clearly was not ever in a car accident. She
Starting point is 00:29:36 was never on life support and she was clearly still alive. Were you in a horrible car crash a few months after that divorce date in October of 2017 around Christmas or New Year's? No. And is it fair to say you did not pass away in April of 2018? That's correct. She also talked about finding everything in the attic that day and how she realized her husband had been having this whole, you know, deep relationship behind her back for seven years. And what was in that loft area? I found some boxes of things that had belonged to Molly. I found a locked chest that when I opened it had a
Starting point is 00:30:23 photo album. And Melanie maintains that she was unaware that her husband was having an affair, but says that she absolutely believed her husband was capable of murder. And James became very emotional in court when it was time for his daughter to take the stand. Emma, you know, got up there,
Starting point is 00:30:42 walked through the events of the night that everything happened and how she knew that her father came home at 10. That evening, dad said he was going to go meet a friend and he left. And I think a couple of hours later, mom went to bed and I was still up doing homework at around 10 p.m., and that's around the time that Dad came home. He asked me what I was still doing up, and I just told him I was turning in homework. And he walked out, and then a little bit after that, I finished and got up and went to go brush my teeth.
Starting point is 00:31:24 While I was brush my teeth. While I was brushing my teeth, he came to the bathroom and just stood at the doorway and then walked back out. When you were in the bathroom that night, how did your dad act while he was waiting for you? He looked just really antsy about it. I don't know. And do you remember if your dad did any laundry that night? Yes. It was when I walked out of the bathroom and through the dining room,
Starting point is 00:32:00 I heard the washing machine going. And did you smell anything? Yes, I smelled bleach. It was also crucial that she was able to testify that she had made that shirt for her dad, especially because his DNA wasn't on it. There was a contest in my graphic design class that we had to go to and we had to print certain designs on the t-shirt a certain way and um everybody in the class did theirs correctly i'm the only one who messed up very bad so i know that's my shirt and although investigators are often able to use a bullet found in a victim to identify the owner of the murder weapon the bullet that was found in molly was severely damaged on impact there was one report out there that claims that there was an attempt to match the bullet with the 22 caliber rounds
Starting point is 00:32:55 found at james's home but it was obviously not their strongest way to link him to the crime and there were two inmates that james had been staying in jail with that he had told he was there in jail because he had put someone face down in a ditch. And although James pleaded not guilty, he never said that these two inmates charges against him were false. So on April 29th, 2021, which is very ironically three years after they were supposed to get married back in 2018. James Addy was found guilty of first degree murder and armed criminal action. Verdict reads as follows. As to count one, we, the jury, find the defendant, James Addy,
Starting point is 00:33:38 guilty of murder in the first degree as submitted in instruction number six. Verdict reads as follows. As to count two, we, the jury, find the defendant, James Addy, guilty of armed criminal action as submitted in instruction number eight. James went back for his court sentencing on July 29th, 2021, and the victim impact statements from Molly's brother and son were extremely emotional, and they hoped that James would face the most severe punishment possible. I just want to say Molly was my best friend and sister that I will never see again.
Starting point is 00:34:12 This monster took her from not only I, but all the family and friends that love her. This horrible tragedy caused my mom to go over the edge before she passed away this year, she was diagnosed with severe psychological trauma from Molly's murder. My dad had been taking care of my mom for over two years, dealing with the stress of a murdered daughter and a wife of 50 years that sometimes couldn't recognize him. The stress from that took his life in September of 2020 of a heart attack. The heartache and stress of it all has taken a toll on all of us. A letter from Declan. Today I was asked to write this letter and I wasn't sure what to say until now. You took one of the most important people in my life away from me.
Starting point is 00:35:11 She was an amazing, smart, and beautiful person. And sure, she wasn't a perfect person, but nobody is perfect. And she wasn't a perfect mom, but being a mom isn't about being perfect. It's about making good decisions for your child, and that's what she did. And I believe she only ever made one real wrong decision, which was believing in and trusting you. And you just kept lying to everyone around you. The only reason she believed you was because she loved you and looked past your flaws and was probably willing to walk to the end of the earth for you. And you couldn't be a little bit honest with her or anyone for that matter. That means you are the kind of man who is a coward, who has no regrets about his past actions and you are willing to move on to the next person like they are just an object. And my mother was no object.
Starting point is 00:36:09 And in the end, James Addy was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. And despite his conviction, of course, James tried to appeal his sentence saying that he needed a retrial because his lawyer was inadequate in his representation. And as of today, there has been no information about whether or not he will get that retrial. It seems very, very unlikely. So just an incredibly frustrating case. How these people live double lives, have two different relationships going at once without the other knowing is unbelievable to me. And to take such drastic action in the end to get out of it all,
Starting point is 00:36:52 leading her right up until the wedding and then killing her two days before, it's just unimaginable. I feel so badly for both of his children, for Melanie, for Molly's family. It just is so unnecessary. Molly was so happy. She was, you know, so close to having this dream wedding and she was such a good person who just happened to fall for the wrong guy. That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel,
Starting point is 00:37:32 which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then stay safe out there.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.