Undetermined - It Takes a Village | 7

Episode Date: January 17, 2023

Some Lakeview neighbors and an entire online community rally for justice for Jessica. One neighbor tells his story about aggressive and volatile messages between himself and someone who he believes is Justin about a year after Jessica’s death – in which, the person sending those text messages, confesses to some things surrounding her case. Another neighbor is the eyes and ears for Jessica’s family, taking photos and circling the neighborhood to see what’s happening around Jessica’s home. And a couple stumbles upon another piece of evidence where Jessica was found seven months earlier. Audrey goes to the virtual village – social media and starts an online petition – and someone with power in NOLA takes notice. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Metrolinx and cross-links are reminding everyone to be careful as Eglinton Cross-town LRT train testing is in progress. Please be alert as trains can pass at any time on the tracks. Remember to follow all traffic signals. Be careful along our tracks and only make left turns where it's safe to do so. Be alert, be aware, and stay safe. Almost every kid here has an absolute horror story. I don't even know how to explain it. Hidden in the redwoods of the Pacific Northwest, Hupa Valley grapples with a crisis. A series of unsolved disappearances spanning decades. And we've been hearing about a lot of them. I've been following your new season

about Ashley Lawrence Brown. I'm sure you may have been contacted regarding the name of Alia Heavy Runner. Many of the missing and murdered are indigenous persons. And we wondered what factors make this tribal land a place where people just vanish. So we started looking into it. People seem to be very hesitant to come forward

because they're scared for their own safety. You don't know if she was traffic, you don't know if she is murdered. What's even more crazy is that person whoever did it is probably someone we all know here. From Tenderfoot TV, I'm Sleesie Stanton, and this is the vanishing point, an up and vanish series.

Available now, listen for free on Apple Podcasts. Hey listeners, Jessica here. Be sure to check out new episodes of Undetermined, every Tuesday for free wherever you get your podcast. For early and ad-free listening, check out Tenderfoot Plus on Apple Podcasts. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals interviewed

and participating in the show and do not represent those of Tenderfoot TV and resonate recordings. All individuals described or mentioned in the podcast should be considered innocent until found guilty in a court of law. This podcast contains subject matter, such as violence and graphic descriptions,

which may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. discretion is advised. You want to let's just maybe walk up to the tracks and look and see like that vantage point and then we'll walk down to where she was found. This investigation has taken us many places and let us all around the city of New Orleans. But one place we've spent a lot of time in is the area where Jessica's body was found back in August of 2019. As you walk down Kenelworth Street and look over at the rows of houses. It makes you wonder, could one of Jessica's 2000 plus neighbors have seen something?

Could they know something? Could there still be evidence hidden somewhere in the small field where her body laid? There's a lot to take in here, and a lot of things to consider. Alright, let's walk this way. But on this day, what has our attention is a street sign at the intersection of Orlean's Avenue

and Kennellworth Street, just a short walk from the field where Jessica's body laid. A roadside memorial inside a rather upscale neighborhood, it seems out of place. Sticking out from the ground is a large wooden cross, bearing Jessica's name. The neighbor actually made it and placed it there. Tied to the bottom of the cross, are a teddy bear, and a bundle of pink and purple silk flowers. Just above the memorial, attached to the pole, is a custom flyer, giving a little more context to any unknowing passers-by.

It's faded from the unrelenting, New Orleans sun. The plastic sign is now bent and just kind of waving in the breeze. It's almost somber out here by itself. It's very sad. It's got the crime stopper's number, what happened to Jessica Easterly. And, uh... Contrary to the memorial, the fire was actually Audrey's doing.

She figured if anyone had any information, there was a good chance they'd be a resident of Lakeview. Her hope was that posting signs around the neighborhood would maybe open some doors or at the very least bring awareness to her sister's case. You can definitely say they got people's attention. I remember the missing poster is going around and I was like, no, what he goes missing in Lakeview.

That's something that happens on like date line, I never would have thought it would happen like in my little niche family neighborhood. We're still like, how did this happen here? Like, what do we miss? I just feel very strongly because it's my neighborhood and because I have become friends with Audrey, that I feel like I'm not going to stop until something is done. You're flying to meet with a new supplier to keep your business growing. And with the business platinum card from American Express, you can earn $820 in new value and more, which includes a $200 travel credit toward your flight. Now, boarding business class.

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The platform that gives you everything you need. You know what to do. Bet on it. Point Spets Sportsbook and Casino. When Audra came up with the idea of posting signs around the Lakeview neighborhood, with similar posts made across social media platforms. She didn't know if anything would ever come of it. All she knew is she was in a position where she felt she needed help from anyone willing. The old adage, it takes a village, right? True in many cases,

and certainly true in this one. Because those signs Audrey posted did have an effect on some locals. How could it not? This type of thing doesn't happen in a neighborhood like Lakeview. Lakeview is one of the safest neighborhoods in New Orleans. That's one of the reasons why it moves here. This is Laura, a Lakeview resident. I grew up uptown and then when I got married

I decided to have kids, we moved to Lakeview because as you can see right now in afternoon people are out walking the dogs, kids ride their bikes. It's a very family-friendly neighborhood. Like, completely you can feel safe here. You can walk everywhere. That's why I like living here. We're seated under the shade of a carefully groomed tree

just outside of favorite neighborhood spot, Nola being coffee shop. Across the street, Bell's ring at each new hour, drowning out the traffic just in front of a large stone church. It's an idealic setting. Again, not the kind of place where something like this would happen. I remember the missing poster is going around. I think it was like August 11th or 12th when they were out and then like I saw Facebook post and next door post and so I started like reaching out to people that were posting stuff just like asking them to know her. Let's you know do a search thing.

And then before you can get anything together, her sister found her body. And that I was like, been involved with it ever since. Because my friends are like, why are you involved? You didn't even know her. You never even met her. I'm like, I know it didn't, but I was like, there's something

in me that I'm like, I have to be her voice. So I just feel like I have to do something. Like, if that was my sister or my mom or a friend, I would hope people would do the same for me. When the preschool teacher first learned that Jessica was missing, she remembers having an immediate visceral reaction. I, in my gut, said that she's not missing. I was like, she's dead. I was like, she's dead. Wherever she is, she's dead.

Of course, it wouldn't take long for that notion to be confirmed. Like Laura said, just about a week later, the neighborhood learned that Jessica's body had been found. Again, Laura had an instant reaction to the news. She was murdered. I, when she went missing, I was like, she was murdered.

People don't go missing here. Like, this is not just a missing person. Like, if there was a missing person, like, it would have been on the news, it would have been all over place. It was really nowhere. It was like, from Jessica's friend Maria posting on her social media, I think it was Facebook

when she first posted it, it went like viral onto the Lakeview next door app. And like I put it on there, another girl, neighbor put it on there, and so it kinda just blew it from that. Laura quickly noticed that Jessica's friend Maria was making quite a splash on social media, spreading word about Jessica's case.

So eventually she reached out. I privately messaged her friend Maria, and was like, I know you don't live here, I know you donaged her friend, Maria, and was like, I know you don't live here, I know you don't know me, I did not know Jessica. If there's anything I can do on the grounds here, like I can be your eyes here. And I kind of have been that for them.

Over the years, Laura has formed quite a bond with Jessica's loved ones. After some back and forth with Maria, Laura would get in touch with Audrey and she hasn't looked back since. I feel like I've become like part of friends with Audrey, like even though I've never met her in person. Like I've been talking to her since 2019.

People say that my husband says it too, like Laura, why is it matter, you don't even know her voice is gone. She's dead. Like that cross that is in her moral, me and the other neighbor of Sam, we're the ones that put it there. And I emailed Audrey and I asked her, do you want us to put her name on it? Do you want it to leave it blank?

What would you like? I am not looking for a reward. I'm not looking for anything. I'm looking for literally justice for her. I believe the NOPD has not done their job. Doesn't take rocket science to figure this out, you know? And I understand you can't just arrest somebody, you don't have enough evidence,

but I feel like they didn't even do enough to get evidence. They, it's like they didn't want to find evidence to prove this. Laura feels strongly that ineptitude within the NOPD has hindered the investigation. Because of that, she never passes at an opportunity to remind the police that they have a job to do here.

I would call it an OPD third district, LeBrono. He does not like me, but guess what? That's fine. I don't care. Every Wednesday of the month, the first thing is the first Wednesday every month. We have neighborhood meeting because the third district is for Lakeview. And you get on and every day I would say every meeting. I know you're not going to tell me anything about the case, but is there anything you can update

us on a desk at Easterly? Like anything. I know it's still under investigation. So you're not allowed to say anything, but you need to tell us something. And he'd just get a no way because he wanted to just talk about like the car hand pulling and the doors getting smashed, whatever the window is being smashed all the time. He did not want to hear Sam and I when we would get on there. He would try to ignore us and change the subject every single month.

He hates those meetings literally. When he sees my name on the Zoom thing, he's like, great Laura's here again. Laura has sort of become a chain of communication with NOPD locally, whether they like it or not, she jokes. If she's driving or walking through the neighborhood and sees anything she thinks could be of importance, she shares it.

As an investigative journalist covering crime, one thing police have always told me when it comes to tips. Send them in, no matter how insignificant you think they are. Let them be the judge of that. Of course living just a few blocks away, Laura often drives past Justin and Jessica's house. So I'll drive by and I always see cars parked with the license plates always to the house in the front of the car. Like most people would just pull in their driveway. So I always thought that was weird. And there was always a Range Rover there, right?

When Jessica went missing, it was just a Range Rover in a motorcycle. The motorcycle disappeared shortly after her body was found and then the Range Rover disappeared. Because after the Range Rover disappeared, it all suddenly like a Mercedes and a BMW shut up in the driveway. And I was like, okay, this is sketchy.

Like, because the BMW will sometimes be there by itself than it disappears for a while. Then the Mercedes same thing. And then there's another guy that lives there, which is weird, that appeared after Jessica was found dead. She thinks it was about six months after Jessica's death that the man moved in with Justin, his father, and his daughter. Laura admits she rarely sees Justin or anyone living in the home for that matter,

yet there's always enough activity to keep her thinking. For example, not too long ago, that Range Rover that had gone missing for some time, all of a sudden reappeared. It's still weird to me out. I'm like, her car was gone right after she died in the now it's back. Like, where was it? Where was it for the past year? And more recently, in October of 2020, something very out of the ordinary caught her attention.

So, I drove by and it was a futon and a headboard to a bed and they're putting it out like almost when dusk was coming. It was like nighttime. I called Audrey and she was like, Laura, will you drive by and take pictures? I need like evidence. So I did one of my side street took pictures of it and then all of a sudden I was like, oh my god, I drove by again. And there was a in a was like, oh my god, Audra drew by again, and there was an inopiti,

like forensics truck or something. I was like, oh my god, there forensics truck is there now. And she was like, are they taking it? I was like, doesn't it look like they're taking the stuff? I said, it looks like they're like taking swabs off it or like testing it. I was like, it never took the stuff.

And it sat out there for like a week or two, and then I was gone. According to Laura, it appeared as though and it sat out there for like a week or two and then I was gone. According to Laura, it appeared as though the NOPD took swabs at the furniture for testing. But if they did, no one in the family knows of any results, nor does Laura. She doesn't necessarily expect the police to tell her, but as a lakeview resident, she'd certainly like to know what it was about. I mean, it's not every day you see authorities swapping your neighbors' belongings. Laura admits she's thankful to see that investigators are working the case, at least they appear to be.

Though for her, in a no way makes up for the past. I mean, there's so many things I feel like they messed up in the beginning, like how can we fix it now to get answers for the family, you know? I thought the police were here to help us, you know? I'm here to back them if they back us, you know, makes me nervous that I did call in the beginning with a harass in OPD and say, hey, I'm calling about the Jessica Easterly case and sometimes the third district would say, I don't even know who you're talking about. And I'm calling about the Jessica Easterly case. And sometimes the third district would say, I don't even know who you're talking about.

And I'm like, excuse me, we shouldn't be fighting to get this. Like the police and the authorities should be wanting to help. No one should have to fight, you know, for a family member and anything like this. Like I couldn't imagine if I was Audrey how they're feeling, having to deal with the sadness of the whole situation

and then still having to fight, you know, and keep strong, you know, be very strong. I feel that I'm her voice here in the neighborhood and maybe me being annoying to all the police here, our DA, our council member, anyone that they'll maybe do something because if we don't stop harassing them and stop fighting for her, no one will, and then it will get just dusted under the rug and the another cold case that just sits there.

And I just feel very strongly because it's my neighborhood and because I have become friends with Audrey, that I feel like I'm not going to stop until something is done. It's not just Laura who feels this way. Many neighbors have become invested in this case. And while some, like Laura, have taken a very direct and intentional approach, others got involved sort of by accident, like this couple we met named Chuck and Margaret, who shared a rather interesting story of how they got involved.

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But nobody really knows what happened. We try to find out on Witnessed, Fade to Black, available now wherever you get your podcasts. March 15th, 2020, felt like an ordinary day for Chuck and Margaret. They were out on their typical leisurely stroll near the area where Jessica was found some seven months earlier. Surprisingly, the couple was hardly even aware of the incident involving their neighbor Jessica, so it's not like they were out there looking for anything or trying to take part in the investigation. But they would end up finding something on their track that would make them a part of this story indefinitely. We were walking the dog or head towards City Park and we were going between the railroad and that

security building that they built for pump operators when pumping station operators when there's a hurricane So we're we're between there and I think Margaret spotted a Woodpecker in this tree and she went off this way and I'm walking the way we were going toward the pumping station and I spot that ID on the ground. An ID, peculiar, yes, but also not the strangest thing to stumble upon. After all many people passed through this area on any given day, therefore anyone could reach in their pocket or purse and drop their ID in the process. But Chuck was about to learn that this wasn't just any random

person's ID. And it appeared from looking at it, it was kind of whacked. It looked like it had been hit by the mower, so we walked there quite a few times and I never saw before, but so I picked it up and I walk over to her and I show it to her and she says, oh that's a woman who was killed. At the time, Chuck had no idea what Margaret was talking about, but it turns out she knew a little bit about Jessica's case and therefore understood the potential importance of the ID they just found. I had heard about it because I had surgery in the summer and so I spent a lot of time resting and looking at my phone and I don't think I read about it in the

newspaper. I think I read about it in the newspaper, I think I read about it on this neighborhood Facebook group and we had her name from the ID so I guess I sort of searched the old posts and found the name of her friend that had posted it so I sent her a message saying we found it. That same day, an officer with the NOPD came out to Chuck and Margaret's house to collect the evidence. Things stayed quiet for a while after that, until about five months later, when the lead detective at the time, Anthony Lone, finally gave them a call. They gave their story and answered any questions

he had. But to this day, nothing more has come of that discovered ID, nothing that we know of, since the NOPD isn't relaying any information to us from the investigation. Really, all it's done is added to the mystery surrounding this case. It seems kind of weird that you know, you find out that she supposedly didn't have any ID, which you would assume that was because, oh well, maybe your purse was still at the house. But then why would she take that unusual ID with her just that one unusual ID. Initially, it was difficult to make sense of this. One can obviously speculate, but Chuck and Margaret aren't going to do that.

They just hope that the small part they played and what they found can help lead to some resolution at the end of all this. Though the ID has only added more questions to the mix, there was one thing about it that we were able to determine. When Todd and I visually compared the ID that the neighbors found, with the ID that Justin showed police the night Jessica was reported missing, we could confirm that both were Louisiana state IDs, neither were a driver's license, and both had her name listed as Jessica Easterly, her maiden name. Both had issue dates of 2019, and both had expiration dates of 2023.

What we could determine visually was that they were not the same ID. They were both vertical IDs, however, the one left at the house had a completely different layout. At the top of the ID, there was text above her photo, and the one found by neighbors in the field had her photo at the top of the ID without text. Could it have been placed there after Jessica was found? And if so, why? Or was it simply overlooked at the scene?

Remember, according to Justin's original statement to the NOPD, it was reported that Jessica's keys, phone, medications, purse, wallet, and her ID were left at home. So how does a second ID end up right where her body was found seven months after the fact? And why an ID in the first place? Why not a credit card too or a wallet to carry the ID? Why not any of the other items that were left behind?

The only thing we do know for certain, as Todd reminded me, is that a piece of new evidence like this has great investigative value in this new era of TouchDNA. It took detective law in about five months to reach out to Margaret and Chuck about the ID, and that was way too long in Audrey's mind. So during that waiting period, in April of 2020, she actually decided to file a formal complaint nine months since she found her sister's body in the same area a couple found her ID. So when I found out that the couple in Lakeview who found just because ID had not heard from the detective, I decided to file a formal complaint with the public

integrity bureau and we listed all the things that NOPD had felt to do to properly investigate. Four months pass and Audre receives no reply regarding the complaint, what she persists? So we had to email E. Creighton, his name was E. Creighton, our formal complaint. Then I'm going to say it was probably May, June, or so. I called him to find out what was going on with it.

And he said that he couldn't find it in his email that I'd have to do it all over again. Send it to him all over again. And so I sent it all over to him again, sent him everything and then I kept calling and calling and finally got a hold of someone and he gave me a control number and I gave him the control number and they're like, yeah, well, you're just gonna have to talk to him.

So I would leave messages. I literally called every day for weeks on end, never heard back from him. And then finally on August 6th, I've talked to Mr. Creighton and he informed me that they were going to be investigating. This was a small win for Audrey and the rest of Jessica's family, a step in the right direction. As a reminder, Audrey wasn't the only person out there working the authorities. Laura, the eyes and ears of Lakeview had also been busy.

I feel like my constant pushing got somewhere because he got so annoyed that it went to other places. And Joe, our council member, he would email the coroner because I was like the coroner is according to LeBrono a coroner is who is holding this up because he classified it her death as undetermined. I would get friends and post it on Facebook and on next door to call the number email and just say her family deserves her body the harass the coroner I, which is so sad that you have to harass somebody to get the body of your loved one. Like that should not have to happen to anybody, you know. And I mean, I don't know if it happens in other cities, but I'm embarrassed

that it's happening here in New Orleans. Just as a reminder, at this point, when the public integrity bureau got involved in Jessica's case, her body had been at the coroner's office for a year. I mean, it's almost been two years and there literally has been zero answers for her family. Literally nothing. I mean, they don't know how she died. They don't know how she ended up there. Maybe set up new eyes, set of new ears, everything, would maybe find something that in a PD's not.

I don't know. I feel like in a PD messed up so much in the beginning that it scares me that they lost a lot of evidence that they could have found. Like, it's still weird to me out. I'm like, Laura believes someone out there holds the answer. And she hopes this new interest in the case will get

Jessica one step closer to justice but it turns out there's one other neighbor in Lakeview who believes he may have found some answers. When I realized that he thought I was somebody else I decided to press him a little bit and I said, well why don't you come clean and give the family some peace. It just became more and more obvious to me what would happen. I'll never believe anything else happened. Under-turned is a production of Resonate Recordings and Tenderfoot TV in conjunction with Cadence 13, written and hosted by me, Jessica Newell, and produced by Dennis Cooper and Todd McComas with additional production by Whitney Bosarth. Executive producers for Dennis Cooper, Mark Minery, Jacob Bozar, Donald Albright, and

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Your feedback is greatly appreciated. And finally, if you have any information about this case, call Crime Stoppers at 1-877-903-7867. You can't imagine what it's like until you're actually there. My heart weight went from zero to 100. You heard the automatic weapons fire outside. A adrenaline rushes through your body, and you do what you've been trained to 100. We heard the automatic weapons fire outside. A adrenaline rushes through your body, and you do what you've been trained to do. He gets maybe 40 feet, and he collapses. You better have that pit in your stomach.

Once you commit, it's game on. We started going down the road, and then I hear this. Bravery. Baller. Determination. These are the stories of our heroes, like you've never heard them before. It felt like somebody had hit me with a baseball bat and a lower back. I opened up my eyes and I looked at him and he was like, I thought you were dead, son. And I was like, I did too.

A new podcast from Tenderfoot TV and telegraph creative. I'm Remy Anleike, former Navy SEAL. And this is Downrange. Downrange is available now. Listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Downrange is available now. Listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.