Up and Vanished - S1E24: Black Out - Part 1

Episode Date: July 31, 2017

Part 1 of 2: After 2 years investigating and bringing weekly updates on the disappearance of Tara Grinstead, Up and Vanished Season 1 is coming to a close. Payne Lindsey takes it back to the beginning..., bringing the case full circle, and uncovers a new theory in the process.  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

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Starting point is 00:01:04 Are you scared? Yes, sir. One by one, kids are going missing with no explanation. A black 15-year-old male who lived in the same area where three other children had disappeared. There was a real-life monster on the loose. The city of Atlanta demanded answers. Inner-city kids get killed. Unfortunately, nobody cares.
Starting point is 00:01:24 By 1981, the FBI was involved in one of the largest manhunts in U.S. history. And eventually, they put one man behind bars. But nearly 40 years later, this case has left more questions than answers in what may be Atlanta's darkest secret. I don't know today whether he's innocent or guilty. From the producers of Up and Vanished and How Stuff Works, we present an all-new podcast, Atlanta Monster. Subscribe to Atlanta Monster right now on Apple Podcasts and be the first to hear it on January 5th. The Up and Vanished season finale is brought to you by the 20th Century Fox film Murder on the Orient Express.
Starting point is 00:02:06 In theaters November 10th. Everyone is a suspect. Visit ClueserEverywhere.com and listen for their spot later in the show. I'm from Irwin County. I went to school there. They will definitely protect their own. That's the way these people have always been. It's all a big corrupt situation. Everything that they've got going on down there,
Starting point is 00:02:40 to me, the whole Sheriff's Department knows what's going on. Alan Morgan never got to go in that orchard. And that came from someone in the Sheriff's Department when him and Nelson went to search that orchard Nelson told him there was no need for him to go in and told him to turn around and go back Nelson went in to search by himself I mean I honestly feel like ever since they searched that orchard,
Starting point is 00:03:06 they've known something. This has been going on for, ever since I was a teenager. It's nothing new. I think they should definitely pay the price to every single one of them that had anything to do with it. That's corruption in Irwin County.
Starting point is 00:03:19 That's what you get. I feel like there's even more people than I even would suspect that's involved in it. I'm glad that some of it's finally coming out and people are actually knowing part of the tricks. Brian, did you do it? Brian, did you do it? Why did you do it? Ryan, did you do it? Why did you murder her? How did you know Tara?
Starting point is 00:04:06 Anything you want to say, Ryan? Why'd you kill Tara? American wants to know. Did you think you'd get away with it? To be continued... Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do Do-do-do-do-do-do-do Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do I was born and raised in Ben Hill County. This is my home.
Starting point is 00:05:46 Ben Hill County, to me, is a beautiful place to live. I lived in the big city of Buffalo, New York, for 40 years, and I come back home after I retired. And so it's just a nice place, and the changes that I've seen when I was growing up to what now, it's just a beautiful place to be. In 1941, December the 7th, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, I was living at the net 11 mile mark or down the road from here. To me, it's just a beautiful place.
Starting point is 00:06:20 We searched from right here to this road right here. The next road right there was about a half a block from here, all the way past Queensland, all the way down there around 129. We searched all the way down below Osceola. We went a lot of places, all back in this area, back across here. I went to so many places, I don't even remember each time they had a hunt I was out there. It was kind of a shock to me because I live right here and I pass there every day even when we were looking for her. I'd be passing right by where she was at but you don't know.
Starting point is 00:07:01 That was a shock to me for me to be here going on all them hunts, and then she right here, less than a mile from where I live at. In a way, right now, it feels good. It gives me some closure that the family finally finding out what's happening. After all those years, I know it's hard because I've been through it with family members myself. I know it's hard because I've been through it with family members myself. The reason I was so interested in this is because I have two kin people that had been killed and still no results. And we're still trying to find the results now. My aunt and my sister's daughter.
Starting point is 00:07:40 And it's been a long time. So that's what made me interested in this because we hadn't had no closure for that so that's why I went on this hunt. Did you guys ever search in that orchard that they found Tara in? No, we never searched in this orchard up here. This is the nine mile marker where I'm at. The orchard is the eight mile marker up here, just in the next mile. This is James Wilcox. He's 85 years old,
Starting point is 00:08:15 and he was born and raised in Ben Hill County. James lives in an old house off Route 129 in Fitzgerald, less than a mile from where Tara Grinstead's remains were found. Back in 2005, James felt compelled to help find Tara because he, too, had been the victim of an unsolved murder case in his own family. After James and I talked for a little while in his home, he offered to drive me out to the orchard. Up until this point, I had never seen it in the daytime.
Starting point is 00:09:14 What up, P.K. and Archie? this point, I had never seen it in the daytime. James was still in disbelief that after dozens of searches for Tara, she was right here in his backyard the whole time. James drove by this pecan orchard every single day. The orchard was huge. So big that you couldn't see the end of it from the fence where I was standing. The rows of pecan trees went on for as far as you could see. By all accounts, the orchard itself looks and feels unsettling. Like something out of a horror movie. And paired with the thought of what had happened here a decade ago,
Starting point is 00:09:48 it was genuinely unnerving. Most of the time when something happens like this, somebody knows, but nobody wants to talk or say anything. Somebody knew all along, but just wasn't nobody talking. And that's the hard part about it, when people know what done happened and then they won't come forward and let nobody else know. I think if somebody went to the police and told them to search their horses up there and then they didn't let nobody else know about it, I think that was wrong. Definitely be suspicious,
Starting point is 00:10:29 because if the search parties had it on, I think they would have did a better job. Now, what I've really heard since this has happened, some of his kin people was out there on the search. If I told you that an officer from the Irwin County Sheriff's Department who was related to Ryan Duke went out on his own and searched that orchard
Starting point is 00:10:54 and nothing ever happened from that, what would you think about that? I think it was something very, very peculiar going on. something back. With Rakuten, you can. You can earn cash back on just about anything you buy from over 750 stores. If you've ever bought electronics, home decor, fashion and beauty, or booked a trip, well, you could have got cash back. But don't worry, it's not too late. It's free and easy to use, and you get cash back deposited into your PayPal account or sent to you as a check. Earn
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Starting point is 00:12:38 Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns about your gambling or someone else Before I left, James pulled out a box of old VHS tapes. He told me that several times during the searches for Tara back in 2005, Before I left, James pulled out a box of old VHS tapes. He told me that several times during the searches for Tara back in 2005, he had brought his video camera along. I did some filming right after she was missing. It might have been two or three weeks on one tape, something like that. I filmed the search team that was from Texas and all those. He pulled out a dusty old tape from the box.
Starting point is 00:13:28 He powered up his VCR and then popped in the tape. I was filming the house and everything down there where she went missing from. The crime tape was around the house. It stayed around there a long time. He was filming Tara's house from the road just a few weeks after she went missing. There was crime tape surrounding the entire property, a come home soon sign in the front yard,
Starting point is 00:14:24 and a deflated balloon waving in the wind, tied to the back of Tara's car. No one could have imagined that it would be more than a decade before they found anything. Tara Faye Grinstead, first question, what is your greatest fear in life? I really don't have a great fear in life whenever I have a hard time whenever I feel like I'm down or I'm on a stool
Starting point is 00:14:50 I just pray and I know that the Lord is going to see me through when I walked into my classroom the very first class that I had they wanted to start the class off by talking about tell us what you're going to do when you go to Miss Georgia. And I said, we've got to do our lesson first. And so I gave my notes, hoping that they would forget by the end of class.
Starting point is 00:15:12 But the last 10 minutes of class, they said, you said we could talk about it if we got through with our work. So they were asking a lot of questions, very curious. Sitting in the classroom and the bell rings. We're waiting there 15 minutes, 20 minutes. Still no teacher. She wasn't even in the hallway. Usually the teachers stand out in front of the hallway.
Starting point is 00:15:34 She didn't show up and then all of a sudden we hear over the intercom, would Terry Grinstead report to the office? And after that, everybody started freaking out. Later that evening is when it popped up on the news that she was, they were searching for her. She was happy. She was very, had a very bubbly personality. She was a person who was not afraid to help you if you needed it. If you were struggling in school or any subject, she would help you. If you were struggling in school or any subject, she would help you.
Starting point is 00:16:08 I worked very hard, and it took me a while. I competed in 19 Miss Georgia preliminaries, and it took me four years, but I was determined that I was going to reach my goal. And Miss Tifton was my second to the last pageant, since 24 is the age limit, and I was graciously titled Miss Tipton and I'm very excited. Tara was, even if she was hurting on the inside, on the outside, she was happy, she was loving, she was a faithful friend, you know, she was energetic, she had a real passion for life. She had her own way of doing things. She had spontaneous thoughts,
Starting point is 00:16:49 but she was such a good, well-rounded person. I mean, I really have missed her friendship, you know, in every sense of the word, because she's just one of those people that if you knew her, you loved her. And if she knew you, she loved you. I loved her as a teenager friend, but she was great as an adult friend. And those types of people are hard to find.
Starting point is 00:17:10 She's a faithful Christian. She believed in prayer. She believed in having faith and hope. She's just a good person. I mean, like, she's one of those people that I'm very thankful I had as an adult friend, especially because she's very rare. She was very, very rare. Her singing was not something that she did her whole life.
Starting point is 00:17:29 As a matter of fact, she started pageants and learned that, you know, to do scholarship pageants and to get scholarship money, you know, you have to have a talent. So she actually taught herself how to sing so well. It's unreal. Like, she had to work for it. But she did not stop. She tried, tried, tried.
Starting point is 00:18:21 She practiced all the time. She sang for her mom. She sang for me. Anybody who would listen. Once a week,. She practiced all the time. She sang for her mom. She sang for me. Anybody who would listen. Once a week, we would go to the church. And she would sing in the church. Just me and her or whoever. And she would sing.
Starting point is 00:18:35 And she developed confidence. And she was amazing. I mean, she was great. She was very critical of herself and she did have, you know, she did try to change things and fix things and she had people listen to her that could help her. But she was so driven to learn a talent that would earn her some scholarships. She had that much motivation and that much willpower. She was unbelievable. Obviously, you know, there's that little piece of you that thinks, okay, like, you know, you pray that she's just on a beach somewhere.
Starting point is 00:19:21 You know, she just wanted to get away. I knew that probably wasn't the case. on a beach somewhere, you know, she just wanted to get away. I knew that probably wasn't the case, but even when people are gone and they've died, you know, you have a little piece that's always there with you, and it always gives you hope of things, you know, the things working out, and I think that that I always had that hope that we would find out or I would have some peace. So I've just, I've really never given up hope. And people would say, oh, you know, you probably never know. Well, I always said, you never know what's going to happen.
Starting point is 00:19:55 You know, you never know what somebody on their dying bed may tell. And, I mean, since she disappeared, I've had to defend the whole situation. I've had to defend that I thought that it would be fog one day. I had to defend that, you know, everything. And it gives me a little bit of comfort knowing that there are good people in this world who, when something did happen, and they did find out something, that they told. Now, whether it was the right way or whatever, I don't know. But it was told.
Starting point is 00:20:24 Now, whether it was the right way or whatever, I don't know, but it was told. If I ever watched a TV movie or a show on TV or a mystery or a dateline or tweet, whatever, anything like that, I always thought, okay, this situation could be Tara. It could happen like this. Things could happen like that. And all it did was just completely drive me crazy because I didn't know. I really feel like it's been almost 12 long years of not knowing, not having any idea, you know, what had happened to her or if she was dead or alive. You know, I'm thankful to know now. Do I wish it had happened sooner?
Starting point is 00:21:05 Of course. I want to see remorse from people that had anything to do with it. The punishment, I definitely leave that up to God and the justice system because to me, nothing they can do to them
Starting point is 00:21:20 is going to bring her back or fix the situation. I just pray every night that justice is served and one day, you know, when they or whoever has to meet their maker, then it's them that's going to have to answer to it. I just, I hope that if nothing else, they live with guilt for the rest of their life that they can barely live with because we've had to live with, you you know guilt for not being there for her when it happened to save her I've had to live with guilt you know just the people talking about her and the rumors and things like that I mean we're living with losing her and all the problems and all the feelings that went along with it
Starting point is 00:21:59 and I want them to live with just as much hard feelings and guilt and struggle as I have. Sometimes people look at this like it's a movie. This is not a movie. This is real life people. This is my real life. I love Tara so much. And I feel like I've had to take up for her when she hasn't been able to take up for herself. I've had to take up for her when she hasn't been able to take up for herself.
Starting point is 00:22:29 Unless you've walked in this situation, unless you're in it and a main part of it, you have no idea how you would feel. At the beginning, I knew that it was necessary to tell the GBI everything I knew and everything, whatever I knew about everybody. Now, I felt like I betrayed Tara, you know, because I had to open up and tell them everything. But at the end of the day, I had to go, okay, is this a matter of getting her back or finding out what happened to her or not? And it just is what it is. Now, you know, I wish it was not all out in, you know, the whole world to know, but, you know, that's just the way things happen and i don't
Starting point is 00:23:05 think you can ask questions without knowing everything and and you know having to tell secrets and having to reveal things that you just want to reveal um it does sadden me that those people's lives were affected but i think that they understand you know that that's the way it happened had to happen you know you have to open up yourself I think that's just the way it is when you put yourself in someone else's life it could happen period really thankful for people for at least praying for their family. And I just want positive thoughts now. I want positive, you know, feedback. I mean, let's just leave what's happened alone
Starting point is 00:23:52 and just let this play out. I'm praying that it was one of those that is just burglary gone wrong, you know, just a freak thing. Because I'm going to be honest with you, I know she said she had safe areas, but she did have a strong fear of being broken into and violated. And I just pray that, you know, it was very quick.
Starting point is 00:24:15 Whatever happened, I hope it was quick. I mean, I think just one of those things, I'm trying real hard and praying real hard to accept the things that I do not know and just accept the fact that I may never know and just be able to live with it like that. It's been like reliving this all over again every single day. And when it all happened in 2005, it took months for me or years for me, or years, you know, really to get my life back to normal, or back to the new normal. And it's been the same way. I mean, I feel like I'm back to where I was, trying to cope with this. It's just unreal. I felt
Starting point is 00:24:58 like it was somebody she knew the whole time. But I guess the part of me was like, you know, I don't, you know, nobody wants to think, oh, I know someone who could actually heal somebody else or hurt somebody else or take them, you know, against their will. And I guess I had a lot of guilt for thinking people that I did know may have something to do with it. But luckily, you know, I don't know these two guys or I don't know the guys that knew, really. I just know them by name. And I'm glad because it's been very difficult.
Starting point is 00:25:34 Obviously, I have a lot of questions. But I don't know. I'm praying that it just all comes out and answers my question. Tara was a happy person who inspired those around her. A devoted teacher, a loving daughter, and a best friend. As we learned in some of the previous episodes from some of the emails Tara sent to Marcus Harper's mom, Tara was a very passionate person. And in the days and weeks leading up to her disappearance, she was experiencing her first heartbreak.
Starting point is 00:26:17 She was emotionally torn about her split with Marcus Harper, and she expressed that in many ways. Recently, I was given a never-before-seen letter that Tara sent Marcus shortly after they broke up. In spite of all the hardships, I've learned a lifelong lesson. Marriage, something I should have never dwelt on. Of course, I would be happy having your name, but it's more important just to have you. I do not need your name to have you in my life. All I need is to act right or perhaps look at the situation differently. I should have just been happy having you in my life. And now that I don't, I'm experiencing the most terrible pain in my heart.
Starting point is 00:26:53 I'm realizing that not having you in my life is worse than not being married. All this time I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me and why you would not marry me when I should have just been happy being your chosen girl for six years. But I did not know what it was like to have you and then lose you. I know now and I also know I will not find anyone like you. I know we both struggled with other emotions such as job, finance, school, etc. But my insecurity got the best of me. And when you were down and concerned with those matters, I assumed it was me. Sure, I know I caused some additional stress on you, but it was just my plan for some answers in my life. Answers I thought you could verbally give me, when actually the
Starting point is 00:27:36 answers lie within actions and time. Emotions are more important than words, and I know what I feel, Marcus. I have a tremendous amount of love for you and an excruciating amount of pain from this broken heart. Love can heal the pain we've both experienced. I'm willing to completely love you if you can meet me halfway. Let me prove to you, or rather show you what I have learned about our relationship. It's not about our unity in marriage, but it's about our unity as two people who love each other. Yes, I know you're saying, why didn't you see that before? I just did not. Now I do.
Starting point is 00:28:12 My devotion to you runs deep as you know, and I want to show you a new devotion. It's not just about waiting while you're gone and doing for you. It's about me learning to trust that you love me. I was always scared you did not love me like I loved you. And when you went out with friends, I thought it was because you were falling out of love. Forgive me wanting to spend time with you because you know I've spent plenty of time alone, but I can surely see your free time away from me in a different light. Life is about learning, Marcus, and please do not hold a grudge against me for the past three years. None of this was meant to hurt you or me, but in a time
Starting point is 00:28:50 of emotional confusion, I hit rock bottom only to see darkness. It took this time for me to learn what the past six years was more about. It's more about just us being a couple. Thank God I see that now, and I pray to God that you will always give me a chance to prove what I see. It will be better for the both of us. I had tried reaching out to Marcus several times throughout my investigation, but I never got a response. But three days after Ryan Duke's arrest, back in February, I received a Facebook message from him. He said, I'm ready to talk now. Are you? I was driving back to Atlanta from Osceola at the time,
Starting point is 00:29:36 and I got off on the first exit I saw and pulled into a little coffee shop. He asked if he could call me, and he did. In the first few minutes, we had a sort of burying the hatchet moment. He expressed his distaste for some of the earlier episodes of Up and Vanished, but then he told me that he understood my role, and as hard as it was for him to hear it, he knew why it had to be done, and that I wasn't the first person to question him and Tara's disappearance. I asked if I could meet him in person, and he said he would do it, but only if I met him in New York City. And coincidentally, I was going to New York just three days later, so we arranged a meeting.
Starting point is 00:30:10 Marcus and I talked for hours at a restaurant off-record. After an emotional couple of hours, we parted ways, and we continued our communication on a regular basis over the next six months. And just a few days ago, per my own request, he agreed to give me an official statement. We met again, this time at my office in Atlanta. How do I describe almost 12 years of pain in one statement? I can't. The only thing I can do is admit that I was wrong about my assumptions of what happened to Tara. I always said I would not believe her to be dead until proven otherwise. February 23, 2017 changed that for me after receiving a call from law enforcement. The voice on the other end of my phone, which I recognized, told me my years of pain were over. Are they?
Starting point is 00:31:02 Hope was gone, but people will always judge, criticize, and scrutinize. It did not feel real then, just like it does not feel real now. My pain is nothing compared to what her family is experiencing. Tara was robbed of her dreams, loved ones, and of life. All of those were cut short. For what reason? Her parents were robbed of their daughter. I cannot imagine the pain her father and stepmother are feeling. Her mother passed away without knowing what happened. She is grieved by many friends and family who have all had the same question. Why? For 12 years, everyone close to this case was forced to endure their own personal hell. Some turned on each other, while some became closer because of the trials and tribulations.
Starting point is 00:31:51 The fires of hell itself is not enough for the ones responsible. Tara and I had a relationship. It ended as many do. Sometimes people come into our lives for a season, sometimes for much longer. But these people come into our lives for a reason. We learn from them. They help us grow. And Tara did just that. She supported me during one of the most trying times of my life, the path to the 75th Ranger Regiment. On a blistering summer day, she pinned on my coveted Ranger tab at Victory Pond in Fort Benning. She was there when I first
Starting point is 00:32:23 left to go to war and greeted me with my family upon my return. She helped fuel my ambition. In turn, it was that ambition that caused strain in our relationship. Months upon months of deployments and the fact that I did not want to move back to my hometown, settle down, and start a family caused us to take different roads. We had our differences. We tried to maintain a friendship, but that is difficult to do when two people have been in love. I never got to finish the story when we last spoke. Maybe I will share one day. Despite all, I will say we parted on good terms and I have peace. We have a justice system at work. No matter how flawed, it has to be given a chance. All we can do is remain patient and pray that justice is served.
Starting point is 00:33:06 Hey, I'm Tom Power. I'm the host of the CBC podcast, Q with Tom Power. I get to talk to artists from all over the world, writers, musicians, actors, directors, all kinds of creative people. And we try to have the conversations you have with really, really good friends. The conversations you have when you share a love of something, about ideas, when you want to hear about everything.
Starting point is 00:33:28 I feel really lucky to have these conversations. Cue with Tom Power. Available now on Spotify. In today's economy, saving money is like an extreme sport. Coupon clipping. Robo code searching. It takes skill, speed, speed sweat unless we're talking
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Starting point is 00:34:42 tuned in to hear Tara Grinstead's story, and we've all rallied together in support for justice and truth. I could dedicate an entire episode to thanking all the different people for their help and support throughout this whole journey. But right now, I want to take a second to thank one particular person who was here from the very beginning. Hey Payne, how are you? I'm good, how you doing? Fine, I was getting my hair fixed, My grandma. grandma. You probably got that GP dance thing, haven't you? Whatever it's called. You can get here? Yes, I can get there. Most of my previous conversations with my grandma had been about how proud of me she was or how many cowboy cookies she needed to make for me or someone or anyone for that matter. But I had never really sat down with her to discuss the case. After all, she only
Starting point is 00:35:42 lives 15 minutes from Osceola and her best friend Melba was at the beauty pageant and talked to Tara on the night she went missing. I sat down to talk with her, to have a real conversation about things. And the first thing she said was, I'll just have to brag on my grandson here. You really got it going again. I think it would still be a cold case had you not gotten involved with this podcast. I really do. I think everybody's happy how it's turned out. And it would be wonderful if it could be some closure to it.
Starting point is 00:36:15 I know those parents have had to go through an awful lot hearing all of this and everything. Every time I listen to one of your podcasts, something new has come up. I can't believe that so many people have been involved in this thing. How can a small town keep a secret like that? It's easy. They don't always welcome outsiders, small towns, you know. It's the same way when I moved to Albany. Oh, gosh, that's been since 1952. I mean, the people that lived right in Albany is sort of a clique, you know, and they just support each other. I don't think it's hard to do. It's just unreal to me how, for that many years, that many people who knew something would not come forward. It's just unreal.
Starting point is 00:37:10 I mean, I think this could have been solved a long time ago had people talked. But they're very careful who they talk with. And I think it's like that in most small little southern towns. I think it's like that in most small little southern towns. Since the podcast, everyone's been talking. And you have friends that you talk to and see. They clearly know that I'm your grandson, right? My age group, they don't know even what a podcast is.
Starting point is 00:37:37 Well, you do. I do. I try to tell them and I'm bragging. Now, Amelva, I think she's talking about it now, you know, a good bit. Well, you're hip now. You got an iPhone. Yes, I have. I mean, I think people are all shocked that this is going on for this long.
Starting point is 00:37:54 Seems like everybody is willing to talk now. Yeah, at first they weren't, but now it's like all the cards are out on the table. People feel like they have less to lose now. I think I heard it was a day before yesterday, I think it was on the WLB news about Bo Dukes. He's been arraigned now, is that right? Yeah, he's been indicted now.
Starting point is 00:38:15 He's been indicted. Yeah. Okay. I think when it maybe first happened, a lot of people were pointing a finger at one another, you know. I wonder if he's involved one another, you know. One of these involved, you know. Yeah, first it was the boyfriend, Marcus Harper, then the cop from the other town, Heath Dykes.
Starting point is 00:38:34 I think that everyone would like for it to come to an end and for Ursula to be remembered for other things rather than terror, grim stateead, the horrible murder, you know? Of course, it is a sweet little town. I used to shop there when I first moved to Tipton. I used to go to Osceola. I don't think it's there anymore. What'd you shop for in Osceola? It was a cute little dress shop. It was called Diane's. Okay.
Starting point is 00:39:03 I never went in there that I didn't buy something. I always came out with something. What do you think we all should learn from this? If you've been listening to this since day one, if you are a member of the community in South Georgia, Osceola, Tifton, this area, and you've heard this story, and we've all witnessed this stuff unfold. Never give up. Just keep on. Just open every door you possibly can, make every phone call you possibly can, just to keep on going. That's what you did. Everybody has to be investigated. I mean, anybody that had anything to do with it. I mean, the sheriff, the police, and her friends, schoolmates, her teachers, everyone needed to be interviewed. I mean,
Starting point is 00:39:54 that's how you've gotten as far as you have right now. I got in the car, called a friend. I said, how do you get to Bo Sullivan where I live? She told me, because I've been there, but I've gone a long way. She told me a back way to go. So I was there, and I called Melvin. She met me, and it was just so exciting to see all that. I hadn't been in a courtroom in a long time. The only time I went is because somebody ran into me,
Starting point is 00:40:23 and I was scared to death. But that was really, gosh, I thought I was in a, watching a movie or something with all the reporters and all the cameras. And then when I saw her family come out, that had to be hard. You know, stepmother and father walked out from the chambers. She looked up and Melba threw a kiss. She threw a kiss back to Melba. So Melba knows about everybody, I think, in Ocella because she's been there a long time. She's a lovely lady. She really is.
Starting point is 00:40:56 I'm hoping Elaine soon. I really thought after they arrested him, he would really come out and confess that he did it. I never, the idea of him going to rob her, you know, of what? She's a school teacher, small little house, you know. I mean, I always felt from the very beginning that he was a person that maybe had a crush on her for a long time. Being a nice person, she just spoke with him and he just might have taken it the wrong way. Yeah. I think his intent that night was not to rob anything. Yeah. I think he had a crush on her maybe for a long time. Yeah. She just refused and I think he killed her. I mean, I've always felt like that, but that's just my opinion. Who am I to know? I don't understand if he did it, why he just won't
Starting point is 00:41:53 admit it. I mean, he knows he's not going to ever walk the streets again. How he could walk around and Bo Dukes too II every day in that little town and know what you have done for all those years. I don't know how someone can live with that. He was pathetic walking into that courtroom that day, walking up those steps. He held his head down the whole time. Maybe he braced a little bit when they asked if he needed a lawyer. I hope it'll soon end. Maybe he brazed a little bit when they asked if he needed a lawyer.
Starting point is 00:42:26 I hope it'll soon end. I just imagine when the family appeared in court that day, I mean, how sad it was, but a relief to know that she was dead. I mean, if that something like happened to any of my family or anyone, I wouldn't have one minute of peace every day. I don't know how strong I am. I don't know if I could survive it. But I would do everything I possibly could. It would never be a cold case. I'd be there every day.
Starting point is 00:42:59 The sheriff's office or somewhere asking, what are you doing? What are you doing? At least I'd be on that telephone. Everybody will know if I have something to break in this house. I'm right away to get it fixed. So, and I hope they do have a little, little piece known that she is not coming home, you know? Exactly. To lose a child like that has to be the worst thing in the world. Will you keep hanging in there with it? I will.
Starting point is 00:43:27 I love you. Love you too. I think they might have both been in it from the very beginning together. I do. I've always felt like that. You know, since he came forward, I felt like he was in it from the very beginning. Very first day. In fact, the night. the night that it happened.
Starting point is 00:43:49 That's just my feeling, of course. Thank you.

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