1
00:00:08,245 --> 00:00:13,845
Speaker 1: School of Humans talkably Havel Catherine looking to the disappearance

2
00:00:13,885 --> 00:00:18,045
Speaker 1: of Patsy Thompson in the city of Stuttgard, Arkansas, about

3
00:00:18,045 --> 00:00:19,565
Speaker 1: ten years ago. They could.

4
00:00:22,685 --> 00:00:26,885
Speaker 2: On the evening of Sunday, September fourteenth, twenty fourteen, fifteen

5
00:00:26,965 --> 00:00:29,485
Speaker 2: year old Cassie K Compton went out for a pack

6
00:00:29,525 --> 00:00:31,965
Speaker 2: of cigarettes down the road from her house in Stuttgart,

7
00:00:32,085 --> 00:00:37,445
Speaker 2: Arkansas and never came home. At least that's the official story.

8
00:00:37,485 --> 00:00:40,045
Speaker 2: This is one of those Arkansas cold cases that have

9
00:00:40,125 --> 00:00:43,285
Speaker 2: become legendary, one of those stories that have been covered

10
00:00:43,325 --> 00:00:46,765
Speaker 2: tons of times, and yet almost ten years later, we

11
00:00:46,885 --> 00:00:50,245
Speaker 2: have no arrests and no answers. We do know a

12
00:00:50,285 --> 00:00:53,405
Speaker 2: few things for sure. Cassie had been spending the weekend

13
00:00:53,445 --> 00:00:56,045
Speaker 2: with a male friend of hers named Hunter. They went

14
00:00:56,085 --> 00:00:58,885
Speaker 2: with his family to an auto demolition Derby and de Witt,

15
00:00:58,885 --> 00:01:01,645
Speaker 2: which is about forty miles away. They had a great

16
00:01:01,685 --> 00:01:04,885
Speaker 2: time hanging out, and then Cassie went back to Hunter's

17
00:01:04,925 --> 00:01:08,445
Speaker 2: house and slept up there on Saturday night. Tracy Snyder,

18
00:01:08,565 --> 00:01:10,965
Speaker 2: Hunter's mother, has said that this was not out of

19
00:01:11,005 --> 00:01:14,405
Speaker 2: the ordinary. In fact, Cassie spent a lot of time

20
00:01:14,445 --> 00:01:18,165
Speaker 2: at their house because Tracy said things were chaotic at

21
00:01:18,205 --> 00:01:21,805
Speaker 2: Cassie's house. Tracy said that her house had become a

22
00:01:21,885 --> 00:01:26,085
Speaker 2: sort of refuge for Cassie. Hunter drove Cassie home on

23
00:01:26,165 --> 00:01:30,205
Speaker 2: Sunday evening. Shortly after that, Cassie texted Hunter to say

24
00:01:30,245 --> 00:01:33,965
Speaker 2: she was going out to get some cigarettes. Then Cassie,

25
00:01:34,485 --> 00:01:37,565
Speaker 2: who was described in her missing posters as petite, around

26
00:01:37,645 --> 00:01:40,805
Speaker 2: five foot three, weighing around one hundred pounds, with blue

27
00:01:40,805 --> 00:01:44,485
Speaker 2: eyes and blonde hair, apparently walked down the road and

28
00:01:44,605 --> 00:01:50,005
Speaker 2: never came back. I have found a lot of new

29
00:01:50,045 --> 00:01:53,685
Speaker 2: information about a murder for higher plot, a man posing

30
00:01:53,725 --> 00:01:57,165
Speaker 2: as a woman, sex crimes, and cover ups that made

31
00:01:57,165 --> 00:02:00,165
Speaker 2: me see the police's main person of interest in a

32
00:02:00,205 --> 00:02:05,205
Speaker 2: whole new light. What really happened to Cassie Compton and

33
00:02:05,325 --> 00:02:07,205
Speaker 2: what was she running from at home?

34
00:02:10,285 --> 00:02:11,365
Speaker 1: I'm Catherine Townsend.

35
00:02:11,765 --> 00:02:13,565
Speaker 2: If you have a case you'd like me and my

36
00:02:13,605 --> 00:02:15,845
Speaker 2: team to look into, you can reach out to us

37
00:02:15,885 --> 00:02:18,245
Speaker 2: at our Helen Gone Murder line at six seven eight

38
00:02:18,485 --> 00:02:21,645
Speaker 2: seven four four six one four or five. That's six

39
00:02:21,725 --> 00:02:24,805
Speaker 2: seven eight seven four four six one four or five.

40
00:02:25,605 --> 00:03:03,245
Speaker 2: This is Helen Gone Murder Line. So we need to

41
00:03:03,285 --> 00:03:05,925
Speaker 2: take a step back to understand what was going on

42
00:03:06,045 --> 00:03:07,925
Speaker 2: in Cassie Compton's life.

43
00:03:08,005 --> 00:03:08,565
Speaker 1: Cassie K.

44
00:03:08,805 --> 00:03:13,325
Speaker 2: Compton was born in Oklahoma. After her mother, Judy Compton Kimsey,

45
00:03:13,565 --> 00:03:17,445
Speaker 2: was divorced from Cassie's father, Roy in two thousand, Cassie

46
00:03:17,445 --> 00:03:20,045
Speaker 2: and her mother moved from Oklahoma back to Arkansas.

47
00:03:21,005 --> 00:03:22,765
Speaker 1: And there's no way to sugarcoat this.

48
00:03:23,405 --> 00:03:27,405
Speaker 2: Both Cassie's mother, Judy and her father, Roy were registered

49
00:03:27,445 --> 00:03:31,005
Speaker 2: sex offenders, though Judy's name had been removed from that

50
00:03:31,085 --> 00:03:34,445
Speaker 2: list after fifteen years of good behavior. We're going to

51
00:03:34,525 --> 00:03:37,645
Speaker 2: get more into those charges later, but for now, we'll

52
00:03:37,685 --> 00:03:40,965
Speaker 2: say that Roy was convicted of inappropriate sexual contact with

53
00:03:41,045 --> 00:03:44,405
Speaker 2: a miner, ludacts with a child, and indecent proposals to

54
00:03:44,445 --> 00:03:49,245
Speaker 2: a miner back in Oklahoma. According to multiple sources, that

55
00:03:49,405 --> 00:03:53,045
Speaker 2: miner was Judy's older daughter from a previous marriage, so

56
00:03:53,485 --> 00:03:57,125
Speaker 2: his own stepdaughter. Roy was sentenced to twenty three years

57
00:03:57,165 --> 00:04:01,245
Speaker 2: in prison for that abuse. In Stuttgart, Cassie was homeschooled

58
00:04:01,285 --> 00:04:04,325
Speaker 2: and working to get her ged. Her friend said she

59
00:04:04,445 --> 00:04:07,565
Speaker 2: was kind and funny, except when she was troubled, which

60
00:04:07,605 --> 00:04:10,565
Speaker 2: had become a little more frequent in the time period

61
00:04:10,605 --> 00:04:14,405
Speaker 2: before she disappeared. Her friend said when she was troubled

62
00:04:14,405 --> 00:04:17,445
Speaker 2: she could get a little quiet. There was someone else

63
00:04:17,445 --> 00:04:21,325
Speaker 2: in the home, Judy's fiance, twenty four year old Brandon

64
00:04:21,405 --> 00:04:24,205
Speaker 2: Lee Rhodes. Now a lot of people pointed out that

65
00:04:24,245 --> 00:04:27,725
Speaker 2: the age difference between Brandon and Cassie was actually less

66
00:04:27,765 --> 00:04:30,765
Speaker 2: than it was between Brandon and Judy, who was forty two.

67
00:04:31,765 --> 00:04:34,725
Speaker 2: As we said, that weekend, Cassie had been spending time

68
00:04:34,845 --> 00:04:38,845
Speaker 2: with Hunter Snyder and his family. On Saturday, September thirteenth,

69
00:04:39,085 --> 00:04:41,805
Speaker 2: Hunter's mom, Tracy, said her son had picked Cassie up

70
00:04:41,805 --> 00:04:43,645
Speaker 2: at her house at around one pm.

71
00:04:44,005 --> 00:04:44,485
Speaker 1: That night.

72
00:04:44,565 --> 00:04:47,045
Speaker 2: They all went out to the Auto Derby. They had fun,

73
00:04:47,125 --> 00:04:49,525
Speaker 2: and then Cassie spent the night at the Snyder house.

74
00:04:50,125 --> 00:04:53,645
Speaker 2: The next day, September fourteenth, Cassie hung out at Hunter's.

75
00:04:54,125 --> 00:04:57,725
Speaker 2: They had brunch with his family, then later Hunter drove

76
00:04:57,765 --> 00:05:01,485
Speaker 2: Cassie home. Hunter and Cassie left his house at around

77
00:05:01,525 --> 00:05:04,605
Speaker 2: six oh five pm. Her house was around a fifteen

78
00:05:04,725 --> 00:05:07,285
Speaker 2: or twenty minute drive away, so that would put them

79
00:05:07,285 --> 00:05:10,565
Speaker 2: there at Cassie's house between six twenty and six twenty

80
00:05:10,565 --> 00:05:15,805
Speaker 2: five pm. According to Tracy, when Hunter and Cassie pulled

81
00:05:15,885 --> 00:05:17,885
Speaker 2: up to the house and Cassie got out of the car,

82
00:05:18,365 --> 00:05:22,005
Speaker 2: Hunter said that he saw Brandon Rhodes outside, but he

83
00:05:22,045 --> 00:05:25,045
Speaker 2: said he did not see Brandon speak to Cassie. The

84
00:05:25,165 --> 00:05:28,005
Speaker 2: last thing he saw was Cassie walking up the driveway

85
00:05:28,125 --> 00:05:31,285
Speaker 2: straight into the house. Hunter got home at around six

86
00:05:31,365 --> 00:05:35,365
Speaker 2: forty five pm. According to his mom, Cassie sent a

87
00:05:35,405 --> 00:05:38,605
Speaker 2: text to Hunter at around seven or seven fifteen pm,

88
00:05:38,725 --> 00:05:41,005
Speaker 2: saying she was going out to get a pack of cigarettes.

89
00:05:41,685 --> 00:05:44,005
Speaker 2: That was the last text that was ever sent from

90
00:05:44,045 --> 00:05:49,245
Speaker 2: Cassie's phone. Judy, who was on disability and sometimes took

91
00:05:49,285 --> 00:05:53,245
Speaker 2: pain medications, later said when Cassie came home, she was

92
00:05:53,285 --> 00:05:54,965
Speaker 2: sick in her bedroom, which was in the back of

93
00:05:55,005 --> 00:05:58,845
Speaker 2: the house. She said she heard Cassie moving around and

94
00:05:58,965 --> 00:06:02,325
Speaker 2: said hey, baby girl to Cassie through the door, but

95
00:06:02,605 --> 00:06:06,645
Speaker 2: Judy said she didn't actually ever see Cassie. Brandon told

96
00:06:06,725 --> 00:06:09,125
Speaker 2: police Cassie was only at the house for about five

97
00:06:09,165 --> 00:06:13,165
Speaker 2: minutes before going out again. When she walked out the door,

98
00:06:13,765 --> 00:06:17,085
Speaker 2: Cassie apparently had her black LG smartphone with her, but

99
00:06:17,525 --> 00:06:22,085
Speaker 2: no charger for the phone. Hunter's mom, Tracy, said she

100
00:06:22,205 --> 00:06:25,525
Speaker 2: got three calls from Brandon that night. On the first call,

101
00:06:25,565 --> 00:06:28,805
Speaker 2: at nine to fourteen pm, Tracy said, Brandon asked if

102
00:06:28,845 --> 00:06:33,005
Speaker 2: Cassie was still there, I guess, meaning still with them. Now,

103
00:06:33,045 --> 00:06:37,125
Speaker 2: this is weird because Hunter said clearly Brandon saw Cassie

104
00:06:37,125 --> 00:06:40,325
Speaker 2: when they pulled up to that house. Also, both Brandon

105
00:06:40,445 --> 00:06:43,525
Speaker 2: and Judy told investigators that they had seen or at

106
00:06:43,605 --> 00:06:47,245
Speaker 2: least heard Cassie at home. Hunter lived kind of far out,

107
00:06:47,325 --> 00:06:50,845
Speaker 2: it was not walkable, So why would Brandon be asking

108
00:06:50,885 --> 00:06:53,685
Speaker 2: if she was still with them when he knew Cassie

109
00:06:53,725 --> 00:06:57,685
Speaker 2: had been dropped off. Tracy said she told Brandon to

110
00:06:57,725 --> 00:07:00,925
Speaker 2: call the police, and after he'd called back a couple times,

111
00:07:01,005 --> 00:07:04,085
Speaker 2: Brandon told her that he had done that. Now, Brandon

112
00:07:04,125 --> 00:07:07,885
Speaker 2: did not have her driver's license, so he had a

113
00:07:07,885 --> 00:07:11,405
Speaker 2: bike that he would ride around everywhere. He told Tracy

114
00:07:11,485 --> 00:07:13,565
Speaker 2: that he'd ridden his bike to the police station to

115
00:07:13,605 --> 00:07:16,565
Speaker 2: report Cassie missing, but he said police told him he

116
00:07:16,645 --> 00:07:20,565
Speaker 2: had to wait seventy two hours. Tracy called the police

117
00:07:20,565 --> 00:07:23,285
Speaker 2: the next morning. She said that she talked to a

118
00:07:23,325 --> 00:07:26,325
Speaker 2: detective and they told her that was not true. They

119
00:07:26,405 --> 00:07:28,885
Speaker 2: said no one had made a police report the night before.

120
00:07:30,565 --> 00:07:33,485
Speaker 2: On that next morning, which would be Monday, September fifteenth,

121
00:07:34,125 --> 00:07:37,005
Speaker 2: Judy saw that Cassie was not in her bedroom. She

122
00:07:37,125 --> 00:07:40,245
Speaker 2: started texting and calling Cassie, but got no response and

123
00:07:40,285 --> 00:07:43,805
Speaker 2: the calls went straight to voicemail. Judy called Cassie's friends,

124
00:07:43,805 --> 00:07:47,725
Speaker 2: but no one had seen her, so Judy called the police. Eventually,

125
00:07:47,805 --> 00:07:51,085
Speaker 2: through a foyer request, the Stuttgart Police did release the

126
00:07:51,125 --> 00:07:54,485
Speaker 2: original incident report. Judy's name is on it, so it

127
00:07:54,605 --> 00:07:58,565
Speaker 2: can be confirmed. Judy reported Cassie missing on Monday, September

128
00:07:58,565 --> 00:08:02,685
Speaker 2: fifteenth at nine fifty two am. Brandon's name was not

129
00:08:02,725 --> 00:08:08,045
Speaker 2: on that report. To that report, Judy told police that

130
00:08:08,085 --> 00:08:11,125
Speaker 2: Cassie had a possible mental disorder and may have been bipolar.

131
00:08:11,685 --> 00:08:14,245
Speaker 2: She said Cassie had been prescribed and a deepressants in

132
00:08:14,245 --> 00:08:16,885
Speaker 2: the past, but she said she would flush them because

133
00:08:16,885 --> 00:08:20,405
Speaker 2: she didn't like taking them. Judy told police if Cassie's

134
00:08:20,445 --> 00:08:23,525
Speaker 2: mood swings got bad, that Cassie would sometimes go out

135
00:08:23,525 --> 00:08:26,525
Speaker 2: for a walk. In that report, Judy said that she

136
00:08:26,685 --> 00:08:29,965
Speaker 2: heard Cassie come in and heard her change and leave

137
00:08:30,645 --> 00:08:34,405
Speaker 2: from the back bedroom. Judy also gave a description of

138
00:08:34,445 --> 00:08:36,605
Speaker 2: what Cassie was wearing. She said she had on a

139
00:08:36,605 --> 00:08:40,205
Speaker 2: blue spaghetti strap top, black and white plaid shorts, blue

140
00:08:40,245 --> 00:08:43,325
Speaker 2: and gray cowboy boots with a two to three inch heel,

141
00:08:43,805 --> 00:08:46,765
Speaker 2: but later Judy clarified. She said she based that on

142
00:08:46,805 --> 00:08:50,125
Speaker 2: the clothes that were missing out of Cassie's closet, because again,

143
00:08:50,205 --> 00:08:51,885
Speaker 2: she was in the bedroom the whole time. She never

144
00:08:51,925 --> 00:08:55,965
Speaker 2: physically saw her daughter, and it didn't take police long

145
00:08:56,005 --> 00:09:00,245
Speaker 2: to see that Brandon and Judy's stories had a few discrepancies.

146
00:09:01,485 --> 00:09:04,805
Speaker 2: Brandon and Judy first told investigators that Brandon was cooking

147
00:09:04,845 --> 00:09:07,325
Speaker 2: in the kitchen when Cassie came home. He said he'd

148
00:09:07,365 --> 00:09:11,005
Speaker 2: been cooking breakfast for dinner. He said he saw Cassie briefly,

149
00:09:11,125 --> 00:09:13,685
Speaker 2: but that Judy did not see her at all. Later,

150
00:09:13,805 --> 00:09:17,485
Speaker 2: another story came out. Judy told Tina Stores, a private

151
00:09:17,485 --> 00:09:20,165
Speaker 2: investigator who looked into the case, and some other people,

152
00:09:20,885 --> 00:09:24,005
Speaker 2: that Brandon went out for cigarettes on Sunday night also,

153
00:09:24,445 --> 00:09:28,085
Speaker 2: and that Brandon was gone for quite some time, and

154
00:09:28,125 --> 00:09:30,965
Speaker 2: that when he did come back, he spent a long time,

155
00:09:31,245 --> 00:09:35,685
Speaker 2: like an hour in the bathroom vomiting. Remember, Brandon did

156
00:09:35,685 --> 00:09:39,085
Speaker 2: not have a driver's license, but he had been known

157
00:09:39,205 --> 00:09:40,605
Speaker 2: to take Judy's.

158
00:09:40,245 --> 00:09:42,485
Speaker 1: Car in the past, especially if she was sleeping.

159
00:09:43,765 --> 00:09:46,605
Speaker 2: And him going for cigarettes in Judy's car at around

160
00:09:46,645 --> 00:09:48,885
Speaker 2: the same time Cassie said she was going out for

161
00:09:48,885 --> 00:09:52,645
Speaker 2: cigarettes seems like a big coincidence. It seems reasonable to

162
00:09:52,765 --> 00:09:56,165
Speaker 2: wonder could they have gone together or could Cassie have

163
00:09:56,165 --> 00:10:00,405
Speaker 2: gotten into the car with him. Also, Brandon is saying

164
00:10:00,685 --> 00:10:03,285
Speaker 2: that he somehow had time to cook dinner, get in

165
00:10:03,285 --> 00:10:06,845
Speaker 2: his car, buy cigarettes, then then ride his bike to

166
00:10:06,885 --> 00:10:10,085
Speaker 2: the police station to report someone missing, and have a

167
00:10:10,165 --> 00:10:13,885
Speaker 2: vomiting spell, all in the two hour period before nine

168
00:10:13,925 --> 00:10:19,885
Speaker 2: to fourteen when he called Tracy. In twenty nineteen, Cayla Lafferty,

169
00:10:19,925 --> 00:10:23,525
Speaker 2: a reporter from KTV Channel seven, did a podcast called

170
00:10:23,525 --> 00:10:27,165
Speaker 2: Timeline the Disappearance of Cassie Compton, and in that podcast,

171
00:10:27,205 --> 00:10:30,205
Speaker 2: she talked to a friend of Judy's who said Judy

172
00:10:30,405 --> 00:10:33,725
Speaker 2: told them that both she and Brandon were given Lie

173
00:10:33,765 --> 00:10:36,725
Speaker 2: detector tests and that both of them had failed. This

174
00:10:36,845 --> 00:10:40,725
Speaker 2: friend said Judy told her that she thought she failed

175
00:10:40,725 --> 00:10:43,405
Speaker 2: her lie detector test because she was taking pain medications

176
00:10:43,405 --> 00:10:47,045
Speaker 2: at the time. At first, it did seem like police

177
00:10:47,125 --> 00:10:51,245
Speaker 2: were treating Cassie as a runaway, and they've admitted this publicly.

178
00:10:51,845 --> 00:10:56,165
Speaker 2: Stuttgart Police Chief Mark Duke said, quote, you think, all right,

179
00:10:56,285 --> 00:10:59,405
Speaker 2: she's mad, she left, We'll find her, and then it

180
00:10:59,445 --> 00:11:03,565
Speaker 2: went sideways from there end quote. Police also said on

181
00:11:03,605 --> 00:11:06,365
Speaker 2: the record They formed this assumption based on what they

182
00:11:06,405 --> 00:11:07,685
Speaker 2: heard from family members and.

183
00:11:07,605 --> 00:11:08,565
Speaker 1: Other people close.

184
00:11:08,405 --> 00:11:12,485
Speaker 2: To Cassie, but no one saw Cassie on that road

185
00:11:12,525 --> 00:11:13,565
Speaker 2: after she left her house.

186
00:11:14,085 --> 00:11:16,325
Speaker 1: She was never seen again in any.

187
00:11:16,165 --> 00:11:19,405
Speaker 2: Verified sighting, even though there were a lot of tips

188
00:11:19,485 --> 00:11:23,285
Speaker 2: called in. People reported seeing her everywhere from Walmart to

189
00:11:23,405 --> 00:11:24,325
Speaker 2: random highways.

190
00:11:24,805 --> 00:11:27,005
Speaker 1: None of those young women was Cassie.

191
00:11:27,085 --> 00:11:30,005
Speaker 2: On October third, twenty fifteen, two and a half weeks

192
00:11:30,005 --> 00:11:34,885
Speaker 2: after Cassie went missing, police took Brandon and Judy's phones. Then,

193
00:11:35,605 --> 00:11:39,245
Speaker 2: shortly after detectives left their home, a house fire started.

194
00:11:42,725 --> 00:11:45,485
Speaker 2: The small house fire at Brandon and Judy's residence was

195
00:11:45,525 --> 00:11:49,645
Speaker 2: pretty quickly put out, but the timing was bizarre. By

196
00:11:49,805 --> 00:11:53,725
Speaker 2: late fall, the investigations seemed stalled. Police were still saying

197
00:11:53,765 --> 00:11:56,565
Speaker 2: the only official people of interest were Judy and Brandon,

198
00:11:57,245 --> 00:12:01,285
Speaker 2: but some strange things were happening on social media. For

199
00:12:01,365 --> 00:12:06,405
Speaker 2: one thing, Cassie's personal Facebook page liked the missing page

200
00:12:06,405 --> 00:12:10,325
Speaker 2: for Cassie, and law enforcement stated that more than one

201
00:12:10,365 --> 00:12:15,045
Speaker 2: person had access Cassie's personal Facebook page. Also that fall,

202
00:12:15,165 --> 00:12:19,125
Speaker 2: starting around September twenty fifth, police and the FBI started

203
00:12:19,165 --> 00:12:22,405
Speaker 2: searching the area that began around the Stuttgard airport. They

204
00:12:22,445 --> 00:12:26,805
Speaker 2: were looking into reservoirs, riverbanks, under bridges, all kinds of

205
00:12:26,885 --> 00:12:31,045
Speaker 2: hiding places near Cassie's home. According to the website find

206
00:12:31,085 --> 00:12:34,525
Speaker 2: Cassie Compton, the police were considering the theory that someone

207
00:12:34,565 --> 00:12:39,525
Speaker 2: could have transported Cassie's remains walking or by bicycle, possibly

208
00:12:39,645 --> 00:12:43,685
Speaker 2: in pieces. They looked for rolled up rugs or garbage bags,

209
00:12:44,005 --> 00:12:50,685
Speaker 2: but they found nothing. Judy and Brandon started talking to

210
00:12:50,765 --> 00:12:53,965
Speaker 2: the media. Actually Judy did most of the talking, but

211
00:12:54,005 --> 00:12:56,485
Speaker 2: when Brandon spoke, he said this.

212
00:12:57,045 --> 00:13:00,045
Speaker 1: She was gone, Mike, I whispering.

213
00:13:00,165 --> 00:13:05,245
Speaker 2: Win. I found his wording a bit strange. How does

214
00:13:05,285 --> 00:13:07,965
Speaker 2: a fifteen year old vanish into thin air like that?

215
00:13:08,845 --> 00:13:11,925
Speaker 2: Now this was late summer, so even though sunset was

216
00:13:11,965 --> 00:13:15,085
Speaker 2: around seven to twelve pm, it would not have been

217
00:13:15,125 --> 00:13:18,365
Speaker 2: fully dark until half an hour or so later. And

218
00:13:18,445 --> 00:13:21,925
Speaker 2: yet not one person saw Cassie after she left her house.

219
00:13:22,645 --> 00:13:24,725
Speaker 2: There were a few theories about what could have happened

220
00:13:24,765 --> 00:13:27,405
Speaker 2: to her. Some people believe she could have been kidnapped,

221
00:13:28,005 --> 00:13:31,805
Speaker 2: either by strangers or by someone she knew, or possibly

222
00:13:31,805 --> 00:13:35,445
Speaker 2: she was sex trafficked. Maybe going out for cigarettes was

223
00:13:35,485 --> 00:13:38,965
Speaker 2: code for something. Maybe Cassie had plans to run away

224
00:13:40,045 --> 00:13:42,845
Speaker 2: or maybe something else happened to Cassie in that house

225
00:13:43,885 --> 00:13:50,085
Speaker 2: and she never made it past the driveway for other reasons. Then,

226
00:13:50,245 --> 00:13:53,045
Speaker 2: a few weeks after Cassie went missing, Judy.

227
00:13:52,725 --> 00:13:53,845
Speaker 1: And Brandon broke up.

228
00:13:54,645 --> 00:13:58,565
Speaker 2: Judy told Channel seven quote, I believe Cassie would come

229
00:13:58,605 --> 00:14:00,605
Speaker 2: back if she knew he was not in the picture

230
00:14:00,885 --> 00:14:03,605
Speaker 2: end quote. She mentioned that Cassie and Brandon had not

231
00:14:03,645 --> 00:14:08,045
Speaker 2: gotten along. She kicked Brandon out. He started living on

232
00:14:08,085 --> 00:14:11,165
Speaker 2: the streets. He was arrested for squatting at a property

233
00:14:11,245 --> 00:14:14,725
Speaker 2: and given a hundred day jail sentence. The Stuttgart Police

234
00:14:14,725 --> 00:14:17,485
Speaker 2: Department started working with the FBI and the state Police.

235
00:14:18,045 --> 00:14:21,045
Speaker 2: Judy announced one thousand dollars reward for any information that

236
00:14:21,085 --> 00:14:25,805
Speaker 2: would help lead to her daughter. Then in October, police

237
00:14:25,845 --> 00:14:29,725
Speaker 2: found something under the Biometro bridge about fifteen miles from

238
00:14:29,765 --> 00:14:32,885
Speaker 2: Casco on the White River. This was near the place

239
00:14:32,925 --> 00:14:37,765
Speaker 2: where Cassie's cell phone had last pinned. Police reportedly found

240
00:14:37,805 --> 00:14:41,885
Speaker 2: objects that included a gatorade bottle, two men's shirts, men's

241
00:14:41,925 --> 00:14:47,645
Speaker 2: toiletries including shaving cream, folded drapes, a girl's Hugs and kisses, sweater,

242
00:14:48,005 --> 00:14:51,805
Speaker 2: a Teddy Bear in two bags. Two my knowledge, police

243
00:14:51,845 --> 00:14:55,165
Speaker 2: have never confirmed if those items belonged to Brandon Roads,

244
00:14:55,525 --> 00:14:57,605
Speaker 2: but a lot of people thought that the shaving cream

245
00:14:57,725 --> 00:15:01,165
Speaker 2: might have some significance because Brandon normally had a beard,

246
00:15:01,565 --> 00:15:03,645
Speaker 2: and when he was arrested a few days after this

247
00:15:03,685 --> 00:15:07,045
Speaker 2: stuff was found on unrelated charges, he was clean shaven,

248
00:15:08,165 --> 00:15:10,405
Speaker 2: so by now a lot of people in the community

249
00:15:10,565 --> 00:15:13,965
Speaker 2: were fixated on Brandon Roads. Police said the same thing

250
00:15:14,045 --> 00:15:17,205
Speaker 2: they often say in these investigations, that Brandon and Judy

251
00:15:17,245 --> 00:15:20,525
Speaker 2: were people of interest, but no one was arrested a charge,

252
00:15:20,525 --> 00:15:30,485
Speaker 2: and they said no one could be ruled out. Neither

253
00:15:30,525 --> 00:15:33,365
Speaker 2: Brandon nor Judy have ever been charged in connection with

254
00:15:33,405 --> 00:15:38,125
Speaker 2: Cassie's disappearance. Over the years, Judy's opinion of whether or

255
00:15:38,125 --> 00:15:40,645
Speaker 2: not Brandon could have been involved seemed to shift, at

256
00:15:40,765 --> 00:15:45,245
Speaker 2: least publicly. In November of twenty fourteen, Judy talked to

257
00:15:45,245 --> 00:15:48,765
Speaker 2: a reporter from ABC channel seven about her relationship with Brandon.

258
00:15:49,605 --> 00:15:53,245
Speaker 2: She said Brandon could be controlling. For example, she said

259
00:15:53,245 --> 00:15:55,565
Speaker 2: he would always pick up the phone and interrupt her

260
00:15:55,605 --> 00:15:59,205
Speaker 2: when she was talking to law enforcement. Judy also talked

261
00:15:59,245 --> 00:16:02,005
Speaker 2: about her past and about the incident that led to

262
00:16:02,085 --> 00:16:04,485
Speaker 2: her being on the sex offender list in Oklahoma.

263
00:16:05,845 --> 00:16:07,205
Speaker 1: According to court documents.

264
00:16:07,285 --> 00:16:10,365
Speaker 2: Judy was found guilty in Marshall County, Oklahoma, of permitting

265
00:16:10,405 --> 00:16:11,405
Speaker 2: abuse or neglect.

266
00:16:11,445 --> 00:16:12,845
Speaker 1: In November of nineteen ninety.

267
00:16:12,605 --> 00:16:16,605
Speaker 2: Eight, Judy told the reporter that Roy, her ex husband,

268
00:16:16,925 --> 00:16:20,525
Speaker 2: had assaulted her daughter. She said that she was charged

269
00:16:20,565 --> 00:16:24,205
Speaker 2: with failure to protect her child and basically forced to

270
00:16:24,245 --> 00:16:28,885
Speaker 2: take a plead. Judy told Channel seven, quote, my ex

271
00:16:29,005 --> 00:16:31,925
Speaker 2: husband was messing with my oldest daughter and I didn't

272
00:16:31,965 --> 00:16:34,965
Speaker 2: know anything about it. Then my oldest daughter told my

273
00:16:35,005 --> 00:16:36,925
Speaker 2: mother end quote.

274
00:16:37,205 --> 00:16:38,725
Speaker 1: But I went through.

275
00:16:38,525 --> 00:16:41,725
Speaker 2: Those court documents and I saw that not only was

276
00:16:41,845 --> 00:16:45,005
Speaker 2: Judy put on the sex offender registry, she was also

277
00:16:45,165 --> 00:16:48,085
Speaker 2: given a five year suspended sentence in connection with that case.

278
00:16:48,845 --> 00:16:51,725
Speaker 2: Yet when she talked with the reporter, she kind of

279
00:16:51,725 --> 00:16:55,045
Speaker 2: made it sound, in my opinion, like something that happened

280
00:16:55,085 --> 00:16:58,005
Speaker 2: to her rather than something she was complicit in.

281
00:17:00,045 --> 00:17:01,245
Speaker 1: I found out even.

282
00:17:01,045 --> 00:17:04,245
Speaker 2: More details about these charges, and this case was dark.

283
00:17:05,485 --> 00:17:09,765
Speaker 2: He is charged with leude molestation in this case. According

284
00:17:09,765 --> 00:17:13,605
Speaker 2: to the court records, the child was traumatized and wanted

285
00:17:13,605 --> 00:17:16,685
Speaker 2: to give video evidence rather than face Roy in court,

286
00:17:16,765 --> 00:17:20,365
Speaker 2: which the court allowed. Roy was given a twenty three

287
00:17:20,485 --> 00:17:23,525
Speaker 2: year prison sentence. According to the records, I found By

288
00:17:23,565 --> 00:17:26,645
Speaker 2: the way, Roy was in prison when Cassie went missing

289
00:17:26,765 --> 00:17:30,925
Speaker 2: and still appears to be incarcerated. Does this past behavior

290
00:17:31,165 --> 00:17:34,805
Speaker 2: mean that Judy knew anything about what happened to Cassie. No,

291
00:17:35,485 --> 00:17:39,405
Speaker 2: but in my opinion, it does show that she appears

292
00:17:39,445 --> 00:17:43,365
Speaker 2: to be capable of minimizing abuse inside the home, and

293
00:17:43,365 --> 00:17:50,165
Speaker 2: that worries me. After Cassie disappeared, Judy had to deal

294
00:17:50,205 --> 00:17:54,685
Speaker 2: with multiple heartbreaks over the years, including one cruel person

295
00:17:54,725 --> 00:17:59,045
Speaker 2: who actually impersonated Cassie and pretended that she was alive

296
00:17:59,165 --> 00:18:01,325
Speaker 2: and wanted to talk to Judy. I cannot even imagine

297
00:18:01,325 --> 00:18:05,045
Speaker 2: what that must have been like. Cassie's disappearance made local

298
00:18:05,085 --> 00:18:09,285
Speaker 2: and nation news, but there were no arrests. In addition

299
00:18:09,325 --> 00:18:11,885
Speaker 2: to Brandon, because this was a fifteen year old girl,

300
00:18:12,165 --> 00:18:14,845
Speaker 2: police also looked into other young men who Cassie had

301
00:18:14,885 --> 00:18:19,285
Speaker 2: been talking to. On September seventh, twenty fourteen, there was

302
00:18:19,325 --> 00:18:22,965
Speaker 2: a post on Cassie's Facebook page, actually her last post,

303
00:18:23,485 --> 00:18:26,405
Speaker 2: in which she wrote, quote, let's get one thing straight.

304
00:18:26,765 --> 00:18:30,445
Speaker 2: I was not with Dustin, okay, and she mentions a

305
00:18:30,525 --> 00:18:32,485
Speaker 2: last name as well, which we're not going to mention.

306
00:18:33,845 --> 00:18:36,005
Speaker 2: So a lot of people were asking Dustin about this

307
00:18:36,085 --> 00:18:40,605
Speaker 2: so underneath her comment, he replied and said he and

308
00:18:40,645 --> 00:18:43,845
Speaker 2: Cassie were never together. He was a little older, I think,

309
00:18:44,005 --> 00:18:46,565
Speaker 2: so I can imagine him getting nervous if a miner

310
00:18:46,645 --> 00:18:50,365
Speaker 2: went missing. Anyway, police apparently followed that lead and ruled

311
00:18:50,405 --> 00:18:55,325
Speaker 2: Dustin out. Things kept coming back to the home, back

312
00:18:55,365 --> 00:18:58,565
Speaker 2: to Brandon Rhads. One of the things I found most

313
00:18:58,645 --> 00:19:01,885
Speaker 2: frustrating about this case is that over the years we've

314
00:19:01,965 --> 00:19:05,605
Speaker 2: heard a lot about Brandon Rhoades, so many rumors u

315
00:19:05,765 --> 00:19:09,605
Speaker 2: concrete backs. He continued to get into trouble with the

316
00:19:09,645 --> 00:19:13,925
Speaker 2: law after splitting from Judy. In twenty fifteen, Brandon was

317
00:19:14,045 --> 00:19:19,125
Speaker 2: arrested on drug charges, including possession of a controlled substance methamphetamines.

318
00:19:19,805 --> 00:19:22,645
Speaker 2: After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to two years in prison.

319
00:19:23,645 --> 00:19:27,045
Speaker 2: Then a couple of years later, he was arrested again,

320
00:19:27,845 --> 00:19:30,365
Speaker 2: this time it had nothing to do with Cassie Compton.

321
00:19:31,405 --> 00:19:35,405
Speaker 2: On October sixteenth, twenty eighteen, Brandon was stopped by police

322
00:19:35,445 --> 00:19:38,925
Speaker 2: in Pleasant Plains, Arkansas. They saw that Brandon was driving

323
00:19:38,925 --> 00:19:41,485
Speaker 2: on a suspended license, so they arrested him.

324
00:19:41,965 --> 00:19:43,205
Speaker 1: The officers searched the.

325
00:19:43,165 --> 00:19:46,525
Speaker 2: Car and they found a loaded AR fifteen assault rifle

326
00:19:47,165 --> 00:19:50,925
Speaker 2: with a red scope and a lot of other tactical gear. Later,

327
00:19:51,085 --> 00:19:54,965
Speaker 2: police determined that that weapon had been reported stolen. They

328
00:19:54,965 --> 00:19:59,005
Speaker 2: got information that Brandon had been paid several hundred dollars

329
00:19:59,085 --> 00:20:02,565
Speaker 2: to kill the wife of one of his acquaintances, so

330
00:20:02,645 --> 00:20:06,405
Speaker 2: they brought Brandon up on capital murder charges. I wanted

331
00:20:06,405 --> 00:20:09,125
Speaker 2: to understand more about this, so I looked into the

332
00:20:09,205 --> 00:20:13,765
Speaker 2: court documents. Brandon had a different story. He said he

333
00:20:13,805 --> 00:20:17,165
Speaker 2: didn't remember anything from the night before. Later he changed

334
00:20:17,165 --> 00:20:19,445
Speaker 2: his story and said, yes, he was in Batesville to

335
00:20:19,485 --> 00:20:22,565
Speaker 2: follow someone. He said that a man had paid him

336
00:20:22,605 --> 00:20:26,365
Speaker 2: two hundred dollars to follow around this man's wife, so

337
00:20:26,605 --> 00:20:29,525
Speaker 2: Brandon was acting as kind of an unofficial private investigator.

338
00:20:30,765 --> 00:20:33,125
Speaker 2: Brandon also said he had no idea he had a

339
00:20:33,165 --> 00:20:36,245
Speaker 2: stolen gun in his truck, but the guy who reported

340
00:20:36,245 --> 00:20:38,685
Speaker 2: the gun stolen said Brandon was at his residence the

341
00:20:38,765 --> 00:20:41,645
Speaker 2: night before. The next morning, Brandon and the gun were gone,

342
00:20:41,805 --> 00:20:44,965
Speaker 2: So it didn't take Charlote Holmes to figure out who

343
00:20:45,005 --> 00:20:51,205
Speaker 2: took that weapon. Again, there's been almost nothing reported about

344
00:20:51,205 --> 00:20:54,245
Speaker 2: Brandon's background. I wanted to know who he really is,

345
00:20:54,725 --> 00:20:57,365
Speaker 2: so I found buried in a lot of different court

346
00:20:57,365 --> 00:21:01,085
Speaker 2: documents related to his arrest, the forensic reports that were done,

347
00:21:01,565 --> 00:21:05,885
Speaker 2: and they had a lot of very interesting information. I

348
00:21:05,885 --> 00:21:08,685
Speaker 2: think we learn a lot more about Brandon Rhades from

349
00:21:08,725 --> 00:21:11,765
Speaker 2: these documents than we have in any of the interviews

350
00:21:11,765 --> 00:21:15,445
Speaker 2: that he's done. According to court documents, Brandon was born

351
00:21:15,485 --> 00:21:18,445
Speaker 2: in Little Rock. He grew up with his mother, grandmother,

352
00:21:18,525 --> 00:21:22,245
Speaker 2: and younger brother in Greenbrier, Arkansas, but he said they

353
00:21:22,325 --> 00:21:25,405
Speaker 2: moved around a lot to several different states. He told

354
00:21:25,445 --> 00:21:27,645
Speaker 2: the examiner that he had a stepfather in his life

355
00:21:27,645 --> 00:21:31,005
Speaker 2: as well, who was in a motorcycle gang. Brandon said

356
00:21:31,045 --> 00:21:34,485
Speaker 2: his stepfather physically and sexually abused him between the ages

357
00:21:34,485 --> 00:21:35,245
Speaker 2: of seven.

358
00:21:35,005 --> 00:21:36,125
Speaker 1: And nineteen years old.

359
00:21:37,005 --> 00:21:39,725
Speaker 2: He said that from a young age he was abused.

360
00:21:40,445 --> 00:21:43,125
Speaker 2: He said he was abused with fists, a board, an

361
00:21:43,165 --> 00:21:46,925
Speaker 2: electrical cord, He was thrown across the room, and when

362
00:21:46,965 --> 00:21:49,325
Speaker 2: things got too difficult at home, he would escape to

363
00:21:49,365 --> 00:21:52,885
Speaker 2: the woods. Sometimes he would sleep outside. He went to

364
00:21:52,925 --> 00:21:56,485
Speaker 2: school in Mount Vernon and Stuttgart High School, but he

365
00:21:56,685 --> 00:22:00,165
Speaker 2: was expelled several times for having an explosive temper. He

366
00:22:00,165 --> 00:22:02,365
Speaker 2: said he stopped going to school in ninth grade and

367
00:22:02,445 --> 00:22:05,365
Speaker 2: went to work. Brandon said when he was seventeen, he

368
00:22:05,605 --> 00:22:08,565
Speaker 2: went to meet the man he believed was his biological father,

369
00:22:09,405 --> 00:22:12,605
Speaker 2: but later a DNA test showed that that man was

370
00:22:12,685 --> 00:22:15,285
Speaker 2: not his father, which I can imagine must have been

371
00:22:15,325 --> 00:22:19,085
Speaker 2: crushing for him. He also said he had been smoking

372
00:22:19,085 --> 00:22:21,045
Speaker 2: pot around three times a day for as long as

373
00:22:21,085 --> 00:22:24,325
Speaker 2: he could remember. He said he developed a meth habit

374
00:22:24,365 --> 00:22:27,485
Speaker 2: in high school. At first, like a lot of people,

375
00:22:27,525 --> 00:22:29,485
Speaker 2: he said, he started taking it to keep him awake

376
00:22:29,525 --> 00:22:33,205
Speaker 2: at work. Brandon worked several different jobs. He worked at

377
00:22:33,245 --> 00:22:36,725
Speaker 2: lumber one in Stuttgart, but he got fired from that job. Later,

378
00:22:36,845 --> 00:22:39,165
Speaker 2: he did some landscaping and worked for a company and

379
00:22:39,205 --> 00:22:44,965
Speaker 2: DeWitt fabricating metal for farming equipment. By twenty eleven, Brandon

380
00:22:45,085 --> 00:22:48,285
Speaker 2: was on his own. He was living in abandoned houses

381
00:22:48,285 --> 00:22:50,685
Speaker 2: for a few weeks at a time. That's when he

382
00:22:50,725 --> 00:22:53,445
Speaker 2: got into a relationship with Judy and he moved in

383
00:22:53,485 --> 00:22:56,645
Speaker 2: with her and Cassie and Stuttgart. Now, if you look

384
00:22:56,685 --> 00:22:59,525
Speaker 2: at his old Facebook posts, which have been inactive for

385
00:22:59,565 --> 00:23:02,565
Speaker 2: a long time, this seems to have been a happy

386
00:23:02,605 --> 00:23:05,805
Speaker 2: time for him, at least on social media. Judy is

387
00:23:06,045 --> 00:23:09,125
Speaker 2: his cover photo the whole thing, and he has a

388
00:23:09,165 --> 00:23:12,565
Speaker 2: post there saying that Judy baptized him in twenty fourteen.

389
00:23:13,445 --> 00:23:18,485
Speaker 2: In this interview with the psychiatrist, Brandon discussed his criminal history.

390
00:23:18,565 --> 00:23:22,005
Speaker 2: He told the examiner about Judy and Cassie and said, quote,

391
00:23:22,525 --> 00:23:24,725
Speaker 2: I would not be surprised if someone is trying to

392
00:23:24,805 --> 00:23:27,605
Speaker 2: kill me because they believe I killed her daughter and

393
00:23:27,645 --> 00:23:28,485
Speaker 2: buried her somewhere.

394
00:23:28,645 --> 00:23:29,125
Speaker 1: End quote.

395
00:23:32,365 --> 00:23:35,125
Speaker 2: I don't have time to go through the entire case,

396
00:23:35,445 --> 00:23:39,525
Speaker 2: but the case, by the way, is wild. Police were

397
00:23:39,525 --> 00:23:42,285
Speaker 2: trying to figure out which story to believe what was

398
00:23:42,325 --> 00:23:46,605
Speaker 2: going on here. They found text messages between Brandon and

399
00:23:46,725 --> 00:23:50,925
Speaker 2: the man who allegedly hired him to follow his wife.

400
00:23:50,965 --> 00:23:53,085
Speaker 2: In those texts, they were discussing the fact that this

401
00:23:53,125 --> 00:23:56,445
Speaker 2: woman was allegedly cheating on her husband with another man,

402
00:23:56,565 --> 00:24:00,085
Speaker 2: a love rival. So at first Brandon and the husband

403
00:24:00,085 --> 00:24:03,565
Speaker 2: talk about beating up the other love rival. Then Brandon

404
00:24:03,845 --> 00:24:08,405
Speaker 2: was apparently planning to plan drugs on this love rival. Later,

405
00:24:08,845 --> 00:24:12,965
Speaker 2: Brandon and the husband also talked about just killing the wife.

406
00:24:13,005 --> 00:24:15,885
Speaker 2: The whole time, Brandon was saying he's obsessed with the

407
00:24:15,925 --> 00:24:18,485
Speaker 2: punisher Frank Castle from the comic books.

408
00:24:19,085 --> 00:24:20,365
Speaker 1: For those who haven't read it.

409
00:24:20,325 --> 00:24:23,685
Speaker 2: He's the vigilanti who tortures bad guys and has a

410
00:24:23,845 --> 00:24:29,125
Speaker 2: very twisted view of dispensing justice. Police interviewed the wife

411
00:24:29,125 --> 00:24:32,245
Speaker 2: whom Brandon followed. She talked about how her husband had

412
00:24:32,285 --> 00:24:35,285
Speaker 2: paid someone to stock her, how she'd seen a white

413
00:24:35,325 --> 00:24:39,085
Speaker 2: truck the type that Brandon drove around. Police also found

414
00:24:39,085 --> 00:24:42,765
Speaker 2: evidence that Brandon called this woman and pretended to be

415
00:24:42,845 --> 00:24:46,365
Speaker 2: a woman, and that in that phone conversation he told

416
00:24:46,445 --> 00:24:48,725
Speaker 2: her that she was a mother who needed to be

417
00:24:48,765 --> 00:24:53,325
Speaker 2: taking care of her kids. This gets even deeper. Brandon

418
00:24:53,405 --> 00:24:57,045
Speaker 2: told police he had gender dysphoria. When they arrested him,

419
00:24:57,205 --> 00:25:00,245
Speaker 2: he was wearing fake breasts and a sports brath And

420
00:25:00,285 --> 00:25:03,485
Speaker 2: there are a lot of text messages in these documents

421
00:25:03,685 --> 00:25:07,805
Speaker 2: where Brandon was talking to this love rival, and in

422
00:25:07,845 --> 00:25:11,085
Speaker 2: these texts he was pretending to be a woman and

423
00:25:11,645 --> 00:25:14,765
Speaker 2: trying to entice this man into doing some very sexually

424
00:25:14,805 --> 00:25:19,365
Speaker 2: graphic things. It seems to me from these police interviews

425
00:25:19,365 --> 00:25:24,245
Speaker 2: that Brandon sees himself as a violent anti hero vigilante.

426
00:25:24,845 --> 00:25:27,525
Speaker 2: He also said he was never close to his mother.

427
00:25:27,965 --> 00:25:31,165
Speaker 2: He later told police he did not like women. And

428
00:25:31,245 --> 00:25:35,285
Speaker 2: yet it's complicated because according to his behavior, it seems

429
00:25:35,325 --> 00:25:38,125
Speaker 2: like he's also in many ways presenting as a woman.

430
00:25:39,165 --> 00:25:42,405
Speaker 2: The case continued to get more and more bizarre. Then

431
00:25:42,925 --> 00:25:47,805
Speaker 2: in early twenty twenty one, there was another very strange incident.

432
00:25:48,605 --> 00:25:49,405
Speaker 1: We'll be right back.

433
00:25:58,725 --> 00:26:01,885
Speaker 2: In early twenty twenty one, a video of a woman

434
00:26:01,925 --> 00:26:04,685
Speaker 2: on TikTok and other social media started making the rounds.

435
00:26:05,245 --> 00:26:08,005
Speaker 2: This this woman had black hair and two black eyes

436
00:26:08,045 --> 00:26:09,685
Speaker 2: and was in the car with a couple of guys

437
00:26:09,685 --> 00:26:13,205
Speaker 2: who were rapping the whole time. She was just looking

438
00:26:13,245 --> 00:26:17,325
Speaker 2: forward with this kind of dead stare. This woman looked

439
00:26:17,405 --> 00:26:21,805
Speaker 2: identical to Cassie Compton. People believe this could be her.

440
00:26:22,405 --> 00:26:25,085
Speaker 2: This brought new life into rumors that Cassie could have

441
00:26:25,125 --> 00:26:26,005
Speaker 2: run away on her own.

442
00:26:26,565 --> 00:26:28,005
Speaker 1: The video went viral.

443
00:26:27,765 --> 00:26:30,685
Speaker 2: And people started posting about a missing person's case that

444
00:26:30,765 --> 00:26:31,765
Speaker 2: was solved by TikTok.

445
00:26:32,885 --> 00:26:34,765
Speaker 1: The FBI Little Rock Office.

446
00:26:34,445 --> 00:26:37,565
Speaker 2: Confirmed that they were looking into who this mystery woman was,

447
00:26:38,365 --> 00:26:41,645
Speaker 2: but sadly, this was not Cassie. The woman was later

448
00:26:41,685 --> 00:26:44,645
Speaker 2: identified as Hailey Grace Phillips. She was a young woman

449
00:26:44,645 --> 00:26:47,805
Speaker 2: from Los Angeles who actually made her own video to

450
00:26:47,805 --> 00:26:50,765
Speaker 2: say she was not Cassie Compton. She said she'd recently

451
00:26:50,805 --> 00:26:52,685
Speaker 2: been mugged, that's why she had black eyes, but she

452
00:26:52,805 --> 00:26:53,805
Speaker 2: was fine and safe.

453
00:26:54,605 --> 00:26:58,845
Speaker 1: Another dead end.

454
00:26:59,125 --> 00:27:03,085
Speaker 2: Back to twenty nineteen, Caylea Lafferty is doing her podcast

455
00:27:03,285 --> 00:27:07,125
Speaker 2: called Timeline The Disappearance of Cassie Compton. She ended up

456
00:27:07,125 --> 00:27:11,565
Speaker 2: interviewing Brandon Rhodes at the Independence County Jail. By the way,

457
00:27:11,685 --> 00:27:14,125
Speaker 2: Kayla was not able to record the interview with Brandon,

458
00:27:14,205 --> 00:27:18,285
Speaker 2: but she did record her thoughts immediately afterwards. She said

459
00:27:18,445 --> 00:27:21,165
Speaker 2: she asked Brandon what he thought had happened to Cassie.

460
00:27:21,765 --> 00:27:25,205
Speaker 2: She said Brandon told her that he believed the text

461
00:27:25,205 --> 00:27:27,885
Speaker 2: that Cassie sent that text to her friend Hunter about

462
00:27:27,925 --> 00:27:31,125
Speaker 2: cigarettes with some kind of code. He believed that she

463
00:27:31,165 --> 00:27:33,205
Speaker 2: had been waiting for someone and that she got picked

464
00:27:33,285 --> 00:27:36,605
Speaker 2: up and never made it out of the driveway. Kayla

465
00:27:36,725 --> 00:27:41,325
Speaker 2: said that Brandon told her that Judy was sick and

466
00:27:41,365 --> 00:27:44,245
Speaker 2: that when Cassie came home from Hunter's house, he said

467
00:27:44,285 --> 00:27:47,085
Speaker 2: he was in the bedroom with Judy. So now he

468
00:27:47,165 --> 00:27:50,445
Speaker 2: seemed to be saying that he never saw Cassie. Now,

469
00:27:50,485 --> 00:27:53,125
Speaker 2: this totally contradicts what Judy has said in the past

470
00:27:53,205 --> 00:27:56,765
Speaker 2: about Brandon being in the kitchen cooking, and it contradicts

471
00:27:56,805 --> 00:27:59,525
Speaker 2: what he himself has said in the past. He said

472
00:27:59,565 --> 00:28:01,765
Speaker 2: he saw Cassie, she came in, She was there for

473
00:28:01,805 --> 00:28:04,725
Speaker 2: a few minutes, and she left. By the way, that's

474
00:28:04,765 --> 00:28:08,965
Speaker 2: also a different story than Hunter tells, because remember Hunter

475
00:28:09,085 --> 00:28:12,885
Speaker 2: said that when he and Cassie pulled up, Brandon was

476
00:28:12,925 --> 00:28:17,325
Speaker 2: outside and saw Cassie going into the house. Cayla said, quote,

477
00:28:17,605 --> 00:28:20,165
Speaker 2: he was talking about how people think he's a psychopath.

478
00:28:20,565 --> 00:28:23,245
Speaker 2: He asked me what I think makes a psychopath. He

479
00:28:23,325 --> 00:28:25,365
Speaker 2: was going on and on about how it's pain that

480
00:28:25,405 --> 00:28:27,885
Speaker 2: creates a psychopath. I then asked him, are you a

481
00:28:27,925 --> 00:28:31,245
Speaker 2: sociopath or a psychopath? He was like, what, No, But

482
00:28:31,325 --> 00:28:33,325
Speaker 2: the whole time he was staring me dead in the eye,

483
00:28:33,365 --> 00:28:36,365
Speaker 2: trying to intimidate me into believing he's a psychopath, I

484
00:28:36,365 --> 00:28:40,365
Speaker 2: think end quote. She also asked him about these very

485
00:28:40,405 --> 00:28:44,125
Speaker 2: strange murder for higher charges, and he told her a

486
00:28:44,205 --> 00:28:46,445
Speaker 2: version of what he told the police, that he was

487
00:28:46,485 --> 00:28:49,565
Speaker 2: paid a few hundred dollars, but that actually he was

488
00:28:49,605 --> 00:28:51,645
Speaker 2: just posing as a hitman and the reason he was

489
00:28:51,685 --> 00:28:54,405
Speaker 2: doing that was so that he could work under cover

490
00:28:54,845 --> 00:28:57,965
Speaker 2: and be sent to prison on purpose, so that he

491
00:28:58,005 --> 00:29:03,085
Speaker 2: could work on Cassie's case from the inside. Cayla also

492
00:29:03,165 --> 00:29:06,565
Speaker 2: said Brandon told her that a psychologist to diagnose him

493
00:29:06,645 --> 00:29:12,805
Speaker 2: with multiple personality disorder. So, in my opinion, interactions with

494
00:29:12,925 --> 00:29:15,245
Speaker 2: law enforcement and Brandon show a picture of someone who

495
00:29:15,285 --> 00:29:16,685
Speaker 2: is clearly disturbed and.

496
00:29:16,725 --> 00:29:17,765
Speaker 1: Does have some issues.

497
00:29:17,805 --> 00:29:20,445
Speaker 2: But I want to go back to the court documents,

498
00:29:20,485 --> 00:29:22,605
Speaker 2: and I want to go back to what the trained professional,

499
00:29:22,645 --> 00:29:26,085
Speaker 2: the forensic examiner found, because the examiner who did a

500
00:29:26,125 --> 00:29:29,805
Speaker 2: clinical interview with Brandon found nothing like that. No mental

501
00:29:29,845 --> 00:29:33,405
Speaker 2: disease or defect, no depression or anxiety. They found Brandon

502
00:29:33,565 --> 00:29:37,885
Speaker 2: was competent to stand trial. No multiple personality disorder or

503
00:29:37,925 --> 00:29:42,885
Speaker 2: suicidal ideation. They did notice that Brandon's speech was low

504
00:29:42,965 --> 00:29:45,845
Speaker 2: volume and slow rate, but they said that did not

505
00:29:46,085 --> 00:29:50,365
Speaker 2: indicate any type of mental deficiency. On the contrary, they

506
00:29:50,365 --> 00:29:53,125
Speaker 2: found he had very good short term and long term memory.

507
00:29:53,765 --> 00:29:56,205
Speaker 2: Brandon said something to the examiner that I think is

508
00:29:56,365 --> 00:30:00,645
Speaker 2: very telling. He said, quote, I am a violent person,

509
00:30:00,885 --> 00:30:03,765
Speaker 2: very volatile, but I know when I can or can't

510
00:30:03,765 --> 00:30:07,325
Speaker 2: be violent depending on situations. Here at the doctor's office

511
00:30:07,445 --> 00:30:09,805
Speaker 2: or court is not a situation where you can be

512
00:30:09,925 --> 00:30:14,805
Speaker 2: violent end quote. To me, this signifies that he understands

513
00:30:14,885 --> 00:30:19,285
Speaker 2: exactly what was going on. So what's next for Cassie's case.

514
00:30:20,365 --> 00:30:23,845
Speaker 2: Some people in Judy's family, including her son Chris, have

515
00:30:23,965 --> 00:30:27,125
Speaker 2: said they still believe that Brandon may have been involved.

516
00:30:28,205 --> 00:30:31,765
Speaker 2: When Judy last talked to media, she said that she

517
00:30:31,925 --> 00:30:35,885
Speaker 2: no longer believes that Brandon could have harmed Cassie. Judy

518
00:30:35,925 --> 00:30:38,485
Speaker 2: has said, quote, he looked at her like his daughter,

519
00:30:38,565 --> 00:30:41,205
Speaker 2: you know, and if he did, it would be shocking

520
00:30:41,245 --> 00:30:41,445
Speaker 2: to me.

521
00:30:41,885 --> 00:30:45,725
Speaker 1: End quote. But based on Judy's.

522
00:30:45,245 --> 00:30:48,885
Speaker 2: Past some of these patterns, we can deduce that even

523
00:30:48,925 --> 00:30:51,885
Speaker 2: in the most generous and best case scenario, she is

524
00:30:51,965 --> 00:30:55,045
Speaker 2: not always the best judge of character. And we already

525
00:30:55,125 --> 00:30:58,365
Speaker 2: know that Brandon's a liar and by his own admissions,

526
00:30:58,445 --> 00:31:02,245
Speaker 2: has some very disturbing thoughts and complicated feelings about women.

527
00:31:03,045 --> 00:31:06,805
Speaker 2: So now we're left with this suspicion's behavior stories that

528
00:31:06,885 --> 00:31:09,805
Speaker 2: don't match. But as far as I know, no physical

529
00:31:09,805 --> 00:31:14,725
Speaker 2: evidence finding Cassie's remains would be a major break in

530
00:31:14,765 --> 00:31:18,925
Speaker 2: the case. I don't know how many of y'all remember

531
00:31:18,965 --> 00:31:21,845
Speaker 2: those topics threads. I know the site has been shut

532
00:31:21,885 --> 00:31:24,765
Speaker 2: down for a long time now, but people still have

533
00:31:24,965 --> 00:31:27,765
Speaker 2: screenshots from the old days where people were talking about

534
00:31:27,845 --> 00:31:31,245
Speaker 2: rumors on there. Some people have made the point that

535
00:31:31,285 --> 00:31:33,725
Speaker 2: Brandon was into prepping and that.

536
00:31:33,805 --> 00:31:38,165
Speaker 1: He would know where to hide a body. He actually said.

537
00:31:37,925 --> 00:31:40,725
Speaker 2: In his police interview that he was very into prepping

538
00:31:40,805 --> 00:31:44,125
Speaker 2: and talked about that a lot. Maybe there's a clue

539
00:31:44,125 --> 00:31:48,845
Speaker 2: there somewhere. If Brandon did do something to Cassie, if

540
00:31:48,885 --> 00:31:51,845
Speaker 2: he did kill her, where would he put her body?

541
00:31:53,085 --> 00:31:56,725
Speaker 2: How would a prepper handle this situation? Did he use

542
00:31:56,765 --> 00:31:59,165
Speaker 2: his bike or could he have used Judy's car or

543
00:31:59,245 --> 00:32:00,045
Speaker 2: another vehicle that.

544
00:32:00,005 --> 00:32:01,325
Speaker 1: We don't know about.

545
00:32:01,845 --> 00:32:05,365
Speaker 2: Brandon, who was always completely denied any involvement in Cassie's

546
00:32:05,365 --> 00:32:10,205
Speaker 2: diay appearance, is now out of prison. Brandon seems to

547
00:32:10,285 --> 00:32:14,005
Speaker 2: paint himself in his interviews as the victim of circumstances.

548
00:32:14,405 --> 00:32:16,685
Speaker 2: But we're about to hear about the other side of

549
00:32:16,725 --> 00:32:25,285
Speaker 2: Brandon Rhoades, this time from one of his victims. As usual,

550
00:32:25,445 --> 00:32:27,405
Speaker 2: I found the answer I was looking for buried in

551
00:32:27,445 --> 00:32:30,205
Speaker 2: some otherwise boring court documents that, to my knowledge, no

552
00:32:30,245 --> 00:32:33,925
Speaker 2: one has ever talked about. In twenty twenty three, a

553
00:32:34,005 --> 00:32:37,085
Speaker 2: woman asked for an order of protection against Brandon. Now

554
00:32:37,125 --> 00:32:39,805
Speaker 2: this is public information, but out of respect and concern

555
00:32:39,845 --> 00:32:42,005
Speaker 2: for this victim, I'm not going to make her name public.

556
00:32:42,605 --> 00:32:45,485
Speaker 2: I'm telling this story because I believe it is very

557
00:32:45,525 --> 00:32:49,405
Speaker 2: important and potentially very relevant. Here's what she wrote, in

558
00:32:49,445 --> 00:32:52,005
Speaker 2: her own words in twenty twenty three.

559
00:32:52,205 --> 00:32:54,285
Speaker 1: I'm just going to read an excerpt here, not the

560
00:32:54,325 --> 00:32:54,805
Speaker 1: whole thing.

561
00:32:55,925 --> 00:32:58,725
Speaker 2: This victim said that Brandon has tackled her to the

562
00:32:58,765 --> 00:33:02,205
Speaker 2: floor multiple times, that he has called her names, that

563
00:33:02,205 --> 00:33:04,445
Speaker 2: he would scream at her, call her a bitch and

564
00:33:04,485 --> 00:33:07,165
Speaker 2: a cunt and a whore. She said he has sexually

565
00:33:07,165 --> 00:33:09,845
Speaker 2: assaulted her, that he has put her in a chokehold.

566
00:33:10,645 --> 00:33:13,645
Speaker 2: She wrote quote, he has told me about his two

567
00:33:13,685 --> 00:33:17,165
Speaker 2: people inside his head, chaos and insanity, and has brought

568
00:33:17,205 --> 00:33:19,885
Speaker 2: them out to meet me and belittle me. Brandon told

569
00:33:19,925 --> 00:33:22,005
Speaker 2: me when we first got together that has ex abused

570
00:33:22,085 --> 00:33:24,205
Speaker 2: him and that he was getting in trouble for nothing.

571
00:33:24,605 --> 00:33:26,285
Speaker 1: None of this was true.

572
00:33:26,365 --> 00:33:30,125
Speaker 2: Brandon has major anger issues. He's a time bomb. He

573
00:33:30,245 --> 00:33:33,925
Speaker 2: was arrested on domestic battery from his previous relationship where

574
00:33:33,965 --> 00:33:36,765
Speaker 2: he did the same things to her. I am scared

575
00:33:36,805 --> 00:33:39,125
Speaker 2: for my life if he gets out tomorrow and comes

576
00:33:39,165 --> 00:33:42,485
Speaker 2: to the apartment. I'm having neck and back and shoulder

577
00:33:42,605 --> 00:33:44,525
Speaker 2: and down into my arms searing.

578
00:33:44,165 --> 00:33:45,125
Speaker 1: Pain from the abuse.

579
00:33:46,085 --> 00:33:49,565
Speaker 2: I can provide documents and photos of bruises. He also

580
00:33:49,805 --> 00:33:52,885
Speaker 2: forced me to put my Facebook messenger in snapchat on

581
00:33:52,965 --> 00:33:55,965
Speaker 2: his phone. He has searched me online and paid for

582
00:33:56,005 --> 00:33:59,325
Speaker 2: it getting all my info. I am scared to death.

583
00:33:59,565 --> 00:34:02,285
Speaker 2: When he gets out and finds out I'm doing all this,

584
00:34:02,805 --> 00:34:07,365
Speaker 2: I'll be dead end quote. The order of protection was granted.

585
00:34:08,005 --> 00:34:11,485
Speaker 2: I have no desire to publicize someone's private life like this,

586
00:34:11,605 --> 00:34:14,245
Speaker 2: but at the same time, I feel a responsibility to

587
00:34:14,285 --> 00:34:18,445
Speaker 2: this victim because this man is out there, and if

588
00:34:18,485 --> 00:34:21,565
Speaker 2: something does happen to this woman, I want the man

589
00:34:21,645 --> 00:34:24,605
Speaker 2: who's abusing her to know that a massive audience of

590
00:34:24,605 --> 00:34:27,605
Speaker 2: people know what is going on, and that these listeners

591
00:34:27,645 --> 00:34:30,125
Speaker 2: care about what's happening and will report it immediately to

592
00:34:30,205 --> 00:34:35,325
Speaker 2: law enforcement. Something that does jump out to me immediately

593
00:34:35,845 --> 00:34:38,405
Speaker 2: when I read this, other than the sheer horror of

594
00:34:38,445 --> 00:34:41,445
Speaker 2: this statement, is the fact that this woman said something

595
00:34:41,485 --> 00:34:45,325
Speaker 2: really interesting. She said Brandon forced her to have her

596
00:34:45,445 --> 00:34:49,005
Speaker 2: social media on his phone, that he stalked her social media,

597
00:34:49,045 --> 00:34:52,645
Speaker 2: so we know that he's savvy with social media. I

598
00:34:52,725 --> 00:34:55,805
Speaker 2: wonder about that because we know that a few days

599
00:34:55,845 --> 00:35:00,525
Speaker 2: after Cassie went missing, her Facebook page was liking a

600
00:35:00,565 --> 00:35:03,885
Speaker 2: page on Facebook. I want to believe that Cassie Compton

601
00:35:03,965 --> 00:35:07,405
Speaker 2: ran away and it's somewhere her best life, and maybe

602
00:35:07,405 --> 00:35:11,845
Speaker 2: she is, But honestly, I don't think that's likely. Also

603
00:35:11,885 --> 00:35:14,245
Speaker 2: find myself thinking about that last text, the one that

604
00:35:14,285 --> 00:35:17,565
Speaker 2: Cassie sent saying she was going out for cigarettes, and

605
00:35:17,765 --> 00:35:22,245
Speaker 2: wondering whether she really sent it at all. On September fourteenth,

606
00:35:22,325 --> 00:35:26,445
Speaker 2: twenty fourteen, as the sun went down behind that small

607
00:35:26,485 --> 00:35:31,645
Speaker 2: house in rural Arkansas, what really happened that night? If

608
00:35:31,685 --> 00:35:35,005
Speaker 2: you have any information about Cassie Compton, please call the

609
00:35:35,005 --> 00:35:38,005
Speaker 2: Stuttgart Police Department on eight seven oh sixty seven three

610
00:35:38,245 --> 00:35:42,285
Speaker 2: one four one four. An alternative number that they've given

611
00:35:42,405 --> 00:35:45,685
Speaker 2: is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at

612
00:35:45,685 --> 00:35:48,925
Speaker 2: one eight hundred eight four three five, six seven eight.

613
00:35:49,285 --> 00:35:57,965
Speaker 2: I'm Catherine Townsend. This is Helen Gone Murder Line. Helen

614
00:35:57,965 --> 00:36:00,085
Speaker 2: Gone Murder Line is a production of School of Humans

615
00:36:00,125 --> 00:36:03,365
Speaker 2: and iHeart Podcasts. It's written and narrated by me Catherine

616
00:36:03,365 --> 00:36:05,285
Speaker 2: Townsend and produced by Gabby Watts.

617
00:36:05,965 --> 00:36:07,885
Speaker 1: Music is contributed by Ben Sale.

618
00:36:08,285 --> 00:36:12,285
Speaker 2: Executive producers are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, and Elsie Crowley.

619
00:36:12,845 --> 00:36:14,645
Speaker 2: If you have a case you'd like me and my

620
00:36:14,685 --> 00:36:16,885
Speaker 2: team to look into, you can reach out to us

621
00:36:16,965 --> 00:36:20,085
Speaker 2: at our Helengon Murder Line at six seven eight seven

622
00:36:20,165 --> 00:36:23,645
Speaker 2: four four six one four five that's six seven eight

623
00:36:24,085 --> 00:36:26,365
Speaker 2: seven four four six one four five.

624
00:36:37,445 --> 00:36:38,365
Speaker 1: School of Humans,