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Speaker 1: School of Humans. Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold

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Speaker 1: case murders in an effort to raise public awareness invite

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Speaker 1: witnesses to come forward and present evidence that could potentially

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Speaker 1: be further investigated by law enforcement. While we value insights

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Speaker 1: from family and community members, their statements should not be

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Speaker 1: considered evidence and point to the challenges of verifying facts

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Speaker 1: inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has

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Speaker 1: presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Speaker 1: Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply

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Speaker 1: that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime

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Speaker 1: is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening.

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Speaker 2: On November fifth, two thousand and five, a jogger found

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Speaker 2: the body of thirty two year old mother of three,

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Speaker 2: Brandy Renee Dyson, floating in a lake behind the Lake

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Speaker 2: Charles Civic Center. Brandy had been struggling with mental health

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Speaker 2: issues and with addiction.

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Speaker 3: For a while.

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Speaker 2: She seemed to be doing well and settled into an apartment,

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Speaker 2: but then she lost her apartment after taking refugees in

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Speaker 2: from Hurricane Katrina. She then moved into the Civic Center

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Speaker 2: in Lake Charles with a lot of other evacuees from

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Speaker 2: the storm. After that, Brandy was caught drinking that broke

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Speaker 2: the rules of the Red Cross, the organization that was

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Speaker 2: running things at the Civic Center, so Brandy was asked

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Speaker 2: to leave there. This seemed to start what would turn

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Speaker 2: out to be her final downward spiral. Police believed she

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Speaker 2: set up a camp on a pier near the Civic

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Speaker 2: Center and had been living there for a few weeks

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Speaker 2: when the next massive hurricane, Hurricane Rita, hit and devastated

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Speaker 2: the state. Sometime in the midst of all this storm chaos,

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Speaker 2: Brandy was brutally murdered. The bruising on her neck was

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Speaker 2: so bad that her own father said she had to

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Speaker 2: be buried in a turtle neck sweaters. Almost twenty years

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Speaker 2: since Brandy was murdered, the person who was arrested and

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Speaker 2: at first charged with her murder has been released, and

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Speaker 2: no new suspects have come forward, But this unsolved case

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Speaker 2: still seems to be on the minds of the detectives

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Speaker 2: at the Lake Charles Police Department Down there. Brandy's family

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Speaker 2: tells me they have a nickname for Brandy Dyson. They

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Speaker 2: call her the Lady in the Lake. I'm Catherine Townsend.

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Speaker 2: Over the past five years of making my true crime podcast,

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Speaker 2: Helen Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing

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Speaker 2: as a small town where murder never happens. I have

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Speaker 2: received hundreds of messages from people all around the country

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Speaker 2: asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them,

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Speaker 2: their families, and their communities. If you have a case

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Speaker 2: you'd like me and my team to look into, you

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Speaker 2: can reach out to us at our Helen Gone Murder

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Speaker 2: Line at six seven eight seven four four six one

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Speaker 2: four or five. That's six seven eight seven four four

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Speaker 2: six ' one four or five. This is Helen Gone

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Speaker 2: Murder Line. Brandy's family described her as a kind person,

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Speaker 2: a mother who loved her three children, But, as we

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Speaker 2: said last week in Part one, Brandy battleddiction to alcohol

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Speaker 2: and struggled with mental health issues, includings get So Effective disorder.

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Speaker 2: Detectives told Brandy's family they believed that she was brutally beaten, strangled,

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Speaker 2: and dumped into the lake. Brandy had been spending time

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Speaker 2: with a man named Jeremiah Salazar, who was six feet

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Speaker 2: tall and at the time had shoulder linked hair. Witnesses

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Speaker 2: said they saw Brandy with a man matching that description

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Speaker 2: outside the civic Center and later at a bar. They

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Speaker 2: arrested Jeremiah Salazar, but he was later released when the

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Speaker 2: DNA taken from Brandy's body was found not to be

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Speaker 2: a match for him.

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Speaker 3: Since then, the.

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Speaker 2: Case has gone cold and no new suspects have ever

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Speaker 2: been arrested, so we were trying to figure out why

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Speaker 2: the police were so focused on jeremiahs and if there

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Speaker 2: could be other potential suspects out there. Last week, we

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Speaker 2: talked to Brandy's sister Miranda and daughter Holly. We've been

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Speaker 2: trying to find out more about the condition of Brandy's body,

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Speaker 2: but our Foyer request was denied and Holly has not

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Speaker 2: yet been able to get a copy of the autopsy report.

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Speaker 2: But it turns out that Brandy's family does have some

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Speaker 2: information about the condition of Brandy's body, which may be

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Speaker 2: able to give us some clues that could help identify

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Speaker 2: her killer. We also talked last week about possible similarities

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Speaker 2: to other cases, including the eight women who were murdered

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Speaker 2: in Jefferson Davis Parish between two thousand and five and

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Speaker 2: two thousand and nine. These women were all found in

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Speaker 2: the region of Jennings Louisiana, and all were sex workers

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Speaker 2: or had ties to sex work in some way. These

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Speaker 2: victims have been called the Jeff Davies eight, and even

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Speaker 2: though the cases don't appear to be connected by a

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Speaker 2: single serial killer, the murders have unearthed allegations of potential

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Speaker 2: cover ups by certain members of law enforcement, as well

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Speaker 2: as allegations that members of law enforcement may be behind

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Speaker 2: or have knowledge of some of the murders. And these

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Speaker 2: cases have definitely highlighted systemic failures in the Louisiana criminal

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Speaker 2: justice system. So is Brandy's case out all similar to

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Speaker 2: any of those cases. Brandy was found in Calcashu Parish,

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Speaker 2: which is a little over thirty minutes away from Jennings

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Speaker 2: where the other victims were found. Like some of the

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Speaker 2: other victims, Brandy was found in water. Many of the

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Speaker 2: Jeff Davis eight victims were believed to have been killed

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Speaker 2: by exphyxiation, the same cause of death that suspected in

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Speaker 2: Brandy's case, though in the Jeff Davis eight cases, many

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Speaker 2: of the victims were too decomposed for detectives to know

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Speaker 2: for sure what killed them. We talked to Miranda about

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Speaker 2: Brandy's past. She told us that She believed that it

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Speaker 2: was possible that Brandy, because of her addictions in transient lifestyle,

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Speaker 2: may have turned to sex work at some point. Brandy

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Speaker 2: had been strangled several times in the past on separate occasions.

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Speaker 2: She said that during the time when Brandy was living

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Speaker 2: in New York City, Brandy was apparently involved in some

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Speaker 2: type of relationship with someone who abused her and strangled her.

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Speaker 2: Brandy survived, but Miranda said she will never forget getting

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Speaker 2: those frantic calls from the hospital emergency room about her sister.

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Speaker 4: I've never told Holly this, but one time the guy

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Speaker 4: strangled her. He thought she was dead, but she wasn't.

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Speaker 4: But they called me one time and they were like,

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Speaker 4: can you come get your sister from New York? And

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Speaker 4: I said, do you know how long it would take

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Speaker 4: me to get there? And they're like, what do you mean?

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Speaker 4: And I said, do you realize where you called? And

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Speaker 4: they were like, no, your sister gave us your number,

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Speaker 4: like you're around the corner. It was like, ma'am, you

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Speaker 4: called the Louisiana.

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Speaker 2: Brandy's family saw that she was battling her addictions and

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Speaker 2: mental health issues, including unmedicated Schitzo effective disorder. They tried

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Speaker 2: to help her when she left New York and returned

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Speaker 2: to Louisiana.

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Speaker 4: She was living with me when she came back, and

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Speaker 4: she started drinking and doing drips and I have kids,

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Speaker 4: and I tell her, you can't do that and live

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Speaker 4: in my house. And she said, you're not going to

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Speaker 4: let it be, so you got to go. So she

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Speaker 4: went to live with my brother. Same thing happened there,

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Speaker 4: so he had to make her go too well. She

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Speaker 4: sort of staying at the Lifehouse Mission and that's where

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Speaker 4: throughout herself together, she was doing good.

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Speaker 2: It's obvious from talking to Brandy's family that they wanted

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Speaker 2: to help her. They wanted to give her somewhere to stay,

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Speaker 2: but at the same time, it seems like they had

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Speaker 2: to make sure that their own families were safe. This

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Speaker 2: can feel like an impossible choice, and it's one that

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Speaker 2: a lot of people are dealing with. After that, Brandy

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Speaker 2: went to the Late Charles Civic Center, where she would

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Speaker 2: die weeks later. Miranda said after that hurricane hit, the

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Speaker 2: entire family had to evacuate to different locations. Brandy ended

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Speaker 2: up the Civic Center in Lake Charles, and Miranda said

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Speaker 2: that it was in Lake Charles where Brandy met then

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Speaker 2: thirty five year old Jeremiah Salazar. Brandy's family doesn't know

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Speaker 2: much about Jeremiah's how they met, how long they had

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Speaker 2: been in a relationship, or even what the exact nature

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Speaker 2: of that relationship was, because the contact with Brandy was

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Speaker 2: irregular in the first place, and then after the storm hit,

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Speaker 2: in that chaos, Brandy's family were pretty much completely cut

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Speaker 2: off from Brandy or anything that was going on with

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Speaker 2: her life.

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Speaker 4: The only things that I know about him is what

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Speaker 4: the detective toldn Like, we didn't know him. We were

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Speaker 4: all displaced, we were all homeless. I was living in

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Speaker 4: Alabama when she died. I know what he looks like

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Speaker 4: only because the picture. You know what I'm saying, Like,

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Speaker 4: we didn't know him. We just know what they said

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Speaker 4: or what they've speculated. So there's so many even nineteen

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Speaker 4: years later, there's so many questions that we've never gotten

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Speaker 4: any kind of answers for.

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Speaker 2: Even though some people thought there could be a connection

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Speaker 2: between Brandy and the Jeff Davis eight, there are some

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Speaker 2: major differences between these cases. For one thing, many of

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Speaker 2: the Jeff Davis victims had ties to each other, two

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Speaker 2: were cousins and there's no indication from what we know

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Speaker 2: so far, that Brandy was connected to any of those victims. Jennings,

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Speaker 2: where most of the Jeff Davis eight were found, is

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Speaker 2: just over a thirty minute drive from Lake Charles. Many

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Speaker 2: of the Jeff Davis eight victims had faces that were unrecognizable,

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Speaker 2: either because they had been beaten or because they were

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Speaker 2: so badly decomposed.

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Speaker 3: This was not the case with Brandy.

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Speaker 2: In fact, one of the major things that is different

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Speaker 2: about Brandy's case from the Jeff Davis case is the

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Speaker 2: amount of time that Brandy was in the water. Brandy

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Speaker 2: was found almost immediately, and she was not hard to id.

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Speaker 2: Detectives were able to take usable fingerprints and get Brandy's

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Speaker 2: identification very quickly because the Prince matched fingerprints from one

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Speaker 2: of Brandy's recent arrests. Again, according to Brandy's family, she

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Speaker 2: was apparently seen between twelve am and two am on

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Speaker 2: the morning of November fifth in the bar Crystals. Her

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Speaker 2: body was found the next morning by the jogger, meaning

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Speaker 2: that her body was only in the water for a

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Speaker 2: few hours. Miranda said that the district attorney and detectives

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Speaker 2: were very blunt when they talked to her about the

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Speaker 2: condition of her sister's body and how quickly it had

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Speaker 2: been found.

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Speaker 4: He said, Branda, I don't want you to think I'm

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Speaker 4: being mean, and I'm like, okay. He said, you grew

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Speaker 4: up in southwest Louisiana. I say, yes, sir. He said,

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Speaker 4: you know what Christ does to a body, They go

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Speaker 4: for the eyes and no. You know, she said she

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Speaker 4: didn't have one crab owner. That feels me. She was

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Speaker 4: found very soon. Her body was in this white piget

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Speaker 4: to safe had been in there a terribly long time.

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Speaker 4: You know. That's because I grew up in Louisiana. People

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Speaker 4: would drown if they were in there in the water

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Speaker 4: too long. That salt water, and that water eats the

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Speaker 4: body it, you know.

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Speaker 2: Miranda said that Brandy did have water in her lungs,

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Speaker 2: but she was told by police that it was a

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Speaker 2: very small amount. A lot of people think that water

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Speaker 2: can't enter the lungs after death, that any amount of

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Speaker 2: water in the lungs means that the person was still

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Speaker 2: breathing when they hit the water, But actually that's not true.

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Speaker 2: A small amount of water can enter the lungs even

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Speaker 2: post mortem. So we can't tell from current information if

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Speaker 2: Brandy was alive or not when she hit that water.

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Speaker 2: She may have been taking her last breath when she

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Speaker 2: was dumped, or she could have breathed in the water

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Speaker 2: sometime during the struggle. If she was being choked in

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Speaker 2: or around a body of water, that's another question. Where

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Speaker 2: was the actual primary crime scene. Was it where Brandy

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Speaker 2: was dumped in the lake or somewhere else. The body

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Speaker 2: of water where Brandy was found was within a few

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Speaker 2: feet of where she had set up camp in the

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Speaker 2: back of the civic center. Brandy's family say detectives were

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Speaker 2: in regular contact with them in the months after the murder.

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Speaker 2: They seemed super focused on their suspect, Jeremiah Salazar. They

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Speaker 2: even went all the way to Tacoma, Washington, got him arrested,

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Speaker 2: and got him extradited back to Louisiana, where he was

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Speaker 2: held on a million dollar bail. The grand jury voted

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Speaker 2: to indict him, but then they got DNA results back

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Speaker 2: from Brandy's body, and those results changed everything because, according

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Speaker 2: to the district attorney, who spoke to a reporter from

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Speaker 2: American Press in twenty eleven and also talked to Brandy's family,

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Speaker 2: the DNA taken from Brandy's body was not a match

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Speaker 2: to Jeremiah's.

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Speaker 4: If demy case to go back in front of the

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Speaker 4: Green jury, They're gonna want to know why you already

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Speaker 4: got an indictment. Why would you even do that? You know,

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Speaker 4: I've never understood why would you even do that? You know?

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Speaker 4: But it was the assistant DA that did that. His

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Speaker 4: name was Paul Raggie.

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Speaker 2: I totally get why this would be traumatic for a

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Speaker 2: family to hear. But if it's true that the DNA

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Speaker 2: excluded JEREMIAHS as a contributor, I also understand the district

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Speaker 2: attorney's decision. In a later interview, he explained that if

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Speaker 2: they had gone to trial and it had been revealed

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Speaker 2: the DNA was not a match, JEREMIAHS would have been acquitted.

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Speaker 2: By not going to trial, they believed they would have

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Speaker 2: the opportunity to retry him later if new evidence resurfaced,

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Speaker 2: But it's unclear what police detective's plan was next after that.

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Speaker 2: In my opinion, one of two things should have happened.

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Speaker 2: Either they needed to find more evidence against their suspect, JEREMIAHS,

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Speaker 2: if in fact they still believed he could be the killer,

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Speaker 2: or they needed to find other potential suspects. After the

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Speaker 2: grand jury came back with no bill, Brandy's family said

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Speaker 2: there were a few possibilities in their minds. They considered

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Speaker 2: the possibility that jeremiahs could have attacked Brandy because she

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Speaker 2: had sex with someone else, or that the person who

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Speaker 2: had sex with Brandy had killed her. There's also still

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Speaker 2: the question of whether or not that sex was consensual.

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Speaker 2: Detectives told Brandy's family there were no signs of sexual assault,

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Speaker 2: but with the information that we have access to, it's

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Speaker 2: just impossible to know for sure. There's another possibility that

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Speaker 2: Brandy was killed by someone else entirely, or maybe more

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Speaker 2: than one person. Unfortunately, after Jeremias was released, the family

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Speaker 2: said they pretty much lost contact with the DA and

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Speaker 2: with the detectives. Some of Brandy's family members felt that

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Speaker 2: police seemed to stop looking and that Brandy was not

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Speaker 2: a priority, and because no one has been caught, Brandy's

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Speaker 2: family has had to scour their minds for any detail

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Speaker 2: well that could give them that crucial clue that could

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Speaker 2: help get justice, even when those details are horrific to relive,

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Speaker 2: like the nightmarish conversation with the funeral home that Miranda

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Speaker 2: says happened when Brandy's family was trying to figure out

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Speaker 2: if they could have her in an open casket, something

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Speaker 2: that no family should ever have to experience.

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Speaker 4: There were stipulations to even have an open task to female.

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Speaker 4: You know, her net has to be covered, she had

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Speaker 4: to have a band on to hold her risk in

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Speaker 4: the right place because it was just broken and her

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Speaker 4: neck it couldn't have been any darker. And we were

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Speaker 4: not supposed to look, and I did, and I wish

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Speaker 4: it would have never done it because it shows how

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Speaker 4: violent it was.

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Speaker 2: And there was something else that Miranda mentioned. Brandy wore

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Speaker 2: a choker necklace which was actually a dog.

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Speaker 4: Collar Brandy or a dog choke chain as a necklace,

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Speaker 4: and it was she used so he could have walked

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Speaker 4: up on her bracker. And you know, if you grabbed

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Speaker 4: somebody from a coach chain, it's going to do some

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Speaker 4: major damage.

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Speaker 3: Could the dog collar choke chain be a clue?

285
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Speaker 2: Could it mean that Brandy was in some sort of

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00:18:05,921 --> 00:18:10,721
Speaker 2: dominant submissive relationship with jeremiahs or with someone else. Then again,

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Speaker 2: the necklace could have nothing to do with anything. The

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Speaker 2: necklace could be a simple fashion choice. Was her killer

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00:18:17,961 --> 00:18:21,001
Speaker 2: using the choke chain to abuse Brandy making some kind

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00:18:21,041 --> 00:18:23,840
Speaker 2: of a statement, or was it just something that they

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00:18:23,881 --> 00:18:27,521
Speaker 2: grabbed at because it was convenient. Miranda made the point

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Speaker 2: that the killer may not have known Brandy at all.

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Speaker 2: If it was a stranger, If someone saw Brandy walking

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Speaker 2: around late at night in that area behind the civic

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Speaker 2: Center in a vulnerable state, they could have grabbed her

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Speaker 2: by that choker. The choker could have made her an

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Speaker 2: easier target for someone wanting to hurt her. It's just

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Speaker 2: one of many details that keeps Brandy's family members and

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Speaker 2: me to be honest up at night. Another question that

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Speaker 2: Miranda has if detectives believed that Brandy had consensual sex

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Speaker 2: with someone and that it wasn't sexual assault, then why

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00:19:03,321 --> 00:19:05,641
Speaker 2: were they so focused on the DNA that was taken

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00:19:05,681 --> 00:19:06,761
Speaker 2: from Brandy's vagina.

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Speaker 3: Would there not be DNA elsewhere.

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00:19:08,921 --> 00:19:11,401
Speaker 2: On her body that could be important, especially if the

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00:19:11,481 --> 00:19:14,481
Speaker 2: killing was violent and apparently she put up a fight

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Speaker 2: from what detectives have told her, Miranda believes that there

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Speaker 2: may have been an opportunity lost in checking Brandy's body

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Speaker 2: for fingerprints.

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Speaker 3: Miranda said that one of the original.

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Speaker 2: Detectives on the case, Detective McCullough said that he had

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Speaker 2: recently attended the FBI Crime Lab school, and there they

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Speaker 2: told him what you do in cases like Brandy's is

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Speaker 2: let the body air dry and then check the body

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Speaker 2: for fingerprints. So that's what he told the crime lab

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Speaker 2: when they received Brandy's body. However, the detective later told

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Speaker 2: Brandy's family he was overruled. Miranda said the lab did

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Speaker 2: not check for fingerprints around Brandy's neck.

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Speaker 4: I think if they would have done that, they may

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Speaker 4: have gotten a fingerprint.

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Speaker 2: A reason why they might not have tested is because

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Speaker 2: they might have thought that her body was too wet

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Speaker 2: to get accurate fingerprints. I did some research into this,

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00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:11,081
Speaker 2: and apparently in order to get fingerprints on bodies that

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00:20:11,201 --> 00:20:14,041
Speaker 2: get pulled out of the water, crime scene analysts use

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Speaker 2: a method called small particle reagent, which means they spray

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Speaker 2: a solution onto the wet skin and then this specialized

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00:20:21,241 --> 00:20:24,321
Speaker 2: solution binds to the oils and the fingerprints, and that

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00:20:24,401 --> 00:20:28,681
Speaker 2: process makes the fingerprints visible. But it's a delicate science,

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Speaker 2: and if the body is too wet, prints can wash off.

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Speaker 2: Four years after the charges against Jeremiah were dropped in

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Speaker 2: two thousand and seven, Miranda said she and her family

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00:20:42,401 --> 00:20:48,001
Speaker 2: heard nothing from detective and then in twenty nineteen, investigators

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00:20:48,041 --> 00:21:02,600
Speaker 2: called Miranda out of the blue. In twenty nineteen, Brandy's sister,

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Speaker 2: Miranda got a call from the police.

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Speaker 4: They did call me in twenty nineteen. They lift my

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Speaker 4: number up online and they said we need you to

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Speaker 4: come in and we need to talk to you.

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Speaker 2: According to Miranda, the police detectives told her that DNA

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00:21:19,361 --> 00:21:22,121
Speaker 2: technology had improved and that they wanted to do some

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Speaker 2: more testing with DNA in regards to Brandy's case. Miranda

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00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,801
Speaker 2: wasn't sure exactly what they were testing, if it was

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00:21:29,881 --> 00:21:33,201
Speaker 2: just the DNA found in Brandy's vagina, or if something else,

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00:21:33,441 --> 00:21:36,321
Speaker 2: possibly the Halloween mask that was found near Brandy's body,

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Speaker 2: could be tested for DNA.

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Speaker 4: That's when they tell me they're going to run some

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Speaker 4: things throes. I think, I'm not I'm sure if it's

348
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Speaker 4: the FBI or PS. But it was in northern Louisiana.

349
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Speaker 4: They were going to send some things and brunt it

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Speaker 4: through CODIS because everything has changed.

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Speaker 2: So CODIS, or Combined DNA Index System, is a computer

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Speaker 2: program that searches the databases of DNA profiles around the country.

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Speaker 2: COTIS contains DNA profiles from convicted offenders and from crime

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Speaker 2: scene evidence. But CODIS isn't a magic bullet, and there

355
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Speaker 2: are a lot of reasons why COTIS might not get.

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Speaker 3: A hit on someone.

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Speaker 2: If there's no match, that could potentially mean it was

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Speaker 2: someone with no criminal record or who's not in the

359
00:22:23,481 --> 00:22:27,441
Speaker 2: system for other reasons. Now, in the past, only state

360
00:22:27,481 --> 00:22:30,801
Speaker 2: crime labs could access CODIS, which meant that investigators had

361
00:22:30,801 --> 00:22:34,201
Speaker 2: to wait weeks, months, or even years to get results.

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Speaker 2: But now, using rapid DNA testing machines, this process happens fast.

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Speaker 2: Louisiana got their first rapid DNA testing in twenty twenty two.

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Speaker 3: Now this means instead.

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Speaker 2: Of having to take a cheek swab and send it

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Speaker 2: to the lab and wait weeks or months, they can

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Speaker 2: run a program on site at the police station and

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00:22:55,521 --> 00:22:58,001
Speaker 2: get a result in an hour and a half. Now,

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Speaker 2: there have been a lot of concerns raised about this technology,

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Speaker 2: including privacy concerns and the fact that everything is evolving

371
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Speaker 2: so fast, but Louisiana was one of the first in

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Speaker 2: the nation to have this technology option. Because of their laws,

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Speaker 2: Louisiana allows DNA collection from suspects when they are booked.

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Speaker 2: Some states don't allow DNA collection at all. Other states

375
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Speaker 2: only allow it once there's probable cause, but Louisiana lets

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Speaker 2: detectives take DNA as soon as the booking happens. Miranda

377
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,481
Speaker 2: said she wishes she knew what DNA testing was done

378
00:23:31,641 --> 00:23:35,041
Speaker 2: and if the DNA did go through CODIS. She wonders

379
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,160
Speaker 2: if there was a match, even knowing that there was

380
00:23:38,241 --> 00:23:41,360
Speaker 2: no match would be some type of information. But it

381
00:23:41,401 --> 00:23:44,120
Speaker 2: seems like even though detectives did tell her that they

382
00:23:44,121 --> 00:23:47,561
Speaker 2: were looking into Brandy's case again in twenty nineteen, which

383
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Speaker 2: was before rapid DNA machines were available outside crime labs,

384
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Speaker 2: she wonders if they actually did send that material out

385
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Speaker 2: for testing, because when Holly talked to detectives at around

386
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Speaker 2: that same time period, they told her the same thing.

387
00:24:02,561 --> 00:24:05,001
Speaker 4: If they told Holly this same exact thing, so that

388
00:24:05,121 --> 00:24:08,041
Speaker 4: heals me they haven't even sent that step And what

389
00:24:08,161 --> 00:24:11,441
Speaker 4: year was that they told maybe twenty nineteen, because by

390
00:24:11,481 --> 00:24:14,080
Speaker 4: now you would have gotten it back, you would have

391
00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,361
Speaker 4: at least gotten a DNA profile, not saying you would

392
00:24:17,361 --> 00:24:19,120
Speaker 4: have got a hit, but you would at least have

393
00:24:19,201 --> 00:24:22,400
Speaker 4: a profile. But they told Holly the same thing, then

394
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Speaker 4: they were going to be sending sets why haven't you

395
00:24:24,961 --> 00:24:25,601
Speaker 4: seen it yet?

396
00:24:26,481 --> 00:24:30,521
Speaker 2: So, in the absence of more information, we find ourselves

397
00:24:30,561 --> 00:24:34,721
Speaker 2: pouring over tiny details from Brandy's family, details that could

398
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:40,880
Speaker 2: help lead to the missing piece. In this case, we

399
00:24:41,041 --> 00:24:44,521
Speaker 2: have gotten a few more details about Brandy's belongings. We know,

400
00:24:44,681 --> 00:24:47,761
Speaker 2: for example, Brandy's purse was found near her body, but

401
00:24:47,801 --> 00:24:50,721
Speaker 2: the purse did not have her ID in it. It

402
00:24:50,761 --> 00:24:54,041
Speaker 2: turns out that Brandy's ID her driver's license, was found

403
00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:59,360
Speaker 2: somewhere else, somewhere completely different, at the Isle of Capri Casino.

404
00:24:59,921 --> 00:25:03,481
Speaker 2: The Isle of Capri Casino closed after the COVID nineteen pandemic.

405
00:25:03,921 --> 00:25:07,201
Speaker 2: It reopened in twenty twenty two and is now called

406
00:25:07,241 --> 00:25:11,041
Speaker 2: the Horseshoe Lake Charles Casino. It's located about four and

407
00:25:11,041 --> 00:25:12,961
Speaker 2: a half miles from the spot behind the Civic Center

408
00:25:13,001 --> 00:25:14,241
Speaker 2: where Brandy's body was found.

409
00:25:15,041 --> 00:25:16,920
Speaker 3: To get there, you have to cross a bridge.

410
00:25:17,441 --> 00:25:20,960
Speaker 2: The casino is in the neighboring city of Westlake, and

411
00:25:21,001 --> 00:25:24,721
Speaker 2: that's across the IT Freeway, the same freeway that in

412
00:25:24,761 --> 00:25:27,561
Speaker 2: the past has been a major route for drug trafficking.

413
00:25:28,241 --> 00:25:31,120
Speaker 2: It's also the highway the Jeff Davis A and many

414
00:25:31,121 --> 00:25:36,640
Speaker 2: other vulnerable victims have been found dump near So was

415
00:25:36,761 --> 00:25:40,521
Speaker 2: Brandy at the Isle of Capri Casino? If she was,

416
00:25:40,521 --> 00:25:43,360
Speaker 2: was it that night or a different night? Was she

417
00:25:43,441 --> 00:25:46,601
Speaker 2: seen on any surveillance video there? Did the police ever

418
00:25:46,681 --> 00:25:49,561
Speaker 2: go to that casino and talk to people there? Also,

419
00:25:50,281 --> 00:25:52,761
Speaker 2: how did she get to the casinos several miles away

420
00:25:53,361 --> 00:25:56,281
Speaker 2: if she was there at all, Because from what we understand,

421
00:25:56,561 --> 00:25:59,681
Speaker 2: Brandy did not have access to a car, and getting

422
00:25:59,681 --> 00:26:03,081
Speaker 2: to the casino involved driving several miles along a freeway.

423
00:26:03,561 --> 00:26:07,361
Speaker 2: It's not an obvious path to walk. Was Brandy at

424
00:26:07,361 --> 00:26:09,840
Speaker 2: that casino or did someone take her ID and use

425
00:26:09,881 --> 00:26:10,201
Speaker 2: it there?

426
00:26:10,521 --> 00:26:12,321
Speaker 3: And if so, who is that person?

427
00:26:13,161 --> 00:26:16,721
Speaker 2: It doesn't seem like robbery was the motive in Brandy's case, because,

428
00:26:16,761 --> 00:26:18,921
Speaker 2: from what we understand, the rest of her stuff was

429
00:26:18,961 --> 00:26:22,481
Speaker 2: still there inside her purse, only her ID was missing.

430
00:26:23,441 --> 00:26:26,321
Speaker 2: Miranda said, over the years, detectives have given her more

431
00:26:26,321 --> 00:26:29,561
Speaker 2: information that they've collected about the night that Brandy was murdered,

432
00:26:30,281 --> 00:26:32,241
Speaker 2: But again, this is just speculation.

433
00:26:32,681 --> 00:26:34,921
Speaker 3: These are theories that detectives were exploring.

434
00:26:35,881 --> 00:26:38,761
Speaker 2: Miranda's frustration comes from the fact she doesn't know if

435
00:26:38,801 --> 00:26:42,080
Speaker 2: these theories are ones that police have investigated and ruled out,

436
00:26:42,561 --> 00:26:46,640
Speaker 2: if there's still considering suspects or even which witnesses they

437
00:26:46,681 --> 00:26:50,121
Speaker 2: talked to. She also doesn't know if there was any

438
00:26:50,121 --> 00:26:53,120
Speaker 2: surveillance footage from that bar from the night Brandy disappeared,

439
00:26:53,721 --> 00:26:57,041
Speaker 2: because detectives have mentioned to Brandy's family the possibility that

440
00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,361
Speaker 2: Brandy may have been flirting with someone else at that bar.

441
00:27:00,281 --> 00:27:02,721
Speaker 2: Where did that theory come from? Did it come from

442
00:27:02,721 --> 00:27:06,400
Speaker 2: other witnesses or from something Jeremiah said to them.

443
00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:11,721
Speaker 4: He wanted to leave, he less he stayed. Well, then

444
00:27:11,881 --> 00:27:15,840
Speaker 4: after that part of it, it's all speculation, like face

445
00:27:15,921 --> 00:27:19,001
Speaker 4: to stay because of the semen that he called her

446
00:27:19,041 --> 00:27:23,721
Speaker 4: having stakes with somebody and she was drunk. She probably did,

447
00:27:24,161 --> 00:27:28,441
Speaker 4: you know, so that would explain the violence. Maybe I don't.

448
00:27:28,521 --> 00:27:31,161
Speaker 4: I don't know. I don't even know why somebody would

449
00:27:31,161 --> 00:27:33,681
Speaker 4: do something like even you know, in the heat of

450
00:27:33,721 --> 00:27:35,241
Speaker 4: the moment. It's just extreme.

451
00:27:37,401 --> 00:27:40,640
Speaker 2: Miranda said that when she talked to detectives, they told

452
00:27:40,681 --> 00:27:43,321
Speaker 2: her that they were waiting to get more information. She

453
00:27:43,441 --> 00:27:46,441
Speaker 2: believe that they were still focused on jeremiahs and she

454
00:27:46,561 --> 00:27:49,761
Speaker 2: wonders why, given the fact the DNA wasn't a match

455
00:27:49,761 --> 00:27:51,281
Speaker 2: to him when.

456
00:27:51,161 --> 00:27:55,561
Speaker 4: We met with them in twenty nineteen, they are there's

457
00:27:55,561 --> 00:28:00,641
Speaker 4: those waiting to get something new to get after him again.

458
00:28:02,681 --> 00:28:05,840
Speaker 2: But in my opinion, the obvious missing piece in this

459
00:28:05,961 --> 00:28:10,241
Speaker 2: case is the DNA, because they do have DNA, and

460
00:28:10,321 --> 00:28:14,241
Speaker 2: that DNA, the district attorney has publicly stated, is not

461
00:28:14,361 --> 00:28:18,961
Speaker 2: a match to JEREMIAHS. So, whoever that person is, even

462
00:28:19,001 --> 00:28:21,761
Speaker 2: if they did have consensual sex with Brandy and had

463
00:28:21,801 --> 00:28:25,041
Speaker 2: nothing to do with her murder, they could potentially have

464
00:28:25,161 --> 00:28:28,201
Speaker 2: answers about what happened on the night of November fourth

465
00:28:28,441 --> 00:28:30,801
Speaker 2: and in the early morning hours of November fifth, two

466
00:28:30,801 --> 00:28:31,401
Speaker 2: thousand and five.

467
00:28:32,721 --> 00:28:35,281
Speaker 3: Brandy's family wants to find that man.

468
00:28:36,201 --> 00:28:38,761
Speaker 4: Yeah, sure would be nice if they could find who

469
00:28:38,881 --> 00:28:42,241
Speaker 4: she was having consensual effects with. You know, maybe that

470
00:28:42,401 --> 00:28:45,041
Speaker 4: person could say what happened.

471
00:28:46,481 --> 00:28:50,641
Speaker 2: Another question is what really happened between Brandy and JEREMIAHS

472
00:28:50,641 --> 00:28:53,521
Speaker 2: on the night of November fourth. We know they'd been

473
00:28:53,561 --> 00:28:56,361
Speaker 2: hanging out together near Brandy's makeshift home on the pier,

474
00:28:57,161 --> 00:29:00,641
Speaker 2: and detectives have told Brandy's family that they found Brandy's

475
00:29:00,681 --> 00:29:04,241
Speaker 2: bus ticket because there was a previous arrest they were

476
00:29:04,241 --> 00:29:07,721
Speaker 2: both on the same ticket. They determined she had been

477
00:29:07,761 --> 00:29:13,521
Speaker 2: planning to go to Tacoma, Washington with JEREMIAHS. We have

478
00:29:13,641 --> 00:29:17,281
Speaker 2: been trying to find Jeremiah Salazar. He had an arrest

479
00:29:17,281 --> 00:29:20,801
Speaker 2: in twenty fifteen, and then after that we can't find

480
00:29:20,841 --> 00:29:24,841
Speaker 2: anything until another arrest in twenty twenty three. He seems

481
00:29:24,881 --> 00:29:27,961
Speaker 2: to be living largely off the grid. And again, since

482
00:29:28,001 --> 00:29:30,041
Speaker 2: the grand jury returned that no True bill in two

483
00:29:30,041 --> 00:29:33,681
Speaker 2: thousand and seven, JEREMIAHS has never been re indicted or

484
00:29:33,881 --> 00:29:37,761
Speaker 2: charged with anything in connection to Brandy's murder. We did

485
00:29:37,881 --> 00:29:41,361
Speaker 2: text his daughter and other members of his family. None

486
00:29:41,361 --> 00:29:44,361
Speaker 2: of them have heard from JEREMIAHS in several years. They

487
00:29:44,361 --> 00:29:47,721
Speaker 2: were completely unaware of Brandy's murder or of his alleged

488
00:29:47,721 --> 00:29:51,161
Speaker 2: involvement with her. His daughter said that he had mental

489
00:29:51,241 --> 00:29:55,641
Speaker 2: health issues as well as outbursts of violence. But even

490
00:29:55,681 --> 00:29:58,121
Speaker 2: if he was violent with Brandy, which we don't know,

491
00:29:58,721 --> 00:30:00,041
Speaker 2: that does not mean.

492
00:29:59,881 --> 00:30:00,601
Speaker 3: That he killed her.

493
00:30:01,481 --> 00:30:04,241
Speaker 2: Holly told us that she has spoken to Late Charles

494
00:30:04,241 --> 00:30:08,321
Speaker 2: police detectives recently. She asked for access to Brandy's case file.

495
00:30:08,761 --> 00:30:11,440
Speaker 2: She pointed out it's been twenty years and that the

496
00:30:11,481 --> 00:30:15,761
Speaker 2: case is still unsolved. She says detectives told her normally

497
00:30:15,881 --> 00:30:18,081
Speaker 2: they would give the case file back after this amount

498
00:30:18,081 --> 00:30:23,761
Speaker 2: of time, including Brandy's personal items. However, they said they

499
00:30:23,841 --> 00:30:28,041
Speaker 2: feel that this case is still solvable. My question is,

500
00:30:28,481 --> 00:30:31,881
Speaker 2: are they still focused on Jeremiah's suspect. Do they believe

501
00:30:32,001 --> 00:30:34,521
Speaker 2: he was kind of the one that got away? Are

502
00:30:34,521 --> 00:30:36,561
Speaker 2: they still trying to build some sort of a case

503
00:30:36,601 --> 00:30:40,481
Speaker 2: against him, because that's definitely the impression that Brandy's family

504
00:30:40,481 --> 00:30:43,521
Speaker 2: seems to have, or are they potentially looking.

505
00:30:43,401 --> 00:30:45,081
Speaker 3: For other suspects.

506
00:30:45,201 --> 00:30:48,001
Speaker 2: Holly and Miranda would love to know what happened after

507
00:30:48,081 --> 00:30:50,481
Speaker 2: detectives said they were sending in materials to test in

508
00:30:50,481 --> 00:30:54,601
Speaker 2: twenty nineteen. They want to know if genetic material was

509
00:30:54,641 --> 00:30:58,081
Speaker 2: sent through to Codis, what genetic material it was, and

510
00:30:58,281 --> 00:31:01,561
Speaker 2: what happened with it. And even though Miranda said she

511
00:31:01,721 --> 00:31:06,041
Speaker 2: understands the Lake Charles Police Department is probably understaffed under

512
00:31:06,041 --> 00:31:10,081
Speaker 2: a lot of pressure, she still feels like Brandy's case

513
00:31:10,081 --> 00:31:14,441
Speaker 2: has been forgotten partially because of Brandy's lifestyle and to

514
00:31:14,641 --> 00:31:16,721
Speaker 2: her family, that is heartbreaking.

515
00:31:17,641 --> 00:31:21,801
Speaker 4: I feel all these years that because of her lifestyle

516
00:31:21,921 --> 00:31:26,281
Speaker 4: that they really didn't care even to even try. And

517
00:31:26,441 --> 00:31:29,201
Speaker 4: it doesn't matter. She was steal somebody's mother, she was

518
00:31:29,241 --> 00:31:34,361
Speaker 4: steal somebody's daughter. Who is steal somebody's.

519
00:31:34,761 --> 00:31:37,521
Speaker 2: None of Jeremiah's family members who we spoke to have

520
00:31:37,681 --> 00:31:41,001
Speaker 2: any idea where he may be today. Miranda said, the

521
00:31:41,041 --> 00:31:43,841
Speaker 2: fact that there are still no arrests and no justice,

522
00:31:43,961 --> 00:31:46,401
Speaker 2: and that there is still potentially a killer out there

523
00:31:46,441 --> 00:31:49,641
Speaker 2: walking the streets, it's something she thinks about all the time.

524
00:31:50,401 --> 00:31:54,401
Speaker 2: In fact, she wonders if even speaking out could put

525
00:31:54,441 --> 00:31:57,681
Speaker 2: her and her family in potential danger, and it's something

526
00:31:57,761 --> 00:32:00,001
Speaker 2: she said she has brought up with the Lake Charles

527
00:32:00,001 --> 00:32:00,801
Speaker 2: Police in the.

528
00:32:00,761 --> 00:32:05,001
Speaker 4: Past, and after Brandy's death, I did a please with

529
00:32:05,801 --> 00:32:10,481
Speaker 4: the media for if anybody had any information, And when

530
00:32:10,721 --> 00:32:14,121
Speaker 4: I asked the detective, I said, should I be scared?

531
00:32:15,601 --> 00:32:17,681
Speaker 4: And he's told me he said, do I think he'll

532
00:32:17,721 --> 00:32:21,361
Speaker 4: come after? You know? He said, but always be aware

533
00:32:21,201 --> 00:32:23,961
Speaker 4: and surrounded, so he sometimes it does happen.

534
00:32:25,161 --> 00:32:27,001
Speaker 2: We are going to keep pushing to see if we

535
00:32:27,001 --> 00:32:29,441
Speaker 2: can get access to any part of Brandy's case file

536
00:32:29,841 --> 00:32:33,121
Speaker 2: or her autopsy report. We are going to keep trying

537
00:32:33,161 --> 00:32:36,801
Speaker 2: to help her family get answers. In the meantime, since

538
00:32:36,841 --> 00:32:40,401
Speaker 2: this case started, I've gotten a lot of messages about

539
00:32:40,441 --> 00:32:43,441
Speaker 2: unsolved cases in Louisiana, in and around.

540
00:32:43,281 --> 00:32:45,121
Speaker 3: Calcaush you perish.

541
00:32:45,401 --> 00:32:47,841
Speaker 2: So next week we're going to take a look at

542
00:32:47,841 --> 00:32:52,161
Speaker 2: a triple homicide, one of the most notorious unsolved cases

543
00:32:52,201 --> 00:32:55,641
Speaker 2: in Louisiana. We're going to go back to nineteen ninety seven,

544
00:32:56,161 --> 00:32:59,401
Speaker 2: when three bodies were found inside a freezer at a

545
00:32:59,401 --> 00:33:01,841
Speaker 2: convenience store called Kk's Corners.

546
00:33:02,801 --> 00:33:03,881
Speaker 3: I'm Catherine Townsend.

547
00:33:04,281 --> 00:33:08,481
Speaker 2: This is Helen Gone Murder Line. Helen Gone Murder Line

548
00:33:08,521 --> 00:33:10,921
Speaker 2: is a production of School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts.

549
00:33:11,001 --> 00:33:14,001
Speaker 2: It's written and narrated by me Catherine Townsend and produced

550
00:33:14,041 --> 00:33:17,321
Speaker 2: by Gabby Watts. Special thanks to Amy Tubbs for her

551
00:33:17,361 --> 00:33:21,521
Speaker 2: research assistance. Noah Kamer mix and scored this episode. Our

552
00:33:21,561 --> 00:33:26,081
Speaker 2: theme song is by Ben Sale. Executive producers are Virginia Prescott,

553
00:33:26,201 --> 00:33:27,361
Speaker 2: Brandon Barr, and L. C.

554
00:33:27,521 --> 00:33:27,881
Speaker 3: Crowley.

555
00:33:28,601 --> 00:33:31,161
Speaker 2: Listen to Helen Gone ad free by subscribing to the

556
00:33:31,201 --> 00:33:34,441
Speaker 2: iHeart True Crime Plus channel on Apple Podcasts. If you

557
00:33:34,481 --> 00:33:37,001
Speaker 2: were interested in seeing documents and materials from the case,

558
00:33:37,441 --> 00:33:40,761
Speaker 2: you can follow the show on Instagram at Helen Gonpott.

559
00:33:41,241 --> 00:33:43,041
Speaker 2: If you have a case you'd like me and my

560
00:33:43,081 --> 00:33:45,441
Speaker 2: team to look into, you can reach out to us

561
00:33:45,521 --> 00:33:48,801
Speaker 2: at our Helengong Murder Line at six seven eight seven

562
00:33:48,841 --> 00:33:52,121
Speaker 2: four four six one four five. That's six seven eight

563
00:33:52,521 --> 00:33:55,001
Speaker 2: seven four four six one four five.

564
00:33:59,521 --> 00:34:00,681
Speaker 1: School of humans,