1
00:00:08,285 --> 00:00:09,205
Speaker 1: School of Humans.

2
00:00:13,645 --> 00:00:16,605
Speaker 2: Last week we talked about the mystery regarding whether or

3
00:00:16,685 --> 00:00:19,925
Speaker 2: not Deputy Blake Castle of the Madison County Sheriff's Office

4
00:00:20,365 --> 00:00:23,325
Speaker 2: ever went out to the area near Highway twenty one

5
00:00:23,445 --> 00:00:27,165
Speaker 2: and Madison County twenty five thirty five. That's where on

6
00:00:27,245 --> 00:00:30,005
Speaker 2: August fifth, at twelve thirty four am, a nine to

7
00:00:30,005 --> 00:00:32,765
Speaker 2: one one caller reported that she heard a woman screaming

8
00:00:33,125 --> 00:00:35,805
Speaker 2: that it sounded like she was being raped or tortured.

9
00:00:36,765 --> 00:00:40,565
Speaker 2: The dispatch report reads quote, a caller advised she believes

10
00:00:40,565 --> 00:00:42,405
Speaker 2: that she heard a woman in the woods behind her

11
00:00:42,405 --> 00:00:46,005
Speaker 2: house yelling. Stated she believes at one point the woman's

12
00:00:46,005 --> 00:00:49,885
Speaker 2: screamed for help. Caller advised there is not a physical address,

13
00:00:50,045 --> 00:00:52,445
Speaker 2: but it is in an area where a bunch of

14
00:00:52,445 --> 00:00:53,885
Speaker 2: homeless people were camped out.

15
00:00:54,205 --> 00:00:55,445
Speaker 1: End quote.

16
00:00:55,485 --> 00:00:57,845
Speaker 2: We know that the caller waited all night for the

17
00:00:57,885 --> 00:01:01,605
Speaker 2: Madison County Sheriff's Office to respond, but no one ever came.

18
00:01:02,645 --> 00:01:06,245
Speaker 2: And then a few weeks later, on September ninth, Taylor's

19
00:01:06,245 --> 00:01:08,405
Speaker 2: remains were found in a field near where the nine

20
00:01:08,405 --> 00:01:11,445
Speaker 2: to one one call was made. The Madison County Sheriff's

21
00:01:11,485 --> 00:01:15,045
Speaker 2: Office has said they are investigating Taylor Barksdale's death as

22
00:01:15,045 --> 00:01:19,165
Speaker 2: a homicide, and the Madison County Sheriff's Department said only

23
00:01:19,245 --> 00:01:23,245
Speaker 2: one deputy, blake Castle, was working the overnight shift from

24
00:01:23,285 --> 00:01:27,405
Speaker 2: August fourth to August fifth. Madison County Sheriff Ronnie Boyd

25
00:01:27,805 --> 00:01:31,085
Speaker 2: said that blake Castle had told dispatch that he had

26
00:01:31,125 --> 00:01:34,485
Speaker 2: responded to the call, when actually he didn't. Later that

27
00:01:34,565 --> 00:01:38,645
Speaker 2: same day on August fifth, when blake Castle's supervisor, Sergeant

28
00:01:38,685 --> 00:01:41,885
Speaker 2: Drew Scott, questioned him, he said he didn't respond to

29
00:01:41,925 --> 00:01:44,765
Speaker 2: the call because, quote, he had just been out to

30
00:01:44,805 --> 00:01:47,965
Speaker 2: that area thirty minutes or an hour earlier end quote.

31
00:01:48,405 --> 00:01:50,165
Speaker 1: But is that true.

32
00:01:50,245 --> 00:01:53,925
Speaker 2: We requested the AVL data from the deputies vehicle. We're

33
00:01:53,925 --> 00:01:56,005
Speaker 2: going to figure out where he really was in the

34
00:01:56,045 --> 00:01:57,765
Speaker 2: early morning hours of August fifth.

35
00:01:58,485 --> 00:01:59,565
Speaker 1: I'm Catherine Townsend.

36
00:02:00,045 --> 00:02:02,925
Speaker 2: Over the past five years of making my true crime podcast,

37
00:02:02,925 --> 00:02:05,685
Speaker 2: Helling Gone, I've learned that there is no such which

38
00:02:05,685 --> 00:02:09,045
Speaker 2: thing as a small town where murder never happens. I

39
00:02:09,125 --> 00:02:11,845
Speaker 2: have received hundreds of messages from people all around the

40
00:02:11,885 --> 00:02:15,005
Speaker 2: country asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them,

41
00:02:15,205 --> 00:02:18,685
Speaker 2: their families, and their communities. If you have a case,

42
00:02:18,685 --> 00:02:20,685
Speaker 2: you'd like me and my team to look into. You

43
00:02:20,725 --> 00:02:22,765
Speaker 2: can reach out to us at our Helen Gone Murder

44
00:02:22,805 --> 00:02:26,085
Speaker 2: Line at six seven eight seven four four six one

45
00:02:26,125 --> 00:02:29,925
Speaker 2: four five that's six seven eight seven four four, six

46
00:02:30,085 --> 00:02:32,525
Speaker 2: one four or five. Or you can send us a

47
00:02:32,565 --> 00:02:37,045
Speaker 2: message on Instagram at Helen Gonepod. This is Helen Gone

48
00:02:37,325 --> 00:03:30,005
Speaker 2: Murder Line. So there was a big development this week

49
00:03:30,045 --> 00:03:32,565
Speaker 2: in this case. According to an article in the Madison

50
00:03:32,605 --> 00:03:36,205
Speaker 2: County Record, the Sheriff of Madison County, Ronnie Boyd, has

51
00:03:36,245 --> 00:03:40,965
Speaker 2: filed paperwork to request blake Castle's decertification. I thought this

52
00:03:41,005 --> 00:03:43,925
Speaker 2: would mean that Blake Castle could no longer serve as

53
00:03:43,965 --> 00:03:47,285
Speaker 2: a law enforcement officer in Arkansas, but it turns out

54
00:03:47,445 --> 00:03:50,405
Speaker 2: that's not entirely accurate. I want to back up a

55
00:03:50,485 --> 00:03:53,085
Speaker 2: little bit and talk about exactly what is involved in

56
00:03:53,165 --> 00:03:58,805
Speaker 2: police decertification. The decertification process starts when a police officer

57
00:03:58,845 --> 00:04:02,605
Speaker 2: commits certain kinds of misconduct. The reasons why officers can

58
00:04:02,685 --> 00:04:06,125
Speaker 2: be desertified bury from state to state. Thirty one states

59
00:04:06,205 --> 00:04:09,005
Speaker 2: have agencies in the state that make the decisions about

60
00:04:09,005 --> 00:04:13,605
Speaker 2: which officers to decertify. Arkansas is one of them. In Arkansas,

61
00:04:13,645 --> 00:04:16,885
Speaker 2: the agency is the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training.

62
00:04:17,405 --> 00:04:20,245
Speaker 2: They meet four times a year, and according to the

63
00:04:20,325 --> 00:04:23,965
Speaker 2: Arkansas Advocate, they have at least a dozen officers who

64
00:04:24,045 --> 00:04:27,965
Speaker 2: are considered for decertification every time they meet. In the

65
00:04:28,005 --> 00:04:31,445
Speaker 2: case of Blake Castle, Sheriff Ronnie Boyd apparently wrote a

66
00:04:31,525 --> 00:04:34,405
Speaker 2: letter to the commission to get this process started, but

67
00:04:34,605 --> 00:04:39,045
Speaker 2: once again there's a question about what date everything took place.

68
00:04:39,725 --> 00:04:43,005
Speaker 2: The letter from Sheriff Boyd is dated October twenty ninth.

69
00:04:43,525 --> 00:04:46,485
Speaker 2: By the way, decertification sounds like it would be a

70
00:04:46,525 --> 00:04:49,605
Speaker 2: good thing. If an officer does something that violates ethics

71
00:04:49,725 --> 00:04:52,485
Speaker 2: or something else that would compromise their integrity, there is

72
00:04:52,525 --> 00:04:57,285
Speaker 2: a remedy, but officers are only decertified after they are

73
00:04:57,325 --> 00:05:01,205
Speaker 2: fired or quit, and even though they may be temporarily

74
00:05:01,245 --> 00:05:04,885
Speaker 2: barred from working in law enforcement, in some cases they

75
00:05:04,925 --> 00:05:09,485
Speaker 2: can be recertified. A big problem in Taylor Barksdale's case,

76
00:05:09,525 --> 00:05:13,405
Speaker 2: in my opinion, but also in Arkansas in general, is transparency.

77
00:05:14,045 --> 00:05:16,965
Speaker 2: There is a lack of transparency in everything, including the

78
00:05:17,005 --> 00:05:22,325
Speaker 2: desertification process. Again because according to the Arkansas Advocate, Arkansas

79
00:05:22,365 --> 00:05:25,085
Speaker 2: is one of only fifteen states that keep the identities

80
00:05:25,165 --> 00:05:28,765
Speaker 2: of officers private. Now they claim that that's to protect the

81
00:05:28,805 --> 00:05:32,245
Speaker 2: identity of undercover officers. But a lot of critics say

82
00:05:32,405 --> 00:05:35,845
Speaker 2: this is just not valid. First of all, undercover officers

83
00:05:36,005 --> 00:05:40,005
Speaker 2: don't normally use their real names. Also, other states find

84
00:05:40,085 --> 00:05:43,325
Speaker 2: ways to provide names that does not compromise officer safety.

85
00:05:43,925 --> 00:05:48,405
Speaker 2: So why are police officers decertified? Well, usually they go

86
00:05:48,525 --> 00:05:51,685
Speaker 2: up for decertifications when they're involved in a situation that

87
00:05:51,765 --> 00:05:55,645
Speaker 2: involves ethical violations, something that means that they no longer

88
00:05:55,645 --> 00:05:57,845
Speaker 2: have the trust of the public or of their department.

89
00:05:58,645 --> 00:06:02,245
Speaker 2: For example, in twenty fifteen, a detective retired from the

90
00:06:02,285 --> 00:06:05,965
Speaker 2: Saline County Sheriff's office after being accused of using racist

91
00:06:05,965 --> 00:06:09,285
Speaker 2: remarks while in duty, and in that case, the commission

92
00:06:09,365 --> 00:06:13,045
Speaker 2: voted to let that officer keep their certification even though

93
00:06:13,085 --> 00:06:17,125
Speaker 2: he'd been fired. In another case I read about, decertification

94
00:06:17,285 --> 00:06:20,005
Speaker 2: was requested when a police supervisor found out that two

95
00:06:20,045 --> 00:06:23,405
Speaker 2: officers were having an appropriate relationship I believe because they

96
00:06:23,445 --> 00:06:24,725
Speaker 2: were married to other people.

97
00:06:24,445 --> 00:06:25,365
Speaker 1: And then lied about it.

98
00:06:26,045 --> 00:06:31,205
Speaker 2: According to NPR, these types of administrative panels have voted

99
00:06:31,245 --> 00:06:34,485
Speaker 2: to decertify officers for things like failing to respond to

100
00:06:34,605 --> 00:06:37,285
Speaker 2: nine to one one calls and lying about excessive force.

101
00:06:37,885 --> 00:06:41,245
Speaker 2: These things can end up going to trial because the

102
00:06:41,285 --> 00:06:45,965
Speaker 2: commission that decertifies officers does ask the police department for evidence.

103
00:06:46,605 --> 00:06:49,165
Speaker 2: That could be a good thing, but in practice, a

104
00:06:49,205 --> 00:06:52,485
Speaker 2: lot of times it doesn't go to trial. The officers

105
00:06:52,565 --> 00:06:56,245
Speaker 2: end up either not being decertified or moving around and

106
00:06:56,285 --> 00:07:00,205
Speaker 2: getting a job somewhere else. Sheriff Ronnie Boyd rightly pointed

107
00:07:00,205 --> 00:07:03,485
Speaker 2: out they were seriously understaffed in Madison County. That's a

108
00:07:03,485 --> 00:07:06,805
Speaker 2: problem all around Arkansas and all around the country. The

109
00:07:06,925 --> 00:07:10,685
Speaker 2: Arkansas Advocates started asking questions. They started working with other

110
00:07:10,765 --> 00:07:15,165
Speaker 2: news organizations to compile certification data, at least they tried to.

111
00:07:15,965 --> 00:07:20,205
Speaker 2: They wanted to track what they call wandering officers, officers

112
00:07:20,205 --> 00:07:22,845
Speaker 2: who were fired and then quietly go to work somewhere else.

113
00:07:23,405 --> 00:07:26,365
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty two, a video of a suspect being

114
00:07:26,405 --> 00:07:30,125
Speaker 2: beaten in northwest Arkansas went viral. Now, according to the Advocate,

115
00:07:30,245 --> 00:07:33,765
Speaker 2: two officers were arrested on federal charges related to that arrest.

116
00:07:34,365 --> 00:07:36,125
Speaker 2: One of them has gone back to work for the

117
00:07:36,165 --> 00:07:39,725
Speaker 2: police department he was working for before in Mulberry. In

118
00:07:39,765 --> 00:07:44,525
Speaker 2: another example, one officer was convicted of negligent homicide. That

119
00:07:44,645 --> 00:07:48,045
Speaker 2: officer went on to another town and became the police chief.

120
00:07:48,965 --> 00:07:52,325
Speaker 2: I really don't understand the need for secrecy here. I

121
00:07:52,365 --> 00:07:55,205
Speaker 2: mean members of the public are able to check people's

122
00:07:55,245 --> 00:07:59,965
Speaker 2: licenses for everything these days, from private investigators to doctors,

123
00:08:00,445 --> 00:08:04,565
Speaker 2: all kinds of medical licenses, even things like licenses to

124
00:08:04,645 --> 00:08:05,885
Speaker 2: operate in nails salon.

125
00:08:06,005 --> 00:08:07,445
Speaker 1: All these things are public record.

126
00:08:07,925 --> 00:08:11,445
Speaker 2: So why aren't the names of people who literally make

127
00:08:11,565 --> 00:08:12,965
Speaker 2: life or death decisions for.

128
00:08:12,925 --> 00:08:14,365
Speaker 1: The community publicly available?

129
00:08:15,085 --> 00:08:17,725
Speaker 2: Ellen Creth reported in the Madison County Record that the

130
00:08:17,845 --> 00:08:21,685
Speaker 2: Arkansas Division on Law Enforcement Standards and Training had received

131
00:08:21,685 --> 00:08:24,845
Speaker 2: a letter that was dated October twenty ninth from Madison

132
00:08:24,845 --> 00:08:27,965
Speaker 2: County Sheriff Ronnie Boyd. This was the letter where he

133
00:08:28,005 --> 00:08:32,085
Speaker 2: explained why he wanted blake Castle to be decertified. But again,

134
00:08:32,205 --> 00:08:35,765
Speaker 2: the timings have been hard to verify because the paper

135
00:08:35,845 --> 00:08:40,685
Speaker 2: reported that on November fifteenth, someone from the agency emailed

136
00:08:40,765 --> 00:08:44,525
Speaker 2: Ronnie Boyd. They asked him to fill out a desertification

137
00:08:44,645 --> 00:08:47,965
Speaker 2: form online and to send through evidence. Then, the paper

138
00:08:48,045 --> 00:08:50,925
Speaker 2: said that Sheriff Boyd told them that he filled out

139
00:08:50,925 --> 00:08:53,285
Speaker 2: the online form and sent back the evidence they were

140
00:08:53,325 --> 00:08:57,165
Speaker 2: asking for. On November nineteenth, the Madison County Record talked

141
00:08:57,165 --> 00:09:01,085
Speaker 2: to Sheriff Boyd. The sheriff said, quote the desertification process

142
00:09:01,245 --> 00:09:03,725
Speaker 2: is new to him, and he thought the October twenty

143
00:09:03,805 --> 00:09:08,085
Speaker 2: ninth letter would start the process end quote. Apparently they

144
00:09:08,125 --> 00:09:11,285
Speaker 2: asked for evidence. Sheriff Boyd sent them letters from blake

145
00:09:11,285 --> 00:09:16,925
Speaker 2: Castle's disciplinary files, a call log, and blake Castle's AVL data.

146
00:09:18,205 --> 00:09:20,965
Speaker 2: Sheriff Boyd wrote in his letter, quote, although I think

147
00:09:20,965 --> 00:09:23,365
Speaker 2: mister Hassell learned his lesson for not responding in the

148
00:09:23,365 --> 00:09:26,445
Speaker 2: first place and lying about it, I believe the public's

149
00:09:26,485 --> 00:09:29,445
Speaker 2: trust will forever be eroded by this incident of failing

150
00:09:29,485 --> 00:09:33,165
Speaker 2: to protect life, which is a fundamental duty as outlined

151
00:09:33,165 --> 00:09:37,045
Speaker 2: in our Code of Ethics end quote. So Sheriff Boyd

152
00:09:37,165 --> 00:09:39,925
Speaker 2: wrote right there in his own letter that blake Castle lied.

153
00:09:48,285 --> 00:09:52,725
Speaker 2: The newspaper asked blake Castle for comment, and blake Castle

154
00:09:52,845 --> 00:09:55,925
Speaker 2: actually issued his own statement to the Madison County Record.

155
00:09:56,685 --> 00:09:59,885
Speaker 2: He said he was in the area where Taylor Barksdale's

156
00:09:59,885 --> 00:10:03,005
Speaker 2: remains were found. He said that at the time of

157
00:10:03,005 --> 00:10:05,405
Speaker 2: the nine to one one call, he was quote work

158
00:10:05,565 --> 00:10:09,365
Speaker 2: king a very high priority investigation end quote. His statement

159
00:10:09,405 --> 00:10:12,685
Speaker 2: also read quote due to my past experience of false

160
00:10:12,765 --> 00:10:15,365
Speaker 2: nine one one calls at that location and vagueness of

161
00:10:15,365 --> 00:10:18,125
Speaker 2: the call, it was not determined to be a high

162
00:10:18,205 --> 00:10:21,085
Speaker 2: priority at that time end quote.

163
00:10:21,125 --> 00:10:22,565
Speaker 1: We took a look.

164
00:10:22,405 --> 00:10:24,725
Speaker 2: At some of the dispatch reports and it turns out

165
00:10:25,125 --> 00:10:28,445
Speaker 2: there were two recent calls involving disturbances that were made

166
00:10:28,485 --> 00:10:32,085
Speaker 2: from the area of Madison twenty five thirty five. One

167
00:10:32,125 --> 00:10:35,765
Speaker 2: was on March twenty first, the report was about neighbor trouble.

168
00:10:36,245 --> 00:10:42,085
Speaker 2: On April tenth, another disturbance was reported. So that's only

169
00:10:42,285 --> 00:10:47,565
Speaker 2: two calls several months before August fifth. Two calls months

170
00:10:47,565 --> 00:10:51,005
Speaker 2: before is objectively not a lot of calls, And honestly,

171
00:10:51,485 --> 00:10:53,925
Speaker 2: even if there were frequent calls from that area, that's

172
00:10:54,005 --> 00:10:57,845
Speaker 2: part of the job. Obviously, some areas are going to

173
00:10:57,885 --> 00:11:01,365
Speaker 2: be more high crime than others or receive more calls

174
00:11:01,365 --> 00:11:03,885
Speaker 2: for police assistance than others. That's the nature of the job.

175
00:11:04,965 --> 00:11:07,765
Speaker 2: But let's go back to blake Castle's other claim, because,

176
00:11:08,125 --> 00:11:11,165
Speaker 2: again according to the letter that Sheriff Ronnie Boyd wrote,

177
00:11:11,725 --> 00:11:14,525
Speaker 2: which we did a FOY request for regarding his termination,

178
00:11:15,085 --> 00:11:17,765
Speaker 2: blake Castle claimed that he had just been out to

179
00:11:17,805 --> 00:11:20,245
Speaker 2: that area thirty minutes or an hour before the nine

180
00:11:20,285 --> 00:11:23,565
Speaker 2: to one one call was made. We did FOY requests

181
00:11:23,565 --> 00:11:26,845
Speaker 2: for blake Castle's disciplinary file, but our requests were denied.

182
00:11:27,765 --> 00:11:30,565
Speaker 2: We did get the AVL data, and the AVL data

183
00:11:30,645 --> 00:11:34,165
Speaker 2: map shows that blake Castle's vehicle was at two locations

184
00:11:34,205 --> 00:11:36,685
Speaker 2: on the night of August fifth. One of them was

185
00:11:36,725 --> 00:11:39,045
Speaker 2: in an area by the Huntsville Airport where I'm told

186
00:11:39,085 --> 00:11:41,885
Speaker 2: that law enforcement has a place to refuel the vehicles.

187
00:11:42,325 --> 00:11:46,205
Speaker 2: The other is the Madison County Sheriff's Department. AVL data

188
00:11:46,325 --> 00:11:49,845
Speaker 2: shows that that vehicle was parked there all night. So

189
00:11:50,165 --> 00:11:52,725
Speaker 2: if blake Castle said that he was at the location

190
00:11:52,805 --> 00:11:54,925
Speaker 2: of the nine to one one call anytime on the

191
00:11:55,005 --> 00:11:58,205
Speaker 2: night of the fourth to the fifth, his AVL data

192
00:11:58,285 --> 00:12:02,685
Speaker 2: shows that's not true. There's something else. A quote from

193
00:12:02,725 --> 00:12:07,405
Speaker 2: Sheriff Foyd's letter to the Commission director. It read quote

194
00:12:07,805 --> 00:12:10,885
Speaker 2: when Deputy Hassele was questioned about the incident the following day,

195
00:12:11,365 --> 00:12:14,085
Speaker 2: he did admit to not responding and was counseled on

196
00:12:14,125 --> 00:12:17,445
Speaker 2: the importance of answering calls and not letting past incidents

197
00:12:17,525 --> 00:12:22,845
Speaker 2: cloud present events end quote. Boyd also wrote, quote everything

198
00:12:22,925 --> 00:12:25,765
Speaker 2: is pointing to that timeframe as most likely being the

199
00:12:25,885 --> 00:12:28,285
Speaker 2: last time that the female was alive, and that she

200
00:12:28,445 --> 00:12:30,285
Speaker 2: was the person who had have been yelling for help.

201
00:12:30,725 --> 00:12:32,645
Speaker 1: End quote.

202
00:12:32,725 --> 00:12:35,725
Speaker 2: We did a foyer request, and we obtained the statement

203
00:12:35,765 --> 00:12:39,445
Speaker 2: related to blake Castle's termination. It was a typed letter

204
00:12:39,645 --> 00:12:42,565
Speaker 2: dated August fifth, and it talked about how Drew Scott

205
00:12:42,605 --> 00:12:46,325
Speaker 2: gave blake Castle verbal counseling, basically a verbal warning, because

206
00:12:46,365 --> 00:12:48,445
Speaker 2: blake admitted to Drew Scott that he didn't go to

207
00:12:48,485 --> 00:12:51,405
Speaker 2: the nine one one call. But as I mentioned before,

208
00:12:51,445 --> 00:12:54,005
Speaker 2: there was a handwritten part of the letter, a date

209
00:12:54,125 --> 00:12:57,565
Speaker 2: had been crossed out and the date August fifth had

210
00:12:57,565 --> 00:13:01,285
Speaker 2: been written in the Madison County Record requested the original

211
00:13:01,405 --> 00:13:04,045
Speaker 2: letter without the correction, and when they got it back,

212
00:13:04,405 --> 00:13:07,925
Speaker 2: the original date was August sixth. So the newspaper tried

213
00:13:07,965 --> 00:13:11,365
Speaker 2: to talk to Sheriff Boyd about that discrepancy. He said

214
00:13:11,645 --> 00:13:15,565
Speaker 2: that blake Castle and Drew Scott had talked on August fifth,

215
00:13:16,165 --> 00:13:19,285
Speaker 2: But then he said a few days later he remembered

216
00:13:19,365 --> 00:13:22,005
Speaker 2: that he Sheriff Foyd, had waited until the sixth to

217
00:13:22,005 --> 00:13:24,645
Speaker 2: figure out how to deal with all this. So Sheriff

218
00:13:24,645 --> 00:13:27,285
Speaker 2: Boyd said he asked Drew Scott to change the date

219
00:13:27,325 --> 00:13:29,725
Speaker 2: of that letter, to cross out the sixth and write

220
00:13:29,725 --> 00:13:33,245
Speaker 2: in August fifth. Now, again, this seems like a small detail,

221
00:13:33,325 --> 00:13:36,925
Speaker 2: but if the police are not being forthcoming, with minor details.

222
00:13:37,325 --> 00:13:40,325
Speaker 2: It naturally leads family members and others in the community

223
00:13:40,365 --> 00:13:43,165
Speaker 2: to wonder what else could they be hiding or leaving

224
00:13:43,165 --> 00:13:47,525
Speaker 2: out of this narrative. After this verbal counseling, blake Castle

225
00:13:47,605 --> 00:13:51,365
Speaker 2: was allowed to continue at his job. On September ninth,

226
00:13:51,765 --> 00:13:54,645
Speaker 2: Taylor's remains were found in the field near where the

227
00:13:54,725 --> 00:13:56,085
Speaker 2: nine to one one call was made, and it was

228
00:13:56,165 --> 00:14:00,165
Speaker 2: only after that, on September eleventh, two days later, when

229
00:14:00,205 --> 00:14:04,325
Speaker 2: Sheriff Boyd called blake Castle into his office. At that point,

230
00:14:04,485 --> 00:14:07,805
Speaker 2: Sheriff Boyd told blake Castle that the woman whose remains

231
00:14:07,845 --> 00:14:10,885
Speaker 2: they found, Taylor, was likely the victim who had been

232
00:14:10,885 --> 00:14:12,845
Speaker 2: on the call that he had been dispatched to and

233
00:14:12,885 --> 00:14:13,805
Speaker 2: failed to respond to.

234
00:14:14,405 --> 00:14:15,685
Speaker 1: The report reads quote.

235
00:14:16,005 --> 00:14:18,405
Speaker 2: I informed him that all signs were leading back to

236
00:14:18,445 --> 00:14:20,605
Speaker 2: that night of the call that he failed to respond

237
00:14:20,645 --> 00:14:23,285
Speaker 2: to and lied saying he did end quote.

238
00:14:23,725 --> 00:14:25,205
Speaker 1: The statement reads quote.

239
00:14:25,405 --> 00:14:27,925
Speaker 2: I advised Deputy Hassle just because he was out there

240
00:14:27,965 --> 00:14:30,925
Speaker 2: then does not mean something was not happening at the

241
00:14:30,965 --> 00:14:34,565
Speaker 2: time he had received the call. Deputy Hassle agreed he

242
00:14:34,605 --> 00:14:36,845
Speaker 2: should have gone back out there and he did not.

243
00:14:37,525 --> 00:14:38,965
Speaker 1: End quote.

244
00:14:39,165 --> 00:14:42,965
Speaker 2: From that statement, it really makes it seem like blake

245
00:14:43,045 --> 00:14:45,405
Speaker 2: Castle claimed that he had been at the location of

246
00:14:45,405 --> 00:14:49,005
Speaker 2: the nine one one call earlier. We wanted to solve

247
00:14:49,005 --> 00:14:53,085
Speaker 2: this mystery, so we went back again. We requested all

248
00:14:53,125 --> 00:14:56,045
Speaker 2: of the AVL data from August fourth to August fifth

249
00:14:56,085 --> 00:14:58,765
Speaker 2: and some other dates. We got back two hundred and

250
00:14:58,845 --> 00:15:02,205
Speaker 2: fifty pages of data, and all of it showed that

251
00:15:02,205 --> 00:15:05,765
Speaker 2: that vehicle. Blake Castle's vehicle was at the matt Wison

252
00:15:05,805 --> 00:15:10,525
Speaker 2: County Sheriff's Department all night. So unless Deputy Housel went

253
00:15:10,565 --> 00:15:13,645
Speaker 2: out to that scene in another vehicle, he never responded

254
00:15:13,645 --> 00:15:17,725
Speaker 2: to that call. Sheriff Boyd said that he waited until

255
00:15:17,765 --> 00:15:21,285
Speaker 2: October twenty ninth to request the desertification because he wanted

256
00:15:21,325 --> 00:15:24,325
Speaker 2: to be absolutely sure about what he was doing. The

257
00:15:24,365 --> 00:15:28,845
Speaker 2: desertification process was put through on November nineteenth, after The

258
00:15:28,845 --> 00:15:32,365
Speaker 2: Madison County Record ran multiple articles and filed multiple freedom

259
00:15:32,365 --> 00:15:36,085
Speaker 2: of information requests, and after this podcast aired two episodes

260
00:15:36,085 --> 00:15:42,045
Speaker 2: on Taylor's case and also filed multiple freedom of information requests.

261
00:15:46,165 --> 00:15:49,805
Speaker 2: We're still trying to find people who saw Taylor Barksdale

262
00:15:49,845 --> 00:15:52,365
Speaker 2: in the last days of her life. The Madison County

263
00:15:52,365 --> 00:15:55,445
Speaker 2: Sheriff's Department has said that this is an active investigation.

264
00:15:55,885 --> 00:15:58,725
Speaker 2: That they are out there questioning people and trying to

265
00:15:58,765 --> 00:16:02,725
Speaker 2: find out who killed Taylor. There are a lot of

266
00:16:02,725 --> 00:16:05,965
Speaker 2: pieces of evidence that they're still waiting on. Em They

267
00:16:05,965 --> 00:16:10,285
Speaker 2: say they still have not received the autopsy report. Taylor's

268
00:16:10,325 --> 00:16:14,525
Speaker 2: aunt has said that Sheriff Ronnie Boyd has not reached

269
00:16:14,565 --> 00:16:18,725
Speaker 2: out to the Barksdale family since September, which has been frustrating,

270
00:16:19,245 --> 00:16:22,685
Speaker 2: and honestly, it's still difficult to tell in what capacity

271
00:16:22,765 --> 00:16:25,845
Speaker 2: the Arkansas State Police are involved. We've been told the

272
00:16:25,845 --> 00:16:29,325
Speaker 2: Madison County Sheriff's Office is the lead investigative agency and

273
00:16:29,325 --> 00:16:32,365
Speaker 2: that the Arkansas State Police are assisting. I don't know

274
00:16:32,405 --> 00:16:34,965
Speaker 2: exactly what that means. I do know multiple people have

275
00:16:35,045 --> 00:16:38,085
Speaker 2: told me that when they contacted the ASP, they were

276
00:16:38,125 --> 00:16:41,205
Speaker 2: directed back. They were told to contact the Madison County

277
00:16:41,205 --> 00:16:46,205
Speaker 2: Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Boyd says the police are actively investigating leads.

278
00:16:46,805 --> 00:16:49,765
Speaker 2: I want to say, I'm sure that's true. I understand

279
00:16:49,805 --> 00:16:53,645
Speaker 2: them not wanting to make certain elements of the investigation public. However,

280
00:16:54,085 --> 00:16:57,205
Speaker 2: there's a big difference between leaking information that could be

281
00:16:57,245 --> 00:17:00,925
Speaker 2: harmful to the case and public transparency. I think the

282
00:17:01,005 --> 00:17:04,245
Speaker 2: latter is extremely important when it comes to building trust

283
00:17:04,285 --> 00:17:08,725
Speaker 2: between law enforcement and the community. Sheriff Boyd also told

284
00:17:08,765 --> 00:17:11,485
Speaker 2: the Madison County Record something that I think is actually

285
00:17:11,485 --> 00:17:15,125
Speaker 2: pretty wild. He said, quote, I'm not going to correct

286
00:17:15,125 --> 00:17:18,325
Speaker 2: that information. I'm just not going to comment on what's

287
00:17:18,365 --> 00:17:22,445
Speaker 2: true and what's not end quote, which does not seem

288
00:17:22,485 --> 00:17:24,565
Speaker 2: to be the right approach to take in my opinion,

289
00:17:24,605 --> 00:17:27,685
Speaker 2: if you're trying to build trust with a murder victim's

290
00:17:27,685 --> 00:17:31,685
Speaker 2: family or with the public. Sheriff Boyd told the newspaper

291
00:17:31,765 --> 00:17:34,845
Speaker 2: that he had seen so much in correct reporting he

292
00:17:35,085 --> 00:17:38,925
Speaker 2: was afraid to say anything anymore. But if he wants

293
00:17:38,965 --> 00:17:42,845
Speaker 2: accurate information to be disseminated in the media, surely he

294
00:17:42,925 --> 00:17:46,525
Speaker 2: should be informing the media and the public what's going on,

295
00:17:46,685 --> 00:17:50,005
Speaker 2: keeping them updated, because remember, there is a killer on

296
00:17:50,045 --> 00:17:50,525
Speaker 2: the loose.

297
00:17:50,805 --> 00:17:52,005
Speaker 1: People are terrified.

298
00:17:52,565 --> 00:17:56,445
Speaker 2: The sheriff, in my opinion, needs to reassure the public

299
00:17:56,485 --> 00:18:03,245
Speaker 2: and build trust. After speaking to Deputy Hassle on September eleventh,

300
00:18:03,645 --> 00:18:07,605
Speaker 2: Sheriff Boyd offered him to choices. He could resign or

301
00:18:07,685 --> 00:18:11,725
Speaker 2: be fired. Blake Castle chose to resign. I want to

302
00:18:11,765 --> 00:18:15,325
Speaker 2: go back to the statement that Deputy blake Castle gave

303
00:18:15,405 --> 00:18:19,485
Speaker 2: to the Madison County Record because he told the record, quote,

304
00:18:20,085 --> 00:18:23,005
Speaker 2: I was physically at the location of concern twice on

305
00:18:23,085 --> 00:18:25,125
Speaker 2: that night, just prior to the nine one one call.

306
00:18:25,565 --> 00:18:27,805
Speaker 1: There were no signs of anyone being there.

307
00:18:28,445 --> 00:18:31,285
Speaker 2: Residents at that location were known to be off their

308
00:18:31,325 --> 00:18:34,405
Speaker 2: medication and not in their proper states of mind.

309
00:18:34,925 --> 00:18:35,765
Speaker 1: End quote.

310
00:18:35,925 --> 00:18:39,045
Speaker 2: In addition to the fact that his AVL data shows

311
00:18:39,365 --> 00:18:42,405
Speaker 2: that he was never in that location, which, if correct,

312
00:18:42,445 --> 00:18:46,365
Speaker 2: would suggest that he lied again, this statement by Blake

313
00:18:46,445 --> 00:18:50,685
Speaker 2: Castle makes things much worse in my opinion, because he

314
00:18:50,765 --> 00:18:52,805
Speaker 2: seemed to be saying he made the decision to blow

315
00:18:52,845 --> 00:18:54,965
Speaker 2: off the nine to one one call because of false

316
00:18:55,045 --> 00:18:57,805
Speaker 2: nine one one calls in the past. Dispatch reports do

317
00:18:57,925 --> 00:19:00,445
Speaker 2: not show multiple nine one one calls from that location.

318
00:19:01,205 --> 00:19:04,485
Speaker 2: He said he was working a high priority investigation that night,

319
00:19:04,805 --> 00:19:08,165
Speaker 2: presumably from his desk at the Sheriff's office. What high

320
00:19:08,245 --> 00:19:11,685
Speaker 2: priority investigation was he working on. We have no idea

321
00:19:11,925 --> 00:19:16,045
Speaker 2: and the police aren't saying. Also, Blake Hassel is not

322
00:19:16,125 --> 00:19:19,405
Speaker 2: a doctor. He has no idea who has prescribed what medications,

323
00:19:19,845 --> 00:19:23,525
Speaker 2: if any, that they're on or when they're off them. Also,

324
00:19:23,805 --> 00:19:27,445
Speaker 2: I cannot imagine a more insensitive way to view vulnerable people.

325
00:19:28,045 --> 00:19:30,885
Speaker 2: If someone is having mental health challenges that would make

326
00:19:30,925 --> 00:19:32,645
Speaker 2: them more vulnerable, not less.

327
00:19:33,725 --> 00:19:35,165
Speaker 1: The Barksdale family.

328
00:19:34,885 --> 00:19:37,605
Speaker 2: Told the newspaper, quote, the family would like for the

329
00:19:37,605 --> 00:19:40,205
Speaker 2: public to know that, no matter whether a resident was

330
00:19:40,245 --> 00:19:43,605
Speaker 2: on or off their medication, there is no excuse for

331
00:19:43,645 --> 00:19:46,245
Speaker 2: a nine to one one call reporting a woman screaming

332
00:19:46,285 --> 00:19:49,325
Speaker 2: for help to be ignored. For Hasel to assume it

333
00:19:49,365 --> 00:19:52,485
Speaker 2: was a resident off their medication is asinine. We as

334
00:19:52,525 --> 00:19:55,245
Speaker 2: a family choose to remember the good times we shared

335
00:19:55,245 --> 00:19:58,405
Speaker 2: with Taylor. Just because she had struggles does not give

336
00:19:58,485 --> 00:20:00,885
Speaker 2: a deputy the right to not do his job, which

337
00:20:01,005 --> 00:20:03,285
Speaker 2: led to her being taken away from us too soon.

338
00:20:03,885 --> 00:20:05,805
Speaker 1: End quote.

339
00:20:05,845 --> 00:20:10,325
Speaker 2: Sheriff Ronnie Boyd on social media has written, of course

340
00:20:10,485 --> 00:20:12,965
Speaker 2: Blake Castle should have responded to the nine one one call.

341
00:20:13,565 --> 00:20:14,965
Speaker 1: He wrote, quote, I.

342
00:20:14,925 --> 00:20:17,565
Speaker 2: Want to make absolutely clear that the deputy should have

343
00:20:17,605 --> 00:20:20,405
Speaker 2: responded when he received a call where someone was screaming

344
00:20:20,445 --> 00:20:24,045
Speaker 2: for help. That is law enforcement's number one duty and

345
00:20:24,085 --> 00:20:28,005
Speaker 2: there absolutely is no excuse for that end quote. But

346
00:20:28,325 --> 00:20:32,285
Speaker 2: other statements that I've read seem to be much more equivocal,

347
00:20:32,965 --> 00:20:36,205
Speaker 2: and in my opinion, he's continuing to be defensive when

348
00:20:36,245 --> 00:20:39,485
Speaker 2: he's asked about confirming the most basic facts about the case.

349
00:20:40,645 --> 00:20:43,125
Speaker 2: We are going to start a new case next week,

350
00:20:43,565 --> 00:20:45,565
Speaker 2: but we are going to keep going. We're going to

351
00:20:45,685 --> 00:20:51,085
Speaker 2: keep following Taylor's case. I keep thinking about Taylor. Taylor

352
00:20:51,125 --> 00:20:54,525
Speaker 2: Barksdale was out there alone for weeks. We know that

353
00:20:54,605 --> 00:20:56,645
Speaker 2: she got into a big argument with someone from the

354
00:20:56,645 --> 00:20:59,645
Speaker 2: Dispatch report that shows she was outside a home in

355
00:20:59,725 --> 00:21:03,245
Speaker 2: Huntsville on July twentieth. After that, she didn't go back

356
00:21:03,245 --> 00:21:06,125
Speaker 2: to her ex boyfriend's residence. She was off and on

357
00:21:06,205 --> 00:21:09,125
Speaker 2: with friends. Some of her clothing was found scattered in

358
00:21:09,165 --> 00:21:12,525
Speaker 2: the Big Clifty area, and somehow she ended up in Kingston.

359
00:21:13,285 --> 00:21:15,445
Speaker 1: Two of the men she was seen with.

360
00:21:15,525 --> 00:21:18,685
Speaker 2: B one and B two hung around in the area

361
00:21:18,765 --> 00:21:20,485
Speaker 2: near where the nine to one one call was placed.

362
00:21:21,125 --> 00:21:24,285
Speaker 2: One of them lived there. We don't know if law

363
00:21:24,365 --> 00:21:27,045
Speaker 2: enforcement has been back to question these men or the

364
00:21:27,125 --> 00:21:29,605
Speaker 2: other man whose camper has been moved from that area.

365
00:21:30,165 --> 00:21:33,045
Speaker 2: We also still have a lot of unanswered questions about

366
00:21:33,125 --> 00:21:34,085
Speaker 2: Jason Lierrel's case.

367
00:21:34,685 --> 00:21:36,445
Speaker 1: Have police questioned.

368
00:21:35,965 --> 00:21:38,565
Speaker 2: The guy who's home Jason was last believed to be

369
00:21:38,645 --> 00:21:42,205
Speaker 2: at in Huntsville, What happened to Jason's clothing that was

370
00:21:42,205 --> 00:21:45,805
Speaker 2: found there, has it been tested? And could there be

371
00:21:45,885 --> 00:21:48,885
Speaker 2: other deaths that are connected to these cases. So far,

372
00:21:49,085 --> 00:21:51,285
Speaker 2: there are a lot of rumors but no hard evidence,

373
00:21:51,805 --> 00:21:54,525
Speaker 2: but there do seem to be a lot of mysterious

374
00:21:54,565 --> 00:21:57,405
Speaker 2: deaths in Madison County. I know that a lot of

375
00:21:57,405 --> 00:21:59,885
Speaker 2: people are going home for the holidays this week, and

376
00:21:59,925 --> 00:22:01,845
Speaker 2: I've been thinking a lot about people who may be

377
00:22:01,925 --> 00:22:07,525
Speaker 2: disenfranchised or vulnerable. It's sometimes easy for people to think

378
00:22:07,565 --> 00:22:10,245
Speaker 2: of people who may be using drugs or who aren't

379
00:22:10,285 --> 00:22:13,325
Speaker 2: in the best situations as separate from everyone else, but

380
00:22:13,365 --> 00:22:17,485
Speaker 2: they're not. So many people in this world are one

381
00:22:17,565 --> 00:22:21,685
Speaker 2: paycheck away from being homeless, or one traumatic event away

382
00:22:21,725 --> 00:22:22,845
Speaker 2: from turning to drugs.

383
00:22:23,325 --> 00:22:24,645
Speaker 1: We are all connected.

384
00:22:25,485 --> 00:22:29,005
Speaker 2: Sheriff Boyd wrote something else in his statement on social media.

385
00:22:29,925 --> 00:22:32,205
Speaker 1: It read quote, if.

386
00:22:32,005 --> 00:22:35,245
Speaker 2: We hear, we know somebody is actually wanting help, we

387
00:22:35,325 --> 00:22:36,085
Speaker 2: need to respond.

388
00:22:36,405 --> 00:22:38,245
Speaker 1: That's all there is to it. End quote.

389
00:22:38,925 --> 00:22:42,165
Speaker 2: Every single one of us has been vulnerable at one

390
00:22:42,165 --> 00:22:45,405
Speaker 2: time or another in our lives. If someone is screaming

391
00:22:45,485 --> 00:22:48,965
Speaker 2: in a dark field, imagine what would you want someone

392
00:22:48,965 --> 00:22:52,645
Speaker 2: to do if that was your family member. I actually

393
00:22:52,645 --> 00:22:57,045
Speaker 2: would have worded the Sheriff's statement differently. If someone needs help,

394
00:22:57,445 --> 00:23:03,925
Speaker 2: they need to respond. In the meantime, my way of

395
00:23:04,005 --> 00:23:06,565
Speaker 2: helping people in need is to keep asking questions and

396
00:23:06,645 --> 00:23:10,645
Speaker 2: trying to get answers, and to keep pushing for more

397
00:23:10,685 --> 00:23:16,125
Speaker 2: transparency and for justice for Taylor and Jason's families. I'm

398
00:23:16,205 --> 00:23:20,965
Speaker 2: Katherine Townsend. This is Helen Gone Murder Line. Helen Gone

399
00:23:21,005 --> 00:23:22,925
Speaker 2: Murder Line is a production of School of Humans and

400
00:23:22,965 --> 00:23:26,525
Speaker 2: iHeart Podcasts. It's written and narrated by me Katherine Townsend

401
00:23:26,645 --> 00:23:29,925
Speaker 2: and produced by Gabby Watts. Special thanks to Amy Tubbs

402
00:23:29,925 --> 00:23:33,205
Speaker 2: for her research assistance. This episode was sound design and

403
00:23:33,285 --> 00:23:37,365
Speaker 2: mixed but Noah Cammer. Our theme song is by Ben Sale.

404
00:23:37,525 --> 00:23:40,925
Speaker 2: Executive producers are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, and l. C.

405
00:23:41,085 --> 00:23:41,965
Speaker 1: Crowley.

406
00:23:42,005 --> 00:23:44,605
Speaker 2: Listen to Helen Gone ad free by subscribing to the

407
00:23:44,645 --> 00:23:47,365
Speaker 2: iHeart True Crime Plus channel on Apple Podcasts.

408
00:23:47,885 --> 00:23:48,525
Speaker 1: If you were.

409
00:23:48,405 --> 00:23:51,405
Speaker 2: Interested in seeing documents and materials from this case, you

410
00:23:51,405 --> 00:23:55,765
Speaker 2: can follow the show on Instagram at Helen gonepod. If

411
00:23:55,805 --> 00:23:57,685
Speaker 2: you have a case you'd like me and my team

412
00:23:57,725 --> 00:23:59,925
Speaker 2: to look into, you can reach out to us at

413
00:23:59,925 --> 00:24:02,765
Speaker 2: our Helen Gone Murder Line at six seven eight seven

414
00:24:02,845 --> 00:24:05,885
Speaker 2: four four six ' one four or five at six

415
00:24:05,925 --> 00:24:09,285
Speaker 2: seven eight seven four four six one four five.

416
00:24:14,645 --> 00:24:15,565
Speaker 1: School of Humans