WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Taylor Barksdale Part 4 0:00:08.285 --> 0:00:09.205 School of Humans. 0:00:13.645 --> 0:00:16.605 Last week we talked about the mystery regarding whether or 0:00:16.685 --> 0:00:19.925 not Deputy Blake Castle of the Madison County Sheriff's Office 0:00:20.365 --> 0:00:23.325 ever went out to the area near Highway twenty one 0:00:23.445 --> 0:00:27.165 and Madison County twenty five thirty five. That's where on 0:00:27.245 --> 0:00:30.005 August fifth, at twelve thirty four am, a nine to 0:00:30.005 --> 0:00:32.765 one one caller reported that she heard a woman screaming 0:00:33.125 --> 0:00:35.805 that it sounded like she was being raped or tortured. 0:00:36.765 --> 0:00:40.565 The dispatch report reads quote, a caller advised she believes 0:00:40.565 --> 0:00:42.405 that she heard a woman in the woods behind her 0:00:42.405 --> 0:00:46.005 house yelling. Stated she believes at one point the woman's 0:00:46.005 --> 0:00:49.885 screamed for help. Caller advised there is not a physical address, 0:00:50.045 --> 0:00:52.445 but it is in an area where a bunch of 0:00:52.445 --> 0:00:53.885 homeless people were camped out. 0:00:54.205 --> 0:00:55.445 End quote. 0:00:55.485 --> 0:00:57.845 We know that the caller waited all night for the 0:00:57.885 --> 0:01:01.605 Madison County Sheriff's Office to respond, but no one ever came. 0:01:02.645 --> 0:01:06.245 And then a few weeks later, on September ninth, Taylor's 0:01:06.245 --> 0:01:08.405 remains were found in a field near where the nine 0:01:08.405 --> 0:01:11.445 to one one call was made. The Madison County Sheriff's 0:01:11.485 --> 0:01:15.045 Office has said they are investigating Taylor Barksdale's death as 0:01:15.045 --> 0:01:19.165 a homicide, and the Madison County Sheriff's Department said only 0:01:19.245 --> 0:01:23.245 one deputy, blake Castle, was working the overnight shift from 0:01:23.285 --> 0:01:27.405 August fourth to August fifth. Madison County Sheriff Ronnie Boyd 0:01:27.805 --> 0:01:31.085 said that blake Castle had told dispatch that he had 0:01:31.125 --> 0:01:34.485 responded to the call, when actually he didn't. Later that 0:01:34.565 --> 0:01:38.645 same day on August fifth, when blake Castle's supervisor, Sergeant 0:01:38.685 --> 0:01:41.885 Drew Scott, questioned him, he said he didn't respond to 0:01:41.925 --> 0:01:44.765 the call because, quote, he had just been out to 0:01:44.805 --> 0:01:47.965 that area thirty minutes or an hour earlier end quote. 0:01:48.405 --> 0:01:50.165 But is that true. 0:01:50.245 --> 0:01:53.925 We requested the AVL data from the deputies vehicle. We're 0:01:53.925 --> 0:01:56.005 going to figure out where he really was in the 0:01:56.045 --> 0:01:57.765 early morning hours of August fifth. 0:01:58.485 --> 0:01:59.565 I'm Catherine Townsend. 0:02:00.045 --> 0:02:02.925 Over the past five years of making my true crime podcast, 0:02:02.925 --> 0:02:05.685 Helling Gone, I've learned that there is no such which 0:02:05.685 --> 0:02:09.045 thing as a small town where murder never happens. I 0:02:09.125 --> 0:02:11.845 have received hundreds of messages from people all around the 0:02:11.885 --> 0:02:15.005 country asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, 0:02:15.205 --> 0:02:18.685 their families, and their communities. If you have a case, 0:02:18.685 --> 0:02:20.685 you'd like me and my team to look into. You 0:02:20.725 --> 0:02:22.765 can reach out to us at our Helen Gone Murder 0:02:22.805 --> 0:02:26.085 Line at six seven eight seven four four six one 0:02:26.125 --> 0:02:29.925 four five that's six seven eight seven four four, six 0:02:30.085 --> 0:02:32.525 one four or five. Or you can send us a 0:02:32.565 --> 0:02:37.045 message on Instagram at Helen Gonepod. This is Helen Gone 0:02:37.325 --> 0:03:30.005 Murder Line. So there was a big development this week 0:03:30.045 --> 0:03:32.565 in this case. According to an article in the Madison 0:03:32.605 --> 0:03:36.205 County Record, the Sheriff of Madison County, Ronnie Boyd, has 0:03:36.245 --> 0:03:40.965 filed paperwork to request blake Castle's decertification. I thought this 0:03:41.005 --> 0:03:43.925 would mean that Blake Castle could no longer serve as 0:03:43.965 --> 0:03:47.285 a law enforcement officer in Arkansas, but it turns out 0:03:47.445 --> 0:03:50.405 that's not entirely accurate. I want to back up a 0:03:50.485 --> 0:03:53.085 little bit and talk about exactly what is involved in 0:03:53.165 --> 0:03:58.805 police decertification. The decertification process starts when a police officer 0:03:58.845 --> 0:04:02.605 commits certain kinds of misconduct. The reasons why officers can 0:04:02.685 --> 0:04:06.125 be desertified bury from state to state. Thirty one states 0:04:06.205 --> 0:04:09.005 have agencies in the state that make the decisions about 0:04:09.005 --> 0:04:13.605 which officers to decertify. Arkansas is one of them. In Arkansas, 0:04:13.645 --> 0:04:16.885 the agency is the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training. 0:04:17.405 --> 0:04:20.245 They meet four times a year, and according to the 0:04:20.325 --> 0:04:23.965 Arkansas Advocate, they have at least a dozen officers who 0:04:24.045 --> 0:04:27.965 are considered for decertification every time they meet. In the 0:04:28.005 --> 0:04:31.445 case of Blake Castle, Sheriff Ronnie Boyd apparently wrote a 0:04:31.525 --> 0:04:34.405 letter to the commission to get this process started, but 0:04:34.605 --> 0:04:39.045 once again there's a question about what date everything took place. 0:04:39.725 --> 0:04:43.005 The letter from Sheriff Boyd is dated October twenty ninth. 0:04:43.525 --> 0:04:46.485 By the way, decertification sounds like it would be a 0:04:46.525 --> 0:04:49.605 good thing. If an officer does something that violates ethics 0:04:49.725 --> 0:04:52.485 or something else that would compromise their integrity, there is 0:04:52.525 --> 0:04:57.285 a remedy, but officers are only decertified after they are 0:04:57.325 --> 0:05:01.205 fired or quit, and even though they may be temporarily 0:05:01.245 --> 0:05:04.885 barred from working in law enforcement, in some cases they 0:05:04.925 --> 0:05:09.485 can be recertified. A big problem in Taylor Barksdale's case, 0:05:09.525 --> 0:05:13.405 in my opinion, but also in Arkansas in general, is transparency. 0:05:14.045 --> 0:05:16.965 There is a lack of transparency in everything, including the 0:05:17.005 --> 0:05:22.325 desertification process. Again because according to the Arkansas Advocate, Arkansas 0:05:22.365 --> 0:05:25.085 is one of only fifteen states that keep the identities 0:05:25.165 --> 0:05:28.765 of officers private. Now they claim that that's to protect the 0:05:28.805 --> 0:05:32.245 identity of undercover officers. But a lot of critics say 0:05:32.405 --> 0:05:35.845 this is just not valid. First of all, undercover officers 0:05:36.005 --> 0:05:40.005 don't normally use their real names. Also, other states find 0:05:40.085 --> 0:05:43.325 ways to provide names that does not compromise officer safety. 0:05:43.925 --> 0:05:48.405 So why are police officers decertified? Well, usually they go 0:05:48.525 --> 0:05:51.685 up for decertifications when they're involved in a situation that 0:05:51.765 --> 0:05:55.645 involves ethical violations, something that means that they no longer 0:05:55.645 --> 0:05:57.845 have the trust of the public or of their department. 0:05:58.645 --> 0:06:02.245 For example, in twenty fifteen, a detective retired from the 0:06:02.285 --> 0:06:05.965 Saline County Sheriff's office after being accused of using racist 0:06:05.965 --> 0:06:09.285 remarks while in duty, and in that case, the commission 0:06:09.365 --> 0:06:13.045 voted to let that officer keep their certification even though 0:06:13.085 --> 0:06:17.125 he'd been fired. In another case I read about, decertification 0:06:17.285 --> 0:06:20.005 was requested when a police supervisor found out that two 0:06:20.045 --> 0:06:23.405 officers were having an appropriate relationship I believe because they 0:06:23.445 --> 0:06:24.725 were married to other people. 0:06:24.445 --> 0:06:25.365 And then lied about it. 0:06:26.045 --> 0:06:31.205 According to NPR, these types of administrative panels have voted 0:06:31.245 --> 0:06:34.485 to decertify officers for things like failing to respond to 0:06:34.605 --> 0:06:37.285 nine to one one calls and lying about excessive force. 0:06:37.885 --> 0:06:41.245 These things can end up going to trial because the 0:06:41.285 --> 0:06:45.965 commission that decertifies officers does ask the police department for evidence. 0:06:46.605 --> 0:06:49.165 That could be a good thing, but in practice, a 0:06:49.205 --> 0:06:52.485 lot of times it doesn't go to trial. The officers 0:06:52.565 --> 0:06:56.245 end up either not being decertified or moving around and 0:06:56.285 --> 0:07:00.205 getting a job somewhere else. Sheriff Ronnie Boyd rightly pointed 0:07:00.205 --> 0:07:03.485 out they were seriously understaffed in Madison County. That's a 0:07:03.485 --> 0:07:06.805 problem all around Arkansas and all around the country. The 0:07:06.925 --> 0:07:10.685 Arkansas Advocates started asking questions. They started working with other 0:07:10.765 --> 0:07:15.165 news organizations to compile certification data, at least they tried to. 0:07:15.965 --> 0:07:20.205 They wanted to track what they call wandering officers, officers 0:07:20.205 --> 0:07:22.845 who were fired and then quietly go to work somewhere else. 0:07:23.405 --> 0:07:26.365 In twenty twenty two, a video of a suspect being 0:07:26.405 --> 0:07:30.125 beaten in northwest Arkansas went viral. Now, according to the Advocate, 0:07:30.245 --> 0:07:33.765 two officers were arrested on federal charges related to that arrest. 0:07:34.365 --> 0:07:36.125 One of them has gone back to work for the 0:07:36.165 --> 0:07:39.725 police department he was working for before in Mulberry. In 0:07:39.765 --> 0:07:44.525 another example, one officer was convicted of negligent homicide. That 0:07:44.645 --> 0:07:48.045 officer went on to another town and became the police chief. 0:07:48.965 --> 0:07:52.325 I really don't understand the need for secrecy here. I 0:07:52.365 --> 0:07:55.205 mean members of the public are able to check people's 0:07:55.245 --> 0:07:59.965 licenses for everything these days, from private investigators to doctors, 0:08:00.445 --> 0:08:04.565 all kinds of medical licenses, even things like licenses to 0:08:04.645 --> 0:08:05.885 operate in nails salon. 0:08:06.005 --> 0:08:07.445 All these things are public record. 0:08:07.925 --> 0:08:11.445 So why aren't the names of people who literally make 0:08:11.565 --> 0:08:12.965 life or death decisions for. 0:08:12.925 --> 0:08:14.365 The community publicly available? 0:08:15.085 --> 0:08:17.725 Ellen Creth reported in the Madison County Record that the 0:08:17.845 --> 0:08:21.685 Arkansas Division on Law Enforcement Standards and Training had received 0:08:21.685 --> 0:08:24.845 a letter that was dated October twenty ninth from Madison 0:08:24.845 --> 0:08:27.965 County Sheriff Ronnie Boyd. This was the letter where he 0:08:28.005 --> 0:08:32.085 explained why he wanted blake Castle to be decertified. But again, 0:08:32.205 --> 0:08:35.765 the timings have been hard to verify because the paper 0:08:35.845 --> 0:08:40.685 reported that on November fifteenth, someone from the agency emailed 0:08:40.765 --> 0:08:44.525 Ronnie Boyd. They asked him to fill out a desertification 0:08:44.645 --> 0:08:47.965 form online and to send through evidence. Then, the paper 0:08:48.045 --> 0:08:50.925 said that Sheriff Boyd told them that he filled out 0:08:50.925 --> 0:08:53.285 the online form and sent back the evidence they were 0:08:53.325 --> 0:08:57.165 asking for. On November nineteenth, the Madison County Record talked 0:08:57.165 --> 0:09:01.085 to Sheriff Boyd. The sheriff said, quote the desertification process 0:09:01.245 --> 0:09:03.725 is new to him, and he thought the October twenty 0:09:03.805 --> 0:09:08.085 ninth letter would start the process end quote. Apparently they 0:09:08.125 --> 0:09:11.285 asked for evidence. Sheriff Boyd sent them letters from blake 0:09:11.285 --> 0:09:16.925 Castle's disciplinary files, a call log, and blake Castle's AVL data. 0:09:18.205 --> 0:09:20.965 Sheriff Boyd wrote in his letter, quote, although I think 0:09:20.965 --> 0:09:23.365 mister Hassell learned his lesson for not responding in the 0:09:23.365 --> 0:09:26.445 first place and lying about it, I believe the public's 0:09:26.485 --> 0:09:29.445 trust will forever be eroded by this incident of failing 0:09:29.485 --> 0:09:33.165 to protect life, which is a fundamental duty as outlined 0:09:33.165 --> 0:09:37.045 in our Code of Ethics end quote. So Sheriff Boyd 0:09:37.165 --> 0:09:39.925 wrote right there in his own letter that blake Castle lied. 0:09:48.285 --> 0:09:52.725 The newspaper asked blake Castle for comment, and blake Castle 0:09:52.845 --> 0:09:55.925 actually issued his own statement to the Madison County Record. 0:09:56.685 --> 0:09:59.885 He said he was in the area where Taylor Barksdale's 0:09:59.885 --> 0:10:03.005 remains were found. He said that at the time of 0:10:03.005 --> 0:10:05.405 the nine to one one call, he was quote work 0:10:05.565 --> 0:10:09.365 king a very high priority investigation end quote. His statement 0:10:09.405 --> 0:10:12.685 also read quote due to my past experience of false 0:10:12.765 --> 0:10:15.365 nine one one calls at that location and vagueness of 0:10:15.365 --> 0:10:18.125 the call, it was not determined to be a high 0:10:18.205 --> 0:10:21.085 priority at that time end quote. 0:10:21.125 --> 0:10:22.565 We took a look. 0:10:22.405 --> 0:10:24.725 At some of the dispatch reports and it turns out 0:10:25.125 --> 0:10:28.445 there were two recent calls involving disturbances that were made 0:10:28.485 --> 0:10:32.085 from the area of Madison twenty five thirty five. One 0:10:32.125 --> 0:10:35.765 was on March twenty first, the report was about neighbor trouble. 0:10:36.245 --> 0:10:42.085 On April tenth, another disturbance was reported. So that's only 0:10:42.285 --> 0:10:47.565 two calls several months before August fifth. Two calls months 0:10:47.565 --> 0:10:51.005 before is objectively not a lot of calls, And honestly, 0:10:51.485 --> 0:10:53.925 even if there were frequent calls from that area, that's 0:10:54.005 --> 0:10:57.845 part of the job. Obviously, some areas are going to 0:10:57.885 --> 0:11:01.365 be more high crime than others or receive more calls 0:11:01.365 --> 0:11:03.885 for police assistance than others. That's the nature of the job. 0:11:04.965 --> 0:11:07.765 But let's go back to blake Castle's other claim, because, 0:11:08.125 --> 0:11:11.165 again according to the letter that Sheriff Ronnie Boyd wrote, 0:11:11.725 --> 0:11:14.525 which we did a FOY request for regarding his termination, 0:11:15.085 --> 0:11:17.765 blake Castle claimed that he had just been out to 0:11:17.805 --> 0:11:20.245 that area thirty minutes or an hour before the nine 0:11:20.285 --> 0:11:23.565 to one one call was made. We did FOY requests 0:11:23.565 --> 0:11:26.845 for blake Castle's disciplinary file, but our requests were denied. 0:11:27.765 --> 0:11:30.565 We did get the AVL data, and the AVL data 0:11:30.645 --> 0:11:34.165 map shows that blake Castle's vehicle was at two locations 0:11:34.205 --> 0:11:36.685 on the night of August fifth. One of them was 0:11:36.725 --> 0:11:39.045 in an area by the Huntsville Airport where I'm told 0:11:39.085 --> 0:11:41.885 that law enforcement has a place to refuel the vehicles. 0:11:42.325 --> 0:11:46.205 The other is the Madison County Sheriff's Department. AVL data 0:11:46.325 --> 0:11:49.845 shows that that vehicle was parked there all night. So 0:11:50.165 --> 0:11:52.725 if blake Castle said that he was at the location 0:11:52.805 --> 0:11:54.925 of the nine to one one call anytime on the 0:11:55.005 --> 0:11:58.205 night of the fourth to the fifth, his AVL data 0:11:58.285 --> 0:12:02.685 shows that's not true. There's something else. A quote from 0:12:02.725 --> 0:12:07.405 Sheriff Foyd's letter to the Commission director. It read quote 0:12:07.805 --> 0:12:10.885 when Deputy Hassele was questioned about the incident the following day, 0:12:11.365 --> 0:12:14.085 he did admit to not responding and was counseled on 0:12:14.125 --> 0:12:17.445 the importance of answering calls and not letting past incidents 0:12:17.525 --> 0:12:22.845 cloud present events end quote. Boyd also wrote, quote everything 0:12:22.925 --> 0:12:25.765 is pointing to that timeframe as most likely being the 0:12:25.885 --> 0:12:28.285 last time that the female was alive, and that she 0:12:28.445 --> 0:12:30.285 was the person who had have been yelling for help. 0:12:30.725 --> 0:12:32.645 End quote. 0:12:32.725 --> 0:12:35.725 We did a foyer request, and we obtained the statement 0:12:35.765 --> 0:12:39.445 related to blake Castle's termination. It was a typed letter 0:12:39.645 --> 0:12:42.565 dated August fifth, and it talked about how Drew Scott 0:12:42.605 --> 0:12:46.325 gave blake Castle verbal counseling, basically a verbal warning, because 0:12:46.365 --> 0:12:48.445 blake admitted to Drew Scott that he didn't go to 0:12:48.485 --> 0:12:51.405 the nine one one call. But as I mentioned before, 0:12:51.445 --> 0:12:54.005 there was a handwritten part of the letter, a date 0:12:54.125 --> 0:12:57.565 had been crossed out and the date August fifth had 0:12:57.565 --> 0:13:01.285 been written in the Madison County Record requested the original 0:13:01.405 --> 0:13:04.045 letter without the correction, and when they got it back, 0:13:04.405 --> 0:13:07.925 the original date was August sixth. So the newspaper tried 0:13:07.965 --> 0:13:11.365 to talk to Sheriff Boyd about that discrepancy. He said 0:13:11.645 --> 0:13:15.565 that blake Castle and Drew Scott had talked on August fifth, 0:13:16.165 --> 0:13:19.285 But then he said a few days later he remembered 0:13:19.365 --> 0:13:22.005 that he Sheriff Foyd, had waited until the sixth to 0:13:22.005 --> 0:13:24.645 figure out how to deal with all this. So Sheriff 0:13:24.645 --> 0:13:27.285 Boyd said he asked Drew Scott to change the date 0:13:27.325 --> 0:13:29.725 of that letter, to cross out the sixth and write 0:13:29.725 --> 0:13:33.245 in August fifth. Now, again, this seems like a small detail, 0:13:33.325 --> 0:13:36.925 but if the police are not being forthcoming, with minor details. 0:13:37.325 --> 0:13:40.325 It naturally leads family members and others in the community 0:13:40.365 --> 0:13:43.165 to wonder what else could they be hiding or leaving 0:13:43.165 --> 0:13:47.525 out of this narrative. After this verbal counseling, blake Castle 0:13:47.605 --> 0:13:51.365 was allowed to continue at his job. On September ninth, 0:13:51.765 --> 0:13:54.645 Taylor's remains were found in the field near where the 0:13:54.725 --> 0:13:56.085 nine to one one call was made, and it was 0:13:56.165 --> 0:14:00.165 only after that, on September eleventh, two days later, when 0:14:00.205 --> 0:14:04.325 Sheriff Boyd called blake Castle into his office. At that point, 0:14:04.485 --> 0:14:07.805 Sheriff Boyd told blake Castle that the woman whose remains 0:14:07.845 --> 0:14:10.885 they found, Taylor, was likely the victim who had been 0:14:10.885 --> 0:14:12.845 on the call that he had been dispatched to and 0:14:12.885 --> 0:14:13.805 failed to respond to. 0:14:14.405 --> 0:14:15.685 The report reads quote. 0:14:16.005 --> 0:14:18.405 I informed him that all signs were leading back to 0:14:18.445 --> 0:14:20.605 that night of the call that he failed to respond 0:14:20.645 --> 0:14:23.285 to and lied saying he did end quote. 0:14:23.725 --> 0:14:25.205 The statement reads quote. 0:14:25.405 --> 0:14:27.925 I advised Deputy Hassle just because he was out there 0:14:27.965 --> 0:14:30.925 then does not mean something was not happening at the 0:14:30.965 --> 0:14:34.565 time he had received the call. Deputy Hassle agreed he 0:14:34.605 --> 0:14:36.845 should have gone back out there and he did not. 0:14:37.525 --> 0:14:38.965 End quote. 0:14:39.165 --> 0:14:42.965 From that statement, it really makes it seem like blake 0:14:43.045 --> 0:14:45.405 Castle claimed that he had been at the location of 0:14:45.405 --> 0:14:49.005 the nine one one call earlier. We wanted to solve 0:14:49.005 --> 0:14:53.085 this mystery, so we went back again. We requested all 0:14:53.125 --> 0:14:56.045 of the AVL data from August fourth to August fifth 0:14:56.085 --> 0:14:58.765 and some other dates. We got back two hundred and 0:14:58.845 --> 0:15:02.205 fifty pages of data, and all of it showed that 0:15:02.205 --> 0:15:05.765 that vehicle. Blake Castle's vehicle was at the matt Wison 0:15:05.805 --> 0:15:10.525 County Sheriff's Department all night. So unless Deputy Housel went 0:15:10.565 --> 0:15:13.645 out to that scene in another vehicle, he never responded 0:15:13.645 --> 0:15:17.725 to that call. Sheriff Boyd said that he waited until 0:15:17.765 --> 0:15:21.285 October twenty ninth to request the desertification because he wanted 0:15:21.325 --> 0:15:24.325 to be absolutely sure about what he was doing. The 0:15:24.365 --> 0:15:28.845 desertification process was put through on November nineteenth, after The 0:15:28.845 --> 0:15:32.365 Madison County Record ran multiple articles and filed multiple freedom 0:15:32.365 --> 0:15:36.085 of information requests, and after this podcast aired two episodes 0:15:36.085 --> 0:15:42.045 on Taylor's case and also filed multiple freedom of information requests. 0:15:46.165 --> 0:15:49.805 We're still trying to find people who saw Taylor Barksdale 0:15:49.845 --> 0:15:52.365 in the last days of her life. The Madison County 0:15:52.365 --> 0:15:55.445 Sheriff's Department has said that this is an active investigation. 0:15:55.885 --> 0:15:58.725 That they are out there questioning people and trying to 0:15:58.765 --> 0:16:02.725 find out who killed Taylor. There are a lot of 0:16:02.725 --> 0:16:05.965 pieces of evidence that they're still waiting on. Em They 0:16:05.965 --> 0:16:10.285 say they still have not received the autopsy report. Taylor's 0:16:10.325 --> 0:16:14.525 aunt has said that Sheriff Ronnie Boyd has not reached 0:16:14.565 --> 0:16:18.725 out to the Barksdale family since September, which has been frustrating, 0:16:19.245 --> 0:16:22.685 and honestly, it's still difficult to tell in what capacity 0:16:22.765 --> 0:16:25.845 the Arkansas State Police are involved. We've been told the 0:16:25.845 --> 0:16:29.325 Madison County Sheriff's Office is the lead investigative agency and 0:16:29.325 --> 0:16:32.365 that the Arkansas State Police are assisting. I don't know 0:16:32.405 --> 0:16:34.965 exactly what that means. I do know multiple people have 0:16:35.045 --> 0:16:38.085 told me that when they contacted the ASP, they were 0:16:38.125 --> 0:16:41.205 directed back. They were told to contact the Madison County 0:16:41.205 --> 0:16:46.205 Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Boyd says the police are actively investigating leads. 0:16:46.805 --> 0:16:49.765 I want to say, I'm sure that's true. I understand 0:16:49.805 --> 0:16:53.645 them not wanting to make certain elements of the investigation public. However, 0:16:54.085 --> 0:16:57.205 there's a big difference between leaking information that could be 0:16:57.245 --> 0:17:00.925 harmful to the case and public transparency. I think the 0:17:01.005 --> 0:17:04.245 latter is extremely important when it comes to building trust 0:17:04.285 --> 0:17:08.725 between law enforcement and the community. Sheriff Boyd also told 0:17:08.765 --> 0:17:11.485 the Madison County Record something that I think is actually 0:17:11.485 --> 0:17:15.125 pretty wild. He said, quote, I'm not going to correct 0:17:15.125 --> 0:17:18.325 that information. I'm just not going to comment on what's 0:17:18.365 --> 0:17:22.445 true and what's not end quote, which does not seem 0:17:22.485 --> 0:17:24.565 to be the right approach to take in my opinion, 0:17:24.605 --> 0:17:27.685 if you're trying to build trust with a murder victim's 0:17:27.685 --> 0:17:31.685 family or with the public. Sheriff Boyd told the newspaper 0:17:31.765 --> 0:17:34.845 that he had seen so much in correct reporting he 0:17:35.085 --> 0:17:38.925 was afraid to say anything anymore. But if he wants 0:17:38.965 --> 0:17:42.845 accurate information to be disseminated in the media, surely he 0:17:42.925 --> 0:17:46.525 should be informing the media and the public what's going on, 0:17:46.685 --> 0:17:50.005 keeping them updated, because remember, there is a killer on 0:17:50.045 --> 0:17:50.525 the loose. 0:17:50.805 --> 0:17:52.005 People are terrified. 0:17:52.565 --> 0:17:56.445 The sheriff, in my opinion, needs to reassure the public 0:17:56.485 --> 0:18:03.245 and build trust. After speaking to Deputy Hassle on September eleventh, 0:18:03.645 --> 0:18:07.605 Sheriff Boyd offered him to choices. He could resign or 0:18:07.685 --> 0:18:11.725 be fired. Blake Castle chose to resign. I want to 0:18:11.765 --> 0:18:15.325 go back to the statement that Deputy blake Castle gave 0:18:15.405 --> 0:18:19.485 to the Madison County Record because he told the record, quote, 0:18:20.085 --> 0:18:23.005 I was physically at the location of concern twice on 0:18:23.085 --> 0:18:25.125 that night, just prior to the nine one one call. 0:18:25.565 --> 0:18:27.805 There were no signs of anyone being there. 0:18:28.445 --> 0:18:31.285 Residents at that location were known to be off their 0:18:31.325 --> 0:18:34.405 medication and not in their proper states of mind. 0:18:34.925 --> 0:18:35.765 End quote. 0:18:35.925 --> 0:18:39.045 In addition to the fact that his AVL data shows 0:18:39.365 --> 0:18:42.405 that he was never in that location, which, if correct, 0:18:42.445 --> 0:18:46.365 would suggest that he lied again, this statement by Blake 0:18:46.445 --> 0:18:50.685 Castle makes things much worse in my opinion, because he 0:18:50.765 --> 0:18:52.805 seemed to be saying he made the decision to blow 0:18:52.845 --> 0:18:54.965 off the nine to one one call because of false 0:18:55.045 --> 0:18:57.805 nine one one calls in the past. Dispatch reports do 0:18:57.925 --> 0:19:00.445 not show multiple nine one one calls from that location. 0:19:01.205 --> 0:19:04.485 He said he was working a high priority investigation that night, 0:19:04.805 --> 0:19:08.165 presumably from his desk at the Sheriff's office. What high 0:19:08.245 --> 0:19:11.685 priority investigation was he working on. We have no idea 0:19:11.925 --> 0:19:16.045 and the police aren't saying. Also, Blake Hassel is not 0:19:16.125 --> 0:19:19.405 a doctor. He has no idea who has prescribed what medications, 0:19:19.845 --> 0:19:23.525 if any, that they're on or when they're off them. Also, 0:19:23.805 --> 0:19:27.445 I cannot imagine a more insensitive way to view vulnerable people. 0:19:28.045 --> 0:19:30.885 If someone is having mental health challenges that would make 0:19:30.925 --> 0:19:32.645 them more vulnerable, not less. 0:19:33.725 --> 0:19:35.165 The Barksdale family. 0:19:34.885 --> 0:19:37.605 Told the newspaper, quote, the family would like for the 0:19:37.605 --> 0:19:40.205 public to know that, no matter whether a resident was 0:19:40.245 --> 0:19:43.605 on or off their medication, there is no excuse for 0:19:43.645 --> 0:19:46.245 a nine to one one call reporting a woman screaming 0:19:46.285 --> 0:19:49.325 for help to be ignored. For Hasel to assume it 0:19:49.365 --> 0:19:52.485 was a resident off their medication is asinine. We as 0:19:52.525 --> 0:19:55.245 a family choose to remember the good times we shared 0:19:55.245 --> 0:19:58.405 with Taylor. Just because she had struggles does not give 0:19:58.485 --> 0:20:00.885 a deputy the right to not do his job, which 0:20:01.005 --> 0:20:03.285 led to her being taken away from us too soon. 0:20:03.885 --> 0:20:05.805 End quote. 0:20:05.845 --> 0:20:10.325 Sheriff Ronnie Boyd on social media has written, of course 0:20:10.485 --> 0:20:12.965 Blake Castle should have responded to the nine one one call. 0:20:13.565 --> 0:20:14.965 He wrote, quote, I. 0:20:14.925 --> 0:20:17.565 Want to make absolutely clear that the deputy should have 0:20:17.605 --> 0:20:20.405 responded when he received a call where someone was screaming 0:20:20.445 --> 0:20:24.045 for help. That is law enforcement's number one duty and 0:20:24.085 --> 0:20:28.005 there absolutely is no excuse for that end quote. But 0:20:28.325 --> 0:20:32.285 other statements that I've read seem to be much more equivocal, 0:20:32.965 --> 0:20:36.205 and in my opinion, he's continuing to be defensive when 0:20:36.245 --> 0:20:39.485 he's asked about confirming the most basic facts about the case. 0:20:40.645 --> 0:20:43.125 We are going to start a new case next week, 0:20:43.565 --> 0:20:45.565 but we are going to keep going. We're going to 0:20:45.685 --> 0:20:51.085 keep following Taylor's case. I keep thinking about Taylor. Taylor 0:20:51.125 --> 0:20:54.525 Barksdale was out there alone for weeks. We know that 0:20:54.605 --> 0:20:56.645 she got into a big argument with someone from the 0:20:56.645 --> 0:20:59.645 Dispatch report that shows she was outside a home in 0:20:59.725 --> 0:21:03.245 Huntsville on July twentieth. After that, she didn't go back 0:21:03.245 --> 0:21:06.125 to her ex boyfriend's residence. She was off and on 0:21:06.205 --> 0:21:09.125 with friends. Some of her clothing was found scattered in 0:21:09.165 --> 0:21:12.525 the Big Clifty area, and somehow she ended up in Kingston. 0:21:13.285 --> 0:21:15.445 Two of the men she was seen with. 0:21:15.525 --> 0:21:18.685 B one and B two hung around in the area 0:21:18.765 --> 0:21:20.485 near where the nine to one one call was placed. 0:21:21.125 --> 0:21:24.285 One of them lived there. We don't know if law 0:21:24.365 --> 0:21:27.045 enforcement has been back to question these men or the 0:21:27.125 --> 0:21:29.605 other man whose camper has been moved from that area. 0:21:30.165 --> 0:21:33.045 We also still have a lot of unanswered questions about 0:21:33.125 --> 0:21:34.085 Jason Lierrel's case. 0:21:34.685 --> 0:21:36.445 Have police questioned. 0:21:35.965 --> 0:21:38.565 The guy who's home Jason was last believed to be 0:21:38.645 --> 0:21:42.205 at in Huntsville, What happened to Jason's clothing that was 0:21:42.205 --> 0:21:45.805 found there, has it been tested? And could there be 0:21:45.885 --> 0:21:48.885 other deaths that are connected to these cases. So far, 0:21:49.085 --> 0:21:51.285 there are a lot of rumors but no hard evidence, 0:21:51.805 --> 0:21:54.525 but there do seem to be a lot of mysterious 0:21:54.565 --> 0:21:57.405 deaths in Madison County. I know that a lot of 0:21:57.405 --> 0:21:59.885 people are going home for the holidays this week, and 0:21:59.925 --> 0:22:01.845 I've been thinking a lot about people who may be 0:22:01.925 --> 0:22:07.525 disenfranchised or vulnerable. It's sometimes easy for people to think 0:22:07.565 --> 0:22:10.245 of people who may be using drugs or who aren't 0:22:10.285 --> 0:22:13.325 in the best situations as separate from everyone else, but 0:22:13.365 --> 0:22:17.485 they're not. So many people in this world are one 0:22:17.565 --> 0:22:21.685 paycheck away from being homeless, or one traumatic event away 0:22:21.725 --> 0:22:22.845 from turning to drugs. 0:22:23.325 --> 0:22:24.645 We are all connected. 0:22:25.485 --> 0:22:29.005 Sheriff Boyd wrote something else in his statement on social media. 0:22:29.925 --> 0:22:32.205 It read quote, if. 0:22:32.005 --> 0:22:35.245 We hear, we know somebody is actually wanting help, we 0:22:35.325 --> 0:22:36.085 need to respond. 0:22:36.405 --> 0:22:38.245 That's all there is to it. End quote. 0:22:38.925 --> 0:22:42.165 Every single one of us has been vulnerable at one 0:22:42.165 --> 0:22:45.405 time or another in our lives. If someone is screaming 0:22:45.485 --> 0:22:48.965 in a dark field, imagine what would you want someone 0:22:48.965 --> 0:22:52.645 to do if that was your family member. I actually 0:22:52.645 --> 0:22:57.045 would have worded the Sheriff's statement differently. If someone needs help, 0:22:57.445 --> 0:23:03.925 they need to respond. In the meantime, my way of 0:23:04.005 --> 0:23:06.565 helping people in need is to keep asking questions and 0:23:06.645 --> 0:23:10.645 trying to get answers, and to keep pushing for more 0:23:10.685 --> 0:23:16.125 transparency and for justice for Taylor and Jason's families. I'm 0:23:16.205 --> 0:23:20.965 Katherine Townsend. This is Helen Gone Murder Line. Helen Gone 0:23:21.005 --> 0:23:22.925 Murder Line is a production of School of Humans and 0:23:22.965 --> 0:23:26.525 iHeart Podcasts. It's written and narrated by me Katherine Townsend 0:23:26.645 --> 0:23:29.925