1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:02,920 Speaker 1: Hey, folks, I'm popping up with a wee warning before 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: we get into the podcast. This is a story about 3 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,000 Speaker 1: a young woman called Joy and Morgan and her untimely death. 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: It has moments of light and plenty of love, but 5 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: the podcast contains darker themes too. This episode has mentions 6 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: of death, murder, and suicide that some listeners may find distressing. 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: Please listen with care for the victims and for yourself. 8 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: It's a busy, bustling Saturday on the High Street, London, 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: energy lots of people everywhere, very few of them white. 10 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 1: The smell of chicken, veryanni and fried food wafts over 11 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: the market stools where sellers hawk their wares, and preachers 12 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: try to convert sinners. 13 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 2: Advice his only Begotten Sun for you and me rather 14 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 2: than sisters. 15 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: Jesus chriss diuide to each and every one of you, and. 16 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 3: He loves you. 17 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: I'm in Ilfred, East London, on a warm, overcast spring afternoon, 18 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: and I'm here to follow in the footsteps of a 19 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: young woman who six years ago walked these streets. Her 20 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: name was Joy Morgan, a twenty year old student from 21 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: South London whose family once told me that she was 22 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: as Joyful as her name. Joy disappeared in December twenty eighteen. 23 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: But her disappearance and subsequent murder is far from the 24 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: whole story. I've been trying to find out the truth 25 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: behind what happened to her ever since. What I'm about 26 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: to uncover is more heartbreaking, more complex than I could 27 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: have ever imagined. And it all started here. We turned 28 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: down an inconspicuous side street and the hustle and bustle 29 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:49,919 Speaker 1: of the market fades away. 30 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 4: We've kind of gone from this really busy high street 31 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 4: this kind of quite quiet, kind of dark road. 32 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: There's a railway that runs parallel to the road. I 33 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: approach a nearby tunnel that's built beneath the block of flats. 34 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: There's no sunlight, no smell of food, no preachers, just 35 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 1: dampness and darkness. The sound of a passing train is deafening. 36 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:28,639 Speaker 4: It's pretty grim down here. There's old mattresses, lots of 37 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 4: jung fin rubbish on the street. 38 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: It's not a nice walk from the high street. I'm 39 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: here to try and find the church that Joy attended, 40 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: that she was a devout member of, because this church 41 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: just so happens to be the last place she was 42 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: seen outside. On the other side of the tunnel, around 43 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: the corner from what looks like an abandoned multi story 44 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: car park, is a big brown building. Security cameras are 45 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: dotted around it, and barbed wire sits erect at the top. 46 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 1: It's almost as if the inhabitants want to keep people out, 47 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: as if they want to keep the world out. But 48 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: then I see them standing outside the building is a 49 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 1: small group of men guarding its black double doors. They're tall, 50 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: stern faced, and intimidating. They look like security guards or bouncers. 51 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:33,920 Speaker 1: One is even wearing a body camera. They're dressed in 52 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: all black, but something catches my eye. Tassels, gold tassels, 53 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: and a flash of purple peeking out from under their 54 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: black jackets. That's my confirmation. Gold and purple their signature colors. 55 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: This was Joy's church. This is Israel United in Christ. 56 00:03:57,800 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 3: Aye. 57 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 5: I see is my family and like the best family 58 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 5: that I've ever had, and I had like found God. 59 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: That was Joy speaking, And this has to be the 60 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: place where I start this podcast because the church that 61 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: Joy was a member of might just help me find 62 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: all the answers I've been searching for. Joy was seen 63 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: leaving this building on December twenty sixth, twenty eighteen, and 64 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: was never seen again. Her body was discovered in Woodland 65 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: ten months later. After all these years, it's time to 66 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: learn the truth. Who was Joy's church? Did they betray her? 67 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: And has the silence around her death put more people 68 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: in danger from Free Turn. I'm Charlie Brinkhurst Cough and 69 00:04:50,760 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: this is the Missing Sister, Episode one, the Disappearance. I'm Charlie, 70 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 1: a writer and journalist with nearly a decade of experience. 71 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: For the past six years, I've been investigating a group 72 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 1: that most people have never seen or heard of. It's 73 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: a church called Israel United in Christ or IUC Founded 74 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: in America. They are a Hebrew Israelite organization. The Hebrew 75 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: Israelites are a Black American religious movement that emerged in 76 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: the late nineteenth century who believe that black people are 77 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:34,719 Speaker 1: the descendants of the Lost tribes of Israel. In other words, 78 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: they believe that they are the true Jewish people of 79 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 1: the Bible. As for IUICE, they're one of the largest 80 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: Hebrew Israelite churches in the world. They're a pro black, 81 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 1: socially conservative group who encourage community building, strong family ties, 82 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: and celebrating God above all else. They stand out from 83 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: other Israelite groups due to their flags, gold and purple attire, fringes, 84 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: tassels and garments. They also have a slick social media presence. 85 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: They even have their own record label where they produce 86 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: godly hip hop, worship music, that sort of thing. But 87 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:24,360 Speaker 1: despite their large online presence, they're incredibly secretive. Very few 88 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: journalists have ever interviewed them or interrogated their belief systems. 89 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: What we know of them, we've often learned from the 90 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 1: streets where they seem to preach in growing numbers in London. 91 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,280 Speaker 1: I've seen them in many busy black areas, on the 92 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:46,720 Speaker 1: high streets in Brixton, in Peckham, even in central London. 93 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: But getting access to their churches that's almost impossible. What 94 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: I do know is that with branches across the UK 95 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: and overseas in America, the Caribbean and Africa, they have presents, 96 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: they have power. My obsession around this church started back 97 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen when Joy Morgan, who was a member 98 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: of the church, went missing. When Joy was reported missing 99 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: in early February twenty nineteen, I was one of the 100 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: first journalists to pick up on the case. The only 101 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: announcement I saw was a missing appeal from the police. 102 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: I was drawn in by Joy's picture, her bright, beaming smile, 103 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: but the fleeting details given by the appeal were instantly unusual. 104 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: Why so long between her being reported missing and her 105 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: last sighting in December. On the nineteenth of February, I 106 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 1: posted on Twitter. Joy Morgan is a student missing from 107 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 1: Hertfordshire University who hasn't been heard from since twenty seventh 108 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 1: of December. She's a black woman. Unless we get behind this, 109 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: the media will not be paying enough attention. It was 110 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: retweeted over ten thousand times. I went on to cover 111 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: the case in depth for Galden magazine, where I worked 112 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: as the editor in chief alongside my friend and Galdaen 113 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: founder and CEO, Live Little. 114 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 5: I mean, I like to think that we shifted a 115 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 5: lot of stuff within the kind of British media landscape. 116 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 5: I think it was powerful. I think it was transformative. 117 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: At Galdam, we had a mission to tell the stories 118 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 1: of people of color. We cared deeply about stories that 119 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: were under reported, communities that were underserved. 120 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 5: I think we were in the pursuit of the truth 121 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 5: and like a broad perspective of what the truth might 122 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 5: look like depending on how you move through the world 123 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:52,520 Speaker 5: and where you've come from. 124 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: And so in twenty nineteen, through conversations with the police, 125 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: her university, her friends and family, I reported Joy's story 126 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: to the very best of my ability with the limited 127 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 1: resources I had available. But then a major update. 128 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 2: But he's investigating the disappearance of Joy Morgan, the training 129 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 2: midwife from the University of Hertfordshire have rearrested a man 130 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:18,439 Speaker 2: on suspicion of man has. 131 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 6: Been charged with the murder of meeting student Joy Morgan. 132 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 6: The twenty one year old was last seen at a 133 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 6: church in Ilford in London on Boxing Day. 134 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: Joy Morgan was born on February twelfth, nineteen ninety eight, 135 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: growing up in southwest London in the early naughties in 136 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:42,680 Speaker 1: a British Jamaican family. She had three siblings, one older sister, Dionne, 137 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: an older brother Earl, and a younger sister, Shona. Her mum, Carol, 138 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: was strong and loving and by the time Joy was 139 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 1: in her teens, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis or MS, a 140 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: degenerative disease which can be devastating. Joy was close with 141 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: her family for most of her life. She particularly loved 142 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,680 Speaker 1: her nieces and nephews. Over time, I began to fill 143 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,079 Speaker 1: in the shades of Joy's story and understand the fullness 144 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:19,440 Speaker 1: of her life, the contradictions, the warmth, the things that 145 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:23,439 Speaker 1: don't fit into a headline. I started to see her 146 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: not as a symbol or a tragedy, but as a 147 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 1: person as complex, flawed and whole as anyone else. 148 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 6: Her laugh would literally echo around the school. You could 149 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:41,679 Speaker 6: be on the top floor, Joy's on the bottom, but 150 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 6: you can hear Joy laughing, and you know that's Joy's laugh. 151 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 6: Everyone knew what Joy's laugh sounded like. 152 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: This is Agnes Mby, Joy's friend from secondary school. I 153 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 1: first spoke to Agnes back in twenteen nineteen when I 154 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: was reporting on Joy's case. At the time, Agnes didn't 155 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: want to be named. But six years, multiple WhatsApp messages 156 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: and a couple of meetups later, she agrees to speak 157 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:12,559 Speaker 1: with me on the record for this podcast. She's the 158 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: only person Enjoys group from school who were able to 159 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: reach who feels strong enough, connected enough to speak. I'm 160 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: in my house in South London, sitting opposite Agnes. She's 161 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: dressed in a soft gray tracksuit, hair, neatly braided, edges, laid, 162 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:39,719 Speaker 1: fresh set of lashes. She's pretty, dark skinned, of Congolese heritage, 163 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,320 Speaker 1: and she's got an amazing memory. You've got such a 164 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: good memory. 165 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 6: Yes, I do. I do have a good memory. 166 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: Agnes first met Joy in year seven, when the two 167 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 1: were just eleven years old. They both attended Saint John 168 00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: Bosco College in Southwest London. 169 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 6: For being in the canteen and seeing this girl walk in, 170 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 6: she had curly let brown extensions and a pink just 171 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,559 Speaker 6: do it back. She was honestly beautiful. 172 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:14,560 Speaker 1: I think she was so beautiful, but she says they 173 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: didn't become friends until a couple of years later in 174 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: year nine. 175 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 6: There was four of us that used to take to 176 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 6: school bus together, Joy, myself and two other girls. But 177 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 6: then sometime in year nine, one of the other girls 178 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 6: that we were friends with, she came to my house 179 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 6: and then Joy followed, and then that day they just 180 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 6: decided that they didn't want to go home. 181 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:38,720 Speaker 1: That's how their friendship started. Eventually, the group of four 182 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: becomes a group of three and they're inseparable. 183 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 6: From then on, it was just constant sleepovers at my house. 184 00:12:45,559 --> 00:12:49,679 Speaker 6: Constant sleepovers did go home get her stuff and then 185 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 6: they'd be back. Joe and I would always be on 186 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 6: the phone. If we're not together, we're on the phone. 187 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:59,079 Speaker 6: And I think we were on the phone for five hours. 188 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:04,080 Speaker 6: It's even talking about voice. Oh, I don't even know 189 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 6: what we were talking about. 190 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 1: They even give each other nicknames. Joy's was orange. 191 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,640 Speaker 6: Hers was orange because at the time Joi was obsessed 192 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 6: with Ed Chearing. Oh, obsessed of him. She really was like, 193 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 6: that's my husband. I'm going to marry him. It used 194 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 6: to baffle me because it's like, you get this black 195 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:26,200 Speaker 6: girl fro himself West London, who's obsessed with Ed Shearing. 196 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:29,200 Speaker 6: It just used to baffle me. So her nickname was Orange. 197 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:34,920 Speaker 1: It's such a vivid detail, funny, a little odd, deeply, 198 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: deeply endearing. Agnes laughs remembering it. But that's what makes 199 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: her real, isn't it. The private quirks that only a 200 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:45,440 Speaker 1: best friend would know about. 201 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 6: She was quite complex. I'd say she wasn't one of 202 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 6: those people that was overly affectionate or loving. She wouldn't 203 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 6: display her emotions like. She knows how to be with people. 204 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 6: She knows how to laugh, she knows how to kind 205 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 6: of be in the mix, and then she knows how 206 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 6: to retreat and just be by herself. 207 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:11,719 Speaker 1: Joy showed her love to her friends through her actions, 208 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: helping with homework or sticking up for them. She was 209 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:19,560 Speaker 1: the bolshy best friend and endlessly loyal. 210 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 6: She would fight for any of her friends. It doesn't 211 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 6: matter who she's up against. She seems that you're her. 212 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 6: She's fight for you if you can't defend yourself, especially 213 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 6: if you can't defend yourself. She's always looking out for 214 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 6: the little guy. 215 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 1: Even though Agnes says Joy was care free at this time, 216 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: she wasn't slacking on her education. She took her school 217 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 1: work very seriously. 218 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 6: Joy was top to everything. She was very intelligent, very 219 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:48,240 Speaker 6: very intelligent. She was also very hard on herself. Is 220 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 6: she studying or trying to figure something out academically, she 221 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 6: has to make sure that she. 222 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 1: Gets it all In all, the girls were happy. From 223 00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: what Agnes remembers, Joy was happy. 224 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 6: I think she was just happy to just be really. 225 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: Agnes shows us a video of the trio in a 226 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: school bathroom. It's twenty thirteen. The girls are in year ten, 227 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: all dressed in their school blazers with smart shirts done 228 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: up to the top. Joy has a yellow prefeit badge 229 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 1: pinned to her chest. Agnes is filming on an old 230 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 1: school blackberrief phone, turning the camera on herself every now 231 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:36,000 Speaker 1: and then, sticking her tongue out. Their other friend is 232 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: front and center, the bell of the ball the star. 233 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:44,640 Speaker 1: Joy skirts around the edges, bantering a little, correcting Agnes 234 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 1: when she words something wrongly, and once just once, letting 235 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 1: out her loud laugh. It is unique. It makes me 236 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:01,880 Speaker 1: laugh too. Agnes explains that Joy is trying to leave 237 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: the bathroom and go off and study, but she's drawn 238 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: back in by the girls. Couldn't quite bring herself to leave. 239 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 1: In the video, it's clear she wants to spend time 240 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 1: with them. 241 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,920 Speaker 3: So there's Joy creaming her legs. 242 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 5: She's advising for masks. 243 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, we've got thirty six days. 244 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 6: We've got thirty five days until school's over for year ten. 245 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: Then we're in eleven. 246 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:35,280 Speaker 5: Then the pressure is on, how I'm gonna do like 247 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 5: seven examples of the same day, So why do you have. 248 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: No but we have that three exams on the same day. 249 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:50,000 Speaker 1: They are young girls from Southwest London who feel like 250 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: they have the world at their fingertips. They spend their 251 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 1: days going to the park, having picnics, cooking together and 252 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 1: watching movies, talking about boys and life and family. They 253 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:06,800 Speaker 1: learned dance routines and sing together. Even though Agnes says 254 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:10,800 Speaker 1: Joy was toned deaf. It's the type of closeness and 255 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,560 Speaker 1: friendship that you get in teenagehood that you never think 256 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:18,240 Speaker 1: will come to an end, where you think it will 257 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:23,879 Speaker 1: always be this way. The thing about growing up at 258 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: the time Joy did in the way that Joy did, 259 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:30,880 Speaker 1: was that there were some harsh realities to life too. 260 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:34,920 Speaker 1: Joy and her friends come from homes where there isn't 261 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: a lot of money, where you might share your bedroom 262 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 1: with your younger siblings, where the streets aren't always safe. 263 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,719 Speaker 1: They love their communities, love being from their very particular 264 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:50,160 Speaker 1: part of the big city. But some things are normalized 265 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 1: when they perhaps shouldn't be. Some violence is normalized because 266 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:59,240 Speaker 1: the life for some Black Brits remains hard due to 267 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: social in a qualities. It's the context of this whole 268 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:09,280 Speaker 1: podcast really the experiences of black people under an oppressive system, 269 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:13,880 Speaker 1: of Black people in Babylon, going. 270 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,440 Speaker 6: To school in Southwest London, and you hear stories about 271 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:19,159 Speaker 6: how this person got shot, this person got stabbed, this 272 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 6: person selling drags, you know, the that phrase where you 273 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,119 Speaker 6: want to get out of the hood. So that's what 274 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:27,400 Speaker 6: we would speak about. 275 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,120 Speaker 1: And so perhaps in part because of this, things start 276 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: to change between the trio leading up to year eleven, 277 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: the year Joy turns sixteen, Joy starts to immerse herself 278 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:40,359 Speaker 1: in her studies even more. 279 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:45,800 Speaker 6: She studied a lot, so she put everything into studying. 280 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 1: The more time Joy puts into her studies, the less 281 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: time she has for her friendships. Joy starts to drift 282 00:18:55,480 --> 00:19:03,120 Speaker 1: slowly at first, then quickly she becomes more isolated, more insula. 283 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 1: One time, Agnes says Joy didn't show up to school 284 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,239 Speaker 1: for a whole week and no one knew why when 285 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: she went to check up on her, literally going to 286 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: Joy's mum's house to see where her friend was and 287 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:20,439 Speaker 1: if she was okay. Joy didn't explain her absence, but 288 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: she returned to school the next day. 289 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:27,800 Speaker 6: Got to a point, especially year eleven, where she's sitting 290 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 6: in the front of the glass, or she's sitting by herself, 291 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 6: she's studying, she's disappearing at break time. She'd just be 292 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:38,639 Speaker 6: in the science department, studying, revising, doing something. 293 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:45,600 Speaker 1: In the background. There's a series of unfortunate events. First, 294 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,359 Speaker 1: in two thousand and six, when Joy was around eight, 295 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,840 Speaker 1: she loses her uncle Prince to cancer. In twenty twelve, 296 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,399 Speaker 1: when Joy was around fourteen, she loses her stepfather to 297 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: the same disease. Then in twenty fourteen, the year Joy 298 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:05,359 Speaker 1: finished year eleven, tragedy strikes again. Her dad takes his 299 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 1: own life, and not long after that, Joy's interest in 300 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 1: religion starts to peak. The context JOI had been the 301 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:21,879 Speaker 1: least religious of the Friendship group. She didn't regularly go 302 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:25,359 Speaker 1: to church. She wasn't part of the ongoing wave of 303 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,359 Speaker 1: young Black Brits who decide to dedicate their lives to God. 304 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:32,360 Speaker 1: So her interest comes as a surprise to Agnes. 305 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 6: At first, I got excited because I thought, ehil, she's 306 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 6: found good. Finally she's going to like she's going to 307 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:40,760 Speaker 6: have some sort of peace. 308 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,919 Speaker 1: But it isn't the awakening that Agnes hope for. The 309 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,359 Speaker 1: doctrines that Joy is interested in are quite different to 310 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:53,240 Speaker 1: what Agnes is learning at her own church. Things come 311 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: to a head when Joy has a conversation with the 312 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 1: boy in their class about her new beliefs. He is 313 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 1: not going to head, She says he will end up 314 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 1: in hell. Why because this boy isn't black and only 315 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 1: black people go to heaven. 316 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 6: That's when I was like, oh wait, okay, something's wrong somewhere. 317 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 6: How did we get here? 318 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:24,159 Speaker 1: Joy is adamant. She believes what she hears, what she sees. 319 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 6: She started talking about these YouTube videos that she was watching, 320 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,199 Speaker 6: and it was like she was binge watching them. It 321 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:35,399 Speaker 6: was like, this doesn't sound right, this sounds a bit odd. 322 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:41,640 Speaker 1: And a year later, Joy becomes unrecognizable sixth form. 323 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:48,200 Speaker 6: I'd say that's when things completely changed. She was completely 324 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:53,000 Speaker 6: just in her own world. 325 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 1: By January twenty sixteen, when she was in year thirteen, 326 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:02,159 Speaker 1: Joy had become a Hebrew is part of the church 327 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:06,280 Speaker 1: named Israel United in Christ or i U see, a 328 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 1: Black American religious group that believes that black people are 329 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:15,960 Speaker 1: the true Jews, descended from a lost Israelite tribe. The 330 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:20,360 Speaker 1: scripture that she was digesting, absorbing it was coming from 331 00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 1: across the Atlantic, from bishops who wore long, flowing purple 332 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:29,680 Speaker 1: and gold robes, who spoke powerfully, who knew the Bible 333 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: inside out. It was bleeding down from the YouTube videos 334 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 1: and into her psyche. 335 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:42,520 Speaker 7: The nationness men leading like them. 336 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:46,640 Speaker 6: I didn't push it because it might have Joy wanted 337 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 6: to do something. She's going to do it. 338 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 8: Soon. 339 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: Joy and Agnes stop speaking altogether. Agnes says that Joy 340 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,919 Speaker 1: keeps to herself, coming into school to study and lee 341 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:04,639 Speaker 1: as soon as she's done. At home, a similar distancing 342 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,640 Speaker 1: is happening. Joy starts claiming that her mixed race sisters 343 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: are white devils. Her mum, Carol, told the BBC's Cherry Wilson, 344 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,240 Speaker 1: that they felt excommunicated in their own home, as if 345 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 1: she was diseased for not converting to Joy's faith. Carol 346 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:25,359 Speaker 1: felt that she was left with no choice. She didn't 347 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,400 Speaker 1: want to hear this rhetoric. There's a lot we don't 348 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 1: know about Joy's life in this period of time, but 349 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:36,640 Speaker 1: what we do know is this, Eventually, Carol makes an 350 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:42,200 Speaker 1: incredibly difficult and heartbreaking decision. She decides to ask Joy 351 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:46,920 Speaker 1: to leave the home. Joy is briefly homeless before being 352 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:51,040 Speaker 1: rehoused by the local council. The one thing that's clear 353 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: to me is that at this point in her life, 354 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:55,320 Speaker 1: Joy is vulnerable. 355 00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:59,160 Speaker 6: I didn't see her. I'm when I saw her more 356 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 6: when we win, You're all via thirteen forget about it. 357 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:03,320 Speaker 6: I did not know how where it was. I did 358 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:06,119 Speaker 6: not know anything about her anymore. She is actually disappeared. 359 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,359 Speaker 1: Despite being part of a small year group with only 360 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:15,400 Speaker 1: around thirty students in total, Agnes and Joy completely lose 361 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,800 Speaker 1: touch by the time they leave sixth form age eighteen 362 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:24,680 Speaker 1: and officially adults heading off to university. Agnes didn't even 363 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: know what Joy's plans were. She still had love for Joy, 364 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:34,399 Speaker 1: still wished her well, but had no expectations of ever 365 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: seeing her again. Until one day in twenty seventeen, when 366 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:43,359 Speaker 1: Agnes is in her second year at the University of 367 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:49,679 Speaker 1: Bedfordshire studying nursing, she receives a FaceTime call from her cousin. 368 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 6: She was just like like, oh my gosh, guess what. 369 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:56,119 Speaker 6: Guess who I'm with right now? Guess who lives with 370 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 6: me right now? I was like who. 371 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: Agnes's cousin turns the camera and there is Joy. Turns 372 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: out Joy is studying midwifery at the University of Hertfordshire, 373 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:11,720 Speaker 1: a large university twenty five minutes away from London by train. 374 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,640 Speaker 1: Joy is sharing communal spaces with Agnes's cousin. Some may 375 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:20,160 Speaker 1: call it a coincidence, others would call it fate. 376 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,639 Speaker 6: I just screamed. I just screamed somewhat, and then Enjoya 377 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 6: just started laughing, and her laugh is exactly the same. 378 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 6: And I was just saying, like, oh my god, oh 379 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:36,359 Speaker 6: my god. Okay, where do we start? Where do we 380 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:37,359 Speaker 6: actually start? 381 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: I mean, where do you start with an old best 382 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 1: friend who you lost along the way, who was always 383 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: there but never present. I guess you pick up from 384 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:50,760 Speaker 1: where you left off. But for Agnes there are some 385 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:52,240 Speaker 1: obvious differences. 386 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 6: By this time, I can see that she's completely different. 387 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,040 Speaker 6: Her hair was wrapped up, she had these big glasses 388 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,640 Speaker 6: and that you can just see that she looks different. 389 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:07,240 Speaker 1: But it isn't just Joy's appearance that's changed. 390 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,440 Speaker 6: She mentioned how when she gets to degree, after that 391 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:13,639 Speaker 6: she gets married, she's going to be a housewife. I 392 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,600 Speaker 6: was like, all that work for you to be a housewife, 393 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:18,120 Speaker 6: what are you talking about? 394 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:22,360 Speaker 1: The joy that Agnes remembered loved studying and she had 395 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:27,360 Speaker 1: ambitions and dreams to do something big. Now she's adopted 396 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,720 Speaker 1: more traditional skills like sewing and cooking. She makes her 397 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 1: own clothes, and her clothes are modest. She often attends 398 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,720 Speaker 1: church in Ilford. She wants to be a housewife, and 399 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 1: then Joy reveals something else. She tells Agnes that she 400 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 1: doesn't speak to her sisters Dionne and Shona anymore because 401 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:49,800 Speaker 1: they're mixed race. 402 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:53,639 Speaker 6: I'll never forget she wanted to homeschool her kids because 403 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:55,880 Speaker 6: she said this world is so evil, and she kept 404 00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:59,560 Speaker 6: repeating that this world is so evil. She doesn't want 405 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 6: her kids to exposed to half the things that we 406 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:03,560 Speaker 6: were exposed to when we were growing up. 407 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,560 Speaker 1: Agnes and Joy catch up for an hour before they 408 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 1: end the call. They promised to make an effort to 409 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 1: stay in touch. They even exchanged numbers. 410 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,880 Speaker 6: In my head, it was okay, I got my friend back. 411 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,400 Speaker 6: My friend's back, I've got her number, I know where 412 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:23,280 Speaker 6: she is. We're going to be friends again. And that 413 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 6: was the last time I spake to her. 414 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:29,719 Speaker 1: Agnes would never hear from her best friend again. But 415 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,760 Speaker 1: Joy wasn't completely cut off from the outside world at 416 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: that point. Despite her shift into IUIC and despite what 417 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:41,080 Speaker 1: she told Agnes, from what we understand, she still had 418 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:48,160 Speaker 1: occasional contact with her mum and her elder sister. When 419 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: I last spoke to her sister dion in twenty nineteen, 420 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:56,119 Speaker 1: she said that Joy would always eventually call back. It 421 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:59,360 Speaker 1: wasn't like her to go radio silent for long stretches 422 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,399 Speaker 1: of time, especially if she knew her family was worried. 423 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 1: The last time Joyce spoke to her mum was on 424 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:13,240 Speaker 1: Christmas Day in twenty eighteen. Carol had called her daughter 425 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 1: during the holiday in an effort to persuade her into 426 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:21,119 Speaker 1: attending her aunt's Boxing Day party, but she was unsuccessful. 427 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:29,199 Speaker 1: Joy declined the invitation. She no longer celebrated Christmas, it 428 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:34,680 Speaker 1: wasn't part of the Hebrew Israelite calendar. She was last 429 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:41,200 Speaker 1: seen the next day before she disappeared. Several months later. 430 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,720 Speaker 1: In June twenty nineteen, a man who went to church 431 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:50,560 Speaker 1: with Joi, who was a member of IUIC, was arrested 432 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 1: and charged with her murder. He was found guilty, but 433 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:02,240 Speaker 1: Joy's body was nowhere to be found. In early October 434 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,720 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, a dog walker found a decomposed body in 435 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:13,440 Speaker 1: woodland in Stevenage. The body was confirmed to be Joy's, 436 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:19,000 Speaker 1: found ten months after when she originally went missing. The 437 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:25,760 Speaker 1: news was heartbreaking devastating for her friends and family, but 438 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: although it provided some closure, there were still so many 439 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:36,240 Speaker 1: unanswered questions. Why was her disappearance met with silence? From 440 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:40,840 Speaker 1: her church, from the media, from the world, and now 441 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:45,280 Speaker 1: she'd been found. Where was the outrage? Where was the 442 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:50,719 Speaker 1: justice for Joy? I mentioned earlier that when Joy Morgan 443 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:54,600 Speaker 1: was first reported missing in twenty nineteen, the public met 444 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 1: her through her smile, a faintly blurry image, a black 445 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:05,480 Speaker 1: girl really smiling, wearing glasses, a head wrap. She looked 446 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 1: like someone who could be a friend or a little sister. 447 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: If I'm honest, and maybe this is to my shame, 448 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:17,120 Speaker 1: that was what drew me in that image, that smile. 449 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 1: It's something I've criticized journalists for the tendency to focus 450 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,280 Speaker 1: on the perfect victim, someone who looks a certain way 451 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 1: or behaves a certain way, whose innocent, clean, relatable. But 452 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,640 Speaker 1: the truth is that because Joy Morgan was a black woman, 453 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: many others weren't moved by her image in the same 454 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:42,360 Speaker 1: way that I was. The news hierarchy is entrenched and brutal. 455 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: It punishes those who don't fit the mold. People who 456 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:54,320 Speaker 1: deviate visibly, culturally, methily are too often pushed to the margins. 457 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:59,560 Speaker 1: But Joy's story stuck to me like a scabbed overwound, 458 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:04,719 Speaker 1: prickling at my conscience. In twenty twenty, I pitched an 459 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 1: expansion of the story to various editors, but was not 460 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:12,600 Speaker 1: back time and time again. I was told, during the 461 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 1: height of the Black Lives Matter movement that the story 462 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:18,600 Speaker 1: I wanted to tell couldn't be commissioned for fear of 463 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: criticizing the church. She was a part of a black 464 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:28,040 Speaker 1: led organization. This felt ironic. We're talking about Black Lives Matter, 465 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:33,040 Speaker 1: after all, this story was about protecting the black community. 466 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:38,880 Speaker 1: It was so frustrating. I couldn't find anyone else who 467 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 1: was as invested as I was. That was until Lexi 468 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:50,560 Speaker 1: Rose came along. She's a documentary producer, and like me, 469 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:52,720 Speaker 1: she was one of the few who'd been following the 470 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: story since the beginning. She wanted to investigate it more fully. 471 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,400 Speaker 7: I remember one meeting when we pitched the idea where 472 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:06,120 Speaker 7: the commissioner was really into the story, thought it was fascinating, 473 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,080 Speaker 7: and then he said the words that have haunted me 474 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:13,280 Speaker 7: ever since, which were, it's just a shame that she 475 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:14,680 Speaker 7: wasn't a blonde, white girl. 476 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:19,240 Speaker 1: Instead, Lexi decided we should make a podcast. 477 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:24,720 Speaker 3: All I've ever wanted to know, really, since I saw 478 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:31,040 Speaker 3: that missing poster, is why no one reported Joy missing sooner? 479 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:36,840 Speaker 3: Who knew and why didn't they? 480 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: Making a podcast like this isn't just about recording interviews 481 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:46,360 Speaker 1: and piecing together a narrative to tell Joy's story responsibly. 482 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:50,360 Speaker 1: We have to go beneath the surface to acknowledge the 483 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:55,360 Speaker 1: pain and complexity that seeking the truth brings. That means 484 00:32:55,400 --> 00:33:00,000 Speaker 1: considering Joy's family and asking them directly, how do they 485 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:03,800 Speaker 1: feel about us making this podcast? This is what Joy's 486 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:07,200 Speaker 1: older sister Dion said to me when Joy first went 487 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:10,440 Speaker 1: missing in early twenty nineteen. What would you say to 488 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:12,160 Speaker 1: Joy if you could speak to her right now? What 489 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 1: would you want. 490 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:18,680 Speaker 7: About with I love you Joy, wherever you are? Just 491 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:19,720 Speaker 7: what I'll say it you're saing. 492 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:24,360 Speaker 1: There was so much hope back then, but now we 493 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:28,200 Speaker 1: know that Joy's dead and it's been a long long 494 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:31,280 Speaker 1: time since I last spoke to any of the family members. 495 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:37,400 Speaker 2: How do you feel about approaching Joy's family for the 496 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 2: first time in six years about something that is just 497 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:42,200 Speaker 2: so painful for them? 498 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:46,640 Speaker 1: That's Sarah Jones, my producer. Yeah, I think it's terrifying, 499 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,200 Speaker 1: and I don't want them to think that I am 500 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:54,560 Speaker 1: someone who is willing to put them through pain for 501 00:33:54,600 --> 00:34:00,000 Speaker 1: no reason and on like a journalistic level. I'm obviously 502 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:03,000 Speaker 1: scared that whatever we discover throughout the course of this 503 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:07,360 Speaker 1: will not make it worth it for them. For me, 504 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:11,840 Speaker 1: the best case scenario is simple. By doing this podcast, 505 00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:14,399 Speaker 1: we find out more about the world we live in, 506 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 1: about the nature of faith, of power, of indoctrination and accountability, 507 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,040 Speaker 1: and the family give us their blessing or even choose 508 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:26,919 Speaker 1: to take part in the podcast because they still don't 509 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:28,959 Speaker 1: have answers around what happened to Joy. 510 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:33,239 Speaker 8: It's about going deeper understanding what say, a crime or 511 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:37,319 Speaker 8: a particularly lurid or sad or dark missing person's case 512 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:39,879 Speaker 8: is what they reveal about something else. What they reveal 513 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:41,840 Speaker 8: about the nature of loss, what they reveal about the 514 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:44,440 Speaker 8: society believe in. What they reveal about our attitudes towards 515 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:46,799 Speaker 8: these things. That's as interesting, if not more so, than 516 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:48,640 Speaker 8: the brutal facts of the crimes themselves. 517 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:53,520 Speaker 1: That's Francisco Garcia, a writer and journalist based in London. 518 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:57,399 Speaker 1: He's written a brilliant book about missing people, and as 519 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:01,239 Speaker 1: a reporter specializing in part on true crime, he understands 520 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:05,560 Speaker 1: the nuances of navigating and reporting on these cases. He 521 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:10,239 Speaker 1: understands all the tensions at play our conversation reminded me 522 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:14,920 Speaker 1: that reporters have to sit with uncomfortable truths. Asking a 523 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:18,560 Speaker 1: grieving family to relive the hardest moment of their lives 524 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:23,200 Speaker 1: may never feel morally justifiable, but it can serve a 525 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 1: social purpose. If we want to try and make this 526 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:29,920 Speaker 1: podcast as ethically as we can, we need to try 527 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:31,080 Speaker 1: and speak to Joy's family. 528 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:37,920 Speaker 2: Worst case scenario, they decline. If Joy's family specifically tell 529 00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:40,400 Speaker 2: us they don't want to make this podcast, then we 530 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:41,959 Speaker 2: have to make a podcast about something else. 531 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:44,799 Speaker 1: Yeah, very true, very true. Or she you know, she 532 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:47,480 Speaker 1: becomes not a part of the story and it's just 533 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:50,560 Speaker 1: the story of the Hebrew as relites. Joy's family could 534 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:58,360 Speaker 1: change the whole trajectory of this podcast. Initially, when I 535 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:03,440 Speaker 1: reached out, I tried the first Joy's eldest sister. We 536 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:08,080 Speaker 1: had the longest conversations back in twenty nineteen. I dropped 537 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:12,960 Speaker 1: her a message once twice three times on Facebook. She 538 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:16,480 Speaker 1: didn't respond. Her phone number from six years ago no 539 00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:21,480 Speaker 1: longer worked. I tried her brother, Earl, and then Deond's 540 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:28,239 Speaker 1: adult son, Joy's nephew. No response. The podcast was on 541 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:32,520 Speaker 1: the rocks. I didn't want to harass a still grieving family. 542 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:38,040 Speaker 1: But then one day weeks later I made a discovery 543 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:43,080 Speaker 1: an old phone number for Earle. I decided to pick 544 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:47,520 Speaker 1: up the phone one last time and try it, and 545 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:51,479 Speaker 1: he picked up. Not only did he answer my call, 546 00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:56,280 Speaker 1: he just so happened to be with his mum, Joy's mum, Carol. 547 00:36:57,560 --> 00:37:00,120 Speaker 1: He knows who I am, so we cut the chase. Yes, 548 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:05,560 Speaker 1: he says, No, she doesn't want to talk. Carol doesn't 549 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:09,000 Speaker 1: want to take part. I say, I respect her decision, 550 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:11,880 Speaker 1: but I'd love to have her blessing to make the show, 551 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:16,440 Speaker 1: to pursue my investigation into eu C and what happened 552 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:22,000 Speaker 1: to Joy. There's a pause, then Earl puts me on 553 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:26,280 Speaker 1: speaker and I hear Carol's voice for the first time 554 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:32,920 Speaker 1: in years. What she says is definitive. She says the 555 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:37,960 Speaker 1: church needs to be taken down. They ruined our lives. 556 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:41,719 Speaker 1: She gives me her blessing. Thank you, Carol, and thank 557 00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:45,080 Speaker 1: you all for taking my call. I appreciate it a lot. 558 00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:54,600 Speaker 1: Now that the family's on board, I need to understand 559 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:57,600 Speaker 1: what life was really like for Joy in Iu. I 560 00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:02,320 Speaker 1: see this is a devilish colp. You're teaching something that's erroneous. 561 00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:04,640 Speaker 2: You know when you get that feeling way you just 562 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:06,480 Speaker 2: I don't want to be here and I want to 563 00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:06,839 Speaker 2: get out. 564 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:07,640 Speaker 8: It's like that. 565 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:13,600 Speaker 1: If you have information you would like to share with 566 00:38:13,719 --> 00:38:17,760 Speaker 1: us about Joy Morgan or Iuic, please email The Missing 567 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:22,240 Speaker 1: Sister Podcast at gmail dot com. If you've been affected 568 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:24,880 Speaker 1: by any issues in this podcast and need someone to 569 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:28,600 Speaker 1: talk to. The Samaritans are always available day or night, 570 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:32,560 Speaker 1: three hundred and sixty five days a year. You can 571 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:36,680 Speaker 1: call them for free on one one six one two three, 572 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:41,600 Speaker 1: email them at Joe at Samaritans dot org, or visit 573 00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:46,160 Speaker 1: Samaritans dot org to find your nearest branch for advice, 574 00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:49,640 Speaker 1: support and options. If you or someone you love goes missing, 575 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:54,680 Speaker 1: text or call Missing People on one one six zero 576 00:38:54,880 --> 00:39:00,879 Speaker 1: zero zero or visit www dot missing people dot org 577 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:04,600 Speaker 1: dot UK. The Missing Sister Podcast has partnered with The 578 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:09,320 Speaker 1: Mirror on their Missed campaign, highlighting forgotten cases of missing people. 579 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:13,319 Speaker 1: To support the campaign, please sign the petition linked to 580 00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:16,279 Speaker 1: pressure the government into publishing a new Missing Children and 581 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:20,040 Speaker 1: Adult strategy, invest in prevention for those at most risk 582 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:23,280 Speaker 1: of going missing, and offer support to every missing child 583 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:24,840 Speaker 1: or adult on their return