1 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: Last time on ear witness. 2 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 2: Short and Tony Rich and Jeff got a shriff's office. 3 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 2: I'm at the Sheriff's office headquarters along with Yorlanda Michelle Chambers. 4 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 3: Yolanda was reluctant. She didn't want to talk. Okay, now, 5 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 3: you mentioned to me that you heard what you thought 6 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 3: was three shots. 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 4: But when we heard that, we were like, we know 8 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 4: what it was. 9 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,160 Speaker 3: We had to keep at her and we had to pull. 10 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,879 Speaker 5: Like polite Carlo jumping man's gold. 11 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 4: It's cold. 12 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 2: It's cold, you know, Yelanda, we need this, and sometimes 13 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 2: we'd have to be stern, you know, and firm trying 14 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:48,639 Speaker 2: to shake her. 15 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 6: You know, did he have anything on his hand that 16 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 6: you told me? 17 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 4: Blood? Blood? 18 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 3: Sometimes we'd have to be soft. 19 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 4: What you have already told me during the times that 20 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 4: I have interviewed you, is that the truth? 21 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 3: Whatever were to get this information out of her, No, 22 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:05,759 Speaker 3: it's not the truth. 23 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 7: No. 24 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 4: So what she's saying she would live and I would live. 25 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:10,680 Speaker 3: That's a life. 26 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 4: That's a that's a shame. 27 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 2: I believe everything Lena told me, No, Helma, Helna. But 28 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 2: Yolanda told a lot of truth. Why she was trying 29 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,040 Speaker 2: to hide it by telling lies. 30 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:36,479 Speaker 1: What did it say again? 31 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 2: Aia a Foura Ivan Oak Street up a dirt road 32 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 2: toward the beginning of the Power of Arms. 33 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: My producer Marra and I are in Bessemer, a suburb 34 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: west of Birmingham. This back road is remote, no houses 35 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: or businesses nearby, just undeveloped land stretching under a bright 36 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: blue sky. 37 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 3: I bet it was this. 38 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: There's a dirt path underneath a stretch of power lines 39 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: that cuts through dense, overgrown shrubbery. I wonder if she 40 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: how far down the dirt road she was. 41 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:18,679 Speaker 5: Oh, it was kind of pretty back here. 42 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, there's nothing remarkable about this spot. It's a place 43 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: you'd drive past and not even notice. But this is 44 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: where on Valentine's Day of two thousand and nine, some 45 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:37,359 Speaker 1: people writing four wheelers found the body of Yolanda Chambers. 46 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: I'm still not really sure why I wanted to come 47 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: here or what I was hoping to learn. I just 48 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: felt like I needed to see it. There are no 49 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: clues here about what happened to Yolanda Chambers, why she 50 00:02:55,480 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: was killed, or who did it. After the investigation into 51 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: Deputy Bill Hardy's murder ended, Yolanda would continue to work 52 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: with police as an informant, and that ongoing contact with 53 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,920 Speaker 1: law enforcement may have contributed to her murder. 54 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 5: Do you he my man. 55 00:03:48,360 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 8: Lab Hads, my Fy Sousa in this. 56 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 5: O tears? I want to. 57 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 8: See a reblation. 58 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 5: I want to know who you am reation in this 59 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 5: inspiration to the word who's holding stup udo, who's holding stand? 60 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 1: I'm Beth Shelburne. This is ear witness, Chapter three, Police Girl. 61 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:05,360 Speaker 3: I'd like to talk about Yolanda. 62 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 4: Okay. 63 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 1: I've talked to Detective Tony Richardson for over seven hours 64 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:14,479 Speaker 1: about this case, and he uses a certain adjective to 65 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: describe Yolanda Chambers over and over again. 66 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,359 Speaker 3: She was street small, you remember, I say Yolanda was 67 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 3: very street wise, street wise. 68 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:29,280 Speaker 2: I'm telling you, if you ever met her fifteen years old, 69 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 2: she knew more about the street than I did. 70 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: The Dictionary definition of street smart or street wise is 71 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,719 Speaker 1: a shrewd awareness of how to survive based on living 72 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:45,559 Speaker 1: a difficult life. But Yolanda was just fifteen years old. 73 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:52,840 Speaker 1: Detective Tony Richardson questioned Yolanda at least twenty five times 74 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: when he led the investigation into Deputy Harty's murder. Most 75 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:03,039 Speaker 1: key witnesses and murder investigations are questioned a few times, 76 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:09,240 Speaker 1: but twenty five that many police interviews is almost unheard of. 77 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 1: And throughout these interviews, Yolanda changed her story about the 78 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:19,919 Speaker 1: night of the murder hundreds of times. Research shows that 79 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:24,839 Speaker 1: child witnesses are more easily influenced by police intimidation than adults, 80 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: and children entangled in criminal cases also face more adverse 81 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: psychological consequences. But knowing all this, I still wondered what 82 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: exactly was going on that made Yolanda change her story 83 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: so many times. Do you get nervous, like knocking on 84 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:54,280 Speaker 1: somebody's door unannounced? 85 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 2: I think so, yeah, just because I don't want to 86 00:06:58,480 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 2: like freak people out. 87 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:01,280 Speaker 6: I know that I wouldn't feel weird. 88 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: Marra and I went on a drive searching for the 89 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: one person we knew of who could give us a 90 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: fuller picture of Yolanda Chambers life, someone who has never 91 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: spoken publicly about this case, the person who got Yolanda 92 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: involved with police in the first place. 93 00:07:26,720 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 9: Hey, we're looking for miss Rosa Hardy her mom. 94 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: Can we talk to you for just a second. 95 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:07,239 Speaker 10: My name is Beth, I'm a journalist and this is Mara, 96 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 10: and we're working on a project about Deputy Bill Hardy, 97 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 10: and we're hoping to talk to you. 98 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 1: We pull up to a low rise apartment complex in Huntsville, 99 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: two hours north of Birmingham. Outside the first floor apartment, 100 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: we see big pots of alo vera plants and leafy 101 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 1: elephant ears. The front door is open, and through the 102 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: screen door we see a woman wearing a blue dress 103 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:37,720 Speaker 1: sitting on an overstuffed leather couch, almost like she's waiting 104 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:38,679 Speaker 1: for us to arrive. 105 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 4: Hey, I don't know. 106 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: I'm sorry to just show up unannounced, but we didn't have. 107 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 4: A known er. I understand because when that happened, I 108 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 4: was living in Birmingham, and since then I lived in Cincinnati. 109 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 11: Forgive me. 110 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 12: You're welcome. 111 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: Rosa lets us into her tidy apartment. There's a painted 112 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:03,040 Speaker 1: wooden sign on the wall that says there is always, always, 113 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: always something to be thankful for, and a paper program 114 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 1: from Yolanda's funeral sits on the coffee table next to 115 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: framed family photos. Well, I appreciate you letting us in, 116 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:18,960 Speaker 1: just a showing up unannounced, but we're, like I said, 117 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: working on a project about Deputy Bill Hardy's murder, and 118 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 1: so we were just reaching out to people that knew 119 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: him and wondered, you know, if you could share anything 120 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 1: about him that you knew. Y'all's relationship, well, I met 121 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: him through his wife, Diane. Even though Rosa and Deputy 122 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 1: Bill Hardy share a last name, they aren't related. Patricia 123 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 1: Diane Hardy is Bill Hardy's widow. Rosa sometimes refers to 124 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: her as pat but mostly calls her Diane. 125 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 4: Anne and all of us we grew up together in 126 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 4: Selma because her mom used to do our hair. My 127 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 4: mother had three girls and three boys, and her mother, 128 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 4: Miss Belly, she did our hair every two weeks, so 129 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:04,959 Speaker 4: we were friends. 130 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,719 Speaker 1: Rosa and Patricia both eventually moved to Birmingham, where Patricia 131 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: marries Bill Hardy and they all remain close friends. 132 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:16,680 Speaker 4: I and I talked all the time on the phone, 133 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 4: but after that happened and Yolando was involved, she kind 134 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 4: of shout away from me, I don't know why you know? 135 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: And then how did your daughter get wrapped up? 136 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 3: Okay the case, let me tell you what happened. 137 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 4: I gotta tell you everything because I'm not a liar, 138 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 4: so I gotta tell you the truth. 139 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:41,320 Speaker 1: Rosa begins by going way back to the first time 140 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 1: she and Yolanda were separated, when Rosa was arrested and 141 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 1: charged with drug possession. 142 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 4: And I ended up catching a case going It took. 143 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: While Julia Touttweiler Prison for Women is the only maximum 144 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:59,679 Speaker 1: security women's prison in Alabama. Rosa pleaded guilty and was 145 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,439 Speaker 1: sent there for three years. During this time, eight year 146 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: old Yolanda went to live with Rosa's mother and Selma. 147 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: When Rosa was released in nineteen ninety one, Yolanda told 148 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 1: her that she'd been sexually abused by a neighbor. 149 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 4: She said, this guy there used to molest her. My 150 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 4: mom would have him to come over and help her 151 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 4: with her homework, and he molested her. So when I 152 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 4: got back mentally, she was all messed up. 153 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: Yolanda was twelve years old, and. 154 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:34,440 Speaker 4: It was a rock between a hard place because my 155 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 4: mother said it didn't happen. But I told my mother 156 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 4: these exact words. I said, I wasn't there to protect 157 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 4: my daughter, and if she told me something happened to her, 158 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 4: I believe it. But then after that, you know, she 159 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 4: would run away from me A lot after I came 160 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:55,959 Speaker 4: home from prison. She would run away and I ended 161 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 4: up letting mistake at her because I was nervous about 162 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 4: it when she ended up in Falster tear and when 163 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:10,079 Speaker 4: she would go to Falster caere she will run away. 164 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: When she's fourteen years old, Yolanda is hospitalized after attempting 165 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: suicide and receives a few months of counseling, and then 166 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: the next year, when she's fifteen years old, Yolanda officially 167 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:27,160 Speaker 1: becomes a ward of the state, living full time and 168 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: foster care and group homes. The state is supposed to 169 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: be in charge of her care, but according to an 170 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: assessment ordered by a county social worker, they don't know 171 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: where she is for several months that summer. On the 172 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 1: night of Hardy's murder, Yolanda is staying with a friend 173 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: at the apartment where to Forrest Johnson and ardregas Ford 174 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: pick her up around two in the morning. A few 175 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: hours later, police stop them at the Super eight motel 176 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:06,880 Speaker 1: and tell them they're looking into the murder of a 177 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:07,760 Speaker 1: police officer. 178 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 4: So when I talked to her the next day, I 179 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,520 Speaker 4: was employed at Adamson Ford. 180 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:16,439 Speaker 3: I was the receptionist there. 181 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: When Rosa gets to work that day, she reads in 182 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: the newspaper that their family friend, Deputy Bill Hardy, has 183 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 1: been shot and killed. A little while later, she gets 184 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: a call from Yolanda, so you know, last. 185 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,319 Speaker 4: Night someone killed Bill over at the hotel because he 186 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:41,840 Speaker 4: was moonlight and over there, and leads for her exact words, 187 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 4: she's a mommy, I know who did? I say? 188 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:46,600 Speaker 3: You do? 189 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:52,440 Speaker 1: Rosa says. Yolanda didn't give her names. But after the call, 190 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,439 Speaker 1: Rosa tells a police officer that her daughter has information 191 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: about the murder. 192 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 4: Because I just felt like I owed that to you know, 193 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 4: like I say, we were good friends. We weren't strangers, 194 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,320 Speaker 4: and we grew up together in Sell and I just 195 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:08,439 Speaker 4: felt like, you know, I should have. I was supposed 196 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 4: to let somebody know. 197 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:15,120 Speaker 1: Sometime after talking with police, Rosa hires an attorney to 198 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: pursue the twenty thousand dollars in reward money. 199 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 3: Was she ever. 200 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 4: Compensated for them? No, And I thought that after I 201 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,440 Speaker 4: had told them, because they did say, you know, there 202 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:28,280 Speaker 4: was some compensation. 203 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 3: They never did give me nothing. 204 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 1: Law enforcement rewards are set up to entice people in 205 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: tough financial situations, people like Rosa and Yolanda. Police say 206 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 1: rewards are necessary to penetrate the culture of silence and 207 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 1: communities impacted by crime, but they can also be a 208 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: means to manipulate because it's up to police to decide 209 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: whether the information is valuable enough to merit the reward. 210 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:00,240 Speaker 1: That means detectives can dangle the money while they work 211 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: with witnesses, but then choose to never pay it. To 212 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: state the obvious, Yolanda is extremely vulnerable when detectives first 213 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: bring her in for questioning. In a clinical analysis she 214 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: underwent that year, a psychologist wrote that Yolanda was friendly 215 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,760 Speaker 1: and outgoing, but could also be verbally aggressive and manipulative. 216 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 1: She also observed that Yolanda was attention seeking, especially with men. 217 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: For over a year, detectives question Yolanda at different foster 218 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 1: homes and shelters, sometimes pulling her out of class, a 219 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 1: pattern that frustrated Yolanda because she was trying to get 220 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 1: her ged. It seems like police were really relentless with her. 221 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 4: They were, they were, and she would call me each 222 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:01,920 Speaker 4: day when she would be away. She said, Mama, they 223 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 4: coming again today. I said for what she said, I 224 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 4: don't know, Mama. Do you think that they pressured her? 225 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 4: Sure they did, Sure they did. What you got for 226 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 4: is You've got to tell us something. I remember saying that. 227 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 4: She just told me, Mama, you shouldn't even say in anything. 228 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 4: Those were her words all the time. 229 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: Yolanda's statements about the night Deputy Hardy was murdered lead 230 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: to four people charged with capital murder, including to Forrest 231 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: Johnson and ardregas Ford. But because Yolanda keeps changing her story, 232 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: in the fall of nineteen ninety six, ardregas Ford's attorney, 233 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: Richard Jaffey asks for a hearing. He wants to examine 234 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 1: Yolanda's testimony and competency as a witness. The transcript from 235 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: this hearing is extraordinary, so we asked actors to read 236 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:12,719 Speaker 1: for Judge Alfred Bayhackle and Yolanda Chambers. Richard Jaffey agreed 237 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:18,639 Speaker 1: to read his own words. The hearing begins, Yolanda takes 238 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 1: the stand and is sworn in. Richard Jaffey starts by 239 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:25,720 Speaker 1: asking her why she keeps changing her story. 240 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:31,679 Speaker 13: Were you there at the Crown Starling, No, sir, you 241 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:36,440 Speaker 13: were not there. No, sir, what made you change your 242 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 13: mind and say and lie and say you were there? 243 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:46,200 Speaker 7: Because the pressure they was telling me, you know, don't 244 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 7: you know you can go to jail for this, and 245 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,639 Speaker 7: that's all I was thinking. That's all I had on 246 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:53,359 Speaker 7: my mind. Jail. I don't want to go, and you know, 247 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:55,400 Speaker 7: they was just telling me, you know you was there. 248 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 7: You know we can find out evidence that she was there, 249 00:17:57,359 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 7: and just all the pressure that was put on me. 250 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 7: So after they was putting all the pressure on me, 251 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 7: I went on and said I was there. I said, 252 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:06,040 Speaker 7: maybe if I go on and say I was there, 253 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:08,199 Speaker 7: maybe all the threats and everything will end about me 254 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:09,440 Speaker 7: going to jail as a juvenile. 255 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:14,680 Speaker 1: At this point in time, Yolanda has testified in front 256 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: of the grand jury and at multiple pre trial hearings. 257 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: She has also missed one important court date. Judge Bae 258 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: Hackle questions her directly. 259 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 11: And which hearing? 260 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:28,919 Speaker 7: Did you not show up at the one that they 261 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:30,920 Speaker 7: had last Monday? I don't know which. 262 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:35,920 Speaker 3: Why didn't you show up cause because. 263 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:37,879 Speaker 7: I didn't want to get up there and lie. Do 264 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:39,160 Speaker 7: you feel threatened by anyone? 265 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,119 Speaker 8: Has anyone threatened you so that you'd gone into having. 266 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 7: I felt threatened by the police because they seemed like 267 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:46,199 Speaker 7: they was the ones that was against me. 268 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:58,040 Speaker 1: Later, Jaffy questions her about what happened when detectives stopped 269 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,440 Speaker 1: the tape recorder during interviews. 270 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:08,960 Speaker 7: After he you know, somebody put so much pressure on me. 271 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 7: And then they get to saying, well, Yolanda, you know 272 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:14,720 Speaker 7: you was there because such and such said this, and 273 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 7: this person was here, and I know you was with 274 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:19,160 Speaker 7: this person. I'm gonna, quite naturally go on and say 275 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:21,600 Speaker 7: whatever the person wants me to say, whether it's a 276 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:23,920 Speaker 7: truth or whether it's a lie. I'm whatever the person 277 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:25,919 Speaker 7: wants me to say, I'm gonna go on and say it. 278 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 7: And there was so much stress and pressure on me, 279 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 7: and I couldn't have my mama around when they was 280 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 7: questioning me or my attorney, so I just went with 281 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 7: the flow. Whatever they wanted me to say, I would 282 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:37,359 Speaker 7: say it. 283 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 3: How do you feel. 284 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:45,640 Speaker 2: About what you've done to our Dregis Ford and too 285 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 2: far As Johnson. 286 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,960 Speaker 7: I'm sorry for doing it, but I didn't know any better, 287 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:58,119 Speaker 7: and I feel like I was even though I was lying. 288 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 7: I feel like I was taking advantage of of two 289 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:03,399 Speaker 7: because my own mother wasn't even there to be a 290 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 7: comforter for me. Because every time they came and got me, 291 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 7: they wouldn't let my mom come in with me. I 292 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 7: always had to go with them, but I was property 293 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 7: of them. 294 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,879 Speaker 1: At the hearing, Jeffy argues that Yolanda's testimony should have 295 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,000 Speaker 1: put an end to the state's case. 296 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 3: They should have dropped the case. They should have dropped the. 297 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,360 Speaker 12: Case at the point where she had already perjured herself 298 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:34,199 Speaker 12: at the preliminary hearing and at the grand jury, and 299 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 12: now she's saying, I perjured myself. So how do you ethically, 300 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 12: if you're a prosecutor, take a death penalty case, even 301 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 12: a shoplifting case to trial, if all you've got is 302 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 12: pured testimony. 303 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:49,920 Speaker 3: How do you do that? 304 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 1: But after the hearing is over, Judge Alfred ba Haackle 305 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:59,719 Speaker 1: makes his decision. He chooses not to accept Yolanda's recantation 306 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:04,359 Speaker 1: and denies the motion to dismiss the charges. The case 307 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:10,320 Speaker 1: moves forward as if this hearing never happened. More than 308 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:14,679 Speaker 1: twenty five years after this hearing, Detective Tony Richardson and 309 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:19,439 Speaker 1: I discussed this moment when Yolanda said under oath that 310 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 1: police pressured her to change her story. 311 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:27,000 Speaker 2: The rule of an interrogation is you interrogate, And part 312 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:31,680 Speaker 2: of an interrogation is you lean on people, you put 313 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:32,919 Speaker 2: pressure on them. 314 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 3: You want them to feel that pressure. You know, you 315 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 3: don't threadn no more or. 316 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:39,720 Speaker 2: Anything like that, but you want them to feel that 317 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,720 Speaker 2: pressure that you leaning on them. And you want that pressure, 318 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 2: as O saying goes burst of pipe, so that they 319 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 2: will start to overflowing. 320 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: And telling you, well, where does that leave the truth? 321 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:58,440 Speaker 1: I mean, she's clearly perjured herself somewhere, because she's testified 322 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:01,359 Speaker 1: that she was there and will witness the murder on 323 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:05,240 Speaker 1: multiple occasions, and then she testifies on the stand in 324 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 1: court that she's made the whole thing up and she 325 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,600 Speaker 1: did it because of pressure. And y'all have been coercing her. 326 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 2: If we had been coercing her and pressuring her. And 327 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,359 Speaker 2: I'm sure that that happens or has happened in the PA. 328 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 2: Let's say that happened in the early eighteen hundreds. Okay, 329 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:26,840 Speaker 2: nobody in the modern age does that anyway. Let's say 330 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,560 Speaker 2: that she was pressuring the course, did she tell things 331 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:32,880 Speaker 2: that she couldn't have known that unless. 332 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:34,120 Speaker 3: She was there? Yes? 333 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:36,120 Speaker 4: Like what? 334 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 3: Well, like for. 335 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:43,200 Speaker 2: Instance, the scenario about how it happened, the scenario about 336 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:46,200 Speaker 2: how the deputy came out of the back of the hotel. 337 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:47,480 Speaker 3: We know the deputy came out of the back of 338 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 3: the hotel. We're not telling her this. She came in 339 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:50,320 Speaker 3: and told us. 340 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 4: But that was in the newspaper. 341 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:52,880 Speaker 3: No no, no, no, no, no, no no. 342 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:57,720 Speaker 1: It was in the newspaper. Hardy was killed at the 343 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,919 Speaker 1: back entrance of the hotel, and this was reported and 344 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,720 Speaker 1: the first article published the day of the murder. It 345 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,399 Speaker 1: was also on the news the morning of his death. 346 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 1: A reporter gestures to the hotel's back door. 347 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:12,239 Speaker 4: The work as hard as they can on this. 348 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 6: We are at the back door of the Crown Sterling Suites. 349 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 2: Where forty nine year old William Hardy was found shot 350 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 2: twice in the head. Not so, what I'm saying is 351 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:30,119 Speaker 2: here you have Yolanda Chambers, who, after all these years, 352 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 2: from day one, has been called a liar. And I'll 353 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:35,479 Speaker 2: be the first to tell she is or she was. 354 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:41,440 Speaker 2: But as an investigator, you have to sort through this. 355 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 2: You have to figure out what's the truth in this 356 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 2: to help build a case. 357 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:13,240 Speaker 1: Throughout my conversation with Rosa Hardy, she expresses regret about 358 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,360 Speaker 1: involving Yolanda and Deputy Hardy's murder investigation. 359 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 4: She resented the fact that I even mentioned it. So 360 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,719 Speaker 4: we didn't really communicate about it. But in the end, 361 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 4: you know, I felt so many times, even after she died, 362 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 4: that you know, I just had a lot to do 363 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:34,320 Speaker 4: with how she ended up. I don't know if I 364 00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:36,840 Speaker 4: did the right thing by speaking up. Looked like it 365 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 4: just missed the boy life. 366 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 1: At seventeen, Yolanda got pregnant and gave birth to a 367 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 1: baby girl. Rosa says the child's father was never part 368 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:50,600 Speaker 1: of their lives. Yolanda would go on to have a 369 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 1: second child, a son, with another partner. 370 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 4: Such a beautiful picture of hers. 371 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, she was a really pretty girl. 372 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:00,880 Speaker 4: She was, and she got I mixed up in all 373 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 4: kind of stuff, I tell you. 374 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,879 Speaker 1: Rosa shows us pictures of Yolanda where she appears happy, 375 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:12,720 Speaker 1: smiling holding her babies. In one photo, a large tattoo 376 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: of a jaguar is visible on Yolanda's chest. Rosa tells 377 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:22,040 Speaker 1: us after she got Yolanda involved in this case, their 378 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:25,600 Speaker 1: relationship was never the same, estranged. 379 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:29,639 Speaker 4: And she was fear me to me, call me a 380 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:33,720 Speaker 4: bitch in front of anybody. But we were not close 381 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:35,920 Speaker 4: at all. 382 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: According to Rosa, the baby boy's father wanted to marry Yolanda, 383 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:44,240 Speaker 1: but he wanted her to get sober first. By then, 384 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 1: Yolanda had developed a debilitating dependence on heroin to get by. 385 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:53,920 Speaker 1: Yolanda sometimes worked at a strip club in Birmingham's West End. 386 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,840 Speaker 1: She was also arrested several times for theft and writing 387 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:02,440 Speaker 1: bad checks, but she wasn't sent to rehab or sentenced 388 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:07,640 Speaker 1: to prison for these charges. Instead, Yolanda leveraged the one 389 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:14,480 Speaker 1: relationship where she felt she had some value the police. 390 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:17,119 Speaker 4: I might be talking too much, but I'm going to 391 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:24,440 Speaker 4: tell you this. I found out that she was snitching 392 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 4: on drug dealers and they were paying her. The FBI, 393 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:32,640 Speaker 4: they gave her money. They would come by the apartment 394 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:37,240 Speaker 4: and give her money. So eventually I ran across from 395 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:39,439 Speaker 4: one that had come to the apartment one time, and 396 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 4: I had told them that they needed to take care 397 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 4: of my daughter, and they said that they would. 398 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:51,959 Speaker 1: Rosa says that police were knowingly supporting Yolanda's addiction with 399 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:56,400 Speaker 1: no regard for her health or the incredible risks she 400 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,840 Speaker 1: was taking informing on drug dealers. My producer spoke with 401 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: Rosa over the phone about this. 402 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:05,960 Speaker 14: Do you think they were trying to protect her in 403 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:06,680 Speaker 14: any kind of way? 404 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:10,920 Speaker 4: The police, No, they wouldn't. No, they were not no 405 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:15,040 Speaker 4: mm m. They didn't care. All they wanted was what 406 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 4: they wanted. 407 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,240 Speaker 5: So they just paid her and that was that was it. 408 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 4: They just paid her and that was there. And they 409 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 4: told me that it wasn't anything going to happen to 410 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:29,000 Speaker 4: her and she when she went missing. I called them 411 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:30,960 Speaker 4: and told them that she was missing, and they were 412 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:33,440 Speaker 4: very short with me and told me just like this, 413 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:35,639 Speaker 4: Oh she'll show up. She just don't want her be 414 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:37,359 Speaker 4: and just that was the reply. 415 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:46,520 Speaker 1: Rosa connects us with an old friend of Yolanda's named Alicia, 416 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: who confirms that Yolanda worked as an informant. Yolanda would 417 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:56,560 Speaker 1: sometimes crash at Alicia's house before walking to the corner 418 00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:58,080 Speaker 1: where officers would pick her up. 419 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,080 Speaker 4: And she got out and walked out and down. 420 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:00,880 Speaker 6: To her home. 421 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 4: She was like, I'll be big. 422 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:07,280 Speaker 1: Alicia tells us it wasn't a secret that Yolanda was informing. 423 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:09,199 Speaker 11: Knew a lot of people know. 424 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:12,760 Speaker 3: Yes, yes, that was god. 425 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:14,120 Speaker 11: Police nerve and don't. 426 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:15,879 Speaker 3: Talk too oh really. 427 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:20,400 Speaker 1: Some people even called her police girl. But law enforcement 428 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:25,840 Speaker 1: gave Yolanda no protection and she took no precautions. 429 00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 3: Because see, she was so into her bad habit. 430 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 4: She didn't care who knew she was snitching on people, 431 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:34,520 Speaker 4: so the hit could have came from anywhere. 432 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:40,080 Speaker 1: Yolanda's murder was part of a string of tragedies in 433 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:45,040 Speaker 1: Rosa's life. All three of her children died young. When 434 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:49,360 Speaker 1: Yolanda was six years old, her older sister, Sabrina, died 435 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 1: from asthma complications, and a few years after Yolanda's death, 436 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:59,440 Speaker 1: her brother Darius was killed. Darius was openly gay and 437 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:03,479 Speaker 1: active in Chicago. He was waiting at a bus stop 438 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: when a group of men approached him and beat him 439 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:11,680 Speaker 1: to death. Media report stated the men wanted his cell phone, 440 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:14,880 Speaker 1: but Rosa still wonders if it was a hate crime. 441 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,479 Speaker 4: It's devastating when you lose your kids, you know, But 442 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 4: I have to push through it. Will you mean we 443 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:28,960 Speaker 4: all are gonna die? What hurt is the way they live? 444 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 4: I think that did some so much. 445 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 6: I do. 446 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:39,440 Speaker 1: I miss my kids, The people who loved Yolanda hoped 447 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: she could get help overcoming her addiction. Sometimes it seemed 448 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:45,880 Speaker 1: like Yolanda wanted that too. 449 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:49,320 Speaker 4: She told me that she was sorry about the way 450 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,840 Speaker 4: she had talked to me, and did you mistreated me? 451 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:53,840 Speaker 4: And then she got killed. 452 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:59,200 Speaker 1: The autopsy report shows that when Yolanda was killed, she 453 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:03,240 Speaker 1: was wearing black corduroy pants, a black T shirt under 454 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:07,320 Speaker 1: a black zip up jacket, and gold slip on flats. 455 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,240 Speaker 1: Her T shirt had a heart and a peace sign 456 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: on it. She had been shot three times in the 457 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:18,120 Speaker 1: head and once in the chest. A bullet had gone 458 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:20,960 Speaker 1: through her right hand, as if she'd held it up 459 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:24,880 Speaker 1: to defend herself. She was twenty nine years old. 460 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 4: That she was a very troubled person and demons had 461 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:34,800 Speaker 4: took over her. And don't think I'm crazy when I 462 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,400 Speaker 4: say this, because there are certain such things. Even when 463 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:41,280 Speaker 4: she died, you could see the demons in her in 464 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:46,840 Speaker 4: her casket. She wasted so bad. The girl in Selma 465 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:48,880 Speaker 4: that had her body. She said that she had been 466 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:52,800 Speaker 4: shot up with dope. She had hit straight through here 467 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:56,440 Speaker 4: with a bullet, and she begged me not to look 468 00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 4: at her. She said, please, don't look at it. She said, 469 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:02,160 Speaker 4: remember her the wear you were. I just had to 470 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 4: see her, and she opened up and she let me 471 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 4: look there. 472 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:18,720 Speaker 1: We wanted to know if Yolanda's murder was connected to 473 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:22,400 Speaker 1: her relationship with police, so we filed a freedom of 474 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:26,760 Speaker 1: information request with the FBI was she in fact working 475 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:32,200 Speaker 1: with them as a paid informant. As of this recording, 476 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 1: the FBI has emailed us to say they have identified 477 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:40,280 Speaker 1: at least fifty pages of relevant documents, but our request 478 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:44,400 Speaker 1: to read them is in a long line of other requests. 479 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,400 Speaker 1: We won't be able to see the documents until twoenty 480 00:31:48,520 --> 00:32:14,120 Speaker 1: twenty five. So you don't know who killed your daughter. 481 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:18,040 Speaker 4: No, I don't know who killed but she did call 482 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 4: me and told me that if anything had ever happened 483 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:23,960 Speaker 4: to her, this guy had threatened her. 484 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 1: This guy was Yolanda's boyfriend. Both Rosa and Yolanda's friend Alicia, 485 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 1: believe he killed Yolanda and told me their relationship was volatile. 486 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,520 Speaker 1: I haven't found any other evidence connecting this person to 487 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:44,840 Speaker 1: Yolanda's murder, so I'm not going to name him here, 488 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:48,200 Speaker 1: but I look up his record and find that he 489 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:52,200 Speaker 1: pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and served time in federal prison. 490 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:57,160 Speaker 1: Alicia says when she found out that Yolanda had been murdered, 491 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:02,240 Speaker 1: she figured he'd finally learned Yolanda was informing on drug dealers. 492 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,800 Speaker 1: I also learn this person was killed in twenty fifteen, 493 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:10,800 Speaker 1: and I don't know if police ever connected him to 494 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:22,240 Speaker 1: Yolanda's murder. Rosa says after Yolanda's funeral, she had some 495 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 1: contact with a detective in Bessemer about her daughter's murder, 496 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:32,640 Speaker 1: but she hasn't heard anything in years. 497 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:34,480 Speaker 4: So a call. 498 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:38,040 Speaker 10: It's been forwarded to an automatic voice message system at 499 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:40,320 Speaker 10: the tone, please record your message. 500 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:45,320 Speaker 1: Hey, this message is for Lieutenant Clemens. My name is 501 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,080 Speaker 1: Beth shelburn I spend weeks trying to connect with Bessemer 502 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:52,240 Speaker 1: Police to find out if there's anything going on with 503 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:58,120 Speaker 1: Yolanda's murder investigation. I leave messages and finally I get 504 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:01,720 Speaker 1: Lieutenant Christian Clemens on the phone. I tell him the 505 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,560 Speaker 1: same thing that I said in the messages, that I'm 506 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:08,359 Speaker 1: looking into Yolanda's murders. He says he'll call me back, 507 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:12,440 Speaker 1: but after two months, Mara and I decide to just 508 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:23,120 Speaker 1: go there in person. Lieutenant Clemens. 509 00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:24,480 Speaker 2: Here we come. 510 00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:35,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm here to see Lieutenant Clemens. 511 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:36,920 Speaker 4: Shelburne. 512 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:41,280 Speaker 1: We wait in the busy lobby of the Bessemer Police 513 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:46,200 Speaker 1: Department until Lieutenant Clemens emerges from behind a heavy steel door. 514 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:53,120 Speaker 1: So we have both called you about this case that 515 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:55,920 Speaker 1: we're just trying to get an update on this project 516 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:57,840 Speaker 1: that we're working on Yolanda. 517 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:01,040 Speaker 3: Michelle Chambers, tell me. 518 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:02,600 Speaker 14: A little bit more about it, because I remember it 519 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:03,560 Speaker 14: being an overcase. 520 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:05,560 Speaker 3: I haven't been able to do anything at all. 521 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,439 Speaker 1: I feel like I'm stuck in a loop. I keep 522 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:12,560 Speaker 1: giving this guy the same information what we're talking about. Yeah, 523 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:15,680 Speaker 1: we're just trying to figure out why you. 524 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:16,799 Speaker 3: Haven't gotten back to us. 525 00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:22,040 Speaker 1: Oh, it's just he tells us that Yolanda's case is 526 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:25,440 Speaker 1: low on the Totem poll of priorities. 527 00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:27,920 Speaker 14: Importance, prioritization. 528 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:29,560 Speaker 3: It was kind of load. 529 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:30,759 Speaker 11: Why was that low? 530 00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:38,759 Speaker 14: Today's victims are the ones we do with most. You know, 531 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:42,319 Speaker 14: it's really just prioritization of cases. We have found detectives. 532 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:45,439 Speaker 14: We had twenty nine homicides last year. We knew the math. 533 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:51,239 Speaker 1: Even though Lieutenant Clemens is perfectly polite, it seems like 534 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:55,080 Speaker 1: he's not going to spend time on this case. But 535 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:58,280 Speaker 1: we give him the information we've learned about Yolanda's murder, 536 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:03,479 Speaker 1: including the name of the possible suspect. Maybe if any 537 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:07,560 Speaker 1: evidence from Yolanda's body was preserved, police could test it 538 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:11,239 Speaker 1: and match it against this possible suspect. He served time 539 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:14,880 Speaker 1: in federal prison, so his DNA would be on record. 540 00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:18,240 Speaker 1: I ask if we can look at the investigative file, 541 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:20,160 Speaker 1: and he promises to get back to me. 542 00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:23,879 Speaker 4: Okay, okay, well, thank you for your time. 543 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:32,560 Speaker 1: A few hours later, Lieutenant Clements calls and tells me 544 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:36,279 Speaker 1: that Yolanda's case is still open. He says he'll look 545 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:39,280 Speaker 1: into the evidence that's being held in a storage unit. 546 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:44,680 Speaker 6: Yeah, just so you know, my next chapter is to 547 00:36:44,719 --> 00:36:48,480 Speaker 6: go out to our storage build world of our old 548 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:52,439 Speaker 6: records are old cases and look for the case file 549 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:55,640 Speaker 6: on this kind of go through it again to see 550 00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:57,880 Speaker 6: what was done, what needs to be done, and go 551 00:36:58,000 --> 00:36:58,560 Speaker 6: from there. 552 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:02,840 Speaker 1: So I wait to hear back from Lieutenant Clemens, but 553 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:07,640 Speaker 1: he never calls again. This feels like the system letting 554 00:37:07,719 --> 00:37:10,520 Speaker 1: Yolanda Chambers down one final time. 555 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:37,400 Speaker 3: So my name is Cali Greer. 556 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:42,239 Speaker 1: For many years, Callie Greer faced the same struggles as 557 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:48,320 Speaker 1: Yolanda Chambers, like drug addiction and charged interactions with police. 558 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:52,839 Speaker 1: Callie is now an organizer and educator focused on advocating 559 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:56,400 Speaker 1: for poor people in Alabama. I asked her from some 560 00:37:56,520 --> 00:38:02,160 Speaker 1: perspective on Yolanda's life, death, and her involvement with law enforcement. 561 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:10,040 Speaker 11: They find these vulnerable people that are on drugs for 562 00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:15,440 Speaker 11: black some of them white street people. People that on 563 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:25,799 Speaker 11: the street, unsheltered, unprotected, underserved, disposable, invisible people. When you're 564 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:28,200 Speaker 11: out there like that, you're used by the drug deals. 565 00:38:28,239 --> 00:38:31,440 Speaker 11: You're used by the men on the street, the giants. 566 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 11: You're used by the police officers. You're used by men 567 00:38:35,719 --> 00:38:38,720 Speaker 11: that madelests. You're in your family, you're used by your moms, 568 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:40,480 Speaker 11: your aunt's boyfriends. 569 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:40,879 Speaker 4: And so you just use. 570 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,040 Speaker 11: Yeah, you're just used and you have no sympathy, You 571 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:50,120 Speaker 11: have no worth, no morals, you have none of this 572 00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:53,680 Speaker 11: stuff that makes you feel human. 573 00:38:55,120 --> 00:39:00,000 Speaker 1: Kelly says that when officers give informants attention, call them 574 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:05,080 Speaker 1: either given name. That's powerful for people who are otherwise ignored. 575 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:09,920 Speaker 11: How somebody saw you, recognize you. 576 00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:14,319 Speaker 3: They actually call my name, you know, because you have 577 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:17,680 Speaker 3: not been called that name, your name. 578 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:23,520 Speaker 11: You've been called everything else but that crackhead, pitch or prostitute, 579 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:26,880 Speaker 11: greg addet, cod criminal mama. 580 00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:29,080 Speaker 3: So I see that with. 581 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:35,280 Speaker 1: Her CALLI holds compassion for Yolanda, a grace that didn't 582 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,279 Speaker 1: seem to be extended to her by law enforcement or 583 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:43,040 Speaker 1: the court system. Yolanda Chambers was most valuable to law 584 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:47,840 Speaker 1: enforcement when she was traumatized. I think this is something 585 00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:50,319 Speaker 1: Detective Tony Richardson realizes too. 586 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:57,480 Speaker 2: Yolanda Chambers was a fifteen year old child that I 587 00:39:57,560 --> 00:40:00,560 Speaker 2: wish we would have handled at the time a little 588 00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:01,360 Speaker 2: bit differently. 589 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:06,319 Speaker 1: What do you wish you would have done differently with her? 590 00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:14,239 Speaker 2: Well, I wish we would have taken more time in 591 00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:16,480 Speaker 2: this whole thing, the whole case. 592 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:20,160 Speaker 3: I wish we would have taken more time. I wish 593 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:23,600 Speaker 3: that I would have taken more time with Yolanda. I 594 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:24,600 Speaker 3: wish that. 595 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:32,840 Speaker 2: I wouldn't have looked at her as a street wise girl. 596 00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:35,839 Speaker 2: And I think in looking at her at her as 597 00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:39,479 Speaker 2: a and she was street wise, I treated her like she. 598 00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:41,879 Speaker 3: Was older and street wise. 599 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:46,359 Speaker 2: Instead of treating her like she's fifteen, scared to death, 600 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:50,719 Speaker 2: don't know what to do, which way to go. And 601 00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:54,239 Speaker 2: I did that because I've got a police officer that's 602 00:40:54,239 --> 00:40:54,680 Speaker 2: been shot. 603 00:41:06,600 --> 00:41:09,560 Speaker 1: In the years following Hardy's murder and for the rest 604 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:12,960 Speaker 1: of Yolanda's life, she didn't talk with her mom much 605 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:17,080 Speaker 1: about the case. But there was one thing, Roses says 606 00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:22,239 Speaker 1: Yolanda told her consistently over the years, and this is what. 607 00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:26,480 Speaker 4: She always said too. The one that did at the time, 608 00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:30,239 Speaker 4: he wasn't even the one that did it. Now she 609 00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:35,719 Speaker 4: did tell me that, she said he didn't even do 610 00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:40,920 Speaker 4: so to Forrest Johnson is the one. He's still in prison, 611 00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:43,359 Speaker 4: but she said he wasn't the one that did it. 612 00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:45,760 Speaker 6: Wow. 613 00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:55,680 Speaker 1: Next time the Overlooked Clues and lost Leads, We investigate 614 00:41:55,880 --> 00:42:00,600 Speaker 1: the investigation into Deputy Hardy's murder and what detectives miss 615 00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:11,960 Speaker 1: while they fixate on Yolanda. Ear Witness is a production 616 00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:16,080 Speaker 1: of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Company 617 00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:22,400 Speaker 1: Number One. Executive producers are Jason Flam, Jeff Kempler, Kevin Wardis, 618 00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:26,960 Speaker 1: and me Beth Shelburne. The investigative reporting for this series 619 00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:32,319 Speaker 1: was done by Me and MARAA McNamara. Producers are MARAA McNamara, 620 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:38,000 Speaker 1: Hannah bial and Jackie Polly. Kara Kornhaber is our senior producer. 621 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:43,279 Speaker 1: Britt Spangler is our sound designer. Additional story editing from 622 00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:49,360 Speaker 1: Marie Sutton, fact check help from Catherine Newhan. Special thanks 623 00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:53,080 Speaker 1: to Gracelyn Prestwood for playing the part of Yolanda Chambers, 624 00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:58,000 Speaker 1: Brett Knight for playing Judge Alfred bay Hackle, and Attorney 625 00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:01,520 Speaker 1: Richard Jaffey for playing him so helf in the courtroom 626 00:43:01,560 --> 00:43:06,280 Speaker 1: scene of this episode, and special thanks to to Forest 627 00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:13,080 Speaker 1: Johnson's legal defense team. You can follow the show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, 628 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:16,600 Speaker 1: and Twitter at Lava for Good. To see behind the 629 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:20,760 Speaker 1: scenes content from our investigation, visit Lava for Good dot 630 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:22,640 Speaker 1: com slash ear witness