WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Nina Ingram Part 3 0:00:46.480 --> 0:00:48.241 School of Humans. 0:00:49.241 --> 0:00:53.000 Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold case murders in 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.200 an effort to raise public awareness invite witnesses to come 0:00:56.241 --> 0:01:00.121 forward and present evidence that could potentially be further investigated 0:01:00.121 --> 0:01:03.761 by law enforcement. While we value insights from family and 0:01:03.801 --> 0:01:07.720 community members, their statements should not be considered evidence and 0:01:07.761 --> 0:01:11.560 point to the challenges of verifying facts inherent in cold cases. 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:15.800 We remind listeners that everyone has presumed innocent until proven 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.080 guilty in a court of law. Nothing in the podcast 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.080 is intended to state or imply that anyone who has 0:01:22.161 --> 0:01:25.601 not been convicted of a crime is guilty of any wrongdoing. 0:01:26.241 --> 0:01:27.121 Thanks for listening. 0:01:30.681 --> 0:01:34.321 Sometime after ten pm on April twenty first, two thousand 0:01:34.321 --> 0:01:37.801 and six, twenty one year old college student Nina Ingram 0:01:37.961 --> 0:01:41.961 was brutally murdered inside her apartment, Unit number one at 0:01:42.001 --> 0:01:46.521 the Law Quad Complex in Fayettvile, Arkansas. The cause of 0:01:46.561 --> 0:01:50.760 death was ligature strangulation, and the Arkansas State Crime Lab 0:01:51.001 --> 0:01:55.201 ruled the death a homicide. Despite the fact that detectives 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:59.120 interviewed dozens of Nina's friends, co workers, and her significant other, 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:04.641 they had no viable suspects for years. One big question 0:02:04.881 --> 0:02:08.400 was how did Nina's killer get access to her apartment. 0:02:09.321 --> 0:02:11.241 One of the theories that police. 0:02:10.881 --> 0:02:14.041 Had early on was that Nina's killer rushed her at 0:02:14.081 --> 0:02:17.201 her apartment door and pushed her inside when she put 0:02:17.201 --> 0:02:20.081 her key into the door, which could explain why none 0:02:20.121 --> 0:02:23.601 of the neighbors who police spoke to reported hearing screams 0:02:23.641 --> 0:02:27.041 on the night of April twenty first. But Nina's door 0:02:27.481 --> 0:02:31.041 was locked from the inside, her keys, purse, and all 0:02:31.081 --> 0:02:34.201 of her belongings, including her cell phone, were with her, 0:02:34.561 --> 0:02:37.641 and there was no sign of forced entry. She was 0:02:37.721 --> 0:02:41.641 violently strangled, which must have taken several minutes, and yet 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:44.240 there was no sign of anything taken from. 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.321 Her residence or of sexual assault. 0:02:47.161 --> 0:02:50.681 So if Nina's killer did force their way in, that 0:02:50.721 --> 0:02:53.241 would mean that they either locked the door behind them 0:02:53.721 --> 0:02:56.561 or locked the door from the inside and then went 0:02:56.601 --> 0:03:01.241 out another way, probably through the unlocked front window. But 0:03:01.321 --> 0:03:04.281 if they did that, that would mean that they carefully 0:03:04.321 --> 0:03:07.041 replaced the screen and pulled the window down to the 0:03:07.081 --> 0:03:12.321 exact same spot where it was opened before. The Fayetteville 0:03:12.401 --> 0:03:15.841 Police Department considered this a cold case, one of the 0:03:15.961 --> 0:03:20.361 only unsolved cases since the nineteen seventies, but then in 0:03:20.401 --> 0:03:24.161 twenty twelve, they arrested and charged twenty six year old 0:03:24.281 --> 0:03:28.401 Rico Tavarius Cone with Nina's murder, but the case against 0:03:28.521 --> 0:03:30.841 Rico Cone was not as solid as it appeared to 0:03:30.881 --> 0:03:34.601 be on the surface. He spent over three years behind bars, 0:03:34.961 --> 0:03:37.481 and then the case against him was dismissed. 0:03:38.121 --> 0:03:39.081 Three years later. 0:03:39.161 --> 0:03:42.921 In twenty eighteen, Rico filed a civil lawsuit against the 0:03:42.921 --> 0:03:47.001 Fayetteville Police Department, detectives, and employees at the Arkansas State 0:03:47.041 --> 0:03:51.481 Crime Lab, who he alleged violated his civil rights. The 0:03:51.521 --> 0:03:55.921 allegations made in Rico Cohne's lawsuit are obviously only one 0:03:55.961 --> 0:03:59.881 side of this story, but it is a completely different 0:03:59.921 --> 0:04:02.601 story than the one that has been put out, at 0:04:02.681 --> 0:04:05.081 least so far, by the fate of a police department. 0:04:05.961 --> 0:04:09.121 The lawsuit claims that there were several people of interests 0:04:09.441 --> 0:04:13.001 who police interviewed over the years, people who were, according 0:04:13.041 --> 0:04:17.001 to the lawsuit, potential suspects. The lawsuit alleges that these 0:04:17.041 --> 0:04:23.281 potential suspects were overlooked. This case is still unsolved. The 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:27.320 person who murdered Nina Ingram has never been arrested or charged, 0:04:28.001 --> 0:04:31.760 so this person is still out there and we have 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:34.760 access to part of this case file through a Foyer request. 0:04:35.481 --> 0:04:38.960 Could the clues to the killer's identity be in this 0:04:39.041 --> 0:04:39.561 case file? 0:04:41.161 --> 0:04:42.200 I'm Catherine Townsend. 0:04:42.521 --> 0:04:45.400 Over the past five years of making my true crime podcast, 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:48.441 Helen Gone, I've learned that there's no such thing as 0:04:48.481 --> 0:04:49.561 a small town where. 0:04:49.481 --> 0:04:50.681 Murder never happens. 0:04:51.281 --> 0:04:54.001 I have received hundreds of messages from people all around 0:04:54.001 --> 0:04:56.721 the country asking for help with an unsolved murder that's 0:04:56.721 --> 0:05:00.801 affected them, their families, and their communities. If you have 0:05:00.881 --> 0:05:02.801 a case you'd like me and my team to look into, 0:05:03.201 --> 0:05:04.961 you can reach out to us at our Helen Gone 0:05:05.001 --> 0:05:08.521 Murder Line at six seven eight seven four four six 0:05:08.681 --> 0:05:11.561 one four or five. That's six seven eight seven four 0:05:11.641 --> 0:05:15.081 four six one four or five, or you can send 0:05:15.161 --> 0:05:19.521 us a message on Instagram at Helen Gonepod. This is 0:05:19.601 --> 0:06:06.001 Helen Gone Murder Line. Rico's lawsuit, and again this claim 0:06:06.161 --> 0:06:09.401 is just one side of the story, alleged that multiple 0:06:09.481 --> 0:06:12.721 and credible direct reports and evidence had been submitted to 0:06:12.721 --> 0:06:16.041 the Fayetful Police Department and other law enforcement agencies over 0:06:16.081 --> 0:06:22.041 the years, but the lawsuit alleges that detectives ignored this evidence. Instead, 0:06:22.321 --> 0:06:26.841 they laser focused on Rico and quote missed multiple opportunities 0:06:26.841 --> 0:06:31.521 to investigate and perhaps actually solve this unsolved crime end quote, 0:06:31.801 --> 0:06:34.921 So they were chasing what the lawsuit called a wrongful 0:06:35.001 --> 0:06:39.881 and unconstitutional conviction against Rico. The lawsuit alleges that the 0:06:40.001 --> 0:06:44.921 arrest warrant was obtained under fraudulent pretenses because the police 0:06:44.961 --> 0:06:48.681 claimed they had three independent witnesses, but in fact, the 0:06:48.761 --> 0:06:51.641 lawsuit pointed out all they had was a single person, 0:06:51.761 --> 0:06:55.161 Randy Applewhite, because the second person Brenda case was a 0:06:55.201 --> 0:06:59.281 friend of Randy's and she was repeating what Randy told her. Now, 0:06:59.441 --> 0:07:01.761 the arrest warrant claimed that there was a third person, 0:07:01.921 --> 0:07:05.801 an ex girlfriend of Rigo's named Kathleen Slaughter. The warrant 0:07:05.881 --> 0:07:10.721 stated that Kathleen had shared intimate details about Nina's homicide 0:07:10.761 --> 0:07:13.401 with detectives, but the lawsuit said. 0:07:13.161 --> 0:07:14.801 That information was incorrect. 0:07:15.401 --> 0:07:19.481 The lawsuit says that this third person was quote never 0:07:19.561 --> 0:07:24.721 specifically or sufficiently identified, and never existed at all, conclusory, 0:07:24.721 --> 0:07:32.441 at best, fabricated at worse end quote. These are serious allegations. Basically, 0:07:32.561 --> 0:07:36.921 the lawsuit claimed that the police attempted to get an 0:07:37.001 --> 0:07:40.961 arrest warrant, but the prosecuting attorney would not grant that 0:07:41.001 --> 0:07:45.921 warrant because the evidence was insufficient. So the lawsuit stated 0:07:46.161 --> 0:07:49.441 that after that police went back to the prosecuting attorney 0:07:49.761 --> 0:07:53.321 with essentially exactly the same evidence, but now there were 0:07:53.361 --> 0:07:56.681 three people instead of just one, and this time the 0:07:56.721 --> 0:08:02.641 warrant was granted. Rico's attorney, Tony Pirani, claimed that on Wednesday, 0:08:02.761 --> 0:08:06.121 January TEWOD twenty fourteen, he and the rest of the 0:08:06.161 --> 0:08:09.721 defense team met with Detective Carlton, the lead detective on 0:08:09.721 --> 0:08:13.361 this case, Detective Brooks, and the prosecuting attorney and his 0:08:13.441 --> 0:08:16.761 chief deputy at the Fayeteville Police Department. They were there 0:08:16.881 --> 0:08:20.321 to review the physical evidence still in the police department's possession. 0:08:21.081 --> 0:08:24.481 Their purpose there was to figure out the current status 0:08:24.481 --> 0:08:28.001 of all DNA testing, to figure out what had been tested, 0:08:28.481 --> 0:08:32.001 what the results were, and what the communication was between 0:08:32.001 --> 0:08:34.961 the Fayetful Police Department and the Arkansas State Crime Lab 0:08:35.001 --> 0:08:39.401 regarding this case. Two days later, Rico's attorneys had another 0:08:39.441 --> 0:08:43.081 meeting with personnel at the Arkansas State Crime Lab. Now, 0:08:43.121 --> 0:08:46.721 the lawsuit states that during this meeting they realized there 0:08:46.761 --> 0:08:50.361 were irregularities in the testing and procedures in this case. 0:08:51.121 --> 0:08:53.961 They said some pieces of evidence in Nina's case had 0:08:54.001 --> 0:08:58.641 not been properly labeled or tested, and that safeguards had 0:08:58.680 --> 0:09:02.121 been failed in regards to DNA tape lifts that were 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:06.601 done from Nina's clothing. On April twenty six, twenty twelve, 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:11.521 Officer Carlton called Brenda Case later labeled Confidential Informant IE 0:09:11.680 --> 0:09:15.080 in the search warrant documents, She told defendant Carlton that 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:18.361 her friend Randy Applewhite had a detailed account of the 0:09:18.441 --> 0:09:22.321 Nina Ingram homicide allegedly from Rico Cone. 0:09:22.401 --> 0:09:22.721 Now. 0:09:22.961 --> 0:09:26.160 Rico Cone allegedly told Randy that he was at the 0:09:26.241 --> 0:09:29.201 Law Couad apartments to buy marijuana, that he saw Nina 0:09:29.241 --> 0:09:31.001 in the parking lot, and that he hit on her, 0:09:31.441 --> 0:09:34.881 and that Nina turned him down. Brenda Kay said that 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:38.721 Randy told her Rico came back later and went to 0:09:38.841 --> 0:09:42.081 Nina's apartment, using the excuse that he needed to borrow something. 0:09:42.601 --> 0:09:45.241 He knocked on the door, Nina opened the door and 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:47.321 then tried to shut it, but it failed to close 0:09:47.361 --> 0:09:49.961 all the way, and at that point Rico entered Nina's 0:09:49.961 --> 0:09:54.280 apartment and strangled her to death. So Randy Applewhite became 0:09:54.361 --> 0:09:59.960 Confidential Informant number two. But Rico's lawsuit claims that Randy's 0:09:59.961 --> 0:10:03.561 story did change over time, and that the second time 0:10:03.641 --> 0:10:08.160 that Detective Carlton spoke to Randy, on May first, twenty twelve, quote, 0:10:08.441 --> 0:10:12.921 she had already significantly changed her own reported timeline, substantially 0:10:12.961 --> 0:10:16.121 altering her earlier story, which should have given an early 0:10:16.161 --> 0:10:20.521 clue that something was amiss end quote. The lawsuit also 0:10:20.721 --> 0:10:25.841 alleges that Detective Carlton helped Randy apple White financially, that 0:10:26.001 --> 0:10:28.521 he encouraged her to contact crime stoppers so she could 0:10:28.521 --> 0:10:31.361 collect the cash reward if she continued to cooperate, which 0:10:31.361 --> 0:10:35.361 she did, and the lawsuit claimed that Detective Carlton, in 0:10:35.441 --> 0:10:39.081 what they called a highly unusual move, destroyed his own 0:10:39.121 --> 0:10:44.441 investigative field notes. Rico's defense attorneys were preparing for his trial, 0:10:44.961 --> 0:10:48.481 so they contacted Randy apple White, and on December seventeenth, 0:10:48.521 --> 0:10:52.041 twenty thirteen, according to the lawsuit, when Rico's legal team 0:10:52.121 --> 0:10:55.601 spoke to Randy, she told them she did not believe 0:10:55.681 --> 0:10:58.961 that Rico was guilty of the murder. The civil lawsuit 0:10:59.001 --> 0:11:02.761 also claimed that Randy said she was quote no longer 0:11:02.801 --> 0:11:07.280 certain exactly what, if anything, she recalled Rico, ever having 0:11:07.321 --> 0:11:10.961 said regarding any alleged involvement in the Ingram homicide, and 0:11:11.001 --> 0:11:14.161 that she wanted no part in a criminal prosecution which 0:11:14.201 --> 0:11:18.721 could potentially see Rico convicted of capital murder and sentenced 0:11:18.801 --> 0:11:24.521 to death end quote. The lawsuit alleges that on several 0:11:24.561 --> 0:11:29.121 occasions that Detective Carlton gave Randy apple White money, including 0:11:29.201 --> 0:11:32.161 thirty five dollars in gas money on May third, twenty twelve, 0:11:32.481 --> 0:11:35.081 and also a hotel room that he booked for her 0:11:35.121 --> 0:11:37.601 and her children for two nights at the Clarion Inn 0:11:37.721 --> 0:11:40.841 for one hundred and twenty four dollars and fifty eight cents. Now, 0:11:40.881 --> 0:11:44.321 this apparently happened after Detective Carlton got a call from 0:11:44.401 --> 0:11:48.161 Randy apple White alleging that Rico had assaulted her. After 0:11:48.201 --> 0:11:52.361 that incident, they did DNA testing on Randy's shirt and 0:11:52.441 --> 0:11:56.441 they found no match to Rico Cone. During this time, 0:11:56.521 --> 0:12:00.201 detectives were doing a deep dive into Rico Cone's history 0:12:00.481 --> 0:12:04.121 and his employment record. They were conducting follow up calls 0:12:04.121 --> 0:12:07.121 and visits with current and former residents of the Law 0:12:07.161 --> 0:12:08.721 Quad apartments. 0:12:09.921 --> 0:12:11.401 While this was going on. 0:12:11.401 --> 0:12:15.681 On May fourteenth, twenty twelve, Rico Cone got wind of 0:12:15.721 --> 0:12:18.961 the police investigation against him, and that's when, according to 0:12:19.001 --> 0:12:23.321 his attorney, He decided to voluntarily talk to police because, 0:12:23.401 --> 0:12:26.521 according to the civil lawsuit, Rico wanted to be cleared. 0:12:27.481 --> 0:12:30.841 At this interview, police gave Rico a doctor pepper to 0:12:30.921 --> 0:12:34.521 drink after he said he was thirsty. Then Detective Carlton 0:12:34.601 --> 0:12:37.961 told Rico that they had taken a DNA sample from 0:12:37.961 --> 0:12:41.241 that doctor Pepper camp and that they had matched the 0:12:41.321 --> 0:12:43.800 DNA on it to a DNA sample taken from the 0:12:43.841 --> 0:12:48.121 crime scene, meaning the detective told Rico that Rico had 0:12:48.161 --> 0:12:52.401 been inside Nina Ingram's apartment. This, however, was not true. 0:12:53.041 --> 0:12:54.761 I want to point out by the way that we 0:12:54.921 --> 0:12:58.521 can't know the inner workings of Detective Carlton's mind at 0:12:58.521 --> 0:13:01.641 this point, but it is not illegal for detectives to 0:13:01.721 --> 0:13:06.081 light to suspects. Often it's encouraged. I've actually taken the 0:13:06.201 --> 0:13:09.361 read Interrogation seminar as part of my private investigator training. 0:13:09.801 --> 0:13:12.081 That's the same one the police take, and in that 0:13:12.241 --> 0:13:15.721 seminar they actually teach you how to lie. But Rico 0:13:15.841 --> 0:13:20.161 Cone's civil lawsuit alleges that the police didn't stop there. 0:13:20.681 --> 0:13:23.641 The lawsuit alleges that not only was the case against 0:13:23.721 --> 0:13:26.721 Rico Cone weaked to nonexistent, but that the judge who 0:13:26.761 --> 0:13:30.001 issued the search warrant, and the public were actually being misled. 0:13:30.561 --> 0:13:33.920 They were being told that Rico Cone was the only 0:13:34.001 --> 0:13:37.401 Bible suspect, But in fact, as we got into last week, 0:13:37.961 --> 0:13:41.361 Rico Cone was not the only man questioned, and there's 0:13:41.481 --> 0:13:44.081 nothing about Rico Cone in the case by up to 0:13:44.081 --> 0:13:47.001 the year two thousand and eight, at least nothing that's 0:13:47.041 --> 0:13:51.481 been publicly released via FOI request. I could not find 0:13:51.561 --> 0:13:54.121 any mention of Rigo Cone in the pieces of the 0:13:54.161 --> 0:13:57.441 case file that we were given, though again we can't 0:13:57.481 --> 0:14:00.481 be sure that we have every document because much later 0:14:01.041 --> 0:14:05.321 after the case against Rigo Cone was dismissed, Rico Cone's 0:14:05.521 --> 0:14:09.281 entire criminal case was sealed by a judge. There is 0:14:09.401 --> 0:14:12.280 no mention of Rico Cone's name in connection with the 0:14:12.361 --> 0:14:16.881 Nina Ingram case anywhere in the Arkansas court system. After that, 0:14:17.401 --> 0:14:20.681 Nina's case went cold again. And while of course we 0:14:20.761 --> 0:14:23.401 can't know for sure what was happening behind the scenes 0:14:23.441 --> 0:14:27.921 of the investigation, publicly, the statements made by police appeared 0:14:27.921 --> 0:14:30.561 to indicate they believed they did have the right person, 0:14:31.241 --> 0:14:35.161 but they did not have enough evidence to prosecute Rigo Cone. 0:14:35.241 --> 0:14:38.361 They had one year to refile charges, but they never did, 0:14:39.081 --> 0:14:41.441 which means Nina's killer was. 0:14:41.401 --> 0:14:42.361 Still out there. 0:14:53.401 --> 0:14:55.641 One of the things that police were trying to figure 0:14:55.641 --> 0:14:59.081 out early on was was this a random attack or 0:14:59.081 --> 0:15:02.681 someone whom Nina knew, because even though everyone they talked 0:15:02.681 --> 0:15:05.641 to said Nina was this super nice person and they 0:15:05.681 --> 0:15:08.561 couldn't imagine anyone would want to hurt her, the fact 0:15:08.681 --> 0:15:12.561 is someone did brutally strangle her, and her cell phone 0:15:12.641 --> 0:15:15.081 was in her pocket, She had no defensive wounds on 0:15:15.121 --> 0:15:19.041 her hands, and she was not sexually assaulted. Also, her 0:15:19.081 --> 0:15:22.001 purse was found near her body with money inside it, 0:15:22.081 --> 0:15:25.921 and nothing obvious was taken from her apartment, so, at 0:15:26.001 --> 0:15:28.681 least on the surface, the motive did not appear to 0:15:28.681 --> 0:15:32.561 be robbery or sexual assault. And I keep coming back 0:15:32.601 --> 0:15:35.241 to the locked door because I believe it could. 0:15:35.041 --> 0:15:36.201 Be a crucial clue. 0:15:36.721 --> 0:15:40.361 When Nina's brother, Noah and his roommate Chad got to 0:15:40.401 --> 0:15:43.001 her apartment the day her body was found, the door 0:15:43.081 --> 0:15:45.761 was double locked. Her brother had to crawl in through 0:15:45.761 --> 0:15:48.681 an open window next to the door, then he unlocked 0:15:48.721 --> 0:15:49.641 the regular. 0:15:49.281 --> 0:15:50.481 Lock and the dead bowl. 0:15:51.601 --> 0:15:54.881 So if the killer left through the door, how did 0:15:54.881 --> 0:15:56.521 they lock it behind themselves? 0:15:58.481 --> 0:16:00.601 Police asked several people about. 0:16:00.441 --> 0:16:03.521 Nina's keys, including Nina's boyfriend, Josh Stewart. 0:16:04.361 --> 0:16:05.561 We talked to Josh. 0:16:05.801 --> 0:16:07.761 He said that he met Nina in March of two 0:16:07.801 --> 0:16:10.881 thousand and five when they started working at the same Walmart. 0:16:11.321 --> 0:16:13.361 They started dating later that summer. 0:16:14.201 --> 0:16:17.281 There's a new store that's being open and Rogers Arkansas. 0:16:17.321 --> 0:16:20.521 We were helping you get that store set up and 0:16:20.601 --> 0:16:24.801 so met her at that time, but we didn't start 0:16:24.881 --> 0:16:28.841 dating more over the summer. By midsummer May of late summer, 0:16:28.921 --> 0:16:30.641 say I was bye. We started dating, So we didn't 0:16:30.681 --> 0:16:34.281 date for very long. At the most seven eight months 0:16:34.601 --> 0:16:37.441 we were seeing each other exclusively. You know, we have 0:16:37.561 --> 0:16:39.881 started talking about getting the place together because we spend 0:16:39.921 --> 0:16:42.201 our time together. Anyway, She spent a lot of time 0:16:42.241 --> 0:16:46.041 at my apartment changedly move along grade. 0:16:46.481 --> 0:16:48.321 Josh said that he did not have a key to 0:16:48.361 --> 0:16:50.681 her apartment, and even though she had a key to 0:16:50.721 --> 0:16:53.841 his place, and even though they regularly switch vehicles, He 0:16:53.961 --> 0:16:56.641 said they did this because he had to commute for work. 0:16:57.081 --> 0:16:59.401 He worried that his older truck wouldn't make it all 0:16:59.401 --> 0:17:01.561 the way to Bentonville, so on the days he had 0:17:01.561 --> 0:17:04.361 to make that drive, Nina would lend him her two 0:17:04.360 --> 0:17:06.001 thousand and two Toyota Corolla. 0:17:06.961 --> 0:17:08.641 Josh told detectives he. 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:11.281 Had not actually been inside Nina's apartment for a couple 0:17:11.281 --> 0:17:14.281 of months. Their routine was she would get off work, 0:17:14.441 --> 0:17:17.001 usually shower, and then come to his place to hang out. 0:17:17.360 --> 0:17:20.801 Sometimes they would go out when she came to his place. 0:17:21.161 --> 0:17:23.761 Sometimes she would stay over there. Sometimes she would go 0:17:23.801 --> 0:17:27.281 back home, but he pretty much never stayed at her place. 0:17:28.201 --> 0:17:31.681 He also told detectives that Nina often felt he would 0:17:31.681 --> 0:17:35.041 get angry with her if she didn't stay over. In 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:38.281 two thousand and six, Josh told detectives that his relationship 0:17:38.321 --> 0:17:41.641 with Nina had been going great. He said Nina planned 0:17:41.681 --> 0:17:43.401 to move in with him when her lease was up. 0:17:43.801 --> 0:17:45.960 He said she was easy going and they got along 0:17:46.041 --> 0:17:49.600 super well, that they came from similar hard working family backgrounds, 0:17:49.801 --> 0:17:52.761 and that they had shared values. They were both working 0:17:52.761 --> 0:17:55.801 their way through college. He said, I was going to 0:17:55.840 --> 0:17:59.481 marry that girl. He cried as he told detectives quote, 0:17:59.721 --> 0:18:04.921 it's the best relationship that I've ever had. Police asked 0:18:04.961 --> 0:18:08.641 about the keys several times. Josh clarified that his truck 0:18:08.721 --> 0:18:11.721 keys were on a removable ring, so when they swapped vehicles. 0:18:12.001 --> 0:18:13.801 He said he would take the truck keys on their 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:16.680 little silver ring and give them to Nina and vice versa, 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:20.241 so that allowed them to swap vehicle keys without swapping 0:18:20.281 --> 0:18:24.161 the entire key ring. Police also asked Josh if Nina 0:18:24.201 --> 0:18:27.241 had noticed anything at work or at home if there 0:18:27.281 --> 0:18:30.161 was anyone who would want to hurt her. Josh said 0:18:30.201 --> 0:18:33.361 not at work, but he said Nina had told him 0:18:33.401 --> 0:18:36.201 about some guys at her apartment complex who were cat 0:18:36.241 --> 0:18:39.961 calling her. He told detectives this happened five days before 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:43.481 Nina's murder on Easter Sunday, April sixteenth, two thousand and six. 0:18:44.161 --> 0:18:47.080 While Josh said he hadn't been inside Nina's apartment in months, 0:18:47.441 --> 0:18:49.640 he said he had waited for Nina in the parking 0:18:49.641 --> 0:18:53.081 lot of her complex on Easter Sunday, April sixteenth, two 0:18:53.121 --> 0:18:55.961 thousand and six. He said on that day, both he 0:18:56.001 --> 0:18:58.361 and Nina had the day off. He said they hung 0:18:58.361 --> 0:19:00.761 out together and went to Walmart to buy some stuff. 0:19:01.161 --> 0:19:04.241 After that, they swung by her apartment complex so she 0:19:04.281 --> 0:19:06.681 could run inside and change before they went out to eat. 0:19:07.641 --> 0:19:09.920 Josh said that while he was waiting for Nina in 0:19:09.921 --> 0:19:12.881 the law Quad parking lot, he noticed two or three 0:19:12.961 --> 0:19:15.561 young men, who he had described a police as young 0:19:15.641 --> 0:19:18.840 male kids aged fourteen to fifteen years old, and at 0:19:18.921 --> 0:19:22.001 least one of them driving a truck. He said that 0:19:22.121 --> 0:19:24.921 Nina had told him on that day that one of 0:19:24.961 --> 0:19:27.080 these guys had been cat calling her and called her 0:19:27.121 --> 0:19:30.321 a bitch, and that he had considered confronting them but didn't. 0:19:31.361 --> 0:19:33.801 She guys just said something to me, and I'm like, well, 0:19:33.961 --> 0:19:35.920 whe they say, she's whether he was hollering at me 0:19:35.921 --> 0:19:37.961 and trying to get come talk to them, and I 0:19:38.121 --> 0:19:40.561 just ignored them. And she's kind of shaken up by 0:19:40.561 --> 0:19:43.441 that enough to mention it to me, and I, well, 0:19:44.001 --> 0:19:46.361 do we need the same thing? And she was like, well, 0:19:46.361 --> 0:19:49.801 now they drove off, so it was from like a vehicle. 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:52.801 She just kind of shook it off, and you know, 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:54.640 I don't know, it's not that big deal. Let's just 0:19:54.681 --> 0:19:58.001 move on. That's the only time that I recall her 0:19:58.161 --> 0:20:00.641 being uncomfortable about anybody in the complex. 0:20:01.721 --> 0:20:05.160 Later, Rico's defense team talked to Josh as well. He 0:20:05.281 --> 0:20:07.440 told them that the mental image he had in his 0:20:07.441 --> 0:20:09.360 head from that day was that it could have been 0:20:09.401 --> 0:20:11.761 a couple of white guys and that they were definitely 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:12.721 younger than him. 0:20:12.801 --> 0:20:13.321 And Nina. 0:20:14.161 --> 0:20:17.441 Another former law squad resident named Catherine Austin, who lived 0:20:17.481 --> 0:20:21.080 in apartment number eighty two, told police on April seventeenth, 0:20:21.080 --> 0:20:23.481 two thousand and seven, that around the time of the murder, 0:20:23.521 --> 0:20:26.641 there were four men. She described them as clean cut, 0:20:26.681 --> 0:20:29.640 white males hanging around in that parking lot in a 0:20:29.681 --> 0:20:33.281 white four door pickup truck. Catherine said two of these 0:20:33.281 --> 0:20:35.400 guys came up to her apartment door and asked her 0:20:35.401 --> 0:20:38.441 what her name was. She said that this made her 0:20:38.601 --> 0:20:41.440 very uncomfortable because they invaded her personal space. 0:20:42.441 --> 0:20:42.801 Again. 0:20:43.001 --> 0:20:46.241 According to the lawsuit, there were several potential people of 0:20:46.281 --> 0:20:49.201 interests who the suit claimed should have been thoroughly investigated. 0:20:49.801 --> 0:20:52.961 The lawsuit alleges that the lead detective, Scott Carlton, when 0:20:52.961 --> 0:20:57.161 he took over the investigation, very quickly became totally focused 0:20:57.201 --> 0:21:01.281 on Rico Cone, and that Detective Carlton was quote exhibiting 0:21:01.321 --> 0:21:05.521 clear signs of cognitive bias, repeatedly assisted Josh in matching 0:21:05.561 --> 0:21:08.041 up his answers with his prior statements by telling him 0:21:08.041 --> 0:21:10.801 what an excellent job he was doing and even providing 0:21:10.881 --> 0:21:14.121 him with a transcript of his prior statement with highlighted portions, 0:21:14.441 --> 0:21:17.001 and it was only after that happened that Josh then 0:21:17.121 --> 0:21:19.920 changed his statement back to having been present in the 0:21:19.961 --> 0:21:24.641 parking lot end quote. The lawsuit alleged there was really 0:21:24.641 --> 0:21:29.361 no evidence, physical or otherwise against Rico Cone, but there 0:21:29.481 --> 0:21:32.601 were pieces of evidence that could have pointed to other 0:21:32.641 --> 0:21:33.441 people of interest. 0:21:34.241 --> 0:21:37.281 There was the text message. Josh told police. 0:21:36.921 --> 0:21:40.241 That Nina had communicated with someone online prior to leaving 0:21:40.281 --> 0:21:42.561 his residence. On April twenty first, two thousand and six, 0:21:43.201 --> 0:21:46.521 detective found a text message on Nina's cell phone from 0:21:46.561 --> 0:21:50.281 a contact listed as Joey. The message read quote I 0:21:50.401 --> 0:21:53.880 see be careful, be one hundred percent see ya end quote. 0:21:54.361 --> 0:21:58.481 But that person Joey was never identified in the case file. 0:21:59.041 --> 0:22:02.161 So who was Joey? Was he the last. 0:22:01.881 --> 0:22:05.481 Person who Nina messaged? What did he mean by be careful? 0:22:06.361 --> 0:22:09.001 Was this just a random occurrence or could it be 0:22:09.041 --> 0:22:13.801 a clue. Several potential pieces of evidence were sent to 0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:17.360 the Arkansas State Crime Lab, including Nina's clothes that she 0:22:17.481 --> 0:22:22.161 was wearing, plus other items of clothing including jeans, towels, 0:22:22.201 --> 0:22:25.281 and socks, the dead bolt and doorknob from the front door, 0:22:25.761 --> 0:22:28.561 a small black elastic cord with a white button that 0:22:28.601 --> 0:22:31.361 was found under the bed, Nina's betting, and the black 0:22:31.481 --> 0:22:33.441 leather belt that was found in the kitchen trash can. 0:22:34.001 --> 0:22:37.241 They also found other items, including a Valentine's card that 0:22:37.281 --> 0:22:39.761 was from Josh and a poem that Nina had written 0:22:39.761 --> 0:22:43.241 to her mom. The lawsuit mentions the fact that the 0:22:43.321 --> 0:22:47.721 DNA evidence collection procedures were much less advanced in two 0:22:47.761 --> 0:22:50.641 thousand and six than they are today. The training of 0:22:50.721 --> 0:22:53.481 law enforcement and the procedures at the Arkansas State Crime 0:22:53.601 --> 0:22:58.481 Lab were also not what they are today. This would 0:22:58.561 --> 0:23:02.001 become a crucial component of Rico's lawsuit. 0:23:03.521 --> 0:23:05.241 Another question that we had when. 0:23:05.080 --> 0:23:08.641 Reviewing this case file were who were the men whom 0:23:08.681 --> 0:23:11.761 Nina was seen talking to at her apartment complex in 0:23:11.801 --> 0:23:15.401 the days before her death. Detectives talked to a neighbor 0:23:15.441 --> 0:23:18.080 of Nina's who said she saw Nina sitting on a 0:23:18.080 --> 0:23:20.561 bench in her apartment building on April twentieth, two thousand 0:23:20.561 --> 0:23:23.880 and six, the day before she was murdered. Nina was 0:23:23.921 --> 0:23:27.521 talking to a white male described as having slightly bigger 0:23:27.521 --> 0:23:30.161 than medium builled, with blondish brown hair and a pasty 0:23:30.201 --> 0:23:33.881 white complexion, approximately five foot eight to five foot ten 0:23:33.961 --> 0:23:37.201 inches tall. The neighbor told police she had seen Nina 0:23:37.241 --> 0:23:40.241 come home with a similar looking mail on multiple prior 0:23:40.241 --> 0:23:45.761 occasions after dark. Now remember, Nina's boyfriend, Josh, told police 0:23:46.161 --> 0:23:50.801 that he had not been inside Nina's apartment in months. However, 0:23:50.921 --> 0:23:52.961 he did say he had been in the parking lot 0:23:53.001 --> 0:23:56.761 a few days before her murder. This neighbor also said 0:23:56.801 --> 0:23:59.721 that she saw Nina that same week with another different 0:23:59.721 --> 0:24:02.201 white male with lighter brown hair and a medium build 0:24:02.401 --> 0:24:05.001 between five foot ten and five foot eleven inches tall, 0:24:05.481 --> 0:24:08.041 that the two of them had walked together to Nina's apartment, 0:24:08.481 --> 0:24:11.681 standing very close with the white male than following Nina 0:24:11.681 --> 0:24:15.640 into the apartment. This could have been Nina's brother or 0:24:15.681 --> 0:24:19.481 another friend, but this information, to our knowledge, was never 0:24:19.601 --> 0:24:23.001