WEBVTT - 10. Suspect 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:04.080 Murder on Songbird Road is a production of iHeart Podcasts. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:10.320 Previously on Murder on Songbird Road, I received an email 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:14.160 approving my request for surveillance footage from Huck's gas station. 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:16.760 What we were told that she did is exactly what 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:19.520 it appears that she's doing. Does that mean that she 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:23.400 didn't do it? Not necessarily in and of itself. Does 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:25.599 it mean that I don't think there's any way in 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:29.760 hell that that's what she was disposing of? There absolutely, 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:32.880 one hundred percent like I would die on that hill. 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:38.000 The prosecution contends this was after the murder. She would 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:42.400 have been covered with bloody scratches and bleeding hands. Why 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:45.840 would she have been out and about in a T shirt? 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:49.680 My name is Katie, and your relationship to Julie. 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:51.880 I would consider her best friend. She didn't like blood, 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:53.480 she didn't like violence. 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:54.800 Having murderers. 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:59.120 You're going to be talking about a man nine out. 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:01.760 Of fun time, at least in the United States. 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:05.600 We want to address a misconception that many people had 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:09.480 or continue to have, regarding what was actually found at 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:13.240 Hucks as opposed to the Southern Illinois Regional Landfill. 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:16.000 It's the thing that upsets me the most about this 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:20.400 entire trial, that any of this evidence was admissible in 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:21.640 any way, shape or form. 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:24.399 I was removed from the courtroom because I was threatening 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:26.360 the jury by sitting in the front. 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:29.679 Row, the all white jury. They were intimidated because I'm black. 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:30.800 I couldn't do this. 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:41.360 Renee High Tower Jason Flomp Chicago based attorney Kathleen Zelner 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:45.520 is one of the most formidable forces in wrongful conviction advocacy. 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:49.880 I'll flip the bill for that, because if anyone can 0:01:49.960 --> 0:01:51.200 get Julie out, it's her. 0:01:53.320 --> 0:02:10.359 I'm Lauren brad Pacheco, and this is murder on Songbird Road. 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:21.320 For over a year, Bob Matta and I have been 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:24.200 deeply immersed in a murder that has only grown more 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:29.800 controversial the further we've investigated. We've scrutinized the prosecution's case 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:33.240 against Julia Beverly and her conviction for the stabbing death 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:36.520 of eleven year old Jade Beasley, a child she considered 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:40.720 a daughter. Along the way, we've encountered moments that challenged 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:46.280 our assumptions, shifted our perspectives, and stirred emotions we never anticipated. 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:51.399 I think probably what struck me the most, frankly, more 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:56.919 than any thing that we may have uncovered or run into. 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:03.400 Is meeting Julie and person the first time, because going 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:06.359 into it, we had dug into the case a bit 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:08.600 as much as we could in terms of what was 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:14.480 out there online, but really, until I met her to 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:16.959 kind of get a sense and a feel for who 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:21.200 she was and is, I really didn't know, And that 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:25.880 for me was so important because I think we all 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.400 kind of think that we can look somebody in the 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:31.519 eyes and kind of be able to discern whether or 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:34.800 not they're being truthful with us and deciding if this 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:36.560 is somebody that you want to go to bat for. 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:40.520 You know, I had an attorney visit, so we weren't 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:43.360 being monitored, so I knew that she was going to 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:46.040 be as truthful as she was going to allow herself 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:48.160 to be, which I felt she was very truthful to 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:52.520 me about everything that I asked her. And if I 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:56.000 subtract that out, it makes a big difference on how 0:03:56.080 --> 0:04:00.120 I think I would have construed things that we ran 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:02.960 into instead of it just being somebody that I'm reading 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:07.800 about or hearing about, but having my own experience with 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:11.360 that person. It changed everything for me in the sense 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:15.240 that I was able to think about her and what 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:19.560 I thought she would be capable of or not capable of. 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:22.000 And I don't think that I would have been able 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:25.760 to do that effectively or with any substance had I 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.080 not actually had that meeting with her the first time. 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:32.320 I found her to be just an extremely genuine person. 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:35.920 I really got the sense that I wasn't being snowed, 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:40.360 she wasn't a fraud. And I walked out of that 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:44.919 jail that day pretty firmly convinced that this just doesn't 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:46.840 add up. I mean, for me, that was really an 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:47.680 AHA moment. 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.400 One of the most impactful interviews for me is one 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:55.560 you've yet to hear, one that took place many months 0:04:55.560 --> 0:05:00.320 after we began our investigation. I'm always exceedingly sensitive comes 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:04.840 to questioning miners, which is why, despite interacting with Julia 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:08.040 Beverly's eldest son, Jaden since our first trip to Marian, 0:05:08.480 --> 0:05:12.240 you haven't heard from him until now. It's crucial to 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:16.560 recognize the ripple effect of Beverly's conviction on her immediate family, 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:21.480 and in Jaden's case, those ripples were more like shock waves. 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:24.839 His entire life as he knew it was torn apart. 0:05:25.480 --> 0:05:28.560 Can you tell me, just in terms of the day 0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:34.200 to day, how much your life changed after December fifth, 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:35.760 twenty twenty. 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:38.720 A lot because I had to move schools, move in 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:42.760 with my dad, miss Jade, missed my mom, miss a 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:46.680 lot of people. I basically just flipped a lot of 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:50.280 things upside down, but it completely flipped upside out every 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:53.960 now and then with Mom, always with Dad, I miss 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:55.960 a lot of people though, like old friends. 0:05:56.520 --> 0:05:59.960 Jaden is a thoughtful, intelligent young man with a slender 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:04.760 frame and wide expressive eyes, eyes that, at just fifteen, 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:08.960 have witnessed far too much heartbreak. He's endured this sudden 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:13.080 loss of Jade, his entire immediate family and the only 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:16.839 home he ever knew. And you never got to walk 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:22.320 back into your bedroom? No, and how did it alter 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:24.960 your relationship with your little sisters? 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:27.440 Well, I didn't get to see him anymore, so I'd 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.160 say it was more just like as if I one 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:31.240 day you stop and left. 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:34.880 I guess his choice of words is interesting given the 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:39.480 people who have abandoned him. So would you have considered 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:44.320 Mike before this happened as a stepfather or just as 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:46.880 your mom's boyfriend? What kind of family life did you 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:47.320 guys have? 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:50.039 I'd consider him a stepfather looking back at it. 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:54.720 You may remember this detail Renee High Tower shared from 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:56.760 the day of Julia Beverly's arrest. 0:06:57.520 --> 0:07:00.440 There was that knock at the door. I came man, 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:05.080 and Julie immediately started crying. She had her promise ring 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:08.000 from Mike that she immediately took off and handed to me. 0:07:08.520 --> 0:07:12.560 That ring now hangs around Jaden's slim neck. Something I 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.560 didn't realize when I inquired about its significance. 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:19.560 It was a promise ring for Mike and Mom, like 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:23.239 a little promise they had between each other, where Grandma 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:25.600 gave it to me as like a gift from Mom. 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:29.640 It's just really nice to have something from mom. It's 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:32.840 like a gift from Mom inside the jail and stuff 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:37.080 it stands for, like like I made Mom promise to 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:39.600 like stay strong in the jail and I'll stay strong 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:43.120 for her and stuff like that. Yeah, it's just really 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:46.240 nice to have something between us and stuff, like a 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:47.000 promise ring. 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:49.600 She's always near your heart, so that ring means a 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:51.040 lot to you. It does. 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:53.400 Yeah, And why don't you bring it to school. 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:56.480 Because I'm more just afraid if it gets lost, someone's 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:59.120 gonna take it and I'd rather just keep it by 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:00.200 my bad at night. 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:02.520 Just having it with me is pretty comforting. 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:07.000 Now a freshman in high school, there is something heartbreakingly 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:10.840 stoic about Jaden. You get the feeling he doesn't ask 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:13.760 for much because he's learned not to expect it. 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:16.800 High school has been going well, though it would be 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:19.400 a lot better if Jade was here, and stuff and Mom, 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:24.640 it's harder for me to comprehend certain things, like for 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:25.800 stuff like death. 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:28.200 It's for me, it's it feels harder. 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:32.559 Bob and I were both tremendously impacted by our exchange 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:37.760 with Jaden, the fact that that kid wears the ring 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:42.080 Mike gave Julie as a promise ring, and now the 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:46.760 promise has become that poor little Jaden will stay strong 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:50.560 for Julie, and Julie has to stay strong for him. 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:55.880 Yeah, and it rests right above his heart with his 0:08:56.800 --> 0:09:01.320 Shane that's hanging on, you know, significant And you can 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:05.680 tell that it's not just a meetingless momanteau because he 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:09.000 was fumbling with it and playing with it the entire time. 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:10.000 It gives him comfort. 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:12.640 And he doesn't bring it to school because he's afraid 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:13.880 somebody will steal it. 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:16.200 Yeah, he's a sweet kid. 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:21.560 Renee high Tower's fight for access to her grandchildren was 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:25.240 very much fought for Jaden's sake too. Here she is 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:28.160 in an interview from July of twenty twenty four. 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:31.840 I've been fighting this for three plus years. 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:34.240 And they will know how hard you fought to be 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:35.800 a part of their lives. 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:39.240 And they need to be reacquainted with their brother, who 0:09:39.280 --> 0:09:41.760 hasn't seen them in just amount of times I have. 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:43.679 Yeah, you know he's being. 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:44.559 Kept from them as well. 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:50.040 Absolutely, I am asking for one day out of a 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:53.400 weekend every other weekend, and I wanted to coincide with 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:56.560 the days that Jaden is there visiting with me, so 0:09:56.640 --> 0:10:00.199 he can visit with his siblings and in all. 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:04.560 Guest of twenty twenty four, nearly four years after Jade's murder, 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:08.760 Renee and Jaden were reunited with Beverly's three youngest children 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:12.280 at a local McDonald's. It was the first time high 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:15.360 Tower had ever met the son Beverly gave birth to 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:19.520 while in custody of Williamson County. Oh my gosh, what 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:22.439 was it like to see Thomas for the first time. 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:27.880 It was amazing and you still feel that connection, even 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:30.400 though that's my first time medium, and I thought, well, 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:35.400 that's my grandchild, you know, and it was just amazing 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:38.080 and just trying to get to know him right there, 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:43.880 and it's almost like it instantly takes. 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:45.360 Over from me and what to do. 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:49.640 The girls Beverly and High Tower had last seen as toddlers, 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:53.280 were now seven and five years old, were not using 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.960 their names. How have they changed? 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:02.280 Well, it's like a complete different person because she's got 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:05.760 a head full hair now and she's moving around and 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:08.360 she's talking and she's you know, the last time I 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:10.200 seen her, she was a year and a half and 0:11:10.240 --> 0:11:12.360 she barely had any little peacha claws on her head, 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:15.280 you know, And just to see her all grown up 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:17.280 with a little personality, it was just. 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:22.000 I'm sitting there listening to them talk and watching them 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:25.160 interact with each other and how they answer my questions, 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:28.679 and I can already see Julie and every single one 0:11:28.679 --> 0:11:29.520 of them. 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:34.000 Before that reunion, Jaden was a bit on edge, unsure 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:35.640 of what to expect. 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:38.920 Jaden was getting a little anxious. He couldn't he didn't 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:40.720 even eat his food. He ate his French fries while 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:42.599 he was waiting. And then once they got there, he 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:44.320 couldn't touch the rest of his meal. He said, I'll 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:48.560 take it home, so he couldn't finish his food, but 0:11:49.520 --> 0:11:52.560 wanted to give him a hug immediately, which was really 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:54.520 She remembers him. 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:56.760 She remembers him, and she's looking up and she's. 0:11:56.600 --> 0:11:58.480 Like, I have a tall baby brother. 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:04.040 Oh it was it was nice. 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:04.920 It was nice. 0:12:05.200 --> 0:12:06.480 She wanted to hug him immediately. 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:07.520 That was great. 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:11.200 Renee shared a picture of the kids, the three youngest 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:14.560 grinning ear to ear as they clutched the giant squishmellow 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:18.960 stuffed animals Nikki sent to mark the occasion. Jaden smiles too, 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:23.120 but his carries a weight the others don't. His mother's 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:26.720 promise ring hangs prominently over his gaming T shirt, a 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:31.680 quiet reminder of her absence. Oh my gosh, they're beautiful, 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:36.439 cheesy grins. Oh my goodness, But she can see the 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:39.560 happiness in the Oh my gosh, I can see Julie 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:44.360 and all of them, but yes, particularly high Tower has 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:48.640 continued visiting her grandchildren as aloud, helping them reconnect with 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:53.840 their eldest brother and gradually reintroducing information about their mother. 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.720 To date, Julie Beverly has yet to see her three 0:12:57.800 --> 0:13:01.480 youngest children in person. She hasn't held her daughter since 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:04.400 the murder, and has only held her son once for 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:06.319 a single hour after his birth. 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:08.959 I have already sent those pictures on the pictures of 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:09.640 the kids. 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:12.000 To Julie so. 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:12.040 She can have that. 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:14.079 Yeah, they are priceless. 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:15.160 They are priceless. 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:20.320 Murder on Songbird Road, We'll be back after the break 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:38.680 here again is murder on Songbird Road. It is difficult 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:42.680 to process what Renee let alone, Jaden, the three youngest children, 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:46.560 and Julia Beverly have lost, especially in light of the 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.840 issues Bob and I have uncovered in this investigation so far. 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:54.360 It's hard to fathom. We're both parents, and we're both 0:13:55.320 --> 0:13:59.559 very interactive, loving parents, were very involved in our kids' lives, 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:03.280 and the concept of having that stripped away with no 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:07.320 recourse or no seeming recourse or the recourse that exists 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:14.160 could take decades is incredibly, incredibly powerful in terms of 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:17.320 trying to wrap your mind around what that might feel like. 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:22.520 Would I be sitting in there if I was wrongfully convicted, 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:25.840 if I knew that I didn't do this, Would I 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:31.280 be getting bitter? Would I be filled with rage? It's 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:35.240 probably like the steps of grief, like when you learn 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:39.440 that you're dying, and I don't even know how I 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:44.360 would function. I've dealt with enough people that have been 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:49.480 wrongfully convicted to where they always inspire me every time 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:52.040 that I talk to one of these individuals at length, 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:56.400 and to see their strength and their ability to persevere 0:14:56.840 --> 0:15:01.960 and to turn negatives into positives is just mind blowing 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:04.360 to me, really is. And it's like when you sit 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:07.240 there and you think about Julia and everything that she's lost. 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:11.920 Both times that we've met with her in person, me 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:14.280 the first time and then ausin when we went together, 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:19.480 her positivity just kind of blew me away both times. 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:24.640 You know who I credit for that, Renee, Because Renee 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:29.160 has not missed a visit, has not missed a call. 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:35.960 Her entire life is dedicated to fixing this. 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:41.320 One hundred percent, and that bolsters her daughter in a 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.400 way that she desperately needs it. 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:49.160 I used to say, I didn't know what my kryptonite 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:53.920 was until I had children, and it's the biggest fear 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:59.160 in the world because suddenly your heart is walking around 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:03.680 outside your body. And I've always said that, you know, 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:07.600 if anybody wanted to destroy me all they have to 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:11.400 do is get to my children. That has weighed heavily 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:14.720 on me when I process how this tragic ordeal and 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:20.160 questionable investigation has impacted a potentially innocent mother. I look 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:23.880 at her children and think of what they've missed. How 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:29.520 important it is to have your mother there in those 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:34.520 early years. I mean, Renee didn't meet Thomas until he 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:39.080 was three years old. Those girls didn't, you know, have 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:43.120 any interaction with their mother or their grandmother. 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:47.960 Yeah, Renee has just been a rock, an absolute rock. 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:50.280 She just has never faltered. 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:52.800 And then you have the flip side of it as well, 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:58.160 which is the loss of Jade and how that has 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:04.320 impacted Julia's family as well. But most definitely just the 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:09.440 devastation that's caused to Michael Beasley and his family. There's 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:14.240 no shortage of victims in this and the fact that 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:21.879 this wasn't properly investigated to begin with the additional layers 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:26.800 of heartbreak that heaps on top of this tragedy. It's 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:32.520 freaking daunting. It's just daunting. Wrongful convictions not only devastate 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:35.960 the lives of the innocent, but also compound the suffering 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:39.480 of the victims, families and friends. When the justice system 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:42.920 fails to ensure accuracy the first time, it creates a 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:47.119 ripple effect of dysfunction and harm, a misery onion with 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:51.760 layers of pain and injustice that only grow increasingly rotten 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:54.880 over time. And when Bob and I were finally able 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:58.720 to access Jade's autopsy, we faced even more layers to 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:02.720 that onions. How the then Williamson County State's Attorney Brandon 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:06.440 Zenati reference to the autopsy in the same press conference 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:09.520 in which he announced Jade's murder and Beverly's arrest. 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:14.520 An autopsy was performed on Sunday, and while we are 0:18:14.600 --> 0:18:19.600 awaiting the final autopsy report, initial information from the pathologist 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:23.200 indicates that Jay Beasley died as a result of blood 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:28.080 loss from multiple stab wounds. Numerous search warrants have been 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:32.399 issued and evidence collected during the investigation. A lot of 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:36.399 evidence has been sent to the Illenwich State Police Crime 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:39.800 Lab in Belleville for testing, and we will be awaiting 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:41.040 all of those results. 0:18:41.600 --> 0:18:45.240 We now know a substantial amount of evidence, seemingly anything 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:49.000 that could have supported Beverly's innocence was not tested, but 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:52.720 the autopsy also revealed evidence that may have been mishandled, 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:56.359 and it involved a towel that was apparently tossed into 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:59.680 the body bag used to transport Jade to the morgue. 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:05.360 In the autopsy verbatim, a blue beach towel accompanies the body. 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:09.200 Renee high Tower was unaware of any such towel until 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:10.600 we shared the report with her. 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:14.280 I hadn't seen the autopsy report, so I didn't even 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:18.600 know anything about that, and I have not seen the crime. 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:20.440 Scene photos because I wasn't allowed in court. 0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:24.480 She then questioned Beverly as to whether she recalled seeing 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:26.080 that towel at any point. 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:31.119 I was talking to her about the autopsy reports and 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:36.639 I said that there was a towel in the body 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:37.480 bag with Jade. 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:40.840 She asked, was it a beach towel? 0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:43.080 And I said, I think that's what it stated in there, 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:47.479 And that's when she said that she's seen that towel 0:19:47.520 --> 0:19:50.919 in the pictures, in the crime scene photos on the 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:54.200 floor in the bathroom. She said, the thing about it, 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:58.439 it looked like it was used to clean up with, 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:04.960 like someone clean themselves off from blood. So she said 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:06.720 it didn't look like it was laying on the floor 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:10.720 and got blood on it, like everything else, did you 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:13.000 know just sitting there and got blood on it. It looked 0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:15.960 like it was picked up and used to wipe blood 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:19.359 off and then dropped on the floor. The police could 0:20:19.359 --> 0:20:21.919 have used it, who knows, But for it to be 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:26.879 put in the body bag with Jade is crazy. 0:20:27.000 --> 0:20:28.360 I don't understand that at all. 0:20:29.119 --> 0:20:32.680 When reading through the autopsy report, former Kentucky crime scene 0:20:32.680 --> 0:20:36.080 investigator Katie Hartman, who worked in law enforcement for over 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:39.640 two decades, was also a bit baffled by the presence 0:20:39.680 --> 0:20:41.760 of the beach towel within the body bag. 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:44.320 Correct if I'm wrong. You said that they said the 0:20:44.359 --> 0:20:47.840 towel was on the floor of the bag, Yes, yep. 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:51.960 Do you think maybe when they pulled her out of 0:20:52.000 --> 0:20:55.199 the tub that they included it in there? Maybe because 0:20:55.280 --> 0:20:56.600 she landed on top of it. 0:20:57.600 --> 0:20:58.200 I don't know. 0:20:58.400 --> 0:20:59.200 See, that's what I'm saying. 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:01.439 I'm trying to be good advocate here and think of 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:05.119 ways that it could have occurred. A med unit who's 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:07.680 not in forensics could have picked it up and thrown 0:21:07.680 --> 0:21:10.520 it in the body bag with her, But still that 0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:14.160 towel should have still been collected. I've had things put 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:16.760 in body bags by med units that I had to 0:21:16.800 --> 0:21:19.800 collect even though they really had nothing to do with it. 0:21:20.280 --> 0:21:22.520 So I can only tell you what I would have 0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:24.480 done if I was at the scene. The blue towel 0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:26.360 would have been collected separately. 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:27.520 Not with the body. 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:30.320 Never I would You don't throw things in the body bag. 0:21:31.080 --> 0:21:36.800 This blue towel was saturated with blood. So could it 0:21:36.840 --> 0:21:40.280 have been something that Jade had used to try to 0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:42.080 stop the blood or. 0:21:41.920 --> 0:21:44.960 Would it have been someone who did it trying to 0:21:45.000 --> 0:21:48.919 stop their blood from their own wounds? Because it's with 0:21:49.040 --> 0:21:52.960 this many sad wounds, it's not one hundred percent, but 0:21:53.000 --> 0:21:56.800 it's pretty common for the assailants to cook themselves, you know, 0:21:56.880 --> 0:22:00.600 with their hands slipping down. I'm looking at the evidence. 0:22:00.880 --> 0:22:05.440 They did say the clothing that says here a beach towel. Yep, 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:07.160 Now could that be. 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:07.840 The blue towel? 0:22:07.920 --> 0:22:08.800 That's the blue towel? 0:22:09.680 --> 0:22:12.560 Okay, So at least it was collected. 0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:16.640 Which conceivably means the towel, along with many other things 0:22:16.840 --> 0:22:21.360 like Beverly's clothing, her nail scrapings, and Jade's electronics, could 0:22:21.400 --> 0:22:26.040 have been and could still be tested. Here's Bob's take. 0:22:26.880 --> 0:22:30.320 It's unbelievable. I've said that word. 0:22:30.359 --> 0:22:32.560 I don't know how many episodes that I've listened to 0:22:32.680 --> 0:22:38.480 during this world saying that something's unbelievable or unfathomable. But 0:22:39.520 --> 0:22:42.080 every time I say it, I'm here to tell you 0:22:42.119 --> 0:22:47.240 I mean it to me. To have that particular piece 0:22:47.280 --> 0:22:52.720 of evidence jammed in the body bag is beyond comprehension. 0:22:52.800 --> 0:22:58.479 I just don't understand what person that was at that 0:22:58.560 --> 0:23:01.880 crime scene that thought that that was the right thing 0:23:01.960 --> 0:23:05.280 to do. I have never processed the crime scene. I've 0:23:05.320 --> 0:23:05.960 never done it. 0:23:06.320 --> 0:23:09.200 But you know what I wouldn't do is I wouldn't 0:23:09.280 --> 0:23:13.440 jam a bloody towel that was found in the same 0:23:13.520 --> 0:23:17.280 room the victim was killed, at least theoretically, into a 0:23:17.359 --> 0:23:22.160 body bag that was with that victim and then transported 0:23:22.720 --> 0:23:26.680 to wherever she was transported. It's it's crazy. 0:23:27.280 --> 0:23:30.200 What else is crazy? The amount of time it took 0:23:30.320 --> 0:23:34.800 for the then forensic pathologists to turn around Jade Beasley's autopsy. 0:23:35.280 --> 0:23:36.560 Here's Renee high Tower. 0:23:36.920 --> 0:23:39.719 The scene was asking for discovery and that took a 0:23:39.720 --> 0:23:43.719 while in itself as well, and then going through the discovery, 0:23:44.080 --> 0:23:46.959 she's seen that the autopsy was not in there. Scene 0:23:46.960 --> 0:23:49.120 had to file emotion to compel. 0:23:49.640 --> 0:23:53.080 So while the autopsy was performed the day after the 0:23:53.160 --> 0:23:57.360 murder on December sixth, twenty twenty. It wasn't completed and 0:23:57.400 --> 0:24:03.240 filed for another fourteen months on February fourth, twenty twenty two, 0:24:03.520 --> 0:24:07.160 so it took over a year to turn around the autopsy. Yes, 0:24:07.720 --> 0:24:10.200 did you ever get any reason as to why. 0:24:10.840 --> 0:24:11.280 I did not? 0:24:12.040 --> 0:24:16.920 And whatever happened to the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy. 0:24:16.640 --> 0:24:20.680