1 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: Bodybacks with Joseph Scott Morgan. As I've gotten older, I 2 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,640 Speaker 1: think that horn of things I enjoy doing more than 3 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: anything on weekends with my wife. I can't believe I'm 4 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: saying this, but it's actually going antiquing. I love to 5 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,279 Speaker 1: go to old junk stores and I love to go 6 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: to antique shops and just look at things. It's not 7 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: that I'm necessarily going to buy anything I like, and 8 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: I think because I'm a frustrated historian at heart, and 9 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: every item in every one of these stores has its 10 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:51,959 Speaker 1: own tale to be told. And it's fascinating, particularly when 11 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 1: you walk through an area of a store and you 12 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: see tools that are left behind that people find useless nowadays, 13 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: but it's things that meant something to people in their 14 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,400 Speaker 1: workaday life, things that they used on a regular basis, 15 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,759 Speaker 1: and it draws you in. You can learn a lot 16 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 1: about a person and the life that they have lived. 17 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: I think perhaps by those things that they utilized. And 18 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,919 Speaker 1: that brings me to what we're going to talk about today. 19 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: A lady that had lived a full life, had made 20 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: it into her seventies, had retired and was now just 21 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: pointing to live at peace, working on clothing working as 22 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: a seamstress and using an old fashioned iron, a steam iron, 23 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden, whole world exploded in Charleston, 24 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: West Virginia. My name is Joseph Scott Morgan and this 25 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: is Bodybags. I was very hesitant to talk about this 26 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: case to day. However, I think that it's emblematic of 27 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: how quickly terror can fall upon us at any moment 28 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 1: in time. And I had to talk about this case 29 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:21,239 Speaker 1: with my friend Jackie Jackie Howard from Crime Stories with 30 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: Nancy Grace. Jackie. I don't know that over the course 31 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: of our discussions of encountered a case like this, but 32 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,359 Speaker 1: it really kind of punched me in the gut when 33 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: I began to think about you live your life and 34 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: you just want to be at peace. You just you 35 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: want to love those that are around you and enjoy 36 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: your years that you've worked so hard for. To live 37 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: in this kind of environment where you don't have to 38 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: get up and do those things that you have to do, 39 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: you do the things you want to do. I don't 40 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: know how it affected you, but this case, when I 41 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 1: read it, it was just horrifying. We have talked about 42 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: so many things that we as humans can do to 43 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: each other. But this is one of well of the 44 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: worst that we've talked about. Seventy seven year old Barbara 45 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: Steele was in her home just enjoying and doing the 46 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: things that she wanted to do when Joshua Drennan, twenty 47 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: eight years old, entered her home and attacked Barbara Steele. 48 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: Let me warn you now, not that I think that 49 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: you're listening to this podcast with children in the room, 50 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:34,519 Speaker 1: but if you have someone who is sensitive to rough content, 51 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: we advise you now this is a rough podcast to 52 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: listen to. Very heinous things were done by Joshua Drennan 53 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: and multiple He went on a mini crime spree, attacking 54 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: multiple victims, but it started with Barbara Steele. He went 55 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: into her home and attacked this woman. The piece of 56 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: equipment that you're talking about, Joe, the antique here is 57 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: an iron. You know, there's a term that people, you 58 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: know that study artifacts use, and I've always been fascinated 59 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 1: by this term. It's called patina, and patina gives you 60 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,479 Speaker 1: an indication that the appearance of an item or a 61 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: work of art, or whether it be an instrument of 62 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 1: some kind, that over the years that decades, perhaps it 63 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: has aged in a particular way, and it, you know, 64 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,599 Speaker 1: it takes on these different characteristics where almost the item 65 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: itself is kind of morphinous as years go by, and 66 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:38,679 Speaker 1: we would expect that, and it seems kind of obvious, 67 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: but I've seen images of this steam iron and if 68 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: I can, you know, just kind of describe it. It 69 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: looks like an old fashioned iron that you would play, say, 70 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,159 Speaker 1: for instance, on a stove. It's not an electric iron. 71 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: It's something that you would place perhaps on a stove 72 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: and you know, heat the thing up, you know, something 73 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: like a great gram mother would have used. My grandmother 74 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 1: actually had a couple of old fashioned irons that you 75 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,480 Speaker 1: would put on the surface of a wood burning stove 76 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: of pope belly stove, and you know that you don't 77 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: really give it a second thought. But this one looks 78 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 1: a little bit different. It's got a kind of a 79 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 1: bulb on the front of it and a metal handle. 80 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,600 Speaker 1: It's kind of rusty in appearance, I guess, and the 81 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: bulb itself apparently is where water is contained. And it's 82 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: an early iteration of what we would refer to as 83 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:33,599 Speaker 1: a steam iron, so that when it's heated, the little 84 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: ball that contains the water heats up and it transfers 85 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: that steam, you know, to the item that you're ironing, 86 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,119 Speaker 1: you know, pressing. It's fascinating to see that someone would 87 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: still use this to this day. But from what we understand, 88 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: this item was in fact utilized by the victim in 89 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: this case, she worked as a seamstress and would still 90 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: utilize this iron something that she preferred. You know. Even 91 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: her children said that they seen it in the house 92 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,400 Speaker 1: for years and years. It was just part of who 93 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: she was. She liked it. I don't know what the 94 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: origin of this item is, and maybe it's something that 95 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 1: had been passed down through her family, you know, because 96 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: this is an art form, working with clothing and doing alterations, 97 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 1: and it's something that maybe she had had in her 98 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: family for a long time. Maybe it had been passed 99 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: on from you know, almost from master to apprentice, you know, 100 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: as it were, and something she had held onto. And 101 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: so the iron itself becomes part and parcel of the story. 102 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:36,239 Speaker 1: It's kind of what the whole thing centers around, because 103 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: it's an item that is what we would refer to 104 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: from a forensic standpoint, is a weapon of convenience. It's 105 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: something that a perpetrator does not come armed with. It's 106 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: something that they utilize that is within arm's reach. That's 107 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,599 Speaker 1: something that is part of that environment which they kind 108 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: of invade and step into, And in this case, it 109 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: was utilized in the most brutal way that I think 110 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 1: that anybody could imagine. Police were made aware of what 111 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: was happening inside this home, or what did happen inside 112 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: this home by neighbors who witnessed Joshua Drennin exiting Barbara 113 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: Steele's home. Now, remember Barbara Steele is seventy seven. Joshua 114 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: Drennin is twenty eight. The owner of a business that 115 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: was located across the street from Steele's home, and he 116 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: had known her from quite some time, was the first 117 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: person to find her. He said he looked through the 118 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: screen door and could see down the hallway, and he 119 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: described it as looking like a battle zone. He said, 120 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: there was broken glass everywhere, things were toppled over. It 121 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: basically looked like a tornado had gone through. So forensically, Joe, 122 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: what do we see here? What can that tell us? 123 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: How many times have we talked about over the course 124 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: of our years together, Jackie on Nancy Show and any 125 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: other kind of medium that we're on, you know, when 126 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: they come to me and they asked me about prompting assessment, 127 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: it's kind of our fallback position, we say, you know, 128 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: there was no signs of forced entry or struggle, all right, 129 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: in this case, this is a classic sign of struggle. 130 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: You've got items that are randomly broken, shattered glass. I 131 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: think that was the most striking thing about this, that 132 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,319 Speaker 1: there was broken glass. People kept implying that. I think 133 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: a lot of it had to do with the fact that, 134 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: in addition to what had gone on inside of the home, 135 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: Miss Steele's vehicle that was parked at her home there 136 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: the police described in an interesting way. They said that 137 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: her vehicle had been attacked. And when I was reading 138 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 1: over the police reports in this particular case, that was 139 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: an interesting you know, kind of turned the phrase there 140 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 1: her vehicle was attacked, because you think of people, or 141 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: you know, an animal or you know, being attacked, you 142 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:12,720 Speaker 1: don't think of a car being attacked. But that's the 143 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: way it was described. And I think that that's also 144 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:19,840 Speaker 1: something that had drawn the neighborhood's attention to this, because 145 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 1: when Drennan left her house, he has this steam iron 146 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: that we talked about in hand and he is essentially 147 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: pounding on the outside of her car and breaking the 148 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: windows and all that sort of thing, and he met 149 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 1: with a certain level of frustration where he couldn't gain 150 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: access to it. So you can imagine that in this 151 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,600 Speaker 1: environment which the neighbor had talked about. You know, you'd 152 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: known her for years and years, and miss Steel was 153 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: known as somebody. First off, she retired from local school board, 154 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 1: had put in her time there. She was highly regarded, 155 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: and you know, the thing that you come away with 156 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: when you read back through the interviews of witnesses and 157 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: people that were in her circle, they talked about how 158 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,439 Speaker 1: gentle she was and how kind she was. She had 159 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,440 Speaker 1: a lot of kids that she I'm sure she had 160 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: touched their lives in this community. She lived on the 161 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 1: west side of Charleston, West Virginia, in just a modest 162 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,839 Speaker 1: wood frame whitewood frame home. She was widowed and just 163 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 1: living this kind of peaceful existence and then all of 164 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: a sudden her world explodes with this guy. That there's 165 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: no indication that they had ever crossed pass before. And 166 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: that's what makes this all the more horrific. Why of 167 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: all the people in the world, would you, in fact 168 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 1: target a lady like this, who is obviously going to 169 00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: be weaker than you, who's not posing a threat in 170 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 1: any way. There's no indication, you know that she was 171 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:58,440 Speaker 1: screaming at this guy as he's walking down the street, 172 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: you know, engaging with him anyway. He just burst into 173 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 1: her life and just absolutely just ripped it to shrift. 174 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:09,400 Speaker 1: Besides the assault on Barbara Steel the assault on the car, 175 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: Joshua Drenning continued his crime spree, going through the neighborhood 176 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: and ultimately assaulted at least two other people that we 177 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 1: know of. One was a woman sitting in a drug 178 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: store parking lot. What happened to her? Again, somebody just 179 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:31,839 Speaker 1: randomly sitting can you imagine? And all of us had 180 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,319 Speaker 1: done this, hopefully nobody's you know, texting while they're driving. 181 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: And this lady had pulled over into the local drug 182 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,600 Speaker 1: stores parking lot and was sitting there and she's like 183 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,960 Speaker 1: in a two thousand and four Hondas CRV, you know, 184 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: her back it's to this guy as he's approaching her car, 185 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: and she's sitting there. She's texting, you know, and you're thinking, well, 186 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: what would she be texting about it? You can kind 187 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: of superimpose your thoughts about it. But maybe she's at 188 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: the drug store. She's trying to contact her family, saying, look, 189 00:11:58,240 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: I'm at the drug stores or anything I can pick 190 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:01,319 Speaker 1: up for you while I'm here, this sort of thing. 191 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, her driver's side window 192 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:09,679 Speaker 1: just explodes in a hail of glass. This iron that 193 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:13,240 Speaker 1: we talked about is being wielded by Brennan. He drives 194 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: this thing through the glass and begins to pummel her 195 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:21,679 Speaker 1: with this iron and beat her and then doesn't open 196 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: the door. He drags her out of the car through 197 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 1: the broken window and onto the ground, a Jason you know, 198 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: to the vehicle, and he hops in the vehicle and 199 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:36,000 Speaker 1: drives away. And I can only imagine, you know, her, 200 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 1: it's not surprised, doesn't even begin, you know, to kind 201 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 1: of describe this. You're minding your own business, and all 202 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: of a sudden the world just explodes in the shattering 203 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 1: of this cube safety glass, which is what you know 204 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,160 Speaker 1: we have, you know in these windows all sign if 205 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:56,080 Speaker 1: you ever see a car, the glass on either side 206 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 1: shatters into these little cubes, and she probably would have 207 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,200 Speaker 1: wound up with tiny little lacerations as a result. Of 208 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,080 Speaker 1: the glass fracturing into these little bits that comes across 209 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 1: these little cubes. They make these little L shaped lacerations 210 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,880 Speaker 1: as they strike skin, and that's one of the reasons. 211 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: That's kind of how in motor vehicle accents, for instance, 212 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 1: we can tell which side of the vehicle and individuals 213 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 1: positioned in. Were they a passenger in the front seat, 214 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: and do they have these cube that called it cubing 215 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,560 Speaker 1: injuries on the right side of their face that gives 216 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: you an indication they were adjacent to that window, and 217 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,319 Speaker 1: on the less side, you know, of the face, that 218 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: would give you an indication that you're on the driver side, 219 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 1: either in the front or the back seat. And then 220 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: she's drug out there and she's probably dazed, in a 221 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: state of complete and total confusion, and then she looks 222 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,560 Speaker 1: up and her car is just gone. Total stranger has 223 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: just driven off with this vehicle, and he's this guy 224 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:59,160 Speaker 1: is in kind of this amped up state. He's driving 225 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: along the road and according to what the police reports 226 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:08,480 Speaker 1: are saying, he wound up striking another vehicle that a 227 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:12,439 Speaker 1: gentleman was driving. And I don't know if the CRV 228 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:15,840 Speaker 1: that he had stolen had become disabled, but he decides 229 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: that he's going to try to commandeer the vehicle that 230 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 1: he has just struck. But suddenly reality sets in. I 231 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: think a lot can be learned about the nature of 232 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:29,560 Speaker 1: this fellow. It's at this point he approaches the driver 233 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 1: of that vehicle and the next thing you know, he's 234 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: staring down the muzzle of a gun because this guy's 235 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 1: a concealed carry guy, and he draws his weapon and 236 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, Drenning suddenly, I guess he has 237 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: a lucid moment. He realizes, Oh, this guy's a threat. 238 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 1: Now keep in mind, the two people that he has 239 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: brutally attacks so far have been women, unarmed women, and 240 00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: now he comes face to face with a person that 241 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 1: is prepared to shoot him, and he runs away. At 242 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 1: that point in time, the next person that Drennan runs into, Joe, 243 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: is a police officer, who by now are made aware 244 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: that this has happened to In Barbara Steele's home, witnesses 245 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: saw Drennan leaving and reported it to the police. Now 246 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:25,480 Speaker 1: you have a second woman injured, as you said, and 247 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: then he runs into a police officer. The police officer, 248 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: this gentleman, he is aware. You know, there's radio chatter 249 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,640 Speaker 1: at this point, you know, something ain't right. I can 250 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,120 Speaker 1: tell you, you you know, they probably don't have this kind 251 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 1: of thing. You know, Charleston is not a tiny town, 252 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 1: but I can tell you they don't have some maniac 253 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 1: running down the street every day with an antique iron, 254 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 1: pummeling people with it. He's aware. Now it's gone out 255 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: on the radio. Can any of us imagine how terrified 256 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: you are. You're seeing this, and there are calls that 257 00:15:56,960 --> 00:15:59,120 Speaker 1: are coming into the nine eleven center. You know, people 258 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: are seeing this. One guy even I think he videotaped 259 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,760 Speaker 1: a goodly portion of this at a distance. This confrontation 260 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: that Drennan winds up having with the police officer, he 261 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: begins to again hummel this police officer with this iron. 262 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: I mean, look, cops are set up. They're trained to 263 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: have situational awareness. That is, those those things that are 264 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,800 Speaker 1: occurring in the environment around them. I don't know if 265 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,320 Speaker 1: in the academy, you know, they prepare you for you know, 266 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:30,040 Speaker 1: what do I do if a guy shows up with 267 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,200 Speaker 1: an antique iron. I'm sure the police officer is shocked, 268 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 1: but he reaches into his belt, his service belt, and 269 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,520 Speaker 1: pulls out his what's referred to as an ass It's 270 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:46,640 Speaker 1: a deployable baton. People have seen these. They're telescoping and 271 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 1: they're very heavy. You extended by popping it out, and 272 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 1: then you go into position to strike, you know, the 273 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 1: person that's advancing on you. The problem is is that, 274 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: apparently as the officer set Drenning is advancing on the 275 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 1: police officer with the iron and begins to swing it 276 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:11,480 Speaker 1: wildly at him, and the police officer backs up and trips. 277 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: This is horrifying when you think about trips backwards over 278 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 1: a curb. And he drops his asp and in the meantime, 279 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: Drenning just descends on him. I mean, he begins to 280 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 1: pummel him again with the iron, beating him all over. 281 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 1: The only thing the police officer can really do is 282 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,440 Speaker 1: just kind of contract into a ball on the ground. 283 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:34,439 Speaker 1: I'm sure he's got his vest on, but that's not 284 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: protecting his head. It's not protecting his hands and his hips, 285 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 1: that sort of thing. And you've got this wild man 286 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 1: just assaulting you. And it's at this point that the 287 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:48,040 Speaker 1: police officer, his name is Casto. Officer Casto, was able 288 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:54,399 Speaker 1: to draw his weapon and shoot Drenning in the chest 289 00:17:54,640 --> 00:18:00,359 Speaker 1: and the neck area. Now, amazingly Drenning survived that two 290 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,359 Speaker 1: gunshot wounds at close range, just survive them, but it 291 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: stopped a threat. At that moment time they were able 292 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:11,159 Speaker 1: to you know, pack drinning off to the local hospital 293 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 1: where he was treated and arrested there and spent some 294 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:18,360 Speaker 1: time in the hospital. Obviously, guy has been shot, so 295 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: they had to do surgery on it. But all of 296 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: this happened in a very short period of time where 297 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: this perpetrator traveled just a few blocks and in his wake, 298 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:54,200 Speaker 1: you know, he just left absolute horror. So many times 299 00:18:55,520 --> 00:19:00,119 Speaker 1: it's the quietness to get you when you're threat a 300 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,399 Speaker 1: crub scene. It's really kind of hard to put into words, 301 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 1: but it used to be. When I would get a 302 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 1: call to roll out on you get this sudden, i 303 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:17,600 Speaker 1: don't know, jolt of adrenaline, the anticipation of what's going 304 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:21,000 Speaker 1: to happen. You show up and there's lights flashing, there 305 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:27,080 Speaker 1: might be firetrucks there, there's people crying and and carrying on, 306 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 1: and you're standing there and you're about to make entry 307 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:32,960 Speaker 1: into the scene, and then all of a sudden, the 308 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:37,680 Speaker 1: outside chatter begins to die down, and there's this kind 309 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:41,560 Speaker 1: of uneasy piece that kind of settles in the environment. 310 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 1: Things get really really quiet. You no longer hear the chatter, 311 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 1: and you stand there just for a moment, And many 312 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:51,720 Speaker 1: times I found myself I'd be there by myself in 313 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: the room with a decedent, and you are able to 314 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: begin to see what had happened. Quietly, consider what had 315 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 1: happened just for a moment to the victim lying there, 316 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 1: and what the police saw when they walked into miss 317 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: Steele's house. I can't even begin to fathom what kind 318 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 1: of course through their bodies at that moment time. I 319 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:36,160 Speaker 1: would imagine that the police officers had never seen anything 320 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: like this. Well, I would certainly hope not, Joe, because 321 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:44,680 Speaker 1: this scene just absolutely horrendous. The indignities that this poor 322 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:49,159 Speaker 1: woman suffered. Let's take them one by one. First, we 323 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 1: know she was beaten with the iron. You think about 324 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: this item, and I urge anybody that wants to research 325 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: this case, police take a look at the pictures that 326 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:05,680 Speaker 1: are available, and when you see this thing, it's not 327 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:08,199 Speaker 1: like you're looking in one of the things that we 328 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 1: talk about in forensics blunt force injuries. Okay, and I 329 00:21:12,119 --> 00:21:16,720 Speaker 1: think many people think blunt force injuries. They all automatically. 330 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,399 Speaker 1: Their default position is something like, say, for instance, a club, 331 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:23,800 Speaker 1: a baseball bat, and you have those to generate obviously 332 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: blunt force injuries, but there are a myriad of other 333 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:32,200 Speaker 1: items that can do this as well. And when you're 334 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:37,120 Speaker 1: trying to interpret blunt force trauma, you're having to assess 335 00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:40,639 Speaker 1: it on various levels. You want to try to understand 336 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:44,119 Speaker 1: how old the injuries are, you know, if somebody's sustained 337 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:47,479 Speaker 1: a contusion or bruise. You want to if it's recent 338 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: or if it's in the distant past. And then you 339 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:55,240 Speaker 1: try to determine is there a pattern to the item 340 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: that was used to strike somebody with Let's say, for instance, 341 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 1: the example I gave a baseball bat. When you see 342 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 1: somebody that is struggle with a baseball bat, they're going 343 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,120 Speaker 1: to have these very kind of defined linear margins on 344 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:14,720 Speaker 1: either side that would give you an indication that you've 345 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:19,120 Speaker 1: got this surface that has contacted the flesh and it's 346 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:22,359 Speaker 1: left these kind of lines of demarcation if you will, 347 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: running parallel to one another, and you'll have you know, 348 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:31,639 Speaker 1: an associated bruise with it. But with this item, this iron, 349 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:37,120 Speaker 1: you look at the surfaces along the edges of this thing, 350 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 1: and they're multiple. You've got kind of the base of 351 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:45,399 Speaker 1: the thing that's got a sharp leading edge, it comes 352 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,639 Speaker 1: to a point, and then you have all of these 353 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 1: other elements to the structure of this thing that are 354 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:57,160 Speaker 1: kind of protruding from it. So just imagine it's being wielded, 355 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: beholding this handle that's in the superior port, just like 356 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,479 Speaker 1: you think about an iron has an old fashioned handle 357 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:06,440 Speaker 1: though that's kind of got a curved appearance to it, 358 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: and it's being brought down. Now, the totality of the 359 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 1: weight is going to be in the base. Remember, the 360 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: purpose of an iron is to place a heated surface 361 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,920 Speaker 1: that has weight to it that will essentially run all 362 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,880 Speaker 1: the wrinkles out of anything that you're pressing, if you will, 363 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:25,919 Speaker 1: And so there will be a lot of weight that 364 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: is going to be associated with the base of this thing. 365 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 1: It looks like it's made out of some type of 366 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:36,720 Speaker 1: cast iron more than likely. So when you're delivering that 367 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:41,399 Speaker 1: strike with the seeing the energy that is transferring from 368 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: this element from the iron to that surface that you're 369 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:50,640 Speaker 1: striking in this case Missteal's head, you're going to get 370 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:55,239 Speaker 1: these really deep gash like injuries. But you'll also have 371 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 1: to try to pick out all of these little attachments 372 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:00,640 Speaker 1: that are along the side of this thing, because they're 373 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 1: going to generate a different type of injury, and they're 374 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 1: going to impact the body in a very specific way. 375 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 1: So it's it's going to be very difficult to kind 376 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,360 Speaker 1: of interpret these along the way. And the pathologist would 377 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:16,920 Speaker 1: have had to have made sense of this, and he said, well, Morgan, 378 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 1: why is it important you know, we know that she's 379 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 1: been beaten to death. Well, it's important because you begin 380 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:26,720 Speaker 1: to understand that for every one of these strikes, there's 381 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:31,440 Speaker 1: a readjustment perhaps of the victim and of the perpetrator 382 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: relative to one another. So did he hold her down, 383 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: did he put his foot on her chest and began 384 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,679 Speaker 1: to strike downward at her? Was he chasing her about? 385 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 1: Because those types of strikes are going to look different 386 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:45,760 Speaker 1: than say, somebody that's in a static position. What we 387 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: do know is that when they observed her, they noticed 388 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:56,400 Speaker 1: that these insults that she had sustained, these injuries she sustained. 389 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,560 Speaker 1: He had total involvement of both the head and the 390 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:05,880 Speaker 1: face on her, and she was greatly, greatly disfigured. When 391 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: you talk about something that has this kind of concentrated 392 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:14,080 Speaker 1: weight to it, like this old fashioned iron it, with 393 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:20,400 Speaker 1: a single blow you could strike leathally because the surfaces 394 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,119 Speaker 1: that you're going through, the skin, the muscle, and of 395 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: course the table, the table of the skull. With that 396 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:32,119 Speaker 1: energy transference, you can collapse all of that with one strike. 397 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:39,120 Speaker 1: And it's that transferred some energy that can essentially render 398 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:42,679 Speaker 1: that person incapacitated with one blow. Now you might not 399 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:45,399 Speaker 1: necessarily kill them with one blow, but you're going to 400 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,080 Speaker 1: have high probability with something that's heavier as opposed to 401 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:52,200 Speaker 1: something that's lighter in that same vein. I'm thinking that 402 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,960 Speaker 1: this would be we throw around the term throw around. 403 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,159 Speaker 1: It's not really inaccurate way of saying it, but we 404 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:00,680 Speaker 1: do use the term a lot over kill. I think 405 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 1: that that's when you see this case where she has 406 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 1: struck so many times with this item over and over again, 407 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,720 Speaker 1: you begin to think why was this done and why 408 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:14,080 Speaker 1: did you do this? Because you go from the point 409 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:19,119 Speaker 1: of killing, which in and of itself is horrible, to mutilation. 410 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,359 Speaker 1: At that point, you know, because you're doing it over 411 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 1: and over and over and over and over again, which 412 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:30,439 Speaker 1: is again so horrific. You know, in this particular case, 413 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:34,120 Speaker 1: and it would be absolutely horrific it no matter who 414 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: it happened to. But in this case we're talking about 415 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:39,479 Speaker 1: Miss Steele and mis Steel was this, you know, a 416 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 1: very affable, passive, gentle kind of person. You think what 417 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:46,960 Speaker 1: would drive somebody to do this to her? A knife 418 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:51,400 Speaker 1: was also used to kill Miss Steele, and the damage 419 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:58,600 Speaker 1: that was left behind, well, it's just nightmarish. I cannot 420 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 1: imagine if you're not used to seeing this sort of thing. 421 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:03,960 Speaker 1: If you're a patrol officer and you walk in and 422 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 1: I've heard patrol officers say this, you know, have stated 423 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 1: this to me, and they'll say, I don't see how 424 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:11,679 Speaker 1: you do what you do for a living. And of 425 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:13,880 Speaker 1: course on my end it never got easy, but it's 426 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,920 Speaker 1: very difficult for say a police officer that walks into 427 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:20,679 Speaker 1: an environment and they see not just this gental soul 428 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: who has been beaten, you know about the head and 429 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,120 Speaker 1: face with a heavy object, but now they notice that 430 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,919 Speaker 1: her clothing is in disarray, and it's in disarray to 431 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:36,920 Speaker 1: the point where when they look at her abdomen, she's 432 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:42,920 Speaker 1: been partially eviscerated. And for those that don't really understand 433 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: that term, and it's by no fault of your own. 434 00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 1: Trust me. I wish that no one knew what this tournament. 435 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:51,240 Speaker 1: But in our world, in the medical legal world, and 436 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:54,119 Speaker 1: specifically in forensic pathology, one of the things that takes 437 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:59,280 Speaker 1: place is that when we remove organs, that process is 438 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:05,320 Speaker 1: called oration. And if this iration means to expose and remove, well, 439 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,640 Speaker 1: I don't know that they were necessarily removed, but her 440 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: vowels were essentially outside of her body. And in order 441 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:16,880 Speaker 1: to accomplish this, this is not something that you could 442 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,560 Speaker 1: have done obviously with this iron. It would be a 443 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,920 Speaker 1: herculean task to do that and would take a protracted 444 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: period of time. So then you begin to think about, well, 445 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,400 Speaker 1: it was there an opportunity to again use a weapon 446 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:35,360 Speaker 1: of opportunity, that is, those things that are at at 447 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:38,360 Speaker 1: his at Drennan's reach, or did he have a knife 448 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: on his person in order to go through her abdominal 449 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:46,760 Speaker 1: wall and essentially create a situation where she had loops 450 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:50,440 Speaker 1: a bowl resting outside of her body. Now imagine that 451 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:53,560 Speaker 1: you've beaten this woman to this point with this antique iron, 452 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,719 Speaker 1: and now you have you know, essentially opened up her 453 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: abdominal cavity to expose her intestine. When we're in the morgue. 454 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:08,240 Speaker 1: We have specialized tools that are created for this purpose. 455 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:12,280 Speaker 1: You know, you have the scalpels that are so sharp 456 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:16,479 Speaker 1: they're disposable. Not handles, but the blades themselves. They're so 457 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:20,880 Speaker 1: sharp you can essentially only use them that one time. 458 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:23,840 Speaker 1: Some people are amazed that we have to change them 459 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:26,240 Speaker 1: so frequently. But the edge is so fine on the things, 460 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:28,480 Speaker 1: and it's so very sharp that it dolls very quickly. 461 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,040 Speaker 1: And the reason it does is that you're going through 462 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:35,760 Speaker 1: multiple different types of tissue to get down through the 463 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:38,640 Speaker 1: abdominal wall in this particular case, to go through that 464 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 1: layer of skin, and then what's referred to as the 465 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: subcontaneous fat, and then down through the abdominal muscles, which 466 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: is an entire complex in and of itself, just to 467 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 1: expose the bowl. This is quite messy work as well 468 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:56,560 Speaker 1: for someone that is not clothed for it or prepared 469 00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:59,840 Speaker 1: for it. There's no way to avoid getting blood on 470 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:04,080 Speaker 1: on you. So you will if you are perpetrating this crime, 471 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 1: you will essentially be a wash in blood. You'll be 472 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: speckled with blood all of your body. You'll have great 473 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:14,160 Speaker 1: kind of swaths of blood that have been smeared upon 474 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:19,800 Speaker 1: you and for us forensically, when you begin to look 475 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,040 Speaker 1: at this, that type of blood or transfer a blood 476 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,680 Speaker 1: from an abdominal injury as you're opening up about, is 477 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 1: going to appear completely different than the dynamic kind of 478 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,959 Speaker 1: injury that you have. When an individual is being beaten 479 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:39,000 Speaker 1: with something like this heavy iron, that's going to have 480 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,480 Speaker 1: a completely different appearance to it. It's very important when 481 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: you get an individual who is clothed still with the 482 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,040 Speaker 1: clothing that they were wearing at the time, that you 483 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:53,480 Speaker 1: secure that clothing because you can really begin to tell 484 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,400 Speaker 1: the tale as to what happened and the dynamics of 485 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:58,600 Speaker 1: this environment. At least it will give you an indication 486 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 1: as to what may have happened. Even more disturbing than 487 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,720 Speaker 1: what you've already told is Joe Barbara Steele was also 488 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 1: sexually assaulted. Yeah, she was, And I think that just 489 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,520 Speaker 1: might of a sense of propriety. I'm not going to 490 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 1: go too deeply into this, just suffice it to say 491 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 1: that she was, in a most horrific way sexually assaulted. 492 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,200 Speaker 1: And I think that this extends out into a bigger, 493 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 1: a broader narrative when it comes to Trenton, where his 494 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:33,840 Speaker 1: mind was, perhaps where you would feel compelled at whatever 495 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:40,360 Speaker 1: level to do this to this dear woman. What would 496 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 1: be the driver behind obviously assaulting her, not just in life. 497 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 1: But I you know, I have to put forth my 498 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:51,880 Speaker 1: opinion of the fact that this was done post mortem, 499 00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:57,719 Speaker 1: So you've got a degree of post mortal activity that 500 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,320 Speaker 1: has a sexual connotation to it, and I think that's 501 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,640 Speaker 1: just absolutely it raises it to an entirely different level. 502 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:27,040 Speaker 1: If this can get any ars. Forensic psychologists, many times 503 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 1: we'll talk about the ordered mind and the disordered mind, 504 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 1: or disorganized events versus organized events. In the case of 505 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:42,040 Speaker 1: Missus Steele's attack and the others that were attacked at 506 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:47,400 Speaker 1: the hands of Drenning, there is apparently no rhyme or 507 00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:51,240 Speaker 1: reason to a lot of this. Jackie, you had mentioned 508 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:53,920 Speaker 1: just a moment two ago you use the term tornado. 509 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:57,000 Speaker 1: I think that one of the witnesses saw that, and 510 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,240 Speaker 1: having lived through a tornado, I have to say that 511 00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:02,960 Speaker 1: that kind of sums it up because everything is in disarray, 512 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 1: everything is from about there are no patterns to it, 513 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:08,960 Speaker 1: and many times as investigators, that's kind of what leaves 514 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 1: a scratching a head in addition to an iron, we 515 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:19,240 Speaker 1: assume and suppose that it was a knife, and then 516 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:23,520 Speaker 1: we have the sexual assault. But the last part of 517 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:29,600 Speaker 1: this case, Joe, is how Barbara Steele's body was positioned 518 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 1: and left. We know that his attorneys during his trial 519 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:38,760 Speaker 1: said that they attributed his crimes to mental illness that 520 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:46,760 Speaker 1: included methamphetamine us and that Drennan suffered from religious delusions, 521 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:50,640 Speaker 1: and we kind of see a little bit of that 522 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:58,200 Speaker 1: inference in how Barbara Steele's body was positioned after the crime. Yeah, 523 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:00,280 Speaker 1: I can only recall I was singing about the when 524 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,360 Speaker 1: I was reading through her case, and a couple of 525 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:04,480 Speaker 1: points kind of struck me, and I was thinking, had 526 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:10,200 Speaker 1: I ever worked anything that had a religious connotation to it? 527 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:12,719 Speaker 1: And yet, yeah, I have. There were a couple of 528 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:16,120 Speaker 1: cases along the way. Obviously you're going to have, you know, 529 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:19,600 Speaker 1: these kind of people that are in spiritual conflict and 530 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:21,399 Speaker 1: that sort of thing, and they wind up taking their 531 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:23,960 Speaker 1: own lives and you'll, you know, you'll get these very 532 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,400 Speaker 1: involved suicide notes and all those sorts of things. And 533 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:28,800 Speaker 1: I've had, I think, to the best of my knowledge, 534 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:32,759 Speaker 1: I've had one homicide that was a multiple homicide that 535 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:38,600 Speaker 1: had heavy religious overtones. But in her case, what was 536 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:43,040 Speaker 1: kind of stood out is the fact that when they 537 00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:47,239 Speaker 1: observed her body, her body had been positioned And I 538 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,000 Speaker 1: think that that's very important here to use the term 539 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:54,120 Speaker 1: positioned on her coffee table, so that you know, coffee 540 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:56,840 Speaker 1: tables are not very big. You know, you have to 541 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,560 Speaker 1: think that you know her goodly portion of her body 542 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 1: to the appendages, the appendicular areas of the body. The 543 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,960 Speaker 1: arms and legs are hanging off, and the trunk of 544 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:09,960 Speaker 1: the body is essentially supported, so the chest is kind 545 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:13,520 Speaker 1: of thrown upward. It would seem as though that the 546 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,239 Speaker 1: coffee table had been used, almost as if it were 547 00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:19,080 Speaker 1: an alter, you know, with kind of the hyper extended 548 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:22,800 Speaker 1: chest and the abdomen. Remember we talked about the trauma 549 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 1: she had sustained. I hate the word why, and you've 550 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:30,719 Speaker 1: heard me say that before because why so highly subjective, 551 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,239 Speaker 1: particularly in a case like this, because you'll you'll never 552 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:36,080 Speaker 1: you'll drive yourself to madness if you try to understand 553 00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:39,240 Speaker 1: why or try to figure out why. It's much safer, 554 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:41,719 Speaker 1: at least I think intellectually, to stay with you know, 555 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:45,000 Speaker 1: what happened, and maybe if we can explain that. But 556 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:47,879 Speaker 1: sometimes things are just beyond the pail, if you will. 557 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,520 Speaker 1: In this case, with this kind of hyper extended posture 558 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:56,200 Speaker 1: that she's in, it was important to note and I 559 00:35:56,239 --> 00:36:00,080 Speaker 1: found this kind of fascinating that a clock had in 560 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:03,160 Speaker 1: taking off of the I guess it was the adjacent 561 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: mantelpiece there in her home and placed upon her chest. 562 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:09,560 Speaker 1: There was no indication, at least for the police reports 563 00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:11,800 Speaker 1: that she had been beaten with the clock. The clock 564 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:15,839 Speaker 1: was essentially placed on her chest. Why would you do that? 565 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:18,759 Speaker 1: You know, again, there's the why question. I don't know 566 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,400 Speaker 1: that there is You can never answer that. But I 567 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:24,320 Speaker 1: do know that another item that they found immediately adjacent 568 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:27,760 Speaker 1: to her body was a bowl from within her house, 569 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:30,960 Speaker 1: and contained within that bowl was it's been described in 570 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,600 Speaker 1: a couple of locations is either across or Cruciffix. You know. 571 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:39,960 Speaker 1: But again you've kind of got this heavy religious overtone here. 572 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:43,120 Speaker 1: I find it kind of fascinating when people go down 573 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:46,640 Speaker 1: this road of mental illness, you know, with people where 574 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:49,080 Speaker 1: they say, well they were affected by drugs or they've 575 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:51,960 Speaker 1: got this kind of hyper religiosity thing going on where 576 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:55,040 Speaker 1: they're delusional and all that. When you look at that, 577 00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:58,400 Speaker 1: you think, well, why didn't he go to the home. 578 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:02,719 Speaker 1: If he's so, you know, out of his mind, why 579 00:37:02,719 --> 00:37:04,440 Speaker 1: didn't he go to the home of say a two 580 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:08,239 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty pound auto mechanic and walk into their 581 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:11,360 Speaker 1: house and do this to them. That gives you an 582 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,760 Speaker 1: indication that maybe he had targeted her for whatever reason. 583 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:18,600 Speaker 1: It's disordered as an environment. Was he picked somebody that 584 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:22,480 Speaker 1: was weaker than him. It was a completely asymmetrical attack. 585 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:25,879 Speaker 1: He didn't pick anybody twice. He did it twice. Yeah, 586 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:27,960 Speaker 1: he did. And that was the other thing. You know, 587 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,839 Speaker 1: the woman in the parking lot, what did we say 588 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:33,200 Speaker 1: about her? He snuck up from the rear with her. 589 00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:36,239 Speaker 1: It's not like he approached her from the front and 590 00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:38,520 Speaker 1: was menacing her where she could have given her an 591 00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:41,799 Speaker 1: opportunity to dry away. No, he snuck up from the rear. 592 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:44,520 Speaker 1: And then when he crashed that vehicle, what did he do. 593 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:46,640 Speaker 1: He came face to face with a guy that was 594 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:49,480 Speaker 1: prepared to kill him, and what did he do? He 595 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:52,840 Speaker 1: ran away. So he has some inkling of self preservation, 596 00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:56,120 Speaker 1: if you will. He's picking out people that are weaker 597 00:37:56,160 --> 00:38:00,200 Speaker 1: than him where he can dominate over them. And in 598 00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:03,720 Speaker 1: miss Steele's case, I mean you know, God bless her family. 599 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:07,640 Speaker 1: I can't even begin to imagine the depths of sorrow 600 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:11,000 Speaker 1: that's associated with it. Twenty eight year old Joshua Drennan 601 00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:15,879 Speaker 1: was convicted of killing Barbara Steele, seventy seven years old, 602 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:19,680 Speaker 1: and injuring a police officer. He was sentenced to life 603 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:24,319 Speaker 1: in prison without the possibility of parole, and an additional 604 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:29,200 Speaker 1: ninety two years on the other charges for the other crimes, 605 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:36,040 Speaker 1: including attempted murder, robbery, malicious wounding, assault, stealing a car, 606 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:46,279 Speaker 1: and larceny. I'm Joseph Scott Morgan and this is bodybags.