1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:01,639 Speaker 1: Hey you, it's Anna here. 2 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 2: I just wanted to give you a heads up on 3 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 2: what to expect in this series because this story has 4 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 2: some pretty dark moments. It's going to include addiction, domestic 5 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 2: and sexual abuse, and murder, and a lot of it 6 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:17,760 Speaker 2: takes place within the prison system. But also, like every 7 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 2: series of The Girlfriends, this is a story all about 8 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 2: sisterhood and solidarity. Along the way, I'm going to introduce 9 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 2: you to a cast of women who've been through the 10 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:32,559 Speaker 2: most incredible, complex and at times even tragic experiences, but. 11 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:34,200 Speaker 1: Have managed to come out the other end. 12 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 2: If you feel impacted by some of the themes in 13 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 2: this show, you can reach out to No More. There 14 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,560 Speaker 2: are domestic violence charity with a lot of great resources 15 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 2: to help you or your loved ones. You can search 16 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 2: No More dot org and we've also put a link 17 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 2: to their website in the episode description. So do take 18 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 2: care and get ready for one hell of a story 19 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 2: and more than a few swear words. If you happen 20 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 2: to be strolling near Queens, New York in the late eighties, 21 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:14,839 Speaker 2: you might have found yourself passing by North Shore Gymnastics. 22 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 2: Inside there's a smell of chalk and sweat in the air. 23 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,279 Speaker 2: Small feet are running across the crash mac covered floor, 24 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:30,200 Speaker 2: sending echoes that bounce around the room. The room is 25 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,959 Speaker 2: bustling with girls of all ages, each in a brightly 26 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 2: colored leotard straight out of an eighties workout video. Standing 27 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 2: at the side with a sassy little expression on her 28 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 2: face is a seven year old girl with a point 29 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 2: to prove. 30 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: Kelly Harnett and only seven years old. 31 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 2: Kelly's just been told she's not big enough to do 32 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 2: real gymnastics, she can only play games in the sponge 33 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 2: pit with the other little kids. 34 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: Boring. 35 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 3: This is not what I signed up for. I don't 36 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 3: want to jump into a huge like it almost looked 37 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 3: like a pool of spongy things and play cat and mouse. 38 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 3: It was basically like tag. That's not gymnastics. 39 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: Kelly should know. 40 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 2: She's already built her own DIY balance beam at home, 41 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 2: and she's been some assaulting off the sofa for years. 42 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,359 Speaker 2: So playing tag in the sponges with the babies no, 43 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 2: thank you. 44 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 3: I was getting really irritated about this. 45 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 2: Kelly hatches a plan. Looking up into the stands, scanning 46 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 2: through the sea of proud parents, Kelly make sure her 47 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 2: mum is watching and then it's go time. 48 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 3: Okay, one, two, three, and everybody would run. 49 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 2: Kelly, the coach and the rest of the little kids 50 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 2: start running towards the sponge pit, but after a few 51 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:08,359 Speaker 2: conniving strides, Kelly makes a break for it. She's heading 52 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 2: straight to the balance beam, a proper one, which is 53 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 2: currently surrounded by a gaggle of big girls who do 54 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 2: real gymnastics. 55 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 1: But Kelly isn't phased. 56 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 3: I just grabbed it the balance Beme and I started 57 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 3: doing cartwheels and round offs. I remember looking up at 58 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 3: my mom and she was proud of me. 59 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:30,359 Speaker 1: She was happy. 60 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 2: The other moms, well they're not so happy. Actually, they're 61 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 2: freaking the fuck out, pounding on the glass, screaming bloody murder, 62 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 2: trying to get the coach's attention. 63 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 3: I felt like saying, you snitches. 64 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,839 Speaker 2: The snitching works. Kelly's coach turns around to see her 65 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:52,279 Speaker 2: mid maneuver. He starts booking it across the gym. 66 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 3: Although he's running. I know I have a few seconds left. 67 00:03:56,280 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 3: I did like a cartwheel without hands, did the smell boom, 68 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 3: and my feet were together, and that's always what they 69 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 3: mess up on. They back up a little bit. My 70 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 3: feet were together and he was. 71 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: Like, oh my god, her, are you crazy? 72 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 3: What is wrong with you? You know, hurt you could 73 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 3: have gotten I was like, but I didn't get hurt. 74 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 3: So yes, I got in a lot of trouble for that. 75 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: This memory, it means a lot to Kelly. 76 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,679 Speaker 2: She'll spend her life repeating it over and over again 77 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 2: in her head, how proud her mother was and how 78 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,560 Speaker 2: special she felt, how she stuck it to the man 79 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,720 Speaker 2: and stuck the landing. At the same time, Kelly says, 80 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 2: she keeps doing gymnastics, and after a while her coach 81 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:44,799 Speaker 2: even lets her back on the balance beam. 82 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: But soon that all changes. 83 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 3: My mom told the head coach that she has to 84 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 3: take me out. She said, no, no, you can't take 85 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 3: her out. And my mother said, I don't have a choice, 86 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 3: and she said, your daughter isn't this This is the 87 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 3: type that goes to the Olympics. And it made my 88 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:13,480 Speaker 3: mother cry because she didn't have the money. 89 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 2: It's about thirty years later and Kelly's walking out of 90 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 2: a maximum security prison. She's in shackles with a chain 91 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 2: around her belly and cuffs on her wrists. She's being 92 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 2: escorted to a hospital appointment via a prison transfer van. 93 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 2: To pass the time. Kelly gets chatting to a prison guard. 94 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 3: He started talking to me about previous jobs, because I 95 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 3: was talking to him about how rough it must be 96 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 3: to get stuck there and to have a home life 97 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 3: and whatnot. And he said, yeah, like I missed, like 98 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 3: the good old days. I said, what'd you do? He 99 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 3: says to me that he used to be a coach 100 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 3: at north Shore and that's where I used to go. 101 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 3: And I said why really, and he goes, oh, gosh, 102 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 3: I'll never forget the time. And I don't know. Something 103 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 3: in my heart just told me, like, don't tell me. 104 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 3: He's gonna tell my story. He said, so as the coach, 105 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 3: I led them all to the pit, and apparently one 106 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 3: didn't make it with us. She ended up over by 107 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 3: the teenagers. I guess I missed half of her. And 108 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 3: then he did the air quotes routine like still a 109 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 3: little bit angry, and he goes, but I'll tell you 110 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 3: she did such a damn good job. I couldn't tell 111 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 3: her that though, I said, you just did, and he 112 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 3: looked at me and he was like no. And then 113 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:49,040 Speaker 3: I started to cry, thinking about seven year old Kelly 114 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 3: and how crazy life is. It was one of those 115 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 3: what went wrong moments, You have a lot of them, 116 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 3: clearly in prison, but not to that extent. But he 117 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:08,719 Speaker 3: looked at me differently after that, and he was just like, 118 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 3: what happened? 119 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 2: I'm Annisonfield and from the teams at Novel and iHeart Podcasts. 120 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 2: This is the Girlfriend's Gelhouse Lawyer, Episode one, Hell'sgate. When 121 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 2: you see a long ramp for the wheelchair accessibility along 122 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 2: with a regular staircase, that is my courtyard. 123 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: Don't listen to the sign. They got it wrong. I 124 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: am so not kidding. Just walk straight upon entry to 125 00:07:58,320 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: your left you will see another ramp. 126 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 3: Go back up the crim I can't see you. 127 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: This is great. 128 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 4: Is that Kelly's house? 129 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: Hi? 130 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 3: Good? How are you Anna? It's so nice to finally 131 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 3: meet you. 132 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 2: Why This is Kelly Hannett, now forty three and still 133 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 2: with a point to prove. It's late twenty twenty four 134 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 2: and she's waiting for me outside her apartment in a 135 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 2: story of Queen's. Kelly's wearing a red top with Bebo 136 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 2: bajewled across the front. When she hugs me, she smells 137 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 2: like a mix of rose perfume and the king sized 138 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:54,839 Speaker 2: cigarette she's smoking. She's got big, wide eyes. Her hair 139 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:58,839 Speaker 2: is vivid blonde, pulled back into a high ponytail. She's 140 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 2: sporting a headband that perfectly matches her eyeshadow, which she 141 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 2: says it always does. This is my first time seeing 142 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,520 Speaker 2: Kelly in person, and up close. I can see how 143 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 2: she got the nickname Gelhouse Barbie. Kelly got out of 144 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 2: prison three years ago. She spent almost twelve years behind 145 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 2: bars for murder. Kelly says she's innocent of all charges, 146 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,079 Speaker 2: but in the eyes of the justice system, Kelly was 147 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 2: a villain, a perpetrator of a terrible crime who deserved 148 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 2: to be punished. As the reporter behind the Girlfriends, I've 149 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 2: always had a victim first philosophy. In fact, I've said 150 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,960 Speaker 2: more than once that we don't interview perpetrators on this show. 151 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 2: And through that philosophy, through telling the stories we have 152 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 2: the Girlfriends has unwittingly reinforced the idea that you have 153 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 2: a victim, generally a woman, and then there's a bad villain, 154 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,800 Speaker 2: often a man who hurts the a bad guy who 155 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 2: thankfully gets locked up in the end with the key 156 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 2: thrown away. And in these stories it's clear who to 157 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,199 Speaker 2: root for. The victim, a woman who is a lot 158 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 2: of the time, let's face it, dead, who then becomes 159 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:22,959 Speaker 2: forever memorialized, frozen in a state of perfect almost sainted victimhood. 160 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:27,760 Speaker 2: But real life is rarely so neat, especially for the 161 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:35,080 Speaker 2: women who survive. One good thing about Kelly, at least 162 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 2: from a journalist's perspective, is that she is not at 163 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:41,680 Speaker 2: all withholding. I don't even need to ask her that 164 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 2: many questions. She's a boiling pot of beans ready to spill. 165 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 2: Kelly's the type to wear her heart on her sleeve 166 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 2: and on her front door. 167 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: You have a shed mark here on the door. 168 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 3: It represents my ethnicity. I'm one hundred percent Irish, but 169 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 3: we always have to keep the two American flags here too. 170 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,839 Speaker 3: We wished that I am Irish American and that we're proud. 171 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 5: Supporters of the Paralyzed Veterans of America. 172 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: Thank you, you're welcome. Oh, it's your piano program. 173 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 5: Yes. 174 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 2: As I walk into Kelly's apartment, I'm struck by how 175 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,319 Speaker 2: much of a shrine it is to her life. Sure, 176 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:27,280 Speaker 2: but I actually mean a literal religious shrine. It's full 177 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 2: of roses, like so many roses, real fake jewelry pictures. 178 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 1: They're everywhere. 179 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:38,760 Speaker 3: Oh, but today is a very significant day. I don't 180 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:40,440 Speaker 3: know if I ever told you about my story about 181 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 3: Saint Terre's October one. 182 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:43,960 Speaker 1: Today is her feast day. 183 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 2: Saint Therez is a Catholic saint. Kelly's been praying to 184 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 2: her since a rainy day about forty years ago when 185 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 2: she was around four years old. 186 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 3: My mom she was driving to the she parked the car. 187 00:12:03,679 --> 00:12:06,720 Speaker 3: I opened the car up and I stepped into a puddle. 188 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 3: Inside the puddle was a rose. For some reason, I 189 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 3: don't know why, I picked the rose up. My mom 190 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 3: got out of the driver's seat and came around and 191 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 3: she saw me with the rose in my hand. She said, Kelly, 192 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 3: put that down. It's dirty. So I threw the rose down. 193 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 3: I go into the rectory and my mom had to 194 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 3: go in the back, and the nuns were sitting there 195 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,880 Speaker 3: and they had this whole wall of pamphlets of about 196 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:46,320 Speaker 3: fifty different saints. Randomly, I just picked this pamphlet. It 197 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:51,120 Speaker 3: was a picture of a saint holding a crucifix and 198 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 3: holding roses in her hand. As I started to read 199 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:04,320 Speaker 3: the prayer, it said she will send a message of 200 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:09,599 Speaker 3: love and a shower of roses from the Heavenly gardens. 201 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 3: I just kept thinking of that rose outside. 202 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:18,080 Speaker 5: I wanted that rose. 203 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 3: When we got back to the car, I waited until 204 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 3: my mom got in the driver's She grabbed the rose. 205 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:25,560 Speaker 1: And put in my pocket. 206 00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:38,200 Speaker 3: Throughout my whole life, I had been praying to Saint 207 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 3: Lores and finding roses constantly. I had shoe boxes upon 208 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 3: shoe boxes, and then I started marking each. 209 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 2: Be Sitting in Kelly's Rosa Dorn department, I'm watching her 210 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 2: as she speaks. I'm listening, but simultaneously trying to get 211 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:58,080 Speaker 2: the measure of her, looking for hidden context in between 212 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 2: her words. I guess it's a report and me Kelly's 213 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 2: eyes light up when she speaks about Saint. There's which 214 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 2: she does a lot, this Saint. She's one of the 215 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 2: most important figures in Kelly's life. I'm imagining Kelly, barely 216 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 2: four years old, reading a prayer pamphlet, a sodden rose 217 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 2: in her tiny pocket. 218 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: She's beginning to dawn on me how extraordinary this story is. 219 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 2: And that's when I'm interrupted by the other most significant 220 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 2: person in Kelly's life. 221 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 3: Here's my brother, Ronnie. 222 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 6: I'm terrible, I know, Yeah, that's Ronnie. 223 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 1: It's my best friend in the whole wide world. 224 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 3: Ronnie and I, I mean we. 225 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 2: Kelly and Ronnie live in the same apartment they're called 226 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:55,160 Speaker 2: home for nearly three decades. Before it was just them, 227 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 2: they shared it with their mum, dad and their family dog, 228 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 2: a cocker Spaniel named Casey. You can feel that family 229 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 2: history here. It's soaked into the walls alongside the nicotine. 230 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 3: This is my shrine that I meet from my mother. 231 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 3: I know you're probably thinking, why is there a cigarette 232 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 3: on top of that. My mother's less words, not to 233 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 3: be funny, God forgive me was give me a cigarette. 234 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 3: So I gave her her last cigarette. These are rose petals, 235 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 3: of course, because of my love for roses. 236 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:28,160 Speaker 4: Oh. 237 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 3: These are the rosary beads that were found clamped in 238 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:38,120 Speaker 3: her hand when she died. So when rigan water sets in. 239 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 2: Kelly's mom's name was Kathleen. Before she died, she had 240 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 2: been sick for a long time. Kelly and Ronnie still 241 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 2: keep her sick bed in the living room. Currently, it's 242 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 2: covered in teddy bears and a blanket with a poem 243 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 2: printed on it about how special brothers are. 244 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:55,480 Speaker 1: A gift from Kelly to Ronnie. 245 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 3: Yankee pillows because we're Yankee fans. We used to be 246 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 3: met fans, but we're sick and tired of ruling for 247 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 3: a losing team. 248 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 2: But I guess, scanning my eyes around the room, a 249 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:09,400 Speaker 2: spot a dresser next to the bed. On it a 250 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:12,720 Speaker 2: pair of nineteen eighties Barbies, still in their original packaging. 251 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 2: One's a dentist and the other is a lawyer, both 252 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 2: a blonde, obviously. Also in the living room is a 253 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 2: makeup table with lights around the mirror, like something from 254 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 2: old Hollywood. It comes complete with a pink and white 255 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 2: heart shaped chair, but right at the center of the room, 256 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 2: in front. 257 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: Of the TV. 258 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:38,560 Speaker 2: It's one of Kelly's most prized possessions, her electronic keyboard. 259 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 2: Some evenings, Kelly and Ronnie sit in here on the 260 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 2: old sick bed converted into a sofa and listen to 261 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 2: DJ sets on YouTube. 262 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:52,120 Speaker 1: They dance and sing along. Sometimes Kelly jams on her. 263 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 3: Since honestly I'm an aspiring DJ. My favorite DJ's Paul 264 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 3: Van Dyke. However, I haven't gotten the money to get 265 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 3: the turnity yet the pioneer turntables. I don't have that 266 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 3: much experience in this. However, I go crazy on my keyboard, 267 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:20,040 Speaker 3: and so yeah, I'm just freestyle setting me freestyling. I 268 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 3: had nothing with my end. 269 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:28,480 Speaker 2: Honestly, Kelly's apartment here in Astoria is a safe haven 270 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 2: for her and Ronnie. But I'm shocked to learn that 271 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 2: it's barely three blocks away from the scene of the murder. 272 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: That but Kelly behind bars. 273 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 2: I know I wouldn't want to stick around so close 274 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 2: to the place where my whole life fell apart. 275 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:45,879 Speaker 1: You could have left New York if you wanted to, 276 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:46,679 Speaker 1: but you haven't. 277 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:52,800 Speaker 3: I know, home is wherever Ronnie is. If Ronnie's here, 278 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:57,480 Speaker 3: then this is home. If Ronnie moved, then that would 279 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,880 Speaker 3: be harm Wherever Ronnie would have moved to, I would 280 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:04,680 Speaker 3: have been going there. And I'm glad Ronnie was still 281 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 3: here because this is the place that I left. 282 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:10,640 Speaker 1: We've lived here for thirty two years. 283 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 3: I mean, that's home, and I can tell you there's 284 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:16,800 Speaker 3: no place like home. 285 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:23,719 Speaker 2: Well, I think it's a very brave thing to stay 286 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 2: in the same place. 287 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 1: It's easier to. 288 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 3: Run, Yeah, yeah, but I don't run from my problems. 289 00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: Other than Ronnie. 290 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 2: The one other, very important reason why Kelly has refused 291 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:38,879 Speaker 2: to run is because she's always maintained her innocence. I 292 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,879 Speaker 2: was just wondering how important it is to you that 293 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,399 Speaker 2: the people who listen to this podcast come out of 294 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 2: it believing you. 295 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:48,919 Speaker 1: You know, everyone's jury. Everyone's going to have their own opinions. 296 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, what can happen to anyone is a 297 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:58,560 Speaker 3: wrong for conviction. Nobody could really sit there and say 298 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:02,800 Speaker 3: what they could definite do in any situation until it 299 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:09,440 Speaker 3: happens to them. It would be nice if people would 300 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 3: be open minded. I was put away for thirteen years wrongfully. 301 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 3: I'm not asking for a retrial here. All I need 302 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 3: is the chance. 303 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 2: Next, I'm going to give Kelly the chance to tell 304 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:31,639 Speaker 2: her side of the story about the terrible night that 305 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:52,960 Speaker 2: would change her life forever. Why don't we move on 306 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 2: to the actual night itself? Do you want to start 307 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,800 Speaker 2: us from earlier on that day, like what you'd been doing? 308 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: Sure? 309 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 2: I just want to warn you that I'm not going 310 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 2: to be holding back on the grizzly details in this 311 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,200 Speaker 2: series like I've tried to in previous seasons with the girlfriends. 312 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: The brutal details. 313 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,439 Speaker 2: Of the murder Kelly was accused of and what she 314 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 2: went through either side of it are just too important. 315 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:21,879 Speaker 2: It's in the details that someone like Kelly is found 316 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:26,720 Speaker 2: guilty or innocent. It's in the details that her culpability 317 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:31,120 Speaker 2: is decided, and it's in the details where Kelly come 318 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:38,400 Speaker 2: more from victim into villain. It all started on July sixth, 319 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:47,640 Speaker 2: twenty ten. Kelly's twenty eight years old. She still lives 320 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:50,200 Speaker 2: at home, but she and her mum have been arguing 321 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 2: a lot recently, mostly about Kelly's new boyfriend, Tommy. Kelly's mother, Kathleen, 322 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 2: doesn't approve of him. 323 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 1: Thinks he's bad news. 324 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,920 Speaker 2: More than once in their short relationship, Kelly has turned 325 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,359 Speaker 2: up on her mum's doorstep horrifically beaten, bloody, and bruised. 326 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 2: Before long, Tommy usually turns up too, yelling vile abuse 327 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,359 Speaker 2: at their windows for all the neighbors to hear, and 328 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:21,199 Speaker 2: Kathleen's explosive reactions put Kelly between a rock and a 329 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:25,879 Speaker 2: hard place, so Kelly's staying away from home. She's with 330 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:30,159 Speaker 2: Tommy instead, But by July sixth, Tommy's gotten into a 331 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,560 Speaker 2: fight with his roommate and says he can't go back 332 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:37,240 Speaker 2: to his apartment. Now he and Kelly are sleeping under 333 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 2: a bridge in a Storia Park. 334 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 1: I don't know. 335 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:42,239 Speaker 3: I guess you could say that I was transient by 336 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 3: choice and also out of fear and out of love, honestly, 337 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 3: because I didn't want to leave him in the park 338 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,200 Speaker 3: by himself. So I was like, that's a terrible thing 339 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 3: for a girlth And did you leave her boyfriend in 340 00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 3: the park by himself? 341 00:21:58,880 --> 00:21:59,919 Speaker 1: I said, I don't want to do that. 342 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 2: So all day July sixth, they're hanging out in the park, 343 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:08,680 Speaker 2: but Kelly is suffering. She's been addicted to prescription pain 344 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,920 Speaker 2: pills since she was seventeen. She and Tommy actually met 345 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 2: at a methadone clinic, and right now Kelly is withdrawing hard, vomiting, 346 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 2: feeling terrible. Tommy has stopped her from getting her methadone 347 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:24,480 Speaker 2: dose for the past three days, which just seems like 348 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 2: a cruel act of control to me. 349 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:41,160 Speaker 3: So right now we're actually standing the scene of the crime. 350 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,280 Speaker 3: I would say I was standing right over here. 351 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 2: I've asked Kelly to come back to a Storia Park. 352 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,119 Speaker 2: I want to try and make some kind of sense 353 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,760 Speaker 2: of what happened that night back in July twenty ten. 354 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 3: It's difficult to really say what the scene of the 355 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 3: crime was because they're drinking. 356 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: Like began over. 357 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 2: Here, Kelly, still jonesing for her methadone fix, has spent 358 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,160 Speaker 2: the day with Tommy drinking four loco. A single can 359 00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:13,760 Speaker 2: is the equivalent of four cans of beer, and as 360 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 2: if that wasn't enough to top it all off, it 361 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,920 Speaker 2: also includes roughly a metric fuck ton of caffeine. 362 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,040 Speaker 7: The caffeine being in it, what it would do was 363 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,119 Speaker 7: wake you up, so you keep drinking it, and then 364 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 7: the caffeine wears off, and boy does that alcohol hit you. 365 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 1: It sneaks up on you, Cloe. 366 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,879 Speaker 2: By about three am, Tommy and Kelly are wasted, exhausted 367 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,680 Speaker 2: from the rough sleeping and withdrawal. They lay some blankets 368 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,280 Speaker 2: down under the bridge that cuts right through the park. 369 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 3: It just so happens to ironically be named the Hell's 370 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:52,919 Speaker 3: Gate Bridge, and boy, your boy was there given the 371 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,280 Speaker 3: correct name because it really was the gate to Hell 372 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 3: for me. 373 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,760 Speaker 2: Tommy notices a man sat on a park bench across 374 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:06,120 Speaker 2: the way from him. He yells over to him. 375 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:10,160 Speaker 6: The guy says, olah, I know now he speaks Spanish, right, 376 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 6: and I speak Spanish fluently, And Telly knew that, and 377 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:19,199 Speaker 6: he asked me to ask him if it would be 378 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:23,320 Speaker 6: okay for us to join him, and he said yes. 379 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 2: Tommy and Kelly walk over to sit with the man 380 00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 2: who introduces himself as Angel, and. 381 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 3: That's when he told me that his brother threw him 382 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 3: out of the house because he had been drinking. He 383 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,879 Speaker 3: said he beat him up, and that's when he pulled 384 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:43,960 Speaker 3: out some type of I don't know if it was 385 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:45,840 Speaker 3: a key chain or a charm that he was an 386 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:47,200 Speaker 3: alcoholics anonymous. 387 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:51,879 Speaker 2: Angel is drunk, like falls over when he tries to 388 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,760 Speaker 2: stand up drunk, but Tommy doesn't care. 389 00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: He just sees an opportunity. 390 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 3: He tells me to ask him if he's ever drankd 391 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,920 Speaker 3: for local and I asked him and he said no, 392 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 3: but that he would love to try. So the man 393 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 3: gave Tommy I think it was six dollars, and I 394 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,520 Speaker 3: got up. I had this little book big and I 395 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 3: put it on and I thought I was going with Tommy, 396 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:26,480 Speaker 3: except Tommy gribbed the bicycle of the man and I said, 397 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 3: what are you doing and he said, I'll. 398 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:29,399 Speaker 1: Be right back. 399 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:31,320 Speaker 3: I said, what are you crazy? 400 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:32,359 Speaker 4: Don't believe me? 401 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 1: Here he just took off. 402 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:40,200 Speaker 2: So here Kelly is temporarily abandoned by her boyfriend, stuck 403 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:48,120 Speaker 2: in a dark park with a very drunk man. At 404 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 2: some point, while Tommy is still gone, Kelly says Angel 405 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 2: goes way over the line with her. She doesn't want 406 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:57,639 Speaker 2: to go into the details about it, which I respect, 407 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,879 Speaker 2: but she does describe it as a sexual fans. Before 408 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,119 Speaker 2: too long, Kelly spots Tommy riding back into the park, 409 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:07,160 Speaker 2: and she bolts towards him. 410 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:13,320 Speaker 3: I wanted to get to Tommy on bike before he 411 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:19,440 Speaker 3: got to Angel. I didn't tell him exactly what transpired. 412 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,640 Speaker 3: I just kept telling him I am not comfortable. 413 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:23,960 Speaker 1: We have to leave. We have to leave, we have 414 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:24,280 Speaker 1: to live. 415 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,919 Speaker 2: And because you are, Tommy's not listening. He's focused on 416 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 2: the drinks. 417 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: So I blurted it out. I told him what happened. 418 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 8: That's when he said, I'm going to ff and kill him. 419 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,920 Speaker 2: It's about three in the morning on July sixth, twenty ten. 420 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,320 Speaker 2: After telling her boyfriend Tommy what just happened between her 421 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:07,560 Speaker 2: and Angel, Kelly is watching on helplessly as Tommy. 422 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:08,439 Speaker 1: Races through the park. 423 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 2: He's headed straight for Angel, who's none the wiser about 424 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:15,639 Speaker 2: how much danger he's in. 425 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,840 Speaker 3: I'm still fifty yards away. Now, from a distance, I 426 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:25,720 Speaker 3: see him throw the bike down and he is pommeling 427 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,760 Speaker 3: this guy. Now I ran. You know, first it was 428 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 3: a fight, and I figured that's what was going to happen. 429 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:37,160 Speaker 3: So I pulled Tommy's arm. He threw me down and said, bitch, 430 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:38,000 Speaker 3: stay out of this. 431 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: Your fucking next then I was it. I'm saying, should 432 00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:45,720 Speaker 1: I run because he's. 433 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:46,679 Speaker 3: Twenty yards from me? 434 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,680 Speaker 1: Should I run in that direction? 435 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 3: If he turns around and sees me running, he's going 436 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 3: to catch up to me in a second. 437 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 2: Kelly stays puts frozen in fear on the Hell'sgate bridge, 438 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 2: watching on as Tommy's attack goes from violent to murderous. 439 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 1: He begins to choke Angel. 440 00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:16,399 Speaker 3: If I try to stop him again, he's going to 441 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:18,639 Speaker 3: kill me. If I run, he's going to kill me. 442 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:22,879 Speaker 3: So he comes over to me, he grabs my foot. 443 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,560 Speaker 1: All he do is take my shoelace. I thought he 444 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 1: was poring my leg to kill me. 445 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:35,920 Speaker 4: You'd think, oh shit, now it's my turn. I saw 446 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 4: him go over to the man put the shoelace around 447 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 4: the man's neck and its snapped instantaneously. So he screams out, 448 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 4: why won't this motherfucker die now. I really he really 449 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,880 Speaker 4: is going through with this, He really is. 450 00:28:54,880 --> 00:29:05,600 Speaker 9: Going to kill this man. Then he took off his 451 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 9: own belt. 452 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:14,960 Speaker 2: Tommy strangles Angel with his belt until he stopped struggling, 453 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:17,600 Speaker 2: until his body goes limp. 454 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 3: It was at that point that I was the monsquered, 455 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:26,280 Speaker 3: and he came over to me. It would look like 456 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 3: a person stalking their prey, not a person, rather an animal. 457 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 3: And it was then that I made it my point 458 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:36,360 Speaker 3: to walk to him, literally as I'm doing right now 459 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,480 Speaker 3: with my hands out. 460 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 2: Kelly's still terrified, she'll be next. She goes into pure 461 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:48,040 Speaker 2: survival mode, doing whatever it takes to stay alive. 462 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:52,840 Speaker 3: It was right next to Angel, this poor man laying 463 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 3: on the ground, but I had to try to manipulate 464 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,320 Speaker 3: Tommy and I put my hands on knowing he's an atheist, 465 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 3: and I said, pray with me. 466 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:09,920 Speaker 5: Oh, glorious Saint Therese, whom Almighty God has raised you 467 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:14,800 Speaker 5: to aid and counsel mankind. I employ a miraculous intercession. 468 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:20,040 Speaker 5: So powerful are you in obtaining every need of God Savior? 469 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 3: He screens up while holding my hands. Saint Teresa, please help. 470 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:36,360 Speaker 5: Me and to carry out your promises, spending goodness upon 471 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 5: earth and letting fall from heaven a shower of roses. 472 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 3: Amen. Then he looks at me, he goes, oh, my god, 473 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 3: I just killed somebody. So like he went back to normal. 474 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 3: What is too late, because the poor man is on 475 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 3: the ground now. 476 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:11,840 Speaker 2: If I didn't know what had happened here in a 477 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:14,480 Speaker 2: story of park all those years ago. 478 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,200 Speaker 1: I just think it was a nice, normal park. 479 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,840 Speaker 2: You know, it's got winding paths, a huge variety of trees, 480 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,400 Speaker 2: somewhere you can lounge out in the summer months and 481 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:22,840 Speaker 2: read a. 482 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:26,320 Speaker 1: Book or kick a ball on the surface. 483 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 2: It certainly doesn't seem like the kind of place where 484 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,680 Speaker 2: a man could lose his life. 485 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:38,920 Speaker 3: Now, even though whatever happened happened towards what he said 486 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:41,240 Speaker 3: to me or did to me, being that his name 487 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 3: was Angel, I always, due to my faith, felt that 488 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 3: he was, in some strange way my angel, because had 489 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:54,160 Speaker 3: it not been for this is terrible to say. And 490 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,080 Speaker 3: I don't mean that his life should have been taken 491 00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:01,000 Speaker 3: to save mine. Obviously, you cannot bring someone. 492 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 1: Back to life. I wish you could. 493 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:06,160 Speaker 3: I would do that for that man in a heartbeat. However, 494 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,239 Speaker 3: being that had happened, I always tried to find a 495 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:13,840 Speaker 3: purpose for it. I try to find the good in it. 496 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:19,080 Speaker 3: I was addicted to xanax, to conphanto, this that, you know, 497 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 3: many things, and I had no intentions of getting off 498 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:25,680 Speaker 3: of any of them. And honestly, when I got to 499 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:28,800 Speaker 3: Riker's I was sick for five months. It got me 500 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:32,680 Speaker 3: off of it. So that's the good in it. So 501 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:36,120 Speaker 3: I feel that the man that was standing right where 502 00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:39,400 Speaker 3: we're standing right now, I feel that he was my angel. 503 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,640 Speaker 2: There's something that makes my stomach flip at the idea 504 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:51,120 Speaker 2: that this could have all been part of God's plan. 505 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:56,000 Speaker 2: I do like the idea that someone, something intervened in 506 00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:59,120 Speaker 2: Kelly's life. Well, I guess it just doesn't sit right 507 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:01,560 Speaker 2: that in order for that to happen, angel had to 508 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,920 Speaker 2: become some kind of sacrificial lamb who had to die 509 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:08,200 Speaker 2: for Kelly to break free of addiction and of Tommy's abuse. 510 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 2: I guess as a one time Christian now time heathen, 511 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:15,800 Speaker 2: I just don't think a true God would have let 512 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:19,520 Speaker 2: Kelly go through any of this. But then again, I'm 513 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:22,360 Speaker 2: sure if I'd gotten caught up in something so chaotic 514 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:26,880 Speaker 2: and senseless and awful, I'd be looking for meaning to. 515 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:34,480 Speaker 1: So where do we go from here? 516 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,080 Speaker 2: Well, the first thing you need to know is that 517 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:42,080 Speaker 2: this series is not a who done it. I'm not 518 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:46,280 Speaker 2: going to be proving Kelly's innocence or guilt. That was 519 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:50,280 Speaker 2: decided in a courtroom years ago, and as we tell 520 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 2: this story, you can decide for yourself whether that was 521 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:56,840 Speaker 2: the right or wrong decision. But I do want to 522 00:33:56,880 --> 00:34:02,800 Speaker 2: know how this all happened. How did Kelly, the sassy 523 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:06,600 Speaker 2: little gymnast who was apparently once destined for the Olympics, 524 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:10,400 Speaker 2: end up with someone like Tommy? How did she end 525 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:13,880 Speaker 2: up in the park that night? And finally, with the 526 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:16,839 Speaker 2: story she just told me, how did she end up 527 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:22,279 Speaker 2: in prison for twelve years? I'm going to peel back 528 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:25,200 Speaker 2: the layers of Kelly's life to try and understand how 529 00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:28,279 Speaker 2: she got to where she is today and learn how 530 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:31,839 Speaker 2: a victim of domestic violence ends up being seen as 531 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,280 Speaker 2: a villain in the eyes of the law and maybe 532 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:39,840 Speaker 2: in the eyes of many of you too. 533 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:45,200 Speaker 3: I'm being penalized because of the fact that I chose 534 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,720 Speaker 3: to survive, chose life over death. 535 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:50,440 Speaker 6: What do you want my blood? 536 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:51,560 Speaker 3: Visit? 537 00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:51,879 Speaker 7: The way? 538 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:55,239 Speaker 3: It seems that's what everyone would have preferred that was 539 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:58,240 Speaker 3: the better outcome. A dead girl in the park. 540 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,640 Speaker 2: Coming up on the Girlfriends Jail House Lawyer. 541 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:12,120 Speaker 1: Kelly, she got arrested for murder. 542 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:14,240 Speaker 3: This is the justice system. 543 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:16,160 Speaker 1: I said, I know my sister, she didn't do this. 544 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 3: You have to think of the domestic violence aspect and 545 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:22,320 Speaker 3: not the truth finding aspect. I was afraid of Tommy. 546 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,160 Speaker 1: It was like Kelly was his possession. 547 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:26,360 Speaker 3: The trial, it was awful. 548 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:28,000 Speaker 5: And the verdict was guilty. 549 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:32,880 Speaker 1: Our sisterhood would called ourselves the showties. You showed it. 550 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:35,920 Speaker 3: She goes, Harnett, you need to get your rest to 551 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:37,040 Speaker 3: that law library. 552 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:39,080 Speaker 1: You gotta start finding your case. 553 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 3: It became the love of my life. 554 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:42,120 Speaker 1: He says, he's mess your name. 555 00:35:42,239 --> 00:35:44,840 Speaker 3: Kelly. I said, were you a victim of domestic violence? 556 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:45,880 Speaker 3: And she was like yeah. 557 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 1: I said, can you please help me not to start crying. 558 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:51,120 Speaker 3: I was giving a lot of people hope. I said, 559 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:56,640 Speaker 3: how many people have gotten other incarcerated individuals out of here? 560 00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:00,520 Speaker 3: He said, nobody's ever done that. I said, said, I'm 561 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:03,680 Speaker 3: going to be the first one to do that. He goes, oh, god, 562 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:05,640 Speaker 3: harn't it. Jelhouse Lawyer. 563 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:22,399 Speaker 2: The Girlfriend's Jelhouse Lawyer is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. 564 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:27,080 Speaker 2: For more from novel, visit novel dot Audio. The show 565 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:30,400 Speaker 2: is hosted by me Annasinfield and is written and produced 566 00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 2: by me and Lee Meyer, with additional production from Jako 567 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:38,600 Speaker 2: Taivich and Michael Jinno. Our assistant producer is Madeline Park. 568 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:43,600 Speaker 2: The editors are Georgia Moody and me Annasinfield. Production management 569 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:47,080 Speaker 2: from Shrie Houston and Joe Savage are fat checkers are 570 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:51,760 Speaker 2: Daniel Suleiman and Fendall Fulton. Sound design, mixing and scoring 571 00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:56,920 Speaker 2: by Daniel Kempson and Nicholas Alexander. Music supervision by me Alisinfield, 572 00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:02,279 Speaker 2: Lee Meyer and Nicholas Alexander. Original music composed by Nicholas Alexander, 573 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:07,120 Speaker 2: Daniel Kempson and Louisa Gerstein. Story development by Willard Foxton. 574 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:10,960 Speaker 2: Creative director of Novel, Max O'Brien and Craig Strachan are 575 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:15,080 Speaker 2: executive producers for Novel, and Katrina Norvel and Niki Etor 576 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:18,880 Speaker 2: are the executive producers for iHeart Podcasts, and the marketing 577 00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:22,719 Speaker 2: lead is Alison Cantor. Thanks also to Carrie Lieberman and 578 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:24,600 Speaker 2: the whole team at WME