1 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 1: Body bags with Joseph Scott Morgan. They say you can't 2 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:28,319 Speaker 1: fight City Hall. That's true, but you know there's one 3 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: constant in our universe that you absolutely cannot fight, and 4 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: that's gravity. Gravity follows us everywhere. I know that sounds 5 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: a bit odd to say, but it is the truth. 6 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: It's that one constant in science that essentially keeps us 7 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: in place here on Earth, and we into its will 8 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: even while we're sleeping. Everywhere we go, everything we do. 9 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: Gravity is the dominant force in our life. It keeps 10 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: us packed to the chair. We measure our footsteps by it. 11 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 1: We adjust our equilibrium accordingly, or adjust to the equilibrium 12 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: that's dictated by our balance to try to negotiate our 13 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:39,400 Speaker 1: way through gravity. I don't know that there's any feeling 14 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: in the world that puts you in a position where 15 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: you feel totally and completely helpless, whether it's on a 16 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: roller coaster or maybe having a thrill of jumping off 17 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: of a high dive, if you've ever done that, I've 18 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: done it twice I think in my life and didn't 19 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,559 Speaker 1: want to do it again. Or all of my friends 20 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: in the army that accept its slots for airborne training, 21 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: which I turned down because it's just not my thing. Man. 22 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:18,239 Speaker 1: But just imagine, if you will. You've been assaulted, you've 23 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: been restrained, and you've been in the back of a vehicle. 24 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: You're going down a road. It's you and the person 25 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 1: that you love the most in the world, and you 26 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: can feel the incline of the road as it begins 27 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:47,119 Speaker 1: to go upwards to the apex of a bridge. You're 28 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: gathered up, torn from the car. You feel weight that's 29 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 1: being applied to you, and it's being applied because you 30 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: have a rope tethered to your body that on the 31 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: other end there is a thirty pound weight. And then 32 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:07,679 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you're cast off of the side 33 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:14,239 Speaker 1: of a bridge that's roughly ten stories high, falling free 34 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 1: through the air until you plummet into the water blow 35 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: you've gasped your last breath. There's nothing to save you. 36 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: You can't fight against the gravitational pull plus the added weight. 37 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: Today on body Bags, we're going to discuss the horrible 38 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: deaths of Kenneth and LEKEITHA Joseph. I'm Joseph Scott Morgan 39 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: and this is bodybags. We least have a recurrent dream. 40 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: When I was a child day, and it always had 41 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: to with falling. And interestingly enough, my first memories of 42 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 1: this stream were of all things, being taken to the 43 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:19,040 Speaker 1: top of a levee in Louisiana adjacent to the Mississippi 44 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: River and being flung off of the levee in my 45 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: dream by my mother and her two brothers and it 46 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: and it would always end with me striking not the river, 47 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: because the river was dried up. I've never seen the 48 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,159 Speaker 1: Mississippi River dried up. Seen it kind of receded, but 49 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: I've never seen it dried up. And of course, as 50 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: you hit in a lot of these streams where you fall, 51 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: you wake up with a start, and there's nothing else 52 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: as quite as terrifying as that. And when I came 53 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: across these cases, I had kind of a connect to 54 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,600 Speaker 1: it because it took place in Louisiana, and it involves 55 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: a bridge, and it certainly involves a tremendous fall. But 56 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: the fall itself is merely the end of the story, 57 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: as it were, because it's the finishing. It puts the 58 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: cherry on top of the torture that these people sustained 59 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: at the hands of some really horrible people. 60 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 2: Dave, if you want to know why we're headed down 61 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 2: this path with bridges and everything else. There are two 62 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 2: places to start in this story. One is at the end, 63 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 2: and that is the death of Lakeitha and Kenneth Joseph 64 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 2: and kettlebells Now, I have, like you, have had many 65 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 2: dreams in my life, but at no point in time 66 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 2: that I ever have a dream where I had a 67 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 2: kettle bell tied to my a live breathing body and 68 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 2: tossed over a bridge to my eternal demise. So when 69 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 2: we tell you this story about Keitha and Kenneth Joseph 70 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 2: is about them being murdered. That's just part of the story. 71 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:13,799 Speaker 2: That's not the end because we don't know exactly why. 72 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 2: We know we have two dead people, but we don't 73 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:21,359 Speaker 2: know why. There are some ideas. But I'm telling you 74 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 2: the investigators, because I looked at this from the beginning 75 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 2: to the end. You start with, we have few people missing. 76 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 2: That's the first report. Dozens of deputies searched the swamps 77 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 2: of Saint John Parrish Friday looking for a couple from reserve. 78 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 2: They concentrated their search along I fifty five between mon 79 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 2: Chok and I ten. Is that how you pronounced that 80 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 2: Manschack Manchac. The Josephs have been missing three weeks. And 81 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 2: when you have a couple thirty four and twenty nine, 82 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 2: Kenneth is thirty four, Lakeitha is twenty nine, a young 83 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 2: couple Mary goes missing, you expect to be able to 84 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 2: turn something up fairly quickly. But three weeks and they 85 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 2: were still looking. Lakeitha's mother heart said, this has gone 86 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,839 Speaker 2: on too long. We just want our family back. 87 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:06,919 Speaker 1: I got to interject something here, Dave. There when you 88 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: begin to talk about cases like this for families people, 89 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: I think they resign themselves after a period of time 90 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: that this is They hold out hope, but they've also 91 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: there's one part of them that resigned themselves to the 92 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: fact that this is not going to end well. Perhaps 93 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 1: there are these kind of tears, and not like te 94 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: a r s, but tears. There's levels to these kinds 95 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: of events where you have families where individuals have gone 96 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: missing and they do hold on to that one little 97 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: thread of hope that exists. But then there's a reality 98 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: after a period of time where the individuals are not 99 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: perhaps going to turn up alive, and there's that hope 100 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: that they have that when they go missing, you have 101 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: this thing that's welling up inside of you. And I've 102 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: heard her family say this over and over again about 103 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: we were so terrified, we were so afraid that they 104 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:10,119 Speaker 1: were being mistreated, that they had harm being done to them. 105 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: And then the next tier, it kind of ascends into 106 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 1: this different level of where the individuals are found dead eventually, 107 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: and then you have a whole different group of issues 108 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: that they have to kind of work through and deal 109 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: with in that and that's what these family members are 110 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: dealing with. And to that point earlier they did have 111 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,079 Speaker 1: to deal I think, and it was proven out in 112 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: the cases of both of these people that they did 113 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: have to deal with some level of torture and pain 114 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: and all those things. And can you imagine your family 115 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 1: member and suddenly those worst fears are confirmed by the authorities. 116 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:52,200 Speaker 2: The worst fears. You're right, Lakeitha Joseph's body. Her body 117 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:56,520 Speaker 2: actually floated up out of the water and was recovered 118 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 2: had a nylon rope tied to the leg. They've been 119 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 2: looking now for over three weeks. When her body is found, 120 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 2: what kind of condition is her body going assuming she 121 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 2: no wait a minute, would you be able to tell 122 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 2: how long she had been in the water when you 123 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:16,839 Speaker 2: get her out. Based on the time, you know that 124 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,439 Speaker 2: she was alive on this date and that are missing 125 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:22,439 Speaker 2: rather on this date, you know, could you determine if 126 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 2: she was in there the whole time or if she 127 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:24,839 Speaker 2: was just dropped in there? 128 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 3: How long? 129 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, it is that nuanced that you 130 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 1: can tell if someone has been freshly placed into the 131 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: water supposed to been there for protracted period of tom 132 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: let me back up just a second, just so that 133 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: folks understand. You know, you had mentioned I think it's 134 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 1: Saint John's Baptist Parish. They were from Reserve Louisiana out 135 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: near Manshak, where their bodies were eventually found. This is 136 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: on and if people don't understand the geography of kind 137 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 1: of the New Orleans area where they were from was 138 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 1: on the fall our western end of Lake Ponta. Train 139 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: where they were eventually found is on the far eastern 140 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 1: end of Lake Ponta Train and actually in an inner 141 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: coastal waterway. And you know that the bodies could not 142 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: have floated because you're talking miles upon miles upon miles 143 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 1: to accomplish this. But to your point, when you think 144 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 1: about bodies that are in this water. And just to 145 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: set the scene, this water is brackish water, which means 146 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: it's a combination of both fresh water and seawater. It's 147 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: right at the mouth of where the Lake Ponta Train 148 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: actually begins to kind of open out into the gulf. 149 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:54,520 Speaker 1: That area of the lake will be higher in salt 150 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 1: content than say the far western part. And it's interesting 151 00:10:57,640 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 1: because Lake Pontchatrain itself as a. 152 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 3: Body of water. 153 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 1: First off, it's the largest saltwater lake in America. 154 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 3: I didn't know that. 155 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, And of course everybody knows about the famous bridge 156 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,959 Speaker 1: that goes across the Causeway. Bridge is twenty I think, 157 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: right at about twenty six miles long, longest bridge in 158 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: the world. The water, the salt levels in the lake 159 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 1: itself vary greatly from one end to the other. And 160 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 1: so with a body that has been recently thrown into 161 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: the water, you're going to see these kind of changes 162 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 1: because the dead go through these changes just like the living. Dude, 163 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:33,599 Speaker 1: do you remember, I don't know if you had this experience, 164 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 1: you had a grandma or mom. If you were swimming, 165 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:41,240 Speaker 1: they would say, come let me see your hands. Yeah, 166 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: and if your fingers were shriveled up. They'd say, you know, 167 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:45,719 Speaker 1: you need to get out of the pool for a 168 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 1: WI printing. Yeah, not that that really makes any difference, 169 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 1: but you know, bodies go through that too. The deceased 170 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: go through that, and they will have these kind of 171 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:59,319 Speaker 1: modeled changes that take place with the body and depended 172 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: upon the water temperature and exposure to direct sunlight, the salt, 173 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 1: all those sorts of things. And we haven't even touched 174 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,960 Speaker 1: on animal activity because you get out into areas like 175 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,680 Speaker 1: this and you're not just talking about you know, people 176 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: the first thing they think about sharks, and there are 177 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 1: sharks and Lake Pontstrain caught sharks and Lake Pontcha train. 178 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 2: Okay, now, which just so we can be clear here, Yeah, 179 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,319 Speaker 2: Lake Lake Pont Train is a salt water, but it's 180 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 2: brackish water. It's yeah, it's not ocean. It's not an 181 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 2: ocean lake. It actually I didn't realize it was that big. Okay, 182 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 2: just yeah, it's its bridge was twenty six miles long. 183 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:37,200 Speaker 1: Well that's the cause, that's the causeway bridge, and it 184 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 1: kind of cuts cuts the lake in two where they 185 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:45,880 Speaker 1: where they would have been found is adjacent or it's 186 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,000 Speaker 1: in an inner coastal waterway that literally takes ships out 187 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,960 Speaker 1: into the gulf, so you're transporting goods out through this area. 188 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: A lot of tonnage goes through there. And that's another 189 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:00,640 Speaker 1: thing that when you have bodies that are floating in 190 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 1: areas like this, they can get damaged by vessels. And 191 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 1: if you've ever been on a boat, you don't realize 192 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:10,720 Speaker 1: that you hit things in the boat. Many times you 193 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 1: might hear a bump or you know, something like that. 194 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:17,439 Speaker 1: But you start to get out into these intercoastal waterways 195 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: and you're talking about cargo ships that are out there, 196 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,559 Speaker 1: so they can bump against bodies, they can drag bodies 197 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:28,439 Speaker 1: that they can actually traumatize bodies just by you know, 198 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 1: striking them because you've got this huge wile of water 199 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:33,840 Speaker 1: it's been forced in front of the boat as it's 200 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,560 Speaker 1: moving and either it creates its own little kind of 201 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:40,440 Speaker 1: tidal effect at that point in time. So a lot 202 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 1: of that is going to be quite impactful when you're 203 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:46,839 Speaker 1: doing your assessment on the body, and of course you're 204 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:50,840 Speaker 1: looking for marine life. Do you have animals that have 205 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: been eating the body because they do crabs or the 206 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 1: worst offenders in this particular environment, that would be blue crabs. 207 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: You know, I've pulled bodies out of canals, out of 208 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,840 Speaker 1: rivers that are adjacent that are brackish water, and certainly 209 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 1: out of lakes and out of Gulf of Mexico where 210 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:10,960 Speaker 1: the bodies are just covered in crabs. 211 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 2: So you could determine if a body was freshly put 212 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 2: in the water or had been there for a while 213 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 2: based on all these other factories. But could you tell 214 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,520 Speaker 2: the difference between say a week in two weeks. 215 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: That's kind of difficult to do. It's not as simple 216 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:31,000 Speaker 1: with a what we refer to as floaters, and that's 217 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: kind of the term that you used. People might be 218 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: uncomfortable with that, but that's just the reality. One of 219 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 1: the biggest keys with bodies that are found in floating 220 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,000 Speaker 1: in bodies of water. Do you have a body that 221 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: is subsurface or do you have a body that is 222 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 1: on the top side, if you will, to use a 223 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:58,160 Speaker 1: naval term. The longer a body has been floating free 224 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:03,320 Speaker 1: in this aquatic environment, there's a higher probability that the 225 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 1: body will swell and will rise to the top. And 226 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:12,040 Speaker 1: in this case, both bodies had risen. It's just that 227 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 1: they were not recovered at the same time. You had 228 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 1: mentioned previously that the Saint John's Baptist pair of Sheriff's 229 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:46,680 Speaker 1: office had gotten involved in dismissing what they thought was 230 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: a missing person's case. And there's a reason they're searching, 231 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 1: you know. When these two were noted to have been missing, 232 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: both Kenneth and Kitha, the police arrived at their home, 233 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: which was actually in Saint John the Baptist parish in Reserve, 234 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: a place called it's a little town called Reserve, Louisiana. 235 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: You know, when the cops showed up there, Dave their 236 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 1: home had been ripped to shreds. I mean, you know, 237 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,320 Speaker 1: the police knew something was up. The house had been ransacked. 238 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 2: They were last seeing February eighteenth. They were reported missing 239 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 2: on February nineteenth, and so police go to their home 240 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,320 Speaker 2: because they're going to search, see what they can find. 241 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 2: And that's what they find is on that day, right 242 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 2: away they find that place has been trashed. 243 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, they do. It's a curious thing. You know, 244 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 1: the police can only go with what they have. I mean, 245 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: if you have somebody, if you're dealing in a case 246 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 1: where they might not be on your criminal radar. As 247 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 1: an investigator, you're showing up. You're showing up to these 248 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 1: sets of circumstances cold if you will, I mean, you're cold. 249 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: You don't know which way to go. So the police 250 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: in that particular jurisdiction began to look at this case 251 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 1: and they're thinking, Okay, who are their associates? Why is 252 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 1: it that their home is trashed like this and we 253 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 1: can't find them anywhere at all, And you know, you're looking, 254 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 1: you're you're actually looking for for a break that that 255 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 1: could come about, you know, relative to uh, to anything 256 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 1: that's going to lead you in a direction of where 257 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:29,440 Speaker 1: where they they may have been. 258 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:34,639 Speaker 2: You know, looking at the initial report on missing I 259 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:40,120 Speaker 2: saw that Kenneth borrowed a van from his sister right 260 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 2: and was just going to hold onto it for a day, 261 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 2: just using it for the night, and was going to 262 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:46,120 Speaker 2: return it the next day. And that was their first 263 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 2: tip off because that was it was a shock he 264 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,159 Speaker 2: did not return the van the next day. When police 265 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,160 Speaker 2: go to the house, they find it vacant, they find 266 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,680 Speaker 2: it trashed, and they don't find the van. So immediately 267 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,280 Speaker 2: it looks like something bad has happened. This isn't just 268 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,240 Speaker 2: a couple who hopped in a van and kept on run, 269 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,920 Speaker 2: you know, leaving something bad has taken place because it 270 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:09,280 Speaker 2: shocked their entire family, the condition, the home, the no van. 271 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,000 Speaker 2: Where are Kenneth and Lakeitha. That's where the family is. 272 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 2: And so three weeks later, Lakeitha's body is found in 273 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,119 Speaker 2: the water and they find the nylon cord tied to 274 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 2: her leg. Kenneth's body was found. Was it a week later? 275 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 2: Ten days later? 276 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 3: It was? It was not found at the same time. 277 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,280 Speaker 1: No, no, no, yeah, it was not found at the 278 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:30,920 Speaker 1: same time. 279 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 3: It was. 280 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: It was weeks later when his body literally and we 281 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: we use industry term here, the body pops up. And 282 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: you know, that's a big indicator for us as to time, 283 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: because it takes time for bodies to swell to the 284 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:52,719 Speaker 1: point where they're going to come up. And you know, 285 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: back to Lakeitha. Lakeitha had this cord tied to her 286 00:18:57,640 --> 00:18:59,679 Speaker 1: that was still hanging loose, and they refer to this 287 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,600 Speaker 1: it's a blue nylon cord that's still hanging off of 288 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:08,640 Speaker 1: her body. But there's nothing attached to this cord. However, 289 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 1: when Kenneth's body is found, and just think about this 290 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,800 Speaker 1: just for a second. When his body is found and 291 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: he pops up. They retrieve his body approximating you know, 292 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:25,639 Speaker 1: the same geographic region where Lakeitha's body is found. He 293 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: still got he still got this thirty pound kettlebell attached 294 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 1: to the end of his rope. And you know, they know, 295 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 1: you know, they knew, probably with Lakeitha's discovery, that they 296 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,360 Speaker 1: were dealing with a homicide. And this is only reinforced, 297 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:43,960 Speaker 1: you know, when they find Kenny's body. 298 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:46,960 Speaker 3: And you know who kettlebell is. It's a workout weight 299 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 3: that you buy it. 300 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:50,640 Speaker 2: It's you know, one piece, what two and a half 301 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 2: pounds up to I guess forty or fifty pounds. 302 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: You can get them. You know, we have them here 303 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:57,960 Speaker 1: at our gym at the University. I use them, probably 304 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: not as much as I should, but they are and 305 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,119 Speaker 1: they're filled with different things you can but these what's 306 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:10,120 Speaker 1: really cool about this from a forensic standpoint is that 307 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:14,720 Speaker 1: these kettlebells that were or the kettlebell that was found 308 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 1: attached to Kenneth was actually purchased at Walmart. And I'm 309 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,399 Speaker 1: gonna I'm gonna give you a real insight here. We 310 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: know that they were purchased at Walmart because they're Gold's 311 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:34,000 Speaker 1: gym brand kettlebells, and guess what, Walmart's the only place 312 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: that sells them. Okay, And so for an investigator, that's 313 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:42,200 Speaker 1: like a gigantic discovery at that point in time. That 314 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: might not be a brand new kettlebell, but we do 315 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:47,920 Speaker 1: know that it's a Gold's Gym kettlebell. 316 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 3: Okay. 317 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 2: No, the kettlebell in this case that was tied to 318 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:56,240 Speaker 2: Kenneth Joseph was a thirty pound kettlebell, correct, yes, all right, Now, 319 00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 2: Kenneth was a he was two hundred ten pounds man. 320 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:03,720 Speaker 2: He's five five ten pounds, so he's he's kind of round. 321 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:04,119 Speaker 3: Okay. 322 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:06,199 Speaker 2: And the reason I'm saying this is because I have 323 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:10,920 Speaker 2: a legitimate question. No, please, We know that his wife, Lakita, 324 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 2: that her body rose to the surface without the kettlebell attached. 325 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:17,399 Speaker 2: We know she had a rope, and I'm going to 326 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 2: make a leap of leap here based on evidence, I 327 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,160 Speaker 2: would be thinking, if I'm a cop, Well, we knew 328 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 2: it was tied to something. Now we know maybe it 329 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 2: was a kettlebell that it was tied to, since her 330 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 2: husband shows up a couple weeks later tied to a kettlebell, 331 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 2: But would their weight at death have anything to do 332 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 2: with how long that they would stay attached to the kettlebell, 333 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:42,879 Speaker 2: that the kettlebell could keep them under I would just 334 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 2: think two hundred and ten pounds would require more weight 335 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,200 Speaker 2: to keep it underwater than one hundred and twenty five 336 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 2: pounds that leakeitha weight. 337 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: I think that probably in this case, I don't want 338 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:54,639 Speaker 1: to give you by any ideas, but they would have 339 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 1: been better served first off, if they had used a 340 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:01,120 Speaker 1: chain instead of a nill on a rope. And secondly 341 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 1: that you've probably added an additional kettlebell, thirty pound kettlebell 342 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,000 Speaker 1: to each body to kind of offset because this is 343 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:10,480 Speaker 1: what you're fighting in this environment. And if you've ever 344 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: seen like an old war movie or something where fighter 345 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 1: pilot crashes into the ocean or they're ejected when they 346 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:23,000 Speaker 1: have a life fest on, they can pull this rip 347 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: chord on their life fest that's deflated. You're not going 348 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 1: to fly around with an inflated life fest and immediately 349 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: and you know, and they talk to you about this 350 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 1: on planes even when you and immediately this adds buoyancy 351 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:42,359 Speaker 1: to your body. Okay, imagine that. Imagine that and the 352 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: body is a subsurface after it's being weighted down by 353 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,200 Speaker 1: the kettlebell, and of course the weight of the body itself. 354 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 1: But what's going on internally with the body. Well, you've 355 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:56,240 Speaker 1: got these and we've talked about this before. You've got 356 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,920 Speaker 1: this autolytic decompositional process that the body is going through. 357 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:05,960 Speaker 1: Gas is being expelled internally in the body. As the 358 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:10,400 Speaker 1: cells begin to be digested, the gas has to go somewhere. 359 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,720 Speaker 1: So when you see these bodies, they begin to bloat, 360 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 1: and bodies bloat on land too. Okay, there's some great 361 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:24,680 Speaker 1: images from the Civil War of battlefield shots of soldiers 362 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:26,560 Speaker 1: that have fallen in the field, and many of them 363 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: are swollen and bloated. Now hear people refer to it 364 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:33,719 Speaker 1: in literature as the body begins to swell beneath the 365 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:38,480 Speaker 1: surface of the water. You have this tremendous buoyancy. And 366 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 1: it might not happen immediately, but after days and days 367 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: and days of this body being down there, it swells progressively, 368 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:51,159 Speaker 1: and so that offsets the weight that was initially utilized. 369 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:56,040 Speaker 1: When you have this kettlebell that was insufficient to the task. 370 00:23:56,359 --> 00:24:00,159 Speaker 1: It's probably the heaviest kettlebell that they had available in 371 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,800 Speaker 1: the store when they were purchased in order to you know, 372 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: complete this act. 373 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 2: So Lakitha obviously the kettlebell that was used to weigh 374 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 2: her down came loose and her body was able to 375 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 2: come up to the surface croud it did. 376 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:22,520 Speaker 1: Or or perhaps remember how I talked about an ocean 377 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: going vessel, right, you would need what would what would 378 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,119 Speaker 1: be very interesting, This is a nylon rope, and you 379 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,480 Speaker 1: have to imagine that the rope that was utilized was 380 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 1: probably taken from a greater length of rope. Probably both 381 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,440 Speaker 1: both of the ropes that were utilized in these cases 382 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: came from the same point of origin. So one of 383 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:45,840 Speaker 1: the things you would look for is to see if 384 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,360 Speaker 1: the end of the rope is frayed as a result 385 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:51,919 Speaker 1: of taking an edged weapon and cutting through it, and 386 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:55,639 Speaker 1: you'll kind of have this kind of even cutting along 387 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,520 Speaker 1: the margins of that rope. Or if this is something 388 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: that a as a result of the thing being struck 389 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 1: by a vessel, an ocean going vessel, and the thing 390 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,439 Speaker 1: is clipped into in kind of a jagged way, that 391 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: might be an indicator. But here's one more piece of 392 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:20,480 Speaker 1: information about Lakitha is that when the forensic pathologist examined Lakitha. 393 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:25,600 Speaker 1: One of her legs was broken, and so the big 394 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,440 Speaker 1: question is I think was the leg broken. Was her 395 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:33,680 Speaker 1: leg broken as a result of anti mortem trauma where 396 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,399 Speaker 1: she's being tortured, or is this something happened in the 397 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,400 Speaker 1: post mortem state as she's floating down in the inner 398 00:25:39,760 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 1: coastal waterway day. One of the biggest problems that you 399 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:09,960 Speaker 1: have with bodies recovered from water is that they do decompose. Obviously, 400 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 1: they bloat, the bodies go through all of these different 401 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:19,639 Speaker 1: changes relative to an aquatic environment that you don't see 402 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: with what we refer to as dry decomps. The bodies 403 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:30,639 Speaker 1: change in such a manner that it's quite challenging. I 404 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 1: think in the morgue where you pull these bodies out 405 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:37,440 Speaker 1: of bodies of water, and I just kind of a 406 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:41,480 Speaker 1: little aside that folks might not know know about bodies 407 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,880 Speaker 1: that are recovered out of water. There is something that 408 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:48,480 Speaker 1: presents on the surface of the body that's called adipacre 409 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:53,160 Speaker 1: with the dead that come out. Now you can see 410 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 1: it on dry land too, but it's more pronounced with 411 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:00,320 Speaker 1: bodies recovered out of water at apare. The old Imers 412 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:03,320 Speaker 1: used to refer to it. As death wax, and it 413 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: actually looks like Dave this kind of mushrooming manifestation that 414 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:15,280 Speaker 1: looks like cauliflower or hard hardened cottage cheese. And it's 415 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:18,919 Speaker 1: essentially the fat that is breaking through the skin, and 416 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:22,159 Speaker 1: when you touch it, it's actually firm and hard to 417 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: the touch. And I've found in my experience that sometimes 418 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:33,160 Speaker 1: the adepacire can occlude or block your ability to thoroughly 419 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 1: examine the body, particularly the scene. You have to get 420 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:37,919 Speaker 1: back to the Mork to really take a look at 421 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:42,119 Speaker 1: the body under great lighting and really put your thinking 422 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,719 Speaker 1: cap on. And one of the real problems is is 423 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: that when you get bodies back to the Mork that 424 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:52,399 Speaker 1: have been pulled out of water, there's a certain level 425 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:57,520 Speaker 1: of repulsiveness to the bodies that you don't encounter even 426 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:01,520 Speaker 1: with dry decomps. There's something about it. You're dealing with 427 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 1: wet bodies. You've got water that's slashing all out of 428 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 1: the bags. You'll have animal life that come in with 429 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,960 Speaker 1: the bodies. Many times you'll have it's a different kind 430 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,520 Speaker 1: of smell that kind of comes about with the bodies, 431 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:18,159 Speaker 1: the clothing and all wet, and then you're trying to 432 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,480 Speaker 1: be careful because you know that if the body has 433 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: been in a water. In the water, you're losing evidence, 434 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:26,680 Speaker 1: So you have to be very very careful. So your 435 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,760 Speaker 1: senses as a practitioner, your senses are being your own overload. 436 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,040 Speaker 1: You're being really assaulted. And I can only imagine that 437 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: when the forensic pathologists and the technicians got their hands 438 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 1: on Lakeitha's body and on Kenneth's body, that they were 439 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:42,720 Speaker 1: facing the same things. 440 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:46,880 Speaker 2: You know, in looking at this there are there are 441 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,200 Speaker 2: many people involved in this case. I want to break 442 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:51,800 Speaker 2: it down very quickly because the way police were able 443 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:55,480 Speaker 2: to tie it together really is amazing. Oftentimes, when we 444 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,400 Speaker 2: hear a case nowadays, DNA is involved in a sign. 445 00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 2: You know, you see people with the lab coats on 446 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 2: and doing stuff in the lab, and you know that's 447 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:06,600 Speaker 2: where the case gets solved. That's not what happened in 448 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,960 Speaker 2: this case. You're talking about all the forensics that come 449 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:14,000 Speaker 2: into play and all the police work show prosecutors got 450 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,080 Speaker 2: a break early on. Remember I told you about the 451 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,040 Speaker 2: van right Kenneth had borrowed a van from his sister. 452 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:24,040 Speaker 2: So when the official investigation began on February nineteenth, when 453 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:26,600 Speaker 2: the family says he borrowed a van, didn't come back. 454 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:28,760 Speaker 2: We go over there at the house, trash, can't find 455 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:33,240 Speaker 2: him anywhere. A couple of days after this, remember we're 456 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:36,200 Speaker 2: in Louisiana, right. A couple of days later, as they're 457 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,920 Speaker 2: looking for the van, okay and two people, well, the 458 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,880 Speaker 2: van shows up. It shows up at a travel Lodge 459 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:45,520 Speaker 2: motel parking lot in Atlanta, suburban Atlanta. 460 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, how does it wind up? You know, I've made 461 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: that drive many times in my life, Dave, as you know, 462 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 1: almost five hundred miles away. How's that possible? 463 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:56,160 Speaker 2: And that was where you know, this is one of 464 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:58,479 Speaker 2: those things. Well, how would they people go, Well, how 465 00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:00,960 Speaker 2: would they possibly even find How do cops know to 466 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 2: look for it? They got those plate readers at night, 467 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,640 Speaker 2: police officers on routine patrol all over the place go 468 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,400 Speaker 2: through hotel parking lots with their little tag readers and 469 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 2: they find out, you know, oh there's out of state tag, 470 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:15,600 Speaker 2: you know, and all of a sudden you find out, hey, 471 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 2: this is a missing vehicle out of Louisiana. 472 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 3: Boom. That's their first big break. 473 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 2: So detectives then link the van to a guy they 474 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:27,479 Speaker 2: know he's an ex con named Frank Mike Junior. So 475 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:29,920 Speaker 2: they call Frank Mike in, Hey, buddy, I guess he 476 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,640 Speaker 2: had the van. You know which is he's an ex con. 477 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,959 Speaker 2: He's got a van. It belongs to Louisiana. What are 478 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:37,720 Speaker 2: you doing with it? He tells police he got the 479 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,760 Speaker 2: van from his street nephew. Not is not a biological nephew, 480 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:43,920 Speaker 2: just this is a nephew. 481 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 3: You know. 482 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 2: His name is Stephen Future Bradley. He's a rapper. His 483 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 2: rapper name is Future. And police start looking at this 484 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:57,960 Speaker 2: and they tie it. They're trying to find a tie 485 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 2: back to Louisiana. That's their whole key. So Frank Mike 486 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:04,600 Speaker 2: Junior says, I got the van from my street nephew Future, 487 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 2: And they go, well, where's Future is actually being managed 488 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:12,560 Speaker 2: by a man out of Louisiana. The man is Horatio Johnson. 489 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,120 Speaker 2: Police tie all that again. No DNA here, we're not 490 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:19,720 Speaker 2: talking about We're talking about police work now, Joe. They 491 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 2: know the van now ties back to Louisiana and the 492 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 2: man of Horatio Johnson. And because of Future tied to 493 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:33,400 Speaker 2: a recording studio. This is where the Horatio Johnson is 494 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:37,080 Speaker 2: the manager and they were recording at the same studio 495 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 2: that Kenneth and Lakeitha we're in. It's a studio in Louisiana, 496 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:44,240 Speaker 2: recording studio. 497 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's actually in Metorie Medori, Louisiana, which is kind 498 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:52,320 Speaker 1: of geographically located in the center between where they were 499 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:55,760 Speaker 1: domiciled and where their bodies were eventually found, which is 500 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: fascinating to me. 501 00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:59,400 Speaker 3: Unbelievable. Yeah, it really, it really is. 502 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:01,840 Speaker 2: So you type all together with just good sound police 503 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:04,560 Speaker 2: work tracking what they know, and they're able to track 504 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:06,720 Speaker 2: it back. But again, you know, they still don't have 505 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:08,880 Speaker 2: a motive. And this is the key here. They don't 506 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,640 Speaker 2: have a motive, but we can tell you circumstances because 507 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,920 Speaker 2: there's a woman. She is a former prison guard. Her 508 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 2: name is Britney Martin. When Britney Martin was a prison guard, 509 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 2: she ended up in a relationship with a man who 510 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:25,320 Speaker 2: was in prison and that's against the rules. But they 511 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 2: do it a lot, a lot, Yeah, more than we'd 512 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,120 Speaker 2: ever want to actually know, because a lot of rules 513 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:34,800 Speaker 2: get broken in prison. But Britney Martin ends up in 514 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:38,040 Speaker 2: a relationship with a guy who's in prison on a 515 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,720 Speaker 2: manslaughter charge, so he's already killed one person. Horatio Johnson 516 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:49,400 Speaker 2: is that convict Horatio Johnson had been in prison for manslaughter. 517 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:54,040 Speaker 2: He's now tied directly to this ban the couple had 518 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:58,840 Speaker 2: to this recording artist rapper, Horatio Future. The names are 519 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,480 Speaker 2: going to get confusing, but the bottom line is Horatio 520 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:06,479 Speaker 2: Johnson and Britney Martin had a romantic relationship when he 521 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:08,000 Speaker 2: was in prison. They had an on again, off again 522 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:11,760 Speaker 2: relationship after that. But Brittany Martin apparently walks into this 523 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 2: studio in how did you pronounce that? 524 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:17,480 Speaker 1: Metterie, Meturie, Meterie, Louisiana. 525 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:21,480 Speaker 2: Britney Martin walks into this recording studio in Metai and 526 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:29,600 Speaker 2: she sees Horatio Johnson strangling Lakeitha, and Britney Martin walks 527 00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:30,120 Speaker 2: in on that. 528 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:31,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, and she walked. 529 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:36,080 Speaker 1: Can you imagine walking in into this recording studio where 530 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:38,920 Speaker 1: you know, Horatio Johnson has kind of set himself up 531 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: as a music promoter, and oh, by the way, from 532 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:45,680 Speaker 1: time to time he deals in cocaine as well. And 533 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:50,600 Speaker 1: so you've got that. But here's the interesting thing. When 534 00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:54,920 Speaker 1: you start to try to understand the relationship between all 535 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:59,000 Speaker 1: of these players, it turns out it actually turns out 536 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:05,480 Speaker 1: that Horatio Johnson and Kenneth, Joseph our first cousins, Dave. 537 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:12,239 Speaker 1: So you've got this relationship that's established, and if you're 538 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:16,200 Speaker 1: an investigator and you're trying to figure this out, because look, 539 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:20,120 Speaker 1: you and I think we'll both admit that this is 540 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 1: complex in the sense of all of the players that 541 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,840 Speaker 1: are involved and everybody that kind of enters in and 542 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:33,120 Speaker 1: off of the stage. There was a moment in time, 543 00:34:33,640 --> 00:34:35,920 Speaker 1: I think, and you always get to this kind of 544 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:38,080 Speaker 1: critical mass with a lot of these cases that are 545 00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:43,720 Speaker 1: very impassioned where you can either choose to walk away 546 00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:47,399 Speaker 1: or you're going to go down another path where you're 547 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:50,520 Speaker 1: going to wind up putting your hands on somebody and 548 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:54,240 Speaker 1: doing great harm to them. But you know what, neither 549 00:34:55,360 --> 00:35:01,399 Speaker 1: neither Kenneth nor Lekeitha were murdered in that recording studio, Dave. 550 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,200 Speaker 1: They were not murdered. They were not killed at that 551 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:09,759 Speaker 1: moment in time. That their death that I want that 552 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:14,440 Speaker 1: you know, I want us to discuss actually is something. 553 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:18,839 Speaker 1: It's not like their heads were stoved in, it's not 554 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:22,040 Speaker 1: like they were executed and shot in the back of 555 00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:26,000 Speaker 1: the head. They were kept alive, Dave. They were kept alive. 556 00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 1: They were kept alive to the point where Horatio actually 557 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:37,959 Speaker 1: recruits these people within his circle to help him facilitate 558 00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:43,120 Speaker 1: the out and out murder of these two people via 559 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:47,239 Speaker 1: I would say, one of the most horrendous methods that 560 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:53,600 Speaker 1: you can possibly even imagine, and that's by drowning. That's 561 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:59,800 Speaker 1: by drowning Dave. They he goes. They go to Kenner, 562 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,239 Speaker 1: which is a city that's just adjacent to Metari if 563 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:04,400 Speaker 1: you've ever flown. 564 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:06,800 Speaker 2: In there, Metary at the recording studio, at the studio 565 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:10,400 Speaker 2: when the violent activity between Horatio and Lakeitha takes place. 566 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:13,880 Speaker 2: So now one has to assume they all get in 567 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:16,360 Speaker 2: the van and they're headed. They're going to go for 568 00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:19,640 Speaker 2: Metari to they're locate, but on the way, got to 569 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:22,759 Speaker 2: stop at Walmart to pick up what the prosecutor calls 570 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:23,400 Speaker 2: it a murder kit. 571 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:25,720 Speaker 3: A murder kit, which a murder kit at Walmart? 572 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:28,080 Speaker 2: Did they have is that in the where do I 573 00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:29,560 Speaker 2: find that at the Walmart jets? 574 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:31,680 Speaker 1: It's not in the home goods section, I can assure you. 575 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:34,680 Speaker 1: And and murder kit is a weird term for them 576 00:36:34,719 --> 00:36:38,480 Speaker 1: to use because a murder kit, traditionally in our field, 577 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:42,200 Speaker 1: is something that's associated with serial killers. I mean you 578 00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:44,600 Speaker 1: hear that, and I think that they use that for 579 00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:48,359 Speaker 1: to spice things up and to make it kind of dramatic. Uh, 580 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 1: But what they did put together were implements so that 581 00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:54,759 Speaker 1: they could facilitate a homicide. So yeah, I guess you 582 00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:57,239 Speaker 1: could say it's a murder kit because they went in, 583 00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:03,600 Speaker 1: they purchased nylon cord, and they purchase guess what kettlebells 584 00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:10,759 Speaker 1: manufactured specifically for Walmart, Gold's gym kettle bells, two of them, 585 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:16,440 Speaker 1: thirty pounds each. And it's weird. They've taken this really 586 00:37:17,239 --> 00:37:21,000 Speaker 1: circuitous route, if you will, where they leave Metorie, they 587 00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:26,239 Speaker 1: drive back to the west to Kenner to this gigantic Walmart, 588 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:30,359 Speaker 1: and then they get on the road and do they 589 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:33,600 Speaker 1: drive all the way back east now? And they're taking 590 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:39,120 Speaker 1: They're not staying on Interstate Highway. They've got these people 591 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:43,719 Speaker 1: in the back of this van. And can you imagine 592 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:48,080 Speaker 1: the terror that is rising up with this couple as 593 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:52,000 Speaker 1: they're being held against their will. They've been beaten up. 594 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:54,120 Speaker 1: And the reason we know that they've been beaten up 595 00:37:55,040 --> 00:38:00,839 Speaker 1: actually Lakeisha's body, her head in particular, showed evidence that 596 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:05,880 Speaker 1: the forensic pathologist stated that she had sustained what's referred 597 00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:09,879 Speaker 1: to as a subscapular hemorrhage. And I know that people 598 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:13,320 Speaker 1: might think that we're talking about the scalpula your shoulder blade, 599 00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:17,080 Speaker 1: were not. We're talking about subscapular, as in beneath the 600 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:20,520 Speaker 1: layer of the scalp. But here here's the thing, Dave. 601 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:23,879 Speaker 1: That hemorrhage is caught between the scalp. If we've ever 602 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:26,800 Speaker 1: if you've ever bumped your head, you get a subscapular 603 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:29,800 Speaker 1: hemorrhage where you'll have blood that will set in between 604 00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:33,480 Speaker 1: the exterior table of your skull and the scalp itself. 605 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:38,400 Speaker 1: She was beaten down, but she was not killed. She 606 00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:42,000 Speaker 1: was not killed. Both of these people, Dave, were lashed 607 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:46,759 Speaker 1: with this rope that was subsequently tied to a kettlebell 608 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:50,319 Speaker 1: and then tossed over the side of what's referred to 609 00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:53,760 Speaker 1: or by locals in this area as the Green Bridge. 610 00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:58,160 Speaker 1: And it's this gigantic structure that you know, crosses over 611 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:02,000 Speaker 1: crosses over the Inner Coast Waterway, and it just an 612 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:03,560 Speaker 1: absolutely horrific death. 613 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:06,600 Speaker 2: Knowing because they're tied onto the they know, I mean, 614 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:09,479 Speaker 2: I'm assuming the hands are tied behind their back because 615 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:11,840 Speaker 2: they're not gonna leave loose hands, they got their feet 616 00:39:11,920 --> 00:39:14,600 Speaker 2: tied together, they've got the weights tied around them, and 617 00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:15,280 Speaker 2: they're alive. 618 00:39:15,719 --> 00:39:17,280 Speaker 3: This is like something out of a movie. 619 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,080 Speaker 2: This is not something you ever usually I think of 620 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:22,880 Speaker 2: somebody killing somebody and getting rid of the body, you know, 621 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:26,120 Speaker 2: putting it in the water. When I read the report 622 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:28,759 Speaker 2: and saw drowning was the reason, I thought, you've got 623 00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:31,719 Speaker 2: to be kidding. That's like the ultimate torture, Joe. 624 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:35,840 Speaker 1: It is. You've been beaten down, your terrorized, your heart's 625 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:40,120 Speaker 1: pounding a mile a minute, and you know that there's 626 00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:42,200 Speaker 1: no way that you're ever going to break the surface 627 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:46,359 Speaker 1: and breathe air again. And as it turned out, Dave, 628 00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:54,600 Speaker 1: in this particular case, both Lakisha and Kenneth died as 629 00:39:54,600 --> 00:40:00,520 Speaker 1: a result of drowning. I'm Joseph Scott Morgan, and this 630 00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:02,680 Speaker 1: is body bags. 631 00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:07,120 Speaker 3: Mm hmm