The After Show: The Barefoot Witness

Summary

20/20 After Show: The Barefoot Witness

Original Air Date: May 25, 2026
Host: Deborah Roberts
Guest: Susan Welsh, 20/20 Coordinating Producer
Main Theme:
A behind-the-scenes look at the heartbreaking and haunting case of Lintell Washington, a beloved Louisiana schoolteacher found murdered after her toddler daughter—later dubbed "the Barefoot Witness"—was discovered wandering alone, unwittingly providing crucial clues that helped solve her mother's murder.

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Episode Overview

This After Show episode offers a close, revealing conversation between Deborah Roberts and producer Susan Welsh, deep-diving into the reporting process and personal impact of the "Barefoot Witness" story. The episode unpacks how investigators unraveled the case, the role of a very young witness in solving the crime, and how loved ones and community members continue to remember Lintell Washington.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Emotional Opening and The Barefoot Witness ([00:34]–[02:18])

• Deborah Roberts recalls the chilling image that started it all: a toddler alone in a Louisiana parking lot, barefoot and clutching a pillow, pointing to her mother’s abandoned, bloodied car.
• Main question posed: How could such horror happen—and how could a toddler become the case’s central witness?
• "This episode isn't just about how authorities solved the murder, though. It's about how the truth can come from even the smallest of voices. And in this case, it did from a toddler." — Deborah Roberts [01:44]

Reporting Approach & Family Trust ([02:31]–[05:16])

• Susan Welsh shares the sensitive approach needed in covering the story, especially with a grieving family and a child at its center.
  • Building trust started with Lintell’s best friend, Melissa Mason, who helped connect the team to others willing to speak.
  • The team prioritized understanding and honoring Lintell—not just retelling a crime.
• "They just wanted her to be known as the wonderful person that she was and the legacy that she left, not only with her students, but with her daughter as well." — Susan Welsh [18:18]

Massive Search and Discovery ([05:16]–[09:44])

• The logistics and emotional intensity of the search for Lintell are recounted.
• On-site segment: Deborah and Ronnie, a local worker, describe the remoteness of the sugarcane fields and the horror of finding Lintell’s body in a drainage ditch.
  • The field’s isolation made it clear someone went to great lengths to conceal her remains.
  • Jurors later noted the scene’s brutality and the painful closure for the family.
• "It was, to me, it was a watery grave and absolutely no disregard for her. Just dumped it, you know." — Ronnie (local worker/guide) [07:50]

The Toddler’s Crucial Testimony ([11:04]–[16:02])

• The daughter kept referring to “Mr. Robbie,” which helped direct the investigation to Robert Marks, the school’s assistant principal—and revealed as Lintell’s lover and father of her unborn child.
• Despite no DNA or murder weapon, the little girl’s composure and consistency during an advocacy worker’s interview were pivotal in convicting Marks.
• "For a three year old child to be so calm and collected, composed, assured of what she was saying and so clearly articulating what happened to her mom, they just couldn't look the other way." — Susan Welsh [15:20]

The Complicated Personal Story ([13:00]–[14:58])

• Explores the relationship between Lintell and Marks, underscoring the sense of betrayal and manipulation.
• Friends’ frustration and heartbreak that Lintell—a respected, bright, and accomplished woman—became entangled with someone hiding a double life.

Justice and Legacy ([16:53]–[19:59])

• Susan shares how the family finally agreed to let the team interview the “barefoot witness” (identity protected), now a thriving adolescent.
  • The little girl is described as resilient, bubbly, and a living testament to her mother’s love and character.
  • Lintell’s legacy, say family and friends, is defined by her warmth, impact as a teacher, and the daughter she raised.
• Robert Marks’s conviction stands, as his appeal was denied.
• "She will always have to deal with probably this difficulty and this, you know, the sad, tragic event that happened in her life. But hopefully with the family and so forth, she's doing well." — Deborah Roberts [19:36]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the central image:
  • "From the moment you see that video with this little girl running around and she is clutching a pillow, she's barefoot. I was clutching my chest, you know, holding my breath... Something is definitely wrong." — Susan Welsh [02:31]
• Re: the remoteness and brutality of the crime scene:
  • "Absolutely not. No. ... The only people that would come here would be the workers that raised this cane." — Ronnie [07:22]
  • "It was, to me, it was a watery grave and absolutely no disregard for her." — Ronnie [07:50]
• On the little witness’s impact:
  • "She put Robert Marks right in the center of this case. The assistant principal." — Susan Welsh [11:55]
  • "For a three year old child... so clearly articulating what happened to her mom, they just couldn't look the other way." — Susan Welsh [15:20]
  • "They hope that she will... see herself as the real hero in getting justice for her mom." — Susan Welsh [19:09]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:34–02:18] — Opening and haunting case summary
• [02:31–05:16] — How reporters sensitively engaged the family and inner circle
• [05:16–09:44] — Searching the bayous, field discovery, and impact on the local community
• [11:04–16:02] — The toddler’s crucial testimony and the path to solving the case
• [16:53–18:53] — Family legacy, protecting the “barefoot witness,” and community memory
• [19:09–19:59] — Updates on Lintell’s daughter and Robert Marks

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The Aftermath

• Lintell Washington’s story endures as one of family, quiet heroism, and tragic loss.
• Her daughter’s resilience—central to justice being served—shines through, supported and protected by a loving extended family.
• The community remembers Lintell as more than a victim: as a beloved teacher, devoted mother, and inspiration.

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For more deep dives and updates on true crime stories, stream full 20/20 episodes on Disney and Hulu.

Transcript

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[Deborah Roberts]

Hello everybody. I'm Debra Roberts and it's so good to have you with us for our new episode of 2020, the After show, where we take you behind the scenes and show you a little bit of a close up look of our recording. Today we're going to take a different take on a story that I think still lingers for so many of us here. It certainly does for me. It begins with an image that we had in our piece for 2020 that is so hard to a toddler wandering around a Louisiana parking lot clutching a pillow. And she's pointing to her mom's car when she is finally discovered. And inside that car is a purse, keys and a lot of blood. In fact, the little three year old had blood on her feet and the child became what we called for our episode, the Barefoot Witness, because sadly, she was a witness to something that was pretty horrific. We we would later discover as we were putting our piece together that the little girl's mom was a popular schoolteacher. Her name was Lintell Washington, and at that moment she was missing. Police began a search to find her and days later, sadly, she was found dead, dumped in a drainage ditch. It was a heartbreaking story, one that I am still, I think, struggling to sort of piece together in my head how it could have happened. I spent time down in Louisiana in a sugar cane field where all of this played out tragically. And I met actually that little girl later on. This episode isn't just about how authorities solved the murder, though. It's about how the truth can come from even the smallest of voices. And in this case, it did from a toddler. Well, here to talk about this story, which I think we are all still talking about, is my colleague and 2020 coordinating producer, Susan Welsh. Hey, Susan.

[Susan Welsh]

Hey, Deborah.

[Deborah Roberts]

Good to see you.

[Susan Welsh]

Good to see you too.

[Deborah Roberts]

Well, you and I have done this before on the podcast, but it's always great when we get a chance to sort of debrief in person. And you're passionate about these stories that we cover. And this was one that GR passion from the very beginning.

[Susan Welsh]

Oh, it really did. And Particularly because of that video that you're talking about. Because I'm a mom. You're a mom from the moment you see that video with this little girl running around and she is clutching a pillow, she's barefoot. I was clutching my chest, you know, holding my breath, just because you know that there's nobody around. She's there by herself, and something is definitely wrong.

[Deborah Roberts]

Something bad had happened, and we knew that from the very beginning. Well, a kind stranger shows up and eventually calls 911, which is how this all unfolds. But as I said, there was blood in the car, no parent there, and the little girl says something about a Mr. Robbie, and that would be pivotal, but just the idea that she was able to talk about that. Tell me about your initial approach to this story, because on this podcast, we like to give people a sense of how these stories came together. And you've got to contact family members to see if they'll talk about something that was just absolutely horrific and devastating in their lives, that then we have to tread lightly because there's a child involved. Give us a sense of how you approached this story. Once we knew we wanted to cover it.

[Susan Welsh]

Yeah. I think that one of the ways we certainly knew we wanted to talk to the family and friends of Lintell, because so many of them just sort of, you know, rallied around after we found out what happened and wanted to be there for her young daughter and just wanted to be there as family and friends. So we approached them and we really asked for them to share that story with us, to share what they were going through, what the daughter was going through, how she was feeling and how she was coping at this point. Because by the time we did this story, she was nine years old.

[Deborah Roberts]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Susan Welsh]

So so many of them had just rallied around her to try and make sure she would be okay. And we wanted to make sure that we understood who Lintel was as well, to get a good sense of who she was, what kind of mom she was, what kind of teacher she was. And we found that she was so beloved. Everyone really was willing to talk to

[Deborah Roberts]

us and that', Susan, I wanna talk about that. You got a delicate matter with the child here. So how hard was it for you to get the family to cooperate?

[Susan Welsh]

In the very beginning, we found Lintel's best friend, Melissa Mason, and Melissa was intentional about making sure that the story got out and making sure that she and others would be able to represent Lintel because Lintel could no longer speak for herself. And so once we started talking to Melissa, about the. Her best friend Melissa was able to help us find a few more friends and some colleagues, even a student of Lintel's, that said, of course we'll talk to you because we want the world to know who she was. Yeah.

[Deborah Roberts]

And you're great at that, too, Giving. Building that trust. So let's talk about the story. So there's a massive search. This little girl has been found. She's mentioned this name. Police are trying to figure what this means. There's a massive search for Lintel. In the very beginning, in fact, we kind of retraced those steps for our program. We sent boats out to look at the area to give people a better sense of what this was all about.

[Susan Welsh]

This was indeed a massive area. This is the bayou in Louisiana. There's all. All sorts of elements that are there. You know, the muddy waters, the alligators. It's just a large swath of land in Iberville Parish down in Louisiana is where we were. This area was just massive, but it was also one of the places that we wanted you just how massive it was that we. We got on a boat on the waterway, a waterway they called Whiskey Bay, to basically show us, like, this is where. Unfortunately, this is where bodies get dumped. So this is one of the first places we looked. But we were able to sort of capture that by being on the boat and showing all that they were able to do when they were first doing the search.

[Deborah Roberts]

Yeah, and they did talk to us about that. So I went down there and I remember looking at that in those sugarcane fields. And we found the area where Lintel's body would eventually be found. And I got a chance to see this place, and it was clearly off the beaten path. It is not a place that you would ever expect that somebody would have been, you know, found, but she was. And police also made a very sad discovery, which is that she was pregnant. She was five months pregnant. And that was sort of factor into the investigation. Ronnie, a bear took me out there to show me this location, and he talked about how remote it was. Let's take a listen to some of our conversation. Well, this is certainly off the beaten path.

[Ronnie (Local Worker/Guide)]

It is really, as you see, all the cane they got.

[Deborah Roberts]

Right, Right.

[Ronnie (Local Worker/Guide)]

And it's. It's. It's miles and miles of cane.

[Deborah Roberts]

Right.

[Ronnie (Local Worker/Guide)]

And I was. He had figured there's no way anybody found anybody.

[Deborah Roberts]

Would anything have led you back here, just searching?

[Ronnie (Local Worker/Guide)]

Absolutely not. No. We. There's no reason to come back here. The only people that would come here would be the workers that raised this cane.

[Deborah Roberts]

So you got the call and where had they found a body?

[Ronnie (Local Worker/Guide)]

Right up in this area right here. Right. This is gonna dead end right here. The canal runs this way and also makes a left right here.

[Deborah Roberts]

Okay.

[Ronnie (Local Worker/Guide)]

And she was located right up in that area right there.

[Deborah Roberts]

The worker had been checking out the fields and stumbled upon this area.

[Ronnie (Local Worker/Guide)]

Right. She was right here in this area right here. Like I say, you know, at that time. They had some water in this ditch at that time, because it was, to me, it was a watery grave and absolutely no disregard for her. Just dumped it, you know.

[Deborah Roberts]

And there was no question in your mind she had been dumped there?

[Ronnie (Local Worker/Guide)]

Absolutely. She was a transferred dump. Nothing on the scene showed that this was the actual. The area where she would have been shot at.

[Deborah Roberts]

What was that like for this area? There had been this massive search, then they finally find this body. You don't always get to solve these cases. What was that like for you all?

[Ronnie (Local Worker/Guide)]

Well, it's actually a great relief for us, for the family, because I can about imagine, you know, I keep thinking about that poor child, you know, I mean, her mom's gone, you know, and her family, you know, gives them closure, you know, can't never bring Lintel back, but at least they know, you know, they can give her a proper burial.

[Deborah Roberts]

Investigator Susan would find a sandal that would match Lintel's sandals. So they would eventually be able to conclude that that was her body that they found. It was a really horrible scene, and he remembered the muddy conditions and trying to find it out there. And it was sort of perplexing when they talked about if somebody wanted to get rid of a body, this was a place to dump it. And I guess if they hadn't conducted this massive search, you know, she very well, her body could have just like been buried out there for a long time and unrecognizable.

[Susan Welsh]

Yeah, no, that's very true. I mean, because as you pointed out, this was a remote area. So I think what struck everyone is that clearly whoever did this did not want Lintel to be found. You know, I remember her friend Melissa, once again saying, we were so afraid if she was out there because she'd be eaten up by the alligators. It was just like that imagery of what would happen to her out in the elements. So they felt very strongly if they didn't find her soon, you wouldn't find her.

[Deborah Roberts]

Yeah, well, we're going to tell you more about how they found her. And then ultimately, I was able to talk to that little girl who was actually growing up and I'm going to tell you more about that. We're going to sneak in a break and when we come back, we'll talk more about the Barefoot Witness and what she told police and what she told me. So stay with us,

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[Deborah Roberts]

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[Deborah Roberts]

We are back now with Susan Welsh, 2020 Coordinating Producer, who is helping me break down and sharing some of her thoughts about our 20 episode called the Barefoot Witness. It is one that we have not forgotten about here. Around 2020, beloved teacher Lintel Washington was found shot to death after her young daughter was seen wandering along in a parking lot with blood on her feet. Police would eventually find her mother's body sadly in a field. The little girl, though, revealed some clues, repeatedly saying, as I said to Susan, Mr. Robbie. And police, we're trying to piece that together. Who is Mr. Robbie? And let's talk about how that play. I mean, this three year old kid is able to give a little bit of a, a major clue in this investigation.

[Susan Welsh]

Yeah, absolutely. She put Robert Marks right in the center of this case. The assistant principal.

[Deborah Roberts]

Robert Marks, the assistant principal of the school where Lintel worked.

[Susan Welsh]

That's right, because there was no DNA and, and, and there was no weapon. But once they spoke with the daughter, this little girl, they realized, oh, there is someone that we should be looking at. And she kept saying, Mr. Robbie. And eventually they found in talking to family and friends, there was only one person that she would call Mr. Robbie. And that's what led them to the assistant principal, Robin Marks.

[Deborah Roberts]

And it was a little tricky in the beginning because of course, Marks is married, which we talk about in the program. He's having an affair with this teacher. It doesn't mean guilt. However, this teacher was pregnant and suddenly she's killed. Police began to think about connecting some dots here to this crime so that, that kind of quickly took off. He's eventually arrested. You know, he was, he's denied it along the way. He was later found guilty. But I mean, this was really a huge, huge scandal in this, in this area.

[Susan Welsh]

This was because again, you have the teacher of the year, but she's seen as having an affair with the assistant principal. And the other thing that we learned again from talking to family and friends and that was in our piece, is that she, she really didn't know the whole story.

[Deborah Roberts]

She thought he was breaking up with his wife and he was available and would possibly be involved in her life in a big way.

[Susan Welsh]

Right? That's correct. And so she started looking at apartments with him. She, he knew and she knew that the baby she was carrying was his. And so she was looking to start a life and build a life with him, and he was going right along with it. He told her he was getting a divorce. She really thought all of that was true. And she thought, okay, now we get to start our life together. And it just wasn't that at all.

[Deborah Roberts]

Susan, you and I had to look deeply, particularly I think, as women sort of examining this case. And you and I have run into this a lot in the stories that we've covered where there is a woman who is a very smart, sharp, put together woman, as Lintel Woz and her friends touched on this too. You know, it's a woman who you thought might have been able to sort of sniff out a guy who's not really all that he says he is. And you sort of wonder. And we had to delicately talk about how she could have gotten involved in this situation. Her friends were also a little frustrated by that.

[Susan Welsh]

Her friends were very much frustrated by that because they too saw her as, you know, this very, you know, astute woman.

[Deborah Roberts]

Accomplished.

[Susan Welsh]

Yeah, accomplished. And, you know, they just thought she was a great woman in general and deserved love. And she kept looking for that love, but in all the wrong places. According to her friends. They just couldn't understand how is she so unlucky in love. But here she is, you know, at the school with this assistant principal who she thought was very, you know, also very accomplished and thought, okay, we're, we're getting along and that's the kind of person I should be with. And so, you know, she thought that this was something that could really happen

[Deborah Roberts]

and he did create this appearance of a guy who was really together. Well, as I said, he was arrested. He was eventually convicted, sentenced to life in prison without parole. Jurors saw that videotape of the little girl, the same tape that we had seen and it, it, it helped convict Marx too. But it was powerful for them.

[Susan Welsh]

It was extremely powerful. So one, you have the video of her where she's roaming around by herself in the parking lot and that's scary enough for people. But then she was interviewed by an advocacy worker which was also taped and played for that jury. And we spoke with a couple of the jurors and they said to us that, wow, for a three year old child to be so calm and collected, composed, assured of what she was saying and so clearly articulating what happened to her mom, they just couldn't look the other way. They had to look at that and go, she knows what she's talking about. She knows what happened that day. And that's really what helped them determine that Robert Marks was the one.

[Deborah Roberts]

Yeah. And for her to be able to help resolve this case that involved her mom at such a young age. The family let us speak with the barefoot witness, this little girl. Don't go anywhere because I want to talk about that. We're going to take a break here but when we come back we're going to share updates on her family. So don't go anywhere.

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[Deborah Roberts]

See full [e-mail] welcome back to 20 20, the After Show. I am here with Susan Welsh. We are talking about the reporting that we did together on the story of L Washington, a mother, a teacher who was the teacher of the year and was found dead sadly murdered by the man who she thought loved her and was the father of her unborn child. Well, at the heart of this story was her little girl who helped solve this case. And Susan, to be able to convince the family that we would handle it very gently, we would not use the little girl's name. She left an impression on me. How about you?

[Susan Welsh]

She did. She absolutely left an impression, I think, on all of us. Because when we saw her and knowing everything that she had been through and it was just, you know, to see her sort of just being the typical child and living a normal life and not, you know, just wanting to talk to us and wanting to talk about her mom. And I will tell you, her friends wanted to talk to us, but they thought the biggest thing was talk to her daughter. Because if you talk to her daughter, you'll see what kind of person she was. You will see what she poured into that child, how great of a mother she was, and you'll see it when you talk to that daughter.

[Deborah Roberts]

Yeah, and we did.

[Susan Welsh]

We did.

[Deborah Roberts]

Yeah, we really did. She just. About what her memories are of just her family and her mother. What about the family? What stuck with you about the family and Lyntel's, you know, I guess in a way her legacy through her daughter, but also through her family.

[Susan Welsh]

Yeah, and through the family. I mean, I think that, you know, like I said, they. She was, she was loved by all. They loved and cared about her so much that they really just wanted. One of the reasons they talked to us is because they just wanted her to be known as the wonderful person that she was and the legacy that she left, not only with her students, but with her daughter as well. So I. I think the family and the friends who are like family to her really just, you know, feel very strongly that Lintel is a person you would love to be friends with, that you would love to know. And they wanted to get that across. And I think she really has left that legacy for people.

[Deborah Roberts]

Well, they were concerned too, that she would come across as that teacher who had the affair with the assistant principal and sort of a little bit of a sordid story that led to her death, as opposed to this bright shining light who poured so much into her daughter. What have you heard from her and how she is doing after this tragic event in her life?

[Susan Welsh]

The daughter is now living, you know, with a relative. She's thriving in school. She's like your typical 13 year old girl who loves to make TikTok videos and dance around with her friends. So they hope that she will just stay safe and sound and kind of protect her a little bit from all that's out there about her mom until maybe she's a little older to understand all of it. But they also hope that she will see herself as the real hero in getting justice for her mom.

[Deborah Roberts]

Yeah. Which she did. I mean, she will always have to deal with probably this difficulty and this, you know, the sad, tragic event that happened in her life. But hopefully with the family and so forth, she's doing well. And anything new to talk about? Robert Marks.

[Susan Welsh]

Well, we know that Robert Marks, he did appeal shortly after he was convicted. However, that was denied. So he is still serving life in prison.

[Deborah Roberts]

Mm, Exactly. Okay, well, I'm glad to hear that. The little girl is doing really well and the family is doing well. And most important, you know, they're moving forward with their life with some kind of sense of shining a bright light on this woman who had a beautiful life. Yes. Great story, Susan, as always. Okay, let's get ready for our next one.

[Susan Welsh]

Our next one, whatever we're gonna be

[Deborah Roberts]

working on together, I know it's gonna be a good one if it's with you. All right, Susan Walsh, good to have you. And we will not forget, as I said, this little child who's growing up without her mom. And we will stay in touch. And if there's anything new, we will make sure you all know about it. For now, I'm Deborah Roberts. Thank you so much for joining us on 2020. You can stream episodes like the Barefoot Witness and other 2020 full episodes on Disney and Hulu. Thanks for being with us. Take care, everybody.

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