Survivor Finalist Joe Hunter’s Fight for Justice

Summary

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Podcast Summary: 48 Hours – Survivor Finalist Joe Hunter’s Fight for Justice

Host: CBS News / Natalie Morales
Date: May 29, 2026
Episode Theme:
This episode delves into “Survivor” finalist Joe Hunter’s pursuit of justice for his late sister, Joanna Hunter, whose tragic death was officially ruled a suicide—despite years of advocacy by Joe and his family, who believe she suffered a fatal act of domestic violence at the hands of her husband. The episode navigates the emotional story, key evidence, Joe’s inspirational campaign, and the systemic changes that emerged from the investigation.

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Main Themes and Purpose

• Pursuing Justice After Tragedy: The episode centers on Joe Hunter’s enduring fight to spotlight the suspicious circumstances surrounding his sister Joanna’s death and advocates for systemic changes in how possible domestic violence-related deaths are investigated.
• Survivor as a Platform for Advocacy: Joe’s journey as a “Survivor” finalist gave him a powerful stage to share Joanna’s story and amplify domestic violence awareness.
• Impact and Reform: The episode highlights the introduction of “Joanna’s Law” (SB989) in California, mandating enhanced investigative protocols in cases of domestic violence-related deaths, as well as further cultural and legal impact.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Joe Hunter’s Survivor Experience and Motivation

[01:18 – 04:47]

• Joe describes participating in “Survivor” as “something spectacular” his counselor encouraged, connecting it to his grief and desire to honor Joanna.
• Joe:

  "It really did save my life...there’s no such thing as getting third. And if you think that's losing, you haven't lived my life." ([01:18])

• Joe reminisces on his close, protective relationship with his older sister, Joanna, and the pain of not being able to shield her from abuse.

2. Joanna’s Relationship and Signs of Abuse

[06:19 – 08:54]

• Joanna began her relationship with Mark Lewis as a teenager; the relationship became controlling and abusive, with religion weaponized for control.
• Physical evidence of abuse—like her constantly wearing turtlenecks and long dresses even during summer—alarmed Joe and his family.
• Joe:

  "It felt like it was a normal occurrence...this is what I did this time to deserve this. This is what happened this time. I'll get better. It'll stop once I get better." ([07:31])

• Joanna blamed herself for the abuse, a common sign of victim psychology.

3. Fears, Restraining Orders, and Growing Isolation

[08:55 – 09:48]

• Despite restraining orders and family pleas, Joanna remained tied to Mark due to emotional and psychological manipulation.
• Joe:

  "These restraining orders aren’t working. This piece of paper isn’t working." ([09:13])

4. Death and Immediate Aftermath

[10:48 – 15:15]

• In spring 2011, Joanna was planning to permanently leave Mark.
• The last contact was when Joanna said she had to return to Mark's house to retrieve some things—she was never seen alive again.
• Joe recounts hearing the news from his fire chief:

  "Half of me died right there...if I could just hear her voice. It's like one word. Just one word. I just... I love you, you know?" ([12:22])

5. The Questionable Death Investigation

[14:33 – 18:20]

• Solano County Sheriff's Office quickly ruled Joanna’s death a suicide—despite her history of abuse.
• The family never felt the “suicide” ruling made sense and pushed for a deeper investigation.
• Suicide note contents were deeply suspicious:

  "All it said... was make sure that you take care of the dogs." ([15:28])

• Officers processed the scene in less than 30 minutes, disregarding the history of domestic violence and handling the case with what the family and producers call a “rush to judgment”.

6. Patterned Abuse and a Chilling New Crime

[18:20 – 20:38]

• After Joanna’s death, Mark Lewis began a new relationship with fellow church member Sarah Nottingham, which quickly became abusive.
• When Sarah tried to break up, Mark hired people to firebomb her parents' home. He was convicted (arson, stalking), serving five years in prison—further casting suspicion on his violent tendencies.

7. Case Reopened and New Evidence

[20:38 – 22:13]

• The reopening of Joanna’s case brings forensic analysis by Dr. Bill Smock, who finds evidence (nautical rope by Joanna’s feet) suggesting homicide and staged suicide.
• Dr. Smock’s analysis gives Joe and his mother new hope:

  "It was the first piece in so many years... we finally got something moving in the right direction." ([21:02])

• However, a third-party review again concluded suicide, stalling further legal action.

8. Advocacy and Joanna’s Law

[22:13 – 24:13]

• National nonprofit Alliance for HOPE International declares Joanna’s case has all the “red flags” of a staged suicide.
• Noted red flags:
  • Victim dies unexpectedly.
  • One partner wants to end relationship.
  • Victim in their own home.
  • Partner last seen with victim.
• Alliance for HOPE and Hunter family draft and pass Joanna’s Law (SB989) in California:
  • Law mandates that deaths with domestic violence history must be treated as suspicious and protocols be strengthened.
  • Expands family rights to information and access during investigations.
• Joe on Joanna’s Law:

  "The goal is... that Joanna's Law will continue to improve those protocols and make sure that other families don't have the same issue. And this is just the start." ([22:59])

9. Impact—National and Personal

[24:13 – 26:20]

• The law is already impacting other cases, allowing evidence of past abuse to be admitted in court, leading to greater justice.
• Attempts to contact Mark Lewis for his input are met with silence—he refuses to answer any questions, now remarried to another congregation member.

10. Recognition and Ongoing Legacy

[25:39 – 26:41]

• Joe and his mother Patricia received a Gracie Award for their persistent advocacy, celebrated by “48 Hours” correspondents.
• The emotional honoring underscores seeing media make a real difference:

  "It was an incredibly emotional night, and I think it meant the world to Patricia and Joe and they couldn't believe it." – Michelle Finucci ([26:11])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Joe Hunter, on Survivor:
  "If you think that's losing, you haven't lived my life." ([01:18])
• Joe Hunter, on Joanna’s abuse:
  "Every single day I saw her—‘I hate this guy. Leave this guy. Please stop...’" ([08:11])
• On restraining orders:
  "These restraining orders aren’t working. This piece of paper isn’t working." ([09:13])
• Immediate reaction to death ruling:
  "We immediately pushed back, show me this. Show me that." ([16:07])
• On new forensic evidence:
  "Finally we had hard evidence and we thought, finally we win." ([21:02])
• On “Joanna’s Law”:
  "It's saying, hey, we need to enhance protocols… make sure that other families don't have the same issue." ([22:59])
• Michelle Finucci, on award:
  "It was an incredibly emotional night, and I think it meant the world to Patricia and Joe..." ([26:11])

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Key Timestamps

• [01:18] – Joe on the meaning and purpose of Survivor
• [06:37] – First signs of abuse in Joanna’s relationship
• [09:13] – System failure: restraining orders, isolation, and family helplessness
• [12:22] – Joe recounts the day Joanna died
• [15:28] – The questionable suicide note
• [18:20] – Mark Lewis' further crimes and impact on reopening the investigation
• [20:38] – Dr. Smock’s forensic findings
• [22:59] – Joe explains Joanna’s Law and its aims
• [26:11] – Gracie Award recognition and moving personal reflections

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Conclusion

The episode powerfully illustrates the long, arduous journey from grief, through activism, to societal reform. Joe Hunter’s campaign is both an intensely personal quest for truth and a landmark in how cases of possible domestic violence are investigated. The legacy is tangible: laws changed, media recognition, and, most importantly, hope for families facing similar tragedies. As Natalie Morales concludes, the fight for justice continues—but Joanna’s memory, and the reforms her case inspired, endure as lasting victories.

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Transcript

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[Joe Hunter]

You know, honestly, I can't tell Jeff this enough and Survivor in general that it really did save my life and just going through the trauma of different things with my sister and the real reason why I came on Survivor and they were kind enough to let me play this wonderful game. I'm indebted to them. And so there's no such thing as getting third. And if you think that's losing, you haven't lived my life.

[Interviewer]

Well.

[Natalie Morales]

That is Survivor contestant Joe Hunter the morning after the season 50 finale of Survivor talking to CBS Morning's Gayle King and he's talking about his late sister Joanna. Joe was a two time finalist on Survivor and as we said in season 50 he talked about coming in third but he said it really was a win for him in the long run because he brought so much attention to his sister and her death. In 2011, 36 year old Joanna was found dead in her Vacaville, California home hanging inside a bedroom closet by a bathrobe sash. Now Joanna's death was ruled a suicide, but Joe and his mother Patricia believe that her husband, who was a church pastor who Mark Lewis killed her after a history of domestic violence. Mark Lewis has not been charged with any crime relating to the death of Joanna. I'm CBS News correspondent Natalie Morales, and this is case by case. I interviewed Joe Hunter for 48 Hours last year for our episode called Joe Hunter's Mission. Well, joining me today is producer Michelle Finucci, who was with me every step of the way. Michelle, you really were the one who got us all started on this journey with Joe when you first met him. I, I remember you texting me and saying how incredible this story is.

[Michelle Finucci]

That meeting with Joe was probably one of the most memorable meetings I've ever had at 48 hours. And he told me about his sister's case and the circumstances surrounding it, which sounded extremely suspicious. And his heart and his compassion for his sister really touched me. And I knew it was something we had to look into further.

[Natalie Morales]

And Joe's mission throughout has always been to be Joanna's voice. And competing on Survivor was an avenue. It was a way because he knew that it was something that he and Joanna had talked about. They dreamed of competing with each other. And of course, when she died, there was no longer the opportunity to do that, but he knew he had to do something. And what better way to tell her story than on a competition show that he and his sister had absolutely loved and watched together. I want to play a little bit about some of Joe's decision to take part in that.

[Joe Hunter]

You know, honestly, the vulnerable part for me is I had been going through some really tough times in the moment and recently, and I was going through, you know, struggling with depression. I was struggling with the sadness of this with Joanna and really giving up. No one was listening to us. No one was believing this. And my counselor said to do something really spectacular would be to help you manage the situation with Joanna is do something for you and her. And I thought back and I said she had always mentioned that she actually was a super fan. And I thought, all right, I'll give it a shot.

[Natalie Morales]

You were the little brother. What was the age difference and what do you remember about her as big sis?

[Joe Hunter]

Yeah, so there was a four year gap between us. And, you know, anyone that knows, like, with a sibling, specifically the older sister, I always tried to be in charge, but she wouldn't let that happen. And she just took care of me. She protected me a lot, and we were the perfect team.

[Interviewer]

You said she was very protective. Was she protective of, you know, maybe not wanting to tell a lot about life as well?

[Joe Hunter]

Yeah, I think that she, you know, learned Pretty quickly that how fiercely protective I was of her. So she also did a great job of probably shielding me from a lot of things that were hurting her. But she also couldn't lie to me because I knew her so well on a personal level, but also just on a level of deeper connection that I always knew when something was wrong.

[Natalie Morales]

Joe is a Sacramento fire captain. He is a protector by nature. But it's interesting because Joanna was the older sister and she was always the one he said, who was protecting him. But, you know, in this case with Joanna, I think his greatest regret is that he felt he couldn't do more to protect her, to help keep her safe, especially after. When she met Mark Lewis, I believe. Was she 16?

[Michelle Finucci]

Around that age? Yeah, she was. She was pretty young.

[Natalie Morales]

But I mean, from the very beginning, it was a very intense relationship. And Jo and Patricia said they both feared Joanna was losing herself to Mark. Here's Joe talking about how that relationship started out.

[Joe Hunter]

I do know that was her first partner, both physically and emotionally. And she fell in love and she believed him. She believed in the things that he was saying. And there was an intimate connection. There was also a connection. Then religion was abused and used as a weapon against her. And all of those things led to him really being able to cocoon her and him in an isolated environment and protect her from those people that really had her best interests at heart. So that made it very difficult for Joanna because that was her first real relationship. And me being four years younger, I couldn't advise her on those things as I hadn't myself experienced any relationship. So it was very difficult to witness as it developed.

[Interviewer]

And as far as evidence of abuse, I mean, you saw it multiple times.

[Joe Hunter]

You know, you want to say the word hundreds, but dozen, I mean, over the years of, you know, look at that time back in the 90s, a turtleneck in the summer is not popular, but seeing your sister wearing a turtleneck and a long length dress in the middle of the summer, that was her regular outfit. And it felt like it was a normal occurrence of, this is what I did this time to deserve this. This is what happened this time. I'll get better. It'll stop once I get better.

[Interviewer]

So she blamed herself. Once I get better.

[Joe Hunter]

And to have that type of feeling come out of my person is so upsetting because you just want to scream from a mountain at him like, it's not you. I had been screaming at her for so long, two years straight. Every single day, every single day I saw her, I would, I hate this guy. Leave this guy. Please stop. My parents are doing the same thing. But I saw her start to back away, isolate in her room, run away, stay away for hours past curfew. I thought, I'm gonna lose her for good.

[Interviewer]

That's more dangerous.

[Joe Hunter]

It's more dangerous. I'm just gonna listen. I won't act.

[Interviewer]

You said she told you a lot of the deepest, darkest secrets, some of which you haven't even told your own mother these days. Or does she know everything at this point?

[Joe Hunter]

No, she doesn't know everything. There's some things that she shared with me that were really hard to hear, really hard to hear that I didn't know what else to do because I was also seeing what it was doing to my dad, seeing what it was doing to my mom, seeing what it did to my friends and my sister. So there was a lot of. What do you say? These restraining orders aren't working. This piece of paper isn't working.

[Interviewer]

So you were documenting this and reporting this. I mean, she was getting restraining orders.

[Joe Hunter]

She was getting restraining orders.

[Interviewer]

Do you think she was ever suicidal?

[Joe Hunter]

You know, I think that when you go through that, I'm sure she got in many dark places, but in no way, shape, or form was she capable of that mindset. Because I know my sister deep down just wanted to leave. She had never said that. She never mentioned being suicidal. I never saw anything that she wrote about saying that or even implying that. She just knew near the end that she needed to get away from him. But she never wanted to leave me or my family.

[Natalie Morales]

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call 1-800-799-SAFE or visit thehotline.org.

[Interviewer]

So she was planning to leave in the end?

[Joe Hunter]

Correct.

[Natalie Morales]

When? When was that?

[Joe Hunter]

So, you know, I would say. Maybe about a couple months before she passed. My mom called me and said, joanna's coming home. I said, oh, really? Yeah, she's done. And I said, she's really, really done this time. She's really done. And we were all just so happy. And she seemed so confident this time. And it was a different Joanna. And I thought, man, like, we got her back. We win. Like, we win. I could see it in her. She was done. And he kept calling my parents house again. We had changed numbers, and he found a way to get through then. And at this time, she had a phone. So he kept calling and calling and calling. And my mom begged her not to go back. And she said she just had to go back to get one or two more things. That's all she had to do. This is something I have to face. And. We never saw her again.

[Interviewer]

That was the last time you saw her alive, Correct. And tell me about. And I know how painful it is to go back to the moment where you and your mother get the news, right? Who told you? How did you hear?

[Joe Hunter]

I was down near the Modesto area. I was doing some training for the fire department. And then at. Right about 8:48 in the morning, I see my fire chief at the time and my captain at the time in their formal uniform, and he started crying. He said, Your sister's gone. I dropped to my knee. And I said, you take me to him right now. There wasn't a doubt in my mind. I didn't hear anything else, but you take me to him. And that moment stands out in my mind because. Half of me died right there. Yeah. And we fought the night before about him. We had had a phone call that didn't go well. And we always say we love each other, But I didn't. And there's not a day that goes by that if I could just hear her voice. It's like one word. Just one word. I just. I love you, you know?

[Natalie Morales]

He called Joanna his best friend. I think what was. You know, it was really the. The day after that, he and Patricia were told.

[Michelle Finucci]

So he had never heard from law enforcement until he was asked to identify the body.

[Natalie Morales]

And then, of course, he realizes that her death is ruled a suicide by the Solano County Sheriff's office. I want to play for you what Joe told us about getting that information.

[Joe Hunter]

It's the most helpless feeling on the planet that on top of losing my sister, knowing that she suffered. The way this story ends is then you tell us that she took her own life. It's absolutely horrible.

[Interviewer]

And as you said, the sheriff's department said there was this suicide note.

[Joe Hunter]

Mm.

[Interviewer]

Tell me about. You said it was found on top of a suitcase, correct? From what you know, about what your sister was planning to do.

[Joe Hunter]

You know, I finally was able to read the note a while after her passing. And I was expecting, unfortunately, to hear in the letter, maybe a very lengthy reason in his handwriting. I expected to see some form of foul play in the letter. And it was her handwriting and all it said, and nothing more, nothing less, was make sure that you take care of the dogs.

[Interviewer]

Did you ever come to terms with that, or did you fight back, you know, with what the police had come up with? As far as the answer, you know,

[Joe Hunter]

immediately when I heard that on the phone from the. One of the detectives at the time, I thought, it's not a suicide.

What do you.

What do you mean? And I immediately thought I was in a movie. I thought, this isn't happening. You're not. You're not. You're not doing this to us. What are you saying? It's a suicide. And we immediately pushed back, show me this. Show me that.

[Michelle Finucci]

So the Hunter family knew in their bones that this didn't ring true.

[Natalie Morales]

It was well documented that history of domestic violence, and she had actually gone to the hospital at one point with a sprained neck. Now, Mark was convicted on a domestic violence charge, and according to court documents, and he was sentenced to 36 months in the Solano County Jail. Joanna did, though, return to the relationship. But what's interesting, Michelle, is when this responding officer from the Solano County Sheriff's Department arrives there on scene, he sort of processes it all within 30 minutes. And so the Hunters are saying this was all sort of a rush to judgment.

[Michelle Finucci]

And let's just remember that Joe and Patricia and the family were terrified. So when the news came, this was all their absolute worst nightmare.

[Natalie Morales]

So during the episode, we were able to really dig into the history of domestic violence here. And Michelle, you know, we asked the Solano county sheriffs if that history was even taken into account at the time in 2011 when they arrived at that scene. Now, they said it wasn't. So then I was able to press the Solano County Sheriff's public information officer, Captain Jackson Harris of the Sheriff's Department. Now, he was not involved in this case back in 2011. Harris told us the reason they continue to say this was suicide. And that's all they see there is because they didn't see any evidence of a struggle. There was no evidence that another person was there to kill her. The external autopsy also said that it was a suicide.

[Michelle Finucci]

But then a couple years after Joanna's death, Mark is arrested. But it has nothing to do with Joanna's case. A woman came forward named Sarah Nottingham, Right.

[Natalie Morales]

And Sarah used to be a member of the church, the congregation. She and Mark were friends at first, but then they started dating after Joanna's death. And she told us during the course of that relationship that he became more and more controlling, sometimes became even a little bit physically rough with her. And she tried to break things off with him after she said she discovered that he was texting with an underage girl. So that's when she said, enough is enough. I'm leaving. And when she tried to break up with him, that's when we Hear of this incident in 2014 where police determined that Mark had hired three people to throw a Molotov cocktail in the overnight hours into her parents home. I mean, she's in the house with her errands and her two kids. Mark pleaded no contest to arson and stalking charges. However, he was sentenced to eight years in prison. He did serve five years. Sarah's story, Michelle, really is what brought renewed attention to Joanna's story and to her case. And it got Joe Hunter and his mother's attention. And once again, they went to the sheriff's department and they begged them to look at this evidence again. So to their credit, the Solano County Sheriff's department did reopen the investigation and they took a look at some of the evidence at the time. They re interviewed some of the witnesses, witnesses at the time. And they found some inconsistencies in the storytelling. And more time goes by with more review. But they also hired some experts, including Dr. Bill Smock, who is a police surgeon and he's also a trained expert in strangulation. And what was really interesting, Michelle, is Dr. Smock saw something in the photo evidence taken of Joanna as her body was hanging in the closet.

[Michelle Finucci]

He discovered nautical rope by her feet, which is what he believes was the weapon.

[Natalie Morales]

So again, Dr. Smock believes somebody applied the nautical rope to her neck and killed her. And then when she was dead, put the bathrobe sash around her neck and staged her death to look like a suicide. Here's Joseph.

[Joe Hunter]

I still haven't been able to read through all of it, but it was the first piece in so many years for my mom and I that we finally got something moving in the right direction. Finally it wasn't just the emotional family. Finally it wasn't just the sporadic mother or son who were being irrational. Finally we had hard evidence and we thought, finally we win. We thought it was over.

[Interviewer]

And it wasn't because they hired another.

[Joe Hunter]

They then get a third party that then deems, no, this is a suicide and the case is closed.

[Natalie Morales]

But that's not to say it was the end of the story, because Joanna's story is so powerful and Joe and Patricia Hunter really got some important people to help in their efforts.

[Michelle Finucci]

Yeah, there's an incredible organization called alliance for Hope International who took a look at the case and believed so strongly that there was foul play involved.

[Natalie Morales]

And they have what they call red flags in cases when they look at them.

[Michelle Finucci]

It had all the hallmarks of a staged suicide.

[Natalie Morales]

One of the biggest red flags, of course, is if there is a history of domestic violence. You want to read just like two or three, Michelle?

[Michelle Finucci]

Yeah. The victim dies unexpectedly. One partner wants to end the relationship. Victim is found in their home or place of residence. The partner is the last person to see the victim alive.

[Natalie Morales]

And there's a whole list of the 10. We'll make sure that we put that up so that people can see them and understand it. But it was really the alliance for Hope who took on Joe and Patricia Hunter's case, and they had actually recommended Dr. Smock to the sheriff's department. And they helped then push forward a new law here in the state of California, which they do hope to take national.

[Joe Hunter]

And we were able to collaborate to make Joanna's law, which is SB989, and the whole point behind that law is now prevention. It's saying, hey, we need to enhance protocols when it's surrounding death of a person, when they have a history of domestic violence, and that they must treat that scene like a homicide. So it increases the diligency that the police officers and first responders have to do on that scene. The goal is that this travels throughout the country and that people adopt the same thing for prevention and that Joanna's Law will continue to improve those protocols and make sure that other families don't have the same issue. But it also gives them a voice. It gives them rights to access to things. It gives them the ability to say, hey, even though my person is married to this person, as the family, we have certain rights and we have certain access to certain information that's not done right now. And so many families are probably struggling with what we did. And this is just the start.

[Natalie Morales]

And such an important law, which we're already seeing, have a tremendous impact in even some of the cases that we're covering here at 48 hours.

[Michelle Finucci]

Yes, absolutely. I've come across another case that has used Joanna's Law to help bring justice to the victim.

[Natalie Morales]

And I was just working on another 48 hour story this week, and the assistant prosecutor told me that Joanna's Law allowed her to present a previous case of domestic violence to be presented to the judge. And the judge allowed that as part of the evidence into the case when it was presented at trial, resulting in a guilty verdict. And just back to Mark Lewis real quick.

[Michelle Finucci]

We tried to reach out to Mark Lewis a few times, and we were able to find where he lives in Arizona.

[Natalie Morales]

Yeah, we went to his house to try to get his side of the

[Michelle Finucci]

story, and that's when Natalie was able to question him.

[Natalie Morales]

And, Michelle, you were there, right by my side. We really tried to ask him just point blank if he had anything to do with Joanna's death. And he refused to answer our question. He ran right back into the house and closed the door on us. Mark Lewis is now once again remarried. He and he's married to somebody who once was in his congregation as well. You know, we may never know the true circumstances surrounding Joanna's death, but we

[Michelle Finucci]

know the Hunter family is never gonna take their eyes off the ball here. And they will fight till the end to make sure Joanna gets the justice that they believe she deserves.

[Interviewer]

That's right.

[Natalie Morales]

But I want to bring it back to just last week. We were able to celebrate what was a big win. Maybe not the Surviv finale with Joe and his mother Patricia, but we were able to celebrate with them at the Gracie's award, which is given by the alliance for Women in Media. It's a really significant achievement because it's women supporting women. And I mean, I don't know about you, but I had goosebumps the whole night seeing Patricia and Joe being honored along with everybody else in that room.

[Michelle Finucci]

Yeah, same, same with me. It was an incredibly emotional night and I think it was meant the world to Patricia and Joe and they couldn't believe it.

[Natalie Morales]

He got touched when they played the clip of our episode of 48 Hours that was given this award. And at one point, you even recorded some beautiful video.

[Michelle Finucci]

That was the sweetest moment. And when you look at it, Joe's winking at you and you're smiling and again, chills all around.

[Natalie Morales]

Well, Michelle Finucci, you are one of the great ones and I so appreciate, appreciate that we got to really work on such a labor of love in telling Joe Hunter's mission and Joanna's story.

[Michelle Finucci]

Thank you not I want to thank

[Natalie Morales]

you all for joining me today and thanks to you for listening or watching. Be sure to rate and review case by case wherever you get your podcasts.

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