Killer Thriller: ADAM - The Abduction of Adam Walsh with JoBeth Williams

Summary

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Killer Thriller: "ADAM – The Abduction of Adam Walsh" with JoBeth Williams

Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present – January 19, 2026 | Host: Elisa Donovan with guest JoBeth Williams

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the heartbreaking real-life case of Adam Walsh, a young boy abducted and murdered in 1981—a tragedy that led his parents, John and Reve Walsh, to become crusaders for missing and exploited children and the creation of landmark programs such as "America’s Most Wanted." Host Elisa Donovan and producer Chrissy reflect on the cultural impact of the case and the powerful 1983 TV movie Adam, with special guest JoBeth Williams, who portrayed Reve Walsh. Williams shares poignant details about making the film, connecting with the real-life family, and the enduring legacy of Adam’s story in media and public policy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Adam Walsh Case and its Impact

• Cultural memory and the horror of loss
  • Elisa and Chrissy break down the facts of the case, describing the everyday circumstances of Adam’s abduction from a mall, the trauma for parents, and the challenges of law enforcement at the time.
  • "As a parent, as a mother, that's like your absolute worst nightmare." – Elisa Donovan [02:51]
  • They discuss the extraordinary aftermath, including the Walshes' transformation of grief into action: co-founding the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and advocating for critical policy reforms in how authorities handle missing children cases. [04:34]
• Impact on media and awareness
  • Coverage of how the case "changed how everyone looked at not only that case, but going forward," birthing child-centric public awareness tactics like photos on milk cartons.
  • "And they used the media to tell their story now...this was kind of like the case that kind of, like, used media to help find and solve these crimes for the first time." – Chrissy [06:08]

The Making of the Movie "Adam" and JoBeth’s Experience

• Portraying Real Tragedy

  • Williams shares the emotional gravity of playing Reve Walsh, describing it as “a sort of heavy cloak to wear” and noting the presence of the real Walsh family on set as both a gift and a daunting responsibility. [09:57]
  • "You don't know what to say to people who've been through that...I just hope that I can bring an emotional life that you will feel is truthful." – JoBeth Williams [11:40]

• Preparation and Emotional Truth

  • JoBeth recounts not being a mother yet at the time but always envisioning herself as one, which made her relate deeply to the pain. [12:09]
  • She describes the challenge of filming the movie’s most devastating moments, especially the scene where John Walsh learns Adam’s body is found: "Daniel (who played John) went crazy. You know, it's one of those things when you're an actor – at the end of the day you go, why am I putting myself through this?" [14:17]

• Unique Ending and National Impact

  • Unprecedented for a TV film, “Adam” closed by showing real pictures of missing children, narrated by John Walsh, which led to actual cases being solved. [15:38]
  • "I don't think any of us, when we were doing it, realized the impact that it would have and that that sort of opened up our nation in a way." – JoBeth Williams [16:57]

The Power of Purpose: The Walsh Family's Enduring Legacy

• Turning Grief into Mission

  • Both host and guest reflect on using pain for purpose, praising John's transformation of personal tragedy into lifesaving advocacy. [17:52 – 19:13]
  • They discuss the Walshes’ marriage surviving staggering loss and their ongoing activism.

• Systemic Change

  • The conversation highlights the “Code Adam” protocols in stores, originated due to this case, and the idea that one TV movie can move public policy nationwide. [21:29–22:45]

JoBeth Williams' Reflections and Career

• Career-long Theme of Maternal Roles

  • Williams considers her recurring role as a mother experiencing loss, noting Poltergeist, Adam, and her recent project Not Without Hope as examples. [24:16–25:10]
  • "I have had many...now adult people say, I wanted you to be my mommy because you went to hell and back to get your child." – JoBeth Williams [24:41]

• Her Latest Work

  • JoBeth details her new film Not Without Hope, another emotionally intense true story of a parent's anguish, noting how parenthood has deepened her performance. [25:10–27:34]

The Aftermath and Healing

• Did the Movie Help the Walshes?
  • "My instinct says yes, that they found sort of a strengthening of a direction and a purpose, particularly after people saw it. And there was this huge response." – JoBeth Williams [30:23]
  • Both acknowledge the project may have brought some healing, though never full closure.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the unique challenge of playing real people in pain:
  "It was such a gift, in a way, but also a sort of heavy cloak to wear, because we were playing real people...who had been through this horrific tragedy."
  – JoBeth Williams [09:57]

• On interacting with the Walshes:
  "You don't know what to say to people who’ve been through that...I just hope that I can bring an emotional life that you will feel is truthful."
  – JoBeth Williams [11:40]

• On emotional preparation for tough scenes:
  "Daniel and I both did our own personal emotional preparation, you know, to be available for what might happen. And I remember that Daniel went crazy. He basically went crazy."
  – JoBeth Williams [14:17]

• On the real-world impact of ‘Adam’:
  "It's extraordinary that, you know, that one movie on television can have that kind of impact. Kind of makes you wonder why we don't use it better."
  – JoBeth Williams [22:45]

• On the enduring legacy of John Walsh:
  "Literally the face of saving children...what he did with this tragedy."
  – Elisa Donovan [06:47]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Background on Adam Walsh case & cultural impact: 00:46–07:57
• Introduction to guest JoBeth Williams: 09:01
• Portraying real-life trauma and working with the Walshes: 09:33–11:57
• Emotional scenes and acting process: 12:03–15:38
• Discussion on the movie’s unprecedented ending (missing children photos): 15:38–17:50
• The healing power of purpose after tragedy: 17:52–22:45
• The “Code Adam” policy and media’s impact: 21:29–23:15
• Reflections on maternal roles in JoBeth’s career: 24:16–25:10
• JoBeth on her new film Not Without Hope: 25:10–27:41
• Sequel to Adam and continuing the story: 27:41–28:38
• Last thoughts on the project’s meaning: 29:09–30:23

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Closing Thoughts

With compassion and thoughtful insight, Elisa Donovan and JoBeth Williams explore the lasting footprint left by the Adam Walsh case—on American awareness of missing children, criminal procedure, and the potential of television to effect social change. Williams’ reflections reveal the emotional cost and responsibility of portraying real-life tragedy and underscore how collective action and storytelling turn personal suffering into nationwide protection for children. For listeners, the episode stands as both a tribute and a call to remember the transformative power of purpose.

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Transcript

[Elisa Donovan]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

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[Elisa Donovan]

Sure thing.

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[Jo Beth Williams]

Amy Robach and T.J. holmes present killer.

[Cheryl McCollum]

Thriller with your host, Alisa Donovan.

[Elisa Donovan]

Hey, everyone, Elisa Donovan here back with a new episode of Killer Thriller. Today on Killer Thriller, we are talking about the case of Adam Walsh, which is the story of a young boy who was kidnapped from a shopping mall and brutally murdered. And his father, John Walsh went on to become the face of America's most wanted. And he and his wife Reve co founded the national center for Missing and Exploited Children. It is a truly extraordinary story and my guest today is Jo Beth Williams, who plays Reve Walsh in the TV movie Adam. And we, I just first, before we even get into that, we just did the interview and I really need to break it down with my producer Chrissy. Let's talk about. I had no idea that we were going to learn that we spent so much time with them that they were on the set.

[Chrissy]

This is like our first guest that really was being coached on what the real feelings of these real people were in real time. And that to me, just blows my mind.

[Elisa Donovan]

It completely blew my mind as well. And she is such a, I mean, she is a, is a queen. First of all, let's just say that outright, Jo Beth Williams is just one of the greats of all time and what a lovely person. I truly feel like it was a gift that I got to speak with this woman and she just, the nuance and the care, like, she just was living it in real time. And I just, I can't, I can't get over it.

[Chrissy]

I mean, let's like break it down, right? So like, for, for people who don't really know, like, I mean, nowadays people don't really know what malls are but really exist.

[Elisa Donovan]

That. Fair. Fair.

[Chrissy]

But like, like, tell me, like, so.

[Elisa Donovan]

Like the mall situation, to me, one of the things as, as a mother, the thing I think about so much is that this mother just brought her, her child to the store. A mall is a grouping of stores in an indoor area. And so, so she brought her son with her to go shopping for this lamp and says, yes, you can stay over Here, watching these video games for a few minutes while I go and handle this thing. And with within less than five minutes, her son was gone. And as a parent, as a mother, that's like your absolute worst nightmare. Like, she must. The guilt this woman must have felt on top of the grief on all of it, like, I just. It is. It is absolutely unimaginable. So they. And it took weeks for them to locate his body. And it's just. It's an absolutely despicable crime. The child was beheaded and they found his head, and that is how they identified him. It's. And then the case was wrought with all of this misinformation and botched things and rules that existed at the time about whether or not the FBI can be involved and at what point. And if you go across state lines, like, all of this sort of just red tape, which is one of the things that John Walsh and Reve dove into and made actual, real change to policy afterwards.

[Chrissy]

And now knowing that, like, John Walsh was there so much, when you think about the film and you think about the crime, you're thinking now, like, oh, okay, so the next town over couldn't help them because they had their own problems. Or like, they really did sleep in a police station to be able to. To get as much information as they could.

[Elisa Donovan]

Yeah. And to keep pressing them, right. To be like, this, this is a problem. He's gone.

[Tide Commercial Voice]

I.

[Elisa Donovan]

It's just. It's. It's really. This is like, this movie is. Is so powerful.

[Chrissy]

But they became two people who couldn't walk down a street without someone being like, I too, have this problem, and I too, don't know how to do it. And it made John want to solve this problem, and they turned tragedy into something that he used television to tell his story.

[Elisa Donovan]

Yes. And I love that we talk about that, too. That it really is using that platform for good. I mean, it truly kind of changed how everyone looked at not only that case case, but going forward, how. I mean, that also birthed the children on milk cartons and all of those things that as a child of the 80s, I distinctly remember. And I remember being afraid that looking at the first. Looking at the bot, you know, the milk cartons and being like, oh, why is this person on a. You know, like, why is there a picture there? Why is this? And then when you understood why, it was terrifying.

[Chrissy]

Yeah. And they use the media to tell their story now. Like, and nowadays you. Something happens, there's a crime, it's on television within, like, two seconds.

[Elisa Donovan]

Right.

[Chrissy]

And before this was kind of like the case that kind of, like, used media to help find and solve these crimes for, like, really the first time. And using news and press conferences and all these kinds of things to activate, like, a citizen search, if you will, I guess, is the best way to kind of put it right. So I think that, like, all of that in this story and then because they knew that power, that's how he became the.

[Elisa Donovan]

Literally the face of saving children. He really is extraordinary. What he did with this tragedy and.

[Chrissy]

Becoming the face of America's Most Wanted is probably birthed out of seeing how good just putting as much out there into the world could be, could help solve more cases.

[Elisa Donovan]

Yes. And that. That real deep personal passion that he has for those circumstances is what compelled the show. You know, he wasn't just the host of this show. He had a deep, deep goal in mind every second. It's. It's really incredible. So I'm. I'm. I'm really excited for people to listen today. Okay, so here is my interview with Jobeth Williams, star of the TV movie Adam.

[Cheryl McCollum]

I'm Cheryl McCollum, host of the podcast Zone 7. Zone 7 ain't a place. It's a way of life. Now, this ain't just any old podcast, honey. We're going to be talking to family members of victims, detectives, prosecutors, and some nationally recognized experts that I have called on over the years to help me work these difficult cases. I've worked hundreds of cold cases you've heard of and thousands you haven't. We started this podcast to teach the importance of teamwork in solving these crazy crimes. Come join us in learning from detectives, prosecutors, authors, canine handlers, forensic experts, and most importantly, victims, family members. Come be a part of my Zone 7 while building yours. Listen to Zone 7 with Cheryl McCollum on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Elisa Donovan]

Welcome, Jo Beth.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Thank you.

[Elisa Donovan]

I have to say, I am just truly honored to be speaking with you because I have been a huge fan of yours for so very many years. And when I started doing this podcast, I wasn't really thinking about how, oh, my gosh, I might get the opportunity to speak to some people that I really admire. And this is one of those moments. So thank you very much for doing this.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Well, thank you. I'm happy to be here.

[Elisa Donovan]

So we are talking about, obviously, Adam, this pretty groundbreaking TV movie in the sense that it was one of the very first true crime television films. And it's unique in a multitude of ways, but which we'll get Into. But do you remember where you were when you first heard about the story?

[Jo Beth Williams]

Yeah, I was. I think I was still living in New York then. I was back and forth between LA and New York. And I remember just being so emotionally devastated when I read the script and when I knew that it was, of course, a true story. And then I found out that the Walshes, John and Reve Walsh, who were the parents of Adam Walsh, who was the child who was kidnapped and murdered, that they were going to be there sometimes on the set. And I thought I. I didn't know how they would be able to do that, and I didn't know how we would be able to. Daniel Trevanti and I play them. I mean, it was such a gift, in a way, but also a sort of heavy cloak to wear, because we were playing real people and we were playing real people who had been through this tragedy, this horrific tragedy.

[Elisa Donovan]

Yes, that was. I mean, you just answered, like, 17 of my questions in three senses. Because that is such a. That's such a great way to describe it. A heavy cloak. Do you remember what you even said to them the first time you met them? Like, that's such a loaded moment. You know.

[Jo Beth Williams]

I think the first thing I said was, you know, probably something inept, like, I'm so sorry for your loss.

[Elisa Donovan]

I mean. Right.

[Jo Beth Williams]

You don't know what to say to people who've been through that. I'm not gonna try and be you or imitate you. I. You know, I just hope that I can bring an emotional life that you will feel is truthful.

[Elisa Donovan]

Right, right.

[Jo Beth Williams]

And having not been a mother myself at that point.

[Elisa Donovan]

Oh, that's what I was going to ask, because it's. If you were a mother yet and not yet at that point.

[Jo Beth Williams]

No, I wasn't. But I. I was married to my husband, and I knew that I had always wanted to have kids. I'd always felt that I wanted to have kids because I was an only child. And as I used to see, I was a lonely child, although I had a thousand cousins everywhere. But. So I really wanted a family and I wanted kids. And so this show really made me think about.

[Elisa Donovan]

What?

[Jo Beth Williams]

How would you deal with a loss like that? How would you deal if basically a part of you was ripped away by some stranger? And it was hard. It was hard. And it really. It really put my life in perspective in a strange way.

[Elisa Donovan]

Right, I bet. Well, I want to say, for anyone who hasn't seen it, everyone but you and Daniel in particular, you're just both extraordinary in this movie. Like, it's. It's. I don't even know how to describe it. It's extraordinarily painful and so nuanced. And I almost feel like I'm shocked that they. And thrilled that they put this on television. Like, it's so ra. And I wanted to ask a couple of specifics. That scene when the two of you, when they. He. Daniel, who's playing John Walsh, gets the phone call that they have found. They have identified Adam's body. And that scene in the hotel, do you remember how you even prepared for that or how you did it? It's one among many of extraordinary scenes, but that is a very, very viscerally intense scene. So did they have any input on that? Do you remember shooting it, how you prepared it? Do you remember any of that?

[Jo Beth Williams]

I didn't feel that I could actually ask Reve about that moment, but John Walsh talked to Daniel Trevanti about it.

[Elisa Donovan]

He did.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Okay, he did. And he described tearing up the hotel room when he got the news. And I think Daniel and I both did our own personal emotional preparation, you know, to be available for what might happen. And I remember that Daniel went crazy. He basically went crazy. And, you know, it's one of those things when you're an actor and at the end of the day you go, why am I putting myself through this in a fun way?

[Elisa Donovan]

Right, right.

[Jo Beth Williams]

But it was. It was extraordinary to watch, particularly to watch Dan Trevanti go. Go through that emotional arc because he was amazing and he had never experienced anything like that in his life. And it made me realize, you know, what we can do as actors, what we can convey, we should get into.

[Elisa Donovan]

One of the things that is so unusual. I don't think I've ever seen this before or since, that at the end of the movie, they show all these faces of actual missing children who are currently missing at the time. And John Walsh's voice, he narrates it. And I'm getting chills thinking about. Because I didn't know that that was coming up at the end of the movie when I watched it. I couldn't. And I was so struck by that. And the fact that the airing of the movie actually helped to find so many children and to be able to prosecute some of the perpetrators. I just. I. It's. It's extraordinary. And did you know. Was that in the. The original script? Did you know that was going to be at the end?

[Jo Beth Williams]

It. I. It was not in the original script. I, I think I knew that they were going to do something like that that they were going to show pictures of of missing kids because John Walsh, who, of course, went on to help establish the center, national center for for missing.

[Elisa Donovan]

Ms. Yeah.

[Jo Beth Williams]

And, you know, he he was he had taken what had happened to him and to them, and he had this fervor. He had this mission. And so I don't think any of us, when we were doing it, realized the impact that it would have and that that sort of opened up our nation in a way to looking at that horrible issue and the statistics and the fact that these kids were still missing and changed the way the public thought about it. And I really I don't think any of us sort of anticipated that, but it made me always feel very great about having been involved.

[Elisa Donovan]

Yes.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Project it had that kind of impact.

[Elisa Donovan]

Right. His I mean, his work is on I I'm always struck by, you know, this this turning your pain into purpose, which sounds very simple and trite when we say it, but he's one of these people that is a true example of that. And I I you know, I I think that's probably how or I know from I have a dear friend, lost a child a few years ago, and today actually happens to be the anniversary of that. So this is a particularly present thing for me today. And she has done something similar where I think that you come to this place, place of you you make a choice to keep going or you don't. And that's sort of one of the ways that, you know, in our human experience, we can we can continue to to function because it's such a loss of of of epic proportions that I don't know how else you survive if you don't put it into something, you know, something that is positive. Did you keep in contact with them after the movie?

[Jo Beth Williams]

A little bit. You know, I saw John a few times over the years when he was doing, you know, his show and stuff. I haven't seen Reve, I don't think, since the Adam, you know, days of shooting and and right after. But I do know I certainly have, you know, sort of kept watch on them in a way. And I know they went on and had other kids.

[Elisa Donovan]

Yes.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Yes. Which is amazing because with many, many couples who suffer something like this, the marriage doesn't survive. Yes. Because the pain was just too great. But these were two very brave and amazing people. And I think John just was so committed to what he was doing that he sort of held everything together in a way.

[Elisa Donovan]

Those are another several great, strong scenes in this movie. The moment when the two of you are talking about when they have that realization of you can't run from it, we can't fly somewhere, you can't go somewhere else. You sort of can't escape it. Like, you can't. And what do you do? And I think your character says something like, I don't. You know, like, I. I have. I'm numb, but I have all these tears. I don't know where they're coming from. And it's like it just is this endless kind of. You just don't know where. Where to go or how you're going to survive it. And I did. Did they talk at all? Well, first of all, did Reve ever say anything to you about your performance in particular?

[Jo Beth Williams]

I felt from her that I had her blessing in a way. And I know certainly they were really happy that it got the kind of attention that it did because it really helped their desire to make it a national issue.

[Elisa Donovan]

Right, right. I mean, in that. America's Most Wanted became a hugely successful program that he created that also wound up saving a multitude of children and find many perpetrators, including Elizabeth Smarts case that was apparently a. You know, it was going cold and they couldn't find anyone. And he put the perpetrator on television and they caught him. It's kind of. It's just unreal. And there were all so many laws. I. This is something that I just learned. I'm not sure if you knew this, that they. Code Adam is now a thing that they use in department stores and malls. And it's something that they train everyone in, apparently. And they will say Code Adam if a child is missing. And that then triggers all of these protocols, like shutting of doors. Everyone has a specific job, like your primary purpose. You stop what you're doing and you look for this child, like all the people that work in these stores. I mean, it's really amazing what he's done.

[Jo Beth Williams]

It is extraordinary. It's extraordinary that, you know, that. That one movie on television can have that kind of impact. Kind of makes you wonder why we don't use it better.

[Elisa Donovan]

Right, right, right. It's such a resource that we could really utilize in a far more positive way.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Well, it's, you know, but also, it's also for entertainment. So it's.

[Elisa Donovan]

Right.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Yeah, it's a right. A balance, I guess.

[Elisa Donovan]

Also, you're returning to the big screen in a. Another project where you have lost a child. And it's called. It's Joe Carnahan's survival thriller, Not Without Hope. And it's based on the True story book about the 2009 Gulf of Mexico accident. So what do you want to tell us about that? And. Because this time, I mean, it's a different story, obviously, but it's the similarity of a mother losing a child. Did. Was there. Did you feel any connection between the two pieces or.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Well, I've, for whatever reason, throughout my career. I mean, if you look at Poltergeist, for example, there's a. There I'm playing a mother of a missing child.

[Elisa Donovan]

So great. Oh, my gosh. I didn't even think about that. I didn't even think.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Think about that. But I have to rescue her, right?

[Elisa Donovan]

This.

[Jo Beth Williams]

This seemed to be my calling.

[Elisa Donovan]

So it's a recurring theme for you.

[Jo Beth Williams]

I've had many, you know, now adult people say, I wanted you to be my mommy because you. You went to Helen back to get your.

[Chrissy]

To get. Right.

[Elisa Donovan]

I felt that way. Poltergeist was the first film of yours, the first project of yours that I saw because I was too young at the time for a big chill in some of like the other amazing movies. But wow. Poltergeist. Poltergeist. Like multiple in the theater viewings of that movie.

[Jo Beth Williams]

And certainly, I mean, now I am a mother now I have children and a grandchild. And it was interesting because when I did not without hope, which was, you know, just very recently. And it is a true story. And again, I played a woman whose son is out in a fishing boat with friends and they can't find them. They don't come back. The Coast Guard can't find them. Huge storm comes up. So, you know, I'm left. I and my ex husband and my son's girlfriend and all are just left not knowing. And I certainly some of the feelings that came out in Adam and even in Poltergeist were there the sort of the terror and in this case, the anger of this woman who can't get answers from. Particularly from the Coast Guard. And Josh Duhamel plays the head of the Coast Guard who I'm demanding answers about why they haven't found my son and why they can't get helicopters out there. And all of that sort of mother, mother, lioness, protective instance came. Came to the fore in this movie. And. And it's a powerful story.

[Chrissy]

It's.

[Jo Beth Williams]

It's really amazing. And Joe Carnahan, his direction, I mean, we shot in Malta in this huge tank that levels out into the ocean, actually. Oh, wow. So they could shoot the. The boat scenes, which are extraordinary. And these guys trying to survive in this storm. It's a. It's a good movie. It really is a good movie. It's got Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel and.

[Elisa Donovan]

And you. That's all that matters.

[Jo Beth Williams]

And me and Gloriana Lima and a wonderful cast. But it's. And it's still in theaters somewhere, but some places. But it's also now available video on Demand and it's going to be streaming on Paramount plus starting in April, so.

[Elisa Donovan]

Oh, great.

[Jo Beth Williams]

It's a really. It'll hold you. It's. And it's a true story, so I.

[Elisa Donovan]

Will definitely watch it before we close. Did you know that they were going to do the sequel to Adam while you were, while you were shooting the first one, or did that come later?

[Jo Beth Williams]

Yeah, yeah. We had no idea that there would be a sequel. And I'm sure it may have been the minds of the, you know, writers and producers, but I'm sure it was, it was when they saw the impact of what the first one had that they felt it would. That they should extend the story. And so that was very interesting, too, to sort of do the continuation of that.

[Elisa Donovan]

Right. Which covers a lot of that struggle to keep the marriage together and kind of all of the things that come in the, in, in, in in the aftermath.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Right.

[Elisa Donovan]

Well, I just. This has been such a pleasure for me. You're. I'm truly a fan, as I said, and I admire you. And this, this movie is really just, it's beautiful. And I know the sec. The sequel is streaming and you. I think you can see the original as well, and I just recommend that people do. And. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

[Jo Beth Williams]

No, not really. Just that it's a. For me, it's been a real honor to play some real women. I played Marybeth Whitehead, who was the first surrogate mother in a TV movie called Baby M. And it's always complicated. I mean, there are always many sides and many directions that and many different points of view about different people who are real people. So that's been interesting. But as an actress, it's provided me with a real challenge that I have enjoyed being able to pursue.

[Elisa Donovan]

I always wonder if these projects. Do you think that there was any kind of personal healing for John and Reve from doing this movie or. Certainly, I know because it did so much for their organizations and the work that they were doing. But I do wonder if personally, you know, it gave them any kind of healing or closure. I don't think anybody ever really gets.

[Jo Beth Williams]

That, but I don't feel really equipped to say. But My instinct says, yes, that they found sort of a strengthening of a direction and a purpose, particularly after people saw it. And there was this huge response. I'm sure that must have helped them sort of find a way to use their energies and their grief. That that was productive at the time when we were shooting, I don't know. I know that it was very hard for them both, particularly for Reve, I think, to be there when we were, when we were actually shooting. But John Walsh was just, he was very determined and. And so he was there quite a lot.

[Elisa Donovan]

Quite a lot.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Yeah.

[Elisa Donovan]

Well, I have really enjoyed spending time with you and thank you so much for being with me today.

[Jo Beth Williams]

Thank you. It's been a pleasure. A real pleasure.

[Elisa Donovan]

I'm glad. And again, you can catch Jobeth's new movie, Not Without Hope, in limited theaters now and it will start streaming in April. So I want to hear what cases you all are interested in hearing about. What are you watching that you want us to talk about? What actors or producers or directors, directors or writers you want to hear from? Hit us up in our dms@killerthriller pod on Instagram and TikTok and let us know. And make sure to follow the pod on socials and subscribe to Amy and TJ Presents wherever you listen to podcasts that will wrap us up for today. Until next time, This is an iHeart podcast.

[Chrissy]

Guaranteed Human.