9 | Red Bird

Summary

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Blunt Force Trauma | Episode 9: "Red Bird"

Host: Troy Taylor (EchoSpace)
Date: June 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

This emotionally charged episode continues the investigation into the unsolved death of Faithe Ely, focusing on a lengthy and tense conversation with Ryan—a central figure in the story and someone close to Faithe. Troy Taylor and the interviewing team explore Ryan's version of events, his guilt, his recollection of the night Faithe died, and his views on responsibility and what truly happened. The conversation is raw, conflicted, and at times reveals more about the deeply tangled relationships and the widespread confusion and pain surrounding Faithe's death.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Tone: Ryan’s Turmoil

• Ryan’s Emotional State: Ryan opens up with evident distress, struggling to articulate his feelings and guilt about the events leading up to Faithe’s death.

  "I loved Faithe. I loved her with everything in me... Not a day goes by that I don't think about her or that I don't see a red bird and think about her."
  (01:16 - 01:42, Ryan)

• Metaphor of the ‘Red Bird’: Ryan describes seeing a dead red bird and how it serves as a symbol for his feelings of guilt and loss, believing it’s a sign connected to Faithe’s death and his need to finally be honest.

  "I looked up the meaning of the dead bird, and it was a long story about how a man took a woman's everything from her in the worst way. And I feel like that's what being done to me."
  (02:41 - 03:13, Ryan)

The Conflicting Narratives

• Ryan Suggests Suicide, Others Object: Ryan initially claims he feels responsible for pushing Faithe to suicide, but the interviewer and supporter firmly reject this theory, stating both the suicide and hit-and-run narratives were ruled out early by investigators.

  "She did not kill herself, Ryan. And she was not hit by a car. Did your mother not tell you?"
  (03:35, Interviewer)

• The Fight Before Faithe’s Death: Ryan recounts a fight involving himself, his mother, and Faithe on the night of her death:

  • Faithe leaves after a heated altercation; Ryan stays behind, blinded by beer thrown in his eyes.
  • Ryan believes Faithe walked off, and after a delay, he tried to find her but saw nothing.
  • He describes hearing a distinct rattle from a truck trailer passing by, marking the last time he noticed passing vehicles.
  • Ryan muses that injuries Faithe suffered may have come from this fight, even if they weren’t immediately apparent.

  "The fight is the only thing happening. When she left, I stayed there. After everybody else went inside, I stayed there and I tried to talk to her."
  (05:22, Ryan)

  "She wasn't afraid of my mom. She just didn't want to fight me because... my mom being my mom, she's going to get in the middle of it and try to protect me."
  (06:50, Ryan)

Discrepancies in the Official Story

• Challenge to Hit-and-Run Theory:

  • The interviewer emphasizes the lack of physical evidence at the scene—no road debris, plastic, or signs of a vehicle.
  • Even the pattern of injuries doesn't make sense for a vehicle collision or simple fall.

  "She would have had skid marks everywhere. She had a place right here [on the chest]. So she didn't fall running down. She wasn't running down the road down. She had several broken ribs on the left side... and her spleen was lacerated. She bled to death on the inside."
  (14:59 – 15:46, Interviewer)

  "There was no scrapes in the gravel whatsoever."
  (11:38, Ryan)

• Possibility of Staging the Scene:

  • All parties circle around the idea that Faithe’s body may have been moved—‘placed’—at the roadside, sparking suspicion about who may have been responsible.

  “She didn't... she might have fell there or somebody put her there, but she wasn't hit. Slipped. Somebody's hit by a vehicle, they're going to roll, slide, something. There was no scrapes in the gravel whatsoever.”
  (11:33 – 11:38, Ryan)

Responsibility, Accountability, and Honesty

• Ryan’s Guilt and Attempts to Clear His Name:

  • Throughout the interview, Ryan expresses his remorse, his feeling that everyone blames him, and how he wants the truth known, even as he vacillates on the details.

  “I could never hurt her. I pushed my limits with everything and everybody, but I could never hurt her. Not that. Not that bad.”
  (09:52—10:00, Ryan)

• The Interviewers’ Determination for the Truth:

  • The interviewers repeatedly stress that their only goal is to understand what happened, not to see someone wrongly accused. They also reveal they have evidence Ryan's mother has considered blaming him.

  "What you don't know is that there are other people who have reached out to me and told me on the phone that they have heard your mother talking about what really happened and that her plan is to point the finger at you and because she's not going to prison."
  (16:56—17:18, Interviewer)

  "I personally don't think you killed her. I don't think anybody did it on purpose. I think it was an accident. And I think that everybody panicked when they figured out they actually ended up killing her and wouldn't put her down there."
  (17:33—18:10, Interviewer)

Closing Themes: Redemption, Guilt, and Justice

• Redemption and Spirituality:

  • The latter segment of the interview leans on spiritual language, with interviewers encouraging Ryan to find strength in honesty and faith as a route to healing.

  "The first step to the path of redemption and for full forgiveness and to get this weight off of you is... to tell the truth and start living honestly."
  (19:23, Interviewer)

• The Ongoing Search for Answers:

  • The episode closes with a renewed plea for information from listeners, affirming that Faithe’s case remains unsolved and signaling ongoing efforts to uncover the truth.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Ryan's confession of enduring guilt:

  "Not a day goes by that I don't think about her or that I don't see a red bird think about her."
  (01:36, Ryan)

• Direct rebuttal of suicide theory:

  "She did not kill herself, Ryan. And she was not hit by a car."
  (03:35, Interviewer)

• Revelation of the physical evidence mismatch:

  "She had several broken ribs on the left side... and her spleen was lacerated. She bled to death on the inside."
  (15:11—15:46, Interviewer)

• Challenging community and family narratives:

  "There are other people who have reached out to me... her [Ryan's] plan is to point the finger at you because she's not going to prison."
  (16:56, Interviewer)

• Call to responsibility and truth:

  "We honestly don't believe you did it, but somebody did in that house."
  (20:07, Interviewer/Supporter)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Ryan’s initial confession and symbolism of the red bird: 01:16 – 02:41
• Details of the night and the fight: 05:22 – 07:54
• Discussion of injuries and lack of evidence for a hit and run: 14:59 – 15:46
• Interviewer pushing for the truth and revealing other testimonies: 16:56 – 18:10
• Spiritual and moral appeals to confession: 19:23 – 22:12

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Summary Takeaways

• The episode lays bare the tangled web of family loyalties, shifting blame, and the pain of unresolved grief.
• Ryan’s honesty is questionable, shaped by guilt and fear—but the interviewers remain focused on forensic facts and compassionate, persistent questioning.
• The podcast uncovers deeply conflicting stories about what happened the night Faithe Ely died. The physical evidence does not support the theories of suicide or hit-and-run, pointing instead toward a violent fight and a subsequent attempt to cover up the true cause of death.
• The closing sentiment is one of unresolved pain but renewed determination—both for justice and for the healing that truth can bring.

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Transcript

[Podcast Host]

Please note, this podcast contains references to physical and sexual assault and graphic depictions of violence. Listener discretion is advised. The views and opinions expressed throughout this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily align with the opinions or beliefs of the host or producers.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

You want to sit over here?

[Interviewer]

No, I want to keep my purse as close to him as possible while the recorder's recording.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

All right. How are you?

[Ryan]

Not good.

[Interviewer]

What's going on?

[Ryan]

I don't know how to tell anybody this. The only thing I know to do is to do the right thing. And I loved her. I loved Faith. I loved her with everything in me. And I want y' all to know that I fought and I fought and I fought, and I know everybody's fought. And this whole time, thinking I've been scot free, I felt like I was scot free. But it's this. It's holding me down. I don't know how to let go in life of anything. And I feel like the only way for me to let go of anything is to let go of the truth. I don't know how to tell you all this, but I feel like she killed herself because of our relationship. And I feel like this is meant for me to. This is meant to happen. My whole life is led up to this point. I lack taking responsibility for my own actions. My whole life. I feel like every turn I made towards the good, I was veered back towards the bad. And I don't know how any other way to be, but what I feel like has been predetermined by everybody around us. And it's because of the. I've created myself. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her or that I don't see a red bird think about her. You want me to tell you what led me here?

[Interviewer/Supporter]

What's up?

[Ryan]

Okay. So I thought my. I feel like I know our lady was cheap. And I went outside to go look around because I thought somebody was climbing in the window. I know it sounds, but it's not. It's real. It's either God or God. God's telling me this. And so I find this dead bird on the ground. And this bird. I looked up the meaning of the dead bird, and it was a long story about how a man took a woman's everything from her in the worst way. And I feel like that's what being done to me. I know that's what's being done. And I know that I don't deserve anything but that. I don't know any Other way to be, but to be honest. And it's taken me this long to realize that.

[Interviewer]

So what are you trying to be honest with me about that he thinks

[Interviewer/Supporter]

that she killed herself.

[Interviewer]

She did not kill herself, Ryan. And she was not hit by a car. Did your mother not tell you?

[Ryan]

She said somebody said it was angle in her. I told her no.

[Interviewer]

She felt investigators had that conversation with your mom. The whole vehicle thing was rolled out a long time ago. She did not kill herself. She was not hit by a car. Faith died at that house. It. All we want to know is what happened. I don't think it was on purpose. I never did think it was on purpose. I never did believe the whole hit and run thing, but I didn't believe it was on purpose. And there's been lots of. And lots of conversations with lots of

[Ryan]

different people

[Interviewer]

and I'm just finding it

[Ryan]

hard to believe that it was all you.

[Interviewer]

So, Ryan, tell me what happened.

[Ryan]

Just tell me. The fight. The fight is the only thing happening. When she left, I stayed there. After everybody else went inside, I stayed there and I tried to talk to her. We talked for, you know, a minute or so. And then she took off. She wanted me to follow her and I couldn't. Cuz I knew it was going to get worse. But I figured she'd go down, you know, come back, but she didn't. The longer she spent, you know, walking, the longer I. The more I got nervous. The last truck that I remember seeing drive by was the bike truck with the red trailer. And when I walked out to the road, because I was sitting on the tailgate when I walked out to the road and I stared up the road, I couldn't see anything. Couldn't see her because it was just getting dark. And the sound the trailer makes when it hits a bump, the empty trailer, the rattle. I heard the sound in the distance. That's what grabbed me and told me to go look there. I should have left him up in the first place. I understand that the fight should have never happened, but I couldn't see to get in the way of my mom. She dumped beer in my eyes. I couldn't see to get. You know, beer burns when it gets in your eyes. My mom was out the door before I could even get a chance to go out the door. And they went at it. Face not she's coming. She's tough. She was.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

She.

[Ryan]

She beat up my exes, beat up quite a few people. But she wasn't afraid of my mom. She just didn't want to fight Me because. And my mom being my mom, she's going to get in the middle of it and try to protect me. And I feel like that's why she doesn't talk to me. I feel like she's pulled herself out of my relationship to see if I'm going to do the same thing again. And I. I can't. I can't. Can't chase anybody down. I can't, I can't. How bad was the ride? I just minimized it. It was, I mean it was bad enough she busted my mom busted her lip. But that's what I'm saying. Like, I mean did it fall off something? No, we were all in the driveway. You might get kicked. I don't think so. I want to say I don't think so but you know what I mean.

[Interviewer]

Like did she got kicked and, and, and.

[Ryan]

Or got kneed in the ribs and she stood up? I mean actually, you know, I don't know. Like I said, it was a big commotion. We're all in the driveway.

[Interviewer]

Thought process.

[Ryan]

Yeah. I, I told completely understand.

[Interviewer]

I mean completely.

[Ryan]

She walked away and then collapsed down there because she had gotten hurt in

[Interviewer]

that fight and didn't realize it. Nobody realized it.

[Ryan]

Really what I feel like is those beast bars because we, we took abuse bar that day. Those beast bars, they tell you right now from experience, they make your head feel all tippy. So I feel like, I feel like she was running and I feel like where I found her at, I feel like that trailer in the truck was trying to go around the corner the curb and I feel like whoever was

[Interviewer/Supporter]

driving didn't see her and what will it do?

[Ryan]

I know let.

[Interviewer]

I know I drive down there every day.

[Ryan]

Drive down there every day.

[Interviewer]

I. I run this a softball route

[Ryan]

for UPS for that reason I pass Smart House every day. Every day it's. It's 5, 10 of a mile or 410 of a mile from where I was found to there.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

How did you get

[Ryan]

see her sister? I couldn't.

[Interviewer]

You know what I mean?

[Ryan]

Everybody already has their own idea about

[Interviewer]

understand just because you stayed at a distance so much. I didn't know how to be honest out flyers.

[Ryan]

I didn't know how to be honest on tv. Everybody's already accusing me. So how. And then when I feel like it was about the money, I feel like everybody was running around trying to tell you guys that it was me. And I feel like you didn't have a large amount of money. I understand, I understand. But people are greedy. Get it? I mean and I feel like it's our greed and our sex and our drugs and everything that's brought us where we're at. And I feel like that's. That's what's all that. And me seeing all that, me realizing all that is what's made me come here. You know, I'm. I. I don't expect to leave here. And it's because of the idea that I already know that everybody's got her.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

I could never hurt her.

[Ryan]

I pushed my limits with everything and everybody, but I could never hurt her.

[Interviewer]

Not that.

[Ryan]

Not that bad.

[Interviewer]

So who did?

[Interviewer/Supporter]

Because it wasn't her stick.

[Ryan]

It wasn't the truck, and it wasn't. It was, you know, the fight. And I don't feel like the fight

[Interviewer]

was that bad because the way your mother described, you know, was a little bit different. And your mom's had quite. Your mom, among other people, had quite a few things to say to investigators.

[Ryan]

There's nothing I could say that's other than the truth. And I feel like telling somebody else

[Interviewer]

would have been the wrong thing.

[Ryan]

Anybody telling anybody, but who deserves to know the truth, and that's faith and

[Interviewer/Supporter]

God and you guys, her sons, her children. You know, we want. We want to be able to tell Aiden one day that whoever's responsible is. Is being held accountable.

[Ryan]

And I'm. That's what I'm trying to do is hold account of people so that it's not placed on you. Right.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

Well, honesty is. That's what's going to get. But the whole vehicle thing is just rolled out, so it's hard. None of us will believe that it's a vehicle because they said it's. It wasn't weird at all.

[Interviewer]

There's, like, no evidence and the injuries to her body.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

So that's where it all comes in. Okay. What happened at this house so that. The fight, if that's the only thing that happened, it had to have been that severe that she. If she was injured that much, that she walked off.

[Interviewer]

I don't. I don't.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

Or. Or something else happened or she was put there. That's. That's logic. That's realistic. That's logic.

[Ryan]

Logically, that's.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

You know, I felt like in my heart that she.

[Ryan]

She didn't. She might have fell there or somebody put her there, but she wasn't hit. Slipped. Somebody's hit by a vehicle, they're going, roll, slide, something. There was no scrapes in the gravel whatsoever.

[Interviewer]

So she just walked off after the scuffle. Hold on. What would make you say something? Somebody put her there because there's no.

[Ryan]

There's no marks showing that she fell there. And if she was hit by a vehicle, then she wouldn't. You know what I'm saying?

[Interviewer]

Exactly.

[Ryan]

Some gravel moved or something. There was no plastic, no headlights, nothing.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

So we're on the same page here. So. So you're saying you didn't do it?

[Ryan]

No. Right.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

You didn't put her in a vehicle and take her down there? Did your mom. What about Smurf?

[Ryan]

No.

[Interviewer]

Somebody did.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

Well, somebody did. It was either one of things.

[Interviewer]

And that's immediately.

[Ryan]

That's me. Listen, that's what I told him. And of course.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

And you went walking down there, right?

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

After.

[Ryan]

After a few minutes or so, I. Sitting on the tailgate, I. Like, I feel like, you know, I felt that tug at my heart, you know, of course, me being me, chase her down like I usually do. I walk out to the edge of the road and to look to see if she's coming back. And I couldn't see her because. Because she blocked so far. And, you know, I sat there for, you know, 10 minutes maybe, or maybe more, But I just sit there staring, trying to wait for her to come back, staring across the street. And the last truck that passed, like I said when I told them that I wasn't 100 sure what color the truck was, I felt like in my heart, in my. That flash of that memory, because it wasn't like I was staring at the truck to see it wouldn't grow. It was. It was just like a. Like a. My subconscious caught it. Like I was staring off in space. The truck drove by. And then. So I told him, you know, of course, didn't. I wasn't 100 sure that it was that color truck and trailer, but I felt like it was.

[Interviewer]

So you're saying that from the time that she walked off and the time that you started walking down behind her, There was about 10 minutes laps, maybe

[Ryan]

a little more, maybe.

[Interviewer]

But then when you got there, you thought maybe it was that truck, but it didn't make sense to you because it looked like she'd been laid there.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

So how do you explain within 10 minutes how she's on the side of the road looking like she was laid there?

[Ryan]

That's. That's what I've been trying to figure out this whole time. Or not. I don't. I don't know. I'm not an investigator.

[Interviewer]

Okay, listen, I am not interested in the wrong person going to jail. I am not interested in a person going to jail for an accident. What I am interested is in the truth. What happened to Faith. What happened to Faith that day that caused her to die? That's what I want to know.

[Ryan]

And her leaving, that's all I know. And I feel like in my heart, I feel like somebody hit her and I feel like they kept going.

[Interviewer]

And there was no car involved.

[Ryan]

There was no car involved, and she had to have failed. Running down.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

How did scrape.

[Ryan]

She had scrapes off.

[Interviewer]

No, she didn't.

[Ryan]

On her chest all the way up here? Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Okay. These scrapes here and no place else makes no sense. There's no way she can fall. You've got a nose sticking all the way out, a forehead, a chin. She's got two boobs, shoulders. That's going to hit that ground first. She would have had skid marks everywhere. She had a place right here. So she didn't fall running down. She wasn't running down the road down. She had several broken ribs on the left side of her body, down her back and down her front. And her spleen was lacerated. She bled to death on the inside.

[Ryan]

Ryan.

[Interviewer]

That was not from a car, and that was not from falling down. So please tell me the truth. I would like to have been to know that I came all the way down here to sit down and meet with you, to hear your side, and that you're going to sit there and tell me the truth about it. So I would like to know the truth about what happened.

[Ryan]

Truth is, if we would give each other the chance to be honest, things

[Interviewer/Supporter]

would have been different.

[Ryan]

She wouldn't have went. She wouldn't have done it.

[Interviewer]

What truth are you talking about?

[Interviewer/Supporter]

What were you talking about? Because.

[Ryan]

Because we like and cheated on each other.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

Is that what the fight was? That's what started y' all spot?

[Ryan]

No, I mean, we were fine. We were sitting on the couch and my mom was cooking. And, you know, we were just chilling. We were coloring, but we did. We got high color. Stupid. I would never hurt her.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

But y' all were.

[Interviewer]

But somebody did.

[Ryan]

I understand.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

That's the thing.

[Interviewer]

And that's all that I want to know. Because all this other stuff is just bs.

[Ryan]

Sounds like controversy.

[Interviewer]

It's a bunch of bs, and it makes it even thicker and it makes it worse. And it's pretty damning for you that people who were there that night are also pointing the finger at you. And what you don't know is that there are other people who have reached out to me and told me on the phone that they have heard your mother talking about what really happened and that her plan is to point the finger at you and because she's not going to prison. So you tell me, Ryan, what happened to Faith, because that's the only way that any of this is going to go away. That's the only way that there's going to come any kind of end. I personally don't think you killed her. I don't think anybody did it on purpose. I think it was an accident. And I think that everybody panicked when they figured out they actually ended up killing her and wouldn't put her down there.

[Ryan]

No, that's not it at all.

[Interviewer]

Then tell me it's the fight. It was the fight.

[Ryan]

That's why it explains why my mom health. Has this been going down? She's not. She says it's diabetes.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

This is something that she's going to have to look with.

[Interviewer]

I have no interest in the wrong person. And I'm really not even interested in prison. I'm not interested. I am interested in somebody telling me what happened to Faith that night. Why is my daughter dead?

[Ryan]

Like she found there was no way out. She felt like there was no way out.

[Interviewer]

She did not commit suicide, Ryan. Try again. Because she didn't get hit by a car. How could she have got committed suicide?

[Ryan]

Because I felt like she was suicidal just like I was. I feel like we were both sick and we both needed help. And I feel like coming to you is the only thing that's going to heal me from the inside out. There's no other way for me to heal myself from the inside out.

[Interviewer]

You can heal and you start. I'm not your redeemer. God is exit. Jesus is. He's your redeemer. And the first step to the path of redemption and for full forgiveness and to get this weight off of you is. Is to tell the truth and start living honestly. Because really, that's. I mean, that's what brought you here.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

Otherwise, it's not going to ever leave you because you're always gonna have that wait on you.

[Interviewer]

Always. It's always going to be there, and I don't want that on you.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

Because people can talk and they can say what they want, but if you're not, we're all on the same page.

[Ryan]

We don't.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

We honestly don't believe you did it, but somebody did in that house. And whether. Whether it was.

[Interviewer]

Your mother is aware. She's had multiple. Multiple conversations with investigators. She has been informed the Faith did not commit suicide. And Faith was not hit by a vehicle. Your mother has been informed that Faith died there and that she was placed there. Your mother is aware of this.

[Ryan]

I feel like she was completely honest. We all minimized the fight and I feel like it took me this long to realize that and I don't see any other way. And I didn't up until I everything's been taken from me and I feel like I have to walk away or run away.

[Interviewer]

Do I realize that it's not going to get any better, Ryan, until you stop running and you stop walking away and you turn around and face it. It's liberating. And that is your first main major step to turning it all around. And you're not alone. You're never alone. You accept Jesus. He's right there with you the entire time. And he is. He gives you that strength, but he also gives you a conviction. That is not people conviction, Ryan, because he knows. But he's not mad at you. But it's not worth eternity and damnation for either. It's not worth it.

[Interviewer/Supporter]

Not for an accident and especially not for something you did.

[Interviewer]

Don't. I don't. Eternity is a long time, my friend, and it's hot there. You got to stop around.

[Podcast Host]

Faith's case is still open and her killer or killers have not yet been brought to justice. If you know anything about Faith, her death, or those who may be responsible, we'd like to hear from you. Please visit EchoSpace Media Tips and either leave a voicemail or send us a message. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram. Bluntforce Trauma Podcast if you're enjoying this podcast, please consider our subscriber option on Apple Podcasts or [e-mail] Echospacepodcasts where you get access to early episode drops, ad free episodes and bonus content across all of the Echo Space shows. If you'd like to keep up to date with progress on Faith's case, please visit and follow the justice for Faith Ely Facebook page. You'll find a link to it in the episode notes. Blunt Force Trauma is a production of Echo Space, written and hosted by Troy Taylor. Executive producers are Troy Taylor, Mark Tarulli and Fred Scherzer. Our main theme song is Lose My Mind by Maya Davidoff, and the show also contains audio content from Moby Gratis.