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This episode is sponsored by Pura. Pura is the smart way to fragrance your home. Customize your scents with app control, schedule them to fit your life, and enjoy premium fragrances that last. And here's something to celebrate when you start today, your first fragrance set is free. It's the perfect time to discover why everyone's switching to Pura. But hurry, this offer is for a limited time only. Go now to pura.com and claim your free cert before it's gone. Before we begin today's episode, I want to tell you about the brand new casefile Presents series Suing Diddy. It comes from Jack Lawrence, who has spent years speaking with men and women behind bars across the United States for his podcast, One Minute Remaining. From drugs to arson, assaults and murders, even wrongful convictions, Jack thought he'd heard it all. That was until he met a prisoner with an extraordinary story. A man whose lawsuit could turn him into one of the richest people on the planet. If you think you've heard it all before when it comes to crime stories, trust me, you haven't heard anything like this. Suing Diddy is out now. Wherever you get your podcasts, stay tuned until the end of today's episode to hear the trailer. Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre for suggested phone numbers, for confidential support, and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. This episode was originally released on Casefile's Patreon, Apple Premium and Spotify Premium feeds. As an early bonus for our paid subscribers to receive these episodes early and ad free, you can support Casefile on your preferred platform. On Friday, February 11, 2000, Mike Cassaday cut his workday short to make a difficult drive. He had just received the devastating news that his younger brother, 39 year old Gerry Cassaday, had been found dead at his home in Odessa, Missouri. Mike arrived at Jerry's apartment just as a sheriff's deputy and a funeral home director were preparing to remove his brother's body from the residence. Jerry, who lived alone, had been discovered by a concerned neighbour slumped in a chair with a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Mike knew that his brother had been struggling lately with his mental health, mounting bills and a recent divorce. But he never imagined things would end this way. After a brief conversation with the officials, he entered Jerry's apartment. The reddish brown plush recliner which normally sat in front of the television in the corner had been moved to face a trio of windows overlooking a nearby lake. It was there in that chair that Jerry had taken his life with his.22 calibre rifle. A row of framed family photos lined the windowsill in front of him and a Bible on his lap was open on the Gospel of Matthew. You shall not murder, a verse read, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. 48 year old Bruce Miller was not known for his punctuality. So when he failed to arrive home on time on the Evening of Monday, November 8, 1999, it was easy to assume he was just running late as usual. But his wife, Cherie felt differently. She had ordered takeout for the family and Bruce was supposed to pick it up on his way home from work at B and D Auto Salvage, a scrapyard in his hometown of Flint, Michigan that he owned and operated. Cherie had last spoken to Bruce shortly after 6pm as he was preparing to close up shop. She had called to let him know their food was ready to be picked up, and as they chatted casually, Bruce mentioned a truck had just pulled up right outside his office. Assuming it was a late customer, he told Cherie he'd try to hurry them along. The last thing she'd heard was the sound of Bruce's office door opening as someone stepped inside. When time continued to pass without any word from Bruce to explain his delay, Cherie phoned his office, but there was no answer. When there was still no word from him by 8pm, Cherie phoned again. Still nothing. She reached out to several of Bruce's relatives, but given his notorious habit of running late, they weren't overly concerned. Bruce's brother Chuck had spoken with him at around 5pm and said everything seemed perfectly normal. It also wasn't unusual for customers to show up at the scrapyard right before closing time. With last minute business unable to shake her concern, Cherie took Chuck's advice and drove to B and D Auto to check on her husband, bringing one of her sons along for the ride. On the way, she stopped at the restaurant where they had ordered dinner. Staff there confirmed that Bruce hadn't come to pick it up. Cherie then followed the route Bruce Typically took home in case his truck had broken down along the way. But there was no sign of him. When she finally reached the scrapyard, the front gate was closed, indicating Bruce had left for the day. Cherie retraced the drive from the yard back to the restaurant, then home, but still didn't encounter Bruce or his car. Panicking, she contacted the local and state police who confirmed there had been no reported accidents involving her husband. She called hospitals, friends, and even Bruce's mother, but no one had seen or heard from him. At last, Bruce's brother Chuck agreed to head to BN De Ordo himself. Thinking perhaps Bruce had been injured on the job and was unable to reach a phone, Chuck arrived at the dark, isolated property and let himself in. He drove past the rows of gutted and totalled cars lining the 500 yard long driveway to Bruce's small office building. His concern mounted at the side of Bruce's truck parked out front. The office was eerily quiet. As Chuck pushed through the unlocked door, he found Bruce face down on the floor behind the front counter with a dark pool of blood around his head. Bruce's office appeared undisturbed, leading Chuck to believe his death had been a tragic accident. Maybe he had leaned too far back in his rickety metal office chair and tipped over or suffered a heart attack, collapsing and injuring his head. But when police arrived, the grim reality became clear. Bruce had been shot in the throat at close range with a shotgun. News of Bruce's murder sent shockwaves through Flint. A lifelong resident, he was known as a hard working, easy going family man. In preparation for retiring from a three decade career testing engines for an automotive manufacturing company, Bruce poured his spare time and energy into B and D Auto Salvage. It was more a labour of love than necessity. Tinkering with cars had been a hobby of his since childhood, making the scrapyard feel more like a personal playground than a job site. The site itself provided the perfect setting for a killer to strike unnoticed. B and D Auto was situated on the remote outskirts of northern Flint, nestled between a gravel quarry and a stock car race track. Acres of wrecked vehicles surrounded Bruce's office building, which featured a single window overlooking the dirt driveway. Bruce employed a small team, but none were present at the time of the shooting. The scrapyard typically attracted DIY mechanics in need of replacement parts or specialists hunting for valuable components to salvage. There had never been any serious trouble at the site. Bruce was a quiet, laid back man whose calm, demeanour and sense of humour didn't invite conflict. As a result, there was no clear suspect or motive, leaving police to speculate that the killing must have been random. Scrapyards often drew shady characters and B and D Ordo was no exception. Perhaps Bruce had angered a customer who reacted violently. Robbery was another possibility. Bruce's wallet was missing, along with the $2,000 he was known to carry in his front shirt pocket to make change for his customers. The missing money took on greater significance when investigators spoke to Bruce's devastated wife, Cherie. She revealed that one of Bruce's former employees, a man named John Hutchinson, owed him $2,000. Interestingly, Hutchinson was a prime suspect in a long running auto fraud investigation and it was believed he had used Bruce's scrapyard to carry out his scam. In fact, fraud investigators had visited BND Auto the day before Bruce's murder to speak with him about Hutchinson. The conversation never happened as Bruce wasn't at work when they stopped by. John Hutchinson's brother Harold also worked at the Yard. Harold told the detectives that weeks earlier his brother had confided in him that he was planning to kill Bruce in connection with the fraud case. The morning after the shooting, Harold claimed his brother told him he had, quote, disposed of his problems at Bnd Ordo. It seemed plausible that Bruce had planned to report his rogue former employee to the police, giving Hutchinson a motive to kill him before he could talk. While Harold Hutchinson's claims supported this theory, investigators had to proceed with caution. Harold had a mild intellectual disability and they suspected he was easily influenced, potentially saying what he thought they wanted to hear. He therefore wouldn't be considered a reliable witness in court. Seeking more concrete evidence, detectives went to speak with the John Hutchinson directly. Hutchinson appeared surprised when police arrived at his home to question him and conduct a search. They seized several firearms, including three shotguns, although Hutchinson claimed he hadn't fired any of them in over two years. When told that he was the primary suspect in Bruce Miller's murder, Hutchinson insisted he had nothing to hide. He admitted to stealing car parts from B and D Auto during his employment and burglarising the scrapyard multiple times since his termination. He also confessed to committing fraudulent acts while working there, including altering vehicles identification numbers and rolling back odometers to mislead buyers. There was no indication that Bruce was involved in or had any knowledge of the scam. While Hutchinson had discussed his legal issues with his brother Harold, he denied ever plotting to kill Bruce. He admitted he owed Bruce $2,000 and had been avoiding him because he couldn't pay it back, but insisted he would never have killed Bruce over a small amount of money, despite being laid off the previous year. He said that the two had once been close. Still, investigators were struck by Hutchinson's flat, emotionless tone when discussing Bruce's death. Bruce. His response seemed strangely detached for someone who claimed to have once been a good friend. I did not shoot him, hutchinson told them calmly, even going so far as to request a lie detector test. The polygraph was brief. When asked about his involvement in or knowledge of Bruce's murder, Hutchinson firmly responded, no, though oddly, he nodded his head as he spoke. Afterwards, Hutchinson was stunned to learn that he had failed the test. He attributed the result to unrelated stress and anxieties, which he claimed had affected his composure. Hutchinson continued to assert his innocence and even offered to retake the test. Hutchinson took a second test with a lawyer present. Once again, he nodded his head, despite answering no to key questions. He also exhibited other peculiar behaviours, such as frequent burping, as if trying to influence the result. Just like before, the machine indicated deception. Hutchinson diverted attention away from himself by revealing he might have told someone that Bruce carried large sums of cash in his shirt pocket, though he refused to name anyone specifically. This led investigators back to the robbery theory, though they remained sceptical of John Hutchinson despite being under a cloud of suspicion. John Hutchinson joined the solemn crowd of mourners, offering their condolences to Bruce's grief grieving family. At his memorial service, with tears in his eyes, he shook Chuck Miller's hand and said, I can't believe they're saying I killed your brother. Chuck replied evenly, I hope to hell you didn't have anything to do with my brother's death. After viewing Bruce's body in the open casket, Hutchinson approached Cherie Miller, draped his arm around her shoulder and quietly offered an apology. Cherie said nothing in response, but when Hutchinson walked away to mingle with others, she erupted. She ordered that he be escorted out, shouting, he's the one who killed my husband. Hutchinson, visibly shaken by the outburst, left without protest. The investigation into John Hutchinson hit a roadblock when forensic testing confirmed that none of his three shotguns matched the murder weapon. And while the scrapyard office was cluttered and grimy, it yielded no physical evidence linking anyone else to the crime. Maybe the killer was not some bungling opportunistic thief, as investigators initially believed, but someone with a deeper understanding of forensic procedures, careful and calculated enough to leave no trace. With few leads emerging, investigators turned their attention to those closest to Bruce. But no one appeared to benefit meaningfully from his death. Although Bruce had died without a will, the Bulk of his modest estate was set to go to his mother and two adult children from a previous marriage. His children were also due to receive $78,000 from an insurance payout. While Cherie Miller inherited the scrapyard, she sold it for minimal profit, leaving her with $16,000 in savings and a meagre amount from Bruce's stocks and pension funds. None of it seemed a compelling enough reward to justify murder. Alibis among the group were verified, including that of Bruce's brother Chuck, further narrowing the pool of potential suspects. As 1999 came to a close, police expanded their search, interviewing transients known to frequent the area around the scrapyard and issuing public appeals for information. But as months passed without a breakthrough, they feared the case was growing cold. Three months after Bruce Miller's murder, nearly 800 miles away in Odessa, Missouri, 39 year old Gerry Cassaday died by suicide. A former detective lieutenant, Jerry was once known as the Chameleon for his ability to blend in with criminals and elicit confessions through casual conversation. He was so skilled at spotting and unravelling lies that he held the highest case clearance and confession rate in his metropolitan area. Jerry loved his job and was highly respected by colleagues who described him as one of the good ones for his unwavering commitment to honesty. When Gerry started noticing other officers cutting corners, bending rules and crossing legal boundaries in the line of duty, he grew disillusioned. His breaking point came when he discovered that falsified police records had been used to convict a murder suspect. He blew the whistle, leading to the dismissal of the officer responsible. In turn, Jerry paid a steep personal price. He was unofficially demoted and endured relentless harassment both on and off the job. Broken by the whole experience, he resigned from the Force in 1994. He later found work as a casino security guard, eventually moving up to a position as table games dealer. While he was valued and well liked by players and co workers, he was no longer the man he once was. The optimism that had defined him was replaced by bitterness, paranoia and deep depression. He mixed his prescription medications with alcohol until his emotional instability broke down his marriage. On Tuesday, February 9, 2000, Gerry sat by his apartment window gazing out at a lake as country music played in the background. Lined up on the windowsill were carefully arranged photographs. Among them were pictures of his three sons, aged 14 to 20, and his ex wife. Her image also appeared on the home screen of his nearby computer. Their wedding rings lay next to the photos and a copy of their divorce decree sat on a lamp table beside him. Jerry opened a Bible on his lap to The Gospel of Matthew took his.22 calibre rifle and ended his life. Jerry's body was discovered two days later on Friday, February 11th. A preliminary search of his apartment by first responders turned up no suicide note or clear explanation for his actions. However, they did find several bottles of prescribed antidepressants and a report from a mental health centre detailing a recent stay. Given his ongoing struggles, the evidence at the scene, and reports that Gerry had recently spoken about suicide, the case was deemed unsuspicious and closed on the same morning that his body was found. Jerry's loved ones spent the rest of the day at his apartment processing their grief and sorting through his belongings. While going through Gerry's bedroom, his older brother Mike crouched to check under the bed when something caught his eye. A brown leather briefcase. The discovery was not entirely unexpected. Three months earlier, in November 1999, Jerry had called Mike to say he was going to the family's lake cabin for a couple of days to clear his head. Before leaving, he made an odd remark. There was a briefcase under his bed and if he didn't return within two days, Mike was to retrieve it and follow the instructions. Jerry returned as promised and never mentioned the briefcase again. The strange incident faded from Mike's memory until he stumbled upon the briefcase. After Jerry's death, several sealed envelopes were taped to the front, each marked in Jerry's unmistakable handwriting. One was addressed to his parents, another to his youngest son, and a third to his ex wife. Strangely, the final envelope featured the contact details of an attorney based in Kansas City. Scrawled across this envelope was the chilling instruction to Mike. He had previously forewarned Mike, do not open alone. Mike took the briefcase, stashed it in the trunk of his car, then placed a call to the attorney listed on the envelope. John o' Connor was a high profile criminal defence lawyer who had crossed paths with Gerry Cassaday during his years in law enforcement. Usually when representing clients, Gerry was trying to convict. Despite being on opposite sides of the courtroom, the two men shared mutual respect and had gotten along well. John was at home on Friday, February 11, when Mike Cassaday called. He was stunned to learn that Jerry had taken his own life and even more so, that his contact details had been found on a briefcase hidden under his bed. John arranged to meet with the Cassidys to examine the contents of the case together. Given what the family shared about Gerry's troubles, John approached the situation with caution. He feared the briefcase might contain some form of revenge for the slights Jerry had endured throughout his life. Rather than opening it himself. John handed the case over to Kansas City Police's bomb disposal unit. The team agreed to inspect it for explosives without examining or disturbing its contents. Carefully, they popped open one of the latches to get a glimpse inside. Case file will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Let's be honest. Traditional phone systems weren't built for how businesses work today. And when you miss a call, you're not just missing a conversation, you're losing business. Quo is the modern alternative designed to help you work smarter, build stronger relationships, and never miss an opportunity. Quo is the leading business phone system that streamlines customer communications. It works through an app on your phone or computer so you can run your business from anywhere. You and your team can share one number, manage calls and texts like a shared inbox, and respond quickly to keep customers happy. Its AI agent logs conversations, creates summaries, automates tasks, and can answer calls or route leads after hours. 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