
A young father moves to Nashville chasing his college dreams, but in June 1998, 23-year-old Marcus Rutledge vanishes after taking his daughter to daycare. His disappearance reveals a life filled with secrets...and even after the discovery of his skull, his family is left wondering if they'll ever know what really happened.
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Ashley Flowers
Hi Crime Junkies, I am here because there is an update in a case that you may have been following with me and you need to hear this. If you listened to season seven of Counterclock, you will know the case of Nathaniel Jones and the five teenage boys convicted of his murder. When the season ended, there were major questions about whether or not investigators got it right, and host Delia D'Ambra made it clear this case was far from over. Well, now this case is back in court and decisions that could change everything are unfolding right now. In an all new bonus episode of Counterclock, Delia takes us inside the recent evidentiary hearing, reveals the results, and shares new interviews with people who are speaking out for the first time after hearing the season. So if you need to catch up on the season or you need a refresher, head back and listen to season seven of Counterclock so that you're ready for this pivotal update. And then go listen to the bonus episode of Counterclock, which you can get wherever you get your podcasts. As you set resolutions for 2025, consider how learning a new language can enrich your life, whether through travel, career advancement, or cultural appreciation. Rosetta Stone's immersive lessons guide you to think a new language from day one. Today, Crime Junkie listeners can take advantage of Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off, visit rosettastone.com crimejunkie that's 50% off. Unlimited lifetime access to 25 language courses@rosettastone.com.
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Hi crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers.
Delia D'Ambra
And I'm Britt.
Ashley Flowers
And the story I have for you today is about how a young man's disappearance revealed a secret life. And his secret life made it so much harder for investigators to solve his disappearance. This is the story of Marcus Rutledge. So it's the afternoon on Monday, June 8, 1998, and a woman named Tawania is getting kind of nervous. She and her 23 year old boyfriend, Marcus Rutledge were supposed to meet up, but he's a no show, not even answering his cell phone. She's like calling him and calling him, but she's just not hearing anything back.
Delia D'Ambra
And when's the last time she spoke to him?
Ashley Flowers
So it actually hasn't been very long. I mean, he had spent the night at her place and then took their two year old daughter to daycare at around like 10 o'clock that morning. And they've even honestly talked on the phone since at like 1130 that afternoon. So truly, very little time has passed. It might not even ring alarm bells for some people. But the thing is, this is totally uncharacteristic of Marcus not to answer his phone. And if he did miss a call, he would get back to whoever tried him, like asap. So right away she knows in her gut that something just doesn't feel right. So she reaches out to Marcus's parents, David and Geraldine, known as Gerry. And she's just trying to see if like they have heard anything from him. They're not local, they're in Southeast Michigan, while Tawani and Marcus both live in Nashville, Tennessee. Marcus had actually moved to Nashville to attend Tennessee State University, tsu. But even with the distance, like, his family talks to him pretty regularly. So Tewania is hoping that they might know where he is. But it turns out they haven't heard from him either. Now, according to what his dad, David told our reporter Nina, when he got that first call from Tawania, he understood her concern. Like Marcus going mia, even to him is unheard of. But you know, he tries to reassure her at first. Maybe Marcus just got held up somewhere. It'll be fine. Just like give it a beat, right? But Tawania says that she wants to go to Marcus's duplex apartment to just check on him. So David tells her, like, okay, just, like, keep me posted. And meanwhile, he and Jerry start making a series of unsuccessful calls to Marcus themselves, trying to reach him. So when Twanya pulls up to Marcus's apartment, his car, this red 1995 Plymouth Neon, isn't there. But instead of that, reassuring her, like, oh, he's just out, for some reason, she's actually more convinced than ever that something is up and she needs to get into his apartment. Now, even though they've been together for a little bit, it doesn't look like she has a key to his place. So she devises this plan to call Marcus's best friend, Ethan Gibbs Jr. Who basically helps her just break into the place.
Delia D'Ambra
That feels like a pretty big leap, I guess.
Ashley Flowers
I mean, I think it's. It's the unanswered phone calls. They're just. Again, I. I can't.
Delia D'Ambra
So unlike him.
Ashley Flowers
So unlike him. Even when she calls Athan, like, he doesn't think she's overreacting. He's just as concerned. So when Ithan gets there, he and Tawania break in through a back window. And what they find inside just kind of confirms for them that they made the right decision. Because even though there's no sign of a struggle or foul play, Marcus's Rottweiler is shut in his bathroom with no food or water, except, like, the water in the toilet. And they can tell that he's been there for a while because he had eaten part of the bathroom carpet. And they know that Marcus would never leave his dog like that, not even for a short amount of time, let alone for however long it took this dog to start chewing on the rug. So there's no indication that Marcus was planning for any kind of trip, Right? Like, his clothes are still there. There's no bag or suitcase that's packed or even missing. Like, nothing is standing out to them. So with David and Jerry's encouragement, Tawania calls the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department that very night, and an officer comes to take a missing persons report. Now, initially, he gets some basic details about Marcus. He puts out a BOLO for his car, which should stick out because, like, it has. Not only is it red, but, like, has Michigan plates. It's not local right now, even though there is nothing in his apartment that is obviously out of place, like, it doesn't appear that he was even robbed. Nothing like that. David told us that something was taken from Marcus's apartment that day that police do kind of check Out. So Marcus's landline phone was taken, but there's no mystery about who took it. It was Tawania.
Delia D'Ambra
Why?
Ashley Flowers
She says apparently it was her phone and she wanted it back.
Question mark.
Delia D'Ambra
Why did police let her take anything?
Ashley Flowers
I don't know. I don't know if they didn't realize that she even did at first. Like, we actually got to speak with Nashville cold case detective Matt Filter. He is the one heading up the investigation now, although he wasn't on the force when this all started. But he told us that Tawania actually took Marcus's caller ID because apparently she wanted to look for numbers that she might recognize. Like, I don't know if the caller ID is, like, built into the phone. I don't know why she would take it instead of telling police.
Delia D'Ambra
I was gonna say, but couldn't she have checked it right there at the apartment?
Ashley Flowers
I know this part, like, doesn't totally add up for me, but for whatever reason, she took it with her. Police do, though, get it back from her pretty quickly, like, once they realize. But it's useless to everyone because Detective Filter says that when she unplugged it at Marcus's house, all of the numbers were automatically erased.
Delia D'Ambra
It, like, factory resets it.
Ashley Flowers
Yes.
Delia D'Ambra
It loses all the information.
Ashley Flowers
So if she was trying to see something, that information is now gone. And that's just one of the things weighing on David and Jerry's minds as they make the 500 plus mile drive to Nashville the next day. So when they arrive, Tawania's house is their first stop. Now, Tewania isn't a stranger to them. On, like, a past trip to Nashville, David and Jerry had taken her and Marcus out to dinner. But this time, they're not here for a friendly visit. Like, they want answers from her. Yeah, but Toania tells them she has no idea what could have happened to Marcus or where he might be. And the only person she can think of who Marcus spent a lot of time with is Ethan. So Marcus's parents arrange to meet up with him at their son's duplex, but he doesn't have any insight to share either. He says that he is just as lost as they are, and he wants to help them find Marcus any way he can. However, David and Jerry can't help but notice that their son's friend seems awfully nervous. Like, he's literally sweating. He can't sit still, and there's just this uncomfortable energy that is, like, vibrating off of him.
Delia D'Ambra
Had they ever met Ethan before?
Ashley Flowers
So they actually know him Pretty well, because up until a few months ago, Athan and Marcus shared an apartment. They were roommates. But, like, Marcus had recently decided to get his own place. So he moved out. Like, moved into this duplex that they had now looked at.
Delia D'Ambra
Did anything prompt that move? Or was it just like kind of growing up, wanting your own space?
Ashley Flowers
Yeah, I think you can call it that. I think the two just had, like, roommate issues, but stuff that, like, two people who live together might encounter. Little things that just, like, get under your skin for the reason you and.
Delia D'Ambra
I have never lived together. Preach.
Ashley Flowers
Marcus had, I guess, vented to his family about aan. He's messy. His bills weren't getting paid on time, like, that kind of thing. But even after Marcus moved out, he and a than stayed really close friends. So, like, there is no bad blood between them. And honestly, Marcus's family had always liked Ethan. He is a respectful guy from a good family. They never had any cause for concern about Marcus being around him. And even now, they're wondering if his reaction is maybe just because of the circumstances. I mean, his best friend is now missing, seemingly vanished into thin air. But Marcus's sister Felicia notices the same strange vibe when Ethan takes her driving around to look for her brother's missing car. She's like, Ethan's acting tense. He's not saying much other than just like, suggesting places where they should maybe look for the car. He's saying that he's worried about the whole situation, but again, nothing like incriminating. It's just like it could be chalked up to the same thing right now. As detectives start digging in, they begin to learn more about Marcus's life. He has two children. A nearly four year old son with a former girlfriend in Knoxville and a two year old daughter with Tawania. He is super involved with both kids, always checks in with his son. But that child and his mom haven't heard from him either. According to Tennessean reporter Beth Warren, Marcus had last seen his son in May when they went to the zoo and they had been planning a big party for his upcoming birthday.
Delia D'Ambra
Was there any relationship drama?
Ashley Flowers
No, no. He gets along well with both of his children's mothers. So, like, that feels like a quick dead end, which is when they turn to his school. Maybe someone at the university there can help them piece things together.
Delia D'Ambra
Right.
Ashley Flowers
But this is where they encountered the first big twist in their investigation. It turns out Marcus has been keeping some major secrets from his family.
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Ashley Flowers
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So police learn that Marcus actually dropped out of college the year before, back in 1997. What? Yeah, he's basically been pretending to be a student ever since.
Delia D'Ambra
And his family had no idea.
Ashley Flowers
Mm. Mm. In fact, the last time Marcus visited his parents, which was just a few weeks before he went missing, this was for Memorial Day. He was there for a cookout. He said he left early because he had to study for an exam.
Delia D'Ambra
Did Twania know?
Ashley Flowers
I don't know. So the detective we talked to didn't know either. And Nina tried calling the number that Marcus dad had for Tawania. We're not sure if it's still the right number for her anymore. Like, long story short, we haven't been able to talk to her to figure that out. But either way, his family was shocked to find this out from her. Like, going to TSU was the entire reason Marcus moved to Nashville in the first place. I mean, both his parents went there. He wanted to follow in their footsteps. I mean, the wild part is they thought he was close to graduating. It's not just that he was going there. They were expecting to go to a graduation soon. But that's not the only surprise in store for the family, because even though Marcus doesn't have a criminal record, investigators also learn that he'd been selling weed. And they think that he might have started when he was still a student because his clientele seems to mostly be other students. Like, it doesn't seem that he was out on the streets dealing. And we're talking small scale stuff. Like, not some Big time operation. And Aethan actually admits this to police. He says that he and Marcus both sell weed, although I'm not sure if they work together or what. And I don't know if Athan is the first person that they hear this from or if he's just confirming this info that they learn or already had. But he doesn't try to hide it, I think is the main point.
Delia D'Ambra
But that could be why he's acting so strange around Marcus's family. He knows they're all gonna find out about this and be upset about the drugs.
Ashley Flowers
Maybe. Yeah. But here's the thing. Even while he's being honest about the weed, investigators still can't shake this feeling like Aethan is holding something back. They just don't know what. Cause, like, I don't think that all that stuff, like, just stops after they learn the thing. Right. Or what they think could be the thing.
Delia D'Ambra
Did he know that Marcus had dropped out of school?
Ashley Flowers
I assume he knew because they spent a decent amount of time together. I mean, like, I think I would tell you things I wouldn't necessarily tell my parents, like, when I was his age. But there doesn't seem to be any solid confirmation of that. Like, it's kind of like with Tawania. I mean, and even his other ex. I don't know what any of them did or did not know about him dropping out of college. But I do know that both women, Tawania and his other ex, seemed to be aware that he was selling weed. I know that much. In an interview with Dateline NBC reporter Josh Mankiewicz, his son's mom, said that he was doing it to help provide for their child. And Tawania tells detectives the same thing, that this was just a way he could make enough money to support everyone. But whatever the reason, his parents are hurt and confused to find all of this out like this. Like, it completely goes against his upbringing. Like, they raised Marcus and his sister in this solid home. They felt that, like, centered around family, it's centered around church. David is actually an elected official. Jerry is an elementary school teacher. So, like, selling drugs, lying about being in college, all of this is the last thing they expected from their son. However, speaking of secrets, this wasn't the only time Marcus had kept a big one from his parents. They actually didn't know about their grandson.
Until he was born.
And Marcus was only 19 at the time.
Delia D'Ambra
And I don't know how, like, Churchy they raised him, but I can see that maybe being a reason why he hit it.
Ashley Flowers
Yeah, I mean, I Think he was probably just afraid that David and Jerry would be disappointed in him. Right.
Delia D'Ambra
And that's probably the reason he kept the school thing to himself. Like, the disappointment that, like, not only is he disappointing them, but he's already disappointed them. So it's like, one more thing. Had they noticed any changes in Marcus's behavior? Like, looking back, like, knowing or finding out about all this now?
Ashley Flowers
So at that Memorial Day cookout that I mentioned, his sister Felicia thought that he seemed unusually stressed. But when she asked him about it, he just said that he had a lot going on in Nashville. He didn't really elaborate, and as far as his parents knew, everything was fine. Like, you can chalk stress up to the finals.
Delia D'Ambra
He said he was going to go study for schooling. Yeah, right.
Ashley Flowers
So you can imagine how overwhelming this is for his family. They are already dealing with him being missing, but then to discover that he was living a life they really knew nothing about, it was a lot. And David told us it's like walking through a nightmare. And as investigators dig deeper into Marcus's life, more concerning details emerged. He had gotten into a couple of altercations. One reported to police when it happened about a year before his disappearance, and then another just a few months before he went missing. Both incidents were apparently related to him selling weed, although Detective Filter won't share specifics about those altercations.
Delia D'Ambra
Were there people after him? Like, was anybody?
Ashley Flowers
Like, not that investigators can tell. Like, I don't think there's anyone specific. Or if there is, they're not sharing that. It seems like from everything they look at, they can't find any immediate dangers in his life. No one is saying Marcus owed them money. No one has been, like, making threats to him. But they do discover something interesting. Back in mid May, Marcus, they find out, had rented a car for, like, 10 days. And this stood out because they know that he didn't get into an accident or anything. So it doesn't look like his own car was out of commission or anything.
Delia D'Ambra
So why rent right now?
Ashley Flowers
Did he drive back and forth from Nashville to Knoxville a lot to see his son? You know, that's like 360 miles each trip. Maybe he didn't want to put the miles on his car. But Detective Filter pointed out an alternative possibility. He says that when you're doing something illegal, you might not want to use your own car to do that. But they don't know if he was doing something illegal with the car or what he was using it for in those 10 days. They truly just have no idea.
Delia D'Ambra
Right he just had a rental for 10 days.
Ashley Flowers
Days, right. So they find that out, but then beyond that, not much turns up. There is a recent traffic ticket, some receipts from a car wash. Like, nothing that points investigators in any real direction. So here you have this devoted father who has suddenly stopped checking in with his kids, which seems completely out of character. But they've also just learned that he's been living this whole other life that his family knew nothing about. And they really can't tell if he left on his own or if something happened to him. But their thinking starts to shift on Tuesday, June 30. That is when a maintenance man at an apartment complex more than 20 miles from where Marcus lives spots Marcus's missing Plymouth. And this guy tells investigators that this car has been sitting in the same spot at Riverwood Apartments for at least a couple of weeks.
Delia D'Ambra
Why is he just calling about it now?
Ashley Flowers
Well, according to David, the guy contacts police because he saw something on the news about Marcus's disappearance and the car. So maybe he had only just realized. I mean, again, it's not like anything bad about this car. It's just kind of been there. And then once they make known what car everyone's looking for, he's like, oh, that's the car.
Delia D'Ambra
Does Marcus know someone who lives at this complex?
Ashley Flowers
So that's the thing. As far as anyone knows, Marcus has zero connection to this complex. And while investigators don't find any signs of violence in the car, when they look at it like there's no blood or anything like that, the fact that it's just sitting there abandoned makes them think something bad must have happened to Marcus. I mean, if he wanted to take off and start a new life, like.
Delia D'Ambra
How do you get. How's he gonna get there?
Ashley Flowers
The car's the thing you need, right? Like, or if you're gonna leave your car behind, like, just leave it parked at your place. Why drive 20 miles and then ditch it at this random apartment complex? And what's even more wild is apparently someone had been driving the car around. The maintenance man tells detectives that he saw this middle aged guy occasionally using it before it was left there for good around mid June. So somebody who was definitely not 23 year old Marcus. Now, detective Filter says that they never identified who this mystery driver was. But he also says that there could be explanations that don't necessarily include this driver being the one who did something to Marcus. Like he says, there is a world, right, where someone just handed this person the car without telling them anything about Marcus. Like, could have Been someone who didn't realize what they were driving around until they had, like, found out it belonged to a missing person. And then when they did, like, that's when they left it there, didn't go back for it.
Delia D'Ambra
I mean, was it locked up? Were the keys there?
Ashley Flowers
It wasn't locked.
Delia D'Ambra
Okay.
Ashley Flowers
But Detective Filter couldn't find anything in the reports that indicated if the keys were in it or not. And the maintenance man had no clue who the driver was, by the way. Like, hence the vague description. And this is a guy, the maintenance guy. He's, like, around a lot, and he's like, I don't recognize him. I hadn't seen him around before. No idea why he was in the complex at all.
Delia D'Ambra
But it makes me feel like the driver had to have lived there or was close to someone who did live there. If he was at the complex, like, back and forth a couple times, like, he was there and then he wasn't, and then he.
Ashley Flowers
Like you would think. But all I know is that according to David, police canvassed the complex, and that didn't lead them to Marcus or to anyone who knew Marcus.
Delia D'Ambra
Yeah, but what about the people who knew the driver? I know we don't know who he is, but, like, he doesn't live there. But that guy has to have a tie there. To me, it's a chain. Right. Like, the person in the complex leads you to the driver, the driver leads you to who gave him to the car.
Ashley Flowers
Right. And, like, if that goes all the.
Delia D'Ambra
Way back to Marcus and why he doesn't have his car and where he.
Ashley Flowers
Is, and if they did have something to do with it. Right. And it's not just, like, a car that was given to them or even if, again, they now know it belongs to a missing person, Like, I don't think they're going to be, like, fessing up to knowing him. Right?
Delia D'Ambra
Right.
Ashley Flowers
I don't know. All the things are possible. It's also possible that the canvassing they did was just light. Again, maybe people were lying or option C, I just truly don't know. But they're hopeful that now that they have the car, maybe they can find the driver another way and maybe through forensic evidence. So police have the Plymouth towed to their lab, and inside they find a gun that's tucked under the driver's seat. Now, is this more evidence of Marcus's double life? Like, did the gun belong to the person who was driving the car? Did it belong to Marcus? Like, couldn't tell you because it doesn't look like the gun Was actually registered to anyone. Though it seems like from, you know, what we learned from detective filter, that everyone assumes the gun was Marcus's. They also managed to lift two fingerprints from the car. One from inside the driver's side window, and then another from a rented VHS tape that they find in the car. And the print from the tape leads nowhere. The detective told us they confirmed it belonged to an employee at the video rental place, which is like, give me an older sentence.
Delia D'Ambra
Right.
Ashley Flowers
And the fingerprint on the window, they eliminated, or they eliminated a than and tawanya as the sources of it, but they didn't, like, eliminate anyone else. They couldn't determine who it belonged to. Here's the wild part. To me, they said it could be Marcus's because detective filter says they don't have his prints on file. But, like, here's where I get a little skeptical. Like, sure, Marcus was never arrested, so his prints weren't in the system.
Delia D'Ambra
Right.
Ashley Flowers
But they have access to his apartment. Like, couldn't they have lifted his prints from there to compare?
Delia D'Ambra
I mean, you'd think. So those two prints were the only prints in the car, Right? Like, I guess I thought you were saying that those were the only prints that weren't his.
Ashley Flowers
Those are the only prints that were identifiable.
Delia D'Ambra
So, detective filtered, like smudged or smeared or incomplete. Yeah.
Ashley Flowers
Detective filter told us the car was examined meticulously is what he said, and that it didn't appear to be wiped down or anything like that. That's a question we asked. But he says he also can't say for sure. Again, he wasn't on the case back then. So from what I can tell, those are the ones that were they were able to pull. And here's the thing. Prince aside, what really concerns investigators Is what they don't find in the car, which is any proof that Marcus was alive after June 8th. All of the receipts, everything in the car predates his disappearance. Now, meanwhile, so they find this. Marcus's family is back in Michigan at this point, Trying to process their new reality. To David and Jerry, each revelation about their son feels like another piece of the puzzle, One that they never thought they would have to solve. His student loan notices are starting to come in the mail, which is this reminder of a life that he was supposed to be building. And there's something else that's coming in, Something far stranger than student loan bills.
Britt Prawat
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Ashley Flowers
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Shortly after their son goes missing, Jerry and David start getting these strange phone calls on their home phone in Michigan. The phone will ring and ring, but when they pick up, it's nothing, just silence on the other end. And Jerry, they don't just like say hello and stop talking. I mean, Jerry pleads with the caller, like Marcus, if this is you, please just say something. But whoever is on the other end never speaks. And Felicia remembers it happening like two or three times in those first couple of months. And according to an article by Jax Miller for Oxygen Network, Marcus son's mom was getting the same kind of unsettling, quiet calls.
Delia D'Ambra
Do police try to trace these calls?
Ashley Flowers
Not that I'm aware of. Like I, I don't know if they even try to begin with or if the problem was like, from what I can tell, there's no pattern to this or anything. So I don't know if they just think they're weird or if they just didn't care enough to do it. I don't know. But these calls do give his loved ones hope that Marcus is safe, still out there, maybe, maybe still alive. Investigators, though, they are not as optimistic. The calls are, like I said, super sporadic. Months will go by without a single one, and in that time the leads are even Fewer. So almost as quickly as it all begins, the case goes cold. Police don't have enough to work with. No real trail to follow. All of the fragments that they've uncovered about Marcus haven't even fit together into any kind of coherent picture. No one they speak with seems to have the whole story. Well, almost no one. They're still pretty sure that Ethan knows way more than he's letting on. Maybe he doesn't know exactly what happened to Marcus, but Detective Filter believes that he had some idea of what happened or who might have been involved. Because even though he was upfront about, you know, selling weed for whatever reason after that and beyond that point, it appears that he kind of just shut down. And while it's possible that given time, he might have decided to share more, that is a chance that he doesn't get. Because little do detectives know they are about to have a new case to work, and their victim will be Athan. So let me take you to February 1999. By now, Marcus has been missing for about eight and a half months, and the case is at a complete, complete standstill. Investigators are convinced that Athan knows more Than he's letting on, but he's not talking. Now, around this time, Athan is tied up with someone new, this brand new roommate of sorts, this guy named Charles D. Brown, Jr. And this new arrangement is raising some eyebrows, especially with a than's brother, Jonathan. Jonathan has been staying with a Than, but as soon as Charles moves in, Jonathan's like, I'm peaceing out for a bit. Like, he just wants to get away from the guy because Charles is one of Eighthan's closest friends.
But Jonathan has never approved of him.
He didn't think that Charles was the type of person his brother should hang out with. And there was definitely reasons for concern. So according to articles in the Tennessean by Kirk Loggins and Kathy Carlson, Charles had pass arrests for aggravated assault, unlawful weapon possession, and selling and possessing weed. He had also been shot and shot someone during an attempted home invasion that happened. Interestingly, that attempted home invasion happened one day after Marcus went missing.
Delia D'Ambra
You know, we don't believe in coincidences anymore, right?
Ashley Flowers
So let me rewind real quick and tell you about this home invasion because the details are interesting to say the least. So in the morning on June 9, 1998, three or four masked men broke into Charles's apartment. And at the time, he was living with his girlfriend and two young children, and everyone was home when the intruders broke in. They demanded money, and then they started shooting they're like spraying bullets everywhere with at least two guns. Charles gets shot five times, and somehow, not only did he manage to survive, he also returned fire and hit one of the gunmen, who then took off. And John Yates reported something really intriguing for the Tennessean. Witnesses told police that they saw the suspects flee from Charles's place in two vehicles, including a red one that they thought looked like a Chevy Corsica. And when I googled a red Chevy Corsica, it looks an awful lot like Marcus's then missing red Plymouth, which I actually have the photos to show you because it's just too bonkers.
Delia D'Ambra
Okay, so this one is the Corsica and this is the Ashley.
Ashley Flowers
They're like identical.
Delia D'Ambra
They're kind of like the same car. They definitely look incredibly similar.
Ashley Flowers
I mean, like, if you weren't like a car person, right, or like, not even a car person, but like, you knew your makes and models, you could easily mix those up. Anyway. Within an hour of the home invasion, a man named James Cowan shows up at the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. Cowan tells police some story about getting shot from a car, but court records show that the bullet recovered during his surgery matched a gun that the shooters left behind at Charles's apartment. So I'm guessing that Cowan was hit by maybe friendly fire during the chaos, because again, it didn't come from, like, Charles's gun. Supposedly it was a gun left behind. Again, I don't know if that matters or not, but whatever. Now, this Cowan guy was no stranger to detectives. He was actually a potential suspect in six homicides.
Delia D'Ambra
Oh, my God.
Ashley Flowers
Yeah. As far as I can tell, Cowan was never arrested for murder. He was, however, arrested and convicted of attempted first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary for the home invasion on Charles. And he was sentenced to six decades in prison because of the violent nature of the crime and his extensive rap she which included multiple drug related felonies. Now, in connection to all of this, Charles wasn't arrested since he was acting in self defense, but investigators didn't believe that Cowan and the crew he came with just randomly chose Charles house to rob.
Delia D'Ambra
Did they arrest anyone else in connection to it? I mean, it's. It was more than one person, right?
Ashley Flowers
It was, but as far as I know, they didn't like, arrest anyone or charge anyone except for Cowan.
Delia D'Ambra
Did they recover the gun used to shoot at Charles?
Ashley Flowers
So that's not totally clear from the court records. They say they recovered two guns. They recovered a nine millimeter found in the backyard, and they had Charles's gun, which is a 357 revolver. But there were at least three guns involved, because according to testimony, at one point during this struggle, an accomplice of Cowan's threw him a quote, unquote, big gun when the first gun that he was using ran out of ammunition.
Delia D'Ambra
What about the gun in Marcus's car?
Ashley Flowers
Well, so at the time this is happening, I mean, they're not going to find that for weeks. But when they do find it, I know that they run the bullets through their database to check for links to other crimes, but nothing comes up. So I don't think that gun was used in this, if that's what you're getting at.
Delia D'Ambra
Yeah.
Ashley Flowers
Okay, so that happens. Now, let's jump back to February of 1999. According to Kirk Loggins, on the 18th, Aethan informs his brother that Charles is going to crash with them. Right. And so this is when Jonathan's like, don't like this guy. I'm going to peace out. A couple of days after that, Athen tells him that Charles was, quote, unquote, going crazy. Like, apparently he was super paranoid. He was saying that his girlfriend was trying to have him killed. But it's not like Jonathan moved away. I mean, I don't think Charles was supposed to be a permanent fixture. He just needed to crash for a couple of days. So the night of Tuesday, February 23rd, Jonathan comes back to the house. And when he pulls up, the door to the duplex is wide open. And when he makes his way inside there on the floor, he sees his brother Athan's body, stiff and cold. He had been shot multiple times. Now, police believe that Ethan was actually killed days before he was found, sometime before noon that past Sunday. They also think that there might have been more than one weapon used, and shell casings that they find appear to be from a.40 caliber gun. Now, they don't see any signs of forced entry, although they do notice that something is missing. Athan's white Pontiac Grand Am. But the next day, someone spots this vehicle in Nashville's Inglewood neighborhood, which is like 18 miles from Athan's apartment. And they recognize it from the news reports.
Delia D'Ambra
This is feeling too similar, right?
Ashley Flowers
And Ethan's aunt tells Kathy Carlson that his family doesn't know of any connections that he has to that area. Of course, now, obviously, the biggest difference between Marcus and Athan's cases are that Athan's is clearly a homicide. He's been found while Marcus is still a missing person.
Delia D'Ambra
Right.
Ashley Flowers
And while detectives are still basically in the dark about what happened to Marcus, they've got a pretty good theory forming about who might be responsible for Athens murder.
Delia D'Ambra
It's gotta be Charles.
Ashley Flowers
Yeah, and mostly because an Inglewood woman IDs him as the guy that she saw leaving A Than's car on her street the day before his body was found.
Delia D'Ambra
Wait, how old is Charles? I'm wondering if he could have been the one seen driving Marcus's car.
Ashley Flowers
No, that they thought that guy was middle aged. Charles is, like Marcus's age. So, like, 23, early 20s. Okay, right. But still, police can't ignore how sketchy his behavior gets. Kirk Loggins reported that Charles skips Ethan's funeral and completely ghosts police when they try to question him further. A friend who hung out with Charles and Athan over the weekend tells investigators that Charles was seriously worried about his own safety, possibly because of that home invasion that we talked about. Now, Charles was apparently so convinced that someone was after him that he was wearing a bulletproof vest around. And he had at least two guns in his SUV, including a.40 caliber, like the shell casings found at the scene. So, talking or not, they do have enough on him to charge him with Ethan's murder in early March. And after a few days on the run, he ends up turning himself in.
Delia D'Ambra
Hold up. What's the motive? Charles got paranoid and then just snapped on Athan?
Ashley Flowers
No. So not likely. Detective Filter actually refers to A Than's murder as drug related because he believes that A Than was selling weed when he was killed. So he was wrapped up in what could have been a dangerous crowd. Although, if he was, I mean, he was clearly keeping some secrets of his own from certain family members, because his aunt says that Aethan was working as a tax consultant at his father's, like, income tax business. So I don't know that they're connecting it to, like, Charles's paranoia, like. Or if they're saying the paranoia is separate and Charles did it because it was a direct thing. I don't know. It's a little, like, convoluted and muddy. Either way. At first, investigators suspect that there could be a connection between Ethan's murder and Marcus's disappearance. And when the Rutledge family hears about Aethan's death, they can hardly believe it. Marcus's sister Felicia is devastated because in her mind, Aethan was the one person who could fill in, maybe someday, all the blanks about her brother. And now he's gone. But Charles's arrest is a hopeful sign for Marcus's dad, David, because he figures that once police start, like, pushing on Charles Maybe the dam will burst and maybe they can finally find his son. But here comes another unexpected twist.
Britt Prawat
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I wish I could tell you more about what investigators learn from Charles, but there is not much info available. We know that a preliminary hearing is held later that March. Charles is emotional. He's sobbing at times and like shaking his head throughout the proceedings. The judge finds sufficient evidence to send the case to a grand jury, but it doesn't look like Charles is ever actually indicted, or if he is, the DA decides not to pursue it because the murder charge just disappears. What?
Delia D'Ambra
How?
Ashley Flowers
I guess there just wasn't enough to move forward. I mean, the headline for Kirk Loggin's article about the prelim was literally hearing short on evidence in Bellevue slaying. So the evidence presented by the state, I mean, we know was mostly circumstantial. Like, I mean, they had witnesses who could talk about Charles's behavior, they could talk about the fact that he had guns, but they couldn't actually connect him to the murder itself or even. Even, like I said, establish a clear timeline or motive.
Delia D'Ambra
But I thought his gun was used to kill Ethan.
Ashley Flowers
No, he just had the same type of gun as the one used to kill Ethan.
Delia D'Ambra
What about that witness who ID'd him dropping Ethan's car, though?
Ashley Flowers
Not enough. Detective Filter thinks that the da, in the end just like, wasn't confident that they could get a conviction, so they just dismissed the charges. Probably hoping that they'd be able to build a stronger case later. But for whatever reason, that never happened. Athan's murder is still considered unsolved today. And when it comes to any connection between Aan's murder and Marcus going missing, while there might be some witness overlap between the investigations, police say they've never been able to establish any direct link between the two. It's interesting. Detective Filters says that as far as he can tell from the case file, investigators only really looked at at Charles. Like, there's nothing showing that they ever dug into Cowan or his associates in connection with Marcus's disappearance. And then when we asked him about it, he told us, like, yeah, you know, that's an angle maybe worth exploring.
Delia D'Ambra
Which, like, yeah, but no one has in, oh, about three decades. No, I mean, to me, the timing alone, the home invasion a day after he went missing, not to mention the red car stuff, I know it definitely raises like, a couple of questions at least.
Ashley Flowers
Plus, we know that Cowan was already being looked at for other violent crimes at that point. Right? So I don't know. We'll have to see. We'll have to wait and see if Filter pursues that lead. Oh, and we actually did try and get in touch with Cowan, who was actually released from prison more than a decade ago and is out there on parole, but we couldn't reach him. And. And Charles, who has been in and out of lockup over the years for various crimes, he is in prison now on drug related charges, so we couldn't make contact with him. Now, whether or not any of These guys were involved. Police still believe that Ethan knew more than he let on and that he took some secrets about Marcus's disappearance to his grave.
Delia D'Ambra
Do they have any theories about where Marcus could be? I mean, as similar and connected as these cases seem, it stands out so much that Marcus just vanished while Ethan was just shot and left in his home on the floor. Like, why the difference?
Ashley Flowers
Well, I mean, they don't have any theories on a connection because they can't prove the cases are connected at all. So, like, without that link, you can't even build upon that. Right. Like, they're just stuck. So that was pretty much it. Like, years pass, tips aren't coming in, media coverage is minimal, and the case just sits there. But around 2010, something significant does happen. The Rutledge family learns that Marcus had another big secret. They find out that he had a daughter.
Delia D'Ambra
With who?
Ashley Flowers
Tawania.
Delia D'Ambra
Another one?
Ashley Flowers
No. But they never knew he had a daughter.
Delia D'Ambra
How is that even possible? I mean, didn't investigators know?
Ashley Flowers
So they did. I don't know how this happened, but it looks like they never communicated that to his family, which. Like, why would you. Right. Like, I can. Maybe they thought, like, oh, surely they know about this grandchild.
Delia D'Ambra
Yeah. There's no need to bring up something so obvious.
Ashley Flowers
Right.
Delia D'Ambra
But, like, wouldn't it come up when the police were getting basic information? Like, if his parents had mentioned their grandson, wouldn't someone have said, like, oh, and what about your granddaughter?
Ashley Flowers
You would think, but it didn't happen. And I guess, like, the part that I can't get over is, like, the fact that Tewania never mentioned it either, which makes you wonder, like, what other secrets she had. Because that feels like a secret. It doesn't feel like something that just, like, gets missed. Right. Like, they come, they have dinner with her before. They're like. They're all.
Delia D'Ambra
She's like, a main contact when Marcus goes missing. Like, they're in communication with her.
Ashley Flowers
Yeah. You would think when she calls them to be like, oh, he's like. He's not answering his phone. Oh, when's the last time you saw him? When he went to drop our daughter off at daycare. That's how we started the story. So it feels like something that got intentionally left out. I don't know. I wish we could talk to her, but we haven't been able to get a hold of her. Like I said.
Delia D'Ambra
I mean, how did they even find out about their granddaughter?
Ashley Flowers
I don't know the exact details of how this unfolds. I just know that Marcus's son somehow connected with her on Facebook, and then that's when the rest of the family found out. So, like, it's fuzzy, but this is one of those that even though it's a shock, it's at least a good surprise. Like, they have another little piece of Marcus to hold onto. And despite Marcus keeping her a secret, I have to imagine that even he'd be happy knowing that they all have finally found each other and just in time. Because in 2015, Marcus's mom, Jerry, passes away. And then in 2020, Detective Filter, who is in the Nashville PD's cold case unit, this is when he picks up the investigation for what started as, like, a pretty routine reason. Basically, they were doing, like, DNA housekeeping. They only have DNA from one of Marcus's kids in codis. So Filter wanted to get more family profiles into the system so that they can be proposed if they ever need to make comparisons, if they ever find.
Delia D'Ambra
Remains, did something specific prompt that, like, were there remains that could have been his that were found?
Ashley Flowers
Nothing like that. I think he just wanted to be proactive. He was making sure all of their bases were covered and that DNA update was going to be the extent of it. But once he started talking to David and learning more about Marcus, he just, like, I don't know, the case, like, latched onto him. He, like, kept digging. He wanted to see if he could help the Rutlet, like, get some answers some way. Hi, me. Big update. So that was kind of where our.
Unknown
Episode was supposed to end.
Ashley Flowers
Britt and I wrapped it up, did.
Unknown
The usual call to action.
Ashley Flowers
But literally just this last week, like, right as we were about to release.
Unknown
This episode, something huge happened. A major break in the case. On January 31, police announced that Marcus remains have been found. There was a skull that had been found by a Hunter back on December 8, 2010, in some woods near Ashland City highway and Pecan Valley Road. That is nearly 13 miles from where Marcus's car was found and 30 miles from his apartment. Now, the sequence of events is a little baffling for me and I'm sure frustrating for Marcus's family who are still coping with the news. And I say baffling because DNA from this unidentified skull wasn't uploaded to CODIS until a month after we interviewed the police. So we interviewed them in October, and then the ME submitted the skull DNA to CODIS in November. This is of 2024, and we don't know why it took so long. Marcus DNA had been in CODIS for years, and you heard right before our, like, record scratch moment that even more of his family's DNA had been added by Detective Filter to ensure that there would be enough to get a match to any unidentified remains that might surface. The DNA match that they got was a match to DNA collected from Marcus's daughter. It's just a shame that it didn't come 14 years sooner, because it puts detectives even further behind than they would have been in 2010. Detective Filter told us it is unclear if police searched the woods thoroughly at the time when the skull was found. So he is planning to do a search of his own, hoping to find more. Because unfortunately, even though they now know where Marcus has been, the skull hasn't told them much. There were no wounds or markings on it that gave a clue as to how Marcus was killed. But detectives are clear that they do believe Marcus was killed. And this missing person's case is now actively being worked as a homicide, which.
Ashley Flowers
Filter believed was the case even before finding Marcus's skull.
Unknown
He believes that Marcus involvement in selling weed likely played a role in his death. The problem is, even after this major breakthrough, police still have not gotten a single solid lead. I'm not kidding you, not even one.
Ashley Flowers
And Detective Filter doesn't think this case.
Unknown
Is going to be solved by science. What they need is for someone who knows the truth to finally start talking. Now, Marcus family, they were holding out hope for so long that he was still alive. Like, they held out that hope till the very end. It's what our whole ending was about. So this news was devastating to them. But maybe now that everyone knows where he was and where he was found, it could help connect some of the dots about what happened in those crucial days after June 8, 1998. They are convinced someone out there knows exactly what happened to him. And maybe you're that someone. So if you have any information about the death of Marcus Rutledge or even Athan's murder, contact the Metro Nashville Police Department at 615-862-8600. You can also call the department's crime stoppers division at 615-74-CRIME at 615-742-7463.
Ashley Flowers
You can find all the source material for this episode on our website, crimejunkiepodcast.com.
Delia D'Ambra
You can also follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast.
Ashley Flowers
And we'll be back next week with a brand new episode.
Unknown
It.
Ashley Flowers
Crime Junkie is an audio Chuck production. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?
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Episode Release Date: February 10, 2025
Host: Ashley Flowers
Co-Hosts: Britt Prawat and Delia D'Ambra
In this gripping episode of Crime Junkie, host Ashley Flowers delves deep into the mysterious disappearance of Marcus Rutledge, a case that has left both his family and investigators searching for answers for years. The episode meticulously chronicles the timeline of Marcus's disappearance, the secrets he kept, and the subsequent developments that have kept the case in the public eye.
June 8, 1998: Marcus Rutledge, a 23-year-old student at Tennessee State University (TSU), fails to meet his girlfriend Tawania for their scheduled meeting. Unlike his usual promptness, Marcus does not answer his cell phone, prompting Tawania to reach out to his parents, David and Geraldine Rutledge, in Southeast Michigan.
"So unlike him... Even when she calls Athan, like, he doesn't think she's overreacting. He's just as concerned." (06:07)
Concerned by the unusual behavior, Tawania, with the help of Marcus's best friend Ethan Gibbs Jr., breaks into Marcus's duplex apartment. Inside, they discover unsettling signs: Marcus's Rottweiler confined in the bathroom without food or water and evidence that Marcus had not planned to leave—his clothes were undisturbed, and no personal belongings were missing.
Despite these discoveries, Marcus remains missing, and his landline phone is taken by Tawania. Detective Matt Filter, now overseeing the case, reveals that when Tawania unplugged the phone, all stored numbers were erased, rendering that piece of evidence useless (08:28).
As investigators probe deeper, they uncover that Marcus had been living a double life unbeknownst to his family. Contrary to previous beliefs, Marcus had dropped out of college in 1997 and had been involved in selling weed, primarily to fellow students. This revelation shocks his parents, David and Geraldine, who had always seen Marcus as a dedicated student ready to graduate soon.
"Marcus's family is hurt and confused to find all of this out like this. It completely goes against his upbringing." (15:22)
Further complicating the case, it is revealed that Marcus had another daughter with Tawania, a fact unknown even to his parents until 2010 when Marcus's son connected with her on Facebook.
February 1999: The disappearance of Marcus begins to intertwine with the murder of Ethan Gibbs Jr., Marcus's best friend. Athan, who had recently moved in with a suspicious new roommate, Charles D. Brown, Jr., is found dead in their duplex, having been shot multiple times. Investigators suspect Charles due to:
Despite strong suspicions, the case against Charles falters due to insufficient evidence, and charges are dismissed, leaving Athan's murder unsolved.
"Detective Filter stated that the DA wasn't confident they could get a conviction, so they just dismissed the charges." (42:56)
After years of stagnation, a significant breakthrough occurs when remains, identified as Marcus Rutledge's, are discovered:
January 31, [Year Unspecified]: A skull found by a hunter in woods near Ashland City highway and Pecan Valley Road is confirmed to belong to Marcus through DNA matching with his daughter’s profile added to CODIS years earlier. This discovery shifts the investigation from a missing person's case to an active homicide investigation.
"The DNA match that they got was a match to DNA collected from Marcus's daughter." (54:52)
Detective Filter emphasizes the need for new information, stating that the remains provide a location but little else about Marcus's death. The absence of wounds or markings on the skull leaves many questions unanswered.
With Marcus Rutledge now classified as a homicide victim, Detective Filter expresses skepticism about resolving the case through forensic means alone. He urges anyone with information to come forward, highlighting that understanding Marcus's double life and his connections might be key to unraveling the mystery.
"Detective Filter doesn't think this case is going to be solved by science. What they need is for someone who knows the truth to finally start talking." (51:46)
The podcast concludes by encouraging listeners who might have information to contact the Metro Nashville Police Department, emphasizing the enduring hope of Marcus's family for closure.
This episode of Crime Junkie offers a comprehensive and engaging exploration of the Marcus Rutledge case, highlighting the complexities of his disappearance, the secrets that surfaced, and the intertwined fates of those around him. Through detailed narrative and insightful analysis, host Ashley Flowers presents a compelling call to action for listeners to aid in bringing justice to Marcus and his family.
For more information and source material, visit crimejunkiepodcast.com.
Follow Crime Junkie on Instagram: @crimejunkiepodcast