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- [00:02]
Commercial Narrator
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Co-host Ricky
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Commercial Narrator
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- [00:45]
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- [01:22]
Host Ashley
Today's case takes us to the quiet stretches of central Florida where the neighborhoods are lined with dense pine woods, sandy roads, and long, humid nights. But on the night of January 4th of 2023, something happened inside a small home in Silver Springs that shattered one family's world forever. What was first described as a tragic accident began unraveling almost immediately. Conflicting reports, unexplained injuries, and a timeline that has never made sense to the people who loved her most. As we walk through the final hours of Kody's life, the inconsistencies surrounding her death, and the questions her family has been begging to have answered, please listen with caution. This episode includes brief mentions of relationship violence, which may be triggering this is the story of Cody Novak. I'm Ashley. And I'm Ricky, and this is Crime Salad.
- [02:22]
Cody Elizabeth Novak was born and raised in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. And from the beginning, she was someone people remembered. Her family describes her as warm, hilarious, deeply empathetic, and stubborn in the way that only someone with a big heart can be. Cody put others first, often more than she should have, and she had this ability to see the good in almost anyone, even. Even when they didn't deserve it. She gave people chance after chance, rebuilding bridges again and again, even when they'd been burned before. And for anyone who ever saw a harsher side of her, her family says there was always more to the story because Kody carried a lot privately, often protecting the people who hurt her. So Kody graduated high school in 2013 through the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, and not long after, she made a big move down to Ocala, Florida. She worked in retail for a while, but she had bigger plans. She wanted to go into forensic science. And she wasn't just focused on school or work. She was involved in her community too. She was a member of the Stroudsburg Moose Lodge since 2016. She played in the Moose Riders Nine Ball Tap League. And even before that, she was in Girl Scouts.
- [03:38]
Co-host Ricky
And outside of all of that, she was just fun. She loved music. She collected everything. Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. She was always tinkering with her car. And she was that sibling who would stay up way too late making 3am Mac and cheese with her siblings. And the beach, that was her happy place. If Kody could be anywhere, that's where she wanted to be.
- [04:01]
Host Ashley
Kody came from a large and loving family. She was the daughter of April Townerman and Albert Counterman and and the older sister to Debbie and AJ. She also had an adopted brother, Kevin, and his wife Anna. She was surrounded by grandparents, godparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and a nephew she adored named kj. Her family was big and extremely close. People close to her say that Kody lived by the word ohana. That family isn't just blood, it's love and loyalty. And Kody lived that every day. By the start of 2023, she was living in Florida, building a life, setting goals and looking ahead. She was supposed to turn 28 years old on January 13th of that year, which is what makes everything that happened so painful. She had a huge support system. She had plans and people that loved her. She wasn't someone who disappeared for long or cut off communication. So when she suddenly went missing after January 3, her family knew that something was wrong.
- [05:06]
Co-host Ricky
And within just a few days, everything about Kody's life in the investigation would unravel into a series of contradictions that her family has been fighting to make sense of ever since, right?
- [05:20]
Host Ashley
So on January 3rd of 2023, Kody was last seen around 5:30pm Home camera footage captured her leaving her family's home in Ocala while with her on again, off again boyfriend. The two were headed toward a residence in Silver Springs and she was supposed to come home the following morning, January 4th. She had two appointments scheduled and she never missed appointments. But that morning came and went and there was no call, no text, and no updates. For Kody, that was completely out of character. Her family immediately noticed when this happened, and as hours passed by without any calls or texts that were answered, the their concern only grew. By the time January 5th came around, her family officially reported her missing and in danger. Kody had only moved to Florida a few months earlier, in August. She didn't know many people outside her family. They had taken precautions because of concerns about domestic violence in her relationship, but they had no idea how severe things really were until these events unraveled. So when she didn't come home, her family immediately started checking everything they could. When they looked at her location, they were stunned. Kody's phone was located at the Marion County Sheriff's Office. So Kody's mother called the sheriff's office, gave Kody's name and her boyfriend's name and asked whether anyone had reported her. But she was told there were no calls, no incidents or information in the system other than the BOLO be on the lookout reported for her earlier that day.
- [07:01]
Co-host Ricky
And that's when things became even more concerning. The family finally managed to get a hold of Cody's boyfriend, and his response was something that no parent ever should hear. Over the phone, he told them Kody wasn't at the sheriff's office. She was at the medical examiner's office. On an autopsy table. Kody's mother asked if her daughter was dead and heard one word in response. Yeah, and honestly, I don't even know what to say about this part, because it's just cold and cruel. And honestly, like, it's so insensitive. This is the mother of the person you're supposed to love just feels disconnected and cold.
- [07:43]
Host Ashley
From a mother's perspective, I would just be in shock at that moment. Like, what? And what made all of this worse and even more devastating was that no law enforcement agency had contacted the family at all. No one had called them to tell them that Kody had been found or that she was deceased. They found out because they traced her phone's GPS signal and because Kody's boyfriend had finally answered the phone. So what the hell happened to Kody? It wasn't until later that Kody's family learned that it was Lewis, Kody's boyfriend, who had called 911. In that call, he told dispatchers that Kody might have hit her head and neck, went to sleep, and when he came to check on her, she was cold to the touch. Four deputies in EMS responded, and according to early reports, the residence was initially treated as a potential crime scene. The major crimes detective and medical investigator of the county were notified. But from that moment forward, nearly everything recorded in reports, body cameras, and later autopsy notes would contradict one another.
- [08:53]
Co-host Ricky
And the 911 call itself raises a lot of questions. When Lewis said She hit her head and neck. He didn't say on what. And later there would be nothing in that room that she could have struck her head or neck on. Because if we're actually thinking about this logically, I mean, like using our brain at all, how could Cody have hit her neck unless there was something to fall onto?
- [09:17]
Host Ashley
Exactly. And you can also hear other voices in the background during this call, like people talking, moving around, what sounds like dishes or objects being rearranged. So it seems like this crime scene was already doomed from the start. Everything was being tampered with, and there were other people there at the scene. And the dispatcher tried to walk Lewis through cpr, but even that was strange. For roughly two minutes, while being instructed to give consistent compressions, he was multitasking, talking to someone in the bedroom doorway, stopping and starting, never keeping count. And all of that is recorded on the call and in the official transcript. While life saving instructions were being given, deputies were also running Kody's background, her family's vehicle, and a warrant check on someone who wasn't listed anywhere in the incident report.
- [10:10]
Co-host Ricky
And this was during an active medical emergency. And it's unusual to see a warrant check happening at that moment, especially when the person they ran wasn't listed on the incident report. And when you pair that with the lack of a real investigative timeline, no witness follow ups, no surveillance pulled, it raises questions of what information deputies were focusing on and why they weren't focusing on Kody in that moment.
- [10:36]
Host Ashley
Right. And everything just seems so honestly, really disorganized and messed up from the very beginning. And keep in mind, no one in Kody's family knew that this was happening. When Cody's family eventually got access to the reports, they learned something else that was deeply unsettling. Out of everything inside that residence, out of all the potential evidence that could have helped explain what happened, the only items removed from the scene were Kody's body, her cell phone, and her Pennsylvania id, which were all taken to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. There was no documented collection of clothing, beddings, swabs, fingerprints, or any items belonging to the other people who were in the house with her. And this is despite the fact that the residence was initially considered a crime scene by the first responders. And the timeline here, it's important, too. Kody's body wasn't removed right away. She was taken out of the house at around 4am, four hours after the 911 call. And from there she was transported about an hour away to the medical examiner's office in Leesburg, Florida.
- [11:46]
Co-host Ricky
And Cody's family, they were never notified that Kody's body was being transported. And even more devastating, the autopsy was performed without any next of kin notification at all. Not a single official reached out to tell the family that Kody had been found, that she had died, or that her body was being examined. They had to find all of that out later on their own.
- [12:10]
Host Ashley
Yes, it was hours later on that afternoon on January 5th when they got into contact with the medical examiner's office. Kody's shocked and devastated mother talked to Lewis. He sent her a picture of the medical examiner's card. So she reached out to the medical examiner's office and was hit with even more information. They should have been told immediately. The medical pathologist confirmed that 911 had been called around midnight on January 4 and that EMS had already declared Kody deceased when they arrived. Her official time of death was logged at 12:17am hours earlier. The autopsy was then performed at 10:30 that same morning, 10 hours later, again without any notification of Kody's family. She had been found at an unfamiliar residence, staying there with Lewis and four other individuals that Kody's family didn't know and who to this day has never been explained in any detailed or transparent way. During that call with the medical examiner's office, Kody's family tried to ask every question they could. They wanted to know whether any life saving measures had been attempted or what her condition was when she was found and whether drugs or alcohol were involved. They were told that there would be no organ donation because of the state of her body and the time that had passed before her discovery. And beyond that, they were told that toxicology would take six to eight weeks. So at this point, Kody's family had uncovered more in a single afternoon than anyone had ever told them. The timeline, the autopsy, the people she was with, the decisions that were made without them. And none of it made sense. When we come back, we'll walk through what happened when the family reached out to the detective assigned to her case. Hot sleeper, cold sleeper. Married to a cover thief sleeper?
- [14:04]
Co-host Ricky
Yeah, I am.
- [14:05]
Host Ashley
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Host Ashley
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Co-host Ricky
Thanks to Miracle made for sponsoring this episode.
- [15:29]
Host Ashley
Lola Blankets. I am obsessed with this blanket. Like genuinely, I love this blanket so much. I think everybody should own it. It's fluffy, snuggly, and honestly the coziest blanket we've ever had.
- [15:41]
Co-host Ricky
Yeah, I believe it. I mean, every single night you disappear under this blanket and you don't come out for like hours.
- [15:48]
Host Ashley
Because it's that good. It's this ultra soft, luxury vegan faux fur and the moment I pulled it out of its box, I actually said, oh my gosh, this is the softest blanket I've ever touched. The design we picked instantly made our living room feel more warm and seasonal.
- [16:03]
Co-host Ricky
Yeah, now it's become like your wind down routine. Every time we finish cooking dinner or watching Bush People on Netflix, you're right back under that blanket.
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Host Ashley
I'm a blanket person. I've bought so many over the years and they don't seem to hold up or last long. But Lola is on a completely different level. No pilling, no shedding. It's the world's number one blanket for a reason.
- [16:27]
Co-host Ricky
Yeah, I have to admit, it's built insanely well too. Lola has the signature four way stretch. It's double hemmed, machine washable, and it stays flawless.
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Host Ashley
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- [17:00]
Co-host Ricky
They even have matching pillows, too, and even weighted blankets.
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Host Ashley
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Host Ashley
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- [17:33]
Co-host Ricky
So by the time Cody's family finally pieced all of this together on their own, they were already overwhelmed. They had just learned that 911 was called around midnight, that EMS had declared Cody gone at the scene, and her autopsy had been completed hours before anyone even bothered to notify them. And on top of that, they still had no clear explanation of whose house she was in or. Or who she had been with that night. After taking all of that in, the next step felt obvious. They reached out to the detective assigned to Cody's case, Detective Pender, hoping to finally get some clarity. But that call did not go the way they expected.
- [18:10]
Host Ashley
Right. And honestly, the whole thing starts off suspicious. That 911 call alone raises questions. Lewis called around midnight saying Kody was cold to the touch and that she must have hit her head. But EMS didn't pronounce her dead until 1217. If she was already cold, that means she'd been gone for hours before anyone called. And that detail isn't explained anywhere. And then there's what was happening behind closed doors. Kody's family knew she and Lewis had a history of domestic violence. Her mom, April, even said that she checked Kody's location that night because the two of them had a safety plan. They had talked through what to do if things ever felt dangerous again. That alone tells you how much fear and preparation went into keeping Kody safe. And then there's the substance use piece. Lewis drank heavily and used drugs every day. This is according to the family, but they were adamant that Kody didn't. She had clean drug tests for work, including one just a few weeks before she died. Sure, she might have had a drink socially, but nothing close to what the official story later suggested. So for April, her mother, this didn't look like an accident. But from the beginning, she was already up against a narrative that said no crime had happened at all.
- [19:30]
Co-host Ricky
And that's what really stands out here. In so many domestic violence cases, the People closest to the victim know something is wrong. They just don't always realize how bad it is until afterwards. Victims tend to minimize things, hide the worst moments, or blame themselves. And Kody's family said that she did all of that. And then you add in the fact that she and her mom actually created a safety plan, a literal safety plan for what to do if things went wrong. It makes it even harder to understand why April was dismissed so quickly.
- [20:02]
Host Ashley
Well, get this. The family learned that right after the incident, Lewis didn't remain in Florida to answer questions, assist the investigation, or speak with Kody's family. He left the state almost immediately and traveled back to Connecticut. And that's obviously not proof of anything criminal. But it does raise more questions. When someone leaves that quickly before a full investigation, before toxicology, before the family has any answers, it adds to the overall concern about what was really going on here. On January 11th, Kody's family received the first official documentation about her death. And immediately they noticed something wrong. According to the medical records, Kody's death was certified on January 11, and the certificate was formally filed on January 13, Kody's 28th birthday. The manner of death was listed as an accident and the cause as acute ethanol toxicity. And when it came to toxicology, those samples weren't processed locally. They were later mailed to a Pennsylvania lab, adding even more distance and delay to a timeline already full of gaps.
- [21:11]
Co-host Ricky
And this part is really alarming. The lab records show that they didn't even receive those samples until January 12th. That's the day after the medical examiner had already certified her cause and manner of death. And to me, that's a huge red flag. Toxicology is supposed to help inform the ruling, not come in after the fact.
- [21:31]
Host Ashley
Right? Especially when the cause of death is related to the toxicology reports. And we'll talk about that more in detail later. But here's where it gets even stranger. The printed death certificate, the final document. It wasn't produced until February 3rd, weeks after the ruling had already been set. So by mid January, the official story was already locked in. Kody's death was accidental, caused by alcohol. But the scientific results that would supposedly support that conclusion weren't even in the examiner's hands yet. For her family, this was the moment they realized the investigation wasn't just incomplete, it was heading down a path that didn't match anything they knew. On January 12, Kody was released from the medical examiner's office to the funeral home. And when her family arrived, they weren't allowed to see her Body only see her face through a small viewing window. And that brief moment changed everything. It was the first time they saw her injuries. Bruises, marks, abrasions. And in that instant, the family knew something had happened between the time that Kody left home on January 3rd and when she was found on January 5th. Something far more violent than the narrative they had been given.
- [22:48]
Co-host Ricky
And once they saw those injuries, the family called Detective Pinder right away. They wanted to meet with him in person again so they could show him what they saw, ask questions, and. And finally understand what investigators found at the scene. But just like before, Pender wouldn't meet with them. He told them that everything could be handled over the phone, and he stayed dismissive, repeating his belief that Kody had overdosed or taken her own life. And meanwhile, no one from any agency ever mentioned the bruises, the marks, or the injuries all over Cody's face and body.
- [23:21]
Host Ashley
Which, can I just say how frustrating that would be for the family to be experiencing this? On January 13, the family went to the house where Kody had been found, hoping to pick up her car and some of her belongings. They had arranged to meet a man who introduced himself as Charles Burns, and he said he was the homeowner. He and a woman he identified as his wife were supposed to help the family gather Cody's things. But the moment that they got there, something felt off. The conversations were short and uncomfortable. The couple seemed evasive. Their behavior was strange, and their answers were vague. They asked odd questions that immediately put the family on edge. And later, the family learned that Charles Burns may not have been his real name. There are also online claims that the actual homeowner was already deceased at the time, but we have not been able to verify that detail.
- [24:16]
Co-host Ricky
I mean, either way, though, that's really weird.
- [24:18]
Host Ashley
Yeah. And by January 14th, the family had reviewed enough of the documents they received to realize that something was deeply wrong. Almost every part of the investigation, from record keeping to specimen handling to timelines, it all had discrepancies. And the more that they looked at these reports, the more questions they had. The fire and rescue report noted that when EMS arrived, Kody was already deceased. The EMT described her as showing obvious rigor mortis with no level, meaning rigor mortis was well established, not just beginning. Her time of death had been recorded at 12:17am but here's the thing about rigor mortis.
- [25:00]
Co-host Ricky
It doesn't just appear. The moment someone dies, it usually takes at least a couple hours to even begin, sometimes longer, and then slowly progresses through the body. So if Cody already had full rigor mortis shortly after midnight. That's not a small detail. That's a major red flag. It suggests that she may have died much earlier than the timeline we've been given. And it forces you to question everything that happened in those missing hours.
- [25:25]
Host Ashley
Right. And even when you look at the bruising that was described, that question becomes even louder. Cody had multiple bruises, many of them described as deep and purple. Some appeared newer and others looked older, meaning that they were inflicted at different times. There was also bruising around her neck, something that doesn't line up with a fall. And the explanation that was offered early on that Kody had been drinking, fell, hit her head, and then went to sleep. It doesn't explain any of these injury patterns. There were also two cuts on her face, bruising on her cheek, and an older bruise on her forehead. Around her knees, she had bruising above, below, on, encircling her kneecaps, with one bruise above her knee shaped like a U, which her mother believed resembled a bite mark, especially given that Cody had reportedly been bitten by Lewis in the past.
- [26:19]
Co-host Ricky
And then there's defensive wounds. Cody had bruising on her knuckles, in the backs of her hands and her wrists, which are all classic locations of defensive injuries. They're instinctive spots people use to shield their head and face. There were no bruising on the palms of her hands or the fronts of her hands that would indicate a fall. Some, since people normally would put their hands out in support if they were falling. So things aren't really adding up here.
- [26:46]
Host Ashley
And then there were the lividity patterns that didn't make sense. So her face showed lividity, or liber mortis, which is what happens when the heart stops pumping and gravity pulls the remaining blood to the lowest parts of the body or the parts facing the ground. The skin in those areas become darker, almost purplish, while the areas facing upward stay pale. The lividity on Cody was darker on her face than on her back, suggesting that she had been face down for part of the time after her death. And later she moved onto her back. Her right side was also noticeably darker, while her left side was pale, Another sign that her body positioning had changed. But the reports couldn't agree on what position she was actually found in. One report said that she was on the bed. Another said a frog like position on the floor. And another placed her in a different location. None of them matched. So, for those of you who might not know, livor mortis usually starts forming within 30 minutes to a few hours. After death. And it becomes fixed after several hours. If lividity appears on one side of the body, but the person is later found in a different position, it means that this body was probably moved. I mean, we don't know exactly what happened. If someone was found face down on the floor and you go to check on them, so you flip them over, we don't know what happened, but it's just something to note.
- [28:14]
Co-host Ricky
Exactly. And wild enough, that's not even all of the strange activity that happened that night. Cody's last normal phone call activity was at 2.30pm on January 4th. After that, everything becomes weird. There's a five hour gap with no data at all. Then around 7pm, activity picks back up again. But none of it looks like Cody. According to her mother, there were uncharacteristic searches, strange banking interactions, deleted history, email changes, and unusual account activity. And this continues all the way to midnight, right before that 911 call.
- [28:52]
Host Ashley
And if she was pronounced dead at 12:17am and had signs of rigor mortis, it's kind of strange to think that she was doing these things on her phone. And probably the most suspicious part about this is what Kody was doing during that last normal phone activity on the afternoon of January 4th. She was in a text argument with Lewis where he apologized to Kody for hitting her. But of course, none of this was considered as part of the investigation. Not obviously anyway.
- [29:21]
Co-host Ricky
And shockingly, there's still more inconsistencies in this investigation.
- [29:32]
Host Ashley
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- [30:17]
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- [30:27]
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- [30:59]
Host Ashley
Okay, so let's do a quick recap on what we know. Kody's family was already facing a long list of unanswered questions. EMS had pronounced her dead just after midnight, yet no one contacted her family. Her body was removed from the residence at around 4 in the morning, transported an hour away to Leesburg, and the autopsy wasn't performed until 10:30am on January 5, nearly 12 hours after she was declared deceased. And when it came to toxicology, those samples weren't processed locally. They were later mailed to a Pennsylvania lab, adding even more distance and delay of a timeline already full of gaps. And just when you think that the family dealt with enough, they were hit with another blow. By February 7th, barely a month after Kody died, the family learned that at Detective Pender's request, Kody's case had been officially closed. The ruling of accident and ethanol toxicity was accepted without question. This happened despite the fact that reports, autopsy findings, scene descriptions, and and the injuries on Kody's body did not align with each other. By May 4, four months after Kody's death, her family was still begging for basic answers. They had repeatedly asked for X rays and additional lab testing, things that, you know, should have been standard in a case involving unexplained injuries, conflicting reports, and an unclear timeline. Only after they contacted outside services did the medical examiner's office retrieve Kody's body from the funeral home to to perform the X rays and test vitreous fluid. Even then, the testing wasn't done to explore other possible causes. It was only performed to reinforce the ethanol level that had already been used to classify her death as an accident.
- [32:47]
Co-host Ricky
Vitreous fluid is something you'll see mentioned a lot in forensic toxicology. And honestly, it's tough to ignore the irony here. Cody wanted to go into forensic science, so walking through this feels like a strange, heartbreaking tribute to the path that she one day hoped to take. Inside each eye is a clear substance called vitreous humor, which helps the eye keep its shape. Because it's sealed inside the eye, it's protected from contamination in a way that blood sometimes isn't. It makes it a more stable and reliable sample for toxicology testing.
- [33:23]
Host Ashley
When it's tested, it's usually to confirm or compare alcohol levels, check electrolytes, identify drugs or toxins, and determine whether post mortem changes could be affecting Blood results. So even though this testing allegedly confirmed the conclusion of ethanol toxicity, we later learned from April that there is more to the story. And then things became even stranger when the family finally received the X ray files by email. The files were incomplete, misidentified, mislabeled and missing key images you would expect in a trauma related autopsy. We don't have access to these reports, but according to Kody's mom, April, who does have them, the documentation is full of inconsistencies. And April questioned the authenticity of the files immediately because details didn't match Kody's known medical history or physical characteristics. In forensic work, mislabeling or sending incomplete scans, if that's what happened, is a major breach in procedure. You can't rely on them to rule anything out. Which is exactly why families in cases like this push so hard for second opinions. For Kody's family, this was another movement where trust in the investigation eroded even further. At this point, it seems like April didn't know where else to turn. So she decided to go public with this information. On May 17th of 2023, April wrote on Facebook that she has been more lost than she had ever been. Things hadn't been getting easier and she was getting more questions than answers. Every day was harder for her and all she wanted was answers. April wrote about the guilt she felt for not knowing the full extent of the domestic violence Kody had been experiencing. She said that through saved messages, photos and calls, she learned that Lewis had disrespected, hit, strangled and assaulted Kody on many occasions. Kody had hidden it well, blaming herself, making excuses, and avoiding the people who might have seen the signs.
- [35:30]
Co-host Ricky
We've talked a lot about the dangers of strangulation in other cases like Libby Caswell. It's such a huge red flag, right?
- [35:39]
Host Ashley
April went on to say that Lewis questioned Kody's loyalty while Kody gave him more loyalty than she ever gave herself. April wrote that Lewis told her her daughter had died with no emotion, no remorse, and no explanation. Law enforcement said they could not investigate that. The medical examiner could not state how long Kody laid there with four to six other people in the house who said that they saw, heard and knew nothing. With bruises, cuts, abrasions and bite marks littering her body. She said, now I am starting to understand your feeling when you said many times no one is listening. And she referenced Kody's final text message to Lewis. You aren't sorry for shit. I mean, everything April wrote lines up with the pattern we see in domestic violence cases. Victims hide the worst of it. They blame themselves, they. They think they can fix the person. They want to believe the good moments mean something. And abusers isolate their partners, making sure the people who might intervene aren't around to see what's actually happening. So when April wrote that Kody believed she could change him, that she could make him better, it's such a red flag.
- [36:52]
Co-host Ricky
April's letter went on to describe the emotional and physical signs of what Kody endured and that realization that her daughter had been isolated, controlled, and mistreated. Even as she tried to help Lewis become a better person, she warned others who may be in similar situations to pay attention to the red flags, to seek help, to leave, to understand that love does not hurt or leave bruises. But that didn't do anything to move the case forward. But Kody's family continued fighting. They were adamant that Cody wasn't given a fair or full investigation. So on August 1, 2023, the Marion County Sheriff's Office sent April a letter. It said that they had met to discuss the death of Kody. They commended April for sending them emails with documentation and research about her case, saying, I have reviewed the complaint, the documents you sent me, the police report, the medical examiner's report and the amended report, the crime scene photographs, and I met with the detective who investigated the incident. In the six page document you sent me, you list several things that, as you state, in my opinion, are missing from the investigation. Many of these questions you have answered on your own. They went on to say that the facts of Cody's case cannot be disputed, but they recognized that Cody passed sometime before the pronounced time of death. The letter also stated that the investigation revealed that Kody drank often and at times to excess since they found cans of alcohol in the room where she died. They said they don't have the compelling evidence to reopen the case or to pursue any charges against Kody's boyfriend.
- [38:43]
Host Ashley
So her entire life is summed up by where she was found. Also, I find it interesting that they chose to highlight the length of the document that April sent, almost making it seem like it was an inconvenience to read it. But, I mean, that's just an opinion. So. Months passed by with a closed case that April couldn't believe. On August 23, 2023, eight months after Kody's death, the family learned of a disturbing development involving Lewis. He had been arrested in Cheshire, Connecticut, in connection with an incident involving another woman. According to the arrest records, the charges included strangulation or suffocation in the second degree assault in the third degree, including bite marks and disorderly conduct. This is according to what April has shared. So if what April is alleging happened to Kody is true, it's definitely part of a pattern. And as we've talked about in other cases, strangulation is recognized as one of the strongest predictors of escalating violence in intimate partner relationship relationships. That would deepen my fear that something violent happened to Kody. Not to mention that bite marks were included in the arrest report. By October of 2023, Kody's mother had spent months trying to understand how her daughter's death could be ruled an alcohol accident when so many elements didn't make sense. During her research, she shared two scientific articles on her Facebook page. Both of these articles discuss how ethanol, the same chemical measured in blood alcohol testing, can be naturally produced inside the body, especially after death, under certain conditions.
- [40:23]
Co-host Ricky
The first article explains that when bacteria in yeast start breaking down tissues after death, they can generate ethanol internally. That means that the longer a body sits before samples are collected, the higher the alcohol concentration can appear, even if a person didn't drink enough to cause death. So in delayed autopsies, elevated ethanol levels should be interpreted carefully, since decomposition can inflate those numbers.
- [40:51]
Host Ashley
And the second article she shared describes auto brewery syndrome, which is a rare condition where the body converts carbohydrates into alcohol internally. It's not common, but the research shows that ethanol levels might not always reflect consumption. And let's go back to the part where we were talking about vitreous fluid testing. So in Cody's case, the vitreous fluid test was done only to confirm ethanol, not to rule out other causes. But vitreous fluid is not isolated from the rest of the body after death. The body begins breaking down, tissues start leaking fluids, bacteria migrates, and alcohol produced elsewhere in the body can diffuse into the eye. So vitreous fluid can still absorb ethanol created during decomposition just more slowly and less dramatically than blood.
- [41:41]
Co-host Ricky
So in Kody's case, the timeline is extremely important. She was declared dead at 12:17am and police have confirmed that she definitely died sometime before that, with a lot of researchers and onlookers with experience noting that the death was likely 10pm or earlier. The body was removed at 4am, transported an hour, and the autopsy was at 10:30am more than 12 hours after Cody is believed to have died. And on top of that, the vitreous testing wasn't done until the medical examiner retrieved the body again weeks later.
- [42:19]
Host Ashley
I mean, that's a long window for bacterial growth, decomposition, temperature changes and tissue permeability breakdown that could have absorbed ethanol formation. Forensic literature says that after roughly 12 to 24 hours, vitreous chemistry begins to drift and postmortem ethanol production can influence results. So because the vitreous fluid was only tested according to April to confirm Cody's alcohol levels and to not explore other options or anything like that, April and Kody's family felt slighted again by the system when investigating Kody's passing. I'm sure it felt like a confirmation bias. Kody's death was certified before toxicology was complete, vitreous testing was done after the family pushed, and it was only used to reinforce a conclusion already made. So even a better sample becomes fallible if the testing wasn't done correctly. In this Facebook post with the articles on ethanol levels following death, April also posted an email she received, but the sender is not present in the post. The email says that they have received April's email concerning the death investigation of Kody and that the Medical Examiner's Commission only has jurisdiction to perform an administrative review of physician pathologist in light of potential violation of practice guidelines for Florida medical examiners. The email also says that the Medical Examiners Commission does not have the authority to answer questions or concerns regarding the internal policy, procedures or personnel, and there are no ultimate facts that show a violation of Florida Statutes, administrative code or practice guidelines and they could not compel anyone or change a cause of manner of death.
- [44:07]
Co-host Ricky
So we can assume that this came from the Medical Examiner's commission in response to a complaint from April Counterman. And unfortunately, it looks like she reached a dead end here too.
- [44:18]
Host Ashley
Yep, a dead end. And around this time, April shared another forensic article that directly addressed the problems she believed existed in Kody's case. It explains how handling storage delays and collection methods can dramatically change the reported alcohol level in a patient. So what April was trying to show, I think, by sharing this article, is that Kody's alcohol level shouldn't have been taken at face value, not with the delayed autopsy, the transport time, the decomposition window, the inconsistent documentation, or the fact that her death was certified before toxicology was even completed. But it didn't seem like this was getting her anywhere. In changing the findings of Kody's case, April continued to speak out and add new information to what she'd experienced with the law enforcement systems as she was trying to advocate for her daughter. She publicly shared how when she questioned law enforcement about Kody's time of death, she was told that those were TV Answers, which in my opinion, is insinuating that her questions about this were invalid.
- [45:24]
Co-host Ricky
And I find that really strange since time of death is often a very important piece of investigation, so to say or imply that it doesn't matter. Like, that's so weird, right?
- [45:36]
Host Ashley
And just like we've seen in other cases. While Kody's case was sitting still, Lewis's record kept getting longer. According to the documents April found only a few months after his arrest In August of 2023, the family discovered yet another incident involving Lewis. This time, he was accused of violating a protective order involving a different woman. By January of 2024, as Kody's family kept digging through public records, they realized that Lewis didn't have just a couple past issues. He had more than 20 reports or incidents tied to him across Florida, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, and April had the paperwork to back it up. She even shared the docket numbers publicly so anyone can look it up for themselves. It wasn't just Lewis either. Several of the people who were at the house where Kody was found had their own concerning histories, the kind that, in her family's eyes, should have triggered a much deeper investigation into how Cody really died. But according to them, the Marion County Sheriff's Office wouldn't look into any of it or any of the other evidence the family tried to bring forward. With the criminal case going nowhere, the only option left for Kody's family was civil court. They filed a claim against Lewis for the damage done to her vehicle and two personal items they say were destroyed or flushed during the events leading up to her death. Lewis asked for an additional hearing on the civil matter, but then he didn't show up. So, at least in that small way, the family got a win. The judge issued a default judgment in their favor. Over the next few months, Kody's mother kept pushing for answers. But In March of 2024, she received an email from the attorney representing the 5th District Medical Examiner's Office. The attorney said they had advised their clients not to meet with April anymore about the autopsy. They ended the message by saying that autopsies aren't something for advocacy, but rather something based strictly on science and objective.
- [47:40]
Co-host Ricky
Findings, which is not helpful when April and a lot of other people believe that the findings are not objective. But whatever, I'll stop there. In July of 2024, over a year and a half after Cody's death, April shared another public message. April said that Kody had been let down by both the legal system and the law enforcement agencies responsible for investigating her death. She called out the Marion County Sheriff's Office and the medical examiner who classified Cody's death as an accident, saying that the decision was made too quickly without reviewing critical evidence or medical history. She noted the mislabeled records, misidentified X rays, contradictory scene reports, inconsistent timelines and injuries that have never been explained. Those are fundamental problems. She wrote that both the medical examiner and the investigator had declined to discuss the evidence with her. She said that when professionals fail to exercise due diligence, it enables wrongdoers to evade justice and permits individuals to inflict harm to escape responsibility.
- [48:52]
Host Ashley
And we have seen this in other investigations, too. When agencies stop communicating, families lose confidence in the findings. It does not automatically mean foul play happened, but it does mean the investigation was not thorough or documented well enough to rule out other possibilities. For April, it wasn't about just her daughter. It became about protecting other families from going through this same kind of thing. One of the most impactful parts of her Facebook post was how clearly she laid out the inconsistencies in the reports. She pointed out that radiology was missing images of the neck, the right shoulder, the upper chest, the collarbone and several other areas. Some of the images that did exist were mislabeled. An elbow was labeled as a shoulder and the chest was labeled as the abdomen. The reports also listed the wrong age for Kody, and past injuries were not included at all. Anyone trying to understand their child's death would see these issues as serious red flags, and April kept reaching out to both the sheriff's office and the medical examiner's office. But she continued to be denied more information, and from that point, April committed herself to keeping her daughter's story and other families stories alive. Through her justice for Cody Novak Facebook page, she began sharing awareness for multiple cases that still needed answers, including Cody's. And By April of 2025, families across the community were speaking out and sharing their own experiences. Many talked about missing loved ones, questionable deaths and cases they believed had never been properly investigated. April explained that she had created a list of these cases based on information from families, public forums, social media and community groups. Even though many of the cases had never been covered by local news or reached a wider audience, April's post urged.
- [50:50]
Co-host Ricky
The community to raise awareness for all of the families who were missing answers. She wrote that each one of them is significant and deserves more.
- [50:59]
Host Ashley
And she continued to advocate. In July of 2025, she shared an article from the Ocala Gazette about a Marion County Sheriff's Office deputy who said he was retaliated against for speaking out about racial misconduct and broken processes inside the agency. April wrote that she believed and supported the deputy, saying her family had experienced many of the same systematic failures. With that post, she laid out the full story of what she says happened during Kody's investigation, including the mistakes, the missteps and the refusal to take her daughter's death seriously. She explained that it was not until they saw Kody's body at the funeral home that they discovered the marks and bruises that were never mentioned in any official report. Nothing they saw matched what investigators had told them. April questioned why Cody's injuries were not photographed, measured or documented correctly.
- [51:55]
Co-host Ricky
She also said that when they finally demanded an in person meeting with the detective, they came with GPS data, text messages showing altercations, images of Cody's damaged vehicle and a recent employment drug test, and records of the individuals in the house. And they also sent emails with further evidence. But those emails went unanswered and April.
- [52:17]
Host Ashley
Said that when her family requested every record they were entitled to, including medical files, investigative documents, 911 calls, EMS reports and body camera footage, what they received was incomplete or inconsistent. She described records that were misrepresented, contradictory, revised or edited, mislabeled or missing important information. Some body camera footage was missing entirely, and she pointed out moments where cameras were turned off or edited out by officers. According to her, through these records and videos, she said she learned that from the very beginning the narrative was framed as an overdose and that this had been communicated through medical personnel during the emergency call before any true investigation even started. April also said that she and her family gathered additional information on their own, including phone records, social media messages, photographs, witness statements and records from outside agencies. They worked with private investigators. They reached out to supervisors, the mayor, county commissioners, state representatives, the governor's office and even the FBI. Since Lewis had domestic violence incidents in three different states, it took more than 18 months before they were finally given a meeting with Sheriff William woods. And when that meeting happened, April said that they came prepared with a full tote of documentation, but instead of progress, they were met with victim blaming a dismissal of Kody's injuries and a refusal to move the case forward. She said the sheriff blamed her for what happened and told them that there was nothing they could do. The family filed three internal affairs complaints after that, but they were told there would be no investigation and that the case would remain closed.
- [54:10]
Co-host Ricky
When questioning the injuries, April said the medical examiner verbally called them blunt force trauma but did not write that in the report. She also said the medical examiner admitted she was unfamiliar with some of Cody's known medical conditions, including a traumatic brain injury, polycystic OVN syndrome and gastric bypass. April wrote that when they questioned the discrepancy between the alcohol levels and the lack of injury evaluation, the medical examiner became upset and said Kody was drunk and asphyxiated herself.
- [54:43]
Host Ashley
But according to April, that statement does not appear anywhere in the official report. She ended her post by saying that this is not only about Kody's case, but about what she believes is a larger problem with Marion County. The whistleblower deputy she referenced later filed a federal lawsuit claiming that he was unjustly retaliated against and even arrested after reporting racism and being pressured to Falsify police reports. Eighteen of the 20 criminal charges filed against Marion county deputies were eventually dismissed or dropped. The lawsuit alleged that the agency suppressed unfavorable information and intimidated or threatened anyone who tried to speak up. A second article by Ocala News, they featured Sheriff Billy woods, the same sheriff April described meeting with in her post. He denied all of the allegations, calling them unsupported and legally insufficient. The Marion County Sheriff's Office stated that there was no evidence of misconduct within the department and no proven pattern of retaliation, falsified reports or suppression of the truth. But these are not the only negative allegations connected to the agency. In July of 2025, April shared another story. This one involved a Vietnam veteran who died while in the custody of the Marion County Sheriff's Office and whose family had filed a lawsuit for negligence and wrongful death. According to that lawsuit, 72 year old army veteran Stephen Smith Sr. Died in the Marion county jail in 2023 after deputies allegedly refused to provide him medical attention.
- [56:31]
Co-host Ricky
It's really sad because the lawsuit alleges that Smith had repeatedly begged for help, telling detention officers that he couldn't walk, couldn't breathe and that something was seriously wrong. Deputies reportedly ignored those pleas and mocked him. The suit claims he was dragged, placed in a restraint chair and left there until he became unresponsive, dying shortly after.
- [56:56]
Host Ashley
Yes, the death certificate listed the cause as probable cardiac arrhythmia. But his family, like many others in the county, believe that the real issue was neglected a lack of accountability and a sheriff's office that operated with what they described as deliberate indifference. And April's Facebook page is filled with comments from people who say that they experienced situations similar to Cody's and Stephen Smith's. Today, more than two years after Kody Novak's death, her case is still officially closed. The Marion County Sheriff's office has not reopened the investigation, and the medical examiner's ruling of accident from acute ethanol toxicity remains unchanged, leaving Lewis a free man. The family's repeated requests for a reexamination, for unedited body camera footage, for corrected medical records and for basic clarification have all been denied or ignored, and they still feel like that they're fighting this battle alone. They believe someone saw or heard something, and they believe this case should not be left where it is. If you know anything about the circumstances surrounding Kody's death, her family is pleading for you to come forward. Even the smallest detail could matter. Tips can be submitted to the Marion County Crime Stoppers at 352-368-7867 and April.
- [58:25]
Co-host Ricky
Is constantly posting on the justice for Cody Novak Facebook page where she has bravely shared and resentlessly talked about what she's gone through with her daughter's case. So we encourage you to check that out for updates as well.
- [58:39]
Host Ashley
And I would like to take a moment here to remind you. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship or you feel unsafe where you are, please reach out to help in whatever way is safest for you. If you can't safely use your phone or your personal computer, you can visit a public place like a local library and use one of their computers to connect with someone privately. You can also reach out through the Domestic Violence hotline website@thehotline.org where you can chat with an advocate and start building a safety plan. Your safety plan and your life matter and we'll be sure to include the resources in our show notes. And thank you all so much for listening. If you would like to support our show and grab some Crime Salad merch, you can visit crimesaladpodcast.dashery.com link will be in the description and if you would like to listen ad free you can check out our subscription options. We have patreon patreon.com crimesaladpodcast and a huge thank you to all of our Patreon members. We love you so much and also our Apple plus subscribers. You guys are amazing. You really help keep the show going. We appreciate you so much. Thanks so much for subscribing sharing our show. It means the world to us. And one more thing. Please love yourself. Take care of yourself. We will see you next week.
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