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- [00:01]
Ashley
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- [01:03]
Ricky
Disney wants to know, are you ready?
- [01:06]
Ashley
Yes.
- [01:07]
Ricky
For Marvel Studios Thunderbolts the New Avengers. Now streaming on Disney.
- [01:12]
Ashley
Let's do this.
- [01:13]
Ricky
One of the best Marvel movies of all time is now streaming on Disney.
- [01:17]
Ashley
Hey, you weren't listening to me.
- [01:19]
Ricky
I said Thunderbolts. The New Avengers is now streaming on Disney.
- [01:23]
Ashley
Meet the New Avengers.
- [01:26]
Ricky
That's cool man. Marvel Studios Thunderbolts the New Avengers. Rated PG 13. Now streaming on. You guessed it, Disney.
- [01:38]
Ashley
Along the banks of the Ohio river, the city of Marietta is a kind of place where everybody knows everybody. It has historic brick streets, riverfront views and weekend gatherings at local bars create the feeling of a tight knit community. Just across the river, Interstate 77 cuts through the Appalachian hills of West Virginia. A stretch of highway that's usually nothing more than a quiet route for truck drivers and late night travelers Heading north In November of 2011, the air was turning sharp as the cold set in. The trees became bare. And in the early morning hours, when the rest of the world was sleeping, the interstate became eerily still, lit only by the headlights and the hum of passing semi trucks. On November 19, just before 4am that silence was shattered by a frantic 911 call. A driver reported a car sitting against a guardrail along I77 north. The lights were on, it was empty, and something didn't feel right.
- [02:42]
Ricky
Minutes later, another call came in confirming a badly mangled body laying in the roadway.
- [02:49]
Ashley
First responders raced to the scene and what they found would be the beginning of a lasting mystery in the Marietta community, surrounded by years of speculation that still goes on today, dividing a community and leaving one family fighting for a clear understanding. For more than a decade, there was a crash report, phone records, witness statements, forensic testing, heaps of information that could have led to a solid conclusion. But when you put all the details together, it becomes really hard to tie this incident with a neat bow and name it an accident. We want to thank Gavin Fish, a journalist and champion for victims of violent crimes and also their families, for providing the complete case files from Jaleah's story through his Patreon so that we can report on the original case information. He sits on the board of a nonprofit that focuses on female cold cases in the United States, and he has worked tirelessly to request and provide every scrap of evidence from Jaleayah's case.
- [03:52]
Ricky
Gavin has done incredible work reporting on cases like Heather Turner and Allen Greenberg, and we appreciate everything that he's done advocating for victims seeking justice.
- [04:02]
Ashley
Before we continue any further, we want to warn you that this story does contain graphic discussions of mutilation. Listener discretion is strongly advised. This is the story of Jalea Rose Davis. I'm Ashley.
- [04:16]
Ricky
And I'm Ricky.
- [04:18]
Ashley
And this is Crime Salad. Jaleah was born in Colorado Springs in Colorado on November 2, 1991, and we actually couldn't find much information on who she was prior to this incident. But we do know that she was a sweet soul with a built in best friend, her sister, Tabby. Since they were only 18 months apart, they got along extremely well and were very close growing up. Jaleayah graduated from Marietta High School in Ohio and she had a job at the retail store Hollister. Her sister said that she wanted to go on to school to become a cosmetologist, but sadly that would never happen. This devastating story takes us to a chilly November evening in 2011. At 3:41am a man driving northbound on Interstate 77, he spots a car sitting up against the guardrail with the car lights still on and out of concern, he dialed 911. It didn't look like a typical disabled vehicle. As the operator pressed for more information, the caller said that all he knew was that it's a car, the lights were on and it's up against the guardrail. He said there was something going on over there, but he couldn't see anybody standing around from his vantage point in the dark, all he could see was a pair of headlights cutting through the night in a vehicle pressed up against steel.
- [05:45]
Ricky
And that Would be strange because usually if someone breaks down, you'd see hazard lights on or, you know, someone outside the vehicle waving for help. But there wasn't anyone there.
- [05:56]
Ashley
Right. So he did the right thing by calling. Now, seven minutes later, at 3:48am There was another call. This caller said that he was at mile marker 181 northbound, and he had seen what he hoped was a deer lying on the road. But as he got closer, he realized it wasn't an animal. It was a person. He told dispatch he was walking back toward the scene. Two other men had already stopped further down the hill. And then in the call, you can hear something that's honestly chilling. One of them says, there's his head and skull right there. See it? That's when the caller clarifies the head was not attached to the body.
- [06:39]
Ricky
Wow. I mean, seeing something like that would just stick with you forever.
- [06:42]
Ashley
Yeah, this would be extremely hard to process. It would be horrifying. And just a few minutes later, at 3:52am A third call came in. This caller described it as someone who had busted a deer, which really shows how disorienting the scene was from drivers coming up to it in the dark. So at 3:49am Officers were dispatched. And according to the West Virginia Uniform crash report, the second caller had been traveling northbound when he spotted something in the passing lane. While still on the phone with 911, he walked back toward the body and started directing traffic. He thought that this was a possible crime scene and he was trying to prevent other vehicles from disturbing the scene. Another driver stopped to help, and eventually an officer arrived and shut down the roadway completely.
- [07:32]
Ricky
So right away, you can already tell that by the time that law enforcement got there, multiple vehicles had already come through that area. Which means that the scene is already compromised in some way.
- [07:44]
Ashley
Yeah, and as this continues to unfold, we'll learn that it was very compromised. But the crash report statement by the witness, it continues on to say that while he was standing there, two young women traveling southbound stopped and asked if they had seen their sister. And he asked what she looked like, but they weren't able to give a clear description. The caller later noted that one of the girls appeared distraught, possibly able to see the body from across the highway. He said he was able to calm her down and walk her back to her red vehicle before waiting for further instructions from the responding officer. A second crash report details a statement from a second witness. Traveling northbound, he reported seeing a tractor trailer parked on the right shoulder. That driver was walking with the Flashlight toward the oncoming traffic and to avoid the stopped truck, he moved into the passing lane and suddenly saw a body in the road. He said he didn't have time to swerve and he ran over the body, which to him he believed it had been struck multiple times. He pulled over ahead of the other truck, got out, walked back to confirm what he had just ran over. And the other driver told him he had already called 911.
- [08:58]
Ricky
And it's hard to even imagine what she went through. I mean, this girl was hit by multiple vehicles on the highway. It's devastating.
- [09:06]
Ashley
There's no words to describe this situation. What's interesting is when investigators completed the initial crash reconstruction, they categorized it as a single vehicle crash. The official report noted clear weather, a dry roadway, and no environmental factors contributing to the crash. According to that reconstruction, the vehicle was traveling northbound on Interstate 77 when for reasons listed as unknown, it made an abrupt turn to the right and it struck the guardrail face along the northbound Bermuda. And from there, this report outlined a very specific chain of events. It states that the driver was forced out of the driver's seat, traveled across to the passenger's interior of the vehicle, so the passenger side, and was ejected out of the passenger side window. The reconstruction then claims that during that ejection, the driver's head struck two guardrail posts. The body allegedly landed on the roof of the vehicle as it re entered the northbound lane, and it rolled off the trunk and ultimately came to rest in the driving lane, where it was then struck by a passing semi truck and trailer combination.
- [10:19]
Ricky
I mean, I kind of see how that makes sense, But I also think that's why this becomes such a hugely disputed part of the case later on.
- [10:28]
Ashley
Yes, and again, very specific. The report further states that the driver was under the influence at the time of the crash. Alcohol was suspected, and blood testing later revealed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.19, which is more than twice the legal limit. So the official contributing factors in the report list driving while intoxicated or impaired, failure to maintain control of the vehicle and running off the road. There's also a second crash report. In the one involving the semi truck driver, the driver report mimics his witness statement, and it's noted that in this crash report that there was sufficient evidence to indicate that the victim had already been killed when the semi truck ran her over. So on paper, the case was beginning to look like a tragic alcohol related single car accident followed by secondary impacts. So why are we talking about it here? Well, this case has a lot of suspicious parts that we'll go through now. Later that same day, the investigators, they sought a search warrant for the 2004 silver Kia Optima that was involved in the crash. And this warrant states that a person unknown unlawfully drove a vehicle in reckless disregard for the safety of others, where it resulted in the death of a person. So at this point, they weren't formally saying that the deceased person in the road was the driver. The language leaves the door open that someone else could have been operating the vehicle.
- [12:00]
Ricky
According to the deputy's affidavit, A certified accident reconstructionist responded to a report of a female Pedestrian struck on I77 North. The Kia Optima was found about half a mile from the body, abandoned, still running and in gear, which at this point could mean a lot of different things.
- [12:20]
Ashley
Right. And the report went on to say that there was damage to the windshield and the roof of the vehicle, and there was a large amount of blood on the rear portion of the car. So not on the windshield, not on the roof, not on the side of the car, but on the back of, like, the trunk part of the car. The passenger side also had extensive damage. The Kia itself was registered to Cynthia Nolan, but it was known to be the vehicle that Julia rose Davis drove regularly. So this is the first mention that the deceased person in the roadway could be Julia Davis. The car was secured, and it was towed to the wood county sheriff's office maintenance garage for processing. Another thing found at the scene was a cell phone with a number that belonged to Jaleayah Davis. So that same day, investigators also obtained a search warrant for Jaleayah's cell phone. And the affidavit for that warrant revealed that investigators had already learned she had been involved in an argument prior to the crash. From the documents we went through, it's unclear who gave them this information, Whether it was Jaleayah's sister Tabby, who arrived on the scene as investigators were processing it, or possibly Jaleayah's mother. But at this point, officers were already aware that some kind of argument took place before the accident.
- [13:40]
Ricky
It says in the affidavit that part of that argument had been overheard by family members while she was still on the phone earlier that night. And we do know that the person she was on the phone with was her sister Tabby. So I would think that they got this information from Tabby.
- [13:55]
Ashley
Right. And it also noted that when the crash team members towed the vehicle, they observed a black and white polka dot cell phone inside the kia. Investigators believed that she was en route to Williamstown to meet her sister. And all of this is in the transcript of their interview with Jaleah's sister. So I'd have to assume that they interviewed her prior to getting the warrant for Jaleah's cell phone. The affidavit goes on to state that she was outside her vehicle acting as a pedestrian when she was struck by her own car. So at this point, investigators clearly believe that communication that night mattered to what happened. The affidavit wrote that there was probable cause to believe the phone would contain evidence in the form of calls made, calls received, and possible text messages or photos.
- [14:44]
Ricky
Later that morning, a detective went to the home of Kristin, someone who had reportedly been with Jaleah earlier that night. But there was no answer at the door. The detective left a card in the door requesting contact as soon as possible. In that report, it was noted that a black Cadillac was parked in the driveway. Investigators observed fresh frost forming on the windshield, which appeared to indicate that the vehicle had been driven and parked sometime shortly before officers arrived. So this information is important for later. So remember, black Cadillac, okay?
- [15:19]
Ashley
And meanwhile, the medical examiner's death investigation report was being compiled. According to that report, Jaleah had spoken with her sister by phone shortly before everything happened. During that call, she asked her sister to meet her at the I77 rest area, and her sister drove there. But Jaleayah wasn't at the rest stop. So her sister kept driving and eventually made her way onto the interstate, and that's when she located the Kia. The report states that a short distance from the vehicle, approximately 500ft, Jaleayah was found. And police at the time, they reported that the Kia appeared to have struck her, hurling her over the vehicle, and that she was then struck by at least two tractor trailers. It says it was unknown who was driving the victim's car. Jaleayah was laying on the highway wearing only jeans and underwear, naked from the waist up. Her mother and sister were present at the scene and identified her coat, which had been recovered by police. Her coat was taken into evidence along with her top and her bra.
- [16:23]
Ricky
And this part is weird to me because it's not really addressed anywhere that Jaleayah's top and coat were not on her, but they were at the scene. And that's not really ever addressed in this case at all. And we'll go into it more when we talk about where her coat and top were located at the scene. But for now, let's just say this is weird, right?
- [16:43]
Ashley
So now that we have the official reports, we can Move on to the transcripts of the interviews that police conducted to find out what actually happened on this night. So these interviews involved a number of different people that Jaleayah was hanging out with on this night. There's a group of friends, and the first was a written statement from Katie Nelson. And according to Katie, the group first gathered around 10:30pm where she was picked up at a Hardee's by Kristin Bechtold, Freddie Scott, Jordan Campbell and Jaleayah Davis. And again, there's a lot of different names here, but we're going to do our best to keep it all straight. So from there, they went to Brian Sapp's house and they stayed there until about 1am at that point, it was just Katie, Kristen, Jaleah, Freddie and Jordan. The group then went to a local bar called the Nip and Q, where they remained until approximately 3am closing time. And Katie's statement continues by saying that when they left the bar, Katie, Kristin, Jaleah and Freddie left together. They drove to Freddie's apartment so that he could unlock the door for Jordan when he arrived home. So Jordan did not leave the bar with them. After that, they went back to Brian's house to get Jaleah's car. Katie said she got out of Freddie's car and got into the backseat of Jaleayah's vehicle because she thought that they were all about to leave together. But something changed when Kristin and Jaleah were still inside Freddy's car and they weren't getting out. So Katie got out of the car and asked what was going on. Katie reportedly told her that she couldn't find her house key and kept asking Jaleah where it was. Jaleah said she didn't know and she got out of Freddy's car. Kristen then told Katie to get back into Freddie's car and Freddie would take them to her house instead.
- [18:36]
Ricky
So according to her account, Jaleah is now separated from the group. Katie leaves with Kristin and Freddy, and Jaleah stays behind in her own car.
- [18:45]
Ashley
And according to Katie, Freddie drove them through a McDonald's, got some food, and then dropped Katie and Kristen off at Kristen's house. Katie said she and Kristin went upstairs to Kristen's bedroom, and while there, Kristen was on the phone with Jaleah's sister, Tabby. Katie recalled that Tabby told Kristin that Jaleah had been in an accident, but wouldn't explain what happened and kept hanging up. Then around 4:15am Katie said that her ride arrived and picked her up from Kristin's house. And later that morning woke up and learned that Jaleayah had died. So that's the first account or timeline of what happened that night. And it leads to the belief that Jaleayah was alone when that accident happened. So naturally, we move on to Tabby's account of what happened. Tabby. She explained that Jaleayah had planned to go to Kristen's house that night before going out. The two had known each other for a long time, but had recently started spending more time together in the past month or two. And when detectives asked about communication that night, Tabby gave very specific times. She said her last text to Jaleayah was at 12:42am but the last text she received from Jaleayah was much earlier, at 9:40pm Then came the most important calls of the night. So at 3:28am Jaleah called Tabby and asked if she and a friend could come and pick her up. Five minutes later, at 3:33, Jaleayah called again to make sure that they were on their way.
- [20:19]
Ricky
So Remember, the first 911 call about the vehicle on the interstate came in about 3:41am so within 15 minutes of her last call, her car is sitting against a guardrail on I77.
- [20:32]
Ashley
Yeah, and that really makes things confusing. And Taubi told investigators that during those calls, Jaleah didn't sound intoxicated, but she did sound angry. She said that she and Kristen had gotten into a fight. Tabby described her as upset, saying that Kristin was a bad friend and calling her names. She said it wasn't unusual for Jaleayah to find Kristen annoying at times. On the second call, Tabby said that she didn't hear anyone else in the background, but Jaleah sounded emotional and began crying. She was kind of hysterical, but Tabby couldn't tell whether she had been drinking. Tabby also told investigators that it seemed pretty clear from their conversations that Jaleel was interested in Freddy Scott. But phone records showed there were other people in the picture, too. So earlier that night, at 11:42pm Jaleayah called Ryan Ellison, someone she had dated in 2010. She called him again at 11:56pm And Tabby told investigators that this was kind of strange. And immediately after that second call, Jaleah called Reggie Sims. Reggie's name, it wasn't saved in her phone. And according to Tabby, this is because she would delete his contact name after arguments. They had just recently started talking again after a prior disagreement about the fact that Reggie didn't want to be exclusively dating Jaleah. Just a situationship.
- [21:58]
Ricky
And a lot of this interview is Tabby kind of clarifying all these calls that Jaleayah was making. And between 12:20 and 1:00am, Jaleah made numerous calls. She called Chris Latimer five times, a distant friend from school. Two of those calls came later at 3:12 and 3:16, just before she called Tabby.
- [22:17]
Ashley
And the interview continued with Tabby explaining how Kristin had been texting and calling her, but she hadn't responded. She called Kristin at 3:53am While she was driving around looking for Jaleah, asking her what their argument was about. But Tabby ended up hanging up the phone when she arrived at the scene of the accident. Tabby also mentioned that there were girls Jaleah had previously had trouble with over Reggie and she had gotten into a physical altercation with them in the past. Tabby said that sometimes when this group saw Jaleayah out, they would yell at her or try to fight her. So now investigators, they are looking at a fight with Kristen that night. Ongoing tension involving romantic relationships, a 13 minute window between her final call for help and the first 911 call, and multiple late night phone calls. And we also have a complete log of those phone calls that Jaleayah made, so let's go through it. At 7.53pm, Jaleayah called Tabby to talk about going to the bar that evening. 9:46, Jaleah texts Tabby to tell her that she was hanging out with Freddie and and that him and his child were really cute. Jaleah called Ryan Ellison, who she broke up with about three months before she started seeing Reggie Sims. Ryan and Reggie are friends, so there's one point of tension. 11:52, Jaleayah made a call to a man named Dominic hall who she had been friends with for a while. She then made a call to a man named Brandon Wilson. At that point, they were just friends. Then at 11:54, Jaleah called Ollie Strahler, who she used to be friends with until they drifted apart. Tabby told investigators that she might have called since everyone was home from college at West Virginia University that weekend for a holiday and she may have wanted to catch up.
- [24:11]
Ricky
Then at 11:56, Jaleah calls Ryan Ellison again and then Reggie at 11:57. Then she calls a number that Tabby didn't recognize and wasn't saved in her phone at 11:58. At 12:10, Jaleayah calls Dominic again and at 12:11 calls Chris Latimer. At 12:26, Jaleah called Kristen Bechel and Called the same unknown number again at 1228. At 1229, Jaleayah called her friend Clayton and then went back to calling Chris Latimer multiple times. So that's a lot of phone calls.
- [24:43]
Ashley
And then there's a pause because it seems at this point in the timeline, the group is making their way to the bar, the Nippin Queue. So there isn't another call until 1:46, when Jaleayah calls that unknown number again. Then at 3:16, seemingly after they left the bar, Jaleayah called Chris Latimer again, then Brandon Wilson, and finally made her call to Tabby to come get her. So there's a ton of activity on her phone to work with, maybe even too much, because now we have a lot more people that police need to talk to to get an accurate view of what happened. And trust me, the amount of conflicting information is really hard to keep up with. So the next interview transcript that we have is Chris Latimers, who we know Jaleah called multiple times that night. Chris told investigators that he had actually met up with Jaleayah's group at the Nip and Q that night. According to him, Jaleayah had been drinking heavily and wasn't feeling well. She couldn't dance and was wearing tall heeled boots. So she was struggling to stand up and was complaining that her feet were hurting. He said he stayed near her for part of the night because she didn't look steady.
- [25:55]
Ricky
Chris mentioned that he heard rumors that Jaleah was getting chased by someone that night. Now, he didn't really elaborate much on that, but it stood as the first piece of information that kind of pointed at the fact that it might not have been an accident.
- [26:08]
Ashley
Right. He continued by saying that Jaleayah had called him earlier in the night, asking him to hang out instead of going to the bar, and he admitted that he mostly ignored her. He also said that Kristin may have been irritated seeing Jaleah talk to him, especially because his ex girlfriend, Katie Nelson, was also present and he still occasionally saw her. Katie Nelson is the first statement that we read who gave the initial timeline of events and was part of the main group of friends that went out that night.
- [26:38]
Ricky
So now we've got possible jealousy layered on top of everything else. Katie was the first statement that we talked about, and she didn't mention Chris being at the bar at all, which is kind of weird to me.
- [26:50]
Ashley
Yes. Chris also told detectives that some of the girls Jaleah had previously fought with were at the Nip and Q that night. But he said he didn't see anyone having any arguments while he was there. And when it came to Freddie Scott, Chris was blunt. He didn't like him. He called him a punk and claimed that Freddie had three children with different women, didn't take care of them, and had ongoing issues with friends. And that's not necessarily evidence of anything criminal, but it does tell you that there wasn't universal trust or admiration among the group. So obviously because of this, police continue to try to get a hold of Kristen Bechtold. According to reports, detectives repeatedly tried to speak with her but received no response. This was notable because at the same time, Kristin was allegedly contacting the Davis family multiple times. Later that evening, detectives returned to Kristin's house. This time, her father spoke with them and informed them that Kristin had retained legal counsel and she would not be speaking with investigators until she had consulted with her attorney.
- [27:55]
Ricky
And that's a huge part that people are bringing up on forums and on the justice for Jalea Facebook page. So she was the only one that obtained legal counsel within 12 hours of Jaleah's accident.
- [28:06]
Ashley
And this doesn't mean she's guilty by any means. You should always protect yourself. But we're just reporting on what happened. Investigators also attempted to locate Freddy Scott. When they went to speak with him, they were informed that he had moved. So things were slowing down before they could really even get started. Detectives even did a drive by at the Nippon Queue, attempting to gather more information. While they were there, they spoke with an ex wife of Freddie Scott's and she told the officers that she hadn't seen him and didn' where he was staying. But she did provide a phone number and said that she would try to reach him. Meanwhile, Jaleah's mother, Kimberly Davis, contacted law enforcement to ask whether investigators had been able to speak with Kristen yet. She reportedly shared that her boss, quote, knew people and had heard that individuals at Kristen's school were discussing new details about the case. Kim also relayed that another girl had stated that Jordan Campbell had been out with Freddie Scott that evening and that two other people, Nicole and Amy Jo, were also part of the group that evening.
- [29:15]
Ricky
So now we have two more people to add to the mix, and all you can really do is hope that these accounts somewhat line up. And luckily, at this time, Kristen's attorney did contact detectives to set up a meeting with Kristin to hear her side of the story. And all of this happened on the first day that Jaleah's case was open. November 19th. It's all a little crazy.
- [29:36]
Ashley
Yeah. There's a lot of moving parts in this case. Let's take a moment to talk about sleep. I love sleep. And you know, sometimes it's not even obvious what's affecting your sleep. Sometimes you wake up uncomfortable, maybe you're too hot, too cold, or you didn't fully rest. That's something I started paying more attention to and it actually led us to Miracle made sheets. They're inspired by NASA technology and use silver infused temperature regulating fabric to help you sleep at the perfect temperature temperature all night long. And what I love is that it doesn't matter if you're someone who sleeps hot or cold, they just help keep you in that comfortable middle zone so you're not constantly waking up and adjusting. Another thing I didn't really think about before is how much builds up on regular sheets over time. Miracle Made uses antibacterial silver technology that helps Prevent up to 99.7% of bacterial growth. So they actually stay cleaner and fresher longer, which also means less laundry, fewer odors, and honestly just a better cleaner sleep environment overall. They're also incredibly comfortable. They feel like something you expect from a high end hotel, but without that high end price tag. Smooth, breathable, and really just nice to sleep on. And if you have sensitive skin, that's a big one because all that hidden bacteria in regular sheets can actually contribute to breakouts. These are designed to help keep your skin cleaner while you sleep. If you want to upgrade your sleep or even give the gift of a good sleep, go to trymiracle.com Crimesalad you'll save over 40%. And when you use the promo code CRIMESALAD, you'll get an extra 20% off plus a free three piece towel set. They also come with a 30 day money back guarantee, so there's literally no risk in trying them out. That's trymiracle.com crimesalad code CRIMESALAD at checkout. Close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-contacts.
- [32:05]
Ricky
It's tax season and at Lifelock we know you're tired of numbers, but here's A big one. You need to billions. That's the amount of money and refunds the IRS has flagged for possible identity fraud. Now, here's another big number. 100 million. That's how many data points LifeLock monitors every second. If your identity is stolen, we'll fix it. Guaranteed. One last big number. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com podcast for the threats you can't control. Terms apply.
- [32:37]
Ashley
So by November 21, two days later, the autopsy of Jaleayah was conducted. And warning, because we're going to get a little graphic here. They identified that the woman on the side of the road was in fact, Jaleah. Through dental records, Jaleah suffered a near total amputation of her neck with the absence of her skull and facial bones, which were present in two plastic bags that were delivered along with her body. Jaleayah suffered multiple abrasions, lacerations, contusions, and catastrophic blunt force injuries. She had multiple fractures, lacerations on her liver and spleen, and numerous contusions on her lungs. She did demonstrate alcohol intoxication with a BAC of 0.19 and a vitreous fluid concentration of 0.24. And their findings were that Jaleah died as the result of multiple catastrophic injuries sustained as an unrestrained driver of a car that lost control and struck a guardrail. Now, some information from this autopsy didn't cross the desk of detectives until much later, so we'll stick with this information for now. What we did know was that it was Jaleayah and she had suffered a horrible death.
- [33:52]
Ricky
Vitreous fluid is the gel inside the eye. Investigators test it because it breaks down slower than blood after death. So in cases like this, it can give a clearer picture of what her alcohol levels actually were when she died.
- [34:06]
Ashley
So as the investigators, they're trying to piece together these testimonies. A man named Justin Knopp came forward to speak with investigators. Justin told detectives that he was friends with Christopher Latimer and had heard a story circulating about what allegedly happened that night. According to Justin, the story going around was that Kristen, Freddy, Nicole, who had been mentioned by Kimberly Davis, and another male were with Jaleah at the nip and Q. He said that Kristin had asked Jaleah to hold her house key and later wanted it back, but Jaleah didn't have it. He believed that was the start of the fight. And from there, Justin said the rumor was that somehow they ended up on the interstate and that Freddy Scott allegedly pulled Jaleah out of the car and Kristin began beating her. He then said it was Kristen who was the one who ultimately hit her with the car. But Justin admitted he didn't know how they got away, and he didn't know anything beyond what he heard from others.
- [35:08]
Ricky
Now, even as a rumor, it's incredibly specific. We have names, a possible motive, and a sequence of events that, if true, would completely change the understanding of what happened to Julia that night. Detectives asked him a bunch of times where he got this information, but he continued to say that he didn't want to get anyone else involved. He actually said that he couldn't believe that he was the first and only person who had come forward to report this version of events. He said that there were a few hundred people out there that knew the same story.
- [35:40]
Ashley
Yeah. And the tension between what's being said and what can actually be proven becomes a pattern in this case. He also told investigators that he thought Kristin was a bad person and she was capable of doing something like this. He questioned why she had retained lawyers so quickly. And she was seen at Jaleayah's mother's workplace the next day, implying that being seen publicly could have been an attempt to appear casual or not guilty. But again, this is an interpretation. It's not evidence. But they couldn't ignore it either. And it turned out Justin wasn't the only one who had information like this. One caller to the station alleged that Kristin had hit Jaleah with a car and noted that she already had an attorney. Another tip came in that Jaleah had been at a party and left because she was getting beat up and that people had followed her afterward. And this gets mentioned again later on this case. So at this point, there's two narratives. A single vehicle, alcohol related crash, and an altercation that escalated.
- [36:45]
Ricky
Meanwhile, detectives were still trying to locate Freddy Scott, and they eventually made a traffic stop on a vehicle they believed to be his. And Freddy agreed to come in for an interview on November 21st.
- [36:58]
Ashley
Yes. And Freddy didn't offer much more. He said that Jaleah had a boyfriend, and at some point during the night, she had been arguing with a guy at the bar, a white man wearing a hat. Though he claimed that he didn't know who this man was. He suggested that his friend Jordan could provide a better description. And of course, my first thought is Chris Latimer, since he claimed to have been with Jaleah for a big portion of the night. But, I mean, it could also be a whole bunch of other people. There's a lot of people in this case. Freddy said that Jordan had been with them and was in the car when they drove to the nip and queue. He admitted that he himself had been intoxicated while driving earlier in the night. Freddy told detectives that Kristen didn't leave with Jaleah, even though they had arrived together. He thought Jaleah was going to leave with the guy she had been arguing with and that he had even tried to set her up with Jordan, but that didn't work out. He said Jordan ultimately left the nipping queue with another girl. And when asked about the argument between Kristen and Jaleah, Freddie downplayed it and said that Kristen and Jaleah didn't argue about anything significant, just that they were looking for Kristen's keys. He claimed the keys were later found in his own car the next morning.
- [38:14]
Ricky
Now, according to Freddie, when they left Jaleelah in her vehicle, she seemed normal and relatively sober, which is interesting because others described her as extremely intoxicated. And Freddie said that the rumors about what happened were juvenile and addressed the other people that were there. He said Nicole did meet them at the bar, but didn't leave with them, and he didn't mention Amy at all. He told investigators that he heard different versions of what happened, but he maintained that he never was inside Julia's car and suggested investigators check her phone records because she had been on the phone frequently that night, which obviously they already knew.
- [38:52]
Ashley
Hopefully you're following us so far, but it seems like the main statements show Jaleah being at Brian's house, going to the bar, and asking her sister to come pick her up after some kind of argument or altercation. There have been a couple suggestions that she was at a party and had got beaten up, but that's still unconfirmed. Rumors are saying that Kristin and Freddie did something to Jaleah, but police don't have any evidence of that yet, and that's where we are right now. So on November 22, a detective received a call from Missy Cornwell, who worked at the Walmart photo center in Marietta. She reported that a man had come in on Saturday, November 19, the same day Jaleah died, to make copies of photographs. According to Missy, the images were disturbing, she said. She described seeing what appeared to be an army and dead dogs in the photos. And she also said the man kept talking about a crash and mentioned that his relative had been involved. The detective immediately requested copies, and Missy agreed to save the images until he could retrieve them the next day. After reviewing them, investigators confirmed that the pictures had been taken after the fact during the daytime.
- [40:07]
Ricky
So from what we know now, this could have been Jaleayah's grandfather who went down to the scene after the fact that to survey and take pictures in an attempt to aid the investigation. So it could have been him, but it also could have been someone else. We just don't really know.
- [40:21]
Ashley
Yeah, this was a really weird and bizarre situation. So anyway, the next place the investigation goes is into an interview room with Kristin Bechtold. And according to her interview with her attorney present, she and Jaleah arrived at Brian's house at around 9:30pm and Chris Latimer, Jordan Campbell, Freddie Scott and Brian, they were there. And she said that they later picked up Katie at Hardee's before continuing the night. Kristin confirmed that there was drinking at Brian's house before they went out and that Jaleayah took a lot of shots before heading to the Nip and Q. Kristin said that she, Jaleah, Freddie and Katie, they rode to the Nip and Q in Freddie's car. No mention of Jordan Campbell. And while there, she said that Jaleelah was dancing with Chris Latimer, who happened to be Katie's ex boyfriend, and that Katie was getting aggravated about it. And when they returned to Brian's house after the bar closed, Kristen said Jaleah was on the phone with Dominic hall, trying to go hang out with him or meet up with someone else. Kristen also said Jaleayah couldn't find her wristlet and was upset, believing Kristen had done something with it. Kristen said she had actually tried to take it off her earlier because she was getting more intoxicated. She didn't want her to lose her keys. And eventually she said that she located the wristlet and her keys. The plan had been for everyone to go home together and they thought Jaleah was coming with them. But instead she called her sister and asked to be picked up. Kristen said she didn't know whether Jaleayah was planning to meet up with another guy or go home, but that she wasn't going to sit and wait for Jaleah's sister to arrive. Most notably, Kristin said that Jaleel wasn't upset when they left her that night.
- [42:10]
Ricky
And again, that directly contradicts what Tabby said since she said she was extremely upset and hysterical even. And again, here there's no mention of Nicole or Amy or that Jordan was ever in the car with them. So it's just weird.
- [42:24]
Ashley
Yes, exactly. She sounded really distraught on the phone and it just gets more complicated as we go. So as the investigation moved into the following Weeks, detectives attempted to secure surveillance footage from the Nip and Q, hoping it would clarify who was there. What interactions took place before the group left. On Nov. 28, management told investigators they were having difficulty retrieving the security footage because the system was old and it wasn't functioning properly. They said they would try to bring someone in to fix it. So the detectives, they waited for that to happen. Meanwhile, on November 30, investigators interviewed Brian Sapp, the homeowner where the group had gathered earlier in the evening. Brian said he later went to the Nippon queue by himself, and he saw Jaleayah there, and he described her as drunk but not unstable. He confirmed that Freddy told him there was an argument between Kristen and Jaleah over keys and that this other person, Nicole, was never at the house that night. Around this same time, detectives received a tip from Ben French, who reported being involved with the justice for Jaleah Facebook page. According to him, Nicole Diaz had posted conflicting information, first saying that Jaleah left with someone she didn't know and later stating that Jaleah, Kristen, Katie, Freddie, and another male, assumingly Jordan, left together.
- [43:53]
Ricky
So here we go. Another mention of this girl Nicole that police haven't interviewed yet, and it makes you wonder what her involvement really was.
- [44:02]
Ashley
Yeah. So investigators, they had their eye on Nicole. On December 8, investigators attempted to contact Reggie Sims, Jaleah's situationship, but his voicemail is full. Then on December 13, after failed attempts to burn the footage onto a CD, investigators decided to go see the NIP&Q surveillance footage in person. But when they got there, they learned that it had already been overwritten and was no longer available, which is crazy. Then on December 14, investigators interviewed Brandon, one of the friends that Jaleah contacted that night, and he told detectives that Jaleayah had called asking to come over that night, but he advised against it because girls she didn't get along with were there, the ones that Tabby had mentioned during her interview with police. So another mention of this tension with other girls.
- [44:53]
Ricky
By mid December, investigators were dealing with a case that had grown increasingly complicated but definitely still suspicious. And now a huge missing piece without the surveillance footage.
- [45:04]
Ashley
On the same day, the investigators interviewed Nicole Diaz Wuden. Nicole confirmed that she had been at the Nip and Queue that night, but not at Brian's house. And she said Jaleayah danced with Chris Latimer most of the evening. She also told detectives that Jaleayah had been practically living with Kristin recently and acknowledged that there had been a fight the previous weekend between Jaleayah and this group of girls that Tabby and Brandon had mentioned. So ongoing tensions there, but nothing to implicate Nicole or anyone else who was involved. Then, on December 28, detectives received another call from Ben French. He reported that he and another man found a jacket over the hill in the vicinity of the crash scene. And according to French, the jacket was grayish color and lying over the backside of the guardrail. And this case is hurting for physical evidence at this point. I mean, there's so many, he said, she said different things, and so many people involved. Then, on January 12th of 2012, investigators received an anonymous voicemail. The caller claimed that a family member was friends with a woman named Julia. And according to the message, Julia knew Jaleayah and had a baby with a man named jd, and that JD and his sister were allegedly the last people with Jaleayah that night. The caller suggested that JD's family had money and he might, quote, get away with it.
- [46:29]
Ricky
And to me, I'm just still trying to figure out who this white guy in a hat is. So maybe it's this JD guy or the stranger that Nicole mentioned she was leaving with that night, but it's just adding more conflicting evidence to what actually happened.
- [46:44]
Ashley
Exactly. But despite all the rumors and tips coming in, the forensic evidence continued to point in a specific direction. Only Jaleayah's fingerprints were found inside her vehicle, and blood samples collected from the scene were being processed. So nearly two months after Jaleah's death, the investigation was still active, with a lot of information and more coming in. On January 18, Jaleah's mother, Kim Davis, she contacted detectives again, and she said that she was afraid someone might try to hurt her other daughter, Tabby. She also made it very clear that her daughter was a fighter, someone who considered crying a weakness. So for Jaleayah to have been hysterical on the phone that night, something serious had to have happened. On January 18, a woman contacted investigators saying that she had seen Twitter posts from Nicole Diaz on the night and the morning of the accident, referencing a party at the Williamstown Hotel. And according to her, one of the posts said, something's getting crazy. And a week later, the tweet had been removed, making Nicole come back into the picture as someone to pay attention to. And another mention of a mysterious party where Jaleah was beaten up.
- [48:01]
Ricky
The following day, detectives finally got into contact with Reggie Sims. He said that he had last seen Jaleayah either the day before or a few days before the accident. He knew she was going out that night, but he didn't know where. He also confirmed that there had been an altercation the week before between Jaleah and a girl named Tiffany, one of the members of the group that she didn't get along with, but he didn't know what it was about. Reggie said that Jaleah had texted him that night of the accident saying, I'm over. You're a loser. So I don't really know what she was saying, but it was probably something like, I'm over you. So she was pretty much done with him. The world of Sonic the Hedgehog has been thrust into a not so dark, not so stormy, hard boiled detective story that probably nobody saw coming. Follow Sonic and the intrepid Chaotix Detective Agency as they take on their biggest case yet. This high flying, action packed adventure will take them across the world, fighting for every clue they can find. It's one heck of a tale, which is good because this story might be the only thing that can save their lives. Well, if that's all, I can just dispose of you. Wait, what all will be revealed in Sonic the Hedgehog Presents the Chaotix Case Files Listen now, wherever you get your
- [49:31]
Ashley
podcasts, the Chaotix are on the case. Ah, the Regency era. You might know it as the time when Bridgerton takes takes place. Whereas the time when Jane Austen wrote her books, the Regency era was also an explosive time of social change, sex scandals, and maybe the worst king in British history. Vulgar History's new season is all about the Regency era, the balls, the gowns, and all the scandal. Listen to Vulgar History Regency Era wherever you get podcasts. I'm Mandy. And I'm Melissa. And this is Moms and Mysteries, where two Florida moms obsessed with true crime. From infamous cases like Ellen Greenberg to shocking Florida stories like the Dan Markell killing. With 55 million downloads, we bring you new deep dives every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen to Moms and Mysteries on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. So at this point there are dozens of statements, there's dozens of phone records and rumors and reports coming in. So let's just put together a little bit of a timeline based on what everyone said. 9:30, Kristen and Jaleah. They arrive at Brian Sapp's house together and others are present at various times. Some of the group gathers at hardee's at around 10:30 to pick up Katie Nelson. At around 1am the group reportedly leaves Brian's house for the nip and queue where Kristen, Jaleah, Freddie, possibly Jordan and Katie ride together. Julia she's taking shots. She's having a good time dancing with Chris Latimer, which might have pissed off Kristen and Katie. And some prior adversaries were present at the bar. But no physical altercation is reported at the bar or anything like that. At 3am the group leaves the bar, and they stop at Freddie's apartment to unlock the door for when Jordan returns later, since he reportedly left the bar with another woman. They return to Brian's, where a disagreement takes place, and Jaleah calls Chris Latimer to hang out, then Brandon, then her sister Tabby to ask for a ride. And after calling her again to make sure she was on her way, some kind of accident occurs that kills her. That's the main timeline that we're working with.
- [51:50]
Ricky
So what we're still questioning is who is this Amy girl, whether Jaleah was ever at a different location besides Brian's house in the bar. And then what role did Nicole have in all of this since she took some of those posts down after Jalea's accident, allegedly talking about a party that Jaleah could have been at. So for now, it seems like this group that Jaleah had problems with really didn't have anything to do with anything that happened that night.
- [52:16]
Ashley
That's what I'm thinking, too. And they still have to match all of this up with the physical evidence that's pending. On February 23, more than three months after Julia's death, investigators received information from someone who had been following the justice for Jaleel Facebook page. And through that page, detectives were put into contact with a woman named Ember sky, identified in reports as Ms. Stafford, who claimed that she had been at the Nippon Queue the night Jaleah was there. And she told investigators she did not know Jaleayah personally and had only met her the night after Jaleayah asked her to watch her drink while she danced. She reported seeing Jaleah with two males and two females at the bar. This could be assumed to be Freddie, Jordan, Kristen and Katie. And according to Ember, when the group left the bar, Jaleayah and another female got into a silver Kia, and the two men and another female got into a white SUV described as a Navigator. Ember stated that as they were leaving, the men were yelling obscenities at Jaleah, and she reported hearing Jaleah tell a man name Freddie to shut up. She claimed that in reply, the man told Julia that she was going to regret saying that. Ember also described seeing one of the men physically shoving Jaleah out The door of the bar and watched as Jaleah got into the silver Kia with another female and the white SUV pulled out behind her.
- [53:43]
Ricky
And that changes everything, because up to this point, no witness had ever mentioned a second vehicle. The understanding was that Jaleah's car had been at Brian's the entire time.
- [53:54]
Ashley
Right. And this is the first time that we're hearing that Jaleayah's car was actually at the bar. Ember said she followed both vehicles as they left the parking lot, and she told investigators that the Navigator was riding closely behind Jaleayah's Kia. Once they reached the interstate, Ember attempted to pass them, but the Navigator cut her off and pulled into the left lane in front of her. She described the female in the passenger seat of the SUV as turned around, appearing to be yelling at something toward Jaleah's vehicle. She then described a black sedan, possibly even a Cadillac, coming out of nowhere and swerving around her and pulling in front of Jaleayah's car While the white SUV positioned itself behind the Kia. She estimated this to be occurring between 3:40 and 3:45. Amber then claimed that she saw the Navigator swerve toward Jaleah's Kia and that the Kia went into the guardrail and saw Jaleayah exit the vehicle. At that time, she assumed the people were drunk and messing around, and she didn't have a phone with her, and she did not call 911. According to her, she didn't watch television, and she didn't realize Jaleayah had died until much later. As a result of this new information, Ember agreed to take a polygraph.
- [55:13]
Ricky
And honestly, this is wild. Do we really think she saw this happen? And with everything circulating about the case, how did she not connect it back to Jaleayah?
- [55:22]
Ashley
Which is why I think detectives wanted to take a polygraph. So they set the date for her to come in and do that. And by the spring of 2012, the case had moved far beyond what anyone expected. Then on April 23, a woman named Thelma posted on the justice for Jaleayah Facebook page, identifying herself as, Stay with me here. The mother of Nicole Diaz's brother's child. So she was the mother to Nicole's niece or nephew. And according to her, Nicole had gone to visit the baby at her parents house and allegedly left her cell phone there. She claimed Nicole's father found the phone and read text messages from Kristen Bechtold's mother, supposedly begging Nicole not to go to law enforcement. Thelma also alleged that Nicole was a habitual Liar. And that Nicole, Jordan, Amy, Kristen, and Freddy had all purchased new cell phones after the incident. She further stated that Nicole's brother told her that Kristen gave $5,000 to Freddie Scott. Then on May 4, investigators spoke with Nicole's parents, and they told detectives they had heard Nicole had given Kristen an alibi, claiming she was at the bar and that Jaleah left alone. There were also claims that Freddie had obtained a new vehicle shortly after Jaleayah's death. Now, allegedly, Nicole had told someone she initially covered for Kristen and later wanted to come clean. Nicole's parents also confirmed that Nicole did change her cell phone and take down her Facebook page shortly after Jaleah's death.
- [56:58]
Ricky
That's a really suspicious sequence of events if it's what played out. And again, we're not accusing anyone here, but it's hard to ignore, especially since the parents backed it up and investigators thought the same thing. So they followed up with Nicole, but she didn't budge. She stuck to her story and called Thelma crazy.
- [57:16]
Ashley
Right. So now, with so many conflicting stories, the police went back to where they started with Katie. Katie clarified that Freddie had been driving a black sedan that night, which could match the vehicle seen at Kristen's residence the morning of the accident. The one that from the Frost seemed to have been parked there pretty recently. But that's just speculation. Katie stated that Jaleayah was not fit to drive by the end of the night, and her biggest regret was leaving Jaleayah behind in her car at Brian's house after they left the bar. And when asked about Ember's statement, you know, the white navigator in the pursuit, Katie said the story sounded like something was made up by someone on drugs. That didn't happen. There was no suv, and Katie agreed to take a polygraph to prove it.
- [58:04]
Ricky
So on June 6, Amber came back in for her polygraph examination. And during questioning, she mentioned someone named Donna, who she said was Nicole Diaz's aunt. Investigators contacted Nicole, who denied knowing anyone named Donna. Detectives noted that Amber was extremely emotional during the interview, which was strange, since she had only met Jaleah once. So that made them question her credibility.
- [58:29]
Ashley
So detectives confronted her with this information, and they asked her if there was something else she knew that was making her so emotional. And that's when Ember provided more information. She said that she had been at the bar in Marietta on her birthday and had overheard Kristen telling another girl what happened to Jaleah. According to her, Kristen noticed her standing nearby and asked what she had heard, warning her that she Better not have heard anything. Ember said Kristen was a bad person and had claimed that she had seen her beat up people before but couldn't provide names or examples. She told investigators that this overheard conversation was what motivated her to come forward and why she was so emotional.
- [59:13]
Ricky
But that unraveled pretty quickly, too, because Ember's birthday party was actually the day after she first came forward to the police, which means that alleged stairwell conversation couldn't have been the catalyst for her original statement. When detectives confronted her with this inconsistency. Reportedly, she said that she was tired and didn't want to talk anymore, so they had to reschedule the polygraph for the next day.
- [59:38]
Ashley
And Ember never showed up to that appointment and her story was completely discounted. But if you think it ends there, it definitely doesn't. By early June of 2012, the investigation had taken on a life of its own in the community. On June 5, detectives received a voicemail from Kristen's attorneys stating that she was being threatened because of the rumors. Two weeks later, investigators met directly with her lawyer, who advised that Kristin couldn't go out in public because of the harassment she was receiving. Law enforcement agreed to release a statement warning against harassment and emphasizing threats wouldn't be tolerated. But it was definitely putting pressure on their investigation. On July 24, DNA results came back and investigators confirmed there was no foreign DNA inside the vehicle. Everything identified belonged to Jaleah. There was a mention of foreign mixture of fluid of an unknown donor, but it was determined to be insignificant, noting it could have been deposited on another day in time, so no physical evidence tying anyone else to the scene. And furthermore, investigators determined that the passenger side airbags didn't deploy. And based on that, investigators believe Jaleah was alone in her vehicle at the time of the crash, which doesn't address
- [61:01]
Ricky
the theory that Jaleah was already out of the car when someone else hit her with her own car. But okay.
- [61:08]
Ashley
By late August of 2012, someone else had contacted authorities, a man named Tyler Fornash. He reported that Freddie Scott had come to his place place of employment and made contact with him. And according to Fornash, Scott approached him casually, acting like they were buddies and refused leave. He also claimed Scott had come to his residence. Tyler explained that he had been involved in the justice for Jalea Facebook page since the accident. After Ben French contacted him and asked whether he knew Freddie, Kristin or Nicole. Tyler also mentioned that he was a criminal justice student with aspirations of becoming an investigator, which was part of the reason he became involved with the page Fournash said that he received information that a friend of Amy Jo, the person that hadn't been mentioned since the beginning of the investigation, that Kristen and Jaleah had a physical altercation before going to the Nippon Q at Amy's residence. He stated that Amy lived with Nicole and Katie Nelson, and according to him, Kristin, Freddie and Jordan were yelling at Jaleah. He also alleged that someone messaged him on Facebook saying that Freddie had been involved in an altercation and was removed from the bar recently. And during that time was heard saying he got away with murder.
- [62:31]
Ricky
And remember that this is all rumors. But he also said that people were afraid to go to the police, that Freddy liked to carry a weapon, and that Freddy was making death threats towards him. So we're going back to Freddie somehow being involved just through looking suspicious from his behavior following the incident, and that he had allegedly gotten a new vehicle and a new cell phone after the incident as well, and he moved. So it's all just really suspicious.
- [63:00]
Ashley
By mid September of 2012, the forensic side of the case was still being examined, and the forensic lab confirmed that blood testing revealed no other identifiable DNA besides Jaleayah's. A week later, investigators received another public service call reporting that three to four weeks earlier, she had been at Uncle Mike's bar when a confrontation broke out between Freddie Scott and another individual. According to the witness, Freddie punched the man and both were removed from the bar. During the altercation, she claimed, Freddie yelled, go ahead, call the cops. The cops are behind me. I've already killed once and I got away with it. The witness also stated that a female who was with Freddy told him to be quiet and get into the car,
- [63:47]
Ricky
so matching what Tyler Fornash had reported. Interesting. But there was nothing concrete to actually do anything about these statements. According to the police, the case stayed
- [63:57]
Ashley
pretty silent until November 13, almost a year after Jaleayah's death, when Ember Stafford was arrested on an unrelated matter. While in jail, she reportedly told another inmate, someone connected to the Davis family, that she didn't lie about her eyewitness account and that she knew Jaleah personally. However, Kimberly Davis, Jaleah's mother, stated there was no way Ember knew her children, which circles back to the credibility issue, since Ember told investigators that she had only met Jaleayah that night. In February of 2013, investigators received the finalized autopsy report and death certificate. According to those findings, Jaleah died as a result of multiple catastrophic injuries, sustained as an unrestrained driver of a vehicle that lost control, struck a guardrail and ejected her from the car before she was struck by two tractor trailer trucks. Alcohol was listed as a contributory condition to impairment, and the manner of death was officially rolled an accident.
- [65:02]
Ricky
So on March 21, 2013, Jaleah's family was informed that the case was being closed, and investigators stated that there was no indication of foul play. They acknowledged that the accident scene contained a unique set of circumstances, factors that appeared suspicious, but that misinformation and speculation had fueled public confusion. But they said that after reviewing all forensic evidence, statements, crash reconstruction data, toxology results, and DNA findings, they determined that the case could be ruled an accident.
- [65:35]
Ashley
They extended their thoughts to the family, acknowledging how devastating it is to lose a child. But while the circumstances were unusual, the evidence supported one conclusion. But years after the case was officially closed, discussion didn't stop. In June of 2019, public forums began dissecting physical mechanics of the crash, particularly the ejection in the clothing. Jaleah's car was struck by the guardrail on the right side of the highway. The airbag deployed, she was unrestrained, meaning that she wasn't wearing a seatbelt, and she was ejected through the passenger side window. Now, during the reconstruction, during the ejection, her upper clothing came off, even her bra and her shirt and her coat. That's the part people struggle with. Online posters questioned how the clothing could have come off largely intact, and that removing her jacket, her top and her bra without shredding them would have required a specific angle of force. They also pointed out that the sleeves of the jacket were right side out, so it wasn't like an inside out coat kind of thing. And the clothing was found on a guardrail post, not the one believed to have caused the fatal head injury. From there, people speculate that the clothing may have been moved before police arrived, placing all three clothing items stacked on top of each other on the same guardrail, the bra being underneath the shirt in the coat.
- [67:05]
Ricky
Some forums referenced deposition comments noting limited visible blood on the passenger window area, questioning how an ejection occurred without more obvious transfer there. Others suggested that she may have been leaning towards the passenger side, reaching for something when the crash occurred, which is why the internal lights would have been on.
- [67:24]
Ashley
And people struggled to picture a driver being ejected from the driver's seat through the passenger side window, flipping upward onto the roof of the car, then rolling down off the trunk, particularly when there was limited visible blood around the passenger window area. But people also struggled to conceive a homicide scenario, especially since There was only 15 minutes between her last call to her sister and the first 911 call. But most hold the theory that someone hit Jaleah with her own car and used a getaway car, possibly removing her clothes to indicate some kind of assault and placing all the items on the same guardrail. As the years passed, the conversation around Jaleayah's case never truly stopped, especially on the justice for Jaleelah Facebook page, where her mother, Kimberly Davis, continues to share her perspective. In December of 2022, the original Facebook page was hacked. But despite that, the online presence continued. In March of 2023, Kimberly released a series of posts discussing her own examination of the crime scene photos and testimony, including statements from the first truck driver who struck Jaleayah.
- [68:42]
Ricky
According to her post, she described acceleration marks leading away from the pool of blood where Julia's body was found. She pointed to what she described as blood leading from one of the acceleration marks to Jaleah's body, referencing testimony that her body skidded. She argued that those acceleration marks couldn't have been left by the semi truck because the marks were on the right side of the road while her daughter's body was on the left. So basically, someone accelerated to hit her and accelerated again to drive away afterwards.
- [69:12]
Ashley
Then, on March 22, Kimberly's father passed away, and she wrote about the emotional impact of losing a parent who died believing his granddaughter had not received justice. She connected that loss to the recent release of a documentary expressing anger at what she called the untruths presented in the film. She wrote that she was beyond pissed, and she said that she planned to release additional details she had previously held back. She referenced thousands of screenshots and photos on her phone and intended to defend her daughter and father's memory. In September of 2024, Kimberly wrote that she had waited 12 years for someone to come forward. She believed someone involved that night provided a false alibi, and she addressed that person directly, saying she knew more than they thought she did. She claimed she knew who picked that individual up, where they were taken, and how they returned home the following day. Even if they weren't driving Jaleah's car, Providing a false alibi would make them an accessory and obstruct justice. She urged that person to tell the
- [70:19]
Ricky
truth, and we can make guesses of who that person is, but we'll leave it to your imagination. In November of 2024, Kimberly wrote that the young people involved that night had struck Jaleel with her own car. She alleged that someone wiped their hands on Julia's coat before it was placed on the guardrail on top of the rest of her clothing. She asked them what it must be like to live a normal life after that night and wrote about the pain of not hearing her daughter's voice or laugh for 13 years.
- [70:50]
Ashley
So the most recent post is From November of 2025, the 14th anniversary of Jaleayah's death. She wrote about the pain that never fully leaves, about learning to function but never truly healing. She said she takes the day off work every year because she doesn't want anyone to see her on that day as the grief still overwhelms her. She believes that one day Jaleah will get justice and that she will continue fighting for her. From an official standpoint, nothing has changed since 2013. The case remains closed, but emotionally, for her family, Jaleayah's case is never closed and justice hasn't been served. And until that changes the conversation around Jaleah, Rose Davis will likely still continue. All of the information that you heard today is from the original case file documents provided by Gavin Fish. And we want you to take this information and decide did Jaleah truly get justice for what happened on November 19th of 2011? Investigators spent over a year examining the evidence, but ultimately the only conclusion they could come to was accidental. But that didn't provide any kind of closure for Julia's family.
- [72:07]
Ricky
Our thoughts are with Julia's family. We can't imagine what it's like to lose a child. And if you have verified information about this case, you can contact the Wood County Sheriff's office at 304-424-1834.
- [72:22]
Ashley
Thank you so much for listening to Crime Salad this week. And please feel free to leave us a positive review. It really helps our show. And please share this episode with a friend or someone who should hear Jaleayah's story. We will see you next time. Oh please, not that music. That music gives me nightmares from my childhood.
- [72:53]
Ricky
Could we get something a little bit lighter? Some lighter music here?
- [72:56]
Ashley
Are you a fan of true crime TV shows?
- [72:59]
Ricky
And what about Unsolved Mysteries, the show that jump started all of our love of true crime?
- [73:04]
Ashley
I'm Ellen Marsh.
- [73:05]
Ricky
And I'm Joey Taranto and we host
- [73:07]
Ashley
I Think Not, a true crime comedy podcast covering some of the wildest stories from your favorite true crime campy TV shows all the way to Unsolved Mysteries, baby.
- [73:17]
Ricky
You will laugh. You will cry. You'll think about true crime in a whole new way.
- [73:21]
Ashley
And you'll also ask yourself, who gave these people mics? New episodes of I Think not are released every Wednesday with bonus episodes out every Thursday on Patreon.
- [73:31]
Ricky
And every Monday you can listen to our True Crime rundown where we go over the top true crime headlines of the week.
- [73:38]
Ashley
So come and join us wherever you listen to your podcasts.
- [73:44]
Ricky
Hi, this is Rob Benedict and I am Richard Speight. We were both on a little show you might know called Supernatural. It had a pretty good run, 15 seasons, 327 episodes. And though we have seen of course every episode many times, we figured, hey, now that we're wrapped, let's watch it all again. And we can't do that alone. So we're inviting the cast and crew that made the show along for the ride. We've got writers, producers, composers, directors, and we'll of course have some actors on as well, including some certain guys that played some certain pretty iconic brothers. It was kind of a little bit of a left field choice in the best way possible. The note from Kripke was he's great, we love him, but we're looking for like a really intelligent Duchovny type with 15 seasons to explore. It's going to be the road trip of several lifetimes. So please join us and subscribe to Supernatural then and now. Ever open up your podcast app scroll forever and still not know what to listen to. And there are millions of podcasts and most of them, they just don't grab you. That's why I created Something you should Know. Every episode is built around surprising, useful and fascinating ideas. We're consistently ranked in Apple's top 200 with thousands of five star reviews. But more importantly, people come back because they learn something interesting every time. If you're tired of searching and you just want something good to listen to, try one episode of Something youg Should Know right here on the platform you're listening on right now.