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Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
SPACE80@talk space.com the following story discusses individuals connected to the case of Danny Harris. Except for those who have been convicted or formally charged in connection with this case, no person mentioned in this series has been officially named a suspect, person of interest or found guilty of any crime related to his death. By Christmas of 2025, it felt like everything had changed. After nearly two decades in prison, Andrew finally had something his family had been waiting to hear. There was momentum. Sarah had confessed.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
Andrew was never there.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
No Stephen Harris, Danny Harris own son, had secretly recorded Sarah admitting Andrew was never there.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
It was just you and her, correct?
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Yes.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
After nearly two decades of waiting, I was able to share an update with Andrew's mom Flora and Sister Laconda that would finally bring them some peace. So I took the recordings to the da and the DA issued an arrest warrant for Sarah. And Sarah is sitting in jail right now?
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Yes.
Andrew Hayes' Family Member
Oh, my God.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
They charged her. They charged her with facilitation of murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated perjury, and she's sitting in jail waiting to be extradited to Memphis right now.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
They got the white one.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
They got the right one.
Andrew Hayes' Family Member
Thank you, Jesus.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
They got the right one.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Oh, my Lord. Thank you.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
I mean, we can't. We have to stay focused because Andrew's not out yet. It's a miracle.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Oh, thank you, Jesus.
Andrew Hayes' Family Member
So she thought she was still gonna be stopped for you.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
Yeah.
Andrew Hayes' Family Member
Mm. Now you can see how my brother been feeling just sitting in there.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
I will be happiest when he. When we're all there with him walking out, that's. I'm not stopping until then.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
2026 gon be a good year.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
But then months passed, hearings stalled, court dates came and went. What once felt hopeful started to feel like purgatory. Just as it finally felt like Andrew was coming home, the case was thrown into chaos.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
Don't post anything about it yet.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
What happened?
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
I'm Stephanie Tinsley, and this is everything they missed. Episode 11 Bombshells and burritos.
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Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
I got called at 1 o' clock yesterday afternoon saying that the federalis were at her house.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
Three months after Sarah confessed to participating in the murder of Danny Harris, Ruby, Sarah's sister, called, telling me authorities finally showed up at Sarah's apartment in Duncan, Oklahoma.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Apparently, they are taking her, but they did not take her yesterday, which I think is weird. They came to her house, but then they didn't. They didn't take her. That seems weird. They told her if she runs, they will find her. They found her once, they'll do it again. Is she living with anybody that could help her run? No. And she is officially wheelchair bound as of September. Okay. So she's just sitting in her apartment until they come back. I would be afraid she might commit suicide. Would you be afraid of that? I wouldn't be so afraid of that. Because when it boils down to it, she might be a badass on the outside, but she's not gonna do anything that ain't gonna benefit her. Needing herself is not going to benefit her in any way. If I could talk to the detectives and Duncan pd, I would tell them to watch her house like it's a trap house. I was up till 3 o' clock this morning listening to the podcast and.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
Oh, my God.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Yeah. Did you not. Had you not heard it before? No. Me and Tyler were up late discussing, you know, what was being said on the podcast and everything else. Yeah, it's about damn time.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
The whole thing felt surreal. Authorities had shown up to arrest Sarah, then apparently just left her there alone. No jail, no extradition, no clear idea what happens next. I hung up the phone, confused, because none of it made sense. So a couple of days later, I called Brittany, Sarah's other sister, who lived down the street from her.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Hey, so do we know that Sarah's in custody? She is, yeah. They went and picked her up this morning. They came and they knocked on the door, said that she had a port appearance, so she needed to come with them. She couldn't really, you know, walk or anything. So they transported her by ems. And then my dad said she was on a stretcher in the courtroom. The killed her bond is $500,000 and that Tennessee has up to 90 days to come get her. I believe she's where she should be. How do you feel about it?
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
The more we've all been talking about it, we believe the same thing.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Yeah, we. We're kind of in the same boat.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
Finally, something that sounded definitive. Sarah was in custody. But I had this bad feeling and I still needed more confirmation. So I decided to call the Stevens County Jail in Oklahoma myself.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Hi there. My name is Stephanie Tinsley. And there was a woman today, Sarah Lucas Riedel, that was arrested. And I just wanted to confirm that she was in custody there. Can you help me with that? She is. She is. She's there. Okay. Okay, good. Thank you for the confirmation. You're welcome.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
But I would find out that wasn't the whole truth because a few days later, I got a call that contradicted that confirmation. Sarah never actually went to jail.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
They didn't actually assign her a cell. Instead of assigning her a cell, they took her to.
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Will (IQ Bar Founder)
Hey, I'm Will. I started IQ Bar because I couldn't find a protein bar that wasn't loaded with sugar and unpronounceable ingredients. So I decided to make my own. IQ Bars are ultra low sugar packed with protein, fiber, and brain boosting nutrients like magnesium and lion's maneuver. And they got zero weird ingredients. And if you've been meaning to try them, now is a great time. Because right now you can get 20% off all IQ Bar products, plus free shipping when you visit iqbar.com and enter promo code BAR20. Whether you're at your desk, on the road or mid workout, iqbar has functional, clean, and delicious options for every occasion.
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Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
When I got the call from Brittany and her husband Kale, I was expecting to hear about Sarah trying to raise money for her bond or try to find some other way to get released. But I never could have anticipated this turn of events.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
She said she didn't. Never even went to jail. She just went straight to the hospital. Oh, so she's never even been in custody? She's just been at the hospital the whole time?
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
No, I mean, they arrested her and. But they never even. They averted from taking her to the jail. They didn't actually assign her a cell. Instead of assigning her a cell, they took her to the hospital.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
They're pulling fluid from her lungs because her lungs keep filling up. She said they just took her test tube out today.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
And just when I thought the story of Sarah's arrest couldn't be any more dramatic, a bombshell, she's like, I don't
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
think I'm going to Tennessee anymore. She's like, I only have six months left to live.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
After Sarah arrived at the hospital and was assessed. Sarah claims that doctors discovered she had stage four lung cancer. Cancer. Sarah's arrest was no longer the biggest
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
news that they told the police at the hospital. Stay. Now she no longer has a guard at the hospital. She's been released.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
That seems kind of weird.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
It's really weird. So we're going up there right now to see if she's telling the truth. She said that they're going to let her go to my dad's house and live there and that she's going to have hospice there because she doesn't have that much longer to live. And let you know if there's any cop or anything or she's handcuffed because that's what that. I mean, that's how she's supposed to be.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
Yeah, this is that. This is wild to me.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Wild to us. How did the.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
You get away with murder?
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
And then faintly in the background, I could hear Brittany and Kale driving up to what sounded like a drive through window.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
As soon as I heard her call, I said, okay, yeah, we're gonna go up there and see if this is the truth.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
She's like, oh, I want Cali burritos.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
Seconds after Brittany tells me Sarah is dying from stage four for lung cancer. I'm listening as they pull into a Cali burrito drive through because Sarah has apparently decided she wants a burrito delivered to her hospital room.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Steak and shrimp.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
Steak and shrimp.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Yes, it's. Does it come with beans and rice on it? Okay, then. Yeah, that's good bacon.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
No, that's it.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Yeah. I. I don't even know. I don't even.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
I don't have no words. I have no words either. While everything seemed to be spinning in every direction at once, one thing hadn't changed. Andrew Hayes was still sitting in a prison cell. And while everyone was focused on Sarah, a much quieter battle was unfolding behind the scenes. One that would determine whether Andrew finally gets a chance at freedom. My head was spinning. Within days, I'd learned Sarah had been arrested for her part in Danny Harris's murder. Except depending on who you talk to, she might not actually be in custody. She was either sitting in the county jail or in a hospital room, maybe with a guard. Maybe not yet. Somehow, according to her sisters, she was on Facebook updating her new relationship status, had visits from family and friends, was ordering burritos. And now, according to her family, had stage four lung cancer. It felt almost too convenient for a woman who had spent years mastering the ways to avoid accountability. But while Questions swirled around Sarah. Andrew's attorneys were focused on something else entirely. Getting back into court. On January 6, 2026, Jason Gishner and the Tennessee Innocence Project filed a brand new petition on Andrew's behalf.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
So on January 6, 2026, we filed a new petition for error quorum nobis on behalf of Andrew. And essentially what that is is it's a petition with new evidence to get back before the original trial court.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
This wasn't the same petition the court had rejected before, because this time, Jason was presenting new evidence, Sarah's confession.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
And we presented the court with. With the recordings with Sarah Lucas's confession and her statements that Andrew was not there and not involved. The goal of this petition is to show that we have clear and convincing evidence that Andrew is innocent that never been heard before, and for the court to overturn his conviction.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
As chaotic as Sarah's arrest had become, I still assumed the next phase of Andrew's case would move the way innocent cases usually do. Slowly, quietly, through the courts. One morning, I was sitting in my podcast studio in Nashville and my phone buzzed. A source inside the DA's office had sent me a live stream link. No explanation. And when I clicked on it, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy was walking toward the podium. I had absolutely no idea what I was about to hear.
Steve Mulroy (Shelby County District Attorney)
Good morning, everybody. Good morning.
Andrew Hayes' Family Member
Good morning.
Steve Mulroy (Shelby County District Attorney)
Thank you all for coming. Evidence came to light which caused our office to to take a second look at this case. Our Justice Review Unit, assisted by the Tennessee Innocence Project, did a thorough investigation.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
As I sat there watching this press conference unfold live at the exact same moment everyone else was hearing it, all I could think was, Andrew's family is hearing this right now. The Harris family is hearing this right now.
Steve Mulroy (Shelby County District Attorney)
Our office has now concluded that Andrew Hayes was wrongfully convicted.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
I sat in astonishment because this wasn't subtle. This wasn't carefully hedged legal language. The District Attorney of Shelby county was dropping a bombshell.
Steve Mulroy (Shelby County District Attorney)
The lawyers for Andrew Hayes have currently filed a pending petition to vacate his conviction. I'm announcing today that our office is not going to oppose that petition. We believe that that conviction should be vacated.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
For years, Andrew Hayes and his family had fought for someone in power to publicly acknowledge he was wrongfully convicted. The District Attorney was standing at a podium saying exactly that. DA Mulroy was now publicly acknowledging what the Innocence Port Project had argued for years. Andrew Hayes should never have been convicted. And then Mulroy took it even further.
Steve Mulroy (Shelby County District Attorney)
Our investigation has led us to believe that the person who really did Assist Tammy vance in killing Mr. Harris is a woman named Sarah Lucas Rydell. You know, there are some people who have said that conviction integrity units like the Justice Review Unit ought not to exist. This case, I believe, is a good example for having a unit like the Justice Review Unit. Thanks to their work, we are both assisting in righting a wrong against Mr. Hayes, but also bringing the right person to justice. You know, as a DA office, our duty is to follow the facts, even if they do challenge past outcomes. Justice isn't just about getting convictions. It's about accountability in the wider sense.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
It was one thing for prosecutors to quietly arrest Sarah behind the scenes, but this, this was public, blunt, unequivocal, causing hope to well up and overload everything. Almost immediately, my phone exploded. Interview requests, calls, texts, everything happened at once. The next morning, I met up with Andrew's family and we spent the entire day doing live interviews together. A man incarcerated for a crime the district Attorney's office acknowledges he did not
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
commit is now closer to possibly being released.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
We are diving deeper into a case
Steve Mulroy (Shelby County District Attorney)
that is capturing the city and parts of the nation as well.
Andrew Hayes' Family Member
Much of that evidence was uncovered through an investigative podcast called Everything They Missed.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
I can't even describe the energy in Memphis that day. The excitement, the disbelief, the hope.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
Baby boy, you coming home?
Andrew Hayes' Family Member
And the family is waiting.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
It was incredibly special for me to be part of one of the most emotional interviews of that entire whirlwind media tour. Sitting next to to Andrew's 19 year old son, Tamarion, listening to him for the first time in his life talk about the possibility that his father might actually be coming home.
Andrew Hayes' Family Member
I'm just feeling overwhelmed. I'm very excited, excited. He's been in there for him and, you know, a father and son bond that I've been yonder for all these years.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
To Marian, now here he was almost grown, trying to process the possibility that after all these years, his dad might finally walk free.
Andrew Hayes' Family Member
Growing up, I knew I had a dad, but it's just like I ain't had no father figure at home. He told me he was innocent. And I looked in his eyes and he told me he was innocent. I told him he was coming home.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
And for a little while, it really felt like the nightmare was over, like Andrew was about to finally come home. Just weeks after the DA's press conference, Sarah was finally extradited to Tennessee. And just like it had so many times before in this case, right when things were finally turning, I got a phone call that knocked the breath out of me.
Jason Gishner (Attorney)
She's dead.
Family Member (possibly Brittany or Ruby)
She's dead.
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
There's still so much more to come next week. Episode 12 make sure to follow the show here and follow me on social media. Hestephanytinsley so you don't miss out. Until next time. Special thanks to story editor Nadri Eaton and Type C Studios. Sound design by Redrum Creative editorial assistance in rough cut production by Nathan Fletcher. The essential dining experience is set long before the plates are plated, the sauce is simmered, or the puree hits the pan. It starts with a simple blend that's consistent, purposeful and precise.
Narrator/Announcer
Trusted by the world's best chefs so
Stephanie Tinsley (Podcast Host)
you can bring your best Vitamix Only the essential.
In this gripping episode, host Stephanie Tinsley chronicles a cascade of developments in the nearly two-decade-old murder case of Danny Harris. Episode 11, aptly titled “Bombshells and Burritos,” unpacks explosive revelations—Sarah Lucas Riedel’s confession, her dramatic (and convoluted) arrest, and the seismic decision by Shelby County's DA to declare Andrew Hayes wrongfully convicted. The narrative hurtles through emotional highs and gutting twists, offering listeners both answers and fresh enigmas about justice, truth, and what it means for a family to wait on the brink of hope.
Andrew’s Family Gets News
Stephanie updates Andrew Hayes' mother Flora and sister Laconda, describing the overwhelming moment when arrest warrants are finally issued for Sarah Lucas Riedel after her recorded confession.
Raw Reactions from the Family
The family's relief and disbelief are palpable, but Stephanie cautions against premature celebration:
First Law Enforcement Encounter
Authorities visit Sarah’s home but do not arrest her, leaving her family and Stephanie perplexed.
Definitive Arrest… Or Is It?
Stephanie Confirms with Jail
Stephanie personally verifies Sarah's custody, only to discover days later Sarah never actually went to jail.
Hospitalization, Cancer, and Dodging Accountability
Sarah claims a stage four lung cancer diagnosis after being diverted to hospital; she is soon released, not guarded, and possibly evading justice.
DA Steve Mulroy’s Public Announcement (18:24–20:50)
Significance of the Justice Review Unit
Mulroy defends the need for conviction integrity units, connecting this successful reversal as justification.
The episode pivots between tense, emotional, and at times almost absurd. Stephanie maintains a balance of journalistic skepticism and deep empathy for the people involved, delivering the narrative with urgency and candor. The language of the family and participants remains raw, colloquial, and emotionally charged, highlighting the real stakes for those most affected.
“Bombshells and Burritos” delivers not only revelations about the case against Andrew Hayes and the role of Sarah Lucas Riedel, but also an unvarnished look at the chaos and exhaustion inherent in pursuing justice against overwhelming odds. While hope explodes after years of waiting, the episode ends with new mysteries and an all-too-real reminder that, for families and legal teams, the path to justice is rarely a straight one.
Next week: Episode 12 promises more answers—and likely, more shocks.