Layla Santanello: A Digital Trail in Tennessee // 615

Summary

Podcast Summary: Going West - “Layla Santanello: A Digital Trail in Tennessee” // Episode 615 (June 9, 2026)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Daphne Woolsoncroft and Heath Merryman cover the 2023 disappearance of 20-year-old Layla Santanello in Kingsport, Tennessee. They detail Layla’s complicated family background, her struggles with addiction and toxic relationships, and the harrowing days leading up to and following her vanishing. The episode also explores the digital clues left behind, family suspicions, and theories regarding Layla's fate. The hosts compare her case to another local disappearance and urge listeners to keep Layla’s story alive.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background: Layla’s Early Life and Family Structure

• Layla Santanello was born in 2002 in Neptune Township, New Jersey. After her parents separated, she was raised by her mother, Jennifer, and maternal grandparents. Later, her mother’s partner, Robert Wells, became a father figure (03:24).
• The family moved several times for stability, ending up in Kingsport, TN. Layla was described as “creative, fiercely independent, rambunctious… a beautiful, bright light in the world” (04:10, Daphne quoting Jennifer).
• Family changes (Jennifer and Robert’s breakup) deeply affected Layla, but she maintained connections with extended family (05:30).

2. Turbulence and Struggles in Young Adulthood

• As a teen, Layla became pregnant. The baby's father was not involved, but Layla was determined to care for her daughter, Nova (06:17).
• She began working as a hotel housekeeper and lived with her mom, but after her grandfather’s sudden death and mounting pressures, Layla’s behavior changed; she became increasingly absent (07:00).
• Layla entered a relationship with Michael Thompson, who was detoxing from heroin at the time. This surprised her family given her previous strong stance against drug use (07:40).
• Family members provided living arrangements and support, but ongoing addiction issues and financial instability caused repeated moves—which increased tension and Layla’s distance from her daughter (08:25–09:20).

3. Escalating Concerns & Family Intervention

• Concerns mounted when Layla began exhibiting patterns of addiction herself, specifically to fentanyl. Jennifer had to make the difficult decision to prioritize household safety and temporarily remove Layla and Michael (11:08).
• Jennifer obtained temporary protective custody of Nova, just weeks before Layla disappeared (12:00).

4. The Days Leading to Disappearance

• On June 23, 2023, a major argument between Layla and Michael led Layla to leave Michael’s mother’s home. Uncertain rumors floated about other love interests, money, and living stress as triggers (12:00–12:35).
• Michael used Layla's Facebook to message Jennifer, suggesting she might be in jail. Layla replied later via iPad, confirming she was safe and using someone else’s device; this would be Jennifer's last direct contact with Layla (13:48–14:49).
  • Quote – Layla (via iPad to Jennifer, 11:45pm): “I’m okay… I love you so much more.” (14:25)

5. Disappearance and Investigation

Timeline of Events

• June 26: Michael contacts Jennifer again, panicked, stating no one has seen Layla since 4am. He references her possibly being with a friend named Jen, which cannot be confirmed (15:14–17:05).
• Family skepticism about Michael’s motives was high, given control of shared devices and social accounts (17:46–18:57).
• That night, Layla was seen at the AmeriCourt Hotel, described as disoriented, barefoot, and paranoid, knocking on doors and hiding in the laundry room (22:25).
• Camera footage confirmed Layla at the hotel; the last confirmed sighting was her leaving for the Kingsport Greenbelt after interacting with a warehouse employee at 6:15am, June 27 (24:25).

Law Enforcement & Family Search

• Jennifer requested Robert Wells help search the hotel area. Michael and his associates were also present, allegedly looking for her. Robert noticed Michael appeared high during the search (33:12–34:33).
  • Quote – Daphne (on Robert’s heartbreak): “If you find her and she doesn’t want to come home, then can you at least buy her some food and make sure that she has some water, which just breaks my heart for Jennifer.” (33:18)
• A missed court hearing about Nova’s custody solidified fears that something was terribly wrong (34:49).

6. The Digital Trail and Suspicious Activity

• After Layla went missing, Jennifer and Brittany (Layla’s stepmother) received a series of suspicious Cash App requests from Layla’s account. The requests evolved into clear threats and ransom messages (35:50–37:30).

  • Example Ransom Request: “15 minutes or you’ll find her in pieces [sic]” (36:26); other messages referenced “they won’t let me go” and “I have Layla here, she’s owed me this for three months.”

• Law enforcement initially dismissed the extortion attempts as hoaxes due to the small amounts requested, but eventually discovered all activity traced back to Michael’s devices and residence (38:12).

  • Quote – Heath (on Cash App drama): “How fucked up is it that this is your girlfriend and you’re extorting her family after she goes missing for money? Like, you are a piece of shit.” (39:07)

• Michael was eventually arrested in February 2024 for identity theft, extortion, and fraud—but not as a suspect in Layla’s disappearance (41:03).

7. Dead Ends and Theories

• Despite hiring a private investigator, Layla’s family received no significant leads.
• A supposed sighting at a Marble Slab Creamery was debunked: the woman seen was not Layla (41:30–43:05).
• Police searched Michael’s home, but "no evidence at all that anything bad had happened to Layla there” (38:35).
• Family and hosts speculate on whether Layla fell victim to foul play, wandered into a dangerous situation, overdosed, or is living off-grid with others—none conclusive (48:30).

8. Possible Patterns & Comparisons

• The hosts discuss the case of Holland Snap, a 19-year-old woman from Kingsport who vanished four months after Layla, under similarly suspicious circumstances and known issues of addiction and vulnerable living conditions (43:16).
• Despite overlapping social circles and circumstances, police stated there’s “no evidence to support these cases are related” (45:47).

9. Family Perspective and the Ongoing Search

• Jennifer expressed continuing gratitude for law enforcement but underscored the agony of “not knowing” what happened to her daughter:
  • Quote – Jennifer (47:39): “How do you heal when you don’t know for sure what happened? ...I just want to bring her home.”

10. Descriptions and How to Help

• Layla Santanello: 20 years old at disappearance; 4’10”, ~135 lbs, blonde hair, brown eyes, Roman numerals on collarbone, “Nova Grace” tattoo on left shoulder.
• Holland Snap: 19 years old; 4’8”, 90 lbs, brown hair, hazel eyes.
• Contact for Tips: Kingsport Police Department at 423-229-9423 (47:55).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Daphne (on Layla’s light): “She was a beautiful, bright light in the world.” (04:10)
• Heath (on Michael’s manipulation): “It’s like we’ve seen this in other cases where somebody will text their wife’s phone that they just murdered…” (17:12)
• Heath (on the Cash App extortion): “This guy is obviously a dumbass… you are a piece of shit.” (39:07)
• Jennifer (on the pain of ambiguity): “How do you heal when you don’t know for sure what happened? ...It’s not even really about justice. I just want to bring her home.” (47:39)

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Key Timestamps

• Background and Early Years: 03:24–06:17
• Turbulent Young Adulthood: 06:17–11:08
• Addiction and Family Strains: 11:08–12:00
• Lead-up to Disappearance: 12:00–14:49
• Last Confirmed Contact and Search: 14:49–24:25
• Last Sighting: 22:25–24:25
• Cash App Ransom Messages: 35:50–39:45
• Michael’s Interrogation and Arrest: 39:45–41:03
• Discredited Marble Slab Sighting: 41:30–43:05
• Comparison to Holland Snap Case: 43:05–47:39
• Appeal for Information & Closing: 47:39–49:20

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Conclusion & Call to Action

The episode closes with the hosts urging listeners to keep Layla’s name circulating, share her missing poster, and submit any tips to authorities or discussion on social media. Her family and the Kingsport police continue to search for answers.

“Share the episode. Share the missing poster. Put Layla’s name out there.” (48:18, Heath Merryman)

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If you have information about Layla Santanello or Holland Snap, call Kingsport PD at 423-229-9423.

Transcript

[A]

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What is going on? True crime fans, I'm your host, Heath.

[A]

And I'm your host, Daphne.

[B]

And you're listening to Going West.

[A]

Hello everybody. Big shout out to Elise, Sam, Miranda, Brianna, Diana, Liz, and Abby for recommending this one. Actually, quite a few of you did. And this is a pretty recent story. We've been getting some submissions for it on our Facebook group as well, our discussion group. So it seems like a lot of you guys want to hear this one. I know that Layla's mom is on TikTok and she's online just wanting as much, you know, buzz kind of surrounding Layla's story as possible.

[B]

Yeah, we definitely want to help spread this story. So make sure that you share today's episode, make sure that you share the missing poster and also go check out photos on our socials. We're on Instagram oingwestpodcast. We're also on Facebook as well as TikTok. And so without further ado, this is episode 615 of Going West. So let's get into it.

[A]

In June of 2023, a 20 year old Tennessee woman vanished after leaving a hotel looking disoriented and heading towards a walking path by a major highway. As detectives attempt to untangle a web of toxic relationships, rumors and conflicting accounts, her devastated family is left wondering who's telling the truth and who isn't. This is the disappearance of Leila Santinello. Layla Santanello was born on August 5, 2002 to parents Jennifer and George in Neptune Township, New Jersey, which is a coastal city about an hour and 15 minutes south of Manhattan. But Jennifer and George separated shortly after Layla was born and Layla spent her early years in the home of her maternal grandparents who helped raise her along with her mom, Jennifer. Now, when Layla was still young, her mom, Jennifer met and started dating her future long term partner, Robert Wells, whom Layla would come to think of as a father figure. And the three of them moved south to Florida before settling in Tennessee to be closer to Robert's family. They put down roots in Kingsport, Tennessee, which is in the northeast corner of the state, just minutes from the Kentucky border. Jennifer and Robert then had two sons together, which gave Layla two younger brothers. But she also enjoyed spending summers with her dad George and her other half siblings on the East Coast. So her large blended family was a source of constant strength and support for her. Now growing up, Layla was naturally creative and artistic. She loved to paint and was also active in her high school's theater program. Her mom, Jennifer, lovingly remembers her as fiercely independent, rambunctious and a vibrant spirit, and said that she was a, quote, beautiful, bright light in the world. But this life that Laila and her mom and her stepdad had forged together wouldn't last because as a preteen, Jennifer and Robert separated and Layla really struggled heavily with that transition. But despite the setbacks in her family, Laila remained close with Robert, whom she still saw, of course, as a stepfather and even Robert's extended family. Then Laila graduated high school at 17 and immediately began working.

[B]

Well, the next year, at 18, Layla became pregnant and the father, whose name has not been made public, was not a willing participant in their daughter's life. But Layla wasn't going to let that stop her from raising her daughter on her own. Her baby girl, whom she named Nova, was born at the end of 2021 and they were living at home with Jennifer. Layla found work as a housekeeper at a local hotel to help support them. But as much as she loved her daughter and as devoted as she was to her care. The last two years before Layla disappeared were pretty chaotic, to say the least. According to her mom, Jennifer, Layla became somewhat estranged from her family after giving birth to her daughter, on top of the pressure of being a single, working mom as a young woman. Still in her teens, her beloved grandfather, who had been instrumental in raising her and was such an important piece of her childhood, passed away suddenly, which completely rocked Layla's life once again. But thankfully, she knew that she always had her mom at home when she needed help. With Nova, though, Jennifer began noticing that her absences were becoming more and more, like, frequent, and they were lasting longer. Like, Leila was maybe relying a little bit too heavily on her mom's support. For example, at one point in Nova's infancy, Layla vanished for two whole weeks, and Jennifer became fearful that she was struggling with depression. When she finally did resurface, she was in a new relationship, and she revealed to Jennifer that her boyfriend, whose name was Michael Thompson, was currently in withdrawals while detoxing from heroin. So, Jennifer, of course, she's absolutely shocked to hear this, as Leila had always drawn a hard line against drug use for herself as well as everybody around her. But sadly, at this point, she was just kind of making the wrong choices and just bringing in the wrong people. And it seemed to be fueled by her depression. But at the time, she seemed to genuinely want to assist her boyfriend in getting himself clean. Like, almost like this was some sort of, like, passion project for her.

[A]

Well, and it seemed like everybody in her family really wanted to help her. You know, like, her mom is obviously doing so much, and everybody loves her, and they're kind of looking at her like, what is going on here? Yeah, but, like, even her grandma Barb offered to let Layla and Michael move into a trailer that she owned, and they gratefully agreed. You know, everybody is trying to raise Layla up, and for a while, Leila, her boyfriend Michael, and her daughter Nova enjoyed living there together. But it wasn't long before Barb was forced to step in to prevent the trailer from being repossessed due to lack of payment. And the only way she could do this was eventually having to just ask them to vacate because they couldn't make the payments. They then moved in with Michael's mom and brothers, and Jennifer again took custody of her granddaughter, Nova. And this was supposed to be a temporary measure, but as time passed, Layla visited less and less and eventually stopped checking in on her daughter altogether. It turned out that Michael had been using again, and his mom had kicked them out. So they then Moved in with Jennifer. But she was too concerned that Michael had relapsed and just worried that Laila had started using as well, which is something that she had never been into before, like Heath hinted at. So, devastated at this turn of events, Jennifer offered her assistance to her daughter in helping her get clean. But she had other children to think of as well, and was afraid that Laila and her boyfriend were a bad influence on the kids in the home, you know? Cause Jennifer also had her two young sons to think about, as well as her boyfriend's daughter and her niece and nephew, who were staying with her at this time as well. And of course, Nova, you know, Jennifer was juggling so many responsibilities.

[B]

Yeah. And she knows that she cannot have, you know, this sort of addiction hanging around in the home with a bunch of young children there.

[A]

It must have been really difficult knowing that this was so out of character for Laila and knowing, like, this is not who my daughter is. And now I have all this sitting on me because I care and I

[B]

want to help, but it's also like, you know, as much as you want to help your child, you also don't want to enable them. It's like she probably doesn't want Michael in the picture at all.

[A]

No.

[B]

Because of course, yeah, you're the one that kind of, you know, got her down this wrong path. But at the same time, it's like, what do you do? You can't. She doesn't want Layla to be out on the streets, so she's like, I gotta help him.

[A]

Yeah. She's in a really tough spot. And making matters worse, Jennifer was actually right about Layla using, But it wasn't heroin. It was actually an addiction to fentanyl. She described her daughter as a brand new addict and believed that she could still talk sense into her. You know, she's just met this guy and he's flipping her upside down. But when Layla and Michael weren't quite ready to get clean, Jennifer begrudgingly decided that for the safety of the other kids in her home, she needed to ask them to leave. So they moved back in with Michael's mom, and Jennifer filed for temporary protective custody of Nova, which she was awarded just two weeks before 20 year old Layla disappeared.

[B]

On June 23, 2023, Layla and Michael apparently got into this big fight, though the exact circumstances of that fight are unknown. According to Jennifer, there have been rumors that the fight began over, like, another love interest of Laila's, Though she didn't know exactly where this rumor began or if it was even True. She also wondered if the fight was about money or perhaps frustration over their current living situation, because surely, you know, this is. This is very stressful. They keep moving back from house to house. They're going to Michael's mom's, they're going to Jennifer's, they're going to the grandmother's.

[A]

And they don't have any stability. They don't have money. They're struggling with addiction. Like, things are not clear for them right now.

[B]

So tensions were high at Michael's mom's house, which was overcrowded at that point as well. And with Layla and Michael both battling addiction at the time, the mood was tenuous. Jennifer described her daughter's relationship as, quote, troubled, toxic, codependent, and often explosive. Now, in the throes of that fight, Laila left the home, taking her things with her. The next day, June 24, at 9:47pm Jennifer received a Facebook message from Michael on Layla's account, writing simply, you know, if Layla's in jail. Less than an hour later, Jennifer wrote back, quote, why would she be in jail? Why is she not with you? What the fuck is going on? I called Sullivan in Kingsport County. Both said that she's not there.

[A]

Poor Jennifer again. She's like my daughter. Why would she be in jail? Why would you be suggesting, oh, hey, you know, if she's in jail, like, it's the most casual thing in the world, right? She's like, what? What? No.

[B]

Well, what's actually making this kind of a bigger problem is the fact that Layla didn't have a phone at the time because Michael had borrowed it after running out of minutes. God. Yeah. This guy's just a piece of work. And he had then. Then arrested himself. And her phone, which was paid for by her grandma, was confiscated. So at the time of her disappearance, they were sharing his phone, which also meant sharing social media accounts, which they were both logged into on his phone as well. Now, a short While later, at 11.45pm that night, Layla followed up and texted her mom back, saying, I'm okay. To which Jennifer responded, thank God. Layla added, quote, I. I'm fine, mom. And when Jennifer asked why Michael thought that she had been taken into police custody, Layla responded, I don't know. I've been with a friend. I don't have a phone to text or call. I'm using someone else's. So Jennifer then responded, okay, I love you. To which Layla replied, I love you so much more. Now, detectives were later able to confirm via the IP address used to send these messages, and that they were in fact from Layla, sent on an iPad that belonged to a friend. But that would be the last message that Jennifer would ever receive from her daughter.

[A]

After a few days of absence in which Layla was believed to have been staying on the couches of various friends, Michael again followed up with Jennifer about his estranged girlfriend's whereabouts on June 26th. Again, this is 2023. Michael, using Layla's Facebook account because he's logged in on his phone once again expressed concern and downright fear over her whereabouts and well being. So Jennifer was confused, having just gotten clarification from her daughter that she was safe. You know, she's like, why do you keep reaching out to me, worrying about her like she's supposed to be with friends. What is going on? This time though, Michael sounded more panicked. He wrote, Jen, I don't know if you got the lightest idea of where Layla is, but I haven't heard shit from her, nor has anyone since yesterday around 4am like something is really up. All I know is she's supposed to be with a Cody or something. I don't know if it's her ex Cody. I don't know of any more Codys. I've called jails, I've called hospitals. Like I have no idea. Only thing she said to me 4am yesterday was, hey, babe, I'm at Jen's, which by the way, is not Jennifer Santinello, but a friend of Layla and Michael's named Jen. And I went over there. Jen said that Layla said she's gonna walk out and smoke and said Jen never seen or heard from her again either. But her mom, Jennifer couldn't be sure if Michael had like ulterior motives sharing this information, like maybe attempting to glean information from Jennifer about who she had been with or potentially the new guy that she had been seeing.

[B]

Yeah. Or possibly trying to set up some sort of ruse where it's like, oh,

[A]

I, I've been worried about her.

[B]

Yeah. And it's like we've seen this in other cases too where somebody will like tell text their wife's phone that they had just murdered saying like, why aren't you answering me? And shit like that. It's like some stupid ruse.

[A]

Yeah. And even Jennifer has those kind of thoughts swirling of like, oh, I wonder if he's being genuine right now. Which I think says a lot about how she feels about him and who he is as a person. Because it feels like Jennifer knows what's up.

[B]

Yeah. And as we get along here, as we keep going through this Case, it's going to become pretty evident that Michael is kind of a dirtbag.

[A]

Well, Jennifer also knew that Michael had most likely read the exchange between she and her daughter Layla from the day prior, and that both Layla and Michael were going to read anything that was shared in the message thread because they're sharing a phone. But also, Layla is logged into her socials on Michael's phone again, of course. So if she's on Facebook on an iPad, he can go into her Facebook still from his own phone and read what she's been doing and saying.

[B]

Yeah, he can see everything.

[A]

Right. Of course, unless she is texting from somebody else's phone number, he would have no way of seeing those messages. But anyway, so Jennifer later shared on Facebook, quote, I suspected she, Layla, was trying to distance herself from him, Michael, and that the vague messages from the day before were intentional, knowing he could see anything she sent or received, which I think is concerning in itself, that she is in a position potentially where Leila does not want Michael to read her messages. Like, what is going on behind the scenes of their relationship that she doesn't want to be honest about. You know what I mean?

[B]

Sure. Yeah. She's trying to keep it on the down low.

[A]

Well, Michael also reached out to Layla's dad, George, in New Jersey with the same concerns. But neither he nor Jennifer could be sure whether his motives were manipulative or not. Everybody is questioning what he's saying.

[B]

Yeah, because they don't trust the guy.

[A]

Well, that day, a fight broke out at the home where Laila had been staying the last couple nights. And according to a friend and multiple witnesses, though Laila was upset about the confrontation, she was not directly involved. So she and another person actually left and wound up at the nearby AmeriCourt Hotel, located on American Way in East Kingsport, Tennessee, where someone they knew had been renting a room long term. So there was a fight. Layla wasn't involved. She's like, I want to get out of here. I'm going to go to this hotel because somebody I know has a room there and maybe I can crash there. So, by the way, to kind of paint the picture of this hotel, it's a two star extended stay hotel. It's described as, quote, budget friendly and is located right next to two major highways and a string of car dealerships and chain restaurants. So it's that kind of area. Now, police later confirmed her presence there that night via surveillance footage to show that she did indeed get to the AmeriCorps. And strangely, Layla's family noted that Michael was already posting on Facebook as if she was a missing person. We already know he's worried, of course, but now he's posting about her as if he knows that she's gone or that something happened, even though she had done this kind of thing before where she had distanced herself and he knew that she was with friends, but he can't get ahold of her for a couple days and he's already acting like she's a missing person. So is that out of concern or is it out of. I know more than I'm saying.

[B]

Yeah. And this, my mind goes to the fact that if she was trying to, you know, distance herself from him and he hadn't spoken to her recently, but had spoken, she had spoken to Jennifer. You know, maybe this is out of concern, but I don't know.

[A]

Especially if he thought that she wanted to leave him or something and he's like, where is she?

[B]

Yeah, he's kind of freaking out.

[A]

Yeah. Who are you with? Are you with an ex? That could absolutely make sense.

[B]

So Michael reaching out to Layla's family culminated in a phone call between Jennifer and Michael on, on the evening of June 26, during which Michael admitted that he was worried that Layla was in trouble or even in danger. So Jennifer spoke to George about this. Again, this is Layla's biological father, and they decided that they would report her missing the next day if they hadn't heard from her by 8am that morning. But according to Jennifer, George basically just couldn't sleep that night and was so fearful that something was wrong that he and her stepmom, Brittany Zeitler, decided that they were going to report her missing on the morning of June 27, 2023, around 2:00am so he's like, I can't wait. I don't want to wait. I feel like something bad is happening. I'm just going to do it.

[A]

Which is fair because obviously they can't reach her because she doesn't have a phone. But even Michael not being able to reach her with any of their shared contacts, like, they're just like, where is she? Yeah, let's not waste any time.

[B]

Well, Layla was last seen that very morning with a long term resident of the Americorps Hotel whose name has not been released publicly. She had been staying there on the evening of the 26th with him. And according to other guests, Layla seemed disoriented. She was walking around barefoot and she had nothing with her. Witnesses recall that she seemed disheveled, disoriented and paranoid, and that she was trying to hide in the shadows. Though the exact circumstances are unknown, it's possible that she somehow got separated from her friend or possibly locked out of his room. And of course, with no phone, she had no way of gaining access to his room again. On multiple occasions she asked other residents for help, but when asked why or what she needed from them, she didn't offer up any information. Multiple complaints were made to the management by other hotel guests after Leila was seen knocking on the doors of other rooms and causing what Jennifer described as a ruckus. At some point in the early morning hours of June 27, she wound up hiding in the laundry room and when she saw police arrive, ironically for a completely unrelated incident, she panicked, most likely believing that she was about to be arrested for causing a disturbance. Then multiple witnesses reported seeing her flee the hotel for the field behind the property. Jennifer believes that she may have sought refuge at a homeless encampment that exists behind the hotel, explaining she walks off towards the woods and there's a hiking trail or a walking trail that runs all the way through the town. It's called the Kingsport Greenbelt and she went in that direction, which is the opposite direction of the AmeriCorps. That is the last time anybody saw her for sure. Layla was last seen around 6:15am asking a local warehouse employee for a cigarette and when he said that he didn't have one, she told him to have a good day before heading in the direction of the Kingsport Greenbelt. Traditional old banks charge overdraft and monthly fees, but why pay to get your own money? Chime is banking built for you and that's why they have thousands of fee free ATMs.

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[A]

Layla's boyfriend Michael was questioned about her disappearance that very day and claimed that he had no information about her whereabouts, adding that he was just as concerned as her family. Jennifer asked her ex, Robert, of course, as we know, who still thought of Leila like a daughter to scope out the hotel and see if he could come across any sign of Laila. Because remember, he lives in East Kingsport too. Like they live there because of him, you know, like he brought them to that area, so he still lives there. And she's like, hey, can you help me out?

[B]

And of course, Robert still very much cares about Leila, so he's going to do everything he can do to find her as well.

[A]

Yeah. And so, you know, Jennifer is kind of leaning on Robert for help. She is urging Robert to find her and bring her home and said if, you know, if you find her and she doesn't want to come home, then can you at least buy her some food and make sure that she has some water, which just breaks my heart for Jennifer. Well, Robert knocked on the door of the room in which Layla was believed to be staying, but no one answered. And he couldn't reach Leila at the hotel anywhere. But while he was there, he noted that Michael and two other men were also on the premises, reportedly attempting to locate her as well. So the five men joined forces, walking the path behind the Ameracord and canvassing the hotel and its surroundings in hopes of just finding any sign of her. Because they're like, if she walked off this way Surely we're bound to find her or somebody who has seen her. So they spoke with multiple people who did claim to have seen her in the last 24 hours, but they didn't know where she was at that point in time. Robert also noted that Michael seemed high at the time they were searching.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. And this is obviously. And I'm sure Robert is probably like, doesn't even want to be searching with Michael.

[A]

No.

[B]

At that point. Because he's kind of like, well, what the hell? You're basically. You're nearly responsible for all of this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, she would.

[A]

She wouldn't literally be here if it weren't for you. Well, according to Jennifer, the telltale sign that something was seriously wrong was the next day, June 28, when Layla missed a mandatory court hearing about her ongoing custody case over Nova. While law enforcement began their search and Layla's family said about, you know, getting the word out about her, a strange development arose that shed suspicion on Michael. In the days following her disappearance, Jennifer, along with Layla's stepmother Brittany, began receiving mysterious cash app requests from Laila's account. So Jennifer and Brittany began sending money back in small amounts just in hopes of confirming that the requests were actually being made by Layla. They're like, wait a second, you know, which must have been a heart pounding moment of like, oh, my God, Layla just requested money from me. Is this her?

[B]

Yeah. And there's that possibility that she's still out there alive.

[A]

Right. But again, who else is signed into these accounts? Michael? Well, the requests were for amounts in increments of less than $100. But these became gradually larger, and within days, the person making the requests was making threats that sounded suspiciously like ransom demands. One request for $95. Read quote, 15 minutes or you'll find her. In pieces.

[B]

Yeah. And they spelled it P, E, A, C, E, S. Yeah.

[A]

And they also said n pieces. So 15 minutes or you'll find her. N pieces, like a peace. Peace sign.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Another for $97 was sent with the acronym TWLMG, which is believed to stand for they won't let me go yet. Another also for $95. Read quote, I have Layla here. She's owed me this for three months. The requests eventually escalated to the thousands and were attached to ransom requests as well. So again, they don't. Is this Michael, Is this somebody who really has Layla? And they asked to sign into her account so that they can essentially get ransom money from her family? Like, what is going on? Well, initially, law enforcement believed that these were just kind of like A cruel hoax and actually dismiss the family's concerns about them altogether, which is, like, really messed up.

[B]

Yeah. It's kind of crazy because obviously, like, we have Layla. Like, I'm gonna chop her up into pieces if you don't get here in 15 minutes. Like, or send it in 15 minutes.

[A]

And it seems like, yeah, well, yeah, I mean, hello.

[B]

That's enough for police to step in, I think.

[A]

Yeah. And maybe it was just because it was, like, for $95. So they're like, oh, that's not enough money for this to feel like a real ransom. They would ask for more, because when the requests got higher and they were asking for thousands of dollars, the police were finally like, okay, we're gonna get involved. Which is like, right. So these requests continued well into August, about a month and a half after Layla went missing.

[B]

So Jennifer explained the shocking conclusion that law enforcement came to saying everything was coming from Michael Thompson, Leila's boyfriend's house, his device, his IP address, his address, all the things. Once everything was processed, though, there was no evidence at all that anything bad had happened to Leila there.

[A]

But, like, okay, you okay? Let's unpack this. Michael is the first person to be worried about Layla going missing. He's raising the alarms. He's calling Jennifer. He's calling George. He's going to the hotel to look for her. He's posting on Facebook saying Layla is missing. And then right afterwards, he's extorting her family and saying things like, 15 minutes or you'll find her in pieces, like, acting as though he is holding her hostage and going to brutally murder her. What?

[B]

First of all, I kind of already knew, or I had an assumption that it was Michael based on the. The way that he spelled peace, because this guy is obviously a dumbass. Second of all, how fucked up is it that this is your girlfriend and you're extorting her family after she goes missing for money? Like, you are a piece of shit.

[A]

But does that mean he's involved and he didn't. Stupidly didn't know that they could trace his IP address?

[B]

Well, that's the hard part, is they couldn't confirm anything because it's like, yeah, did he do this? Yes. But did he have anything to do with Layla's disappearance? We don't know.

[A]

Well, they did serve a search warrant to Michael's home, and he was interrogated for hours regarding his possible connection to Layla's disappearance. Following months of investigation, Michael was arrested on Valentine's Day of 2024, understandably putting the Rumor mill into overdrive that, you know, police had found out that he had murdered Leila. But Michael was just charged with theft under $1,000, identity theft, and the illegal possession or fraudulent use of credit or debit card. Also, I was wondering why it was like 95 or 97 and not 100 or more than that. So I looked it up to see if there was any kind of issues with asking for more than $100 if you have to, like, pay a fee or if you, you know, there's more. I don't know, more like security or something. I'm not sure, but I didn't find anything. So if anybody who does use Cash App, because I don't use it, knows what that could possibly mean. Comment because I did try to find out. Well, the Kingsport Police Department assured the public that while Michael was arrested for the crimes, he was not a suspect in Layla's disappearance. Or at least he wasn't at that point. The press release read, quote, there is no evidence to suggest that Thompson was related to Laila's disappearance. Michael Thompson was charged by the Sullivan County Grand Jury with extortion and identity theft based on evidence collected throughout this investigation related to the Cash app request that had been sent to several of Laila's family members and friends after she was reported missing. With the help of community donations, Layla's family hired a private investigator, but he found no sign of her whatsoever, like she simply evaporated. There was a credible tip from the nearby Marble Slab Creamery, which was actually first offered up by Robert, Michael and their friends, or I'll say Michael's friends, because they found that around noon on June 27, nearly six hours after she was last seen at the hotel, Layla was supposedly spotted at an ice cream shop on Eastman Road, 8/10 of a mile, or 1.2 kilometers away from the Americourt Hotel. She was supposedly headed to a nearby Five Below store to purchase a pair of shoes. Shoes. However, while this sighting was frequently discussed in conjunction with Layla's case and initially observed as fact, it has since been debunked and is not thought of as a credible tip. In a press release dated March 4th of 2024, the Kingsport Police Department announced, quote, early in the investigation, detectives and agents believe she was last seen at Marble Slab. Based on several witness statements, detectives and agents followed the lead and eventually learned that the woman who was seen at Marble Slab was not Layla. They confirmed that information through phone records as well as identifying the woman and interviewing her.

[B]

So at the very least, they did track down this woman that was believed to be at Marble Slab, you know, because there was this huge rumor that, you know, she was still out there, she was seen there, but.

[A]

But then it's like now we're back at square one where it's like we have actually no idea where she is exactly.

[B]

But at least they did do their due diligence here. Layla's case has frequently drawn comparisons to another in the area in which a young woman vanished under eerily similar circumstances. Holland snap was a 19 year old woman who vanished from a Kingsport residence less than four months after Layla did. And while this may seem like a coincidence, their families have noted that the pair ran in the same social circles and even had the same vices. Both women were believed to have been struggling with drug dependency at the time that they vanished. Holland had a very rocky home life and had been placed in foster care as a child. And she also is developmentally disabled, meaning that she may have come into contact with people who didn't have her best interests at heart and took advantage of her being more agreeable than others her age. Her mom, Heather Snap, explained, she functions at a 10 year old level. She is very trusting of others, and unfortunately, I do believe that it has gotten her into some trouble. On October 5, 2023, Holland went to the home of a 52 year old man named Stephen Linkus on Bellridge Drive, just 15 minutes from where Layla disappeared. And while she was there, Holland was supposedly beaten by Stephen, and it had not been the first time. Now, according to Steven, someone in a red pickup truck stopped by and picked her up, but this has not been corroborated. And of course he's gonna say that.

[A]

Yeah, of course he is, because they all. I mean, unless it's true, of course. Yeah, but if he had something to do with it, he's gonna say, yeah, somebody picked her up because after this, she was never seen again.

[B]

And it's really suspicious because according to Holland's sister, Stephen fled to Bartow, Georgia in the immediate aftermath of her disappearance. And her foster mom, Leslie Hunt, with whom she stayed close with, recounted. We know that some sort of incident occurred where she bit him and he proceeded to beat her, according to several eyewitnesses. And he beat her to the point where she was incoherent. That's also from several witnesses. She couldn't form sentences, she was unable to recognize them, she didn't know who they were. And that was in the basement of his house on Bell Ridge, where we believe he still lives.

[A]

Regarding a possible connection between Leila and Holland, Leslie mused. They ran around in some of the same circles, but other than that, I don't believe they knew each other. Just the fact that they look a lot alike, kind of have the same lifestyle, some of the same friends, and just their presence on social media is kind of the same. Right now. Both women are considered endangered missing persons, and the families of both have kept their names in the media and continued to generate word of mouth and conduct searches. The cases of Layla's and Holland's disappearances have actually drawn so many comparisons that the Kingsport Police Department issued a statement announcing, quote, kingsport detectives have collaborated with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office and have discovered no evidence to support these cases are related. Jennifer maintains that she appreciates the work that the Kingsport PD is doing on the case, but that it doesn't make the waiting any less excruciating, saying, quote, how do you heal when you don't know for sure what happened? How do you heal when you don't know for sure if she's gone? How do you heal when there is absolutely no closure? I say all the time, it's not even really about justice. I just want to bring her home. They always want me to know that they are still working. They are still working hard. They do care. They are doing lots of things. They just can't tell me everything. At the time of her disappearance, Layla Santinella was 20 years old and stood at 4ft 10 inches tall and weighed about 135 pounds. She had blonde hair and brown eyes. Layla had multiple tattoos, including Roman numerals on her collarbone and her daughter's name, Nova Grace, tattooed on her left shoulder. Holland snap stood at 4ft 8 inches tall and weighed 90 pounds. She had brown hair and hazel eyes. If you have any information about the disappearance of Laila Santinello or Holland Snap, please call the Kingsport Police Department at 423-229-9423. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.

[B]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. Please make sure that you share the episode. Share the missing poster Put Layla's name out there. Keep generating tips if you can.

[A]

Yeah, it's so hard to know what happened. I feel like the fact that the ransom thing that Michael did was not only such a messed up thing to do, but it was also very suspicious. Suspicious. And it absolutely could have just been a way for him to callously get some money in his pocket and he really didn't have anything to do with what happened to Layla. And Layla just ran into a different situation, you know, ran into the wrong person or what have you. I'm sure there are also the people who are going to think that she might be in an encampment somewhere or that somebody gave her drugs. It's just so hard to say. But that's why we got to share her story and hopefully she will be found.

[B]

Yes. And would love to know your thoughts on this case. Let us know what you think. We have a discussion group on Facebook. Also leave us a comment on Instagram. We're on Instagram at Going West Podcast. We're also on Tik Tok.

[A]

Yeah. And do you think foul play was involved? Do you think that she's out there somewhere because her mom needs answers? So thank you guys so much. We will see you here again on Friday.

[B]

All right, guys. So for everybody out there in the

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