Loading summary
Transcript2 lines
- [00:01]
A
Shopping is hard, right? But I found a better way. Stitch Fix Online Personal styling makes it easy. I just give my stylist my size, style and budget preferences. I order boxes when I want and how I want. No subscription required. And he sends just for me pieces plus outfit recommendations and styling tips. I keep what works and send back the rest. It's so easy. Make style easy. Get started today@stitchfix.com Spotify that's Stitch Fix.com.
- [00:28]
B
Spotify on the morning of November 4, 2018, 40 year old Tamla Horsforth was found dead in the backyard of a friend's home in Cumming, Georgia. She had been attending an adult sleepover party, which was meant to be a celebration for the mom who was hosting with other quote unquote football moms from their son's youth league. The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office quickly ruled her death an accident, she stating that she had fallen over from a second story balcony while intoxicated. But Tamla's family was not convinced, and neither were hundreds of thousands of people across the country who would soon come to learn her story. What followed was a controversial investigation marked by conflicting witness statements, a lack of photographs, compromised evidence, and questions about whether race played a role in how authorities handled the case. As her story spread across social media with the hashtag tamlahorsforth, it became a cry for justice, a case that remains officially closed but far from resolved in the eyes of her family and her supporters. And here we are more than seven years after, still hoping for answers. Quick pause before we get started on today's episode. I just wanted to say a big thank you to you guys. I know my posting schedule on the podcast has not been as consistent as I want it to be. There's a lot going on in my personal life, as you guys can tell, both on here and Tick Tock. I'm not in my usual background and that will make more sense hopefully by the end of the month. But I also want to take a second to just thank you guys for being patient with me and for listening to the podcast at all. I've gotten the pleasure of meeting a few of you guys in person and you say that you love my TikTok, that you listen to the podcast. It means the world to me. I always tell Mitchell that I'm probably so awkward. Literally after every interaction I'm like oh my God, they're going to think I'm so mean. That was so awkward because I'm not. Not that I'm not outgoing, but it's you. It's still new to me for people to come up to me and say that they listen to my content, but it really means so much. It makes my day. It just fills up my heart. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. My posting schedule on the podcast should be consistent, should be weekly from here on out. So thank you for being patient with me. I love you guys literally more than I could ever put into words. And with all that being said, welcome to this episode of I wish you were here. I'm your host, Michelle Cuervo. 40 year old Tamla Horsforth was a devoted wife and mother of five sons. She lived with her husband Leander Horsforth in Forsyth county in Georgia. Leander, who goes by Lee, had a daughter from a previous relationship. So she joined their family and from day one Tamla treated her as her own. So like I said, the family lived in Forsyth county and context here that I think is important to mention. In Tamla's case, the relationship between her race and her death has been a subject of significant controversy and debate. A race based dimension to her death has been implied by many people who have followed this case since day one. And though there is no direct evidence that race played a role in what happened to her, I do think it's important to mention that Forsyth County, Georgia has a deeply troubling racial history. For decades, it was known as one of the most segregated counties in America. In 1912, the entire black population was violently expelled from the county in a campaign of racial terror. Really? And for more than 75 years afterward, really, no people of color lived in Forsyth County. The population went from 1098 Black residents to less than 5. And while the county has become more diverse in recent decades, the legacy of this history remains. And we'll keep talking about this as the story goes on, but I just thought that I should mention it at the beginning because it does play a really big part in the case. By all accounts, Tamla was a caring, social person who was deeply involved in her children's lives. It sounds like she had the life of the party personality. She was always in a good mood, big smile on her face, always up to do anything and everything. She attended every single sporting event, every single activity, every single thing for all of her children. If they had a game for one of the sports that they played, you would always find Tamla in the crowd with a bullhorn cheering them on. She had the privilege of being able to stay at home with the kids while Lee worked and he was the main provider for the family and that made Tamla feel incredibly lucky. More anything in the world. Being a mom was Tamla's favorite thing and she was the best at it. So the kids were involved in sports. One of those sports was football. And through their son's youth football league there were quote unquote, football moms is what they called themselves, obviously, including Tamla, who had bonded over. They all bonded over supporting their kids out on the field. Tamla had gone to know most of them. She was pretty familiar and she knew their kids, which is why in November of 2018 when she received an invitation for a friend adult sleepover at one of the mom's house, she was really considering going and she ultimately decided to do so because why not? She knew most of the moms going, most of the women going. It sounded fun, she loved to have fun and she thought that it would be a good idea and a good way for her to create even closer relationships with the other moms. She told her husband Lee that she wasn't incredibly eager to go, but it was more of a why not? Why not? I'll just go. And who knows, it has the potential to be fun. So on the night of November 3, 2018, Tamla had dinner with her kids and her husband Lee before heading out to her friend's house to celebrate. She drove herself over to the party and Lee stayed home with the kids. And the whole reason as to why there was a party sleepover to begin with was because of Jean Myers. She was hosting at her house and she was very much into football. LSU was playing Alabama and she saw it as an opportunity to throw a little party and cheer on lsu. She was the one who extended the invite to Tamla. And I say friends, but it's not like they were besties and did everything together and they were always hanging out. No, it was more so friends as in she often saw her. They often saw each other at the children's sporting events. Like they did not regularly hang out outside of seeing each other at the kids sporting events really, but they knew of each other and they were familiar, if that makes sense. But anyway, Tama Horsford arrived at the party around 8:30pm and John had invited a group of moms, most of whom she'd also met through the local youth football league. They knew that they were likely going to be up late, stay up drinking, which is why a lot of them had decided to spend the night. Tamla got there with a bottle of tequila in a small overnight bag and shortly after she arrived, she changed into white onesie Pajamas. They were covered in paw prints. They look so comfy. Actually, their little party was originally supposed to be only females, all women, only the moms. But Jeanne's boyfriend, Jose Barrera, and another husband of another mom called Stacy, they ended up sticking around. That other husband's name is Tom Smith. So at the party were 10 women, including Tamla, all of whom were white women, except for Tamla, by the way, and two men. It was also a pajama party. I mentioned that she changed into her pajamas, but most of them were either in PJs or cozy clothes. Tamla was wearing the white patterned onesie with black and red socks. So once the party got started, they were all hanging out. They were talking, relaxing, mingling. There were a few of the women who had only met once or not at all. So they were introducing themselves. The men went downstairs to the basement to watch football, while the mom stayed upstairs in the main living room area. Playing games, drinking, watching football, the whole thing. One of the games they had was Cards against humanity, so they were doing that. And Tamla also pulled out the nice bottle of tequila that she had brought over, sort of as a gift for the host for Jeanne, the host, John, however, she wasn't really much of a tequila girl, so Tamma was the only one out of the entire group basically who was making cocktails with that tequila. Everyone else was having different kinds of drinks, wine, vodka, you name it. Only two out of the 10 women were not drinking because those two were the ones planning on driving home. At halftime, the two men came back upstairs to eat and then they hung out upstairs for a little bit. Being the only smoker at the party, Tamla was occasionally stepping outside to the balcony for a cigarette throughout the entire night, continuing to sip on drinks. And important to note, according to the videos from that night as well as according to witness accounts, Tamla didn't seem particularly drunk. I mean, she was having a good time, don't get me wrong. She was sipping on drinks, but she wasn't notably drunk, if that makes sense or it wasn't. Her behavior wasn't odd to make people act differently. If anything, other moms there were drunker than she was. So around 11:30 ish, anyone who wasn't spending the night started to get ready to leave. And after that, throughout the next couple of hours, everyone started slowly trickling off to bed. Around 1:30 in the morning, Jeanne and her boyfriend Jose Barrera went off to bed, but Tamla was still awake. She actually made a comment to them saying that she wanted to go home to sleep in her own bed with her husband and her kids. But some of the moms told her that she was probably just better off staying. So she decided to. At one point in the night, Tamla FaceTimed Lee. And after the fact, according to him, Tamla would have been more than okay enough to be able to drive home. But ultimately, she didn't. The last person to see Tamla Horsford alive was Bridget Fuller. She was one of the other moms there, obviously, and she was picked up by her husband at 1:47am According to Bridget, before she left, she saw Tamla eating a bowl of gumbo, talked to her for a second, and Tamla told her that she was planning on smoking one last cigarette and then going off to bed. Bridget left, and throughout the next 10 minutes, the home security system registered the back door opening, closing, and then opening again for the Last time at 1:57am this was the back door of the house, by the way, that went out to the balcony of the house in the back. According to the alarm log, when it opened for the Last time at 1:57am it did not close again until after Tamla's body was discovered the next morning. So the next morning, November 4th of 2018, at approximately 8:45am Jeanne's aunt, Madeline Lombardi, who also lived at the house, she woke up, she went to the kitchen to go and make some coffee when she looked outside through a window. And that's when she saw Tamla Horseworth lying face down on the grass in the backyard, not moving, still wearing her onesie. Madeline immediately went to go and tell John. Well, actually, Madeline says, which this is so odd to me. Madeline says that the first thing that she did was actually get down on her knees and prayed. She prayed, and then she went to go and find John and Jose, which is certainly interesting because at that point, she had no idea if Tamla was alive or dead. She had no idea as to why she would be out there, no idea if she was hurt, nothing. But she decided to not go make sure if she's okay. Not go outside and check on her? No. She decided to just take a quick second and pray without having a clue of what was actually going on. Interesting. But she went to go and find Jeanne and Jose. She knocked on their door, she walked in, she asked Jeanne if she could speak to Jose because she needed to tell him that his, quote, friend from the islands was outside lying on the floor, not moving. I think that's weird as well, because Jose didn't even really know Tamla that well, but for some reason, Madeline wanted to go past Jeanne and tell Jose first. John and Jose then go outside to go check on Tamla. And according to initial reports, Jose Barrera checked for a pulse by touching or lifting Tamla's arm or leg, but he could not feel a pulse. The group called for Scythe County 9 11. Just before 9 in the morning, both Jeanne and Jose talked to the operator on the line saying, quote, she's not moving one bit, she's not breathing, she's completely face down in the yard. She is stiff. She was drinking and it looks like, I'm guessing maybe she fell off the balcony, end quote. When authorities arrived less than 10 minutes later, Tamla Horsforth was pronounced deceased at the scene and her body was taken for an autopsy. No pictures at all were taken before her body was removed. She was found fully clothed in her white paw print onesie pajamas, lying face down in the backyard below a second story balcony. The distance from the balcony to the ground was just over 14ft. So according to the incident report written by lead investigator Mike Christian, Tamla's body position was examined at the scene. Her head had not been tilted to one side or the other. She was completely lying face down. Her legs were extended behind her with both feet pointing to the right, and her right arm was close to her body. Her left arm was extended and bent at the elbow. And the way that her body was positioned, however, would later become a very big point of controversy when witness statements conflicted about whether anyone had moved Tamla's arms or not. Because there were conflicting reports on how Jeanne and Jose reported seeing her arms versus on how they were found. They were found, like I said, with one of her arms bent. But others said that her arms were spread out wide. Other people also said that they were straight out right next to her. The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office FCSO immediately began investigating Tamla's death. But from the start, investigators were working on the assumption that her death was an accident, not a homicide, meaning that investigators did not preserve the crime scene as they would or should have for a suspected murder. They actually, in my opinion, hardly preserved it at all. The case remained open for approximately four months, and according to their statements, the Authorities spent approximately 300 hours investigating the case and conducted over 30 interviews with party guests and others connected to the event. But then, on February 20th of 2019, the FCSO made their official determination. That happened after the State of Georgia medical examiner provided their final report. When the results of Tamma's toxicology Report came back, they showed her blood alcohol level to be at 0.238, just shy of three times the legal limit to drive. And because of that, because she was drinking, and also because they found traces of Mary Jane in her system, the sheriff's office determined that Tamla must have fallen off the second story outdoor deck. They also did take a look at that dorm alarm log. They saw that it was opened at 1:57 in the morning and never closed again and noticed an unlit cigarette on the upper deck. So investigators theorized that Tamla had walked out to smoke her last cigarette before going to bed and and then accidentally fell to her death. Now let's talk about her autopsy results. Tamla's body was taken to the Georgia Borough of investigation, the gbi, for an autopsy and toxicology analysis. Their findings would become central to the controversy surrounding her death. So I already told you her blood alcohol level and that there were also traces of thc, but there were also signs of medication, alprazolam. I think I pronounced that correctly. Also known as Xanax, which is commonly known to be an anxiety medication, was found in her system. But as far as other injuries, according to the official GBI medical examiner's report, Tamla had severe injuries to her head, neck and torso, and so many injuries of blunt force trauma. The documented injuries included multiple superficial abrasions on the face, including the forehead above the left eyelid, bridge of the nose, right temple and chin, four types of hemorrhages in the skull and brain, a fractured second vertebrae, so a broken neck, a dislocated right wrist, cuts on her arms and legs, a laceration to the right ventricle of her heart, and multiple spots of bleeding in her head. So that's a lot of injuries, isn't it? But get this. For whatever reason, the GBI took only five photographs throughout the autopsy. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. That is incredibly unusual, especially given the extent of. Of the injuries documented. Usually the number of photographs taken is a lot higher. And not only should they include pictures of every single injury, but should also include pictures of the body bag, the remains, and there should be an identification photograph. Yet allegedly, they only took five. Ralph Fernandez, the attorney representing Tamla's family, argued that her injuries alone, forget the crime scene and the body bag, all of that, her injuries alone should have warranted way more than five photos. And he stated that he himself has never seen the photographs because the GBI claimed that they were not subject to open records request. So on February 20, after four months of the ongoing investigation, and Major Joe Perkins of the Forsyth county sheriff's office announced that the case would be closed. Quote, the state of Georgia has ruled the death accidental and consistent with an accidental fall. None of the injury patterns noted were consistent with foul play, end quote. The official determination was that Tamla died from, quote, multiple blunt force injuries and, quote, sustained when she fell from the balcony with, quote, acute ethanol intoxication and, quote, quote, severe alcohol intoxication listed as a contributing factor. When they closed the case, the department released the incident report and death investigation documents to the public. And for Tamla's family, these documents didn't provide any answers. If anything, they only raised more questions. And I think it goes without saying that Tamla's husband was absolutely, completely and utterly shattered when he was informed that his wife had been found found dead. The love of his life, the mother of his children, who was supposed to be at a sleepover with women she might have considered friends, was now dead. When officers knocked on his door to inform him, Lee said that the disrespect was instant. They knocked and asked him, is your name Lee? Is your name Lee? And he asked why they were asking, and they yelled back at him, basically saying, again, is your name Lee? Again, he said, what does this pertain to? And they looked at him coldly, with zero sympathy at all in their face and said, it's about your wife. She's deceased. With literally not one ounce of emotion on their faces. Lee said they immediately told him that it was an accident. And they told him that he wasn't allowed to go over to the house, to the crime scene where Tamla was saying that, quote, everything had already been taken care of, end quote. Eventually, when Lee received more information, he had a lot of the same thoughts that you guys are probably having right now. Things were not making sense. Even if you just were to focus on the injuries, they did not seem to be consistent with injuries of a fall. Add to that all of the other inconsistencies and just weird things regarding the entire investigation, one plus one was not equaling two. And Tamla's family, including her husband Lee, her mother Elizabeth, and her father Kurt, didn't think so either. They refused to accept the official ruling of Tamla's death being declared an accident. So quickly, they ended up hiring an attorney. I'd mentioned him previously, a man called Ralph Fernandez, to advocate on their behalf and push for answers. And in May of 2020, approximately. What is that? Eighteen months after Tamla's death, attorney Fernandez wrote a letter to Lee that would become a Huge turning point in the case. This is the attorney. And in the letter he wrote, this is the attorney again, this is the attorney again. This is the attorney. In the letter, Fernandez stated that him and his team had, quote, finished the exhaustive review of the records related to the investigation, end quote. And after looking over everything, his conclusion was that the review reflects that Tamla's death being a homicide was a very, very, very strong possibility. Witness statements were conflicting, inconsistent. The possibility that Tamla's body was moved prior to law enforcement arriving, which I feel like did happen, because on the 911 call, Jose reported that he was trying to find a pulse, meaning that he picked up her arm or her leg or at the very least touched her before authorities got there. Fernandez was also extremely disappointed in the fact that there were only five photographs taken. first he actually thought none were taken, which is literally unheard of. But when he realized that some were taken but there were only five, I mean, he still found it incredibly shocking and unusual, as do I. And as far as her injuries, Fernandez wrote in the letter that there were contradictions in, in the official report writing, quote, it appears Tamla was involved in a struggle. There were abrasions noted consistent with that scenario. There were parallel scratches to one arm, end quote. And then there was another massive issue. Jose Barrera, Jean's boyfriend. We're taking a quick break to thank today's sponsors. It's January, it's 2026, and honestly, you guys, the new year, yeah, it's all exciting and new and whatever, but does it feel a little bit like a financial jump scare for anyone else? Because, I mean, the holidays, the food, the drinks, the gifts, it all adds up. And that's exactly why I started to consider as soon as it turned January, looked at my bank account, got a little bit scared, started to think about where I could cut down cost. Needless to say, I started looking at everything that I pay for, everything that everyone pays for, including your phone bill. And that is where Mint Mobile comes in. I switch from one of those three big name carriers and immediately notice the difference. Same phone, same phone number, same coverage, but the bill, way more affordable. And honestly, the service is just as solid, if not better. You're still getting high speed data, unlimited talk and text, and it runs on the nation's largest 5G network, so you're not losing anything by switching. And here's the best part. Mint Mobile's end of the year sale is still going on, but only through the end of this month. Right now you can get 50% off 3, 6 or 12 months of unlimited premium wireless. You can keep your same phone, keep your same phone number, bring all your contacts with you. No hassle, no starting over, just cutting out unnecessary monthly charges which add up. And all of that for me feels very much on brand with a January reset. A new year, new you. If I had no experience with Mint Mobile, it's exactly what I would switch to because paying less for the same quality service just makes sense. You're saving real money every single month and you do not have to think about your phone bill, which honestly, that in itself is priceless. This January, quit overspending on Wireless with 50% off. Unlimited premium wireless plans start at $15 a month at mint mobile.com/wish that's mint mobile.com/wish Limited time offer upfront payments of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for 12 months. Plan required $15 a month equivalent taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50gb. May slow when network is busy. Capable device requirement availability, speed and coverage vary. See mint mobile.com and talking about a January new set reset, let's talk about my favorite. As you guys know, I'm getting married in June. All 2026 brides. By the way, did you guys know the wedding is tomorrow? Because as soon as it hit midnight in January, I was like, oh, oh. I only have about a thousand of things left to do because the wedding is literally tomorrow. I'm feeling stressed. What about you guys? Because what's going on? Anyway, I was thinking Mitchell and I have been dating for a while. We've lived together for a few years now. I still wanted to feel exciting coming home from the wedding. I wanted to feel like, oh, married life. We're entering this new chapter. Our house is feeling clean and nice and reset. And immediately, of course, I thought about Cozy Earth. I kind of think about Cozy Earth on the daily. Not gonna lie, I go on their websites, just kind of window shopping to see what I like. But I want to talk about two specific items with you guys. Cozy Earth's Baja bedding set and the luxe bath towels. So the bedding set. This is Cozy Earth's first collection to have a matching set. I'm talking matching sheets, pillow covers and duvet covers. They all the patterns on them are all meant to feel timeless, in my opinion. At least that's what it feels like. There's no like, weird, tacky pattern. It's all very clean. It feels luxe. It feels just amazing. I Got new sheets from Cozy Earth that came in the cutest packaging by the way. But I'm specifically saving those sheets for after the wedding. I'm gonna leave them all prepped and washed and ready to go to put on the new bed because I want to come home, sleep on new sheets. I just want. It's just. I don't know how to explain it. It feels so luxe to me. Anything from Cozy Earth and I want my house filled with it for when I come home for the wedding because I'll feel like I'm like walking into our own little resort. It feels that luxe and grand as well as the towels. The towels are crafted with such a unique blend of cotton. You guys need to go on their website right now and look at the patterns because I'm telling you, if you're using things from Cozy Earth for your home, like sheets and towels, it feels like you're staying at a hotel. Also have to mention the risk free purchase with the sheet. Specifically, they have a 100 night sleep trial which means you can buy the sheets, try them out, if you don't love them, return them hassle free, but trust me, you will not want to. They also come with a 10 year warranty, which is incredible because once you feel that level of comfort, you will want it to last a decade. Start the new year off right and give your home the luxury it deserves and make home the best possible part of Life. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code WISH for up to 20 off. That's cozyearth.com code WISH. And if you got a poach purchase survey, please make sure to mention that you heard about Cozy Earth from my podcast. It really helps me out a lot and I would appreciate it. Refresh your routines with comfort that makes every single day feel like the new year. Thank you so much Mint Mobile and Cozy Earth for sponsoring this video. Now back to the case. Okay, so at the time of Tamla's death, Jose Barrera was working as a pre trial service officers for the Forsyth county court system. AKA working in a position that gave him access to law enforcement databases and confidential files. He was way more than just involved in Tamla's case as a witness because he was literally inside of the house the night of her death and one of the first people to see her body the following morning. Yet because of his job, he was able to access paperwork regarding the investigation. So in regards to Jose Fernandez wrote to Lee, quote, the case agent was a close friend of a subject who turned out to be the leak of the ongoing investigation. I have come to the conclusion that the truth never had a chance here, end quote. The family commissioned on an independent autopsy seeking answers that the official investigation, official autopsy had not provided provided. According to Fernandez and family statements, this independent examination revealed injuries that were not fully explained by a single fall from the balcony. Again, it was their opinion that Tamla's injuries seemed to look way more like potential defensive wounds, indicating that she was involved in some sort of struggle. Quote, she couldn't have, with catastrophic injuries, fallen from the balcony and ended where she did. She had defensive wounds that were not accounted for by either the Forsyth county or gbi. End quote. Elizabeth Potts, Tamla's mother, made an emotional public appeal. Quote, we just want justice. The boys. I just want justice, end quote. She was referring to Tamla's five sons, who had just lost their mother, by the way, when she said the boys. And Tamla's father also spoke out, saying, quote, this case is just beginning. I have to know the truth, end quote. He argued that even with all of the information released, the official narrative didn't complete the puzzle. The pieces simply just did not fit. So let's talk about Jose Barrera, shall we? One of the most significant controversies in the case centered around Jose Barrera and again, he was the boyfriend of John Myers, who was the owner of the house. He hung out briefly with all of the moms the night off, and he was one of the last people that saw Tamla before going off to bed towards the end of the night. He was also one of the first ones outside who found or looked at Tamla's body the morning after. And one of the two people who spoke to the operator on the phone when the 911 call was made. He worked as a pretrial services officer for the Forsyth county court system. But only two months after Tamla's death in December of 2018, he was placed on administratively. What was the reason, you may ask? Well, he had been caught using his position to access confidential files related to Tamla's death investigation, a case in which he was a witness, which simply should not ever happen. On December 20th of 2018, Jose Barrera was terminated from his position completely. It also came to light that Jose Barrera had access Tamla's incident report internally on multiple occasions when he wasn't supposed to. And it was when he was first fired that Tamla's case would really begin gaining national attention. When news of his termination became public two months after Tamla's death, it sparked widespread speculation Online about potential foul play. People began questioning why a witness would be so interested in accessing confidential files about the case. Was it truly just out of curiosity or was there something more sinister? Was he hiding something? Was he changing information? Was he showing the files and sharing information to people he shouldn't have been? Who's to say? The timing of increased public awareness also coincided with growing national conversations about racial justice. Tama Horsford was a black woman who died at a party where she was the only person of color among white guests. The party took place in Forsyth County, Georgia, an area with a deep rooted history of racism. Hundreds of people were sharing the hashtag Tamla Horseforth on social media, questioning different aspects of the case and calling for justice. One of Tamla's close friends, Michelle Graves, became a vocal advocate, stating publicly, quote, we're glad we're not the only ones who feel there's something Aubrey with the story and with how she lost her life, end'ta change.org petition calling for the case to be reopened and reinvestigated received more than 700,000 signatures, which which in itself shows the remarkable amount of support, public support there was to get justice for Tamla and her family. The petition argued that the investigation had been compromised and that Tamla's injuries were inconsistent with a simple fall in the summer of 2020 when the nationwide protests against racism and police brutality were sparked by the murder of George Floyd. That only more so renewed public interest in Tamla's case. Her name appeared on protest signs in Cumming, Georgia, among alongside the names of black Americans killed by police in recent years. High profile celebrities added their voices to the calls for justice. 50 Cent shared posts about the case on social media asking for a second investigation. Kim Kardashian also drew attention to Tamla's story and the pressure to reopen her case only continued to grow. And then finally, on June 12th of 2020, Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman wrote and sent a letter requesting that the case be reopened and investigated by the Georgia Borough of investigation. And on June 18 of 2020, the GBI agreed to reopen the case. However, they did not specify when the investigation would begin, leaving Tamla's family in this anxious state of waiting, just waiting and waiting. The reopened investigation would take months. The GBI conducted their inquiry throughout 2020 and into early 2021. Tamla's family, her attorney and supporters across the country waited and waited for new findings that might finally be able to bring clarity to what happened that November night. The investigation took months, and the GBI announced that it was coming to a close in early 2021. But the results of that investigation were still devastating because they concluded that no charges would be filed in the case, stating, quote, the DA Review determined the facts and investigative findings and do not support pursuit and prosecution of criminal charges, end quote. In other words, despite the family's concern, the independent autopsy findings, and the public pressure, the GBI found insufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime. That just felt like the biggest slap to the face for anyone that knew Tamla. And I can't even begin to imagine how emotionally draining this time period was for all of Tamla's family members and close friends. Trying to grieve the loss of a loved one while still fighting as hard as you can for justice, that's difficult and draining and also extremely admirable. To this day, despite two separate investigations by law enforcement, Tamla Horsford's death remains full of questions that may never be answered. As of 2025, the case of Tamla Horse Forth remains officially closed. No arrests have been made, no charges had been filed, and the official cause of death remains an accidental fall from the balcony while severely intoxicated. But for Tamla's father, her husband, Leander, her five sons, her mother, Elizabeth, her father, Kurt, her good friend Michelle, the case is still far from over. They continue to believe that the truth has not been yet told, that justice has not been served, and that their beloved Tamla deserves better than what the investigation provided. Tamla was a beloved mother, a wife, a daughter, and a friend. And I applaud all of the work that so many people have done to try and fight for justice. But it breaks my heart to say that it kind of feels like we will never receive it. I just have so many questions, and this is. Everything about it feels so unfair. I want to know what you guys have to say about this case. I want to know what your opinions are. But that is all I have for this case. Thank you guys so much for spending time with me today. Thank you so much for listening to Tamla's story. I hope you guys are having the best day. If not, go do something to make it the best day. Make somebody happy, and I will see you in my next video. Massive kiss on the forehead to every single one of you.