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- [00:00]
Advertiser
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- [00:47]
Peyton Moreland
On WhatsApp no one can see or hear your personal messages. Whether it's a voice call message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat or trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast, your personal messages stay between you, your friends and your family. No one else, not even us. WhatsApp message privately with everyone. You're listening to an Ono Media podcast. Hey everyone and welcome back to the into the Dark podcast. I'm your host Peyton Moreland. I'm so glad you are here you guys. You are watching on YouTube. Please follow the show. Give this video a thumbs up. Turn on notifications so you don't miss the next one. And even if you could just drop a comment, maybe put in your favorite food emoji, that would be amazing. And if you are listening on audio and can leave a five star review, I will love you forever. But either way I'm so happy you are here and I am so ready to get into today's case. But first we need to do my 10 seconds. I feel like it has just been so long since I sat down and recorded into the dark and I don't know why but it feels so good to be back. I'm trying to think of what has been happening in my life lately. I feel like last week I kind of just took the week off a little bit as far as like gym and everything. I kind of just relaxed, I stretched a lot, I meditated. It helped so so much. Oh I also got a micro needle which if you don't know it is a procedure where you go in and they take this device that basically has really small needles and they just roll it all over your head stabbing a bunch of little holes in your skin. And then I did the PRP option where they take my blood. They get my plasma and they just smear it all over my face getting it into those little holes. Honestly it is supposed to be good. It's like anti aging, anti wrinkle. It's just good for cell regeneration pores. It it basically the reason I do it is cuz I feel like it just gives my skin a new brightness, a little bit of youthfulness. I don't know. I love it. It's probably one of my favorite things I do for my skin. But because of it I have been super dry. My skin was super red and dry. It's kind of been like a whole thing I've been working out with the viewers on my Twitch stream. But honestly other than that my week has been and I'm just really happy to be back. So let's get into it. I think in life there are certain places where you go to just feel safe. It might be your bedroom, a favorite coffee shop, a place of worship, and whatever that place is, you probably see it as a sanctuary. A place where the evils of the world can't get at you. But today we will see that nowhere is ever completely safe. Not even the place where you feel the most secure. After all, consider this On November 16, 2021, a group of construction workers thought they were going to pick up a typical gig. They reported to work at the North Chester Street Church in Baltimore. The church was in the process of being renovated and these construction workers were meeting up every day to make all of the necessary upgrades and repairs. The renovation had been going for weeks already, so all of these construction workers knew all of the church employees by sight and if not, by name. And they had a set routine that they followed every day without fail. Which also meant they noticed right away when the routine changed. So when the workers got to the church a little after 7am they found one of the doors unlocked and propped open with a small traffic cone. Which was pretty typical. It had probably been opened by a 69 year old woman named Evelyn Player. She was a frequent volunteer at the North Chester Street Church. Her title was Sexton, which is a fancy word meaning she took care of the property, she took care of the church. She handled things like unlocking the doors in the morning and locking up at night. And throughout the renovation process, she always made sure the workers could get in at the start of each day. Plus, every time people gathered to worship, she made a point of greeting everyone as they arrived so they would feel welcome. She always got there before the choir members so nobody would have to walk in the front doors alone. But Evelyn was also involved in charitable work through the church. She gave out food to people who couldn't afford their own groceries. And Evelyn had even helped set up a vaccination program. And when it came to her day to day work, her shift always started very early in the morning. So she was the one who disarmed the security system, turned on the lights, made sure everything was up and ready to go. Except that day, when the construction workers went inside, Evelyn, who they thought had propped open the door for them, was nowhere to be seen. They called her name, thinking maybe she was working in a back room and didn't realize they were there. But nobody answered. And even more concerning, all of the lights in the church were off. Now, like I said, Evelyn always lit up the sanctuary first thing in the morning. So now, to the workers, it felt like Evelyn had come in and then disappeared without finishing her morning routine. So right away, they went over to her desk to see if she was there. She wasn't. But her things were. Specifically her phone and her cane, which she used to get around. There were several other personal items there as well, things she'd never leave behind if she needed to leave in a hurry. Which meant Evelyn had definitely made it into the church that morning. But they think something had happened to her afterward and it couldn't have been good. Now, the construction workers decided not to wait. They went all through the church looking for Evelyn and calling her name. I mean, she is an elderly woman. They feel like something's wrong. And the longer this went on, the more worried they became. Because as they were walking through the church, they were seeing something splattered everywhere. Red liquid was smeared on the light switches, the door knobs, and on the cardboard the workers had put down to protect the floors and carpets while they worked. The workers probably didn't want to admit it to themselves, but this stuff they saw splattered everywhere looked like blood. And the trail led right to the handicapped bathroom on the first floor. So some of the workers tried to open the door and go inside, but the bathroom was locked. Nobody answered when a worker knocked, but luckily he actually had a key. So he opened it and went inside the bathroom. And that's where he found Evelyn lying on the ground and very badly hurt. There were slashes all over her body, dozens of them, on her face, arms and neck. And the whole bathroom, the walls, floors and everything else, were coated in her blood. Clearly, Evelyn had been attacked in the church in a violent, graphic way. So of course, the workers called the police and an ambulance, first responders Rushed to the scene, they got there in under 10 minutes. But by the time the EMTs arrived at 7:30am it was too late. Evelyn was declared dead at the scene, meaning this was now a murder case. And the police officers threw themselves into the investigation. Right away, they noticed that something was missing from Evelyn's body. She typically wore multiple gold rings, but now her hands were bare. They made a note of that in their report, then had her remains sent to the coroner. Now, the autopsy showed that Evelyn had been stabbed 38 times, including several fatal slashes to her chest. That wasn't counting the 54 shallower knife wounds on her face and arms. Now, many of her injuries were defensive, meaning she tried to fight her killer off, who had a knife. There were no signs of sexual assault, and the medical examiner didn't see any evidence that pointed at a clear motive for the attack. They clipped Evelyn's fingernails, hoping they would be able to pull DNA if she had scratched her attacker in the scuffle. And. And meanwhile, back at the crime scene, other officers collected blood samples from the church's doorknobs, the light switches, and other key locations. They expected a lot of the blood to be Evelyn's, but they figured that if she had managed to scratch or even cut her killer, their blood might have been mixed with hers. So it made sense to test everything and see what DNA there was to be found. While they were waiting to get the genetic results back, the investigators also pulled footage from the church's security cameras. And with those clips, they were able to pinpoint the exact time when Evelyn had arrived at the church in the morning. The cameras showed her unlocking the side door and going inside at about 6:03am Less than a minute later, still at 6:03, a man walked in through the same door, following her in. He was an older guy, in his 60s, and when he came into the church, he wasn't acting sneaky or like he was trying to slip in. In fact, based on the security footage, it looked like she saw him and let him involuntarily, meaning she probably recognized him. So the killer may have been someone Evelyn knew. Now, the two of them actually go inside together. And he left again alone about half an hour later at 6:29am the cameras don't show anyone else coming in or out until about 7, when the construction workers arrived, which told the police that the guy was probably the killer. He was the only person who was alone inside with Evelyn or who had the opportunity to attack her. Now it was just a matter of identifying him. So the investigators put out a public statement asking for tips. And they announced that if anyone shared useful information, they would be able to collect a hundred thousand dollar reward. In the meanwhile, her community had to deal with the shock and horror of what had happened to Evelyn. It was impossible for anyone to believe that a sweet older woman who had never hurt anybody had been stabbed to death, or that it had happened in a church, a place where, in theory, she should have been absolutely safe. Some of Evelyn's loved ones organized a public vigil and a march. They also opened her funeral to the public, meaning anyone could come and grieve, even if they hadn't known Evelyn that well. Dozens of people turned out for her memorial service. And the vigils and marches were big news in Baltimore. I mean, a brutal, vicious stabbing in a church. And these events had multiple goals. They were supposed to honor Evelyn, raise awareness for her case, and also pressure law enforcement to take the investigation seriously. In fact, Evelyn's death was part of a larger violent crime wave in the area. A lot of people were frustrated that the police weren't doing more to keep them safe. But to hear the officials and local politicians tell it, everyone was staggered by Evelyn's murder and they were doing everything in their power to solve it. One city official said, every life lost to violence is an unspeakable tragedy. But the tragic killing of a senior in a church quite candidly shocked the conscience of our community. Our seniors and our babies should be off limits. Evelyn's daughter also spoke to the press, asking, quote, who would want to hurt my mother? How could someone hurt someone in such a sacred place? Now, at this point, everyone was wondering the same thing. And the police were working tirelessly to identify a suspect. And early on, they were able to narrow in on one person of interest. Now, I'd love to tell you more about why this individual stood out to the police, but I can't. They didn't speak publicly much about the early stages of their investigation. It seems they didn't want to release any information that could hurt their chances of getting a conviction later. This actually was a good call because before long, investigators were able to rule that person out as a suspect. They found some evidence that exonerated that initial person of interest, which meant the officers were back to square one. And the public was still demanding justice for Evelyn. And an innocent person didn't have something bad hanging over them. Alright, you guys, we all know summer is amazing. Sunshine, road trips, beach days. But can we be honest for a second? It also means one thing. A lot of sweat and if you're not wearing the right underwear, well, that gets really uncomfortable really fast. 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- [14:33]
Advertiser
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Peyton Moreland
The church and scoured the grounds with a fine tooth comb. They wanted to check if there was any additional evidence that they may have missed the first time around. But there was nothing to be found. Other officers went door to door, questioning people who lived near the house of worship. They asked these neighbors if they'd seen anything strange on the day of Evelyn's murder. But again, they failed to come up with any new leads. They even pulled security camera footage from local traffic cams and businesses. Their hope was that they could learn more about the man that they had filmed coming in and out of the church that morning. Maybe they could see where he went afterward. But once again, this effort went nowhere. The evidence was pretty quickly drying up. Now, luckily, the next break came from a member of the community. Just two days after Evelyn's death, a man strolled into a local pawn shop, and he was there to sell a pair of gold rings. Now, I don't know if the pawn shop employee realized that Evelyn's rings had also been stolen during her murder. I also don't know if they had just a description of the missing jewelry, but I do know know that something about this man just struck the worker as suspicious. It probably didn't help that he perfectly matched the description of the man from the church's security cameras that the public knew about. He was 62 years old, the right height, weight and build. Best of all, though, when he tried to sell the rings, the man showed the pawn shop workers his id so they knew his name was Manzi Smith. Now, when the pawn shop workers reported this interaction to the police, the officers actually weren't really shocked. In fact, Manzi was a solid suspect in the murder already because he had a long criminal record. Manzi had been in and out of prison when he was a teenager, and when he was just 19 years old, back in 1979, a woman had been driving through town planning to meet up with a friend. She pulled over to ask Manzi for directions, and he had seized the opportunity to sexually assault her. She reported the crime, he was arrested, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Then Manzi was released early, just in time for him to commit a second sexual assault in 1992, a pattern we see way too often. Once again, he was quickly arrested and charged for rape and intent to rob. I'm not sure what exactly he tried to steal from his victim, as there aren't many details about the incident online. I know that after he was found guilty, he was sentenced up to three 30 years in prison. Except, once again, Manzi got out early on parole in 2012. He was in his mid-50s and living in Baltimore. And that's when he assaulted yet another victim. But this time, his target was an elderly woman. And he didn't only attack her, he also robbed her. Again, he took the woman's purse, which had her cell phone in it, which probably means it wasn't too hard for the police to track it by its GPS signal. He. He also took her ATM card, which was also very traceable. So it took no time at all for the investigators to arrest him for this crime again. Now, to summarize, Manzi had a history of violence against women and of stealing from them. But the third time around, Manzie almost got those charges thrown out before he even went to trial. I'll actually touch on that story a little more later. But for now, all I need you to know is that it took two years for his case to make it to court, but he did eventually face a jury. Manzi was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison. And this time around, he was not eligible for an early release. He had too long of a record, and the courts saw him as a possible threat to society. No duh. Except once his sentence was over, the state didn't have any grounds to continue holding him behind bars. So they let him go and put him back out on supervised release, meaning he was free. But he still had to follow certain rules and check ins with parole officers on a regular basis. Now, in fairness, during this supervisory period, Manzi was on his best behavior. According to his mother, he was in church regularly. He also saw a counselor who helped him find productive ways to handle different challenges in his life. In terms of employment, he hadn't found a full time position yet, but he was picking up odd gigs here and there. And that included a job doing, get this, construction at the North Chester Street Church. Now, Manzi wasn't doing highly skilled tasks like the other trained construction workers I talked about. Instead, one of them called him one day to ask if he wanted to make extra cash doing odd jobs around the site. Manzi mostly helped others lift and carry heavy benches in and out of the sanctuary. It really wasn't complicated work, but still, every day he came in and handled things in the building. And that is when he probably saw Evelyn around. To be clear, there is no evidence that the two of them ever got to know one another. They may not have spoken much other than to exchange brief greetings. They certainly were not friends. And he might not have even known Evelyn's name. But still, Manzi could have noticed how she always wore nice jewelry. And while he spent several weeks working in the church, he had the opportunity to learn Evelyn's schedule. He got a sense of when she came and went and when other church employees went around. Which meant Manzi also knew when Evelyn would be there alone. But if he was already planning a crime, he didn't let it on. His parole officer and other criminal justice officers thought Manzi was acting like a model parolee. So In October of 2021, they determined that he didn't need to be under close supervision any longer. He had passed the terms of his case. His parole ended, and he was back to being a free man. And less than one month later, Evelyn was murdered. Given Manzi's history of theft, it wasn't too hard to conclude that he had attacked Evelyn and robbed her. How else could he have ended up on the security camera footage or in the pawn shop trying to sell her rings? The police weren't sure if it was a premeditated murder. It could have been a robbery gone wrong. Evelyn may have put up too good of a fight, and the situation might have escalated, and he could have ended up killing her, or he could have just been escalating in his crimes. That was just a theory, but the evidence was piling up, Especially once the investigators received the results from those genetic tests they had run. The blood in the church bathroom where Evelyn was found murdered contained a mix of Evevelyn and Manzi's DNA, meaning he had definitely been there, hurt and bleeding, at the time of her death. This, along with the surveillance footage and the pawn shop workers testimony, was enough for the police to arrest Manzi on December 1. Interestingly enough, that was the same day as Evelyn's funeral. So needless to say, the investigation moved quickly Once it got going. They charged him with first degree murder. And the next day, on December 2, 2021, the police pulled Manzi in for an interrogation. They didn't need a confession from him to move forward with charges, but it certainly would have helped the case. So right away, they noticed that he had scratches on his right arm and hand and even on his chest. It looked like he had been in a fight recently. But when the police asked him where they'd come from, he didn't give them an answer. The next question was about what he had been doing on the morning of November 16, the day of Evelyn's murder. Manzi said he didn't remember, he didn't have an alibi or any kind of COVID story. According to him, the morning was just blank in his memory. It was a stance he held all the way up until his trial. And he spent that whole time behind bars because a judge declined to grant him bail. Finally, finally, we keep him behind bars. So while he was waiting to face his charges, Manzie announced that he intended to plead not guilty for reasons of insanity. And he actually had pretty good evidence to support that plea. Manzi's history of mental health struggles went back almost as far as his criminal record did. He had previously been diagnosed with multiple mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder and at the time, schizophrenia. During his previous stays in prison, he had made several attempts on his own life. On top of that, the guards had needed to keep him separated from other inmates due to his erratic behavior, even when he was free. All through his adult life, he had been in and out of mental health hospitals, he had used drugs and alcohol to self medicate, and he had become dependent on those substances.
- [23:36]
Advertiser
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are back in Disney's Freakier Friday.
- [23:42]
Peyton Moreland
Yes.
- [23:44]
Advertiser
Yes. On August 8th, we switched bodies.
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Peyton Moreland
I didn't want to be a part.
- [23:48]
Advertiser
Of this family, and now I'm part.
- [23:49]
Peyton Moreland
Of some dodgy family curse. And I'm the Elvis.
- [23:53]
Advertiser
The ultimate movie event of the summer arrives.
- [23:55]
Peyton Moreland
I think I just peed a little.
- [23:57]
Advertiser
Disney's Freakier Friday in theaters August 8th. Get tickets now. Oh, this is cool. Let's do it. Rated pg. Parental guidance suggested.
- [24:06]
Peyton Moreland
It's Wednesday. Addams. I see you're trying to distract yourself from your own banal thoughts. Let me help. Here's a recording thing made of my latest root canal Wednesday. Season two begins August 6th, only on Netflix. You may remember how earlier I mentioned that Manzi actually robbed an elderly woman in 2012, and he almost got those charges thrown out before he went to court. Now, the reason for that was he was diagnosed with severe mental health issues shortly after his arrest. He actually was committed to a treatment facility, and his lawyers tried to argue that he wasn't well enough to even come to trial. And that claim actually worked for a while. The courts were willing to delay Manzi's trial date until after he was done with treatment, but they didn't cancel the hearing altogether. So in 2014, he was deemed well enough to finally go to court, and as I already covered, he was convicted. After that, however, the judge agreed to let his time in the hospital count toward his total sentence. So all this to say Manzi's emotional issues were well documented. But other than a few stints in treatment, he didn't get the help he needed. He kept being released just to commit more violent crimes where his symptoms were unaddressed. As Manzi's lawyer put it, he fell through the cracks. On top of that, he had learning disabilities and he had needed to be in special education classes the whole time that he was in school. So now Manzi's lawyers also argued that he didn't even have the intellectual capacity to be held responsible for his actions. But then, at this point, Manzi met with a bunch of mental health professionals, all of whom evaluated his intelligence and his emotional state and they concluded that Manzi did have some intellectual limitations and mental health problems, but he still understood right from wrong, so he still met the legal standard to be held responsible for his actions. After that ruling came down, he actually ended up changing his plea. In early 2023, instead of fighting his charges, he agreed to a deal where he pleaded guilty to Evelyn's murder. And in exchange, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison, which was essentially a life sentence because Manzi was 63 years old at the time. However, on the off chance that he did live to be 113 and made it to the end of his sentence, the judge added that if Manzi was ever released, he had to spend five years on probation. The hope was that this would break the cycle of Manzi getting out early, only to immediately reoffend. When he received his sentence, Manzi seemed genuinely remorseful. He gave a statement where he said, I'm. I'm truly sorry. Please forgive me. Lots of people didn't really believe that he was regretful or that he was ever going to change. In fact, Manzi's long history of criminal activity caused a lot of controversy in Baltimore. At the time, many residents and police officers wondered how this had even happened. How we got here, How. How does someone keep getting out of prison early when they have such a checkered past, mentally ill or not? A reporter with the Baltimore sun used Manzi's case as a jumping off point to try and answer that question. And they learned that the city's parole departments were horrible, horribly understaffed. Evidence showed that when former inmates were released from prison, they had a much better shot at staying on the straight and narrow when they had support case workers to check in with them and give them guidance and advice. Parole officers to ensure that their clients were following the rules, a system to give them guard rails and boundaries. At the end of the day, it didn't matter how many police officers were patrolling the streets or how many people got thrown into jail. If nobody showed them how to be a productive member of society, given them a chance, they were just going to slip back into old, bad habits. It seemed that may have been an issue for Manzi and for countless other people who had been released from prison just to reoffend again in Baltimore. So after Evelyn's murder, advocates pushed for better parole and release systems. Maybe if Manzi had been checking in more often with a parole officer, someone could have spotted his red flags before the crime. They might have gotten him into mental health treatment or found a way to keep him away from the church. That morning, with early intervention, Evelyn's life could have been saved. Instead, she had died brutally. And her friends and loved ones still had to ask themselves why. What could have motivated Manzi's deadly attack? Was it really about stealing her rings? Or was there something else? Because Manzi pleaded guilty, he never took the stand in court. And this means he never explained exactly why he killed Evelyn, if the crime was premeditated, or if it was a robbery gone horribly wrong. The police also never learned if he targeted her specifically or if he just happened to show up for work early that day and then realized there were no witnesses around. It could have been a spur of the moment crime of opportunity. Those are questions that might never be answered. But still, a lot of prosecutors said they were very happy with Manzi's plea deal and sentence, and so were Evelyn's family members. Her daughter gave a statement where she said, quote, I'm just glad that he is behind bars and won't be able to hurt anyone else. The best part was that the deal meant Manzi would never stand trial. And nobody wanted Evelyn's family to have to deal with the stress and trauma of a long, drawn out courtroom process. After all, they weren't only traumatized, they were reeling. Evelyn had been such a fixture in the community, and people weren't sure how to move forward without her. So I want to wrap up this episode by actually telling you about her, because there is so much more to Evelyn than the way she died. Evelyn lived in Baltimore for almost her entire life, ever since she was just five years old. Now. While growing up, she played on her school's basketball team. After graduation, she worked in the publishing industry for almost her entire career. But she also spent some time in the medical field, which must have come in handy when she organized those vaccine clinics at her church. She was known for having a fantastic sense of humor, for being very witty. Evelyn was also her daughter's best friend, and she was close to her grandson. The three of them went to church together almost every single Sunday. And every other week on Thursdays, Evelyn took her grandson to the local barber shop to get a haircut. She was just a fixture at that shop, and the locals knew they could expect to see her smiling face during the grandson's appointments. And when she died, an official from her church spoke about how difficult it was to grapple with her loss. He said, there's a void for all of us, and we know Evelyn has a great reward, and she's resting. Another leader told the press that if only Manzie had taken the time to get to know Evelyn, this murder probably would have never happened. Anyone who knew her realized she was a light in this world. She was so sweet and beloved. It was impossible to think that anyone would ever want to hurt her. So, in other words, Evelyn tried to make the world a better place. And I want to be clear, to an extent, she succeeded. It is tragic that she lost her life violently, but that does not undo all of the great things she did in her time here on Earth. So often in these kinds of stories, it's easy to just focus on the darkness and the tragedy at the heart of every crime in every case. And I get it. We want to figure out why people do the things they do and how to avoid it. However, the world is full of people who are good, generous, and giving. We can all be a bit more like Evelyn and keep working to build a future. And that's better than what we have today. You guys, thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode, and I will see you next time as we go further into the dark together. Goodbye.