9. Judgement

Summary

Murder on Songbird Road: Episode 9 - "Judgement"

Release Date: February 20, 2025
Hosts: Lauren Bright Pacheco & Bob Motta
Production: iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

In the ninth episode of Murder on Songbird Road, titled "Judgement," hosts Lauren Bright Pacheco and criminal defense attorney Bob Motta delve deep into the controversial case surrounding the stabbing death of an 11-year-old girl in Southern Illinois. This episode scrutinizes the trial of Julia Beverly, the fiancée of the deceased girl's father, questioning whether justice was truly served or if an innocent woman remains wrongfully convicted.

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Key Evidence and Surveillance Footage

The episode examines critical evidence presented during Julia Beverly's trial, particularly focusing on surveillance footage from Hucks Gas Station.

• Beverly’s Actions at Hucks Gas Station:
  Lauren Bright Pacheco (04:12): "The video showed Beverly driving up, depositing something in one of the waste containers, and then leaving."

  Bob Motta (04:12): "She clearly did not go to any dumpster. She pulled up to a receptacle in between the pumps, gathered some garbage, and left without any attempt to hide or conceal the items."

• Prosecution’s Claims vs. Defense’s Counterarguments:
  Mudge, Special Prosecutor (05:06) hypothesized that Beverly discarded crucial items: "There goes the knife. There goes the real shoes she was wearing."

  Bob Motta (06:19) challenges this by stating, "There's no way that is a bag of bloody clothes, a murder weapon, and shoes all tossed casually in a small receptacle."

The hosts argue that the prosecution's narrative about the contents of the garbage is implausible, highlighting inconsistencies in how Beverly disposed of the alleged evidence.

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Witness Testimonies and Cross-Examinations

The episode highlights problematic witness testimonies that may have influenced the jury's perception unfairly.

• Officer Sloan’s Testimony:
  Lauren Bright Pacheco (27:36): "Officer Sloan testified about observing a bite mark on Beverly's arm while transporting her, despite conflicting accounts about her attire."

  Bob Motta (29:24): "The officer couldn't even confirm what Beverly was wearing, raising doubts about the credibility of his observation of a bite mark."

• Juror Intimidation Concerns:
  Leah’s Removal from Courtroom (35:20): Leah, a friend of Beverly, was removed from the courtroom for allegedly intimidating jurors due to her presence and demeanor.

  Bob Motta (36:59): "Leah wasn't threatening; her mere presence and attempt to observe the jury were deemed intimidating, which is highly problematic."

The hosts emphasize the racial undertones and procedural missteps that may have prejudiced the jury against Beverly.

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Judicial Misconduct and Evidence Handling

Significant focus is placed on the trial judge's decisions and the mishandling of evidence.

• Admissibility of Irrelevant Evidence:
  Bob Motta (23:43) criticizes the inclusion of unrelated knife blades and a curtain from a landfill, stating, "It's ridiculous that this evidence was admissible and influenced the jury."

• Evidence Sent to Jurors:
  Lauren Bright Pacheco (40:31) reveals that jurors were handed a box containing unrelated utensils and autopsy photos, which could severely bias their deliberations.
  Renee Hightower (42:00) recalls, "They gave the jury the whole box of evidence... What am I supposed to do with it?"

These actions by the court undermined the integrity of the trial, presenting undue prejudice against Beverly.

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Legal Advocacy and Potential Appeals

The episode highlights efforts to secure legal representation for Beverly, emphasizing the challenges faced by those wrongfully convicted.

• Connecting with Kathleen Zellner:
  Lauren Bright Pacheco (51:38) discusses reaching out to renowned wrongful conviction attorney Kathleen Zellner. Despite financial barriers, Pacheco commits to funding Zellner's involvement to pursue an appeal for Beverly.

• Implications for Future Appeals:
  Bob Motta (24:50) anticipates that the mishandling of evidence and judicial errors could be grounds for overturning Beverly's conviction, stating, "I will not be surprised if this case gets overturned."

The hosts express cautious optimism that with proper legal intervention, Beverly may have a chance at exoneration.

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Emotional and Racial Dynamics in the Trial

The episode does not shy away from exploring the emotional and racial tensions that permeated the courtroom.

• Impact of Leah’s Presence:
  Lauren Bright Pacheco (35:23) shares Leah’s account of being removed for making jurors uncomfortable, highlighting the racial dynamics at play:
  "I was the darkest person in that courtroom... jurors felt intimidated because I'm black."

• Juror Perspectives:
  An anonymous juror describes receiving the prejudicial evidence, questioning the fairness of their deliberations.

These narratives underscore the systemic biases that may have influenced the trial's outcome.

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Conclusion and Next Steps

In "Judgement," Pacheco and Motta systematically dismantle the prosecution's case against Julia Beverly, presenting a compelling argument for her innocence. They highlight procedural flaws, evidentiary inconsistencies, and potential racial biases that call into question the legitimacy of the conviction. The episode concludes with a commitment to pursuing further legal avenues to ensure justice is served, leaving listeners with a profound understanding of the complexities surrounding wrongful convictions.

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Notable Quotes

• Bob Motta (06:19):
  "There's no way that is a bag of bloody clothes, a murder weapon, and shoes all tossed casually in a small receptacle."

• Lauren Bright Pacheco (35:23):
  "I was the darkest person in that courtroom... jurors felt intimidated because I'm black."

• Bob Motta (24:50):
  "I will not be surprised if this case gets overturned."

• Anonymous Juror (40:58):
  "What am I supposed to do with it?"

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Final Thoughts

Episode 9 of Murder on Songbird Road serves as a poignant examination of the potential for miscarriage of justice within the legal system. Through meticulous analysis and passionate advocacy, hosts Lauren Bright Pacheco and Bob Motta shed light on the urgent need for reevaluating cases where evidence and judicial processes may have faltered, ensuring that true justice prevails.

Transcript

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

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[Bob Motta]

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[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

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[Bob Motta]

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[Bob Motta]

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[Bob Motta]

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[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

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[Bob Motta]

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[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

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[Bob Motta]

That speaks to her innocence. It does.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Beverly voluntarily Agreed to be questioned without an attorney. She also consented to the collection of her DNA. There was a lot of red flags. Let me say that if I was training him, I would have stopped him and said, you need to change your gloves.

[Bob Motta]

They're not going to test everything. They're just not. But all the critical things which, had they been brought up on cross examination, Would have absolutely laid waste to the state's case.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

None of jade beasley's electronic devices were forensically tested. None. Why?

[Bob Motta]

That they didn't even look at any of those devices to find out if jade was active in order to build a timeline, A real timeline, is unbelievable to me.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

I'm lauren brett pacheco, and this is murder on songbird. As I began writing this episode, I received an email from the investigation secretary of the williamson county sheriff's office Approving my request for surveillance footage from huc's gas station. The video showed beverly driving up, Depositing something in one of the waste containers, and then leaving. After watching it, Bob and I compared our thoughts.

[Bob Motta]

The thing that concerned me the most is did she drive around to the back to go to a dumpster? Because we had started hearing rumblings that she had gone to the back either first or last, and that she had dumped things in that dumpster as well as this, the small receptacle that is in between the pumps. So that concern, in terms of, if I'm thinking julie is not guilty of this crime, that concern has been obliterated. She clearly did not go to any dumpster. What we were told that she did is exactly what it appears that she's doing, which is she pulled up to that receptacle in between the two pumps. Like you see at 99.9% of all gas stations, she's in there for, I don't know, 15, 20 seconds, probably gathering whatever garbage is in the car. And then you see her step out.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And then you have mudge giving her hypothesis of what beverly was throwing away. From the trial transcript, here's special prosecutor jennifer mudge Hypothesizing what julie beverly was discarding at hucks. Quote, there goes the knife. There goes the real shoes she was wearing, unquote. Keep in mind, the prosecution also bundled into their speculation of what that small plastic bag contained, A shower curtain and utensils recovered at the dump, none of which could be traced back to hucks, Let alone the murder scene back to bob.

[Bob Motta]

In theory, we're talking about clothes that would more likely than not be absolutely saturated in blood. And the bag would be heavy. Theoretically, if you're talking about one of those small plastic grocery bags, I mean, aren't you worrying about, like, blood dripping out onto, like, are you leaving traces of blood droplets on the ground or smearing it on the. Like. When you watch the video, it looks like somebody who's pulled up to a receptacle in a gas station that's throwing some out of their car.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

In that video, you see Beverly pull up between gas pumps, pause for a second as she appears to partially prop the passenger door open while rummaging about before stepping out and tossing a loosely gathered bag in her right hand. With that one hand, Beverly then gets back in and drives off in the same direction she came from.

[Bob Motta]

And nothing more like she doesn't get out and look around. She's not having to react, you know, reconfigure the bag in her hand. There's no pushing it into the can. It looks to me like she's got it in one hand and she just drops it. There's no, oh, should I maybe put some other garbage on top of this garbage so that the next person doesn't see a bag of bloody clothes? None of that exists.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And it doesn't even look like it's fastened.

[Bob Motta]

It doesn't. It looks like it's the other handle because those typically, those plastic bags have two.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Again, remember what the prosecution contends was inside that bag? It's the clothing she was wearing, the shoes that she was wearing, and the murder weapon. And then you go to what they retrieved at the dump and they inferred was tossed as well, which would have been the shower curtain. Bob and I have discussed how the defense could have, but did not push back. I would have had all of those things and asked someone to put them into a comparable sized plastic bag so people could get the idea of what it would look like to have shoes, clothing, towels, murder weapon, shower curtain, if they could even fit it. I'll go a step further. I would have tried to pack a bag that size with all of those things, and I would have shown that it probably wouldn't have fit in that 18 inch opening.

[Bob Motta]

Yeah, not without pushing it in.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

No. Bring a comparable sized garbage can into the courtroom and have somebody do it with one hand, you wouldn't have been able to just toss it, Right.

[Bob Motta]

She's dropping it in.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Yeah.

[Bob Motta]

She literally just kind of leans over and just drops it in. Everything that you would think about what would be going through a normal person's mind, if that is what they're disposing, you do not see in this video, imagine that you are driving up to a gas station and you are disposing of bloody clothes that link you to a murder that just occurred that you committed.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Spoiler alert. I wouldn't have done it at a gas station with cameras everywhere.

[Bob Motta]

There's not a chance. There's not a chance. In terms of a trial, the fact that there was no resistance, not only am I testing the theory out that it's impossible to shove that much stuff, and you have to take into consideration bloody towels or rags that were used to also clean up. You can see what you're throwing out and where you're doing it. And there's no way that that is a bag of bloody clothes. A murder weapon and shoes and rags or whatever.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And a shower curtain and a shower.

[Bob Motta]

Like, does that mean that she didn't do it? Not necessarily in and of itself. Does it mean that? I don't think there's any way in hell that that's what she was disposing of there. Absolutely. 100%. Like, I would die on that hill.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Special prosecutor Mudge also contradicted the claim. Beverly was wearing flip flops, quote, so she tells police she had on flip flops. It's December. She just went to Walmart. Flip flops? No. And that they fell off her feet while she is walking or pacing around the kitchen. Have you ever paced around your own kitchen and your flip flops just fell off of you? Unquote.

[Bob Motta]

I can't tell what kind of footwear she's wearing. Does it look like she's wearing the flip flops to you?

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Yeah, because it doesn't look like she's wearing shoes. You can see the color of her arms, and she looks like she's wearing cropped leggings. So you can see that it doesn't appear that she's wearing shoes, which is right in keeping with what a flip flop would look like on a foot. Keep in mind that special prosecutor Mudge scoffs at the thought that she would have been wearing flip flops to Walmart. But it's interesting. If you scroll the footage before Beverly even pulls up multiple people, there's a guy who gets out, and he's wearing a cutoff, like, T shirt with the sleeves completely removed. It's December, but it was unseasonably warm. I also think that if you had just murdered someone and, you know, remember, the prosecution contends this was after the murder, she would have been covered with bloody scratches and bleeding hands. Why would she have been out and about in a T shirt? And so Again, we have the magically clean, then bleeding again hand. So her hands were bloodied, the prosecution contends, when she was murdering Jade. Then meticulously and miraculously they are cleansed because she goes back to the office and types without any blood anywhere for another 51 minutes. Then she further cleans up and goes to hawks to dispose of everything, comes back and her hands are bloody again.

[Bob Motta]

It's a magic bullet theory. I mean, it doesn't add up. Like, to me, the whole time frame of the state just never made any sense. And the main reason is for what you pointed out, which is that the fact that she got back on the computer and worked for damn near an hour, which requires her to type. She's not on a mouse, just clicking, she's having to draft emails, she's using the keyboard. And if you've got an active bleeding wound on your hand, the concept that there's not one iota, not one speck of blood anywhere in that office, anywhere on that keyboard, anywhere on that desk, nowhere, is implausible to me. That is a really, really bad fact for the state, which again, should have been absolutely highlighted by the defense in this case.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And speaking of blood, there's something else. Beverly's friends claim she was triggered by the sight of it. My name is Katie. And your relationship to Julie, I would consider her best friend. How long have you known Julie and how did you guys first meet? School, about second or third grade. She was very squeamish. She didn't like blood, she didn't like violence. So I never. And I never saw her around it. I mean, her brothers wrestled around and we messed with her sometimes, but I never saw her in violent situations. She just tried to avoid it. When you say that she didn't like blood, are there any specific examples that you remember? Just like movies, like Nasty Dory movies and stuff like that. She's just not into it. Even if Beverly didn't have a history of avoiding blood and gore, her gender also places her as somewhat of an anomaly in terms of stabbing murder. According to this man. Name is Arthur Lariggio. I am a professor of criminology and of psychology at Loyola University Chicago. Stabbing murderers. If you use the term murderer, you're going to be talking about a man nine out of 10 times, at least in the United States. The age and the socioeconomic background can vary, but it's usually a younger rather than older man. And socioeconomic background is usually at the lower end of the continuum rather than the higher end of the continuum. If the person who is the perpetrator of a stabbing is successful in killing the person, there's likely to have been some forerunners. That's not going to be the only incident in which there's been a perpetration of violence. Mental illness is usually not a factor in stabbings or any other kinds of killings. Usually doesn't mean that it's not. It just isn't as common as people imagine that it is. Stabbing offenders typically have prior violent criminal histories. I think that they probably have some prior acts of violence in their record, but that's not always the case. Alcohol and drugs absolutely influence the likelihood of a stabbing attack in terms of the demographic patterns among stabbing murderers. In terms of gender particularly, what do you attribute that 9 out of 10 likelihood of it being male to? Part of it is the biological nature of being male as well as the manner in which men are socialized from boyhood on. There's less restrictions placed on their engagement of violent behavior. Violent and aggressive behavior is sometimes rewarded or is sometimes not disciplined in the way it might be in a girl. And so it's accommodation. There's a strong biological component to violence and it has to do with the presence of testosterone. There's violence that's instrumental, that's conducted to accomplish a goal that would be premeditated violence. And then there's a motive violence that comes about with an increasing escalation. And many times a mode of violence involves drugs or alcohol, more alcohol than drugs. There aren't many drugs that cause people to become violent in the way that alcohol does. It's interesting because in this case there is a belief that meth could have played a role. Oh sure. Meth is a drug that also is related to violence. Nuts would be a drug that I would not at all be surprised to hear played a role. Murder on Songbird Road will continue after the break. During tax season, your sensitive info does a lot of traveling to places you can't control, stopping off at payroll, your.

[Bob Motta]

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[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

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[Bob Motta]

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[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

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[Bob Motta]

Investigators used phone records through Ms. Beverly's Verizon cell phone and combined that data with various surveillance video footage to see that a vehicle matching the description of her. Her vehicle drove to a Hucks. And Marion, when the vehicle pulled up into the Hucks parking lot, it pulled up next to a pump, and the driver of the vehicle pulled out an object out of the vehicle and put it into a trash can at the gas station.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Okay, so you were searching for trash.

[Bob Motta]

We were searching for trash that could be involved in the commission of this crime.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

As the testimony continues, note how the word trash morphs to also cover not just what was discarded at Hucks, but what was excavated at the landfill. Okay, so were there any items of evidence collected through the trash?

[Bob Motta]

Yes.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

What were they?

[Bob Motta]

So there were two. Two broken knife blades, one with serration on one side and one with serration on both sides. And then a curtain, a multicolored curtain.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Okay. And these items were, as you previously testified to, were they compacted with medical waste and contaminated soil, like the process that you previously testified?

[Bob Motta]

Yes.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

All right, looking at People's Exhibit 365. Is that the curtain you described?

[Bob Motta]

Yes.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And 366. What is that?

[Bob Motta]

It's a knife blade with some serration.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And 367, the other one is a.

[Bob Motta]

Knife blade with serration on the bottom side there.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Okay. Those items were. Would have been collected and turned over to the investigating agency, is that correct?

[Bob Motta]

Yes.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And in the photographs of the knives? I noticed some. Well, did you notice anything in the photograph of the knives on the knife blades?

[Bob Motta]

Some discoloration in this area here, down here on that one. And it's broken off.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

They also have some soil on them?

[Bob Motta]

Yes, right there.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Nothing further, you, Honor. All right, what do you make of that exchange?

[Bob Motta]

It's ridiculous. It's the thing that upsets me the most about this entire trial, that any of this evidence was admissible in any way, shape or form to allow them to bring it in under the guise that. Well, look, we're not going to allow them to say it's the murder weapon or that the curtain is from the house. But they did all this work. They had 20 people out there for hours. That concept that they allowed that to come into this trial, and the impact that that had on the jury is, to me, going to be one of the major factors in the appeals, I will not be surprised if this is one of the reasons that this case gets overturned, that the conviction gets overturned and it's remanded. It is that big of a deal that they allowed these knives to come in that had nothing to do with this crime. This shower curtain, which was not from that home. Which, like, what is the implication from it?

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Well, there's also a very slippery transference of the use of the word trash.

[Bob Motta]

Yeah. That's how they did it. So in terms of kind of the lawyering aspect of it, when you're putting together that particular cross examination in conjunction with what mudge had described had happened, they're combining the thought of what trash is from trash that's being thrown in a garbage can to that it's the same thing as trash that was pulled from a landfill. It's slick lawyering. To make it sound like they're one and the same to that jury is what's so scary and disingenuous.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

What's also interesting is there was this disconnect. We couldn't figure out why so many people thought that these things were found at the trash from hucks. That's why. Because you could have been sitting in the same room. And it's just clever wording. It's wordplay, and it's deceptive.

[Bob Motta]

It is.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

When we spoke to brenda and bailey, Very, very, very sincerely and authentically, There was a very real disconnect about what was found at hucks.

[Bob Motta]

How could there not be?

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Having seen the video, you and I were waiting to see the car go out of frame and circle back to where there's some other dumpster.

[Bob Motta]

Right.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

There was no dumpster involved.

[Bob Motta]

They thought in their minds that they saw her go to a dumpster. That's how impactful that one little portion of testimony was in terms of planting a seed that did not exist. That concept of that's her disposing of the murder weapon as well as the bloody clothes is huge. It's huge evidence for them. And it was done in a way that the judge made a horrific mistake Allowing that evidence to come in at all. And then it was compounded by the way that they used some word salad trickery to get the jury to think that they were talking about something that they weren't, which is a garbage can. Again, I will be surprised if, in fact, this case is remanded, that that will not be one of the major factors that caused because that has a massive impact. 100% when you're kind of lacking Any kind of other physical evidence in the case like this, there just isn't really any physical evidence like that becomes smoking gun type evidence.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

It's also interesting to note that officer Sloan, the same officer who claimed on the stand to have question a woman walking a dog or looking for a dog in a black hoodie, but didn't get her name or address, but knew she was a resident, also testified about observing a bite mark on Beverly's arm. Here's that testimony as it appears in the trial transcript.

[Bob Motta]

I was later called to transport her to the Williamson County Sheriff's office.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And did you do that?

[Bob Motta]

Yes, I did.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Did you ask her any questions along the way?

[Bob Motta]

No, I did not.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Did she say anything to you along the way?

[Bob Motta]

Uh, she didn't make any statements. I believe she inquired of Jade's status. At one point.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

When you were transporting her, did you notice any wounds to her?

[Bob Motta]

I did. I noticed a bite mark on her forearm.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And here's the cross examination by the defense. When you came back to drive Julie up to the sheriff's department, she went voluntarily, correct?

[Bob Motta]

Yes.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

She wasn't handcuffed or anything like that?

[Bob Motta]

No, I don't believe so.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

But she was wearing a large black sweatshirt at that point.

[Bob Motta]

I do not recall what she was wearing.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

You don't recall?

[Bob Motta]

No.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Did she have the blanket on her?

[Bob Motta]

I believe she left the blanket there.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

But you don't know if she was wearing a full long sleeve sweatshirt at that point?

[Bob Motta]

I do not recall what she was wearing.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

All right, what are your thoughts on that?

[Bob Motta]

You know, it's selective memory, right? So the thing that theene's getting at is that you can't tell me what she was wearing, But I have it on good authority she was wearing a long sleeve black sweatshirt, which means that you wouldn't be able to see her forearm. And again, like, this is the same cop that we're dealing with that, that dealt with that. Either critical or not critical. Person dressed in black walking the dog. And this is like a low key, really big point because either this guy's completely fabricating what he saw while he's driving, or he's got a really bad memory. We know that she was wearing a pullover hoodie. So the question then becomes, how is this guy noticing a mark on her arm? Does he have X ray vision? Is he Superman?

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And there's another interesting cop connected testimony. The neighbor who happened to supply the second video referenced of car footage used in the building of the prosecution's timeline also happened to know one of the responding officers One who happened to stop by his house on the way to responding to the 911 call. Here's that neighbor's testimony.

[Bob Motta]

I actually went to the correctional academy with Officer Ward from the Marion Police Department department and that's who it was. So he stopped and he told me that they too were looking.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Objection.

[Bob Motta]

For a male suspect.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Hearsay. No, I. I withdraw that. And here's how the exchange continues. Okay. After that, were you made aware that the police were no longer looking for a male in black?

[Bob Motta]

Yes, my wife. She's my ex wife now, but my wife at the time she worked for the Marion Police Department.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

I already find it suspect that the second camera footage comes from somebody who went to the academy with one of the officers and his wife works for the Marion Police Department. That's just too convenient that then it's pretty cozy. It's also pretty convenient that the footage obtained from the home was deemed to be 44 minutes off so as to sync with the also off time of the Huck's footage and cell tower pings. But none of that was challenged. We'll be right back with Murder on Songbird Road.

[Bob Motta]

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[Bob Motta]

It's really, really problematic.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

As alluded to in our last episode, one of Beverly's close friends, Leah, who had traveled to support her during trial, was asked to leave the courtroom because members of the jury found her problematic. Do I look threatening to you? No. I was removed from the courtroom because I was threatening the jury by sitting in the front row. What were you doing? She was sitting looking around. I was behind her. I was looking around. They. I was the darkest person in that courtroom at her trial and they did everything they could do to get me out of that courtroom expeditiously, including asking Julie to ask me to leave, which they did. They allowed Julie to walk over to her house. And because Julie Asked me to leave. I stepped out. They were worried that they were going to have a mistrial because I was intimidating the jury. That's what they. By sitting there. Theme said that the jury members, the all white jury, they were intimidated because I'm black. The all white jury, they had called the bailiff over. And so we took a recess. And during the recess, so they said I was taking pictures of their vehicles and they were worried that I was gonna follow them home or have I took pictures of their license plates and that I was sitting there staring them down, that I was staring them down and giving dirty looks. I'm not in there smiling. It was Julie's trial. I was distraught, but they said that I was a threat, that I was threatening the jury. How many out of 12 said that I was a threat? I think four. I think it was four. Yeah. Four out of the 12 jury members had a problem with me specifically just sitting there for the trial. Back to Bob.

[Bob Motta]

This isn't a situation where she's out of order. She's not screaming, yelling, saying anything. She's merely looking at the jury trying to figure out the same way that I am every time I'm sitting there. Are they buying this? Are my points hitting home? She's allowed to look and observe at anything that she wants to. This whole concept of staring, staring into someone's soul from out in the gallery. But like the reality, Lauren, is. Is that is how the juror that we spoke to felt.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

We have indeed spoken to a juror whose anonymity we will protect. They shared their side of the Leah situation. Here's the juror. It was when we were leaving at the end of the day, one day. But there was somebody sitting in a car with a big justice for Julie sticker on it that was taking videos or pictures of us walking out.

[Bob Motta]

At least that's what it looked like.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

It was a black. I think it was a black Ford car. So for us, it was scary. You know, like you hear stuff sometimes on tv, like people following jurors home and killing their whole family type stuff. And you don't know what anybody's like. Did we necessarily think that? I don't know what anybody else thought, but I know I was scared. Without consulting the parties, the trial judge privately questioned four jurors in chambers. Though unrelated during the process, concerns about the black car and the juror's observations of Leah in the courtroom appear to have merged into a single issue.

[Bob Motta]

The bigger point about the whole Leah situation is that it really does kind of illuminate the mindset that you're dealing with down there. It's like, Leah can't been the only person who was looking at the jury recently. I went and watched a trial from beginning to end. It was three weeks long, and I spent an awful lot of time looking at the jury hard. I'm trying to figure like, they're the.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Only people that matter. Yeah. Yeah.

[Bob Motta]

They're the only people that matter in that courtroom. They are the 12 people that are sitting there deciding somebody's fate. I'm watching them. Are they paying attention? Are they making faces? How are they reacting to that evidence? It's just what you do. They are kind of mandatory viewing if you're sitting in on a trial like, you watch the jurors because they are the beginning and the end of it all.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Yeah. The power rests with them.

[Bob Motta]

The bigger question then becomes is what is going on extemporaneously around them that's making them have this fear. Fear. What else is going on that's making them feel like, man, is my life in danger here?

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Beverly was asked to have Leah removed because it was going to prejudice the jury against her. Ironically, that it was a reflection on Beverly, that it was her friend who was making the jurors uncomfortable. And when you go back and you actually read that portion, they were originally talking about a black car, not a black woman. Also problematic are reports we've received about what the court clerk allegedly sent back with the jury foreman as the jurors went back to deliberate the verdict.

[Bob Motta]

You and I have been trying to kind of nail down the concept of what was sent back to the jurors. To compound this even more, what they were sitting with in that deliberation room. And we know that they're sitting there with that box of knives back there. The knives that have nothing to do with the crime. Wrap your mind around that.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

I cannot wrap. It's so prejudicial. And the fact that it is common practice that while deliberating, a jury can ask for more things, for more clarification. Absolutely. But we now have multiple sources confirming that the jury foreman was handed by the court clerk a box that contained those random utensils retrieved from the dump and autopsy photos as they were heading into deliberation. Multiple people who were in the courtroom have expressed they witnessed the box of evidence being sent back with the jurors prior to deliberation. Here's Renee Hightower. I remember the box going to the foreman, and they were still in the jury box when it was given to them. And they Were sitting there for a moment, and then he carried it out as they left. And who handed it to the foreman? The clerk. So the court clerk handed the jury foreman a box before they went into deliberation. Correct. Did you know what was in the box at the time? I assumed it was evidence, but I couldn't see in it. I could see things sticking out of it, but I couldn't see in it. What were you told? It was after the fact. As they were taken out for deliberation. We were all walking out. And that's when thee told me she said she had never seen anything like it. That they gave the jury the whole box of evidence. This is Beverly's friend Katie's recollection. I do remember. I think it was the bailiff. I'm not really for sure who it was. Somebody handing one of the men in the jury something. And he kind of just sat there and looked at it with a dumbfounded look. And then they got up to leave to go delivery. I just remember him just looking at it, just dumbfounded, like, what am I supposed to. What is this? What am I supposed to do with it? And this is what we were told by an anonymous juror. What do you remember about the jury being sent into deliberation? And what do you remember being sent back to deliberate with in the room? A box of all the pictures. And then there was knives in a box. When you say a box of all the pictures, what were the pictures of? Jade's autopsy photos. How is that not prejudicial?

[Bob Motta]

Well, it is when you're sending them back and pretending as if they are the murder weapons. It's unbelievable.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

How is that allowed, though? And what does that mean?

[Bob Motta]

Wait, are we trying to figure out how Judge Greene was operating here? I, like, I. I can't crawl into that man's brain.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

I have formally requested an interview or statement from Judge Green regarding the so called evidence sent back with the jurors for deliberation and the removal of Leah from his courtroom. Additionally, I have asked the judge to address any connection to the immediate removal of Julia Beverly's son while she was a pretrial Det. Haney in Williamson county, as well as other potential conflicts of interest. This includes his affiliation with the same church attended by the Beasley family and allegations that he wore pink, widely associated with the justice for Jade movement on at least three of the six days of trial. Furthermore, despite denying having a social media presence at Beverly's sentencing, Greene does indeed have a Facebook account that shares mutual connections with the Beasley Family. While I copied the Williamson County State's Attorney on my request. It has gone unanswered.

[Bob Motta]

We've looked at the transcripts of this trial. It's paper thin. There is no actual evidence of guilt here. They just never could prove that she was the person who actually did it, other than by her own misstatements and lies. When you look at everything else in the totality of the circumstances, you can see how shaky they thought their case was.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Something that is very much underscored by an exchange from the end of Beverly's three hour interrogation the day of the murder, and how the prosecution had it edited for trial. So do you think when Jade was.

[Bob Motta]

Getting stabbed, was it like this? Was it kind of off to the side? Because, you know, some people swing lower.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Direction, some kind of go from the.

[Bob Motta]

Side, some's over like this.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Which way do you think it was? From what I could see on her back, it definitely looked like it. Okay. It was definitely up and down like this. Was it kind of real quick? Was it like go in, kind of wiggle a little bit?

[Bob Motta]

I mean, which way did you do it?

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

I didn't do this. Okay, here. Here's. Here's the thing. Okay? We know you've been through a lot. Don't tell me that I did this to her. I did not do this to her. There's some things that we're going to have to sort out.

[Bob Motta]

Just stop right up.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Well, then help. No. Help us through it then. Help us through it. No. Okay, Help us through it. I'm not talking anymore. And you think I did this to her? I am not talking to you anymore. She was not my blood daughter, but she was still a daughter to me. It's one thing to hear it, but I want listeners to understand how difficult it is to watch.

[Bob Motta]

It is.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Eggmeyer is really over gesticulating every single move as he makes this stabbing motion. What's interesting to me about her reaction, you can see how she's trying to hold it together, honestly thinking she's being helpful. And in that moment where she realizes he shifts gears to how did you do it? Not how did he do it, but how did you do it? And immediately she reacts with sincere shock and horror is what it sounds like.

[Bob Motta]

Well, she breaks down immediately. It really speaks loudly to innocence to me. That whole last minute that I watched was, that's not somebody who did it.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

What I find so interesting about that exchange is what they chose to cut out before it got to trial. The last line that they cut out is, she may not have been my blood, but she was a daughter to me. The intention of cutting that out. If you think the person is 100% guilty, what are you trying to. Right.

[Bob Motta]

What are you afraid of?

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Yeah.

[Bob Motta]

Why are they cutting that out? You know, it's like there is no reasonable explanation for it other than they're trying to have everything fit into their narrative. And their narrative has to be that Julia did not feel that way about Jade and it's just not how it was.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Sentiments that made this next exchange, taped at the end of January 2024, even more impactful for everyone involved. Without further ado, Renee Hightower. Jason Flom. Hello, Renee, it looks like you're in your car and nice to meet you. Sorry for what you're going through.

[Bob Motta]

Your family, it's awful.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

But hopefully we can. Together we can fix it. At least make it better. So Renee's been up since before 6. In the backseat you will see Julie's eldest son, Jaden, wave. Jayden. Awesome. And next room is Jaden's cousin. And they all made the three hour drive this morning at the break of dawn to visit Julie. Oh, it's so nice. Except for it's not because. Yeah. Yep. So, Renee, I called Jason. Jason had had dinner several weeks ago with Kathleen Zellner and I expressed that you had reached out and that the firm had responded saying that they not taking any more pro bono cases this year. A quick aside. Pro bono work is when lawyers provide free legal services to people who can't afford them. The term comes from the Latin phrase pro bono publico, which means for the public good. Chicago based attorney Kathleen Zellner is one of the most formidable forces in wrongful conviction advocacy. Notable clients Zellner has represented include Steven Avery, Kevin Fox, Ryan w. Ferguson and 19 exonerees who were listed in the national registry of exonerations. Renee had already reached out to someone in her office. I kind of gave a brief story of her case and he called me back and he said that unfortunately her pro bono has maxed out. But he gave me a flat fee of $20,000 for the appeal alone. Just the appeal. And he said that they did call the appellate court down here and they found out exactly where it's at and that no public defender has been assigned just yet. So they're still waiting on all the transcripts to come in. And I believe she has like 25 and she's got nine of the 25 so far. And the most important one, the trial is still not ready a year later. Yeah, administrative bureaucratic Nonsense. But yeah. So I don't know what Lauren, I call her lbp. Told you or didn't tell you. So I spoke with Kathleen. I mean, $20,000 for Kathleen Zellner is an incredible price, obviously, but not if you don't have $20,000, obviously, then it doesn't matter. But I did talk to her. We've recently connected and we really hit it off. I don't know how we didn't know.

[Bob Motta]

Each other before, but she's a force.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Of nature and she's really interested in. Is great. I confirmed that when I spoke to her. So I told her, look, if. If it's $20,000, I'll foot the bill for that. Because I think she. If anyone can get Julie out, it's her. And I think she can, and she probably will. Thank you so much. I don't even know what to say. No, I'm happy to do it.

[Bob Motta]

This is what we're here for, and.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

I'm lucky to have the access to those kind of funds. So I'm excited to get started. I mean, if this would be the best deal of the century, if this is what it is, and if it works, that'll be the best money ever spent for real. I so appreciate it so much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, all of you. I can't even begin to say thank you enough, I swear. But we'll take a little of the burden off of you for a change, so that's good. And like that. In an incredible gesture of generosity and compassion, Renee Hightower and Julia Beverly had something they desperately needed since December of 2020. Hope on the Next Murder on Songbird Road. Minds are changed.

[Bob Motta]

Zero chance of somebody just walking around back here.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Yeah, and unfortunately, this is not the kind of neighborhood where you would have ring cameras or no way. As knocking on doors in Marion leads to a major breakthrough. Oh, my gosh. He has tattoos. He would be identifiable. And the concept of beyond a reasonable doubt is revisited. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. That's huge. Murder on Songbird Road is a production of I Heart Podcasts. Our executive producers are Taylor Chicoin and Lauren Bright Pacheco research, writing and hosting by Lauren Bright Pacheco Investigative reporting by Bob Motta and Lauren Bright Pacheco editing, sound design and original music by Evan Tyre and Taylor Chicoine. Additional music by Asher Kurtz. Please like subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. You can follow me on all platforms at LaurenBright Pacheco and email the show with thoughts, suggestions, or tips at Investigating [e-mail] for more iheart podcasts, visit the iheartradio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your favorite shows. Thanks for listening.

[Bob Motta]

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[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

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[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

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[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

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