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Detective J.L. McElfresh
Neighborhood.
Anya Cain
And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone. Check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date? Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.
Detective J.L. McElfresh
Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.
Anya Cain
Anyways, only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.
Ashley Jones
Anya.
Anya Cain
I'm Anya. And this is the second episode in a miniseries about a sprawling murder investigation in Indiana's Jackson County. If you haven't already, go back and listen to the previous sweet death episode so you don't get lost.
Kevin Greenlee
Stephen White was caught dead to rights. Detectives had him on camera burglarizing the home of his best friend's widowed mother while she took her elderly parents on a trip to Tennessee, sneaking into an empty house, violating the space and feelings of safety of his victim, Marsha Allen. And then, to add insult to injury, he accused her of murdering her husband, Harold.
Anya Cain
His story struck Lt. Adam Nicholson of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office as pretty out there at the time. Now, there was something compelling about White, something charismatic, convincing. But. But he was also clearly manipulative and very over the top. Plus, he had every reason to try to drag his victim down with him. And then there was Marsha and how she acted in that interview with Detective Clint Burcham. She and the detective had built up a good rapport throughout the conversation. Unbeknownst to Marsha, Lieutenant Nicholson was watching the whole thing in another room.
Kevin Greenlee
But Lieutenant Nicholson couldn't just dismiss White. Like any good investigators, the folks at the Jackson County Sheriff's Office would need to follow the evidence rather than their own assumptions. Detective Clint Burcham posed the question to Marsha just right. May we have your phone? Light, casual, like it was nothing, Marcia
Anya Cain
Allen's response was immediate, of course. Sure. She had nothing to hide. Watching the video of that first interview, she seems so confident, so eager to help, so open and honest. She's sympathetic. You feel for her. Only a tiny flicker of regret seeps through, though. After Detective Burcham comes back with all the paperwork, Marcia asks a bunch of questions. Logistically, she needs her phone after all. How soon could she get it back? It's an understandable feeling.
Kevin Greenlee
Detective Burcham did a great job reassuring her. He promised they would get her phone back to her as quickly as they possibly could. She handed over her phone. And that was it. There was no going back. That set everything in motion. The mystery of what happened to Harold Allen would soon unravel. The detectives didn't know it, but they would soon be on the hunt. And the murderers would be left hurtling towards a deadly conclusion. Because by the time this story ended, Harold would not be the only one dead.
Anya Cain
My name is Anya Cain. I'm a journalist.
Kevin Greenlee
And I'm Kevin Greenlee. I'm an attorney.
Anya Cain
And this is the Murder Sheet.
Kevin Greenlee
We're a true crime podcast focused on original reporting, interviews, and deep dives into murder cases. We're the Murder Sheet.
Anya Cain
And this is Sweet Death. The Murder of Harold Allen, Part 2. The Witches of Freetown.
Ashley Jones
Sam.
Kevin Greenlee
Any police investigator will tell you that real life investigations are slower and less exciting than the ones they show in film and on television.
Detective J.L. McElfresh
Phone downloads don't work. Like, you go download the phone, and then 10 minutes later, it's ready to go. I mean, you have to put it in there, you have to let it download, let it run its course, and then it runs a report, and then there's a PDF report, and then it doesn't organize everything. You know, you still have to. You know, I think there was 40, over 45,000 pages and her phone download. So, like, it didn't say, like, okay, here's the phone download, and here's the part that talks about, you know, the murder. So you have to go through every single page. You have to go through every page, every message.
Kevin Greenlee
How long does that take?
Detective J.L. McElfresh
Oh, it took months. It took months and months and months.
Anya Cain
Extracting the phone fell to Detective J.L. mcElfresh. Meanwhile, Detective Burcham ended up getting onto yet another murder case, still a rarity for Jackson County. So Lieutenant Nicholson ended up becoming the lead detective. That meant that he would need to dive into Marsha's phone extraction. There's something uncomfortable about getting to review a person's phone. It reveals the inner workings of one's life, one's thoughts, one's feelings. Lieutenant Nicholson couldn't have known that the awkwardness would fade into straight up horror in no time as he got to the texts between Marcia Allen and her adult daughter, Ashley Jones, Harold's stepdaughter. He didn't know it, but he was about to dive headfirst into a chasm of deceit and dysfunction.
Detective J.L. McElfresh
You know, I was looking at messages at home. I would download. I took the. The. Just the PDF version because I didn't have a storage device big enough to. To hold this phone download. But so I just took the PDF version of the, of the messages and took them home and was like reading messages at home and going through what's
Anya Cain
it like going through someone's whole detritus of their life like that?
Detective J.L. McElfresh
Well, I felt like that I knew exactly who she was, you know, by the time I was done, I knew a lot more about her than she would have ever wanted me to know or wanted anybody to know. Because I mean there's a lot of personal stuff that goes into messages and photos that you send. Just a lot of things that are meant to be between you and either one person or a group of people if it's a group message. But yeah, it was different but you know, it come to a point to where you just ignored everything. There was nothing else I wanted to hear about. I didn't want to hear about what she was having for dinner. I didn't want to hear what she was ordering from Walmart. I wanted to know what happened to Harold, you know, what happened to Harold, how it happened and you know, just the evil of the messages.
Kevin Greenlee
To Lt. Nicholson's surprise, there were indeed some pretty concerning things on Marsh's phone. Stuff that pointed to the most shocking possibility of all that Stephen White was telling the truth about Harold Allen's death.
Detective J.L. McElfresh
Didn't really mean that she'd done it, but they were definitely concerning. You know, like what else could this mean? You know, like what else could it mean except for this? But it wasn't enough.
Kevin Greenlee
We are going to perform those messages for you now. This is just a sampling of the messages between Marsha Allen and her daughter Ashley Jones. These texts began to paint a disturbing picture of what happened to Harold Allen.
Anya Cain
On October 8, 2022 at 11:48am, Jones texted her mother, Marcia. Ashley Nicole Jones was living with Marcia and Harold at that point, along with her romantic partner and children born in November of 1993. Jones was about to turn 29 then. She had a wide face and pale blue eyes and light brown hair like her mother's. She wore glasses with thick rounded frames. She had been married before to a man named Tireson Jones. They had a child before his death in 2019. Jones lived in the same house as Marcia, but they texted incessantly.
Detective J.L. McElfresh
You know, I, I mean I think that they messaged more than anybody I could possibly imagine there was. I mean I, I want to say 24,000 messages is what we come up with. And the, the strange thing about that is not just how many times that they messages was the strange thing to me about it was is that they were in the same house. They were in the exact same house. And like mom would be sitting at a table and Ashley could be sitting across from her. Instead of saying something, she would message her. Or if she was in the next bedroom, instead of getting up and walking in there to talk to somebody, she would message her. Weird. To me that's weird. But I'm sure glad that they did it that way because if they wouldn't have done it that way, we wouldn't have had all this evidence trail. So whether whether it was laziness of just not wanting to walk in and talk to somebody or what it was, but it ended up helping us out.
Kevin Greenlee
That morning, Marsha and Harold apparently got into some kind of verbal confrontation.
Anya Cain
What the hell was he starting this AM btw and no problem. I love you too.
Ashley Jones
Lol. Did you hear what I said?
Anya Cain
No, I heard loud usage of the F word and I'm not arguing about this. Lmao.
Ashley Jones
Let's just say I gave him six gummies and some of the cream before I left and looked at him said what I said but he was sitting there smiling happily on the couch. I will not put up with it to talk to you that way and he better learn that one of that staff. I'll explain everything when I get home. But my anger went crazy.
Kevin Greenlee
Then Marsha sent her daughter a photo message of a loose leaf page. The paper listed firearms. A Browning Sweet 16, a long rifle, a special steel 16 gauge, a Smith Wesson 5 shot and their estimated prices.
Ashley Jones
Look these up.
Kevin Greenlee
Mother and daughter launched into a topic that appeared frequently in their money. They discussed the quality of the firearms and the price they might fetch for them. They talked about how to maximize their profits for the guns, not to mention the house and land. It struck Lieutenant Nicholson as odd. Harold seemingly died of sudden natural causes, but his wife and stepdaughter seemed to know that all of his stuff will be available for sale soon. Harold's guns, the house, the land. They knew all of that months before Harold's death.
Anya Cain
They talked about other things too. Regular mother and daughter things, like gardening. Well, maybe regular is the wrong word. Same goes for the gardening. Actually, what Jones and Marsha were actually talking about was their grow. As in their marijuana grow. As in they had a whole thing of marijuana growing in their basement. On October 10, 2022, Jones texted her mother at 10:12am watering the girls.
Kevin Greenlee
The girls were blooming cannabis plants, photographed under purple light.
Ashley Jones
Marsha told her, damn, they look good.
Kevin Greenlee
Jones had Marsha convinced that growing their own marijuana in the basement would earn them the big bucks. That is something that comes across so clearly in these texts. Jones always has some kind of angle. Get rich quick schemes, big money, opportunity moves to new states for a better life. She's always swinging between desperation and some out there vision for becoming rich, famous and successful. On October 11, 2022, the topic of conversation shifted from the girls in the grow to something else entirely.
Ashley Jones
I think we are all ready to
Anya Cain
be settled beyond it's coming though. Yes, it is the drama before the chill and peace.
Ashley Jones
Yes, it's always like that.
Anya Cain
Seeds come today in the mail. Seeds. More gardening talk. We'll learn more about the nature of those seeds in a future episode.
Ashley Jones
Yay.
Anya Cain
Now we are all adults, Kevin and I, you listeners, Lieutenant Nicholson. We all know families fight. Sometimes people say mean things about those they love. Other times marriages break up and lead to hard feelings. But there's no crime there. But still, even considering that much of what Marsha said to Jones about Harold was vicious, mean spirited, petty to the extreme, and frankly, at some point it was just dehumanizing. It wasn't that she had stopped seeing him as a person she loved. It was that she stopped seeing him as a person at all. To her, Harold was now a problem to be solved, or even possibly a demonic force in the household.
Ashley Jones
What?
Anya Cain
Yeah, more on that later. But either way, the following texts sent on October 13, 2022 show Marcia mocking and disparaging Harold to her daughter and Jones joins right in, egging her on, fanning her hatred.
Ashley Jones
Try not to bomb it while reading this. Lol.
Kevin Greenlee
Marsha then proceeded to copy and paste Harold's message to her. It was not explicit, but it was intimate, private, and full of yearning. So naturally she shared it with her daughter to mock him. Harold talks about missing her, how he wanted to make her feel good, how he longed to do that once more. How he wasn't concerned about his own needs, only hers.
Anya Cain
Lol. Is that what he said? Omg he's losing it.
Ashley Jones
That is what he said to me.
Kevin Greenlee
She sent over even more screenshots. They capture Harold desperately trying to reach out to his wife. Marsha accused him of only wanting sex. Harold told her he wanted her in his arms, to just hold her. How much he missed her.
Anya Cain
Marsha dismissed him, said they were together every day. She alluded to some wrongdoing on his part, saying she could never go back, but that she was trying to get past it.
Kevin Greenlee
Harold promised her that he would never do anything to hurt her physically and he never meant to hurt her verbally. He apologized profusely saying he did not intend to hurt her and that he would never cheat on her. He didn't have a wandering eye because she was the only woman for him. Before Marsha came into his life, Harold assumed he'd lived the rest of his life alone. Then she appeared. Like a miracle. She was special and he knew it. He opened up to her. He believed he was made for her. He apologized for typing out the love letter so quickly. Marsha simply responded that his typing was accurate, more so than when he was slower and more methodical about it.
Anya Cain
Mother and daughter then resumed tearing into Harold.
Ashley Jones
You're right he is losing it. Lol.
Anya Cain
He has lost it. Wow.
Ashley Jones
I know he's going to be left lol. How did she didn't come into it lol.
Kevin Greenlee
Then Jones let drop some surveillance she did on Harold. She would do this. Oftentimes in these texts she would clue Marsha into yet another reason she should despise Harold. Like she was trying to turn her mother even more against him. Like she was trying to justify what they were going to do to him.
Anya Cain
Idk his search history is gross. What hell's angles do with woman ect? He just pops up. No cheating here. No one said that but whatever it is what it is hurtful af.
Ashley Jones
Still though, what is his search history
Anya Cain
lol on YouTube deep in there is women half naked in bikinis and weird gross stuff so the eyes wander. This is a big bullshit lol his
Ashley Jones
search history is always gross.
Anya Cain
I just stumbled upon it when doing back to find one. I watched about brownies lol I was
Ashley Jones
like gross okay lol he was resetting his password the other night lol. Like I can't go into your phone and get them whisky. Was it a recent video?
Anya Cain
What the hell?
Ashley Jones
I'm not sure but I'm not worried.
Kevin Greenlee
So not only were they ripping into Harold when he tried to connect with his wife, but they also seemed to be spying on him. Or at least Joan's claimed to Marsha that she was. And to be clear, as you'll soon find out, it's hard to take their claims about Harold's misdeeds seriously. Maybe he did have a gross search history. Or maybe Jones was just saying that we simply do not know.
Anya Cain
On October 15, 2022 at 9:58am, Marcia and Jones hashed out their grievances with other relatives. Jones complained about somebody, possibly a child in her household. We won't dig into that too much out of respect for their privacy. Plus that name is Redacted in the files. It may be a romantic partner or a romantic partner's dependent, but suffice to say, these texts and other texts include many, many instances where she is describing how much she hates this individual, how much she wants them gone from her life, how much easier everything would be without them. It's a little bit frightening to read.
Kevin Greenlee
Meanwhile, Marsha was ticked off that Harold's mother was asking for their Hulu password. How she hated her mother in Law's Chattiness on October 21, 2022 at 8:43pm, Marcia and Jones texted about how good their cannabis products were going to be. They smoked a leaf and were happy with the strength. Then Jones apologized for a previous interaction.
Anya Cain
I'm sorry I brought the extra stress to you. I know you have enough on your plate and I love you very much.
Ashley Jones
It's not you, it's him. The closer it gets, the more evil expelled from him.
Kevin Greenlee
As lieutenant Nicholson went deeper into the text, that was one pattern that concerned him. The women were not just criticizing Harold or even blasting him. They did not just hate him. Marsha and Ashley dehumanized him. They talked about him like there was something wrong with him. Not physically or cognitively, but supernaturally. Like he was a man possessed by by a demon. Lt. Nicholson found that Jones in particular had some out there beliefs, beliefs she passed on to her mother, Marcia.
Anya Cain
I do not know how exactly to summarize Ashley Jones's beliefs, but her worldview, as stated in her texts at least, was one that emphasized the paranormal, the supernatural magic. She seemed to believe that through obtaining certain herbs and objects by incanting certain spells, she could harness that magic. In other words, she appeared to believe in some form of witchcraft, although I do not recall her describing it in such terms. Other terms you might use are some form of spiritualism or New Age beliefs. I did not see any evidence that she subscribed to any sort of structured belief system around these topics. More that she cobbled it all together herself. One of her notable paranormal beliefs centered around demonic possession. Now to be clear, I am not here to criticize or pick at anyone's sincerely held religious, spiritual or personal beliefs, or lack thereof. You believe what you believe. As true crime podcasters, though, we find that problems mostly arise when a person's beliefs prompt them to behave in a violent or antisocial manner that violates the rights and dignity of others. You also begin to see a pattern. Deceptive, murderous people tell themselves stories that are deeply self serving. They use belief as an excuse, as a shield, as A motivation that is to say that Jones's personal demonology turned out to be a pretty convenient belief given what happened. Because demons are evil. It is not evil to fight evil, to destroy evil. One cannot go too far in terms of exterminating an evil demon. So Harold became the vessel of an ancient demonic entity to preserve the feelings and self esteem of these two women. They weren't plotting against an everyday Hoosier human being with a job and friends. They were demon hunting.
Kevin Greenlee
On October 23, 2022, Joan sent Marsha information about amulets and crystals and clearing out old energetic contracts.
Anya Cain
If it'll make Harold feel better, all the herbs stuff is in the Bible and cleansing from the spirits sent to pray on your soul. Lol.
Kevin Greenlee
She's not actually offering something to help Harold. She's trying to offer Marsha an excuse to explain her suddenly shifting spiritual practices. They worried that the demon in Harold might grow suspicious of the incense and crystals. The following day, starting at 6:42am, Joan started texting Marsha about how a child in her household was being possessed.
Anya Cain
Seemingly they look like us, but black and orange eyes telling her not to listen. I'm still getting what I can while I can.
Ashley Jones
Being morphed into us. Who are they and what do they want?
Anya Cain
They want us to take her to a cemetery and they tell her they are love and we are the real monsters.
Kevin Greenlee
It's scary stuff. Not the alleged demonic possessions. I do not believe that happened. But rather the casual cruelty, the ascribing of everyday family problems to something evil and sinister. The paranoid targeting of a young child.
Anya Cain
So where better to shop for demon killing products than Amazon? Marsha sent her daughter links to a set of 45 crystal gemstones used for witchcraft as well as a cancer candle and a white sage smudge spray. By Jones's telling, demons were responsible for so much in the Allen household. The aforementioned child's behavioral problems, Jones's relationship struggles, the sudden death of her cactus plant. Seemingly everything Harold did. Marsha seemed to eat all that up. She and her daughter were witches or whatever, magic practitioners capable of sensing and pushing energy and casting spells and wielding sage brushes to ward off cactus murdering demons. I suppose there's a comfort in that for a certain type of personality, in feeling like you really wield more control over other people and external happenings than you really do. Jones and Marsha seemed to ignore the real place. They actually had control. The control they had over their own behaviors and actions. That was less interesting to them, I suppose. But things were getting out of control at Least according to Jones, the evil was surging. They needed to fight. Jones told her mother on October 27, 2022 that her powers to stand up against the evil magic were ebbing. She was weakening and struggling to sense and push energy. They needed aloe. They needed mugwort. They needed rosemary. They needed a home protection spray. They needed a salt line. They needed essential oils. Stat. Lol. We need to wake the hell up. Lmao. We have been in such a stump. Lol. We will soar when we have our peace.
Kevin Greenlee
Then Marsha wrapped up the conversation by
Ashley Jones
texting he looks terrible.
Anya Cain
Omg. Really?
Ashley Jones
Yep.
Kevin Greenlee
Magic was in the air. The good and bad kinds apparently. But the following day at 8:36pm, Marsha reached out about more practical concerns. Harold was sick.
Ashley Jones
He stayed home. Called out. Says he's chilling with a low grade fever 100.3. He's a big ass baby. I knew he was going to play sick two days ago. He doesn't want to work anymore. He's depending on the business to get him home permanently.
Anya Cain
That's not going to happen for him.
Ashley Jones
Nope, it is not. What kind of man refuses to do whatever it takes to to make sure your wife doesn't sleep on the couch? He's so self absorbed.
Anya Cain
He's is just a waste of breath. And I understand. I know you're beyond tired and pissy.
Ashley Jones
I can just feel his negativity.
Anya Cain
He's full of it. Even his spot on the couch is affected.
Ashley Jones
I know he's texting me. My patch has got approved. My patches are just 20 now he's
Anya Cain
up so he is bragging about cheap fentanyl. Smh. Sorry I'm over it with you.
Ashley Jones
He said. The back of my eyes hurt.
Kevin Greenlee
Jones and Marcia would do this thing in these texts. A pattern. Lieutenant Nicholson noticed it. We noticed it too when we read through these. They'd walk up to the line of admitting something, of confessing to doing something to Harold. Then they'd walk it back and talk about how everyone in the household was feeling sick and experiencing similar symptoms or how they felt sorry for him. This time though, Joan seemingly forgot to do that.
Anya Cain
That's not what I have lol. That's the other you know though.
Ashley Jones
Lol ikr I said take some Motrin. Lol.
Anya Cain
I love you. How are things at home?
Ashley Jones
Love you too baby girl. I don't like being near him. He's just negative and I feel like he's just full of negativity. And poor me, he expects me to wait on him which I Didn't. It's just weird.
Kevin Greenlee
On October 29, 2022 at 9:11am, Marsha texted her daughter. She had awoken to hear harold vomiting
Ashley Jones
at 3am the veil is thing and the dead and the evil is walking among us. Use your protection spray.
Anya Cain
I have used it and I'm still sick. Yes, without Zofran, I'm bored and sad.
Ashley Jones
Lol. I should have went. His ass hasn't gotten off the couch.
Anya Cain
I can't believe he hasn't budged. I'm sorry you're sad.
Ashley Jones
I'm headed to the store. I said, well, I stayed home to spend time with you, but that was a waste of time. He said I should feel better tomorrow.
Anya Cain
He is.
Ashley Jones
I said, I am not you. I don't do anything that will make the other person sick. Unlike you.
Anya Cain
And had to fake the sickness.
Ashley Jones
He puked once.
Anya Cain
Okay. And we are supposed to sympathize?
Ashley Jones
Apparently. Lol.
Kevin Greenlee
Then Marcia sent Jones a picture of her cat Cece. She said she thought Cece could see a dark entity floating above Harold's head.
Anya Cain
It is so wild and horrible to read stuff like this. And to see a picture of this cat just sitting there being a cat. And knowing that Harold was sitting nearby in his own living room. He had no idea that his wife was texting his stepdaughter about their cat glimpsing dark entities hovering above him.
Kevin Greenlee
On October 30, 2022, at exactly midnight, Marsha checked in with her daughter. She divulged Harold's symptoms.
Ashley Jones
He's sick. He can't eat without throwing up.
Anya Cain
He caught it. Is he going to the er?
Ashley Jones
Yes, he did. No, he's not. He's drinking the fluid IV he throws
Anya Cain
up before it can rehydrate him.
Kevin Greenlee
The morning of Halloween, Marcia complained to Jones that Harold, who had been sick that night, did not go to work. She said that Harold snapped at her when she was asking after his diarrhea.
Ashley Jones
He says, I don't want to shit my pants at work because I'm too far away from the bathroom.
Anya Cain
He's such a dickhead. Ugh. I'm sorry. He's gross and mean.
Ashley Jones
Yes, he is. I'm just ready for him to go. I guess I was meant to be alone and do my own thing. I am so looking forward to our future plans.
Anya Cain
Me too. I'm extremely excited.
Kevin Greenlee
Jones and Marsha were going to buy a tiny home, maybe in Colorado, and make a lot of money growing marijuana. All that could happen only after Harold was gone.
Ashley Jones
Everything in me repels him the following
Kevin Greenlee
morning on All Saints Day, Harold awoke feeling weak and dizzy.
Ashley Jones
Well, what do you expect? You didn't get off the couch in four days except you used the bathroom. Can't sit in one position 24, 7 for four days and not feel weak. He even slept on the couch.
Kevin Greenlee
She added that he weighed 288 pounds now. He had lost 10 pounds in just a few days. The following day, Jones recommended that her mother touch Harold run her hands along his injection sites. Harold was diabetic. Jones wanted to know how those injection sites were feeling to the touch. Were they getting thick?
Ashley Jones
Smooth, no bumps. What are your thoughts?
Anya Cain
It's going perfectly.
Ashley Jones
Then.
Anya Cain
Had it been tough, it would have been the adverse effect or the more common bodybuilding tolerance, which we didn't want. Smooth is what you want.
Kevin Greenlee
He pushed by Marsha. Harold headed to work the next day. With him out of the house, Marsha checked her phone. She kept tabs on his spending. He had gone to Wendy's for grilled chicken and apple bites, an attempt to keep healthy. She was furious. The meal cost $15. When she texted Jones, she gloated that Harold kept her informed about how work was going. At first he said it was good. Then he admitted that he kept nearly falling asleep.
Anya Cain
Marsha seemed jubilant. Of course he was falling asleep. Of course, he hadn't really been having a good day. After all, he didn't deserve a good day, at least as far as she was concerned. But Harold's mysterious illnesses and the waxing and waning of his symptoms stressed Marsha out all the same. On November 7, 2022, she expressed her worries to her daughter.
Ashley Jones
We have to get everything settled before he gets fired.
Anya Cain
What? What did he say?
Ashley Jones
He has said twice now. Once his boss said he doesn't want to fire people, but he will if he has to.
Kevin Greenlee
In fact, Harold has sent her a whole text about this. He was having a bad day at work. He made a mistake. This created a big delay. He was worried. Harold concluded the text by telling Marsha he loved her.
Anya Cain
On November 11, 2022, Marsha watched the skies. She waited for omens.
Ashley Jones
The crow flew over the house and I just heard three. Then I said, what does four mean? And it repeated with five. Lol.
Anya Cain
Lol. It was like I meant five lmao. I'll see what four means though. Four is a sign from the universe saying press on. Whatever idea was just had or discussed, press towards it.
Ashley Jones
Okay, so we're on the right path.
Anya Cain
Yes, ma'.
Ashley Jones
Am.
Kevin Greenlee
Carol spent most of the night in
Ashley Jones
the Bathroom getting sick, poop issues I guess.
Kevin Greenlee
His back and legs were cramping and he couldn't sleep from the pain even when he laid down. Joan speculated that he had gotten a sickness. She had had. Genuinely, she said. Marsha noted that Harold asked her about her special witchcraft bracelet and around that time his watch started flickering.
Ashley Jones
Whatever is attached to him is not happy at all.
Anya Cain
Marcia was distraught. Around this time she and Harold had gone on some kind of vacation. They were staying at a Candlewood Suites
Ashley Jones
and I turn around and he's texting work. I for real just want to cry. I do not spend 1,000 to set in a hotel room while he talks to work and complains about pain.
Anya Cain
It is so odd to read this part. We've just seen Marcia bash her husband to her daughter constantly berate him about almost everything, hint at doing something sinister to him to make him sick, talk about how he's literally infested with demons. And yet she's upset about his inability to achieve a work life balance. Jones replied informing her mother that the evil beings in the home were throwing cat feces around. She emphasized this many times. Cat feces was all over the place and it was definitely the demons that did that, not anybody else.
Ashley Jones
Obviously things are going as planned.
Anya Cain
Exactly. And we all will have peace.
Kevin Greenlee
They talked about the marijuana grow. They seemed to want the plants to be ready before something permanent happened. But there was a problem. Harold was on shaky ground at work.
Anya Cain
She could go another 30 days honestly into budding. But there's not a point. He told you last week and for months they want to fire him. You don't have the 30.
Ashley Jones
Honestly think how much do we have so far? I mean I know not for what we planned but how much?
Anya Cain
Idk tbh won't know until it's done. I guess before of how it will be at full finish. I have no idea how it will affect it. But they have been thrown into the dark to flower faster again. Not worth losing the 64. You'll get within a month from the job of. You know what I mean. That's immediately the grow is slow then steady money not worth the trade. We can go back and do this again when settled and no one will know. That's always going to be there. You know people always want it. This. This is time sensitive. The big plan. One shot. I was thinking the whole plan. It's all I've been thinking about taking it apart so no one else can. The usual make sure it's perfect. No ego in it. Lol. I'm over it with you lol. In that same conversation, Marsha had more news. The crows were back. She saw two then five and heard three or four squawks. Two means dollar sign. Dollar sign around the corner after a hardship or loss. Five means someone close is very aisle or in pain. Three cause means your message is received. Good luck is on your way. Four squawks is your own the right path. Here's confirmation. Luck is with you. And the crows were just saying hey I got you. The guides got you. You're going to be fine. Lol.
Ashley Jones
When it's all said and done, the past will be over and forgotten. It's being trapped with everything else.
Anya Cain
Agreed. Smiley face. We shall walk forward in light and love and step into the future we have already built. Smiley face. It's already happened. Smiley face.
Ashley Jones
Yes it has.
Anya Cain
One will be just strong and I mean strong edibles. I'll keep eight out for his special treat and and make an infused coconut oil with it for the recipe. We will get that stuff Sunday too. Expressing powder dark and milk chocolate, caramel, sea salt ect. Some coconut oil.
Ashley Jones
Okay put it on the list. And black walnuts.
Anya Cain
I got you black walnuts. Smiley face on the list lol.
Ashley Jones
We can say the nutty flavor is from the nut and I can make some banana nuts bread later. And with the black walnuts.
Anya Cain
Oh we got this. I'm chef researching how to fix a bitter dish.
Ashley Jones
I look at him and I think what a waste of life and talent. You sure picked a mess plan for yourself.
Anya Cain
It will be fun though and they will enjoy watching them have fun. Lol. Yeah he could have done a lot with the skills he has but he's blind and picked a doozy. But it's what he wanted to learn and that's the only real solace that at least in the review he will see what he did and know how to fix it. And a lot. He will have to try again but sheesh.
Ashley Jones
Lol. I am like well you refuse to wake up so this is your plan.
Anya Cain
You're right, he does refuse and the negative has to go for everyone's good, even his. This version will be gone. He will go try again in a diff way. LOL.
Kevin Greenlee
On November 18, 2022 at 8:08pm, Marsha told her daughter about Harold's latest sin.
Ashley Jones
Lol. Later we were watching Family theater and the question was what occupation sees the dead? One of the answers was a psychic. He laughed and said this is the stupidest answer I saw. People cannot see the dead see the dead, they are lying about it to make money. I said do you really believe that? He said no one can see people or talk to them when they are dead. I said okay. And I rolled my eyes.
Anya Cain
Marcia knew he was wrong. She was pretty sure she could see a dead man right in front of her at omg.
Ashley Jones
The negative energy was thick. After that I let my candle burn for a long time on my night's
Anya Cain
understand and it's been scientifically proven over and over. Mediums can and we all have the spiritual immune system and gifts. It's just how we individually enhance and get them. Some people see it right in front of them. Some people have it like a memory. Some people feel each emotion and hear voices. Some get written messages, ect. Ect. All tools for the same kind of connection to the other side. You connecting with the energy of that loved one as they were then and their story as well as a piece of their energy. It's complicated. Lol. Energy doesn't die, it changes form. So I don't see how the mediums are lying to steal money. Lol. Some fake it. But the good ones, you know, they have to hate the skepticism when the work's hard as it is. LOL. Word vomit.
Kevin Greenlee
LOL On November 19, 2022 at 9:04pm, the vacation was ending.
Ashley Jones
He said, I wish we didn't have to go home. Said I am beyond ready to go
Anya Cain
home in the morning. Jones said that she had put oil in a pumpkin bar. She gave it to someone and it made that person vomit. They would need to give Harold only a fourth of that. Jones seemingly didn't want him getting medical help or thinking he was overdosing. On November 26, 2022 at 10:20pm Two days after Thanksgiving, Marcia checked in.
Ashley Jones
He ate almost all.
Anya Cain
It was large but good.
Ashley Jones
I think he ate most of it, don't you?
Anya Cain
I think so. Smiley face.
Ashley Jones
He's asleep, snoring.
Kevin Greenlee
Fr Lmao At 11:05pm Harold made it to the restroom.
Ashley Jones
LOL. He's on the toilet pooping and moaning some.
Anya Cain
LOL. Which toilet?
Ashley Jones
Mine.
Detective J.L. McElfresh
I mean I couldn't believe the hatred and the evil and just the from people in his own house that he should trust the most. You know, like his wife and his stepdaughter that he invited into his home. You know, like allowed her to come in and there was no regard for human life. So seeing that picture of the Brownie and within 1520 minutes of the picture and him eating the brownie, Marsha had sent Ashley messages saying he's in the bathroom pooping and moaning and this one sticks out and that's why I mentioned that part, because Ashley then says which bathroom? And to me, I remember what went through my mind was the only reason you would ask what bathroom is so you could go listen and you could go listen to a grown man in pain and suffering and moaning. You know, I was like, she's wanting to know which bathroom to go to so she can listen to this guy and, and that she's tortured with this and thinking he's going to die because in all reality, I mean, he should have died and I'm sure he felt like he was dying.
Anya Cain
Well, I'm sorry. Maybe it's the food and then the trees. He might just have to sleep it off and hydrate. Smiley face.
Ashley Jones
Probably. He said he thinks the pizza didn't set well with him earlier.
Anya Cain
Probably not.
Kevin Greenlee
The next day at noon, Marsha dreaded having to go to Harold's mother's home for a belated Thanksgiving celebration.
Ashley Jones
I really do not want to go to his mother's.
Anya Cain
I know you don't. I had a feeling this would happen though because of the size of it and how slow it moves. That it would take a couple days and be what you asked for. But we will see and do what we gotta do regardless. I love you. I'm sorry I woke up ill and couldn't assist much this AM.
Ashley Jones
It's okay. We just got here.
Anya Cain
Okay, well we can discuss things tonight or tomorrow. Whatever. We are fine. Regardless. End result never changes. I love you.
Kevin Greenlee
Harold's mother was going to serve them her homemade pie. Harold had some but Marsha had had enough.
Ashley Jones
Love you too. I just want it done lol.
Anya Cain
Me too. Like beyond over. Lol. But we got it.
Ashley Jones
Like what's taking so long? He's off balance. Said he had trouble getting out of the car.
Anya Cain
The weight. It takes 12 hours for a woman at 180 to feel anything. You do the math. LOL. It's slow and previously Ty was only 120 LOL. So it's the weight.
Ashley Jones
So it's gonna take a while.
Anya Cain
48 max. We will know. And he's high still. I gave him a lot of weed. Butterfly. You don't know what he has because of that lol. Could be nausea happening and everything.
Ashley Jones
Lol he's making me mad.
Anya Cain
What's he doing besides just his usual
Ashley Jones
lol I just want you to know my love for you hasn't changed and never will.
Anya Cain
Wtf.
Ashley Jones
I said what's going on? This was last Night.
Anya Cain
What does he mean by that? LOL. What happened?
Ashley Jones
I have no idea. It was around 11:30pm I went to bed, he came back and used the bathroom, laid beside me and said that that's insane.
Anya Cain
But oh well. Oh well. So ominous.
Ashley Jones
Ikr, massive dizzy spell just hit him. He's trying to shake it off.
Anya Cain
I'm sorry your anxiety is going nuts and. Dizzy spell?
Ashley Jones
Yep.
Anya Cain
When do y' all head back? Smiley face.
Ashley Jones
Hopefully soon.
Anya Cain
For real?
Ashley Jones
We are in the er.
Anya Cain
Omg. What's happening to him?
Ashley Jones
The numbness in his face and jaw.
Anya Cain
What all happened? He was fine earlier. Besides dizzy. OMG.
Kevin Greenlee
Marsha replied with Harold's blood pressure reading. 141 over 59.
Anya Cain
OMG the bottom. Scary. WTH. I'm sorry. If you need me, let me know. What hospital did you go to? Seymour.
Ashley Jones
Seymour.
Anya Cain
Okay.
Ashley Jones
He's fine. They're checking him out, saying his pancreas dumped too much insulin after eating pie.
Anya Cain
Okay, that can do that to your bp?
Ashley Jones
Yep. So we will be heading home soon. I will talk to you when I get home. He has diarrhea. Doctor says it's going around.
Anya Cain
Ugh, that's never fun.
Kevin Greenlee
On November 28, 2022, Harold called out early. He was still feeling unwell, still experiencing vomiting and diarrhea. He sat in the living room relaxing and recuperating. Marcia was furious.
Ashley Jones
He's pissy.
Anya Cain
Pissy how? Just being a sick dick.
Ashley Jones
I said, did you call work? He said, there is no way I can work. I said, that's not what I asked you. I said, did you notify you were. Yes, I did. I said, you need to start listening to what I asked. He said, I can't hear. Sorry. I am irritated and can't sleep peacefully. I need this to be over. It's hanging on by threads. And he's mean and narcissistic. He snaps and and acts all sweet and innocent like I am being mean to him for days now.
Anya Cain
You need to rest away from him. Frfr. I wish you could go away for the night or nap at nannies and come back not to look too crazy. Lol. And he's an ass. As you've been so nice and it is hanging on by a thread. It's so long because he's big. Meanwhile, Marsha was convinced that the cats were acting differently. Cece was already a demon seer as far as she was concerned. But now her other cat, Bella, was also getting in on it.
Ashley Jones
Cece won't leave my side. Bella kept looking at him, tried to come to me but he kept trying to get her to come to him. They both slept on me or near me.
Kevin Greenlee
Joan said that her pets were also on guard.
Anya Cain
Bunny stayed with us and Knox man the hall. And Cece knows they don't want near it.
Ashley Jones
None of us do. It's pissed.
Anya Cain
It's attacking us all.
Ashley Jones
Yes, it is. I would keep the kids with you till this is over. It's trying to find something to attach to. He sounds healthy.
Anya Cain
What do you mean he sounds healthy?
Ashley Jones
He just took a call. Sounds good.
Anya Cain
It's vomit, pottying too much and then hours later randomly, you know. And well, we will see. I feel like it's just a slow process. And he's on so much meds. It helps with the symptoms but doesn't get rid of them.
Ashley Jones
My opinion, his stomach still hurts, but face is better.
Anya Cain
He said that's fine. Face was a random symptom, not typical.
Ashley Jones
Anyway, he is not presenting like the stories. Just vomiting and diarrhea.
Anya Cain
We also have God knows how many that aren't reported or know how it grows.
Ashley Jones
Only.
Anya Cain
Only know the stories of self inflicted. And we will see. If not we will do something else. But I think it's slowly doing it. He's on the couch like that still
Ashley Jones
with his back pain. That is the stillest he's ever been. Not one movement. Maybe an arm twitch, but that's it.
Anya Cain
In the text, in sort of a winking tone, Jones blamed Harold's mother Caroline for his sickness. She singled out her piece. He looks so pale and sick. Her cooking did a number.
Ashley Jones
He's been sick since he ate the pie.
Anya Cain
Well, it was raw crust and raw eggs in the mix. Lol. You have to bake the crust first, then put the mix, then bake again.
Detective J.L. McElfresh
It was right at Thanksgiving, so he had had some Thanksgiving pie, pumpkin pie I think is what it was. And at his mom's house that his mom made for him. So they made him feel like his mom that she had made this pie for him and he had ate that and that's what made him sick, you know. And it's just awful. It's awful.
Anya Cain
Have you offered him something to drink? See how he responds to it?
Ashley Jones
No, I don't want to bother him. Last time I talked to him yelled at me.
Anya Cain
What's he talking about? Any headaches?
Ashley Jones
That comes with yes, headache and feeling sluggish.
Anya Cain
Okie dokie.
Ashley Jones
He's got diarrhea now.
Anya Cain
That sucks. Lol. The following day at 3:40am Jones voiced her worries once again. Harold would be missing work. He can't keep calling out. He has to let them send him home.
Ashley Jones
That's what I say.
Anya Cain
He is stupid. He needs to go to work. He's gonna get fired. I mean, I'm sure he's got points to be used, but still.
Ashley Jones
Still that's what I feel.
Anya Cain
He can't sad face. I mean it's okay, but it's not, you know. Lol. Like things would be fine, but still.
Ashley Jones
This needs to end for real. Almost 48 hours.
Anya Cain
I agree. We can't control that part though.
Ashley Jones
He's been texting his mother. I swear he's milking this. He flat out does not want to work. If he sneezes, he calls out lol.
Anya Cain
He's behind milking it. And what is he saying to his mom? Bitching about her pie.
Kevin Greenlee
Harold felt like he was dying. On November 30, 2022, he took himself to the hospital. He texted Marcia, who screenshotted his message and sent it to Jones. He said he felt so weak. All he wanted to do was lie down. His stomach hurt. There was blood in his stool. The emergency room was a madhouse. When the physicians and nurses got to him, they took his blood. He saw one physician and then another. He tested negative for COVID 19 and influenza. They wanted to test for an infection in his bowels.
Anya Cain
Amidst sharing all that, Marsha gave Jones her McDonald's order. 10 piece chicken McNuggets with hot mustard sauce and a meal with a large Dr. Pepper. She went back and forth between texting Jones and pumping Harold for information about his illness. She was very, very eager to know if the physicians had a working diagnosis or at least an educated guess.
Kevin Greenlee
Harold said they thought it was diverticulosis or diverticulitis. Diverticulitis happens when small pouches form the colon wall due to lack of fiber and aging and become inflamed or infected. They gave him medicine for the cramps and nausea and told him to take off the rest of the week from work.
Anya Cain
On December 1, 2022, Jones opined that Harold and his demon were making everybody in the house sick.
Ashley Jones
I'm pissed, sick and tired. He just needs to let go. He's still bleeding.
Anya Cain
I'm sorry. And I told her I feel like it's get or begotten.
Ashley Jones
I swear that is how I feel. I mean, how long is this going to last? Fr he said the bleeding is slowing down. He hasn't gotten out of bed. Just goes from side to back to side.
Anya Cain
He didn't go to bed till two or so. I don't Think. And no drinking, eating or meds. He's up in the bathroom now.
Ashley Jones
He's drinking and taking those meds from the hospital. Hella well. He ate some chicken noodle soup and feels like he's gonna puke. He said I need to stop eating and take some medicine before it starts again.
Kevin Greenlee
They then got into a conversation about ordering something. Jones asked for $32, a reasonable price as far as Marsha was concerned and quick shipping. It would arrive in just a few days. Marsha sent the money and Jones finalized the mysterious order.
Ashley Jones
Now we need to fix it. Lol. We got this beyond the next morning
Kevin Greenlee
Jones provides a hint about what the order contained.
Anya Cain
You can't touch the plant when they come Gloves.
Ashley Jones
Lol. That's what I was going to tell you. Also you will need gloves.
Anya Cain
Ah oh I know I'll need to wear gloves and have some time alone to prepare the root.
Ashley Jones
Omg why does he come in my room all sniffling and saying I want people to look at us and know how much I love you. I said what's this about? Nothing. I was thinking about Joanne and Uncle Bob. They didn't get around or visit family much but they had each other and that's all they needed. I just wanted you to know that I love you and you're all I need or ever will need. I'm sick bro. Wtf?
Anya Cain
Lmao. I really think he just wants you alone. None of your family, none of his. Just alone. Lol. He is always hinting it indirectly on top of he wants people to think he's a good one.
Ashley Jones
He's not though and everyone sees it. I don't have to say word lol. I was dead asleep when he woke me up to that bs. He was thinking about not going to his uncle's funeral tonight. I said you will regret that. He said I know I will probably go. I said I'm not going. I do not feel good. So you'll go alone.
Anya Cain
He needs to go and just drop in the hole too.
Ashley Jones
Lol Idr we all have it.
Anya Cain
I knew it. Well that explains attitudes and lack of appetites. Cough on him.
Kevin Greenlee
Lmdao lol on December 8, 2022 at around 2:48pm Jones was having a bit of trouble handling something. Perhaps the plant she could not touch.
Anya Cain
Do we have anything that can squish these while in the jar? Lol. Just a little squeeze to really get the good stuff out more the next
Kevin Greenlee
afternoon Marsha expressed worry. Harold's brother James was visiting. He was at their mother's Home. Harold was eager to see his brother and his nieces and nephew. This was an unwelcome complication to the plans Jones and Marsha had.
Anya Cain
So do you want to wait?
Ashley Jones
He's in the military and will demand testing for cause. I don't know what to do. Are you close to home?
Anya Cain
Yes, I'm at the dollar store getting cigs. Then I'll be home. I'm not worried about that FR tbh. And I can explain why he can run his mouth all day. They won't do crap, military or not.
Ashley Jones
I'm just done all the way around.
Anya Cain
They will look at him and be like, oh God, he's riddled with grief. And try to get him help so he doesn't snap ptsd. They won't do anything he asks. They can't.
Ashley Jones
Well, his whole family is in town. Lol.
Anya Cain
Conflict of interest. And they won't take him seriously. Unfortunately, veterans are not respected when they get back as they should be. True, they get labeled honorable, but damaged.
Kevin Greenlee
Early the next morning, Marsha went through Harold's treasured possessions. Paintings of the Cardinals of Pete Rose, Star wars figurines for the PlayStation 4, Disney Infinity game, musical instruments, a guitar, a mandolin. She took pictures and sent them to Jones. The following day, she served her husband a Sprite just before noon.
Ashley Jones
It's gonna take him forever to drink that Sprite. I will do it differently tomorrow.
Anya Cain
Okie dokie chilly and we shall see how it goes. Lol. He might knock soon. Lol. It's strong stuff.
Ashley Jones
I hope so.
Anya Cain
On the evening of December 12, 2022, just before eight, Jones randomly checked in on how Harold, a man she apparently loathed, was enjoying his margarita. I can't drink anymore. Hurts me. But it's good. Lol.
Ashley Jones
It's good. He loves it.
Kevin Greenlee
Later, she said, Harold felt dizzy.
Anya Cain
He drank that awful fast. Lol. Alcohol's a trip.
Kevin Greenlee
Joan sent Marsha a screenshot of a Dynaline order for half a gallon of raw ethylene glycol. It cost $24. She paid extra $60.86 for second day air from the United Parcel Service for $84.86 total. The next morning, Marsha texted Jones a screenshot of informed delivery from the United States Postal Service. Mother and daughter tracked the ethylene glycol shipment together. The next day, Jones was out of patience.
Anya Cain
God, that stuff needs to hurry. Lol. I'll make dinner tonight. I saw a recipe on Tasty. Looks good.
Ashley Jones
Yes, it does.
Anya Cain
I think it'll arrive faster.
Ashley Jones
It will be here Tomorrow I am 30 like planned. We don't have much stuff coming here like last year. Well, I'm emotional too and can cry at any moment over the smallest thing. Lol. I think we are all releasing all the pain and frustration of all the trauma we've been through because everything is about to change for the better. I've been hearing so many people say we have switched dimensions again.
Anya Cain
On December 17, 2022 at 11:48am, Jones announced a preview of the menu for that night. We will be doing slushies tonight. Lol. I might get some new syrups like green apple. I think Walmart has that one later. Smiley face smiley face. You have the cherry and blue?
Ashley Jones
Yes. Do we have everything we need?
Anya Cain
My shipping still says on the way and it's not here yet but it should deliver soon. They usually come about what time does
Ashley Jones
it say after delivery?
Anya Cain
Not yet.
Ashley Jones
They come anytime between noon and 5pm, sometimes before noon.
Anya Cain
Okie dokie. Smiley face. Nothing yet. I'll let you know.
Ashley Jones
Okay.
Anya Cain
Still nothing. Sad face. And it can't be with ice. I just saw that and thought omg. Duh. Lol.
Ashley Jones
What then?
Anya Cain
So slushies were out and Jones was out too. She told Marsha the next morning that she didn't want to celebrate Christmas with Nanny and Poppy, her grandparents. She felt the judgment from them. She didn't have the capacity for it, as she put it. Marcia said she'd lie and say her daughter had COVID 19.
Ashley Jones
If things go the way they're supposed to, it'll be awkward anyway.
Anya Cain
Well, we will see how things go today. Smiley face. I'm ready for that to arrive. Tbh.
Ashley Jones
Me too.
Anya Cain
He at work yet or left yet? Yeah, I'll make dinner. Steak, pasta, salad and green beans. You can lie if he won't eat my cooking and say you cooked, but I'm already marinating the steaks. It's the little filets. So not a huge dinner. Plenty of room for floats.
Kevin Greenlee
Marsha even checked in with Harold.
Ashley Jones
He's all in for root beer floats.
Anya Cain
Okie dokie. I'll tell the kids that's what we are doing tonight for dessert. Smiley face root beer floats. At 12:40pm Marcia sent over a picture of a 10 pack of mini A&W root beer cans.
Ashley Jones
LOL. These are 7.5 ounces per can.
Anya Cain
They don't have bigger lol. Or get a couple 2 liters so it's more like 12 to 14 ounce drink topped with ice cream.
Ashley Jones
Yes they do.
Anya Cain
Okay, I do that. Smiley face smiley face.
Ashley Jones
Any deliveries Yet.
Anya Cain
Yeah, but it says out for delivery.
Kevin Greenlee
Then at 2:17pm, Jones messaged with big news.
Anya Cain
The mail is here. Smiley face.
Kevin Greenlee
Twenty minutes later, Marcia hearted that message in Brownstown.
Ashley Jones
Be home soon.
Anya Cain
No worries. I' ma start cooking early so the kids can go down early. Lmao. And so they can run off their floats. What time does he get home?
Ashley Jones
6ish.
Anya Cain
Mother and daughter carefully prepared the root beer floats. They added a special extra ingredient just for Harold's float. That night they served that to him.
Kevin Greenlee
Hours passed. Then at 10:01pm, Marcia texted Jones again.
Ashley Jones
Sorry, didn't mean to wake you.
Kevin Greenlee
The next morning at 7:52am, Jones texted Marsha, you're fine.
Anya Cain
LOL. Three minutes later, her mother responded.
Ashley Jones
Come here please.
Anya Cain
One moment.
Ashley Jones
91 1. Yeah, this is state row 135. My husband's in our bedroom floor. He's non responsive and I need amen for your leave. All right, hold on one second for me. Okay.
Kevin Greenlee
Lieutenant Nicholson looked at the date. That was December 20th, 2022. Harold died that day.
Detective J.L. McElfresh
And it didn't make sense at first. There was a ton of messages that didn't make sense. Like I would read messages and be like, that's weird. Or what they mean. And then the next day, like, or 10 pages later, I would read another message and I'd be like, oh, okay, so that's what that meant. Because I wouldn't understand, or I may not understand what it is until later or after I read a message later. Then I would have to find, flip back and go back and be like, that's what they're talking about. And then you always have to flip back again to make sure you didn't miss something else. So the root beer floats wasn't the first plan. The first plan was like these slushies, they, you know something about the insulin. They're talking about insulin. They're talking about foxglove seeds, some kind of plant with a root, you know, that they're trying to get the good stuff out of the root. And we didn't know anything about the ethylene glycol yet.
Anya Cain
The sinister snickering between Jones and Marcia didn't stop, though, with his death. First they complained about how sore, tired, and mentally drained they were from their ordeal.
Kevin Greenlee
Marsha was the one dealing with Harold's family. She reported back to her daughter that Caroline, Harold's mother, could not stop crying. She seemed amused by the fact that Harold's relatives kept asking her if he had gotten his COVID 19 shots on Christmas Eve.
Anya Cain
Jones complained that she couldn't muster the energy to switch her vibe. Apparently that afternoon they were around family members who actually cared for Harold. On Christmas Day, Marsha visited Harold's family at his mother's home. She celebrated Christmas with them the day after mother and daughter got to work on the money they needed to figure out things like the payout from insurance and Harold's employer and his 401k.
Ashley Jones
I just need past Tuesday so I can breathe.
Anya Cain
Yes I know. Once Tues is out of the way so you can focus on what you want to do next. Peace is next. Lol. We are in the storm after the event then calm comes. They chatted idly about what they'd wear, seemingly for Harold's showing or funeral.
Kevin Greenlee
Then Marsha sent a screenshot of Matthew Allen's post warning his big brother Harold. He expressed his love for his older brother who he called Peanut. Matthew said that Harold adored his wife Marsha and his friends and whole family. That he was a loving and caring guy who had a huge heart. He grieved that Harold didn't get to spend more years with Marsha. He said he had a hole in his heart now and he would love his big brother forever.
Ashley Jones
Found it. Lol. His brother let me read.
Anya Cain
I just got a chance to read it and that was something. Lol. You're right they did think of him as a dad and they love you which is very good.
Ashley Jones
Love you baby girl.
Anya Cain
Marcia sent a screenshot that shows a pending direct deposit from ICE in USA for $1,325.74, Harold's last ever paycheck. Later, Marsha griped that Harold's PayPal receipts made her think he might have been paying someone else for sex. She thought he might have been in love with that person. Oh my God. He was such a dog and deserved what he got. I'm livid. He was blowing money on the so when he would leave early and come home late, he was being a dog. As Marcia questioned Harold's loyalty, some of Harold's friends were starting to question Marsha. On January 8, 2023, Marsha let her daughter know that relatives were asking about Harold's possessions. What happened to the Allen family guns that Harold had and the Allen family ring he had? One of the relatives actually texted her about it. Marcia chided them. Getting access to the safe was the last thing on her mind. She was just struggling to pay for the funeral. Give her a moment. Harold was only gone three weeks. The relative backed off very quickly and apologized. But that wasn't Good enough for Marsha. She asked the relative, if their spouse died, would they want to be harangued about his stuff? She really pushed it. She was the true victim, after all. She was overwhelmed, disappointed, hurt, depressed, at a loss for words, frankly, struggling to just survive. But she didn't expect any of Harold's relatives to understand that. Jones and Marcia proceeded to bash that relative. They called them a bitch and complained about how pushy the family was being, how much they hated them, how they needed to back off. They acknowledged that they probably ought to give the rest of the Allens those three guns and the ring and maybe some family photo albums, too. As a strategic move to avoid raising suspicion, Jones calculated that the loss would only come out to about 1,200 bucks.
Kevin Greenlee
But in the meantime, Marsha and Jones had been plotting to sell off as much as they could. It was as if they wanted to exorcise every trace of Harold from the house before selling off the house and land, too. If they could take a knife and cut his memory out of their lives. They chatted about the value of his motorcycle lift and the prospect of bringing his musical instruments to a shop in Columbus, Indiana, that paid good money for guitars.
Anya Cain
There's something about reading these texts that makes one feel so helpless. It's like you want to somehow go back in time and warn Harold. He did not deserve what happened to him, and he suffered a lot before dying. Lt. Nicholson felt that, but he couldn't go back in time. All he and his law enforcement colleagues could do was get justice for Harold and his family. The texts gave Lt. Nicholson quite a lot to work with. Within that correspondence over time, he noticed a strange pattern forming. The mother and daughter duo had been so close throughout the plot to get rid of Harold. After he was gone, though, there was a subtle shift. Some distance.
Detective J.L. McElfresh
The best I could probably describe Ashley, her personality is probably the evilest person that I've ever come across. And I don't think that this county will ever see a case like this again. At least I hope not. This is a once in a lifetime, luckily, you know, once in a lifetime type of case that hopefully never comes back around. It was the most evilest person I have ever, ever had to deal with. Marsha's is kind of a split with me because it's the same, you know, I still think, you know, probably one of the most evilest people. But hers was almost, in a way, though, that was like, would she have been, you know, like, would she have done this without Ashley?
Ashley Jones
Right.
Anya Cain
Lieutenant Nicholson needed to get to the bottom of that. Next what had prompted Jones to turn on her mother? And what evidence could he find to prove that they had really killed Harold Allen?
Kevin Greenlee
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Anya Cain
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Kevin Greenlee
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Anya Cain
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Podcast Date: April 4, 2026
Hosts: Áine Cain (journalist), Kevin Greenlee (attorney)
Episode Focus: A gripping and deeply disturbing investigation into the murder of Harold Allen, unraveling the manipulative, hate-filled plot undertaken by his wife Marsha Allen and stepdaughter Ashley Jones—delving into their personal messages, supernatural beliefs, and the step-by-step orchestration of Harold's death.
This episode picks up the thread from Part One, dissecting the evidence amassed by Jackson County detectives—mainly a vast trove of text messages between Marsha Allen and her daughter, Ashley Jones. Through these, the hosts reconstruct how mother and daughter spiraled into demonizing, dehumanizing, and ultimately plotting the murder of Harold Allen. The title "The Witches of Freetown" reflects both the literal and metaphorical possession that took hold of the conspirators, wove itself into their worldview, and shaped every decision leading up to Harold's demise.
On the scale of the digital evidence:
“Over 45,000 pages in her phone download...You have to go through every page, every message.” (Det. J.L. McElfresh, 04:25)
On mother-daughter dynamics:
“There was no regard for human life.” (Det. McElfresh, 41:09)
“It’s like you want to somehow go back in time and warn Harold...” (Anya Cain, 68:07)
On the supernatural justifications:
“We were witches or whatever, magic practitioners capable of sensing and pushing energy and casting spells...” (Anya Cain, 22:46)
Planning details:
“I’ll keep eight out for his special treat and make an infused coconut oil with it for the recipe.” (Anya Cain, 36:44)
On the murder’s banality and aftermath:
“After he was gone, though, there was a subtle shift. Some distance.” (Anya Cain, 68:29)
“This is a once in a lifetime, luckily, you know, once in a lifetime type of case that hopefully never comes back around.” (Det. McElfresh, 68:47)
The episode is a meticulous, unflinching account of how toxic beliefs and interpersonal enmity can spiral into premeditated murder. Through text messages, the show lays bare the psychology and logistics behind a crime that—on its surface—might have resembled an accident or natural death. Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee’s sober narration and careful selection of original quotes keep the listener grounded in the horror, complexity, and tragedy of the case, making it essential listening for anyone interested in the darkest corners of true crime.
For more in this series, be sure to start at Part One, and stay tuned for Part Three’s continued unraveling of the Allen case and its aftermath.