The Disappearance of Ciera Breland: A Conversation with Advocate Blaire Duncan

Summary

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Episode Summary: The Disappearance of Ciera Breland — A Conversation with Advocate Blaire Duncan

Podcast: Murder Sheet
Release Date: February 24, 2026
Hosts: Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee
Guest: Blaire Duncan

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Main Theme

This episode explores the chilling disappearance of attorney and mother Ciera Breland, who went missing in February 2022. Through an in-depth interview with advocate Blaire Duncan—herself a survivor and now a supporter of women in abusive relationships—the hosts dissect the circumstances surrounding Ciera’s vanishing, reveal insights into the patterns of narcissistic abuse, and highlight the obstacles faced in seeking justice for victims of domestic violence.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Understanding Narcissistic Abuse

• Blaire’s Personal Experience

  • Blaire details her survival of narcissistic abuse, which spurred her advocacy for women like Ciera.
  • Quote (05:37): “I am a person who has experienced narcissistic abuse in a relationship. And I healed from it... and decided that I could use these powers for good.” — Blaire Duncan

• Defining Narcissism vs. Narcissistic Traits

  • Narcissistic traits exist on a spectrum; full-blown narcissists are rare and display a persistent, consistent pattern of manipulation and lack of empathy.
  • Social media and dating apps have amplified narcissistic tendencies culturally.
  • Quote (08:27): “Narcissists don’t seek therapy. Their victims do.” — Blaire Duncan

• Love Bombing and Manipulation Techniques (10:53)

  • Love bombing is described as intense, over-the-top attention designed to create emotional dependency.
  • Victims may be compared to “rats in a cage,” conditioned to expect “sugar” (affection) but sometimes met with “face punches” (abuse/disappointment), keeping them off-balance and hooked.
  • Quote (11:05): "You kind of become like the rat in the cage... victims of narcissistic abuse. I hate to compare people to rats, but... every time you go and press a button, a tablet of sugar pops out. ...But then you push the button and you get punched in the face..." — Blaire Duncan

• Red Flags & Victim Vulnerability (12:51, 14:54)

  • Early “pink flags” are really red; there are no benign warning signs.
  • Those who grew up with unmet emotional needs or in abusive households may be especially vulnerable to narcissists.
  • Quote (14:54): “People who tend to fall far on the empathy side of that scale tend to be really victimized by people who fall far on the narcissistic side.” — Blaire Duncan

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Ciera Breland’s Life and Personality

• Background (21:48)

  • Ciera was a bright, fiery, and ambitious attorney from Georgia, recognized as an up-and-coming legal professional.
  • She was confident and outspoken, making her susceptibility to manipulation all the more confounding to those who knew her.

• Meeting Xavier Breland, Jr. (24:01, 26:24)

  • Xavier had a criminal record and a questionable personal history; he presented himself as more accomplished and stable than he truly was.
  • Ciera was quickly drawn into his web through attention and manipulation, especially leveraging her empathy and desire to help.
  • Blaire highlights how Xavier isolated Ciera and maneuvered her into acting against her own interests (and the law).

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The Downward Spiral

• Losses and Relocation (29:38)
  • After being implicated in breaking into Xavier’s ex’s apartment, Ciera lost her job and her apartment.
  • They relocated to Carmel, Indiana—an affluent, low-crime area—where Xavier continued to isolate her from friends and family.

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The Disappearance

• Lead-Up to Disappearance (32:14 - 37:10)

  • Ciera was providing legal representation for Xavier, including during a trip to Georgia for a court date involving custody battles with his ex.
  • Ciera had told her family she didn’t intend to return to Indiana and had begun preparing to move back home permanently.

• Day of Disappearance: February 24, 2022

  • Timeline (37:10 - 41:04):

    • Ciera is last seen on a ring camera at her mother-in-law’s house in Johns Creek, Georgia at 7:17 PM.
    • After this, she vanishes. Cameras and toll road sightings show Xavier returning to Indiana with their baby and dog, but no sign of Ciera.

  • Quote (40:23):
    “[Ciera] is seen in a ring camera video... at 7:17pm on the 24th. And then she’s never seen again.” — Blaire Duncan

  • Xavier reports Ciera missing only after returning to Indiana, claiming she left their house on foot in the middle of a frigid winter’s night. There’s no evidence to support this story (43:47).

• Law Enforcement and Investigation

  • Investigations confirm that Ciera was never seen in Indiana after the Georgia trip.
  • Authorities quickly shift the investigation back to Georgia; Xavier and his family do not cooperate with police.

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Aftermath: Legal Cases and Advocacy

• Xavier’s Charges (44:18 - 45:13)

  • Shortly after the disappearance, Xavier is arrested for illegal firearm possession, discovered after a neighbor hears a gunshot from his garage.
  • Investigation notes that Ciera had purchased guns (previously uncharacteristic for her), likely for Xavier.

• Advocacy and Involvement (46:31 - 51:36)

  • Blaire describes how she became involved after realizing Xavier matched a man she'd seen on dating apps, and how she connected with Ciera’s family and ex’s network to keep awareness alive.
  • She took on advocacy roles, managing social media campaigns and personally participating in court processes.

• Harassment and Threats (51:59 - 56:51)

  • Blaire shares being sued by Xavier’s mother (a frivolous case) and encountering threats and intimidation in court, including a direct threat from Xavier caught on surveillance.
  • She pressed intimidation charges:
    Quote (55:12): “He said, ‘You better hope you see me before I see you.’ ... And he was right behind me, looking over my shoulder, and he said, ‘Cute kid.’ That lit me up.”

• Testifying in Court (57:07 - 59:04)

  • Blaire testifies regarding the harassment, as do expert witnesses. Xavier is convicted on firearms and intimidation charges.

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Ciera’s Fate & Continuing Questions

• Presumption of Death (59:40)

  • All involved, including her family and law enforcement, believe Ciera is no longer alive, given her total disappearance and devotion to her son.
  • Quote (59:40): “We are no longer looking for a living person. We haven’t been looking for a living person, unfortunately, for a really long time.” — Blaire Duncan

• What Happened to Ciera’s Body? (60:03 - 62:45)

  • Several theories exist: the Chattahoochee River was searched based on cell phone pings, but nothing was found.
  • Attention centers on a missing utility bag large enough to hold her body, suggesting the possibility of disposal in landfill/trash.
  • The time gap and lack of camera footage make it impossible to pinpoint where Xavier might have disposed of her remains.

• Impact on Family and Community (63:15)

  • The tragedy devastated Ciera's family—her mother died soon after, likely of a broken heart; her father and extended family continue to struggle.
  • Ciera’s memory is preserved and advocated for by Blaire and others.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “There are no pink flags. The flag is red.” — Blaire Duncan (12:51)
• “We practice a lot less of our empathic traits when we are behind screens and not face to face to people.” — Blaire Duncan (08:33)
• “You don’t remember who you are.” — Blaire Duncan (36:04, on the effects of sustained abuse and gaslighting)
• “Her mom essentially died of a broken heart.” — Blaire Duncan (63:15)
• “Leaving an abuser, you need to leave. The first time, you can’t go back... or else you could be a Ciera.” — Blaire Duncan (65:23)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [07:15] Love Bombing and Dependency Explained
• [12:51] Red Flags & Vulnerability of Victims
• [21:48] Ciera’s Life & Personality
• [29:38] Career Implosion & Moving to Indiana
• [37:10] Timeline and Details of Disappearance
• [44:18] The Gun Charge Incident
• [46:31] Blaire’s Entry Into the Case & Advocacy
• [51:59] Harassment and Threats from Xavier’s Family
• [59:40] Presumption of Ciera’s Death
• [60:03] Theories on Body Disposal
• [63:15] Impact on Ciera’s Family

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Final Insights and Calls to Action

• The episode concludes with a stark message: when leaving a toxic, abusive relationship, recognize the danger of “going back.” The time of greatest risk is often when the abuser feels control slipping away.
• Blaire, the hosts, and Ciera’s family urge persistence in both public awareness and legal pursuit for justice.
• If listeners have any information on Ciera’s case, they are encouraged to contact the Johns Creek Police tip line at 678-474-1610. A $10,000 FBI reward remains active.

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Tone and Style

The conversation is empathetic yet incisive, blending emotional storytelling with careful, evidence-driven analysis. The language is direct, compassionate, and at times painfully candid about the realities of domestic abuse, the failings in justice, and the human toll behind statistics.

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For listeners new to the case, this episode provides a harrowing but essential look at the personal, legal, and systemic challenges surrounding domestic violence and missing persons. It’s both a tribute to Ciera’s legacy and a cautionary tale—and serves as a call to action to listen, learn, and advocate.

Transcript

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[Kevin Greenlee]

warning this episode contains discussion of murder, violence and domestic abuse. If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233. This episode also contains some profanity.

[Anya Cain]

Sierra Breland has been missing for over three years. When she disappeared in February of 2022, she was only 31 years old. She was the mother of an infant son. She was an attorney who had once been considered a rising star. She was a Georgia native who was living in Carmel, Indiana. The story of her vanishing is one of crossed boundaries and crossed state lines. It's confusing. She was last seen in Johns Creek, Georgia, but her husband, Xavier Breland Jr. Didn't report her missing until he returned with their baby son and dog to Carmel. Xavier is now serving a 12 year prison sentence over firearms charges after a Hamilton county jury found him guilty in 2024 questions have arisen over his behavior and the behavior of those close to him in the wake of Sierra's disappearance. To put it bluntly, their account makes very little sense, and they've been less than cooperative with police. But despite all that, Sierra remains missing. We still don't know where she is. To learn more about this troubling local case, I spoke with Blair Duncan.

[Kevin Greenlee]

We happened to meet Blair randomly one evening, and we got to talking about true crime. As we were wont to do, we could tell immediately that Blair was our kind of person. She works in the legal field and is super knowledgeable about true crime and topics within crime. Blair told us then about advocating for Sierra and her family. She's not been doing any of this for money. For her, advocating for those who have suffered at the hands of abusers is a passion. She just wants justice for Cierra.

[Anya Cain]

Blair will share with us some facts about narcissistic abuse, something she herself, unfortunately, is all too familiar with. Then we'll get into Ciara's case. We will learn more about this fiery and talented woman, the mysterious facts around her disappearance, and Blair's own role in uncovering information and even testifying in court. 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 the disappearance of Ciara. A conversation with advocate Blair Duncan.

[Podcast Host]

Sam, So I guess to start off with, thank you so much for joining us today.

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be here for multiple reasons, so.

[Podcast Host]

Well, we're super excited to have you. And so I guess to start off, can you just tell us a little bit about yourself?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, absolutely. My name is Blair Duncan. I am a lifelong resident of central Indiana. I was born and raised in Kokomo and, you know, moved to the greater Indianapolis area in 2011. I am a person who has experienced narcissistic abuse in a relationship. And I healed from it and, you know, sought therapy and learned a lot and then decided that I could use these powers for good. And so, you know, kind of since emerging from all of that myself, I have always kind of stepped up for women in need. And Sierra Breland became one of those women in. In February of 2022, and I've been advocating for her ever since.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, and that's been some incredibly powerful advocacy, I want to say. But before we get into that. I do want to ask you, just because this is something that can literally affect anybody.

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely.

[Podcast Host]

What are some perhaps things that people should know about narcissistic abuse?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, the first thing that I want to say about narcissistic abuse is that again, to reiterate what you said, it can happen to absolutely anyone. It can happen to people who even have an understanding of what it. You know, kind of. Back when it happened to me, it was something that wasn't as socially talked about. You know, a lot of people throw the word narcissist around because someone's a jerk and they don't like them or they have, you know, opinions of them that, you know, they're. They're not fond of certain things, so they must be a narcissist. But that's actually not what narcissism is at all. You know, these people are master psychological and emotional manipulators, and it can. It can happen to anyone. I guess, like, we should talk about, like, love bombing and, like, phases of things, right?

[Podcast Host]

Like, what are. What are some signs? And actually, before I ask that, I do want to ask you, like, narcissism

[Blair Duncan]

can be a bit of a.

[Podcast Host]

Like, we can have narcissistic traits, but a narcissist is what you talked about there, where this is somebody who is fully fledged manipulator.

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah. So, you know, I think a lot of people, when you talk about spectrum, understand things like autism. Right? So autism is on, you know, a curve. It's on a spectrum. Spectrum where it's severe on one end and not so severe on the other. You know, narcissism is on one end of its spectrum and empathy is on the other end. Right. And so we all have narcissistic and empathic traits. And it's not even a place where we all stay in the same place on the spectrum all the time. Right. It's fluid. And as you live your life and you deal with relationships and you have experiences and you, you know, vibe and thrive off of other people, you. It's fluid on the spectrum. Right. But a true narcissist leaves the far end of the spectrum. You know, to be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, which is what classifies a true narcissist, you have to have at least nine of. I think it's up to 20 like, things now. It keeps growing, right. You have to exhibit these behaviors over and over and over again. It has to be consistent to actually be considered a narcissist. And, you know, to go Even further with that. A lot of people think that narcissism is super rare, and it's actually not. The reason that we think it's super rare is because narcissists don't seek therapy. Their victims do. And so, you know, we have this perception that there aren't a lot of them out there. And, you know, maybe at one point there, there weren't. But with social media and the prevalence of things that allow people to become more self absorbed, we've kind of really amplified those traits within people who may not be so bad if they didn't have a place to exercise it, I guess. You know, I think that social media, dating apps, things like that have. Have really brought a lot of that out in our culture. And we practice a lot less of our empathic traits when we are behind screens and not face to face to people. You know, when we're communicating by text message and not by voice, you know, and lots of things. I mean, it's definitely coming from both sides. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So what are some signs that you

[Anya Cain]

are being targeted a narcissist?

[Podcast Host]

We talked a little bit about love bombing. What does that look like?

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely. Love bombing is crazy. I mean, it's truly a crazy making type of behavior from the abuser. And the first thing I want to say about it is that the abuser knows exactly what they're doing. I want to make that very clear. I think that as a victim of narcissistic abuse, it's easy to have this image of a person. And, you know, while they're love bombing you, they're just really learning everything about you. They are mirroring everything you say right back to you. If you say I love roses, suddenly you get roses every day. If you say I hate bacon, all of a sudden they hate bacon. And bacon is just the worst. They mirror everything that you like and don't and don't like. They make themselves your perfect partner. And they continue to do that for as long as they can hold the mask and as long as they can convince you that they are that person. And, you know, sometimes it's six months, a year, you know, but, you know, most of the time at least 90 days, which is long enough to chemically addict your brain to another person.

[Podcast Host]

That is horrifying. So at that point, you were. You're not just locked in to a relationship potentially, but you. Your brain is kind of expecting more of this love bombing.

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, you kind of become like the rat in the cage. This is an example that I give. A lot of people understand science Experiments where you do something to a rat on a repeated basis, and the rat develops learned behavior. So victims of narcissistic abuse. I hate to compare people to rats, but I'm going to in this, right? So, you know, just imagine you're a rat in a cage, and every time you go and press a button, a tablet of sugar pops out. And you love sugar, so you push the button and you get sugar, and you push the button and you get sugar, and you push the button and you get sugar for 60 days, 90 days, six months, whatever. And then all of a sudden, one day, you push the button and someone punches you in the face or someone doesn't give you the sugar. I mean, it's as simple as that, right? But with narcissistic abuse, it's typically not just taking away the sugar, it's replacing it with something that is indicative of what's to come and what's really there behind the sugar, if you will. And so, you know, then you get punched in the face, and you're like, well, holy shit, what just happen happened. But you love the sugar and you're addicted to the sugar. And so you go and push the button and you get sugar, and then you push it again and you get some sugar, and that happens some more times. But then you push the button and you get punched in the face, and then you push the button and you get punched in the face, and it's just an intermittent push and pull of all of that. And it's literally crazy, crazy making. I mean, it makes you feel like you're not. And that's just the beginning.

[Podcast Host]

Are there any other signs that people should be aware of that they're in a relationship with a narcissist or they're dealing with a narcissist? Red flags, things like that?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah. I mean, I think that when you start in a new relationship, you have to be vigilant of things like red flags. And you know what your boundaries are. If you start a relationship with someone new and a pink flag pops up, I want you to know that that flag is not pink. There are no pink flags. The flag is red. Right. So I want to say that to begin with, but narcissists all have kind of textbook behavior. Very interesting, actually, because, like, they don't know each other. They didn't go to some narcissist school. Right. It's not like there's a narcissism factory where they're just, like, pumping out dudes with the same people, not necessarily just men, people with the Same personality. It's. It's like they read the same textbook or something. It's like they've been in the same chat room for the last 10 years. From the way that they text you with little smiley faces at the end to the way that they are always so charismatic in public and everyone loves them, but then in private, they're. It's like they flip a switch and they're not that person. I feel like there's so much more. And as we talk, you know, I'll probably be like. And that is one of them right there, you know, But, I mean, there. There's so much information about the way these people behave on dating apps and social media and the way that they text. You can Google it and find it. Texting styles, social media styles, dating app styles. A lot of those people. People have avoidant attachment styles. And all narcissists have avoidant attachment styles. So anything that feels like the person loves you, but they don't, I mean, that is an indication to me that you could be dealing with someone who is exhibiting narcissistic traits.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. And, you know, everyone deserves better than that, frankly.

[Blair Duncan]

Everyone deserves clarity.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly. And one thing I do want to say before we move on is that I do. It's my understanding just from researching this a little bit, some people could be extra vulnerable to falling into a relationship with a narcissist because they may have been raised by people who are exhibiting narcissistic behavior.

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely. You know, we kind of all know at this point in 2025 as humans, that the way that we develop during our very formative years and those early months of life, even if you're not raised by a narcissist, if they were needs that you didn't get met, if you have any type of attachment issue around abandonment or anything like that, typically you are someone who is easily victimized by these people. Typically, you know, people with abandonment issues will take a lot of crap from someone before they'll walk away because they are so afraid of being left. Right. And so we oftentimes mimic our fears in real life and create them. Right. But also people who tend to fall far on the empathy side of that scale tend to be really victimized by people who far. Who fall far on the narcissistic side, it's kind of, oh, what's the Narcissus? And you know the Greek myth.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, Narcissus.

[Blair Duncan]

Yes, yes, Narcissus. And I forget, like, the girl has a name. Echo. Echo. Yes, exactly. And like, that's. That's exactly what it is. You know, I think a lot of people who fall far on the empathy scale tend to echo the things that their loved ones really need genuinely. Not like they're out in the cage where it's love bombing and it's trickery, but those people are genuinely that way where they just love you and they are so giving of themselves and so perceptive of your needs and they really are that person and they're constantly looking for themselves and other people, which makes them so easy to victimize. Because again, those flags are pick Am

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[Podcast Host]

That is such a beautiful reference, Echo and Narcissist. Because yeah, when I think about it, like that's when we get the word narcissist from absolutely. But like, and that's also where daffodils, they're, they're called, I think Narcissus because they droop downwards and he's looking in the pool at his own reflection. Cause he's in love with himself. But like Echo is the other part of that story and she loves him deeply and suffers for it because he's incapable of meeting her needs.

[Blair Duncan]

Right. And something, you know, that you just said actually sparked something else. You know, narcissists are not in love with themselves. They actually have really deep seated shame and you know, things like that, they don't feel good about themselves, which is why they're able to do the things that they do to other people without conscience. Conscience. They actually don't have the ability to empathize with other people. Um, it's very interesting. I've read some studies and obviously this is something that's not like super published everywhere, but they think that people who suffer from, you know, like the dark triad, like psychopathy, sociopathy, narcissism, and I'll kind of circle back to that in a minute, but might have like a difference in the amount of gray matter in their frontal lobe. And so that's interesting to me.

[Anya Cain]

So there could be some kind of

[Podcast Host]

biological accounting for some of that.

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Wow, that's really interesting.

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah. And we know that gray matter and empathy. I'm not a scientist. No, but we know, we know they have something, a correlation with one another. So I just think that that's very interesting. Some of the studies that I've read that are out there.

[Podcast Host]

So I guess to start off with, can you tell us who is Sierra Breland? Who was she as a person before all of this happened?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, absolutely. So Ciara Nicole Locklear was born in Georgia and she was a fiery little 4 foot 11 girl who only weighed over a hundred pound when she was nine months pregnant. And you know, she was tiny but full of this fiery personality. And you know, it was really funny. I talked with her mom a lot in the first year and a half or so after Sierra was missing. And we had very candid conversations about Sierra's personality. And you know, I think that a lot of times when someone goes missing or something bad happens to someone, a lot of people want to say, oh, she was just so sweet. She was blah, blah, blah. Sarah definitely had that side. But to be clear, Sierra was a firecracker. She would put you in your place. She knew exactly who she was and what she wanted, which is why her ending up in the relationship that she ended up in was so confusing to people and even her. Right. Because again, it can happen to anyone. You know, Sierra was an attorney. She worked very hard to graduate from her undergrad and then to go to law school in Florida. And she was very proud to be an attorney. She wanted to make a huge difference in the world. And I mean, yeah, she, she was just a girl who was very focused. She, she was listed in like the. A report of like up and coming attorneys in the Nation, like top 50 attorneys or something like that in her field. And you know, she didn't even practice that long. So.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, and I, I think that's so important what you just said, like this can happen to anyone. And you think we. I think it's a safe story that we tell ourselves. Well, like that could never happen to me. I would never tolerate that because I would stand up for myself. And it's like, like it doesn't really work like that.

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely not. And you know, these people are practiced manipulators. They did not become this overnight. You know, when you're dealing with a 30 year old narcissist, you're dealing with someone who's been practicing narcissism for 29 years. So, you know, it's. And, and, and the behavior escalates over time. They get better over time. They learn from each victim. So by the time he made it to her, she didn't stand a chance.

[Podcast Host]

So let's talk about who he is.

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah. Xavier Breland Jr. Was born in California. I think that's where his parents were originally from. And then at some point they moved to Georgia and then he actually came up to Indiana later. I think I might have that backwards. In the early 2000s, he got a felony here in Indiana for burglary, breaking and entering, something like that. So he'd been a felon for a long time. Because he was a felon. He worked as a truck driver for long periods of time. He actually didn't work and allowed the women who he lived with to support him. Yeah, he's just a bad, bad guy. He can be very attractive and he can be very charismatic and he can lie like it's his job. So. And he wasn't really doing much with his life. In fact, he used to post on social media that he was like the owner of a firehouse subs and all of this stuff. And none of that was ever true. I don't even think he worked at Firehouse Subscrib, so I'm really confused about like, why that was listed. So Sierra lived kind of a sheltered life. Her parents raised her with a simple life. She, her friends from childhood have talked to me quite a bit. And she just loved basketball and you know, watching her brother play football and you know, hanging out with her cousins and things like that. She didn't have a lot of boyfriends. She didn't have a lot of dating experience. And the dating experience that she did have was with other successful people who were always busy. Right. And so like Xavier came along and he never left. In fact, she, her mom told me that she told her parents. He always has time for me. I get to have dinner with him every day. He cooks for me. He does this for me. He does that for me. But also, he didn't have a car, and he didn't have any place to live besides her apartment, and he was using her money to buy the groceries, he was cooking, and, you know, things like that. So realistically, she was just so excited to have this person who started a sexual relationship with her very early. I think he hooked her with that, and she was so excited about the attention and felt like he was always there and he was lying to her. You know, she thought he was this awesome person from this great family, and everything was just wonderful until it wasn't.

[Podcast Host]

They meet in Carmel, Indiana. Is that, like, where they meet, or do they meet elsewhere and move here?

[Blair Duncan]

No, they moved here. So they actually met on a dating site. And Sierra was not honest with her family about that. I forget where she said she met him, but it was like, it wasn't the truth. She told her cousin that she met him on a dating app. And so, yeah, she was. She had a luxury apartment in Bucket, and she was doing very well for herself. And she met him, and he pretty much instantly moved in. Within a couple months, he was already ruining her life. He got her involved in essentially a stalking situation with his ex because he was lying to Sierra and led her to believe that his ex. Ex, who is the mother of two of his children, was abusing his kids and shouldn't have the kids and was keeping them in a filthy home and there were no groceries and that she was dating a man who was in the cartel and just all of this craziness. And, you know, she believed him. And so I think she thought that she was going to save the day.

[Podcast Host]

Geez. So it also appeals to her wanting to make a difference, wanting to help people.

[Blair Duncan]

Her empathy. Right, her empathy and her professionalism, but her empathy.

[Podcast Host]

How do they end up getting married, Going from just kind of a dating relationship to actually tying the knot?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah. So we'll talk a little bit about how they ended up leaving Georgia. So I told you that he had her convinced that the mother of his children was an unfit parent. And so the two of them began working together, I guess, to try to get the kids. I don't really know what his objective was, because I just. I don't know. But one day he decided that he would go with Sierra in tow to the apartment where his ex lived because his name was on the lease, because when they broke up, he had her in such a financial situation that she needed a co signer for an apartment. And unfortunately he was all she had. So he was able to keep her right under his thumb. And he went to the office of the apartment complex and told someone who didn't know the situation that his name was on the lease and they gave him a key. And so he and Sierra let themselves into this other woman's apartment. And her name is Brittany. I don't think there's any secret. Her name is Brittany. So we'll just refer to her as Brittany, the other woman. So they go into Britney's apartment and there are cameras all over Brittany's apartment. So she has them on camera walking around in her apartment when she's not home. Xavier went into the bedroom and got into a safe and took birth certificates and Social Security cards of their children. And Sierra can be seen, actually you can find pictures of this on the Internet and probably the video too. She has on like a black baseball cap and she's kind of walking around with her hand like on her face looking at this pristine apartment with a refrigerator full of food and a sink that is absolutely. Has not a dish in it. And it's very clean because that's how this other woman lives. And you can tell she's kind of like, huh, Right. Well, this other woman did the right thing and sent the video of Xavier Breland and his attorney to the attorney's employer because that she was doing something that was illegal. Yeah. Sierra lost her job.

[Kevin Greenlee]

Wow.

[Blair Duncan]

Then she also lost her apartment in Buckhead because Xavier wasn't making any money. And she also needed to run from the reputation damage that just happened. And so they decided to come to Indiana and rent the house next door to Xavier's father. And that's how they got here, here. And so once they were here, Xavier began isolating Sierra. Her family heard from her less and less. And actually one of the women who's very active in the where is Sierra Breland. Facebook group owns a roofing company that did work on their house. And she didn't even know Sierra was there. She was upstairs in a second floor bedroom working. And Xavier was buying lunch for the construction crew with her, her card. And they didn't even know she existed.

[Podcast Host]

Wow, that's really scary. And it's like the, the suddenness with, you know, like, as you said, the scandal of an attorney helping someone break into an apartment is pretty, pretty extreme.

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely. He had her convinced that he was something completely different.

[Podcast Host]

And then like, just for people who are wondering, well, after she sees this pristine apartment, was in a, you know, fridge full of food. And it's nothing like he said, you know, if we can contextualize, why does somebody potentially stay with a partner after something like that?

[Blair Duncan]

Because you're the rat in the cage and you love the sugar.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. Yeah. It's. And so for people who are not from Indiana, can you just tell us a little bit about Carmel, what it's, what it's like and sort of contextualize this? I always find that's helpful, especially if we have people who are not.

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely, yeah. And this actually plays into a little bit about how I became involved as I am a resident of Carmen Carmel. So Carmel is an affluent little city that has been ranked the number one place to live, I don't know, 40 million times. Every time there's been a ranking, I think it's been Carmel. It's a place with really no crime. If there is crime, it's typically, you know, a domestic violence situation where people are fighting or the occasional murder, suicide. But people don't go missing here. There's not, you know, we don't have tons of arson crime. With all due respect to the Carmel Police Department, you know, they do a lot of traffic cop work. And it's a great place to live. It's safe, it's quiet. Yeah, it's. It's great.

[Podcast Host]

Yes, it's. It's really a very pretty and nice town. And, you know, we've. We've had the pleasure of visiting a number of times. And it's definitely not high crime.

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's definitely one of the reasons that people are drawn to karma.

[Podcast Host]

Can we talk about the circumstances of Ciara's disappearance at this point point? She's married to Xavier. They have a child.

[Blair Duncan]

She is his attorney of record. So although Sierra did not practice family law or criminal law, she was providing legal representation to her boyfriend and then husband when she disappeared. They had left Indiana to visit Georgia during the same week that Xavier had a court date in Georgia. And Sierra, as an officer of the court, would have been expected to show up there with her client. And so although they didn't tell family, that's why they were visiting that week. That's absolutely why they came to Georgia that week. And so was that court date about

[Podcast Host]

custody issues with his children?

[Blair Duncan]

It was. So there was obviously a lot going on between Xavier and Britney, and Britney was attempting to protect her children from their father.

[Podcast Host]

Geez. So she's, she's going down there. That's not. She's not really telling people why.

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, but she had told her parents that she didn't plan to come back to Indiana and she did travel there with all of their son's documents and her own documents and the things that she just absolutely couldn't leave behind. So her parents knew. I honestly don't remember if they knew maybe like shortly before she came or if she told them as soon as she got there that she would be moving back into their house with the baby without Xavier and that she had no intention of returning to Indiana.

[Podcast Host]

And how old was the baby at that point?

[Blair Duncan]

Five months old.

[Podcast Host]

Is your sense from just the connections you have in this case with her family? Like, was it. Was it very well known that things were in trouble or was this sort of the first hint of something kind of adrift? Obviously they knew something was wrong because she's sort of being isolated. But beyond that, that. What's the deal with that?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, there had been some really crazy situations like a Christmas visit to the Locklair's home that Xavier and Sierra made together where he is said to have been allegedly hallucinating the whole time and accusing the cartel of being outside and had Sierra, you know, convinced that people were watching them. There was one instance where there, I think this happened in Indiana, but he like shot up a room in their house and convinced her that that somebody was shooting from the outside. At one point he had her convinced that a cartel member was living in their attic.

[Podcast Host]

It's it and it's. But it's just so textbook because you hear that in true crime cases again and again with. With the sort of the toxic partner controlling the other partner with fear.

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely. And you know, at controlling with fear and all kinds of things. I mean, we know we only know about the fear. Right. Like, it's hard to even imagine what else was going on inside those four walls, you know, because again, the push and pull of the sugar in the face punch never stops. It's not like you go long periods of time between, you know, the two. I mean, it's every day. And once you're really in the abusive situation in it, in it, you know, you get the sugars and the punches multiple times a day. I mean, it's. Right. It's just back and forth. So, you know, sexual activity and all kinds of things, you know, lead. Lead to the person staying and, and all of that. So.

[Podcast Host]

But I mean, like, you read these things and you're like, how could a reasonable woman think there was a cartel member in the attic? But as you said, there's other things going on as well, potentially that can.

[Blair Duncan]

Well, and there's already been so much crazy making behavior and so much gaslighting that you don't know if you're up or down. I mean, you don't remember who you are. I mean, there's not even anything to elaborate on that. You don't remember who you are.

[Podcast Host]

It's the frog in boiling water.

[Blair Duncan]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

Like if you put the frog in the water and then you slowly boil it, maybe it doesn't notice it at first and maybe by the time it notices, it's way too late. If you threw us the frogs in already boiling water, immediately, like there's a pain reaction, whatnot. But that's, that's not how these toxic relationships operate. You're not just going in cold.

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely.

[Podcast Host]

You don't go on your first date necessarily and have it all go crazy. It's, it's, you know, months inward.

[Blair Duncan]

Right, absolutely. And. And before you know it, you're just sitting in a pot of boiling water and you have no idea how to get out.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, exactly. Um, so. So we talked a little bit about the trip to Georgia, why that happened. Can we talk about February 24, 2022, what happened that day? The day of her disappearance?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah. So on the day of her disappearance, actually to backtrack a few days before that, when they first got to Georgia, Sierra took Xavier to his mother's house in Johns Creek, Duluth, Georgia, and she and the baby went to Cleveland, Georgia, where her parents live. And she didn't have any intention, I think, of ever going back to her mother in law's house where she had left Xavier, but he convinced her to leave her dog. I think that Xavier knew that Sierra would not abandon Baker and that she would be worried for Baker if she didn't go back. And so I think that that was his, you know, kind of chokehold on her, if you will. And so she had gone back to her parents house and reiterated to them that she was not going back with him. And they were actually making plans, potentially put their house on the market and buy a larger home with her so that they could just be all there as a family forever. And then Xavier started calling her and FaceTiming her and crying and begging and convinced her to drive back to Johns Creek so that they could talk. Sarah's dad told me that on the morning that she left, which I think was like the 21st, he was actually holding the baby while she was taking a shower. And she had just told them that she was going to Go back to Johns Creek. And then she got in the shower and I think she had been talking to Xavier more in the bathroom and she just came out and like snatched the baby from her dad and was in like the worst mood ever and just left, you know, kind of nasty. And I can only imagine like how she felt because, because I know that she knew at that point and just all the emotions to think about just how she really felt just makes my stomach hurt, like. Yeah. So she left and she went there and then immediately the communication was different. The next day. They didn't hear from her first thing in the morning like they expected to. They honestly thought she would probably send a message and say like, I got the dog, I'm on my way back. And you know, instead her dad ended up reaching out and she responded and said, I'm not feeling well. Well, and that's typical of Sierra. When she was in a really stressy situation, she would get like bubble guts, you know what I mean? Like her stomach would get upset and so her dad just assumed that she wasn't feeling well, you know, things weren't going well and that everything was fine. And they were trying to treat her like she was a 31 year old woman. Then they didn't hear from her ever again.

[Podcast Host]

It's, it's my understanding, and we could talk more about this and contextualize this, that her car is seen at 7:17 on February 24th out 2022 outside of her?

[Blair Duncan]

No, actually Sierra was seen at 7:17. So she's seen, she's seen in a ring camera video and we don't know if it's like her whole body, if it's just her arm, but she was retrieving something from the porch and she's caught on the camera that was attached to the home at 7:17pm on the 24th. And then she's never seen again.

[Podcast Host]

And that's never been released?

[Blair Duncan]

That has not been released, no. Okay. There's also other information about the camera system that's never been released, but it's very interesting.

[Podcast Host]

Do you want to talk about that?

[Blair Duncan]

I don't know if I can.

[Podcast Host]

So, okay, so. So she's actually seen. We know she's alive.

[Blair Duncan]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

At that point.

[Blair Duncan]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

That pinpoints her being alive on the 24th.

[Blair Duncan]

Yes. But whatever they saw, we, we know that there's like no indication of her. At least they haven't even told like her parents or any of us that there's any indication of her state of mind, how she's. She looks anything like that we just know she's seen at 7:17pm okay.

[Podcast Host]

And the baby?

[Blair Duncan]

The baby is with Sierra and Xavier in the home where she was last seen.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, so I guess what. Tell us about what happens next.

[Blair Duncan]

What happens next is kind of a mystery because it has never been confirmed to anyone. We just know that at some point, Sierra's car leaves the house with Xavier, the baby, and the doll, but there's no trace of Sierra. The car is seen on several, you know, toll cams and road cams and things like that, license plate readers. And there's no Sierra in the car. You can only see Xavier, sometimes the dog, sometimes the baby. There are videos from, like, a gas station, for instance, where only he gets out of the car. There's no video of the dog ever being let out of the car, of anybody changing a baby's diaper, feeding a baby. There's nothing like that. That actually, there's a picture that's been circulated of Sierra's white Volkswagen Tiguan that was actually taken by a toll camera when Xavier was driving it back to Indiana from Georgia.

[Podcast Host]

So she's not seen. And. And just to clarify one thing, was Xavier alone in his mother's house when all this was happening before they left?

[Blair Duncan]

No. There were several family members staying in the home at that time, and as far as we understand, they were present.

[Podcast Host]

Do we know if they've cooperated with police at all?

[Blair Duncan]

They have not. Sierra was reported missing in Carmel on the evening of February 26th by Xavier. It was approximately 10pm sometime between 10 and 11pm and he told the officers that he last saw her 24 hours prior and that he waited 24 hours to report her because I guess he thought he had to. So he said that she left the house on foot on the evening of February 25th between 10pm and 11pm wearing a pair of shorts and, like, short ugg boots, like the ankle kind and a tank top. But the high that day was like 22 degrees during the day, I think. I mean, it was freezing. I remember when she was first reported missing, and I just thought to myself, like, this Southern girl who has lived in Indiana for all of six months, right? Not very long. There's no way she's going anywhere dressed like that in the middle of winter. Like, I don't do it and I'm used to this, right? So that was just completely unbelievable. Also, there are video cameras at the CVS where she is said to have walked, and she's not picked up on any of the cameras. She's also not picked up on anyone's ring cam. I mean, there is no sight, no trace of Sierra in Indiana after they left for Georgia the first time.

[Podcast Host]

So there's no evidence she ever came back to Indiana.

[Blair Duncan]

That's correct. In fact, the Carmel police passed the investigation back to the. The Johns Creek Police Department within days of Sierra being reported missing because they said there's no indication she was here at all.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Okay, so that. That seems really important to stress. Like, his story does not match the facts. It does not match the cameras in the area.

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely.

[Podcast Host]

Can you tell us about February 28, 2022, this incident that resulted in a gun charge for the Xavier?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah. So I told you previously that Xavier became a felon in the early 2000s. So obviously he's not allowed to possess a firearm, but he did because his wife bought them for him. So Sierra had some guns in the house. And that's very interesting because Sierra never owned a gun before she was. Was with Xavier. So seems like they were purchased for him or something. We're not really sure. There had been a search warrant exercised on the house the night before the 28th. Actually, on the 27th, Carmel had gone in and performed a search warrant on the house. I think just based upon suspicions of things after Sierra was reported missing. Just making sure they were crossing all of their T's and dotting all of their eyes. And they removed some firearms from the house. I think they removed three. They may have. Have removed two. I can't remember if it was four total or three total.

[Podcast Host]

Total.

[Blair Duncan]

So then the next morning, a gentleman is outside walking his dog, and he hears a gunshot fired from the garage of Xavier and Sarah's home. And he called the police. And the police show up, and Xavier is in the garage, and he tells the police that he kicked a Christmas tree box and the gun fired. Well, the police had searched the Christmas tree box the day before. It's actually on body cam that was used in the trial where he was convicted of the gun charge we're talking about. But they knew that the gun was not in the box. And also, I think the gun required like, six or seven pounds of pressure to fire. So, I mean, that clearly didn't happen. So he was arrested. His child was placed in the custody of the state. And so that kind of turns into an interesting situation later, too. He ended up with a family member, and he's. He's great. He's thriving. He's a wonderful little boy. But it caused a lot of really hairy situations for a lot of people. People however, it opened the door that's kind of led to what will hopefully be a conviction for his alleged involvement in the disappearance of his wife.

[Podcast Host]

How did you get into interested in this case? You mentioned kind of hearing about it, but can you just tell me how you kind of became involved?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, it's. It's an interesting. It's a funny story actually. It's sort of not funny haha. But you know, I was on dating apps. I was on Hinge specifically and I wasn't really talking to people. I was just doing that thing where you're on the human vending machine and you swipe left a lot and this very distinctive looking gentleman kept match like liking me. And so we never matched, we never talked. It wasn't anything like that. But then Sierra was reported missing in Carmel. And like I said earlier, like crime like that just doesn't happen in Carmel or in Hamilton County, Indiana in general. And so when I heard about it, to backtrack a little bit, I've always been really interested in crime and true crime. I kind of didn't realize my potential as a young person and should have gone to law school or into some sort of forensic science or something like that because it's my passion. In fact, I now work as a paralegal after all of this stuff. At the time I was just really sleuthy. And so I decided to Google the names of these people who, you know, the wife had been reported missing and I saw the picture of her husband and I said, that's the guy from Hinge. And so I called the Carmel Police Department because I felt like they might not know that this woman's husband was on dating apps. And I still don't know if they knew, but I told them. And then after that I just got very interested. I was one of the first people to join a group that was created by a wonderful nonprofit called True Crime Replay. And they started a Facebook page for Sierra called Where is Sierra Breland? Which I now essentially run as an admin for them. And I became part of that page and I started watching the case in Indiana as it unfolded because Indiana is a lovely state with public records for legal things. So you can really see a lot of stuff. And if you have any idea what you're reading, you can really learn a lot of information. Then I found out who Brittany was, the ex of Xavier, the mother of his children. And I started following her court cases in Georgia. And she and I actually I posted something about a court win that she had. I posted it in the Facebook group that it was like a big win for BL that day. Her initials. And she reached out to someone and was like, who is that girl? I gotta know her. And so, you know, then I linked up with Brittany, and together we linked up with Sierra's mom. Mother. And the three of us kind of became three little peas in a pod, if you will. You know, Kelly became like a mom to Brittany and I, and we became like daughters to her. And I became the voice of her daughter from that point forward. And since then, I've attended every court hearing on behalf of the Locklear family, who are all in Georgia and Texas and places like that. And, yeah, so that's how I kind of got here.

[Podcast Host]

That's really incredible, the amount of work you've done to this family.

[Blair Duncan]

There's a lot of passion involved, you know, for. For exposing what can happen to people in narcissistically abusive relationships. But it also became very personal for me.

[Podcast Host]

Can you talk about how you came to be harassed in this case?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, absolutely. From the beginning, it was obvious that Xavier might not be alone in knowing what happened that day. And so there were a lot of times when I would put pressure on certain topics and certain people and really exercise the hell out of my First Amendment right. I mean, I had that thing doing jumping jacks. So I, you know, was doing some work to bring out the truth and talking about my opinions about someone's alleged complicity and in the knowledge, at least, of what happened. Not stating that someone is complicit in what happened, just, you know, stating that I really believed, in my opinion, that they had an understanding of what happened and needed to come forward. And that person deleted their social media and all of that stuff right after this started. And I didn't really think that it was fair that they would be able to hide who they were from the public and not have to answer people's questions. And for the record, I wasn't the only person who didn't think that was fair, because newscasters from the area were beating on this person's door and showing their house on national television and mentioning them by name. And, you know, so I really wasn't doing anything any differently than anyone else. But at the time, I worked for one of the most recognizable brands in the world, and that person decided to bring a lawsuit against myself and my employer, who had absolutely nothing to do with the situation at all, citing that I was using my agency in my role at their business to defame and harass her on the Internet. And that person was Xavier Brilin's mother.

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[Podcast Host]

So you come to be be sued in this situation. Can you just tell us about how that was resolved?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, so it, the lawsuit was actually frivolous and filed in the wrong jurisdiction. So it was all. It was resolved pretty quickly.

[Podcast Host]

Have you been threatened in this case?

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely. Yeah, I've been threatened. So like I said earlier, I attend all of the court hearings related to this case here in the state of Indiana, and I will do the same in Georgia if the case were to move there. It's a promise that I made to Sarah's late mother and a promise that I made to her father, who I have a very close relationship with, to just kind of be their girl and to handle this part so that not only they don't have to, but, you know, I should live longer than them. And until we find her, I want to make sure that she, you know, has a voice. So I always go to court. And so a charge was brought against Xavier for the incident with the Christmas tree box in the garage. And so he was being tried for being a dangerous felon in possession of a firearm. And I attended the entire trial and on the, the second day, we were breaking for lunch. It was actually just a few hours away from the case being over and being handed to the jury. We broke for lunch and Xavier was free at this time. He knew he Wasn't an inmate. So on breaks, he was free to go outside at night. He went and slept with his family at the hotel and all of that stuff. So I got up to leave the courtroom, and he was standing near the back, and he kind of turned around and was facing the bench, and. And I just walked behind him like a normal person. And as I walked behind him, he said, you better hope you see me before I see you. And I know him, you know, like, I. I know him like the back of my hand. And so I basically acted like it didn't happen. I just kept walking. And I got, like, you know, in the vestibule of the courtroom between the doors, and there was a picture of my niece on my phone. And I looked at my phone, like, to see the time, and he was right behind me, looking over my shoulder, and he. He said, cute kid. That lit me up. I turned right back around, and I. I was already, you know, in touch with the prosecutor's office, and they know who I am and all of that stuff. So they were all still in there. I just turned around, and Judge Casadi was still around. And I told them what happened. And Major Ryan Meyer from the Carmel Police Department walked me right down to the basement, where I filed a charge for intimidation.

[Podcast Host]

Intimidation.

[Blair Duncan]

And so Judge Casati actually reviewed the cameras on lunch and reminded the entire courtroom that everything is on camera and he knows how to relapse. So it's literally on camera, him saying that to me, like, the better hope you see me before I see you. It's on camera. Did.

[Podcast Host]

Did anything come up that.

[Blair Duncan]

Yes. So he was certainly going to be convicted of the intimidation. Ashley Thompson with the Hamilton County Prosecutor's office, who did an amazing amaz job with the. With the gun charge trial. I can't thank her enough for her hard work and persistence. She called me and asked if I would be willing to offer a plea, which, if you don't know how the legal system works, know that a lot of cases wrap up with a plea agreement. You know, on tv, everything goes to trial. It's so dramatic.

[Podcast Host]

The system couldn't handle that if everything

[Blair Duncan]

went to trial, Right? Not from a cost efficacy standpoint, not from a personnel standpoint. Like, it's impossible. There are too many criminals and not enough courts. So a lot of things get ended on plea. And so we ended up offering a plea of nine months, which I felt really good about. There was, I think, some negotiation back and forth between his defense attorney and the prosecutor's office. He ended up serving six months on the intimidation charge with my name on them, which made me pretty happy.

[Podcast Host]

That is. I mean, that is incredible. And go back to the gun charge because we were talking about that and that's where this experience occurs. One name that stuck out to me when I was looking at some of that was. Melissa Oberg was a witness. The gun. Forensic firearms expert.

[Blair Duncan]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Who I think people, if you recognize her name, she was. She did that in the deli case as well. So that. Me being obsessed with deli, I guess that was just like, whoa, that's a wild crossover.

[Blair Duncan]

Melissa Oberg did a fantastic job testifying in court. She is so smart and she's also super, like, eloquent. I mean, sometimes when you listen to people like that talk on the stand and you're just a lay person, you can go cross eyed just listening to it. Right. I understood everything she said. She was so confident. You know, the, the defense attorney would come back at her and you could just tell she had done this a million times and she knew her stuff and she was confident in her science and. And she was wonderful. I commend her. She's very good at what she does. Yeah, she's.

[Podcast Host]

She's gone from forensic firearm examination now, which I think is a loss for Indiana. But I. It was. We saw the same thing from her on the stand in Delphi. She was very unflappable despite a very grueling and long cross. And I was just like, wow. But anyway, so she comes up in that. But she wasn't the only other person I've known on the stand. You actually were.

[Blair Duncan]

You.

[Podcast Host]

You were able to get on the stand at one point, right?

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, I was actually on stand when the jury called and said that they had a verdict. That was kind of interesting. You know, Judge Casadi was trying to get to the bottom of that intimidation thing in his courtroom. Like, he wanted to handle that. I think he wanted to, like, rule on it that day. Like, he was pissed. So we started to. And they were kind of getting into, who even is this girl? Why would he say anything to her at all? And so that question came, you know, I think Judge Casadi was the one asking me questions. I don't think the attorneys were even. I don't know. It's kind of. It was really nerve wracking, like, with all of the advocacy I've done in all of the courtrooms I've sat in. Like, I've never been on the stand like that before. And it was really scary, guys.

[Podcast Host]

It was really scary. But I mean, but but necessary. But like, I mean what a surreal situation. And then you hear, hey, we have a verdict.

[Blair Duncan]

I mean literally the judge cut me off mid sentence. I, I got out the words I am and he says actually we have a verdict. And I was like, thank you lord.

[Podcast Host]

Get me out of here.

[Blair Duncan]

Seriously. You know. But I would like to also go back and let you know that there was more harassment that day.

[Podcast Host]

So I, I guess I like kind of a couple of wrap up questions here. Going back to Sierra. It is it fair to say that there is a belief in her family and law enforcement given that she's not been seen, no trace of her, that she is in fact unfortunately dead?

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely. We are no longer looking for a living person. We haven't been looking for a living person unfortunately for a really long time. Sierra was very close with her family and you know, her parents even said in the very first interview that they gave, one of only two interviews they've ever given that if she were alive she would be home.

[Podcast Host]

Where could she feasibly be? And by she I mean unfortunately her body.

[Blair Duncan]

Yeah, there are a couple of theories series. You know, the Chattahoochee was searched for a long time. I think for several days, two or three days, authorities in Georgia searched the Chattahoochee river and maybe even up into Tennessee. Pardon me for not knowing exactly where the Chattahoochee is, but there had been some cell phone activity is what I understand, on both of their phones. Not necessarily like right when she disappeared, but during that trip. And so that they kind of put two and two together and thought maybe she would be there. They didn't find her. But if you know anything about true crime, forensic science, all that stuff, you know, bodies don't stay in for three years. So you know, you think about like your Lacy Peterson, you think about, I mean there are countless other cases. You know, the things inside of us turn to gas and eventually we float even if we're really weighted down. So I, I don't believe that she's in water, honestly. I think that we, we think allegedly there is a like a utility size athletic equipment bag missing with a New England Patriots logo on it. You know like the kind that you put everything in like H. Player type, big old bag. It's missing and it was never found during any of the searches. But Sierra had it with her when she went to her parents house in Georgia and she took it with her to see Xavier. It is a bag that is large enough for Sierra to be inside and many of us think that Maybe he put her in the trash. You know, and at this point, I think Americans are under the impression that somebody touches all your trash, but that's just not true. And I'm not trying to give anybody any ideas. Please don't use this information for nefarious purposes, but it's simply not true. The majority of our trash is never touched by a human. And so if you conceal something well enough, then all of a sudden it's in a landfill under tens of thousands of pounds of other trash and stinky things that cadavers can't even get through. And how do you do that? It makes sense.

[Podcast Host]

And with, you know, she. Her being such a small woman.

[Blair Duncan]

She was so small. And, you know, the other thing is that there is a big unaccounted for period of time. And so we have no idea when he left the house, how many times he left the house, which direction he traveled, because until she was reported missing, nobody knew anything. And, you know, those tapes and stuff, they're just. They're not there forever. So if law enforcement can't jump on that information very quickly, sometimes you can't ever find it. So, you know, anywhere that's within driving distance of Florida. I mean, of Georgia. So, like Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, yada, yada. Yeah, this isn't geography class.

[Anya Cain]

No, it's not.

[Podcast Host]

But, but, but, but you're right. Like, if there's. If there's a. If there is a blank space, you can. You can kind of. Any direction, any place.

[Blair Duncan]

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, Sierra would have never left her son, and she would have never let her mom and dad go through the pain that they went through. She was a daddy's girl through and through. Her dad, they spoke on the phone for hours. I mean, she would just never do this.

[Podcast Host]

How has her disappearance affected those close to her?

[Blair Duncan]

I mean, horrifically. Right. Sierra's mom essentially died of a broken heart. I mean, I. I used to talk to her every day, and she would just cry on the phone to me. She didn't sleep. She wasn't eating. You know, she needed prescription medication for all kinds of things that she didn't need before it made her sick. And, you know, it drove a wedge in their family, communication. I mean, her dad, who is a very happy go lucky kind of guy, is not that most of the time, you know, And, I mean, he lost everything. He lost his daughter. He lost his wife. He doesn't have his grandson. I mean, it's so much loss. And, you know, all of them. Her cousin Shelby was her best Friend. Now she's without her cousin and her best friend and her other cousins, all of them. I mean, her friends from elementary school just come out of the woodwork and send me pictures and tell me stories or just go on the page and randomly comment things. It's affected so many people, the legal community. I mean, in multiple states. I mean, so many people.

[Podcast Host]

It's awful. And what do you feel needs to happen in, to order or for a break in this case to occur?

[Blair Duncan]

You know, a lot of people say, oh, he just needs to talk to someone in prison. He just needs to tell the story to another inmate. But I honestly don't think he ever will. I think that what it's going to take is a prosecutor in Johns Creek to find the testicular fortitude to try the case with only the circumstantial evidence that was. We have. Please. But I think that we're approaching that. There are a lot of people who know what happened. You know what I mean? Law enforcement is all very much on the side that I'm on. We all know that he allegedly murdered her and did something with her body. And there are a whole lot of people out there who will never give up, myself included.

[Podcast Host]

Is there anything. We didn't ask you about that, you wonder dimension.

[Blair Duncan]

I would just like to talk about leaving narcissistic abusive relationships or leaving abusive relationships in general. We all know, like, the statistic that they've been talking about where, like, it takes seven times, you know, of leaving. Listen, when you're leaving an abuser, you need to leave. The first time, you can't go back. There's no making up for it. There's no. I'm sorry. It'll get better. The first time it happens to you, the first time that flag is pink. You need to leave or else you could be a Sierra.

[Podcast Host]

She was leaving and went back just for a logistical thing, and he killed

[Blair Duncan]

her because he knew she was leaving. Allegedly.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. It's. It's. It's a safety thing. It's not. It's just a safety thing. Get out.

[Blair Duncan]

He was losing control.

[Podcast Host]

You don't escape from a bear in the woods and then go back to get your picnic basket. You just run. You don't like. That's what you're dealing with, a predator.

[Blair Duncan]

That was profound.

[Podcast Host]

That was the stupidest thing I've ever said.

[Blair Duncan]

That was profound.

[Podcast Host]

But. No, but it's people. And my heart goes out to Sierra's family. My heart goes out to Sierra. She seemed like a really cool lady who met somebody that I wish she hadn't met Sierra.

[Blair Duncan]

Had a lot of magic to give to the world and we all lost something the day she disappeared.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. Well, Blair, thank you for the work you've done on this case and thank you so much for talking with us about it.

[Blair Duncan]

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk about Sierra on such a major platform. I love your show and I'm so grateful for you.

[Podcast Host]

Well, we really appreciate that, Blair.

[Anya Cain]

Thanks so much to Blair for talking with us. We appreciate all the work she's done on Sierra's case. If you have information on Sierra's disappearance, please call the Johns Creek Police PIP Line at 678-474-1610. In 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation posted a reward of $10,000 for information leading to Sierra's whereabouts.

[Kevin Greenlee]

Thanks so much for listening to the Murder Sheet. If you have a tip concerning one of the cases we cover, please email [e-mail]. if you have actionable information about an unsolved crime, please report it to the appropriate authorities.

[Anya Cain]

If you're interested in joining our Patreon, that's available at www.patreon.com murdersheet. If you want to tip us a bit of money for records requests, you can do so at www. We very much appreciate any support.

[Kevin Greenlee]

Special thanks to Kevin Tyler Greenlee who composed the music for the Murder Sheet and who you can find on the [e-mail] if you're looking to talk with

[Anya Cain]

other listeners about a case we've covered, you can join the Murder Sheet discussion group on Facebook. We mostly focus our time on research and report reporting, so we're not on social media much. We do try to check our email account, but we ask for patience as we often receive a lot of messages. Thanks again for listening.

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