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- [00:00]
Anya Cain
Summer's starting to swelter and if you're like me, your wardrobe could use a warm up too. Preferably without overheating your wallet.
- [00:08]
Kevin Greenlee
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- [00:30]
Anya Cain
I went shopping on Quince's website recently. I got their a hundred percent European linen button front dress in blue chambray stripe. I love this dress so much. It's lightweight, it's so comfortable and I really like the way I look in it. It's the kind of dress I know I'm going to be wearing all summer. I think it looks cute and it's just also super comfortable. When I'm in it, I feel like a stylish, sophisticated summer lady and that's kind of a rarity for me in summer dresses. So I'm very excited about this. You should check out their site and get something too. I also will say I got a little blue beret because Kevin insists that I wear more hats.
- [01:06]
Kevin Greenlee
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- [01:20]
Anya Cain
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Kevin Greenlee
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Anya Cain
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Kevin Greenlee
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- [02:07]
Anya Cain
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Kevin Greenlee
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- [02:44]
Anya Cain
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- [03:18]
Kevin Greenlee
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- [03:38]
Anya Cain
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- [04:07]
Kevin Greenlee
Reclaim your evening. Visit hometownhero.com and use code msheet to take 20% off your first purchase. That's hometownhero.com code msheet for 20% off your first purchase. Content warning this episode contains discussion of murder and violence.
- [04:25]
Anya Cain
On April 23, 2001, Belda Chaimani went into work at a Whataburger restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona. As usual, the since closed Whataburger once stood at 450 West Indian School Road. The 34 year old woman was an assistant manager there. Velda had a bright personality and a close relationship with her family. She had a lot going on in her life. She had a son and was engaged to be Married.
- [04:49]
Kevin Greenlee
Unfortunately, Velda never got the chance to keep enjoying her life. Someone took that opportunity away from her. By 3:30pm that day, Velda was dead, murdered in a robbery. Her case remains unsolved. Her family still awaits answers.
- [05:07]
Anya Cain
Recently, we heard from Taylor Chimony, Velda's niece. She was close to her aunt. She is raising awareness about two unsolved cases in her family. See, Taylor is half Navajo, a fourth San Carlos Apache, and a fourth Zuni. She is speaking on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people.
- [05:27]
Kevin Greenlee
This refers to a crisis that sees Indigenous, Native American and Alaska Native people, especially women and girls, facing disproportionately high rates of abduction and murder.
- [05:39]
Anya Cain
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Intimate Partner in Sexual Violence survey found that non Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native women experienced the second highest rate of homicide in 2020. Homicide was also in the top 10 leading causes of death for women in this demographic from ages 1 to 45. While 2 in 5 women said they had been raped in their lifetime.
- [06:01]
Kevin Greenlee
Velda was killed on the job. The motive behind her murder is unclear. She was not resisting and the crime was a senseless act. Was the robber just a violent, heartless person? Did someone target her? We just don't know. So we cannot say that Velda's identity played a role in her death. But we can say that murder cases and disappearances involving indigenous people tend to get less attention from the press than they deserve.
- [06:28]
Anya Cain
It is very unfortunate, but the truth is that the media tend to heavily cover cases involving white women and girls. Not even all white women and girls, though the focus tends to stay on women who are considered conventionally attractive, especially those from affluent backgrounds. Of course, that's not always the case. We know there are plenty of people in traditional and new media trying to counteract this. We're just speaking about a well documented and general trend.
- [06:55]
Kevin Greenlee
One thing about Velda's story is we strongly believe this is one of those cases that will benefit from more attention from the public and the media. So please share the story of what happened to Velda. You never know what kind of memories you might jog up in someone who is holding onto a key piece of information that could lead to a resolution.
- [07:15]
Anya Cain
My name is Anya Cain. I'm a journalist.
- [07:17]
Kevin Greenlee
And I'm Kevin Greenlee. I'm an attorney.
- [07:20]
Anya Cain
And this is the Murder Sheet.
- [07:22]
Kevin Greenlee
We're a true crime podcast focused on original reporting, interviews, and deep dives into murder cases. We're the Murder Sheet.
- [07:30]
Anya Cain
And this is the murder of Velda Chimony.
- [08:22]
Taylor Chaimany
So Taylor, first of all, just thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciate it.
- [08:27]
Velda Taimani
Yes, thank you for having me. I really appreciate getting the platform to share my family's stories.
- [08:34]
Taylor Chaimany
Absolutely. And I guess to start out with, can you just tell us a little bit about your background and your family and just kind of where you're coming from?
- [08:41]
Velda Taimani
Well, my name is Taylor Chaimany. I am half Navajo, a fourth St Carlos Apache and a fourth Zuni. I've grown up most of my life on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in White River, Arizona. I work as an RN and I have a six year old daughter. And I really just want to kind of do this to get some recognition. Families cases. I have two family members that are both part of the murder, missing and murdered indigenous people demographic and they both have unsolved cases. One on my mom's side and one on my dad's side. So I just really want to advocate for them.
- [09:22]
Taylor Chaimany
Yeah, absolutely. And before we get into their individual cases, I was just wondering, can you just tell us a little bit about this phenomenon of, of missing and murdered indigenous people and why that is such an issue in the United States and Canada and sort of kind of just contextualize that for us.
- [09:40]
Velda Taimani
Okay. So the missing and murdered indigenous people demographic defines like missing and murdered persons who are identify as indigenous. It's a phenomenon that has sweeped both the United States and Canada. A lot of cases go unsolved. They don't get the recognition in media sources the way that, I mean, just for example, like the Gabby Petito case did and a lot of them remain unsolved. And I know it's not just tribal law enforcement that is tasked with these cases, but also at the state level and they just don't get the recognition that they deserve. And a lot of cases the family has to advocate for justice. And even when justice is served, it's not always justice, it's not always fair. I know a lot of cases, perpetrators end up not even, you know, serving time or they only serve a little bit of time when you know, these cases have been super horrific. And I just, it's sad as a family, it's hard to deal with and it's hard to live with the fact that you may never have the answers that you need. But also as a mom, you know, having to tell my 6 year old daughter or my 10 year old sister, this happens and you can't talk to certain people, you need to look out for this. It's hard as an indigenous woman and then having indigenous kids just to, like, teach them to be safe out there in the world and, you know, pick up on things that no child should ever have to worry about. But it is a reality in my world. Absolutely.
- [11:33]
Taylor Chaimany
And I'm just. I just want to say our condolences go out to you and your family for these two extreme losses. It's just. No family should have to deal with this. But to have these two things that you're dealing with is. Is awful, and I'm just so sorry.
- [11:47]
Velda Taimani
Thank you. Yeah, it is hard to deal with. I. You know, I haven't come to terms with. I feel like you never get through grieving when you don't have answers. It's just something that you have to deal with all the time. And, I mean, at least with answers, you would have some closure. But especially with my aunt's case. My aunt. My aunt's case was back in 2001, and we still have no justice, no updates, nothing. And it's difficult to deal with. It's very sad that my grandma had to pass away without knowing what really happened to her daughter.
- [12:32]
Taylor Chaimany
I guess before we talk about what happened to your aunt, can you just tell us what you know about her, just, like, as a person prior to any of this happening?
- [12:42]
Velda Taimani
Her name is Velda Taimani, and she is half Biduni, half and a half San Carlos Apache. She grew up here on the White Mountain Apache reservation most of her life, but she was kind of everywhere. Like, she was living in Phoenix. She had lived there multiple times. I think she would go to Zuni from time to time, too. She was. She was always moving, so she was very outgoing. She would make everybody laugh. She knew everybody. She knew everybody. She was friends with everybody. She was just a social butterfly. Her favorite snacks, I remember she always liked things that were sour. She would like eating, like, pickles with, like, the Kool Aid packets. That's a popular reservation snack. But she would like sunflower seeds and Coke. That those were her favorite snacks. She was very independent. Like, she had always been super independent. She would do things. She would just show up at places, too, which is kind of funny. She was always on the move. I was talking recently to one of my dad's sisters in Zuni, and she was telling me, yeah, she would, like, make. Every year she would just show up here. She wouldn't tell us she was coming, but she would just be there and she would visit with everybody. She knew everybody. And she was beautiful. She. She attracted a lot of male attention. She was engaged at the time. She was engaged to a man From San Carlos. And I think his name was Art. That's what I know him by. And then she has a son. He was 16, my cousin Lyle. But my. My cousin Lyle, it was her only son. She didn't have any other children, but I grew up with her in my home. She was very close to my dad. She would live with us. I know she lived with us for maybe one or two years when I was little. But she always babysat me. She would take me places. We would always be at my grandma's house. And I remember, like, one of the memories I have of her is like, sitting at my grandma's kitchen table and we were eating lemons with salt on the top. She just loved sour stuff.
- [15:02]
Taylor Chaimany
She sounds like a delight.
- [15:06]
Velda Taimani
She was. She. I. I wish she was still around because I know as an adult we would laugh.
- [15:14]
Taylor Chaimany
Absolutely.
- [15:15]
Velda Taimani
And. And she was managing.
- [15:17]
Taylor Chaimany
And this, this comes into what happened to her. But she was managing a Whataburger chain in Phoenix at the time of her death?
- [15:25]
Velda Taimani
Yes. So when she passed, she was living in Phoenix at that time. She was engaged to. To a man named Art. She was working at, I think what now is Footprint arena in downtown Phoenix. She was working there, and she was managing the Water Burger. She was working as an assistant manager there.
- [15:50]
Taylor Chaimany
So can you tell us about what happened to her on April 23, 2001?
- [15:58]
Velda Taimani
So at approximately 3:30pm A suspect came into the Whataburger and stated that this was a robbery. She was there with another coworker at the time, and he took my aunt to the back and he shot her. And from what I've read from the autopsy, it kind of sounded like she tried to run away because the bullet had entered her body at an angle and she sustained a gunshot wound. He came back out, the suspect came back out, demanded all the money in the register, which I have heard from family members that have talked to the investigator, was only like a hundred, two hundred dollars. It wasn't a lot of money. And he left. The man had his face covered with a ski mask. He was wearing khaki pants and a dark colored shirt, but he was pretty much covered, so they couldn't really get an identification on what race this person was. All they had said was maybe 220 pounds and about five, six to six foot. So it wasn't like a very clear description. And this happened in 2001, so there wasn't cameras. What's suspicious about it is the Whataburger would close during the daytime to allow for prepping foods for dinner. For their dinner rush. So they were closed from about 1 to about 4:30 and this happened in between that. So somebody had had to have known, you know, that the, that she was alone there in the store and that nobody would be in the store at that time. Wow.
- [17:53]
Taylor Chaimany
So that, was there any indication that there were like disgruntled employees or people she wasn't getting along with or like people who had been fired recently that they could have been involved?
- [18:05]
Velda Taimani
So yes, initially the police were looking at a co worker whom she had fired the week before. She had mentioned to one of my dad's sisters that this employee was just not performing and that they were going to terminate this. It was a male employee. I don't, I don't know specifics about like name and age and stuff, but she did terminate that employee and that was the first lead that police had taken. Like maybe this was in association with that. I don't know what became of that lead. I'm assuming that it, there was nothing that became of it just because I'm sure if, if he had something to do with it, they would have known by now.
- [18:50]
Taylor Chaimany
Yeah. Here's a bit of a detailed question about the, the crime that I'm curious if you know it, do we know like what type of gun this was? Was it distinctive any in any way or was it like a standard handgun?
- [19:05]
Velda Taimani
So yes, it was a, it was a handgun.
- [19:12]
Kevin Greenlee
Sometimes we mess up technology on this podcast.
- [19:15]
Anya Cain
One time, if anyone remembers this, we made a reference to a train whistle but accidentally edited out the train whistle sound so nobody knew what we were talking about.
- [19:24]
Kevin Greenlee
I have not recovered from that.
- [19:26]
Anya Cain
I don't think I ever will.
- [19:27]
Kevin Greenlee
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- [19:37]
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- [19:54]
Kevin Greenlee
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- [20:06]
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- [20:23]
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- [20:47]
Anya Cain
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- [21:05]
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- [21:51]
Anya Cain
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- [22:25]
Anya Cain
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- [23:14]
Velda Taimani
From what I understand they still have her clothes. They sealed her clothes, the bags that her hands were in and then a the bullet casing. They still have that. So it says there was no evidence of close rain discharge of a firearm to clothing or skin surrounding the wound. And it's a large caliber bullet with a multiple sharp jacket projections.
- [23:44]
Taylor Chaimany
So one thing you mentioned to me before we sort of talked was just the idea that, you know, this Whataburger was in a pretty like it was not like a remote area. Can you talk more about like what area this was in and like what that looked like?
- [24:01]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, it was in a very centralized area. So this Waterburger is no longer there, but it was on 450 West Indian School Road, which is in central Phoenix. So I find it hard to believe that nobody knows what happened. There were people, you know, there. This area of Phoenix, there's always people walking around. Even to this day it's still very popular. Like it's in central Phoenix. I feel like somebody has to know something.
- [24:32]
Taylor Chaimany
Absolutely. And, and, and then I'm just curious, was there any other helpful information that the surviving witness, the surviving employee was able to give about what happened?
- [24:44]
Velda Taimani
Well, she, the only thing she said was that he isolated her, he took my aunt to the back and then when he came back out, he grabbed her by the hair and asked her to get the money out of the register. She wasn't very specific about, you know, what type of race this man was. She just said he had dark colored skin from his hands, but he was covered in clothing. So there wasn't really a lot of identifiable features. I think they gave, they got the general description from her on his build. I really wish I had the chance to talk to her, but I don't know her name or where she would be.
- [25:28]
Taylor Chaimany
If anyone knows anything about this surviving witness, you know, and can facilitate something between her and Taylor, that would be, that would be great. Just if, if anyone's listening who may know who this person is because I think that could be getting more information from her about what happened could be really helpful.
- [25:46]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, definitely. And this was before the age of like technology. So I know cell phones were just starting to work. Everything was like by landline. So there isn't like, camera footage, and there's not traffic cameras that could help.
- [26:05]
Taylor Chaimany
This is a strange crime in some ways. I mean, we've definitely heard of fast food restaurant robberies that the victims don't resist and are still killed. Like, that definitely happens, but it just sounds like. I mean, in this case, it's like she was not putting up a threat or, you know, putting up a fight with this guy. I'm curious, like, was there anything else going on in her life at that time that sort of raised questions, or is something that your family has been thinking about?
- [26:36]
Velda Taimani
I have always wondered. She had been in a relationship with a guy who was in prison at the time in Florence. And I don't know if he may have had something to do with it, but I do remember her mentioning to one of my aunts that she might have seen him out at a bar when she was with her husband at the time in Phoenix. And I don't know if this guy is still alive or whatever, but I've kind of always, like, been suspicious about that. From what I remember with talking with family, she. They had brought his name up in the initial investigation, but he had an alibi. But you know what? What? I don't know what the alibi was, though.
- [27:30]
Taylor Chaimany
He's not in prison at the time of her murder.
- [27:33]
Velda Taimani
No, he had just been released. From what? Either that or he was in a halfway house. I don't know the specifics, but I don't think he wasn't on, like, in. In the correctional facility at that time. I do remember her one time when I was at my grandma's house. She had, like, most of the relationship was on the landline or writing letters. It was more like of a pen pal relationship. And. And I know they had broken up. I don't know why or how. I don't know any specifics about that, but I remember her ripping apart letters.
- [28:14]
Taylor Chaimany
Okay, so it sounds like there might have been some.
- [28:16]
Velda Taimani
There was some kind of tension. Definitely. Yeah. She was, like, ripping up letters, putting them in the trash, and he would do a lot of, like, drawings and, like, a lot of crafts with, like, thread. And I remember her throwing all those away.
- [28:33]
Taylor Chaimany
Okay, wow. Okay. So that. Yeah. And that. That then him getting out. I can understand why your family was definitely curious about that.
- [28:40]
Velda Taimani
Yeah. And I don't know. I don't know if she ever met him in person. That is one question I. I have never gotten answered. I don't know if she met up with him at some point. That. That's not known to me. But I don't know if, you know, that might have sparked whatever. Whatever conflict they had. Trying to ask my mom, do you remember what he was in prison for? And she said she thinks it was, like, armed burglary and theft.
- [29:11]
Taylor Chaimany
Which is relevant, obviously.
- [29:13]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
- [29:14]
Taylor Chaimany
Because, like, that kind of fits in a way. Although I am. I'm curious about how they ruled out that disgruntled. That possibly disgruntled employee. Because when you look at, like, when you look at, like, fast food homicides, like. Like, if you, like, the most dangerous thing in a fast food restaurant is, like, firing a disgruntled young man. Like, that's like that. When. Whenever we're looking at, like, inside job stuff, it's always. It's always that. Were there other leads that came up in the course of this investigation that you're aware of?
- [29:47]
Velda Taimani
Those are the only two I'm aware of. However, I have reached out to Phoenix PD multiple times. I've never gotten a call back, so I have not received, like, an update in this case in years. And then to my knowledge, nobody else in my family has either.
- [30:05]
Taylor Chaimany
Was there someone in the beginning who was, like, getting information and was, like, the family liaison or anything, or has it just been.
- [30:12]
Velda Taimani
It was. It was my grandma, and unfortunately, she passed away in 2019, and she had dementia, so she wasn't. She hasn't really been in her right state of mind since maybe 2006. So I. I really wish now, like, as an adult, as I'm pursuing this, I could have asked her questions.
- [30:36]
Taylor Chaimany
I hope that Phoenix Police Department gets back to you at some point, because if they're. If that initial liaison is no longer there, they should still be in contact with your family about what's going on with this investigation.
- [30:51]
Velda Taimani
Yeah. I did put in a request to be the official family liaison, and I did get reached back in 2023. A volunteer with the Phoenix Police Department actually restructured a silent witness poster for her. Okay, so.
- [31:12]
Taylor Chaimany
So they. They've been in. There's been a little bit of contact.
- [31:16]
Velda Taimani
Yeah.
- [31:16]
Taylor Chaimany
Yeah.
- [31:17]
Velda Taimani
I had been reading a news snippet in the newspaper from. I think it might have been, like, Channel 3 here in Phoenix, and they had said that there's over, like, 700 homicide cases that are unsolved in Phoenix, and currently they only have, you know, five investigators. So I'm sure this is not their top priority.
- [31:44]
Taylor Chaimany
Right.
- [31:44]
Velda Taimani
It's.
- [31:45]
Taylor Chaimany
It's definitely unfortunate. I think. I think it is important to acknowledge that the difficulties of policing, especially in a big city, big department like that But I think what I'd love to see, not just for your family, but for families nationwide, is agencies getting better about keeping people apprised about their loved ones cases without compromising the case, of course. But I think there can be more done and there could be more of a compromise there.
- [32:11]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, and I've definitely wondered too. It was like, what type of evidence they have and I wanted to see where they went with the leads and all I can do is try. Yeah, absolutely.
- [32:26]
Taylor Chaimany
I mean, I'd be curious, like, what would you, like, what would your be. What would your ideal response from the Phoenix PD be at this point, like in terms of that kind of information?
- [32:37]
Velda Taimani
I just want to know one, in the leads that they had, whether or not, you know, they found evidence that would like, rule them out definitively and if they have any new leads.
- [32:49]
Taylor Chaimany
If you have a background in Arizona, but even if you're just from anywhere, like, like, you never know who's going to have that connection. So just kind of spread the word, I guess. I think the more we can get people talking about this in general, whether you're in the Southwest or, or anywhere, you never know when you're going to meet, you know, somebody who's going to have some background in this. Maybe somebody saw something that they didn't know what it was at the time or maybe somebody said something since that this can give some context to.
- [33:18]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, I definitely think that, you know, this is this area of Phoenix. There are cars driving by all the time. There's. There's bus transportation. Maybe you don't know that it was suspicious at the time, but, you know, it could be a key point in, you know, solving this investigation.
- [33:39]
Taylor Chaimany
I'd also be really curious if any other nearby businesses or, you know, businesses in that general area were robbed afterwards or beforehand or around the same time.
- [33:50]
Velda Taimani
I also, you know, one of the questions I've always had and I never really got an answer was was this person in a car? Like, what was their means of transportation to like get there and then get away?
- [34:04]
Taylor Chaimany
Really excellent question because, yeah, it'd be pretty risky to just walk it. But if, you know, without any information on a car, we don't, we just don't know.
- [34:14]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, this happened at approximately 3:30pm and the time that I have listed on her autopsy. See, when Phoenix Fire Department responded to render aid, that was at 3:46. So that is what, a 16 minute window or. Yeah, yeah. So like, what happened in these 16 minutes?
- [34:40]
Taylor Chaimany
Actually, one question I have because I know a lot of families of victims Sometimes ask us this, how are you able to get the. The core. The autopsy information?
- [34:50]
Velda Taimani
So I was able to request it through the medical examiner in Maricopa county, and they sent me a copy, no questions asked.
- [35:00]
Taylor Chaimany
Great. I mean, that's definitely. Sometimes I think different agencies or different organizations can be more or less, you know, kind of helpful with that stuff.
- [35:09]
Velda Taimani
But. Yeah, I mean, it's been over 20 years, so I think at this point they. They were just. They didn't really question it.
- [35:20]
Taylor Chaimany
Yeah, no, no, that makes. That makes sense. Has there been anything else that's come up over the years that, you know, it's just sort of raised questions for you or information about the case that you wanted to put out there?
- [35:33]
Velda Taimani
No, not really. Honestly, at this point, I kind of feel like they've forgotten. Like, I haven't got any answers, and I feel like the law enforcement has forgotten about her, but I haven't, and I know my family hasn't. Yeah.
- [35:51]
Taylor Chaimany
Tell me about what the loss of Velda has meant to your family. She sounds like a really special person, and I just want to underscore, like, what this has meant for you all.
- [36:00]
Velda Taimani
I don't think as a family that we've ever really had the chance of grieving. I talked to one of my dad's sisters recently, and she. She said that too. When I called her to get some information about the case, she had said, you know, talking to you is bringing up a lot of feelings that I think I never allowed myself to feel. And like, that to me, was very emotional. I'm sorry. I don't want to start crying because I felt that too. Like, I feel like I didn't grieve the way I should. And I think without closure, you really don't get to grieve fully.
- [36:45]
Taylor Chaimany
Absolutely.
- [36:47]
Velda Taimani
I'm just.
- [36:47]
Taylor Chaimany
I'm just so sorry for you guys loss. Again, she sounds like a terrific lady, and it's not fair.
- [36:51]
Velda Taimani
It was. And she. She deserves so much more than this. Yes.
- [36:56]
Taylor Chaimany
Yes, she absolutely did. And how can people help if they have information or like, I guess what would.
- [37:04]
Velda Taimani
What.
- [37:04]
Taylor Chaimany
What can we ask our audience to do in regards to this?
- [37:09]
Velda Taimani
So if there's any tips, Silent Witness offers a $2,000 reward there. They do have a phone number. It is 480-948-6377. And you remember, remember, no tips are too small. You never know when you have, you know, something that might be of relevance.
- [37:33]
Taylor Chaimany
Absolutely.
- [37:34]
Velda Taimani
Yeah.
- [37:34]
Taylor Chaimany
People should not sit on what they may have seen. And we don't know what investigators know. So they. It May. It may be huge.
- [37:42]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, it may. It may be the connection that we need.
- [37:48]
Taylor Chaimany
Absolutely. And I would just, again, ask people, spread the word about Velda's case, if someone may have said something a long time ago, relationships may have changed, and this may spark something for them that can lead to some answers.
- [38:02]
Velda Taimani
Yeah. And thank you for giving me the platform. There is. I hate to say it, but there's thousands of cases just like hers. There's a lot of missing and murdered indigenous women. Some of them, they never find, you know, closure. And that's not the world that we should be living in as indigenous women. We should not have to worry whether or not we're going out and whether or not we're coming back home. You know what I mean? Yes. I know A lot of people post on their platforms if I ever go missing. It wasn't intentional. And I just, you know, I don't. This is something like I said earlier. I really. My daughter's only six, but it's something that I have to tell her about, and she has to be weary. There's a lot of cases, even with young children.
- [39:02]
Taylor Chaimany
There are. And it's. It's. It's depressing. And I think true crime needs to be more equitable in terms of what cases we're talking about, because, I mean. And we're. We're guilty of this just as much as anyone. It's very easy to fall into big cases. People are talking at night. I mean, we're. We're no different than anyone else. I'm not. We're not exempt from that sort of accusation. I'm. But I think we can all try to do more around this, because it. These are the cases that truly benefit from possibly people talking about it all around the country. Like, a case like Veldas is something that we like that could have an impact, whereas if we're all just having the same, like, five, you know, like, conversation about Scott Peterson for the millionth time, like, not really doing much. You know, it's just kind of. It's. It's not really having much of a societal impact. But cases like this not only deserve more attention, but also could truly actually be impacted in a positive way by that attention.
- [40:02]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, I definitely. We connected over the Emily pike case, and it's. This is kind of crazy, but it happened not too far from, you know, the reservation that I grew up on, and it's just crazy what happened. And my. I had to tell my daughter about it, you know, because she was so young, and it's very Tragic what happened to her, but her name has really brought attention to this problem is not just in the United States, but in Canada, too.
- [40:37]
Taylor Chaimany
It's definitely a problem that needs. Needs addressing and needs attention, and whatever needs to happen to sort of make this better for. For indigenous people needs to happen. And, yeah, Emily Pike's case is utterly tragic.
- [40:50]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, definitely just getting the attention from law enforcement. You know, in a lot of these cases, they get swept under the rug. They don't get attention, and not. Not to the level that the Gabby Petito case was handled. And I really think that everybody deserves attention, you know, regardless of race or skin color.
- [41:12]
Taylor Chaimany
Absolutely. That should not matter. And was there anything else we didn't ask you about Belda's case that you wanted to mention or you think it's important for people to understand?
- [41:22]
Velda Taimani
Not in specifics, just, you know, she was. She was very special to us, and, you know, she deserves attention and closure. She didn't deserve what happened to her. And I just, you know, want to have the platform to spread her story and hopefully get the answers she needs. My grandfather is still alive, and, I mean, he's very elderly, but I don't want the same thing that happened to him, you know, without having any answers.
- [41:59]
Taylor Chaimany
Your family deserves to know what happened and why this happened. And, yeah, I would just encourage everyone to. To share this. And if you are a podcaster or creator who might be interesting, interested in covering this case, send us an email. Send murdersheet gmail.com and we will forward that on to Taylor. So, yeah, we want to spread the word on this one.
- [42:21]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, I am. I'm always open to sharing her story. I try to advocate as much as I can on my end, but, you know, I haven't gotten the national attention, and I think recently I. Her case is starting to be recognized, and I just want to be sure that, you know, her. Her story is shared and that everybody, you know, can learn what kind of person she was. She was. She was great.
- [42:52]
Taylor Chaimany
Yeah, she sounds awesome. I love that lemon and salt thing. That's. That's really.
- [42:56]
Velda Taimani
Yeah, she was a big snacker. She liked. She liked sunflower seeds and Coke, Coca Cola. Those were her favorite, and she would always share with me. When I was little, us Native American people were very spiritual. And, you know, I went and visited my aunt this morning, and, like, in our Zuni tradition, what we do is we, like, offer them, you know, food, like, their favorite snacks. So I took her a Coca Cola and a bag of sunflower seeds, and I told her I really need some answers. And when I said that, a butterfly flew in front of me and landed. Oh, my God. Yeah. And I just, like, I broke down crying because I know, I know that was her.
- [43:40]
Kevin Greenlee
If you have information on Velda Chimney's murder, please call silent witness at 480-WITNESS. That's 480-948-6377. We will include the Silent Witness webpage in our show notes as well.
- [43:56]
Anya Cain
And thank you so much to Taylor for sharing her aunt's story. We really appreciate her advocacy. You'll remember that Taylor mentioned that she had two relatives who had been killed. We'll do a separate episode on her cousin, so stay tuned for that at some point. If you have any ideas on how Taylor can raise awareness about her family's cases, please contact us@murdersheetmail.com thanks so much.
- [44:18]
Kevin Greenlee
For listening to the Murder Sheet. If you have a tip concerning one of the cases we cover, please email us@murdersheetmail.com. if you have actionable information about an unsolved crime, please report it to the appropriate authorities.
- [44:38]
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. Buymeacoffee.com murdersheet. We very much appreciate any support.
- [45:01]
Kevin Greenlee
Special thanks to Kevin Tyler Greenlee, who composed the music for the Murder Sheet and who you can find on the web@Kevin TG.com if you're looking to talk.
- [45:12]
Anya Cain
With 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 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.
- [45:37]
Kevin Greenlee
You know, Anya, we are in this true crime space. It's such a difficult place to be in sometimes. And one of the reasons is because you're talking about cases that people have a real emotional involvement in. And so if you reach a conclusion that some people don't like online, they're going to like start attacking you and even threatening you.
- [45:57]
Anya Cain
Yes.
- [45:57]
Kevin Greenlee
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Anya Cain
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Kevin Greenlee
That's fair to say.
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Anya Cain
What is quince?
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Kevin Greenlee
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Anya Cain
They do that because they basically cut out the middleman. You're just getting cut him right out. Yeah, they're getting it from the artisans. They're giving it to you. It's wonderful. It's going to be 50 to 80% less than those of their competitors. And you're just going to get some wonderful things. We recently went shopping to get some summer styles. We'd previously gotten some winter styles, but we wanted to update. So we went on quints and we both got something. Let's talk about what we got. I got this wonderful a hundred percent European linen dress. It's a button front dress and it's in blue chambry stripe. I love this dress. I'm picky about dresses. Because like I feel like I'm have a weird shaped body and sometimes they cut me off in a weird way. This one just fits like a dream. I love the way it fits. It is very much a classic sort of style. So I'm not worried about it going out of style in like two minutes and then I'm looking foolish. It just looks like something I can wear for years and years. I know I'm going to be wearing this dress a lot this summer.
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Kevin Greenlee
I got a great shirt. I can't paint word pictures like you do, but I'm very happy with the shirt. I've gotten compliments on the shirt. It's a comfortable shirt.
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Anya Cain
For anyone who is interested in learning more about the products that we purchased, he got a hundred percent European linen utility shirt in martini olive. So I think it looks really cute. I think that you look very cute in it. So I love it.
- [49:05]
Kevin Greenlee
And keep watching our Facebook page because we will probably, if I convince her, take a picture of Anya wearing her dress and her beret.
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Anya Cain
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