Garrett Moreland (2:26)

Happy Monday.

Peyton Moreland (2:27)

What? Okay, like, people could be watching this on Netflix.

Garrett Moreland (2:32)

Happy Monday. Thank you for being here. Tuning in on Netflix, a little different, but we're going to try not to think about it. It's just a regular episode, the regular week, the regular day.

Peyton Moreland (2:43)

Okay, wait, chill. Okay. If you're listening and you have no idea what we're talking about or you're watching and you're like, huh? Garrett and I's podcast is now available on Netflix. So there might be new people listen, listening, or there might be some OG listeners who have also transferred over. Now, don't worry, if you are listening to this on audio, on any audio platform, nothing changes for you. The podcast stays the same. You can listen anywhere on whatever platform you're listening on. Honestly, the only thing is, if you want to jump over to Netflix and maybe add our show to your list, give it a little love, that would be great. But other than that, the podcast for listeners remains the same. It's going to be murder with my husband every week, just like normal. Now, if you are new, I'm just going to give a quick rundown of what this is. If you randomly clicked on it and they're like, what the.

Garrett Moreland (3:41)

What's happening?

Peyton Moreland (3:42)

What is going on?

Garrett Moreland (3:43)

I'm Garrett.

Peyton Moreland (3:45)

And I'm Peyton.

Garrett Moreland (3:46)

And we're married.

Peyton Moreland (3:47)

Yes, we are husband and wife. And six years ago, out of the.

Garrett Moreland (3:51)

Blue, we started a podcast.

Peyton Moreland (3:53)

We started a podcast.

Garrett Moreland (3:54)

I love true Crime, and I have always, quote, unquote, hated it. Hated it. As in, I'm not interested in it. I don't watch true crime documentaries. I don't watch or listen to anything. True crime.

Peyton Moreland (4:06)

Yeah. So I was wanting to do something in true crime, and I was telling Garrett, I was like, oh, my gosh. Like, I want to start a podcast. I just don't know who to have as a co host because I don't want to do it alone. And he was like, well, I'll be your co host. I was like, garrett, you hate True Crime. Like, how would that work? And he was like, well, maybe that can be the thing. You love it and I hate it. And six years later, here we are on Netflix.

Garrett Moreland (4:32)

We're still here, we're still making episodes, and we're so glad that you guys love it. Quick. So Peyton tells me a new case each week. I never know what case Peyton is telling me. I usually don't know anything about the cases unless it's a high profile case and I've come across it on the news or on Social media. But even my social media, TikTok Instagram has nothing to do with true crime. So again, I don't know anything about the cases. I am non scripted. I don't have any scripts, any parts at all.

Peyton Moreland (5:05)

Yeah, and I just do the research. I basically create a research paper and then give a summary overview of a different case each week to Garrett. And you get his perspective from someone who absolutely hates true crime and mine as someone who has loved true crime since I can remember.

Garrett Moreland (5:25)

And yeah, that's basically it. We could ramble forever, but we won't. If you heard a bark, that is our dog Daisy, who is a part of the show who's currently barking at us.

Peyton Moreland (5:34)

She's the official mascot. But essentially the meat of the podcast is you are just getting nitty gritty details about true crime cases from someone who loves it and someone who hates it. Now, before we jump into every single episode, we do something called Garrett's 10 seconds, which is basically Garrett's time in the podcast to number one, start us off on a lighter foot before we get into murder. And number two, just venture into his world for a second because most of the script is my take on true crime. So yeah, this is his time to shine.

Garrett Moreland (6:07)

I'll make this pretty quick because you'll kind of get used to my 10 seconds and see a lot more of it if you keep listening. And we've already been rambling for a little bit at the beginning of the podcast. So my 10 seconds this week is for those who have been listening and know about the podcast, is I have been working on opening a bagel shop. If you don't like bagels, it's not for you. And I'm sorry, but if you do like bagels, I'm opening a bagel shop. It's happening. Permit has been acquired. It is in my hands. I started construction. We should be done in about eight to 10 weeks and then we'll be opening. It's crazy. I'll keep everyone updated. I know everyone's always like a bagel, bagel shop. It's going to be amazing. I'm excited. On that note, let's hop into today's case.

Peyton Moreland (6:56)

Our sources for this episode are ajc.com fox5atlanta.com Cobb county courier.com wsbtv.com oxygen.com Burtonquin scott.com 11alive.com Cobb county.gov comm A E's witness to murder Peacock and Oxygen's real murders of Orange county and Infocrime Data.

Garrett Moreland (7:15)

Blog Orange County Privacy.

Peyton Moreland (7:19)

It's something A lot of us don't even really think about anymore, especially when it comes to what we are sharing through our phones. We offer up our location to friends and family to keep each other safe. We literally post what we're doing in our day to day lives for complete strangers to see. And sometimes we don't even know what terms we're agreeing to, like sharing our cookies and search history with private companies, all by checking one little box on a web page. Now, with technology, we've obviously surrendered a lot of our privacy, sometimes unknowingly, sometimes we don't even really care. But usually we don't think about the consequences it might have later on. And that's the thing about cell phones and web pages and social media platforms. And they are designed to keep that fine print hidden to make you feel like your privacy is locked away in that little screen. The truth is, when we agree to a lot of these terms and conditions, privacy is honestly no longer a right, it becomes a privilege. And when you disrupt the social order, when you break the rules, society is put into place. Those secrets that you thought were contained in your cell phone can be used against you and in ways you didn't even know were possible.

Garrett Moreland (8:44)

I'm curious where this goes because I feel like I am on the other spectrum where, look, if you're on social media or you even have a cell phone, your privacy has been gone for years. You know what I'm saying?

Peyton Moreland (8:57)

Yeah.

Garrett Moreland (8:58)

Doesn't exist anymore, but you also get to use social media, so.

Peyton Moreland (9:02)

So today I am taking you to Atlanta, Georgia as we dial back the clock to 2018. Now, over the years, Atlanta has become a pretty major hotspot for the entertainment industry. Thanks to tax breaks and other incentives, the city has become kind of the Hollywood of the South. Production for a lot of movies and TV shows have migrated to this state, which means a lot of people pursuing their dreams in the entertainment career have as well. And that's including 31 year old Mitchell Jones Jr. Mitchell was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on August 7, 1987. After graduating high school in 2006, he went on to study the arts at Gannon University. This was a private Catholic college in his hometown. While there, Mitchell worked at the local Christian center and had a few different sales jobs. But after graduating, there was one dream he knew he needed to pursue. Acting. Mitchell decided to follow those dreams by heading south to Atlanta. He found a place just outside in Marietta, Georgia. And there, it seemed like Mitchell really blossomed. He kind of came out of his shell. He told friends he never really felt safe in Erie, but in Atlanta, he could be himself. He didn't have to hide. Which was an important shift for Mitchell, who was also gay.

Garrett Moreland (10:36)

Have you seen those videos recently of all the actors, like, having to act, like, in anything that's like action or sci fi, like they're just acting in front of nothing.

Peyton Moreland (10:46)

You know, I'm talking, like, on the screen.

Garrett Moreland (10:47)

Yes. Like on green screens.

Peyton Moreland (10:48)

Yeah.

Garrett Moreland (10:49)

I could never be an actor.

Peyton Moreland (10:51)

It doesn't show you how talented they really are.

Garrett Moreland (10:53)

It's. It's not that it's cringy, but kinda.

Peyton Moreland (10:55)

Oh, yeah.

Garrett Moreland (10:56)

Like just playing pretend. I mean, good for them because I cannot do that. But you know what I'm talking about. Have you seen those?

Peyton Moreland (11:02)

Yeah, like in like, Stranger Things.

Garrett Moreland (11:05)

They just. They just posted one and they were.

Peyton Moreland (11:08)

Just like in a crazy. When she's petting a guy in a green.

Garrett Moreland (11:11)

Yes.

Peyton Moreland (11:12)

Yeah.

Garrett Moreland (11:12)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (11:12)

And pretending it's Jacob. Yeah, I know.

Garrett Moreland (11:16)

Ew. I couldn't do it.

Peyton Moreland (11:17)

Okay. So like I said, Mitchell, he worked in a Christian center back home, but he is gay and he's now moved to Atlanta and he's like, oh, my gosh, I feel a lot more comfortable here. And as Mitchell established a life and started building his career in Georgia, he gained a huge circle of friends. And they all said Mitchell had an incredible energy. He was a blast to be around. He was funny and light hearted. He also dated around, but kept things mostly casual as he was focusing on acting. And everyone who knew him at this time didn't mince words when they said he was actually extremely talented. Now, unfortunately, not many people would get to see Mitchell's talents on the big screen because his life was cut short that November 2018. Now it's the day after Thanksgiving. So Black Friday, November 23, 2018. And that night, a woman named Lynette Hurt hears a commotion in the apartment next to hers. So this apartment obviously shares a wall with Mitchell Jones Jr's apartment. And while he sometimes plays his music a little louder than she would prefer, she actually really likes Mitchell. They're good neighbors. She's older than him, but she would cook for him. She kind of became a shoulder for him to cry on. She was sort of like an aunt to him at this point. And she's used to him having friends over and things getting a little rowdy. But for some reason, this Black Friday feels a little different. It sounds like Mitchell is actually fighting with someone in his apartment. There's yelling and banging, but Lynette doesn't want to be the nosy neighbor by knocking on Mitchell's door. It's after 9:00pm she figures, okay, whatever is going on over there, it's Mitchell's business. So she just goes upstairs and heads to bed. Now, about a half hour later, the local 911 operator receives a phone call. It's around 9:30pm When a man calls and says he's hurt and he needs them to send help. I cancel.

Garrett Moreland (13:38)

I'm glad. Okay, tell me exactly what happened.

Peyton Moreland (13:42)

Sir.

Garrett Moreland (13:42)

Tell me the address.

Peyton Moreland (13:43)

He doesn't offer his name. He can't even muster the strength to give them his address. All he can say is he needs the police because he's dying. Now luckily, 911 traces the call to an address. 3400 Lori Jo Drive. Around 10pm, police and first responders enter the place easily. The front door is unlocked the and they hear someone upstairs calling from the bedroom saying help me.

Garrett Moreland (14:10)

Okay.

Peyton Moreland (14:11)

When they get up there, they find a black male lying on his bedroom floor up against a wall, covered in blood. And he keeps saying he was shot, even though his wounds to responders appear to be more like stab wounds. Okay, now this victim is in and out of consciousness. So when they ask who did this to him, he says he can't tell them his name. But the police are wondering if he can't or if he won't. So without even getting the victim's name, they rush him off to the hospital and then they find his wallet and ID. This is 31 year old Mitchell Jones Jr. But who did this to him and why? Well, that question becomes even more pressing as the night goes on because Mitchell doesn't survive the ride to the hospital. Gosh, he is pronounced dead before they even get there, which is so devastating to me. In cases like this, when a victim themselves is aware enough to try and call police and get help. And police do respond, but they end up not surviving anyways. Yeah, like I just can't. I don't like thinking about those last moments. So the police now have a homicide investigation on their hands. And the silver lining is they have a good amount of blood evidence at this crime scene that might actually help them identify Mitchell's attacker. See, Mitchell had been stabbed in the face. Oh my gosh, in his head and his torso. Which meant it was unlikely he ever even made it out of the bedroom with those injuries that night. So when they find that there's blood on the wall outside of the bedroom leading down the staircase, and then those drops of blood, cheese. Are on the door frame headed outside, they're pretty Confident that this blood belongs to a different person, because Mitchell most likely never even left his room and bled in the apartment.

Garrett Moreland (16:23)

We've talked about this before on the podcast. Usually when someone is stabbed many times, it's usually a case of some sort of rage or passion or something. So we'll see.

Peyton Moreland (16:36)

Especially because Mitchell's bedroom showed signs of an intense struggle. There's broken items and things turned over in the room. Whatever happened here went down with a fight. It was very unlikely that the attacker left without injuries of their own, which could also help them potentially identify a suspect later on if they find them soon enough. But there's something else any seasoned police officer will tell you or Garrett. This was a crime of passion. Whenever you have a stabbing like this, it's intimate, it's close, and it's personal.

Garrett Moreland (17:15)

I've done too many of these cases by now. It's just. It's getting out of hand. I think I'm gonna have to quit.

Peyton Moreland (17:21)

That theory was reinforced by a few other clues around the place, like all of these lit candles, which made it seem like Mitchell was maybe expecting a romantic encounter that night that maybe potentially went wrong. Plus, Mitchell was in his underwear when he was found. There's no murder weapon in the house that they can find, and police are very careful about collecting any blood evidence they can at the scene. They also realize when they go to look for Mitchell's phone, they can't find it, at least not the one he typically used. Mitchell did have a backup phone, which he used to dial 91 1, but they discover early on that this isn't his primary device. And when they couldn't find his usual phone, they believe there was only one possibility. And it was that Mitchell's attacker, whoever did this, took the phone with him.

Garrett Moreland (18:18)

Geez.

Peyton Moreland (18:19)

By the following day, the investigation was really starting to heat up. Police began canvassing the neighborhood to see if there were any other witnesses to the crime. Now, of course, they spoke with the neighbor, Lynette, who heard parts of the altercation, Though unfortunately, nothing she said was very useful for the investigation. And can you imagine? She wakes up the next morning and police are knocking on her door, like, hey, your neighbor was murdered last night. And she's like, oh, my gosh, I genuinely heard this fighting and was like, I don't want to be a nosy.

Garrett Moreland (18:53)

Yeah, but, like, how are you supposed to know, right?

Peyton Moreland (18:54)

You don't.

Garrett Moreland (18:55)

You never know.

Peyton Moreland (18:56)

Imagine that reality the next morning and how awful that would be.

Garrett Moreland (19:01)

Yeah. I mean, a lot of people would put blame on themselves, but hopefully not.

Peyton Moreland (19:04)

No, there's nothing.

Garrett Moreland (19:05)

It's not their fault. They didn't do anything. Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (19:07)

How do you guys feel about organizing your finances on your own? Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Garrett and I have used Rocket Money, and that was when we figured out we were both paying for a subscription. Two subscriptions.

Garrett Moreland (19:30)

Peyton and I, we love Rocket Money. I have been using them for so long. They organize all of our credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts, whatever it is, it's all in one app. You can see everything. You can see how much you're paying for everything. Subscriptions, bills, whatever it is, it is all there in Rocket Money. And it is so easy to use and organize.

Peyton Moreland (19:51)

I think it's amazing too, that they can now help you set budgets and goals. And they will also cancel things for you, help negotiate lower bills for you. It's honestly just become the money app that you need.

Garrett Moreland (20:05)

Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join@RocketMoney.com husband that's Rocket Money.com husband RocketMoney.com.

Peyton Moreland (20:15)

Husband all right, y'. All. Hitting you with an ad. And in those moments when money isn't moving as fast as your life is, Earn in helps give you the financial momentum you need to keep moving forward. Earn in is an app that lets you access your pay as you earn it up to $150 a day with a max of $1,000 between paydays. So you just download the Earn in app and add your info. Then start accessing your pay as you work and leave an optional tip to help keep the app running for everyone.

Garrett Moreland (20:45)

Peyton and I love this concept. We love this idea. There is so many times that we seriously would have used this when we needed to get a paycheck early. Honestly, it's amazing. Download Earnin today spelled E A R N I N in the Google Play or Apple App Store. When you download the Earn an app, type in Murder with My Husband under Podcast when you sign up. It'll really help the show Murder with My Husband under podcast. Earn is a financial technology company, not a bank. Access limits are based on your earnings and risk factor. Standard cash outs take one to two business days with no mandatory fees. Expedited transfers available for a fee. Tips are voluntary and don't affect the service. Available in select states. Terms and restrictions apply. Visit Earnnan.com for full details. Download Earn and Now and take control.

Peyton Moreland (21:31)

Of your pay so there is another neighbor, though, who did give police a good clue. Their property directly faced Mitchell's home. And the night before, they caught something on their outdoor camera. It showed a car pulling into the driveway at 9:09pm and then the same car pulled out and sped off about 20 minutes later after that. This was right around the time that Mitchell placed the 911 call. Police are obviously like, okay, you literally got our killer on doorbell footage, which is pretty usual nowadays. Police couldn't get a license plate off the grainy footage. They couldn't even really tell the make and model of the car. But they were able to zoom in on the brake lights, which helped them narrow it down. And eventually they decided to. They were looking for a dark colored.

Garrett Moreland (22:27)

Buick Lucerne, which actually that's a pretty good clue because it's not. That's not a car that everyone's driving. It's not like it's a Honda Accord or a Honda Civic.

Peyton Moreland (22:37)

Right?

Garrett Moreland (22:38)

So that really does narrow things down quite a bit.

Peyton Moreland (22:41)

And when police looked back at the footage from days and weeks before Mitchell's death, they saw that same car pull into his driveway on a few earlier occasions.

Garrett Moreland (22:51)

So I don't even know what that car looks like.

Peyton Moreland (22:53)

This is someone who had been there quite a bit, which proved to the police Mitchell had known this person after all. Now, at this point, the police were trying to follow every lead they could. They had subpoenaed Mitchell's phone records and were waiting on them to come back. And meanwhile, they were looking into everyone Mitchell was close to, just trying to figure out his life. They knew he had a big social life and that he had dated a lot, which only made their pool of potential suspects larger. But when they speak to Mitchell's mother, she says there's one close friend Mitchell had in Atlanta that was like a sister to him. That if anyone knew the details of Mitchell's personal life, it was probably her. Her name was Jasmine. And when police speak with Jasmine, she says there was this one guy Mitchell was dating before he died. It was giving off a lot of red flags that there had been some physical altercations between the two of them already, which actually fit something. Mitchell's neighbor Lynette had told police, too, that there was a night prior to the murder when she also heard Mitchell fighting with another man. But the following day, she saw them outside together laughing. So she was like, okay, maybe it was just a little fight. Still, police are like, this lead is worth pursuing. So they have Jasmine tell them more. She says Mitchell and this guy had broken up a few weeks before he died. Apparently, things reached a breaking point when Mitchell kicked him out of his place one night. Problem is, Mitchell had never told Jasmine this guy's name. Apparently, they weren't all that serious because Mitchell only ever referred to him to Jasmine as that boy.

Garrett Moreland (24:36)

Interesting. I wonder if they met on, like, a dating website like Tinder or something.

Peyton Moreland (24:40)

We'll get there, though. He had shown her a few photos of this guy, the boy. And in one of those photos Mitchell sent, that boy had his shirt off, and he had a lot of tattoos, including one on his arm that read, rest in peace, Brandon, with the date of a death. So police see this photo, and they see an opportunity here. They go online, and they start looking for a Brandon that passed away from that specific date.

Garrett Moreland (25:11)

Okay.

Peyton Moreland (25:11)

And they find someone who they think could be the Brandon referred to in this mysterious tattoo. And when they look at Brandon's social media, they find that he's friends with a guy that looks exactly like that boy in the photo that Mitchell had been seeing. Police discover his name is Eric Hopkins. This being a pretty good lead, they immediately start looking into Eric's background, and they find he actually has a criminal history. He had stabbed one of his previous lovers before. It was during a domestic dispute, though I'm pretty sure his partner survived. The coincidence was too much to ignore, though. So the next.

Garrett Moreland (25:56)

I just hate DV Cases are so hard because there's almost always past, like, convictions or a history of abuse. History of abuse. And then it sucks because they abuse, abuse, abuse, abuse, abuse. And then a lot of times, they kill someone, and it's just like, what are you supposed to do about that? Frustrating.

Peyton Moreland (26:16)

It's definitely frustrating. You want to be like, what? How was this allowed?

Garrett Moreland (26:20)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (26:21)

Obviously, the next step was to get this Eric guy down to the station, so investigators try the nice way. They call him and ask, hey, oh, good luck. Do you know a man named Mitchell Jones Jr. And he says, yes. And when they tell him, okay, well, he was killed a week ago, Eric responds by saying, are you serious now? To police, he does sound genuinely shocked in those audio recordings. But he must know this doesn't look very good for him, because at this point, he refuses to speak with the police and says they're gonna have to contact his attorney. He wants nothing to do with the.

Garrett Moreland (26:59)

Investigation, which, honestly, I mean, good answer.

Peyton Moreland (27:02)

Honestly, not that dumb of him to be like, one of my past boyfriend's lovers was killed, and now you're calling me to ask about it.

Garrett Moreland (27:11)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (27:11)

So this is when Police realize they're going to have to get him down to the station a different way if they actually want to talk to him. But luckily for them, Eric has violated his parole for that stabbing charge. So 10 days after the murder, they move in and force Eric down to the station for an interview. Now, Eric openly admits he wasn't really in a relationship with Mitchell. They had just kind of fooled around occasionally, more of like a situationship. But the last time they spoke was a few days before the murder. So right before Thanksgiving. He denies having been to Mitchell's house that night or having anything to do with the murder. But his alibi that he gives police isn't the strongest. He says he was at a movie that night. And while the person he went with seemingly vouches for him, there's no other evidence that he was there. So police decide to take a sample of his DNA because they want to compare it to the blood found in Mitchell's home. But until they get those results back, they decide to keep pursuing Eric because right now, he's kind of the best lead they've got. Which is why they get a search warrant for his phone to see what he's been up to.

Garrett Moreland (28:28)

When they get a search warrant, I feel like I've asked this before. And they're searching his phone. I assume they don't actually. Do they actually like, grab his phone or do they like, grab it and make a copy of it?

Peyton Moreland (28:41)

Do you know, usually they confiscate the phone?

Garrett Moreland (28:44)

Like the actual phone?

Peyton Moreland (28:45)

Okay, yeah. And. And if they have. Okay, so like say police were responding to an overage person talking to an underage person, and they show up and both those people are there, or even just the overage person is there. They will take their phone, like on scene. They will be like, this is, you know, a part of our investigation.

Garrett Moreland (29:06)

Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.

Peyton Moreland (29:08)

I think in this case, I don't know, they have the warrant and I'm assuming they probably confiscated his phone.

Garrett Moreland (29:14)

Interesting.

Peyton Moreland (29:15)

Now, not only do they find that Eric and Mitchell spoke many times in the two weeks before his murder, he also called a second number a lot. So this other guy in Eric's phone was named DeAndre Fleming. Now, basically, they want to rule out the possibility that Eric may have had someone else kill Mitchell for him. So police follow this trail, which leads them to DeAndre Fleming's parents house where he's still living. And when they get there, right off the bat, they notice something suspicious. Because what do you think is literally sitting in DeAndre's parents driveway?

Garrett Moreland (29:57)

When police pull up the Buick, the.

Peyton Moreland (29:59)

Car, a dark colored Buick, I mean.

Garrett Moreland (30:03)

Game over at that point, just like.

Peyton Moreland (30:05)

The one that was seen coming and going pretty often from Mitchell's house. So police feel like they're steps away from solving this case. They feel like they're on the right track. They knock on the Fleming's door and they speak with DeAndre, who is seemingly very cooperative. But when they ask, okay, do you know Eric Hopkins? He's like, no, the name doesn't ring a bell.

Garrett Moreland (30:31)

Which is hilarious considering all the calls I just came through.

Peyton Moreland (30:34)

Yeah. He's like, okay, come on, man, you're being a little sketchy since we obviously know that get out of here. Called his phone a bunch of. So they pull out a picture of Eric and they show him. They're like, well, this is Eric. Are you sure you don't know him? And right away DeAndre's like, oh yeah, that guy. I play video games with him. He says they never met in person, but the Eric has used deandre's phone as a hotspot to play video games before.

Garrett Moreland (31:05)

I'm a little confused because how is that not possible if they haven't played in person? Like, for a hotspot, you have to be somewhat near that person to use it.

Peyton Moreland (31:14)

Yes. Let me explain it to you.

Garrett Moreland (31:17)

So that doesn't make sense.

Peyton Moreland (31:18)

So the explanation of why the phone calls are there if he's only used it as a hotspot actually does make sense to police, because when your phone links to someone's hotspot, it actually appears like a phone call on your records. Okay, that's kind of how it shows this activity. Now, again, like Garrett just said, I had the same exact question. What I personally found strange about this was how Eric linked to DeAndre's hotspot if they never met. Because as far as I'm aware, you need to be in close proximity to link to someone's hotspot. So maybe the two were neighbors but just didn't know each other. Well, either way, his story did seem to check out to the police. That especially because when they look at DeAndre's cell and type in Eric's number, no past correspondence on text or the phone log come up. It really is just the hotspot.

Garrett Moreland (32:16)

I'm really confused about this hotspot thing, but I'm going to ignore it for now.

Peyton Moreland (32:20)

Well, it's annoying because none of the sources or even police explain why, because.

Garrett Moreland (32:27)

That doesn't make any sense at all.

Peyton Moreland (32:29)

They're like, yep, it was just him connecting to the hotspot, but they've never met in person. Like, there's not. There's no explanation about it.

Garrett Moreland (32:36)

That's literally, like, impossible.

Peyton Moreland (32:38)

All we have is that police apparently went forward with this explanation. Okay, either way. I mean, all I can do is just take what I'm learning from sources. But either way, they decide to take a look inside the Buick. They're like, hey, can we look inside the Buick? And this is when they realize there's no blood or DNA evidence in the Buick that they can see. It seems like it's just a coincidence that this random guy was hooking up to this guy's hotspot, and it's completely random that his parents drive a Buick.

Garrett Moreland (33:12)

Get out of here. That's insane.

Peyton Moreland (33:14)

And police are like, okay, well, I don't think we have any choice but to clear him. Like, every. All the evidence makes sense in his connection to DeAndre. And so he's cleared because police get word that the blood found inside Mitchell's home that night is actually not a match for Eric Hopkins. So, like, okay, we only got to DeAndre through Eric, and now we're learning that the blood that we believe is from the attacker is not even Eric Hopkins blood. In fact, when they run that DNA profile from the crime scene through codis, there's no match in there either. Meaning investigators are basically back at square one when it comes to evidence. This was. Until they get the records back on Mitchell's missing cell phone. So they are getting his records through his, like, logs and cell phone activity. And here's where technology falls short. While your phone records show who you call and text with, it obviously doesn't show who you've been messaging over social media. Media apps. You would only be able to find that through going through someone's phone.

Garrett Moreland (34:22)

Correct.

Peyton Moreland (34:22)

And getting into their app. So if you send someone a DM to come over to your house, that's not going to come up through a subpoena to, say, Verizon. You'd have to subpoena the social media platforms themselves to give you access to that specific user's data.

Garrett Moreland (34:38)

Actually physically have the person's phone, which I just don't think happens very often.

Peyton Moreland (34:42)

Well, I mean, the phone's missing. They. Literally. Until they find the attacker.

Garrett Moreland (34:46)

Okay. Okay.

Peyton Moreland (34:47)

And then even then, you got to know passwords. Or you still have to get a subpoena to get the password.

Garrett Moreland (34:51)

Yeah, I'm dumb. I wasn't thinking about that.

Peyton Moreland (34:52)

So it's obviously a tedious process. Now, the police were hoping Mitchell would have texted or called the person who he invited over that night, but they don't find any evidence of that on his logs. The last person he spoke to was his neighbor. So they believe that this conversation probably happened through a social media platform which they don't have access to at this time. However, they do notice something else interesting when they get his records back. Remember, Mitchell's phone wasn't at the crime scene when police got there, he had used a backup cell phone to call 91 1. His primary cell phone actually moved to the area of downtown Atlanta after his murder. So police are like, well, let's just go to his cell phone's last known location because we believe the attacker had it and it is an empty lot in downtown. They're like, maybe the suspect just ditched it there. But they have no luck finding the cell phone in this empty lot. So this case hits another roadblock. That was until March of 2019. Honestly guys, I'm over the whole New Year, New Me thing. Short term fads don't deliver long term results. Science does, especially when it comes to skin care. And that's why I use one skin. Their formulas are powered by the OS1 peptide, a patented peptide built on longevity science, proven to target aging in the cellular level. It's not about adding extra steps to your routine, it's about swapping in smarter ones. And I have been using their Under Eye cream. I love it so much. It's like the perfect consistency and it feels so refreshing. I know that I am supporting the cellular repair that keeps my skin looking and feeling better as I get older. And all of One Skin' are designed to layer effortlessly and even replace multiple steps in your routine, making long term skin health simpler and smarter at any age. And every formula is certified safe for sensitive skin dermatologists, tested free from over 1500 irritating ingredients and awarded the National Eczema Association's Seal of Acceptance. You get powerful results without irritation or harsh side effects. Born from over 10 years of longevity research, One Skin's OS1 peptide is proven to target the cells that cause the visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. And for a limited time, one skin is making it even easier to stay consistent with 15% off when you use Code Husband at Oneskin co husband. That's 15% off with code Husband. And after you purchase, they'll ask where you heard about them and please support our show and tell them that we sent you. This episode is sponsored by Better Help. The new year doesn't require a new you, maybe just a less burdened you. Therapy can help more easily identify what weighs you down, holds you back by offering an unbiased perspective to better understand your relationships, motivations, and emotions. You both know Garrett and I love therapy. And I think, you know, it doesn't have to be something dramatic in order for you to go to therapy. So if you've ever thought about giving it a chance, try it now with better help. Better Help therapists work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the US and with over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is one of the world's largest online therapy platforms, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars for a live session based on over 1.7 million client reviews. BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. Sign up and get 10% off@betterhelp.com husband that's betterhelp h e l p.com husband one of the detectives on the case had just come back from an FBI training seminar where he learned about a new technique they were teaching known as geofencing. Ah, I think we've talked about geofencing before on the Egypt Covington case. But in case you missed it, here is how it works. Google has this technology called Sensor Vault. So whether you like it or not, if you have a device that is using Google, it is tracking the device's location at all times, whether you have your location history or permissions on or not. So Google has the ability to track you whether you're like yes or no. Google then stores all of this information in their Sensor Vault database. And ever since 2016, law enforcement has been hitting up Google to get this information when they think it might solve a crime. There's even new special warrants for this kind of thing called geofencing warrants.

Garrett Moreland (39:44)

And if you don't like this technology or it makes you uncomfortable, it's because you are a murderer saying, I got nothing to hide. Track my location at all times. I'm probably just at home in my basement working or playing video games.

Peyton Moreland (40:00)

Truly.

Garrett Moreland (40:00)

Or playing pickleball or making bagels or golfing.

Peyton Moreland (40:03)

I mean, I totally.

Garrett Moreland (40:05)

I get. Look, I get it. I know that's.

Peyton Moreland (40:07)

I know we've debated this before.

Garrett Moreland (40:09)

We've talked about this on multiple episodes.

Peyton Moreland (40:11)

Yes, I understand why people are like, whoa, government, give me privacy.

Garrett Moreland (40:16)

Look, majority of people don't really care what you're doing daily. You know what I'm saying?

Peyton Moreland (40:20)

Right? It's kind of like that joke about.

Garrett Moreland (40:22)

Like, how do I say this? We're not that important.

Peyton Moreland (40:25)

Like, whatever FBI agent is spying on me, can you send me a few more ads?

Garrett Moreland (40:29)

Yeah, exactly.

Peyton Moreland (40:30)

Like it's. People joke about it because it's like, yeah, what are you gonna do? So what's kind of cool about this geofencing thing is that when a police department goes to Google with a geofencing warrant, they are basically saying, hey, we need a list of all the cell phones that were in this specific chosen area. Which is really cool because if you have like a crime scene in a specific area of town, you can be like, hey, we need to know every single cell phone that was in this area from this time to this time and get a warrant for it. So Google basically hands over a map of a chosen area, and that map shows what cell phones were inside a perimeter at a certain time. So in Mitchell's case, that map would be the area around his apartment during the date and time of his murder. Now this technique is becoming more and more common in solving cases, so which is why you're hearing more and more often that murderers are leaving their phones at home like serial killers, or turning their phones off because they don't want their phone with them even if their location services are turned off. There's one stat I actually found from 2019 where Google said they received about 180 requests for Geo fencing data a week. Now, I imagine it's grown exponentially since 2019.

Garrett Moreland (41:48)

Rap. That's a ton of ton.

Peyton Moreland (41:49)

And by the way, it's not just Google. If you have your location settings on, any service provider can say where your cell phone was at at any given day and time.

Garrett Moreland (41:59)

I'm down. That doesn't bother me.

Peyton Moreland (42:00)

Police don't have to rely solely on pings from cell phone towers now, which have already been messy when it comes to true crime.

Garrett Moreland (42:08)

And it's, it's like Pain said, it's so complicated to deal with pings and.

Peyton Moreland (42:13)

So complicated they can really narrow it down to a small radius to see exactly where your cel and if you're carrying it, where you were and when you were there. Now, in terms of this investigation, police paired that geofence down to the 500ft surrounding Mitchell's home in a 45 minute window around the time of his 911 call. And they rule it down to four devices based on who came and went during that time. Because if someone's like sitting in their house, their phone's going to be there the whole time. Versus coming, murdering someone and leaving. Now, two of those devices actually belonged to an elderly couple that lived down the road, so they kind of crossed them out. One was someone who was visiting a friend on the block. So they crossed them out. And then there was one that really stood out to investigators. Someone who left the geofence moments before Mitchell placed his 911 call. Someone who hadn't even been on the police's radar before.

Garrett Moreland (43:16)

Oh, man.

Peyton Moreland (43:17)

A 22 year old man named Dante Holmes. Okay, Dante had a history of aggravated assault and theft.

Garrett Moreland (43:25)

What a surprise.

Peyton Moreland (43:26)

But he wasn't in the CODIS database, which explained why police might not have gotten a hit on him through his DNA. So they get a subpoena for Dante's phone, because they're like, hey, this was in our. It covered our warrant, so now we can get a subpoena for his phone. And they find an image he had uploaded to icloud right after the time of the murder. It's a picture of a bloody wound on his leg. But that's not all. They find out that Dunty's mother had a brand new Buick the time of Mitchell's death, and then sold it quickly after the incident.

Garrett Moreland (44:11)

That's insane. That's insane.

Peyton Moreland (44:13)

Also pretty damning. Remember how Mitchell's phone traveled to the downtown Atlanta area right after his death? Well, guess whose phone was right there traveling alongside Mitchell's phone at the same time. Dante's. So this is more than enough to get an arrest warrant for Dante holmes. And on April 12, 2019, almost six months after Mitchell's death, Dante is taken into custody. And one of the first things they do is take some of Dante's DNA to run it against the blood sample they have. And then they start interrogating him, which he does agree to without an attorney present. Now, at first, Dante profusely denies having anything to do with Mitchell's murder. In fact, he denies knowing Mitchell at all. And then, little by little, throughout the interrogation, he begins to change his story. He says, okay, yeah, I do know Mitchell, but we just hooked up once or twice. I didn't even actually know his name. And the last time he saw him was actually back in September, two months before the murder. Obviously, police know this isn't true. The Buick was spotted on Mitchell's neighbor's security camera several times in the weeks leading up to the murder. So even if it was, like, September and then he just came back to the murder, that's still a lie.

Garrett Moreland (45:36)

I think it's so funny because the geofencing also has him literally in the area. So it's just like, come on, man, give it up.

Peyton Moreland (45:45)

This is why it's like, police don't release all their cards or all their evidence, even to the media.

Garrett Moreland (45:50)

100.

Peyton Moreland (45:51)

Because you can catch people in lies like this.

Garrett Moreland (45:54)

And once you catch them in a lie, then they have to backtrack and they lie again. Like, it's just over at that.

Peyton Moreland (45:58)

Right. But even though he's caught in these lies, he's not really budging. So the interrogators change their tactic. They start playing the how's your family gonna feel about all of this? Card. And the listen, you will feel better if you'll just confess because we have all this evidence. We know you're lying. And then Dante finally gives in. He says, okay, he went over there that night because he was going to call it quits with Mitchell. He claims Mitchell called him over to talk about things, invited him up to his room, and he claims it was actually Mitchell who started this. Dante says, I turned around for a second when I was in his bedroom, and then when I turned back around, Mitchell was standing there with a knife in his hand.

Garrett Moreland (46:41)

What a loser. Because no one can. Like, there's no witnesses to be like, oh, he's lying.

Peyton Moreland (46:46)

Right?

Garrett Moreland (46:46)

So it's just like, come on, man.

Peyton Moreland (46:49)

So Dante claimed that's when Mitchell tried to stab him. And Dante then acted out of self defense. They get into an intense struggle, fighting over the knife. And Dante said that was when Mitchell cut his leg. Eventually, he got the knife out of Mitchell's hands and stabbed him in the back and then just kept going, all in an effort to protect himself. He then took the knife and Mitchell's phone with him in a panic and fled the scene before getting rid of both items later on. Instead of calling 911 and saying, oh, my gosh, this guy just tried to stab me. And I stabbed him back in self defense. Like, please, can you come here? Dante said it was never his intention when he arrived at Mitchell's home that night for things to go down the way they did. But police aren't really buying it. They think if Dante really did show remorse for what he did, he wouldn't have stolen the victim's cell phone, making it harder for him to call for help, which is most likely why he even took the phone. He likely would have called 911 on his own to say what had happened.

Garrett Moreland (47:53)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (47:54)

At least now they have a confession, though, whether he's saying it was self defense or not. And soon they do get confirmation that his Blood also matches the blood on the door frame found at Mitchell's house, which is more than enough to get him indicted on charges of malice murder. This is a criminal offense in Georgia when a murder is committed with express or implied malice. They also get him on aggravated assault and aggravated battery, as well as two counts of felony murder. It's safe to say the prosecution feels pretty confident about their case against Dante. However, they aren't sure how this geofencing technology is going to translate to a jury. Are they going to understand it? Are they going to trust it? And will they think it's also a violation of personal privacy? Luckily, that's not the only evidence they're working with. They do have Dante's confession and his DNA at the crime scene. So they decide to pursue the death penalty. And that's when Dante's attorneys think, okay, maybe we should start talking about a plea deal. Three weeks before Dante's trial is set to begin In January of 2020, his lawyers say he's changing his plea to guilty to avoid the death penalty, which.

Garrett Moreland (49:08)

At that point, you're just admitting everything, right?

Peyton Moreland (49:10)

Right. He is sentenced to life in prison. With that, the state of Georgia solves one of, if not its first case ever using geofencing technology. And Mitchell Jones gets the justice he deserves.

Garrett Moreland (49:28)

Why? Like why? Like why? Sorry.

Peyton Moreland (49:30)

Yeah, like why?

Garrett Moreland (49:31)

What was the reason why?

Peyton Moreland (49:33)

He never actually gives. He says he does the typical, I'm pleading guilty because I don't want the death penalty, not because I actually did this.

Garrett Moreland (49:42)

Like, did they get in a fight?

Peyton Moreland (49:43)

Like, what was the prosecution theory was just that, like a lover's quarrel, maybe didn't want to be broken up with, whatever it had happened, man. But, I mean, the truth is, we'll never know. But I do think it's important to note, as far as true crime goes, geofencing has actually sparked a lot of controversy in the years since Mitchell's case.

Garrett Moreland (50:04)

I get it.

Peyton Moreland (50:05)

While law enforcement sees it as an incredibly useful tool, others are afraid it's a slippery slope when it comes to an invasion of privacy. Especially because, like any crime solving method, it is not completely fail safe.

Garrett Moreland (50:22)

Yeah.

Peyton Moreland (50:22)

Take the case of George Molina in Phoenix, Arizona, for example. Back in 2018, 23 year old George, a warehouse worker, was arrested after a geofence placed him at the scene of a murder. He spent the next week in jail arguing for his innocence before he was released. It was then determined that George's stepfather was to blame for the murder. He had George's phone in his car while it was happening.

Garrett Moreland (50:50)

Okay, I mean, that part I understand. That's not okay.

Peyton Moreland (50:53)

I mean, yeah, that's not. Who's to say who's carrying whose phone? It's just a phone. Not necessarily.

Garrett Moreland (50:58)

I guess there now we learn from, like, did you actually have your phone? Can we prove that person actually had that?

Peyton Moreland (51:04)

So it's not as, like, concrete as maybe people once believed. And even though George was released from prison after a week, the mistake was never fully corrected. The arrest has stayed on his record. An arrest for murder, mind you, which will make it very difficult to find work and support in the future because you have an arrest for potential first degree murder on your record, all because his cell phone was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person in his father's car, which is like, completely normal. And then there's obviously the argument of privacy Garrett and I were talking about. Should it be a right or a privilege? Of course, there's the idea of, I have nothing to hide. I'll show you the contents of my phone. But some people see this as a complete invasion of their personal space, regardless. Like, they're like, no, I have the right to privacy. A little sus that even if they have nothing to hide, the government and law enforcement agencies should not have complete access to their lives and know where they are at 24 7. Because as we know from doing this show, and even in George's case, sometimes even those with nothing to hide are blamed for things they didn't do. At least in Mitchell's case, geofencing did lead to a success story. Mitchell's father even praised it when he spoke to the press. And if it weren't for those new tools, Dante Holmes might be out there walking free today because they never would have linked him to Mitchell. And that is the murder of Mitchell Jones Jr. Horrible.

Garrett Moreland (52:42)

I just. It. I mean, I guess we'll never know the actual motive, but I. We do so many cases and we've done so many cases, and to kill someone will never stop blowing my mind. I'll never be able to understand it because it's not okay. We don't kill people. We just. Yeah, we don't do it. We got to control our emotions. There's so many other ways to handle things, and it's crazy to me that people just kill people.

Peyton Moreland (53:08)

Honestly, I've been down the, like, police body cam footage, rabbit hole lately. You know, just out of. I. I don't know, just when I have free time and I've been watching police responding to murders and having their body cam on and it's just like lovers fighting murders. I honestly had to turn it off.

Garrett Moreland (53:33)

Any type of DV is just because.

Peyton Moreland (53:35)

It just feels like what? Hello. Like, control your emotions. But. All right, you guys, that was our episode today and we will see you next time with another one.

Garrett Moreland (53:47)

I love it and I hate it.

Peyton Moreland (53:49)

Goodbye. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Make another smart choice with Auto Quote Explorer to compare rates from multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy.