Real Life Real Crime | Justice For Hailey ep 30

Host: Woody Overton (Real Life Real Crime Productions)
Guest: Scott Roeder (Forensic Expert, Director of Evidence Room)
Release Date: February 17, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode is a pivotal update in Woody Overton’s deep-dive investigative series into the suspicious death of Hailey, a case long presumed a suicide but increasingly challenged as a potential homicide. Woody brings in renowned forensic expert Scott Roeder to explain new forensic findings and discuss what it means for the quest for #JusticeForHailey. The episode combines technical discussion, impassioned advocacy for cold case victims, and a call for community support to fund further forensic review.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Contextual Updates and Advocacy

• Woody recaps his involvement in unsolved cold cases, touching on cases like Bradley, AO, and Ms. Barbara Blunt, emphasizing persistent advocacy and appeal for public tips.
  • “Not stopping, not giving up, fielding the calls, doing what I do. And let's get justice for them, right? Let's bring them home. It's important. Y’all just keep, keep the pressure up. Don't give up.” (Woody Overton, 03:57)

2. Background on Hailey’s Case

• Woody narrates the background: Hailey’s death initially ruled suicide, with growing evidence and family advocacy suggesting otherwise.
• The DA’s lack of action, despite earlier reassurances, has galvanized private investigation and forensic review through crowd-supported funding.

3. Introduction of Forensic Expertise

• Forensic animator and expert Scott Roeder (Evidence Room) joins to explain his credentials and forensic process.
• Scott’s background includes over 3,000 cases, hundreds of trials, and work with major law and police organizations—a credibility vital for the independent review.
  • “I started off as in photography and worked with the Cleveland Police Department...went back to school and studied...under Dr. Henry C. Lee...I've consulted on over 3,000 individual cases, gone to trial hundreds of times.” (Scott Roeder, 24:59–26:39)
• Notable previous cases include Oscar Pistorius and Marty Tankleff (New York Innocence Project).
• Both hosts stress their commitment to truth and justice, working with and against law enforcement as justice requires.

4. Forensic Failures and Law Enforcement Omissions

• Discussion of procedural errors by the original law enforcement team:
  • Pathologist performed autopsy without key context or investigative detail.
  • Major evidence (Haley’s body and crime scene) mishandled; immediate physical and testimonial evidence compromised.
• Woody: “...the real mess up in the procedure is they send Haley for an autopsy, but with no information to the pathologist…If he had had the information that we have from the get go then it had been a totally different thing.” (Woody Overton, 13:04–15:28)
• Scott notes the institutional disincentive to admit police/procedural errors, emphasizing the need for neutral, evidence-based review.

5. Breakthrough in Forensic Analysis

a. Blood Spatter and Scene Dynamics

• Newly analyzed blood spatter on the wall is likely “incontrovertible evidence” that can rule out suicide and indicate homicide.

  • “There is new evidence that we are zeroing in on and it is the blood spatter evidence on the wall...that I think is ultimately going to be the incontrovertible evidence.” (Scott Roeder, 16:18)

• Key factors:

  • Shape, direction, and position of spatters suggest a horizontal gunshot at standing height—impossible self-infliction due to victim’s arm length and gun size.
  • Intact brain tissue and the trajectory indicate she was upright, the shot was back-to-front, not downward from above (as would occur in a lying suicide).
  • Blood alcohol level (.3) would have impaired Hailey’s ability to manipulate the weapon as posited by the original suicide theory.
  • Victim's hand positioning (one hand clutched in hair, dominant hand unused) inconsistent with gun operation.

  Quote:

  • “That gun was straight back. Because if that gun had any upward directionality, her brain would not be intact.” (Scott Roeder, 41:10)

b. Reconstruction and Future Work

• Scott and his team will proceed with ballistic gel mannequin tests to further replicate the scene and finalize a robust report.
  • “The next step for me is to do a physical experimentation with a gel ballistic mannequin...to replicate that blood spatter on the wall.” (Scott Roeder, 43:44)

c. Demonstration of Objectivity

• Scott discusses professional ethics: he consults for both prosecution and defense and always lets evidence guide his conclusions, refusing to please clients over facts.
  • Memorable Exchange:
    • Scott: “Well, I cannot change the facts of the case. Well, I'm not happy about it. I was like, well, you're happy. This is not my department.” (Scott Roeder, 32:47)

6. Strategic Approach to Prosecutorial Engagement

• Goal is to present irrefutable, independently verifiable evidence so prosecutors can act, even if it means challenging their own initial findings.

  • “My goal is to give them this new information so that they can say, okay, let's verify it on our own, right? …I’m confident when they see our final reconstruction and report they’ll take that as new evidence and criticize it...And I’m confident, once they break it down, they'll say oh he's right.” (Scott Roeder, 49:39–50:29)

• Woody frames media and public pressure as a last resort to force accountability if officials continue to stonewall.

  • “...once, you know, you get the evidence to where it needs to be and we present, if they don't take it, then we're going to burn them down worldwide. And it's what we did before and why the D.A. called Barbara herself on Sundays.” (Woody Overton, 48:12)

7. Community Involvement and Fundraising

• The campaign for forensic review is crowd-funded—Woody reads a lengthy list of donors, emphasizing this as a collaborative push for justice and transparency.
• Appeals for continued sharing and support, reiterating the value of professional, independent investigation for cold cases.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On police procedural errors:
  “...I have never in my 30 years and I've been to a thousand autopsies...the pathologist is only as good as the information they have. It's like if you go see your doctor and you just tell your doctor you're sick, but you don't tell them about any of the symptoms.”
  (Woody Overton, 13:04)

• On neutral forensic practice:
  “I don't have an ideology other than the truth.”
  (Scott Roeder, 29:49)

• Philosophy of Justice:
  “Let a thousand guilty men go...there is a benefit of defending the guilty, everybody's representation because we have to treat the least of us the best or else the best of us will be treated like the least.”
  (Scott Roeder, 33:35 & 34:32)

• Summing up the new blood spatter analysis:
  “That proves, I believe, the horizontal, horizontal nature of the gunshot wound. And if it’s the horizontal nature...then it could not be self inflicted because you cannot reach in a horizontal nature...So I think that was incontrovertible.”
  (Scott Roeder, 42:50)

• On community/team effort:
  “Justice for Haley funded an independent forensic review...even if you're an anonymous, I'm gonna read...the names.”
  (Woody Overton, 57:33)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Summary | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:57 | Woody’s message on perseverance and ongoing cold case activism | | 07:37 | Start of Scott Roeder interview | | 13:04 | Detailed explanation of law enforcement mishandling and impact on forensics | | 16:18 | Scott introduces the pivotal blood spatter evidence | | 24:59 | Scott’s credentials and backstory | | 41:10 | Explanation of brain injury, gun angle, and implications for ‘suicide’ theory | | 43:44 | Next steps: ballistic gel mannequin testing | | 49:39 | Scott’s plan for presenting to law enforcement and building prosecutable case | | 57:33–66:36| Woody reads donor list; community collaboration spotlighted |

Tone & Style

The episode is intensely passionate yet methodical, blending Woody’s storytelling style and advocacy with Scott’s scientific expertise and neutral, unembellished analysis. Listeners are immersed in gritty, real crime detail, but the dialogue also highlights the emotional cores of victims’ families and the true-crime community’s commitment to justice.

Summary Takeaway

This episode marks a watershed moment in the Hailey case. Forensic science, ethics, and grassroots activism align as Woody and Scott lay out new evidence that could break through years of institutional inertia—offering hope to the family and a path to #JusticeForHailey. The message is clear: persistent, community-driven investigation can force the truth into the light, even when the system stumbles.

For continued updates, support the GoFundMe campaign for an independent forensic review and follow Real Life Real Crime on the community app.