Real Life Real Crime | #JusticeForBradley and #JusticeForHailey

Summary

Real Life Real Crime | #JusticeForBradley and #JusticeForHailey

Podcast by Woody Overton
Episode Date: December 20, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this emotionally charged episode, host Woody Overton continues his deep-dive into two cases that have galvanized the true crime community: #JusticeForBradley and #JusticeForHailey. Woody updates listeners on the ongoing investigations, expresses his frustrations with systemic challenges, and shares exclusive audio from a gut-wrenching conversation between Hailey’s mother, Barbara Johnson, and the Cobb County District Attorney’s office. This episode highlights not only the relentless fight for justice but also the profound pain experienced by families in the wake of unsolved and unresolved crimes.

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Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Update on #JusticeForBradley and #JusticeForAustin

• Woody shares his cautious approach as the Bradley and Austin investigations reach a crucial turning point.
• He emphasizes the importance of not jeopardizing the cases by disclosing sensitive information.
• Frustration is evident as Woody discusses people of interest who cannot clearly state if they were incarcerated during the relevant times—casting suspicion on their credibility.

Quote:
"You don't ever tell me in the history of the world a motherfucker that got locked up and got out of prison and he doesn't know what the exact dates were you were confined... Don't insult me and tell me you don't know, right?"
—Woody Overton [09:55]

• Woody urges listeners to keep submitting tips and maintaining public attention, focusing pressure on those potentially responsible rather than the law enforcement agencies alone.
• He predicts a significant development:
  "I fully believe this will be the last Christmas Eve and Christmas that you get to spend with your family or your friends or be free. So enjoy it. Because the rest of your life... you'll never have another free Christmas."
  [13:39]

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2. #JusticeForHailey: The Fight for Accountability

Background & Context

• Woody has dedicated significant time and effort to Hailey’s case, including traveling to Atlanta, reviewing evidence, and advocating for renewed official investigation.
• Despite initial promises for further investigation from the District Attorney’s office, Woody and Hailey’s family feel let down by the ruling that Brooks Cleary cannot be retried for murder due to double jeopardy—despite the only previous charge involving moving Hailey’s body, not killing her.

Quote:
"They tried him for moving the body, not for murdering Hailey. So... here's the conclusion of the audio parts, and I'll talk about it next week...”
—Woody Overton [15:33]

Audio Segment: DA’s Office vs. Hailey’s Mother (Barbara Johnson)

(Begins at [16:41])

Key Points from the Conversation:

• Frustration Over Investigation

  • Barbara accuses the DA’s office of failing to interview all witnesses and dismisses their claims of exhaustive efforts.
  • She highlights specific missed opportunities, such as not questioning neighbors whose apartments may have had audio/visual relevance to the case.

• Evidence Mishandling

  • Barbara describes confusion over critical physical evidence, such as a bloody hoodie, and recounts how she only received it along with other evidence after the case closed.
  • Disputes emerge over the relevance and chain of custody of key items, with Barbara adamant they were not adequately examined.

Quote:
"You haven't. You don't even know what's going on about the goddamn shirt."
—Barbara Johnson [32:47]

• The DA and investigators assert that new evidence must "move the needle" significantly to justify reopening the case, and that the jury and grand jury did not believe murder charges could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

• Prosecutors’ Constraints

  • Stephanie (the prosecutor) repeatedly cites ethical and legal boundaries, stating their hands are tied without direct, new, or conclusive evidence.

Quote:
"We have legal and ethical obligations and duties, and we are not going to do that. We tried this case, put up the case, put on every piece of evidence there was."
—Investigator Jared [46:02]

• Barbara’s Unyielding Grief and Determination
  • Barbara’s heartbreak is palpable as she describes promising her deceased daughter that she would never stop fighting for justice.
  • The conversation touches on how the lack of closure impacts families and the importance of advocacy beyond the case, such as working on education and awareness for young women about relationships and red flags.

Memorable Quote:
"All I could think of when they came to my door was that my daughter was laying there cold, and she hated to be cold. And she was laying there... dead and cold and alone. And I couldn't even go see her... I promised her, I swore to her that I would get justice for her. And I will, no matter what, or I won't stop."
—Barbara Johnson [61:25]

• Systemic Pain and Limits
  • Prosecutor Stephanie repeatedly acknowledges the immense pain of Barbara’s loss and the inherent limitations of the legal system.
  • Both sides agree to support efforts to educate young people and prevent similar tragedies, even as their definitions of “justice” remain at odds.

Quote:
"Justice could look like preventing this from ever happening to anyone else...”
—Prosecutor Stephanie [69:30]

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Notable Quotes & Emotional High Points

• On Memory and Credibility of Suspects:
  "Motherfucker. You knew. Motherfuckers. You all knew... Your words are going to come back to bite you. And you had diarrhea in the mouth. You trusted the wrong person."
  —Woody Overton [08:50]

• On the Broken System:
  "I'm not begging you to do anything illegal, but investigating is not illegal. I'm just begging you to do what it takes to get something else, so you can take him to court."
  —Barbara Johnson [73:16]

• On Unending Grief:
  "She'll never get to have the kids she wanted to have, and she'll never get to do the things she wanted to do... She needs justice. She deserves justice. And I'm begging y' all to please... not begging you to do anything illegal, but investigating is not illegal."
  —Barbara Johnson [73:33]

• On Fighting for Change:
  "We're already working on a program to talk to kids, girls in school... We're trying to figure out the best way to get help with that.”
  —Barbara Johnson & Prosecutor Stephanie, [66:47]–[67:58]

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Important Timestamps

• [03:36] Woody Overton: “You have the right to remain silent…” (Start of main content)
• [04:45] Woody: Listener discretion warning; introduction to the episode’s cases
• [07:00] – [14:00] Woody on the significance of timelines, problems with suspect statements, and importance of keeping public pressure up
• [16:41] Start of Hailey’s case audio: DA office vs. Barbara Johnson
• [32:47] Barbara’s urgent confrontation over mishandled evidence
• [61:25] Barbara’s emotional recounting of her promise to Hailey and commitment to justice
• [66:47] – [68:42] Transition from seeking legal justice to prevention advocacy for young women
• [73:33 – 74:21] Barbara’s final, desperate plead for renewed investigation
• [74:35] Prosecutor Stephanie: “I think for now, this is a good place for us to kind of end the conversation…”

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Episode Summary

This episode encapsulates the agony of families battling flawed investigations and perceived bureaucratic apathy. Woody Overton calls out the inconsistencies in official accounts related to #JusticeForBradley and #JusticeForHailey and provides a candid window into the emotional exhaustion suffered by survivors and advocates. The critical conversation between Barbara Johnson and Cobb County officials spotlights the painful gulf between institutional procedures and the human need for answers and closure.

Woody signs off by urging listeners to continue the push for truth and justice, reminding everyone that while the system may stall, community vigilance and activism can keep the pressure alive.

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For listeners who haven’t followed these cases, this episode is a powerful illustration of the obstacles families face in seeking justice and the importance of bearing witness, keeping stories alive, and supporting reforms to prevent future tragedy.

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Transcript

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[Woody Overton]

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you. You in court of law, you got to write to the attorney prior to it during any question. If you can't afford one, the court will point one for you. Do you understand your rights.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

When the wolf is at your home you running over that's for sure.

[Woody Overton]

You.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Already know all about you you.

[Woody Overton]

Cut.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

You down no matter by you.

[Woody Overton]

Now.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

You better walk alive.

[Woody Overton]

Warning this episode of Real Life Real Crime. The podcast may contain descriptions of acts of violence or that are of a sexual nature and should be for people that are 18 years or older. He my warning people. I do not get the facts of these cases off of the Internet or from some television show. The facts I'm retelling you were presented to me by the victims of the crimes which or the perpetrators who committed the crimes against the victims, my descriptions of the crime scenes, what I saw with my own two eyes. If you're going to get offended, please turn this podcast off now. Thank you. Hello everybody and welcome to this episode of Real Life, Real Crime, the podcast. As always, I'm your host, Woody Overton, and today I'm going to talk a little bit about hashtag just for Bradley and the hashtag justice for ao. And then we're going to conclude hashtag just for Haley with a lengthy continuation of last week's phone call between the district attorney and her minions and and Haley's mama, Ms. Barbara. And God bless her, I don't Know how she's dealing with it. This is the time of year when Haley was murdered and the holidays and everything else. And then to get this ruling of we're not doing dick to Brooks Cleary blows my mind. Let's go back to Bradley and Austin. I want to ask y' all something. The and you, I want you to infer from this what you will, because I've been thinking about this and how to say it without tip of hands and stuff like that. The I'm at the point in this case where I cannot say anything to anyone. I have not been communicating with Morgan on purpose. I have not been communicating with a lot of people on purpose. I am waiting on the. Really waiting on the. Literally waiting on to hit the fan. And I do not want it, and I'm not going to do anything to that up the chances of it happening, okay? But there's a couple things I want to address in. I want to do this without you. You'll figure it out, hopefully. But let me. Let me ask you this. I can tell you the major dates of my life, all right? Like, I know I graduated on May 28th of 1988 from high school, all right? I know I went into basic training on August 5, 1988. Former Cullen, Alabama. And I graduated in October. And then I went into my mos, which was nuclear biological chemical warfare specialist. And six months later, I graduated from that. I could tell you every major date. I could tell you every date I got married. I could tell you every date, you know, I graduated from law enforcement academy, from detective schools, polygraph schools. The I can tell you the date, you know, my kids were born. I can tell you day my daddy died. The these are days of your life that means something to you, right? And you're never going to forget them. I mean, I could tell you, like, the day that he died, I could tell you what the cloud formations were and what the temperature was. I mean, you remember it vividly, right? All these days. And no matter how many years go by, okay, in Austin and Bradley's cases, and I'm not naming names, if you were locked up for any charge, okay, the day you get out of prison, you know, the day that you went to prison and you know, the day you got out of prison, period. There's no more important days in your life at that time than the day you got locked up in the day. More importantly, the day you got released. There are people in this case, these cases I should say that I've talked to. Who. Who some that y' all have heard and some that you haven't, that can't seem to remember if they were locked up or not at the time of Bradley's murder and the time of Austin's death. Right? Which we know was a lot more to that. Now, I never questioned them directly about that because I just let them talk, right? Let. The more you let them talk, the more they hang themselves, literally. And, But I'm thinking, you must think I'm the stupidest motherfucker in the world if you think I was a cop for all those years and I put all these. I could tell you the dates I put people in prison. I could tell you dates of murder trials. But if you're going to tell me that you really don't remember what year you got out of prison or what month you got out of prison, much less what day you got out of prison, you just can't really remember, it might have been this state, but it might have been that, you know, I say, yeah, I'm pretty sure. Or, or, or that they begin like this. Oh, I got out of such state. And I'm like, okay, cool, easy. I, I, not threateningly, just saying he's, that's matter, public record. I can find that out, right? And then you come back and you're like, oh, well, you know what I mean? Damn it. Secretly you're thinking, what, he's a dumb fuck and I can just bullshit him, right, because he, he hasn't really challenged me or whatever. Well, you don't realize you're being played the whole time, all right? And then you come back and you're like, well, you know what? Maybe I will. Maybe I did. Wasn't in jail at the time. Motherfucker. You knew. Motherfuckers. You all knew. You don't ever tell me in the history of the world a motherfucker that got locked up and got out of prison and he doesn't know what the exact dates were you were confined, your freedom was taken from you for whatever fuck up you did. You were locked up from this date to this date. And the happiest day of your life, probably more than you having children or anything else, is the day you walked out of that correctional facility. And you know when it was. Don't insult me and tell me you don't know, right? I deal with a lot of convicts that I locked up and get out. And I see, and I'm cool with them because I was, I treated them cool there when I was locking them up, right? And I'll see them years later. And then I said, when you get out, oh, I got out on October 18th. Such. Right. The. You know, I was down for two years. And that's. Here's another one. The. If you think there's not a convict that's been released from prison or an inmate that's been released from prison, generally they'll tell you, you say, how long are you down for? And they'll say two years, four months, you know, six days and 23 hours and 15 minutes. I mean, they fucking know. So for those of you who are going around telling all these people that you'll know if you were locked up, you were locked up. But maybe. I'm not sure. Motherfucker. You know, and your words are kind of come back to bite you. And all of this is way more than one person. I'm. I'm using this blanket terms. Your words are going to come back to bite you. And you had diarrhea in the mouth. You trusted the wrong person. You. And you're trying to lay out your narrative of how and where and you know what you were doing and how you have to be innocent because you. You think you were locked up at the time, shame on you. Right? Shame, shame, shame. Secondly, and real quick, when you don't hear from me, there's a reason and it's a good reason. Okay? And that goes to all of y'. All. If you send me something, please Continue calling you tips 313-RLRCT. Please continue to make comments on Facebook and. And everywhere else y' all are doing social media and what have you. Keep the heat up. Not. I'm not specifically talking about heat on burning parish Sheriff's office. I'm talking about keep the heat up on the bad guys and girls because that's. They are constantly. Every time you do a post, they're getting stabbed and they having to defend themselves. And when they defend themselves, they lie. And when they lie, sooner or later that lies coming back to bite them in the ass. Because the one thing that never changes is the truth. And one day they're going to have to answer for it. And this is going to be the last episode before Christmas. And I said it back at Thanksgiving and I'm saying it again now. I fully believe this will be the last Christmas Eve and Christmas that you get to spend with your family or your friends or be free. So enjoy it. Because the rest of your life, whether you're dead or incarcerated, you. You'll never have another free Christmas. Take that for what it's worth. Y' all continue to Call on your tips. We're rolling. Rolling. And now I'm gonna play for you, Hashtag, just for Haley. And it's been a long time coming. I took the case and flew out to Atlanta and met Ms. Barbara and Stella and Tyler and all that, and went through the whole case, worked it for the longest time, had everything. And then we got promised. We got what we wanted, which was them to look into the case again and the media coverage and everything else. But then we didn't get what we wanted because of what I'm about to. For you. Them swearing they were going to do an investigation. The da, Cobb County District Attorney, Sonya Allen, whatever her name is, swearing she was going to do this. And then in the end, they come back and they say they can't try Brooks again because it's double jeopardy, and that is crock of shit. They tried him from moving the body, not for murdering Haley. So without further ado, here's the conclusion of the audio parts, and I'll talk about it next week, what I would like to see happen. But here, I'm now gonna play you. It's hard to hear y'. All. It's hard. But props to Ms. Barbara. She's a beast, and. And we love her. It's hard to hear, but if you haven't listened to the series, Holy. Go back and. And listen to the hashtag JusticeForHaly, which a lot of y' all had. And when I played, people were like, oh, I never even knew about this series. These people that came on for Bradley and Austin. Well, we've been doing these cases for years. Okay? I've been doing these cases for years. Hashtag justice4. Let's play it now. I love and appreciate each and every one of y'. All. Holler at you next week. Peace.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And take illegal action.

[Barbara Johnson]

It's illegal to investigate further.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

We've done that, Barbara.

[Barbara Johnson]

Oh, God.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And we've done it again. And we've done it again, and nothing has changed.

[Barbara Johnson]

I'm telling you, you didn't interview everybody because a girl that. That her apartment is just above where he parked his truck reached out to me and said nobody ever talked to her.

[Investigator Jared]

Was she in the apartment with Brooks and Haley?

[Barbara Johnson]

No, she wasn't in the apartment. Apartment with Brooks and Haley, but she wasn't interviewed. And the people who were around that may have heard something might have your.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Own private investigators literally didn't come because.

[Barbara Johnson]

I didn't have the money to pay them to keep going. I don't. I'm on disability. It's not my job to find out and to get information and to investigate. That's not even my job. But I paid all I could pay. They're not cheap.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Ms. Johnson, let's just look at this. Like what you just said, you paid all you could pay. What? There was this expectation because you couldn't pay more that somehow you didn't pay all you could pay. That's how I feel, like you're viewing us when there's nothing left for us to. We've done it two, three, four, five times. It's still not enough, but we've done it. If you're saying you didn't have enough money to pay or you couldn't pay any further, and we took that same approach with you, I mean, we never get anywhere. We never get to where it stops.

[Woody Overton]

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[Prosecutor Stephanie]

So I understand that It's. It's troublesome to me, and I wasn't even involved in it. Like, I'm looking at the people here like, why. Why do y' all do this? And why do y' all do that? And then they're like, show me this is what.

[Barbara Johnson]

Okay, okay. Explain to me.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Just.

[Woody Overton]

Just.

[Barbara Johnson]

And. And I keep asking, and nobody will explain to me. Please explain to me. Why his shirt. I don't understand that even. Why did. Why was his shirt not brought out? Why was I told multiple times that you never found his shirt? I don't understand that, and I don't understand why it was given. No, they kept telling me they never found a shirt that he was wearing.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

We didn't.

[Barbara Johnson]

It was in the evidence that was given back to me.

[Investigator Jared]

Brooks's bloody shirt where he was holding her daughter that. Are you covered in blood in.

[Barbara Johnson]

Oh, no, not the white shirt he was wearing. The shirt that he was wearing when he did it.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

It.

[Barbara Johnson]

It's covered in blood. It's got pieces of matter in it.

[Investigator Jared]

The checkered shirt, the flannel.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, the H.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

That she was wearing.

[Barbara Johnson]

That he must have been wearing.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Well, it wasn't much. I mean, where are you getting this from? She was wearing a hoodie.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, this is a hoodie that he must have had on, because it's not the same thing. She. Pardon?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Where are you getting that from? He was wearing.

[Barbara Johnson]

Well, I saw what she was wearing, so. So she wasn't wearing it. It's a bloody. I don't. I don't recall exactly what she was wearing, but I know that it wasn't this shirt because I went back and looked. I know she was wearing her. I know because I can't stand to look at the pictures, but I know that she. We wasn't wearing this shirt, and I know she was wearing her little pajama pants that I bought her for Christmas. This shirt is what he must have been wearing because it's covered in blood and matter.

[Investigator Jared]

The whole living room is covered in blood and matter. So does the shirt crew. Who pulled the trigger?

[Barbara Johnson]

Everybody. Okay? He laid this. This out and played everything and showed all the videos on the podcast. Everybody, including everybody involved in the case, has said. Has said. Woody Overton has said this is a murder. I have not heard one person ever say, oh, I don't think this is a murder ever.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Barbara, you haven't listened to people who said that.

[Barbara Johnson]

Okay, so who said it?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I wouldn't want to either, if I were you.

[Barbara Johnson]

You all said it. You all know it. Everybody knows it. You said it.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

We all agree that these circumstances were extremely suspicious, but we.

[Barbara Johnson]

That's not what you said. That's not what you said. We all know this is murder. You've all said it.

[Investigator Jared]

And we proceeded on the charges. We believe we could prove the honor. Reasonable doubt. That is our ethical duty. We can't just bring charges where we have a suspicion.

[Barbara Johnson]

It's not a suspicion. Everybody knows it. Everybody from the first officer that walked on the scene, they said it's a murder.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Barbara, you remember we had that difficult conversation where we said, how are we supposed to. To rebut some story by the defense that she had the gun in her mouth and she was threatening to kill herself? And Brooke said, good. Where.

[Barbara Johnson]

Where did you come up with that?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

You and I have had this conversation.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Barbara Johnson]

I mean. I mean, yes, you can say. You can say anything you want to say. That doesn't mean that it's. That a jury will go, oh, well, yeah, that's probably what happened.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Yeah. But on a circumstance, we are required by the law to disprove every alternative theory beyond a reasonable doubt. In addition.

[Barbara Johnson]

Well, that doesn't happen in cases where people get convicted, because it just doesn't. You can. I mean. I mean, honestly, anybody could have come in that apartment and killed her and left. So you can't disprove that. The neighbor, the apartment manager lady could have come in and killed her.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

So listen to what you just said. Listen to what you just said. Yeah, because of that. That is why we can't move forward with a murder charge.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, that's not reasonable, and you know that. And everybody knows that. If that was the case, if you had to prove in court, there would never be a circumstantial case that ever got solved, because there's.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

If.

[Barbara Johnson]

Unless you have a video recording of it, there's no way to prove what happened, period. But circumstantial cases get solved all the time. People get prosecuted on circumstantial evidence all the time. It's beyond a reasonable doubt. And nobody that's seen the case has a reasonable doubt that he didn't do it.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Barbara, we can go around and around and around forever, but the bottom line is Jared and I and this office and. And Madam DA are not going to violate our oath that we took to be lawyers in order to do something on this case that is outside the bounds of the law, and that would be unethical. I mean, that's the bottom line.

[Barbara Johnson]

Well, investigate. Doing a. Doing a proper investigation instead of a botched one is not unethical. But actually, it is ethical hurt.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

You know, just refused to accept it. We have done it.

[Barbara Johnson]

You haven't. You don't even know what's going on about the goddamn shirt.

[Investigator Jared]

The shirt gets us nowhere.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Barbara.

[Barbara Johnson]

If you throw out all the evidence, of course you won't get anywhere. Why was the shirt not brought up? Why was it not mentioned? Why was it not investigated?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I'm confused by the shirt because you have always complain to us that there is no shirt. And how did we not get the shirt exactly? In the dumpster. And now you're telling us you have the shirt, but the shirt you're describing is what you're.

[Barbara Johnson]

When I went to pick up the evidence, they gave me the whole box of evidence. They gave me pellets from her fucking head. They gave me everything. In that box of evidence was her shirt. So all the times when I'm talking to you and telling you and asking you and begging you to tell me about the goddamn shirt, I didn't know about the shirt.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Ms. Johnson, just please take a few minutes and just breathe for a minute. I'm not stopping you from saying what you want to say, but I'm sure.

[Barbara Johnson]

Okay.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

To not breathe.

[Barbara Johnson]

Okay. The shirt that I asked you about multiple times and begged you about, like, what? Did you find the shirt. What about the shirt? Nobody ever told me about a shirt until they gave me the whole box of evidence from her case, which meant.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

To me talking about Marietta Police Department gave you evidence?

[Barbara Johnson]

Yes.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And you're saying there was a shirt in that box of evidence?

[Barbara Johnson]

Yes.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And it's a hoodie?

[Barbara Johnson]

Yes.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

What color is it? Or can you tell?

[Barbara Johnson]

It's red.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

A red hoodie?

[Barbara Johnson]

Yes.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Stephanie, the hoodie that Haley was wearing, was it a red hoodie?

[Investigator Jared]

Blue.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Have you sent us a picture of this?

[Barbara Johnson]

I don't know. Probably. Hold on. Let me pull up the video because I want to make sure before I say that.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Things.

[Barbara Johnson]

I'm gonna have to find.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

It.

[Barbara Johnson]

Yeah, hold on. I'm having. I've got the video. It is actually a blue hoodie.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Okay. The blue hoodie is what your daughter was wearing.

[Barbara Johnson]

Not this one. Not in the pictures.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Can you describe what's different?

[Barbara Johnson]

I can't. I have to go through all the videos and find it again. Well, that's not what they listed, but whatever, okay?

[Investigator Jared]

Because, I mean, I'm looking at the pictures right now. She's wearing a blue hoodie.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And it's definitely covered in Blood.

[Investigator Jared]

Which one?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And brain matter.

[Barbara Johnson]

Yeah, I can't find the other one. I don't know.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Were you given another one or were you only given the blue one?

[Barbara Johnson]

I have to go back through the box. I don't know. I don't like to go through the.

[Woody Overton]

Box.

[Barbara Johnson]

But I guess I will. But the fact that they gave me all her. All this stuff from her case means that y' all are not going to try to do anything else. I've got all the evidence like.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Well, Barbara, those are not items that we would need to prosecute if, you know, miraculously he decided to turn himself into the jail and give a full confession. That aligns with the evidence.

[Barbara Johnson]

Yeah, y' all don't. Yeah, I mean, it's not. That's not going to happen. So you're going to have to investigate to be able to get him, period. You just got to investigate. That's all you have to do. Are you listening? Are you listening? Are you listening to his jail calls? Nope.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

We've gone over this with you over and over and over again. We have talked through every avenue we talked through. What if this evidence did exist? Would it change things? What if we had, you know, this other piece of evidence? Would that change anything? You and I talked about the wallet and if there was GSR done of it, would that.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, no, no, no. That's not what I was talking about. It looks like there is blood on the wallet. Which would mean. What would that mean, Stephanie?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Nothing.

[Investigator Jared]

Nothing.

[Barbara Johnson]

Really?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

He held her, he cradled her head.

[Barbara Johnson]

It wouldn't. See, this is what I'm saying. Like you don't listen. No, what that would prove is that the wallets were put in Mazda's car after the fact. Correct.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

The walls that were left in the car along with the fence. Yeah.

[Barbara Johnson]

Instead of being left in the car, that would mean they would put in the car after she was murdered, correct?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Barbara, we don't. Blood doesn't have a time stamp on it. There's no way to prove when blood gets on tumble thing. We run into that issue all the time. Are you kidding me?

[Barbara Johnson]

Like, like, oh, my God.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I mean, Barbara, nobody thinks that he killed her and then went out to M's car and gave him items and then went back inside.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, nobody said that that's what the wallets would prove. I. I said swear.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

But if that wallet did prove that he went outside and did that and came back inside. Now tell me how that changes things.

[Barbara Johnson]

Because that would mean that Mazda was involved and he lied. And then you should be talking to Mazda he's on. He's on parole. He already admitted to sudden smoking weed to y'.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

All.

[Barbara Johnson]

So there's lots of things you can press Mazda on if you want, but you don't.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Barbara. I'm just not a fan. Of course's police tactics, and I'm not gonna engage in it.

[Barbara Johnson]

Yeah, of course not. Because.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

What, Ms. Johnson? Because it would be. It would be more simple for us to just charge him with murder and then the jury say not guilty. To do all the steps that we've done to try to charge him with something that aligns with what we can prove his actions were. It would just be way more simple because if we charged him with it and got a not guilty, then we can't ever come back. So why would we subject him, everybody, to this?

[Barbara Johnson]

You people are the only ones that don't think this is just a slam dunk case. I have never, never. You did not present all of it. I guarantee you.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Everything that I looked at indicates that they did show and present everything. Because after it was over, they. They questioned each jury panel, from the grand jury to the jurors after the trial, and asked, would y' all have given a murder charge? And each panel said no.

[Barbara Johnson]

Yeah, but you didn't. You didn't tell them all the information. Y' all didn't even bring it. Y' all didn't even.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Y' all didn't even bring all the information. They did.

[Investigator Jared]

The entire tribe.

[Barbara Johnson]

Not once was that. Not once was the. The psychologist brought up. Not once in the trial.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

We told the jury about it after.

[Podcast Host]

It doesn't.

[Investigator Jared]

And the fact that the psychologist would have just said he's a liar, that doesn't mean he pulled a trigger. That. How does that change anything.

[Barbara Johnson]

If he's lying about it? If he's lying about everything, if he's lying about being traumatized, then that means he's lying.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

He was lying about her having a medical issue when he went and got the neighbor. And that didn't change the jury. I mean, that was the best prove.

[Investigator Jared]

To the jury that he was a liar.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

He's a liar. I mean, that's been true to all of our defendants off being a liar. We wouldn't even need trial. I mean, people.

[Barbara Johnson]

People send me all the time cases that have so much less, and they get convicted on it. I'm telling you, anybody that looks at all the evidence of this case, Woody laid it out in the podcast, but nobody. But I guess y' all didn't listen to that.

[Investigator Jared]

He is also not a lawyer.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, he's an investigator. He's a.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

A police.

[Barbara Johnson]

Police officer. He's law enforcement. Ex law enforcement.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

No, he's not a lawyer, but he's brought. I'm a law enforcement officer, Ms. Johnson. I'm a law enforcement officer and I have been for over 30 years. And investigations will be what I did my whole career.

[Barbara Johnson]

Then investigate, please.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

We have.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, it's not.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Investigate what we have.

[Barbara Johnson]

You haven't. You haven't talked to all the people in the apartments. You haven't seen if possibly there's more video that you didn't get. You haven't, you haven't. You haven't tested the wallets. You haven't done a lot of things. And all these things, all these things added together. If you found out Mazda was lying and you found out he put the wallets in the car after the fact, don't you think that proves that a. He wasn't so drunk that he was smart enough to know to put the wallets in the car?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Don't you think you're changing the fact that. I mean, yeah, if we had a confession, we could go forward with murder if there was another person in the apartment. But you know when you can't go forward with murder, Ms. Johnson, is if you try to try him for murder and get him not guilty. You never going to come back from that?

[Barbara Johnson]

Well, I mean, what do you have now? What are you going to do now? The only. You're telling me the only way you're going to get him now is if he confesses. That's never going to happen.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Well, I mean, so I'd rather take my chances. So, I mean, we don't have anything to be able to do.

[Investigator Jared]

We have legal and ethical obligations and duties, and we are not going to do that. We tried this case, put up the case, put on every piece of evidence there was.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Jes. We didn't even make it to the trial, though, Derek, because we have to show the judge that we had something different. Something.

[Barbara Johnson]

And that is. That is my whole. That is my whole thing.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

We wouldn't even make it.

[Barbara Johnson]

Her investigation was botched, period.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

You say botched, Ms. Johnson.

[Barbara Johnson]

It was.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

That doesn't make it. So I reviewed it. They have done things over and over and over again. There's a lot of work that goes into doing what they did initially and the review that happened since. I know that you don't have an appreciation for any of it. Obviously we get it and I understand it, but that doesn't mean that we didn't do it and that it's not botched.

[Barbara Johnson]

I feel certain if you got your. Your top investigators to investigate that you could find another.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

We have. Just like you have an investigator. We have had.

[Barbara Johnson]

She literally worked. She literally worked a few hours. Hours? Because I cannot afford it. Do you. It's like a hundred and something dollars an hour.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Well, did you show him the things that you initially showed me within an hour, pardon your investigator. All the things that you brought to my attention on the phone. Did you give him those things.

[Barbara Johnson]

At that time? I didn't have a lot of the things that I gave you, but whatever I had, I gave them, yes.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

What did he come back and tell you from what you gave him?

[Barbara Johnson]

All she did was go in and get more information. She did interviews with some people in the apartments and stuff. But I gave you. I gave you the files from her investigation, and it was very short, all of those files.

[Investigator Jared]

And that didn't move the needle back then, and it's not going to move the needle now.

[Barbara Johnson]

Right. That's why you got to investigate properly.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

What, what, what. What other thing? I mean, like, you're talking to numerous like me. I. I'm often used to investigate things outside of my jurisdiction. I'm called to look at things. I'm called to just interview people. I've looked at this. I don't know of any. Every investigator that I know in our office of seasoned quality has looked at this. And not to mention the attorneys who have the most experience have looked at this. There are things that investigators do that attorneys can see to say, that is not something that proves something. It's something that, like you saying there's a sweatshirt, that there's another shirt that those things don't prove to the extent that you have to.

[Barbara Johnson]

I mean, you don't understand. Like, you cannot prove 100,000% without a video of him shooting her. The point being, jurors are smart enough to figure out what's reasonable beyond a reasonable doubt. And with all the evidence, it is beyond a reasonable doubt.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Members of our community, people who are jurors, have said otherwise. I mean, you have had a unique opportunity to understand the jury's perspective before we would ever have to theoretically put up a murder case. And it's just not there. I mean, we have talked to him, GBI, the ME's office, CCPD, other detectives at Marietta, detectives in this office, obviously Ms. Allen, other attorneys. I mean, we have talked to so many people about this case, and everyone lands in the same position.

[Barbara Johnson]

But that's what I'm saying. I don't believe that because I don't believe they have the full information because.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Everybody else give them the full information. I mean, I'm trying to do what I can. Why would I not give them the full information? We found something different. That would be great.

[Barbara Johnson]

There is. You just got to get it. I mean, but, but honestly, honestly, everybody that's heard this case, and there are many, many, many, many of the lifers that are ex law enforcement, all of them agree this is slam dunk. It's a murder. It is.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And what do you think they're going to tell you, though? I mean, let's be real. You're. You're grieving and you're her mother who, who we talk to you and tell you these things because that's our duty.

[Barbara Johnson]

They don't have to read. They don't have to read out to me and say this like they don't have to.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Ms. Johnson, it is a hard job for us to have these conversations, to do the things that nobody else wants to do. Nobody's raising their hand up to do this job, to tell people things that don't make them happy. If you have a person that's just saying these things to you, I mean, I'm not telling you not to put faith in people, but also understand they don't have that ethical duty like we do to tell you exactly what's true and what's not true. It's easy to say to you like, oh, my God, that's a slam gun. He did it. They know they did it. But to prove it in a courtroom, the way that we have expressed to you how it has to be, it is not there. And I just. It's easy to sit up there and say, he did it.

[Barbara Johnson]

You all have said he did it, except for you. I. I haven't talked to you. You have never said that. Stephanie, Jared, all the officers on scene at the, at the beginning, everybody said it's a murder.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Everyone says that. We believe it was a murder.

[Barbara Johnson]

You've said it is a.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

But we can't prove it. So I just don't know why you don't think that we wouldn't want to prove it.

[Barbara Johnson]

I don't. I don't know. I really don't know. I don't know.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And especially at this point, why wouldn't we want to?

[Barbara Johnson]

I have no idea. I don't know.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Why would we subject ourselves to all of your people that you have assigned to write on my Facebook?

[Barbara Johnson]

I don't have people assigned. They. I don't have people Assigned. They believe in justice, and they want to get justice for Haley. It's people from the podcast.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

The things that people are writing and putting on Facebook page and all those things, you know that's not warranted because in your heart, I know that you know. No.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, no, no, no.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I don't think that y' all are saying, first of all, I wasn't even here, and they say it like I did it.

[Barbara Johnson]

No. Like, you can fix this if you want to.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Yes, you can go back and read the comments, Ms. Johnson. It's not right.

[Barbara Johnson]

You can fix it.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

You think I cannot fix it.

[Barbara Johnson]

You can't.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

You.

[Barbara Johnson]

You can.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I cannot.

[Barbara Johnson]

You need to investigate. You need to have your investigators investigate it. Investigate it like it was your daughter. Investigate this. Like, here it was your daughter.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I would be the same way, because that is your child. And, like, if I had to go through this on my child, I'll be the same way.

[Barbara Johnson]

I'm telling you, investigate it like it is you. Your child. Please.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I have.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, you have not. I do. I do not believe.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Do not tell me. Ms. Johnson, listen. Now, you can say a lot of things, but you can't tell me what I have done because I have kept these ADAs on Sundays at night. I have cried about your case. I. You can't tell me how I feel about a case. You cannot do that.

[Barbara Johnson]

I don't. I. I do not. You can tell me all you want, but I do not believe that if this was. Listen, can you let me finish my sentence? I do not believe that if this was your daughter that you would stop here. I don't believe that.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Well, I just said that I would be just like you. I just said that. But at the same time, my role would be different. I would not be the prosecutor in the case, and the prosecutor would probably be telling me the truth. Same thing.

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[Barbara Johnson]

And you'd be all right. You'd be all right with that?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I'm not saying that you would be all right. I've never said that.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, I'm saying you would be all right with that. You'd be all right with this crap I'm hearing.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

You would involve my child. That's what I'm telling you. I'm not saying anything about how you are because I would be the same way, if not worse. I might be in a different predicament than. Than anybody on this phone right now if it was my child. I'm just telling you.

[Barbara Johnson]

Yeah, well, I mean, that. That appears. What I'm gonna have to do. It looks like when he gets out, I'm gonna have to kill him and go to prison myself. No, I'm saying that's what I'm gonna have to do.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

No, I'm saying don't go there. Don't talk to us about that. Ms. Johnson.

[Barbara Johnson]

I don't.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I mean, I'm not gonna let you do that. And I'm just. I'm telling you your feelings are valid, but in the other half of your conscious, you have to know that there's nothing like.

[Barbara Johnson]

I don't believe. I believe that you can investigate and get more. I believe you could be listening to his jail phone calls. I believe you could be doing a lot more. I believe you could go back and find video or apartment residents to talk to. I believe there's more that you could do if you wanted to do it. But the thing is, you know, it's all on me. And when this happened, all I could think of. All I could think of when they came to my door was that my daughter was laying there cold, and she hated to be cold. And she was laying there in her apartment, dead and cold and alone. And I couldn't even go see her. But the lady, before she was cremated, let me go and hold her hand and talk to her. And I promised her, I swore to her that I would get justice for her. And I will. I don't know how. I don't know what's going to have to happen, but I will, no matter what, or I won't stop. I'm in heart failure, chronic heart failure now, so my heart is. Well, I'm not gonna calm down until I get justice for my daughter.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I know you have to be here to do that.

[Barbara Johnson]

Well, this.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

So you're just talking to us? I told you this before. I mean, it's impossible to even imagine the situation you're in and what you've had to deal with. It's true. Impossible to imagine that amount of pain.

[Barbara Johnson]

Yes, it is.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

But you're. But you're also. You're. I feel like Haley would want you to be happy. And I feel like Haley would want you to be there for Stella and to be present. And I know you're fighting for her, and I admire that, because that's the mama bear in you. And you raised your girls, and it was just the three of you. And so I understand that, and I respect you tremendously for fighting for your daughter endlessly. But I don't want you to give up on Stella and to give up completely on your happiness, because I don't think Haley would want.

[Barbara Johnson]

You know, Haley's not here, so I don't know what she would want. But I do know.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

But I do know that she's watching it for you every single day. And it probably destroys her that she hasn't seen you smile or laugh.

[Barbara Johnson]

I do know that if this happened to me, that Haley would fight for me till the end. So I promise her, and that's what I'll do.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I think Haley would. Would also look at, like, how things got to Stephen this point. I mean, it sounds like from what I understand from talking to you and looking at her pictures and just trying to research her, you know, she was this person that she met. Like, we have. We have daughters, and we don't want them to meet people like him. We don't want.

[Barbara Johnson]

Well, he'll be out soon, so he could meet one of Yalls.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Well, we. Maybe there's some awareness here that needs to happen about keeping, you know, letting our kids know that they have choices of who to be with, letting them know that they. That they deserve more.

[Barbara Johnson]

Well, that's one thing that we're working on doing in her honor, but.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And anything you do.

[Barbara Johnson]

What is it matter if y' all are sitting there saying, well, it might be a suicide?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

It does matter. It does matter.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, it doesn't.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

You know, it does, because maybe that's the.

[Barbara Johnson]

The message that she might have killed herself.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

No, not that message. How. You know, even, like. Let's just say that that's what happened. Why did she get to that point?

[Barbara Johnson]

Well, she didn't. And that's the point. She didn't. That's the point.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

But she was with someone that made that a thing that we can't now question. Right.

[Barbara Johnson]

Yeah.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I mean, was not the guy that you would have picked for her, Is he?

[Barbara Johnson]

Well, hell no.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

So how do we. We stop that? I have a daughter. If you think this doesn't impact me.

[Barbara Johnson]

Well. And I'm going to tell you right now, it doesn't matter what you pick for her. Who she picks is who she'll be with, no matter what you think about it.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Like, we need to start communicating that out. How. How can I get. How do we do that, Ms. Johnson? And what can I do to.

[Barbara Johnson]

That's what. That's what. We're already working on a program to talk to kids, girls in school.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

What can I do to help you with that?

[Barbara Johnson]

I don't even know right now, but.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Because that is very important to me.

[Barbara Johnson]

But, you know, they. Girls in school need to learn the signs, and they need to know what's going on.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

But that's exactly I want to know. Like, how are you. How is this getting out there? Because I'm all on that, and I'm with you. And if I can do anything to assist with what you're doing, I want to do that. I'm not taking any of this lightly. And I know I'll never make you understand or believe me, but I'm telling you, it matters to me. I'm a single mom with a child who's a daughter who has never dated someone, and I'm afraid she's gonna just accept somebody because she's never had anything. Well, and then I could be right there where you are. Like, there's a message here, and it's very important.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, I understand. That. And that's what we're working on. We're trying to figure out the best.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Way to get help with that.

[Barbara Johnson]

I don't. We don't know yet. We don't know if it's better to go into schools. We don't know if it's better to do tiktoks. We don't know if it's better to. I don't know. We don't know how, if. If it should be included in health classes. Boys need to understand.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Like, what. There's nothing right now for it.

[Barbara Johnson]

I don't know. We. We are just getting started. But that's the point. I cannot. I promise. Haley, this is what I have to do, too. So I have to get justice for her as along with trying to do the other.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Because I can assure you she would not want anyone else to go through what she was going through regardless. She just. From what you've told me about her and how this played out in him, I know she wouldn't miss that on anyone else.

[Barbara Johnson]

No, and of course not. But that's the point. She deserves justice. She deserves it more than anybody you could ever meet. Because I'm going to tell you.

[Woody Overton]

Well.

[Barbara Johnson]

Justice does not look like him walking around in a year or two, but.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Justice could look like preventing this from ever happening to anyone else at the poster board of, you know, what not to do.

[Barbara Johnson]

And I'm working on that.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And I will help you in whatever way I can personally, da wise. Anything I can do to help you with that, I will.

[Barbara Johnson]

I appreciate that. But, you know, I don't want to.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Be adversarial with you because I understand how you feel. I know I can't understand it to the level that you can because it's not my child. But I do have a child. And I can't imagine, like, I cry when I think about it. And I know that probably doesn't mean anything to you because it's not telling you what you think should be happening, but I'm trying to tell you that we have done what we can. Legally, basically, we have done.

[Barbara Johnson]

But any investigation wise, you know, you can do more. I. I know for a fact they stopped listening to his jail phone calls after. At least from what they said after, I don't know, he was in jail a week or something that, you know, I think Jared, Cindy or Jared or Stephanie told me that Jared listened to him for, I don't know, a week or something and then decided to stop listening to him. So, I mean, I, you know, I.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Well, I. I guess What I can. My ask is, however upset you are with our office and feeling that we're not doing anything, can you, on the other hand, please keep us involved in. Or allow us to be involved in a messaging. Anything that you're doing, allow us to be there. Yeah.

[Woody Overton]

And.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

Well.

[Barbara Johnson]

Whatever I can do to keep this from happening to somebody else's daughter, I'll do. But I wish you would do the same and investigate and do whatever it takes to make sure that he pays for what he did to my daughter. Because the world would have been a lot better place if she had been here to finish the things that she started. She helped so many people, and it's not. It's. And that's why her friend that went to court every day just got married and they included Haley in the ceremony because she helped them. She helped everybody. And she deserves justice. And I'm begging you. I know you're telling me you can't, but I'm begging you to investigate further. I don't care if it takes listening to jail calls. I don't care what it takes. Please do this like it was your child, Because I don't have anything else except her and Stella. And that girl meant more to me than you. I mean, I'm sure, you know, I'm sure everybody's daughter does. But I cannot tell you what she meant to me. Her birthday was the 23rd.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And she.

[Barbara Johnson]

Didn'T even make it a quarter of how long she should have lived. She'll never get to have the kids she wanted to have, and she'll never get to do the things she wanted to do. And I know every murder victim, it's the same thing, but she needs justice. She deserves justice. And I'm begging y' all to please, Please, not begging you to do anything illegal, but investigating is not illegal. I'm just begging you to do what it takes to get something else. So you can take him to court.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

For or indict him for murder.

[Barbara Johnson]

Please. Please.

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

I think for now, this is a good place for us to kind of end the conversation. But at the same end, keep me in the loop on the other ways of seeking justice for Haley. And I hear you. Thank you. All right. Thanks, Ms. Jones. Thank you.

[Woody Overton]

Yeah. The right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Yeah. Right to an attorney prior to it during any question. If you can't afford one, the quarter point one for you. Do you understand your rights?

[Prosecutor Stephanie]

And the wolf is at your door. You running over. That's for sure. He already knows all about you. Cut you down already. By you now you better walk alive.

[Woody Overton]

Time.

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