215: 18-Year-Old Vanishes After Accusing 4 Men of Assaulting & Filming Her | Who Killed Ebby Steppach?

Summary

Serialously with Annie Elise Episode 215: 18-Year-Old Vanishes After Accusing 4 Men of Assaulting & Filming Her | Who Killed Ebby Steppach? Release Date: November 18, 2024

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Introduction

In Episode 215 of Serialously with Annie Elise, host Annie Elise delves deep into the tragic and perplexing case of Ebby Steppach, an 18-year-old who vanished after accusing four men of assaulting and filming her. This episode meticulously unpacks the timeline of events, the shortcomings in the police investigation, and the relentless quest of Ebby's family for the truth.

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Who Was Ebby Steppach?

Ebby Steppach was an 18-year-old high school senior from Little Rock, Arkansas, known for her vibrant personality and involvement in activities like homecoming courts and friendships that initially showcased her as a typical, cheerful teenager.

Annie Elise [01:11]: "For most of her high school career, you could call her a pretty normal teenager, one that made the homecoming court when she was just a freshman."

However, during her senior year, Ebby began exhibiting rebellious behaviors, distancing herself from her family and old friends, and immersing herself in a new social circle that indulged in partying and substance use.

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The Disappearance: October 2015

On October 23, 2015, after attending a party with her new classmates and excluding her long-time friend Danielle, Ebby vanished. The following day, she made distressing calls to her brother, Trevor, sounding disoriented and alarmed, before disappearing without a trace.

Annie Elise [07:33]: "She had stopped meeting up with her family and friends, staying out late, and partying more than ever before."

The initial police response was severely lacking. Despite Ebby's explicit intentions to report the assault, law enforcement misclassified her case as a runaway incident for the first eight months, delaying a proper investigation.

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Police Missteps and Investigation Failures

From the outset, the Little Rock Police Department failed to adequately investigate Ebby's allegations:

• Missed Phone Calls: Ebby's calls to report the assault were allegedly not recorded by the police.

  Annie Elise [13:33]: "Ebby called her older brother Trevor, and she sounded completely out of it, totally disoriented."

• Delayed Response to Car Discovery: Ebby's car was found in Chalamont Park with suspicious signs—dead battery, no gas, keys in ignition—yet the police took an entire day to investigate the scene.

  Annie Elise [16:32]: "Her car was found at Chalamont Park, and the police took photos but missed clear signs that something was wrong."

• Ignored Leads: Reports of a decomposing smell from the park's drains were dismissed by authorities, despite being a potential indicator of foul play.

  Annie Elise [35:45]: "Margie Foley reported a strong odor of decomposition from a sewer drain near where Ebby's car was found, but the police dismissed it as regular sewage or a dead animal."

These missteps not only delayed the discovery of Ebby's remains but also left her family without answers and under immense stress.

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Family's Struggle and Private Investigation

Frustrated by the police's inadequate handling, Ebby's family took matters into their own hands:

• Hiring a Private Investigator: The family employed Monty Vickers, a private investigator, to uncover leads that the police had overlooked.

• Building a Timeline: They meticulously reconstructed Ebby's last known movements and online activities, revealing her intent to seek help and confront her assailants.

Annie Elise [44:28]: "The family's investigation revealed that Ebby actively sought help online, including searching for how to file a police report and reaching out to the men she accused."

Despite their efforts, crucial evidence like dashcam footage from a security guard and surveillance from a nearby Walmart remained unexamined, further hindering the investigation.

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Breakthrough: Discovery of Ebby's Remains

In 2018, Detective Tommy Hudson reopened Ebby's case, leading to a significant breakthrough:

• Excavation of Storm Drains: Using robotic cameras, Detective Hudson identified obstructions in the storm drain pipes at Chalamont Park, where Ebby's car was initially found.

• Finding the Body: Human remains were discovered approximately 60 to 70 feet from Ebby's car, confirming her death and transforming the case into a homicide investigation.

Detective Tommy Hudson [25:35]: "Upon opening that pipe, cold case investigators located human remains inside that pipe."

The discovery finally provided closure to Ebby's family, allowing them to hold a funeral and honor her memory.

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Continued Questions and Theories

Despite finding Ebby's remains, many questions remained unanswered:

• Cause of Death: The state of decomposition complicated determining the exact cause and circumstances of Ebby's death.

• Potential Suspects: The four men Ebby accused were never officially charged or thoroughly investigated, leaving suspicions unresolved.

• Police Handling: Critical errors in the initial investigation raised concerns about possible cover-ups or negligence within the police department.

Annie Elise [60:14]: "The police never interviewed the security guard or examined Walmart's surveillance footage, which could have provided vital evidence."

These unresolved issues continue to haunt Ebby's family, who remain determined to uncover the truth.

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Interviews with Family Members

Throughout the episode, Annie Elise conducts emotional interviews with Ebby's mother, Lori, and her brother, Trevor, shedding light on the family's anguish and relentless pursuit of justice.

Lori Jernigan [44:28]: "If I let that fester, I'd lose my mind."

They recount the pain of not knowing Ebby's fate for years and the frustration over the police's inadequate investigation. Lori also discusses the toll it has taken on their family and her unwavering faith that someone will eventually provide answers.

Lori Jernigan [42:48]: "You have to forgive, or you just die. And that's where I am now."

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Current Status and Ongoing Efforts

As of the episode's release, Ebby's murder remains unsolved. Detective Hudson, who played a pivotal role in reopening the case, resigned in 2021, leaving the investigation in limbo.

• Speculative Theories: Some believe Ebby's death might not have been a suicide, as suggested by a fringe theory proposed by unnamed officers, which Lori vehemently rejects.

  Annie Elise [43:33]: "The theory that Ebby crawled into the pipe herself doesn't hold up given the physical impossibility of such an act."

• Continued Appeals for Information: The family urges the public to share Ebby's story to generate new leads and finally bring perpetrators to justice.

Annie Elise [68:50]: "Please, please, please, for Eby’s sake, for Eby's friends and family's sake, share this case everywhere you can."

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Conclusion

Episode 215 of Serialously with Annie Elise offers a poignant and thorough examination of Ebby Steppach's disappearance and the subsequent investigative failures that prolonged her family's agony. Through detailed storytelling, interviews, and critical analysis, Annie Elise highlights the urgent need for accountability and the enduring hope for answers in unsolved cases like Ebby's.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Annie Elise [01:11]: "For most of her high school career, you could call her a pretty normal teenager..."

• Lori Jernigan [05:39]: "About three weeks before Ebby disappeared, her behavior changed drastically..."

• Annie Elise [07:33]: "She was rebellious, she was independent, she's gonna do whatever she wants."

• Annie Elise [35:45]: "Margie Foley reported a strong odor of decomposition from a sewer drain..."

• Detective Tommy Hudson [25:35]: "Upon opening that pipe, cold case investigators located human remains inside that pipe."

• Annie Elise [26:44]: "The discovery of Ebby's remains didn't end up being the smoking gun..."

• Lori Jernigan [44:28]: "If I let that fester, I'd lose my mind."

• Annie Elise [43:33]: "The theory that Ebby crawled into the pipe herself doesn't hold up..."

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Final Thoughts

Ebby Steppach's case serves as a harrowing reminder of the critical importance of diligent and empathetic police work, especially in cases involving vulnerable individuals. Serialously with Annie Elise poignantly captures the heartbreak, frustration, and unwavering hope of a family seeking justice for their beloved daughter.

If you have any information regarding Ebby Steppach's case, you are encouraged to contact the family's tip line at 678-632-6159.

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Note: This summary excludes all advertisements, introductory remarks, and closing segments unrelated to the core content of the case discussion.

Transcript

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[Annie Elise]

Hey true crime besties. Welcome back to an all new episode of Serial. Hey everybody, welcome back to an all new new episode of Serial with me. Annie Elise, I am ready to talk all things true crime with you today. I've got my Be nice, don't kill people Stanley with me. We have a few of them left on the website if you do want to buy them. We are almost sold out. We might be sold out by the time this airs, but if you want one you can grab it. We also have some other merch that's still left that hasn't sold out yet. We did do a quick little restock on a couple items too because it sold out so fast. So you can check all of that out@annie elise.com but we are talking true crime today guys, and I hope you're ready for a case that has, I don't want to say a lot of twists and turns. I feel like that is so cliche, but it is. It is kind of a roller coaster type of a case. Now think this ignoring Christ for help, making threats to a family, destroying super important evidence before anybody has even had a chance to look at it. And it's nothing that we haven't heard before, right? And I know what you're probably thinking like yeah Annie, that's typical per behavior. What else is new? So what? That's exactly what we're talking about in today's case because this case is very obscure I mean, the harassment, the destroyed evidence, the all around obstructive behavior that was happening was all at the hands of people who were supposed to be investigating the crime, the police department. So like I said, this case does have a lot of twists and turns, right? It is kind of like a roller coaster. And it honestly had me doing these like mental gymnastics, trying to wrap my head around just how law enforcement could have screwed this up so badly, epically. But they did. Now before I go any further, I do feel like I need to give a little bit of a brief disclaimer here. I mean, we know that the police, they usually are helpful, usually, they usually want to keep us safe, they want to solve crimes, they want to lock up the bad guys and all of that stuff. But sometimes, as you'll see here in today's case, they miss things and things that can be life saving instead of life ending. So this is the story of the murder of an 18 year old girl and one police department's just mind boggling missteps that have now haunted her family for almost nine years. So let's go back to the fall of 2015 when 18 year old Ebby Stepak had just started her senior year of high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her friends said that she was the type of girl who could always make you laugh, who could always make you feel better about yourself if you were having a bad. Well, Eby was there and she would brighten it now for most of her high school career. You could call her a pretty normal teenager, one that made the homecoming court when she was just a freshman. And she loved when her grandma would French braid her very long blonde hair. Now I will say this guys, I feel like for all of these intros that we do with these people involved in these cases, for some reason, doesn't it always seem like these shiny happy people usually also have some sort of troubled side? I mean a troubled side that's just waiting to show at some point or another. And I think that that also is attributed to the growing pains and maturing through high school. You meet different sets of friends, you start to test boundaries, you start to maybe hang out with the wrong group here and there. I know I certainly did. But this was now Eby's first year at a public school in town because before she had gone to a local charter academy for years as a matter of fact. So you could say that her friend group, it was chang changing. This girl who used to love ice cream parties and sleepovers with her best friends was now suddenly staying out Late, past curfew and she was partying more than she ever had before. And her mother, Lori, and her stepfather Michael, have an idea of when exactly Eby started going down this path. Before she decided that she wanted to switch schools, Eby had gotten a new job at a local Foot Locker the summer before her senior year. Her parents were super proud of the fact that she took this initiative to take this job, to get this job. But it's also when they started to notice that Ebby was sort of drifting from them.

[Lori Jernigan]

About three weeks before Ebby disappeared, her behavior changed drastically. She would tell us she was going someplace or with someone and we would find out that's not where she was. Ebby was provoking arguments and wanted to move out. She left and eventually ended up with my son Trevor.

[Annie Elise]

Eby started hanging out with new people and also picking up new behaviors which most parents would find pretty difficult to deal with and pretty bad, pretty alarming. The new job, the new friends, is what ultimately led to Ebby's decision to leave her old school behind and start fresh as a senior somewhere new. Somewhere where she could be totally different and totally changed from this innocent level headed girl that she had been before. Something that she saw as somewhere with more excitement. Now, like most teens who are ready to graduate, Eby was ready for her independence. Guys, she was thirsty, itching, ready for it. Before her senior year, she had always had a very good relationship with her parents. But like any teen wanting to grow up and to start living their own life and living life on their own terms, she suddenly found herself having a lot of trouble following the simple house rules. Especially when she brought home a new boyfriend that her parents did not approve of. Her family and her close friends had said that Eby started hanging out with a different crowd, different than the crowd that she had ever been with before. The kind that liked to drink and the kind that liked to dabble in drugs. So it didn't take long for Eby to fall into those kinds of habits as well. And things got so rocky that this led to her moving out of her parents house. And she just started bouncing around with all of her friends, sort of couch surfing from house to house to house. She would go from her friend's house to her grandparents house, then to her older brother Trevor's house, just kind of couch surfing.

[Lori Jernigan]

She was rebellious, she was independent, she's gonna do whatever she wants.

[Annie Elise]

On multiple occasions she would tell me.

[Lori Jernigan]

That, you know, me and my parents.

[Michael Jernigan]

Got in a really big fight.

[Lori Jernigan]

I don't have anywhere to go Tonight Can I stay with you?

[Annie Elise]

Now, even though Eby had moved out and may not have been staying with her parents, their relationship remained a very loving one. And the rest of the family was still in frequent contact with her. She saw her older brother Trevor, and even her grandparents just about every single week. So there was clearly a part of Eby that wasn't totally ready to just leave everything behind and dive headfirst into this new life that she saw. But that new life was also pretty alluring. It looked really interesting. It was new. It was a little bit dangerous. It was exciting. So it was hard for her to ignore that side of things, too. On October 20, 2015, Eby stayed the night night at her good friend Danielle's house, who she actually knew from her previous school. The two of them spent the night just doing typical teenager stuff, which usually meant just driving around town with nowhere to go, having the wind in your hair, smiles on your faces, blasting one of Abby's favorite songs, toxic by Britney Spears. Just living kind of a carefree life. And like I said, it seemed like part of Eby really did like this innocent teenage function, but that not so innocent teenage fun. It also had a little bit of a hold on her. The next day, Abby didn't go to school. And in a message to Danielle that morning, Eby told her that, quote, she didn't feel like going with all of the drama that was going on. But Danielle had absolutely no clue what Eby was talking about. What kind of drama? What are you talking about? I'm completely lost here. Then two days later, on Friday, October 23, Eby attended a small type of party with her classmates from her new school. She invited her friend Danielle to go with her, but Danielle skipped it. She passed on it. She didn't know anybody who was going to be at that party. And frankly, it kind of sounds like Danielle had this feeling that this new group of friends was bad news and she didn't want to be any part of it. And this night was going to be the one that would change Abby's life forever. Well, at least the few days that she had left of it, anyway. Now, it's not clear where Abby stayed that night, but less than 24 hours later, she shared news with her parents that no mother and no father ever want to hear. Eby had been more than that. She had been gang. To be specific, there were four people involved in this, and according to her, Eby also believed that it was all videotaped on a cell phone. Now, this is a nightmare situation here because I mean as a mom I'm trying to put myself in her parents shoes and I'm having a little bit of trouble if I'm going to be honest. Letting my head go there because the thought of hearing my child tell me that somebody did this to them, it is just so beyond enraging. There isn't even a word for it. It's like the red mist comes over me. I just see red. I just am fuming and seething. Not to mention I myself have gone through very compromising situations in my past. And so my heart breaks for her. My feeling as a parent is fuming for her. It is everybody's worst nightmare. Whether you're a parent, whether you're the one experiencing it, it is just horrible on all sides. So clearly Eby needed help here. She needed to confide in her parents. She needed help. She felt like she was breaking a little bit. And of course her parents were more than willing to do whatever they could for their daughter. I mean, what parent wouldn't? If your child came to you with this kind of information right now, sure their relationship wasn't the best that it had ever been before, but that didn't change the love that they had for their daughter. I mean, not at all. So Eby said that she wanted to report the incident to the local authorities and her parents agreed that she definitely should. So her stepfather Michael told her that he would meet her at her grandparents house later that evening and then they would all go down to the station together.

[Lori Jernigan]

I told Ebby that I would meet her after dinner to sit tight and I'd let her know when I was on my way. The last question I asked her was if she wanted to go file her police report. And she stated yes, I'm certain.

[Annie Elise]

But that never happened. When Michael arrived to meet Eby she was already gone. And apparently she had told her grandparents that she was actually going to meet him. Now it's not exactly clear where the mix up happened or if Eby was actually going somewhere else in all of this. Before leaving, Eby exchanged I love yous with her grandparents and she even said that she was going to be back later to spend the night and she asked them not to lock the door. Now her stepfather Michael believes that Eby went to try and get the evidence of this herself. He thinks that she wanted to take the footage to the police so that she had some sort of solid proof. Because heartbreakingly it sounded like she was super concerned that she wasn't going to be believed and she didn't want to be questioned or maybe made to feel worse about everything than she already did. Now, what we do know is that sometime that Same evening on October 24, Ebby's phone placed two calls to the Little Rock Police Department. Each one of those calls lasted about one minute in length. And these were two calls that the police would later claim that they had no record of. Nothing. Zip. Zero, Nada. So the next day, around 2pm on October 25, Ebby called her older brother Trevor. He said that she seemed completely out of it, totally disoriented. The kind of call that would certainly freak you out if you got it from a younger sibling, from any sibling. As a matter of fact, on that call, Eby told Trevor that she was outside of his house, and when he went to go look for her, he couldn't find her. So Trevor called Eby right back. Right away. She answered, and she said that she was unsure where she parked. And her last words to Trevor were, I'm fucked up. And then the phone call ended. And that was the last time that anyone ever heard Eby's voice. So obviously, Trevor immediately alerted his family that something was going on with Evie. Something was up here.

[Lori Jernigan]

Came over in a panic. He had talked to her. She was very disoriented, more so than just being high or she wasn't drunk, since she was completely out of it. And then after that phone call, nothing.

[Trevor Jernigan]

Nothing for ever.

[Annie Elise]

This was not like her. Even though she wasn't on the best of terms with her parents, she clearly still had a very active relationship with just about every single one of her family members, even her parents. So when Eby's friends and family couldn't figure out where she was, they were freaked out and they immediately went to the police. Eby's parents were told that they couldn't report her as missing for at least 12 hours. Later, they would learn that that's not even a thing. That's not even real. There's no law or no city ordinance that says that that's a rule. But because of this, her family was left to search for her all by themselves, which they did. Meanwhile, Eby's friend Danielle learned that Eby was missing that Sunday because Eby failed to meet up with her for church, something that they had made plans to do previously. And so when Eby didn't show up, she's like, what's going on? And then she learned that her friend was missing. And Danielle immediately jumped into searching for her friend. I mean, she was driving all around, she was looking everywhere that she could think of anywhere that she think that eby might be. She was just scouring every single nook and cranny that she could. Then, when the officers finally deemed eby as missing, that this was real, they labeled her as a likely runaway, Something that must have just been incredibly frustrating to her family, because eby had never just vanished before, and she wouldn't now, either. This was something that was completely out of the normal, yet the police were treating it as though she was a runaway, and that's after not even treating it very seriously in the beginning at all. So days go by, and days later, Eby's 2003 Volkswagen Passat was found By a security guard named guy hopper. Her car was found at chalamont park in west little rock. Now, here's where we kind of get to a fumble. Number three in all of this, because the security guard guy, said that he reported the car to the police, and then he even waited two hours for an officer to arrive at the scene, but nobody ever showed up. So then the next day, guy, the security guard, comes back, and he saw eby's car was still in the park, in that very same spot, Completely untouched, and police actually didn't arrive to investigate it for another full day. Like, what on earth is happening? You have this girl reported as missing. Everybody's out looking for her. You get a phone call that there's a car, that it's abby's car, and you don't go searching it for days on end. Like, what is even happening right now. So when investigators did get to the scene, they discovered that abby's car had been backed into a space, that it was completely out of gas, it had a dead battery, and her keys were left in the ignition. Not shady at all.

[Michael Jernigan]

Right.

[Annie Elise]

And according to eby's parents, it actually took the arriving officers Quite a while to even make the connection that it was, in fact, ebby's car, Even though her name was listed on the title. And not for nothing, but there was also a bolo out on the car.

[Lori Jernigan]

Yes, her phone was there, Purse was there. There's medication that she took. It was there. She loved makeup, Expensive makeup, and her makeup was just scattered and broken.

[Annie Elise]

Yet still, the police felt like there wasn't any real sign of foul play here. Nothing that really jumped out to them. Her car was somewhat dirty. It was littered with her own clothing, her own belonging. But apparently, that wasn't out of the ordinary for eby. So the cops had a look around the park and the immediate area of ebby's car as well, but they didn't find any real evidence that indicated that a crime had taken place. So for the next eight months. Yes, you heard that right. Eight months. Eby's case was officially treated like a runaway incident, leaving her family and her friends with no real answers and without much additional help from law enforcement either. Now, even though she was still a student, eby was technically 18 years old now, so that made her an adult, one that could make her own decisions. And as far as the cops were concerned, maybe she'd be back any minute. Or maybe she just didn't want to be found. I mean, the nightmare was only the beginning for the people who truly loved Eby. But before we get into all of that, we are going to take a quick break and hear from today's sponsors. Being an adult definitely has its high points.

[Michael Jernigan]

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[Annie Elise]

A doctor here in Orange County.

[Michael Jernigan]

He's like, we could just use ZocDoc. I'm all, you use doc talk. I use that too. And like it's so, so easy. You guys should definitely try it as well. So stop putting off all those doctors appointments and go to Zocdoc.com Annie Elise to find and instantly book a top rated doctor today. That's Z O c d o c.com Annie Elise Zocdoc.com Annie Elise Today's episode is sponsored by Ollie. Offering clean, fresh nutrition for dogs with five delicious flavors. Ollie's whole, minimally processed food is designed to improve your dog's health and extend their life by two and a half years. Made in US Kitchens with trusted ingredients, Ollie's recipes contain no fillers or preservatives. With options like fresh beef with sweet potatoes and fresh turkey with blueberries, Ollie provides top quality meals that are hard to beat. My dog, Freckles, lives for his Ollie food. I swear, when I put it out, he like devours the entire thing in a single instant. And it is so easy.

[Annie Elise]

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[Annie Elise]

In the days, the weeks, the months that followed, Ebby's family started getting harassed as well. First, her mother was sent these awful messages on Facebook from all sorts of men, kind of battering her over how much they would pay for Eby. I mean, how truly disgusting is that? Saying they were offering to pay for her daughter. And then somebody even went as far as to make a fake Facebook account under Eby's name. And they started sending messages to her family, her friends, all saying that Eby was okay. I mean, it was truly sick. And as much as you would want to believe that this was real, as a parent, I mean, in their hearts, they knew that it wasn't their daughter. They knew that this was a fake account. And people were just being so cruel, so callous. It is so unforgivable. Then More rumors started circulating around town. Specifically, there were rumors circulating that Eby had been popping up on Backpage, which is an online marketplace that's notorious for sex workers. Now, although Eby's family and friends didn't think there was any truth to this because they knew Ebby and knew that this was unlike her, they felt like they did need to look into it. So they even hired a private investigator named Monty Vickers to look into this. But nothing ever led to Eby. The PI though, even tried to contact the police about leads and about the investigation, but all of his phone calls went completely unanswered. Now, you might be wondering. Okay, Annie, let's back up for a second. You said that Eby said that she was gang by four people, and this was right before she went missing. So surely those four men must have been questioned by the police, right? You'd think so, but not really. Police did talk to each of these four men, but they were never made official suspects and they were never even labeled as people of interest in this case. Eby's parents said that there wasn't even a formal interview of these men. It sounds like they were never even asked to go down to the station for any sort of real interrogation or any line of questioning. They were just kind of casually talked to and then crossed off the list. But also remember the cops had claimed that they never received Abby's phone calls to report the to begin with. And no official search was ever done of these boys phones to look for that video that Abby said was taken, the video that she said existed, which proved that this assault took place. And without any sign of Ebby, there wasn't any real evidence that the rape even happened. It was a he said, she said, and she was now gone without ever having a chance to say her piece of it. What really happened? And to feel like the cops didn't even take Eby's accusation seriously enough to look at these boys phones, it kind of just makes you wonder, why not? Were they protecting somebody? What was going on here? The identities of the guys were never released, so we don't know if there was maybe a possible connection between them and the police. But it really does make you wonder. I mean, at least it makes me wonder, because the handling of this case just is not normal behavior. And more time passed. No answers came. And for the next couple of years, nothing really happened. There weren't any leads, there weren't any tips. And Eby's family was left to wonder where their daughter was. And of course, more importantly, if she Was even still alive. Then, eventually, in 2017, about two years after Ebby's disappearance, A new cold case detective with the little rock police department Named Tommy Hudson Took over Ebby's case. This was when the original lead detective left to go take a job somewhere else. And finally, it seemed like now this case was in competent hands. Thank goodness. Thank God. Eby's family felt like the investigation was back on track and it was finally gaining some ground, some traction. They even made an appearance on the Dr. Phil show in 2017, giving this case the national attention that it really, quite frankly deserved. And there they announced a $50,000 reward, all in hopes of getting information that would lead them to finding abby. Then, in May 2018, nearly three years after Abby was last seen, There was a major break in the case. Detective Hudson, along with a team from public works, Started excavating a storm drain pipe in chalamont park, that same park where Ebby's car had been found abandoned back in October of 2015. They sent a robot with a camera into this pipe system, and it ran into a blockage while it was going through it. And when the pipes were dug up, Skeletal remains were discovered.

[Detective Tommy Hudson]

Robots with video cameras that we were able to send down the drains. Eventually, starting from the top drain where her car was found, we hit obstructions 70ft down from the top part of where her car was. We then took the same robots and ran them back up the other end from the drain, up another 130ft, and located another obstruction. Neither one of these obstructions were human remains, but they piqued our interest that we had an obstruction from 70ft from the top, from 130ft from the bottom. After consultation with the Little Rock FBI office, we made the determination that we needed to excavate this area to see what was inside the pipe itself. We actually have photos where we were able to see the obstructions, but none of those obstructions, like I said, were human remains. At 1030 hours on Tuesday morning, We located the piping section that we believe we need to open up to see what the obstruction obstruction was. Upon opening that pipe, cold case investigators located human remains inside that pipe. At that time, we shut everything down and immediately went try to search for the family of Ms. Stevick to let them know we had found human remains.

[Annie Elise]

Now, guys, get this. The remains were located just 60 to 70ft from where Eby's car was parked. So in the coming days, A coroner ended up officially confirming that the remains did, in fact, belong to Abby. Now, the body was in such a bad state of decomposition that when her mother, Lori, arrived to identify her, she could only do so based on her clothing and her jewelry. And this isn't the outcome that anybody wanted. I mean, sure, her family knew that it was a possibility all along, but still, nobody, nobody, nobody wants to bury their child. But on some level, I'm also sure that it brought a sense of peace to Eby's family. Because now they knew she wasn't out there suffering. She wasn't somewhere alone, scared. They could give her a proper burial. They could have a funeral. And they could have a celebration of her all too short life. Her official obituary listed her death date as October 25, 2015. That same day that she went missing. Now, maybe those who loved Eby would get some answers. Because usually when you find a body, that is what happens. Having a body now means that there's a crime scene, there's some physical evidence to test, to examine. But the discovery of Eby's remains didn't end up being the smoking gun that everybody thought that it would be or that it should be. And as it's always been with this case, it ended up bringing more questions than answers. Like how did she get in there? Did somebody put her in there? Had she been in there this entire time? And if so, how could the police have missed her for so long? And just for a second, let's imagine that Eby had been in there this entire time. If her body was found years ago, back when her car was discovered, there would be so much more evidence to go off of. There would be so much more suspect wise. There could have been a struggle. There could have been DNA on Eby. And now there was hardly anything left of her. And I know that that's a horrible picture to paint and a scene to imagine, but honestly, it's the truth. And Eby deserves nothing but the truth.

[Interviewer]

Well, first of all, how are you doing since the news came out about epi?

[Lori Jernigan]

I'm in shock. It hadn't really hit me yet. Kind of comes and goes. Angry, sad, relieved. I don't have to wait anymore. Not looking at my phone. Mm. I don't know.

[Interviewer]

You poured everything you had into finding your daughter. I mean, there were times you said you were scouring the Internet. You were doing everything in your power. And now you have an answer. It might not be all the answers, but it's something. How do you feel having that?

[Lori Jernigan]

It confirms what I. What I've thought I've believed in my heart. She was gone. I wish my energies had Gone towards looking in a pipe. I'm kind of beating myself up because I would have crawled in the pipe to look for, but I can't go back. Her disappearance has brought a whole lot of awareness to trafficking. It's. Her disappearance has saved lives, so God's brought purpose to her life.

[Annie Elise]

Now, before we jump into the wait, but there's more part of this case, because there is a lot more. I think it's a good idea to recap the main series of events that led us here so far, because we have got so much more unraveling to do. And this is where the rollercoaster truly begins. First, there was the R. We know that Eby wanted to report it, but she never made it to the police station. Then a day after that, she called her brother Trevor, and she sounded completely out of it just hours later. She then disappeared. And in the three years before her body was found, there were no real developments in her case. I mean, at least not on the police's end anyway. And I mentioned earlier that her family had been working with a private investigator, and they really relied on the help of friends and other people in the community to try and find Eby when the cops just frankly, weren't giving this case the attention that it deserved. And at one point, Abby's mom, Lori, even said that she felt like she was being harassed by the police herself. According to Lori, she even filed a complaint against the department in 2018. And she filed this complaint against a police captain, a lieutenant, and a sergeant, all for the mistreatment of her family in the early days of the investigation. However, no specific names were disclosed by the department. Now, you might wonder, okay, well, why did she wait years to file this complaint? But it was all because Lori was scared of retaliation. So she waited until the case was handed to another unit to then make this complaint. I mean, this poor, grieving mother, this poor woman actually believed that if she stood up for herself in real time when she was experiencing it, then it might mean that they would stop investigating the case altogether. So she chose to put her daughter first. She chose. I don't want to risk that. I don't want to put that in jeopardy. I'll wait. I'll wait until it goes to a different department, and then I will make my complaint. But she said that the officers were sending her threatening text messages, yelling at her during questioning, and even told her at one point that they weren't going to update her any longer on any developments. And it sounds like she had all of the evidence to prove this. Because in her filing, she submitted text message threads, witness accounts, emails, everything that proved her claims, even recorded conversations with these officers. So on top of not getting any answers, Lori felt like she was now a victim as well. Unfortunately, an internal look into the behavior of these officers and into the department didn't yield anything. It didn't prove any wrongdoing on their part. It all was citing insufficient evidence relating to Lori's claims, and it really didn't go anywhere. So understandably, her family was getting very tired, very angry, so they started publicly speaking out.

[Michael Jernigan]

All right, I want to let you in on something that has truly been a game changer in my life lately, guys, and I'm talking about my Helix. Matt, you know, we talk about the importance of sleep all the time, but it's not until you're actually getting great sleep that you realize how much it can impact everything, right? So let me take you into my.

[Annie Elise]

Figurative bedroom for a minute here.

[Michael Jernigan]

Look, before Helix, I was struggling with being comfortable throughout the night. I was staying asleep.

[Annie Elise]

Like, my back would hurt, my hips.

[Michael Jernigan]

Would hurt, I'd wake up uncomfortable. And like, in the morning, after tossing and turning, I would feel sore. Even though I knew that I got a good night of sleep, it was just very weird. But with Helix, it completely changed. I took their quick sleep quiz, and based on my preferences, they matched me with a mattress that was designed just for me. And when I tell you they got it right, they got it right. Because honestly, not only is it a match for me, anyone who even sits on my bed tells me how comfortable it is. I just got my mom a Helix, my sister loves my bed, my husband loves my bed, even though I kicked him to the guest room because my kids want to sleep with me. And, you know, I cuddle with my kiddos, but the mattress is so comfortable, it feels like you're sleeping on a cloud. I've had my Helix for, gosh, about two and a half years now. And honestly, my sleep quality is, like, better than it has ever been before. It is so comfy. Whether I'm watching TV in bed, sleeping, it is just the best. Plus, with my age, I'm getting older, I'm waking up, I'm not sore, my hips aren't hurting, my back isn't hurting. I don't have the aches and pains that I used to have. So if you're in the market for better sleep, now's the time. Helix is offering a November deal of 25 off site wide and two free dream pillows with any mattress purchase. And if you Go with a luxe or elite model. They're throwing in a free bedding bundle, two dream pillows, a sheet set and a mattress protector. Just go to helix sleep.comser to take advantage. Trust me, you deserve this. It has made a huge difference for me. I think you're going to love it, too. I have the Sunset Lux. It is the best.

[Annie Elise]

Go take the quiz. Get your mattress.

[Michael Jernigan]

Thank.

[Annie Elise]

So let's rewind back to the early days of the case. Just after Ebby's car was found four days later on November 3, 2015, a family friend named Margie Foley, who has a daughter that's also good friends with Eby, said that she reported a very strange smell coming from the sewer in Shalomont park, where she had been doing her own private search looking for Eby, where her car was found. And she actually called 911 because of how bad this odor was. And unlike Ebby's calls, there's a record of this. So take a listen to the dispatcher passing her info along to the Little Rock Police Department.

[Margie Foley]

Yes, ma'am. This is Wade with Pulaski county, and we got a call just a little bit ago from a lady that said that she had met with Detective Williams, I guess, out of your department, a little bit earlier today. And it was about the missing girl, Abby. I don't know her last name. I can't remember right now. Missing your Abby? Yes. Excuse me. Just saying. All for one. Negative. 1800. Okay. Anyway, but she said that I guess her daughter knew the missing girl, but they were in the. There is a little neighborhood park there behind Jyoti Robinson, and she said she smelled something decomposing and she was worried that that may be related to the case somehow.

[Annie Elise]

Okay, and who told you all this?

[Margie Foley]

Her name is Margie Foley. Margie Foley, F, O, L, E. Yes.

[Annie Elise]

What's her phone number? Her daughter's friends with little Evie.

[Margie Foley]

Yeah, I think her name is Kaylee. Her daughter's name is Kaylee Haley?

[Michael Jernigan]

Yeah.

[Annie Elise]

Okay, and when did Kaylee smell this?

[Margie Foley]

It was just. Well, and may have been 20 minutes ago. Now 30 minutes ago.

[Annie Elise]

20 minutes. Is Kaylee still at the park?

[Margie Foley]

They were when I spoke to him.

[Annie Elise]

Okay.

[Margie Foley]

But she said it seems like there's a sewer drain or something over there. And. And she was. Like I said, she was very concerned about that. And she said she tried to call Detective Williams, but she didn't get an answer, so I told her I would see what I could chase down for. Okay, let me ask you this. Did you guys check the park we did not. Because that's the city limits of Little Rock.

[Annie Elise]

Okay. Okay. And it's on Shalom.

[Margie Foley]

Yes.

[Annie Elise]

Behind Josie. Right. What's the park's name?

[Margie Foley]

You know, I have no idea. She just said it's a little neighborhood park for their. For the neighborhood there, I guess. And so I don't. Don't really know. All right, we'll get this forwarded over to Violent Crimes. Okay? Okay, Good deal. Thank you.

[Annie Elise]

All right, thank you.

[Margie Foley]

All right, bye. Bye.

[Annie Elise]

Then when officers finally did come to the scene an hour later, Margie felt like she was pretty much dismissed. Police shined a flashlight into the drain. They told her that they had already checked everything in the park. And the cops said that there was no way that she was smelling human decomposition and that that smell was probably just coming from the regular sewage or maybe even a dead animal that was in the air area. And when the authorities searched the park yet again a year later for anything that maybe was missed the first time around, Margie once again brought up that smell of decomposition. But it led to nothing. I got to right about, you know.

[Lori Jernigan]

I got right about here and I just got hit with the smell of decomposition.

[Annie Elise]

Margie says she called for Kaylee to head back to the car.

[Lori Jernigan]

I didn't want her to smell it. And then she was kept asking me why and I said I smell decom.

[Annie Elise]

Decomposition coming from that drain. On one occasion, cadaver dogs were even brought into the park, but they never picked up on Eby's scent anywhere. So it really does sound like Eby was actually in this drain the entire time. And somehow she was missed for years. Even though every square foot of that park was allegedly checked. Not only checked once, but checked multiple times in nearly a three year period. Not to mention the phone call of the smell of decomposition and the foul odor. I mean, how many pieces do you need in order to just like dig a little deeper and figure out what's going on here? But also, let's not forget that for the first eight months of this, Eby was still labeled as a runaway. So really, it kind of begs the question of how much effort was really going into looking for her from law enforcement side anyway. And after all of this information came.

[Michael Jernigan]

Out, Ebby's mom spoke with the local.

[Annie Elise]

News station about her thoughts on everything.

[Lori Jernigan]

I didn't know a lot of things that I know now. I didn't know someone reported smells from that drainage pipe. I didn't know there was 911 call. I didn't know that. I didn't know that her dad was the one contacted and told, hey, your car's out here. You need to come pick it up. And he's the one that went out there and picked it up. He's the one that called the police. I didn't know these things. It may have been a different story.

[Interviewer]

Does that make you angry?

[Lori Jernigan]

Yes. If I let that fester, I'd lose my mind.

[Interviewer]

You were at that park Several times. I know. For vigils, just to visit. There was a memorial set up for her. Still is. I know this is tough, but knowing your daughter was there the whole time, how does that make you feel?

[Lori Jernigan]

I was right there. She was right there. Her body was right there, about 60ft from her car. I went over there and I placed flowers. My husband and I placed flowers where her body was. You can throw a stone from where her car was to where she was.

[Interviewer]

And you had no idea?

[Lori Jernigan]

I had no idea. I wasn't pointed in that direction. I was pointed. You know, I searched everywhere I could. I can let myself go back and think. I would have. I would have done anything. I would have dug up the whole park. I would have dug up the whole parking lot. I would have had people digging had I had any idea, had I known that had not been searched. Thank God. Thank God for Detective Tommy Hudson, for Captain Russell King, for Chief Lambley. You know, that's what a cold case does. They take the case and they start all over. If it were not for those men, we never would have found Ebby.

[Interviewer]

In the beginning, when we talked, I mean, you were angry with police, and rightfully so, because they admitted that they had done things wrong in the investigation. Were you able to ever forgive them?

[Lori Jernigan]

You have to forgive, or you just die. And that's where I am now. I can. I have to move on, you know, now there's other things to move on with. They're investigating this as a homicide. Ebby obviously didn't raise a manhole cover and put herself in a. In a ditch. She didn't slide herself in there. So it's being investigated as a homicide. You know, we have a lot more coming. I don't know when that is. That's not my fight. I just wanted my little girl back, and I have her back. The rest is someone else's fight. It's not mine.

[Interviewer]

You have a lot of people fighting for you on the Facebook page. I mean, there's a lot of people that are very upset and angry over this, that didn't even know Abby.

[Lori Jernigan]

You know, I haven't been on Her Facebook page much. We're tired. There's so many emotions going on. We have. There's so much. We're tired. We're devastated, we're angry. The grieving hasn't even started yet. I feel like my head's on backwards. I'm just. I'm just walking in circles. Someone please tell me what to do. The details. I don't want to know the details. They're not good, you know? I don't know what to say.

[Annie Elise]

So as more time passed, even more came out about the missteps in this investigation. From the very beginning, that security guard, the one that originally found Ebby's car, Guy Hopper, he said that he was never contacted or ever interviewed by police. It actually wasn't until the private investigator reached out to him directly that he spoke with anybody about the case, anybody.

[Michael Jernigan]

About what he had found.

[Annie Elise]

And according to Guy, he had dash cam footage of Eby all in the weeks leading up before her disappearance. And it turns out that she came to that park often. And he said that this footage would show that she would meet up with a man there in that park on multiple occasions. It's not clear who that man was. And since the cops never spoke to Guy himself, he never did anything with this footage. And sadly, now it was too late, because that video doesn't even exist anymore. It was erased at some point. Which, yes, may sound suspicious, but that's just the recording policy of the dash cam service that this guy was using. Across the street from the park, there's also a Walmart. And apparently their parking lot security cameras were also never looked at. So it turns out that there was some real evidence out there, evidence that could have maybe cracked this case years before her body was found. If only somebody involved in this investigation thought to ask the right questions and interview the right people. And that's not the only thing that was missed with the car either. Her car was found backed into the space with a dead battery and absolutely zero gas in the tank and with the keys in the ignition. Now, this part really does jump out, and I'm just speculating here, but if you leave your keys in the ignition, you probably intend to return somewhat quickly to the vehicle, right? Or conversely, maybe you were forced to exit against your will. Either way, I just don't understand how this wasn't a red flag from the get go. It is absolutely bananas. And as for the no gas thing, I mean, for a tank to be bone dry, the car could have been left running for who knows how long. And that would also Explain the dead battery. And again, if somebody's gonna just leave their car running, I would imagine that they certainly have every intention of returning to it. And maybe even the most insane part of all of this is that when the police actually took possession of Eby's car and had it towed into evidence, at some point, they opened the trunk and they accidentally forgot to close it. And when they forgot to close it, a rainstorm happened. Now, I'm really not trying to go there, guys, because I don't like to go to conspiracies or corruption or anything like that too often, but it is such a dumb mistake that it feels intentional. How do you leave the trunk wide open in the middle of a rainstorm? So, because of this, obviously, a lot of the items in the trunk were destroyed. Abby's family even said that when they got the car back eventually, that some stuff was completely ruined and water damaged. Her stepfather, Michael, did make sure to take meticulous photos of the car so that he was at least able to preserve the condition that he got it back in for any future investigators or private detectives. But who knows what could have been found in it or on it if that trunk was never left open, I'd have to imagine that any fingerprints that might have been there are now long gone, and there's no way to ever get those back. And also, really quick, let's talk about that phone call that she made to her brother where she was all disoriented. Why didn't they ever ping her phone to see where that call came from to investigate where that was?

[Michael Jernigan]

What happened?

[Annie Elise]

Was she at somebody's house? Was it at the park? What was really going on here? I mean, that would have maybe helped build some sort of map, some sort of timeline to determine Ebby's movements before she disappeared, and also kind of just, like, build out a rough timeline to this case. But that was never done either. And the reason why they never looked into this is because the department cited a lack of resources. So why does it seem like just nobody cared? I mean, it feels like the most basic steps in the investigation were just tossed to the wind without any thought, without any care. And they just, you know, labeled her as a likely runaway and tried to just clear the case off their desk. But luckily, Eby's family was going to come in, and they were not going to take this lying down. They learned quickly that if they wanted something done, they were going to need to do it themselves. So they started quickly building their own timeline of events. They even hired an IT specialist to look into Eby's Google searches and all of her social media accounts and what they found was going to finally start giving some answers as to what happened to Eby. So we're going to go through everything that they discovered after we hear from the final sponsors in today's episode.

[Michael Jernigan]

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[Annie Elise]

All the things.

[Michael Jernigan]

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[Annie Elise]

You go outside, but if you live.

[Michael Jernigan]

Here in California, by noon it's hot and then you're sweaty.

[Annie Elise]

For me, I feel like I smell.

[Michael Jernigan]

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[Annie Elise]

So now the family has taken matters into their own hands. They're going to investigate. And the family's investigation revealed a few things. One, what Eby was looking for online in the 48 hours before she disappeared. And two, that she did in fact reach out to the men that she had accused of her. She reached out to them via text. And then another huge red flag that was discovered is that someone logged into one of her social media accounts long after she went missing. So let's start with the searches. In the early morning hours of Saturday, October 24, 2015, Eby googled a friend's address at 2:10am this would have been the night that she attended that party. And likely just after that had occurred. Now, Abby probably went and slept there that night, looking for a safe place to just get her head wrapped around everything that was going on, to get some rest, to just kind of recalibrate herself. And then at 11:43 in the morning, she Googled American Horror Story. Now, it doesn't exactly tell us much, except that maybe she was wanting to decompress, shut her mind off, watch a little bit of TV for a few hours, and just kind of go somewhere else. Then at 5:52 and 5:55pm she searched. I was recorded without my consent. And she also searched how to file a police report. So clearly, Eby was actively looking for help and she wanted to go to the police. She was looking at what she was supposed to do. She was trying so hard to do the right thing. From the PI and from the IT specialist, we also know that on Saturday afternoon or evening, Eby did reach out to the men that assaulted her. Now, remember, her stepdad, Michael, thought that maybe the reason that she failed to meet up with him to report the was because she wanted to first go get that cell phone footage so that she would have it and she would 100% be believed. Now, since we do know that Eby did send the alleged assaulter some text messages, his theory does seem to make a little bit of sense here. Now, unfortunately, for purposes of the investigation, the details of the messages that Eby sent have remained sealed. But it was reported by the press that the general vibe of the text messages that Eby sent the men all contained threats of going to the police. That then brings us to that very weird, mysterious login on her social media account. A login that happened after she was already missing. So, knowing what we know now, Eby was already dead by the time that this happened. So who and why would they have done it? Well, it turns out that Eby was dating somebody at the time that she disappeared, and the login was from him. Her boyfriend's name was Eric, and until 2023, he never spoke publicly about EPI. But in 2023, he finally broke his silence and he made an appearance on the Dr. Phil Show. Now, before we get into this, it is important to remember that Eric was never named as an official suspect. In fact, not a single person in this case ever officially was a suspect. Now, Eric never really said publicly, at least, why he logged in to Eby's social media account. When was the last time that you spoke with Ebby?

[Eric]

I believe her brother called me after he couldn't get in contact with her on the 25th. And then I called her, and she answered for a second. That was the last time I talked to her.

[Trevor Jernigan]

Okay, and what was her state of mind?

[Eric]

She was scared. She didn't seem normal. She didn't seem okay.

[Annie Elise]

So you were concerned when you talked to her that she wasn't herself?

[Eric]

I was concerned because of, you know, she came over frantic. You know, she was. She wasn't happy. She wasn't her normal self when she came over. But she also wasn't, like, impaired then. But then when I heard her voice on the phone, I could immediately tell that it was not okay.

[Annie Elise]

Okay, you say when she came over, when did she come over to you to see you?

[Eric]

Actually, I believe it was, like, right after the party. I remember her messaging me late at night and said that somebody had, you know, her. I told her, you know, come over. I'm not. Like, we were upset with each other. Like, it was a lot of stuff going on around that point, so we weren't necessarily on the best terms.

[Annie Elise]

So as we just heard in that clip, it kind of seems like he was little bit unsure of his own story and timeline of events. First, he said that he last talked to eby on the 25th, which would have been Saturday, the day after that party and the day that she disappeared. He said that she sounded scared, that she sounded out of it, which also matches what her brother Trevor said about his phone call with her. But then he said she came over and she wasn't normal. Did you catch that? We never heard at any point that somebody actually saw Eby right before she went missing. Now, it's entirely possible that Eric was just confused because later he went on to say that she came over after the party, which would have been Friday the 24th. So maybe he had his dates mixed up, or. I don't know, maybe he did reveal some new information that nobody knew before. Eric also said that the park that she was found in was her happy place and that she would go there sometimes to just think, to decompress, to hang out. And that he has also been at that park with her before, too. And remember that security guard guy, Hopper, said that he had seen Eby on the dash cam footage with a man there several different times. Several times before she disappeared. So maybe it was in fact Eric. I mean, it doesn't seem like we'll ever know for sure, though. So now you're probably wondering. Okay, Annie, that's great. They finally started getting this information. So where does the investigation Stand today. Well, this case isn't closed, but it's also not considered to be cold either. After Detective Hudson found Eby's body, he never revealed how she died. But he does say that he has his own theories now. For now, he's keeping those theories to himself, which isn't weird in an ongoing investigation. But it still hasn't been made known what the cause of death was. Unfortunately, Detective Hudson resigned from the Little Rock police force back in 2021. And Eby's parents, they're so forever thankful and grateful to him because he was just like beyond helpful to their family. And they believe that had he never come onto the case back in 2017, that Ebby would have never been found, that she would just be another name in a file somewhere like so many others are.

[News Reporter]

Ebby Steppik's mom, Lori Jernigan, says there is one man who has broken barriers to bring her daughter home.

[Lori Jernigan]

Without Tommy, we would have no investigation. We wouldn't have a case. She would just be in a file somewhere.

[News Reporter]

Now that man behind the badge, Little Rock Police cold case detective Tommy Hudson, is resigning.

[Lori Jernigan]

I burst out in tears. That was my first response.

[News Reporter]

Hudson's exit comes as other veteran Little Rock officers are also leaving the force.

[Lori Jernigan]

His reasonings for leaving were completely valid. He's going to North Little Rock and they need him.

[News Reporter]

Hudson briefly retired, but came back to work part time in LRPD's cold case unit. He found Ebby's body in a drainage pipe in Chalamont park back in 2018, feet away from where she originally disappeared three years prior.

[Lori Jernigan]

He came in and saved the day on Ev's case.

[News Reporter]

Hudson revealed to me in a 2018 interview that before the case was assigned to him, critical errors were made by lrpd.

[Detective Tommy Hudson]

When I got the case, there were things that weren't done that should have been done on the front end.

[News Reporter]

Things like interviewing keywords, checking surveillance footage at a nearby Walmart, and a social media search had not been done.

[Detective Tommy Hudson]

We always look at that. You know, why it wasn't done at the time? I can't answer that. I can tell you it's been done.

[News Reporter]

Now family members have told us the case is being investigated as a homicide and praise the next detective is as good as Hudson.

[Lori Jernigan]

My faith is so strong and I trust that God will bring the answers.

[Annie Elise]

So as it stands today, Eby's murder remains unsolved. However, rumor has it that some people don't think that Eby was murdered at all. Eby's mother said that she was recently told by the police that they believe that Eby put herself down in that drainpipe, that she went down there to take her own life. So if you were thinking we were finally about to get some good news and that her family was going to get the break that they so desperately needed, unfortunately, think again, because they were now given the curveball of all curveballs. And let's talk about this drainpipe for a minute. I mean, I'm going to put an image on the screen here if you're watching the video version, but take a closer look at where her body was found. According to her mom, Lori, some unnamed officers on the police force think that Eby drove herself to this park, lifted this manhole cover, used the built in ladder to then lower herself down inside, and then started crawling into the drainage pipe herself. Even though we've never come across any real evidence that ever suggested that that was her plan. And her friends and family absolutely do not buy this story whatsoever. Not a single word of it. Which as a side note, have any of you ever tried to lift a manhole cover? If not, a quick Google search shows that they are seriously heavy. I mean, weighing anywhere from 75 to 200 pounds pounds. So imagine Eby in the state that she was in, all 110 pounds of her somehow managing to lift this cast iron cover and then climb down into the sewer all by herself. Not to mention that even if she did this once she was inside, she'd have to like hang onto this ladder with one hand and then close that manhole cover above her head with the other hand. I mean, think about it again, with one hand, this tiny young woman would have had to move something likely over a hundred pounds above her head, all while keeping her balance and not falling further down into this hole. I don't think so. And then you'd also have to believe that for some reason, once she reached the bottom, she just started crawling into the pipe herself. Because remember, her remains were found 70ft deep into this sewer system. That means that she would have had to crawl into this pipe, which looks no more than a foot in diameter, all by herself. To me, this just doesn't seem possible or plausible at all. And it's really hard to believe that anybody could see this happening. It's my opinion that people like Eby, who was an innocent teenager, who was in homecoming court, who loved being with her friends, they don't go from that kind of life, no matter what circle of friends they start hanging out with, to then ending up in a sewer drain. Not by themselves. Not without the involvement of somebody else. So this case, unfortunately, doesn't have an ending right now, guys. Eby's family and friends still haven't gotten the answers that they deserve so badly. But for now, they keep fighting. They know that somebody or maybe several people out there know something. And they will keep looking for the truth for as long as it takes.

[Interviewer]

Tonight we sit down with Eby's grandmother, who for the first time locally, is opening up about her granddaughter's death, what she believes happened and the message she has to the person responsible.

[Trevor Jernigan]

Debbie just had this laughter that just strangers would come up and giggle with.

[Interviewer]

Her memories like these.

[Trevor Jernigan]

She was beautiful and charming, still fresh.

[Interviewer]

In Debbie Stepek's mind.

[Trevor Jernigan]

She had the sweetest little nature from the beginning.

[Interviewer]

Nearly seven years have passed since she last hugged her granddaughter, Ebi Jane Stepek.

[Trevor Jernigan]

It was hopeless.

[Annie Elise]

Horrible.

[Trevor Jernigan]

It was horrible. Pictures and images of inside the drain pipe. And so some of those kind of things are almost unbearable.

[Interviewer]

Ebby's death has been classified as a homicide, but no one has ever been arrested. In the years that followed, her grandmother stayed mostly in the background.

[Lori Jernigan]

They can't hide from God.

[Interviewer]

Ebby's mom, Lori, went on a public crusade to find out what happened to her daughter.

[Trevor Jernigan]

It was so painful that I did not feel like I could be in public at that time.

[Interviewer]

While she may have been out of the spotlight, Debbie was still hard at work. You're trying to connect all the dots.

[Trevor Jernigan]

Yes. See all the dots? All the dots. This is where it began.

[Interviewer]

The keeper of memories in the family, she started recording every detail she could about Ebby's disappearance, Including all the twists and turns that followed.

[Trevor Jernigan]

I had heard rumors. I had heard facts. I knew some things, and I didn't know some things. I'm like, I'm gonna put down exactly what I know for certain. And because the police may want that, this was the most active week right here.

[Interviewer]

Sharing what she uncovered with then lead homicide detective Tommy Hudson.

[Detective Tommy Hudson]

We're looking for information in regards to Ms. Debbie disappearance.

[Interviewer]

Who made the call to go into the drainage pipe, eventually finding Ebby.

[Trevor Jernigan]

I hope it's making a difference. I really do.

[Interviewer]

While the timeline has helped her paint a clearer picture, it still doesn't answer the burning question. How did Ebby die?

[Trevor Jernigan]

I can't say that I'm positive on what happened, But I'm positive on what didn't happen. Ebby did not take her life. I believe she was involved with a bad situation. No ideas on that, but I am positive on the other.

[Interviewer]

As for the theory Ebby crawled into the pipe herself.

[Trevor Jernigan]

No, that theory is just. No.

[Interviewer]

Debbie says she believes someone is responsible for her granddaughter's death.

[Trevor Jernigan]

There's somebody or some bodies that know exactly what happened to her.

[Interviewer]

Her prayer that they come forward and.

[Trevor Jernigan]

Confess and if they realize we're not giving up, perhaps the day will come when they just get weary or something and we'll tell something that will help us find out what happened to her.

[Interviewer]

Giving them closure and allowing them to focus more on the good memories.

[Annie Elise]

The day 18 year old Ebby Stepig vanished is still vivid for her mother, Lori Jernigan.

[Lori Jernigan]

You know, my faith has got me through this.

[Annie Elise]

Her hell on earth, as she describes it, began in 2015 when her son.

[Michael Jernigan]

Called her after a bizarre phone call he had with Ebby.

[Lori Jernigan]

He ran into my house and said, something's wrong, something's wrong, something's wrong.

[Annie Elise]

Over the next three years, the family would constantly wonder if she was still.

[Michael Jernigan]

Alive or if others had seen her.

[Lori Jernigan]

Is that her? Is that her?

[Annie Elise]

But in 2018, their fears were finally realized when Stepek's remains were discovered in a drainage pipe at Chalamont park, just feet away from where her car was found.

[Lori Jernigan]

Is a little uncomfortable. I mean, and I'm about to cry.

[Annie Elise]

Actually today she found the courage to make her way back to the park with me.

[Lori Jernigan]

You know, I look over there and just think, she was in that ditch in that train and I hadn't been up here in a while. And I just look at that and think, how is she in there?

[Annie Elise]

The past seven years have taken a toll on her.

[Lori Jernigan]

Feel like, I feel like this year I was able to truly say to her and let her know that I've done everything humanly possible to find out who did this.

[Annie Elise]

Police are still actively investigating, but so far no solid leads have surfaced. As for Jernigan, she's comforted knowing her.

[Michael Jernigan]

Daughter'S legacy lives on.

[Lori Jernigan]

For some reason, this teacher her senior year wanted to know, what do you want to. How do you want to be remembered? And she said, I want to leave this world a better place than the one I came into. And I want people to always remember my name, even those that don't know me.

[Annie Elise]

Just as Ebby always wanted.

[Lori Jernigan]

Oh, there's no question she's done that.

[Annie Elise]

And that is why it is so important, guys, that we share these cases that aren't solved. Because if we can get a new surge of interest in this case, if you can share this link in your group chat, on your Facebook, on your Instagram, if there can be a new sense of interest in this case. The more likely it is that somebody will remember something. Somebody may have talked over the years. Maybe somebody is feeling a little bit of a guilty conscience and will come forward. It's more likely that tips will happen. So please, please, please, for Eby sake, for Eby's friends and family's sake, share this case everywhere you can so that hopefully finally her family can start to get answers. Because it's my opinion that this isn't the case of a teenager going to a party, getting gang and then deciding to kill herself in a sewer drain pipe. No, there is something way more nefarious here, in my opinion. And so the more eyes that we get on this, the more ears that we get on this, the more likely some sort of tip will be generated. So please join me in trying to bring attention and regain attention to Ebby's case. And you can do so just by simply sharing this link somewhere. If you guys have any leads or tips relating to Ebby's murder, you can help by contacting the family's tip line at 678-632-6159. Thank you guys so much for tuning in to today's episode of Serial and hearing Eby's story. And until the next one, please stay safe, be nice, don't kill people, and.

[Michael Jernigan]

I will be back on the mic.

[Annie Elise]

With you later this week. Make sure that you're following the podcast if you're not already, so that you don't miss any of those episodes. All right guys, take care. Talk to you soon. Bye.

[News Reporter]

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