← Serialously with Annie Elise
Serialously with Annie Elise
330: New CCTV and Photos in D4vd Case, Teen Boy Stages Abduction & “Glamorous” Serial Killer Gets Caught
00:46:45
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- [00:00]
A
This is the story of the One as head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working, the H Vac is humming, and his facility shines with Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces. Plus 24. 7 customer support. His venue never misses a beat. Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [00:32]
B
Hey True Crime besties. Welcome back to an all new episode of Serial Asleep. Hello, hello, hello and welcome back to an all new episode of Serial as Lee with me your host, Annie Elise. Today we are breaking down headline highlights everything that is going on this week in True Crime. And quick little reminder, next week is actually the final week of the tour. I don't think we're going to be going back out again until probably 2027. So if you are in the Northern California, Washington, Portland area, now's your chance. We added a second show in Tacoma since Tacoma sold out pretty quickly. So you can grab those tickets. It's for Portland, Tacoma and San Francisco and those shows are next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and so you can get those tickets@annie Elise.com if they're not sold out already. Can't make any guarantees but final stops of the tour. Also, quick little reminder too that Monday the Merch shop is officially closing. So if you haven't placed your merch orders yet, definitely head over to the website, get those orders in. I will say some of the more popular ones have definitely been like the dark forest green sweatshirt that has the puff print on it, the True Crime and Diet Coke embroidered sweatshirt. There's a lot of things that are moving quickly. So Merch is officially closing on Monday. So grab Those again Annie elise.com and I'll give you a reminder at the end of this episode as well. Now before we get into the bulk of today's cases, I do want to share just two very quick updates with you regarding cases that we've been covering. First up with the Emanuel Harrow case. So kind of in a shock to everyone. At least I'll speak for myself. A shock to me. Back Last week on October 16, J. Caro pleaded guilty to second degree murder in the case of Little Emanuel and his sentencing is scheduled for November 3rd. Now what was interesting about that is nobody thought that he was going to plead guilty unless there was like some sort of deal exchanged or if he was trying to flip and be the first one to give information while Rebecca wasn't. I Even did see some speculation that maybe he was doing that to help Rebecca so that she could continue to maintain her innocence. Which, by the way, she is maintaining her innocence and still is holding her not guilty plea. So I don't know what's going to happen at sentencing. I'm hoping that the judge just completely throws the book at him, especially considering what happened with his daughter before and everything years ago. So still don't know any sort of, like, motive or anything that was talked about behind the scenes as to why he would change his plea to guilty. But he did. And I gotta say, I wish it was first degree, but second degree is fine as long as this is going to be locked up for a long, long time. Now, Rebecca, as I said, she's maintaining her innocence. So her preliminary hearing is set for November 3, the same day as Jake's sentencing. So they still haven't, to my understanding, cooperated in any way. And where Emmanuel's remains are, we do know that when the search was ongoing, when all of this first happened a couple of months ago, that Jake did lead them to this area right offside the freeway, and that they had been searching and it looked as though he did lead them to Emanuel's remains, but then they didn't find anything. The thought behind that is that perhaps he didn't remember the exact location. Maybe it was a wild goose chase. Maybe animals had unfortunately gotten to the remains, so they had since been moved. I don't know if they necessarily are holding that information so close to their chest and, like, under lock and key, or if Jake really has been transparent and tried to tell them. And unfortunately, Emmanuel has just been moved for some reason or another. But I'm sure that now that things are starting to move more with this case, we will learn more, so I will definitely keep you updated. Aside from that, another update in the Adelen case. Our matriarch murderer, Donna Adelen, she has officially now been sentenced to life in prison. And that all stems from that big murder for hire scheme. She also was sentenced to an additional 30 years for conspiracy and solicitation. We'll see what else happens with this case. I still think it's just a matter of time before Wendy catches some charges, maybe even Donna's husband, Harvey. I don't think he was necessarily responsible for the conspiracy aspect of it all, but I certainly think he knew more, especially because he was going to Vietnam with Donna when she was arrested at the airport. So. So we'll see what happens there. But she's been sentenced. She's obviously pissed Just like she was pissed when she was found guilty. You know, the look of shock and horror and all of the things. But wanted to at least give you guys those updates before we get into the wild cases. And there are a lot of very, very interesting cases this week, which it's probably going to be a little bit longer of an episode than usual, so just want to prepare you for that. But joining me back in the studio today is Amy, who's going to help us break down some cases. Hey, hey, hey. Excited. We have a lot to talk about. I know there's been a few that have been on your radar and that you also.
- [06:00]
C
Is it just me or does Donna Adelson keep looking worse and worse?
- [06:03]
B
She is so haggard.
- [06:05]
C
Every time I see a photo come up in my feed, it's like a jump scare.
- [06:08]
B
And she's like the person who just won't go away. Like, get her off my feet.
- [06:12]
C
I know, that's what I mean. I feel like she's gone away. Then all of a sudden it's a jump scare and it's right back there and she just. Prison's not doing her any favors. No, no, she is.
- [06:22]
B
She is not looking good. She is ag like milk, but we love to see it. I know it is sick, but it's true. Okay, so let's go into this first case and it's a wild one. Basically, these parents said that their teen daughter had been missing for 27 years. However, she was just found and it's a little too close to home. So let me break it down. This first case is actually out of Poland as well. So it was recommended to us by one of our fellow listeners and viewers in Poland. But it is very strange to say the least. And it almost looks like a House of horrors type situation. But then there's this really weird twist that comes into play. So in southern Poland, in a small apartment building, police say that they found something absolutely just unthinkable and made them distraught immediately. And it was a 42 year old woman named Mirella who had spent the last 27 years inside that home, hidden away and just locked away from the world. Now, according to reports, she had vanished back in the late 1990s when she was just 15 years old. Neighbors remember her as this very bright, very, you know, happy, but shy teenager. But overall, she was just a very normal kid. But then one day she just vanished. She was gone. Now, after she disappeared, her parents told people that she had run off or that she was living somewhere else. They even said that she may have Just reunited with her biological parents because she had been adopted. And no one really questioned it because it did sound plausible. So her story just kind of faded out. Nobody ever really followed up and nobody really ever talked about it. But then Fast forward nearly three decades to July 2025. Neighbors heard very loud voices, almost yelling. And they also heard some movement coming from this apartment. And when the police showed up, they were sort of expecting a domestic issue. That's usually what happens when these 911 calls come in and they say, oh, we're hearing yelling and moving and shouting and things like that. So when they arrived, they spoke with the 81 year old woman who lived there, Mirella's mother, and she said that there was nothing to worry about. She just had a small argument with her husband. Nothing to see here. But then when they took a look inside, that's when they found Mirella. And she was not in good condition. Like I said. She was 42 years old and she was frail, she was emaciated, she was covered in untreated wounds. And she said that she didn't need any help and that she was fine, but she. But it was clear that she needed medical attention. And this kind of brings me back to everything that went down with Jody Hildebrandt and Ruby Frankie. And when Ruby Son was discovered, just the wounds, the low body weight, just the look of starvation. And after seeing the state that Mirella was in, specifically the state that her legs were in, which were very swollen, very red, and had several open wounds, the police called an ambulance and they had her taken to the hospital. So upon further investigation, reports say that she had been confined to a small room and she did not have access to basic hygiene. She didn't have access to underwear, to menstrual pads, to tampons. And in a really eerie twist, inside that tiny room where I guess you would say she was held, I don't want to say that she lived. There were still toys and also sorts of old decorations. It was almost like time stopped when she vanished back in the late 1990s, in 1998, to be more specific. So the police have opened up an investigation into possible psychological or even physical abuse and also unlawful detention, because it looks as though she had been held there. I. I don't want to jump and say against her will, but probably. And then probably was brainwashed after so much time that she stayed there willingly. But with all of this, this is kind of where the case starts to take a very strange turn, because she told the investigators that she was not being Held against her will. She said that she simply just hadn't left the apartment in years and she couldn't really explain to them why she didn't have an explanation. Which that's where things really start to blur a little bit. Because on paper, yes, it certainly looks like captivity. It looks like they threw her in this room, they isolated her, they did not allow her to leave, they lied about her disappearing, time stood still and the decorations were the same, the toys were the same, as if she was still a 15 year old kid. And neighbors even say that they never saw her her after she disappeared. She was never outside, she never had any sort of id, no job, no contact with anyone. But legally, I mean, if this adult woman, now, this 42 year old woman is saying she's not being held hostage, the case becomes incredibly complicated because you don't have anything for certain to say that she was held captive. Especially when you mix in trauma, manipulation, dependency, again like I said, Stockholm syndrome, any, all of these different elements and her own parents involved in this and the kind of blind loyalty that she may feel to them. So what isn't clear right now is the question of was she truly a victim of confinement? Was she psychologically controlled? Was she trapped by her parents for decades? Or did something else happen here? Was there something more? Was this maybe a case of just severe neglect, maybe a breakdown in communication or even a mental illness that led herself to isolate herself completely? Possibly, I don't think so, but just trying to be fair and you know, play devil's advocate and throw it all out there for you. But then there's this bigger question that of course, I'm sure you guys are asking and thinking right now too. How did nobody, not police, not schools, not social services, nobody, how did not one single person notice this disappearance for 27 years? How does somebody just completely vanish from society, never to be seen from again and nobody checks on them? So the authorities are still investigating and no one has been officially charged yet. But neighbors have started fundraising to try to help her recover physically, emotionally and also socially. Because think about that, she's essentially reentering the world for the very first time since she was a child. And even though we don't have all of the answers right now, I'm sure that they will come out with time. But think about this too for a moment. 1998, I was what, 11 years old. That's when cell phones weren't a thing. That's when pagers probably barely were a thing. That's when reality TV wasn't a Thing. So imagine entering the world right now, looking at an iPhone, having no idea what that means, what a cell phone is, looking at the landscape of the world, all trying to also calibrate in your own mind if your parents are the root cause of this, how somebody who loved you is responsible for this. Everything you thought you knew is wrong. That what you probably have become used to and accustomed to, that you thought was normal, is actually completely not normal and is severe neglect and isolation. Remember, open wounds, emaciated. I mean, it is awful. So it's still breaking right now. A lot of answers soon to come, and I'm sure a lot of mental health evaluations and help and counseling to help her understand what has potentially transpired. But we will definitely be keeping an eye on this one very closely because it does feel straight, like a page out of House of Horrors. Kind of like, gosh, I'm not remembering the name right now.
- [13:26]
C
The.
- [13:27]
B
You guys are probably gonna know what I'm talking about, though. The stepmom who held her stepson hostage and captive for years and then blamed it on the biological father, even though he, I believe, had been deceased for over a year at that point. And then the son broke free. He tried to burn the house down to get out safely. This just happened last year?
- [13:47]
C
Yeah. I can't remember.
- [13:48]
B
It just reminds me of something like that, where it's like you're so psychologically controlled and manipulated that you don't even know what's happening is wrong. It's awful, and it makes me sick. So we will follow this one very, very closely.
- [14:01]
C
Well, and even if she wasn't. If they weren't restraining her, if that's kind of in question, I mean, they weren't taking care of her. She obviously should have been seeking medical care. And even if it were tampons or pads or anything. Yeah. So even if it was a case of some sort of mental illness where she didn't want to go outside or there were some issues, her being social or whatever that was, they needed to take her to get medical attention and treatment for that. Absolutely.
- [14:26]
B
And I think it says a lot, too, that her room wasn't updated.
- [14:30]
C
Yeah, they don't care about environment.
- [14:32]
B
No, not at all. They just lied to everybody, said she vanished, she went off with her biological parents or she ran off, or all the different versions of what they said. Nobody bothered to check. And this young girl at 15 years old, now, 25 years later, is still living in that tiny bedroom of an.
- [14:49]
C
Apartment, which, of course. Yeah. The outside world, I'm sure seems so overwhelming. And so that's probably why she's covering for them, I would imagine.
- [14:56]
B
Oh, crazy. So sad.
- [14:58]
C
Okay, so this next story was like a nightmare that just unfolded in slow motion. It involved a community, a missing teenager, and a search that just had everybody holding their breath on pins and needles, trying to figure out what happened. But as it turns out, it was nothing. As it first appeared on September 25, a 17 year old Caden Spite from Danelle in Florida sent a chilling text to his family. The text said he had been shot and abducted by four Hispanic men in a light colored van. And that text alone was enough to launch every emergency resource into action. And within hours, there was an emergency Amber Alert issued. Schools were notified, deputies were dispatched, and search volunteers spread out across forests, highways and neighborhoods. It was a family and community's worst case scenario come to life. As you could imagine, a young boy taken from strangers and possibly seriously injured or even worse. So authorities ended up finding Cadence truck, and it was abandoned on Highway 484 after they used Life360, which is this app that parents use often or families use to track each other. They figure out their locations, and there's all kinds of metrics that are helpful and. And in this case, it helped them pinpoint his very last location. And at the scene, there was a bullet hole in the windshield, drag marks in the grass, bicycle tracks along the side of the road, and what looked like blood inside the vehicle. Cadence phone was also in the truck, and it was broken in half and shattered, almost looking as if it had been smashed by like a baseball bat or something. And we know the thing about missing persons reports, right? Like every single hour counts. So as you could imagine, the whole community started looking for Kaden. They ramped up their search efforts. By the end of the day, they had canvassed miles of woods, rivers, residential areas. And law enforcement officers were talking to possible witnesses and checking surveillance footage, even from gas stations, local businesses, just trying to piece together whatever information they could to try to figure out where Kayden was. And the pressure was mounting because everyone was on edge, just hoping for this happy ending. This whole small community that was normally quiet, this missing boy, they wanted to know answers and what had happened. And they were doing everything they could to help find him. And then there was a total plot twist. Deputies found Kaden in Williston, Florida, which is about 30 minutes away from Danellen, and he was alive. And what they saw didn't make any sense at first. Kayden had been shot, but it was a shot to his leg. Which was clearly self inflicted and had shattered his femur. And more than that, Caden still had the handgun in his possession, which is wild. This gunshot wasn't from the day before. Like he had texted his parents, though. Caden had done this to himself shortly before the police found him in an effort to keep up with the story that he had created in this text. So investigators started piecing together the situation. Caden was found with a bicycle, camping supplies and a tent and the gun he had used to shoot himself. And right away it became clear that Kaden had staged the scene of his own, quote, kidnapping and, and ran away. He had shot a bullet through the windshield of the truck, splattered a mixture of blood around to make it look like he had been shot and destroyed his phone after sending that text to his mom. He had even used chat GPT to search things like how to collect blood without pain and looked into Mexican cartels. This wasn't just some random attack. This was clearly something very planned out to look like a kidnapping and that he had been shot. But that wasn't the case at all. And so after they discovered the truth, the charges started piling up against Kayden. Presenting false evidence, shooting conveyance, making false reports of a crime and possession of a firearm by a minor. And volunteers who had helped search for Kayden were now caught in this web of this hoax. And you could imagine there's this mix of relief because now they know that this person isn't been kidnapped or mysteriously gone missing, but also angry. They had spent all this time trying to search for this kid and obviously this was emotional for the entire community. You can imagine social media just lit up with reactions of people from all over the world. How could this kid fake something like this? And why? So while this case is still unfolding and there's a lot of questions still, it honestly is giving a little bit of Sherry Papini vibes and it's just kind of crazy to think how could this 17 year old come up with this plan? Or more importantly, why? Like what's the motive? We don't know why someone would want to plan this out. Is this an influence of like the media and all these crazy things that have been going on lately and more increasing stories of this and maybe like the notoriety behind it or was there something happening at home or what was the story there? We have no idea. But I'm sure as we dive into this more, more answers will come out and we'll definitely be updating you.
- [19:43]
B
It's definitely giving Sherry Papini, it's Also giving Balloon boy. Do you remember that? Like, not. But his parents were responsible for that, not him. But, like, it's giving. Stop hoaxing people.
- [19:57]
C
Well, and I just. Again, depending on what the motive is, I think that's obviously one of the most important pieces here. But I feel like there's always a time in your teenage life where you're like, I'm gonna run away or I'm gonna rebel from my family. But, like, what happened to the good old fashioned? Just, like, walking down the street to your friend's house or something.
- [20:14]
B
I love attention, okay? I love attention as much as the next guy. I'm not shooting myself in the leg for it.
- [20:19]
C
Definitely not.
- [20:20]
B
Or like, staging my own abduction. That feels like you're committing to the bit a little too hard.
- [20:25]
C
And if you are, like, at least hide the gun.
- [20:27]
B
Hide the gun. But also, I will say this, regarding the search history in Chat gbt, there is another case that I recently saw where. Gosh, which case was it? Where someone had asked a ton of questions in Chat GPT about, like, whether I don't remember. It's not coming back to me if it was for the alibi or if it was for the crime itself. And I'm like, people now. Oh, yeah, we always say Google gets you every time. Your little robot friend is going to get you every time. Oh, yeah, I live for ChatGPT. Don't get me wrong. I, like, live and die by it, which don't come for me, but, like, it makes my life easier. Okay? When I have questions or need to, like, draft an email or a text message, like, it helps me. Your robot friend is not on your side.
- [21:02]
C
And again, like, 101.
- [21:05]
B
101. I know 101. Do not search anything nefarious or plot and plan and scheme using a computer or a smartphone, because they're gonna find it.
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C
And, bro, you're 17. You're gonna be 18 soon.
- [21:18]
B
Just move out, Move out, move out. It may. That's why I think maybe it was like an attention thing, but, like, yeah, to shoot yourself in the leg feels a little extreme. But maybe there was something going on at home where he needed to get away. I don't know. But then the searches of the cartel, which. You know how I feel about talking about the cartel. It freaks me out. I don't know. I don't like it. I don't like any of it. I also don't like this next story because it's about a quote unquote glamorous serial killer, which. How can you even Call them that who takes pleasure in killing. So let me break it down and this one once again is taking us out of the country. This case is out of Brazil and it shocked everyone because of who is accused of doing it. And it's pretty confusing with a lot of details still unknown, but I'm going to try and break it down for you as best as I can. So Anapala Fernandez is a 27 year old law student and mother who has been described by neighbors as just very polite and very quiet. She's beautiful. People have called her glamorous, a beauty queen. And she doesn't really fit the stereotypical kind of look or vibe of a serial killer, you know, and not that there is necessarily a cookie cutter look for a serial killer, but you know how they look, right? It's like Dahmer, Gacy, Coburger, even though he's not technically a serial, but like creepy and like eerie. Not this beautiful pageant, you know, glamorous woman. But the police say that's exactly what she is, a serial killer. Behind that perfect image was somebody living a very different life, one that was tied to a very long string of mysterious deaths that now have investigators trying to piece together what really happened. Now, the story starts earlier in the year, in January 2025, and that's when the very first death linked to Anna was recorded. His name is Marcelo Fonseca and he was her landlord. So police say that she got into an argument with him and that this confrontation ultimately ended with his death. Now, there have been some mixed reports about this particular incident. Some sources are claiming that she stabbed him, others are saying that he was poisoned. None of it is really clear. But what happened next and what she allegedly confessed to later on is what truly caught the investigators attention, because according to her, she covered the doorway to the room where his body was with a sheet and she kept his body inside her apartment for five days. Then when her son. Yes, she had a son, when her son began complaining about the smell and about the maggots that were crawling all over the apartment, that's when she called the authorities, which, first of all, why are you killing anybody? But also, like, you have a child and you're like letting that odor and maggots, like, get rid of the body. I don't know. It's so gross. So somehow the investigation into her landlord's death was closed shortly after it was open. If the police said that there was a lack of evidence, which is a direct quote, but still very unnerving. Now, the second victim was a 49 year old named Maria Rodriguez. And she was found dead between April 10th and April 11th in Sao Paulo. Now, according to reports, Anna had had an affair with a married military police officer. And Maria found out about this, which, this part gets a little bit confusing, but reports say that hours before Maria died, Anna had used Maria's phone to send threatening messages to the police officer's wife. And she did this apparently in some calculated effort to make it look like the police officer was the one who was responsible for killing Maria, and that it was as some sort of payback because she discovered the affair. It later came out, though, that Maria had been over at Anna's house just having coffee and cake with Anna and with her twin sister. And that after she went home, that's when she died from an apparent poisoning. So now you have her second victim, somebody who got in the way of her affair and discovered it. Now, just a few weeks later, after that, on April 26, came the death of a guy named Neil. He was reported to have eaten Brazilian black bean soup that police believe had been poisoned as well. But even though it was kind of like the same MO with poison, this killing was a little bit different. It's believed that it was orchestrated by another person, more specifically the daughter of the victim. So the investigators believe that the daughter actually hired Anna to kill her father, allegedly paying her around 4,000 Brazilian dollars, which is equivalent to like $700 here in the US for this murder. So now not only is Anna being accused as being just a cold blooded murderer, but also murder for hire. A hitman, a hit woman. So Anna had reportedly traveled from the Sao Paulo area to Rio de Janeiro, poisoned Neil, and then set fire to his car. And she did that all in an attempt to disguise the true cause of death. So now you're up to three, but now the fourth. The last known victim was 21 year old Haider Maharaj, and he was a man living in Sao Paulo. So the investigators say that he met Anna through a dating app and that not long after that, she allegedly told him that she was pregnant. But when he tried to break things off and end things with her, that's when the police believe she started plotting and scheming his death. On May 23, Heider suddenly collapsed inside his apartment after he drank a milkshake. And it's now of course, believed to once again be linked back to poisoning similar to the other alleged victims. And that this is kind of just her straight MO but where things really started to take a turn and what ultimately led to Anna being Caught in all of this was that that first victim, her landlord, Marcelo, his daughter had asked police to reopen the investigation into his death. And remember, I had told you that initially there wasn't enough evidence to determine if it was truly a homicide. And they said, you know, charges weren't going to move forward, lack of evidence. They did end up reopening this investigation, and that's when all of the pieces started coming together and things started clicking. So they called Anna in for questioning, and she allegedly gave a full confession to Marcelo's murder. Then the investigators began reopening other unexplained deaths that may have been connected to her, including the deaths of Maria, Neil, and Heider. So talks reports are still being finalized, but the early findings are suggesting that at least some of the victims may have been poisoned with the exact same chemical that the investigators also later found in Anna's home. The chemical is very similar to rat poisoning. It's also illegal, by the way, in Brazil, so it doesn't look good for her. And if that's not disturbing enough, some reports even allege that before she poisoned any of these people, she tested this poison on animals, allegedly killing at least 10 dogs to see how this poison would work. What different amounts of this toxic chemical needed to be used. I mean, sick and twisted, but also kind of does give the same MO Of a serial killer. Usually they start with animals, not in a testing sort of way or maybe, I guess, but just sick. So the investigators reportedly found not only traces of those substances, but also notes and containers suggesting that she may have been studying or tracking the effects of these chemicals. Police have even called her, quote, calculated, saying that she knew what the poisons would do and that she used that knowledge in the murders. Now, as for the alleged motives in all of this, that's where it still is a little bit murky in all of this, because prosecutors haven't locked in a single explanation, but they have come up with several different possibilities. I mean, revenge, money manipulation. And in at least one of the deaths, there also is some talk that Anna may have been seeking some sort of financial incentive in all of this. But as of now, she's currently in custody. She's being held while the prosecution builds their case, and she hasn't been convicted of anything. So it's all alleged. Do your own research. But the authorities have said that they are confident that there is enough evidence to move forward. They're exhuming bodies. They're running talks reports, they're checking into multiple victims to see if the same toxins appear anywhere, which could essentially tie everything back to her. And again, it's not like there's any like, big, huge motive here. Think about Maria. That one victim, she apparently just learned about this affair. She wasn't the wife, she wasn't the other woman. She just learned about it. So was it just simply that if anybody got in her way, she was going to poison them and get rid of them? Feels kind of weird, but we've heard crazier things, so I don't know.
- [29:38]
C
Well, I had a question about the second victim because the second victim, she was having tea or with the twin sister.
- [29:46]
B
Yeah.
- [29:46]
C
And so I'm imagining that the twin sister probably knew about the affair too. So how do you poison one and not the other?
- [29:52]
B
Unless they were talking about something else. Or you poison one because you trust your sister and Marie is going to expose it. I mean, yeah, but also like poison.
- [30:03]
C
But that's so typical. And like tracks with a woman, right?
- [30:06]
B
Yeah, that's mainly like what a woman will use, I. E. Corey Richards. If you don't know that case, guys, we can really go down the rabbit hole. And that trial, I think is starting next year. She's the one who allegedly poisoned her husband's Moscow mule with like a fentanyl overdose. And then she wrote the grief book of how, like for a children's book.
- [30:25]
C
How to deal with grief.
- [30:26]
B
It's like, get a grip on reality. Today's episode is sponsored by Homaglow. Now, if you're like me and your schedule is packed, whether it's between work, kids, fall activities, and trying to, you know, actually enjoy the season, cleaning is probably the first thing that falls off your list. But that's where Homaglow comes in. It's a five star home cleaning service platform that makes it insanely easy to book a trusted cleaner in your area. And I've talked about them before and I've seen a couple of you guys comment on my YouTube that you've tried them and loved them. So I'm so happy for that. But you can go right to their site, read reviews, pick someone who fits your schedule, and then boom, you've got cleaning off your plate so that you can focus on literally anything else. I decided to use Homog Glow the first time to get my house cleaned before I left on tour because it was a busy week of filming, travel, and honestly, just coming home and walking into a clean home, it just changes your whole mindset. It makes you more productive, a lot less stressed. And the best part is their forever clean membership saves you money on regular cleanings, up to $30 off every time. So take home cleaning off your plate this fall by using homoglow. Head to homoglow.com Annie Elise to get your first three hours of cleaning for only $19. That's h o m e a g l o w.com Annie Elise thank you so much to Homoglow for sponsoring this episode. Today's episode is also sponsored by Factor. Now you guys know that fall always feels like a total reset between back busy schedules, shorter days, finding the time or the energy to cook. It can be such a struggle. But that's why I love factor. Not only for my meals here at the studio when I'm rushing in between recordings, but when I'm home and I don't have time to do the grocery shopping or think of a recipe. Their chef prepped dietitian approved meals make it so easy to stay on track and still enjoy something comforting and delicious no matter how hectic things get. Factor has even more variety this season too. I'm talking premium seafood like salmon and shrimp at no extra cost. Mediterranean diet options that are packed with protein and healthy fats and for the first time ever, Asian inspired dishes with flavors from places like China and Thailand. They're also all about helping support your wellness goals and it shows. 97% of customers say Factor helped them live a healthier life. And honestly, I totally understand why. These meals taste amazing and they are ready fast and they make eating healthy just effortless. So eat smart this fall with factor. Go to FactorMeals.com AE50OFF and use code AE50OFF to get 50% off your first box plus free breakfast for an entire year. That's FactorMeals.com AE50 off code AE50OFF for 50% off your first box and free breakfast for a year. And thank you to Factor for sponsoring this episode.
- [33:18]
C
So this next story is also chilling and actually really scary. I mean, imagine this. It's October 14th. It's a quiet Tuesday night in Alexandria, Virginia and Shayla Whiteside and her mom were just winding down for the evening. And it had been a really hard for year for them. They had recently lost Shayla's dad. So this family was just trying to find a little bit of peace again. And then around 10pm they heard someone knocking at the door. And this is so scary. At first it was just a light tap and they didn't know. Maybe it was a neighbor, a delivery. But when Shayla opened her ring camera app, what she saw staring back through the lens was Something just straight out of a horror movie. There were three figures in full costume, one dressed like Michael Myers, another like a clown, and the third one a nun. And we have the ring footage of this group that approached her door. So if you're following along on YouTube, you can take a look, but you can also hear it here.
- [34:29]
B
Your worst nightmare. Your worst nightmare. Open the door.
- [34:45]
C
So they're standing there, completely still, faces covered, saying, open the door, over and over again. And Shayla's thinking, is this a silly prank? And so she just responded back, happy Halloween. But then the masked people started pounding on the door. And then it escalated, even making threats, saying, it's either you coming out or we're coming in, as they tried to force their way into the house. Here's more of that ring footage.
- [35:31]
B
It's either you come out or we coming in.
- [35:34]
C
And when they weren't able to get in the front door, they moved to the back of the house, even breaking through part of the fence, slashing screens on their deck, and started looking through their windows, which you could only imagine being on the inside and having somebody trying to get in your home. How terrifying that must have been. I can't even imagine that. I get scared at the most, like, smallest noise in my house. So I can't even imagine having three people in Halloween costumes outside my door and trying to get in from every angle. She could hear them. She could see their shadows moving and just had no idea why they were even there or what they wanted. Shayla later said that her first thought was that it had to be some sort of sick Halloween prank. But then it was when the threat started that she knew that it was something more serious and not a joke. And meanwhile, Shayla was on the phone with police while all this was happening. And she made it very clear to the people at her door that the officers were on their way, but it didn't faze them at all. Shayla said the pounding at the door just kept getting louder and louder. And at one point, they said they were going to use a chair to break down the door. And after the three people had gone around to the back of the house and had started trying to break in there, Shayla's brother showed up, and he was armed and immediately ran to the back of the house to get rid of them. And I'll play that for you. Here.
- [37:13]
B
Hold on. It's me walking around. Don't. I'm walking around. Don't shoot while walking around.
- [37:19]
C
So the three people immediately ran away and took off in a vehicle. Police called it, quote, very serious, and they're investigating it as a potential burglary and criminal threat. No arrests have been made yet, and the trio hasn't been identified. But police officers have said this isn't your average trespass. These people were not trying to just scare someone. They were actually trying to get inside and were making threats. Shayla said that her mom is terrified and doesn't even want to leave the house. And they're all terrified. I don't blame them. Now, this happened just a few weeks before Halloween. So masks and costumes are everywhere, and blurring the line sometimes between a harmless prank and something truly dangerous becomes a little murky and a little thin. And even if this was just a prank, the people who were under those masks are really lucky they didn't get killed. As we know, we live in a time where people have alarms, security systems, and sometimes even firearms. And sometimes homeowners can have a right to defend themselves if they believe their lives are in danger. And in this case, it definitely looked that way. But then again, what if this wasn't a prank? What if the family was specifically targeted? What if those three masked men weren't playing around at all? That's the terrifying part. We just don't know yet. So I'm curious to know what you think. Do you think this was just a Halloween prank and just three people playing a joke and just took it a little too far? Or perhaps something more serious? And we'll obviously update you. I'm sure if these people are going around doing this to more homes and more people, or if this prank starts going more widespread, there will be more cases.
- [38:49]
B
Yeah, it kind of reminds me of that movie. The Strangers Freaks me out. I don't like anybody who wears a mask. It scares me. And the nun mask reminds me of the movie the Town. Now, I want to talk about some new evidence in the David case, because there has been new evidence released based on a PI who has been hired to look into all of this. And it builds a new timeline. It talks about when Celeste was last seen, last photos taken of her, who was driving the Tesla, because they do have clear, clear CCTV and photos of who drove that Tesla and dropped it off that day and ditched it while it had Celeste's body inside. So let me break it all down for you, starting with that big bombshell. A private investigator who is now working this case says that he knows exactly who moved that Tesla that Celeste's body was later found in. And he wasn't hired by the family. He was Actually brought in by the landlord of the house that David had been renting, the house that the police had searched. However, since then, he's been quietly working on the case and piecing everything together, trying to essentially build his own timeline. He also said that although he knows exactly who is driving it, he has relayed that information to the police, but that he does not want to make it public because he does not want to jeopardize the investigation. He also says that he's collected surveillance footage from several homes in the neighborhood where that Tesla had been abandoned. And according to him, those videos, they show everything again, including who moved that car. So let's go back a little bit, because the investigators say that the Tesla had been abandoned in late July, right around the same exact time that David's tour bus was going to his first show in San Francisco, which was on July 30th. So coincidence, possibly. You know, set up that way strategically. Also possible. But from there, that's where things really start getting unsettling, because that black Tesla, the one that Celeste's body found in, hadn't been driven by David since February. And around that time, he had switched to driving a red Tesla instead. The black one just sat there, parked and unused, which, okay, sometimes people get a second car. Maybe he was going to give that car to one of his entourage members or somebody else, but nobody else was driving it. It just sat there, parked and unused, ever since February. And there's a reason that's very important, and I'm going to get to that in just a minute, because what really makes that detail even more chilling is the last photo of Celeste alive was taken on January 2nd of this year. So the investigator said that he can't say exactly when she died, but that things, quote, changed between January and February. Which makes you wonder, could she have been in that trunk for months before anybody knew? It does align, right? You don't just get a new car, necessarily, and then stop using the old one. Unless you can't use that old one because you're hiding a crime inside of it. We also know that her body was so badly decomposed, they haven't been able to determine cause of death or manner of death, which means it could have been decomposing for months. But the PI Also mentioned something that is very, very disturbing, almost too much to even, like, wrap your head around. But he said that there was some, quote, really sadistic stuff that was being talked about among people in David's circle when it came to disposing of Celeste's body. Now, he didn't go as far as to say who might have been directly involved, but he did say that one thing was clear. Whatever the plan was, it was extremely dark. Now, from there, new evidence started reshaping everything that the investigators thought that they knew about this timeline, because that same private investigator, Fisher, says that they've now narrowed down exactly when that Tesla was moved and again, who was behind the wheel when it ended up in its final spot, saying, we do have evidence that helps us understand when that Tesla was moved and by who, but we don't have any evidence that anything happened to Celeste inside that house. He said that surveillance videos from different homes in the area show that that Tesla had been repositioned a couple of times before it was ultimately then left on Bluebird Avenue. But even more alarming, he says that some key items had never even been taken into custody by the lapd, including digital media, other materials that could further clarify what really happened and when, and certain things that are key to this investigation. He also said that once they figured out the dates based on that surveillance of who had moved the Tesla, every time it had been moved, all of those things, once they figured out the dates, they started matching them with things that had publicly been happening on Instagram and in all these people's lives. And he said that once they started doing that, it all started to form together and started making sense. Now, he emphasized that there is absolutely no evidence that a body had been moved before or after this Tesla was parked, meaning that wherever Celeste's body was placed, that's likely where it stayed. Now, when the vehicle was finally recovered in late July, we know it was filthy. It had been caked in dirt. It was untouched for what looked like months, which really aligns with nobody ever using it since back in February. And that's what makes this next part even stranger. The black Tesla had once been seen all the time. David had even posted about it on Instagram. He would take it to get it detailed. He was driving it regularly. Then suddenly, at the start of the year, it just disappeared. Nobody touched it, nobody drove it, and he got a second car. I'm not trying to implicate him. I'm not trying to say he is the one behind it, but it's not looking good. And then for it to finally be moved off site right before he leaves on his tour bus to start his tour, I don't know. Feels a little convenient, if you ask me. Now, when the investigators executed the search warrant on that Hollywood Hills home, they discovered another Tesla that was parked inside the garage, that red one that I said had been leased on February 1st. So, I mean, the timing is almost too coincidental, right, Because February is when Celeste seemingly vanished. There were no photos of her beyond January. Then that's also when the black Tesla stops being used. That's when David just switches cars entirely. So the PI says he's speaking out on it now because in today's digital world, people are far more likely to come forward with photos, videos, social media posts, anything that really could fit in all of those missing pieces. According to him, the investigators already have thousands of images and clips from inside the Hollywood Hills home, and it shows all sorts of different people there on specific dates. But none of those photos and none of those videos include Celeste. So he says, quote, it really makes me think that she was staying somewhere else. He says that there was a lot of time that had been spent in downtown la and again, that the last photos that they have of Celeste were taken on January 2, 2025. From that day forward, she was never seen alive again. She essentially vanished. And that's when she was just 14 years old. So with all of that, even if, say, let's just say if David was the one on this footage and they know that he's the one that parked the Tesla because they still don't have a cause or manner of death, I understand why there have been no arrests made and why he has not been named a suspect. Because the prosecution needs to build their case. They need to build it beyond a reasonable doubt. And even though it may seem clear cut, clean cut, and obvious here, there is still doubt within this case. And if they don't have a slam dunk and they don't think that they can bring this to a grand jury and then get the conviction and do all the things, they're going to just continue to collect evidence until they know that they can, like, definitely prove this, whether it was David or somebody in his entourage. So we will see, but very unsettling, but hopeful that obviously the answers will come to light as they continue to find things.
- [46:19]
C
It's only a matter of time.
- [46:20]
B
It's only a matter of time somebody's going to be arrested. And I'm just going to say, I.
- [46:24]
C
Think it's going to be who it is.
- [46:25]
B
It's David. David knows the code. Bonus points if any of you know that movie. Movie.
- [46:30]
C
One of the best classics of all time.
- [46:32]
B
David knows the code. All right, guys, thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Serial As Lee. As a reminder, merch shop closes on Monday. So get those merch orders in right now while you still can. Annie elise.com and for all of you who want to see case in person live, meet me talk all things true crime. Your chances next week, San Francisco, Portland, Tacoma, Washington. And you can get those tickets@annie elise.com all right, guys, thank you so much for joining us. And we will be back with you again. Thanks for coming.
- [47:03]
C
You're welcome.
- [47:03]
B
All right, bye.