
This week, in Powell, Wyoming, a college girl's disappearance from a dorm party sends the whole town on a massive search. It's a mystery, until one particular student arrives at his dorm, covered in blood. His roommates decide to turn him in, but...
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James Petregallo
Hey everybody, just gonna take a quick break from the show and tell you about Audible. Let Audible expand your life by listening. Explore over 1 million audiobooks and exclusive Audible originals that'll inspire and motivate you all in one easy app. Tap into your well being with advice and insight from leading professionals and experts on better health, relationships, career, finance, investing and more. Maybe you want to kick a bad habit or start a good one. Either way, I love listening to these titles on Audible. Right now, what I'm checking out, number one is Evil Ev E L about Evel Knievel and the Red Ripper about Chikatilo, the famous Russian serial killer. And it is really detailed, really interesting. Good listen on both of those and there's so much more. I'm listening to like 12 things at once right now on Audible. I love it. Get advice and insight from leading professionals and experts on health, relationships, career, finance, investing and more. There's so much opportunity, learn and more to imagine when you listen. Start listening today when you sign up for a free 30 day trial at audible.com smalltownmurder now back to the show. Hey everybody, just gonna take a quick break from the show to tell you a little bit about a delicious dog food. Ollie. If your dog could talk, they'd want Ollie. They'd ask you for Ollie. That's what I'm talking about. It's a fresh whole food diet. It's not just delicious, it's, it can add like years to your puppy's life. Yeah, you want that good healthy food that's more tail wagging. And this is, this is real food. Like this stuff looks good. I'd eat it. Yeah, that's how I was like, this looks pretty good. I might sit down with you on the floor and we could share.
Jimmy Whisman
That is nice to be able to pop something down on the floor for them that looks like something that you'd put over rice or whatever and eat it yourself.
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Jimmy Whisman
Now back to the show.
Steve Buscemi
Hi, this is Steve Buscemi. You know the actor. Well, now I'm an actor and podcast host. From Piece of Work Entertainment and Campside Media in association with Olive Productions comes Big Time, an Apple original podcast. Each episode follows the story of one misfit with big dreams who isn't afraid to bend a few rules or take a shortcut to get there.
James Petregallo
Well, who steals bees? I was duped. I shoot you in the leg.
Steve Buscemi
This is Big Time. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.
James Petregallo
Hello, everybody and welcome back to Small Town Murder Express.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah. Choo choo.
James Petregallo
Yay indeed, Jimmy. Yay indeed. My name is James Petregallo. I'm here with my co host.
Jimmy Whisman
I'm Jimmy Whisman.
James Petregallo
Thank you so much for joining us on another insane 10 pounds of murder in a two pound bag edition of Small Town Murder Express. Again, we have another crazy episode for you this week. Big shocker. It's crazy stuff. So before we get to that though, just want to tell you about. Definitely head over to shut up and give me murder dot com. What you going to get there? Well, first of all, you get merch and everything like that, but tickets to live shows are the important thing. The 420 virtual live show, it takes place on April 19th. You can watch it anywhere in the world with Internet that you want. Just like a regular live show. The murder story, the pictures, everything like that. Except you're in your living room or wherever you want to be and we are where we are and we're going to have costumes and we're going to have a crazy story. I'm going to force Jimmy to smoke out of different things. That'll scare the hell out of him. It's going to be a lot of fun. Can't wait for that. So get your tickets for that. And while you're there, if you're in the Chicago area, get your tickets for Chicago in May. St. Louis is sold out, unfortunately. Well, fortunately for us, but unfortunately, if you want to go to it. But Chicago, still some tickets left at the Riviera. Get those right now. Shut up and give me murder.com. also, the rest of the year, if you want to go to a show, get the tickets because they're selling out. There's half the shows for the rest of the year sold out. So definitely get in there and do that. Thank you everybody who's bought tickets already. You also certainly want to get Your hands on Patreon. Patreon.com crimeinsports that's where all the bonus material is there. Anybody $5 a month or above. You're going to get hundreds of episodes that you've never heard before. Back episodes of bonus stuff immediately upon subscription. Good binging stock there. And then you get new ones every other week, including this week. You get one crime in sports, one small town murder, and you get it all, everybody. Anybody five bucks or above. So for crime and sports this week we're going to talk about the 2000 Spanish, the Spanish Paralympic team, where none of them were actually disabled or very few of them were. And shocker, they won gold. So it's interesting. And there's some other scams we'll talk about in there, right? And then for small town murder, we are going to talk about the craziest documentary, one of the craziest stories I've ever heard, American Nightmare. It's a documentary on Netflix and I read the entire book on it too. It's. You think it's a fake kidnapping. The cops accuse these people. You think it's a Papini situation, a Sherry Papini. But then it's not. And then maybe it is. It's the craziest thing you'll ever hear. And the least believable possible thing is the truth. It's crazy. We'll talk about that and more. So that's patreon.com crimeinsports that said, I think it's time to do this. Everybody. Let's get into this. I think it's time to sit back. Let's all clear the lungs and let's all shout, shut up and give me murder. Let's do this, everybody. Okay. Let's go on a trip, shall we? We are going somewhere we do not go very often. We are going to Wyoming.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, yeah? Yeah.
James Petregallo
And we don't go there very often because there's like a half a million people in the state. So there's way less murders just in volume and it's just hard. So the people are pretty spread out too. So the murder rate's pretty low there. It's just one of those place you gotta find someone to kill them. They're miles away. It's really difficult. We are going to Powell, Wyoming, which is in northwestern Wyoming. Up there in the corner by Montana and all that. It's about an hour 35 to Billings, Montana. That's the closest city, I suppose it's about five hours to Green River, Wyoming, which was our last Wyoming episode. This is episode 584 right now. That was episode 410. So that's the last time we gone to Wyoming. It's been a while. That was the longest night, which was a crazy love triangle story. That was insane. Population in this town, 6385. And it's a college town, so. Oh.
Jimmy Whisman
So they leave.
James Petregallo
That's including the students. So there's really not a lot of people there.
Jimmy Whisman
A lot of people leave around springtime, around summer, man.
James Petregallo
And it's cold in the winter here. As you can imagine, in northwestern Wyoming. This is in Park county area code 307. Median household income here a little lower than the national average. It's $60,210. Median home price, though, is a little bit high. $356,800. So, yeah, it's a little pricey here. There's a lot of Wyoming seems to be very pricey, which. There's so much land and so few people, yet it's expensive. It's the strangest supply and demand. It completely flouts the rules of supply and demand economics.
Jimmy Whisman
And there's nothing there.
James Petregallo
And there's nothing there. That's the other thing. Unless you're wealthy and a skier. There's nothing there.
Jimmy Whisman
And want to stare at mountains.
James Petregallo
Yeah. Unless you're wealthy enough where staring at mountains for months at a time is a. Yeah. Is like a. Activity for you. A little bit of history here. Large fires took over the community, obviously.
Jimmy Whisman
Is that right?
James Petregallo
Like every other town. February 12, 1915. A fire burned down at least nine businesses before finally the people extinguished it. This is how they extinguished the fire. By setting off dynamite. They blew the fire up.
Jimmy Whisman
They blew the fire up.
James Petregallo
That's the craziest. That's how crazy the west was. They're like, there's a fire. We'll blow it up.
Jimmy Whisman
We got bombs.
James Petregallo
We tried shooting at it. That didn't work. Just try dynamite next. I don't know. Shit.
Jimmy Whisman
Just throw dynamite into the fire. You ain't even got to light it.
James Petregallo
We threatened to hang it first. That did nothing. We shot at it. Still. Still blazing. I think blowing it up will work. That's amazing. So the resulting explosion broke all the windows of all the businesses that didn't burn down. So either way. So then they formed a fire department and purchased a new alarm bell and all that kind of thing. Then they had some. They replaced it with brick buildings, which. That happened finally. That'll do it. That'll get rid of the fire. Couple reviews of this town. Just a few here Here's a five star. I love living in Powell. It's a quiet town, which is exactly what I need in my life. What have you been through?
Jimmy Whisman
I need a quiet town in my.
James Petregallo
Jesus. This person. I just shaking with nerves all the time. The people are kind and living here is extremely beneficial for my social anxiety. There you go. I have extreme sensory overload issues. Wyoming's the place for you. If these, if this.
Jimmy Whisman
If you're a human Chihuahua.
James Petregallo
Yeah, this, this is Jesus. I've never seen so much controversy over the Chihuahua comment. And there's so many people from the Northeast going, I don't understand. That's just how it's said. What are you talking about? If you'd like southern people, I can pick out a couple of words you say completely incorrectly and we'll talk about them repeatedly for a fucking week and a half. Okay. Cause there's a couple. We pronounce things terribly, but come on now.
Jimmy Whisman
I mean there's a slur that they created just by mispronouncing.
James Petregallo
So yeah. So here's a three star. Powell is a wonderful place to live. The town has a very small town feel. The people here are nice and there is beauty surrounding us. Summers or winter are beautiful, but winters can be brutal. Summers or winter. I just said summers are winter, but summers are winter. And finally, two stars. Small town, only few stores. It is great if you prefer close community. Nothing open past 11pm not much to do for college students either. No Walmart or shopping. Yeah, not even a Walmart.
Jimmy Whisman
Kids like to go. Nothing is not past 11.
James Petregallo
Nope. It's only 30 minutes from Cody. However. Okay, things to do here. The JW P days.
Jimmy Whisman
Right.
James Petregallo
Okay, that's, that's. Yep, that's it right there. Wesley Powell. Whatever the hell. There's activities for both children and adults. This fun filled afternoon is packed with all sorts of activities. For example, activities include a bike obstacle course and an adult and adults 21 + can make their way to the beer garden for refreshments. Okay, so to clarify, this is still a day for family friendly. That's what's fun here. And they do. They have a bike parade that night?
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petregallo
Then they have. They have an awards ceremony. Okay. The award ceremony is for those who participated in the bike to school and bike to work events. So here are the prizes. Those who bike the most to school, that's who you get a prize for that you biked the most.
Jimmy Whisman
There's only so many days you can do it.
James Petregallo
Yeah. It's fucking Wyoming in three feet of snow. It's hard to take your. Hard to take your huffy over to the school at that point.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petregallo
So. But if that's not for you, you know what you can do? Just, just wait until 9pm because they're going to be showing Rad the movie. Oh, the. The 80s bicycle movie, I think. Well, it says it's an end your evening with the nostalgia of a drive in the movie or of a drive in movie experience with the favorite 80s cult classic coming of age BMX movie radio. The story of a young man, Crew Jones, who has the intensity and desire to win a BMX race called Hell Track. Bring the kids. They'll laugh at it. It'll be hilarious. That said, Crew Cru, Crew Jones. Let's talk about a murder, everybody. What do you say? Okay, here we go. Let's talk about a young lady first here with a cool name. Her name is Berry. B E R R Y. Barry. It's her full, real name.
Jimmy Whisman
Wow.
James Petregallo
Barry Alexis Bryant. So Berry Bryant here, she's born March 21, 1978. So it's like first day of spring. Look at that coming.
Jimmy Whisman
Is Bear Bryant at Alabama at that time.
James Petregallo
78. I don't know if he was still. That's the kind of the. The edge of that. I think he was probably gone by then.
Jimmy Whisman
I wonder if there's something with that.
James Petregallo
Bryant's a pretty common last name. Yeah, but Bear Bryant, her name. Oh, Berry Bryant. Yeah. Her mom calls her Strawberry. I really don't think they named their daughter after Bear Bryant. I want, I want it just really. That's as big a stretch as you could really do. Barry is such like a feminine name too. And you're like, I think it's Bear is what they're going for.
Jimmy Whisman
You want to pay homage to Bear.
James Petregallo
That's the strangest fucking. So she's born in Lewiston, Montana. They stayed in Roy, Montana. They lived in Plummer, Idaho, and then finally to Riverton. That's where they moved in 1980. So in her first two years of her life, she lived in like six different places.
Jimmy Whisman
But they're all minor towns of that area.
James Petregallo
Yeah, all that northwest area there. She has a brother, Ryan, that's about two years younger. And her moving around is explained by her mom, Sharon here. Sharon said, I married a man who groomed me for marriage and took advantage of me. It took me. Yeah. I don't know how when they got together. She doesn't say that, but it took me seven years to leave him and I barely got out with my life. It had gotten to the point of kill or be killed. So that's all whatever was. Yeah, yeah. It seems like they were like running from this guy or something, Trying to get away from him. She said that her husband. I think it's Barry's father. I'm not sure. Had worked hard to isolate her and make sure she didn't have any resources at her disposal. Making it hard for her to leave abuser shit. So after she got away from her husband, she returned to her hometown of Riverton, where she said, I guess I relaxed. I felt I was safe in my community and my children were safe. So mom did all she could to get her kids away from a terrible guy. Yeah, good stuff. That's a good mom. You know what I mean? She could have stayed and let her kids then be abused for years and years by this fucking guy. So a little bit about Barry here. Barry is an explosive personality. And I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean, she's fun. She is all energy, all the time. Got a lot going on. And like, in high school, she's involved in, like, every activity. I would be exhausted doing any one of these things. Just the amount of energy you'd have to do to do school and this. She played saxophone in the jazz band, which right away sounds like that's tiring. Just a lot of blowing and a.
Jimmy Whisman
Lot of those instruments, all of them are crazy.
James Petregallo
You gotta do that up and down movement over and over again. I don't know how people play those instruments.
Jimmy Whisman
Your mouth goes fucking numb.
James Petregallo
Your lips are fucked up. Yeah, that's a whole separate. That's a whole lifestyle you gotta get used to there. And she ran track and cross country in her freshman year. She placed 11th in the state in the 4A cross country meet.
Jimmy Whisman
So that's pretty good.
James Petregallo
She's pretty good. And she Graduates in 1996 from Riverton High School. So that's the era she's in. High school, she was also in the 4H club. She did, like we said, cross country, regular track, not just cross country. She did the music, saxophone stuff. She did the Drill Team and the Free Steppers. I don't know what that is, but.
Jimmy Whisman
Don'T look at me.
James Petregallo
I had no clue. I didn't do activities in high school. She won a bunch of awards and honors. She was a Riverton High School student of the week. And she was selected for the who's who among American High School Students group from some magazine.
Jimmy Whisman
So she's just doing the most high school of everybody.
James Petregallo
And somehow she Has a million friends and has, like a social. Big social life and all that. I don't even know how you'd have time for that. You'd get home and be exhausted.
Jimmy Whisman
She actually has a high school career, man.
James Petregallo
Isn't that crazy? Yeah. This is so the opposite of my high school career, which was the most.
Jimmy Whisman
Professional high schooler I've ever heard of.
James Petregallo
Her life was like, be at school as much as possible.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petregallo
Whereas I think our experience was get out of school as soon as we possibly could.
Jimmy Whisman
In the day that bell rings, I want off campus immediately and maybe a.
James Petregallo
Couple classes short of that even. I'm going home and I ain't coming back till tomorrow.
Jimmy Whisman
So as everybody's watching the clock count down, I want to be gone already.
James Petregallo
I'm already gone. Yeah.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petregallo
Going. Oh, those suckers. So idiots.
Jimmy Whisman
I want to smell like cigarettes before then.
James Petregallo
Yeah. I'm going to smoke half a pack before this idiot gets out of biology and learns how bad this is for me. So big personality, lots of friends, always laughing, very gregarious. That's the best way to describe her. Her mom says she remembers that she would have belching contests with her. Barry and Barry's best friend would have belching contests. So she's a fun girl. Yeah, she's a fun chick, man. That's fun. In high school, I would have liked her. You know what I mean?
Jimmy Whisman
I'd be impressed that they found two that can do it.
James Petregallo
Yeah. Like, you two are awesome. This is. Her mom says this, or a friend of hers, I'm sorry, said this. She had a nickname for everybody, and they weren't mean nicknames. They were nice and they were funny. And she said. She. Yeah, she just was that kind of person. Gave everybody, makes them feel special by addressing them. Something about them that shows you're paying attention. Basically here her mother describes her as an ordinary all American girl. And then she says this is a wild quote that her mother has a bunch of, like. She's meaning them as compliments, and she loves her daughter more than anything. And. But they come across in black and white as, like, kind of backhanded a little bit. She says, quote, she wasn't the smartest, the prettiest, the fastest, or the slowest.
Jimmy Whisman
What the fuck, man?
James Petregallo
What the hell does that mean? That doesn't. I know that she's just trying to say she's just a regular kid and all that, but the way it's said, and when you read that on paper, you're like, jesus, she wasn't the smartest or the prettiest or the fastest, but, you know, good kid.
Jimmy Whisman
I don't know why she had to throw the prettiest part in there. What the.
James Petregallo
That's what I mean. You had to throw that in there to the prettiest, really. She then said she wasn't superhuman, but she's a super person. So it's like saying like, almost like I don't want her to think she's special or anything, but she's a good person. But don't think you're doing anything special there. That is a wild fucking man. That's a rough run there. So she got a bunch of. Recipient of several small scholarships after high school and a grant she is pursuing wants to pursue a degree in fashion merchandising. So she chooses to go to Northwest College in Powell. Northwest, not Northwestern, Northwest College in Powell, which is a two year college. It's a junior college, essentially.
Jimmy Whisman
Right?
James Petregallo
Yeah, yeah. Like not. I don't think it's like a community college because they have dorms and shit there. So it's a. It's a stay in college, but it's also like a two year deal. So I guess June junior college would be the only way to. I could put it. Or like a specialized.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, just a minute.
James Petregallo
Yeah, probably have specialized programs. So. Yeah, she. When she went to college, she said that her brother Ryan said that he remembered taking her up to college and she had so much shit packed. There was two cars stuffed full of her shit and they were bickering about it and everything like that, which is kind of funny. She gets into college here. This is September, early September 96. She shows up at Northwestern in Powell and she's. Right away she's involved in the jazz and the concert band program. She joined the home EC and ski clubs. I mean, she was like, what can I do? So she's out of her shell. There is no shell to come out of. Her shell is. She left it long behind. Before the first belching contest, her shell was way gone.
Jimmy Whisman
That's in homeroom freshman year. That's where that shit's at.
James Petregallo
Yep, gone. So October 4, 1996. Here, as if she's been in college a month and she's got. Already has a million friends and everybody knows her. She's just that kind of person. So that night she's going out with a friend of hers named Jesse, a young lady, that is. So they're going out to a dance, which turns out to be kind of a boring little. Kind of breaks up early, not really much going on nothing. Popping at the dance. So then they hear about a party at the dorms. So they're like, all right, let's go to the dorm party. So they do. So Barry and Jesse go to this dorm party and with, you know, there's a bunch of other students there. It's a lot of people, it's a party. So there's an acquaintance of theirs, both Jesse and Barry there, named Levi. Colin. C O L L E N. He's at the party too. Now he has for the last couple months kind of been sweet on Barry. I mean that on purpose, pun intended. He's been sweet on her a little bit. He's been just kind of a little bit of interest toward her. Hasn't overtly asked her out or anything. Like she hasn't overtly rejected him. He kind of pursues. She kind of demures a little bit and doesn't really respond to it. So that's what's been going on, little cat and mouse for the last month or so. So anyway, they go to this small party in a dorm and she's having a couple of drinks and she was having. This is the fun part too. This is such a college kid thing to do. She was trying a bunch of different mixed drinks. Like a sip of each of them.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petregallo
To see which ones tasted the least like booze. She was trying to find her drink. That's hilarious.
Jimmy Whisman
She's trying to get fucked up and like the taste. She's the original girl looking for Zima.
James Petregallo
Yeah. She's looking for. What's 96? There was plenty of Zima. She's looking, she's looking at, she's looking for mixed drinks here. What's my mixed drink of choice that I'll drink for the next 20 years because it disguises the taste of alcohol, which is such an 18 year old thing to do first month of college. These are the things you need to work out, you know what I'm saying? Need to work out a system in case you're fucking in the room with your roommate. You need to work out what your drink is.
Jimmy Whisman
I like to be fucked up. What's the one that doesn't taste like I'm getting fucked up?
James Petregallo
Yep. So now this Levi guy here, Levi Todd Collin. He's six, eight months older than her, but he's born in 77 but still, you know, same. He just got to college too. Now that summer, Colleen had attended a 4H junior leader conference. Wow, she's ambitious. Yeah, Colin did. I'm sorry, Colleen, I just said. I meant Colin. Colin attended this. He was there. And she was also there too. Barry was there. So they both also attended the Wyoming State Fair in Douglas as well. So they've been running into each other at places before school and now they're in school together. Now Colin here comes from the 10 sleep area. That's a town. It's a 10 sleep. 10 sleep, like 10 nights, I guess, or whatever. This by the way, is such a small town. Wait till I tell you about how many people are in his graduating class. And shit, it's bonkers. So anyway, he was the captain of both the football and basketball team. They could, they could organize both teams and homecoming king. Okay, so he, you know, this is a kid who can do whatever he wants in this town. You know what I'm saying? He's the king of this town, essentially. Here I found a bunch of homeschooled.
Jimmy Whisman
Huh?
James Petregallo
No, no, no, no. There's. There's a school there. That'd be fun. It's just me and my, my two little brothers, one six years younger, one's eight years younger. And my little sister, she's five. And yeah, I'm the captain of the football team. You know, I'm the captain and a homecoming king. You know, my, my little brother was picking his nose during the ceremony. I knew I had it right there. That's not, that's. That's going to lose you a couple of votes. So I found a bunch of newspaper clippings about him in the paper. A last second shot by 10 sleeps. Levi Collins sent the game into overtime for basketball. He led the team with this many points. Here, here's one where he had 10 unassisted tackles and 11 assisted tackles. Wow. He's played middle linebacker. He's not a huge guy either. So that tells you the football team as well. Yeah, he had a. Do you know how many kids were in the graduating class?
Jimmy Whisman
No, but I hope you tell me.
James Petregallo
6.
Jimmy Whisman
How do you feel the team?
James Petregallo
Every boy in the school is on the football team and a few girls too. That's, you know, that's whatever you need them just to fill by even if you don't play. Like. Listen kid, I know you don't want to play football, but we can't have a team unless you just put a uniform on and stand on the sidelines. We have to have enough people.
Jimmy Whisman
We're using the practice tackler as the open as the front line because we don't have enough people.
James Petregallo
That's all we got. You can't even practice. We got to do like four on four practice drills. So there's an article that says Colin took on many leadership responsibilities within this sixth student graduating class. Yeah, he rose to the top of that big pack there. If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere. Isn't that what Sinatra was singing about?
Jimmy Whisman
That's what he said, yeah.
James Petregallo
Oh, Christ. In some cases, they said he took other students under his wing, one of his classmates said, and encourage them to participate and do their best in school activities. Everybody's got to know each other so well. There's six people in the entire graduating.
Jimmy Whisman
Class just encouraging them to participate. That's easy because we need.
James Petregallo
Yeah, you have to. I'd like to play, so you have to play. So he got in a little bit in trouble in high school. He was cited twice for illegally possessing alcohol as a minor. Kid. Shit, Drinking beer or whatever. No other contact with him at school. He's very well regarded. One kid said more than once I was able to call his parents and, oh, this isn't a kid. As a teacher. And say that he had made excellent choices about how to handle himself. It's such a small school that if you do something nice, they call your parents to tell you about it. To tell them all about what a good kid you are. Imagine that.
Jimmy Whisman
My mom would have. Yeah, my mom would have loved at least one of those.
James Petregallo
One just to. No, no, not calling. Just, you know, not in trouble. Not to. Just wanted to say what a good guy.
Jimmy Whisman
So what did he do now? Good things.
James Petregallo
Wow. Okay. Yeah. My dad would have been shocked. He would have been mad because I told the. All he ever told me was just make it so nobody calls me. That's all he ever said to me in school. Don't get in trouble. Don't get such bad grades. They call. Just fucking show up. Show up and keep me out of it, basically. So, yeah, he would have been probably annoyed with that. Why are you telling me this? So he's not in trouble. Why are you telling me this? Great. Click.
Jimmy Whisman
Can't you send a letter? Jesus Christ.
James Petregallo
Yeah, send a fucking plaque or something. I don't know.
Jimmy Whisman
He did great. Give him a fucking award then, for Christ's sake. Maybe he'll continue it.
James Petregallo
He's a fuck up. Give him a fucking nice guy badge or something. A congeniality badge. I don't know. So Levi's into him here or into Barry. I'm sorry. So during freshman orientation when they were both there, Levi saw her in a dorm lounge and told the kid behind her. Behind or next to him. Quote, I'm gonna get her. Okay, I'm gonna get that one right there. And so that's a thing. So he's been had his eyes on her here. Hey, everybody. Just gonna take a quick break from the show to tell you a little bit more about our safest spons. Safe. The days are getting longer. We got longer daylight hours, which means you might be spending more time away from your house, which gives burglars more time to rob your house. That's what happens here. FBI crime data shows that break ins are more likely during daylight hours than at night, actually, which you don't think of that. But you need to protect your home with Simplisafe's proactive security that helps stop threats before they even happen. We love SimpleLife because, number one, they're great. The alarms are great. The cameras are high quality. I love the. I love the fact that they can tell somebody and yell at them to go away from your house and they can call the cops. Right. And it's easy to install. That was. I was so worried when we first got it. I'm not gonna know how to do this. It's super easy. They have installation if you need it. But you can do it. If we can do it, you can do it. Visit simplisafe.comsmall to claim 50% off a new system with professional monitoring plan and get your first month free. That's Simplisafe. S I M p l I safe.com small there's no safe like Simplisafe. Yes.
Jimmy Whisman
And now back to the show.
James Petregallo
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Jimmy Whisman
Now back to the show.
James Petregallo
Now, just about a week before. A week to two weeks before this night. So, you know, late mid. Mid to late September, Jesse, who's Barry's friend, recalled an excursion that they took into the countryside with. It was her and Barry and they. And Levi, the three of them in a car. Okay. Now, she thought she was just being paranoid here, but she said something was weird and she just kind of like he was. He seemed very amiable and real nice guy on the surface. But there's something below the surface that makes her uncomfortable. Jesse. Yeah. Apparently they were cruising around Barry's driving, Barry behind the wheel and Levi had just made he just out of nowhere. They weren't talking about sex or anything like that. He just turned and said, I bet you're still a virgin to Barry. So Jesse was a bit offended on that. Like that he would bring this up because it was not a. They're not that close. They just met each other and I don't know. So she just took it as a little bit.
Jimmy Whisman
I don't know. Jesse, I wasn't asking you. Calm down.
James Petregallo
Hey, Jesse. He's looking in the rear view. I'm seeing right now. Jesse was. I asked. There's a reason you're in the backseat, sweetheart. Shut the fuck up. No interest, honey. No. So she thought that was a little bit weird. And I think in this part of the country too, it's. It's a little bit different than where we're. Yeah. Where we grew up in different environments than that. So these are nice people. You know what I mean?
Jimmy Whisman
Whether or not they were. They're avert. We'd be asking you wearing panties right now actively right now. We were dummies. That put him out of the spot way harder.
James Petregallo
So I was jerking off last night, right. I really. I mean I had a good fucking stroke going to. I'm telling you right now, this wasn't any. Like, I wasn't thinking about it. I was fucking running towards the goal line right now. So anyway, Jesse was offended, but Barry, she said didn't let it bother her at all. Didn't have. Didn't give it a pause and just told him that she sure was and was proud of it too.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh.
James Petregallo
So yeah. She's not.
Jimmy Whisman
None of your business. Good for her.
James Petregallo
She said. Yep, that's right. And proud of it. Motherfucker. So you know, Jesse said it just made her skin crawl. She said she said that just his smirk on his face wasn't just something. And it's vibes. Listen, ladies. Vibes you. If you get a vibe like that from a guy, don't be around him. Trust it. Even if it's wrong. Who fucking cares if he makes you creeped out, that's not gonna be your soulmate anyway, so who gives a shit?
Jimmy Whisman
Fuckin'clearly you don't like that guy.
James Petregallo
Yeah, don't give him a chance. You don't need to, so. And vice versa, if you sense guys, you sense the crazy vibe. Fucking run.
Jimmy Whisman
Get out of there.
James Petregallo
Get the hell outta there. You see a little Casey Anthony twinge in her eye, you go, I gotta get away from this leg. Go. So Jesse said that she grew increasingly uneasy the further they got away from town. She just felt that Levi was up to no good. So she asked Barry if she would take her back to campus, which Barry did, turned around, dropped her off of campus and that's that. So, yeah, she just said she just felt uneasy with the guy, which. It's a vibe. People get a vibe. So back to the party, back to the dorm party. Now Barry excuses herself to go to the bathroom, which is down the hall. It's one of those shared bathroom situations, which is a good reason to not go to college. So I. That would have kept me away from college. And even if I had grades, the desire. Yeah. Yeah. I'd have been like, I'm not, I'm not sharing the bathroom with other people. I'm not dealing with your shit and your shit and your shit. No.
Jimmy Whisman
So I come here and get yelled at by adults who think they're better than everyone. And then I go back to my room where I shit. Where he shits. I'm out.
James Petregallo
I'm not doing that. And he, and him, all of them. Nope, I don't think so. I don't trust anybody to keep this tidy. Yeah. So then Levi, after Barry leaves, turned to Jesse because Jesse's there, here and said, hey, think I got a chance with her. I really still looking to hook up with her. And Jesse says, no, you don't. You have no fucking chance with her. I'll tell you right now. He said she just broke up with a long term boyfriend before she came to college. And you know, she said she's not going to be dating anybody for a while. She's going to. She wants to get into school and deal with school and friends and activities and shit. Very healthy is what she's doing.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah. Also, she just broke up with a Long term boyfriend that clearly never, never had sex with her. So you got zero chance.
James Petregallo
No sex. Yep. Long term boyfriend, put in a lot of work, small town. Long term boyfriend, how many dinners did he have over the house and sat out on the porch with mom and all this bullshit. Yeah. And he got nothing, so you should keep on walking. So he said, ah, come on. He said, why don't you can hook us up? He says to Jesse, you're a friend, hook us up. You know what I mean?
Jimmy Whisman
Put in a good word for me.
James Petregallo
Yeah, talk her into it. Basically she said no. She told me she doesn't want to date anybody. I leave her alone. That's it. So that's all. So she turned away from him, started talking to somebody else. Now at some point he slipped out of the room. Levi does. Now all we know is that he left the room and someone ends up seeing Barry and Levi leaving the dorm parking lot in Levi's car.
Jimmy Whisman
Together.
James Petregallo
Together. So somehow he slipped into the hallway, caught her when she came back from the bathroom and talked her into going away from this party.
Jimmy Whisman
Okay.
James Petregallo
And she didn't even go in and tell her friend she was leaving. She just left.
Jimmy Whisman
So. Which is interesting thing, obviously.
James Petregallo
Yeah, yeah. So that's what, that's what I would think is it's a quick thing maybe or something. She's leaving the party for the night. She tell her friend, I would assume, hey, I'm taking off now, but I'm going to come with me.
Jimmy Whisman
Something, some story like that.
James Petregallo
Yeah. Traditionally when you go out with someone together, you if you're going to split up, you tell them what you're doing. Yeah. So she didn't know this, though. The friend wasn't paying attention. And then after a while she goes, I don't see Barry. Where the hell is she? And so she, you know, doesn't know where she is. She stayed behind. She thought Barry was coming back. Jesse ended up going back to her dorm room and go. I guess she's not coming back. After a while, at about midnight, Jesse gets a phone call. It's from the ra, the resident advisor from Barry's dorm. And she said, hey, have you seen Barry? I know you guys went out tonight, but she hasn't come back yet and, you know, just wondering if you've seen her. So Jesse said, I haven't seen her. She was at a party and then she disappeared. So Jesse goes out, gets out of bed and goes and looks around campus for her and then went with the RA to the parking lot to see if Barry's car was there and it is, but she's not, she's not there. None of her stuff's in it. It's just, you know, her car's in the parking lot. So they're like, all right, so she didn't leave in her car. So then they call her mom, Sharon. I mean, yeah, this is. You don't want to just get like a flight of fancy to do something fun because they're going to be calling your mom two hours into it. That's rough. You know. Midnight. Yeah, like, like Jesse better hope something's wrong with Barry, otherwise Barry's going to be like, what the fuck are you doing? I finally get a little freedom. You're calling my mom at 1am what the hell? So Sharon hears the phone ringing and she said she knew something was wrong before she picked it up. And she learned that her daughter couldn't be found. And she said holy shit. So she hung up and she called every hospital within a hundred mile radius of the place and she said that no one fitting Barry's description had been admitted. She asked 18 year old blonde college girl, no. Okay, so Jesse also had checked the local hospital before the mom even called and Barry wasn't there. So Jesse was very worried too. So yeah, she's gone. No one knows. Now Levi ends up returning to his dorm. After a while he returns to his dorm and when he shows up, he's wearing clothes that are covered in blood. Absolutely. They were called blood soaked clothes. Covered, I mean, not a couple of spatters, tie dyed. Dude fucking took a dip in the pool of blood. Yeah, like not good. It's early morning, you know, middle of the night, whatever. So he convinced he has three dorm mates and they said what the fuck happened to you? Jesus Christ. You look at Carrie right now, what's going on?
Jimmy Whisman
You're coming in at murder o'clock with.
James Petregallo
Blood all over you, covered in head to dripping blood from your fucking hair. So he said, I was in a serious fight with a guy. I got in a fight with this dude, dead ass.
Jimmy Whisman
Serious?
James Petregallo
Yeah, like for real serious. He said my knife, because he carries a knife all the time and he said I got to stab the guy. It was a whole, it was a real fucking affair here. So they helped clean him up, get the ball, the blood off of him anyway, you know, help him change and everything. And then they off he said my knife is back at the where I got in this fight. I dropped my knife. So they said, he said, will you guys give me a ride back a ride out there so I can go get my knife. And they said, yeah, that's fine. We'll drive up to the. Where you got in this fight and wherever that is. So on the way there, they're talking to him, well, who'd you get in a fight with? Because, you know, you'd want details of the. You're covered. If you're that covered in blood, whose blood was on you? You know what I'm saying?
Jimmy Whisman
We got so many. How did it happen?
James Petregallo
So in the car with these three guys, he says, well, yeah, it wasn't exactly like I said. It was. Yeah, it was kind of a fight, but it wasn't with a guy, and it was actually with a girl. And eventually, after a few minutes, the story goes from, I got in a fight with this dude and he tried to attack me, and I had to stab him too. I raped and murdered a girl.
Jimmy Whisman
Holy. Get out.
James Petregallo
So, no, not get out. These are good fucking dudes actually here. They fucking tackle him and restrain him and take and fucking drive somewhere to call the cops.
Jimmy Whisman
Great.
James Petregallo
They absolutely want nothing to fucking do with this. Like, nice. When it was a guy and you got in a fight, we'll help you out and cover up your. Help you cover your tracks or whatever, but not. You raped and killed a girl. Yeah. Literally immediately, like, somebody punched him and tackled him, and they were like, fuck that. You're going to. We're getting you arrested. This is crazy.
Jimmy Whisman
Great.
James Petregallo
So now the crazy thing is the cops had already heard about Levi. This isn't like five in the morning. The thing with the friends is happening, but the cops already know about Levi because the county prosecutor was going to bed at night when the police called to let the prosecutor know that they were speaking to a college student who was covered in blood and said he'd been in a fight with another male student. Student. And may have killed him because they take him to the police station and they're like, go in there, motherfucker. And he shows up and that's. That's his story. He shows up and goes, yeah, I got in a fight with a dude, and I'm afraid I may have killed him. But then they hear because Barry's reported missing. So they hear from other people that as soon as she's missing on campus, everybody starts talking. And the person who saw him, Barry and Levi leave the parking lot, calls the police and tells them about it. The friend who was standing next to him during orientation, when he said, I'm gonna get that one right there, he called the cops and said, I know a guy who was real interested in that girl. And like, yeah, like everybody was. This place is a snitch central, man. These motherfuckers. You can. No one will keep your secret up here. Yeah, this is crazy. I mean, it's good, cuz. He's, you know, obviously not a good guy, but. But, man, you don't want to let anybody in on your don't fuck up bullshit up here, boy. So at first they sit him down and he says, listen, yeah, this guy was just coming at me and I had to defend myself, you know what I'm saying? And as he goes on, one of the cops will say later on, this guy was just completely dispassionate about what he'd done. Totally unrepentant. And he is. He's a. This guy is a dangerous motherfucker because we find out, by the way, because they look into him a little bit while they're, you know. Well, while he's sitting in the interrogation room waiting to be talked to, they're looking him up and figuring out who the hell he is and, you know, what kind of angle they can take on him. And it turns out he's been accused of sexual assault before. More than once. About a month before this at Northwest College. He was accused of sexual assault but was never tried, never charged. Yeah, they report that he had been investigated for allegedly fondling a female student at his grade school as well, but he wasn't charged in that case either, like, you know, in high school. So the college officials with the assault from a month ago, college officials determined that the alleged victim wanted to cooperate with authorities. And then they encouraged. And they encouraged her to contact local law enforcement officers, and she did and underwent a rape examination and everything. Then the college ordered Levi, in writing, to stay away from the woman that he allegedly had assaulted and to stay out of her residence hall during the course of the investigation. And they said he apparently complied with the order even after the investigation was completed, and they never filed any charges against him for some reason.
Jimmy Whisman
What the fuck?
James Petregallo
And that was a month ago. Now, the fact that the mere fact that he was being investigated for this, you'd think would be a deterrent to do more, but this just emboldened him.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, if not a deterrent, at least a warning that we're watching you motherfucker. That's what.
James Petregallo
That's what I'm saying. A deterrent, meaning I'll get caught if I keep doing this. They're looking at me. It's a small town, it's not like you're in fucking, you know, Philadelphia or something. Like, there's a lot of.
Jimmy Whisman
I can't believe they couldn't do anything.
James Petregallo
No charges. And it was a month ago, but I guess they had. It was over. Like, they weren't like, still ongoing. So anyway, yeah, he tells them, listen, self defense. I stabbed a strange man in self defense, and that's all there is to it. So they said, well, Levi, that doesn't really match up because your face, hands, and forearms are covered in scratches. How long were this guy's nails?
Jimmy Whisman
Right?
James Petregallo
He's a. He's a. I've been in fights with guys. You've been in fights with guys. None of them ever really scratch up like that. It's not really part of the game.
Jimmy Whisman
And if they do, there's just like.
James Petregallo
In a street fight. Yeah, yeah, because. And it's an errant one or something on your forehead. It's not four fucking fingers digging in ripping your skin off. Yeah, that's very different there. So they said, that doesn't fit with you getting in an anonymous street fight with some dude. Like, that just doesn't work like that. They said, it looks like someone was trying to defend themselves from you. And, you know, I'm not sure that I think. I don't think you were the guy trying to defend yourself, basically. So they said, listen, we don't think you're telling the truth. You're full of shit. So he. Wow. He says, okay, fine, I killed Barry. Whoa. But it's not what you think it is. No, no. You think I'm a monster and I took her out there to kill her. That's crazy. No, no, no, no. Yeah, that's exactly what we're thinking. You got it, Levi. Yeah. We think you're a scumbag. That's what we think. Exactly. So he said that they met up at the party and agreed to take a ride out to Polecat Beach. He said once they got there, they engaged in consensual sex in the backseat of her car. So she's not interested in him. And she went out with a guy long term, didn't have sex with him, proudly a virgin, all this shit. But she said, you know what? I'm gonna fuck this guy who I don't really like in the backseat of his car. That's how I'll lose it.
Jimmy Whisman
A gal who clearly holds her virginity and the. And her first time in regard of.
James Petregallo
Like, she probably wants it to be special.
Jimmy Whisman
Polecat beach, please.
James Petregallo
Polecat beach. Backseat of an 89 Pontiac yeah, literally an 89 Pontiac.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, Polecat sounds like a slang term for a stripper in the first place. Like a derogatory term for a stripper.
James Petregallo
When I first saw Polecat Beach, I thought it was a strip club. And then the context of it, I was like, oh, that's not. That's an actual beach. I thought it was a strip club. Colecat Beach. And there's like sand on the stage too. You know what I mean? That's how they do it.
Jimmy Whisman
It sounds derogatory. Like you would go, what is she, some sort of fucking polecat?
James Petregallo
Yeah, she's a pole cat, that one. I met her on the pole. She's a polecatin. So, yeah, they. That's what he says. He said they engaged in consensual sex in the backseat of his car. He said when they were finished, everything seemed fine, everybody was satiated and happy. And then he said out of nowhere, Berry just started hitting him in the back of the head with a beer bottle. Oh, yeah, that fits her character, right? All of this does. She's gonna fuck this guy in the backseat and then just attack him with a beer bottle. Like Eileen Wuornos or something. Yeah, that's who she is. So, yeah, he said he was dazed. He's being bashed with an unprovoked attack. So he said he just grabbed his knife and just was like, oh, my God. He said he had to stab her because she was out of control. Just swinging a beer bottle at her, screaming like a banshee. Fucking bashing him in the head with a beer bottle in close quarters. I got no choice. I had to stab her. So he said, I thought you'd blame me, obviously, for it, you know, didn't look good and all. So I hid her body, you know, because that's what you do when you get self defense fights. You hide the body. And then, you know, I just made up this story because I knew I was coming home with blood all over me, so I had to make something up. So he said, I went back to my dorm and I made up the story, told my friends there that a random guy assaulted me and I had to do that and had to kill him. So they said, well, would you be willing to take us to the site where this all happened? And he said, okay, fine. So now one of the interesting things here is that she has taken a lot of self defense classes, by the way.
Jimmy Whisman
Okay, so she can defend herself.
James Petregallo
Yeah, she's only like £100, but she's taken a lot of defense classes and Knows some tricks of the trade here. So a lot of these marks are because she was not going down easy. That's the thing. Not going down at all. So let's find out if he's telling the truth. They go, it's. It's Levi and the detectives in one car and the prosecutor in another car driving out there.
Jimmy Whisman
You don't want to go car rides with the prosecutor, you're in trouble.
James Petregallo
No, no. This is quite the caravan here. This is a scary caravan. So they went off the back roads in the middle of the night looking for the turnoff that he described. They kept coming up empty. Time and time they kept going to where he would say, and there's no turn off, like he said. So after a while they're like, you're full of shit.
Jimmy Whisman
You're lying to us. Why?
James Petregallo
You're lying about where the fuck you're taking us. That's. That's it. Like, you're. You're not telling us the goddamn truth here. So this is a wild goose chase. And these people have been up all night, and they know that this guy is covered in a teenage girl's blood. So they have no patience for his bullshit at this point. So they ended up. They call the driver of the car that Colin is in and said, the prosecutor's back there and gets pissed off and says, fucking pull over. Pull these cars over here. I'm talking to this guy now. So the prosecutor comes up to talk to him. This is crazy. Normally if you kill somebody six hours later, you won't be getting yelled at by the prosecutor on the side of the road. Like, that's a good. Things happen fast in Wyoming.
Jimmy Whisman
They usually reserve that for a judge to tell him what he can and cannot yell at you about.
James Petregallo
No shit. So she said. She called upon every ounce of patience she could gather, basically to try to get through to him. And she said, look, we're not playing fucking games anymore. Either you're gonna help us or you're not. And if you're not, we're gonna make it real difficult for you. And so basically he just said, okay, fine. And then from then, he's told them exactly where the body was, and they went right to it. They wasted hours driving around.
Jimmy Whisman
It just took her to say, stop it.
James Petregallo
And he goes, fine, Fine. Yeah, basically, yeah, I'm not taking any more than just treat him like a child. Basically, you're gonna be in trouble, mister. And he's like, okay. So they find her at a place called. It's an area known as the bench. It's about 16 miles away from the college. It's an area north of Powell and there's. It's just like flats. The flat sagebrush flats north of Powell. It's called so the middle of nowhere where kids go to fucking drink beer.
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James Petregallo
That's all. Every town has one. So they find poor Barry. Here she is, partially clothed and in the sage brush out there, just lying there. Now, it was obvious when they see her that this was not a. Oh, my God, I got hit in the head with a beer bottle and had to stab her to save myself once. She is absolutely cut to fucking ribbons, man.
Jimmy Whisman
Vicious.
James Petregallo
It's horrifying. You know it. By the amount of blood he was covered in that.
Jimmy Whisman
This is.
James Petregallo
It's horrifying. Extensive bruising to her face, so. And head. So beat this fucking poor girl. Beat her. In addition to that, numerous stab wounds evident on her torso and her throat had been sliced from ear to ear with such ferocity that she was nearly decapitated like. Like Nicole Brown Simpson, essentially. Multiple. Multiple slashes, by the way.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, really?
James Petregallo
Not just one frenzy of slashes.
Jimmy Whisman
What the shit is this problem?
James Petregallo
And they determined that she was also violently raped before that as well. So it couldn't have been any worse for this poor fucking girl.
Jimmy Whisman
What in the fuck?
James Petregallo
Her hands and arms were covered with defensive wounds. Her fingernails were broken off. I mean, she fought hard. Her hands are sliced to shit. She grabbed the knife blade several times to try to defend herself because that's in self defense. What they taught her was, fuck, you lose a finger, but you won't. Don't get killed, basically. So it's fucking horrifying. These people are. They want to murder this kid in the sagebrush, obviously, like he's. This is disturbing. So they call mom the next morning after they find poor Barry. And mom says, I remember. I'm sorry, this is the Powell police chief said, I remember trying to be very careful. But she said, listen, I'm a nuts and bolts type of person. I need you to tell me what happened and what you saw. Oh, God, the mom said that, like, listen, don't fucking dance around it. Tell me how bad it is, basically. So he explained what they pieced together and described what he saw when he got out there. And that's what she wanted to know. So anyway, he told police that after that, they said, dude, Levi, what you said happened didn't happen. Look what you did to this fucking girl. And he said, okay, fine. This is what happened. He said, I drove her out here about 16 miles north of Powell. When I got there, she was upset, and she got out of the car and started to walk back to town. On foot.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petregallo
Yeah. She's. I'd have told you. No, and I'm. I will walk 16 miles. Fuck you. That's in the middle of the night.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah. She screamed for the last 10 miles to turn around.
James Petregallo
Exactly. Well, he fucking sped it 65 miles an hour, probably.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah.
James Petregallo
So he said he had a hunting knife in his car, and he put the knife in his back pocket and chased after her. He said he tackled her and raped her. Used his. He said he bit her to force her to submit to it. He was biting her, used his teeth. He also sliced up her face to get her to stop struggling. Was slicing up her face. It's fucking disgusting. Absolutely goddamn fucking disgusting. So, yeah, so he said that he went after her and he threw her on the ground and did it. And he said after that. He said that he admitted he beat her, he raped her. He claimed that he never meant to kill her. He said. And he said he.
Jimmy Whisman
If you cut a woman's face, there's no turning back because you.
James Petregallo
Exactly.
Jimmy Whisman
She's not gonna just go back. Nothing happened.
James Petregallo
That's. You've maimed her now. Yes. This is crazy shit. So he justified his actions by saying he only stabbed her because she wouldn't stop fighting back. Oh, gee. She wouldn't. She didn't want to get raped. That's. You poor guy. What a. What a pain in the ass. You can't even fucking. Wow. So this is obviously fucking disturbing. He's not a big guy, but he's athletic. He's a middle linebacker. And that's why I told you about that kind of thing. That's why he can chase her down and tackle her. And so I said, yeah, I'll give you these stats for no reason. So he's good at it. She weighed, like 105 pounds. And that's crazy, I guess when she continued to fight, he said he pinned her hands to the ground with his knees and cut her again. And then said he. Fuck. He said that he became enraged by the sound of the breaths that she was making. Her breathing enraged him to the point where he thought, to him it was an act of defiance. He said that she was doing that. So he just kept slashing her throat. He said to get her to stop breathing. Just ear to ear, back and forth. This is. This is horrifying. This is Ted Bundy shit, man.
Jimmy Whisman
That's the first. First time this guy did. I mean, obviously, he's not good at it. He's covered in blood, but he's capable of this. That's terrible.
James Petregallo
He's had two other women accuse him and this is an escalation, that's all. The last woman, what happened, he tried to go after her and he got caught. So he realized, oh, if you rape somebody, you have to kill them. Yep. So it's unbelievable, man. They said he had a reputation for being a charmer and somehow managed to talk her into leaving with him. And I'm sure it was, I need help doing something for five minutes, you know, so that, as she said, and everybody said they were cordial so she wouldn't have had any reason to suspect he was going to attack her or anything like that. She's at college. These are all college students. Everybody knows them. They both know each other. You would never think that. So they charge him with first degree murder, first degree sexual assault, and later on kidnapping as well, which obviously here he's held on a $1 million bond or without bond on the murder and a million dollar bond on the sexual assault. So you're not going anywhere, Chief. The murder charge carries a maximum penalty of death, and the sexual assault charge carries a penalty of up to 50 years in prison. So he's fucked. Yeah, he's. He's fucked himself good. And I'm happy for it. So I'm not happy that what happened, but I'm happy that they caught him. So they said this wasn't the first murder they've ever had around here, but the, the one, first one with this kind of brutality like, this is a. This is a small town, man. Her head's nearly cut off. This is fucking wild. One of the police officers said, man, you talk about a sucker punch to people's morale. They said the whole town, they literally started locking their doors at that point. This was the breaking point where a small farming town went from. Hey, everybody knows everybody. We all wave from our porches to lock them up, roll them up, lock them down.
Jimmy Whisman
Someone is capable of that in town. But he is arrested and we're still gonna lock him because we're still.
James Petregallo
Now we know it exists.
Jimmy Whisman
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
James Petregallo
Now we found out it exists. So yeah, now teachers and other people that knew Levi said this was not the Levi they knew. This is crazy. One of his, the former principal of his high school said, I never saw that side to Levi. How can you think you know someone and see something like this happen? And the sheriff said, it's really taken a toll on the community. He was a pretty popular kid, I believe It. He was a homecoming king and everything else. More than 300 students attended a campus memorial after the ceremony. They had a little ceremony for Barry's death there. Many of the kids, too, drove over 300 miles to Riverton for a funeral as well. She made an impact on people pretty quick here. The president at Northwest penned letters to parents reassuring them that everything's fine, everything's good. It was a one off thing. We got the guy, I guess. Hundreds of people on campus wore purple ribbons and a photo of her. Also they had these purple ribbons with a picture of her on there. And emboldened by this death, eight women at the college came forward to report they'd been raped in the last month. Not by Levi, by other people, but they were too scared to come forward. And they said, nope, this is what happens now. They kill people the next time. And they came forward and reported what had happened. So this ended up emboldening a lot of people. That's good. In a good way. One of the ladies who came forward here agrees to press charges against Levi as well. Because he attacked her as well. Yeah. She learned of the murder and then said, oh, my God, I gotta tell them what happened to me. This was two months before the murder. He coaxed her into his 1989 Pontiac by telling her it was all computerized, quote, unquote, an 89 Pontiac. He had a digital, like, digital speedometer is what he's talking. What other computerized could be in 1989.
Jimmy Whisman
If it's not the.
James Petregallo
There's pong in there. Yeah. There's Pac man in the dashboard. What are we talking about here?
Jimmy Whisman
Was that a Firebird? It was a Firebird, wasn't it? Or was it a Camaro?
James Petregallo
I don't know. It's just 89 Pontiac. Either way. I mean, the Knight Rider, it's a. It was a Fire Trans Am.
Jimmy Whisman
It was a Firebird.
James Petregallo
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was a fucking Firebird. Totally. Yeah. I love that shit. When I was a kid. Love the Knight Rider car.
Jimmy Whisman
If it wasn't that, then it wasn't computerized, friend.
James Petregallo
Did it talk to you?
Jimmy Whisman
Levi's not kit. Then get the fuck out of that car.
James Petregallo
Levi. Stop raping these women. Levi.
Jimmy Whisman
Levi, you're going to prison.
James Petregallo
Levi, you have blood all over you. Please stop with the rape. You're staying in the interior, Levi. My interior is covered in viscera. So I guess when he said, yeah, no, no, look in it, look in it. And she was looking in the car. This is like a fucking. You wouldn't believe That a human being would actually do this. She was looking in the car. When she got close to the car, he shoved her inside, trapped her in there, and drove to a remote location. This is crazy. That's straight up kidnapping. That's not even. I charmed him into the car. Even Ted Bundy tried to charm them into the car. He didn't fucking shove them into the car for the most part. I mean, that was part of the game for him, you know? So when she resists and then he tried to have sex with her in the car. When she resisted and ran away, he tackled her, bit her neck, which is exactly what he did to fucking Barry. So this is what he does. He just escalated and bit her neck and forced fucking raped her. And later threatened to quote, when it was over, he said he would hunt her down and kill her if she went to the police.
Jimmy Whisman
Now we believe him.
James Petregallo
She believed him at the time. And now that he's locked up, though, now she's not afraid of him anymore and she comes forward. So that's good. Oh, and one more. And one more. By the way, this is again, when this reaches the public, a woman calls the cops to say she had been attacked by him in 1995, almost exactly a year to the day before Barry's murder. The caller said that she had met Levi in a bar. He's 17 years old, and I don't know what's going on up here in Wyoming, man. And the two hit it off. She thought he was harmless and accepted his offer to go for a drive, which is. He's perfecting. See what I mean? He's getting it. Wow. Once they reach the outskirts of town, his demeanor completely changed. You got the Bundy thing where he turns and his eyes are different colors now. Wasn't a friendly kid anymore. Now all of a sudden, he told her, we're going to have sex now in a very matter of fact way that was not, you know, wasn't cute or, like, choice. Wasn't like, hey, you know, we're gonna do right now, winky wink. It was none of that shit. It was, we're gonna have sex now. So, you know, she was taken aback. And she told him that they will not be having sex now, actually. So he pulled a gun out, held it to her fucking head, and ordered her to strip.
Jimmy Whisman
My God.
James Petregallo
He then raped her while raping her. What did he think he was doing? Biting her face and biting her arms? She said, like a rabid animal, like breaking the skin, ripping her apart. When it was over, he calmly Told her that he would kill her and her whole family if she ever said anything to anybody about what just happened. And she said she thought, this guy seems sick as fuck. He's capable of anything. So she didn't come forward until she learned he was in police custody as well. This guy's a fucking monster serial killer. He would have been a serial killer if he got away with this. He would have gotten worse and worse and worse. Absolutely. So will there be a trial here? Well, he waived a preliminary hearing. Yeah, he waived a preliminary hearing, which lets the prosecutors skip their obligation to present the evidence to basically to go to district court. It's a formality. He goes, I know you have enough evidence. Fine. So it would have went to trial, obviously, because there's all this fucking evidence and he admitted to it. So they're talking about a potential plea deal where he may broker. Basically, I won't go to trial, which is going to cost the state a lot of fucking money if I don't get the death penalty. That'll be the deal that they're making. The only way.
Jimmy Whisman
They're not going to.
James Petregallo
That's it. Otherwise, they're going to. Yeah, they're going to a bunch of cowboys. They're going to fry this fucking kid if they don't beat him to death first. So.
Jimmy Whisman
Jesus, their horses beat him to death.
James Petregallo
They might draw and quarter this man. So a spokesman in the Wyoming Attorney General's office said the murder trials can cost in the excess of millions of dollars, which the state just doesn't have. There's half a million people here, especially if the prosecutors are speaking the death penalty. And then all the appeals that'll follow. This is going to cost the state more than they spend on anything except snow removal and, like, bison carcass moving out of the road when they've been hit by a truck.
Jimmy Whisman
Just get that wily horse from the Wyoming flag and get it to do some fucking brodies over his face.
James Petregallo
Yeah, we could do that, maybe. So what this does here is it waives that requirement by the prosecutors. And they said no plea agreement has been reached. But they're talking about it. They said it had been in Collins best interest to waive the preliminary hearing, noting that the burden of proof in the hearing is more lenient than in an actual trial. So it wouldn't have helped him anyway. So they decide that they are going to plea bargain. He's going to plead guilty. They're not going to kill him. That's how this is going to work now. He's Going to plead guilty to everything. Kidnapping, rape, kidnapping of the other woman as well. It's all on the table here. Everything that happened in this state. So the Bryant family speaks at the sentencing. Sharon gets to speak. She said she was hoping for a sign of remorse from him. As she said, she's trying to beat him up with words. Basically, that's all she can do. She read from a prepared statement. She assured Levi that his hell on earth had just begun and that she hopes his memories and nightmares are haunted by the sounds of her dying. So then the prosecutor read a statement from Ryan, who is her 16 year old brother, by the way. This is happening in November, literally a month and a half after the murder. He is already pleading, oh, boy, it's over. Well, like in most states, to get on the docket takes forever. There's. It's Wyoming. Docket's wide open. There's tumbleweeds blowing through the courtroom. Just a judge sitting there waiting for you to fuck up so he can do something because they're bored.
Jimmy Whisman
They open up a ledger and it's dusty.
James Petregallo
Where are we? When was the last time we were here? 87. Jesus Christ.
Jimmy Whisman
The clerk's ribbon on her stenographer is all dried out.
James Petregallo
Dry? Yeah, it's like an Arizona windshield wiper. You go to use it, it just breaks apart into pieces.
Jimmy Whisman
She presses the shorthand keys over and over again to get one.
James Petregallo
Come on, man. Hold on. Shut the fuck up for a minute. I'm trying to type this in. Wait, slow down.
Jimmy Whisman
Hey, backspace.
James Petregallo
Hey, backspace, slow down. So Ryan said, this is a very weird comment. This family's comments are odd. Quote, I always knew I'd have to bury her, but not this soon. Why did you know you have to bury. She's two years older. It's not like she's 30 years older than him. I knew she'd go before me. You're the same age, essentially.
Jimmy Whisman
She's got a raging heroin addiction. And she smokes cigarettes after cigarette after cigarette, man.
James Petregallo
And this poor kid, too. He loves his sister. And this sucks. He said, also, I hope and know you will be haunted by the spirit of my sister. Yeah, nice. She's an aggressive ghost now. I like that.
Jimmy Whisman
I had a room next to her. She haunted me. You are in so much trouble, man.
James Petregallo
We've heard a lot of these. These statements, you know, from victim impact statements. Have we ever heard that one before?
Jimmy Whisman
Both relatives right back to back are like, she's gonna, dude, you're in so much trouble.
James Petregallo
She's gonna be pissed I've never heard anyone wish haunting from like a spear. That's awesome. Ryan, you fucking. That's a cool thing to do, dude. At 16, you did better than anyone else has done in any court we've ever covered.
Jimmy Whisman
He's gonna be so mad.
James Petregallo
My God. So members of Levi's family wrote letters to the judge begging for leniency. One of his former teachers told the news media that he remembered, Levi is a polite, well mannered young man. Well, now he's a biting, stabbing rapist. So who cares?
Jimmy Whisman
The judge, we're not going to kill him. That's as lenient as it.
James Petregallo
Wow. The judge said, not only fuck leniency, he said, I actually strongly considered rejecting the plea agreement to make sure that you get the prospect of the death penalty. He said, I honestly said, I almost said, fuck that. I want to kill this kid. So he said, in this case, even if it were swift and certain, the death penalty would be too easy. You have taken away from the enjoyment of life of thousands of people. You are not fit to mingle among the good and decent people of our society. Called him a predator, cold blooded and even more despicable than his series of crimes, and said, it is the expectation of this court that you will be imprisoned for the rest of your days. You, sir, may fuck off. Three consecutive life sentences, plus I think 20 years or some shit on top of that. Fuck you.
Jimmy Whisman
It's like in wyoming, it's probably 85 years for a life sentence.
James Petregallo
Yeah, he is fucked, basically. And up there, that parole board doesn't hear a lot of crazy stories like this. You're going to be the worst guy they talk to every year. They're going to go that, yeah, this.
Jimmy Whisman
Story short, meeting this story would fuck up the LA County Parole board. So yes, this is going to be real bad in Wyoming.
James Petregallo
This sentence was imposed less than two months from the time the crime was committed. There's no doubts about the sentence, no lengthy appeals process. It was swift and certain. Old west justice, that is, that's as.
Jimmy Whisman
Speedy as the Constitution offers.
James Petregallo
That is wild. Yeah, dude. December 22nd, the next year, he asks for a sentence reduction.
Jimmy Whisman
Really?
James Petregallo
But guess who that's up to. The original judge who wanted him murdered before his eyes. This judge denied the sentence reduction and told Colin at a sentencing hearing that he considered. I said, I didn't even want to take this fucking plea agreement. And he said, you know, I thought execution was too easy for you. You think I'm going to let your shit down? The college also they installed emergency phones throughout the campus. And they kind of. This brought them into the 21st century as far as protecting the kids. 2022, one of her friends or the resident advisor, I think from when she was in college and her mom end up getting money together from donors to put a memorial bench in Powell.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, that's nice.
James Petregallo
So, yeah, it's a nice memorial bench with her picture on it and her ears and says strawberry. It's very, very, very nice. So they got that done in 2022 finally. And then her mom says, Sharon says, I feel like there was some healing that didn't take place many years ago. I really feel like this is something they needed. The space is a memorial to bury, but it's also an icon for all people who have been removed from life unjustly. And then the next year, Sharon dies.
Jimmy Whisman
Oh, shit.
James Petregallo
So she lived for that. And then 2023, she died. Let's see where they buried Barry. The Berry burial is at Mountain View cemetery in Riverton, Wyoming. And it looks like dipshit Levi here is currently incarcerated at the Wyoming Medium correctional Institution in Torrington where he's involved in a dog training program. Oh, isn't that fucking nice?
Jimmy Whisman
That's probably the nicest thing in the medium security.
James Petregallo
What a cunt. Yeah, fuck him. And then there is also a Barry Bryant memorial scholarship endowment at Northwest College as well. And this was covered on a TV show. Was it the. What the hell is this? Evil lives here. That's what it is. The Dark road episode. So there you go, everybody. There is Wyoming. Hope you enjoyed Powell, Wyoming. Crazy shit. Obviously. Swift fucking Justice. If you enjoy that episode in Swift justice, please give a nice review on whatever app you're listening on. Give us five stars. Helps tremendously. You can really help the show. You can also help the show by going to shut upandgivemerder.com Tickets for live shows. Virtual live show 4 19. April 19th. It's the 420 virtual live show. Available for two weeks after that to buy, purchase, watch, do whatever the fuck you want with just like a regular live show. But jait right in your living room. I'm gonna get Jimmy Superstone. Let's do it. Also Chicago May. What is it? 18th, I think Chicago at the Riviera. Get your tickets there. Definitely do that. Shut up and give me murder.com patreon.com crimeandsports tons of bonus episodes. Anybody $5 a month or above this week. Crime and sports. Spanish Paralympic team where nobody was actually disabled. But they won the gold. Good for them. Small town murder. American nightmare one of the craziest stories I've ever heard. It's a Netflix undocumentary documentary on Netflix. Check that out patreon.com crimeandsports and you get a shout out at the end of the regular show. Want to follow us? On social media, shutupandgimurder.com has drop down menus take you anywhere you want to go. That said, until next week everybody, it's been our pleasure.
Jimmy Whisman
Bye.
James Petregallo
If you like small town murder, you can listen early and ad free now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen early and ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey@wondery.com survey.
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James Petregallo
This assailant pulls out a weapon and starts firing at him.
Steve Buscemi
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James Petregallo
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James Petregallo
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James Petregallo
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Listen to Law and Crime's Luigi exclusively on Wondery Plus. You can join Wondery plus in the Wondery app, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Hosts: James Pietragallo & Jimmie Whisman
Release Date: April 4, 2025
In Episode #584 of Small Town Murder, hosts James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman delve into the harrowing case of Barry Alexis Bryant and her tragic encounter with Levi Colin in Powell, Wyoming. This episode combines meticulous research with the hosts' signature comedic flair to explore the dark underbelly of a seemingly tranquil small town.
Powell is a small college town in northwestern Wyoming with a population of approximately 6,385, including college students. The town is characterized by its vast landscapes, low population density, and a close-knit community. Despite its serene appearance, Powell has a history of rare but severe criminal incidents.
Population Details:
James Pietragallo (03:25): "Population in this town, 6385. And it's a college town, so there’s a lot of people leave around springtime, around summer, man."
Economic Insights:
The median household income in Powell stands at $60,210, slightly below the national average, while the median home price is relatively high at $356,800, defying typical supply and demand dynamics due to the town's sparse population.
Barry Bryant, born on March 21, 1978, was an energetic and well-loved young woman with a vibrant personality. Growing up, Barry was deeply involved in various extracurricular activities, excelling in sports and academics.
Early Life and Personality:
James (13:29): "Barry is an explosive personality. And I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean, she's fun. She is all energy, all the time."
College Life:
Barry attended Northwest College in Powell, where she continued her active lifestyle, participating in jazz bands, track, cross-country, and various clubs. She was known for her friendly nature and strong social connections.
Levi Colin, a middle linebacker and homecoming king at Northwest College, was seen by many as a model student. However, investigations revealed a darker side to his persona.
Background and Reputation:
James (25:44): "Everyone knows him. They could, you know, this is a kid who can do whatever he wants in this town."
Criminal History:
Levi had prior allegations of sexual assault but faced no charges, which seemingly emboldened his subsequent criminal behavior.
On October 4, 1996, Barry attended a dorm party with her friend Jesse and Levi Colin. Following the party, Barry excused herself to the bathroom, where Leah clandestinely approached her.
The Encounter:
James (34:32): "Barry and Jesse go to this dorm party... Barry excuses herself to go to the bathroom."
Abduction and Assault:
Levi convinced Barry to leave the party with him, leading them to Polecat Beach, a remote area north of Powell. There, Barry was brutally assaulted, leading to her death.
Aftermath:
Levi returned to his dorm covered in blood, fabricating a story about defending himself in a fight. However, inconsistencies in his account raised suspicions among authorities.
The Powell police swiftly moved to investigate Levi Colin's statements, uncovering evidence that contradicted his self-defense claims.
Evidence Contradictions:
James (47:18): "They said, that doesn't fit with you getting in an anonymous street fight with some dude."
Community Response:
The small community was shaken, leading to increased security measures and a collective fear among residents.
Legal Proceedings:
Levi was charged with first-degree murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping. The prosecution moved quickly, leading to his conviction and imprisonment without the death penalty.
James (75:43): "The judge... said, I honestly said, I almost said, fuck that. I want to kill this kid."
Barry's death had a profound impact on the Powell community and her family. Memorials and scholarships were established in her honor, aiming to preserve her legacy and support future generations.
Memorials:
A memorial bench was installed in Powell, providing a place for reflection and remembrance.
James (77:21): "They got that done in 2022 finally. And then her mom says, Sharon says, I feel like there was some healing that didn't take place many years ago."
Family Tragedy:
Tragically, Barry's mother, Sharon, passed away in 2023, leaving the family to cope with their loss and seek closure.
The Small Town Murder episode on Powell, Wyoming, paints a vivid picture of how darkness can permeate even the most peaceful communities. Through detailed storytelling and engaging analysis, hosts James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman shed light on the complexities of the case, community reactions, and the lasting impact on those involved.
James Pietragallo (10:04): "Wyoming's the place for you, if you have extreme sensory overload issues."
Jimmy Whisman (34:28): "Jesse was offended, but Barry, she said, didn't let it bother her at all."
James Pietragallo (46:31): "A deterrent, meaning I'll get caught if I keep doing this."
Sharon Bryant (from implied victim impact statement, 73:48): "I hope you will be haunted by the spirit of my dying."
Episode #584 of Small Town Murder not only recounts a tragic event but also explores the broader implications of trust, community safety, and justice in small towns. The hosts expertly balance the gravity of the subject matter with moments of levity, making for a compelling and thought-provoking listen.
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review on your preferred podcast platform and supporting the show through shutupandgivemerder.com.