S6: (1/3) WCN Presents: [J.E.] S6 Updates

Summary

Podcast Summary: Something Was Wrong – Episode 1/3: WCN Presents: [J.E.] S6 Updates

Release Date: January 16, 2025
Host/Author: Broken Cycle Media | Wondery

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Introduction

In the inaugural episode of the docuseries "Something Was Wrong," Broken Cycle Media alongside Wondery delves into the harrowing experiences of J.E. Reich, a journalist, editor, and survivor who has been profoundly impacted by the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the subsequent stalking and harassment that followed. This episode serves as an update, shedding light on the ongoing quest for justice and the beginning stages of healing.

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Background on J.E. Reich and Previous Episodes

J.E. Reich previously shared their traumatic experience related to the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Season 6, Episodes 5 and 6 of "Something Was Wrong." These episodes highlighted the devastating impact of the hate crime on J.E.'s community and the relentless stalking they and their family endured in its aftermath. Despite their courage in speaking out, justice remained elusive as harassment and death threats continued unabated.

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The 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting

J.E. Reich recounts the October 27, 2018, attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue, marking it as the deadliest massacre of Jews on U.S. soil. The episode emphasizes the lingering fears and the urgent need to keep such memories alive to prevent desensitization and ensure accountability.

Unknown Speaker (04:29): "It was the biggest massacre of Jews on US soil in US history. Six months later, there was Poway in California... People barely remember Tree of Life anymore."

Reich adds personal context, highlighting the broader societal impact and the struggle to maintain awareness amidst ongoing social issues like the George Floyd murder and Antoine Rose II's death.

JE Reich (06:42): "He was a young adult who was murdered by a police officer who I believe was acquitted."

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The Stalking and Harassment

Following the shooting, J.E. and their family became targets of a persistent and threatening stalker. The harassment included:

• Threatening Messages: The stalker frequently used violent imagery, referencing the Holocaust and specific threats against J.E. and their family.

  JE Reich (07:44): "She fantasized and spoke at length about how she would do it in multiple ways, like cutting my head off."

• Methodical Stalking: The perpetrator meticulously gathered information from public sources, such as J.E.'s Vanity Fair essay, to obtain contact details.

Unknown Speaker (08:24): "We think she read that essay and then figured out my stepfather's office phone number... and then was able to attain his cell phone number."

This relentless harassment led to significant personal and professional disruptions for J.E., including job loss and social isolation.

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Investigation and Legal Proceedings

The episode details the prolonged investigation into the stalking case:

• Initial Investigation: After years of harassment, calls resumed in 2022, leading to renewed efforts by authorities.

  JE Reich (16:18): "The calls had ceased for a number of months. They started back up some time in 2022."

• Evidence Gathering: J.E.'s mother installed software on their stepfather's phone to record calls, resulting in 238 recorded calls presented as evidence, though the actual number is likely in the thousands.

• Identification and Arrest: The Miami FBI Field Office eventually identified and arrested the stalker in March 2023, though she was released on bond pending further proceedings.

  JE Reich (25:52): "She did plead guilty. There was overwhelming, hard forensic evidence that did show that these calls were made from her residence."

• Mental Health Assessment: Comprehensive psychiatric evaluations revealed undiagnosed mental health issues, leading to ongoing treatment for the perpetrator.

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Emotional and Psychological Impact

J.E. Reich opens up about the profound personal toll the stalking took:

• Isolation and Disassociation: The constant harassment led to numbness and a disconnection from friends and everyday life.

  JE Reich (12:23): "It brought me back to a place of trauma, and I never used that word lightly."

• Anxiety and Health Issues: The stress culminated in severe anxiety and heart-related health problems, exacerbated by the impending legal proceedings.

• Victim Impact Statement: Crafting and delivering this statement was a pivotal moment for J.E., symbolizing a reclaiming of voice and identity.

  JE Reich (30:37): "I'm here in court today, here in front of you, to make my existence absolute."

• Symbolism and Resilience: Personal items, like a cherished necklace, served as symbols of heritage and strength during the court appearance.

  JE Reich (30:31): "There's a necklace that I always wear that my mother gave to me on my b'nai mitzvah... I saw the imprint of that mezuzah on my palm."

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Conclusion and Current Status

As of the episode's release, J.E. Reich and their family continue to navigate the complexities of seeking justice and healing from the trauma inflicted by the hate crime and subsequent stalking. While the legal system has taken steps towards holding the perpetrator accountable, the emotional scars remain, underscoring the enduring impact of such crimes on survivors and their communities.

The episode concludes with a poignant reflection on reclaiming one's narrative and the ongoing journey towards healing.

JE Reich (31:22): "I am not victim number three. But I am not an abstract. I'm not an idea."

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Notable Quotes

• Unknown Speaker (04:29): "It was the biggest massacre of Jews on US soil in US history. Six months later, there was Poway in California... People barely remember Tree of Life anymore."

• JE Reich (07:44): "She fantasized and spoke at length about how she would do it in multiple ways, like cutting my head off."

• JE Reich (25:52): "She did plead guilty. There was overwhelming, hard forensic evidence that did show that these calls were made from her residence."

• JE Reich (30:37): "I'm here in court today, here in front of you, to make my existence absolute."

• JE Reich (31:22): "I am not victim number three. But I am not an abstract. I'm not an idea."

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Final Thoughts

This episode of "Something Was Wrong" offers an unflinching look into the aftermath of a terrorist attack and the relentless pursuit of justice by its survivors. J.E. Reich's story is a testament to resilience in the face of unimaginable adversity, highlighting the prolonged emotional and psychological battles that often follow such traumatic events. Through candid discussions and personal reflections, the episode not only honors the victims but also sheds light on the systemic challenges in addressing hate crimes and supporting survivors.

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For more resources and to support the show, visit SomethingWasWrong.com.

Transcript

[Unknown Host]

Wondery subscribers can listen to Something Was Wrong early and ad free right now. Join Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

[Sarah Gibson Tuttle]

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[Unknown Narrator]

Introducing June's Journey, a hidden object mobile game with a captivating story. Connect with friends, explore the Roaring twenties and enjoy thrilling activities and challenges while supporting environmental causes. After seven years, the adventure continues with our Immersive Travels feature. Explore distant cultures and engage in exciting experiences. There's always something new to discover. Are you ready? Download June's Journey now ON Android or iOS. What came next is intended for mature audiences only. Episodes discuss topics that can be triggering, such as emotional, physical and sexual violence and animal abuse, suicide, and murder. I am not a therapist, nor am I a doctor. If you're in need of support, please visit SomethingWasWrong.com resources for a list of nonprofit organizations that can help. Opinions expressed by my guests on the show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of myself or Broken Cycle. Media resources and source material are linked in the episode notes. Thank you so much for listening. JE Reich is a journalist, editor, survivor, and victim advocate. They shared their story on Something was Wrong Season 6, Episodes 5 and 6, which aired on December 6 and December 13 of 2020. The episodes discuss the impact of the devastating 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the impact the hate crime had on Je's community. The episodes also bring awareness to the related horrific stalking Je and their family would be subjected to in the years following. However, at the time of the episode's release, Je and their family had received no justice for the unending harassment and death threats the caller executed over those years. The Broken Cycle Media team is extremely grateful JE was willing to return today to share more of their journey to seek justice and about the start of their consequent healing process.

[JE Reich]

My name is J E Reich. I'm an editor and a journalist. I'm also a fiction writer and nonfiction writer. I currently live in Boston with my partner, our cats and a very fiendish dog. I was on Something Was Wrong Season six for a two part episode where I discussed my experience with the Tree of Life synagogue shooting of 2018.

[Unknown Speaker]

It was and still is the biggest massacre of Jews on US soil in US history. Six months later there was Poway in California, around San Diego. You never hear about that anymore. People barely remember Tree of Life anymore. To say it's unsettling is a disservice. It's frightening. It's terrifying. The immediacy of a call to action is all the more imperative in terms of telling these stories and making sure that people don't forget them and aren't desensitized to them. There are real people who experience it and who will experience the ramifications and the after effects for the rest of their lives. I should overtly state that I'm anti occupation. I'm for Palestinian rights. I also believe in a two state solution. I do not call myself a Zionist.

[JE Reich]

Because I think the word is what.

[Unknown Speaker]

I now consider pretty colonialist. I have friends who are Jews who do believe in Israel in general but are against Netanyahu's government, which has become its own sort of nationalist exercise. So I do want to be overt.

[JE Reich]

And upfront about that.

[Unknown Host]

Of course it's difficult to talk about.

[Unknown Speaker]

These topics and to do it any service because it's so serious and so many people are being harmed. Just to be clear, I do not agree with anything that the Israeli government has done. But we're three Jewish people on this recording and the anti Semitism obviously plays such a piece in what we're going to discuss. These difficult nuances and layers to all of this, which is complex.

Exactly. The shooting happened on October 27, 2018. It was two years and some change afterwards when we recorded those episodes, we were in the middle of high pandemic and in Pittsburgh we were also feeling the ramifications of the murder of George Floyd. A few months prior to the shootings there was the death of Antoine Rose ii.

[JE Reich]

He was a young adult who was.

[Unknown Speaker]

Murdered by a police officer who I believe was acquitted.

We'd sort of see these headlines. Unfortunately Constantly. They just pass through the news cycles now. And we don't always get a sense of how many people and how communities at large can be impacted by these events. It was a really brave time for you. I don't even know how long it was between when you submitted and when I contacted you.

I think it was pretty quick.

It hadn't even been that long since the shooting had taken place. And the fact that you had spoken out already, not everybody's able to do that, even in writing, by you doing so. It was very inspiring.

[JE Reich]

Thank you. On Something Was Wrong, I discussed the aftermath, which included a stalker targeting me, my mother and my stepfather who had threatened my life.

[Unknown Speaker]

Fantasized and spoke at length about how she would do it in multiple ways, like cutting my head off. Of course, she invoked a lot of.

[JE Reich]

Holocaust imagery, which lasted for a number of years.

[Unknown Speaker]

80 to 90% of the calls were directed at me. Even though they were made at my stepdad's phone. They almost always began with her using my first name, which is not the name I used for my byline. So she did do some investigating to figure out what that was. What we think happened was she read that Vanity Fair essay. They had reached out to me to write that the day after the shooting.

[JE Reich]

I think it was published two days afterwards.

[Unknown Speaker]

We think she read that essay and then figured out my stepfather's office phone number from when he worked at Tree of Life and then was able to attain his cell phone number from his answering machine from Tree of Life because for months and months, the bills were still paid. Things in the building worked.

[JE Reich]

And we're here today to give an update on that, which includes some sort of justice.

[Unknown Speaker]

I remember I felt very safe and secure during the initial recording of those episodes. And before those episodes were released, the podcast blew up. When we were recording, I had an idea of what the reach would be that was wild.

[JE Reich]

I had been on podcasts before, but.

[Unknown Speaker]

It was stuff about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is still amazing. But those were comedy podcasts. I wasn't sharing these types of things about myself. When I tell stories about myself, it tends to be through writing. There is some level of control that I have in the sense of a traditional writer editor relationship. When I pitch a personal essay or something like that. Obviously this is a different kind of medium. It was a very positive experience for me, and to be able to get my story out that way in a way that I had never done before.

Really interesting timing that JE came into my life because the podcast had just went number one. That happened to have happen the week or two before their story was going to air. Insane time. But getting to interview Je was this major moment for me. I felt so incredibly honored to work with them and share their story. And it felt like, wow, this person is trusting me with this. And that was not lost on me. It was incredible to work together, and it was honestly, for me, the first major gun violence story that we had really gotten into on the podcast. It just felt like kismet in a lot of ways. And then I would go on to work with Amy, so we were recording all at the same time then.

[JE Reich]

I hope this is also okay to share.

[Unknown Speaker]

Amy, I listen to your episodes, I remember your story, and I remember your mother's name always Hadas. Because I Esther, who becomes Queen Esther. Her name was Hadassah. And I feel okay sharing this. I'm a transmasculine non binary person. So my Hebrew name from birth was Estelle, which means star in Hebrew, but her name was Hadassah. And then she became Esther. So I always felt like a connection in that kind of a way. When we initially recorded those episodes, my memory is pretty clear in the day of. And then the two or three days following, my memory is just blank. I have no memory of the weeks after that. I do remember receiving a number of lovely messages from people that I knew who I hadn't heard from in a really long time, people who I went to high school with, people who also grew up in Squirrel Hill, which is the neighborhood where Tree of Life was situated. And I tried to respond, thank you so much. I'm happy that this helped you in some way. I braced myself for a deluge of hate mail just because I'm a writer, I'm a journalist, and I am a veteran at this point of those types of messages that are anti semitic, homophobic, or transphobic in nature. Sometimes it's all three.

[JE Reich]

What I was very surprised about was.

[Unknown Speaker]

How few negative messages I received in response to the episode. Most of them were just like, I thought it was nice until you brought up politics.

[JE Reich]

Leave the politics out of it.

[Unknown Speaker]

And I'm like, well, obviously you've never been a person whose entire existence has been politicized since the day you were born. The overwhelming majority of messages were incredibly kind and incredibly touching. While I was relieved, still there was this recurring sense of numbness and disassociation. It brought me back to a place, and this ties back to when that initial Vanity Fair essay came out. I just felt numb. It brought me back to that place of trauma, and I never used that word lightly at the point where we recorded. Technically it was an open FBI investigation, but it was pretty much dormant. The calls at that point had trickled off. When these calls were happening, I of course assumed that this caller was a white supremacist. I had an idea of maybe who the caller was, but it was pure speculation. I couldn't really back it up with anything. I'm glad that I did that, because I was very much wrong.

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[Unknown Speaker]

The calls had ceased for a number of months. They started back up some time in 2022. I remember my mom calling me and telling me that they started receiving these calls again. I immediately leapt to action. At that point, my mother and my stepfather had moved from Pittsburgh to the greater Miami area. My stepfather, it's also important to note, had been diagnosed with Parkinson's. These calls were still going, going directly to his phone. He hadn't changed the number. That was on purpose because we had no idea where she lived at that point. We were still operating under the assumption she lived in the Pittsburgh area. The idea of going outside, walking around, it still felt like I was living in some sort of alternate reality. The real escalation lasted from October 2022 to March 2023, when she was eventually arrested. My mom had downloaded an app or software or something onto my stepdad's cell phone so that these calls could be recorded. So it wasn't just audio caught on his voicemail. This was to essentially build a cache of evidence that was forensically irrefutable, especially if the FBI could figure out where those calls were coming from between October 2022 and March 2023. In the court documentation, they say that there were 238 recorded calls. That number only represents the calls that were recorded and that were admitted as evidence that during discovery. That number is only a fraction of the calls that she made in total, meaning there were hundreds of others that she called and then hung up or called and then we missed. There's a possibility that these calls could have been in the thousands, especially if you include the calls that she made during Phase one, which were eight or nine months prior to when we first recorded the first pair of episodes for something was wrong. It also took me a really long time to realize that this itself was a form of stalking. It was hard to be able to talk to anybody about it. I fell out of touch with so many friends because how could I begin to describe or explain or narrate what had gone on? I also didn't want to trauma dump, especially because other people during the pandemic were going through their own traumas and their own hardships. Some people have lost loved ones. I didn't want to add to anybody else's pain as well. There were also times where I can't say for certain, but I likely lost a contract job that I had because I Had to say to my boss at the time, I couldn't even believe these words were coming out of my mouth. But it was right after the calls had begun. And I had to say, I need to step aside to be able to speak with an investigator about anti Semitic harassment related to a terrorist attack that occurred at the shul that I grew up in. So I won't be able to work at this time. Even while the words were coming out of my mouth, I was like, who's ever going to believe me? My world just became so small. And even now, if you total it, this has been five years of my life. That's a substantial chunk of my life. I'm 36 years old now. How do I talk about anything that happened to me within the past five years without somehow touching on that? And I don't want to make people feel uncomfortable. I don't think it's fair that it's something that would make people feel uncomfortable in the sense of what this was, was a hate crime. This was stalking. This does happen. It happens every day. But at the same time, when you're just socializing, you don't really want to talk about this stuff. It's just really hard to figure out how to navigate. I always carry this with me. It's not like I can escape it in any way. At that point, the investigation was taken over by the Miami FBI field office. The agents who essentially investigated the case and were able to identify who this caller was were really, really wonderful. We did find out that she did not live and was not based in Pennsylvania or in Florida. She was actually based in California. We still don't have solid proof as to how or why she came to become fixated on us or me. Because it was an open investigation, there was little that we could be told. They didn't say anything as to how she was able to call us and not have a traceable number. What was interesting is at the beginning, there was some sort of device that she used to sort of mask her voice to some extent. But towards the end, she stopped using that. So you could pretty much hear her voice clearly. They pretty much identified her. And then I just remember in March of 2023, receiving a call, I think it was first from my mom and then from the FBI liaison who was one of the agents saying that she had been arrested. It was in the middle of my workday and I took a 10 minute break and I just sat with it. I felt like I was a passive figure in my own life. I guess it's a Form of disassociation. This was a recurring theme. I do know that she was let out on bond. So even though she had been arrested, she was still allowed to live free in the public. So there was a period of some time in which she was just able to live her life. When she was first arrested, I found out she had at least two machetes in her house. And I just kept thinking about how many times she had left messages. She had talked about cutting my head off. The idea that she really had that weaponry at the ready, and if she had wanted, she could have driven across the country and done exactly that. I think of those machetes a lot, actually. And then she was arrested again over a domestic act of violence. She had thrown a heavy object at her partner. So she was arrested and then eventually extradited to Florida, where the court proceedings ultimately took place. That's when we entered the discovery phase. During that time, I was not allowed to put anything in writing about anything that had happened. Like, if I wanted to write about the experience, for some reason, I couldn't do that. I don't think I would have done that at that time anyway. Just because everything was so raw and new, what was there to really write about? At least that's what I thought about at the time. I couldn't send an email mentioning anything about it. I couldn't say anything on social media. I stopped using social media for the most part. It was sort of like I was living on two respective planes of being. One in which I was living my life completely disconnected from what was happening, and the other one where I was fully enmeshed in it. It paralyzed me and isolated me. It affected everything in my life. I couldn't really talk about anything with anybody because I was terrified of somehow ruining the case. It wasn't until 2024 when things started to take off. During that time, during discovery, she was assessed for competency. It horrified me, the idea that if she wasn't competent to stand trial, but was made to stand trial anyway, that's inhumane. So it was important to me, and also my mom and my stepdad, that she was given a full psychiatric assessment. She underwent one assessment initiated by the prosecution, and then another one by the defense, which we were totally on board with. Just to be safe, as far as I know, there were definitely undiagnosed mental health issues, which she received treatment for and is currently receiving treatment for. During that time, I was under a lot of stress myself. For the first half of 2024, my partner and I had lost A pet. I was dealing with some health issues in the three months leading up to what eventually was the sentencing hearing. I started to experience issues with my heart health. I would wake up in the morning, I could feel my heart beating in my chest. And I have generalized anxiety disorders. So I understand symptoms related to that. But this was something entirely different. She did plead guilty. The majority of cases that are brought to court, the defendant does plead guilty. There are reasons as to why that happens. There was overwhelming, hard forensic evidence that did show that these calls were made from her residence. There were hundreds of recordings. It was very, very clear that she was guilty of the crimes that she was being charged with, one of which was a hate crime.

[JE Reich]

My responsibility was in delivering my victim impact statement. It was important to me that the right sentence was given. It was also to my mother and my stepfather because they had also been so severely impacted over the years by what the caller had done. It almost made me feel better to think about it in those terms, to think that I was not just doing this for me, but for somebody else so that it would strengthen my reserve. I have generalized anxiety disorder. So the last thing that I wanted to happen was to have a panic attack in the middle of the courtroom and be unable to do what I needed to do, because it wasn't just what I wanted to do, but what I absolutely needed to do. My partner and I flew in on a weekend night before the sentencing hearing. The next morning. We landed around midnight, so we were obviously really tired. We checked into a hotel, woke up the next day, got ready. It was incredibly hot for that time of year, even for Miami standards. If you're somebody who is trans or is gender non conforming, you might understand this. Especially in Florida. It was really, really important that I presented as well as I could. I was meticulous about the outfit that I wore, just because, especially in a state like Florida that is anti LGBTQ and has codified anti LGBTQ legislation. It was just very important that I looked meticulous. I just, like, almost treated my clothing as a suit of armor. If I looked confident, then that would help fortify me rather, in terms of the tasks that I had to do that day. I remember driving with my partner in a rented car to downtown Miami. Parking is horrible in downtown Miami. So we had come up with a game plan about where we would park, what we would do, how far it would be. We had to leave relatively early. I feel like it might have been two hours before the hearing would begin. I remember calling my mother after we had parked and meeting up with her and going to a Starbucks right near the courthouse. I remember reading over my victim impact statement and just looking around the Starbucks, thinking how strange it was that people were just going about their day. And in the midst of all these incredibly ordinary activities and how we were carrying this invisible weight that nobody could really see. I remember going into the bathroom and staring at the mirror, breathing deeply, intermittently closing my eyes, and then looking back in the mirror again just because I couldn't believe what I was about to do. We all left our cell phones in our cars. We weren't allowed to take them into the courthouse. I just had a bag that I always carry with my victim impact statement in it. There's a necklace that I always wear that my mother gave to me on my b'nai mitzvah. She had received it on her bat mitzvah. So it's sort of like a family heirloom in the making. I've worn it almost every day since I got it when I was 13. And I remember taking it off and then putting it back on again and just clenching it in my fist. At one point, I opened my hand, and I saw the imprint of that mezuzah on my palm. And I kept flexing my palm the entire time thinking of those words etched in a place that's deeper than skin. Mezuzah contains one of the most important prayer in Hebrew liturgy. It's a declaration of Jews as a people and also a declaration of monotheism. So who we are and what we believe. I remember going up the elevator in the courthouse, which is actually a very, very beautiful building. I think it's designed to be airy and also to feel as if you're on a ship in the middle of the ocean. There's this one part that almost looks like the inverse of a masthead. It's sort of like a column that's etched throughout the building. And if you look down, you can see the bottom floor. It's a place of cascading light, which is such an interesting juxtaposition to the dark reasons that bring people to it.

[Unknown Narrator]

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Next week on what came next, what.

[Unknown Speaker]

I mourn the most and what I'm trying to grapple my way back to is I stopped writing. Writing was always something that was such a core part of me. It took that away from me because I felt like I didn't have a voice anymore anymore for a really long time. The first real thing that I wrote of some significance or substance at least to me, was the victim impact statement. The printout, the one that I have in front of me is the one that I actually read in court. I'm here in court today, here in front of you, to make my existence absolute. On paper, I am victim number three. But I am not an abstract. I'm not an idea.

[Unknown Narrator]

What Came Next is a Broken Cycle Media production co produced by Amy B. Chesler and Tiffany Reiss. If you'd like to help support what came next, you can leave us a positive review, support our sponsors or follow Broken Cycle Media on Instagram Broken cyclemedia. Check out the episode notes for sources, resources and to follow our guests. Thank you again for listening.

[Unknown Speaker]

If you like something was wrong, you.

[Unknown Host]

Can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] and.

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