Episode 280

Summary

Sword and Scale - Episode 280 Summary

Release Date: January 19, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 280 of Sword and Scale, titled "Unlucky Encounters," host Mike Boudet delves into the tragic and harrowing case of Gina Berger, a 16-year-old girl whose life was brutally cut short. This episode navigates through Gina's troubled past, her mysterious disappearance, the subsequent investigation, and the eventual conviction of her murderer, Ricky Williams. The narrative is enriched with raw, uncensored audio, including interviews, testimonies, and excerpts from the criminal justice process, providing listeners with a comprehensive view of the case.

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Gina Berger's Background and Disappearance

Gina Berger's life was marred by hardship from an early age. Born on June 10, 1998, Gina endured parental neglect due to her biological parents' heroin addiction. By age 16, Gina had been placed into foster care and was adopted by the Burgers. However, familial stability was short-lived as her adoptive parents divorced, leading Gina to move with her adoptive mother to Texas. During her teenage years, Gina struggled academically and socially, exacerbating tensions within her adoptive home. Allegations of sexual assault by her adoptive mother's new husband added to her turmoil, though these claims remain unproven.

Notable Quote:

Gina's Adoptive Mother ([09:35]): "When we used to pick those kids up to take them to church and stuff, they were so filthy you couldn't get them clean. Her feet were so black."

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The Night of June 23, 2014

On the evening of June 23, 2014, Gina Berger left her mother's apartment in Austintown, Ohio, with the simple intention of borrowing tea bags from a neighbor. However, Gina never returned. Her mother, Jackie Botcher, became increasingly worried as hours passed, especially when she noticed Gina had left without shoes in pouring rain. At 10 PM, Jackie called 911 to report her daughter missing.

Notable Quote:

Jackie Botcher ([17:28]): "My 16-year-old daughter, she went down to my neighbor's to ask for tea bags. I went down, the neighbor wasn't home... She just... She's gone."

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Discovery and Initial Investigation

Two days later, Gina's lifeless body was discovered 50 miles away in a landfill in Pine Township, Pennsylvania. The autopsy revealed she died from a stab wound to her chest, with no signs of sexual assault. Investigators faced the daunting task of uncovering how Gina ended up so far from home and determining who was responsible for her murder.

Notable Quote:

Dawn Cantolamesa ([23:17]): "The autopsy was done on Gina's body a few days later... her official cause of death was from a stab wound to the chest."

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Identifying the Suspect: Ricky Williams

Investigators focused on Compass West Apartments, Gina's residence, exploring the possibility of a connection to other tenants. Their attention turned to Ronisha Johnson, Gina's neighbor, who initially appeared uncooperative. Upon forcibly entering Ronisha's apartment, police discovered evidence of a recent cleaning, including bloodstains. Ronisha eventually came forward, identifying Ricky Williams, a 19-year-old with a history of criminal behavior, as Gina's killer.

Notable Quote:

Ronisha Johnson ([26:39]): "I was just wondering how the hell my name get run up and shit like this... So on. So what happened on June 23rd..."

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Ricky Williams' Confession and Trial

Ricky Williams initially denied any involvement, fabricating stories about Ronisha being the perpetrator. However, under intense interrogation, he confessed to stabbing Gina in Ronisha's apartment. Williams admitted to holding Ronisha and Gina hostage before committing the murder, driven by a twisted desire to kill for sport. The case proceeded to trial, with Williams maintaining a cold and unrepentant demeanor. Eventually, in 2018, Williams accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to avoid the death penalty and receiving a sentence of 62 years to life in prison.

Notable Quote:

Ricky Williams ([58:17]): "I didn't kill that girl. I just wanted to. I want to put that on record. I didn't do it."

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Impact and Conclusion

Gina Berger's murder left an indelible mark on her family and the community. Her mother, Jackie Botcher, tragically succumbed to a heroin overdose four months after Gina's death, further highlighting the devastating cycle of addiction and loss. The episode concludes with a reflection on Gina's life and the senselessness of her murder, emphasizing the random nature of such tragedies and the profound loss experienced by those left behind.

Notable Quote:

Dawn Cantolamesa ([49:27]): "He has no regard for human life, and he wanted to watch it being taken from somebody."

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Final Thoughts

Episode 280 of Sword and Scale masterfully unpacks the complexities of Gina Berger's case, presenting a narrative that is both heart-wrenching and thought-provoking. Through meticulous storytelling and the inclusion of pivotal quotes, the episode sheds light on the darkest aspects of human nature and the criminal justice system's efforts to seek justice for victims.

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Key Quotes

• Gina's Adoptive Mother ([09:35]): "When we used to pick those kids up to take them to church and stuff, they were so filthy you couldn't get them clean."
• Jackie Botcher ([17:28]): "She just... She's gone."
• Dawn Cantolamesa ([23:17]): "Her official cause of death was from a stab wound to the chest."
• Ronisha Johnson ([26:39]): "What happened on June 23rd..."
• Ricky Williams ([58:17]): "I didn't kill that girl. I just wanted to."
• Dawn Cantolamesa ([49:27]): "He has no regard for human life..."

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Note: The timestamps correspond to the moments within the episode where these quotes were made, providing listeners with context and reference points.

Transcript

[Mike Boudet]

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[Listener]

Listener discretion is advised.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

He has no regard for human life and he wanted to watch it being taken. Taken from somebody. He wanted to see what it was like to kill someone and see the life taken from their eyes.

[Mike Boudet]

Hello and welcome to season 12 episode 280 of Sword and Scale. A show that reveals that the worst monsters are real. Well, I'm gonna ask you once. Did you see it? Did you see the latest episode of Sword n scale Television? Because I'll tell you what. I got a chill. I got a chill. Did you get a chill? If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's fine. Because not everybody can be part of the cool kids club. Not everybody gets to sit at the cool kids table. You know, some of you are just out of it. Dorks that are not gonna subscribe to Sword and Scale television at swordandscale do.

[Listener]

Sa.

[Mike Boudet]

You ever look at someone and think, damn, they must have all the luck in the world? Of course you do. You have insta. In the age of social media where celebrities and super successful people can share their daily lifestyles, it could seem like some people are just hogging up all the good luck that exists in the universe. And maybe it's true. Maybe some people do have all the luck. Maybe we spend a little too much time and a little too much energy thinking about and worrying about those very fortunate and privileged people. But how much mental energy, how much thought have you put into those people on the opposite side of that spectrum? What about the very, very unlucky? You could tell who they are because they're usually buying lottery tickets anyway. We're about to delve into the unlucky side of the universe and tell you a story about a person who seemed to have some serious bad luck. Follow them everywhere. Roughly 75 miles south of Cleveland and near the edge of the Ohio Pennsylvania border, there's a large apartment complex named Compass West Apartments. This Austintown Ohio complex offers low income housing for those that may be struggling financially. And unfortunately, just as many places like it, it's known for being a haven of illegal drug use. At least that seemed to be the case in 2014. That year, a middle aged mother was living at Compass west apartments with her two teenage daughters. That mother was 46 year old Jackie Botcher.

[Listener]

I had made iced tea a couple days in her mom and they were sucking it down like crazy and she just really liked it the way I made it. She said I never had iced tea like this before. There's a lot of things the child didn't have that I would make. And she like really loved. And I said well go on please. If she's got two tea box, I'll make another picture.

[Mike Boudet]

On the evening of June 23, 2014, one of Jackie's daughters complimented Jackie's homemade iced tea. Jackie offered to make more, but the family was out of tea bags. So Jackie suggested that her daughter should go ask the neighbor if they had any tea bags that they might be willing to part with.

[Listener]

And then when she didn't come right back up, I really didn't think nothing out of it. She might like to find step because that was not unusual. But even the longer and I started thinking about it, she always, she went away and went for a walk. She would have came back up and said mom, Lacey said no mom, Lacey's not home. I'm gonna go for a walk, I'm gonna go to the park, stop him. She would never just. She was a good kid like that. She wasn't a disobedient child that wouldn't come tell you so you didn't worry.

[Mike Boudet]

Jackie's daughter left the apartment in search of tea bags, and Jackie expected that task would only take a few minutes. But an hour went by and her daughter didn't return. Then another hour went by and Jackie's daughter still hadn't come home. Jackie became concerned, and that concern only grew when she realized it was pouring rain outside and her daughter had left the apartment with no shoes.

[Listener]

She wouldn't realize she didn't have shoes on. It took me all that time to realize that she didn't have it because they're right there at the door.

[Mike Boudet]

Jackie's daughter was missing, and at around 10pm that night, she phoned 911 to report the missing teenager. The prosecutor who was eventually assigned to the case is an Ohio attorney named Dawn Cantolamesa.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

My name is dawn cantalamesa, and in 2018, I was chief trial counsel for the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office in Ohio.

[Mike Boudet]

In prosecuting this case, dawn came to learn about all the people involved, starting first with Jackie's missing teenager. She was 16 year old Gina Burger.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

In 2014, Gina Burger was 16 years old and living with her biological mother after having lived in Texas with her adoptive mother. There was something going on in Texas which caused her to go back to living with her biological mother in Austintown. And there was a civil protection order against the person who had committed some crime against Gina down in Texas. So she was wanting to get away and live with her biological mother in Austin town.

[Mike Boudet]

Gina Burger was born on June 10, 1998 to Kevin and Jackie Botcher. And by age 16, she had endured quite a few hardships. As a child, Gina lived in Florida and her parents had some really bad habits. Kevin and Jackie Botcher were addicted to heroin and that addiction resulted in Gina and her three other siblings not getting the care that they needed.

[Listener]

When we used to pick those kids up to take them to church and stuff, they were so filthy you couldn't get them clean. Her feet were so black. I mean, this is just probably stuff you don't need to hear.

[Mike Boudet]

But before long, people began to notice the constant lack of care that Gina and her siblings were getting. And eventually the government stepped in.

[Listener]

The kids were taken away by the courts, kind of whites were terminated by the courts. Do you know why? They were living in a motel, going out, scoring drugs and leaving the kids by Themselves all the time. Okay. And someone eventually turned them in. They never. They had an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves through the court system. They never showed up for hearings, things like that. So their parental rights were forcibly terminated by the courts. Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

Gina's parents lost their parental rights, and Gina was eventually adopted by a young married couple, the Burgers.

[Listener]

We were looking to have children at the time. They didn't see that it was going to happen naturally for us. So we got involved, began fostering them. That was right before 9, 11. And then he thought she was probably final sometime in 2002.

[Mike Boudet]

Interestingly, Gina's adoptive mom knew Gina's biological mom before she fostered Gina. In other words, this wasn't a closed adoption and the line of communication between Gina and her biological parents was open should anyone choose to use it.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Gina Burger's adopted mother, she was actually Jackie Watcher's sister in law at some point, but I think that she had divorced the relation to Jackie at some point, but she still had adopted Gina.

[Mike Boudet]

A few years after Gina was adopted, the marriage between her adoptive parents began to fall apart and they decided to divorce. Gina's adoptive mom later moved to Texas and she took Gina with her.

[Listener]

She had her own place, moved the kids out. And I'm trying to think when she moved, probably in 04, she moved. She told me she was moving to Carrollton, Texas. I said that was around 2004. I think her divorce was final.

[Mike Boudet]

By 2010, Gina was living in Texas with her adoptive mom and her adoptive mom's new husband. Around this time, Gina, who was now a teenager, began acting up. She was having difficulty with school and began skipping her classes. This created some tension between her and her adoptive mom. So Gina began looking for an escape.

[Listener]

I know it was 2010, came up and wanted to stay with me. She said that she wanted to stay, stay on her visit, I had tried to do that. It was in violation of the court order. So I subsided that effort. And that's what we kind of became a bit estranged because she was obviously wanting to stay and her mom turned her phone off on her and everything. So I got her a new phone. And after, you know, some threats from a lawyer down there that she hired. I think it was December, same year, obviously couldn't do it anymore.

[Mike Boudet]

Gina hoped to leave Texas and move in with her adoptive father who was willing to take her in. But her plan never came to fruition. So Gina continued looking for other ways to leave Texas.

[Listener]

She was raped, and I knew she was cutting herself, I guess at that point that she was raped. And I was very concerned about taking custody of her at that point, and I actually never really offered it.

[Mike Boudet]

Gina claimed that her adoptive mom's new husband sexually assaulted her, which has never been proven and remains a point of contention between Gina's adoptive parents.

[Listener]

And they took her to the ER and found that there's been some sort of anal intrusion in this further corroborates the story about Dennis and the rape. And Dennis Hatt has been arrested and charged for that crime and bailed out, but I never heard from them again.

[Mike Boudet]

At this point, the communication between Gina and her adoptive dad began to die off, and Gina began reaching out to her biological mother, Jackie botcher. It was 2013, and Jackie was now a widow, as Gina's biological father had died from a drug overdose in 2007. When Gina and Jackie spoke, the alleged sexual assault came up. So Jackie told Gina to visit her in Austintown, Ohio.

[Listener]

And then because of the assault, she wanted to come up here. And when did she come up here again? Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve, okay.

[Mike Boudet]

After years of being passed around from parent to parent, Gina ended up in Austintown, Ohio, with her biological mother, Jackie Botcher. During the months that Gina stayed with Jackie, there was a lot of friction between the families and a lot of uncertainty as to where Gina would ultimately end up.

[Listener]

I've been trying to get a hold of her, and they wouldn't let me talk to her. They said due to the investigation, I was not allowed to talk to her. She actually let me talk to her, like, three weeks ago, four weeks ago. And you could tell somebody was standing right there beside her. She would not. Conversation was really, really short. And I said, are you happy over there? And she just said real quietly, it was yes and no answers. I said to her, I'm concerned for your well being over there. If you need to tell me anything, please do. I'm concerned for your well being. When she first went out to young son, there's a thing on Facebook I wrote, you are in danger. You were taken away from your own mother for a reason.

[Mike Boudet]

Needless to say, the adoptive side of Gina's family was concerned. And they doubted that living in a low income, bad reputation apartment complex with Jackie Botcher was Gina's best option. But, you know, what are you gonna do? Gina claimed she was happy there and that she didn't want to return to Texas. Eventually, Gina also reconnected with her adoptive father, who was living only a few towns away from Austintown.

[Listener]

Oh, my fiance. I went over there to Tukus west where they're living now? Yeah. Okay. I assume it's the same apartment. They were lucky tiger. That was the last time. Yeah, the day we were there. Okay. But she'd happy to see me. She ran across the room. Sorry. Sorry. Let me. Want some tissues?

[Mike Boudet]

Gina's adoptive dad claimed that the last time he saw Gina was when he visited her at Jackie's apartment. And the reason that he was questioned by police was because Gina was missing. On the evening of June 23, 2014, Gina left her mom's apartment in hopes of getting some tea bags from a neighborhood. But Gina never came back.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Jackie realized her daughter was missing pretty soon on. When she was late to come home that night by two hours, she started calling the police. I need the Oxytown Police Department. What is the problem?

[Listener]

My 16 year old daughter, she went down to my neighbor's to ask for tea bags. I went down, the neighbor wasn't home. They didn't answer the doors. There was nobody there. So I'm assuming when she went, there was nobody there. And she's been gone for several hours. We're riding around looking for her and I can't find her. She's gone.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

What is your daughter's name?

[Listener]

Tina Berger. You said?

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

How old is she?

[Listener]

16. It's not like her. She would have come back up and told me she went for a while. I don't know what's going on. She just. I can't find her.

[Mike Boudet]

When Jackie made this 911 call, Gina had only been missing for two hours. Tragically, two whole days would go by before Gina would be located. And when she was found, it was not in a good place. 16 year old Gina Burger was found 50 miles away from her mother's apartment in another state. Her lifeless body was discovered among trash in a landfill. Oof. This time of year can get anyone down. Here's the thing. It's kinda gross out. And even those of us that embrace the chilly weather need something to break up the long winter nights. Something I love to do is to treat myself to a little something. But I don't want to spend a fortune on my winter blues. That's where Quince comes in. I've had a ball shopping. Not just for my friends and family for the holidays, but for myself. They have such a wonderful collection of clothing and home goods. I mean, you're just gonna have to see for yourself. Something everyone needs in their closet, in my opinion, is Quince's iconic Mongolian cashmere sweaters. Which start at just 50 bucks. Check out their matching Mongolian cashmere beanies to go with it. If you want to be super comf for the holiday season, or if you want to really up the looks factor, check out their Italian leather handbags, washable silk skirts and European linen sheet sets. Whatever you're looking for, all Quint's items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices. So what are you waiting for? Treat yourself this winner without the luxury price tag. Go to quints.com monsters for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's Q U I n c e.com monsters to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com monsters on the evening of June 23, 2014, 16 year old Gina Burger went missing after leaving her mom's apartment in Austintown, Ohio. Two days later, Gina's dead body was found 50 miles away from home at a waste management dump in Pine Township, Pennsylvania.

[Listener]

The mother of a young woman whose body was found in a western Pennsylvania landfill is speaking out tonight, desperate for answers about her daughter's death. How many days did she lay in a landfill with garbage? She says Gina left their apartment to borrow tea bags from a neighbor and never came home. Berger's body was found at Tri County Industries Wednesday. Investigators used markings on the body to identify her Friday. She wasn't a piece of trash just to disregard, Jacqueline says she just wants Gina's killer found. There are consequences for for this, you know, just disregard somebody's life and throw them in a trash bin and that's it.

[Mike Boudet]

After Gina's body was found, one of the first things that investigators set out to do was to figure out how Gina ended up at a garbage dump site that was considerably far from her home.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

A couple days later, Gina's body was found at a dump site across the state line in Pennsylvania, not too far from Austin. But we learned when they found the body, the driver's route had included that complex, that apartment complex from Austin town.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators concluded that Gina was likely murdered at the Compass west apartment complex where she lived and that her body must have been placed into a dumpster at that location before a garbage truck unknowingly carried her to a landfill in Pennsylvania. Investigators eventually spoke with Gina's mother, Jackie Botcher, and explained all of this to her.

[Listener]

So why am I here? You're here because we want to talk to you about everything that's going on and get up to speeds, using new information, maybe new questions you want to ask. I want to know how she died. What's that? I want to know how she died. Okay. One news station said it was a stab wound. One news station said it was multiple.

[Mike Boudet]

When she was interviewed, Jackie asked how her daughter was killed. A coroner later determined the answer to this question.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

So the autopsy was done on Gina's body a few days later in the Erie county coroner's office. And she died from a stab wound to her chest cavity. So they had some superficial marks on her face where maybe some of the trash had, you know, kind of injured her face and other parts of her body. But they could tell that was post mortem or after death. But her official cause of death was. Was from a stab wound to the chest.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators determined that Gina Berger had been stabbed to death and her killer or someone else threw her body in a dumpster at the compass west apartment complex. The next obvious question was who did this?

[Listener]

The canvas department complex. No one really saw anything. Have you were in there? I can tell you that that's in the paper that we can. The apartment complex. So right now we're just trying to.

[Mike Boudet]

Get background where she's been, who she's with, and we're trying to find any.

[Listener]

Friends, if we can, of hers. But since she recently moved in the area, she didn't seem to have too many friends. Especially that mom is full.

[Mike Boudet]

Yeah, Gina moved into her mom's apartment about six months before she was killed. And she had not yet been enrolled in school. Gina didn't have many local friends or really any friends at all. Everyone in the area who knew her was only an acquaintance. Also, Gina didn't have any money or valuables on her when she was killed. And the autopsy came back negative for signs of sexual assault. In other words, it was a struggle for investigators to determine a motive in this case. Why would someone stab a 16 year old girl to death for no reason?

[Listener]

Congress west is a big apartment complex. She had. Did she associate with anyone, even casualties that you knew of? Yesterday and the day before, I was talking to one nation. I was waiting for a ride. And she said Gina would sit on the step, and every time she would see her, even with her headphones in, she always would say hi to her. She said she was such a polite girl.

[Mike Boudet]

Unfortunately, Gina's mom couldn't provide much in the way of information. So investigators turned their attention to other tenants at Compass west apartments. And they started with the neighbor that Gina was supposedly going to go pay a visit to to ask for tea bags. That neighbor was a young mother named Ronisha Johnson.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Ronisha Johnson was a neighbor of Gina and her family, and she knew her from being around the apartment complex. She would go over to her house. Ronisha Johnson had a young child. And so Gina would go over and visit Ronisha and play with the baby. When they first attempted to go to Ronisha's apartment to find out what happened at her apartment or if Gina ever showed up to her apartment, when Jackie reported her, they didn't find her there.

[Mike Boudet]

When the police attempted to interview Ronycha, they ran into a little problem. She never seemed to be home and nobody knew where to find her. Roniesha and her baby seemed to be missing. After several attempts to make contact, the police eventually decided to force their way into Ronisha's apartment.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

I believe it's a couple days later they get into Ronisha Johnson's apartment and they start looking around and they use one of those lights that you can see blood. And they find an area on the carpet and on the floor that looks like it's been cleaned that has evidence of blood on it.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators found that a large amount of blood may have recently been cleaned up from Ronisha's living room. And they quickly determined that Gina's murder likely occurred inside of Ronisha's apartment. Of course, an important question remained. You may be asking yourself that question right now. Where the hell is Ronisha and her baby? Eventually, and pretty much out of the blue, Ronisha made contact with the police.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

There's a point in the investigation where the Austintown Township Police department finally talks to Ronisha Johnson, who lived in the apartment where Gina was last suspected to go. And after speaking with her, the suspect became a Ricky Williams iv.

[Mike Boudet]

When Ronycha finally spoke with investigators, she told them a harrowing story and she named Gina Burger's killer. Ronisha claimed that she witnessed Gina being stabbed to death by a 19 year old man named Ricky Williams.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Ricky Williams has been in and out of the justice system. He has a long juvenile record. Some of his siblings, which are all named Ricky Williams as well, also have records, both adult and juvenile records. I'm not sure about what his family life was, but the police were very familiar with Ricky Williams at the time. For having so many different police contact.

[Mike Boudet]

With him, there doesn't seem to be much information available about the upbringing that Ricky Williams had. But given the fact that his siblings were also named Ricky Williams, as if their mother couldn't be bothered to come up with a different name. All of these Rickys had criminal records. It's probably safe to assume that this particular Ricky Williams didn't get the very best guidance when he was growing up. Nonetheless, the local police knew who Ricky was and so did the tenants and management staff at Compass West Apartments. You see, Ricky didn't live at the complex, but he was there quite often and known for causing a lot of trouble. In fact, Ricky was eventually barred from being on the property.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

But it is known that he had been dating another person, another woman inside Compass West Apartments. But they had been on the outs and she had actually got evicted because of what happened between her and Ricky Williams at the time. So he was. He was trespassed from the apartment complex and he wasn't supposed to be on the ground.

[Mike Boudet]

As for Gina Burger and her mom, they also knew Ricky Williams. They frequently saw him around their apartment complex and assumed he lived there. They thought of him as a neighbor, although he technically wasn't. Ricky had even been invited inside Jackie and Gina's apartment on at least one occasion.

[Listener]

How do you know? Or how does she know Ricky? She know him from him. Ain't no on the back steps. He was locked out of his apartment. What affirm is he in the one? He was downstairs the vacant window. He said he lived there with his sister and that she was at work. And he walked out and locked himself out. And he. She asked if he could sit in the apartment until she got home. And they sat at the table and played cards. And we were all sitting in the living room and there was no harm. I thought we were sitting there playing cards, laughing, joking, played cards. And then his sister came home and he left. When was that? Probably been about a month now.

[Mike Boudet]

After Ronica named Ricky as Gina's killer, Ricky was quickly picked up by police. When questioned, Ricky freely admitted that he was currently dealing with several other criminal charges. What a surprise. Must be that systemic racism or something. When police began questioning Ricky, the pending criminal charges he was facing were pretty much the only admission they could get out of him. When the topic of Gina Burger came up, Ricky claimed that he had nothing to do with her murder.

[Listener]

I was just wondering how the hell my name get run up and shit like this. So on. So what happened on June 23rd at Compass west in the parking lot of 1987? I went to Compass west to get my clothes. If I'm not allowed out there, I'm not going to leave all my clothes out. Stop trying to get rushing. Trying to get my and go. Because I know I'm not allowed out there after you say I was kicked out. I've been here one time to get all my stuff. That was it.

[Mike Boudet]

Again, Ricky had been trespassing at Compass West Apartments. But as coincidence would have it, Ricky was on the property on the day that Gina was reported missing. Ricky claimed that the only reason he was there was to pick up the remainder of the belongings that he left behind. Ricky admitted that he knew Gina and her mom. And perhaps in an attempt to direct the police elsewhere, Ricky claimed that he had introduced Gina to some random guy that Gina began dating.

[Listener]

She need a new friend. This and that, this and that. So they, after that, they came real close. They was boyfriend and girlfriend. That's the last time I saw the little boy. That's the only thing I know about him. No, I don't know him personally, but I introduced him to Ricky.

[Mike Boudet]

Couldn't recall the name of Gina's supposed boyfriend, you know, the one he just made up. Which seemed a bit odd given the fact that Ricky supposedly introduced Gina to him. I mean, he's supposed to know him, right? Right. Nonetheless, the main takeaway was that Ricky denied any involvement with Gina's murder. He played stupid, which is, you know, not hard of an acting feat. But slowly and surely, detectives did what detectives do. They began poking holes in the claims that Ricky was making. And boy, were they big ones.

[Listener]

He asked me these questions, so I'm like, I don't know, like that. I know her mom, I tell you. Okay by her mom, but I don't know her specifically, you feel me? Family that he keep. He keep asking about this girl. But I told him what I know, though. Like, I told him everything I know. And I can say the same thing. I told him the phone. Go ahead, tell me. He asked me when the last time I saw her, what was the answer? Which. Oh, my answer. I said the 26, 27, 28 one somewhere around that time. So you could have seen around the 25th, 26th or 27th, cuz she was dead. Like I said, I don't know his go, bitches. And I can tell y'all what I know.

[Mike Boudet]

Here's a small tip for anyone who might be interested if you ever find yourself being questioned by a homicide detective about a murder that they clearly suspect you committed. Probably not a great look, you know, to call the murder victim a quote little bitch. It's just, you know, it's tactical, you know. Ricky Williams was questioned by police for several hours, and throughout that time, he made a lot of really, really dumb statements. For detectives, though, perhaps the most important thing Ricky gave them was a confession. After hours of breaking down his denials, his lies, his detectives finally got Ricky to admit that he had plunged a knife into Gina's chest and killed her. In June of 2014, the dead body of 16 year old Gina Berger was found amongst the trash at a waste management station in Pine Township, Pennsylvania. An exhaustive investigation led police to conclude that Gina had been murdered inside her neighbor's apartment in Austintown, Ohio. Gina's killer had thrown Gina's body into a door, dumpster and garbage men unknowingly transported Gina 50 miles away from home to the dump site. As for suspects, the police narrowed their list of potential killers to just one person. 19 year old Ricky Williams. According to Gina's neighbor, Ronisha Johnson, she had witnessed Ricky stab Gina in the chest inside her apartment. Yet when Ricky was questioned, he denied this accusation. In fact, Ricky denied that he was ever inside Ronish's apartment at all.

[Listener]

Let's get past that. What happened when you were in the apartment with her? Well, I never had an apartment with her. Okay, See, I was in. Listen, this one. You don't know what I'm talking about, okay? I wasn't in an apartment with her. Everything you say to me is going to come out with that's going to come up that, you know, this is what he told me. It's already been proven what happened. You understand what kind of evidence we have against you? You understand what kind of you said we got? Do you understand? Okay. The best thing you could do right now, Ricky, is help yourself. I didn't do that. I promise you, on my daughter's soul. I promise you. I'm trying to get fun m to the tree and I told you to text exactly on the phone and everything. I know everything. We had a rapport going here. Until you continue to lie. I left you guys a little bit. Okay? You want to be truthful and talk, we'll talk about what happened.

[Mike Boudet]

The truth.

[Listener]

Not some made up stuff. I want to know the truth.

[Mike Boudet]

After several hours of interrogation, Ricky finally admitted that he was inside Ronisha Johnson's apartment on the day of the murder and that he spent the night there.

[Listener]

Listen, Lieutenant, I didn't go to the east side, but I did. I stayed at night, but then I spent the night.

[Mike Boudet]

Ronisha told police that Ricky Williams had brought Gina into Ronisha's apartment and held both her and Gina hostage. Ricky threatened them with a knife and Gina pleaded with Ricky, begging him to let her go home. Tragically, Ricky did not let that happen. Instead, he stabbed Gina in the chest and she died in Ronisha's apartment. Then Ricky forced Ronicia to Help him clean. Clean up the murder scene. It took days for police to get this information because after the murder, Ronisha fled and feared that Ricky Williams was going to murder her and her child if she said anything.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

And Ronisha even told the police that she took her son when she got away from Ricky and went to either her mom's house or some relative's house to kind of hide out because she was afraid that Ricky Williams was going to come back to her apartment.

[Mike Boudet]

During his interrogation, Ricky eventually corroborated portions of the story that Ronycha told the police. He admitted that he was inside the apartment with Ronycha and that he had forced Gina into the apartment with him.

[Listener]

Where did you meet her at? In the hallway. In the hallway on the third floor. On the first floor or left first. You met her on the hallway on the first floor? First, yeah. You just happened to walk into the same. Yeah, we had to walk in. It had the same time I walked in, she was downstairs, she coming up. So you met her on the first floor and you brought her up at a park.

[Mike Boudet]

As for what happened when they were in the apartment, Ricky put his own spin on things. He claimed that Ronisha committed the crime and that he was just an unwilling participant in Ronisha's insane plot to murder Gina for absolutely no reason.

[Listener]

You know how fucking crazy. Like y'all know her, like I know her. She fucking. She might psycho. Like something be wrong with her. Like that night I loved her. I looked her. Listen, man, I listen. She's pretty rough. She fucking pretty good. She's pretty rude. That's the way she had my head. That's the way she beat a fucking guy on my head. So I helped her. I helped her do this.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

And Ricky Williams told the police that it was actually Ronisha Johnson who killed Gina. And he simply held Ronisha's hands around the knife while Ronisha stabbed Tina.

[Listener]

Do you really want to do this? She like, yeah, this and that, this and that. So I'm grabbing her head so she. She pushing forward. I didn't have a knife, man. I didn't have no punch in that knife. But yeah, I participated. Yeah, I held her head. She was pushing for. I was helping her a little bit. You didn't have to be.

[Mike Boudet]

Ricky also claimed that the murder of Gina Burger was something that Ronycha had been planning to do for some time. Though Ricky couldn't specify why Ronycha wanted to commit this crime beyond the suggestion that Ronycha simply didn't like Gina, he.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Made a statement that said Ronycha essentially had it out for Gina and that he was simply helping Ronisha complete the job. He wouldn't really take any of the blame himself. He wanted it to seem like Ronisha was, had planned this and laid out this plan and roped him into helping her.

[Listener]

And why would she want this role in? Well, firstly they had moby girlfriend about what this new sick hygienic she got only while she beefing with all him, you feel me? She didn't ever let her stop. She wouldn't stop. She would not fucking stop. She don't like none of that.

[Mike Boudet]

Naturally, the police didn't believe Ricky's version of events because it didn't make any sense whatsoever. But for the remainder of his interrogation, Ricky maintained that Ronisha was the killer.

[Listener]

She already knew what was the plan. It was part of the plan. It was part of the plan. Part of the plan, Part of the plan. Just saying you wanted to do this or she wanted to do this for a long time. She wanted to do that for a long time. But I just, you know what? I know she told you I forced, I didn't force her to do me do this. She think on her own mind. She think on her own mind. So I helped her. I helped her, man.

[Mike Boudet]

Much like the police, the prosecutor who oversaw this case didn't believe Ricky's story. And they had plenty of reasons to doubt what he claimed happened.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

We talked to Arnesha and Ronisha's version of the events and Ricky's history led us to believe Ronisha and that he was very violent and manipulative and that she was afraid not only for herself but for her child who was in the apartment and the way the physical evidence was laid out, where they had been sitting prior to this happening, the photos Ricky was taking, I believe they were on Ronisha's phone of her and Gina sitting there against the wall of the couch crying. It looked and followed Ronish's version of the event that they were both being held against their will by Ricky in that apartment and that they were both afraid during this time. So all of the physical evidence and that those photographs corroborated Ronisha's version.

[Mike Boudet]

Based on Ronisha's statements and the physical evidence, which included photographs that Ricky himself had taken while the crime was being committed, the police and prosecutors had a pretty good understanding of exactly what happened to Gina Berger and who was responsible for her death.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Ricky Williams followed Gina into Ronisha Johnson's apartment. And it started this long drawn out process of Ricky kind of tormenting ghost Ronisha and Gina, and eventually leading to the stabbing death of Gina Berger. That day, he was saying things to them and talking about hurting them and threatening to hurt Ronisha, threatening to kill Gina Burger's mother if he didn't. If they didn't do what he wanted. He used a knife and stabbed Gina. Burger then engaged Monisha Johnson to help him wrap up the body, put it in this pack and play, and had Ronicia Johnson help him carry it out to the dumpster and put it in the dumpster.

[Mike Boudet]

After Gina was dead, her body was placed into a large baby crate and carried outside to a nearby dumpster. At this point, Gina's mom, Jackie Botcher, had already called 911 and was sitting in a car outside her apartment in hopes of finding Gina. Instead, she found Ricky Williams.

[Listener]

On Monday night, when you were waiting for the police to come to file that initial report and you saw Ricky, you said you're sitting in your aunt's car. Yes. And did she see Ricky? Yes. So he walked up to her car. Yes. He was coming out of the building that back first. We seen him coming out, and you could tell somebody was struggling with something. And that thing was kind of big. Okay. They can't. Whatever. I don't know what you call it. And then he come over to the car, part way over, like he told him it, or he put it down. He put it down on the sidewalk. What it looked like Ricky had. I didn't pay attention to what he actually had. He said it was a baby. A baby statistic. That's what he called it. But then the next morning, I seen a baby sitting upside down in a dumpster. I never really thought anything about that. The dumpster was totally full.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Jackie Boucher actually described to the police that she had seen Ricky Williams when she had made the missing person report. She had seen Ricky Williams putting something in the dumps during that time frame. And he actually came up to her car with her sister in it and said, do you want to buy a play, A pack and play, or a playpen for any of your kids, because I have one we're trying to get rid of. And Jackie said she had told him no.

[Mike Boudet]

After Ricky brazenly and heartlessly offered to sell Jackie the baby crate that contained Jackie's missing murdered daughter, he threw the baby crate and Gina into a dumpster. Then he headed back to Ronisha's apartment.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

He then made Ronisha back and go back into the apartment and clean the blood up while he watched and essentially cleaned up every portion of the apartment. That he could think of that they either touched or had cleaner touch or got rid of any evidence that Gina was there at all.

[Mike Boudet]

By now, you're probably thinking that Ricky Williams is a complete psychopath. And if you do think that, you're right. The murder of Gina Burger wasn't a crime of passion. There was no passion whatsoever. There was no anger. There was no greed. There was no emotion associated with her death whatsoever ever. This was a completely senseless thrill killing.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

I think Ricky committed this crime just because he wanted to. He wanted to see what it was like to kill someone and see the life taken from their. You know, just taken from their eyes. I think he was. He's just kind of. I don't want to say mental, but I think he just. He has no regard for human life, and he wanted to watch it being taken from somebody.

[Mike Boudet]

Ricky Williams is a heartless monster, A true sociopath. He just wanted to kill someone. In fact, one day before he stabbed Gina, Ricky assaulted two other women and likely would have killed them as well had they not been able to escape his attack.

[Listener]

When I opened the door, when I went over there, it was, like, chairs and stuff on the floor, and Ricky was walking. Like there was a tussle or something. Okay. And at that point, it was on. Like, on the ground, I guess he had got done beating her, beating on her. And he comes out of nowhere and then start choking me. So there. From there on, he punches me in my face about five times. Because at that point, I couldn't even. You know what I'm saying? I was just pretty much, like, shocked because I couldn't believe that he was hitting. Okay. That's the first physical fight I ever been in. So he choked you about the head and body? About five, six times. Okay. And then he pulled a knife out on us. And you ended up getting out of here? Yeah, I ended up getting out to go get help. How did you get away from him? Were you, like, break free and run out? Pretty much run out because it seemed like he was, like, trying to chase after me.

[Mike Boudet]

Yesterday, this assault victim was able to flee, and after she did, Ricky turned his attention and his violent intentions towards another woman.

[Listener]

And I grabbed my phone because I was ready to call my daughter's dad in the cops. Like, my first mom said, I'm trying to call somebody. So he was like. He was like, oh, you called me the cops, bitch. I'll kill you. So then that's when I was like, no. And I just. Just jumped down a whole bunch of steps. I just missed all the steps. Because at that point, he coming at me with a knife. So I just jumped down all the steps. And then we ended up going to. I go to my apartment because my daughter's dad, he was there with my daughter. And I tell him, like, this boy just tried to stab me. He like, who? Like, what's going on? I'm like, listen, I don't even know what's going over there. This boy, he just tried to stab us. He's like, who is he? I'm like, Ricky Williams.

[Mike Boudet]

Notably, when Ricky attacked these women, it wasn't out of anger. Ricky was calm and calculating again. He just wanted to kill someone for the hell of it. That's the kind of criminal we're dealing with in 2024.

[Listener]

And when he started coming at us with the knife, he started laughing like he wasn't even. Like, it wasn't even like he was mad. He wasn't laughing like, huh, you want something too? And I'm like, crazy. Telling us, like. But I wasn't smiling. I tried to gank her because at that point, I'm thinking, no, he really going to try to stab us. Either we got a chance at jumping him if he come at us with a knife or run. My first mom was to run.

[Mike Boudet]

Thankfully, these women were able to flee and they survived their encounter with Ricky. Unfortunately, though, they didn't go to police and tell their story until after Gina Berger was dead.

[Listener]

I kept saying it. I kept telling them, because if he is not out, if he's not allowed out here, he'll get charged with trespassing and he'll get charged with assaulting her, trying to stab us. He'll get into trouble. I kept telling everybody. I kept saying it. Shere wouldn't listen to. She, oh, I don't want to call the cops. I'm like, okay, well, just tell her to call the cops while. Cause he has her car, so she's at work, so he's not gonna. He's not there to tell her no. You know, to stop her from calling the cops.

[Mike Boudet]

Out of fear that Ricky would seek violent revenge on them, these women decided not to report Ricky to the police. Less than 24 hours later, Gina Berger was dead. Ricky stabbed Gina to death and threw her body into a dumpster. After the police pieced this all together, Ricky was charged with murder and arrested. But this case was not scheduled for trial for nearly four years.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

It takes four years for this to get to the trial stage because it's a capital case or a death penalty case. Because he's then appointed two lawyers who then file all these motions to essentially start doing their investigation of Ricky Williams. So a lot of time is spent on death penalty cases doing what's called mitigation, because they're trying to come up with reasons to tell the jury why the death penalty should not be imposed. So they do psychological tests on the defendant. They look into any priority psychological tests that he's already had, maybe in juvenile court, any counseling he's ever done. They look into his schooling record or prison. They want to see what he's done in those places. So they want to see those records, and they're trying to present or put together their best case to present to a jury why the death penalty should not be imposed.

[Mike Boudet]

The state sought the death penalty. And throughout the many court hearings that were held for this case, Ricky Williams maintained a heartless and just all around disgusting demeanor.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

During the pretrial hearings, whenever we would have a hearing, like a motion to suppress, where we would have witnesses or we would present evidence, Ricky would be smiling and stopped staring at the victim's family, kind of smirking during the evidence, like he enjoyed listening to all the evidence.

[Mike Boudet]

Eventually, in 2018, Ricky and his defense team accepted a plea from prosecutors. Ricky pled guilty to killing Gina Berger, and in exchange, the death penalty was taken off the table.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Yeah, despite all of that behavior by the defendant, the family was still okay with accepting the plea. I think everyone got the feeling that because he seemed to be enjoying listening to all the evidence, that if we didn't let him listen again during the trial, it was going to be more punishment for him. So if we got him to admit and take the life without parole and not be able to have to sit through him smirking during all the trial, that, you know, that would benefit the victims more than having to watch.

[Mike Boudet]

In 2018, Ricky Williams was scheduled to be sentenced for the killing of Gina Berger. Tragically, Gina's mom, Jackie Botcher, was not able to attend the sentencing. Just four months after Gina was killed, Jackie also died. While the cause of death was never officially confirmed, Jackie likely began using heroin again after Gina died and overdosed. Still, many of Gina's other family members did attend the sentencing for Ricky Williams, including Gina's adoptive mom.

[Listener]

You did not win. We accepted your pathetic plea because we wanted you to live in hell for the rest of your life.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

We loved the fact that you'll never see the outside world again.

[Listener]

You will never be able to hurt.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Another person again, ever.

[Listener]

I don't want to hear your lawyer.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Stand up and speak to this jury.

[Listener]

Or the judge about how hard you.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Had it as a child.

[Listener]

You look at these people sitting on.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Jim reeves side of the courtroom, and.

[Listener]

You'Ll find people who were in much.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Dire situations than you. Cancer, teenage pregnancy, death of a father, divorce, single parents, foster homes, drug addiction, suicide.

[Listener]

You name it. These people have sacrificed.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

So don't give us your sad, pathetic story, because we've seen and done it all. More than you could ever imagine.

[Listener]

We don't care. What you did is inexcusable. No matter what type of life you you've lived, no one else in this room has ever committed murder except for you. I'm a off mother of a murdered child. And you had no right to take.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Away from me, her father, and our family.

[Listener]

You are evil.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

Masqueraded as a human being. Words cannot express the pain and anguish our family and friends have endured since her murder.

[Listener]

Your decision to take the life of.

[Dawn Cantolamesa]

My daughter with no regard for the effect it may have on others Is unimaginable. I think of my daughter Gina every single day. I wonder how many people actually think.

[Listener]

Of you every day. And as the years go by, I hope they forget about your pathetic life.

[Mike Boudet]

After Gina's surviving family members gave their impact statements, it was time for Ricky to make a statement as well, and for a judge to impose a sentence.

[Listener]

When it was his turn to speak, Williams told the judge he only agreed to the plea bargain to avoid risking a possible death sentence if he'd gone to trial. I didn't kill that girl. I just wanted to. I want to put that on record. I. I didn't do it. No. I'm sticking with it. But the judge said the evidence proves Williams committed the crimes, sentencing him to 62 years to life in prison.

[Mike Boudet]

Thankfully, and to the benefit of society, Ricky Williams will never see the outside of a prison facility. Admittedly, there really isn't much to learn from this case. I know we do this little thing where we sum it up with a little bow and send you on your way with a little bit of a positive spin in terms of at least we can learn something from this story. But we can't really learn anything from this story. A story with a murder which has a motive that is so absurd, so unnecessary. I'm left with no words. After 11 years of doing this, Gina Berger was just a young girl who wanted some iced tea. She went looking for tea bags. She went to go ask a neighbor, someone she knew, someone she saw every day. And she had the horrible misfortune of crossing paths with a monster. A monster that killed her just for the sake of doing it. Gina's short life was riddled with misfortune. Gina's biological parents were heroin addicts, and as a result, she was placed into foster care. After being adopted, her new parents got divorced. And then Gina was allegedly raped by her adoptive mom's new husband. At least that's what she claimed. If that allegation is true, obviously it's horrible. But if it isn't, for Gina to make such a serious accusation, she must have been dealing with some overwhelming issues for a teenager. Then, on a rainy night In June of 2014, Gina was abducted from her apartment complex. She was terrorized, threatened at knifepoint, and stabbed to death. Then Gina was just thrown away like garbage. But Gina wasn't garbage. She was a young girl who wanted to overcome and rise above all of the bullshit. All the past hardships, all the disappointments in life. So many in just 16 years on this planet. Sadly, she never got the chance. Maybe it is true. Maybe some people have all the luck. So as you look around the room, see the faces of your family, your kids, your parents. As you look at their faces and their smiles and feel their love coming back to you, take a moment to realize that you are one of those lucky ones. Although it's true that sometimes it feels like some people have all the luck, it certainly seems like some people have none of it.

[Listener]

SA it.

[Mike Boudet]

If you enjoyed the show, please consider joining. Plus, it starts at only 10 bucks a month and you can find it@sword and scale.com. that's how we pay the bills around here. I know y'all poors hate capitalism and all that, but you do enjoy the show, seemingly. So that's how it's made. Also, check out our store. Store.swing and scale.com and until next time, try not to get killed. Stay safe.

[Listener]

Sa.