Episode 284

Summary

Sword and Scale - Episode 284 Summary

Release Date: March 31, 2025

Introduction

In Episode 284 of Sword and Scale, the podcast delves into the harrowing true crime case of Celia Huda, a 22-year-old university cheerleader whose life was brutally taken. This detailed narrative explores the complex web of relationships, deceit, and manipulation that led to her untimely death, offering listeners an in-depth understanding of the dark forces at play.

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Celia Huda’s Disappearance and Discovery

The episode opens on December 30, 2011, when Celia Huda was last seen. Good Samaritans noticed a brush fire near the Gainesville Raceway, leading police to a gruesome discovery. Among the flames lay Celia's charred remains, with key parts of her face miraculously intact, and the lingering scent of gasoline suggesting foul play.

Notable Quote:

Narrator [01:15]: "During the early morning hours of December 30, 2011, some good Samaritans were driving down the Gainesville Raceway and noticed a brush fire just off the side of the road..."

An autopsy confirmed her identity and revealed she had been reported missing by her family at the beginning of the new year. Her elusive silver Nissan was also missing, adding to the mystery surrounding her disappearance.

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Relationships and Motives

Celia’s Relationship with Mike Carter

Celia was in a budding relationship with Mike Carter, who became the last person to see her alive. Their relationship was relatively new, having spent several weeks together consistently.

Notable Quote:

Mike Carter [05:26]: "Celia was a college senior majoring in family, youth and Community Sciences. But her true passion was dance..."

Celia’s Ex-Boyfriend and Tony Drayton

Equally significant is Celia’s tumultuous relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Tony Drayton (referred to as AD). Their history was marred by altercations, restraining orders, and a cycle of abuse. Tony's involvement with multiple women, including Angela Owens and Cassandra Kimbrough, painted a picture of a manipulative and chaotic figure.

Notable Quote:

Detective [08:17]: "When's the last time you slept together at sex?"

The Introduction of Cassandra Kimbrough

Cassandra, originally from New York, became entangled in Tony’s life, acting as his confidante and enabler. Her role was pivotal in the events leading to Celia’s murder, as she was coerced into assisting Tony in disposing of Celia’s body.

Notable Quote:

Cassandra Kimbrough [17:29]: "I recall going into the mall and she was working in Empire, a clothing store. I saw her there and she helped me get my clothes..."

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The Investigation and Gathering Evidence

Discovery of Celia’s Car and Crime Scene Evidence

The investigation intensified when Celia’s Nissan was found abandoned near Tony's apartment. Inside, her purse remained untouched, but the car emitted a strong gasoline odor. A comforter matching the burned fabric found on Celia's body suggested the use of her car in her murder.

Notable Quote:

Narrator [09:28]: "Then they found Solya's silver Nissan abandoned in an apartment complex just down the road from Tony's apartment..."

Security Footage and DNA Evidence

Police obtained security footage from a nearby gas station, capturing a woman filling a gas can near Celia’s car. Although the woman's hood concealed her face, her long hair indicated it was Angela Owens. Additionally, DNA analysis revealed Tony’s presence at the crime scene, linking him directly to the murder.

Notable Quote:

Narrator [17:56]: "Video showed a woman exiting the vehicle with her hood up. She filled a can with $2 worth of gasoline, then slipped back into the car."

Confrontations and Confessions

As evidence mounted, both Tony and Cassandra were brought in for questioning. Under intense police scrutiny, Cassandra ultimately confessed her involvement, revealing Tony's coercive control and manipulation that led her to participate in Celia’s disposal.

Notable Quote:

Detective [48:06]: "You realize how serious this is?"

Cassandra Kimbrough [52:15]: "I'm sorry, Mom."

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Arrest and Legal Proceedings

Tony Drayton’s Arrest

Faced with overwhelming evidence, Tony Drayton was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. His attempts to obfuscate the truth and manipulate those around him unraveled as the investigation progressed.

Notable Quote:

Narrator [65:36]: "Tony was taken to jail, where he continued to call Angela because she was the only one who would answer."

Cassandra Kimbrough’s Guilty Plea

Cassandra pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact, receiving a two-year sentence. Her cooperation was crucial in building the case against Tony, who ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder to avoid a lengthy trial, receiving a 45-year sentence.

Notable Quote:

Mike Carter [60:07]: "Tony Drayton TD did pleaded guilty to second degree murder. He would avoid a trial, and the judge sentenced him to 45 years in prison."

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Conclusion and Insights

This episode of Sword and Scale underscores the devastating impact of manipulative and abusive relationships. Tony Drayton's calculated deceit and control over multiple women led to a tragic culmination in Celia Huda's murder. The case serves as a potent reminder of the importance of recognizing and addressing toxic dynamics before they result in irreversible consequences.

Notable Quote:

Mike Carter [56:00]: "Tony used his power to get Cassandra to help him dispose of Celia's body the same way he used his power over her to get snacks at 4am or free rent..."

Final Thoughts

Through meticulous storytelling, Sword and Scale not only recounts the grim details of Celia Huda’s murder but also invites listeners to reflect on the broader implications of human nature and societal influences on criminal behavior. The episode highlights the necessity of vigilance and support systems in preventing such tragedies.

Notable Quote:

Mike Carter [62:20]: "Cassandra said that Tony killed Celia. She didn't know how or why. She didn't ask questions. She was just trying to get out of his apartment. But she knew he wouldn't let her leave."

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Notable Quotes Summary

1. Narrator [01:15]:

   "During the early morning hours of December 30, 2011, some good Samaritans were driving down the Gainesville Raceway and noticed a brush fire just off the side of the road..."

2. Mike Carter [05:26]:

   "Celia was a college senior majoring in family, youth and Community Sciences. But her true passion was dance..."

3. Detective [08:17]:

   "When's the last time you slept together at sex?"

4. Cassandra Kimbrough [17:29]:

   "I recall going into the mall and she was working in Empire, a clothing store. I saw her there and she helped me get my clothes..."

5. Narrator [09:28]:

   "Then they found Solya's silver Nissan abandoned in an apartment complex just down the road from Tony's apartment..."

6. Narrator [17:56]:

   "Video showed a woman exiting the vehicle with her hood up. She filled a can with $2 worth of gasoline, then slipped back into the car."

7. Detective [48:06]:

   "You realize how serious this is?"

8. Cassandra Kimbrough [52:15]:

   "I'm sorry, Mom."

9. Mike Carter [60:07]:

   "Tony Drayton TD did pleaded guilty to second degree murder. He would avoid a trial, and the judge sentenced him to 45 years in prison."

10. Mike Carter [56:00]:

    "Tony used his power to get Cassandra to help him dispose of Celia's body the same way he used his power over her to get snacks at 4am or free rent..."

11. Mike Carter [62:20]:

    "Cassandra said that Tony killed Celia. She didn't know how or why. She didn't ask questions. She was just trying to get out of his apartment. But she knew he wouldn't let her leave."

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Final Note

Episode 284 of Sword and Scale masterfully interweaves factual investigation with compelling narrative, providing a chilling portrayal of human cruelty and the complexities of the criminal justice system. For those seeking an unflinching exploration of true crime, this episode stands as a testament to the podcast's dedication to uncovering the darkest corners of human nature.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Mike Carter]

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[Detective]

Huh.

[Mike Carter]

Turns out you can love a work management platform. Monday.com, the first work platform you'll love to use. Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences.

[Detective]

Listener discretion is advised.

[Narrator]

Even with everything said and done, you know, I know the body is burned and things like that. Okay, you can still see whether or not there's any kind of marks or anything.

[Mike Carter]

I don't know if you forgot about us, but we're still alive and kicking right here. It's season 12, episode 284 of the Award winning Sword and Scale podcast. A show that reveals that the worst monsters are real. Well, we're doing a lot. In case you haven't noticed, our new podcast that we launched last month is wrapping up real soon. This Doesn't Happen to People Like Me is still available on Apple and Spotify and on this platform, sword and scale.com if you want to get it. Also, if you haven't seen our TV show, our award winning TV show and the reason I keep saying award winning is because we've won a lot of awards and we're very proud of it for what we've done here. Go check it out. Episode 12, the Story of Trina Hech. I mean, these shows that we're doing, this is some of the best true crime I think you'll find in the world because we put our whole heart and soul into it. We've been doing this now for 11 years and and if you haven't figured it out by now, it's a passion. So go check it out. During the early morning hours of December 30, 2011, some good Samaritans were driving down the Gainesville Raceway and noticed a brush fire just off the side of the road. Smoke billowed in the dawn as they pulled their vehicle closer and called police. When the cops arrived on the scene, they quickly realized that this wasn't just a brush fire. The contents of the flames were clearly human. Limbs, A torso, a bra, and a face were visible amongst the black char and soot. The woman was long gone, of course. Just the center of her face, her nose, lips and cheeks had escaped incineration. A tiny glimpse of a human being was looking up at the cops, and the stale smell of gasoline hung in the air. What a sickeningly sweet aroma that must have been. After an autopsy on January 3, 2012, the police were able to use the body's fingerprints to identify the victim as celia Huda, a 22 year old cheerleader from the University of Florida in Gainesville. They found out that Celia had been reported missing by her family at the start of the new year after no one had heard from her. Now her silver Nissan was also unaccounted for. The members of her family were, of course, devastated as they talked with the local news.

[Celia's Friend]

People are still in shock. People are still, you know, in pain. And it's just like the sorrow that has, you know, come upon us is just. We never expected this, never expected anything like this to happen. This is. This is just horrible what has happened.

[Mike Carter]

Celia was a college senior majoring in family, youth and Community Sciences. But her true passion was dance. She'd been dancing her whole life and now competed for the UF club team as a cheerleader.

[Celia's Friend]

You know, she was this big, but just had, you know, the personality and the spirit of a giant. And because she was so little, she was the one we always threw up in the air, Always, like, okay, we need to go up in the air.

[Angela Owens]

Like, okay, I'm ready. And because she did cheerleading, because she.

[Celia's Friend]

Did gymnastics, she ran track.

[Mike Carter]

She was born in Ghana and came to America as a young child with her family. She was studious, creative, and accomplished.

[Celia's Friend]

It's tragic and it's hurtful and it's disrespectful the way that, you know, this has happened. Nobody deserves this. Not. Not anybody at all.

[Mike Carter]

The last person to see Celia was her new boyfriend, Michael Carter. He soon found himself sitting across the table from two detectives.

[Detective]

Mike, you're here on your own free will. You're here, you know, basically as a witness. Okay. We're investigating the death of Celaya.

[Antonio Drayton]

Cynthia.

[Detective]

Yeah. And we just like to know, you know, start from the beginning, where'd you meet her?

[Antonio Drayton]

And we met online on Facebook or whatever.

[Mike Carter]

Celia and Mike flirted back and forth over messenger, but soon exchanged numbers.

[Antonio Drayton]

But I got A number. So she gave me a number. So we started talking and texting.

[Detective]

How long ago did you meet?

[Antonio Drayton]

Like it was on a Sunday. Cause she had came back from her sister graduation from Tampa or whatever. And so she came back. So we seen each other and we're talking and whatever. She came to the house or whatever. We talked, chill.

[Detective]

So like a month ago, two months.

[Antonio Drayton]

Ago, One month ago, it was last month or whatever. One of the Sundays when she came at the temple.

[Mike Carter]

Celia and Mike's relationship was fresh, but they had been hanging out for the last few weeks pretty consistently.

[Detective]

Were you pretty serious with one another or just dating her?

[Antonio Drayton]

No. Yeah, we were like talking at first, and then we got serious or whatever. Like she. I guess she started liking me a little more. And she had told me so we had made an agreement that we were gonna start like talking and dating and stuff like that. So that's what happened. And we just talking here on out, whatever, seeing each other. I stayed at her place a couple nights and she come to my place. My mom allowed her to come or whatever like that. We just been together like almost every day from then on out.

[Detective]

So you talk to her every day?

[Antonio Drayton]

Just about every day. She called me every day.

[Detective]

Okay, when's the last time? And I'm gonna ask you some personal questions and it's just the way it is. This is serious. Okay, when's the last time y'all slept together at sex?

[Antonio Drayton]

Probably that Wednesday, that Tuesday night.

[Detective]

But she.

[Antonio Drayton]

We stayed chilling, like hang with each other, all that. That Wednesday, the afternoon. Then she brought me back, probably like six or seven. So she said she was going to her parents house, I guess, and get some.

[Detective]

So this past Wednesday. Okay, so this past Wednesday, in the afternoon?

[Antonio Drayton]

That's right.

[Detective]

At her house?

[Antonio Drayton]

Yes, sir.

[Mike Carter]

Celia lived in the District apartments in Gainesville, which was sort of a student housing unit. She had a modest place. When detectives went to her house after they discovered her body. Her dog had been trapped in the bathroom for days. Dishes were piled up in the sink, but her laptops and other valuables were still in the home. There was a note taped to the outside of the door that read, sally, call me when you get home. Mike had spent the night at Sally's house earlier that week on a Tuesday. Her body was found on the Friday. Mike didn't try to call her again until the weekend. And when he did, a woman picked up. That wasn't Celia.

[Antonio Drayton]

I called her and the girl answered the phone, said she was asleep. So I asked him, like they put her on the Phone or whatever, it's important. She's like, well, she said she'll call you tomorrow. So I waited. And then I ain't never get no call back or whatever. So I called him straight to the answer machine. And I kept on calling. I thought the phone was dead. And three days passed by. So I'm like, I know she don't wait this long to charge her phone up or whatever. So I kept on calling, trying or whatever, like her phone must be dead or broken or whatever.

[Mike Carter]

Mike thought it was weird that Celia had not called him back in days. Still he kept trying her number and it would go to voicemail again and again. That's when he logged into Facebook.

[Antonio Drayton]

I found out last night on Facebook I seen her, went to her page to see what she on there or whatever. But I seen other people's like, rest in peace or whatever. So I ain't like, know what, like what to think or whatever. I'm like, oh, I ain't believe it at first and whatever. And then I had called the her friend, her name Ametris or whatever. And she told me or whatever I like, for real. I told her. I called her more and asked her what I went, I didn't know. I was too hurt last night.

[Detective]

You knew any of her friends?

[Antonio Drayton]

Only friend. I ain't know none of her friends besides Amitris or whatever. Her Amish like got alone. They went to school together. What is her name?

[Detective]

Amicia.

[Antonio Drayton]

Ametris.

[Detective]

Ametris Smith.

[Mike Carter]

Mike hadn't met any of the people Celia was close with, except one other friend.

[Detective]

Did she ever say anything about anybody else? Like she ex boyfriend?

[Antonio Drayton]

Yeah, she had an ex boyfriend who she had an altercation with like a while back that had got her in trouble or whatever and all that. So I guess they were trying to work something out. He'll come by the house when I was there and knock on the window and the door or whatever, but she never opened. I asked her, I say, why? You answer. She's like, I won't feel right, like let him in or whatever. And me and you go together and all that. Bring another man to the house.

[Detective]

When was the last time that happened?

[Antonio Drayton]

It probably, I think it happened that Tuesday or that. When. Yeah, Tuesday morning or whatever. Because he bring his movie back. I guess that was his way of trying to get with her, like talk to her. But she didn't open the door.

[Detective]

You know his name?

[Antonio Drayton]

Only instance he had in the phone.

[Mike Carter]

Was A.D. mike said that Celia's ex boyfriend had knocked on her apartment window to Bring back a dvd. When the two of them were hanging out earlier in the week, he had no clue what the guy's name was. All that he knew was that Celia had him listed in her cell phone as ad.

[Antonio Drayton]

She told me a whole bunch of serious stuff that she never told her parents or nobody to or whatever, about her personal life. Whatever.

[Detective]

Like what?

[Antonio Drayton]

Like how she got in trouble with him about another girl and all that and went to jail or whatever. Her woman didn't never know. I guess she found they seen her dad, came to the house and seen some papers or whatever. When she went to jail and got in trouble or whatever.

[Mike Carter]

Celia had confessed to Mike that AD and her used to fight a lot. And at one point the cops had been called. Celia even admitted that she had been recently arrested for violating a restraining order that AD's new girlfriend had taken out on her. It was all really messy and embarrassing. Their relationship was a revolving door of chaos until recently when Celia had put a stop to it and started dating Mike.

[Detective]

She ever talk about how he treated her?

[Antonio Drayton]

Yeah, like they argue and they fight or whatever when they was together, like a while while back or whatever. It wasn't recent, though.

[Detective]

Anything about her getting hurt by him? Did she ever mention anything?

[Antonio Drayton]

No. He hit her before what she said. Then like one time, I think he got mad and threw a brick through a window. She had to get a whole new window or whatever, I guess because she didn't want to talk to him, whatever.

[Detective]

But she didn't mention any words. She got beat up by him or anything like that?

[Antonio Drayton]

No, they said they got into a he hit her or whatever when they were together.

[Mike Carter]

The cops would have to look into ad but first they had to make sure that this wasn't a lie to get police off of Mike's back. Still, Mike swore he hadn't seen Celia since Wednesday. Wednesday night, in fact, when she dropped him off back at his house at 7.10pm how sure are you about the seven?

[Detective]

He said 7.10pm how come you know that?

[Antonio Drayton]

We were like at the time, whatever I was trying to see because my mom was in Chiefland. But I came home. I was by myself or whatever. So a lot of times that. Oh, a lot of time when I was like, okay, well she left at like 10, so I was 7 something. So I want. I'm see what she gonna get back like 10 something. Because she wasn't being came back.

[Detective]

This isn't. Have you. You. Don't you wear a watch?

[Antonio Drayton]

No, sir.

[Detective]

This is her car.

[Antonio Drayton]

I had on my phone too.

[Detective]

What kind of purse was did she have?

[Antonio Drayton]

It was either I think Gucci or a Coach purse.

[Detective]

I mean, was it big, small?

[Antonio Drayton]

It was one of the big, like big purses.

[Detective]

Would she normally carry?

[Antonio Drayton]

She carried everywhere everything with her.

[Detective]

Like that's where her wallet would be maybe.

[Antonio Drayton]

Wallet, phone, everything. Her sleep medication. I mean her medication that she take like at 11 o'clock or whatever she take every night.

[Narrator]

What does her phone look like?

[Antonio Drayton]

She had, I think a Galaxy T mobile phone with a pink cover on it.

[Mike Carter]

Then Mike agreed to hand over his cell phone and give his fingerprints. He said he had nothing to hide.

[Detective]

Do you know what happened to her? You didn't hear anything on the news?

[Antonio Drayton]

I didn't see the news. Whatever I seen on Facebook, they said, rest in peace. Then they had told me girl Mitra told me somebody burnt her up in her car or whatever.

[Mike Carter]

As Mike was talking with a detective, another team of officers was over at Celia's apartment collecting evidence. Security guards confirmed that Solia's car had left the complex when Mike said it did and hadn't been seen again. As they combed through her belongings and canvassed the complex, a man approached Soliya's door. He was tall, black and muscular. He walked right up to the group of officers outside and introduced himself. His name was Antonio Drayton. AD he claimed he was Celia's boyfriend and he wanted to know if they needed his help. AD Would prove to be even more helpful than he seemed. 22 year old cheerleader and university senior Celia Huda had been found dead on the side of the road and set on fire. Her car was gone and no one had seen her in a week. Her boyfriend, Mike Carter, had been the last one to see her live. But as the police were searching her apartment for clues, another black male showed up and introduced himself as Antonio Drayton, claiming he was Celia's boyfriend and offering to help them with their investigation. But Mike had warned the cops about a man who Celia had been dating, who he knew as AD and now AD Was here. So Antonio, or AD Voluntarily went to the police station. They asked him to start at the top. How did he first meet Celia?

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

I recall going into the mall and she was working in Empire, a clothing store. I saw her there and she helped me get my clothes, like I was trying to pick out an outfit.

[Detective]

That's the Oaks Mall.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Yeah, it was called Empire.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Clothing store. She helped me get an outfit. I didn't answer her name or anything. I saw her out in the field in the venue. How long ago was it about two years ago. Two years ago, I saw her out at the club. I see her a few times in the club. And I used to just walk up to her like Ms. Empire or whatever. But it was a couple times I did that. But it was about three times. About three times. I went out, like three. Three times. And the next time I wake up, I have them. I check my MySpace and she wrote me on my space and she was looking for my page. She saw my picture, found out my name, and we exchanged numbers over MySpace and we began talking, just hanging out. On February 1st, I want to say, oh, no, still is the Super Bowl. I asked her to be my girlfriend.

[Mike Carter]

Antonio, or Tony, and Celia got serious after that super bowl party, and the two became an item. They were big in the club scene. Celia loved to dance, after all. And Tony was a notorious flirt who stationed himself at the bar and let women flock to him. He was the kind of guy who'd have a few girls in his back pocket at all times. You know the type. We've seen him before. Anywho, Celia would often get jealous, confront him, and he'd gaslight her. A pattern I'm sure many of us are familiar with. Cheaters do what cheaters do. Then they would get into a huge fight, of course, and eventually they'd always end up back together. It's just how it goes. It was a cycle of chaos and drama until a girl named Angela Owens came along. Tony started seeing Angela behind Celia's back, but Celia kind of sense something was up. I'm gonna let Tony explain, and I'll fill in the gaps.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Like, months. It was months, Months back, months back. And it was around last year. June was Angel's birthday. June 21, I think. I was that same day previous. That day. Me and Leah got into it. We got into it, and I asked for my stuff back. I was like, man, just give me all my stuff I bought for you that I bought for you. She was like, no, no. At first, we was making so much commotion. She was living in the stakes then.

[Mike Carter]

I'll translate. Basically, it was Angela's birthday, and Tony was trying to be a boyfriend to both her and Celia. Celia found out and she lost it. Of course. They got into a big fight at her place, and Tony left.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Ends up birthday. That same night. I was going to a party at Status Nightclub. I goes downtown in the parking garage. The same officer's always there. They know me by name. Mr. Drayton, gotta talk to you. I was in the restroom. I was like, you need to go Talk to me now. He's like, yeah, man.

[Mike Carter]

In the time that Tony had left Celia's and showed up at the club, Celia had called the police and reported that Tony hurt her during their fight. The cops found him easily.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Yes, we just gonna do our job. We know if you knew anything about it, you probably wouldn't even came out. But we knew where you were gonna be. And he was like, yeah, you got a dispatch. Dispatch against you from being in the States against Selia Huda. And it's looking pretty bad. Some serious charges. She said you strangled her, you took some things that belonged to her. And it was all felony charges. It was all felt okay.

[Detective]

So this happened in June?

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Yeah.

[Detective]

You all had this argument. You wanted your stuff back and. And she gave you the stuff back.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

She gave me stuff back. I left.

[Detective]

You left.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

I'm trying to call him. She wouldn't talk to him, say nothing to me.

[Detective]

So then what? A few days, it played.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

No, the same day.

[Detective]

Same day. Same day we were at the club.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Same day. I went out to the club. The officer Seen me, Mr. Drake, before I even went to. Before I got to the club. I was headed there, went downstairs. He said he needed to talk to me. He was like, man, we knew you were going to be. You ain't know nothing about this. Do you know a slit? I said, yes. I said, yes. That's my ex girlfriend.

[Detective]

Man.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Told me everything. That was against me. He was like, well, cooperated. I was locked up.

[Mike Carter]

Tony was arrested on domestic violence charges and spent two months in jail. He got out. And who did Tony run to? Well, Angela and Celia, of course. This brings us to December 2011, when Celia went missing. A few nights before her body was found, Tony and Celia had a date. But he knew that Angela would also be at the club out looking for him and Celia.

[Detective]

Did y'all meet up at the club?

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

No, they went. I tried to go to the opposite club with Celia. I don't like to be in the same club. Cause I'm well known in the clubs, so. And it's like different girls. So if she sees something, it's gonna make her mad or she'll end up fighting or, you know, it's vice versa. So I try to. She'll want me to be in the same club, but I try to not go. I try not to go to the same club.

[Mike Carter]

So Tony brought Celia to another club to avoid Angela and his other little friends. But it didn't work. Celia and Angela met face to face.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

And they ended up talking because of this Injunction thing. They didn't have an understanding between each other, and they was like, well, Angela told her I had sex with Tony two days ago. And when'd you see Tony? Well, Tony just left my house two hours ago, and he gave me money. They basically got caught up in all my lies I was telling between the two of them and all the other girls, when they talked, she was about to fight some girls, and they told me and slid.

[Celia's Friend]

Called.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

I was like, well, slid, where are you? She called me. No, I called her first. She didn't answer. I called her back, and she was like, it's crazy. I'm headed home. I'm headed home. I'm messed. I messed up. Me and Sam got into it, and I'm going home. So I'm like, okay, she's home. She's messed up.

[Mike Carter]

I know she gonna go home.

[Detective]

You say messed up. What's that mean?

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

She's talking. I mean, she.

[Detective]

Did she drink a bunch?

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Yeah, drinks a lot.

[Mike Carter]

That was the last he heard from Celia that night. He went home, slept, and then tried to reach her the next day, but she was gone.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

She wasn't answering the phone. So I got. I got Quan. I went over there. I went over there, and she wouldn't answer. She wouldn't answer the door. She went. She. She went home. She wouldn't answer the door.

[Mike Carter]

Antonio said that he hadn't seen Celia in days.

[Detective]

You wanted to give us a DNA swab. You know, just a swab of your mouth.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

A swab in my mouth?

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah.

[Detective]

We just take a swab, and it's a DNA sample. DNA sample? You want to do that?

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Well, then, is that. I can do that, but what am I?

[Detective]

Well, you want to prove it? You want to prove it? You're not involved in this anyway.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

No, I'm not involved.

[Detective]

So if you're not involved in this and you.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

I get them.

[Mike Carter]

Swell.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Yeah.

[Detective]

Exclusionary. Yeah.

[Mike Carter]

It's like we take fingerprints of people.

[Detective]

They're exclusionary prints.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

My friend's sorry, and sis. And so.

[Detective]

Well, I know that.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

But we do that anyway.

[Mike Carter]

It's exclusionary.

[Antonio Drayton]

That's basically all it is.

[Detective]

Are you willing to do that?

[Mike Carter]

Yeah, I'll do it now. Police had to find Angela and get her side of the story. The words of Mike Carter still hung at the forefront of their investigation.

[Antonio Drayton]

I called it, and the girl answered the phone, said she was asleep. So I asked her, like, they put her on the phone or whatever. It's important. She's like, well, she said she'll call you tomorrow. So I Waited. And then I ain't never get no call back or whatever. So I called her and went straight to the answering machine.

[Mike Carter]

So they had to find the woman who answered Celia's cell phone after she'd gone missing. First, they'd start with Angela Owens. It would be easy to find her. She was the only one who had given Tony a ride to the police station. Angela explained that tensions had been so high between herself, Tony, and Celia that she'd taken out a restraining order against Celia. She was afraid of her because Tony had made it seem like Celia was after her. But that night at the club, Celia was at the bar with her friends when Angela approached, and Celia reached out and grabbed her arm, asking to talk.

[Angela Owens]

We went to the bathroom and talked, and in the bathroom, she was just saying, like, she was kind of asking questions, like, when did me and Antonio make it official that we were together? And I told her May 16. And she had asked me. She was just mainly, like, saying that, like, he. Like, even if she wanted to be with him, she knew that she couldn't because he didn't make her happy. And she felt like the only reason why she was still holding on is because she felt like she needed him to get the injunction dropped because me and her never talked. She apologized about the whole situation as to, like, how she wanted to fight me. That's the whole reason why we got the injunction. So she apologized about that. And I just. I basically was just like, if me and her could have talked from the beginning, then there would. I would have never put a restraining order out against her. But I guess just the lack of communication and whatever he was telling her versus whatever he was telling me.

[Mike Carter]

While they talked in the bathroom, the two women realized how Tony had been playing them both. There was no need for any of this craziness.

[Detective]

How did that end?

[Angela Owens]

The last thing ended with me and her, as I was just like, well, I'm telling you now that I'm done. Like, I don't have. You can have him, whatever you guys have going on. And she was just like, I don't even want to be with him. She's just like, I just want to get this injunction dropped so that I can graduate and move on with my life.

[Narrator]

There was no argument between you guys?

[Angela Owens]

No physical, no. No nothing. No argument, no confrontation. And that was the first time we had ever even had a conversation in person. In person.

[Mike Carter]

Angela agreed to lift the restraining order, and the two parted ways back into the nightclub. A few days passed, and even though Angela told Celia that she was done with Tony. She kept seeing him. He lured her back in and she fell for his charms. On Friday evening she got off work and went over to Tony's house to.

[Angela Owens]

Meet up that day. It seems he was strange because when I got over there, he was sitting on the couch and I'm like, what's up? And he's just like, just thinking. Got a lot of stuff on my mind. But he always says that. So I'm like, okay, whatever. And then Cass kept calling him. I don't know if you guys know who that is.

[Mike Carter]

Cass is short for Cassandra Kimbrough, a 42 year old mother of six who was also in Tony's back pocket.

[Detective]

Have you ever met Cass before?

[Angela Owens]

Yeah, she's like this 40 year old lady who's like, I don't know. I really don't know. She's been around him ever since I've known him. She like, I guess just does a lot of stuff for him.

[Detective]

Like family or something?

[Angela Owens]

No, not. She's not his family, but she just like.

[Narrator]

I mean, did they used to date? Now they're just friends or I mean.

[Angela Owens]

I guess their relationship. They know. He said they never dated. He. She was his boss at Dollar General when he used to work there in the warehouse. And I guess something transpired between them. I don't know. But ever since I've known him, she's always been like around, kind of like you see around.

[Detective]

She's been at his place. Has she ever been there when you got there?

[Angela Owens]

I mean, she's been like, yeah, she's been there. Like his apartment is in her name. Like she's just weird.

[Mike Carter]

Unbeknownst to Angela, Cassandra and Tony had dated back when she was his boss at the Dollar General. Are you surprised by his career ambitions? I'm not. Yeah, so the two were dating, but Angela didn't know that. Selia didn't know that. And Tony made sure to cover his tracks by painting Cassandra as some sort of crazy middle aged nut.

[Narrator]

What do you think the reason behind that is?

[Angela Owens]

I think I see it as he has a lot of dirt on her and so he uses that to get stuff from her.

[Narrator]

So he's blackmailing her?

[Angela Owens]

Yeah, that's what I see it as.

[Narrator]

What dirt does he have on her?

[Angela Owens]

I don't know. He just always. He'll never tell me, but he'll just always be like, there's so much stuff that I have on that lady. That's why she just does what she does. Because she's scared because he'll call her and be like, oh, can you bring me something to eat? I'm hungry. And It'll be like 4:00 in the morning. And she jumps up and does it.

[Mike Carter]

Yeah.

[Detective]

Does he ever turn that when you're at the house?

[Angela Owens]

Yeah.

[Detective]

She'll show up when you're there.

[Angela Owens]

Yeah.

[Mike Carter]

According to Angela, Cassandra was like Tony's personal slave. Bringing him snacks at 4am when he asked. I don't care who it is. No one should be jumping out of bed to bring a man in his 20s snacks at that hour. Let me walk that back. Because I like snacks. What I'm trying to say is there's a balance, you know.

[Narrator]

So you said Cass kept calling or texting.

[Angela Owens]

Calling, Calling Tony. Mm. And what was.

[Narrator]

Do you know why she kept calling?

[Angela Owens]

What they. I don't know. I had asked him. I'm like, what are you guys doing? And. Cause on the phone he kept saying stuff like I need like bleach, rags, stuff like that.

[Narrator]

That's what he was telling her on the phone.

[Angela Owens]

Uh huh. And then I don't know what she was saying. And then he would just get off the phone and I'm like, what are you guys doing? Are you cleaning? And so then we just got back. Like he never really said. He just.

[Narrator]

He never said what the bleach and.

[Angela Owens]

The rags were for? No.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

This is the whole time he's texting.

[Detective]

You guys are where?

[Angela Owens]

I'm at his house, he's on the phone.

[Narrator]

This is Friday night.

[Detective]

This is Friday night.

[Angela Owens]

This is after I leave the mall and I come to his house.

[Mike Carter]

But when the police asked Cassandra about the bleach and the rags, she started talking about laundry.

[Celia's Friend]

Like sometimes he'll call me and say, you know, I got a load of clothes that he want me to do for him.

[Detective]

Did you do them at your house?

[Celia's Friend]

Sometimes.

[Detective]

So you just go pick him up?

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah, I'll come take a. Like bring a basket and it'll take me a couple days. I don't.

[Detective]

I take my time.

[Celia's Friend]

No, I take my time. I might have had some of his towels and stuff that he probably Cuz if he don't have them, he saw, you know, I need my, you know, some rags or whatever.

[Detective]

Oh, for like rag, you say, when you say rags, like so face rags. Oh, wash rags.

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Carter]

Sorry about the audio on that clip. We do have some incredible equipment and very talented engineers here, but it doesn't really work like you see it in the movies. It's not like CSI Miami. Zoom in. Doesn't really work that way. Just so, you know, anyway, back to the story. When Cassandra showed up at the police station. She was wearing a black Hillary Clinton style pantsuit. Stylish. Her short hair was neatly combed to the side, showing off her gold hoop earrings. She was naturally friendly, yet meek. But there was something a little off about her. Cassandra Kimbrough was originally from New York. Nine years ago she was working for FedEx when they transferred her down to Florida. And after six months, she and her husband split up. Now, she had two part time jobs, her six kids, she took care of her aging mother. And apparently she was bending over backwards to do everything and anything for Tony.

[Detective]

Well, we just want more detail about really that week, you know, your relationship with Antonio. And also you knew the victim, is that right?

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah, I knew her.

[Detective]

Okay. Did you?

[Celia's Friend]

I wasn't familiar with her, but I knew her.

[Detective]

Okay. When was the last time you talked with her?

[Celia's Friend]

I want to say she had. Because she was planning a Christmas party and she had invited me to it. And she had access me that night if I wanted to come. And I told her no, you guys just have fun. I didn't want to.

[Detective]

Oh, the night she had the Christmas party?

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah, I think it was the night she had the Christmas party. She had asked me if I was coming. I told her no, I wasn't coming. We didn't talk on a regular basis, but we weren't enemies. And I see, I would see her on the bus. I would say hello to her or she would. If she saw me, she would say hello to me. So I'm confused.

[Detective]

Animosity. For what?

[Antonio Drayton]

I don't understand.

[Celia's Friend]

I mean, with the whole Tony stuff. She didn't see me. I don't know. When she first, like two years ago, when she first started seeing him, she didn't really know about me.

[Mike Carter]

Nobody in Tony's life knew about Cassandra. Angela thought she was some weird ex boss Tony was blackmailing for rent and food. So Leah had her suspicions that Tony and Cassandra had slept together. But the truth was that Tony and Cassandra were in a sexual exchange. They had been sleeping together for years. She was basically his sugar mama. And she had been with Tony longer than any of the other girls. You kind of look over, you look after him a little bit.

[Detective]

I mean, you pay for his apartment, you know, it's in your name. You look after him a little bit.

[Celia's Friend]

I do if I can. I mean.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

You do.

[Detective]

I mean, I'm not saying that's not a bad thing. I'm just saying you're trying to.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

You help him out a Little.

[Celia's Friend]

I don't help him out as much as he makes it seem.

[Detective]

He doesn't have a roommate, does he?

[Celia's Friend]

No.

[Detective]

So he lives there by himself? Yeah. Okay. Well, I mean, he did say you pay for his apartment.

[Celia's Friend]

I helped him pay for it.

[Mike Carter]

Cassandra knew that Tony was embarrassed about their relationship and that he kept her a secret, which he said she was fine with. After all, her oldest son was Tony's age.

[Detective]

What was it that he had over. What was the.

[Celia's Friend]

What was the problem he had over me? He had nothing over me. He would say that to people because they, you know, why you.

[Antonio Drayton]

He.

[Detective]

I.

[Celia's Friend]

To be honest, the biggest issue he had was my age. I think if I was 20 something, we probably would have been together. But his issue was, you know. Cause they. If like he meet. Why you like that old lady and why you.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Does that bother you?

[Celia's Friend]

I would tell him, you know, you could just tell him, you know, be cool. You could just say that. I mean. But I've gotten over it.

[Mike Carter]

How old are you?

[Celia's Friend]

I'm 42.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

42?

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah.

[Mike Carter]

Was she really cool with all of this? Let's just take a step back here. Cassandra had been sleeping with Tony for years. Longer than Angela, Celia, or any of the other club girls Tony was with. He also had a baby with another girl, just FYI, who he still had sex with on a regular basis. Cassandra worked non stop to provide for everyone in her life, including Tony, a grown fucking man. She was a doormat, basically. And there's no way in hell that she didn't feel stepped on every time she did something for Tony only to find out he'd spent the night with Celia. Still, she insisted she was fine with all of this.

[Detective]

Celia came on board while y'all were dating or seeing each other or whatever.

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah, he got serious with her while we was here.

[Detective]

How'd you feel about that?

[Celia's Friend]

I just backed off, you know, it didn't make me no difference.

[Antonio Drayton]

Well.

[Detective]

Well, you don't seem like the jealous type. No, I'm not. You don't seem like it to me.

[Angela Owens]

But.

[Detective]

I don't know. I mean, under different circumstances.

[Mike Carter]

Mm.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Mm.

[Celia's Friend]

No. I've been through two horrible relationships, so I was just.

[Detective]

You're not really looking to get something serious, are you?

[Celia's Friend]

No, not with Tony.

[Mike Carter]

Even Tony said she was fine with all this.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

See, Cas knows. Knows everything that goes on. And she plays like the friendly part or whatever. I do my thing. She don't say nothing. She knows Liz. Well, I'm seeing Liz. I'm seeing Angela. I'm seeing such and Such Cass don't say nothing. It's like Cass can come to the house and. And nobody knows. She's just a friend of me. That's all they see. Yeah, she won't say nothing to none of them.

[Mike Carter]

Cassandra may have been fine with being Tony's side chick, but Selia certainly wasn't. Angela knew this well, which was why she was scared of Celia. Once Alia cried and begged Tony to be faithful. Cassandra situated herself in the wings as the calm, cool older woman who Tony could share everything with. She would never get jealous as he whined about the hysterical girls he was sleeping with. There's really something to be said about traditional values. Because when you find yourself in a situation like this, you know things are going to go up in some way. You just know it. Especially if you're hearing my voice. Retell your story.

[Celia's Friend]

He just couldn't take her crying to him. He like, you know, he sit and listen to it and then he be like, all she did was cry and all she did was cry.

[Detective]

So what was their issue? Do you know? Their issue?

[Celia's Friend]

Same as everybody.

[Detective]

Everybody else is what?

[Celia's Friend]

Tim? Not being monogamous. I guess it is.

[Detective]

Not being faithful to every day.

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah.

[Detective]

And did you ever know him? Did he ever say anything about hurting her in any way?

[Celia's Friend]

No.

[Mike Carter]

Still, she swore she had nothing to do with Celia's murder.

[Detective]

And we need you to be completely truthful with us. Okay? Do you know who killed Selena?

[Celia's Friend]

No, I'm. Honestly, I don't. I wish I did.

[Detective]

Did you kill Selena?

[Celia's Friend]

No. No way. I have. No. I did not kill that girl.

[Detective]

Do you have any knowledge of who killed Selena?

[Celia's Friend]

No. No, I don't.

[Mike Carter]

The cops were getting nowhere. All they had now was a serial cheater who wouldn't stop talking and his many girlfriends. Then something amazing happened. They found Celia's silver Nissan and the car would lead them to her kill. 22 year old Celia Huda had been murdered and left behind burning like trash on the side of the Gainesville Raceway. Her ex boyfriend, Tony Drayton, had volunteered to help the police and ended up revealing that he had three main women he was seeing. Selia, Angela and Cassandra. And they were all jealous of one another. The cops also knew that a woman had answered Celia's cell phone after she went missing. But they still had no clue who that was. Then they found Solya's silver Nissan abandoned in an apartment complex just down the road from Tony's apartment. Her purse was inside and nothing had been removed. Her money, her apartment keys, her cell phone. They were all still in there. But the car reeked of gasoline. The smell was so intense, in fact, that when the officers opened the trunk, they expected to find a full can of gasoline. But there was none. All they found was a comforter that matched the pattern of a burned piece of cloth found on Celia's corpse. It was clear Celia had been murdered then. The killer had used her car to get gasoline and burn her body. The police subpoenaed security footage from all the nearby gas stations and soon found the last known footage of Celia's Nissan at the Kangaroo gas station during the early morning hours on the night that Celia was killed. Video showed a woman exiting the vehicle with her hood up. She filled a can with $2 worth of gasoline, then slipped back into the car. The woman had her hood pulled up over her face, but her long hair was sticking out. Angela had long hair. Cassandra did not. When they brought Angela back in, they had even more ammo. A tissue had been found at the crime scene with her DNA on it.

[Narrator]

The other thing is, we sent the. There was a napkin kind of paper towel thing found at the scene of where Celia's body was. That's the side of the road, and that's it in the bigger picture. And this is where her body was. We sent that off to have testing done from fdle, and Tony's DNA came back on it, but yours did, too. But do you know how your DNA.

[Angela Owens]

No, I don't know. I have no idea.

[Detective]

Have you ever. You said you never were in her car.

[Narrator]

No.

[Mike Carter]

Tony's DNA was on the tissue along with Angela's, and things were not looking.

[Detective]

Good for her because what we had was called a mixture. We had a mixture of his and yours, but they were able to separate it out to identify the person.

[Angela Owens]

I mean, unless he had something in his pocket that fell out, like you said. But other than that.

[Narrator]

Did you guys use condoms when you had sex? Or. So, I mean, he would, like, clean up with something afterwards or what? Or nothing.

[Angela Owens]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

Okay.

[Detective]

Is that possible?

[Angela Owens]

I mean, that we had sex when this happened?

[Narrator]

No. Or, like.

[Detective]

No. I'm saying, is it possible?

[Narrator]

We don't think, like, you lay down here and had sex, like, at the crime scene or anything like that? No, I'm just saying, like, obviously he had this on him some. So if there's a mixture of your DNA and his. We're just trying to figure out how that came about.

[Celia's Friend]

Oh.

[Angela Owens]

I mean, it could be from that.

[Detective]

You all had sex, and then, you know, he just basically cleaned up with that a little bit. Himself. And your DNA would be on there too. It doesn't take much.

[Angela Owens]

That could be an option.

[Mike Carter]

Then the cops brought up the confrontation with Celia. Angela said that everything went fine and that she had told Tony she was done with him. That's when she revealed how angry he got.

[Angela Owens]

I text him after I got in the car and I was like, I spoke with Celia and I'm done with you. You know, all I want from your house is my glasses. And he was like, okay. And then the next day I was like, just letting you know. Cause it was the day after Christmas, the mall closed, and at 7:30. So I'll get my glasses from your house when I get off. And he's like, oh, I'll have Cass bring them to you. You know, I don't want you to think I'm trying to keep. Like he was kind of seemed angry at the time. And I was like, okay, I didn't argue with him or anything, right. Argue back with him. And then Cass never showed up. So I text Cass and I was like, I don't know if Tony told you, but I guess you're supposed to be bringing me my glasses. And she's like, well, I don't know anything about it, but I'll call him. So I guess she did. And then he texted me an hour before the mall closed and was like, can you come over? I just want to talk. And then you can get your glasses. And I was like, I'll come by, but I'm not coming inside. I went over there, he came out. We sat in the car for like two hours. He talked, begged, cried, whatever. I still said, no, I'm not going to take you back. And he gave me my glasses and I went home.

[Mike Carter]

Angela agreed to give the police her cell phone for data collection. And as they were doing that, the results from Tony, Celia and Cassandra's phones came in. It turned out that they were all pinging off the Same Tower at 2:27am on the night Celia was murdered. How could that be? Were they all together? Cassandra had told police that she worked a triple shift that evening. But there was a small sliver of time between her work hours that she claimed she was at Tony's apartment and they just hung out. But when they talked to Tony's family, his brother admitted that Tony had showed up late that night looking for money and acting strange. The cops knew that Cassandra and Tony were not snuggling on the couch that evening, either both of them, or Cassandra was driving Celia's car around with her dead body. Inside. So they brought Tony and Cassandra back in, and this time they were both under arrest.

[Detective]

You realize how serious this is?

[Celia's Friend]

I understand how serious.

[Detective]

Really understand how serious this is?

[Celia's Friend]

Yes. This is someone dying murder case. I understand how. I understand how serious it is, but I had nothing to do with her murder.

[Detective]

And you had your phone with you the whole time.

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah, I guess. I think I had it with me. It was. I usually just. Like I said, I usually. I either leave it in this in the car or bring it and just sit on the drink. Us in the house.

[Detective]

We've been working on this for 33 days. 33 days. Okay. And to get somebody in handcuffs, to get him arrested, is that means you have to have evidence? We have evidence. Okay? We have evidence that you didn't stay in his apartment the whole night, you in the car sale, his car. We have evidence that you're. You bought gas up in Stark wearing that blue jacket that's on the search warrant. We have more than just that shot of. Just the back shot of you. Okay. Honestly, I don't think you killed Selena. Who?

[Celia's Friend]

I didn't.

[Detective]

Okay. Okay. But I believe Antonio told you what happened. And maybe it was an accident. I don't know what it was. Maybe he never intended her to die. That's fine.

[Narrator]

And he freaked out and called you.

[Detective]

And then you came over, and then like, what you do for Antonio is everything.

[Celia's Friend]

I don't do everything. Yeah, well, we know I don't do everything.

[Detective]

You're there for Antonio. You're there for Antonio regardless of what you do and what you don't do. You're there for Antonio. And he asked you, basically. He put you in a really bad jam. In my opinion of how it went down, I could be wrong, but I'm based on our conversations, you know, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he put you in a really bad spot. And then you helped him.

[Mike Carter]

Cassandra sat tensely as the officers leaned in and pressed harder. They were unrelenting. Cassandra denied everything, despite the cold, hard evidence right in front of her face. She wouldn't give it up for her precious Tony.

[Detective]

Okay, then we can. Then we can continue this conversation.

[Celia's Friend]

I'm not sure y'all got him.

[Narrator]

What?

[Detective]

That way, Tony is down there?

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah. I mean, if I don't say nothing.

[Detective]

We can prove that he's down the hall. I bet you my paycheck on it.

[Narrator]

You want us to walk him down here and we'll let you see him in hand.

[Detective]

I don't want to see him.

[Narrator]

Okay.

[Detective]

Maybe can you peek through the window? We can peek. Maybe you want to see him in Hancos.

[Celia's Friend]

I know y'all got him, okay?

[Narrator]

And he's not going anywhere. Like he just said, his bond is a million dollars.

[Mike Carter]

The evidence against Tony was overwhelming. His DNA was found at the crime scene in Celia's car on her cell phone. And his family had revealed that he'd come home asking for money and to borrow a gas can. Yikes. Another friend told the police that they overheard Tony admitting to the murder at breakfast. I wonder if he was having one of those delicious Denny's Moons over my hammy. Those are quite tasty. Anyway, the tips were flying in.

[Detective]

You need me to throw more out here for you? We know you left with Tony. We know you went up there. We know you went to the convenience store. We know you bought the gas for $2. We know you were in the same car. We know you answered the telephone when Selena's new boyfriend called and said, she's asleep. And then you said. He said, she'll call you tomorrow.

[Mike Carter]

Cassandra was the strange woman on Celia's phone. She was the one who had paid for the gas. In a wig with her hood up. It was all crashing down on her. She hung her head in her hands and started to cry.

[Celia's Friend]

I don't hate him. I do love him. But he's not. He's a horrible person. I told him a hundred times, just told him, just be right. Do right by her, man. Just. That's all he had to do. Just do right by her. That's all I ever did was tell him to be right with Selena. Cause she was a nice girl. She was crazy. But I tried to tell her about him. She got mad at me, so I left it alone, right? That's why I just leave. I just started leaving all this stuff alone. I try to warn the girls. This is the kind of man he is. And everybody gets mad at me. His cast is because he calls me. Y'all want to be in my position. I'm not in a position for somebody to want to be in. It's not. Just not a great place to be.

[Mike Carter]

Cassandra said that Tony killed Celia. She didn't know how or why. She didn't ask questions. She was just trying to get out of his apartment. But she knew he wouldn't let her leave.

[Narrator]

Did he threaten you if he. You know, if you don't. Did he say something or.

[Celia's Friend]

I knew if I refused.

[Narrator]

He would have.

[Celia's Friend]

If I said no, I'm not. He didn't. I mean, I didn't Try to fight with him.

[Narrator]

Sure.

[Celia's Friend]

Because if I did, I knew what would have happened. I tried to stay calm to keep him calm so he don't attack me.

[Narrator]

Right.

[Celia's Friend]

I should have. I should have said something. I should have been more.

[Detective]

Well, you're looking out for yourself. You didn't.

[Narrator]

You were scared. You didn't know what to do.

[Detective]

Beat yourself up. You didn't know what to do.

[Mike Carter]

Tony used his power to get Cassandra to help him dispose of Celia's body the same way he used his power over her to get snacks at 4am or free rent. She just could not say no to him. Is this really power he had over her? Or is this a decision she made herself?

[Detective]

Who drove the car? He drove the car.

[Narrator]

Did you see Celia at that point? You don't know if she was in the back seat or. He tried to.

[Celia's Friend]

I didn't want to see.

[Narrator]

He tried to what? Show you her?

[Celia's Friend]

I said I don't want to see it.

[Detective]

Where did you. Where did he sit?

[Celia's Friend]

I.

[Detective]

Okay, so you drove the car and he sat in the passenger seat.

[Celia's Friend]

Should I speak to a lawyer? Because I'm incriminating myself. I mean, I want to be a witness, but still a witness.

[Narrator]

I don't think at this point you're hurting yourself by telling us.

[Mike Carter]

Too late, Cassandra. It's a little too late to ask for a lawyer. I mean, you kind of have to feel sorry for her a little bit. No. Cassandra said that Tony made her drive Selia's car to run the errands, to finish the job. She said she was afraid that Tony would hurt her if she didn't go along with what he wanted. So, like a dutiful side girlfriend, she got the gas and helped him dump Celia's body. As you would.

[Celia's Friend]

We was driving and trying to find an area that, you know, was kind of secluded. And we saw no other cars coming. We pull over one time, but we saw a car coming, so we kept driving. And when we got there, I said, let's just throw it over the bushes. You know, just let it go over the bushes. Maybe grabbed a can. Just a part. I'm scared. It's because.

[Narrator]

Because you put the gasoline on her. We know you're scared, and I can't. I mean.

[Celia's Friend]

Yeah, but that's the part he said, everybody saying that because I did that, that I could go all I wanted. I said, just throw it over, you know.

[Narrator]

You were just going to throw it over.

[Detective]

Gasoline or.

[Celia's Friend]

That's what. No, he want. He made me do the gasoline. That's what he kept he kept holding over me. You can't say nothing, cuz you.

[Narrator]

You're the one.

[Celia's Friend]

I move you're the one that did this. And you're the one that did that. Y'all gonna look at me. And I did it too.

[Detective]

But I.

[Narrator]

Because you were scared.

[Celia's Friend]

I just wanted to come home. That's why I said just throw her body over. The bushes would be big enough. No one would.

[Detective]

He was trying to make you equally guilty that way. Protect him. Because that's all he cares about is himself.

[Mike Carter]

It was true. All Tony cared about was himself. That's pretty obvious. But we can't blame it all on Tony, can we? He was a true sociopathic narcissist. The word narcissist is thrown around all the time these days. Especially by middle aged women whose relationships have fallen apart. It gets used again and again and again and overused and loses its true meaning. There are actual, real narcissists out there who care about nothing other than their own comfort, their own pleasure, their own gain at the expense of everyone else's. Make no mistake about that. The word gets thrown around to describe any kind of douchebag that does any kind of thing we don't like. But Tony Drayton truly is a narcissist who used every woman he ever met. Only the most selfish animal could commit a crime like this and brazenly walk towards the police offering his assistance in solving the very crime that he committed. The arrogance. The husbah. You know? The gall of this pile of shit.

[Detective]

So he had a lighter or matches?

[Celia's Friend]

I think a lighter.

[Detective]

Lighter?

[Celia's Friend]

I think so.

[Detective]

Did he light something else? Did you see him do this when he lit it or.

[Mike Carter]

No.

[Celia's Friend]

I'm gonna call.

[Detective]

So he lit the fire and what did he say?

[Celia's Friend]

He didn't say anything. He just burned.

[Mike Carter]

That was it. Cassandra gave it all up. But she still didn't know how Tony killed Selia.

[Detective]

All right, like I said, we'll have a deputy deputy transport you.

[Celia's Friend]

Where is he?

[Detective]

At the deputy?

[Narrator]

No, Antonio is down the hall. He can't see you.

[Detective]

He can't see you. We're not gonna let him see you. We're not. Go ahead and transport you. And he won't. He won't see you leave. He's in a whole nother room. Okay.

[Celia's Friend]

No, I said something.

[Narrator]

Whether he finds out tonight or wherever this ends up trying.

[Celia's Friend]

I mean, I don't have. Like I said. I just don't want him to know nothing of what was said. What I said. I don't want nobody coming to meet to my family.

[Mike Carter]

Cassandra was terrified of Tony and didn't want him to know that she had squealed. You have to wonder, was she afraid because she thought Tony would do something to her family? Or was she scared because she didn't want to disappoint him? She's very hard to read. Then they let Cassandra call her mother before they took her to jail. She didn't want her aging mom to find out about this on the 6:00 news after all.

[Celia's Friend]

I know, Ma. I know. I know, Ma. I know. I know. That's why I wanted to call you. I wanted to tell you before you saw anything. I just don't know. I know. I'm sorry, Mom. What. What can I do? I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

[Mike Carter]

I know.

[Celia's Friend]

I don't know.

[Mike Carter]

I don't know.

[Celia's Friend]

We kept threatening the kids and threatening everybody. I just wanted to keep everybody safe. I figured. I ain't say nothing. Everybody. I was scared. He was sitting here walking around before they could get him. He could have did something.

[Angela Owens]

I'm sorry.

[Mike Carter]

I'm sorry.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

I'm sorry, Mom.

[Mike Carter]

Then the police had to deal with Tony. If anyone should have asked for a lawyer, it was this guy Tony.

[Narrator]

Listen to me. What I'm telling you.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Because what I'm saying is.

[Angela Owens]

What I'm saying is, man, if you.

[Narrator]

Have something to tell me, if nothing.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

I can say to you when you're saying you got enough evidence. You got enough evidence saying this this year. I can't even. It don't make any sense because I know I didn't do this.

[Narrator]

Look, we wouldn't have come picked you up today if we didn't have a matter of degrees.

[Detective]

You know what degrees is? No matter if you intentionally hurt somebody or you don't intentionally, it's just. It just happened or it's accidental. That all plays a part in how things kind of.

[Mike Carter]

Tony denied everything. He babbled on and tried to twist and turn his stories. Maybe his smooch talking and mind tricks worked on the girls at the club that he manipulated. But detectives are slightly smarter than that. Slightly. They'd seen a million boneheads like Tony and they weren't going to give up Tony.

[Narrator]

This is your life, man. This is your life. This is your life. Nobody. This ain't nobody's life but yours right now, okay? This is yours. This is your chance. I'm trying to give that to you, man. I'm trying. You talk me through this, okay?

[Detective]

Talk me through it.

[Narrator]

Cast him for got to a bite. We're at.

[Celia's Friend]

Apartment at whose Apartment.

[Narrator]

Leah's apartment.

[Celia's Friend]

Okay.

[Mike Carter]

Please bring me the world's tiniest violin for old Tony boy. Tony had a big dramatic story about how Cassandra went to Selia's apartment, unbeknownst to him, and attacks Celia, killing her with a fire extinguisher, of all things. Then she called Tony for help, but that didn't make any sense because, you know, cops aren't as dumb as he is.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Of course, you can say. I'm saying what Kaz said to me. That's what I'm saying, what Kaz said to me.

[Narrator]

But I'm saying you told Kaz to go over. Around there.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

To go over there?

[Detective]

Yeah.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

To go over there? Yeah. Once she get off, you say she got off work at 9 or something, whatever, somewhere.

[Angela Owens]

Right?

[Mike Carter]

Right.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

She go.

[Detective]

But how.

[Mike Carter]

How.

[Detective]

How would she get Sal's keys? How would she get her car keys? Did. She don't have sets of Sala's car keys. How would she drive?

[Narrator]

Run into Leah?

[Detective]

She'd have to. She'd have to go in the apartment and get the car keys to drive it over to your house with the body in the truck.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

What I'm saying. What I'm saying is it can be bogus. What I'm saying, it can be bogus. But what I'm saying is, though, you saying I did this at my house when I know damn well this shit ain't go down at my house.

[Mike Carter]

Tony continued to argue, manipulate, and twist his way around the truth. He leaned back in his chair and threw up his arms. He did his usual drama routine. And when that didn't work, he softened up and tried to play the victim. He said that Cassandra killed Selia and she forced him to help her clean up the mess. He panicked and went along because, you know, he's just a scared little boy.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

I helped cast. I helped to take the body out, but I made sure I didn't like that mess. Casper Castle and lit the match.

[Celia's Friend]

Cash poured.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

I made sure she did it. I didn't. I made sure she did it. I wasn't going to touch it.

[Narrator]

So she poured the gas and she lit the.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

She lit the body? Yeah, she lit the body up.

[Mike Carter]

But the fire extinguisher story didn't make sense because, well, forensics. Tony was a liar, but Celia's corpse would tell the truth.

[Narrator]

Even with everything said and done. You know, I know the body is burnt and things like that. Okay. You can still see whether or not there's any kind of marks or anything. And there. There's nothing. There's no Gouges or nothing on top of her head.

[Celia's Friend]

So I don't get how that goes.

[Mike Carter]

When you got like a half piece.

[Narrator]

Like that shit's gonna. You have to have some kind of mark.

[Detective]

Right?

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

You know what I'm saying? You can knock yourself out with a fire extinguisher.

[Narrator]

And you're right. I get that. But I can't understand how there ain't gonna be no hearts at all. You see what I'm saying?

[Mike Carter]

Tony stuck to his lies. Unfortunately, Celia's body had been burned so badly, and it was hard for the medical examiners to determine the actual cause of death. But based on Tony's track record of putting hands on his girlfriends when he got overly emotional and the fact that there were no signs of blunt force trauma, it was assumed that he strangled her to death.

[Narrator]

You sure that you ain't got nothing else to tell me? Because when this last time, when I walk out of here tonight, this is it, man. I can't go to bat for you no more. I need you to.

[Detective]

I understand. I understand. My heart.

[Narrator]

I just need you to be honest, buddy.

[Cassandra Kimbrough]

Like I said.

[Detective]

Like I said, they fought. And I knew they couldn't leave that building, but I knew it needed to be done.

[Narrator]

They fought.

[Detective]

They fought.

[Narrator]

Who hit her in the head? Are you sure? She got hit in the head with a fire extinguisher.

[Mike Carter]

Tony was taken to jail, where he continued to call Angela because she was the only one who would answer. He was charged with first degree murder. Sa but as time went on, Tony had a change of heart. Or maybe just some good legal advice from his public defender. By the way, In May of 2012, right before Celia's birthday, Tony Drayton TD did pleaded guilty to second degree murder. He would avoid a trial, and the judge sentenced him to 45 years in prison. Cassandra Kimbrough pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and received two years in prison. A slap on the wrist, if you ask me. Tony Drayton was your textbook narcissist who thought that he ran the world. That's probably why he kept his world so small, so he'd always be the big fish in the little pond of his Gainesville College club scene. Tony thought that the women in his life were inferior to him, especially Cassandra, who he used and used and abused for years just because she was weak and let him. He wanted these girls to fight over him, to actually scratch and claw at each other over his affection. He liked the fact that Angela took a restraining order out on Selia. But when the girls settled their differences and Angela told Tony she wanted nothing more to do with him. That's when Celia lost her life. Was that his motive? Did the fight with Celia start because Tony was was furious that she had ruined his fling with Angela? Tony was a serial cheater who relished in the fact that he could jump from one girl to the next, doling out lies like candy to make sure he had a constant stream of admiration, attention and sex coming his way. In fact, dishing out lie after lie to the police was just as easy. And he did it with such prowess that had his crimes not been so sloppy, the cops may have just believed him. Tony was willing to go to any measure to maintain his hedonistic and shallow life. Celia Huda just happened to be the tiny yet mighty cheerleader who tried to stand up to this creep when he finally took it too far. You know, sometimes it's the little, tiny, seemingly inconsequential decisions that make all the difference. So if you hear my voice talking to you right now and you find yourself in a similar situation to any of these women, maybe let go of that ego just a little bit. You're not all that smart. None of us are. And truly give it some real hard, deep thought. Think real hard about what you may be unintentionally setting into motion. Just a thought. Stay safe. Sa Please support the show if you can. Head on over to sword and scale.com and see sign up for plus starts at just 10 bucks. If you go to the second tier and you do 20, you can see the TV show too, which I highly recommend.