Episode 296

Summary

Sword and Scale Podcast Summary: Episode 296

Title: The Descent of Joshua Carmona
Release Date: May 27, 2025
Host: Mike Boudet
Episode: 296

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Introduction

Sword and Scale delves into the harrowing true-crime story of Joshua Carmona, an 18-year-old who brutally murdered his mother, Tara DeAngelo, in Riverview, Florida. This episode meticulously uncovers Joshua's troubled upbringing, his downward spiral into substance abuse, and the tragic culmination of his despair.

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Background and Early Life

Date: March 20, 2017
Location: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Tampa, Florida

The episode opens with Joshua Carmona's uneasy presence in the interrogation room. At 10:24 pm, 18-year-old Joshua walks into the room unhandcuffed, a detail that raises immediate questions about his state of mind and the purpose of his visit.

Joshua’s Statement:

[00:12] "I wanted to release from all the hard things I had to do and how pointlessly hard I made my life."

Joshua's life story is a complex interplay of familial relationships and personal struggles. Born to Tara DeAngelo in Tampa, Florida, Joshua had a tumultuous childhood marked by instability and emotional neglect.

Friend’s Insight:

[07:06] "She would never do anything to hurt anybody. And the fact, you know, of her getting hurt just... it really upsets me because she didn't deserve it."

Despite early support from his friend Renee Roberts, Joshua's relationship with his mother deteriorated over time, leading to his eventual estrangement.

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Downward Spiral: Substance Abuse and Isolation

Joshua's descent began in college at Fordham University, where he excelled academically and athletically. However, the pressures of maintaining his GPA and his dreams of professional baseball were overshadowed by his increasing dependency on drugs.

Joshua’s Admission:

[05:21] "Yes. Weed."

His experimentation escalated from marijuana to more potent substances like spice, leading to paranoia and further isolation from family and friends.

Detective’s Inquiry:

[33:15] "Do you ever hear voices that you feel like you're hearing that other people around you don't hear?"

Joshua's hallucinations and inability to distinguish between different substances highlighted his fragile mental state, yet no formal diagnosis was made prior to the crime.

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The Crime: March 20, 2017

On his mother's 39th birthday, Joshua's internal struggles reached a breaking point. While his mother was at a hair and nail appointment, Joshua orchestrated a brutal attack.

Notable Actions and Quotes:

1. Preparation:

   [27:12] "I grabbed the aluminum bat and took one hard swing at the staircase banister..."

2. Assault:

   [36:33] "I told her to look over there... I was standing in the kitchen. I just told her to look over there."

3. Continued Violence:

   [38:08] "I told him, be okay."

4. Final Acts:

   [40:39] "I tried to end my life because I still couldn't get over what happened to me as a kid."

Joshua's methodical approach—using both a baseball bat and a butcher knife—demonstrates a premeditated intent to harm. His lack of remorse and cold recounting of his actions during interrogation paint a chilling picture of his disturbed psyche.

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Investigation and Arrest

Following the murder, Joshua attempted to flee, engaging in erratic behavior and substance use. His eventual arrest occurred when deputies spotted his mother's Nissan Sentra on Interstate 275.

Arrest Scene:

[25:49] "You killed your mom, so pretty sure your sister's gonna have to live with that."

Joshua's interactions with law enforcement were marked by candid confessions interspersed with attempts to manipulate conversations to avoid accountability.

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Trial and Conviction

In January 2020, Joshua's trial concluded with a conviction for first-degree murder. The prosecution highlighted his premeditation and damning statements, while the defense pointed to his mental health struggles as mitigating factors.

Prosecutor’s Argument:

"The attack was premeditated, citing text messages and his damning statements to police."

Defense’s Stance:

"His actions were the result of emotional instability."

Despite arguments concerning his mental state, the jury found Joshua guilty, sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Impact and Reflections

The episode reflects on the rarity and shock of a child killing a parent, emphasizing the profound psychological and societal implications.

Host’s Commentary:

"Joshua Carmona was a young man with every opportunity handed to him, who now sits in prison for life, exactly where he belongs."

Renee Roberts’ Testimony:

"How can you forgive someone who killed my best friend... she was someone that would do anything for anybody... she didn't deserve it."

Renee's unyielding grief underscores the lasting trauma inflicted by Joshua's actions on those who knew Tara.

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Conclusion and Insights

Sword and Scale Episode 296 serves as a grim reminder of the complexities surrounding mental health, familial bonds, and personal accountability. Joshua Carmona's tragic downfall from a promising athlete to a convicted murderer prompts listeners to ponder the factors that lead individuals to such extreme actions.

Host’s Final Thoughts:

"It's disturbing, it's sad, and it is quite worrying to those of us who give a shit."

The episode challenges societal perceptions of responsibility, mental illness, and the fine line between victim and perpetrator, leaving listeners with profound questions about the nature of evil and the capacity for redemption.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Joshua Carmona:

  • [00:12] "I wanted to release from all the hard things I had to do and how pointlessly hard I made my life."
  • [33:15] "I have seen things in public that I know I shouldn't believe..."
  • [38:08] "I told him, be okay."
  • [43:05] "I took them off and I showered."
  • [54:35] "She's gone. She's gone."

• Renee Roberts:

  • [07:06] "I loved him to death. I got pictures of me with her and Joshua when he was like, two years old."
  • [27:16] "I saw a lot of blood."
  • [69:22] "I will never forgive him. How can you forgive someone who took away my best friend from me?"

• Detective:

  • [03:43] "Just so you know, man, this room is audio and video recorded."
  • [33:15] "Do you ever hear voices that you feel like you're hearing that other people around you don't hear?"

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Sword and Scale is a poignant exploration of a young man's tragic choices influenced by his personal demons and strained relationships. Joshua Carmona's story is a cautionary tale about the devastating impact of neglect, substance abuse, and mental health issues, underscoring the importance of timely intervention and support.

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Note: This summary omits non-content sections such as advertisements, intros, and outros to maintain focus on the core narrative.

Transcript

[Mike Boudet]

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

[Joshua Carmona]

I wanted to release from all the hard things I had to do and how pointlessly hard I made my life.

[Detective]

Do you feel a release?

[Joshua Carmona]

No. I feel like I made the one mistake they can't forgive me for.

[Mike Boudet]

Welcome to the premiere source of murder in your household. Sword and scale. This is season 12, episode 290 something of. You know the Thing what shapes a person in America? The answer is probably doordash and chick fil a, judging by our healthcare costs. But I'm talking psychologically here. We've often talked about nature versus nurture. Is a person's brain predispositioned since birth due to inherited traits, or is it slowly formed by experiences over time? We've come to learn that like so many other things in life, the answer is not black and white. It's nuanced. Psychological disorders aside, and by the way, we all have them, the fact of the matter is that you are in the driver's seat and until you relinquish control and let the crazy take over, which by the way, is a choice, you are responsible for your actions. Despite what's happened to you in the past, and despite what society tells you these days, we are the only ones behind the wheel of our own destiny. Those are just the facts. The sooner we figure out that no one is coming to save us, the better. And while some strive to do their best to steer through life responsibly, others can be careless, holding little to no value for human existence, including their own. It's Thursday, March 20, 2017 at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Tampa, Florida. The fluorescent light flickers in the stark interrogation room, casting shadows off three empty chairs awkwardly positioned inside the 8x10 space. At 10:24pm 18 year old Joshua Carmona is seen on surveillance casually entering the room. Joshua is still in his street clothes and isn't handcuffed, a surprising detail considering the purpose of his visit with investigators.

[Detective]

Just so you know, man, this room is audio and video recorded. Just so you know, I'm going to turn this on and just back up. And the reason why we do that is so I can't put any words in your mouth, okay?

[Mike Boudet]

Joshua looks up to notice the CCTV camera pointed directly at him, but is unbothered, well aware that everything he says can and will be used against him. By now, the two detectives have scooted their chairs just inches from his. They're positioned in a perfect triangle, and for the first time ever Joshua is given the undivided attention he's always wanted. While sitting at an uncomfortably close distance. Authorities read him his Miranda rights. Then they move to establish the suspect's level of competency before diving into the interview.

[Detective]

What was the highest level education you completed?

[Joshua Carmona]

High school.

[Detective]

High school. Okay. What high school do you go?

[Joshua Carmona]

Jefferson.

[Detective]

Jefferson. Okay. How was your grades?

[Joshua Carmona]

I had a 3.5.

[Detective]

3.5. So it's pretty good. I heard you went to Fordham University.

[Joshua Carmona]

Yes, sir.

[Detective]

It's a pretty good school.

[Joshua Carmona]

It was pretty school, yeah.

[Detective]

Did you like it up there in New York?

[Joshua Carmona]

I had fun, yeah. I wouldn't say I liked it, no.

[Detective]

I'm. I'm originally from New York and everything, so I, you know, kind of familiar with the area.

[Joshua Carmona]

New York's great. I just did a lot of bad things.

[Mike Boudet]

The female detective on Joshua's left is holding a red folder. In it are crime scene photos, witness statements, and evidence logs. Her partner then leans in as he continues to gauge where Joshua's head is at this very moment.

[Detective]

Do you take any medications or anything?

[Joshua Carmona]

No, sir.

[Detective]

No?

[Joshua Carmona]

Okay.

[Detective]

Do you take any drugs?

[Joshua Carmona]

Yes.

[Detective]

What kind of drugs do you do?

[Joshua Carmona]

Weed.

[Detective]

Weed? That's not so bad.

[Joshua Carmona]

I mean, it. I mean, was pretty bad.

[Detective]

Was pretty bad.

[Joshua Carmona]

Like the paranoia.

[Detective]

Paranoia. You get paranoid from the weed.

[Joshua Carmona]

Spice.

[Detective]

You do Spice.

[Joshua Carmona]

Think so.

[Detective]

You think so?

[Joshua Carmona]

I think that's why I was so much more paranoid.

[Detective]

Okay. When was the last time you did that?

[Joshua Carmona]

Today.

[Detective]

Today. What time?

[Joshua Carmona]

4 or 5.

[Detective]

4 or 5. How you feeling right now?

[Joshua Carmona]

I'm still coming down.

[Detective]

Still coming down. Do you know where. Do you know where you are right now?

[Joshua Carmona]

I'm up. Yeah, I know, right?

[Detective]

Where are you?

[Joshua Carmona]

I'm in the text office.

[Mike Boudet]

You're in the sheriff's office.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators are in a tricky spot after Joshua tells them he's currently high on Spice, a synthetic compound known to cause delusions and even mania. Still, he agrees to continue with the interview. With his shoulders stiff and eyes on the floor, Joshua swallows a mouth full of spit and prepares to reveal details of a crime so vile that even the two seasoned detectives in front of him will shudder. Teria Lua DeAngelo, more affectionately known as Tara, was born in Tampa, Florida, on March 20, 1978. Her best friend, Renee Roberts, remembers the time they met almost like it was yesterday.

[Renee Roberts]

I met her in high school, and we were in JROTC together. I think I was 15 and she was 14. I was. So I graduated first, and then she graduated, like the following year. And that's how I met her and we became friends that way.

[Mike Boudet]

After high school, the two friends lost touch, but reconnected a few years later when Tara became pregnant with her firstborn Joshua. Tara asked Renee if she would be the boy's godmother. And she couldn't have been more thrilled.

[Renee Roberts]

She had asked me to be his godmother before she even gave birth to him. And then once, you know, she got word that she was gonna, you know, I went to the hospital, you know, I went up there, and I was in the delivery room whenever he was born. That was my godson, you know, and I loved him to death. I got pictures of me with her and Joshua when he was like, two years old, you know, so I have a lot of pictures.

[Mike Boudet]

So unfortunately, Tara struggled as a young mother. She was only 20 years old at the time. And to make matters worse, Joshua's father wasn't in the picture from the start. Luckily, Tara had some good people in her life, her friend Renee being one of them.

[Renee Roberts]

He was a good baby. He was a good baby. You know, he didn't cry much. I watched him during the day for her to work, you know. Cause at the time, I wasn't working because my ex husband was taking good care of me. I didn't have to work. So, you know, I just took care of Joshua. I treated him as if he was my own child, you know?

[Mike Boudet]

Despite the help from friends and family, Tara ultimately made the difficult decision to award custody of Joshua to his uncle when he was 5 years old. Shortly after he entered elementary school, Joshua's uncle had troubles of his own and relinquished his responsibilities to the boy's grandmother, with whom he became very close. While Tara's exact issues are unknown, she ended up moving out west to get her life together. According to Joshua, aside from the occasional visit to his grandmother's during the holidays, he rarely saw his mother growing up.

[Joshua Carmona]

All I think about now is when I was a kid, and she would visit for like, a day or two, and then she would leave. And I just remember me crying myself to sleep because I was really sad.

[Mike Boudet]

Despite his biological parents not being around, Joshua, flip flops during his interview, admitting that things actually weren't that bad for him as a kid.

[Joshua Carmona]

I had a great childhood. I was a great kid. I was trying to make an excuse and act like I was broken, Okay? I screwed something up. I made the wrong choice.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

But not long before he started dabbling in illicit drugs, Joshua felt his grandmother was the only adult figure in his life that he could count on. Unfortunately, all that changed in 2009 when Joshua claimed things started to fall apart when he was in sixth grade, his mother returned to the east coast, which was around the same time that Joshua's grandmother passed away. After that, he had no choice but to move back in with his mother, who had already established her own life with her new boyfriend, whom she eventually married. Trying to make up for for lost time, Tara worked long hours to afford toys and video games for Joshua. She took him on road trips to Cooperstown to visit the Baseball hall of Fame and bought tickets for them to see his favorite team, the Yankees, whenever they played the Rays at Tropicana Field. Despite these gestures, friends and relatives noticed Joshua struggling with his new family dynamic, now living with his once established estranged mother and the new man in her life.

[Renee Roberts]

I used to say, joshua, you know, I'm your godmother. And he would just ignore me and go in the other room, you know, Then I'm like, why would he ignore me? But, you know, when I asked her, she's like, you know, he don't really like talking to people. He really didn't like talking to people. So he would just never say nothing back to me. He was not a people person.

[Mike Boudet]

With each passing day, Joshua started to feel more like an outsider. Tensions only grew when a stepsister was born a few years later, as all the attention was now directed towards her. After that, Joshua rarely spoke with his parents unless he wanted something.

[Renee Roberts]

I know, as he got older, you know, she'd call me because she was upset, you know, with him, you know, like he did something, you know, maybe he, you know, because he would always ask her for money and stuff. And, you know, there just comes a point, you know, where you can't give your last dollar every time, you know, and so she would do everything she could for him, you know, but it's almost like if she couldn't do something or she couldn't buy him the best of this or the best of that, then, you know, he. He would get. He would get kind of angry, you know.

[Mike Boudet]

When he was a teenager, Joshua did start to show some signs of progress. He attended Jefferson High School in Tampa, excelled academically, and became a talented athlete playing for his varsity baseball team. His mother, Tara, was often seen in the stands cheering him on. For the first time, it seemed like Joshua had found purpose in life. Baseball provided him with a sense of confidence and self worth, now with a goal to work toward. His mother also noticed improvements in his attitude. He spoke regularly about his dreams of playing professional baseball. One day, as a result of a respectable GPA and accomplishments on the field. Joshua even earned himself a Most Likely to Succeed superlative in his high school yearbook. Things were looking up.

[Friend]

He was just kind of to himself. Everyone knew he was really, really smart. He was very outgoing. Senior year, he went to a lot of parties.

[Mike Boudet]

During his senior year, he even took the stage at the school's talent show to express appreciation for his mother, of all people.

[Friend]

It was nice things. Yeah, it wasn't anything bad. It was just him kind of saying how he's working so hard, you know, for her, like, just everything nice. It was a really moving speech. It was like that, that factor, like it was what got everyone crying. All the girls, like, it was a really nice speech because his mom was in the crowd. She got up.

[Mike Boudet]

While things seemed to be going well for him as he approached graduation, Joshua apparently didn't mean a word he said during that speech. Frustrations about his home life had silently gotten worse as he internalized an overwhelming sense of rejection. At his senior prom, Joshua's date and class valedictorian showed up to the dance alone. According to friends, Joshua was back at his hotel room, passed out drunk after pre gaming a little too hard. He showed up to the dance, hammered long after it ended. After high school, he was back to feeling bad for himself. He slowly started to withdraw from his family again, but also the majority of his friends. Those who knew him described Joshua as distant during this time. Someone who carried a strong sense of bitterness everywhere he went. As a result, the emotionally inept teenager started smoking marijuana regularly, using weed as his main escape. Sound familiar?

[Joshua Carmona]

We didn't talk at all. And when I turned to drugs, we just. We started talking about nothing, ever seeing each other.

[Mike Boudet]

Another positive shift came a short time later, when Joshua was accepted to Fordham University, a promising school in New York City's most bustling borough of Manhattan. To his benefit, this was a great accomplishment. After all, Fordham University isn't just some run of the mill community college. It's a private institution that came with a pretty hefty tuition, cost around 60 grand a year. Not to mention, the Fordham University Rams had a pretty decent baseball team as part of the NCAA's Division 1 program. From his mother's perspective, college was sure to be an exciting turning point in Joshua's life. A change for the better. But boy, was she wrong. This is sword and scale, after all. You didn't forget that, right? You see, almost as soon as he enthusiastically tossed his bat and glove on the bunk of his freshman dorms, Joshua's weed smoking started soaring to Great heights. No pun intended. To put it bluntly, also no pun intended. Joshua just loved getting high. I mean, who doesn't? Getting high is awesome. It rocks. But if you're a kid and you start doing it every day, well, that's gonna be bad. You see, Joshua loved getting high more than he loved hitting home runs. It wasn't long after entering college that Joshua expanded his horizons and his deteriorating mind by experimenting with substances much stronger than good old fashioned Mary Jane. I mean, they call it a gateway drug for a reason. Rather than focusing on his grades and dreams of one day making it to the big leagues, he spent most of his time partying. Booze, mdma, cocaine, spice, you name it. If it was available, then Joshua was all in. By his own admission, the drug spice in particular made him extremely paranoid, which was just one of the many factors that contributed to his poor attendance record. From there on out. To make a long story short, Joshua blew it. He flunked out of school. He packed up his bat and glove and was forced to hop on a plane back to the one place he hated the most, his mother's house down in Tampa. Unfortunately for his mom and stepdad, it wasn't long after he returned that Joshua started acting up again. As a result, his mother kicked him out for a period after tiring of his constant clouds of weed smoke filling up her home. For several weeks, Joshua couch hopped between the apartments of friends, the few he had left, that is. It was during this time that Joshua managed to make his way back north to Pennsylvania. According to court documents, that's when he allegedly assaulted a woman before stealing her car and driving to a remote overpass. It didn't take long for police to track down the stolen vehicle. When they arrived on scene, officers found a despondent Joshua behind the wheel. When police asked what he was doing dangerously parked on the side of a bridge, he told them he planned to take his own life that day by jumping to the freeway below. Fortunately for Joshua, and perhaps no one else, the cops stopped them just in time.

[Joshua Carmona]

I tried to end my life because I still couldn't get over what happened to me as a kid. And I was still blaming and hating the world.

[Mike Boudet]

Due to concerns for his mental health, Joshua was never charged for the assault or theft. Instead, authorities notified his mother, at which time she welcomed him back into her home and arranged for him to meet with a therapist.

[Joshua Carmona]

I was talking to a therapist, but I was kind of holding back from him, too. Okay, I knew. I knew all the time. I came back. I came back from Pennsylvania in December. And they made me start talking to him. And I knew that whole time that I didn't want to go back and face what I did. I just wanted to quit and give up. But I didn't tell him that.

[Detective]

The therapist. Yeah, okay.

[Joshua Carmona]

I was holding it in.

[Mike Boudet]

Although Joshua couldn't see it, his mother did the best she could to navigate the situation. All while trying to support the family from her job as a pharmacy tech at a Walmart in Tampa.

[Renee Roberts]

With her job too. You know, her job, when they needed her to go work at another store, she went to work at another store. You know, over time, no questions, you know, she would always work it. She would never let anybody down. You know, if she knew you needed something, she was there.

[Mike Boudet]

Despite her hard work, Joshua couldn't get past his feelings of resentment towards his mother. And the self loathing teen only harbored more and more negativity as time went on. The college dropout and ex athlete started blaming everyone but himself for his missteps in life. Pouting alone in his childhood bedroom, feeling sorry for himself, you know, like a loser, Joshua fell back into his old bad habits because they were easy, easier than real life. He attempted to find and resolve these problems in his life through resin hits and swigs of hard alcohol. Meanwhile, Joshua's family felt just as hopeless. He refused to open up to anyone, including his therapist and his loved ones were at a loss. Then In February of 2017, Joshua hit rock bottom when he was pulled over for drunk driving in Georgia. He was ultimately arrested and tried, charged with a dui, which can be a real wake up call, believe you me. In his mind, this was the last straw. For the next several weeks, he struggled to maintain the appearance of a man holding it together. He started to let the mask slip a bit. In reality, he was quietly unraveling and his hatred towards the world would soon manifest into several downward swings of pure violence.

[Joshua Carmona]

The thing that don't come out of this was just a release from what I did to my life. Besides all the problems like the legal issues. Sure. I made myself look shit for no reason and so I wanted to release from all the hard things I had to do and how pointlessly hard I made my life.

[Detective]

Do you feel a release?

[Joshua Carmona]

No. I feel like I tried to do was get attention from my family. I threw everything away and it doesn't make a damn bit of sense. I tried to end something that had nothing to do with me. I made the one mistake they can't forgive me for.

[Mike Boudet]

At just 18 years old, Joshua Carmona was already at odds with the universe. A promising student with a passion for baseball, he once had a potentially bright future. But beneath the surface of his accomplishments, he was discontent with life. He was convinced it had dealt him a lousy hand, and he just couldn't let it go. On the afternoon of March 20, 2017, following a disturbing 911 call, Hillsborough county deputies arrived at a townhouse on Hawthorne Place Drive in Riverview, Florida. Upon entering the residence, authorities grimaced at a scene so gruesome that some excused themselves to go vomit outside. It's hard to get a cop to vomit, but not impossible. While crime scene techs work to secure the home and gather evidence, a spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department held a press conference at the scene.

[Police Spokesperson]

Unfortunately, did find a female inside the residence who is deceased. We're currently in the process of making next to kin notification. Once we complete that, we release the victim's identity. We're also in the process of conducting a search warrant, getting it signed by a judge for the residents here. We're currently interviewing neighbors, family members to try to identify a cause for this, for this crime. At this point, it's still very early and we're conducting a number of investigations. At this time, we don't feel that the neighbors in this area are in any danger, and that was not random. But again, we're still working through the early phases of the investigation. Right now we're going to limit it to up upper body trauma, so we're gonna have to wait for the ME to get inside and make an exact termination.

[Mike Boudet]

As neighbors flooded the sidewalks of this once unassuming street, they started to come up with theories of their own. One resident who lived across the street spoke with reporters about her encounter with the victim's family member moments after she made the gut wrenching discovery. He was very nervous and he kind of collapsed on the ground. The only information the public had been made aware of was that a woman was dead and that her killer was still at large. The victim's vehicle was missing from the home, and whoever committed the crime was believed to have fled in a white 2016 Nissan Sentra.

[Renee Roberts]

I think that's crazy.

[Mike Boudet]

Never really expected to hear something like.

[Police Spokesperson]

That in this neighborhood.

[Mike Boudet]

After interviewing various witnesses, several reported hearing shouting earlier that morning, but for whatever reason, no one called police. According to one witness, they'd seen a young male exiting the home a short time later, but they couldn't provide a physical description. Hours after night fell over, Tampa, Florida, deputies eventually located the victim's Nissan Sentra. Traveling along Interstate 275 at around 9:30pm when they pulled the car over, they found 18 year old Joshua Carmona behind the wheel. He was calm, cooperative, and promptly taken into custody. As the patrol car made its way to the station, Joshua leaned forward while handcuffed in the backseat. In an emotionless tone, he told officers that if they treated him nicely, he'd tell them everything they needed to know.

[Police Spokesperson]

You know, this is extremely tragic. A mother was killed on her birthday and now we have a three year old that's going to be motherless. While he was in the car, he spontaneously did state that he killed his mother.

[Renee Roberts]

I was getting ready for work that night. It was like around 10 or 5, the 10 o' clock news came on. But my phone rang and it was one of our mutual friends. And she said, renee, have you talked to Tara today? I said, yes, I talked to her this morning. I said I kept waiting for her to call me back because, you know, she said she would call me when she was done and we could meet up. But since she never called me, I just stayed home. Why? And she said somebody with her name in Riverview was killed today. I was like, what? I said, no way. There's not another, you know, Tahiri d' Angelo. I'm sure, you know, it can't be her. It can't be her. So I called her sister and she answered the phone, yes, Renee, it's true. Tara's gone. And I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what? What'd you just say? She's like, renee, she's gone. I'm like, no, she's not. Let me talk to her, you know, and she kept. Renee, she's gone. I'm like, there's no way Tara's gone. Like I just talked to her this morning. There's no, there's absolutely no way that she's gone.

[Mike Boudet]

After 18 year old Joshua Carmona was escorted into a Hillsborough county interrogation room. He told investigators that on the morning of March 20, 2017, he woke up and chose violence.

[Joshua Carmona]

Today I woke up and I decided, I've been thinking about this like for a while.

[Detective]

When you say thinking about this, what do you mean by that?

[Joshua Carmona]

Oh, that's a good question. I've been thinking about harming my parents.

[Mike Boudet]

Joshua's stepdad had already left the room to drop his three year old daughter off at a time daycare. As for his mother, she had plans of her own. It was her 39th birthday. Just before 10am Joshua's mother told him she'd be Back soon after a hair and nail appointment she'd scheduled as a gift to herself. Shortly after she left the home, Tara received a call from her best friend, Renee.

[Renee Roberts]

I called her that morning, like around 10, something in the morning. I called to tell her happy birthday and see what she was doing for the day, because I wanted to spend some time with her for her birthday because we always did that together on our birthdays. Asked her what she was doing, and she told me she was going to the mall and, you know, she worked hard, so she deserved to go get her nails done and stuff.

[Mike Boudet]

Back at the townhouse, Joshua stewed in anger. He paced around while solidifying the next step of the his evil plan. At one point, he ventured into the kitchen, grabbed all the small knives from the butcher block, and started hurling them at the wall, snapping several of the blades in the process. The only knife that remained was the largest, a butcher knife, which Joshua brought with him back to the living room and set aside for later. During that time, he sent a text to his mother asking her to return home with syrup. That's right, syrup. It's unclear why. I mean, it's a really weird request, right? It's not like bread or milk or butter or something like that. It's syrup. Regardless, the mere suggestion of enjoying delicious, fluffy, tasty pancakes in conjunction with what Joshua planned to do next is quite disturbing to say the least. Certainly not something that you would consider rooty, tutti fresh and fruity. While his mother sat down in the salon chair across town, she responded to her son's text, agreeing to pick up the syrup. That said, the text message directly above it suggests what Joshua's home life was really like. The exchange, later recovered by investigators from his mother's phone, occurred three days before Joshua's arrest and reads as follows. Our pharmacist and district manager just said.

[Friend]

They can cover me while I go with you to court next month. I'll work on booking our flights this weekend.

[Mike Boudet]

Joshua responded with the word okay to his mother's text, which was about helping him fight his DUI case in the coming weeks.

[Detective]

I know that there's been some recent history you've gotten in some trouble up north, that kind of thing. The thing. The thing in Georgia. Right. Has she been supportive through this?

[Joshua Carmona]

Has she been really supportive?

[Detective]

Okay. And she's trying to help you kind of, like, overcome it, and.

[Joshua Carmona]

Well, they. They gave me everything I needed. They gave me a home and helped me through it.

[Detective]

Okay, when you say they gave you everything you needed, what do you mean by that?

[Joshua Carmona]

Trying to get me set up again.

[Detective]

So she's really been trying to help you.

[Joshua Carmona]

She's done everything.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

Despite recognizing the unconditional love his family had for him, Joshua, being the piece of autistic zoomer that he is, told investigators he had two options that morning. Face the legal consequences of his DUI or kill his parents. Guess which one he chose.

[Joshua Carmona]

What was going to happen was I had to go do my on monthly parole for Georgia and go get an appointment with my doctor this week. And so I was deciding between quitting and doing this or doing everything I have to do.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Joshua Carmona]

And getting ready to, like, go through probationary and April and talk to my therapist.

[Detective]

Okay. So you feel like you're deciding between.

[Joshua Carmona]

I tried to make it a choice between those two.

[Detective]

So you felt like kind of your two choices.

[Joshua Carmona]

Like, I made it in my mind. I was like, today we're going to decide because I was pinning them against each other.

[Mike Boudet]

Right. Makes sense, doesn't it? Regardless of how Joshua came to this rationalization, his mind was made up. Not long after his mother left the house, he remembered his baseball bat. The same bat he'd dreamt of hitting home runs at college with, but became a complete failure before he had a chance. Enraged at the thought of what his life could have been, Joshua grabbed the aluminum bat and took one hard swing at the staircase banister, snapping the wooden railing in the process. He then did the same thing to one of the. The kitchen chairs.

[Joshua Carmona]

I broke a chair. I was hitting the staircase with the bat and just using the bat. I was talking about.

[Detective]

Okay. And you're kind of demonstrating like this. So are you right handed? Okay. So you were holding the bat this way, the way you're showing us. Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

After throwing a hissy fit. That's what it was, a hissy fit. Joshua ruminated in his thoughts for the the next two hours, lost in his loserhood. I wonder what subreddits he browsed while he was doing that. At one point during his police interview, detectives asked Joshua if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol that morning. After he said he wasn't, authorities asked if he'd ever suffered from auditory hallucinations. Here's what he had to say about that.

[Detective]

I want to ask you kind of a weird question. Do you. Do you ever hear voices that you feel like you're hearing that other people around you don't hear? Yes, you do. Have you ever talked to your therapist or anybody about that?

[Joshua Carmona]

He knows it. He thinks it's from the weed, like he said when I started doing it. That's when I would be seeing.

[Detective]

What is it?

[Renee Roberts]

I don't know.

[Detective]

Seeing a.

[Joshua Carmona]

Hearing stuff other people don't.

[Detective]

When you do, when you smoke weed.

[Renee Roberts]

Okay.

[Detective]

Is it only when you smoke weed though, and you're high?

[Joshua Carmona]

I wouldn't even when I'm high. Like, I. I have seen things in public that I know I shouldn't believe, but that makes me think. There's a lot of things I've seen that I wasn't sure about.

[Detective]

What do you mean by that?

[Joshua Carmona]

Like, sometimes I'm hallucinating and I hear the radio say something, or people involved say something that they shouldn't be able to know. And so I know when I'm on the drug, I hallucinate, but I don't know about.

[Detective]

So how do you know that you're hallucinating? Because typically someone that is doesn't even realize they're hallucinating. Right. So how are you aware of the fact that you're hallucinating?

[Joshua Carmona]

Because there was like a. A small few that I confirmed.

[Detective]

Like, so have you ever like, like when this is happening, have you ever said, hey, did you hear that to somebody?

[Joshua Carmona]

Like all the time?

[Detective]

Yeah.

[Joshua Carmona]

And I've seen like water on my pants. I see it and I touch it and it's dry. That's what I would notice when I was drinking sometimes.

[Detective]

Okay, so when you're drinking, you see that when you're smoking marijuana. How about when you're smoking spice?

[Joshua Carmona]

I don't.

[Detective]

Do you know the difference between marijuana and spice? I don't, no.

[Joshua Carmona]

That's why I was opening it up.

[Detective]

Okay, so you're not sure if it's marijuana or spice that you're smoking.

Do you usually try to like, smell it, test it, something like that? Like, to see? Because marijuana has a distinct odor to it and spice has a distinct odor to it.

[Joshua Carmona]

I just don't know. You don't know.

[Detective]

Okay. And if you don't know, that's either.

[Joshua Carmona]

Way of what I have is in my car.

[Mike Boudet]

The man made chemical known as K2 is designed to mimic the effects of THC, but is much stronger. Regardless, there's a reason this stuff has since been outlawed in virtually all 50 states. As for Joshua, it may have worked as a truth serum of sorts during his interrogation. Luckily for investigators, he was kind of an open book.

[Joshua Carmona]

When she came home, I snuck up on her and I used a bat.

[Detective]

What did you do with the bat?

[Joshua Carmona]

I. I did. What you saw.

[Mike Boudet]

When his mother finally returned home around noon, Joshua greeted her in the Doorway and directed her attention to the staircase banister he destroyed with the baseball bat.

[Joshua Carmona]

She comes in. I should. I told her to go look at something. I was standing in the kitchen. I just told her to look over there. And I just came behind her, and she came around the counter to look at it because I told her.

[Mike Boudet]

With her back turned to him, Joshua picks up the bat, holds it over his head and swings.

[Joshua Carmona]

It just hit her waging hitter in the head. She fell down.

[Mike Boudet]

Following the initial blow to the back of his mother's head, she stumbled into the kitchen table.

[Joshua Carmona]

She fell on the table.

[Detective]

Okay. And do you remember that happening and breaking the table or something?

[Joshua Carmona]

She. She just went against it, and the table got bent because of that.

[Detective]

Okay. Are we in the living room or the kitchen or something else?

[Joshua Carmona]

This is the kitchen. It opens up into the living room.

[Detective]

The dining area, and so the table you're talking about is in which room?

[Joshua Carmona]

The dining area.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

While Tara was still conscious, she threw her hands up in self defense. Lying helplessly on her back on the kitchen floor, she begged her son to stop. But Joshua showed no remorse, no emotion, and continued to bludgeon his mother's skull. Why are kids like this nowadays? Violent, entitled automatons.

[Detective]

And when she's on the ground, what are you doing? How are you doing over.

[Joshua Carmona]

Just opens up over your head.

[Detective]

How many times do you think you hit her when she was on the ground?

[Joshua Carmona]

Probably five or six.

[Detective]

Five or six?

[Joshua Carmona]

At least.

[Detective]

At least. Gonna be more than 10.

[Joshua Carmona]

No.

[Detective]

So less than 10. Between five and 10?

[Joshua Carmona]

Yeah.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Joshua Carmona]

But she wasn't out. And so I just kept hitting her until she. Until she stopped. Okay. Hit her bed. So she couldn't breathe because her face welled up. And so it was just muffled and screaming. And I was just trying to hit her until that stopped.

[Mike Boudet]

As a result of severe blunt force trauma. His mother murmured and groaned on the floor. But that didn't stop Joshua. From there, he continued with the assault, eerily offering his mother the following comforting words in the process.

[Detective]

Did you say anything during it? What did you say?

[Joshua Carmona]

I told him, be okay.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Joshua Carmona]

She was trying to push me off, and I. I just told her, I said, just stop. Stop fighting. Just like, let go.

[Detective]

Was she fighting? What do you mean, let go? Was she holding on to you?

[Joshua Carmona]

She was trying to grab her throat.

[Detective]

So she was fighting.

[Joshua Carmona]

She couldn't breathe and she was trying to get away from me.

[Detective]

Was she on the ground at this point?

[Joshua Carmona]

And I told her. I said, just let go. And she wouldn't. And so I Got up, and I just smashed.

[Detective]

I hit her again in that face.

[Joshua Carmona]

She was on the ground.

[Detective]

I see these little, like, almost like little neck marks, but what are these from?

[Joshua Carmona]

That's just.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

Once she finally stopped moving, Joshua walked the short distance to his mother's bedroom and retrieved a bed sheet and comforter before returning to the kitchen.

[Joshua Carmona]

I rolled her onto sheets and just dragged it, and then I moved the body to the bathroom.

[Mike Boudet]

According to joshua, he wasn't sure if his mother was still alive, but to be sure, he produced the large knife he'd set aside earlier that day.

[Detective]

So what kind of knife was it?

[Joshua Carmona]

It was just. It was from the rack of knives.

[Detective]

You had, like, a lock or something on the counter.

[Joshua Carmona]

It was for me.

[Detective]

Which one was.

[Joshua Carmona]

Was in the butcher one.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

With the butcher knife in hand, Joshua reentered the bathroom and started defiling his mother's body even further.

[Joshua Carmona]

It was right after to just let out blood. Okay. In case I wouldn't care to wake up.

[Detective]

Help me understand that. You said to let out blood so she wouldn't wake up. Is that right?

[Joshua Carmona]

Because she was just knocked out.

[Detective]

Okay. From the back. She was just knocked out. So you don't think she was dead at that point?

[Joshua Carmona]

I wasn't sure.

[Detective]

Okay.

We tried to put her out of misery. Yeah.

So where did you use the knife to let the blood out?

[Joshua Carmona]

On the back of her neck.

[Detective]

Okay. Can you kind of show me where on her neck? Right in the back. Okay.

Did you come around to the front? How did you do it? We're not there right now, so I can't.

[Joshua Carmona]

I'm trying to remember.

[Detective]

Right.

[Joshua Carmona]

I'm sorry. It's just foggy.

[Detective]

Yeah.

[Renee Roberts]

It's all right.

[Detective]

Take your time.

Take your time, man.

[Joshua Carmona]

I'll remember it later.

[Mike Boudet]

Though. His memory is foggy. Joshua pressed his knees into his mother's spine before slitting the back of her throat. Pools of blood quickly formed Beneath the toilet and a nearby trash can. But what he fails to mention during this interview Is how he grabbed his mother's hair, Lifted her face off the bathroom tile, and proceeded to slit her throat again, this time dragging the blade so deep across the front of her neck that the two wounds nearly intersected, Decapitating her. Putting her out of her misery Is a gross mischaracterization of what happened here. As Tara diangelo's head was nearly completely severed. Once the victim's son was finally satisfied, Joshua proceeded to clean up the mess he made the only way he knew how. Lazily.

[Joshua Carmona]

And then I turned on the Fan and just closed it. And then I started pouring baking soda on the rug and trying to clean all the blood.

[Detective]

Is this something that you had.

[Renee Roberts]

Excuse me?

[Detective]

Like looked into before to try to figure out how to get the blood cleaned up or what made you think to grab baking soda?

[Joshua Carmona]

It was under the counter.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Joshua Carmona]

I think they use it for spills on carpet.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Joshua Carmona]

And I just saw them there and I was going to clean it to make it look better later.

[Detective]

Okay. You know what you're describing? There's probably going to be a lot of blood involved. Right. But I don't see really any on you. Where are the clothes that you were wearing when this all happened today?

[Joshua Carmona]

I took them off and I showered.

[Detective]

Okay. And where'd you put the clothes?

[Joshua Carmona]

In my room.

[Detective]

In your bedroom. Where is your bedroom at?

[Mike Boudet]

In the house?

[Joshua Carmona]

Upstairs.

[Detective]

Okay. And so when you. Up the stairs upstairs?

[Joshua Carmona]

The room on the left.

[Detective]

The room on the left like the first room or is there more than one?

[Joshua Carmona]

There's only one.

[Detective]

Okay.

Where'd you put him in your room?

[Joshua Carmona]

In the closet.

[Mike Boudet]

After showering and changing out of his bloody clothes. The clothes no doubt that his mother had washed for him. The 18 year old killer brought both murder weapons over to the kitchen sink.

[Detective]

And then the knife. Where did you put the knife?

[Joshua Carmona]

In the sink.

[Detective]

In which sink?

[Joshua Carmona]

The right thing.

[Detective]

The right sink in the bathroom or.

[Joshua Carmona]

The kitchen or the kitchen sink.

[Detective]

Oh, in the kitchen. Did you clean the bat off as well when you were trying to clean up the house?

[Joshua Carmona]

I started to.

[Detective]

Okay, so you.

How did you try to clean?

[Joshua Carmona]

I just put it in the sink.

[Detective]

Like put in the sink and rinsed it off. Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

Joshua then placed the bat by the front door with plans to use it a second time.

[Joshua Carmona]

And then. But then I just left it because I thought I was going to use it again.

[Detective]

I'm your stepdad, so I just.

[Joshua Carmona]

Yeah, so I just put it there.

[Mike Boudet]

Fortunately, the killer stepdad was running behind schedule in fear that the police might show up. Joshua gathered his mother's purse, cell phone and keys before heading out the door and jumping in her Nissan Sentra. From there, he was en route to pick up his three year old half sister from daycare. How responsible of him. On the way, he texted his step grandfather from his mother's phone. Posing as the victim, he asked if he wouldn't mind watching the three year old girl over the weekend. Joshua fabricated a story when asked why, telling his grandfather that his mother and stepdad were going away for a few days. The grandfather instantly became suspicious, even through text he could tell this wasn't Tara on the other end, partially because his grandfather had never babysat the child before. And it was unlike Tara to make such an impromptu request. Minutes later, Joshua arrived at the daycare and picked up his stepsister at around 1:30pm the two then drove back to the crime scene where Joshua packed his sister a bag of clothes. Roughly 60 miles away, Renee and her 2 year old daughter were getting ready to surprise Tara for her birthday. But just as they were about to leave, something told her not to go.

[Renee Roberts]

I said, okay, but you know, I said let's go ahead and go. Bye bye. So we go to the door and it's literally like something stopped me and said, renee, don't go over there. Wait for her to call you. Because it was a ways away. It probably would have took me an hour at least to get there from where I lived at the time. But I was going to just surprise her, you know, with some flowers and stuff at her house. But I didn't. I just waited and I never heard back from her.

[Mike Boudet]

Meanwhile, back in Riverview, Florida, Joshua texted his best friend and told him to meet at a nearby park. When they arrived, Joshua's sister ran to a nearby swing set while she played, blissfully unaware that her brother had just killed their mother in cold blood. Joshua and his buddy proceeded to toss around a baseball while he tried to play it off like everything was fine. Joshua's friend noticed that he seemed a little off almost right away. During their game of catch, Joshua took multiple breaks and nervously looked at his phone. According to his statements to police, Joshua was monitoring the ring camera footage back at his mother's residence. That is, until he saw his grandfather's car pull into the driveway.

[Joshua Carmona]

And I knew he came to my house cuz I could see it on my phone.

[Detective]

The door was open.

Oh, okay. Oh, you have cameras. Like you can pull it up on the app.

[Joshua Carmona]

We have a security on that. And I knew at that point it was over.

[Detective]

Why is that?

[Joshua Carmona]

Because there was still someone on the carpet.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

It wasn't long after Joshua's grandfather entered the home and stumbled upon the grizzly scene in the bathroom.

[Detective]

I backed the comforter, I saw Terea lying on the on the ground.

[Joshua Carmona]

I saw a lot of blood.

[Mike Boudet]

At the sight of his loved one's mutilated body. The victim's father immediately notified police, walked outside and fell to his knees on the front lawn. Meanwhile, back at the park, Joshua frantically stuffed his phone back into his pocket and told his buddy that he had to leave, but not before Asking him to watch his sister for a few days. By now, his friend was about as confused as one could be. He could see the panic in Joshua's face, but he didn't understand why. When the friend asked why he needed him to watch the three year old girl, Joshua came right out with it and admitted to murdering his mother just hours earlier.

[Joshua Carmona]

I told him I couldn't tell him anything and he was like, stop playing, bro. Like he was. He was kind of joking with me and I said it. Joking with him.

[Detective]

So what did. What did.

[Joshua Carmona]

Yeah, I. I said I was like, I killed someone and I gave.

[Detective]

Was that the exact word that you said? I killed somebody?

[Joshua Carmona]

Yeah.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Joshua Carmona]

Like I was trying. That was really bad. I was trying to tell a joke. I told the worst, most fucked up joke.

[Mike Boudet]

Now there's something you don't hear every day. One minute you're practicing your fastball with a friend at the park and the next he tells you he just killed his mother with a baseball bat and butcher knife. I mean, how do you even respond to that? I'm pretty sure it's not in Emily Post's book of etiquette. Naturally, his friend was at a loss for words. But before he even had a chance to reply, Joshua told him that he was going on the run and planned to kill himself. Which, to be fair, may have been the most practical idea this young man has had in his whole fucking life. Although he didn't provide much detail regarding how he was going to commit suicide, Joshua quickly said goodbye to his sister and friend before hopping back into his dead mother's car and peeling out of the parking lot. From there, he got on the highway before pulling off a nearby exit and into a 7 11. At around 4pm the evening of the murder, he attempted to make three separate withdrawals from an ATM inside using his mother's debit cards. All of the transactions, of course, were declined. But on the fourth and final attempt, Joshua got lucky.

[Detective]

And then what was the rest of the plan for the day?

[Joshua Carmona]

It was to get cash so I could take the car. So how are you gonna get cash with her cards?

[Detective]

Do you know her PIN numbers and all that stuff or.

[Joshua Carmona]

I figured. Well, no, you figured out.

[Detective]

Okay.

How'd you do that?

[Mike Boudet]

Her.

[Detective]

Her PIN number is on her phone. Did she have like. Like a swipe access or anything on her phone? Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

Joshua then texted his drug dealer and drove the short distance to his house where he picked up a bag of weed. Because that's the priority here, make no mistake.

[Detective]

You said you woke up, you hadn't been drinking or doing drugs this morning. You don't until after you kill your mom. You call your dealer to get some weed or spice or something. Is that right? What were you gonna get from him or her?

[Joshua Carmona]

I got butt.

[Detective]

You went and got butt, which is marijuana. Okay, but this is after the fact. So you haven't done drugs, alcohol, you haven't taken any medications, prescriptions in, like, the last three or four days.

[Mike Boudet]

He also smoked a little spice with his dealer. But remember, Joshua doesn't know the difference between spice and marijuana. After getting baked out of his mind, the killer made his way to the same mall where his mother had gotten her hair and nails done just hours before while parked outside of Sears. Rest in peace, Sears. He looked at his phone again, this time noticing the cops were already at his house as he watched the live feed from the ring camera app on his phone.

[Detective]

Okay, where is her phone now?

[Joshua Carmona]

I dumped him.

[Detective]

Where?

[Joshua Carmona]

At Brandon mall.

[Detective]

Brandon mall.

[Joshua Carmona]

Whereabouts Next to stairs.

[Detective]

Inside or outside?

[Joshua Carmona]

Outside.

[Detective]

Outside.

[Joshua Carmona]

Going on. I know which one it was. It was in the grass areas.

[Detective]

In the grass area, like up by.

The building or over by the road?

[Joshua Carmona]

Parking lot outside the sears.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Joshua Carmona]

Next to the cars.

[Detective]

What kind of phone does she have? You know what? Model seven. Okay. And it's a white. And in a white purple case. Was that damaged when you got rid of it today? Okay. Do you know if it's damaged now, though? I mean, threw it out. So.

Like, dropping down hard, and you just kind of just toss them.

[Joshua Carmona]

That's awesome.

[Detective]

So not really that hard. Okay. Did you see the grass? Or in the fore.

[Joshua Carmona]

It was out in the open.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Joshua Carmona]

Like, in my rocks and stuff. It might still be there.

[Detective]

Okay, well, we'll see. I mean, you know, someone could have picked it up. We never know, you know?

Yeah. Is it like, in one of the little islands in the parking lot, or is it, like, in the bushes against the building or some. Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

According to Joshua, he hadn't quite planned out the next move. And does that surprise you? For a pothead, I mean, thinking ahead isn't exactly one of the strong suits of a marijuana smoker. Unsure of where to go, he decided to get back on the freeway and just start driving aimlessly, because why not? Driving aimlessly is what he had done throughout his entire life. So why stop now?

[Joshua Carmona]

I just started driving.

[Detective]

Okay. Where'd you go?

[Joshua Carmona]

I was trapped between. Like, I was just driving in circles. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go north or to Miami because I was having this conflict in my head. Between going somewhere or like, giving into the guilt and turning myself in. And I was. I decided I was going to turn myself in and just go back to Tampa.

[Detective]

How far did you make it?

[Joshua Carmona]

I went to like, Ocala.

[Detective]

Okay.

[Joshua Carmona]

And I started going east and then I came around. I just came back to Tampa.

[Detective]

What was the route you took?

[Joshua Carmona]

I took. I just wasn't sober, so I don't remember it.

[Mike Boudet]

A short time later, deputies spotted the victim's Nissan driving along Interstate 275 in Tampa. After pulling the car over, Joshua was arrested without further incident. Toward the tail end of his interrogation down at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department, the detectives informed Joshua that they were going to leave the room to make a phone call. Right before they did, the suspect asked if they could relay a message to his grandfather about his three year old sister.

[Joshua Carmona]

Is there something you want me to say to him?

[Detective]

Is there something you want to say to him?

[Joshua Carmona]

I. I'm so glad she's okay.

[Detective]

What do you mean by that?

[Joshua Carmona]

Because I was worried. Another family doesn't have to live with that.

[Detective]

What do you mean, live with that?

[Joshua Carmona]

Like her just being taken away because of me. Someone. Someone lives in their house. Someone they loved, took someone they loved. I was afraid they wouldn't have that scar because of me.

[Detective]

Well, you know, that is something they're living with now, Josh.

That's something that you may want to think about. Okay. I. I don't know necessarily, if you want me to relay that message to them.

[Mike Boudet]

Yeah. You killed your mom, so. Pretty sure your sister's gonna have to live with that. Following the nearly hour long interrogation, Joshua was placed back into handcuffs and officially charged with first degree murder.

[Detective]

Breaking news right now. An arrest in the murder of a woman first found dead on her 39th.

[Renee Roberts]

Birthday at a Riverview home.

[Detective]

Deputies put the cuffs on Joshua Leon Carmona. They claim he used a baseball bat and a knife to kill his mother, Tahiri D' Angelo.

[Mike Boudet]

Joshua Carmona, an 18 year old with a deranged perception of what he viewed as a turbulent past, had long struggled with feelings of isolation and resentment. His relationship with his mother, once close and supportive, had deteriorated into tension and estrangement. On March 20, 2017, that tension erupted into extreme violence inside their Riverview, Florida home. When police were called to the townhouse on Hawthorne Trace Lane, they quickly located the body of 39 year old old Tara DeAngelo. She'd been beaten to death with a baseball bat and her throat had been slit with a butcher knife. The victim's body was found in the bathroom, Partially wrapped in both a bed sheet and a comforter. Forensic investigators determined that the attack started in the living room and ended in the bathroom. Blood spatter on the carpet, walls and tile floor Indicated a prolonged struggle. Defensive wounds on Tara's arms showed that she briefly tried to fight back. The most personal injuries were the two lacerations across both the front and back of the victim's neck. The wound directly beneath Tara diangelo's chin was approximately 4 inches long and so deep, her uvula and larynx were exposed, Severing major arteries and veins as a result. Investigators quickly found the murder weapon by the front door. A red aluminum Easton baseball bat with the word rampage ominously printed on its side. How fitting. Authorities also located the bloody knife, which was found on the right side of the kitchen sink. There, among a few dirty dishes, was a little large blade, Partially covered by a blue tupperware lid and a black spatula. Roughly nine hours after the murder, the suspect, Joshua Carmona, was apprehended by deputies when his mother's car was spotted traveling down a nearby interstate. Inside the vehicle, authorities located the victim's pharmacy Walmart badge, A rawlings baseball glove, and the bottle of aunt Jemima syrup Joshua had asked his mother to bring home Roughly one hour before he ended her life. Maybe he was just upset about the portrayal of African Americans on syrup. Who knows what kids are pissed off at these days, but it's probably something stupid. Police also located paperwork in the Nissan's glove box, A vehicle that Tara had just proudly purchased three days before her murder. During questioning, Joshua offered a full confession. And before long, local news trucks were outside his Riverview home, Capturing every second of this riveting content to serve up to viewers at home. In between local car dealership commercials.

[News Reporter]

We are still learning a little bit about what exactly happened inside this home. But forensics detective, have been here all through the night Collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses. Sorry, interviewing neighbors, I should say. And family members as well. Online jail records describing the situation as domestic violence. And they're also revealing a little bit of insight into how this may have happened before. All we knew about Tahiri d' Angelo is that she suffered some kind of upper body trauma. Possible murder weapons, according to jail records, A baseball bat or a knife, or possibly both. Again, that is a big part of the investigation Happening all through the night. And detectives finally just wrapping things up early this morning. It was a bit of a shock here for this Riverview neighborhood, and certainly a traumatic, devastating situation for that family. We saw a husband we saw a daughter out here yesterday afternoon, all truly heartbroken and a little insight. Detectives all along telling us that they had reason to believe that this was not a random attack, and they all along suspected it may have been a family member.

[Mike Boudet]

This morning, now facing a first degree murder charge, Joshua's fate would soon be left in the hands of 12 jurors. Ahead of the trial, he was offered 60 years in prison in exchange for guilty plea, a deal he turned down because why wouldn't you? It's 60 years. I mean, there's really no point in accepting that. Any idiot can tell you that. So not sure why you would need a degree to offer it. In January 2020, nearly three years after murdering his mother, Joshua finally saw his day in court. Prosecutors argued that the attack was premeditated, Citing text messages and his damning statements to police. Joshua's defense team pointed to his mental health struggles as if they make him special. They don't. They don't. We all have them. We all have them. But they argued that his actions were the result of emotional instability. I guess you gotta blame something when your own actions are just such shit, you know? During witness testimony, a friend of the defendant told the court how Joshua gradually became an outcast, how he stopped going on family trips and spent most of his time alone leading up to the killing. Weird how drugs do that to you. I've witnessed it in my own family firsthand.

[Friend]

He was just acting kind of strange the days leading up to it. He was just acting super weird and, like, just saying all types of weird stuff.

[Mike Boudet]

Joshua's best friend, who played baseball with him roughly one hour before the murder, was a key witness during the trial.

[Joshua Carmona]

Well, he gave me a hug before he left, and then he said he killed his mother. Did he appear angry to you? No.

[Mike Boudet]

During cross examinations, the defense grilled Joshua's best friend, again suggesting that the defendant murdered his mother not out of premeditated malice, but because he was mentally unwell again, as if that's an excuse.

[Renee Roberts]

You, in fact, recall on that day.

[Mike Boudet]

Telling Detective Florio that Josh Carmona told.

[Police Spokesperson]

You at the part that he wanted to kill himself.

[Mike Boudet]

Yes, I do. Unfortunately for Joshua, his truth is not ours. His desire to kill himself did not absolve him from murdering someone else, let alone his own mother. Another text recovered from the defendant's phone was presented by his lawyers in court. That message, sent by Joshua to one of his friends reads as follows. She doesn't care about me. All she cares about is them. So let's talk about it. The act Of a child killing a parent is incredibly rare, accounting for only about 2% of homicides in the US. You have to be a radio real piece of shit to kill your own mother. Making Joshua Carmona somewhat of an anomaly. According to tons of studies, the first three years of a child's life are crucial for building a strong bond with parents. In fact, they're crucial for development in general. That's usually when psychopaths are formed by introducing trauma during that formative period of time. Beyond that, the first eight years is key to developing social skills and learning how to manage emotions effectively. During his interrogation, Joshua claimed he would sometimes see and hear things that weren't there, specifically when abusing drugs and alcohol. Joshua also happened to be within the peak age range for adult males prone to psychological cases, conditions such as schizophrenia. While there's a chance Joshua was prone to early onset of some kind of mental illness, perhaps genetically, perhaps exacerbated by weed and booze, there simply isn't enough evidence to support this theory. In other words, in the years leading up to the murder, to the day he stood trial, not one of the several medical professionals he met had ever, ever diagnosed Joshua with a mental illness. So what's the fucking point? If we have this science, so called science, pseudo science really, that's supposed to tell us things about the world around us, and then it can't accurately predict anything, then what's the fucking point? Just naming terms with that point. The prosecution rested its case as the jury wasn't buying anything that the defense had to offer because there wasn't much there. On January 9, 2020, Joshua Carmona was convicted of first degree murder and ultimately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. So there you have it. Joshua Carmona was a young man with every opportunity handed to him, who now sits in prison for life, exactly where he belongs. This did not come as a result of abuse, not as a result of mental illness, and certainly not because he grew up in a bad home with bad parents. You see, Joshua was merely a product of his own entitlement. A fucking baby. A man child who refused to take responsibility in life for his lack of. Of success. It's disturbing to see how many young people are exactly like Joshua Carmona in 2025. Everything ahead of them, everything to look forward to, every opportunity imaginable, yet desperately looking for problems to fuck up their own life with and then blame others for. I mean, we see more and more of this every single day. And are we just seeing more of it because we see more things because social media is so prevalent in our lives now, has this always been the case? Have Joshua Carmona's existed throughout history and we just haven't noticed? The reason why Joshua's story is so intriguing is because we see it all around us. We see the entitlement, we see the blame. We see the young people with no purpose, no direction, spending their days getting high and wondering why they can't afford a home, blaming the adults in charge for it while sitting there doing nothing to improve their own future, to change their own outcome. It's disturbing, it's sad, and it is quite worrying to those of us who give a shit.

[Renee Roberts]

I don't consider him my godson anymore. I do not. People ask me, you know, have you forgiven him? You know, have you forgiven him for what he did? You know, are you mad at him? I'm like, well, how can I forgive someone who killed my best friend? You know, it's not like, you know, she was killed in a tragic accident. You know, it's not like, she know she passed away in her sleep. You know, it wasn't an accidental death. You know, this was on purpose. You know, he wanted her dead. And, you know, and that's the part that hurts me the most. You know, it's like, how could you want your own mother, who gave you life to die? Why would you want to hurt her? You know, I will never understand that. So when people ask me, have asked me, have you forgiven him? No, I have not. I will never forgive him. How can I forgive someone who took away my best friend from me? She was someone, you know, that would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it, Literally. She would do anything for anybody. She would never do anything to hurt anybody. And the fact, you know, of her getting hurt just. It really upsets me because she didn't deserve it. I think he was just ungrateful because he wanted a new baseball bat, which she bought for him. And in my mind, I've always thought, I wonder if that's the baseball bat that he used, you know, is that why he wanted that baseball bat? Because he intended to use that specific one to hurt his mom, you know? So those questions have crossed my mind, and I probably will never get the answers to that.

[Mike Boudet]

It's probably a good time to call your mom, don't you think? Maybe see how she's doing, see what she's up to. She probably gets lonely, you know? All right, have a good one. Say hi to your mom for me. Stay safe and we'll see you back here next week. In the meantime, you can support us by buying some [e-mail] and scale.com. if you go to swordscale.com and then click the store link link at the top of the page and you're logged in, you'll get your discount. Also, just a little clarification there about the plus situation. The free episodes will continue to come out pretty regularly, but then we're also going to begin to make some of these episodes exclusive plus episodes. A little plus at the end of it. So you know that they're only available at sword and scale.com or on the app. And yeah, so there's that. You can also find us at Apple and subscribe there. But you won't get any of Sword and Scale TV because they don't support video yet. And that's a thing. So check out the show we're making if you want to Sword Scale television. These things are getting too long. I gotta stop. I gotta. I got to just stop. I'm not a sales guy. I. I should just stick to content and if you like it, you like it. If you don't, you don't. That's it. Period. By Ram.

[Detective]

Sa.