Episode 18: The Chiropractor

Summary

The Bakersfield Three: Episode 18 - The Chiropractor

Host: Olivia Lavoice
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Description: In this compelling episode of The Bakersfield Three, Olivia Lavoice delves deep into the murky circumstances surrounding the murder of James Kolstead. As connections between multiple cases unfold, the episode highlights the relentless pursuit of truth by the victims' mothers amidst personal tragedies and community upheavals.

---

1. Case Background

The Bakersfield Three centers around the mysterious disappearances and murders within a close-knit community. This episode focuses on James Kolstead, whose murder adds complexity to the intertwined cases of Michael Holsonbake's disappearance and Bailey Despot's disappearance.

• James Kolstead's Murder: James was attacked and found dead outside the home of a local chiropractor, who has been implicated in fraudulent activities involving stolen checks. The incident took place in a quiet, affluent neighborhood, raising suspicions about the motive and the perpetrator.

2. Key Players

• James Kolstead: The victim whose murder is under investigation.
• Ryan Kolstead: James's brother, whose account of the events presents conflicting narratives.
• The Chiropractor: A central figure suspected of being involved in both fraudulent activities and James's murder.
• Di Kolstead: James's mother, whose unwavering support plays a pivotal role in the investigation.
• Sarah G.: A woman connected romantically to both James and Michael, adding another layer of intrigue.

3. Investigation Developments

The episode unveils how Di Kolstead became the linchpin in connecting the three cases. Despite the public declaration that James's case was unrelated to Michael and Bailey's, Di remained steadfast in her pursuit for answers, even as she battled ovarian cancer.

• Quote:
  Ryan Kolstead at [01:19]: "You would think that it would be just as plain and simple is the chiropractor said that he was going to call somebody to come and they were going to come strapped and that's exactly what happened. But everything else didn't point to that."

Olivia revisits the investigation after Di's passing, uncovering new testimonies and facing the grim reality of key figures in the case also meeting untimely deaths.

4. Key Interviews and Insights

Olivia engages in several revealing conversations that shed light on the possible motives and alibis surrounding James's murder.

• James Kolstead's Recorded Calls:
  • At [06:35]: "All you know me as is what you read in black and white."
  • At [09:21]: "I never dreamt in my whole life that I would have just this much money in my pocket so he could."

These recordings provide a personal glimpse into James's life, his relationships, and his interactions with the chiropractor, who allegedly used James to facilitate fraudulent activities.

• The Chiropractor's Account:
  • At [02:15]: "They knew who shot him. All of us did. Ryan had to have known. James was found in his car literally within 100 yards from that dude's house. There's no crime over there."
  • At [12:00]: "I did not work with James. He had other people doing this type of stuff, and I didn't want to fuck with any of them, dude."

The chiropractor vehemently denies deeper involvement, claiming minimal interaction with James despite evidence suggesting otherwise.

5. Conflicting Narratives

A significant portion of the episode highlights the discrepancies between Ryan Kolstead's and the chiropractor's stories regarding the events leading up to James's murder.

• Ryan's Claim:

  • At [18:50]: "He was coming for Ryan. So, Ryan, if you get the fuck out of here, then, you know, James won't come here."

• Chiropractor's Claim:

  • At [19:01]: "They kept me there by myself in my underwear because that's when they took me out of my house... I didn't know anybody fucking died, dude."

These conflicting accounts raise questions about credibility and the true sequence of events that night.

6. The Role of Sarah G.

Sarah G.'s presence is a recurring thread that ties various characters together, adding complexity to the motives behind James's murder.

• James's Relationship with Sarah G.:

  • At [14:05]: "I have a beautiful picture of her and me having fucking fun."

• Chiropractor's Discontent:

  • At [15:16]: "I can't have a person that's like that in my house... Get her out now."

Her interactions with both James and Micah introduce potential motives, although concrete evidence remains elusive.

7. Personal Tragedies and Their Impact

The episode poignantly covers the toll the investigation has taken on the families involved, particularly focusing on Di Kolstead's battle with cancer and eventual passing.

• Olivia reflects on Di’s dedication:
  At [05:30]: "If Ryan really did know what happened, it's very hard for me to believe that he would not have given his mother her literal dying wish and told her."

The deaths of key witnesses like the chiropractor further complicate the pursuit of justice, emphasizing the race against time to uncover the truth.

8. Current Status and Continuing Efforts

Despite the setbacks, Sergeant Chad Garrett remains committed to investigating James's and Bailey's cases. The episode ends with a call to action for listeners to come forward with any information, underscoring the enduring quest for answers.

• Olivia's Final Thoughts: At [30:30]: "If you have any information on either case, please do the right thing. It'll change more lives than you know."

---

Conclusion

Episode 18 of The Bakersfield Three offers a gripping exploration of James Kolstead's murder, intertwining personal stories, conflicting narratives, and the relentless pursuit of truth by those closest to the victims. Olivia Lavoice masterfully navigates through complex emotions and emerging evidence, painting a vivid picture of a community grappling with loss and the desperate need for closure.

---

Disclaimer: This summary is based on a provided transcript and reflects the content as presented within. For the most accurate and comprehensive understanding, listeners are encouraged to tune into the full episode.

Transcript

[Maybelline Advertiser]

Ever wonder what your lashes are destined for? The cards have spoken. Maybelline New York Mascara does it all. Whether you crave fully fan lashes with lash Sensational big bold volume from the colossal a dramatic lift with falsies lash lift or natural looking volume from great lash. Your perfect lash future awaits. Manifest your best mascara today. Shop Maybelline New York and discover your lash destiny. Shop now at Walmart.

[Odoo Advertiser]

You know, some people say that Odoo business management software is like fertilizer, the way it promotes growth and all. But other people say Odoo is like a magic beanstalk because it grows with your company and is also magically affordable. And there's some people who would even say Odoo's individual software programs come together to build the perfect suite. Like building blocks. Well, Odoo is all of these things. Fertilizer, magic beanstalk building blocks for business. So sign up [e-mail] o d o o.

[Olivia Lavoice]

Previously on the Bakersfield 3. So James's case is more complex than it appears. I was being pulled in a lot of directions by people related to the case. The victim, James Kolstead, was attacked while leaving this cul de sac. Coming from the home of a Bakersfield chiropractor.

[Ryan Kolstead]

You would think that it would be just as plain and simple is the chiropractor said that he was going to call somebody to come and they were going to come strapped and that's exactly what happened. But everything else didn't point to that.

[Chiropractor]

And they were using his chiropractor business to cash fraudulent checks. So James would steal these checks and the chiropractor guy would deposit them into his business account and cash him.

[Ryan Kolstead]

I just got down and I just hugged him and fucking told him how much that I loved him and I was sorry. We were fighting and hold on, help was coming.

[Olivia Lavoice]

Ryan's the key. Either saw it, knew it was going.

[James Kolstead]

To happen, or knows afterwards he knows the whole story.

[Olivia Lavoice]

You know who shot your brother?

[James Kolstead]

Why haven't you told the police?

[Ryan Kolstead]

If I knew, I would have told him.

[Chiropractor]

They knew who shot him. All of us did. Ryan had to have known. James was found in his car literally within 100 yards from that dude's house. It was a nice brand new neighborhood. There's no crime over there. There's no drive by shootings. No, none of that shit. Like there's no other possible person that could have done other than other than that chiropractic.

[Olivia Lavoice]

While there were numerous common threads between the murder of James Kolstead and the disappearance and murder of Michael Holsonbake and the disappearance of Bailey Despot. Eventually, law enforcement publicly stated that James's case did not appear to be linked to Micah and Bailey's. And since that announcement, it's undeniable that James's case has gotten the least amount of attention from the public and media out of the three cases by a mile. And perhaps no one was as selfless as James mom Di. When the news came out that Bailee was being charged with Micah's murder, Di was the one who kept the three moms together. She was the glue, and she spent a lot of time supporting Bailey and Micah's moms with everything they were going through. And so inevitably, during that period, she spent a little less time working on her son James case. After Matt Queen's trial for Micah's murder, Di told me she was ready to throw herself back in to the investigation into what happened to her son. And days later, literally, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Last spring, it became clear that Di couldn't fight to stay alive much longer. The thought of her passing without knowing who murdered her son ate away at me, and for a time, it motivated me to pick James's case back up and give it my all. As a result, for the first time, I got a couple crucial players to speak with me, including the chiropractor who has been viewed as a suspect in this case from day one. Though just a note here, law enforcement has never publicly said so. But then Di passed away, and my momentum was crippled by anger and sadness knowing that she left this world without the answers she had fought so hard for. It's a part of the job I guess I wasn't prepared for. When working with parents of murdered and missing children, I admit that I always knew deep down, throwing in the towel just because Di is no longer here is the last thing that she'd ever want. I mean, she said so herself numerous times. So revisiting James case is long overdue. And recently, more people connected to the case have passed away, which is a grim reminder that as time goes by, the harder cases are to solve for numerous reasons. Additionally, my podcast shared serious allegations against the chiropractor, and he deserves the opportunity to have his account of things shared. I'm Olivia Lavoice, and this is a special bonus episode of the Bakersfield 3. The murder of James Kolsted has perplexed many because it can seem both so simple and complex. James was killed outside the home of a chiropractor that numerous people say was involved in Shady business with James. And the murder occurred shortly after the chiropractor allegedly made threatening comments towards James. The chiropractor and I spoke on several recorded calls.

[James Kolstead]

All you know me as is what you read in black and white.

[Olivia Lavoice]

I found him to be a colorful character.

[James Kolstead]

I did everything I was supposed to do. I left at 18, got an education, got a great job, made money on my own.

[Olivia Lavoice]

He told me about his upbringing within a successful Indian family where expectations were high.

[James Kolstead]

I'd grown up in private school in kindergarten.

[Olivia Lavoice]

He says he was a good student, president of his class in high school, where he went off to study at UC Irvine and ucla. It was important to him for me to have context about his life, But I found that often our conversation would get very much off track.

[James Kolstead]

Like, kind of made me get engaged, like, arrangement girl who's also a chiropractor out there. I don't want to be with her. You know, it's like, fuck. And I'm too polite to break up with her.

[Olivia Lavoice]

So the topics he wanted to discuss seemed endless.

[James Kolstead]

I had to go to Puerto Rico for a wedding. The governor of Puerto Rico's daughter. My brother is an eye doctor, right? You've never done drugs ever? Love you. Me? Where's my chocolate at? I don't want chocolate.

[Olivia Lavoice]

Finally, we got to his career as a chiropractor.

[James Kolstead]

The best damn feeling is when somebody comes in with pain, you know, and they walk out of there feeling better than when they walked in. It makes me feel good, and it makes me feel like my job isn't a job. And I was good at it, and I was good at every aspect of it.

[Olivia Lavoice]

He started from the very beginning.

[James Kolstead]

I was working for the. The Raiders in Oakland at that time. I was a chiropractor for them.

[Olivia Lavoice]

He went through over 10 years plus worth of his work history.

[James Kolstead]

I was the director of physical therapy for Bakersfield. Then we also opened up in Fresno and Visphalia. Now I'm talking about maybe 2010, 11, 12. And yeah, I mean, if I'm boring you, just say, hey, I'm about to fall asleep. We're not even talking about.

[Interviewer]

No, you're not boring me, but I'd love to maybe speed up a few years. You owned your own chiropractor business and you owned your own home, so that, you know, by most anyone's standard, you were doing quite well in life. So I would really like to know, where did the drugs come into play?

[James Kolstead]

It all starts off with the fucking prescription pills.

[Olivia Lavoice]

Prescription pills. The same way addiction started for James And Micah, the chiropractor, says it began with him getting back pain from seeing so many clients at a time, and a coworker offered to write him a prescription for Percocets.

[James Kolstead]

He was in my medical group, so he had, like, the trust. I wouldn't misuse it, and I sure as hell tried not to misuse it.

[Olivia Lavoice]

As so many similar stories go. He says his body became dependent, and eventually he needed something stronger, so he moved up to oxy. He told me that over the course of many years, he battled his opioid addiction and would have stints of being clean as his career progressed, to him eventually opening up his own business. But by 2018, he was using heroin, which is around the time he met James Kolstead and James brother Ryan. He says he did become involved in criminal activity at this point, but not the kind he's been accused of. He said he got involved with illegal gambling and the money started flowing.

[James Kolstead]

I never dreamt in my whole life that I would have just this much money in my pocket so he could.

[Olivia Lavoice]

Afford to be generous with the new crowd he found himself immersed in.

[James Kolstead]

I gave, like Ryan and these other fucking degenerates pretty much anything they ever fucking wanted.

[Olivia Lavoice]

It was clear to me that the chiropractor viewed himself on a different level than the crowd he began to hang out with. In his mind, he was still a successful, educated person who happened to be struggling with addiction and therefore began hanging out with people he calls degenerates. But he says he didn't view James Kohlsted this way.

[James Kolstead]

The thing is, with James, he was a good guy. He was a nice guy. He was very cool, very enlightening.

[Olivia Lavoice]

However, the chiropractor was firm that James was not someone in his friend group. He says at the end of the day, the two barely knew each other and only met three times. And several times throughout our calls, the chiropractor would say, God, I can't remember his name. When I expressed being surprised over him apparently not being able to remember James name, the chiropractor said, that just goes to show how few interactions the two of them had, which, of course, contradicts this.

[Interviewer]

I've heard from so many people that you and James were working together, where James would steal the checks and then he would bring them to you, you would cash them in your business account, and then you guys would split it 50.

[Olivia Lavoice]

50.

[James Kolstead]

No, he wouldn't come to me. He had other people doing this type of stuff, and I didn't want to fuck with any of them, dude.

[Olivia Lavoice]

The chiropractor says James and others would try to get James's brother Ryan to be the middleman with cashing stolen checks. But he says he was never interested in being involved, particularly since he was rolling in the dough from the cash he was getting from the gambling. Over the course of numerous conversations, I asked him about working with James again and again. And each time the chiropractor was adamant that he and James never worked together and therefore never fought over money, which directly disputes the allegations against him that I've heard for years. Specifically the claim that James was on the chiropractor's street that night because he was there to collect money that the chiropractor owed him for this stolen check business. When it comes to his version of events of what happened the day James was killed, both the chiropractor and James brother Ryan stories begin at the chiropractor's home, where the chiropractor says it was him, Ryan, a friend of Ryan's named Stephen, and Sarah G. To refresh your memory, there are two Sarahs in this story. Sarah G. Is the Sarah who was hanging out with Micah shortly before his disappearance. She caught Ryan's eye, and he says the two of them hooked up. And it's been rumored that James also hooked up with her. Anyways, Sarah G. Is at the chiropractor's house with them when, per Ryan's version of events, the chiropractor became really aggravated that Sarah's there.

[Ryan Kolstead]

I mean, she'd been there, you know, pretty much the entire time we were there, but now it was time for her to leave.

[Olivia Lavoice]

I've always found this part of the story to be odd and have wondered, is there any significance to Sarah abruptly being made to leave shortly before James murder? Well, the chiropractor had a lot to say about how he felt about Sarah G. That day.

[James Kolstead]

I remember two nights before we went out to Monte Carlo, the bar down the street. I have a beautiful picture of her and me having fucking fun, you know, and, like, we just had a really good time.

[Olivia Lavoice]

But that day, he says Sarah initially showed up to his house with another man in tow who made him feel uneasy.

[James Kolstead]

He has a boyfriend that will, like, tell you how he fucking has an anal plug in his ass and he'll kill you right now.

[Olivia Lavoice]

So there's that. Sarah G. And this boyfriend of hers were supposedly fighting and causing a scene in his quiet neighborhood. Eventually, the guy left, but the chiropractor says the vibe was still off.

[James Kolstead]

Her personality completely changes from night to day, and it's like so weird, it's pathological that I can't be around her, but I'm like, you know what? I, I, I get her the fuck out of my house. I can't even fucking be comfortable in my own fucking house. Get her out now. Get her out.

[Interviewer]

Dude, why do you want her out so bad?

[James Kolstead]

No, I can't have a person that's like that in my house, like completely 180 degree change.

[Progressive Advertiser]

Drivers who switch and save with Progressive could save hundreds. With that kind of money, you could go big time on a fancy water bottle with ultra titanium alloy metal. You're not sure why you need all that. I mean, it just holds water, but you're getting it anyway. Because if you're hiking near an active volcano and you accidentally drop the bottle into molten lava, your water will still be icy cold. Switch to Progressive and you could save big time for water bottles. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Not available in all states. Potential savings will vary.

[Danny Pellegrino]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[Olivia Lavoice]

I wondered if the chiropractor was maybe a little hurt feeling like Sarah G. Had led him on. Keep in mind, in addition to Micah and James supposedly having had a fling with her, I've spoken with three other players in this case who all admitted to falling hard for Sarah G. Here's the chiropractor again.

[James Kolstead]

He made me feel special too, right? Makes everybody feel like you got a chance, dude.

[Olivia Lavoice]

He told me he was physically attracted to her, but he says it never went deeper than that. Now does any of this matter? Honestly, tough to say. I only bring this all up because if you remember, one of the theories about James case over the years is that he was killed by a scorned ex of Sarah G's. Though there's nothing much concrete about it, there are still some people who believe James hooking up with Sarah had something to do with his death. And to continue down the rabbit hole of Sarah G. It came out during Matt Queen's trial for Micah's murder that Matt Queen himself was trying to spread rumors that Micah was killed because of Micah's romantic involvement with her. Obviously we know now that Sarah G. And Micah's relationship had nothing to do with Micah's murder. I want to add that Sarah G. As Far as I know, has always been cooperative with law enforcement. And shortly after Micah and James murder, she moved out of state and now lives a very different life than she did before. And she wants her privacy respected. Anyways, back to that night.

[Interviewer]

So you want her out? You tell Ryan, hey, get this girl out of here. He says, okay, I'm going to leave. I'm going to take Sarah with me. And then at what point did James enter the mix here?

[James Kolstead]

I think he called or something and said, hey, is Ryan there? I'm like, what's up? He's like, well, he owes me money. I need to get the money. I need to get some money.

[Olivia Lavoice]

This is where Ryan and the chiropractor's stories differ by one crucial detail. Who was James trying to collect money from that night? Ryan says it was the chiropractor. The chiropractor says it was Ryan. According to Ryan, that night, the chiropractor.

[Ryan Kolstead]

He got really irritated and said that, you know, I don't want your brother coming by here and this and that.

[Olivia Lavoice]

I asked the chiropractor about this.

[James Kolstead]

I did say that. I did say that for sure. What'd you say? I do not want James coming over here.

[Olivia Lavoice]

Now, Ryan believes the chiropractor didn't want to pay James the money he owed him, but the chiropractor says it's the other way around and he simply didn't want the drama between the two brothers unfolding at his house.

[James Kolstead]

He was coming for Ryan. So, Ryan, if you get the fuck out of here, then, you know, James won't come here. So basically, I don't want James coming here. I need you to get the fuck out, Ryan, you know, and after all this shit goes down, why didn't you.

[Interviewer]

Want James to come over?

[James Kolstead]

Cause I'm going to bed, dude. I'm having a shitty experience with the people I'm around. I bought pizza for them. Nobody even ate a bite. Like extremely low level shitty people that are ungrateful.

[Olivia Lavoice]

After Ryan, Ryan's friend Stephen and Sarah G. Left his house, the chiropractor says he took a look at that untouched pizza in his kitchen and thought, I've had enough for today. He said he locked his doors, put his ringer on silent, took a big hit of heroin, and passed out into a deep sleep, only to be awoken later by police. He says they told him nothing as they carted him out of his house and down to the station.

[James Kolstead]

They kept me there by myself in my underwear because that's when they took me out of My house, the underwear, kitty shirt with my glasses. They kept me there all night long till like, about maybe 2 in the afternoon. And then they questioned me, and I just told them everything I knew. And they left. And the door shut, and it said. I read backwards. It said homicide. I was like, somebody died. I didn't know anybody fucking died, dude. Like, who the fuck died? I'm like, oh, my God, dude. Like, that's what I'm. Oh, my God. That's what I'm here for.

[Olivia Lavoice]

The chiropractor says he didn't know James even ended up coming to his house that night. He says James never knocked on the door. And again, his story is that James was looking for his brother Ryan, not him. As a refresher, Ryan says after he dropped off Sarah G. That night, he started to head back to the chiropractor's.

[Ryan Kolstead]

House when my phone rang, and it's the chiropractor. And he's all, like, worked up, and he's like, oh, your brother's here, and my boys are on their way and this and that. And I'm like, I didn't calm down. You know, I'm taking care of everything. I just dropped Sarah off, and I'm on my way back. And as a matter of fact, I'm, you know, coming into your neighborhood right now, and James is already leaving from there.

[Olivia Lavoice]

Ryan says he saw a silver sedan with its lights on parked in front of James car in the cul de sac. Ryan started to exit the cul de sac when he says gunshots rang out. Now, the chiropractor denies calling Ryan and saying these things again. He claims he went to sleep after everyone left his place. You're probably thinking, well, can't police just confirm this through phone records? And yes, if the chiropractor used a phone that's registered to him, then yes, it seems law enforcement could confirm if the chiropractor called Ryan around this time. And then, of course, the big question, if he called anyone else, AKA One of his boys to come take care of things. I don't have access to any police info on this case, so this is me speculating, but if the case, or as simple as confirming the chiropractor's phone records, we probably wouldn't be discussing it right now anyhow. The chiropractor also told me that he finds it strange that Ryan came back to his neighborhood that night after leaving to drop off Sarah G. Where Ryan then more or less witnessed James murder. In regards to the chiropractor's story that James was trying to get money from Ryan that night. Ryan maintains that the person James was owed money from was the chiropractor, not him. But Ryan has also always been the first to admit that he and James were fighting that day. As close as they were, Ryan says the two of them certainly had their disagreements. Something the chiropractor continued to point out during my calls with him.

[James Kolstead]

I know Ryan had problems with his brother more than he told me. And have you seen the Phil. Dr. Phil show interview thing about this?

[Interviewer]

Yep.

[James Kolstead]

Have you seen the demeanor of Ryan?

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[James Kolstead]

Does it in any way indicate that he knows more than what he's divulging?

[Interviewer]

Are you asking my opinion on that?

[James Kolstead]

I'm telling you what's obvious. And this guy knows way more than what's going on. You know, like, he just has to hold it in because I don't think he can divulge the name of the people who shot him without getting himself shot.

[Interviewer]

So you think that Ryan knows who killed James?

[James Kolstead]

Come on. Come on.

[Interviewer]

Well, I don't know.

[Olivia Lavoice]

I mean, look.

[James Kolstead]

Look at his face. Each time you think of him in your mind since the incident, that's the look of somebody.

[Interviewer]

But how do so many people then think that you're the number one suspect?

[James Kolstead]

Because, dude, I'm fucking brown. Had money. Had money, dude. Who else thinks I'm the number one suspect? How did I get over there and shoot him and be in bed at the same time? Come on, man. How am I the suspect? Give me a reasonable, rational explanation that I'm the suspect.

[Interviewer]

Well, I heard from multiple people that you said to them that if James came over, you were going to call your boys who were strapped, and then James came over and then ended up murdered.

[James Kolstead]

I don't even use the word strapped. Like that's in Bakersfield, you know? Wait, what's up? Fool? I don't say fool either.

[Interviewer]

So you never said anything like that?

[James Kolstead]

Not once? Not even close. I got. I got. I got. I got strapped. My friends are strapped. Who the fuck says that?

[Olivia Lavoice]

We went over this again and again.

[Interviewer]

What I'm focused on is this narrative that has been told to me from multiple people.

[James Kolstead]

Oh, yeah. Are they credible people?

[Interviewer]

I don't. I think it depends on how you define credible. But what. What stands out to me is it's multiple people telling me the same story.

[Olivia Lavoice]

The chiropractor maintained he doesn't know why anyone would say they heard him threatening James. He told me many times he did not kill James, nor did he have someone else come do it. For him.

[Interviewer]

So what? So who do you think killed James?

[James Kolstead]

I don't know, but I know Ryan knows more.

[Interviewer]

So Ryan has actually said to you, I know who did it, but I can't say?

[James Kolstead]

No, no, I can't say that. No, no, no, no. But I've gotten that impression.

[Olivia Lavoice]

At the end of the day, the chiropractor's thoughts on Ryan knowing more are pretty similar to what others have said. It's just a feeling they get. Some people have told me they felt Ryan had strange behavior the night of his brother's murder and shortly thereafter, and that his story could come off confusing and odd. But keep in mind, at the time and when I did my interview with Ryan for this podcast, he was openly battling an addiction to heroin and fentanyl. But for the last several years, Ryan has been clean, and his story has never changed. I'll save you the spiel on how reporters shouldn't share their opinions about cases and boil it down to this. I'm going to make an exception here in terms of the theory that Ryan was withholding information on his brother's murder in order to protect his own life. Sure, anything's possible, but I have a hard time believing that he would let his mother die, go on such a public crusade for answers, if he knew who pulled the trigger and believed them to be so dangerous that he needed to keep his mouth shut in order to stay alive. Additionally, I saw tiny glimpses of what Di's family was going through towards the end of her life. There's really no words that can capture how horrific it was for everyone who loved her to watch her suffer immensely through a painful and slow death. It seemed to me there was a crushingly heavy dark cloud torturing all of her loved ones, knowing that she was going to pass without answers, a particularly helpless feeling. Everyone promised they'd do their part to keep her fight for James alive, hoping that that would give her a small sense of comfort. It was just horrible. And so if Ryan really did know what happened, it's very hard for me to believe that he would not have given his mother her literal dying wish and told her. Though the chiropractor was never charged in connection with James murder, it still affected his life. He told me he got clean in 2019 and hadn't used opioids since then, but the damage among most of his family members and friends was already done. He told me he was isolated and lonely and longed for his old life back. He said he decided to finally speak with me because he wanted to clear his name and he said he was working towards getting his medical license back. But in February 2025, he passed away. The information available to me as of now suggests that his death is medically related and not considered suspicious. This is obviously not how I anticipated releasing this episode. The news of his death is a glaring reminder that time really matters here. The more people who die in this case, the bigger chance of it going cold and staying that way. In addition to the chiropractor, another crucial witness died. The friend of Ryan's who was at the chiropractor's house that night with him and Sarah G and was in the car with Ryan when James was shot. It feels like this case can't afford any more death. And of course, if the chiropractor wasn't involved as he says, he deserves to have his name cleared. Sergeant Chad Garrett continues to investigate both James's and Bailey's cases in his spare time. If you have any information on either case, please do the right thing. It'll change more lives than you know.

[James Kolstead]

Sa.

[Maybelline Advertiser]

Ever wonder what your lashes are destined for? The cards have spoken. Maybelline, New York Mascara does it all. Whether you crave Fully Fan Lashes with Lash Sensational Big bold volume from the Colossal A Dramatic Lift with Falsies Lash Lift or Natural Looking volume from Great Lash, your perfect lash future awaits. Manifest your best mascara today. Shop Maybelline, NY and discover your lash destiny. Shop now at Walmart.

[Danny Pellegrino]

Hi, it's Danny Pellegrino from Everything Iconic and I couldn't help but wonder, when is the official and Just like that podcast coming back? Well, it's back baby. And Just like that is back on Max. And so is the official podcast. Each week on in Just like that the writers room join writer, director and executive producer Michael Patrick King as he unpacks every episode after it airs on Max. Listen to and Just like that, the writer's room on Max or wherever you get your podcasts.