My Mother’s Lies | 5. The Confessions

Summary

Podcast Summary: My Mother’s Lies | Episode 5: The Confessions

Sony Music Entertainment | The Binge Cases: My Mother’s Lies
Release Date: April 29, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this pivotal episode, host Beth Karras unpacks the bombshell confessions that ultimately led to the indictment and conviction of Quincy Cross and others for the 2000 murder of Jessica Currin in Mayfield, Kentucky. Through audio clips, transcripts, and interviews, the episode scrutinizes police tactics, eyewitness accounts, the controversial influence of citizen sleuth Susan Galbraith, and the deeply flawed investigation process. The narrative centers on how a web of coerced testimonies, rumors, and Susan’s own theories snowballed into a case that collapsed under its own contradictions—paving the way for an explosive re-examination of the conviction years later.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Pressure-Cooker Interrogations

Timestamp: 01:29–04:15

• Interrogation of Tamara Caldwell (March 23, 2007):
  Agents Lee Wise and Bob O’Neill from the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation (KBI) aggressively interrogate Tamara, a young Black woman with no previous links to the crime. Despite her clear denials and evidence of her postpartum status during the time of the murder, investigators insist she’s involved.
  • Agent Wise: “I can put you where I want to put you when I want to put you.” (03:16)
  • Host commentary: “Sounds like a threat to me. That he can put her in prison whenever he likes…” (03:41)
• The investigation, years cold, is suddenly reinvigorated by new interrogations at a nondescript hotel, the Drury Inn, where multiple new suspects and witnesses are identified—largely based on rumors and the prompting of Susan Galbraith.

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2. Susan Galbraith’s Outsized Influence

Timestamp: 06:42–09:19 | 12:37–13:54

• KBI agents Wise and O’Neill rely intensely on Susan for suspects, witness recruitment, and community knowledge:
  • Bob O’Neill: “Susan was part of the team.” (09:08)
• Susan’s unverified theories evolve into full narratives, shaping the scope and direction of the KBI investigation. Email and case file reviews show constant coordination and direct input from Susan to law enforcement.

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3. Creation of Suspects via Rumor and Proximity

Timestamp: 09:39–16:20

• Case in point: Jeff Burton
  • Jeff’s name is inserted into the investigation solely on Susan’s suspicion, based on his proximity to the crime and parties.
  • Susan justifies her suspicions with statements like: “God’s just telling me… I have no proof of it.” (13:44)
  • Jeff Burton describes the surreal experience of being implicated:
    • “So you go to my house that has been abandoned… That’s just insane.” (13:11)
    • “Why is my name on here? … I never seen any of this shit.” (15:00)
• Susan publicly posts her list of “people of interest” on MySpace, compounding reputational and real-world harm for those named.

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4. The Shifting Storylines of Eyewitnesses

Timestamp: 16:20–24:43

• Victoria Caldwell (formerly a witness who disappeared as a teenager) resurfaces, contacted via MySpace, and delivers a story directly implicating Quincy Cross—now aligning with Susan’s narrative.
  • KBI agent: “It’s evident… that you’re going to play an important role in helping us do this, okay? So just relax now.” (17:41)
• Victoria’s statements are inconsistent and confused (20:11–21:24), as are those from Jessica’s cousin, Venetia Stubblefield, who, after 16 police interviews, only points to Quincy during intense questioning years later.
  • On whether a bat, wrench, or gun was used: “I seen a gun.” (22:19)
  • Under pressure, her testimony shifts: suddenly, it’s now a bat. (23:21)
• Host: “Talk about leading the witness. You can actually hear her story changing under questioning.” (23:33)

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5. Indictment and Reward

Timestamp: 26:11–29:40

• Within weeks of the coerced confessions, five people are indicted. Charges are severe, with Quincy Cross facing capital offenses.
• Venetia and Victoria plea-bargain for reduced sentences in exchange for testifying against the others.
• The key investigator, Susan Galbraith, is lauded with an “Outstanding Citizen” award from Attorney General Greg Stumbo—curiously, dated before the arrests.
  • Susan’s son Ray: “I was very proud of my mom for everything that she had done… Then I started to have doubts.” (28:39–29:01)

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6. Trial and the Suppression of Evidence

Timestamp: 31:14–36:32

• Public defender Vince Eustice is assigned to Quincy, overwhelmed and in poor health. Critical exculpatory evidence—including Susan’s emails and notes—is sought via subpoena but never produced.
  • Miranda Hellman (Innocence Project): “I don’t think she actually complied with it at all.” (33:54)
• Susan testifies under oath that she turned over everything—seen as a lie by defense attorneys and corroborated by later evidence.

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7. A Narrative Built on Thin Air

Timestamp: 36:33–45:20

• On the stand, Susan diminishes her role, provides evasive answers, and is corrected on basic facts (such as the infamous black braided belt—never documented in photos).
• The chain of events is consistently muddied: timeline holes, conflicting testimony about who was present, what weapons were used, and how the body was burned, and a conspicuous lack of DNA or gasoline evidence.
  • “Is Jeff white or black? …He’s been described as both.” (23:33)
• The prosecution’s case—a patchwork of evolving, sometimes contradictory eyewitness stories—proves gripping to the jury, supported more by narrative than by forensics.
• On April 8, 2008, Quincy Cross is convicted on all counts.
  • Host: “The story that has been shared and re-shared, honed and rehashed by Susan… is apparently simply too shocking to be made up.” (44:02)

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8. Collapse and the New Path to Justice

Timestamp: 45:20–46:24

• Witnesses later recant.
  • “I was young and I was taken advantage of. I had no guidance… It all starts to unravel.” (45:20)
• New evidence, including Susan’s hidden communications, is brought to the Kentucky Innocence Project.
  • “I just hope that the truth comes out and that the jury sees the full picture and not just the untruthfulness that they got the first time.” (46:13)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On law enforcement's tactics:
  • “I can put you where I want to put you when I want to put you.” —Agent Lee Wise (03:16)
  • “Sounds like a threat to me. That he can put her in prison whenever he likes…” —Host (03:41)
• On Susan’s methods:
  • “God’s just telling me. I have no proof of it, but as long as I…” —Susan Galbraith (13:44)
• On witness coercion:
  • “Talk about leading the witness. You can actually hear her story changing under questioning.” —Host (23:33)
• On missing evidence:
  • “She never turned over anything that she created. She never turned over any emails, any notes, any recordings, herself.” —Miranda Hellman, Innocence Project (33:34)
• On the implausibility of the prosecution’s story:
  • “To find three or four people that could do this to somebody, I mean… that’s unheard of. It’s just sick. …It’s almost unbelievable.” —Ray, Susan’s son (29:40)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 01:29 — Start of Tamara Caldwell’s interrogation
• 08:05 — Susan Galbraith describes joining the case
• 13:11 — Jeff Burton reacts to being implicated by Susan
• 16:20 — Victoria Caldwell’s confession begins
• 22:19 — Venetia’s story shifts; investigator’s prompting
• 26:11 — Grand jury indicts suspects
• 28:39 — Ray describes initial pride, dawning doubts
• 31:14 — Quincy’s inadequate legal defense and subpoena of Susan
• 35:39 — Susan testifies at trial
• 40:58 — Prosecution struggles with absence of belt evidence
• 45:20 — Witnesses recant, pathway to Innocence Project

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Tone and Takeaways

The episode adopts a sober, questioning tone, highlighting procedural injustice, groupthink in law enforcement, and the dangerous intersection of amateur theories and real criminal justice processes. Shocking and frustrating moments are balanced with human portraits—of the wrongly accused, coerced witnesses, and a son coming to terms with the damage wrought by his mother’s actions. Ultimately, the episode sets up the final chapter: the fight for exoneration and long-delayed accountability.

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For Next Episode

Teased as the conclusion, the next episode will follow the efforts of the Kentucky Innocence Project as they attempt to leverage Susan’s archived communications to overturn Quincy’s wrongful conviction.

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Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

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The binge. I'm not learning about nothing. You starting out man. You ain't even getting close to the truth. Camera. Look at me. You look pathetic. You look so pathetic. Faking those tears, rocking in that chair and telling that lie. Girl, look, I don't know you to a fool.

It's March 23, 2007. This police tape shows a young black woman sitting behind a table, swaying from side to side, tears rolling down her face. The investigators you can hear questioning her are agents Lee Wise and Bob o' Neill from the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation.

You know what that history gonna entail?

They sit off camera. Only a hand can be seen gesturing towards her. It's Agent Wise you can hear speaking aggressively, saying he doesn't believe her tears are real.

I didn't do nothing. I had nothing to do with it. What do you mean you had nothing to do with. I had nothing to do with anything. You still going to get locked up? Maybe tonight I'm going to tell you the truth. Look at me. Look at me.

Tamara Caldwell was 27 at the time of this recording. No matter how many times she tells the investigators she doesn't know anything, they don't believe her.

And you sat there. I don't know nothing. Don't you say that. Don't tell me to say what. Who told you to say what was the relationship between you and Q? You act trying to act like you don't know Q. You've been. No, I'm not saying I don't know him.

The Q agent Bob o' Neal is referring to is Quincy Cross. The agents claim Tamara was there with her boyfriend Quincy the night of Jessica Curran's murder. But Tamara insists she wasn't even introduced to Quincy until two years after the murder. She had just given birth and was a month or so postpartum when Jessica was killed. Tamara certainly wasn't out partying, but Agent Wise isn't listening. Or rather, he isn't getting what he wants.

You know what I'm saying? You're sitting there crying, but your eyes are evil. And you know what I'm talking about. You're sitting there doing what you have done for your intentions entire life. Now let me tell you something. I can sit there and put you where I want to put you when I want to put you.

What is Agent Wise talking about? I can put you where I want to put you. What is that supposed to mean? Sounds like a threat to me. That he can put her in prison whenever he likes, that he has the power to do that, so she'd better give him what he wants. This is hard for me to listen to. For the record, there is zero proof that this young woman was involved or even witnessed the crime. In fact, her name hadn't come up in any investigation until shortly before this interview, seven years after the crime was committed.

I know the story 100% already. Don't let your story deviate from what I know and what Agent o' Neal knows.

The quote story Agent Wise is referring to is the final version of events that would eventually be presented. It had been extracted from what we could now infamously call the Drury Inn interviews. Over a number of weeks in the spring of 2007, new suspects and witnesses were rounded up and taken to the Drury Inn, an out of town hotel, not a police station, in nearby Paducah. Tamara Caldwell was one of the last of these interrogations. Where these new witnesses came from, what new accusations emerged and how that final story took shape was largely thanks to the KBI's top informant, Susan Galbraith. From Sony Music Entertainment. And Message heard. You're listening to my mother's lies. This is episode five, the Confessions. Let's go back to late 2006, six months before the Jury Inn interviews. The investigation into Jessica's murder was well into its sixth year and seemed to be going nowhere. The Currans were understandably frustrated with the lack of developments. So Jessica's father, Joe, made an impassioned plea to Kentucky's then Attorney General, Greg Stumbo, to put a special prosecutor on the case. Actually, this is the second time he'd made this appeal.

I talked to him and he said, I'm gonna send somebody down. Well, the first time he sent that. He said that he didn't send nobody down. But the second time I talked to him about it, he said, I'll send somebody down. The word on that cash.

This time, Greg Stumbo announces publicly he will act to finally solve the case, making good on his earlier pre election promise to Joe Curran.

So then he send Wise and o'. Neill.

So that's when the third investigative body was appointed to try and solve Jessica's murder. The Kentucky Bureau of Investigation, or kbi. And though that might sound familiar, they are not the FBI. They're a special investigative arm of the Kentucky Attorney General's office. The two agents assigned to the case are Robert Bob o' Neill and Lee Wise, both imposing, plain clothed detectives who had worked in Louisville, Kentucky. But it seems neither of them had worked homicides before, a recurring theme in this story. Nevertheless, they arrived in Mayfield in early September 2006, tasked with assisting the Kentucky State Police. But immediately they took charge. They started by taking the existing case files and picking up the State Police's leads. You can probably see what's coming before they even arrive in town, before they even take a meeting with the Kurens. They're on the phone with citizen sleuth Susan Galbraith. After the tense relationship she had with the State Police under Sam Steger. This was quite the turnaround. Speaking here in 2012, she recalls how impressed the KBI were with her work on the case.

They called and introduced herself to me and had came by my home and I had started showing them the case file that I had, that I had accumulated, as well as notes, tapes, all of that. From then on, we just hit it off immediately.

And according to Bob o', Neill, speaking with the same journalist, the feeling was mutual.

She was so helpful to us in that if there was a person that we needed to interview several days before we even came to Mayfield, we would call Susan and tell Susan, this is the person that we're trying to find. And she would have the information for us.

If you read through Susan's emails and compare them to the KBI report as we've done, you can see just how closely they coordinated their efforts. Susan's name appears more than 15 times over a six month investigative period. During one witness interview, the agents even appear to phone Susan just to check some details. As Agent o' Neill himself said, Susan was part of the team.

Susan worked with us. She called us whenever she needed something and we called her whenever we needed something. You know, I just felt like she was one of us.

Look, I can understand the temptation to lean on Susan. They're coming in cold, tasked with getting this thing solved. Susan knows the case. She knows the community. She has a compelling story. And by this point, she also has a number of new leads to follow. First up is Jeffrey Burton.

I figured she's the one who put the whole thing together. All I know is what Susan said is a damn lie. This whole thing is a damn lie.

This is the first time we've mentioned Jeff's name. That's because his name hasn't been part of the investigation until now. It seems to have emerged out of the Blue in 2005, five years after Jessica's murder. While refining her story, Susan came across a reference to there being a couple of unnamed white guys at the Chris Drive with Quincy asking around, the name Jeff Burton comes up. A white guy who was known to frequent parties in Mayfield back in 2000. Was he one of those unnamed white men? When she finds out that Jeff used to live near the middle school. Bingo. Guilt by proximity. Susan goes ahead and includes him in the next iteration of her murder story. These are some excerpts from her email to Tom Mangold from August 18, 2005, edited slightly to make it more understandable. Once again, brace yourself. At approximately 02:35 Venetia is approached by a white Cadillac as she is walking home. The occupants are Austin Lynch, Quincy Cross and or Jeff Burton. At approximately 2:40, the white Cadillac pulls up alongside Jessica. Jessica gets into the backseat with Quincy and Jeff Burton. Quincy, who is high from drink and cocaine, has been looking for a girl to have sex with all evening. He can no longer contain himself. I believe he put his belt around her neck in the car, trying to control her. Jeff Burton lives a few houses from there and Austin parks his car at Jeff's house. When the car door is opened, Jessica tries to escape. She runs back to the middle school. She's panting, scared for her life. The boys are chasing her. Quincy reaches and catches the belt. Austin gets in front of her and unzips his pants. Austin punches her. I'll stop there to spare you the rest of her graphic account, but the way she writes it, it feels more like a pulp thriller or a B movie screenplay. Hardly an evidence based account. Now this is where it gets really bizarre and really bad for Jeff Burton. Around the same time, Susan heard another rumor that someone's basement had been searched by the state relating to Jessica's murder. She decides to swing by Jeff's now vacant property just a few blocks from the school. This is how she later described it to Tom I looked for a basement. As I walked around the house, I saw a garage. The air was still. I crept over to the door and was overwhelmed with a feeling of dread. I didn't go in for fear of tainting the scene. For the next 20 years, Jeffrey Burton would wonder how his old garage suddenly became suspected of being the scene of the crime. Recently, he sat down with our investigative producer, Alice. She showed him these emails written by Susan. It's the first time he's seen them.

It's so. That's so crazy because here you are, 2000, what? Year seven. Okay. Jessica Curry was murdered in 2000. Seven years prior to. So you go to my house that has been abandoned for at least several months. I say if the back door is ripped open, ain't no telling who's been in there. You know, it's abandoned. That's just insane.

Insane is certainly one way to put it. I'm speechless at this point. It's like Susan is scouting for locations for her scripted narrative. Here's Jeff reading Susan's own words.

God's just telling me I have no proof of it, but as long as I. It's just amazing. Mind boggling is what it is to me.

I agree. I mean, where's her proof? God's telling me. What was she basing this latest theory on? Divine intervention? This could all be dark comedy if Jeffrey Burton hadn't ended up facing such horrible life changing consequences due to Susan's actions when she passed his name onto the KBI. Here's another email from January 2007. I made my way back to the car and called Lee Wise. I was so excited. I knew I had finally found where they had Jessica. I knew this house was connected to her. It's hard to explain it. Well, no kidding it's hard to explain. There's no factual basis for it. And yet the KBI log shows Susan named Jeff as one of the partygoers at the house party on Chris Drive with Quincy the night of Jessica's murder. On January 17, 2007, Jeff was interviewed by the agents. As you'll hear, he's incredulous.

You know, I have got to realize this is 2007. When was she. When did this happen? It's been seven years ago. It's not really possible for me to remember what I was doing particular days out of my life like that. I mean, it's damn near impossible. Ever since I seen that shit on MySpace, I've been trying and trying to think about why is my name on here? And what does that party they're talking about, where does this shit come to play? Because I never seen any of this shit. As far as the stuff with Jessica

Curry, here comes the next twist in the tale. Why on earth is Jeff talking about MySpace? That's the early social networking site and where Susan Galbraith comes in again. You see, at some point, Susan had created a MySpace page about Jessica's murder for people to comment on and where they could get in touch with her. And on it, she lists five people of interest in the murder investigation, shamelessly casting public suspicion on them. As you just heard, Jeff Burton wasn't too thrilled to find himself publicly implicated. Here he is again, talking to our producer, Alice.

So I believe initially I'm at work and all of my co workers, I'm like, you know, get on my space. Look at this thing. So, you know, I'm just like, you know, what do I do? Oh, my God, you know what I mean?

While Jeff was trying to figure out what this all meant, Susan's MySpace got another hit. Someone who'd seen her page decided to get in touch. Someone who would prove catastrophic for Quincy Cross, the young black man visiting from Tennessee when Jessica was murdered. Her name was Victoria Caldwell. Back in 2000, Victoria was the 15 year old witness who disappeared from Mayfield shortly after implicating two men in Jessica murder. Jessica's boyfriend, Lolo Saxton, and Jeremy Adams, the father of Jessica's son. Still in her early 20s, she was now living in California with her own children. Victoria responded to Susan's friend request. And then, after a few days of communicating, the extent of which we'll never know, Victoria agreed to talk to Susan's friends at the kbi. By the time Agents Wise and o' Neal drove out to meet her in person, Victoria had a very different story to tell from the one she told shortly after the murder. She's now ready to name Quincy as a suspect. But it sounds like she's worried about changing her previous story.

No. Why would you think that? I don't know. We're not ksp, we're not Mayfield. I told her we're none of those. We're the Attorney General's office, okay? And we are the high law here. And we are here to do one thing. Resolve this case. And it's evident at this time through our first conversation with you, that you're going to play an important role in helping us do this, okay? So just relax

now. It's difficult to overstate what happens next. This is the precise moment when Susan's narrative stops being a theory thrown around by email, posted on websites, spread by the rumor mill. At this point, it acquires real life consequences. People are full of surprises, especially when you travel together.

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It's 8:48pm on Sunday, March 25, 2007. The Drury Inn Suites Paducah, Kentucky 25 miles north of Mayfield Victoria Caldwell sits in a straight back chair in a dreary hotel room. She wears casual clothes. A yellow hotel floor lamp casts light across her left shoulder. KBI agents Lee Wise and Bob o' Neill ask the same question again and again, but Victoria seems composed, like she's trying hard to remember the details.

I don't know if I had went home or I don't know.

Her story has already changed a fair bit since Susan Galbraith first connected them. But the details are still a little hazy, as is the sequence of events in Victoria's latest version. Instead of Quincy burning the body at the school with the others that night, he now leaves the crime scene to return to the party on Chris Drive, leaving Jeff Burton to dispose of Jessica's body. She said Jeff then stored her body in his shed behind his house, then burned it two days later behind the middle school.

Body started to kind of smell had like a stench to it and so we need to get rid of the body. So you and Venetia and Jeff Burton, what did you do? We took the body to the school. How did you get the body to the school? I don't know. Whose car? I don't know if it's his car. I'm not sure what the car look like. I think it was an old one. A what? I think it's an old one though. What color was was a white car. White car.

Victoria still seems unsure of the specifics, like who picks up who in what car, what weapon was used to kill Jessica, where the gas came from. And her story will keep evolving over the coming weeks, but it's enough to start cross referencing with other witnesses, like Jessica's cousin, Venetia Stubblefield. Remember her? She ends up at the jury. N2. For the last six years and through 16 separate police interviews, Jessica's cousin Venetia has maintained her story that she last saw Jessica around 1:30 or 2am walking down Walnut Street. But now, under intense questioning by the state police, who are now very much aligned with the KBI investigation, her story finally pivots and points to Quincy Cross.

So what did he pull out from underneath the seat or in the floorboard or underneath the other seat? He reached under the seat and he pulled out a gun. And sitting in his lap. Okay. He struck her in the back of the head. A gun? I don't know what kind of gun it was, but I know. You sure it was a gun? It wasn't a bat or a wrench or a. I didn't see no bat and I didn't see no wrench. I seen a gun. You saw a gun? I seen a gun. What you saw, that's what I want to know. I don't want to know anything.

Apparently, Quincy beat Jessica with a gun. That's new information. Then Benisha says Quincy carried the unconscious Jessica inside and later on the floor. But that doesn't quite match up with Victoria's version. Then, with what seems like some pretty direct prompting by the cops, her story starts to align closer with Victoria's.

When I walked in there, she was laying on the floor. He had her on that bed, didn't he? Come on, girl. Be strong here.

All right?

When I walked in the room, he had Jessica on the bed. And when he was on top of her, beating her, at that time, he was beating her with a bat.

Talk about leading the witness. You can actually hear her story changing under questioning. Look, eyewitness testimony can be flawed at the best of times, especially after so many years. But Victoria and Venetia's interviews throw up all kinds of inconsistencies. Victoria is picked up by Venetia. Benicia is picked up by Victoria. There's one car, then two, then a third. Is Jessica conscious or unconscious when they arrive at Jeff's, Was it a bat, a gun, or a wrench? Was she taken to the middle school that night? Or was it two days later? And Remind me, is Jeff white or black? Because he's been described as both. As I said, there are places on these tapes where it seems like you can hear the cops coaching them what to say.

I'm not trying to rush at all, but I'm gonna ask you a question, okay? And you've got to be honest with me. Okay? Isn't it true that Jeff poured that. Poured a bottle full of gas and y' all went over there and dumped the body there? Out of that truck? Out of the trunk of that car, and then he forced you to strike that match, didn't he? After he dumped the gas on there? Is that correct? Yes.

Yes.

Okay. All right.

Despite all the contradictions, they now have two eyewitnesses to the murder of Jessica Curran. They aren't just eyewitnesses. They both confess to being involved and are ready to implicate the others. Next up are the accused, Quincy Cross, the outsider who happened to have gasoline on him. Jeff Burton, the guy with the garage, and Tamara Caldwell, Victoria's cousin, who briefly dated Quincy about two years after the murder. It's no surprise that none of them confess. They're all outraged and frankly, in utter disbelief.

Oh, my God. I don't know nothing about her being raped. I know. You know what about the pictures that was taken that night when y' all murdered Jessica? I don't know about that. No. I don't know nothing.

The KBI presses on, pulling in more supporting witnesses, largely drawn from the young, vulnerable women of Mayfield.

You sitting here beating us back because you don't want to talk about somebody sucking and fucking? We all grown. We know what happened in there. We already know. We can't tell you everything because you know it has got to come from you. Now, I'm gonna tell you, if you don't start talking to us, we just gonna get up and leave. Cause we can't keep cluing you in on this, okay?

After a whirlwind few weeks, the case is finally presented to a grand jury. On March 30, 2007. Five individuals are indicted, and the charges are announced to the press. Quincy Cross, now 31 years old, is still living with the grandma who helped raise him in Tennessee when his life came to a shuddering halt. He's charged with capital kidnapping, capital murder, sodomy in the first degree, rape in the first degree, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with physical evidence, and four counts of intimidation. Tamara Caldwell, the new mother who had given birth just weeks before Jessica's murder, she's charged with the Same offenses. Jeff Burton, the white guy with a garage who happened to live near the school. The same, minus the sodomy charge. Jessica's cousin Benisha Stubblefield, and Tamara's cousin Victoria Caldwell are both charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence. But they both immediately plead guilty to reduced charges in exchange for testifying against Quincy, Tamara and Jeff, who all plead not guilty. Venetia and Victoria get this sweet deal, so long as they are truthful in their testimony against the other three. And so, after just six months, the KBI swooped in and located witnesses, exposed suspects, and extracted statements that the local police and state police failed to do on their own in over six years. But before they even get to trial, they waste no time in commending their star informant, Susan Galbraith. Susan is triumphant and receives the Outstanding Citizen award we've told you about. She's celebrated not just locally, but on the national news.

This is the award that's from Greg Stumbo, the Attorney General at the time.

[Guest/Contributor]

Hey, this is weird. It says 2006, but they weren't arrested until March 2007.

[Narrator/Host]

That's kind of weird, no? To get the award before anything's happened, sure.

The fact that Susan's award is backdated to 2006 is in itself intriguing. But to her son Ray, at that time, it seemed like an incredible achievement, like his mom had finally achieved something good.

I was very proud of my mom for everything that she had done. And the award that she received, it was all it was. It was pretty cool.

And when did that outlook change for you?

It all changed for me, probably after about a month of looking into all the stuff that she had.

Over the years, he'd started to guess at some things. Doubts emerged. He heard rumors. Plus, he knew his mom's character well enough.

She had a way with getting what she wanted. In her mind, she's used to being right. So if it's what she says, then more than likely she thinks she's right enough to stand behind it.

Whether his mom ever really believed her story, deep down, believed in Quincy's guilt, is another thing Ray wrestles with today. Over the years, the more he's thought about those indictments, the list of charges, all the people supposedly involved, well, the less and less plausible it all feels.

I could see one sicko being in a. You know, you can randomly find one sicko, but to find three or four people that could do this to somebody, I mean, that's. That's unheard of. It's just sick. What what the story is that happened. It's. It's almost unbelievable. I mean, yeah, it's very unbelievable.

I'd say Ray makes a good point. But at the end of the day, it's what a jury will believe that matters most.

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The trial is set for March 2008. At the time of his arrest, Quincy was unemployed and bouncing between jobs. And as you heard, he's living with his grandmother. He just hasn't got the means to pay for some fancy defense team. So public defender Vince Eustice is appointed to represent him. Attorney justice is now deceased. In fact, he was in poor health when he took this case and died shortly after it. Here is Kentucky attorney Miranda Hellman, a lawyer for the Innocence Project, who would come to represent Quincy later on.

[Guest/Contributor]

There were things going on with Vince during this trial that it was obvious he wasn't well, he wasn't himself, and that he had not put the preparation into this case that he needed. To Vince going to trial while also working other cases with these 40,000 pages of documents. He just really had no idea what was there.

[Narrator/Host]

But even defense attorney Eustice could see Susan Galbraith was all over the police files.

[Guest/Contributor]

It just became very obvious that she was involved in some way. And so there was a subpoena issued for her to come into the courthouse during the Quincy pretrial. You know, Quincy and his co defendant's pretrial proceedings and bring in her investigation file and even potentially her computer to be searched for any evidence related to the investigation of this case.

[Narrator/Host]

The subpoena is demanding that she hand over the totality of her case file, her notes, her covert recordings, her communications, everything she has in relation to this case. Now that should have included all the emails you've been Hearing throughout this series, the ones where she shaped a narrative about a sex crazed, drug fueled outsider, Quincy Cross, raping, strangling and burning the body of Jessica Curran. A story that grew to include include a cast of Mayfield locals, both witnesses and accomplices over the course of a four year investigation. This should have been a chance for Susan's story and her role to be put on trial alongside her accusations. That is, if she had complied and actually turned everything over.

[Guest/Contributor]

Susan never turned over anything that she created. She never turned over any emails, any notes, any recordings, herself.

[Narrator/Host]

Those would be the emails, notes and recordings that we've now got access to that you've been listening to in this series. Most of it shared with us by her son Ray.

[Guest/Contributor]

And so as a subpoena issued to her to bring all of her things, I don't think she actually complied with it at all.

[Narrator/Host]

It seems that Susan was repeatedly called to the courthouse during pretrial hearings, but each time she downplayed or denied having more materials to hand over. But as we can now see in her emails, Susan was clearly concerned about the subpoena. Writing here to Tom, she even mentions taking advice from the KBI on how to avoid complying with it. Met with my friends today and was told not to worry about anything concerning my PC. I was told even if they subpoena my hard drive, as a private citizen, I can do whatever I want with my computer except break the law. Here she's gloating to Tom about how she dealt with the defense's requests. I was asked if I had the papers I was supposed to bring. I told him I didn't feel I should have to tell him anything and that I would rather tell it to the court. Susan would get her wish she would have her day in court. That's part of why we wanted to make this podcast, so you get to hear what the jury never heard, what the judge and attorneys didn't know at the time, the full scope of Susan's role in what was about to unfold. It's seven days into the trial. So far, the jury has heard from the Currans, the Kris Drive, partygoers, law enforcement and numerous other witnesses. Susan strolls up to the witness stand.

Ms. Galbraith, just have a seat and I'll remind you that you remain under oath. Yes, sir.

She's wearing jeans, her hair is dyed black and tied up. She's chewing gum.

Good afternoon.

After establishing that she has no prior involvement with legal cases, the prosecution discusses her role, conducting covert interviews and working with the police. When the subject of her subpoena comes up. She's asked directly under oath if she handed everything over.

Ma', am, could you just answer? Yeah, I'm sorry. I got bad headlines. I got all your interviews and your papers.

[Guest/Contributor]

And you turned those over?

[Narrator/Host]

Yes. Just to break the scene for a second. According to Miranda Hellman, this is a lie.

[Guest/Contributor]

As far as her testimony being truthful, I don't believe it was. And I think that's very provable now. And still to this day, I think we're still missing a ton of information that Susan had.

[Narrator/Host]

Back to the trial.

Be back in the jury box at five minutes till three.

Susan downplays her role at every turn. For instance, here is her response when asked about Jeremy's mother, Donna Adams. Jeremy was, of course, one of the original suspects and the father of Jessica's son.

What is your relationship to Donna Adams? Acquaintances. Did you consider her a friend? I don't.

[Guest/Contributor]

I don't.

[Narrator/Host]

I really don't think that I would even consider it.

That that'd be the same Donna she used to party with. The same Donna who we now know got her involved in the first place. To try and clear her son Jeremy from suspicion. Susan continues minimizing her role, evading questions and offering meandering, unsolicited opinions. Whether she intends to sow confusion or is just feeling the pressure is unclear. But both the prosecution and the defense. And finally the judge, struggle to keep her on track. Defense attorney Eustice eventually complains to the judge, using this as a soap.

Thanks. Ms. Gilbreth. If you would listen carefully to the. The question and just respond to the question only. Okay. All right.

Okay. In the end, the judge seems so confused by Susan's presence at the trial. And even asks why she's there.

Why have you pulled this witness in to ask her a series of questions?

Now, you can just about hear from this whispered bench conference. That defense attorney Eustice actually had a pretty good idea of why Susan was there.

The issue is that we're trying to. We're saying that it was her. It was her put the names of Quincy Cross and everybody else in the spotlight and targeted them. She was the source of it. I'll let you go away in that direction. Because that's what this witness has been all about, I guess. Yes, that's right. Although I have not followed it well to that conclusion.

As you can hear, defense attorney Eustice is having a hard time establishing Susan's involvement in the investigation. To the judge.

All right, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we're going to take a brief recess.

Still struggling to get to the bottom of why Susan's part of this trial. The judge and attorneys eventually call her into the judge's chambers. The defense wants clarity from Susan about her MySpace page. Away from the jury, but still on the record under oath. This is her response when asked why Quincy's name was even on her persons of interest list.

Why was. I know he killed. I just know he. Why? I just know he killed her. Okay.

She doesn't offer evidence, just her opinion. Before they let her go, they discuss her undercover recording of Quincy, where Susan repeats many a her recollections that he knew, quote, exactly what kind of belt was used to kill Jessica.

And I saw the crime scene photo of the belt around her neck, and it was a black braided belt. There was no crime scene photo around her neck. Okay. It might have been on the autopsy.

I'm not really sure what to make of this. Susan says under oath that she couldn't forget the photo of the belt around Jessica's neck. And then the defense lawyer corrects her. Nowhere in the evidence is there a photo or any physical proof of a belt being around Jessica's neck. Not from the crime scene or the autopsy. Despite Susan's claims, Susan's eventually dismissed from the chambers conference.

Thank you. Thank you. And I don't know, we never have chewed gum, but I've got, like, bad sore throat and I wanted to just try to keep it moist. No problem.

Thank you.

God bless you, all of you. Thank you.

Susan eventually leaves, and there are a few chuckles. It's hard to know how seriously they really took her.

All right, what's the next guy?

In any case, while Susan's part in the trial may be finished, her theory isn't. The issue of Quincy's belt stays central to the prosecution's line of questioning. For example, a state trooper who was at the crime scene gets himself twisted up trying to clarify things. Here's defense attorney Eustice pushing him for an answer.

Okay, so when you said it out around your neck, that's not correct. I don't know if it was. It was a burnt, charred piece lying there by the victim's neck. So it's not now. It's by the neck, not around the neck. I'll just sit and honestly say that I can recall directly where it was no later.

The medical examiner, who had been one of the early sources for the strangulation theory back in 2000 on the stand now isn't so sure. He confirms that there was no Obvious ligature mark or physical evidence of strangulation. In fact, he admits that he only mentioned strangulation in his report because he was told by the police that there was a fragment of belt near Jessica's neck. I don't need to emphasize how flimsy this all seems, why forensic evidence is so critical. At this point, witness testimony becomes incredibly powerful. And that's where Victoria Caldwell and Venetia Stubblefield come in.

And the defense will have some questions for you.

[Guest/Contributor]

Now,

[Narrator/Host]

the testimony of the two women at trial shows how their stories have evolved over the previous year. Most of the timeline issues have been resolved and the order of events is more consistent. But there are still plenty of discrepancies, starting with where Jessica was picked up. Up from. Here's Victoria.

Jessica was at your house when you went got in the car with Quincy.

Yes. And here's Venetia.

When we picked her up, she was still walking along. She was probably like a block and a half from where we were standing.

[Guest/Contributor]

When you said goodbye to her.

[Narrator/Host]

Yes.

The cars are still confusing.

Same white car that you drove from Chris Drive? No. A different white cloth. Yes.

Jessyca is both conscious and unconscious on her way into Jeff's house. It goes on. And many of the facts presented will remain unreconciled. But let's focus on the other key word that has persisted from the beginning. The gas. Again, remember, there's no physical evidence of gasoline, what kind of accelerant was used or where it came from. All we have is the fact that Quincy smelled of gas and the body was burned with something. Both Victoria and Benisha are aligned on this part of the story. They both testify that Jessica's body was kept in Jeff's shed for two days after the murder. They both confess to helping Jeff Burton burn Jessica's body at the school while Quincy was in jail on drug charges. So in the final version at trial, the fact that Quincy had gas on him, the fact that first drew Susan's suspicions to him, is completely irrelevant. Quincy silently watches all this unfold from behind a table. All he can do is whisper to his attorney. But at this point, Quincy was basically helpless to stop what was about to happen. Despite the confusion over the belt, the gasoline, and the absence of any DNA evidence, the narrative, the story that has grown over the years, the story that has been shared and re. Shared, honed and rehashed by Susan, Tom, the Kentucky State Police, and the kbi. A horrifying story relayed by two eyewitnesses, both of whom also confess their involvement is apparently simply too shocking to be made up. The jury has heard enough. On Tuesday, April 8, 2008, Quincy Cross is found guilty on all counts and receives a life sentence for the rape and murder of Jessica Curran. But this is not the end of the story. Far from it. That flimsy narrative we heard at trial that held together just long enough to get a conviction quickly starts to unravel. Witnesses recant their testimony.

I was young and I was taken advantage of. I had no guidance. I had no really no family support, no nothing. Nobody say, hey, like, no, you can't question her. You can't do this. Never had that.

But if Quincy would have any chance of regaining his freedom, then Susan's role in this mess would have to finally be exposed.

We're at this strange place where we

[Guest/Contributor]

had had years of emails that told the extent of Susan's meddling that could

[Narrator/Host]

have been used to get Quincy, you

[Guest/Contributor]

know, off the charges.

[Narrator/Host]

And so the next stage was, well,

we need to give this evidence to someone.

That someone was the Kentucky Innocence Project, Quincy's new legal team. And that evidence might just be Quincy's best shot at freedom yet.

[Guest/Contributor]

I just hope that the truth comes out and that the jury sees the full picture and not just the untruthfulness that they got the first time.

[Narrator/Host]

That's next time on our final episode of My Mother's Lies. At the time of release, we have not received a response from the Kentucky State Police, the office of the Attorney General of Kentucky, former state trooper Sam Steger, or former KBI agent Lee Wise regarding allegations reported in this episode. A legal representative for former KBI agent Bob o' Neill responded by email saying he, quote, categorically denies the narrative and the specific allegations. Tom Mangold confirmed by email that he stands by his reporting. Unlock all episodes of My Mother's Lies ad free right now by subscribing to the Binge podcast channel. Not only will you immediately unlock all episodes of this show, but you'll get binge access to an entire network of over 60 true crime and investigative podcasts, shows like Doctor's Orders and watching you all ad free. Plus, on the first of every month, subscribers get a binge binge drop of a brand new series that's all episodes all at once. Search for the binge on Apple podcasts and hit subscribe at the top of the page, not on Apple. Then head to getthebinge.com to get access wherever you listen. This is My Mother's Lies, an original production of Sony Music Entertainment and message Heard hosted by me Beth Karras from Message Heard. Alice Arnold is our investigator producer Robin Simon our producer McAllister Bexson our series producer Thiago Diaz. Our assistant producer Alan Lear is our supervising sound editor, supported by sound editors Lizzie Andrews and Ivan Easley with original composition by Mike Mains from Sony Music Entertainment. Our executive producers are Catherine St. Louis and Jonathan Hirsch from Blink Films. Our executive producer is Justine Kershaw and a big thanks to the whole Sony Music Entertainment team.

[Guest/Contributor]

I want to tell you guys about a podcast that is near and dear to my heart and I cannot believe it already came out a year ago. And you can all go listen to it ad free by subscribing to the binge podcast channel.

[Narrator/Host]

What podcast? Corinne? Tell us.

[Guest/Contributor]

Oh, it's called Blink Jake Handel Story. I created it about a man named Jake who I met who is the only survivor of a terminal brain illness brought on by heroin use. But there is a lot of mystery and medical malpractice and true crime elements that are very shocking and surprising and even some supernatural elements. So this is definitely an amazing story

[Narrator/Host]

and it's very unique. Did such an incredible job telling the story and sharing it with the world.

[Guest/Contributor]

So if you have not listened to

[Narrator/Host]

it yet, my goodness, where have you been?

Because Blink is so freaking good.

[Guest/Contributor]

Thank you. Search for Blink wherever you listen and subscribers to the binge will get the entire season ad free. Plus you'll get exclusive access to the over 60 other true crime stories on the Binge Podcast channel. Hit subscribe on Apple Podcasts or head to getthebinge.com.