Podcast Summary: "The Vanishing of Janis Rose" – Ep. 5: Then Who is David?

Host: Larison Campbell
Podcast: The Binge Crimes: The Vanishing of Janis Rose (Sony Music Entertainment)
Air Date: September 30, 2025

Main Theme / Purpose

In Episode 5, “Then Who is David?”, host Larison Campbell turns her focus to the tangled origins and identity of David, Janis Rose’s son—whose very existence may be tied to her web of lies, fake identities, and possibly illegal adoption. The episode explores David's quest for the truth about his beginnings, his relationship with Janis, and the ripple effects her actions had on multiple families and lives. The episode weaves together interviews, revelations, and conflicting accounts, shining light on the depth of Janis’s deceptions and the complicated search for identity in her wake.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. David’s Perspective on Discovery and Betrayal

• David’s life upended: In 2025, David learned that his mother, known as Willie Jo Streety, was actually Janis Rose Bullock, and that his entire life may be based on lies.
  [01:40]
• Emotional turmoil: David grapples with questions of love, betrayal, and truth.
  • “My emotions been all over the place since they happened. Sad, anger. Being lied to and doing that to our daughters and then lying the whole time around me. Or was our bond a lie? Or was it true? Was my childhood lie? I still love her because she raised me my whole life.” – David [02:04]
• Confrontation with reality: David is forced to interrogate his childhood and the nature of his mother’s love.

2. The Question of David’s Origins

• Suspicion of forgery: David wonders if his very identity is fraudulent.
  • “I might have a forged birth certificate after all.” – David [03:51]
• Rumors of a black-market adoption: Investigators tell David he may have been bought for $1,000 at birth.
  • “Detectives said, I was probably bought for $1,000.” – David [04:28]
  • “Her and dad went there and dad gave nurse or doctor a thousand dollars, and that's how they got me.” – David [04:38]
• The story David grew up with: Janice told David he was adopted from Charity Hospital in New Orleans when he was a day old, but claimed it was a closed adoption with no records.
  [07:11–08:06]

3. Janis’s Identity Manipulations

• Social Security fraud incident: David recounts a time when his mother was accused by Social Security of identity theft but was never caught or confronted directly:
  • “They came back, said, we can't give this back to you because it's stolen.” – David [09:26]
  • “They argued and kicked us out of the Social Security office.” – David [10:02]
• Real vs. assumed identity: Janis’s assumed identity (Willie Jo) matches a real woman—a Black woman from Louisiana, not Janis’s race, age, or background. This highlights the complexity and boldness of Janis’s cons.
  [10:45–12:45]

4. Janis’s Serial Marriages and Disguises

• Multiple marriages: Marriage records reveal that while using the Willie Jo alias, Janis married three men in the ’80s and ’90s (including David’s dad, Cliff, and Wesley [Wes])—sometimes committing bigamy.
• Wes's account: When contacted, Wes (one of Janis’s ex-husbands) is stunned by revelations of her past:
  • “When you told me you were doing a story on her, I was like, it's gotta be something good because she was a good person.” – Wes [17:02]
• Relationships and deception: Wes lived with Janis and David’s father without knowing their relationship. Janis actively concealed the truth from the various men and children in her life.

5. Fabricated Motherhood and Possible Child Stealing

• Pattern of “taking in” kids: Wes says Janis took in other children and passed herself as a foster parent, despite never seeing paperwork or social worker involvement.
  • “I never seen a child case worker. I never seen anything. I mean, I never signed papers to be a foster parent. But then all of a sudden, they were gone. She might have kidnapped those kids.” – Wes [20:35]
• Faked pregnancies: Janis claimed to be pregnant (even with triplets with Wes), showing physical symptoms and fake ultrasounds, only to claim a miscarriage at seven months. Host and Wes now believe this was fabricated:
  • “She had ultrasounds. Pictures of the babies, you know...I seen her naked. What the hell was it then? A basketball she sewed into her stomach. This is freaking my life out.” – Wes [23:14]
• Motivation: Larison speculates Janis orchestrated pregnancies to secure men and identities, perhaps to fill the void from her absent biological daughters.

6. The Rumors and the Black-Market Adoption Plot

• Community rumors: People in Poplarville believed David was not Janis’s biological child. His possible origins as a black-market baby or a stolen child were whispered for decades.
  • “Did you ever hear anything your parents talk about where they think David came from? They thought she kidnapped him.” – Karen Sullivan [34:10]
• Source of the rumor: A local relayed that David’s father admitted buying David for $1,000 from Charity Hospital due to Janis’s “grief” after a miscarriage.
  • “Jan told him that she miscarried the baby and she was having such a hard time mentally about it, he went and bought the baby.” – Peggy Perkins [36:40]
• Complicity and silence: Despite deep suspicions, no one reported Janis to authorities, reflecting the closed, secretive culture of small-town Mississippi.

7. The Search for Truth and Identity

• David’s legal search: Louisiana’s 2022 law change allows closed adoption records to be opened. David receives his original birth certificate, unlocking new questions.
  [39:02–39:55]
• Bracing for confrontation: David prepares to visit Janis in person, seeking answers only she may be able to give.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• David on betrayal:
  • “Was our bond a lie? Or was it true? Was my childhood lie? I still love her because she raised me my whole life.” [02:04]
• On fake identities:
  • “Her Social Security number is stolen...They argued and kicked us out of the Social Security office.” [09:26–10:02]
• David’s existential doubt:
  • “Who am I?” [05:03]
• Wes’s realization:
  • “She might have kidnapped those kids. Now, I don't know what to think.” [20:48]
  • “I seen her naked. What the hell was it then? A basketball she sewed into her stomach. This is freaking my life out.” [23:24]
  • “I think if I was older I would have figured this out on my own back then. I would have put pieces together....Kind of a weird vibe.” [29:50]
• Host, on psychological motives:
  • “It's like an extreme version of trad wife believing a woman needs a man to be safe and secure and that a child is the only way to make him commit.” [27:06]
• On small-town secrecy:
  • “Karen told me something that stuck with me about Poplarville, that little town Janice kept returning to. She says you can hide stuff there. It's part of the culture of not inserting yourself in public. They keep their mouth shut. Behind closed doors, they tell it all.” [37:20]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:09] – David describes Janis in one word: “Loving... crazy… but loving.”
• [02:04–02:29] – David’s emotional response to uncovering Janis’s real identity.
• [04:28–04:45] – Detective reveals David might have been “bought for $1,000.”
• [07:11–08:06] – David’s account of his “adoption” story and lack of records.
• [09:26–10:02] – The Social Security fraud incident.
• [14:41] – David’s reaction to learning more about Janis’s fraudulent marriages.
• [17:02–18:13] – Wes’s first impressions and surprise at Janis’s secrets.
• [20:35–20:48] – Wes discovers the possibility of Janis kidnapping foster kids.
• [23:14–23:33] – Wes’s confusion after realizing Janis might have faked her pregnancy.
• [29:50] – Wes reflects on his missed suspicions: “I was the 23 year old naive kid…”
• [33:30–34:10] – David weighs the likelihood of a legal vs. black-market adoption.
• [36:40] – Peggy Perkins’s account of David’s alleged purchase.
• [39:02–39:55] – David receives his original birth certificate and prepares to meet Janis for answers.

Conclusion

In Episode 5, the search for Janis Rose’s truth becomes a search for David’s own truth. As David tries to untangle his origins from Janis’s lies, the episode reveals unsettling possibilities about illegal adoption, secrecy, and the devastation wrought by a mother’s web of identities. The investigation isn’t over, but after four decades of secrets, an answer may finally be within reach—not just for David, but for everyone left behind in Janis’s wake.