Surrounded by Evil /// Part 1 /// 913

Summary

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True Crime Garage Episode 913: Surrounded by Evil /// Part 1

Main Theme and Purpose

In Episode 913, “Surrounded by Evil /// Part 1,” Nic and the Captain take a deep dive into the 2015 disappearance of Leah Martin, a young mother from Graham, Texas. The episode is a methodical, detail-rich exploration of Leah’s sudden vanishing under suspicious circumstances. The hosts dig into her last documented movements, personal relationships, evidence found at the scene, and the unfolding investigation, weaving together both the emotional impact and methodical detective work with their trademark mix of sharp banter, dark wit, and respect for the victim.

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Case Introduction and Background

[04:17]

• Leah Martin: 22-year-old mother who disappeared on May 29, 2015, in Graham, Texas (a small town northwest of Fort Worth).
• The hosts walk listeners through Graham’s geography and small-town feel, underlining how a disappearance here is a community-shaking event.
• “A young mother and working professional, Leah Martin, goes missing after receiving threatening calls... Her vehicle and purse are quickly recovered and fresh blood is found nearby.” – Nic [04:17]

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Leah Martin’s Last Day: Sequence of Events

[10:06 - 15:46]

• Leah attended her cousin’s graduation, texted her father about picking up his medication at Walmart, and planned to drop by her workplace (EC’s Auto Repair) to pick up personal items (shoes, clothing).
• She dropped off her two-year-old daughter Avery at her ex-boyfriend Aaron Blair’s place. Aaron is also the son (adopted) of EC Blair, Leah’s boss.
• Leah’s father, Billy, checks her room at 4am and finds her missing. Initially believes she stayed with Aaron and Avery, but this proves false.
• Leah’s vehicle is found at the auto shop, her purse inside, and her shoes at her desk—personal belongings left behind, no sign of Leah.
• “The other items that she was believed to be retrieving were found at the office or at some location inside the shop as well... But his daughter, 22 year old Leah Martin is missing.” – Nic [15:45]

2. Early Investigation and Family/Friends’ Search

[16:47 - 20:10]

• Friends and family, then police, begin searching. Timeline is complicated by overlapping efforts from loved ones, law enforcement, and, eventually, the Texas Rangers.
• The car and purse found at work are troubling indicators; the last ping from Leah’s phone is at the shop, whereupon it goes dead.
• Early theories considered: Did Leah run off? Was this foul play, possibly linked to rocky relationships?

3. Suspicious Circumstances and Threatening Phone Calls

[19:36 - 23:55]

• Leah’s father and boss both note she received multiple threatening phone calls, apparently from a female caller (blocked number).
• “They said something like, ‘we’re going to get your ass or we’re going to get you’... the caller, the threatening phone calls, or at least that one in particular, came from a female.” – Nic [21:34]
• Police begin examining phone records; last traceable call points to Wichita Falls.

4. Forensics, Blood, and the Cell Phone Trail

[23:00 - 24:02, 31:35 - 34:40]

• Leah’s physical phone is missing; last cell ping was at the auto shop. No activity since.
• Family finds “fresh-looking blood” on a bridge near the shop, but police quickly determine it’s snake blood from local kids, not Leah’s.
• Security camera systems at EC’s Auto Repair failed the night of Leah’s disappearance. Surveillance at a business across the street captures part of the scene, but details are grainy.

5. Surveillance Footage and Timeline Reconstruction

[36:06 - 39:02]

• Surveillance shows:
  • An SUV pulls up at the auto shop, a person enters via the garage bay.
  • Leah’s truck arrives later; a person believed to be Leah gets out and enters the same bay door.
  • The SUV departs, Leah’s truck never leaves.
• “In the video, a figure was observed getting out of an SUV and opening one of the multiple garage bay doors before walking into the building. Another vehicle, presumably Leah Martin’s, pulled into the parking lot a short time later, and that person entered... but never came out.” – Nic, quoting Graham Police/Lt. Toby Catlin [38:10]

6. Unraveling Relationships and Motives

[41:16 - 48:30]

• Police uncover Leah had an affair with her coworker, Raphael Winder, at the shop. He’s since married a woman named Samantha (possible source of the threatening calls).
• Leah and Samantha argued in public; Leah reportedly vandalized Raphael’s belongings.
• Both Raphael and his wife have solid alibis backed by restaurant and Walmart footage.
• Hosts discuss how the shop, its staff, and tangled relationships dramatically raise the stakes and suspicion.
• “Leah was a young woman in some pretty complicated, high-risk personal dynamics.” – The Captain [49:37]

7. Shocking Reveal: Leah’s Secret Relationship with Her Boss

[47:36 - 51:07]

• Leah’s mother, searching her daughter’s email post-disappearance, discovers Leah had a romantic relationship with her boss, EC Blair (who is also her ex’s adoptive father and her child’s grandfather).
• “He was a married man and he was messing around with a 22 year old girl and leading her on. It takes a very sick twisted human being to even think of getting involved with your son’s girlfriend.” – Leah’s mother, Stacy Martin, quoted by Nic [49:44]
• EC Blair becomes less cooperative with police after this comes to light; his wife Lisa knew about the affair, wanted Leah fired, but asserts she’d moved on after finding out.

8. Narrowing the Suspect Pool

[53:05 - 54:43]

• Focus tightens on individuals at the shop who would have access to the building and potential knowledge of disabling the security system.
• Texas Rangers and police decide to question two additional employees, Ross Helms and Billy Minkley, as potential persons of interest.
• The episode ends with the investigation about to probe deeper into the people connected to the shop.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the broken cameras:
  “Good news, EC shop, it has security cameras. Bad news, bad news. The cameras had failed the night in question, so...” – Nic [34:40]

• On tangled romance and risk:
  “...it kind of reminds me of the detectives talking about the Tip City murder, where they go...the victim in that case was living a low risk lifestyle. And I’d say in this case, because of these relationships that Leah was having, this puts her in the possibility of high risk lifestyle.” – The Captain [49:37]

• On investigation strategy:
  “What the investigators are doing here and doing successfully in a pretty quick amount of time is checking boxes...So what you have to do is look at everyone…who’s tied to the where and then eliminate them as a suspect.” – Nic [45:10]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [04:17] – Introduction of Leah Martin’s disappearance and initial facts
• [10:06] – Leah’s last known actions and her family’s involvement
• [19:36] – Discussion of threatening phone calls
• [23:00] – Cell phone forensics and investigation steps
• [31:35] – Family and community search efforts, finding the blood (false lead)
• [34:40] – Camera failure and grainy surveillance footage
• [36:06] – Breakdown of evidence from across-the-street video
• [41:16] – Discovery of Leah’s affair with a coworker
• [47:36] – Leah’s secret relationship with boss EC Blair revealed
• [53:05] – Focus shifts to new persons of interest at the shop

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Episode Tone and Style

• Casual, sharp, and darkly witty: The hosts balance professional, methodical case breakdowns (“Let’s tackle this sort of in the reverse order…” [20:15]) with candid, even comedic asides (“Yeah, I’d be walking around that place going, smells like fish sticks in here. Something’s fishy.” – Captain [35:58]), offering moments of levity while maintaining gravity for the case.
• Insightful but accessible: The hosts carefully guide the listener through police work, family dynamics, and interpersonal drama, making the episode as much about “armchair detective” work as respectful storytelling.

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Conclusion

Episode 913 lays out a complex, multi-suspect mystery surrounding Leah Martin’s disappearance—one with intertwining relationships, leads that come up dead ends, and an ever-tightening suspect pool inside a Texas auto shop. As the episode concludes, the hosts set up Part 2, promising a deeper look into new potential suspects and further unraveling of this small-town enigma.

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For more information, listen to Part 2, and remember:
“Be good, be kind, and don’t litter.” – True Crime Garage

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Transcript

[A]

Let's go.

[B]

From Nintendo and Illumination, the Super Mario

[A]

Brothers can take care of the kingdom.

[B]

Comes a super powered adventure on April 1, pack our things, the galaxy gets even bigger.

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[B]

Yes sir. The Super Mario Galaxy movie 80 PG only Peters April 1st get tickets.

[A]

Now picture this. It's the end of a long week. You're unwinding in the tub, listening to your favorite true crime podcast and then chronic hives come back again in the middle of the episode. What a wet blanket. Looks like another spell of itchy, swollen, red or skin colored hives. If you have chronic spontaneous urticaria or csu, there may be a different treatment option. Worried about your chronic hives interrupting our next episode? Learn [e-mail] Garage. Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing. Thanks for listening. I'm your host, Nick and with me, as always, is America's number one free agent on the market. Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain.

[B]

Yeah, I'm hoping to get that 150 million dollar four year contract. I don't care what team. It's good to be seen and good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.

[A]

O m Guinness. We got to do it. That's right. This week the old garage fridge is filled with Guinness draft, the iconic Irish dry stout known for its rich dark color, creamy white head and silky smooth velvety texture created by that nitro carbon dioxide mix. All fortified by that wickedly talented little widget thang. I love this beer. Five bottle caps. The Captain loves this beer. Our father loves it. And to all of the good people all around the globe, I say it is a good day for a Guinness cheers and happy St. Patrick's Day. And cheers to all of good garage friends like Sherry Pate and Wasion, Ohio.

[B]

And a big we like your jib goes out to Lexus Griffith from Lincolnton, North Carolina.

[A]

And here's a cheers to Katie Knapp and Deer, Wisconsin.

[B]

And say it with me. Tall cans in the air goes out to Robin Jennings from Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

[A]

And here's a cheers to Dalton Durbin in Delos, Ohio. Say that three times fast. And last but certainly not least, we have a very big Ron Swanson please and thank you to Leslie in Milford, Michigan. Thank you Leslie for all of your help with the porch light project over the last two years. Everyone we just mentioned, they went to true crimegarage.com and helped us out with this week's beer fund which filled up the old garage fridge for this week and for that, we thank you.

[B]

Yeah, BWR you and beer run. I get emails almost every week. What's the best way to support the garage? Well, I think the best way is to sign up on Patreon or Apple podcast subscription because you get to support us directly and get some more true crime for your earballs. And Colonel, that's enough of the B is Nes.

[A]

All right everybody gather round, grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime. A young mother and working professional, Leah Martin goes missing after receiving threatening calls. Ms. Martin was on her way to work, but then suddenly she vanished. Her family and co workers report that they have no idea where she could be. Her vehicle and purse are quickly recovered and fresh blood is found nearby. What hidden information was in these threatening phone calls? Where is Leah Martin? This is True Crime Garage. We are once again headed to Texas to examine another Texas true crime story. This is the story of a young mother who vanished under incredibly suspicious circumstances with some possible traceable evidence to help the investigation. The young woman is Leah Martin. She is a 22 year old mother who vanished on May 29, 2015. The location is Graham, Texas. Now when I went looking for Graham, Texas, I found some fancy descriptions of how to describe where Graham is located like 55 miles south of Wichita Falls or 65 air miles northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. And that Graham is located in in the western Cross Timbers area of North Texas. Locally this is known as the western portion of the Palo Pinto Mountains. Now my guess is that most people outside of the great state of Texas, we do not have much of an idea as to what any of that means. So some garage geography here folks. When looking at your favorite map app or just visualizing Texas, go to the very center of Texas and go a little bit north. Once you are there and you will find Graham. And once you're in Graham, you're just about a 90 minute drive northbound to get to the Texas Oklahoma state line. So now that we know where we are here, Captain Graham, Texas. It is about a six square mile in area and little less than 9,000 people are living there. It's a beautiful community that boasts having a very cool old school still in operation, Drive in theater and according to a mural on the courthouse depicting the arrival of the Graham brothers, of course the city's namesake there, the town square is physically the largest of any in the country. Now let's talk about Leah. Leah Martin. She is 22 years old. She's a 22 year old mother who vanished on May 29, 2015. Her vehicle was found abandoned at her workplace the next day in Graham, Texas. Leah was last known to be wearing a teal blue peasant blouse with cream colored lace on a three quarter sleeve cuff with denim capri pants and sandals. Leah's parents are Billy and Stacey Martin. Leah grew up in a quiet town in Young County, Texas. During her senior year of high school, she and her on again, off again boyfriend, his name is Aaron Blair, had a baby daughter. Her name is Avery. After high school, Leah found employment as a receptionist at a local business called EC's Auto Repair.

[B]

This is a pretty big staple in this small community.

[A]

Yeah, you've seen pictures of it? I've seen pictures of it. It is a fairly decent size outfit there with this auto repair, EC's Auto Repair. It's located in Graham on Highway 380 near the bypass. The auto repair shop, which has several employees, is owned by E.C. blair. Full name Elton Carroll Blair. He is the shop's owner and chief operator. You'll notice if you have not already, I'm going to point it out. The EC shares the same last name as Leah's on again, off again boyfriend, baby daddy, Aaron Blair. Well, that's because EC is also the father of Aaron Blair. Aaron is EC's adopted son. Now, this on again, off again relationship, by early 2015, well, it appears to me that it was off again and in a major way the two had split this time maybe for good. I don't know. This. The, the dynamics of this relationship are a little fuzzy for me here, Captain.

[B]

Yeah, a little wonky donkey.

[A]

What I do know is that they're not living together and they had agreed to having shared custody of their daughter Avery. We have some pretty well documented information regarding Leah's movements before she vanishes. And let's get into those movements. So on the date of May 29, 2015, that's a Friday. And on that day, Leah Martin attended her cousin's graduation. And she was also making plans for the remainder of the day. Prior to the 29th, Leah's father, Billy, he had had surgery on his eye. So after this graduation, the gathering that was involved Leah being the good daughter that she is, she texts her father, she says she's planning to go to the local Walmart and she's going to pick up her father's medication for him.

[B]

It's probably, probably difficult growing up with a father that's a Cyclops.

[A]

In that text she says, quote, she was going to stop by her work and pick up a few things and then she was going to go to the local Walmart to pick up my medication. That's a quote from her father, Billy. The item or items that she wants to retrieve from her work has been noted. I don't know if her father knew the exact items at the time, but the items she was going to collect became clear at some point because we know that she was. She had some shoes there and she had a few personal, possibly clothing items there that she wanted to retrieve. Sadly and mysteriously, Leah didn't come home that night. Billy says it was about 4am the next morning when when he's checking in on Leah in her room, goes to her room, he finds her not there, much to his surprise. Now she's an adult. Keep in mind, she's 22 years old. So she had not come home late that night either. Like even after Billy had gone to bed, she never came home.

[B]

Do we know where her kid is?

[A]

Yes, we do. And, and that is why at 4am when he was concerned, it wasn't alarming concern because he says he first assumed that she ended up staying the night over at Aaron Blair's place, right at her boyfriend's house. However, when morning turned into afternoon, he's texting, calling his daughter. He gets no response to the text, no return calls. So later that day he decides to step out and look for Leah. He knew that one of Leah's last stops was going to be dropping off her daughter Avery to Aaron Blair's place. And that's probably why he thought she might just have stayed over there. So he started there, Billy starts there, he talks to Aaron Blair, the two year old baby, Avery. Fine, perfectly fine. But Aaron Blair told Billy Martin that he hadn't seen Leah Martin since she dropped off their daughter. And this was before the intent was to drop off the daughter and then go run these errands, Right, Billy? Billy Martin also knew that his daughter intended to go to her place of work. Again, that's EC's Auto Shop. So then Billy visited the automotive shop where he is talking with the owner, E.C. blair. And E.C. blair tells dad that he has no idea, no great ideas anyway, of where Leah could be. No ideas as to Leah's whereabouts. In fact, EC reported having the same issue. He said he had placed multiple unanswered calls to Leah that same day.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Now, immediately, Billy noticed his daughter's vehicle parked outside. So her vehicle is in the lot in a spot that would be typical for her to park for work. But we have no Leah and we have no one with any answers nor clue where she could be so cops called, report filed, missing person Leah Martin.

[B]

So she starts off by dropping her child off to her boyfriend, then she goes to this graduation, then she's going to stop by her work and then she's going to go to the Walmart to pick up the medication from her father. So if that all remains true then. And we know she dropped off her child, we know she went to the graduation. So she goes to work and then she disappears from work. That seems bizarre.

[A]

Yes, that would be the indicator with her vehicle being found there. And further more inside the shop, a pair of Leah's shoes were at her desk. This is believed to be one of the items she intended to retrieve. It's also reported that the items that she was. The other items that she was believed to be retrieving were found at the office or at some location inside the shop as well. So her vehicle made it there. Her reasoning for being there, these collection of these items. Right, that didn't happen. That action didn't happen. But the vehicle arrived there. So her personal items are at the shop. Her truck is parked outside. To which Billy discovers Leah's purse inside of the truck.

[B]

Not a good sign.

[A]

But his daughter, 22 year old Leah Martin is missing from the Graham Police Department. A statement that they would later release. Quote, we checked inside the business and there was a pair of shoes at the desk where Leah worked. Billy had told us that she was supposed to pick up those shoes is what they're referencing that night. So everybody's surprised to find these shoes and especially the vehicle out there. After this discovery, we are going to have some hyper vigilant activity here. Captain. So it's an all hands on deck situation, obviously with many hands involved in the investigation, the looking for Leah, all kind of heading in a lot of different directions all at the same time. Speaking of time, Captain, this is a flurry of activity which will pretty much works our timeline into a bit of a tizzy here.

[B]

Right, and like you said, this is a very small town, I mean a population under 10,000, but then I'm assuming that there's a lot of rural areas. So yeah, as an investigator you're going, okay, so she makes it to work to pick up these items, but these items are untouched. So did she park her vehicle and get into somebody else's vehicle? And where could she be? Is she running away from her responsibilities? Look, it's not out of the realm of possibilities because like you said, she's 22 and she seems to be kind of a free spirited person. She has this on again, off again relationship with her boyfriend. So that's somebody that you have to be concerned about. But is it possible that she, during one of their, you know, we're on a break, we're not on a break. Is there a possibility that during one of those breaks that she ends up having a, a relationship with somebody else?

[A]

Well, and to be clear here, because we've not provided timestamp markers for the events and the actions that we've already discussed, but to clue everybody in onto what's going on in the rough time markers for those movements, it's understood that she's going to her place of work after the normal operating hours. Right. And keep in mind, I think one thing that's key here, and I think that it's key in a lot of the cases that we cover, is what day of the week that is. And this is a Friday. Okay, so ultimately, what do we have here at this point? We have a lot of questions, we have some answers. Right. Leah's truck is located, Leah's purse is located. This whole time. Daughter Avery, 2 year old Avery, God bless her, she's safe and sound with her father. But we also have a lot of leads to look at. Right. Where is Leah's cell phone? Can we track it? Outside of that, what digital forensic evidence can we find? Leah's dad is providing information, some that may lead to a suspect and we'll get to that in the appropriate time in our timeline. Here we have Leah's place of work.

[B]

Yeah, we got cameras.

[A]

We know that law enforcement searched there and found the same findings that they were told by Leah's father that they might find.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But because those items were found there, that needs to be of concern. As we've already pointed out that that is where she was heading, that is where her truck is found, but no one there seems to have a clue. And of course, anytime you have an ex, he is easily identified. This, this of course is Aaron Blair. So we got to talk to him.

[B]

Right? That was one of my big questions is because they're on again, off again. Hey, we're on a break. Were they on the break at the time? So you're saying. Yes, this is. He is an ex.

[A]

He's described as an ex. But keep in mind the father, her father's first assumption when she wasn't home was that she had stayed the night over there. So that to me is very touch and go. And I hesitate to dip my water, my toe into the waters of understanding exactly what their relationship was, even at this exact Moment in time.

[B]

Yeah. I think on Facebook you would put relationship status complicated.

[A]

I'm yet to see one that is. There isn't, I should say. Yeah. So let's tackle this sort of in the reverse order of what we just. How we just brought these items up. First, the X. Let's clear this hurdle if we can. From everything that I gather, he is actually very quickly of very little concern to the investigators. Why? Well, we know the little two year old daughter is with him all night. So that drop off, that was planned. It did happen. Who else was with Aaron that night? Because I have to guess here, Captain, based off of the information that we were able to gather and what information is missing is that they moved off of Aaron the X rather quickly for twofold. One, rock solid alibi would be my guess. Two, information and evidence is telling them to look elsewhere. So if you figure out very quickly she made the drop off, dropped off the kid, and there were a lot of other people with this guy all night long and you have some information that might be pointing you in other directions, you got to move off of this guy real quick. We said Leah's dad might have information, maybe a lead, and he does. He tells police that Leah had been receiving threatening phone calls. Now, here's what we know, okay? Leah had received threatening phone calls. Billy, her father, says he had heard, he'd actually heard one of them. And he tells police, he said, I. They said something like, we're going to get your ass or we're going to get you. He tells police that he believed, based off of what he could hear in an earshot, that the caller, the threatening phone calls, or at least that one in particular, came from a female. The caller ID on these calls is not available, so it's coming from a blocked number or a scrambled number. Somehow, whoever's making this call and threatening her, we know of one that her father had heard. He says he believes there were multiple calls. Now, to kind of confirm this or take it in another direction, E.C. blair, Leah's boss, says that, yep, Leah was receiving threatening calls at work as well. But beyond that he had little information to offer.

[B]

Right, but that's, that's scary, right? You know, she's getting these threatening calls from some female. Again, like I said, is there some kind of relationship going on when she's been not with her child's father?

[A]

It's an avenue, though. It's a, it's a lead. Maybe it's a pathway to finding her. So police check phone records and they get the cell phone Ping information for Leah's cell phone, which keep in mind they don't have the physical cell phone phone records. Trace the last call on her phone. What I don't have here to be clear, Captain, I don't know if you found this, but I don't have whether this was a call she received or a call that she had sent. The I have the simple statement of the phone records. Trace the last call to Wichita Falls, which is not terribly far away. A subpoena was requested to identify the number's owner. That's going to take some time. A geo. A geolocation ping showed Leah's phone. Its last location that they could trace was at her work at the shop.

[B]

So the phone is turned off or possibly broken at that location, right?

[A]

Correct. After which all activity ceased, suggesting, as you said, disabled or turned off. So now we know that we. We can't say for certain that Leah ever arrived at the shop. At this point, what we have is we know her truck ended up there, her purse arrived there, and we do know now that her phone at some point arrived there. It's gone and so is Leah. This is the time when kids benefit from reviewing key concepts and strengthening skills before assessments. IXL helps reinforce what they're learning right now so they feel ready and capable. IXL is an award winning online learning platform for Pre K through 12th grade with personalized interactive lessons in math, reading, writing and science that adapt to each child's level and pace. Proven in all 50 states to improve grades, students who use IXL score higher on test. IXL is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the U.S. i have friends, I have family who use and love ixl. Why? 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[B]

All right, we are back. Talk. Hands in the air. Cheers to you, Colonel.

[A]

Cheers to you, Captain. Cheers to everybody out there. Happy St. Patrick's Day. Please, please party responsibly. As you know, the Colonel always does. All right, so during the same time, this is what I was getting at with our timeline here being in a bit of a tizzy because you have really, truly, you have multiple investigations, if you will, going on, right? You have the family looking for Leah. You have the police who are looking for Leah also looking for clues as to what happened to her. The Texas Rangers get involved fairly quickly. I don't know how early in the investigation they get involved. And then you have people that she works with and friends and such who are keeping an eye out and actively looking for Leah. And what we're going to get, Captain, is some information from all these different avenues all at the same time. So during the same time of all the events that we just discussed, family and friends are searching the area extensively for their lost friend and family member. They're looking in alleyways, they're looking in dumpsters, culverts, under bridges. During this search, they encountered a decent amount of fresh looking blood at a specific location. So this was on Sunday. Remember, she was last. Her last known whereabouts is that Friday, two days after she went missing. After Leah went missing, Billy, her father finds blood on the Lindy street, bridge. It's. He says it looks fresh to him. Police are going to get called to this area, out to the site, and they're going to do their investigation. To make. Let's make a long story short, because

[B]

we have never been able to make a long story short. Yeah, we're the kings of making a short story long.

[A]

Well, we will sprint through this detail instead of crawling through it. But what the police quickly figure out is, look, this is a good call. You got to investigate this. But they very quickly figure out that there were kids fishing in the area, and those kids admitted to killing a snake on that bridge.

[B]

Lock them up.

[A]

One of them had caught a snake or encountered a snake, and they. They killed it. And so the blood was determined to be just as those kids had said, from a snake and not from a human. So this was a lead, but it goes nowhere. Leah's whereabouts still un known. Meanwhile, the phone and the vehicle, her vehicle. Are keeping law enforcement busy as well with working on leads regarding the auto shop, her place of work. Right, Here we go. You know that sometimes I. I never know how this is going to shake out, but we got a good news, bad news situation. Good news, EC shop, it has security cameras. Bad news, bad news. The cameras had failed the night in question, so.

[B]

Yeah, but hold on here. I think it's evidence, right? And maybe it's not hardcore evidence, but it's like, okay, we don't know if she took her car there.

[A]

We.

[B]

But we have her car there. We have her phone being there, so we can assume that she made it there, but something stopped her from gathering these items and leaving. And now these cameras just happen to not be working at the time that she was there. To me, that's fishy.

[A]

Well, and speaking of fishy, we stay water, right? You want to stay water in your investigation. You want it to be very much a fluid situation. What you have here is you cannot say that she never arrived there. You cannot say 100% that she did, in fact arrive at work. But what you do have when you look at everything is you have far more details suggesting that she did arrive at that work.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Rather than not having arrived. And then you have this, like you said. Oh, it's, it's. It magically. The cameras weren't working at the time that it was most important for them to. Doesn't seem. Doesn't seem like a coincidence to me.

[B]

Yeah. I'd be walking around that place going, smells like fish sticks in here. Something's fishy.

[A]

Investigators, they obtained surveillance footage from the business directly across the street, boom. It's going to be grainy, you know, hard to see due to the distance. But here's, here's what law enforcement believe that they are seeing on this footage captured from across the street. So they say that the video showed an SUV type vehicle arrive at the auto shop. A person gets out of that suv, walks up to a garage bay door, opens that door and then enters this. This is what's interesting. It doesn't matter if you have a completely clear picture here, because I think you're going to be able to discern certain things. Then what they, they simply say Leah's vehicle then arrived a little bit later. So she drives a truck. It looks different than this suv. You know where, you know where you found her truck? If you see a truck that matches that, even a vague description of that pulling and park in that same spot, that's Leah's vehicle. So this SUV arrives, a person gets out. They can't identify the person, or the SUV goes to a garage bay door, opens it, enters the building, the workplace, Leah's workplace. Leah's vehicle then arrives later and a person gets out of Leah's truck. They believe that it was Leah. They couldn't confirm that it was Leah, but they believe that the image of the person they are seeing is Leah getting out of her truck, who enters the same garage bay door. And then what they are saying they see on this video is that at some point the SUV leaves, but Leah's vehicle never leaves.

[B]

Right. So, and again, like you were saying, this is all happening when the shop isn't open to the public.

[A]

Correct. So this would be after hours. I think that it's not terribly long after they closed on Friday. But from the footage I saw, it appears that it was dark or getting dark around this time. Now this just to be for the sake of clarity, in case I completely jumbled up the description of what they said they were seeing. This is from the Graham Police Department and it's a simple statement that states in the video, a figure was observed getting out of an SUV and opening one of the multiple garage bay doors before walking into the building. Another vehicle, presumably Leah Martin's, pulled into the parking lot a short time later and, and that person entered the auto shop through the same bay door, but never came out. The lieutenant, this is the lieutenant, Toby Catlin of the Texas Rangers, said, quote, we believed that whatever happened to Leah happened at that garage, end quote.

[B]

Okay, so that means this individual's there. She was either planning to meet this individual there or wasn't planning to meet this individual there. And then this individual leaves. And because we have no person, we have no body, we have no Leah at the shop, that this individual then took her away, whether she was alive or not alive.

[A]

Yeah. And think about this. You. I'm glad that you said at the top of the show to point out that this is a large building, this is a large outfit. We've seen pictures of this and footage of this. There's a lot of different garage doors. There's a front of the house, as you would anticipate, with an auto shop where you walk in and it's like a, it's like a lobby with a receptionist desk. And then behind that you're going to have the bays where everybody's working on the vehicles. And also keep in mind, though, the way that those types of businesses operate. So I. What I think we have here, Captain, is with it being a larger outfit and a lot of employees, it wouldn't be so strange for there to be multiple people in and out even after hours. I'm uncertain if she had keys to the building. But she's also an interesting employee for the, for the outfit. Right. Because even though her tie. So the title is just pretty simple. She's the receptionist, but she's a front of the house person. When you think about it, like the owner, operator and the receptionist are the only two people in the entire business that I would 100% expect to have interactions with everybody that works there. She's sort of the head of the outfit. Right. You could, you could be, you could be like me, just a man working in a garage who. All I care about is. I only care about the, the work that you put in front of me. I don't need to, to bother myself with, with every of the other goings on here. Captain, I know you come to the garage for the beer, but you stay for the salacious details. Right? Yeah, well, it's.

[B]

Of course.

[A]

All right, so here we go. Three days into this investigation, detectives learned that Leah, at some point, this is. I don't think that this wasn't going on at the time of her disappearance, but this went on during her time working at EC's Auto Shop. So detectives learned that Leah had had an affair.

[B]

So this is naughty.

[A]

This will expand the suspect pool. Of course. Leah's boyfriend, or on again, off again boyfriend, Aaron Blair said that she had had an affair with Raphael Winder. He's an employee at EC's Auto Shop. Raphael ended this relationship and then later married a woman Named Samantha.

[B]

So possibly maybe Samantha's the one making the threatening phone calls.

[A]

Could be the. What was stated to police by Raphael and Aaron is that Raphael ending this relationship and going off and marrying Samantha. This upset Leah. That's the general consensus here, that this upset Leah.

[B]

And.

[A]

And then we know that Leah and Samantha had a major argument that took place in front of other people at the shop. At some point, Raphael said to police that Leah had vandalized some of his belongings that were at the shop. They're really looking at this guy pretty good. Three days into the investigation.

[B]

Yeah. Does he have a SUV or access to suv? The other problem too is it's a. It's a car shop. So then you go, these are car people. So they possibly would have access to any vehicle they needed.

[A]

Are you going to create a shirt that is half person, half car? Because when I said horse people, that was the result.

[B]

Yes. Old horse people.

[A]

Car people versus horse people.

[B]

Car.

[A]

Car will win most of the time. Rafael stated that he had worked on Friday. It was a typical work day for him. And he worked up until about 5:30pm he says after work he then went with his wife Samantha to Wichita Falls. So he goes out to another city, they go to Wichita Falls to have dinner at the Texas Roadhouse, hashtag, not a sponsor. And to do some shopping at Walmart. Also not a sponsor, although I think they were at some point. Surveillance footage from these locations, the Walmart Texas Roadhouse confirmed Raphael and Samantha being at both of these places. So they are there. Their presence is. Is noted on surveillance footage.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Time stamped. And the times are lining up with what both of them are telling police. So this providing Raphael and an alibi.

[B]

Yeah, I normally don't like alibis that involve the other person's partner. But if there's camera footage involved, then those are the alibis I like. But when you say there's timestamps, how many surveillance footage have the clocks been wrong?

[A]

The thing I like here and the thing that the police clearly liked is he is where he said he was. According to all the evidence they could find. His wife is where she said she was. Their stories line up. They are where they said they were during the time in question. So we have receipts. Plus surveillance footage from the businesses tell police that. That my man Raphael was where he says he was. Thus Raphael was cleared as a suspect. And when I say my man, the, the. I watched the police interview with this man. I. I don't know what. I just kind of dug his attitude like he, he was, he Told the police. He's like, yes, you know, Leah had vandalized some of my stuff. And he's like, people, other people were telling me to like, get back at her, maybe vandalize some of her stuff. And they're like, did you do that? He's like, no, why would I do that? He's like, he's just kind of like a. Yeah, we had a problem, but. But I'm not gonna let it bother me. I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna. I'm not going to do something. He just has the character to me of live and let live kind of attitude. And then to back it up, he was where he says he was. So, Captain, they are finding leads, they're running them down, and unfortunately not finding the person or persons responsible. I was going to say they are all dead ends, but not so. Right. Because what the investigators are doing here and doing successfully in a pretty quick amount of time is checking boxes. Because it looks like law enforcement firmly believes, and they should, that they have the where, the where in this mystery. So you're looking for the who. Who is responsible has got to be tied in some manner, some capacity to the where, the location. So what you have to do is look at everyone, everyone who let's. Who's tied to the wear and then eliminate them as a suspect and they. And moving along at a great pace. Right. We've checked some boxes, we've already cleared a few suspects and. And several of them have a tie to the wear.

[B]

Well, yeah, and if I'm a detective on this case, I'm. I'm asking the owner. Well, who would have access to stop the cameras and then also like.

[A]

Or interfere with them? Yeah, correct.

[B]

Right. Because also like, there could be a situation where an individual shows up. But then if we do not see that on video footage, how were they able to disrupt that footage? So you see what I'm saying? Because like, if I know how to turn them off, well, you'd see me going into the shop. So once the camera stopped working, you would assume that I'm the one that stopped the cameras. But is somebody stopping the cameras or did they erase some footage and then who would have the access and who would have the know how to do that?

[A]

So you found the where. You've eliminated Aaron Blair, Raphael Winder and Samantha Winder from your equation. And in your time doing so, you end up catching a break. So the first big break in the case. Here we go, Captain. Leah Martin's mother, Stacy Martin, accessed her daughter's email Account, hoping to find. This is after she went missing, hoping to find some answers and at the least maybe get a lead or something from the email, some interaction with somebody. So she learns about a secret relationship. Leah Martin at one time was in a, quote, romantic relationship with E.C. blair.

[B]

What?

[A]

Damn. Is this a, Is this a sticky situation? Right. E.C. blair is her boss, the father of her boyfriend, slash ex boyfriend, Aaron Blair, and the grandfather of Leah's daughter. So this is less than ideal tongue and planted firmly in cheek.

[B]

Right, but he's the adopted father.

[A]

Right.

[B]

He's not the biological father of her boyfriend.

[A]

This is. Look, I'm, I know we have a victim here. Come on, this is just not a good situation for anybody.

[B]

Yeah, but, okay, first of all, she's young. She now has these responsibilities that she didn't have a couple years ago. She has this on again, off again situation. But it kind of reminds me of the detectives talking about the Tip City murder, where they go, well, the victim in that case was living a, a life and a lifestyle, a low risk lifestyle. And I'd say in this case, because of these relationships that Leo was having, this puts her in the possibility of high risk lifestyle.

[A]

Yes, and you are absolutely right. I mean, she's young. That's.

[B]

We've all made stupid mistakes.

[A]

I plan on making two later today. From her mother, from Leah's mother. Quote, he was a married man and he was messing around with a 22 year old girl and leading her on. It takes a very sick, twisted human being to even think of getting involved with your son's girlfriend. End quote.

[B]

Yeah, it's bizarre. And then also too, again, she's young and she's in a situation like she got this job and most of the jobs we get are from our social networks. Right? So she gets this job from her boyfriend's father. And you wonder, did she get this job before or after the affair? And how long was this affair going on? But you could. He is the guy that writes your checks. He, he is in a position of power. He's in a position where he can manipulate her. And I, you know, I feel for any young parent, whether you have a partner that's helping you out or not, that sometimes when you're young and naive, you think that money will solve a lot of your problems. It won't solve them all, but it will solve your money problems. So this doesn't put her in a great situation. And, and people can sit there and go, well, she's 22, she's an adult. Yeah, but adults can Be manipulated too.

[A]

Well, and I also feel for Aaron Blair. Right. I mean, he has an alibi. He's not considered a suspect at this point. But for his part, he says, quote, I've already had bad things with my dad before. This is what he tells investigators. He says he's done it to me before is a quote.

[B]

Oh, great.

[A]

So that can only lead. I mean, if he says he's done it to me before, that, I mean, that's suggestive that he's had some kind of relationship.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

With somebody else that. That was supposed to be with Aaron or. Or had been with Aaron at some point. Yeah.

[B]

And you're. You're supposed to be the individual that teaches this young man how to be a man, and you're doing nothing but on him.

[A]

And he's married, too. E.C. blair is married as well. So. Yeah. So speaking of E.C. blair, he. Yeah, he talks to the dad. He talks to the police when they first show up. But once this is kind of uncovered, he then refuses to cooperate with investigators. So the investigators are like, you know what? We. He might be a. A brick wall for us right now, but guess who we might have on our side? EC Blair's wife, right?

[B]

Oh, yes. Born.

[A]

So they go and they decide to focus on Lisa Blair. We want to see what she knows. Couple things. She could be a suspect. She could have more information about the affair.

[B]

Should have access to. To the location, the shop. Would she have any knowledge about the cameras? And then obviously she would have motive

[A]

because if she knew about the affair. Correct, Exactly. So, but also, does she. Because, mom, the only person they're finding about out about this affair is coming from Leah's mom, who doesn't know any more about it other than what she was able to retrieve from emails. So you got to figure out a couple things with Lisa. Is she an accomplice? Is she a suspect? Does she have more information about this affair?

[B]

Who.

[A]

Could she have information about the disappearance? Right.

[B]

Or is she just a victim? Also in this situation, could she have

[A]

information that she doesn't know that is important to the investigation? So Lisa talks with police. She says, yep, unfortunately, I did know about the affair. I found out about it when I went through my husband's phone. And she says, look, I figured this out before Lisa went missing. We are sorry. Before Leah went missing. I apologize. It sounds like what she's telling police is that her and E.C. had worked it out for the most part, but I don't know that it's completely worked out because she says that she Lisa, the wife, ec's wife, wanted Leah, the missing girl, fired. So I guess some confirmation that it would be over, over, never happen again if you, if you're able to separate these two. But we know that Leah is still working there when she goes missing. What I think we got to get back to though here in this case is you're finding out this new information, but you also have the fact that remains. You have everything telling you that, that Leah arrived at her work and we don't know what happened to her there. We have police saying we think whatever happened to Leah happened at that shop. So of course, you've started the process, but you need to be firmly neck deep in the process of interviewing every single person that works there, every single person that is in and out of that shop. So other auto shop employees are going to be of a heightened interest to your investigation and specifically the police and the Rangers decide to hone in on two of them, their names Ross Helms and Billy Minkley.

[B]

I want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage each and every week. Thanks for telling your mother. Thanks for telling your brother for everything. True crime. Check out truecrimegarage.com so much more to get to in this case. So join us back here in the garage. And until then, be good, be kind, and don't live. SAM.

[A]

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