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True Crime with Kendall Rae
Killed by Her Best Friend!? The Unbelievable Case of Taylor Wright
01:16:31
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- [00:01]
Kendall Rae
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Ashley MacArthur
But I like it.
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Kendall Rae
Sure, you met some of my dietary needs, but they've just got it all. So farewell. Oatmeal. So long, you strange soggy.
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- [00:52]
Kendall Rae
Find the shoes that get you at prices that get your budget at DSW stores or@dsw.com let us know. Surprise you. Hello everyone and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Ray. Thank you so much as always for joining me today and if you're new to the show, then welcome. I'm so happy to have you here and make sure to click subscribe so you never miss an episode from me. So you guys today, oh, I don't even know where to start. I am going to be telling you about a absolutely wild case that really had my jaw on the floor. As I was learning about the case, as I was trying to piece everything together and understand fully what happened here, so much of it still just doesn't make sense to me. I mean, it does, but it's like one of those cases where you're just like, why? What is wrong with people? And it's another one of those. And these ones make me so pissed off where it reminds me that you truly can't trust anyone in life, which is, I don't know, tough to wrap your mind around, but as I've learned over the years, very true. So I'm going to be telling you about the murder of Taylor Wright, who was a phenomenal person, a really cool person that I think I would have loved to meet her if I had the chance. She just seemed, I don't know, very interesting and really tough and overall just a cool human. And she was also a private investigator, which is another weird element to this case. Her life was very complicated and she was in a bit of A complicated situation when she disappeared. And, yeah, let me tell you, her case is just one of ultimate betrayal. All right, so we have a lot to go over today, so I'm just going to jump right in here and tell you about Taylor Ashley Wright. She was born on April 23, 1984, and she actually spent most of her life living in North Carolina, one of my favorite states. And actually, there are very few details available about her younger years, but we do know that DCF placed her in foster care when she was just 13 years old, but she actually wasn't there for very long. Luckily, after she told one of her friends that she was planning on running away, he convinced his mom to take her in instead. And it's honestly such a beautiful story, but his mom, Nancy Murchison, agreed, and they ended up just adopting her, and their whole family agreed that she fit right in. One of Nancy's boys, Daniel, actually said that he felt like Taylor adopted them as much as they adopted her, which I thought was so sweet. Taylor was clearly in need of a loving, nurturing family life, and that's exactly what the Murchison gave her. Nancy says that Taylor spent her teen years riding horses on their farm. Very idyllic. And that she would often lay her head in Nancy's lap and tell her how much she loved her. And from what I learned, Taylor had this really soft and sort of sweet side that she showed just those who were closest to her. But she also had a tough side to her, and that was the side that most people saw of Taylor. There's no other way to explain it. Taylor was just in every way, a badass. And she has been described as both mentally and physically strong. Definitely physically strong, super, super smart, and someone who did not mince words, did not mess around. And this is important to remember. Taylor actually wore a necklace with a bullet on it and then also a ring with the scales of justice, which I think tells you a lot about her personality. And these traits really suited her and the type of work that she wanted to do in her life, and that was to become a police officer. And eventually she was sworn in as a Jacksonville, North Carolina, officer in 2008. And despite being relatively on the smaller side, Taylor, like I said, took no shit. And this was honestly one of the many things that drew Jeff right to her in the first place. Jeff was Taylor's husband, and they had met a few years prior in 2003. And Jeff said that he really fell for her for many different reasons, but he especially loved how different she was from other women and could really hold it down. Not to mention the fact that their ambitions in life, their goals in life were very aligned. They were definitely on the same page, and that really worked well for them. Now, Jeff was a Marine at Camp Lejerne, and in addition to being a police officer, Taylor also had dreams of joining the military. However, because she had a bad car accident, that dream never came to life. And remember this car accident, because we will be circling back to that later on. But anyway, being a police officer was definitely a great gig for her. She thoroughly enjoyed it. And I watched an interview with Jeff where he said that she wanted to match wits against bad guys. And he also mentioned that she loved poker because she loved the psychological aspect of understanding your opponent, which I think also really speaks to why she liked being a police officer. So things in their life were seemingly going very well. And in 2010, things got even better because they welcomed their one and only son into their lives. And Taylor absolutely adored her son, and she did everything that she could to be a good parent to him. I guess she really wanted to be seen as a fun mom, and at least from what I can tell, it sounds like she was. Now, of course, no one is perfect, and Taylor certainly wasn't a perfect human. And as you guys listen to this episode, I just want you to keep that in mind, that regardless of what she had done in her past, what mistakes that she had made, it of course doesn't make what happened to her okay. And I know you guys know that, but it's always worth pointing out, right? But as I was saying, Taylor and Jeff really did seem like they had a very happy life together. And personally and professionally, she was doing really well. And around this time, she became SWAT trained and was working her way up the ladder. That being said, though, in the fall of 2013, she ended up leaving her job in law enforcement altogether because she, Jeff and their son moved to Pensacola, Florida as a result of a military transfer. Now, this was definitely tough for them, mainly for Taylor. She had to give up her job, and that was really, really hard for her. Her job meant a lot, and as I mentioned, you know, she was very dedicated to being a police officer and wanted to work her way up. And instead she had to become a stay at home mom, which I think was a bit of an adjustment. Taylor was a great mom, but of course she had other passions and goals that she wanted to pursue and she gave up a lot. But Taylor definitely tried to make the best of it and she handled all of their household needs and really did take advantage and appreciate being able to spend a ton of time with her son. However, this was also around the time when their relationship started to sour. And I can totally see how something like this, such a massive life change and change in roles would, you know, take a toll on a marriage. So, in 2015, Taylor and Jeff ended up getting divorced following a very rough period in their relationship. Now, I will say there are some differences in opinion about who ultimately wanted the divorce, but what isn't disputed is the fact that their relationship had really just been through the wringer at this point. Things were tough, and one of the toughest things that they went through, which is tough on any marriage, right, is Jeff accused Taylor of having an affair, and she denied it. I am not sure if she actually did have an affair, but after he moved out of the house, the woman that he thought she was having an affair with moved in. Now, whether or not this was an affair, I don't know, but whatever it was ended up coming to an end pretty quickly. But back to their divorce. When the two of them split up, they initially shared custody of their son. However, Taylor really struggled to find a steady job, so she decided to let him have full custody for the time being. And for some context, when things were really bad between them before the breakup, there was an instance where Jeff was videotaping Taylor during one of their arguments, and he was saying things like, I'm videoing you. I'm taping this. I have proof that you're acting this way. And supposedly. And I'm not sure because I wasn't there, I don't know what actually happened, but from how it's been told, Taylor walked up to him and poked him in the chest and said, good, video this too. And this must have really, really pissed Jeff off, because afterwards, he called the police, and she ended up being arrested and charged with battery. And he did end up dropping the charges eventually. But this prevented her from being able to find a job as a police officer in Florida. Obviously, she did get hired as a private investigator, though, and once her life started to stabilize, she wanted custody back, of course. So by mid-2017, the two of them were still in the middle of a pretty nasty custody battle. And they were also in court fighting over their shared marital assets, which we will definitely be circling back to later on. But for now, you just need to know that tensions between Jeff and Taylor were high. And then you should also know that in 2017, Taylor ended up meeting a woman named Cassandra Waller, and their relationship got pretty serious pretty fast. The two of them met the modern way on a dating app sometime earlier in the year and by early September, Taylor was already moving into her house. So things moved quickly. Not as quickly as some of the cases that we have covered, but pretty fast. And I will say though, their relationship, as much as they really did get along, they had a lot of chemistry and things were good at times. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Cassandra, who a lot of people call Cassie, said that there was infidelity on Taylor's side and also possible drug use. Now she's not here to defend herself on any of this, so just keep that in mind. But the extent of Taylor's drug use is not totally known. But according to Cass, Taylor admitted to her in July of 2017 that she had tried cocaine three times. And after she learned that, I think it was pretty upsetting to Cass. So there was about a week long period where the two of them were no longer together. However, they did end up reconciling, which is actually when they decided that Taylor was going to move in. They say time waits for no one and neither should Payday to keep your money moving in the direction of your dreams. Get Earnin. Earnin is an app that lets you access your pay as you earn it up to $150 a day with a max of $750 between paydays. And all you gotta do is download the Earn an app, add in your info and then start accessing your pay as you work. And leave an optional tip help keep the app running for everyone. Any money you access plus tips are automatically repaid from your next paycheck. And Earn an empowers you to make the most out of your money with access up to 150 a day of your pay with a max of 750 between pay periods. No interest, no credit check, no mandatory fees. Earn In's mission is to make financial momentum accessible for everybody. It's your money. Put it in your hands with Earn In. Make Earn in part of your financial routine and join Earn's over 4 million customers making any day payday. For me, this would have really come in handy back in college when we had an unexpected trip to the vet because my cat consumed like 30 hair bands and she started choking on them all at once and it was horrible and very expensive. So to be able to get quick access to cash like that would have made a huge difference. So download Earn in today. That's spelled E A R N I N in the Google Play or Apple App Store. And when you download the Earn an app. Just type in True Crime with Kendall Rainer podcast when you sign up. It'll really help the show. That's True Crime with Kendall Rae under podcast. Earn in is a financial technology company, not a bank. Access limits are based on your earnings and risk factor. Standard cash outs take one to two business days with no mandatory fees. Expedited transfer is available for a fee. Tips are voluntary and don't affect the service. Available in select states. Terms and restrictions apply. Visit Earnin.com for full details. Download Earn and Now and take control of your pay. It was over Cass's birthday weekend in early September and Taylor started to bring all her boxes over. And it's also important to know that this was when Hurricane Irma was headed towards Florida, which was a massive hurricane if you remember. So they were preparing for that. There was a lot of chaos and just a lot to juggle. And Taylor especially had a lot on her plate because in addition to the move and all the other chaos in her life, she was only a few days away from a very important hearing in the custody case. But Taylor never made it to that hearing because on the 8th of September 2017, she just vanished. Now that morning, as far as we know, there was nothing going on that was out of the ordinary. Very typical morning, cass said. The two of them woke up, Taylor made them breakfast, and then around 10am Taylor's best friend, Ashley MacArthur showed up because the two of them were going to run an errand together. Cass was busy, but she was eager that Taylor had plans because she knew that spending the day with Ashley would give her some peace of mind when it came to that hearing. You know, she could kind of relax and spend some time with a good friend. And Taylor and Ashley had only been friends for like about a year, but had become really close in that time. And Ashley's husband Zach actually worked with Taylor and he was the one who introduced the two of them. And what's interesting is Ashley was a former crime scene technician, so you know, Taylor is a private investigator. The two of them clearly had a lot in common, a lot to talk about since they both worked in law enforcement. But anyway, they all go about their day on the 8th as normal. And for the first couple hours that Taylor was gone, Cass said she didn't notice anything was wrong. But towards the afternoon, Taylor was hardly responding to anything that Cass was sending her or anytime that she called her, she wouldn't pick up. And when she did respond, her replies were strange. Unlike her, Cass texted Taylor around 11:30am asking about the errands that she knew Taylor and Ashley were running, to which Taylor replied that she would tell her more about it later. Then Cass texted later in the afternoon asking if she was okay, but those texts just went unanswered. At 3:24 4:00pm, she wrote, Are you okay? Could you reply? But there was no reply. So eventually, Cass just goes ahead and texts Ashley, hoping to figure out what's going on, make sure everything was fine. And according to Ashley, everything was fine. But just to be sure, Cass asked Ashley to have Taylor call her. But Taylor never ended up calling her, and instead, Ashley does. And then Ashley explained to her that they had gone to her aunt's farm about 30 minutes away in East Milton, and that Taylor couldn't come to the phone because she was on a horse. Ashley said that Taylor had been really anxious about the upcoming hearing, understandably. So they went out to the barn to have some fun and just get her mind off things. And at first, Cass felt just annoyed, you know, irritated by the whole thing. But then she got pissed off when Taylor failed to come home at 5 o' clock and they had dinner plans that night. So then she decides to reach out to Ashley again at sometime between 6 and 7 o' clock that night to ask where Taylor was. Where the hell is she? And Ashley's response made her even more upset because she told her that she hadn't seen Taylor since 5pm and then, just like she had explained earlier in the day, Ashley said that Taylor was still super, super stressed about the court hearing. And so she ended up taking an Uber from Ashley's house to a bar and was going to get a drink. But she explained to Cass that she hadn't seen her since. And so Cass is mad and she's waiting and waiting, hoping that she comes home. And then just before 8pm, a message did come through from Taylor, and it said, I'll call you later. I'm not angry with you, and I should have called, but I just needed to think. I am trying to get my life organized and on track now. Cass said that this message immediately sounded weird to her, which I will explain in a little bit. But here, in this moment, it angered her. I mean, I would feel angry too. And the two of them were really finally starting to repair their relationship, getting the relationship on the right track. And she felt like now Taylor wasn't being honest, being sketchy. And yeah, like I said, I'd be mad too. And then she got even more upset when just before midnight, Ashley sent her a screenshot of a Text that she got from Taylor saying, I'm okay, I just need some time to think. The move in court is very stressful. I need a few days to myself. Everything is okay. I'm not doing anything bad. So now Cass is like, what the hell? A few days? What is going on? So in response to this, she texts Taylor and she says, I'm saddened that you could text Ash, but not me. You need some days to yourself. What is this all about? Taylor? But this text and all of her other texts just went unanswered. And she had sent quite a few. She was really firing them off. And all of them made it very clear how angry she was. Things like this is not okay right now. I don't want you at my house. You have lied again and again. I don't think we can even be together. You lie, you don't know how to stop. You use drugs. I know more than you think. And finally, call me now. Get home now or move out next week. And I mean, you can tell from those messages how mad she was at Taylor for ghosting her, which I think is very, very fair. But then on September 10, her anger turned into worry. And remember, Taylor had left on September 8th, and now it is the 10th, it's been two days. And she did say, I need a few days to myself. But still, Cass knew that that was unlike her. So that's when she called the Pensacola Police Department and went ahead and reported Taylor missing. And she told them everything. Everything from the fact that Taylor was going through a major custody dispute that had a big hearing coming up. And also that as a private investigator, Taylor would sometimes joke that she knew how to make herself disappear. And this isn't a shock, but because of they heard, the police ended up not taking it too seriously. In fact, the officer on the line told Cass that maybe Taylor was planning on kidnapping her son to disappear with him. So she, as in Cass, should call her ex husband to warn him. And she was thinking maybe. And so she did call Jeff. But that conversation only freaked her out more because when they spoke, Jeff said that he last heard from Taylor via text on the morning of the 9th. But their son had been trying to reach her without luck. And even though he was really young, he actually did have a cell phone so that he could talk to his mom frequently. And I guess she wasn't responding to him, which was super, super out of character for Taylor. And Jeff also said some really weird things to Cass about Taylor that really worried her, like the fact that she was supposedly dangerous and he convinced her that she should be, like, afraid of Taylor because she went to the police about her disappearance. He said that if Taylor ever wanted to become a police officer again, this report would completely tank her chances. So Cash should be afraid of her finding out, basically, that she is going to be so pissed off when she finds out you reported her missing. Now, this was a side of her that Cass didn't know existed. And I don't even know if it does exist. You know, this is just coming from Jeff, but these words really got in her head. And thankfully, this didn't stop her from trying to find her. Deep down, she just felt like something was wrong here. She felt very worried for Taylor. And so over the next few days, she began calling a bunch of hospitals in Florida and even some neighboring states, but all of that was a dead end. She also tried reaching out to Taylor's loved ones, but didn't get anything out of that either. And even Nancy, her adoptive mother, didn't know where Taylor was. And I guess Nancy also didn't know about Taylor's relationship with Cass. But that's not totally important here. But what's important to note is that during this time, Cass had very mixed feelings. And I think this is very understandable. There was a part of her that was really worried about Taylor. Thought maybe something horrible happened, something's wrong, or maybe she's having some type of crisis. She was concerned for her. But then another part of her wondered if maybe Taylor had run away with another woman. In fact, Cass was so angry that she ended up calling Ashley and asked her if she would have one of her employees come pick up Taylor's moving boxes and bring them to Ashley's warehouse. And I'll explain Ashley's job more here in a bit. But basically, Ca guest didn't even want Taylor's stuff around. That's how mad she was. And after a few days of flipping between angry and worried and angry and worried, on the 14th, she finally decided that something had to be done. So she reached back out to the police to make sure that they actually took a missing person's report. And this time, they did take it seriously. And a lot of people took it seriously. By this point, word had started to spread on social media, and her boss at the PI firm said that when he posts online, tons of tips were flooding in. A lot of people speculated that maybe this had to do with someone Taylor had been investigating, although some people, including her boss, wondered if Taylor left voluntarily. After all, she would know as a PI how to make herself disappear. And of course, there was a world where that would make sense. Right. And it was something that the investigators had to keep in mind. But they also had to consider foul play. And right off the bat, the two lead investigators had some people they wanted to speak with. And of course, those people were Cass, Jeff and Ashley. Starting with Cass because she was the one to report Taylor missing. So in those early days, her house was the target of a search. And she said this was really hard for her because even though she was cooperative, she felt like they were treating her as a suspect. And that's because they were treating her as a suspect. She was definitely a suspect to them. And all of it was really hard for her because she had all these mixed emotions thinking like, you know, maybe Taylor is voluntarily missing and had run off with someone else. And that was really tough to wrap her mind around. But at the same time, to have people looking at you as if you did something wrong when you didn't, that you had possibly harmed the, you know, someone you really, really care about, that's got to be really a hard pill to swallow. She said at one point, there were investigators even crawling underneath her house. And she just stood there on the front porch crying. And she said the whole thing just felt really embarrassing.
- [23:16]
Investigator/Interviewer
The first thing we did with this case was contacted Cassandra Waller.
- [23:19]
Kendall Rae
There was a time they came to my house and at one point, Detective Giglioti crawled under my house. I'm sitting on the front porch with Detective Wilhite bawling my eyes out because this is embarrassing.
- [23:30]
Ashley MacArthur
Why am I being looked at?
- [23:35]
Kendall Rae
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And they're also wondering where this money came from and why was there a revolver with a missing bullet in Cass's house. Right off the bat, that's not looking so good for Cass, right? That is very concerning. But Cass did explain everything when she went in for questioning. The gun was actually something that she borrowed after she got freaked out from her conversation with J. As for the money, I'll explain in a second. Now, there were a lot of takeaways from Cass's interview, but there were two really big things that investigators latched on to. One, which I've already explained, that Taylor and Jeff's divorce had been incredibly contentious. And the other was that she was becoming frustrated with Ashley because Ashley had something of hers that she wasn't giving back. Now, of course, I mentioned that tensions were high between Taylor and Jeff, and that, you know, it's pretty obvious, them going through this divorce and custody battle all this time later. And I mentioned the dispute earlier, but what I haven't told you about yet is the money. Remember that car accident that I brought up in the beginning that was so bad that Taylor wasn't able to join the military because of it? Well, Taylor had been awarded a $100,000 settlement from that. And when she and Jeff got married, they put that into a joint account. But once they were splitting up, Taylor felt like that money belonged to her. However, technically, it was a joint marital asset. And this hearing you've heard me mention a few times had to do with both the custody dispute as well as this money. It turns out that In June of 2017, Taylor withdrew $100,000 from their shared bank account. And as a result, the judge ordered that if Taylor didn't deposit $25,000 into an escrow account before her next hearing, she would face a contempt charge and arrest. Now, bringing this back to Cass's interview. She explained that she did know about this whole situation. And she was also asked about the timeline of September 8th and what Taylor's communication was like, which naturally steered the conversation to Ashley. And that brings me to their second big takeaway. They learned that when Taylor withdrew that money in the form of cash and a cashier's check, she gave some of it to her best friend Ashley to hold on to until she asked for it back. Specifically, a cashier's check. Check for $34,000. And Cass explained that to her and to Taylor's knowledge, this money was being kept in a safety deposit box at a local Wells Fargo bank. And I do want to add here that Cass seemed hesitant to point the finger at Ashley. And this is a side note, but she was asked if she thought that Taylor and Ashley could have been more than friends, and she didn't think that they were. She said that as far as she knew, they were just friends, and Ashley was someone that Taylor trusted. And Ashley had actually mediated the conversation between her and Taylor back in July when Taylor confessed to her about cheating and doing drugs. However, going back to the money situation with Jeff, Cass also told investigators that Taylor was getting really anxious because that court date was approaching and Ashley was actually dodging her request to meet up and give that money back.
- [28:29]
Ashley MacArthur
So Taylor, it seemed like she was getting paranoid towards Friday. She was talking about how she felt like something just wasn't right with Ashley. Taylor had been trying to get the money out of Ash's safety deposit box, Taylor said, for, like, four or five days. And Ash kept making up excuses and everything.
- [28:48]
Kendall Rae
And what's interesting is the hearing was postponed at Taylor's request. And investigators later believed that this was done because she still hadn't gotten her money back from Ashley. And then Cass explained that the day that Taylor. Taylor went missing, that was the errand that the two of them were supposedly running.
- [29:06]
Ashley MacArthur
She was like, okay, well, Ash is coming over. We're gonna go to Ash's bank, and we're gonna pick up my money and stuff out of the safety deposit box. Ash had pulled up, we hugged, we kissed, said, love you, I went my way.
- [29:19]
Kendall Rae
So, like, you heard, Taylor was under the impression that the two of them were going to the safety deposit box at the Wells Fargo bank to get the cashier's check. And phone records even showed that she had repeatedly been texting Ashley about when they could meet up. She was really pushing her. For example, on September 5, she said, any idea on a time to get to the bank? We only have two more hours to get to the bank. You almost ready? And then another two on the sixth, saying, I have to get in that deposit box today and get those papers submitted by 4. I'm out of time. And then another text said, ash, there is no way I will make it there and to the bank in 10 minutes. They are going to hold me in contempt for not paying child support and not putting the $25,000 into the escrow account. And then she sent five texts on the 7th, the day before she went missing, saying, I've got to get to the bank ASAP this morning and get into that box and deposit that money. I'm going to be held in contempt if I don't get that money into the escrow account. They could potentially put me in jail if I don't pay the child support like today. Please don't be late. They're going to put me in jail if I don't make that deposit today. They are going to check your ID in order to get into that box. So I need you to come with me. Waiting for you at my house. Bank closes at 4. This is way too important for me not to do today. I am under a court order or my ass will get thrown into jail. But all of these messages were met with some excuse from Ashley about why she couldn't meet up. And that was until September 8, when she agreed that they could go to the bank. And remember how I was saying how Cass thought Taylor's texts were so odd that day? That's because she knew how important it was to her to get that money back. How she absolutely needs to do that that day. So the whole going off to ride horses to like blow off steam and stress thing just did not make any sense to her because she knew that going to the bank was Taylor's number one priority, her only priority that day. And she was also thrown off by Taylor saying that she was stressed about the move because Cass said she wasn't stressed about the move at all. She was only stressed about the money and the hearing. And all of this information was huge for investigators because was pointing them in the direction of Jeff and Ashley. That being said, though, let me be clear here. Cass was definitely still being looked at as a possible suspect and there were Moments in her interview where they felt like she was holding back, kind of being sketchy, not telling them everything, even though she completely denied having any involvement.
- [31:42]
Detective Giglioti
My intention right now is not to arrest you for anything. I'm trying to find out why your girlfriend's disappeared.
- [31:47]
Ashley MacArthur
And here I am in this room that they would use to interrogate people. People.
- [31:52]
Kendall Rae
And it's. It's padded walls. It's a place you don't want to be.
- [31:55]
Ashley MacArthur
I can't help but be scared that I'm gonna get in trouble for something that I didn't know.
- [32:00]
Detective Giglioti
If you knew who harmed her, would you tell us?
- [32:02]
Ashley MacArthur
Absolutely.
- [32:03]
Detective Giglioti
If she was dead right now and you knew, would you tell us?
- [32:06]
Kendall Rae
I don't know.
- [32:08]
Detective Giglioti
Did you hold her?
- [32:09]
Kendall Rae
And then there was also a really weird moment about Taylor's laptop that made investigators wonder if she was telling them everything. I get Cass had promised to bring it in, and then she didn't, even though she had brought in a bunch of other electronics and willingly gave those up. And she mentioned that she had already gone on the computer onto Taylor's and had found out that Taylor had some debt that she was hiding from her. So that seems sketchy. And then on top of all of that, they had to consider the fact that Taylor had cheated on Cass. And they thought maybe that could be a possible motive for Cass. But they ended up letting her go because they had nothing to hold her on at the end of the day. And there were other people that they wanted to speak to, which leads me to the next person on their list. Jeff. Now, when it comes to Jeff, he said that he was pretty certain that Taylor was choosing to be missing. He assumed that she left town with the money to avoid going to jail. And he explained to investigators how, at least in his perception, things got so bad between the two of them. For starters, he said that Taylor was the one who asked for the divorce on their 10th anniversary. He claims things had been rocky, but he was really pushing for them to stay together for the sake of their son. However, people who were close to Taylor, like Nancy, said that Jeff completely blindsided her by saying he wanted to end their marriage on their anniversary. And she explained that she had gotten all dressed up that night. She was excited to celebrate their anniversary. And then he dropped that bomb on her, and she was very upset. But regardless of who actually ended it, though we may never know, Jeff said that it didn't start off so contentious. He claimed to have offered Taylor half his paycheck, all her personal money, and 50. 50 custody of their son. But he said that she rejected it. And he said that he even regretted calling the police on her during that one altercation I mentioned earlier where Taylor had poked him in the chest. But in the moment, he felt like Taylor was trying to provoke him, trying to get him to hit her. According to him, though, the thing that really set things onto a bad path was when she withdrew that $100,000. So everything with Jeff was clearly a he said, she said situation. And they weren't quite sure what to believe. And it sou like Jeff was really trying to convince investigators that he wouldn't have a motive. But money and custody are definitely common motives in cases like this. So until they confirmed his alibi, Jeff remained a suspect. And that brings us to another suspect, Ashley. So back when Cass had told the police that Taylor had spent the day with Ashley on September 8th, of course, they called her up, and she provided a. A pretty basic timeline of their day. And I'll get more into the specifics of that timeline here shortly. But for now, you just need to know that Ashley claimed that on the day Taylor went missing, they drove out to her aunt's farm in East Milton, among many other things. And she gave investigators the same timeline again when they went to speak with her in person at her house. And in this conversation this time, she mentioned how Taylor was very worried about the upcoming hearing. And that is not something that she mentioned when they initially talked to her. And like Cass, she told them about all the money that Taylor had taken. She also told them more about Taylor and Cass's relationship, including about her infidelity and drug use, all of which suggested that Cass and Jeff might both have a motive. And at some point when they were speaking to Ashley, they asked her if there was anywhere else that the two of them went that day, specifically if there were any properties that they had gone to. And she was adamant. No, I told you everything. Now, Ashley did mention that she had another aunt who owned a place in the north end of the county, but she made it clear that they absolutely didn't go there. She told them that she didn't really know where it was or even what road it was on, but she agreed to ask around and figure out his location for them. And she also agreed to come in for a formal interview. After I had my daughter, I had this moment where I was in the shower. I got out, and I was brushing my hair, and I realized how much hair shedding I was experiencing. And it made me feel so upset because my hair is already naturally really thin, and I Always heard that having a baby could make your hair thin out and shed even more. And I was freaked out that it was gonna happen to me and it certainly did. So I started doing research on what I could do about it. And there were a lot of different products out there, a lot. And I've tried a few of them. Didn't have a good experience. There's also surgeries and different procedures that, that seem really, really painful. So I didn't want to go with any of those. So that's why I found neutral on my own. I started using it, I paid for it, and I had the best experience with Nutriful. I started on their postpartum blend and then moved to their women's blend. And I have seen such a transformation in my hair. Neutrophil is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand trusted by over one and a half million people. You can feel great about what you're putting in your body. Since Nutrafol, hair growth supplements are backed by peer review studies and NSF Content Certified, which is the gold standard in third party certification for supplements. And while many supplements rely solely on ingredient studies, Nutrafol clinically tests final formulations to ensure their efficacy using a variety of hair measurement tools like hair counts, pull tests to access growth, quality, shedding and texture. See thicker, stronger, faster growing hair with less shedding in just three to six months with Nutrafol for a limited time, Neutrophil is offering my listeners $10 off your first month subscription and free shipping. When you go to neutrophil.com and enter promo code Kendall. Ray, Find out why Neutrophil is the best selling hair growth supplement brand@nutrafil.com that's N U T R A F O L.com promo code Kendall Rae. That's nutrafol.com promo code Kendall Rae. And this interview is where we end up learning a lot more. Not only about the day that Taylor went missing, but also about the money that she took. And here she is explaining how the day started.
- [37:51]
Investigator/Interviewer
Okay, so let's start that day from the beginning. Approximately what time?
- [37:59]
Ashley MacArthur
Like 10, 10:30.
- [38:00]
Investigator/Interviewer
And what happened at that time?
- [38:02]
Ashley MacArthur
I went to Cass's house there or Taylor's house, whatever.
- [38:06]
Investigator/Interviewer
Their hotel in Berkeley.
- [38:08]
Ashley MacArthur
Right.
- [38:08]
Investigator/Interviewer
Was Cass there now? Did Cass leave, leave Cass leave before y' all or did y' all leave at the same time?
- [38:14]
Ashley MacArthur
Cass was still there when we left.
- [38:16]
Investigator/Interviewer
Cass was still there when y' all left from there. Where did you go?
- [38:20]
Ashley MacArthur
We went to my office.
- [38:22]
Kendall Rae
So just a quick pause here So I can explain Ashley's job, which is confusing. I'll warn you in advance. And like I mentioned earlier, she used to be a crime scene technician. And I'm not sure when or why she stopped, but as of the time that all of this was going on, she and her parents ran this business called Pensacola Automatic Amusement, which was a company that supplied pool tables and jukeboxes and things like that, I guess, to local bars. And when she's referencing her office, that's the warehouse that I talked about earlier. Now, in the context of the day that Taylor went missing, Ashley explained that they went there because Taylor was planning on storing some of her moving boxes and wanted to see if there would be space. So with all that in mind, let's take another listen to Ashley.
- [39:08]
Investigator/Interviewer
So you were there for about how long?
- [39:11]
Ashley MacArthur
Maybe half hours, though.
- [39:13]
Investigator/Interviewer
Okay. What were the rest of your plans for the day? So where'd you go next?
- [39:17]
Ashley MacArthur
We went back to my house, I believe.
- [39:20]
Investigator/Interviewer
And what. What was your purpose for going back there?
- [39:24]
Ashley MacArthur
To get any of the papers that I had for her and the money and stuff for her.
- [39:29]
Investigator/Interviewer
So the money was being kept at your house?
- [39:31]
Ashley MacArthur
Right.
- [39:32]
Investigator/Interviewer
How long had the money been being kept there?
- [39:34]
Ashley MacArthur
It was only there for a few days.
- [39:37]
Investigator/Interviewer
Where was it at before that?
- [39:39]
Ashley MacArthur
Taylor had it.
- [39:40]
Investigator/Interviewer
So this whole thing about a safety deposit box of yours, do you know anything about that?
- [39:47]
Ashley MacArthur
Well, Taylor wanted to get a safety deposit box initially, but she didn't want her name or anything to be on anything that Jeff could find. So I was like, we'll just keep it and give it to you or whatever, because I don't know why she didn't keep it. She has a safe, and I don't know if it had to do with. She didn't want cats involved with any. I don't know. There's hard. It's hard to say what was going through her head, because I don't know why she was doing a lot of the stuff that she was doing.
- [40:20]
Kendall Rae
All right, so clearly this was a big moment to investigators because Ashley is now saying that the money was never actually in a safety deposit box. However, of course, when they're looking at Taylor's text messages, they could see that she very much believed that that's where the money was. Let's keep listening.
- [40:41]
Investigator/Interviewer
And how did the conversation come up with. With her leaving the money at your house?
- [40:45]
Ashley MacArthur
She just asked me if I would keep it.
- [40:47]
Investigator/Interviewer
And how did that go? Yeah. Okay. Or.
- [40:50]
Ashley MacArthur
I mean, she was always there, so, I mean, I really didn't mind.
- [40:53]
Investigator/Interviewer
And so let's go back. You were at the warehouse on Pace. Were y' all were there for about 30 minutes. Where did y' all go after that?
- [41:03]
Ashley MacArthur
Back to my house.
- [41:03]
Investigator/Interviewer
Back to your house? And you're going there to get what?
- [41:08]
Ashley MacArthur
The cash for her.
- [41:09]
Investigator/Interviewer
Okay, y'.
- [41:10]
Kendall Rae
All.
- [41:10]
Investigator/Interviewer
Did y' all end up getting that?
- [41:11]
Ashley MacArthur
Yeah.
- [41:12]
Investigator/Interviewer
And then where'd you go?
- [41:13]
Ashley MacArthur
We went back to Cass's house.
- [41:15]
Investigator/Interviewer
What'd y' all do there?
- [41:17]
Ashley MacArthur
I sat in the truck. Taylor went inside. She said she needed to get some papers. And that's, I think, when she got her other bag. And she brought a couple, like, boxes out to the truck.
- [41:29]
Investigator/Interviewer
So she went and got a bag. What was in the bag? Like a. When you say a bag, like a garbage bag or duffel bag?
- [41:36]
Ashley MacArthur
No, like a little sort of like a tactical bag.
- [41:40]
Investigator/Interviewer
Okay.
- [41:41]
Kendall Rae
So Ashley seems to not know what's in this bag, but she is certain by this point that Taylor had her money. And the point that she's trying to make is that Taylor would have had everything she needed to run away. Which, let me be clear, is exactly what Ashley says she believes happened. Either that or she got caught up in some situation having to do with drugs.
- [42:03]
Detective Giglioti
Do you know who harmed Taylor?
- [42:05]
Ashley MacArthur
No, I don't. I don't know that you've been harmed.
- [42:07]
Detective Giglioti
Did you harm her?
- [42:08]
Ashley MacArthur
No, I didn't.
- [42:09]
Detective Giglioti
You know if Cass has harmed her?
- [42:11]
Ashley MacArthur
No, I wouldn't think so. Like, I don't. I don't believe Taylor's been harmed. I think Taylor's doing what Taylor does. The only thing that I can think. Taylor is a very tough person. She's always come across as being tough. You know, she's always carrying, what, weapons? Whether it's knives or guns or whatever. The only thing I worry about is with the drug situation. Like, I wouldn't. Even if I didn't know about the drug situation, I wouldn't be worried about her. I would say Taylor's doing what Taylor does. But then that lifestyle becomes a different group of people.
- [42:49]
Kendall Rae
Okay, so let's go back to Ashley's timeline, because there's still quite a bit to go over there. So after Taylor came out of Cass's place with her bag, she says that the two of them drove by some house that. That Taylor wanted to see something to do with her work as a P.I. then after that, the two of them stopped at a gas station, and Ashley says that's when she bought Taylor a beer.
- [43:10]
Investigator/Interviewer
You said, I think when I talked to you last time, y' all stopped.
- [43:13]
Ashley MacArthur
Somewhere at a gas station.
- [43:14]
Investigator/Interviewer
So What'd y' all do at the store?
- [43:16]
Ashley MacArthur
She was on the phone, and I went in the store, got a drink and got her another beer.
- [43:23]
Investigator/Interviewer
How much has she been drinking that day?
- [43:26]
Ashley MacArthur
She had a, like, a yeti type cup thing full of beer.
- [43:33]
Investigator/Interviewer
I mean, was she, like, intoxicated?
- [43:35]
Ashley MacArthur
Like, she didn't seem to be, but, I mean, I don't drink at 10 o' clock in the morning either, so I don't sure.
- [43:42]
Investigator/Interviewer
I mean, did she seem like she was getting a little buzz?
- [43:45]
Ashley MacArthur
Not really. Yeah, I didn't drink them.
- [43:48]
Investigator/Interviewer
Have you ever seen her drinking at that time of day with. No. I said it was odd behavior.
- [43:53]
Ashley MacArthur
And in fact, I said something to her. I was like, beer at this time of the morning? She's like, well, it's five o' clock somewhere. I'm like, it's a perfect response for.
- [44:03]
Investigator/Interviewer
For any argument.
- [44:05]
Ashley MacArthur
Well, I'm like.
- [44:07]
Kendall Rae
And then after that is when she said they went up to her aunt's farm in East Milton, which she said was something they just did spontaneously to try and help get Taylor's mind off of that court hearing. Then afterwards, they went back to Ashley's house and. And lastly, Ashley claimed that Taylor grabbed an Uber and then went to the bar, just like she had told Cass earlier.
- [44:30]
Investigator/Interviewer
Just to finish up that last day, y' all went and took this scenic highway north. And then from there you went to the farm, Right? And who owns that farm?
- [44:43]
Ashley MacArthur
My aunt.
- [44:44]
Investigator/Interviewer
Y' all were out there for how long?
- [44:47]
Ashley MacArthur
Probably an hour.
- [44:49]
Investigator/Interviewer
And then from there you went back to my house, back to your place. And when y' all get back to Raintree, can you kind of describe to me what the mood was like? The conversation was like she was fine.
- [45:00]
Ashley MacArthur
She just said that she wanted to go have a beer and that she was going to get an Uber to take her to go have a beer. And I said, well, I can just drop you back off at your car. And she's like, well, I don't want to drive.
- [45:10]
Investigator/Interviewer
Did she ever mention anything about having a friend come pick her up?
- [45:13]
Ashley MacArthur
She didn't, but, I mean, I couldn't tell you if she was going to or, you know what I mean, if she really had an Uber come or if it was somebody that was picking her up. I went inside, and when I came back out, she had already gone.
- [45:24]
Kendall Rae
And besides Taylor's anxiety and, you know, stress leading up to this court hearing, she said it was a pretty normal day. But one strange thing, according to Ashley, was that Taylor had two phones. And she said this was something that was definitely not normal. So clearly, she is suggesting that Taylor may have had some secret that she was trying to hide. However, nobody else that they spoke with knew anything about this. So they asked Ashley if she would be comfortable with them going through her phone. They said they wanted to look and see if Taylor had ever communicated with her via this phone so they could try to track it. And she gave it over willingly. In fact, she offered to let them keep it as long as they needed to. It seemed like she was being really cooperative. She was definitely being very friendly with them, too. I think some would even say flirty, potentially, with. If my best friend were missing, there is no way I would be acting the way that Ashley is. I mean, she seems very happy and giggly, you know, just very odd. But anyway, investigators end up asking Ashley about what she thinks of Taylor and Cass's relationship. And she said that she didn't think that Taylor was really, like, 100% in it. She said that she thought Taylor was definitely still interested in seeing other people. And she even mentioned that Taylor had once asked her if she wanted to have a threesome with her and another dude. She said that they never did, and she said no, actually, she wasn't interested. But they asked her who she thinks may have done something to her, and she said that Jeff was the only person with, quote, real interest in it. But like I said before, she did say she believed that Taylor left willingly. I mean, why else, according to Ashley, would she have grabbed a bag, had an extra phone, and taken off with a cashier's check for. For 34 grand? But there was a problem with this theory, though, because the more investigators dug into her claims, they realized that she hadn't been telling the truth. During their investigation, they learned that Taylor never actually called an uber on September 8th like Ashley had claimed, and also had told Cass she hadn't used the app or any other rideshare app in months. And then there was also no record of. Of any type of transaction that Taylor had made at a bar. So either Taylor was lying to Ashley or Ashley was lying to them. And they did not believe that Taylor was the one lying. And soon after they interviewed her, Ashley started to repeatedly call investigators to try and ask questions about the status of things. You know, just calling to see if there was any updates on her friend's case as a concerned friend, but it was in a very much let me gauge what they know kind of way.
- [48:10]
Ashley MacArthur
Hey, Detective Daylight. Ashley, how are you?
- [48:13]
Investigator/Interviewer
Well, over you.
- [48:14]
Ashley MacArthur
I was just going to see if there was any update or anything going on. I hate to bother you, but I just. Fine, check.
- [48:20]
Kendall Rae
And she also kept really trying to push the idea that Taylor was a drug user. But even with their suspicions, at this point, investigators didn't have anything to charge her with. So they kept digging. And by this point, I'm sure you all feel the same. Things are looking pretty obvious. And Ashley became their one and only suspect because both Jeff and Cass had rock solid alibis for the day that Taylor disappeared.
- [48:52]
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- [49:56]
Kendall Rae
So now all they needed was to figure out what happened to find proof of Ashley's his guilt. And once they went through her and Taylor's phone and bank records, that's where they found some major inconsistencies. Remember how Ashley said that she and Taylor went to her aunt's farm that day in East Milton? Well, turns out that they did go to a farm. They did go to one of her aunt's farms. But it wasn't that aunt and it wasn't that farm. And according to phone records, Ashley and Taylor's phone phones both pinged on a large property in Cantonment, Florida, which is 30 minutes in the opposite direction. And at first, investigators didn't know if this location had any significance. But when they decided to run Ashley's maiden name, Brit, into a property appraisal website, that's when they realized that the phones were pinging on a farm owned by another one of her aunts. The same farm that she said she knew nothing about earlier. Imagine that. They also saw that she made a series of phone calls to one number that day. And after digging into it, they learned that she was calling her cousin. And not to overcomplicate things, but this cousin was living on the farm at that time, and investigators believe that she was calling him to ask if he was home. And when they learned that he wasn't, they realized this would have given her hours of privacy there. Plus and this was definitely one of their biggest findings. But it turns out Ashley had 1000% lied to them about Taylor's money. Earlier, as he explained, she said that she only had that check for a few days and that she never deposited into a Wells Fargo safety deposit box. But that turned out to be a big fat lie. Well, actually, it was partially true, because she didn't put it in a safety deposit box. She deposited it right into her own bank account. Bank records showed that on August 10, she added Taylor's name to one of her accounts. And then on August 16th, records show that she deposited $34,000 into that account. And they determined that the signature on the check had been forged. And bank records also showed that only one day after the deposit was made into their shared account, that money was already gone. They then discovered a series of surveillance cameras, which captured her making several suspicious transactions with that money, including images of her depositing large sums of money into other accounts, accounts that Taylor didn't have access to, which ultimately led them to believe that Taylor was killed by Ashley to cover up the fact that she stole this money from her. Oh, and it wasn't just the $34,000. There were also two occasions in July of 2017 that Taylor had given Ashley an additional 15,000 in cash just to hold on to. Apparently, those were also supposed to be kept in the Wells Fargo safety deposit box that Ashley told Taylor she had, but all that money was. Was now gone. The problem, though, now was that they didn't actually have proof of a murder occurring. They had no idea what happened, so they had to go find it. So on October 19, 2017, investigators ended up putting all their resources together. They not only brought Ashley in for another interrogation, but they also executed a whopping three search warrants. One at her house, one at her warehouse, and then one at that other property in Cantonment. And as those search warrants were being executed, literally nearly simultaneously, they were also interrogating Ashley. Their tactic, though, was to not let her know they were onto her, at least not right away. They actually got her to come into the station under the roost that they were going to give her her phone back, and their plan was to keep her there as long as they could and arrest her. As soon as they got the call that someone found Taylor's body because they were that confident that Taylor had to be there. So for the first part of the interview, they let her know they found some bank records and drew up some questions that they were hoping she could help them answer. And like the first time she came in, she appeared cooperative, although her body language definitely told a different story. She was a lot stiffer and a lot less, you could say, flirty.
- [54:00]
Investigator/Interviewer
We found some bank records that drew some questions. Can you tell me anything about you and Taylor and any sort of involvement with any businesses?
- [54:13]
Ashley MacArthur
She, I mean, to put like money and whatever and also wanted to do some of the stuff with my T shirt business and stuff as well. And so we added her to my purely southern Wells Fargo account.
- [54:31]
Investigator/Interviewer
How do you, and just out of curiosity, how do you add someone to.
- [54:35]
Ashley MacArthur
You have to go into the bank with that person and they sign their portion and then our sign that it's okay to be added to the account.
- [54:44]
Kendall Rae
And the questions they were asking her were definitely somewhat pointless. They were just kind of coming up with whatever they could think of, trying to stall. They knew that she was just going to keep lying, so they wanted to keep her there as long as possible. But they did strategically ask certain questions that could be later used against her. For example, they asked her if she ever signed Taylor's name on a check, but she said no. Although she did say that Taylor owed her about $20,000. And obviously she's just trying to come up with an excuse as to why she had pocketed some of Taylor's money. But clearly they weren't buying it. And at some point, the interview takes a much more serious tone. One of the investigators actually physically pulls her chair forward and that's when they decide to confront her with the cell tower data which proved that she had lied about their whereabouts. And what was her response? Well, she said that Taylor had a lockbox there with something she needed in it. And she said she didn't tell them about it earlier because Taylor told her not to tell anyone.
- [55:50]
Detective Giglioti
So what we did is we had the ability to plot all your phone calls for that day and we. It all starts at 9:05. Okay, so 905 you're probably at home. 8:15, you're probably at home. Now at 12:10 you are in here. We know that your aunt in uncle and Kyle owned the farm there on Brick Road. And it's showing that you're probably near that farm or if not at that farm, and you're there when this is the time when you're telling us that you're probably in Milton or headed towards milton because it's 12:10 in the afternoon. 12:10, 12:22, 12:46. You're still in February farm. 12:47, 1301. You're out here for quite a while. What were y' all doing out here at this farm? We know y' all were there.
- [56:47]
Ashley MacArthur
We picked up some stuff at Taylor Swift had there that we had.
- [56:53]
Detective Giglioti
What was that?
- [56:54]
Ashley MacArthur
That she had stored some kind of lock box that she had.
- [56:57]
Detective Giglioti
Why would you not tell us that original?
- [57:00]
Ashley MacArthur
Because she asked me not to tell anyone ever.
- [57:06]
Kendall Rae
They also confronted her about the fact that a day after Taylor disappeared, her phone was still pinging in all the same locations that Ashley went h. Remember that text that Taylor supposedly sent on the night of the 8th saying that she needed. Needed space? Well, yeah, that was a text sent from Ashley's house. Now, of course, she denied having her phone with her, but the evidence doesn't lie. Oh, and she was also seen on the 9th at Home Depot, one of the places that so many killers get caught on camera. It's always amazing to me. They really just go out and buy the supplies they need. It is painfully stupid. But, yes, there was surveillance footage that literally caught her buying potting soil and concrete a day after Taylor vanished. And let me remind you guys, what makes this even more crazy, crazy and stupid, is that we're talking about a former crime scene technician. Yes. How can someone who has worked crime scenes be this stupid, this much of an idiot, this messy? How is there this much evidence, which, don't get me wrong, I'm very happy she's such an idiot because someone in her position could have potentially gotten away with this if they knew what they were doing. And thankfully, she did not. And she didn't. But at this point, they still couldn't get her quiet yet. And regardless of what they presented to her, Ashley just wouldn't admit to anything. So they needed to get that phone call saying they had found something. They had found, potentially Taylor's remains, and they needed to get it fast. But that call never came in, at least not before Ashley said that she wanted a lawyer. So at that point, they just had to let her go. And the timing was so close because that call ended up coming in in not long after she walked out. And yes, that does mean they did locate Taylor's remains. They were right. She was at the farm.
- [59:00]
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- [60:04]
Kendall Rae
That afternoon, October 19, 2017, the skeletonized remains of 33 year old Taylor Wright were found found in a very shallow grave on Ashley's aunt's farm, located on Brit Road. Her body was wrapped in a hammock and covered with potting soil and concrete, the exact things that Ashley was seen buying at Home Depot. And her remains were actually found when someone noticed an area of disturbed ground just along the wooded tree line. And after carefully uncovering the debris, that's when they realized it was her. Dental records were later used to confirm her identity, but truth be told, they knew it was her right away because because of Taylor's bullet necklace that I mentioned at the start of this episode, it was found in the grave right where her neck would have been. And as for her cause of death, and this is so upsetting to say, but they determined that she had a single gunshot wound to the back of her head, meaning that her best friend shot her execution style. And it had to have been, you know, like a sneak attack. She probably didn't know it was coming. So once they realized that these remains were Taylor's, they immediately arrested Ashley and charged her with second degree murder, although that charge was later changed to first degree. And after this, investigators had to make those very painful phone calls to all of Taylor's loved ones and let them know that she had been found. And this broke my heart. But Nancy said that she had hoped that maybe Taylor was still alive and just being kept somewhere or something, but that hope just came crashing down once she got that call. And she described that moment as was soul crushing. And Taylor was really the daughter that she always wanted because after giving birth to her first son she had hoped that the second one would be a girl, and then he wasn't. And she didn't think a daughter was in store for her, even though she wanted a daughter very bad. But when Taylor came into her life, it just all made sense suddenly. And now it was like she was missing part of her soul. And then, God, think of her son. He was so young when this happened. I only 7 years old when she was killed. And now he will never get another opportunity to experience her love. And for no reason. There's just no world where he should ever have to grow up without her. But now he does. And for what? And even Jeff was very torn up about Taylor's death. He said he feels cheated that they never had the chance to repair their problems for their son's sake. And again, for what? For money. All of this over money, greed. And how many cases is it because of greed? So justice was the only option here. And let's talk about how it was served. Back when Ashley was first put in jail, investigators were still considering the possibility that maybe she had help. And of course, her husband was the first person that they looked into. But when they called him to let him know that she'd been arrested for murder, his shock seemed genuine. And not only that, he also had an alibi for when the murder took place. Then they considered Ashley's cousin, you know, the one I mentioned, who lived on the farm and wasn't there that day, as far as they knew. Well, he ended up being questioned for, like, seven hours about the whole thing. And like I said before, they did determine that he wasn't home that day, so he wasn't involved. But he did provide some good insight on the day after Taylor went missing, though it turns out Ashley had texted him around 8:30am on the morning of the 9th asking if he was awake because she was there at the farm, which he thought was a joke because she wasn't a morning person, but she wasn't kidding. She was at the farm. He also remembered that she had asked him about his plans for the day. And long story short, investigators believe that this was her attempt at gauging what time she'd be alone so that she could finish hiding Taylor's body. And they think that because shortly after this conversation was when she was seen on surveillance video at Home Depot buying that potting soil and concrete, she could then be traced going back to the farm. So it seems pretty clear that's exactly what she was doing. But anyway, anyway, her cousin gets cleared, and investigators start to piece together a more clear picture of what happened. And if you're following, and I know this case is somewhat complicated, but I think we can all agree here that the picture is pretty crystal clear. But of course, the road to justice sometimes, most of the time, it feels like, isn't easy. And at times, it doesn't feel fair. And it certainly didn't feel fair in this case. Ashley ended up getting released on a 400, 000 bond in February of 2018. And this stirred up a ton of controversy, as you can imagine, because nobody felt like she deserved after what she did to Taylor. And then there was even more drama because apparently she wasn't following the conditions of her release. So a judge ordered that she had to remain at her mom's house until trial. But neighbors say they saw her at her house with her husband on multiple occasions. And that's not surprising to me because Ashley just seems like someone who doesn't think rules apply to her. But in the end, she did end up having to go back to jail before trial. But it wasn't for that violation. Turns out three months before she was arrested for Taylor's murder, she came under suspicion for theft and arson. Yeah, apparently Ashley had been stealing money. Shocker. From the clients at her business. Basically, and I explained this earlier, the way their business worked is they would rent out pool tables and jukeboxes with these different businesses, and then they'd share the profits, 50, 50 with the businesses who rented them. And the money came in via cash, credit cards, and then through a mobile app as well. Well, I guess Ashley had short changed this one business called Azalea cocktail lounge by 14 grand. And when the owner of that business realized this, he arranged for the two of them to have a meeting. But surprise, surprise, when that meeting rolled around, she canceled the day of. And that prompted him to just drive over to her office or that warehouse to figure out why she was being so shady. And. And when he got there, he realized that her office, which stored all the financial records, was on fire. And as I'm sure you've realized, it was eventually determined that the fire wasn't an accident. So in an effort to get her put back in jail while the murder trial was still pending, they needed to charge Ashley with fraud, racketeering, and arson. Now, the trial for that began in January of 2019, and she was ultimately found guilty of organized fraud, fraud, and racketeering, but not guilty of arson, which that means that her ass was going to jail no matter what, even if she wasn't found guilty of murder. But of course, everyone was still very much hoping that she would be found guilty of that, too. Now, prosecutors were worried about the fact that she wasn't found guilty of arson, because clearly she did it allegedly. But that was based on circumstantial evidence, and she wasn't found guilty of that. So this entire murder trial essentially was. Was on circumstantial evidence. Although I think we can all agree here, it's pretty damning circumstantial evidence, and I'd be shocked if a jury didn't find her guilty. So let's talk about it. So Ashley's murder trial began on August 26, 2019. And in the eyes of the defense, this was a slam dunk case. It was a father, son, attorney duo who defended Ashley. And they believe that because there was no physical evidence linking her to the murder, the jury must find her not guilty. And they also called into question Taylor's mental state, as well as her use of drugs. The prosecution, on the other hand, was adamant that no other person shared the same motive, means, or opportunity that Ashley MacArthur did. They argued that the cell phone data, security footage, and bank records would undeniably prove that she was responsible for Taylor's murder. And the prosecuting attorney definitely had an interesting strategy. She knew that the defense would try to point the finger at other possible suspects, like Jeff and Katie Pass. So she decided to just put everyone on the stand so that the jury could, you know, just hear their innocence themselves, make a judgment call on them. And Jeff was first to take the stand. And ultimately, even with his frustration surrounding their situation, he not only didn't want to kill her, but his alibi was rock solid. The jury also heard from Cass, and her testimony was incredibly important because she helped establish Taylor's state of mind leading up to her death, specifically about how stressed she actually was about getting that money back in time for that hearing. In fact, on the evening of September 7th, the night before she was killed, Taylor and Cass went out to dinner, and Ashley ended up joining them. And apparently during that dinner, Taylor confronted her about the fact she was making it so difficult for her to get those funds back. So this, according to prosecutors, is what they believe triggered Ashley to set this plan into motion. Ashley knew damn well that Taylor was never going to get that money back. That money was gone on and time was running out. And so therefore, she decided to meet up with Taylor under the guise that they were going to go to the bank and get the money. But there was no safety deposit box. There never was a safety deposit box. And therefore, there was no trip to the bank. She knew exactly what she was going to do before she even picked her up. And it's frustrating to think about, but we may never know how Ashley convinced Taylor to go to the farm that day. But that is where prosecutors say she killed her, wrapped her up in a hammock, and then buried her in a shallow grave and covered her with potting soil and concrete. Some people believe she may have even tricked Taylor and told her she ended up burying that cashier's check instead. But I'm not sure if we'll ever know for certain and probably not. But regardless, that is what prosecutors say happened. And Cass's testimony really helped explain all of this. And her testimony outlined the strangeness of those texts, which are now believed to have come from Ashley, which I think was pretty obvious based on the fact that they were sent after it's believed she was killed from right inside Ashley's home. And Cass also seemed to be really shocked by it all, because Ashley was there for her in the aftermath of Taylor going missing. And that had to have just been such a mind for her. I cannot even imagine. I mean, Ashley comforted her on many different occasions, saying things like, like, everything's gonna be okay. Meanwhile, she knew they absolutely were not going to ever be okay. And not to mention the fact that Ashley was trying to help her figure out what happened. And I guess on September 14th, the two of them got together to go through Taylor's car to see if they could find evidence of anything. And they found some guns and knives, but that wasn't anything out of the ordinary for Taylor. She was a private investigator. But what was ironic is they did end up finding one of her duffel bags, which apparently was the same bag bag that Ashley later said Taylor had when she left her house that day, which is just more proof that Ashley is a lying lunatic. But if you're not convinced yet, just listen to this. On day two of the trial, the prosecution really wanted to make sure the jury saw her as the heartless monster that Ashley is. So they called three women to the stand, and they each testified about how right before Taylor went missing, Ashley was doing and saying, saying very suspicious things. One of the women said they were all at this bar called Sticks Billiards on the night of September 7th. And that night, Ashley came in talking about how the world would be a better place without Taylor in it. And she testified that Ashley asked how much cocaine it would take to kill somebody. But then she took it a step further. Another one of the women, Audrey testified that she actually drove Ashley to a strip club called Babes, which is known for selling cocaine, I guess. And she said that Ashley went inside and bought 250 worth of it. Audrey then said that Ashley told her she had planned to put it in Taylor's veer because if she overdosed, no one would think twice about it. Now why this girl didn't immediately alert the police, I don't know. It's really frustrating to me. She had the power to save Taylor's life and she chose not to. And everyone's entitled to their own opinion on that. But personally, that really pisses me off. When you really start going down that road and thinking about how that could have been a moment that saved Taylor's life life potentially. I don't. It's infuriating. But that same woman also testified that on the 8th she ended up asking Ashley what she did with the drugs. And she said that Ashley admitted that she tried to put it in Taylor's beer, but Taylor spit it out because she said it tasted bitter. Yeah, no, it tasted bitter. It's full of cocaine. She really thought that was going to work. This has to be one of the biggest idiots I have ever seen when it comes to a, a killer who is also in law enforcement. Unbelievable. At some point after this night on.
- [72:38]
Ashley MacArthur
September 7, 2017, did you ask Ashley.
- [72:43]
Kendall Rae
What she did with the cocaine? Yes, ma'.
- [72:46]
Investigator/Interviewer
Am.
- [72:46]
Kendall Rae
On September 8th. Okay. That would have been the next day. Yes, ma'.
- [72:49]
Ashley MacArthur
Am.
- [72:49]
Kendall Rae
Okay. And how did that conversation go? I think I asked what did she do with it?
- [72:55]
Ashley MacArthur
Now what did she tell you?
- [72:57]
Kendall Rae
That she put it in her beer and Taylor spit it out because she said it tasted sour. But if you think back to that morning, remember how they stopped at a gas station and Ashley said that Taylor asked her for a beer in the morning. In fact, she told her, oh, it's five o' clock somewhere, it's okay, even though it's the morning. Well, I'm pretty sure she never asked for that. Actually, I'm very sure she didn't ask for for that. I think instead maybe it was Ashley's idea and it was going to be Ashley's attempt to poison her. But who knows? I will say the defense did get her to admit that she never actually saw the drugs herself. But because they weren't seen, obviously doesn't mean they didn't exist. And then the third girl testified that she said someone told her Ashley admitted to killing Taylor. She even said that Ashley once told her that she was too Small to hurt anyone, but if she needed to, she would just shoot them. Which is interesting considering how. How things ended up. And if that wasn't all batshit enough, it turns out that Ashley. I guess this isn't much of a shock since she's such a liar, but she was having an affair, which apparently wasn't much of a secret. But still, this guy named Brandon Bey took the stand and admitted that they were romantically involved. And this does matter, because he was the one that Ashley was spending money on. She was like his sugar mommy. She bought him an $8,000 motorcycle and a $30,000 boat. And Brandon testified Taylor went missing. Ashley told him, quote, they'll never find that she's gone. What? Who says that about their friend? She is just so evil. It's just when you realize these people walk amongst us. And Taylor thought Ashley was her friend. She trusted her so much that she'd given her all that money to keep safely for her. Just unbelievable. And all the evidence, even if it was circumstantial, was pointing to Ashley. At the end of the day, prosecutors went through all of the times her phone had pinged on that farm and pointed out the sheer number of steps that her phone said she took that afternoon. They also played surveillance video from that Home Depot, which showed her buying that concrete and potting soil one day after Taylor went missing. Now, as you can tell, at this point, the defense has changed their tune, and they are definitely recently fighting an uphill battle. I mean, they originally thought this was going to be a slam dunk. Not so much. But I will say they did have one small victory relating to that concrete from Home Depot. They decided to bring in the Home Depot employee who had helped Ashley, and he testified about the type of concrete she purchased, which I guess wasn't a match to the type found covering Taylor's remains. But personally, just because she bought concrete that day day, it doesn't mean that that is the concrete she used. She could have used a different concrete. Or the Home Depot employee doesn't know what he's talking about. I don't know. Personally, I don't think that that small detail overrides all the other evidence. The defense also tried to say that Ashley had a bad back from a car accident that she had been in prior, and they even brought in her chiropractor to testify to this. I thought that was pretty funny. But, you know, any attempt that they can make here, plus they did point out that there was not a single trace of blood evidence or murder weapon that could Be l to her, which is true. And ultimately, in their opinion, they said Ashley wouldn't have needed to kill Taylor because her family had money and any money of Taylor's that she spent was actually hers. They argue that Taylor owed her money, so that's why Ashley spent it. So, really dumb argument. I think we can probably all agree to that. Last ditch effort, but, you know, what else are they gonna say? But yeah, in the end, I'm happy to say that the jury saw right through their bullshit and Ashley's lies and. And in just a matter of hours, they found her sorry ass guilty. And that was actually the only time during the trial that she showed any emotion. But poor Cass, man, she was a total wreck. She couldn't even contain her feelings when the verdict was read. It's so sad to watch, and I can only imagine what that moment felt like for her. But in the end, Ashley was sentenced to life in prison and will have to serve a minimum of 25 years before she's eligible for release in 2044. She did try to appeal that in April of 2021, but that was thankfully denied. And I'm sure most of you are going to agree with me here, but in my opinion, that is not enough for taking someone's life in cold blood, execution style. I don't understand. But, yeah, at least it's something. Now, I know this has been a long episode, so I won't keep you that much longer. But I did want to say in the aftermath of this, Taylor's loved ones have talked about how it's so important that we continue to. To remember her, not for what happened to her, but also for all the great qualities that Taylor had. I mean, she was someone who was really a friend to everyone. She was the type of person who would literally give you the shirt off of her back. And of course, she was a loving mom. She truly loved her son more than life itself and only ever wanted what was best for him. And while she may have had some choices that, you know, in the end, not everyone agrees with, by no means did she deserve what happened to her. And like I said at the beginning of the episode, I just think Taylor seemed like a cool person, like someone that would be fun to hang out with. And I just feel so badly for everyone who has lost her and will miss out on years and years of great times together, and it's just heartbreaking. But again, the biggest loss here is for her son. I mean, to grow up without your mother and to one day learn, learn what happened to her it's infuriating. But of course, as always, I want to hear from you. Let me know what you think about this case. I want to know what you think about the verdict and the sentence for sure. And just about what an idiot Ashley is as a crime scene technician to have made so many mistakes. It's just although we're very thankful for it. Thank you for being so dumb Ashley. That is going to be it for me today guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode. And make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel which will be linked. Or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, stay safe out there.
- [79:32]
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