February 6, 2025 • 42 mins
The State’s Attorney claimed Bevely’s account of encountering an armed assailant was proven false within days of the murder but a closer look into call records raises questions about other possible suspects.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Murder on Songbird Road is a production of iHeart Podcasts.
Previously on Murder on Songbird Road. I am Jade's great aunt.
That's Brenda, the sister of Sheila Beasley, who is Mike's
mother and Jade's paternal grandmother.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
My name is Bailey.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Jade's father, Michael is my first cousin.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
When you first heard that it was Julie, was there
part of your mind that was like, no way, or
was there part of your mind where you're like that
totally makes sense.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
My personal opinion is that sometimes people snap.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
We believe the jealousy came in, and we believe she snapped.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
A family member owns a pagan store in Salem.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
They believe in witchery, witchcraft.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
There ain't no good witch. That pagan relative of Julie's
Brenda is referencing is actually her cousin NICKI.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Me and my mom run a witchcraft shop.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
We are both practicing pagan's. I don't understand how it
has anything to do with the trial.
Speaker 5 (01:02):
The people down there associate witchcraft with something evil, so
they're trying to associate evil with Julie.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
On Lauren Brad Pacheco and this is murder on Songbird Road.
(01:37):
At the press conference announcing Jade Beasley's murder and Julia
Beverly's arrest, former Williamson County State's Attorney Brandon Zenatti claimed
Beverly's claim of having encountered an armed assailant clad and
all black was a fabrication.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
The suspect gave law enforcement an initial report that an
unidentified male ran for the residence upon her arriving home.
She said that she left the residence with Jade alone
in the home for a short time and return home
to find an unidentified male fleeing. The investigation has proven
(02:15):
the story to be false.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
In her nine one one call, Beverly is quite specific
about what the intruder was wearing.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Could you tell that color sphereed he was wearing?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
He was a little all black, okay? And how they exited.
Speaker 7 (02:30):
When that person left?
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Did they leave in a vehicle or on put But
she was quite unsure where they took off running? Which
way did they go?
Speaker 4 (02:46):
It ran out.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Julia Beverly's nine one one call wasn't the only one
of interest on the day of Jade's murder. We've been
told of two other calls, one specifically mentioned by Renee
in a previous episode, and this call was made at
ten thirty for a.
Speaker 8 (03:03):
Suspicious person and no way, yes, this is at ten thirty.
He was out there belligerent talking about harming somebody, cussing
and carrying on, and somebody called the cops on him
and then VYG Go respond and they pretty much got
the name information sent him on his way. He's wearing
(03:24):
a black hoodie and duck pants.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
For reasons we'll explain shortly. Renee High Tower and Julia
Beverly supporters also believe there was another call, one made
by a neighbor on Songbird Road. My efforts to trace
this specific call began in January of twenty twenty four
with Williamson County. However, after weeks of being redirected then
ultimately ignored by the Record's Division of the Marian Police Department,
(03:51):
my request finally landed on the desk of Marion City Attorney,
who I'd like to acknowledge for her helpful, timely and
professional responses. While the dispatch search she initiated didn't uncover
the specific call, they explained that their audio files only
go back eighteen months. They also expressed their belief that
(04:11):
the call was made to Williamson County rather than the
city of Marion. They did locate several CAD reports, however,
which they forwarded. CAD stands for Computer Aided Dispatch, a
system used by law enforcement agencies to document and manage
calls for service. These reports provide a detailed timeline of events,
(04:32):
including when an officer was dispatched, their arrival at the scene,
and the specific actions they took. They also capture other
key details and interactions that occurred during an incident. As
Bob and I scrolled through the Williamson County CAD reports
from December fifth, twenty twenty, something caught our attention, making
them far more intriguing than we'd initially expected. And it
(04:54):
looks like there were two calls there. The police were
responding to Julie Beverly's call, but it looks like Marion
police were already en route to a call about a
male in all black you know, fifty yards on that
Corey Leak, which is the back road adjacent to Julie's
(05:17):
next door neighbor, and that very clearly describes a male.
The first of the three reports lists, under the description
of Beverly's call notations that Marion units, an ambulance and
canine units are en route. Then there's this verbatim. Marian
advised they saw a male wearing a black hoodie walking
(05:40):
on Buckley about fifty yards westbound off Corey Leak. Julie
wouldn't have said. She said she didn't know what direction
he ran often so they're not getting this tip from her.
But Marian advised they saw a male wearing a black
hoodie walking on Buckley about fifty yards westbound off of
(06:03):
Corey League. Julie described what the man was wearing, said
that he took off on foot the nine to one
one call very specifically, She's asked which direction did he
head and she said ran out.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Her story has always been like she comes into the house,
she has the scrap with the dude, she goes in
to go try to get the gun, So she would
have had no idea which way this guy would have run.
I mean, what I'm saying is to me, it's important
if we can find out if in fact they had
sent officers out to that area based on the other
(06:41):
call saying a dude just ran through my backyard and
all black.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Renee High Tower first heard chatter regarding the existence of
such a call from multiple sources, including the private investigator
she hired after the murder.
Speaker 8 (06:56):
It's weird because like with my first investigator, he was
telling on these things are going on the owns gun
range and this is where all the marine officers were
going to cheat, and.
Speaker 6 (07:06):
He's just listening.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Here's that private investigator, Terry Newman.
Speaker 7 (07:10):
Renee hired me as an investigator to see if I
could find anything that didn't seem right, and there was
plenty of stuff that wasn't right. As I was digging around,
I overheard a group of law enforcement talking about it.
Of course, that was a thing, you know, that was
a pretty big deal, a pretty gruesome deal. So there
was a lot of talk. Maybe some of it was correct,
(07:34):
maybe some of it wasn't. Maybe somebody was talking and
just wanted to be that guy that knew more than
the other guy.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
But I did.
Speaker 7 (07:42):
Overhear one of the officers state to another couple officers
that we had a nine to one one call before
that call. What struck me is this description of whoever
called in. They looking for a person in a dark
(08:03):
hoodie and dark pants could be sweatpants, could just be
dark pants running through suspiciously running through backyards, which kind
of was the description of what Julie gave of her attacker.
So right away and I think I called Renee up
and I said, hey, you need to get your attorney
(08:25):
to subpoena all the nine one one calls in all
the dispatch offices, you know.
Speaker 8 (08:31):
Wh I immediately tell Theen's second share there's supposed to
be another call.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
The subpoena the ninem on one calls. It's not in
the but Renee claims the call did come up again though,
when she was seated with Julie's defense attorney Terestin, right
before we were prepping for trial.
Speaker 8 (08:48):
I was in Theen's office talking to her and she
mentioned she's going through the notes really quick, and she
said something about another ninmal one call and I'm like, wait,
what go back? I said, what do you mean another call,
because you told me you didn't have another call before,
and she said, well, it was rewire to a non
emergency call. But this is a call where somebody said
they've seen somebody running through the yard wearing a black
(09:10):
hoodie and dark pants and a sche mask, mind you,
So this is that call. And it was within minutes
of Julie's yes.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Another source regarding that elusive call comes from a woman
named Billy Joe. She's a longtime acquaintance of Renee, who
started assisting High Tower's efforts for Beverly after her own
efforts to find her missing brother, one who struggled with
addiction and homelessness, made her question the motivations and integrity
of local law enforcement and the police.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
They weren't very cooperative right off the bat did not
want nothing to do with helping find my brother because
my brother was an addict. I have another sister that
gets pulled over. They told her that we need to
quit looking for my brother. He's a menace to society
and he's in the bottom of a river. So I
went to the mayor about it because they weren't very cooperative.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Just to go back and revisit the initial comment that
they didn't want to look for your brother because he
was an addict. Having been to Mary and myself, addiction
seems to be a pretty big problem.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
It is a very big problem here. Like I told
you the other day, it's like a whole nother city
at night here in Mary.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
This is of note because of the rumors Bob and
I have heard from the start that Jade's murder was
actually tied to drugs, in particular meth, because of the
irrational brutality involved. We'll further explore this theory later. Back
to Billy Joe, what drew you initially to Julie's case?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Just dealing with the mary And Police Department over my
brother missing. It questioned a lot of things and Julie's story.
Knowing how small she is and talking to her, I
just knew something wasn't that up and that was another
res and I made sure I went and set through
trial because I wanted to hear the facts.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Billy Joe attended every day of the trial, which is
why she knows that two specific names that appear on
the CAD reports Bob and I were viewing also appeared
on the prosecution's witness list. A man named Aaron Luton,
who will get into in a bit, and another man
named Kenny Marks, also known as Butch. Butch was living
(11:24):
in the house next to Beverly's when the murder occurred.
Billy Joe believes he made that second call because of
something he told her sister's boyfriend. While the two men
were driving to work.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
So my sister seventy dates a guy named Stephen and
they worked at Reynolds's rouffine. I believe it's called It's
Reynolds something. It's a construction They build buildings and things.
And Stephen was taking him back and forth to work,
and he started talking about it. He said there was
a nine to one one call that there was a
(11:56):
guy in a mask or a person in a mask
running through the back yard at that time, and he
made that call. He said, I made the nine to
one one call.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
What's interesting is the placement of the backyard of the
property on Songbird Road where Marx was living, in addition
to being immediately next to Beverly's.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Coreyley Roads the one behind side right.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
So if you run through the back of Kenny Marx
as you end up on Corey Leek aerial views and
a simple drive by show Butcher's backyard would have been
a direct path to Corey Leek Road, complete with a
heavily wooded area and multiple ponds on the way, which
would have been convenient places to toss a weapon. Why
(12:40):
they wouldn't have searched those little ponds for a murder
weapon is beyond wing.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
To get Julie.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
You know what I'm saying, Like there's nose for them
not checking the ponds at all.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
But connecting with Butch to verify that call would quickly
become another rabbit hole. I do have his cell phone number,
which I got through an anonymous source. That source was
able to communicate with him, but apparently he is rather
reluctant to talk about this. We'll be right back with
(13:20):
Murder on Songbird Road. Now back to Murder on Songbird Road.
We'd reached out to Butch multiple times and in multiple
ways before attempting to do so in person. In August
(13:40):
of twenty twenty four, I knocked on the door of
the small, one floor home he shares with his sisters.
It sits atop a five acre flat farmland property that's
bordered at the back with a heavily wooded area. Climbing
the two steps leading up to the petite concrete landing
in the front door, I couldn't help but notice the
no trespassing sign attached to the white siding with its
(14:03):
pronounced firearms theme. It wasn't long before I was heading
back to the car, so the woman answered the door
first and I asked if she was living here in
twenty twenty, and she said she was not, but her
sister was. I explained that I was a journalist and
I was looking into the very unfortunate story that unfolded
(14:24):
next to her, and she went to get her sister.
That sister was not exactly pleased to meet me or
flattered by my compliments of the potted rose bush adorning
her porch. Kenny was there, but she said that he
was resting, sleeping, and so I inquired as to how
he was doing in his health, and I left my
(14:47):
number and my email and said that if it was
easier for her to talk to me that way, I
would love to hear from her. And so they grabbed,
you know, went to grab kind of paper, and I
left my information with her. Okay, butch never reached out.
So in December of twenty twenty four, it was Bob
(15:08):
Moda's turn, and he dressed for the occasion. Last time
we were here, you looked more like disgruntled former detective,
and now you look like weekend soccer dad.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Hey, all right, good, I should have warned my Hey, dudes, well,
I mean the vans really.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Kind of the vest gives you a more affable paternal.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
I don't know if that's better.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
When I was thinking about my outfit for the day,
I was thinking about straight up hoodie.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
You know, it's like you want people to feel comfortable, right.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Clothing choices have been an ongoing source of sarcastic camaraderie
between us since our initial trip to Marion. When Bob
shared this critique and you implied that I don't blend.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
I mean like a sword thumb you do, like you
get that East Coast look to you, woman.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
I don't know what to tell you.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I still remain unsure as to how to process that.
Now back to Bob outside of Butcher's house on Songbird Road.
Hopefully Butch is there and hopefully Butcher's willing to speak.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, I'm cautiously optimistic, as like a kind of an overstatement.
I'm pessimistic, but I feel like if we can get
past the gatekeeper of a sister, that we can get
them talking.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
We just need to get him.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
Too the door.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Yeah, so I'll wait in the car, bring this with me.
If you gesture, maybe not.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Well, yeah, if I gesture, can you get out of
the car, because I'll ask him if they'd be willing to,
you know, have us record them.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
Oh he's going to the back door. I would go
to the front.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
What are you doing? Bob?
Speaker 5 (16:55):
Always just looking okay, yeah, I mean there don't not
trespassed signs pretty much everywhere. Knocking the door doesn't seem
to be an answer. It is just about noon, so
people could still be heading back from church. Doors opening,
(17:17):
all right, and it is the sister that I spoke to.
Don't see if Bob's having any better luck.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
I didn't have to wait long for an answer. All right,
Bob is coming back, and the sister was gesticulating a
lot with her right hand, and I don't know if
she was giving him directions or telling him where to go.
I think we're about to find out she.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Was telling me where to go.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
So I went up to the door, and we parked
probably about fifty seventy five yards away from the property.
Walk over there or hear a chainsaw going? I see
that there's a gentleman in the back, probably about fifty
yards back into their property with the chainsaw. It looks
like he cut a tree down, and you know, I
could see he's got the ear protection on. And I
(18:09):
was initially going to walk up to him. So I
walked probably about halfway down the driveway, thought better of it,
thought maybe I'll go chuck.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
I don't want to surprise the guy.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
No, and then like Texas chainsaw massacre.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Or he has a piece on him, who knows he's
not going to hear me coming. He didn't see me
because I kind of like waved my arms a little bit.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
He was pretty focused on what he was doing.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
So I went up to the house, ranging the doorbell,
take a couple of stuffs back, as I always do.
I don't want to be all up in somebody's grill.
Thirty seconds later, an older gal. I don't know what
she looked.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Like when you tad, I recognize her immediately that I
spoke to.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah, so she was clearly surprised by my presence. I
then introduced myself. I say his butcher. He says, well,
that's him in the back saw on wood. She says,
what do you want? I said, well, we're back again
and we're investigating what happened over here with your neighbors.
Like right away, she got very upset. You can see
it in her face, you could hear it in her
(19:08):
voice as well, she was agitated immediately. Well, she said,
I don't want to talk about that. It's not something
that I'm wanting to talk about. I'm a very anxious person.
That gets me upset. It just brings back bad memories.
And I said, yeah, you know, I'm trying to be compassionate.
I understand that, and I'm sure that's true for her.
So I'm like, well, you know, do you think your
brother will talk to me? And she says, probably not,
(19:29):
it'll probably run you off. And I said, well, you know,
we're really just trying to find out if this girl
actually did it. And so she did it, and I'm like, well,
what about this call that your brother made talking about
somebody running through the backyard around the time that the
homicides took place, which I didn't say I would have,
(19:50):
but she was very I was trying to get as
much in before I could tell she was going to
shut the door.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
The exact response to that question was quote, I don't
know who that was. But it's interesting that she said
I don't know who that was, right, she doesn't know
who made the call, or she doesn't know who was
running through the backyard. But if you look at the
trajectory and you're running through that, you're going to end
(20:15):
up on Corey Lee Road.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Which is the perfect route for somebody trying to get
out that way, which is towards Marion, towards town.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
You know, that's the direction you're going to have.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
You know you're going to stay off the beaten path,
especially if you're in the midst of trying to escape
a murder scene.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
You know, would makes sense that that's the way that
you go.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Now you can see the little from our vantage point,
you can see the pond right in front of us, right,
I'm assuming that's it, in front of the big there.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Why that pond was not dredged is beyond me.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Man, pull forward, I want to see I want to
see our guy.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
All of this begs to question why Butch, who was
on the prosecution's witness list but never called, seemed so
reluctant to speak to anyone about what he did or
did not see the day of Jade's murder. It's also
interesting to note that the reports we were reading weren't
Busch's first appearance in police files. In December of twenty eleven,
(21:24):
Kenny E. Marx was arrested in Marion and charged with
manufacturing meth and meth related child endangerment in addition to
other meth related offenses. It's also worth mentioning that his son,
also named Kenney Marx, is no stranger to law enforcement either,
having been picked up this past fall on violations sex
(21:44):
offender registry and possession of meth charges. Given Beverly's consistent
placement of her alleged intruder's height being around five to
five it's also of note that the younger Marx height
is listed by police at five foot four inches. I
mention this not to suggest any involvement in Jade's murder,
but rather to highlight that there were known criminals in
(22:06):
the area matching Beverly's description who do not appear to
have been investigated. And there's something else that heavily wooded
area in the back of Butcher's place. Apparently it isn't
just housing trees and hidden ponds. Here's what her sister's boyfriend,
Stephen told Billy Joe.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
So, when I was talking to him, he said to me,
what about the camper in the woods? And I said,
in what woods the camper where? And he said about
a year ago. Me and your sister was into it,
and I didn't have nowhere to stay, So I was
sleeping in my car and I ran into Kenny March.
So he told me I could stay out of his
house and we were out there talking and he told
me there was a camper in the woods that if
(22:45):
I wanted to stay there, I could, but not to
tell nobody because his sister doesn't know that his son
goes out there and stay. That he has to go
there at night. Hey, he don't come in and out
during the day because his sister don't want him on
the park because he's a sex offender.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Wow, So there is basically like an abandoned camper in
the wooded area.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Yeah, so I took it upon myself. Renee actually met
me out there the other day, and there is definitely
something out there. If you look directly behind here to
the right, you can tell there's something there in big trees.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
This blows my mind because if you think about it,
this is the property that's adjacent to the murder scene,
with multiple bodies of water, a heavily wooded area, and
now what we're hearing a makeshift encampment for transient people
and the police don't check it.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
That's what I can't understand why they didn't look back there,
why they didn't search any of that back there.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
We'll revisit that later. Back to Bob and the mention
of Butch on the CAD reports from the day of
the murder.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
Yeah, I mean it doesn't tell us much like it
begs the question why is it in here?
Speaker 1 (24:03):
And why is he on the prosecution's witness list?
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Right and never called right? Well, it's the same with
Aaron Luten. Aaron Luton's the other call that comes in.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Aaron Luton's name came up early and continues to come
up in multiple interviews and very prominently on call records
from the morning of Jade Beasley's murder. A bit past
ten thirty am, a call comes in about a male
subject who stormed out of his house screaming about killing someone.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Here's Bob and Luton is at least reported to be
out on the street acting a fool, screaming and yelling,
wearing a blacktop, wanting a blacktop, threatening to kill people,
saying that he wants somebody to shoot him. When we
first became privy to that call, were obviously pricked our
ears up.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
We're like, well, what's us.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
We went to theme, We went to Julie's trial attorney
and said, what's the deal with Luten?
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Did she dig into this?
Speaker 3 (24:58):
And theene says that she vetted it out and that
her understanding was that Luton had been picked up because
we had heard conflicting stories. Initially we had heard that
he had been left out there acting a fool, and
then and then later themes as well. What I saw
from my discovery was that he was ultimately dropped off
(25:19):
at the hospital.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
But now reading through the call log's timeline, Mata and
I had new questions and reason to revisit Aaron Luton's
exact whereabouts during exact times on December fifth, twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
So like I'm scrolling through, it's as an advisor, as
a mail on the road, screaming and yelling, right, and
that comes in at ten thirty seven on twelve five,
So that's the day of and you know, the timing
fits in terms of when things may have gone down there, Right,
It's a little early for kind of our purposes in
(25:55):
terms of what we think things may have gone down,
But I mean it begs the question if if this
is the beginning of the episode with.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Aaron Luton in it, it just keeps going.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Which is, we're this interesting thing that I noticed in here,
because when we get down to here, So at ten
fifty six, received another call on erin that he's screaming
at groups of people to come shoot him. So that's
a full twenty minutes after the first call. Okay, And
(26:27):
then at ten point fifty eight it says one male
detained and then we get down here, doesn't say what
they're doing with them anywhere as I'm kind of reading through,
whoever took them into custody is now transporting them to
the station, transporting them to a hospital. Because it's interesting
because here it's.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Kin a new call. So now we're at.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Eleven nineteen get this new call, So Marian Police Department
at eleven nineteen forty three unit I'm thirteen Aaron Luton,
Dean created, all right, and then you've got twelve thirty
seven event cleared by recheck, no active units.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
This is where it got a little weird to me.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
So it says that at sixteen eleven comments changed to
mail take into Heartland for evaluation, but change from where.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
And look at that time period, right.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Huge gap in time.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Yeah, it puts us at four eleven says that he's
taken to the hospital. So does that mean that this
comment is changed or is that when the event happened.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
And does that mean they have him in custody for
hours or does that mean that I don't know. So
that window if they last were with him at eleven nineteen,
and then it's not clear as to whether or not
they left him right, but where was he from eleven
(27:55):
nineteen until four o'clock? And if he were in that
state and left, that's the same timeline.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
That would fit with the murder. Right when this episode
was being edited, I was still awaiting response from Williamson
County on the multiple requests I'd made for information regarding Luton.
He was, however, on the radar of both Beverly's defense
and the prosecution. Here's what Renee was told happened.
Speaker 8 (28:24):
Cindy Gatman, the lead investigator on this, had him at
the station questioning him, and she said her first question
to him was do you know anything about the child
that was murdered out in the country, And his response
to that question was which one s what?
Speaker 4 (28:45):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (28:47):
And he has a rap sheet that includes burglary, robbery, assault,
and domestic battery. At the time of this episode's release,
Luton was incarcerated, having been sentenced to eleven years in
December of twenty twenty one for attempting to disarma an
officer who'd responded to a domestic violence call. I've attempted
(29:10):
to email Aaron Luton in prison multiple times. He's only
responded once with a subject line pemp that's pimp, with
the attached message what up, bro?
Speaker 2 (29:21):
I would killed to get into talk to this guy.
Speaker 8 (29:24):
I don't know when he was at the hospital because
if Cindy Gaman was at the house, and that's around
because Julie was still at the house of this time.
When was he at the police station?
Speaker 1 (29:36):
When did you pick him up? If that were true,
why would he have been brought in for questioning? And
I've asked for that video. As I was finishing this episode,
I received documents that state Luton was in an ambulance
at eleven eight am on the day of the murder,
arriving at the hospital at eleven twenty six am, ultimately
(29:59):
being discharged at nine thirty eight pm, which rules him
out as a suspect. I also received video of the interrogation,
which happened at the end of July twenty twenty one,
nearly eight months after Jade's murder and Beverly's arrest, while
Renee's version of his interrogation was off. This is what
Luton replied when asked about Jade Beasley's murder.
Speaker 6 (30:22):
Where did she get found?
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Yeah, which who's murdered?
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Where was she in?
Speaker 6 (30:29):
Huh?
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Was she in something?
Speaker 5 (30:32):
What do you mean both?
Speaker 6 (30:35):
I'm just saying, I'm just I've been in a one
a year ago, twenty a year ago. Okay, just I'll.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Let you guys speak. Geitman doesn't appear to pursue that
line of questioning. Still, why was Luton Mike Butch on
the prosecution's witness list but never called to testify? Murder
and Songbird Road will continue after the break Here again
(31:04):
is Murder on Songbird Road? Butch and Aaron aside, we
had other pressing questions. For instance, the dispatch events summary
notes that three different officers Welgi, Sloane, and Ward, administered
CPR to Jade Beasley at the scene, all before ems arrived.
If the prosecution's timeline is accurate and Jade was murdered
(31:25):
between nine thirty and ten fifteen am. Why would multiple
officers attempt CPR on her more than two hours later?
And why was a metavac reportedly called according to the
CAD notes, nearly a half an hour after police arrived,
only to be canceled. Listen carefully to Danny Vaye's report
(31:46):
on the day of the arrest.
Speaker 9 (31:47):
Zanami says police and EMTs arrived Saturday, shortly after the
ninety one one.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Call was made.
Speaker 9 (31:53):
When they got there, they found Beasley with multiple stab wounds,
and Beasley later died at the scene.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
So Jade Beasley died more than two hours after the
prosecution alleged Julia Beverly killed her. Then there's this the
adjacent property, wood, small bodies of water, and known transient activity.
Why wasn't this area searched or investigated? And why weren't
any other potential suspects actually considered.
Speaker 6 (32:22):
He said that she left the residence with Jade alone
in the home for a short time and return home
to find an unidentified male fleeing. The investigation has proven
this story to be false, But did it.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
These questions only added to the larger issues we'd already
uncovered tunnel vision, a lack of presumption of innocence, and
even allegations of witchcraft, none of which the prosecution tied
to motive or concrete evidence. All of this was weighing
on my mind as I prepared to make this introduction.
Jason Flom Bob Mada, Bob j Nice to meet you.
Speaker 4 (33:01):
Man.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Jason Flamm is a founding board member of The Innocence
Project and co host and creator of the Wrongful Conviction
podcast series, which is credited with helping to free nearly
two dozen people. It's also inspired legislators in three different
states that we know of to change laws to make
the justice system more just. But Flamm is best known
(33:22):
for his legendary career in the music industry as the
record executive behind the success of artists like skid Row, Stone,
Temple Pilots, Lord, Katy Perry, and many more.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
I've been a big admirer of what you do out
there as a criminal defense guy for a long time.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
Man.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I appreciate the fact that you could have probably done
anything that you wanted with your life after your career,
and then you chose to do this. Hits me right
in all the fields. So I was pretty excited to
meet you.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Man.
Speaker 10 (33:54):
Part of it is trying to make your job and
people that do the same type of work that you do,
to make your job a little easier and tip to
scales of justice somewhere closer instead of being ninety ten,
like making at least, you know, somewhat of a fairer fight.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Jason and I met years ago while I was working
on a podcast called Murder in Oregon. Because Wrongful Conviction
was and still is one of my favorite podcasts. I
picked up a freelance television shoot in New York City
just to meet him, not knowing he was binging Murder
and Oregon at the time. We've been friends since. Jason
Flohm brings a pragmatic and brutally honest take to our
(34:31):
justice system.
Speaker 10 (34:32):
It's amazing how in America, the land of the free right,
it's the most incarcerated nation in the history of the world.
Not only do we have twenty five percent of the
world's prison population, but we have thirty three percent of
the world's female prison population. And I would even go
so far as to say that we reserve the worst treatment.
There's no lack of horror stories taking place right this
(34:56):
very minute. In jails and prisons all over the country,
men's facilities, women's facilities, you name it. But I think
the idea that we lock women up and remove them
from their families, their children, right, and we know that
bond is stronger than anything, and innocent or guilty, we
(35:16):
don't care, right, We just do it.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
I'd started sending flown background and updates on Beverly's case
even before we started digging in.
Speaker 10 (35:24):
I can't even think about this case without thinking about
another Julie from Illinois whose son was murdered, who got
blamed for it. Right with Julie Ray I'm talking about, right,
who is one of my favorite human beings and just
an absolutely remarkable human being. And then there's Michelle Murphy.
And you know, you have these cases where these women
(35:45):
kid even Melissa Lucio, right, any of these ones where
the woman's baby or child is taken from them in
the most horrendous way. That doesn't apply to Melissa, that
was just an accident. In many of these cases where
there is an actual murder, like in Michelle Murphy's case,
they've lost the thing they love most in the world
(36:05):
in the most terrifying way.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
For those not familiar with these high profile cases of
mothers wrongfully convicted of murdering their own children will link
to their wrongful conviction episodes in the show description.
Speaker 10 (36:18):
And they don't even have a moment to grieve, right,
because they're taken to the police station. Because here's the
other theme. They're the ones who found the body, right,
or they're the ones who are approximate to it. So,
you know, lazy policing if that's maybe.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
That investigating and prosecuting.
Speaker 10 (36:34):
Yeah, it's just like, well, you've found the body. You're
good for it, right, It's good enough, it's close enough.
And so I don't know what to tell somebody. Somebody's listening.
They're like, well, what if I find about it? What
should I do? I don't know, go to Brazil.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Unless you want to be the guy.
Speaker 10 (36:48):
It's really bad. But I mean you kind of have
to call it in. I mean, what are you going
to like? It's really there's no good answer there. But
you know, keep track of your movements and you know,
and call and get a lawyer quick, because you know,
everyone thinks I shouldn't get lawyercause it makes me look
like I might be guilty. But no, you need to
get a lawyer because it makes you look smart.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
Julie didn't lawyer up.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
Not only was she the one to call it in,
she was the last one to see Jade alive. So
she had the double whammy where you're automatically the person
you're it, you know, like they're not doing any work
beyond that.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
And it's exactly what happened to her.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
And they played heavily into the evil stepmother dynamic on this,
and race was definitely an issue. We went to Marion,
and I mean it is a lily white town.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
I didn't see one black person the entire time I
was there, except at the hotel.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
And aside, Marian is still more diverse than the all
white jury that found Beverly guilty. Amidst much racially charged
chatter on social media and local sites before, during, and
after her trial, post like this one from a Marian
resident who goes by Chucky quote a black girl killed her,
so BLM, which stands for Black Lives Matter, and its
(38:01):
idiot followers are doing anything they can to screw the investigation. Linda,
who appears to be a white haired grandma from nearby Buckner, Illinois,
posted I say in all caps hang the bitch. She
deserves it, and Daniel from neighboring West Frankfurt brought the
lynching theme fully home with this should give her a
(38:24):
tall tree and a short piece of rope. Meanwhile, Renee
High Tower was receiving voicemails like this one, which was
left by a pre k teacher from a neighboring town.
Your family's trash, your mixed trash back to Jason Flohm.
Speaker 10 (38:41):
I mean, the whole thing is so nuts and it's
like it also reminds me a little bit of the
Christine Bunch case right where the prosecutor in that case,
Ashley said to the jury and she was convicted of
murdering her her only child, four year old, we acknowledge
that we don't have a motive, but that shouldn't prevent you.
I'm paraphrasing, right, but he said, we admitted we don't
have a motive, but that shouldn't prevent you the jury
(39:03):
from convicting, and sure enough they did. So this one's
like that too. What the hell would the motive possibly.
Speaker 1 (39:09):
Be, Jason, You have no idea? How spot on that
is because the argument from the prosecution was that they
couldn't test everything you know, they never presented a motive
and ultimately they didn't really have any concrete physical evidence. Yeah,
(39:30):
and Julie, very much like all of the red flag
hallmarks of a wrongful conviction. There was an instant presumption
of guilt. There was tunnel vision, there was trial in
the community on social media. She was tried and convicted
in the local news and again held for two years
(39:51):
almost before she set foot in that court.
Speaker 10 (39:55):
When the forces of prosecution and the whole justice system
police prosecution in this case, to judge all of these
people when they sort of conspire may not be the
right word, but let's use that for lack of a
better one. To railroad somebody.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
They are literally acting.
Speaker 10 (40:14):
In concert in service of the person who actually committed
the crime, because the single best thing that can happen
to that person is that somebody else gets convicted and
everybody stops looking for them. Right, It's like, hey, you
hit the jackpot, buddy, you got away with it. Bingo.
We have this adversarial system right where the prosecution's trying
(40:38):
to win and the defense is trying to defend their client.
What we need is an inquisitorial system, right, We should
all want to get to the truth because whoever did this,
that's a person we need to really reckon.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
With will lay all of that out going forward, but
others can and did make the case against Beverly based
on additional back facts we were about to dissect while
going through the trial transcripts.
Speaker 11 (41:04):
The lies, to me were the biggest problem because as
soon as you start lying the law.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
Enforcement and they figure it out.
Speaker 11 (41:11):
Immediately, you're done. In their minds, there's no reason to
lie about anything other than the fact that you didn't
and you're trying to cover your tracks.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
On the next Murder on Songbird Road access to the
initial interrogation video and DNA collection raises new concerns.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
The DNA on the arm, which to me was probably
the smoking gun in this case, and criticism there was
a lot of red flags.
Speaker 8 (41:38):
Let me say that if I was training here, I
would have stopped.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Me while Julie's friends way in on the delay in
calling nine one one. I can't even imagine how she
even got the phone to call. Murder on Songbird Road
is a production of iHeart Podcasts. Our executive producers are
Taylor Chacogne and Lauren Bright Pacheco. Research writing and hosting
(42:01):
by Lauren Bright Pacheco. Investigative reporting by Bob Matta and
Lauren Bright Pacheco. Editing, sound design and original music by
Evan Tyre and Taylor Chicoine. Additional music by Asher Kurtz.
Archival elements courtesy of WSIL News three. Please like, subscribe,
and leave us a review. Wherever you're listening, you can
(42:23):
follow me on all platforms at Lauren Bright Pacheco and
email the show with thought, suggestions or tips at Investigating
Murder at iHeartMedia dot com. For more iHeart podcasts, visit
(42:50):
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
favorite shows. Thanks for listening.
Murder on Songbird Road is a production of iHeart Podcasts.
Previously on Murder on Songbird Road. I am Jade's great aunt.
That's Brenda, the sister of Sheila Beasley, who is Mike's
mother and Jade's paternal grandmother.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
My name is Bailey.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Jade's father, Michael is my first cousin.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
When you first heard that it was Julie, was there
part of your mind that was like, no way, or
was there part of your mind where you're like that
totally makes sense.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
My personal opinion is that sometimes people snap.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
We believe the jealousy came in, and we believe she snapped.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
A family member owns a pagan store in Salem.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
They believe in witchery, witchcraft.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
There ain't no good witch. That pagan relative of Julie's
Brenda is referencing is actually her cousin NICKI.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Me and my mom run a witchcraft shop.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
We are both practicing pagan's. I don't understand how it
has anything to do with the trial.
Speaker 5 (01:02):
The people down there associate witchcraft with something evil, so
they're trying to associate evil with Julie.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
On Lauren Brad Pacheco and this is murder on Songbird Road.
(01:37):
At the press conference announcing Jade Beasley's murder and Julia
Beverly's arrest, former Williamson County State's Attorney Brandon Zenatti claimed
Beverly's claim of having encountered an armed assailant clad and
all black was a fabrication.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
The suspect gave law enforcement an initial report that an
unidentified male ran for the residence upon her arriving home.
She said that she left the residence with Jade alone
in the home for a short time and return home
to find an unidentified male fleeing. The investigation has proven
(02:15):
the story to be false.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
In her nine one one call, Beverly is quite specific
about what the intruder was wearing.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Could you tell that color sphereed he was wearing?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
He was a little all black, okay? And how they exited.
Speaker 7 (02:30):
When that person left?
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Did they leave in a vehicle or on put But
she was quite unsure where they took off running? Which
way did they go?
Speaker 4 (02:46):
It ran out.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Julia Beverly's nine one one call wasn't the only one
of interest on the day of Jade's murder. We've been
told of two other calls, one specifically mentioned by Renee
in a previous episode, and this call was made at
ten thirty for a.
Speaker 8 (03:03):
Suspicious person and no way, yes, this is at ten thirty.
He was out there belligerent talking about harming somebody, cussing
and carrying on, and somebody called the cops on him
and then VYG Go respond and they pretty much got
the name information sent him on his way. He's wearing
(03:24):
a black hoodie and duck pants.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
For reasons we'll explain shortly. Renee High Tower and Julia
Beverly supporters also believe there was another call, one made
by a neighbor on Songbird Road. My efforts to trace
this specific call began in January of twenty twenty four
with Williamson County. However, after weeks of being redirected then
ultimately ignored by the Record's Division of the Marian Police Department,
(03:51):
my request finally landed on the desk of Marion City Attorney,
who I'd like to acknowledge for her helpful, timely and
professional responses. While the dispatch search she initiated didn't uncover
the specific call, they explained that their audio files only
go back eighteen months. They also expressed their belief that
(04:11):
the call was made to Williamson County rather than the
city of Marion. They did locate several CAD reports, however,
which they forwarded. CAD stands for Computer Aided Dispatch, a
system used by law enforcement agencies to document and manage
calls for service. These reports provide a detailed timeline of events,
(04:32):
including when an officer was dispatched, their arrival at the scene,
and the specific actions they took. They also capture other
key details and interactions that occurred during an incident. As
Bob and I scrolled through the Williamson County CAD reports
from December fifth, twenty twenty, something caught our attention, making
them far more intriguing than we'd initially expected. And it
(04:54):
looks like there were two calls there. The police were
responding to Julie Beverly's call, but it looks like Marion
police were already en route to a call about a
male in all black you know, fifty yards on that
Corey Leak, which is the back road adjacent to Julie's
(05:17):
next door neighbor, and that very clearly describes a male.
The first of the three reports lists, under the description
of Beverly's call notations that Marion units, an ambulance and
canine units are en route. Then there's this verbatim. Marian
advised they saw a male wearing a black hoodie walking
(05:40):
on Buckley about fifty yards westbound off Corey Leak. Julie
wouldn't have said. She said she didn't know what direction
he ran often so they're not getting this tip from her.
But Marian advised they saw a male wearing a black
hoodie walking on Buckley about fifty yards westbound off of
(06:03):
Corey League. Julie described what the man was wearing, said
that he took off on foot the nine to one
one call very specifically, She's asked which direction did he
head and she said ran out.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Her story has always been like she comes into the house,
she has the scrap with the dude, she goes in
to go try to get the gun, So she would
have had no idea which way this guy would have run.
I mean, what I'm saying is to me, it's important
if we can find out if in fact they had
sent officers out to that area based on the other
(06:41):
call saying a dude just ran through my backyard and
all black.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Renee High Tower first heard chatter regarding the existence of
such a call from multiple sources, including the private investigator
she hired after the murder.
Speaker 8 (06:56):
It's weird because like with my first investigator, he was
telling on these things are going on the owns gun
range and this is where all the marine officers were
going to cheat, and.
Speaker 6 (07:06):
He's just listening.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Here's that private investigator, Terry Newman.
Speaker 7 (07:10):
Renee hired me as an investigator to see if I
could find anything that didn't seem right, and there was
plenty of stuff that wasn't right. As I was digging around,
I overheard a group of law enforcement talking about it.
Of course, that was a thing, you know, that was
a pretty big deal, a pretty gruesome deal. So there
was a lot of talk. Maybe some of it was correct,
(07:34):
maybe some of it wasn't. Maybe somebody was talking and
just wanted to be that guy that knew more than
the other guy.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
But I did.
Speaker 7 (07:42):
Overhear one of the officers state to another couple officers
that we had a nine to one one call before
that call. What struck me is this description of whoever
called in. They looking for a person in a dark
(08:03):
hoodie and dark pants could be sweatpants, could just be
dark pants running through suspiciously running through backyards, which kind
of was the description of what Julie gave of her attacker.
So right away and I think I called Renee up
and I said, hey, you need to get your attorney
(08:25):
to subpoena all the nine one one calls in all
the dispatch offices, you know.
Speaker 8 (08:31):
Wh I immediately tell Theen's second share there's supposed to
be another call.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
The subpoena the ninem on one calls. It's not in
the but Renee claims the call did come up again though,
when she was seated with Julie's defense attorney Terestin, right
before we were prepping for trial.
Speaker 8 (08:48):
I was in Theen's office talking to her and she
mentioned she's going through the notes really quick, and she
said something about another ninmal one call and I'm like, wait,
what go back? I said, what do you mean another call,
because you told me you didn't have another call before,
and she said, well, it was rewire to a non
emergency call. But this is a call where somebody said
they've seen somebody running through the yard wearing a black
(09:10):
hoodie and dark pants and a sche mask, mind you,
So this is that call. And it was within minutes
of Julie's yes.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Another source regarding that elusive call comes from a woman
named Billy Joe. She's a longtime acquaintance of Renee, who
started assisting High Tower's efforts for Beverly after her own
efforts to find her missing brother, one who struggled with
addiction and homelessness, made her question the motivations and integrity
of local law enforcement and the police.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
They weren't very cooperative right off the bat did not
want nothing to do with helping find my brother because
my brother was an addict. I have another sister that
gets pulled over. They told her that we need to
quit looking for my brother. He's a menace to society
and he's in the bottom of a river. So I
went to the mayor about it because they weren't very cooperative.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Just to go back and revisit the initial comment that
they didn't want to look for your brother because he
was an addict. Having been to Mary and myself, addiction
seems to be a pretty big problem.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
It is a very big problem here. Like I told
you the other day, it's like a whole nother city
at night here in Mary.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
This is of note because of the rumors Bob and
I have heard from the start that Jade's murder was
actually tied to drugs, in particular meth, because of the
irrational brutality involved. We'll further explore this theory later. Back
to Billy Joe, what drew you initially to Julie's case?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Just dealing with the mary And Police Department over my
brother missing. It questioned a lot of things and Julie's story.
Knowing how small she is and talking to her, I
just knew something wasn't that up and that was another
res and I made sure I went and set through
trial because I wanted to hear the facts.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Billy Joe attended every day of the trial, which is
why she knows that two specific names that appear on
the CAD reports Bob and I were viewing also appeared
on the prosecution's witness list. A man named Aaron Luton,
who will get into in a bit, and another man
named Kenny Marks, also known as Butch. Butch was living
(11:24):
in the house next to Beverly's when the murder occurred.
Billy Joe believes he made that second call because of
something he told her sister's boyfriend. While the two men
were driving to work.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
So my sister seventy dates a guy named Stephen and
they worked at Reynolds's rouffine. I believe it's called It's
Reynolds something. It's a construction They build buildings and things.
And Stephen was taking him back and forth to work,
and he started talking about it. He said there was
a nine to one one call that there was a
(11:56):
guy in a mask or a person in a mask
running through the back yard at that time, and he
made that call. He said, I made the nine to
one one call.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
What's interesting is the placement of the backyard of the
property on Songbird Road where Marx was living, in addition
to being immediately next to Beverly's.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Coreyley Roads the one behind side right.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
So if you run through the back of Kenny Marx
as you end up on Corey Leek aerial views and
a simple drive by show Butcher's backyard would have been
a direct path to Corey Leek Road, complete with a
heavily wooded area and multiple ponds on the way, which
would have been convenient places to toss a weapon. Why
(12:40):
they wouldn't have searched those little ponds for a murder
weapon is beyond wing.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
To get Julie.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
You know what I'm saying, Like there's nose for them
not checking the ponds at all.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
But connecting with Butch to verify that call would quickly
become another rabbit hole. I do have his cell phone number,
which I got through an anonymous source. That source was
able to communicate with him, but apparently he is rather
reluctant to talk about this. We'll be right back with
(13:20):
Murder on Songbird Road. Now back to Murder on Songbird Road.
We'd reached out to Butch multiple times and in multiple
ways before attempting to do so in person. In August
(13:40):
of twenty twenty four, I knocked on the door of
the small, one floor home he shares with his sisters.
It sits atop a five acre flat farmland property that's
bordered at the back with a heavily wooded area. Climbing
the two steps leading up to the petite concrete landing
in the front door, I couldn't help but notice the
no trespassing sign attached to the white siding with its
(14:03):
pronounced firearms theme. It wasn't long before I was heading
back to the car, so the woman answered the door
first and I asked if she was living here in
twenty twenty, and she said she was not, but her
sister was. I explained that I was a journalist and
I was looking into the very unfortunate story that unfolded
(14:24):
next to her, and she went to get her sister.
That sister was not exactly pleased to meet me or
flattered by my compliments of the potted rose bush adorning
her porch. Kenny was there, but she said that he
was resting, sleeping, and so I inquired as to how
he was doing in his health, and I left my
(14:47):
number and my email and said that if it was
easier for her to talk to me that way, I
would love to hear from her. And so they grabbed,
you know, went to grab kind of paper, and I
left my information with her. Okay, butch never reached out.
So in December of twenty twenty four, it was Bob
(15:08):
Moda's turn, and he dressed for the occasion. Last time
we were here, you looked more like disgruntled former detective,
and now you look like weekend soccer dad.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Hey, all right, good, I should have warned my Hey, dudes, well,
I mean the vans really.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Kind of the vest gives you a more affable paternal.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
I don't know if that's better.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
When I was thinking about my outfit for the day,
I was thinking about straight up hoodie.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
You know, it's like you want people to feel comfortable, right.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Clothing choices have been an ongoing source of sarcastic camaraderie
between us since our initial trip to Marion. When Bob
shared this critique and you implied that I don't blend.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
I mean like a sword thumb you do, like you
get that East Coast look to you, woman.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
I don't know what to tell you.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I still remain unsure as to how to process that.
Now back to Bob outside of Butcher's house on Songbird Road.
Hopefully Butch is there and hopefully Butcher's willing to speak.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, I'm cautiously optimistic, as like a kind of an overstatement.
I'm pessimistic, but I feel like if we can get
past the gatekeeper of a sister, that we can get
them talking.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
We just need to get him.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
Too the door.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Yeah, so I'll wait in the car, bring this with me.
If you gesture, maybe not.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Well, yeah, if I gesture, can you get out of
the car, because I'll ask him if they'd be willing to,
you know, have us record them.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
Oh he's going to the back door. I would go
to the front.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
What are you doing? Bob?
Speaker 5 (16:55):
Always just looking okay, yeah, I mean there don't not
trespassed signs pretty much everywhere. Knocking the door doesn't seem
to be an answer. It is just about noon, so
people could still be heading back from church. Doors opening,
(17:17):
all right, and it is the sister that I spoke to.
Don't see if Bob's having any better luck.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
I didn't have to wait long for an answer. All right,
Bob is coming back, and the sister was gesticulating a
lot with her right hand, and I don't know if
she was giving him directions or telling him where to go.
I think we're about to find out she.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Was telling me where to go.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
So I went up to the door, and we parked
probably about fifty seventy five yards away from the property.
Walk over there or hear a chainsaw going? I see
that there's a gentleman in the back, probably about fifty
yards back into their property with the chainsaw. It looks
like he cut a tree down, and you know, I
could see he's got the ear protection on. And I
(18:09):
was initially going to walk up to him. So I
walked probably about halfway down the driveway, thought better of it,
thought maybe I'll go chuck.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
I don't want to surprise the guy.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
No, and then like Texas chainsaw massacre.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Or he has a piece on him, who knows he's
not going to hear me coming. He didn't see me
because I kind of like waved my arms a little bit.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
He was pretty focused on what he was doing.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
So I went up to the house, ranging the doorbell,
take a couple of stuffs back, as I always do.
I don't want to be all up in somebody's grill.
Thirty seconds later, an older gal. I don't know what
she looked.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Like when you tad, I recognize her immediately that I
spoke to.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah, so she was clearly surprised by my presence. I
then introduced myself. I say his butcher. He says, well,
that's him in the back saw on wood. She says,
what do you want? I said, well, we're back again
and we're investigating what happened over here with your neighbors.
Like right away, she got very upset. You can see
it in her face, you could hear it in her
(19:08):
voice as well, she was agitated immediately. Well, she said,
I don't want to talk about that. It's not something
that I'm wanting to talk about. I'm a very anxious person.
That gets me upset. It just brings back bad memories.
And I said, yeah, you know, I'm trying to be compassionate.
I understand that, and I'm sure that's true for her.
So I'm like, well, you know, do you think your
brother will talk to me? And she says, probably not,
(19:29):
it'll probably run you off. And I said, well, you know,
we're really just trying to find out if this girl
actually did it. And so she did it, and I'm like, well,
what about this call that your brother made talking about
somebody running through the backyard around the time that the
homicides took place, which I didn't say I would have,
(19:50):
but she was very I was trying to get as
much in before I could tell she was going to
shut the door.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
The exact response to that question was quote, I don't
know who that was. But it's interesting that she said
I don't know who that was, right, she doesn't know
who made the call, or she doesn't know who was
running through the backyard. But if you look at the
trajectory and you're running through that, you're going to end
(20:15):
up on Corey Lee Road.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Which is the perfect route for somebody trying to get
out that way, which is towards Marion, towards town.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
You know, that's the direction you're going to have.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
You know you're going to stay off the beaten path,
especially if you're in the midst of trying to escape
a murder scene.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
You know, would makes sense that that's the way that
you go.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Now you can see the little from our vantage point,
you can see the pond right in front of us, right,
I'm assuming that's it, in front of the big there.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Why that pond was not dredged is beyond me.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Man, pull forward, I want to see I want to
see our guy.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
All of this begs to question why Butch, who was
on the prosecution's witness list but never called, seemed so
reluctant to speak to anyone about what he did or
did not see the day of Jade's murder. It's also
interesting to note that the reports we were reading weren't
Busch's first appearance in police files. In December of twenty eleven,
(21:24):
Kenny E. Marx was arrested in Marion and charged with
manufacturing meth and meth related child endangerment in addition to
other meth related offenses. It's also worth mentioning that his son,
also named Kenney Marx, is no stranger to law enforcement either,
having been picked up this past fall on violations sex
(21:44):
offender registry and possession of meth charges. Given Beverly's consistent
placement of her alleged intruder's height being around five to
five it's also of note that the younger Marx height
is listed by police at five foot four inches. I
mention this not to suggest any involvement in Jade's murder,
but rather to highlight that there were known criminals in
(22:06):
the area matching Beverly's description who do not appear to
have been investigated. And there's something else that heavily wooded
area in the back of Butcher's place. Apparently it isn't
just housing trees and hidden ponds. Here's what her sister's boyfriend,
Stephen told Billy Joe.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
So, when I was talking to him, he said to me,
what about the camper in the woods? And I said,
in what woods the camper where? And he said about
a year ago. Me and your sister was into it,
and I didn't have nowhere to stay, So I was
sleeping in my car and I ran into Kenny March.
So he told me I could stay out of his
house and we were out there talking and he told
me there was a camper in the woods that if
(22:45):
I wanted to stay there, I could, but not to
tell nobody because his sister doesn't know that his son
goes out there and stay. That he has to go
there at night. Hey, he don't come in and out
during the day because his sister don't want him on
the park because he's a sex offender.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Wow, So there is basically like an abandoned camper in
the wooded area.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Yeah, so I took it upon myself. Renee actually met
me out there the other day, and there is definitely
something out there. If you look directly behind here to
the right, you can tell there's something there in big trees.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
This blows my mind because if you think about it,
this is the property that's adjacent to the murder scene,
with multiple bodies of water, a heavily wooded area, and
now what we're hearing a makeshift encampment for transient people
and the police don't check it.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
That's what I can't understand why they didn't look back there,
why they didn't search any of that back there.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
We'll revisit that later. Back to Bob and the mention
of Butch on the CAD reports from the day of
the murder.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
Yeah, I mean it doesn't tell us much like it
begs the question why is it in here?
Speaker 1 (24:03):
And why is he on the prosecution's witness list?
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Right and never called right? Well, it's the same with
Aaron Luten. Aaron Luton's the other call that comes in.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Aaron Luton's name came up early and continues to come
up in multiple interviews and very prominently on call records
from the morning of Jade Beasley's murder. A bit past
ten thirty am, a call comes in about a male
subject who stormed out of his house screaming about killing someone.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Here's Bob and Luton is at least reported to be
out on the street acting a fool, screaming and yelling,
wearing a blacktop, wanting a blacktop, threatening to kill people,
saying that he wants somebody to shoot him. When we
first became privy to that call, were obviously pricked our
ears up.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
We're like, well, what's us.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
We went to theme, We went to Julie's trial attorney
and said, what's the deal with Luten?
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Did she dig into this?
Speaker 3 (24:58):
And theene says that she vetted it out and that
her understanding was that Luton had been picked up because
we had heard conflicting stories. Initially we had heard that
he had been left out there acting a fool, and
then and then later themes as well. What I saw
from my discovery was that he was ultimately dropped off
(25:19):
at the hospital.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
But now reading through the call log's timeline, Mata and
I had new questions and reason to revisit Aaron Luton's
exact whereabouts during exact times on December fifth, twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
So like I'm scrolling through, it's as an advisor, as
a mail on the road, screaming and yelling, right, and
that comes in at ten thirty seven on twelve five,
So that's the day of and you know, the timing
fits in terms of when things may have gone down there, Right,
It's a little early for kind of our purposes in
(25:55):
terms of what we think things may have gone down,
But I mean it begs the question if if this
is the beginning of the episode with.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Aaron Luton in it, it just keeps going.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Which is, we're this interesting thing that I noticed in here,
because when we get down to here, So at ten
fifty six, received another call on erin that he's screaming
at groups of people to come shoot him. So that's
a full twenty minutes after the first call. Okay, And
(26:27):
then at ten point fifty eight it says one male
detained and then we get down here, doesn't say what
they're doing with them anywhere as I'm kind of reading through,
whoever took them into custody is now transporting them to
the station, transporting them to a hospital. Because it's interesting
because here it's.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Kin a new call. So now we're at.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Eleven nineteen get this new call, So Marian Police Department
at eleven nineteen forty three unit I'm thirteen Aaron Luton,
Dean created, all right, and then you've got twelve thirty
seven event cleared by recheck, no active units.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
This is where it got a little weird to me.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
So it says that at sixteen eleven comments changed to
mail take into Heartland for evaluation, but change from where.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
And look at that time period, right.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Huge gap in time.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Yeah, it puts us at four eleven says that he's
taken to the hospital. So does that mean that this
comment is changed or is that when the event happened.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
And does that mean they have him in custody for
hours or does that mean that I don't know. So
that window if they last were with him at eleven nineteen,
and then it's not clear as to whether or not
they left him right, but where was he from eleven
(27:55):
nineteen until four o'clock? And if he were in that
state and left, that's the same timeline.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
That would fit with the murder. Right when this episode
was being edited, I was still awaiting response from Williamson
County on the multiple requests I'd made for information regarding Luton.
He was, however, on the radar of both Beverly's defense
and the prosecution. Here's what Renee was told happened.
Speaker 8 (28:24):
Cindy Gatman, the lead investigator on this, had him at
the station questioning him, and she said her first question
to him was do you know anything about the child
that was murdered out in the country, And his response
to that question was which one s what?
Speaker 4 (28:45):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (28:47):
And he has a rap sheet that includes burglary, robbery, assault,
and domestic battery. At the time of this episode's release,
Luton was incarcerated, having been sentenced to eleven years in
December of twenty twenty one for attempting to disarma an
officer who'd responded to a domestic violence call. I've attempted
(29:10):
to email Aaron Luton in prison multiple times. He's only
responded once with a subject line pemp that's pimp, with
the attached message what up, bro?
Speaker 2 (29:21):
I would killed to get into talk to this guy.
Speaker 8 (29:24):
I don't know when he was at the hospital because
if Cindy Gaman was at the house, and that's around
because Julie was still at the house of this time.
When was he at the police station?
Speaker 1 (29:36):
When did you pick him up? If that were true,
why would he have been brought in for questioning? And
I've asked for that video. As I was finishing this episode,
I received documents that state Luton was in an ambulance
at eleven eight am on the day of the murder,
arriving at the hospital at eleven twenty six am, ultimately
(29:59):
being discharged at nine thirty eight pm, which rules him
out as a suspect. I also received video of the interrogation,
which happened at the end of July twenty twenty one,
nearly eight months after Jade's murder and Beverly's arrest, while
Renee's version of his interrogation was off. This is what
Luton replied when asked about Jade Beasley's murder.
Speaker 6 (30:22):
Where did she get found?
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Yeah, which who's murdered?
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Where was she in?
Speaker 6 (30:29):
Huh?
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Was she in something?
Speaker 5 (30:32):
What do you mean both?
Speaker 6 (30:35):
I'm just saying, I'm just I've been in a one
a year ago, twenty a year ago. Okay, just I'll.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Let you guys speak. Geitman doesn't appear to pursue that
line of questioning. Still, why was Luton Mike Butch on
the prosecution's witness list but never called to testify? Murder
and Songbird Road will continue after the break Here again
(31:04):
is Murder on Songbird Road? Butch and Aaron aside, we
had other pressing questions. For instance, the dispatch events summary
notes that three different officers Welgi, Sloane, and Ward, administered
CPR to Jade Beasley at the scene, all before ems arrived.
If the prosecution's timeline is accurate and Jade was murdered
(31:25):
between nine thirty and ten fifteen am. Why would multiple
officers attempt CPR on her more than two hours later?
And why was a metavac reportedly called according to the
CAD notes, nearly a half an hour after police arrived,
only to be canceled. Listen carefully to Danny Vaye's report
(31:46):
on the day of the arrest.
Speaker 9 (31:47):
Zanami says police and EMTs arrived Saturday, shortly after the
ninety one one.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Call was made.
Speaker 9 (31:53):
When they got there, they found Beasley with multiple stab wounds,
and Beasley later died at the scene.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
So Jade Beasley died more than two hours after the
prosecution alleged Julia Beverly killed her. Then there's this the
adjacent property, wood, small bodies of water, and known transient activity.
Why wasn't this area searched or investigated? And why weren't
any other potential suspects actually considered.
Speaker 6 (32:22):
He said that she left the residence with Jade alone
in the home for a short time and return home
to find an unidentified male fleeing. The investigation has proven
this story to be false, But did it.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
These questions only added to the larger issues we'd already
uncovered tunnel vision, a lack of presumption of innocence, and
even allegations of witchcraft, none of which the prosecution tied
to motive or concrete evidence. All of this was weighing
on my mind as I prepared to make this introduction.
Jason Flom Bob Mada, Bob j Nice to meet you.
Speaker 4 (33:01):
Man.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Jason Flamm is a founding board member of The Innocence
Project and co host and creator of the Wrongful Conviction
podcast series, which is credited with helping to free nearly
two dozen people. It's also inspired legislators in three different
states that we know of to change laws to make
the justice system more just. But Flamm is best known
(33:22):
for his legendary career in the music industry as the
record executive behind the success of artists like skid Row, Stone,
Temple Pilots, Lord, Katy Perry, and many more.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
I've been a big admirer of what you do out
there as a criminal defense guy for a long time.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
Man.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I appreciate the fact that you could have probably done
anything that you wanted with your life after your career,
and then you chose to do this. Hits me right
in all the fields. So I was pretty excited to
meet you.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Man.
Speaker 10 (33:54):
Part of it is trying to make your job and
people that do the same type of work that you do,
to make your job a little easier and tip to
scales of justice somewhere closer instead of being ninety ten,
like making at least, you know, somewhat of a fairer fight.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Jason and I met years ago while I was working
on a podcast called Murder in Oregon. Because Wrongful Conviction
was and still is one of my favorite podcasts. I
picked up a freelance television shoot in New York City
just to meet him, not knowing he was binging Murder
and Oregon at the time. We've been friends since. Jason
Flohm brings a pragmatic and brutally honest take to our
(34:31):
justice system.
Speaker 10 (34:32):
It's amazing how in America, the land of the free right,
it's the most incarcerated nation in the history of the world.
Not only do we have twenty five percent of the
world's prison population, but we have thirty three percent of
the world's female prison population. And I would even go
so far as to say that we reserve the worst treatment.
There's no lack of horror stories taking place right this
(34:56):
very minute. In jails and prisons all over the country,
men's facilities, women's facilities, you name it. But I think
the idea that we lock women up and remove them
from their families, their children, right, and we know that
bond is stronger than anything, and innocent or guilty, we
(35:16):
don't care, right, We just do it.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
I'd started sending flown background and updates on Beverly's case
even before we started digging in.
Speaker 10 (35:24):
I can't even think about this case without thinking about
another Julie from Illinois whose son was murdered, who got
blamed for it. Right with Julie Ray I'm talking about, right,
who is one of my favorite human beings and just
an absolutely remarkable human being. And then there's Michelle Murphy.
And you know, you have these cases where these women
(35:45):
kid even Melissa Lucio, right, any of these ones where
the woman's baby or child is taken from them in
the most horrendous way. That doesn't apply to Melissa, that
was just an accident. In many of these cases where
there is an actual murder, like in Michelle Murphy's case,
they've lost the thing they love most in the world
(36:05):
in the most terrifying way.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
For those not familiar with these high profile cases of
mothers wrongfully convicted of murdering their own children will link
to their wrongful conviction episodes in the show description.
Speaker 10 (36:18):
And they don't even have a moment to grieve, right,
because they're taken to the police station. Because here's the
other theme. They're the ones who found the body, right,
or they're the ones who are approximate to it. So,
you know, lazy policing if that's maybe.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
That investigating and prosecuting.
Speaker 10 (36:34):
Yeah, it's just like, well, you've found the body. You're
good for it, right, It's good enough, it's close enough.
And so I don't know what to tell somebody. Somebody's listening.
They're like, well, what if I find about it? What
should I do? I don't know, go to Brazil.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Unless you want to be the guy.
Speaker 10 (36:48):
It's really bad. But I mean you kind of have
to call it in. I mean, what are you going
to like? It's really there's no good answer there. But
you know, keep track of your movements and you know,
and call and get a lawyer quick, because you know,
everyone thinks I shouldn't get lawyercause it makes me look
like I might be guilty. But no, you need to
get a lawyer because it makes you look smart.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
Julie didn't lawyer up.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
Not only was she the one to call it in,
she was the last one to see Jade alive. So
she had the double whammy where you're automatically the person
you're it, you know, like they're not doing any work
beyond that.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
And it's exactly what happened to her.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
And they played heavily into the evil stepmother dynamic on this,
and race was definitely an issue. We went to Marion,
and I mean it is a lily white town.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
I didn't see one black person the entire time I
was there, except at the hotel.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
And aside, Marian is still more diverse than the all
white jury that found Beverly guilty. Amidst much racially charged
chatter on social media and local sites before, during, and
after her trial, post like this one from a Marian
resident who goes by Chucky quote a black girl killed her,
so BLM, which stands for Black Lives Matter, and its
(38:01):
idiot followers are doing anything they can to screw the investigation. Linda,
who appears to be a white haired grandma from nearby Buckner, Illinois,
posted I say in all caps hang the bitch. She
deserves it, and Daniel from neighboring West Frankfurt brought the
lynching theme fully home with this should give her a
(38:24):
tall tree and a short piece of rope. Meanwhile, Renee
High Tower was receiving voicemails like this one, which was
left by a pre k teacher from a neighboring town.
Your family's trash, your mixed trash back to Jason Flohm.
Speaker 10 (38:41):
I mean, the whole thing is so nuts and it's
like it also reminds me a little bit of the
Christine Bunch case right where the prosecutor in that case,
Ashley said to the jury and she was convicted of
murdering her her only child, four year old, we acknowledge
that we don't have a motive, but that shouldn't prevent you.
I'm paraphrasing, right, but he said, we admitted we don't
have a motive, but that shouldn't prevent you the jury
(39:03):
from convicting, and sure enough they did. So this one's
like that too. What the hell would the motive possibly.
Speaker 1 (39:09):
Be, Jason, You have no idea? How spot on that
is because the argument from the prosecution was that they
couldn't test everything you know, they never presented a motive
and ultimately they didn't really have any concrete physical evidence. Yeah,
(39:30):
and Julie, very much like all of the red flag
hallmarks of a wrongful conviction. There was an instant presumption
of guilt. There was tunnel vision, there was trial in
the community on social media. She was tried and convicted
in the local news and again held for two years
(39:51):
almost before she set foot in that court.
Speaker 10 (39:55):
When the forces of prosecution and the whole justice system
police prosecution in this case, to judge all of these
people when they sort of conspire may not be the
right word, but let's use that for lack of a
better one. To railroad somebody.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
They are literally acting.
Speaker 10 (40:14):
In concert in service of the person who actually committed
the crime, because the single best thing that can happen
to that person is that somebody else gets convicted and
everybody stops looking for them. Right, It's like, hey, you
hit the jackpot, buddy, you got away with it. Bingo.
We have this adversarial system right where the prosecution's trying
(40:38):
to win and the defense is trying to defend their client.
What we need is an inquisitorial system, right, We should
all want to get to the truth because whoever did this,
that's a person we need to really reckon.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
With will lay all of that out going forward, but
others can and did make the case against Beverly based
on additional back facts we were about to dissect while
going through the trial transcripts.
Speaker 11 (41:04):
The lies, to me were the biggest problem because as
soon as you start lying the law.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
Enforcement and they figure it out.
Speaker 11 (41:11):
Immediately, you're done. In their minds, there's no reason to
lie about anything other than the fact that you didn't
and you're trying to cover your tracks.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
On the next Murder on Songbird Road access to the
initial interrogation video and DNA collection raises new concerns.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
The DNA on the arm, which to me was probably
the smoking gun in this case, and criticism there was
a lot of red flags.
Speaker 8 (41:38):
Let me say that if I was training here, I
would have stopped.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Me while Julie's friends way in on the delay in
calling nine one one. I can't even imagine how she
even got the phone to call. Murder on Songbird Road
is a production of iHeart Podcasts. Our executive producers are
Taylor Chacogne and Lauren Bright Pacheco. Research writing and hosting
(42:01):
by Lauren Bright Pacheco. Investigative reporting by Bob Matta and
Lauren Bright Pacheco. Editing, sound design and original music by
Evan Tyre and Taylor Chicoine. Additional music by Asher Kurtz.
Archival elements courtesy of WSIL News three. Please like, subscribe,
and leave us a review. Wherever you're listening, you can
(42:23):
follow me on all platforms at Lauren Bright Pacheco and
email the show with thought, suggestions or tips at Investigating
Murder at iHeartMedia dot com. For more iHeart podcasts, visit
(42:50):
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
favorite shows. Thanks for listening.
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Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.