April 20, 2024 • 10 mins
How does a tale of young love morph into a harrowing crime story? We'll escort you through the chilling events that followed James Berry's decision to end his relationship with Melanie Eam, cloaked in the digital veil of a gaming chat app. Their story is not just one of passion turned perilous, but a stark reminder of how quickly a seemingly serene life can spiral into chaos. With voices from those who knew them best, including James' mother, Nicola Berry, and his friend, Jeff Jarzabkowski, we reconstruct the fateful night of November 16, 2016, in Loxahatchee, Florida—a night that culminated in a frantic 911 call and a community left reeling from the loss of a young life.
Discover the intricacies of a case where the only witnesses were the walls of a home that once echoed with cheerful gaming banter. As we scrutinize the evidence left behind—a deadly weapon, a scene devoid of signs of a break-in, and the heart-wrenching aftermath—we confront the stark reality of a murder with more questions than answers. This episode is not just a recounting of a crime; it's an examination of the human condition, the dark potential that lies within passion, and the profound impact of tragedy on a family and a community. Tune in for an episode that promises to be as gripping as it is haunting, while paying homage to a 21-year-old whose life was cut tragically short.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A love of video games brought together James Berry
and Melanie Eam.
However, when James broke upwith Melanie via a gaming chat
app, it sent her into ahomicidal rage.
Welcome to another episode ofHuman Wreckage.
This is the heartbreaking caseof young love gone bad.
What happens when one personfalls out of love and the other
person refuses to let go?
(00:21):
Let's get into it.
James Berry was born in 1995 andgrew up on a Florida homestead
filled with cats, dogs andhorses.
James was known for his senseof adventure and his kindness.
(00:59):
When James was seven, hisparents divorced.
Alexandra went to live with herfather, while James stayed with
his mom.
Both parents, however, remainedcommitted to raising their
children together.
As he grew into a teenager,james became a committed student
and stayed out of troubleOutside of school work.
His main interest was gaming.
(01:20):
He loved video games.
He was a gamer.
Alexandra said that was hiseverything.
During his senior year of highschool, james began dating
fellow gamer, melanie Eam.
Shy and soft-spoken, she becamea fixture of the Barrys' home
life, often spending theholidays with them.
When James graduated highschool, melanie dropped out and
(01:41):
got a GED in order to follow himto Palm Beach State College.
They often took the sameclasses together, just to be
with each other all the time,but that all ended during
November 2016.
At 12 52 am on the morning ofNovember 16, 2016, a 911 in
Loxahatchee, florida, received afrantic call from Nicola Berry,
(02:02):
james' mother.
Somebody came in and stabbed myson and he's bleeding.
Nicola is heard saying on arecording of her 911 call.
When police arrived, they foundthe crumpled body of James
Berry, surrounded by his mother,her boyfriend, guy Hand, and
James' friend, jeff Jarzabkowski.
There was blood everywhere.
James is suffering from a verysevere stab wound to the chest.
(02:24):
He also is suffering from avery severe stab wound to the
chest.
He also is suffering from anumber of different sharp force
injuries, both stab wounds andslice wounds.
Despite the efforts of firstresponders, james Berry died
before reaching a hospital.
According to local newspaper,he was 21 years old.
(02:46):
Palm Beach County Sheriff'sDetective Sean Oliver arrived at
the Berry home and beganinvestigating the crime scene.
On the kitchen counter he foundthe murder weapon.
This knife was no ordinarykitchen knife.
This knife had a long blade,roughly 10 inches long.
It was curved, very sharp.
Palm Beach County Sheriff'sDetective Sean Oliver stated.
Jeff Jarzabkowski tolddetectives he was sleeping over
at James' home that night.
(03:07):
He fell asleep on James' bedaround 9 30 while his friend
played a video game.
He woke me up when I wassleeping and he said Jeff, just
so you know, I think it's overJarzabkowski has heard saying on
his recorded statement.
Then I fell back asleep.
I woke up and then I heard aloud bang and then all of the
sudden he stormed in the room,hit the door, turned on the
(03:29):
light and as he was running inhe said Jeff, help, help, please
get out of here, help.
James then collapsed on the bed.
He had been stabbed multipletimes and was bleeding profusely
.
Guy Hand came into the room andattempted CPR while Nicola
Berry called 911.
There was blood gushing out andthen I put my hands on his
(03:50):
chest.
I was holding it.
I didn't know what to do.
I was holding the blood and itwas just coming out.
Jarzybkowski tearfully tolddetectives.
Nicola said it was a typicalnight at home before havoc
ensued.
She and the boys had dinnertogether before they retired to
Jeff's bedroom.
I heard Jeff I guess about 1o'clock screaming Help, help,
(04:11):
help, come.
Nicola told detectives on herrecorded statement.
Hans said that when he enteredthe bedroom and saw James
covered in blood.
He thought the boys wereplaying a prank on him.
He found the murder weapon onthe floor outside James' bedroom
and put it on the kitchencounter so no one would step on
it.
Detectives didn't consider anyof the people inside the home as
(04:32):
potential suspects.
None of them, however, saw whomurdered James and there were no
signs of a break-in.
A pink cell phone, though, wasfound on the back patio, just
outside the back door, which wasajar.
I had to confirm with thevictim's mother, nicola, that
this cell phone that was foundon the patio belonged to the
victim's girlfriend, melanieOliver said when detectives
(04:53):
asked Nicola if Eam could havemurdered James, she dismissed
the idea.
Eam was shy and meek, not thetype to explode into violence.
Eam's mother soon arrived at theBerry home.
She said she couldn't get ahold of her daughter.
The last time she saw Eam shewas upset and sped off in her
white Toyota Corolla.
Detectives spoke with James'father, who said on the night of
(05:16):
the murder he was exchangingtext messages with his son.
James told his father he wasplanning on breaking up with Eam
.
The night of the breakup hislast words to my father were
it's going to hurt a lot, saidAlexandra.
Detectives obtained a searchwarrant to access Eames' phone.
On it they found text messageson a gaming chat app between her
(05:36):
and James.
On the night of the murder,james told her he wanted to
break up.
The messages clearly indicatethat she is quite distraught and
upset over that relationshipending, scott said.
Home security camera footagefrom one of the Barry's
neighbors caught Melanie's cararriving in the neighborhood
just before James' murder, thenleaving immediately after.
(05:56):
The Palm Beach County Sheriff'snamed Melanie Eam as a person of
interest in the murder of JamesBarry on Nov 17, 2016.
Jarzybkowski told detectivesthat James had tried to break up
with Melanie several times inthe past.
He said she was possessive andinsisted James spend all his
time with her.
She despises me because I'm theonly one that will tell James
(06:18):
to break up with her, because Iknow her for what she is and
she's severely mentally unstable.
Jarzybkowski told detectivesduring a taped interview.
James had told Jarzybkowskithat after one breakup, eam
picked up a knife and threatenedto stab herself.
Eam's family sent her to staywith relatives in Maryland,
hoping to put some distance onthe relationship.
(06:40):
After several months apart,james and Eam rekindled their
romance in the summer of 2016.
Detectives tracked Eam toSilver Springs, maryland, where
she was staying with relativesUnder the guise of a wellness
check.
Local police went to speak withher.
I'm just wondering when shouldI go in for the questioning?
Eam asked the officers anincident captured on one of
(07:00):
their body cams.
Later that day, detectives fromthe Palm Beach County Sheriff's
Office arrived at the home.
They sat down with Eam at akitchen table where she told
detectives that when James brokeup with her via text message,
she was extremely hurt.
He said for months that hedidn't actually love me, eam
told detectives in her recordedstatement.
(07:20):
After driving to James' home toconfront him in person, eam flew
into a rage, grabbed a knifeout of a kitchen drawer and went
on the attack.
She told detectives she wasn'tsure how many times she stabbed
James.
According to the Palm BeachPost, before detectives left,
eam provided them with the shirtshe was wearing on the night of
the murder, still covered inJames' blood.
(07:41):
Rather than arrest herimmediately, detectives waited
to review the details withprosecutors in Florida.
The following morning, theyarrested Eam for second-degree
murder.
At Eam's first trial in the fallof 2018, her defense team
effectively cast suspicion onothers present at the Berry home
on the night of the murder.
The judge declared a mistrialafter jurors were unable to
(08:03):
reach a verdict.
Knowing Eam's defense strategy,prosecutors were able to
prepare for her second murdertrial.
On January 10, 2019, melanieEames was found guilty of
second-degree murder for thestabbing death of James Barry.
In April 2019, melanie Eameswas sentenced to 50 years in
prison, now 25, she is scheduledfor release in 2066.
(08:26):
It is always difficult whensomeone you love has a change of
heart about loving you, butthere is so many people out
there Always can find a new love.
But it is always easy to sayunless you are actually going
through the heartache, onecannot fully understand what
Melanie was thinking.
Our condolences go out toJames' family.
Thank you for joining me onthis episode.
(08:48):
See you next time.
Take care of yourselves.
Thank you you.
A love of video games brought together James Berry
and Melanie Eam.
However, when James broke upwith Melanie via a gaming chat
app, it sent her into ahomicidal rage.
Welcome to another episode ofHuman Wreckage.
This is the heartbreaking caseof young love gone bad.
What happens when one personfalls out of love and the other
person refuses to let go?
(00:21):
Let's get into it.
James Berry was born in 1995 andgrew up on a Florida homestead
filled with cats, dogs andhorses.
James was known for his senseof adventure and his kindness.
(00:59):
When James was seven, hisparents divorced.
Alexandra went to live with herfather, while James stayed with
his mom.
Both parents, however, remainedcommitted to raising their
children together.
As he grew into a teenager,james became a committed student
and stayed out of troubleOutside of school work.
His main interest was gaming.
(01:20):
He loved video games.
He was a gamer.
Alexandra said that was hiseverything.
During his senior year of highschool, james began dating
fellow gamer, melanie Eam.
Shy and soft-spoken, she becamea fixture of the Barrys' home
life, often spending theholidays with them.
When James graduated highschool, melanie dropped out and
(01:41):
got a GED in order to follow himto Palm Beach State College.
They often took the sameclasses together, just to be
with each other all the time,but that all ended during
November 2016.
At 12 52 am on the morning ofNovember 16, 2016, a 911 in
Loxahatchee, florida, received afrantic call from Nicola Berry,
(02:02):
james' mother.
Somebody came in and stabbed myson and he's bleeding.
Nicola is heard saying on arecording of her 911 call.
When police arrived, they foundthe crumpled body of James
Berry, surrounded by his mother,her boyfriend, guy Hand, and
James' friend, jeff Jarzabkowski.
There was blood everywhere.
James is suffering from a verysevere stab wound to the chest.
(02:24):
He also is suffering from avery severe stab wound to the
chest.
He also is suffering from anumber of different sharp force
injuries, both stab wounds andslice wounds.
Despite the efforts of firstresponders, james Berry died
before reaching a hospital.
According to local newspaper,he was 21 years old.
(02:46):
Palm Beach County Sheriff'sDetective Sean Oliver arrived at
the Berry home and beganinvestigating the crime scene.
On the kitchen counter he foundthe murder weapon.
This knife was no ordinarykitchen knife.
This knife had a long blade,roughly 10 inches long.
It was curved, very sharp.
Palm Beach County Sheriff'sDetective Sean Oliver stated.
Jeff Jarzabkowski tolddetectives he was sleeping over
at James' home that night.
(03:07):
He fell asleep on James' bedaround 9 30 while his friend
played a video game.
He woke me up when I wassleeping and he said Jeff, just
so you know, I think it's overJarzabkowski has heard saying on
his recorded statement.
Then I fell back asleep.
I woke up and then I heard aloud bang and then all of the
sudden he stormed in the room,hit the door, turned on the
(03:29):
light and as he was running inhe said Jeff, help, help, please
get out of here, help.
James then collapsed on the bed.
He had been stabbed multipletimes and was bleeding profusely
.
Guy Hand came into the room andattempted CPR while Nicola
Berry called 911.
There was blood gushing out andthen I put my hands on his
(03:50):
chest.
I was holding it.
I didn't know what to do.
I was holding the blood and itwas just coming out.
Jarzybkowski tearfully tolddetectives.
Nicola said it was a typicalnight at home before havoc
ensued.
She and the boys had dinnertogether before they retired to
Jeff's bedroom.
I heard Jeff I guess about 1o'clock screaming Help, help,
(04:11):
help, come.
Nicola told detectives on herrecorded statement.
Hans said that when he enteredthe bedroom and saw James
covered in blood.
He thought the boys wereplaying a prank on him.
He found the murder weapon onthe floor outside James' bedroom
and put it on the kitchencounter so no one would step on
it.
Detectives didn't consider anyof the people inside the home as
(04:32):
potential suspects.
None of them, however, saw whomurdered James and there were no
signs of a break-in.
A pink cell phone, though, wasfound on the back patio, just
outside the back door, which wasajar.
I had to confirm with thevictim's mother, nicola, that
this cell phone that was foundon the patio belonged to the
victim's girlfriend, melanieOliver said when detectives
(04:53):
asked Nicola if Eam could havemurdered James, she dismissed
the idea.
Eam was shy and meek, not thetype to explode into violence.
Eam's mother soon arrived at theBerry home.
She said she couldn't get ahold of her daughter.
The last time she saw Eam shewas upset and sped off in her
white Toyota Corolla.
Detectives spoke with James'father, who said on the night of
(05:16):
the murder he was exchangingtext messages with his son.
James told his father he wasplanning on breaking up with Eam
.
The night of the breakup hislast words to my father were
it's going to hurt a lot, saidAlexandra.
Detectives obtained a searchwarrant to access Eames' phone.
On it they found text messageson a gaming chat app between her
(05:36):
and James.
On the night of the murder,james told her he wanted to
break up.
The messages clearly indicatethat she is quite distraught and
upset over that relationshipending, scott said.
Home security camera footagefrom one of the Barry's
neighbors caught Melanie's cararriving in the neighborhood
just before James' murder, thenleaving immediately after.
(05:56):
The Palm Beach County Sheriff'snamed Melanie Eam as a person of
interest in the murder of JamesBarry on Nov 17, 2016.
Jarzybkowski told detectivesthat James had tried to break up
with Melanie several times inthe past.
He said she was possessive andinsisted James spend all his
time with her.
She despises me because I'm theonly one that will tell James
(06:18):
to break up with her, because Iknow her for what she is and
she's severely mentally unstable.
Jarzybkowski told detectivesduring a taped interview.
James had told Jarzybkowskithat after one breakup, eam
picked up a knife and threatenedto stab herself.
Eam's family sent her to staywith relatives in Maryland,
hoping to put some distance onthe relationship.
(06:40):
After several months apart,james and Eam rekindled their
romance in the summer of 2016.
Detectives tracked Eam toSilver Springs, maryland, where
she was staying with relativesUnder the guise of a wellness
check.
Local police went to speak withher.
I'm just wondering when shouldI go in for the questioning?
Eam asked the officers anincident captured on one of
(07:00):
their body cams.
Later that day, detectives fromthe Palm Beach County Sheriff's
Office arrived at the home.
They sat down with Eam at akitchen table where she told
detectives that when James brokeup with her via text message,
she was extremely hurt.
He said for months that hedidn't actually love me, eam
told detectives in her recordedstatement.
(07:20):
After driving to James' home toconfront him in person, eam flew
into a rage, grabbed a knifeout of a kitchen drawer and went
on the attack.
She told detectives she wasn'tsure how many times she stabbed
James.
According to the Palm BeachPost, before detectives left,
eam provided them with the shirtshe was wearing on the night of
the murder, still covered inJames' blood.
(07:41):
Rather than arrest herimmediately, detectives waited
to review the details withprosecutors in Florida.
The following morning, theyarrested Eam for second-degree
murder.
At Eam's first trial in the fallof 2018, her defense team
effectively cast suspicion onothers present at the Berry home
on the night of the murder.
The judge declared a mistrialafter jurors were unable to
(08:03):
reach a verdict.
Knowing Eam's defense strategy,prosecutors were able to
prepare for her second murdertrial.
On January 10, 2019, melanieEames was found guilty of
second-degree murder for thestabbing death of James Barry.
In April 2019, melanie Eameswas sentenced to 50 years in
prison, now 25, she is scheduledfor release in 2066.
(08:26):
It is always difficult whensomeone you love has a change of
heart about loving you, butthere is so many people out
there Always can find a new love.
But it is always easy to sayunless you are actually going
through the heartache, onecannot fully understand what
Melanie was thinking.
Our condolences go out toJames' family.
Thank you for joining me onthis episode.
(08:48):
See you next time.
Take care of yourselves.
Thank you you.
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