November 8, 2023 • 31 mins
With Jan Barry Sandlin’s murder trial approaching, Prosecutors unearth new evidence that changes their entire understanding of the case. As the trial begins, Tracyraquel confronts one of her toughest challenges yet; coming face to face with Jan Barry Sandlin in the courtroom. This is the first time Tracyraquel has been in the same room with her father since she was a little girl. The trial and the long road to justice for baby Matthew begins.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Nearly two decades after her baby brother's death, Tracy Riquel
Burns had finally captured the attention of law enforcement. Her
fight was now their fight. And despite medical records that
stated mother says two year old threw baby out of
(00:25):
crib and that's what led to his death, Decab County
officials did not think Tracy Riquel killed the four month
old baby. In fact, in December of nineteen ninety six,
they felt they had enough evidence to indict Tracy Riquel's father,
Jane Barry Sandlin. They unearthed Matthew's tiny casket from the
(00:49):
grave twenty six years after his death. They dug into
the ground, expecting dust. Instead, they struck gold. I'm Nancy Glass.
This is burden of Guilt. Episode four, The Body keeps
(01:10):
the Score. After four month old Matthew's casket was exzoomed
from the cemetery, it was driven to the medical Examiner's
office in Birmingham, Alabama, where a new autopsy would be performed.
Medical Examiner doctor Burton, his team, and the prosecutors were present.
(01:32):
Former Assistant District Attorney Lee and man Bone.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I remember doctor Burton talking about Matthew using his name,
and that really stuck with me that there was a
level of compassion about the experience and not just looking
at what we were doing is exhooming a body, but
looking at it as trying to find out the truth
of what happened to Matthew.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Former Decab County District Attorney Jay Tom Morgan.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Our protocol requires that when there's a death of a child,
a prosecutor be present for the autopsy. It helps us
understand what the doctor is going to testify to you later.
When the casket was opened, that future smell came out
and I distinctly remember it.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
And everyone was surprised by that smell because it indicated
that human remains still existed. Because of that, there was
hope that the exhumation would pay off. Lead Assistant District
Attorney Jeff Brickman was there.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
I remember doctor Burden carefully opening the casket and remember
seeing a little boy completely intact.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Medical examiner doctor Stephen Duntan.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
There was still hair on his scalp and he was
dressed as an infant would be.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
It was a new, unforgettable, horrible, unimaginable moment. I had
to step away.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Doctor Burton gently lifted the child out of the casket,
took him to the ipopsy table and cut the clothes
off with the pair of scissors.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
The room was equipped to record the evidence.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
The medical issama has ans ray unlike the ones in
an emergency room because it's on an autopsy table.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
And as much as you wanted the evidence to be
there and this was good news, you can only imagine
that for everybody in the room, it was just awful.
He still looked like a baby frozen in time.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
So there's this little infant on the autopsy table with
a camera from the S ray machine looking down on it.
SS rays are being taken. We can see on a
large screen while those s rays are projacked. Team I
had seen multiple skull fractures and babies before, and the
(04:06):
first thing I noticed was bilateral fractures on each side
of the child's skull.
Speaker 6 (04:11):
There was one on the left and one on the right,
and it was a very complex fracture.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Part of it looked like the backwards question mark.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Someone may have hit this child with his fist, which
could have caused the question mark skull fracture.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Then they took a closer look at Matthew's foot.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Doctor Burton pointed out that there had been a burn
on the left foot of the child. The discoloration was
still there. How does a four and a half month
old in a crib get a burn inside the foot
unless it's put there by an adult, either by a
cigarette cigar or maybe even a lighter. After the ontopsy,
(04:57):
we were all ready to go forward with the prosecution.
Not only were we one hundred percent, but this child
had been tortured before, he had been violently killed.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Based on the physical evidence and the fact that really
this had to have been committed by an adult, and
Jan Berry Sandlin was the only adult that was left
with matt.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
The original indictment of Jan was for the murder of
Matthew Golder, but after the investigation, exhumation, and autoxy, the
prosecution expanded the charges.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
Jan Sandlin was charged with malice, murder, felony, murder, cruelty
to children, and aggravated assault. And we felt really good.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
About it, and now little Matthew would return to his
place of rest.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Matt was taken back to the cemetery and got to
go back to sleep, and then we went back to
Atlanta and got ready for trial.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
And while the prosecutor's office went to work Matthew's father,
Cathy's first husband appeared.
Speaker 7 (06:01):
Someone in my life at the time had sought ted
Golder out, thinking it would be beneficial to me.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Now, ted Golder was listed on Tracy Raquel's birth certificate
as her father, but Kathy was having an affair with
Jan when Tracy Raquel was conceived, so she didn't know
who her biological father really was, and frankly, she didn't
even care that much. But she had taken ted Golder's
(06:27):
name because she didn't want to be associated with Jan
Barry Sandlin. So tell me about ted Golder.
Speaker 7 (06:35):
Ted Golder was a very nice man. He really wanted
to know if I was his daughter. He asked if
I would do a paternity test, which I sure. You know,
he was in Atlanta, I was in Savannah, and we
did that now while we were waiting for the results
to come back, and we talked daily, just about things
(06:59):
and people, and it was a nice thing. The maternity
Jess came back and he called and he said, you're
not my daughter, And he said, you know what, you're
a really nice woman. I wish the best for you,
but I don't want anything else to do with you.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
What was that like?
Speaker 4 (07:22):
For you.
Speaker 7 (07:24):
This is where it gets really hard to feel like
there's not something wrong with you. And I had his name,
so yeah, he said, you know, I would appreciate it
if you don't use my name Golder, You're not my child.
Speaker 6 (07:41):
And that was it.
Speaker 7 (07:42):
I never heard from him again.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
The situation with Ted Golder was another heartbreak, but Tracy
Raquel could not let this latest disappointment deter her. She
had to focus on getting justice from Matthew. She knew
even with the trial said nothing about this be easy.
There were no guarantees. The second autopsy of Matthew Golder
(08:10):
had been a revelation. What they found out amazed everyone.
And one of the things they learned was that there
had been a first autopsy. When they exsumed the body,
they saw the markings. So where did that report go. Well,
apparently in nineteen seventy one, it went home with the coroner.
But this was still a very old case and there
(08:32):
were no witnesses, so that created a lot of challenges
for the prosecution. Former Assistant District Attorney Jeff Brickman.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
While we had prosecuted some cold cases, this was the coldest.
This was frigid, and we knew when I say we
Leanne and I and doctor Burton and j Tom Morgan,
our boss, knew there was going to be a hefty
fight in front of us at trial.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
I was pretty unwavering in my belief that there were
only two people, two adults, who could have been involved
in Matthew's murder, and it didn't make any logical sense
that it would be Kathy.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
We were going to have to recreate history. We were
going to have to put that crime scene back together.
It was not by any stretch of slam dunk, and
we knew that.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Putting the crime scene back together started with Matthew's crib.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
We contacted Sears and Robot. They did not have that crib,
but they had the dimensions of the model, and we
hired a carpenter to rebuild a crib just like that
one so the jury could see how just unlikely, not
impossible for a two year old to climb over in
and then throw a four month all out.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
It was critically important that the crib was on the
second floor of their apartment, which doctor Burton told me
meant that there would have been some give to the
floor because it would have been on a wood and
a subfloor as opposed to be on concrete on a
concrete slab, and so there just was no way for
the amount of force that would have been required for
those injuries to have been generated by a fall onto
(10:08):
a floor of that type.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
There were several witnesses that had to be prepared for
the trial, including Tracy Riquel's mother, Kathy Alman. She would
turn out to be one of the state's key witnesses.
Lee and Mangon was the person who prepared Kathy, and
she had a lot of time to observe her behavior.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I remember that Kathy was quiet and passive. It was
clear that Kathy was still scared of Jan.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
And Kathy was sticking to her story.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
She was very clear on the timeline of what happened
to the day that Matthew died.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
She said that when she came home from running errands,
she took Tracy Raquel into the apartment and then Jan
instructed her to get the laundry out of the car.
When she came back upstairs, she found Matthew on the
floor unresponsive.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
I remember Kathy seemingly knowing what really had happened, but
not being willing to admit that to herself. But I
suspect on some level, Kathy always knew that story didn't
make any sense.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Jeff Brickman said earlier that the case wasn't a slam dunk.
One reason for that was Sandland's lawyer.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Karen Mall was Jan Berry Sandlin's defense attorney. Corin Mall
was an incredibly effective advocate in every trial where I faced.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Her, Leanne and I knew Karen we had had cases
against her. She was very comfortable in this particular courtroom.
She and Judge Fuller got along well. He respected her
as did other judges, but that was sort of like
her home turf, and Karen was a bulldog.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
The media and the public were fascinated by the case.
A little girl, a two year old who had been
framed for her brother's death, grows up and realizes it's
all a lie. The courthouse opened its doors on July ninth,
nineteen ninety seven.
Speaker 8 (12:05):
Everybody, get you sixth place.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Tracy Raquel sat in the District Attorney's office waiting to
be sworn in.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
All right, get that name be see please.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Facing the bench was Jan Barry Sandlin and a white
Oxford shirt and pattern tie. He rocked back and forth
in his chair with a wad of gum in his
right cheek.
Speaker 9 (12:29):
Counsel Va proceed with.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
His attorney seated next to him. Jan's appearance was confident, cocky,
making direct eye contact with anyone who spoke to him
or about him. So how do we know all those details? Well,
the trial was recorded. Today we're used to seeing court
cases on television, but back in nineteen ninety seven it
(12:52):
was still relatively new. Judge Hilton Fuller Junior felt the
public should be able to see the court proceeding in
real time. The presence of a TV camera would have
a major impact on the case. Because Judge Fuller gave
clear instructions during the trial.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
Right the real sequestration has been in Bolca.
Speaker 6 (13:14):
I expect the attorneys to make sure that all witnesses
understand that they're not to discuss the case with each other.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Sequestration also meant that a witness could not watch the
trial on television.
Speaker 8 (13:27):
We're now ready for opening statements. Mister Brickman, you wish
to make an opening statement? Yes, sir, thank you, maye.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Proceive Thank you.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
N Matthew Stephen Golder was on death's doorstep when he
arrived at the decad General Hospital on the evening of
December twenty seventh, nineteen hundred and seventy one.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Jeff Brickman opened the day by describing the injuries Matthew
sustained on the day of his death and the efforts
the medical team made to save him. He shared details
about Matthew's original autopsy and original death certificate that had
kept a garize the baby's death as an accident Jan.
Speaker 9 (14:03):
Barry Sandlin while alone and while in immediate control over
Matthew Stephen Golder, a four month old child who literally
was depended completely on an adult forcibly and intentionally killed him.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
He credited Tracy Raquel with being the one person who
didn't believe the story that her mother told officials when
Matthew died.
Speaker 9 (14:33):
The evidence will show you, ladies and gentlemen, that Tracy
ram as she gets older, starts asking questions trying to
find out what really happened. Trying to find out the.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Truth, Brickman had to be explicit that there wasn't a
witness or a smoking gun in a case like this. Instead,
he previewed the expert and family witnesses the prosecution would present,
and then wrapped up with this.
Speaker 9 (14:57):
And I'm confident and submit to you, ladies and gentlemen,
that at the conclude vision of this evidence, one verdict
will be consistent with the evidence. One verdict will be
consistent with the truth.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
And then he directed his attention to Jan Barry Sandlin.
Speaker 9 (15:13):
And that is, ladies and gentlemen, that on December twenty seventh,
nineteen seventy one, Matthew Stephen Golder was killed by that man.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Then Jan Sanmlin's defense attorney Carinn Maul made her opening statement, Ladies.
Speaker 8 (15:35):
And gentlemen, the only thing that is true that we
do know is that indeed that baby did not fall
out of that bed, did not get pushed out of
that bed, did not get stumbled in the night and
dropped on the floor.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So if the defense was saying that Tracy Raquel was
not responsible for Matthew's debt, where were they going.
Speaker 8 (16:00):
Listen, ladies and gentlemen, for the story about Kathy Alman
who was so distressed that she told her daughter, I
can't go talk to the police, I can't go talk
to the DA. I can't do this all by herself.
Twenty six years of line is what you will hear
about in the next few days. It is the best
(16:23):
example of how a lie begins and how it will
come to an end. In this courtroom, missus Almond, I
believe the evidence will show this is probably her worst
nightmare come true. It is going to be difficult for
her to testify it's true.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Kathy did tell different stories over the years to Tracy Raquel,
to social workers, to doctors, maybe even to herself. The
defense would use that to so doubt you will hear.
Speaker 8 (16:59):
Stay this version of events is but one of me.
You'll be asked to reconcile all these different stories and
to determine which, if any, you believe.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
And then the stake called their first witness, neurosurgeon doctor
Ellis Keener. Jeff Brickman conducted the questioning. Doctor Keener walked
the jury through Matthew's injuries and the treatment he gave
him that winter night twenty six years earlier.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
I recommended they go right to the operating room where
he had to be prepared for surgical expiration. Though the
situation looked very bad.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Doctor Keener explained that Matthew continued to decline even after surgery.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
According to the notes, he had become terminal and an
effort was made in the intensive care to give him
artificial respiration, and there was also a note that he
had cardiac massage, both unsuccessful.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Brickman asked doctor Keener how Matthew got those injuries.
Speaker 6 (18:07):
I was told that the child had been thrown out
of the crib by.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Sibling, but that wasn't the entire story. We did some
research and learned that doctor Keener didn't really believe the
story that he was told in the hospital when Matthew
was brought in. Missus Camilla Taylor, a social worker for
Decab Family and Child Services, documented an interview with doctor Keener.
(18:38):
This conversation took place about fifteen days after Matthew died.
When asked if he thought that the damage could have
been caused by a fall from a baby bed, doctor
Keener said no more. Notably, the social worker explicitly writes
in her letter, he made the above statement after being
(18:58):
assured that this report is confidential. Why would a doctor
require his conversation to be confidential. Was it for hip
hop compliance? No, that wasn't even a thing until decades later.
Was it out of fear for his own safety that
important detail would never come to light? In the courtroom,
(19:19):
Brickman continued, as.
Speaker 5 (19:21):
Far as you know, doctor Keener, were the police notified?
Speaker 1 (19:25):
As far as I know, yes, the defense was up
at bat carin. Mal asked doctor Keener about something else
found in the autopsy, bruising on Matthew's clavicle.
Speaker 8 (19:39):
Isn't it true? Doctor Keiner that that bruising could have
occurred at North Side Hospital in an effort to resuscitate
the child.
Speaker 6 (19:51):
I think your statement is not correct, correct me correct?
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Doctor Keener explained that the placement of the bruising was
right around the collarbone, which would not be because of
resuscitation efforts. Maul then turned to the burn on Matthew's foot.
Speaker 8 (20:11):
You called it an old, dry, ulcerated area.
Speaker 6 (20:15):
That's correct.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Then she asked if anyone would have noticed the burn
if they weren't a physician. He responded that it was
obvious enough for him to put it in the record.
Speaker 8 (20:28):
All that you can tell us is that it was
old and that it could have been a burn. It
could have been a blister. It's not quite clear. Correct,
that's correct.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Maul is trying hard to minimize Matthew's injuries. The bruising,
the burn mark it was all evidence that Matthew was
abused and tortured. It implied a pattern of harm, something
Maul wanted jurors to lose sight of. And here's a
really stunning question.
Speaker 8 (21:01):
Now, you didn't do anything to that burn or blister.
You didn't put anything on it or tend to it
in any way, did you.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
There's no record that I did anything to that.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Was she implying that the burn wasn't significant because doctor
Keener didn't put neosporin on it. Matthew skull had multiple
fractures and a brain bleed. Life saving measures were being taken.
It went without saying the priority was to save the child.
The prosecution had to hope jurors were sensible enough to
(21:32):
understand that.
Speaker 8 (21:35):
My next witness please stay, called Tracy Rain.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
In nineteen ninety seven, Tracy Raquel Burns was going by
Tracy Rain. Rain was the last name of her husband
at the time.
Speaker 5 (21:47):
You raise your right hand.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
If you saw my swear from the testimony to give
the court durald distend, it would be the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but truth.
Speaker 8 (21:54):
Say you guy, yes I did.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
This moment was a culmination of years of heartache and
and pure tenacity. You're twenty seven years old, you get
called to the stand. What was it like for you
after you worked so hard to get to this place?
Speaker 10 (22:12):
It was overwhelming and terrifying. And then, of course I
hadn't seen Jan since I was nine or ten years old,
so this was going to be the first time I
was going to see him face to face in all
those years, so it was pretty intimidating.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Did you interact with Jan in any way?
Speaker 10 (22:33):
I made a very conscious decision to look over at
him just long enough to acknowledge that he was there,
and just honestly so I didn't throw up because I
was just so terrified.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Leanne Manngon questioned Tracy Riquel.
Speaker 11 (22:51):
Tracy, why did you work so hard to have Matthew's
death reexaminer?
Speaker 12 (22:55):
Well, initially it was a search for truth. There was
so many inconsistencies in the story. And then later I
realized as I was older, that something bad had happened,
and it was to correct that bad thing. And then
obviously I realized just several years ago that it had
been placed on me, so that who is part of
(23:15):
it as well?
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Lee Anne Manngon asked Tracy Raquel why she wanted to
record conversations between her and her mother. Kathy Allman, you
said that you've.
Speaker 11 (23:26):
Spoken with your mother on a number of occasions to
try to get information about what happened to Matthew. Yes,
at some point did you record a conversation between yourself
and your mother?
Speaker 7 (23:36):
Yes?
Speaker 12 (23:37):
I did?
Speaker 11 (23:38):
And why did you take report of phone conversation between
yourself and your mother?
Speaker 12 (23:41):
Several days prior to that? Actually, the night before she
had said to me that it was easier to say
that I was responsible for excuse me for Matt's injuries
than it was to say the man she loved was
and watch him go to jail.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Leanne Mangon also asked about the push and pull between
Terca Riquel and her mother.
Speaker 11 (24:07):
How old were you if you remember when you first
asked your mother what had happened to your baby birth?
Speaker 12 (24:12):
My first recollection of that is age seven.
Speaker 11 (24:16):
Did your mother give you any explanation as to why
she was initially uncooperative with trying to find out what
happened to Matthew?
Speaker 12 (24:24):
Well, I think that she had originally said it was
because she didn't recall, and that it was a crazy
time and there were, you know, crazy things going on
and she just didn't remember, and later it was because
she just didn't want to have to deal with it.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Teresa Raquel did well with the prosecution, and then defense
attorney Carin malt started her cross examination.
Speaker 8 (24:52):
When was the first time you were told you were
to blame for the.
Speaker 12 (24:56):
Death of the child in nineteen ninety two and.
Speaker 8 (24:58):
At the time that you, if you were talking to police,
you did not realize that you were to blame at
that point. Now, I did not, in fact miss ring.
The person who has been hurt the greatest is probably you,
wouldn't you say?
Speaker 12 (25:15):
I think that would vary in opinion.
Speaker 8 (25:18):
But basically, your mother has blamed you for the death
of this child.
Speaker 12 (25:24):
Correct as I was informed by those medical records.
Speaker 8 (25:28):
Yes, and your grandmother her mother.
Speaker 12 (25:31):
I don't think that she blamed. I think she was
passing on what was told to her.
Speaker 8 (25:37):
Isn't it true you used the words when you were
talking to your mother your mother said, ask your grandmother,
and you said, I did. All she'll tell me is
she did it, but that I did it.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Yes?
Speaker 8 (25:50):
Were you ever astonished that anyone felt the need to
tell you you were responsible?
Speaker 12 (26:01):
I don't understand that.
Speaker 8 (26:02):
Okay, didn't you at one point in time express to
your mother that a mother who cared about her children
would seek to shield a child from playing, would not
tell the child you're responsible.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Yes, I did, and that would.
Speaker 8 (26:22):
Be as true, if not true, with regards to your grandmother.
Speaker 12 (26:28):
Correct, I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean.
Speaker 8 (26:31):
I'll rephrase that. There was no need to tell you,
as a child or as a young adult, you're responsible
for the death of this child.
Speaker 12 (26:44):
Her response was justifiable. I asked her a question and
she simply answered it.
Speaker 8 (26:49):
But nobody said to you, Oh, when you asked what
happened to your grandmother, she said you did it. She
didn't say, oh, it was an accident. I'm I did
it or somebody else did it.
Speaker 12 (27:02):
She said it was an accident.
Speaker 10 (27:03):
You were responsible.
Speaker 8 (27:05):
Yes, Who else has said to you, Tracy Wade, you
are responsible for either the accidental killing, the accidental injuring
the accidental death, the purposeful injuring the personal death. Who
else has laid responsibility on you? Has told you?
Speaker 1 (27:27):
My mother, Grin Maul, was anxious to question the next witness,
Tracy Riquel's mother, Kathy Almond. She wanted jurors to think
that Kathy was a liar.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
You raised right hand, you saw my square pumb that
test want to give the cord.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
As Kathy Almond took the stand, she appeared shaky and nervous.
I do twenty feet away sat the man who had
betrayed her in so many ways, the love of her life,
Jan Barry Sandlin.
Speaker 8 (27:58):
Did you kill Matt?
Speaker 6 (27:59):
No?
Speaker 7 (28:00):
I didn't.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Did you cause him to have skull fractures?
Speaker 5 (28:02):
On December twenty seventh, nineteen seventy one.
Speaker 6 (28:05):
No, I didn't.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Kathy described the errand she ran with Tracy Raquel in
the morning. She recalled their trip to the laundromat and
visited to the pediatrician. Brickman asked about Matt's condition when
Kathy left the apartment.
Speaker 9 (28:19):
It's best you could tell as a mom back on
December twenty seventh, nineteen seventy one. Was he content?
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Yes, he laughed at lab for the first time that day.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
What a devastating piece of testimony from Kathy. The day
of Matthew's death was a joyful milestone, he laughed. Before
Kathy took the stand. Tercy Raquel was dismissed. She now
had to think about her own children, so she caught
the first flight home to Savannah, and she spoke to
(28:50):
her brother Jason, who told her about threats her father
had been making against her.
Speaker 10 (28:55):
I was told that he threatened to set me on
fire and watch me burned to death, and then some
of the stuff Jason wouldn't repeat. He just say it
was horrible and he stopped talking to him.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
As Tracy Rekills crusade to get justice for her brother
Matthew hung in the balance, she was facing threats of
violence towards her and her family. Meanwhile, back in court
into cab County, Georgia, Kathy was going to be confronted
with the most bizarre story she had told about Matthew's death.
(29:29):
I'm Nancy Glass. That's next time on Burden of Guilt.
Stay tuned for Burden of Guilt, the documentary coming in
twenty twenty four and airing only on Paramount Plus. If
you would like to reach out to the Burden of
Guilt team, email us at Burden of Guiltpod at gmail
(29:49):
dot com. That's Burden of Guilt Pod at gmail dot com.
If you or someone you know was worried about maltreatment
or suspect that a child is being abused or neglected,
call the Child Help National Child's Abuse Hotline. You can
call or text one eight hundred four a child that's
(30:11):
one eight hundred four two two four four five three.
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A big thank you to all of you who are listening,
and also be sure to check us out and follow
(30:34):
us on Instagram at Glass Podcasts, Burden of Guilt is
a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group,
in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is hosted and
executive produced by me Nancy Glass, written and produced by
Carrie Hartman and Ben Fetterman. Also produced by Andrea Gunning
(30:56):
and associate producer Kristin Melchiori. Our iHeart team is Ali
Perry and Jessica Crincheck. Special thanks to Tracy Riquel Burns
and her husband Bart. Audio editing by Matt Delvecchio, sound
mixing by Dave Sayah. Burden of Guild's theme composed by
Oliver Baines. Music library provided by my Music and for
(31:21):
more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Nearly two decades after her baby brother's death, Tracy Riquel
Burns had finally captured the attention of law enforcement. Her
fight was now their fight. And despite medical records that
stated mother says two year old threw baby out of
(00:25):
crib and that's what led to his death, Decab County
officials did not think Tracy Riquel killed the four month
old baby. In fact, in December of nineteen ninety six,
they felt they had enough evidence to indict Tracy Riquel's father,
Jane Barry Sandlin. They unearthed Matthew's tiny casket from the
(00:49):
grave twenty six years after his death. They dug into
the ground, expecting dust. Instead, they struck gold. I'm Nancy Glass.
This is burden of Guilt. Episode four, The Body keeps
(01:10):
the Score. After four month old Matthew's casket was exzoomed
from the cemetery, it was driven to the medical Examiner's
office in Birmingham, Alabama, where a new autopsy would be performed.
Medical Examiner doctor Burton, his team, and the prosecutors were present.
(01:32):
Former Assistant District Attorney Lee and man Bone.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I remember doctor Burton talking about Matthew using his name,
and that really stuck with me that there was a
level of compassion about the experience and not just looking
at what we were doing is exhooming a body, but
looking at it as trying to find out the truth
of what happened to Matthew.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Former Decab County District Attorney Jay Tom Morgan.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Our protocol requires that when there's a death of a child,
a prosecutor be present for the autopsy. It helps us
understand what the doctor is going to testify to you later.
When the casket was opened, that future smell came out
and I distinctly remember it.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
And everyone was surprised by that smell because it indicated
that human remains still existed. Because of that, there was
hope that the exhumation would pay off. Lead Assistant District
Attorney Jeff Brickman was there.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
I remember doctor Burden carefully opening the casket and remember
seeing a little boy completely intact.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Medical examiner doctor Stephen Duntan.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
There was still hair on his scalp and he was
dressed as an infant would be.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
It was a new, unforgettable, horrible, unimaginable moment. I had
to step away.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Doctor Burton gently lifted the child out of the casket,
took him to the ipopsy table and cut the clothes
off with the pair of scissors.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
The room was equipped to record the evidence.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
The medical issama has ans ray unlike the ones in
an emergency room because it's on an autopsy table.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
And as much as you wanted the evidence to be
there and this was good news, you can only imagine
that for everybody in the room, it was just awful.
He still looked like a baby frozen in time.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
So there's this little infant on the autopsy table with
a camera from the S ray machine looking down on it.
SS rays are being taken. We can see on a
large screen while those s rays are projacked. Team I
had seen multiple skull fractures and babies before, and the
(04:06):
first thing I noticed was bilateral fractures on each side
of the child's skull.
Speaker 6 (04:11):
There was one on the left and one on the right,
and it was a very complex fracture.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Part of it looked like the backwards question mark.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Someone may have hit this child with his fist, which
could have caused the question mark skull fracture.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Then they took a closer look at Matthew's foot.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Doctor Burton pointed out that there had been a burn
on the left foot of the child. The discoloration was
still there. How does a four and a half month
old in a crib get a burn inside the foot
unless it's put there by an adult, either by a
cigarette cigar or maybe even a lighter. After the ontopsy,
(04:57):
we were all ready to go forward with the prosecution.
Not only were we one hundred percent, but this child
had been tortured before, he had been violently killed.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Based on the physical evidence and the fact that really
this had to have been committed by an adult, and
Jan Berry Sandlin was the only adult that was left
with matt.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
The original indictment of Jan was for the murder of
Matthew Golder, but after the investigation, exhumation, and autoxy, the
prosecution expanded the charges.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
Jan Sandlin was charged with malice, murder, felony, murder, cruelty
to children, and aggravated assault. And we felt really good.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
About it, and now little Matthew would return to his
place of rest.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Matt was taken back to the cemetery and got to
go back to sleep, and then we went back to
Atlanta and got ready for trial.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
And while the prosecutor's office went to work Matthew's father,
Cathy's first husband appeared.
Speaker 7 (06:01):
Someone in my life at the time had sought ted
Golder out, thinking it would be beneficial to me.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Now, ted Golder was listed on Tracy Raquel's birth certificate
as her father, but Kathy was having an affair with
Jan when Tracy Raquel was conceived, so she didn't know
who her biological father really was, and frankly, she didn't
even care that much. But she had taken ted Golder's
(06:27):
name because she didn't want to be associated with Jan
Barry Sandlin. So tell me about ted Golder.
Speaker 7 (06:35):
Ted Golder was a very nice man. He really wanted
to know if I was his daughter. He asked if
I would do a paternity test, which I sure. You know,
he was in Atlanta, I was in Savannah, and we
did that now while we were waiting for the results
to come back, and we talked daily, just about things
(06:59):
and people, and it was a nice thing. The maternity
Jess came back and he called and he said, you're
not my daughter, And he said, you know what, you're
a really nice woman. I wish the best for you,
but I don't want anything else to do with you.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
What was that like?
Speaker 4 (07:22):
For you.
Speaker 7 (07:24):
This is where it gets really hard to feel like
there's not something wrong with you. And I had his name,
so yeah, he said, you know, I would appreciate it
if you don't use my name Golder, You're not my child.
Speaker 6 (07:41):
And that was it.
Speaker 7 (07:42):
I never heard from him again.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
The situation with Ted Golder was another heartbreak, but Tracy
Raquel could not let this latest disappointment deter her. She
had to focus on getting justice from Matthew. She knew
even with the trial said nothing about this be easy.
There were no guarantees. The second autopsy of Matthew Golder
(08:10):
had been a revelation. What they found out amazed everyone.
And one of the things they learned was that there
had been a first autopsy. When they exsumed the body,
they saw the markings. So where did that report go. Well,
apparently in nineteen seventy one, it went home with the coroner.
But this was still a very old case and there
(08:32):
were no witnesses, so that created a lot of challenges
for the prosecution. Former Assistant District Attorney Jeff Brickman.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
While we had prosecuted some cold cases, this was the coldest.
This was frigid, and we knew when I say we
Leanne and I and doctor Burton and j Tom Morgan,
our boss, knew there was going to be a hefty
fight in front of us at trial.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
I was pretty unwavering in my belief that there were
only two people, two adults, who could have been involved
in Matthew's murder, and it didn't make any logical sense
that it would be Kathy.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
We were going to have to recreate history. We were
going to have to put that crime scene back together.
It was not by any stretch of slam dunk, and
we knew that.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Putting the crime scene back together started with Matthew's crib.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
We contacted Sears and Robot. They did not have that crib,
but they had the dimensions of the model, and we
hired a carpenter to rebuild a crib just like that
one so the jury could see how just unlikely, not
impossible for a two year old to climb over in
and then throw a four month all out.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
It was critically important that the crib was on the
second floor of their apartment, which doctor Burton told me
meant that there would have been some give to the
floor because it would have been on a wood and
a subfloor as opposed to be on concrete on a
concrete slab, and so there just was no way for
the amount of force that would have been required for
those injuries to have been generated by a fall onto
(10:08):
a floor of that type.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
There were several witnesses that had to be prepared for
the trial, including Tracy Riquel's mother, Kathy Alman. She would
turn out to be one of the state's key witnesses.
Lee and Mangon was the person who prepared Kathy, and
she had a lot of time to observe her behavior.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I remember that Kathy was quiet and passive. It was
clear that Kathy was still scared of Jan.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
And Kathy was sticking to her story.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
She was very clear on the timeline of what happened
to the day that Matthew died.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
She said that when she came home from running errands,
she took Tracy Raquel into the apartment and then Jan
instructed her to get the laundry out of the car.
When she came back upstairs, she found Matthew on the
floor unresponsive.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
I remember Kathy seemingly knowing what really had happened, but
not being willing to admit that to herself. But I
suspect on some level, Kathy always knew that story didn't
make any sense.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Jeff Brickman said earlier that the case wasn't a slam dunk.
One reason for that was Sandland's lawyer.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Karen Mall was Jan Berry Sandlin's defense attorney. Corin Mall
was an incredibly effective advocate in every trial where I faced.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Her, Leanne and I knew Karen we had had cases
against her. She was very comfortable in this particular courtroom.
She and Judge Fuller got along well. He respected her
as did other judges, but that was sort of like
her home turf, and Karen was a bulldog.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
The media and the public were fascinated by the case.
A little girl, a two year old who had been
framed for her brother's death, grows up and realizes it's
all a lie. The courthouse opened its doors on July ninth,
nineteen ninety seven.
Speaker 8 (12:05):
Everybody, get you sixth place.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Tracy Raquel sat in the District Attorney's office waiting to
be sworn in.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
All right, get that name be see please.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Facing the bench was Jan Barry Sandlin and a white
Oxford shirt and pattern tie. He rocked back and forth
in his chair with a wad of gum in his
right cheek.
Speaker 9 (12:29):
Counsel Va proceed with.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
His attorney seated next to him. Jan's appearance was confident, cocky,
making direct eye contact with anyone who spoke to him
or about him. So how do we know all those details? Well,
the trial was recorded. Today we're used to seeing court
cases on television, but back in nineteen ninety seven it
(12:52):
was still relatively new. Judge Hilton Fuller Junior felt the
public should be able to see the court proceeding in
real time. The presence of a TV camera would have
a major impact on the case. Because Judge Fuller gave
clear instructions during the trial.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
Right the real sequestration has been in Bolca.
Speaker 6 (13:14):
I expect the attorneys to make sure that all witnesses
understand that they're not to discuss the case with each other.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Sequestration also meant that a witness could not watch the
trial on television.
Speaker 8 (13:27):
We're now ready for opening statements. Mister Brickman, you wish
to make an opening statement? Yes, sir, thank you, maye.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Proceive Thank you.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
N Matthew Stephen Golder was on death's doorstep when he
arrived at the decad General Hospital on the evening of
December twenty seventh, nineteen hundred and seventy one.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Jeff Brickman opened the day by describing the injuries Matthew
sustained on the day of his death and the efforts
the medical team made to save him. He shared details
about Matthew's original autopsy and original death certificate that had
kept a garize the baby's death as an accident Jan.
Speaker 9 (14:03):
Barry Sandlin while alone and while in immediate control over
Matthew Stephen Golder, a four month old child who literally
was depended completely on an adult forcibly and intentionally killed him.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
He credited Tracy Raquel with being the one person who
didn't believe the story that her mother told officials when
Matthew died.
Speaker 9 (14:33):
The evidence will show you, ladies and gentlemen, that Tracy
ram as she gets older, starts asking questions trying to
find out what really happened. Trying to find out the.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Truth, Brickman had to be explicit that there wasn't a
witness or a smoking gun in a case like this. Instead,
he previewed the expert and family witnesses the prosecution would present,
and then wrapped up with this.
Speaker 9 (14:57):
And I'm confident and submit to you, ladies and gentlemen,
that at the conclude vision of this evidence, one verdict
will be consistent with the evidence. One verdict will be
consistent with the truth.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
And then he directed his attention to Jan Barry Sandlin.
Speaker 9 (15:13):
And that is, ladies and gentlemen, that on December twenty seventh,
nineteen seventy one, Matthew Stephen Golder was killed by that man.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Then Jan Sanmlin's defense attorney Carinn Maul made her opening statement, Ladies.
Speaker 8 (15:35):
And gentlemen, the only thing that is true that we
do know is that indeed that baby did not fall
out of that bed, did not get pushed out of
that bed, did not get stumbled in the night and
dropped on the floor.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So if the defense was saying that Tracy Raquel was
not responsible for Matthew's debt, where were they going.
Speaker 8 (16:00):
Listen, ladies and gentlemen, for the story about Kathy Alman
who was so distressed that she told her daughter, I
can't go talk to the police, I can't go talk
to the DA. I can't do this all by herself.
Twenty six years of line is what you will hear
about in the next few days. It is the best
(16:23):
example of how a lie begins and how it will
come to an end. In this courtroom, missus Almond, I
believe the evidence will show this is probably her worst
nightmare come true. It is going to be difficult for
her to testify it's true.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Kathy did tell different stories over the years to Tracy Raquel,
to social workers, to doctors, maybe even to herself. The
defense would use that to so doubt you will hear.
Speaker 8 (16:59):
Stay this version of events is but one of me.
You'll be asked to reconcile all these different stories and
to determine which, if any, you believe.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
And then the stake called their first witness, neurosurgeon doctor
Ellis Keener. Jeff Brickman conducted the questioning. Doctor Keener walked
the jury through Matthew's injuries and the treatment he gave
him that winter night twenty six years earlier.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
I recommended they go right to the operating room where
he had to be prepared for surgical expiration. Though the
situation looked very bad.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Doctor Keener explained that Matthew continued to decline even after surgery.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
According to the notes, he had become terminal and an
effort was made in the intensive care to give him
artificial respiration, and there was also a note that he
had cardiac massage, both unsuccessful.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Brickman asked doctor Keener how Matthew got those injuries.
Speaker 6 (18:07):
I was told that the child had been thrown out
of the crib by.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Sibling, but that wasn't the entire story. We did some
research and learned that doctor Keener didn't really believe the
story that he was told in the hospital when Matthew
was brought in. Missus Camilla Taylor, a social worker for
Decab Family and Child Services, documented an interview with doctor Keener.
(18:38):
This conversation took place about fifteen days after Matthew died.
When asked if he thought that the damage could have
been caused by a fall from a baby bed, doctor
Keener said no more. Notably, the social worker explicitly writes
in her letter, he made the above statement after being
(18:58):
assured that this report is confidential. Why would a doctor
require his conversation to be confidential. Was it for hip
hop compliance? No, that wasn't even a thing until decades later.
Was it out of fear for his own safety that
important detail would never come to light? In the courtroom,
(19:19):
Brickman continued, as.
Speaker 5 (19:21):
Far as you know, doctor Keener, were the police notified?
Speaker 1 (19:25):
As far as I know, yes, the defense was up
at bat carin. Mal asked doctor Keener about something else
found in the autopsy, bruising on Matthew's clavicle.
Speaker 8 (19:39):
Isn't it true? Doctor Keiner that that bruising could have
occurred at North Side Hospital in an effort to resuscitate
the child.
Speaker 6 (19:51):
I think your statement is not correct, correct me correct?
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Doctor Keener explained that the placement of the bruising was
right around the collarbone, which would not be because of
resuscitation efforts. Maul then turned to the burn on Matthew's foot.
Speaker 8 (20:11):
You called it an old, dry, ulcerated area.
Speaker 6 (20:15):
That's correct.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Then she asked if anyone would have noticed the burn
if they weren't a physician. He responded that it was
obvious enough for him to put it in the record.
Speaker 8 (20:28):
All that you can tell us is that it was
old and that it could have been a burn. It
could have been a blister. It's not quite clear. Correct,
that's correct.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Maul is trying hard to minimize Matthew's injuries. The bruising,
the burn mark it was all evidence that Matthew was
abused and tortured. It implied a pattern of harm, something
Maul wanted jurors to lose sight of. And here's a
really stunning question.
Speaker 8 (21:01):
Now, you didn't do anything to that burn or blister.
You didn't put anything on it or tend to it
in any way, did you.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
There's no record that I did anything to that.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Was she implying that the burn wasn't significant because doctor
Keener didn't put neosporin on it. Matthew skull had multiple
fractures and a brain bleed. Life saving measures were being taken.
It went without saying the priority was to save the child.
The prosecution had to hope jurors were sensible enough to
(21:32):
understand that.
Speaker 8 (21:35):
My next witness please stay, called Tracy Rain.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
In nineteen ninety seven, Tracy Raquel Burns was going by
Tracy Rain. Rain was the last name of her husband
at the time.
Speaker 5 (21:47):
You raise your right hand.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
If you saw my swear from the testimony to give
the court durald distend, it would be the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but truth.
Speaker 8 (21:54):
Say you guy, yes I did.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
This moment was a culmination of years of heartache and
and pure tenacity. You're twenty seven years old, you get
called to the stand. What was it like for you
after you worked so hard to get to this place?
Speaker 10 (22:12):
It was overwhelming and terrifying. And then, of course I
hadn't seen Jan since I was nine or ten years old,
so this was going to be the first time I
was going to see him face to face in all
those years, so it was pretty intimidating.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Did you interact with Jan in any way?
Speaker 10 (22:33):
I made a very conscious decision to look over at
him just long enough to acknowledge that he was there,
and just honestly so I didn't throw up because I
was just so terrified.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Leanne Manngon questioned Tracy Riquel.
Speaker 11 (22:51):
Tracy, why did you work so hard to have Matthew's
death reexaminer?
Speaker 12 (22:55):
Well, initially it was a search for truth. There was
so many inconsistencies in the story. And then later I
realized as I was older, that something bad had happened,
and it was to correct that bad thing. And then
obviously I realized just several years ago that it had
been placed on me, so that who is part of
(23:15):
it as well?
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Lee Anne Manngon asked Tracy Raquel why she wanted to
record conversations between her and her mother. Kathy Allman, you
said that you've.
Speaker 11 (23:26):
Spoken with your mother on a number of occasions to
try to get information about what happened to Matthew. Yes,
at some point did you record a conversation between yourself
and your mother?
Speaker 7 (23:36):
Yes?
Speaker 12 (23:37):
I did?
Speaker 11 (23:38):
And why did you take report of phone conversation between
yourself and your mother?
Speaker 12 (23:41):
Several days prior to that? Actually, the night before she
had said to me that it was easier to say
that I was responsible for excuse me for Matt's injuries
than it was to say the man she loved was
and watch him go to jail.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Leanne Mangon also asked about the push and pull between
Terca Riquel and her mother.
Speaker 11 (24:07):
How old were you if you remember when you first
asked your mother what had happened to your baby birth?
Speaker 12 (24:12):
My first recollection of that is age seven.
Speaker 11 (24:16):
Did your mother give you any explanation as to why
she was initially uncooperative with trying to find out what
happened to Matthew?
Speaker 12 (24:24):
Well, I think that she had originally said it was
because she didn't recall, and that it was a crazy
time and there were, you know, crazy things going on
and she just didn't remember, and later it was because
she just didn't want to have to deal with it.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Teresa Raquel did well with the prosecution, and then defense
attorney Carin malt started her cross examination.
Speaker 8 (24:52):
When was the first time you were told you were
to blame for the.
Speaker 12 (24:56):
Death of the child in nineteen ninety two and.
Speaker 8 (24:58):
At the time that you, if you were talking to police,
you did not realize that you were to blame at
that point. Now, I did not, in fact miss ring.
The person who has been hurt the greatest is probably you,
wouldn't you say?
Speaker 12 (25:15):
I think that would vary in opinion.
Speaker 8 (25:18):
But basically, your mother has blamed you for the death
of this child.
Speaker 12 (25:24):
Correct as I was informed by those medical records.
Speaker 8 (25:28):
Yes, and your grandmother her mother.
Speaker 12 (25:31):
I don't think that she blamed. I think she was
passing on what was told to her.
Speaker 8 (25:37):
Isn't it true you used the words when you were
talking to your mother your mother said, ask your grandmother,
and you said, I did. All she'll tell me is
she did it, but that I did it.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Yes?
Speaker 8 (25:50):
Were you ever astonished that anyone felt the need to
tell you you were responsible?
Speaker 12 (26:01):
I don't understand that.
Speaker 8 (26:02):
Okay, didn't you at one point in time express to
your mother that a mother who cared about her children
would seek to shield a child from playing, would not
tell the child you're responsible.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Yes, I did, and that would.
Speaker 8 (26:22):
Be as true, if not true, with regards to your grandmother.
Speaker 12 (26:28):
Correct, I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean.
Speaker 8 (26:31):
I'll rephrase that. There was no need to tell you,
as a child or as a young adult, you're responsible
for the death of this child.
Speaker 12 (26:44):
Her response was justifiable. I asked her a question and
she simply answered it.
Speaker 8 (26:49):
But nobody said to you, Oh, when you asked what
happened to your grandmother, she said you did it. She
didn't say, oh, it was an accident. I'm I did
it or somebody else did it.
Speaker 12 (27:02):
She said it was an accident.
Speaker 10 (27:03):
You were responsible.
Speaker 8 (27:05):
Yes, Who else has said to you, Tracy Wade, you
are responsible for either the accidental killing, the accidental injuring
the accidental death, the purposeful injuring the personal death. Who
else has laid responsibility on you? Has told you?
Speaker 1 (27:27):
My mother, Grin Maul, was anxious to question the next witness,
Tracy Riquel's mother, Kathy Almond. She wanted jurors to think
that Kathy was a liar.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
You raised right hand, you saw my square pumb that
test want to give the cord.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
As Kathy Almond took the stand, she appeared shaky and nervous.
I do twenty feet away sat the man who had
betrayed her in so many ways, the love of her life,
Jan Barry Sandlin.
Speaker 8 (27:58):
Did you kill Matt?
Speaker 6 (27:59):
No?
Speaker 7 (28:00):
I didn't.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Did you cause him to have skull fractures?
Speaker 5 (28:02):
On December twenty seventh, nineteen seventy one.
Speaker 6 (28:05):
No, I didn't.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Kathy described the errand she ran with Tracy Raquel in
the morning. She recalled their trip to the laundromat and
visited to the pediatrician. Brickman asked about Matt's condition when
Kathy left the apartment.
Speaker 9 (28:19):
It's best you could tell as a mom back on
December twenty seventh, nineteen seventy one. Was he content?
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Yes, he laughed at lab for the first time that day.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
What a devastating piece of testimony from Kathy. The day
of Matthew's death was a joyful milestone, he laughed. Before
Kathy took the stand. Tercy Raquel was dismissed. She now
had to think about her own children, so she caught
the first flight home to Savannah, and she spoke to
(28:50):
her brother Jason, who told her about threats her father
had been making against her.
Speaker 10 (28:55):
I was told that he threatened to set me on
fire and watch me burned to death, and then some
of the stuff Jason wouldn't repeat. He just say it
was horrible and he stopped talking to him.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
As Tracy Rekills crusade to get justice for her brother
Matthew hung in the balance, she was facing threats of
violence towards her and her family. Meanwhile, back in court
into cab County, Georgia, Kathy was going to be confronted
with the most bizarre story she had told about Matthew's death.
(29:29):
I'm Nancy Glass. That's next time on Burden of Guilt.
Stay tuned for Burden of Guilt, the documentary coming in
twenty twenty four and airing only on Paramount Plus. If
you would like to reach out to the Burden of
Guilt team, email us at Burden of Guiltpod at gmail
(29:49):
dot com. That's Burden of Guilt Pod at gmail dot com.
If you or someone you know was worried about maltreatment
or suspect that a child is being abused or neglected,
call the Child Help National Child's Abuse Hotline. You can
call or text one eight hundred four a child that's
(30:11):
one eight hundred four two two four four five three.
One way to show support is by subscribing to our
show on Apple Podcasts and don't forget to rate and
review Burden of Guilt. Five star reviews go a long way.
A big thank you to all of you who are listening,
and also be sure to check us out and follow
(30:34):
us on Instagram at Glass Podcasts, Burden of Guilt is
a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group,
in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is hosted and
executive produced by me Nancy Glass, written and produced by
Carrie Hartman and Ben Fetterman. Also produced by Andrea Gunning
(30:56):
and associate producer Kristin Melchiori. Our iHeart team is Ali
Perry and Jessica Crincheck. Special thanks to Tracy Riquel Burns
and her husband Bart. Audio editing by Matt Delvecchio, sound
mixing by Dave Sayah. Burden of Guild's theme composed by
Oliver Baines. Music library provided by my Music and for
(31:21):
more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
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