November 22, 2023 • 26 mins
After Judge Fuller declared a mistrial, the Prosecution must once again set out to prove that Tracyraquel’s father, Jan Barry Sandlin killed her baby brother. As the second trial begins, the Defense comes prepared with an entirely new strategy. Would trial 2 be the time justice is finally served for Matthew?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
He had this twinkle in his eye. I got the
sense that he thought he was smarter than everybody. He
would smile, He smiled into the camera. He would smile
at witnesses. He tried to smile at Tracy. He tried
to stare down Kathy in a way. I thought he
found this was sort of a game.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
That's lead Assistant District Attorney Jeff Brickman talking about the
demeanor of the defendant. I'm Nancy Glass and this is
burden of guilt. Episode six, Battlefield. Tracy Raquel told the
(00:55):
prosecution that she had seen some of her mother's testimony
on television, and since witnesses weren't allowed to watch the
court proceedings due to sequestration orders, the judge was left
with no choice but to declare a mistrial. It was
a heavy blow to the prosecution, and District Attorney j
(01:15):
Tom Morgan had to decide if it was worth the
time and money to take the decades old cold case
to trial once again. Assistant District Attorney LeAnn Mangon.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Jeff and I felt pretty deflated by the fact that
the mistrial had been declared. When Judge Fuller declared the mistrial,
he did make that ruling in a way that allowed
us to make a decision about whether we wanted to
retry the case.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
We are in the dumps.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
I mean, don't get me wrong, but you know, you
look at each other and go, this guy killed a four.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Month old district attorney j Tom Morgan.
Speaker 5 (01:54):
I was furious. I mean, all the work that Leanne
and Jeff had put into it, and so my job
as SADISC attorney was to get my two assistants in
there and say, take a deep breath, let's do this again.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
After all of this had happened, I came into work
to a voicemail message from Tracy saying please don't give up.
Speaker 6 (02:19):
I basically just called the prosecution and said, look, I'm sorry,
I didn't mean to mess everything up. Could you do
this again?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
After going in and talking about it with Jay Tom
and looking at each other and realizing, you know, this
doesn't change what happened, it doesn't change the facts.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
And as I told Leanne, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
What, last time I checked, there's no such thing as
the one free murder rule in Georgia.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
And we were back at it within a month.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Supercharged out, the prosecution once again set out to prove
that Jan Berry Sandlin killed four month old Matthew.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
We didn't really change the theory of the case at all.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
The theory a man was left alone with a baby.
By the time the baby's mother came home and found him,
he was near death. The child was a victim of
the man's abuse. That man was Tracy Riquel's father, Jan
Barry Sandlin, a person with a history of cruel and
abusive behavior towards his children. And as we told you,
(03:25):
Tracy Raquel has spent a lifetime dealing with the abuse
she suffered at the hands of her father.
Speaker 6 (03:32):
You would just show up in the Millanite and throw
us on the street. We spent lots of time just
sleeping on a park bench. He put that camel cigarette.
Speaker 7 (03:44):
Off on me.
Speaker 6 (03:46):
I was in the car with Kathy and she said
day after tomorrow is Matthew's birthday. And I just had
this child like remark of you don't take me to
the cemetery. Never speak to you, told Jan and he
beat me terribly.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
He really enjoyed the belt, the wrong.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
End of the belt.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
We shared how he fed her roaches on toast as
a form of punishment, and how Tracy Raquel spent much
of her childhood navigating the emotional and physical abuse between
Kathy and Jan. We told you how he beat Kathy
and locked her in closets. For Tracy Raquel, those memories
(04:29):
were like a bad dream.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
Nightmares are an ongoing thing for me. I never have
nightmares about Matthew. I have a lot of nightmares that
revolve around events in my childhood and just always being
terrified and never feeling safe, and that comes from not
being stable and getting thrown out of your house in
(04:53):
the middle of the night, and people getting beat up
and abuse, like all of these things don't go away.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Lead A Jeff Brickman imagined how the series of events
unfolded between Jan and the baby who was not his son.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Leanne and I were recent parents of two year old.
We had learned in the last couple of years what
it's like to have a baby at home who can't speak.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Who cries a lot. They're crying, they're upset, they won't
shut up. You want to sleep.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
You're not real jazzed up about the fact that you're
being left at home with this four month old. It's
not even yours, and you just wanted to be quiet.
Just like that, you'll get your quiet. Be dead, but
you'll get the quiet. So we knew that one of
(05:48):
the things we wanted to impress upon the jury was
that this can happen just like that. And he had
every reason to do that. And given the nature of
the injuries, he decided just like that that he was
going to shut him up.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
And as horrific as.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
That is to imagine, that's exactly what happened.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Jeff Brickman knew if the prosecution was going to win
this trial, the jury had to believe that's what happened.
As for the defense, they learned something from the first
trial and this time honed in on a single strategy.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
This time the defense was none too subtle, and we
knew Krinn it was not going to be a well
they just can't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
It was one person did it. It was Kathy Allman.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
There was more of a focus on Kathy Allman as
someone who may have had something to do with Matthew's murder.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
I distinctly remember talking to Kathy going, let me tell
you what the defense is.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
You killed your four month old. You get it.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Now it's up to you. I can't get up and testify.
You need to be convincing.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Ada. Jeff Brickman was saying Kathy could make her break
this second trial, and he was worried about her state
of mind and her lack of self assurance on the stand.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Kathy was kind of damaged over the years, and she
was very vulnerable. She was easy to pick on, and
Karen was great at finding weaknesses.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
They were introducing a suggestion that perhaps there's not enough
evidence to demonstrate that Jan Sanlin was solely responsible.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
On day one of the trial, Tracy Riquel was the
second witness to be called. Assistant District Attorney Lee Ann
man Gon asked Tracy Riquel about the time she contacted
her father in prison.
Speaker 8 (07:48):
When you were younger. Did you make a telephone call
to the defendant?
Speaker 9 (07:53):
Yes? I did.
Speaker 8 (07:54):
Did you ask him for an explanation for Matt's death?
Speaker 7 (07:57):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (07:57):
I did?
Speaker 8 (07:58):
And in that telephone call, what was his response?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Ask your mother? She couldn't get a straight answer from
Jan and her mother. Kathy wouldn't provide any clarity either.
Speaker 8 (08:12):
Do you and miss Rain have any information which would
indicate that your mother is responsible for Matt's death?
Speaker 4 (08:17):
No?
Speaker 8 (08:18):
Can you tell the members of the jury, why it
is you have worked so hard to find out what
happened to that?
Speaker 9 (08:25):
Well, I always knew that he had died, and it
was always a very evasive subject with everyone in my family,
And I guess that just sparked me to think that
something was wrong, and I thought, if there was something wrong,
you needed to fix it. I had no idea of it.
(08:49):
It was because they thought that I had.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
That was.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
That was obviously very emotional for Tracy Riquel. She regained
her composure and lee Anne continued her questioning. She asked
Tracy Riquel, what happened when she asked her mother to
have Matt's death investigated.
Speaker 8 (09:09):
What generally was your mother's response when you were talking
about that issue.
Speaker 9 (09:13):
That she didn't want to deal with the pain. She
was not capable of dealing with the pain. She didn't
have the support.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
That she needed.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Kathy Almand's mother, Tracy Riquel's grandmother, Anne Davidson, took the stand.
She testified about an incident that occurred when she came
home with Kathy after Jan was alone with baby Matthew.
Speaker 7 (09:35):
We went in and matt was screaming, and Kathy said,
what's wrong with the baby, and he said, oh, I
was playing with him here on the table, and he
picked up the pepper shaker, and I guess he got
it in his eyes.
Speaker 10 (09:49):
Could you tell what the appearance was of this child?
Speaker 7 (09:52):
Boy was crying and his azar red.
Speaker 10 (09:54):
What did Kathy do? If anything?
Speaker 7 (09:56):
She took the baby and she got a washcloth and
washed his eyes out, gave him a bottle, and pretty
soon he stuck crying.
Speaker 10 (10:03):
Was there any further discussion that day as far as
you remember about what happened?
Speaker 7 (10:07):
No, never was mentioned again.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Then the questioning turned to the knight Matthew died.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
At any point once you got to the hospital, did
you make any effort or attempt to talk to Kat?
Speaker 7 (10:19):
Yes, I did. I just went straight to her and said, Kathy,
what happened? And Jan just came forward and said that
Tracy threw little matt from the crib and he was hurt,
real bad, and that's why they were there.
Speaker 11 (10:37):
Eighty eight.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Jeff Brickman asked Kathy's mother, Anne Davidson, those questions to
establish a history of abuse by Jan. On the other hand,
defense attorney Korean Mulls seemed to say, if the pepper
incident was so bad if there was abuse, why didn't
anyone call the police?
Speaker 12 (10:57):
Davidson, what was the name of the police officer? Spoke?
Speaker 11 (11:00):
You been told about this pepper incident?
Speaker 12 (11:02):
After that died?
Speaker 11 (11:03):
I didn't speak. You didn't.
Speaker 12 (11:06):
You didn't happen to say, God, God, this land not
only has he killed my child?
Speaker 11 (11:10):
Let me tell you about the pepper incident. No, didn't
say that to anybody?
Speaker 7 (11:13):
Did you?
Speaker 12 (11:15):
First time you ever mentioned it is July nineteen ninety
seven to these folks.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Defense attorney Krin Maul pointed out that Kathy's mother didn't
share that information with anybody until the second trial.
Speaker 12 (11:28):
Did you hear a sales soul besides your daughter's, say,
Jane Mary Sandlin told them that this child was thrown out.
Speaker 11 (11:35):
Of the bed by his sister.
Speaker 7 (11:37):
No, I didn't, okay.
Speaker 11 (11:38):
And your daughter also said she didn't know if he
did or not.
Speaker 12 (11:42):
Didn't she?
Speaker 7 (11:42):
That's right? Neither do I.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Corin Mal had spent hours questioning Kathy during the first trial,
and she had no plans to ease up in the second.
In fact, she would press Kathy even harder about inconsistencies.
Speaker 12 (12:04):
You have told her, and you have told us that
besides your initial different stories that you told her, the
prim death, banging the head on the throwing out, crushing
the baby shoes. Besides those different stories you have always
(12:26):
you said, maintain what happened that day to everyone having you,
and you maintained to everyone that you believed she'd thrown
the baby out of the bed.
Speaker 8 (12:38):
That's what I thought for many, many years.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
The defense wanted to make the point that even while
jan was out of their lives and in prison, Kathy
continued to communicate with him. It seemed like she still
wanted them to have a relationship.
Speaker 12 (12:54):
It was almen, you wrote a letter to your ex husband,
correct written to them, Yes, and you wrote to him
about Tracy making accusations, right. I don't really recall what
I wrote in those letters. Isn't it true, miss Ahman,
(13:18):
that you told in your letters, don't worry about Tracy.
You know my parents they've just been saying some ugly
things about you. I don't recall what was in those letters,
so I can't say I was very depressed when I
wrote him.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
I know that.
Speaker 9 (13:39):
I thought something's wrong with me.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
I don't know.
Speaker 11 (13:43):
In those letters.
Speaker 12 (13:46):
In the last letter that you wrote to mister Sandlin,
do you recall telling him in there not to be
concerned about Tracy because she just resented him not being there.
Speaker 6 (14:02):
I am, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
In another letter, Kathy had expressed frustration about Tracy Riquel's
younger brother, Jason. He was the second child Kathy had
with jam.
Speaker 12 (14:14):
Didn't you tell Jason that you told mister Sandwin, he's
bothering me, I'm going to beat him with a baseball.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
I don't recall that.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yes, that's what she wrote, that she was going to
beat her son with a baseball bat.
Speaker 12 (14:29):
Let me show you something and see if that refreshes
your recollection.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
A huh.
Speaker 12 (14:36):
Yes, I did say it in a joking way, and
you did say in a joking way, I'm going to
beat him with a baseball.
Speaker 7 (14:45):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
The prosecution came back one last time with Kathy to
put the focus back on Matthew's death.
Speaker 10 (14:54):
And on that day when you did leave matt for
the second time with that man over, there was this
child who was depicted in State five just two days
before his death.
Speaker 12 (15:05):
In this picture.
Speaker 11 (15:07):
Was he healthy?
Speaker 7 (15:08):
Yes, he was healthy.
Speaker 10 (15:09):
Was he as alive as could be, live as could.
Speaker 9 (15:11):
Be, happy as could be?
Speaker 7 (15:12):
In a very good, wonderful.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Baby When the prosecution finished, the defense left the jury
with this.
Speaker 12 (15:20):
Isn't it truth that the accident, and it was an accident,
was caused by Humasa.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
No, there was no more suggesting or circling around it.
There it was. The defense put it on the line.
It was your fault, Kathy. The defense never called a
single witness and Jan never took the stand. Jeff Brickman
remembers observing Jan's behavior as he watched the testimony.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
He had this twinkle in his eye. I got the
sense that he thought he was smarter than everybody. He
would smile, He smiled into the camera. He would smile
at witnesses. He tried to smile at Tracy. He tried
to stare down Kathy. He would stare back at us,
and he just kind of stared through you.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
In a way.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
I thought he found this was sort of a game.
I really do think he found pleasure in making everybody
who came in there to testify against him.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Hey, the last person to testify was the medical examiner
who performed the second autopsy, doctor Burton. The prosecution strategically
saved him for the end. He was their key witness.
The prosecution's case was straightforward, Matthew's death was from unspeakable abuse.
Speaker 8 (16:47):
Do you have an opinion, doctor Burdon, as to whether
these injuries could have been inflicted by a two year
old child throwing the baby out of a crip.
Speaker 13 (16:55):
Well, First of all, a two year old child couldn't
throw the baby out. It's a squirming, ten pound way,
and so to throw it out would be virtually impossible.
To say that a two year old could get in
the bed and somehow tug it up over the edge
of the rail and let the baby tip over the
edge of the rail and fall. It's possible, but even
that is not likely.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
In the last episode you heard, defense attorney Carin Mal
questioned Kathy about Tracy Riquel's heavy baby shoes because Kathy
had said she thought Tracy Riquel had stepped on Matthew's
head with her heavy baby shoes and that led to
his death. Ada Leeann Mangon showed doctor Burton a pair
(17:39):
of those shoes.
Speaker 13 (17:41):
These shoes have leather soles and rubber hills on them.
The soles and hills have edges on them. There's nothing
in any of the records to describe any type of
a pattern of bruise or abrasion to Matthew's head. This
tells us that the impact happened on a surface smooth
with no portray. Rubrin's is on it. There's not enough
(18:02):
mass in the foot and leg of a two year
old cause fractures on both sides of this baby's head
to compress the head against the floor. It would be
almost impossible for all the circumstances to exist for a
shoe not to leave a mark on Matthew's head.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Further emphasizing it was no accident, the prosecution asked how
a child would sustain the injuries found on Matthew, so.
Speaker 8 (18:28):
That the jury better understands the force which must have
been used in this case under what non abusive circumstances
would you expect to see these types of injuries?
Speaker 13 (18:38):
Fractures like this that are bilateral complex fractures you see
an automobile rex, you see them in children. Are people
who fall heights like fifteen twenty feet?
Speaker 8 (18:50):
Do you, doctor Burton, have an opinion based on a
reasonable degree of medical certainty as to the manner of
death of Matthew Stephen Golder on December the twenty seventh of.
Speaker 7 (18:59):
Nineteen that anyone.
Speaker 13 (19:01):
I do the injuries that resulted in Matthew's death were
inflicted or caused by another person.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Carin Mal did not mince words during the cross examination.
Speaker 12 (19:13):
The scenario that you were given was mainly to disprove
that this child had not been thrown out by a
two year old onto the floor from a bed from
a crib.
Speaker 11 (19:23):
Correct.
Speaker 13 (19:24):
Yes, I was trying to decide whether this was an
accidental death or some other type of death.
Speaker 12 (19:28):
And it's true, Doctor Burton, that this injury could have
been inflicted several different ways, and you have shown some
of them, correct.
Speaker 13 (19:36):
And there may be others.
Speaker 12 (19:37):
But the bottom line is that this child is not
thrown out of a bed by a two year old.
This child died as a result of abuse from an adult.
Speaker 8 (19:49):
Correct.
Speaker 13 (19:50):
I think that's the probability, Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
So which adult was it? Would the jury believe it
was jan or did the defense raise enough down by
presenting Kathy as a culprit Ada LeeAnne Mangon went first
in closing arguments.
Speaker 8 (20:13):
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a case about murder. This
is a case about the murder of a four month
old little boy, about the murder of a child.
Speaker 14 (20:25):
Who lived on this earth for less than twenty weeks.
This is the case about a murder which could have
been committed by only one person, and.
Speaker 8 (20:35):
That person is sitting right there.
Speaker 14 (20:38):
Jan Berry Sandlin is guilty of murder.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Leanne held up a photo of Matthew.
Speaker 14 (20:47):
Matt Golder is speaking to you, ladies and gentlemen. He's saying,
my name is Matthew Stephen Golder. I died when I
was four months old. I was robbed of my opportunity
to run, to jump, to laugh. My innocence was taken
(21:08):
from me. It was taken from me by that man.
Ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 8 (21:14):
Matt Golder is crying out to you today as he
must have cried in December of nineteen seventy one. But
today he's crying very differently. He's crying for justice, ladies
and gentlemen. He is asking that you send the loudest
and clearest message that you can. He wants you to
(21:35):
tell this man what you did was wrong, what you
did was murder.
Speaker 7 (21:41):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Defense Attorney Carin Maul gave her summation.
Speaker 12 (21:47):
While it is true that there's nothing worse than the
death of a child, and those of us who have
suffered it know how poignant that is, and know how
debilitating that is. But second to that is to convict an.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Innocent Carine mal then focused on Kathy's strange behavior, specifically
towards Tracy Riquel. Cathy told the same story over and
over again, even to Tracy Raquel's doctor when she was
just a teenager.
Speaker 12 (22:23):
You're giving information to your child's doctor that you so
badly wanted. You don't lie to that doctor. You tell
them everything. You especially would not tell your child's doctor
that your child had thrown the baby out of the
bed when any fool could have seen that didn't happen,
(22:49):
And you certainly wouldn't blame it on a child. From
nineteen eighty two to nineteen ninety seven, when your child
is in your face telling you, how could you do
this to me? January nineteen ninety seven, what does miss
Almond do? She brings the baby shoes.
Speaker 11 (23:12):
Still trying to blame Tracy Ray. She knows what happened.
She's the only one that knows what happened. Miss Almond
is responsible not for killing her child, but for the
death of her job.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
There was no more to say. Arguments were finished. The
trial concluded, and now the waiting began. I always knew.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
That it was up to those twelve citizens. We slept
with a jury out. We went home one night and
came back.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
The next morning.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
I don't remember them deliberating a long time, but I
remember the call that we got being that there was
a verdict.
Speaker 8 (23:55):
We the jury found the defendant, Jan Barry Sandlin.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
This case takes yet another turn, and it was a shocker.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
My stomach dropped.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
That's next time on Burden of Guilt. Stay tuned for
Burden of Guilt at 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 burdenofguiltpod at gmail dot com. That's Burden of
(24:28):
Guilt pod at gmail dot com. If you or someone
you know is worried about maltreatment or suspect that a
child is being abused or neglected, call the Child Help
National Child Abuse Hotline. You can call or text one
eight hundred four a child. That's one eight hundred four
(24:49):
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for listening, and also be sure to check us out
(25:10):
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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 Andrea Gunning and Carrie Hartman, also produced
(25:32):
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(25:56):
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He had this twinkle in his eye. I got the
sense that he thought he was smarter than everybody. He
would smile, He smiled into the camera. He would smile
at witnesses. He tried to smile at Tracy. He tried
to stare down Kathy in a way. I thought he
found this was sort of a game.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
That's lead Assistant District Attorney Jeff Brickman talking about the
demeanor of the defendant. I'm Nancy Glass and this is
burden of guilt. Episode six, Battlefield. Tracy Raquel told the
(00:55):
prosecution that she had seen some of her mother's testimony
on television, and since witnesses weren't allowed to watch the
court proceedings due to sequestration orders, the judge was left
with no choice but to declare a mistrial. It was
a heavy blow to the prosecution, and District Attorney j
(01:15):
Tom Morgan had to decide if it was worth the
time and money to take the decades old cold case
to trial once again. Assistant District Attorney LeAnn Mangon.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Jeff and I felt pretty deflated by the fact that
the mistrial had been declared. When Judge Fuller declared the mistrial,
he did make that ruling in a way that allowed
us to make a decision about whether we wanted to
retry the case.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
We are in the dumps.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
I mean, don't get me wrong, but you know, you
look at each other and go, this guy killed a four.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Month old district attorney j Tom Morgan.
Speaker 5 (01:54):
I was furious. I mean, all the work that Leanne
and Jeff had put into it, and so my job
as SADISC attorney was to get my two assistants in
there and say, take a deep breath, let's do this again.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
After all of this had happened, I came into work
to a voicemail message from Tracy saying please don't give up.
Speaker 6 (02:19):
I basically just called the prosecution and said, look, I'm sorry,
I didn't mean to mess everything up. Could you do
this again?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
After going in and talking about it with Jay Tom
and looking at each other and realizing, you know, this
doesn't change what happened, it doesn't change the facts.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
And as I told Leanne, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
What, last time I checked, there's no such thing as
the one free murder rule in Georgia.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
And we were back at it within a month.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Supercharged out, the prosecution once again set out to prove
that Jan Berry Sandlin killed four month old Matthew.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
We didn't really change the theory of the case at all.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
The theory a man was left alone with a baby.
By the time the baby's mother came home and found him,
he was near death. The child was a victim of
the man's abuse. That man was Tracy Riquel's father, Jan
Barry Sandlin, a person with a history of cruel and
abusive behavior towards his children. And as we told you,
(03:25):
Tracy Raquel has spent a lifetime dealing with the abuse
she suffered at the hands of her father.
Speaker 6 (03:32):
You would just show up in the Millanite and throw
us on the street. We spent lots of time just
sleeping on a park bench. He put that camel cigarette.
Speaker 7 (03:44):
Off on me.
Speaker 6 (03:46):
I was in the car with Kathy and she said
day after tomorrow is Matthew's birthday. And I just had
this child like remark of you don't take me to
the cemetery. Never speak to you, told Jan and he
beat me terribly.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
He really enjoyed the belt, the wrong.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
End of the belt.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
We shared how he fed her roaches on toast as
a form of punishment, and how Tracy Raquel spent much
of her childhood navigating the emotional and physical abuse between
Kathy and Jan. We told you how he beat Kathy
and locked her in closets. For Tracy Raquel, those memories
(04:29):
were like a bad dream.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
Nightmares are an ongoing thing for me. I never have
nightmares about Matthew. I have a lot of nightmares that
revolve around events in my childhood and just always being
terrified and never feeling safe, and that comes from not
being stable and getting thrown out of your house in
(04:53):
the middle of the night, and people getting beat up
and abuse, like all of these things don't go away.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Lead A Jeff Brickman imagined how the series of events
unfolded between Jan and the baby who was not his son.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Leanne and I were recent parents of two year old.
We had learned in the last couple of years what
it's like to have a baby at home who can't speak.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Who cries a lot. They're crying, they're upset, they won't
shut up. You want to sleep.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
You're not real jazzed up about the fact that you're
being left at home with this four month old. It's
not even yours, and you just wanted to be quiet.
Just like that, you'll get your quiet. Be dead, but
you'll get the quiet. So we knew that one of
(05:48):
the things we wanted to impress upon the jury was
that this can happen just like that. And he had
every reason to do that. And given the nature of
the injuries, he decided just like that that he was
going to shut him up.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
And as horrific as.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
That is to imagine, that's exactly what happened.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Jeff Brickman knew if the prosecution was going to win
this trial, the jury had to believe that's what happened.
As for the defense, they learned something from the first
trial and this time honed in on a single strategy.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
This time the defense was none too subtle, and we
knew Krinn it was not going to be a well
they just can't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
It was one person did it. It was Kathy Allman.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
There was more of a focus on Kathy Allman as
someone who may have had something to do with Matthew's murder.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
I distinctly remember talking to Kathy going, let me tell
you what the defense is.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
You killed your four month old. You get it.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Now it's up to you. I can't get up and testify.
You need to be convincing.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Ada. Jeff Brickman was saying Kathy could make her break
this second trial, and he was worried about her state
of mind and her lack of self assurance on the stand.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Kathy was kind of damaged over the years, and she
was very vulnerable. She was easy to pick on, and
Karen was great at finding weaknesses.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
They were introducing a suggestion that perhaps there's not enough
evidence to demonstrate that Jan Sanlin was solely responsible.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
On day one of the trial, Tracy Riquel was the
second witness to be called. Assistant District Attorney Lee Ann
man Gon asked Tracy Riquel about the time she contacted
her father in prison.
Speaker 8 (07:48):
When you were younger. Did you make a telephone call
to the defendant?
Speaker 9 (07:53):
Yes? I did.
Speaker 8 (07:54):
Did you ask him for an explanation for Matt's death?
Speaker 7 (07:57):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (07:57):
I did?
Speaker 8 (07:58):
And in that telephone call, what was his response?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Ask your mother? She couldn't get a straight answer from
Jan and her mother. Kathy wouldn't provide any clarity either.
Speaker 8 (08:12):
Do you and miss Rain have any information which would
indicate that your mother is responsible for Matt's death?
Speaker 4 (08:17):
No?
Speaker 8 (08:18):
Can you tell the members of the jury, why it
is you have worked so hard to find out what
happened to that?
Speaker 9 (08:25):
Well, I always knew that he had died, and it
was always a very evasive subject with everyone in my family,
And I guess that just sparked me to think that
something was wrong, and I thought, if there was something wrong,
you needed to fix it. I had no idea of it.
(08:49):
It was because they thought that I had.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
That was.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
That was obviously very emotional for Tracy Riquel. She regained
her composure and lee Anne continued her questioning. She asked
Tracy Riquel, what happened when she asked her mother to
have Matt's death investigated.
Speaker 8 (09:09):
What generally was your mother's response when you were talking
about that issue.
Speaker 9 (09:13):
That she didn't want to deal with the pain. She
was not capable of dealing with the pain. She didn't
have the support.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
That she needed.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Kathy Almand's mother, Tracy Riquel's grandmother, Anne Davidson, took the stand.
She testified about an incident that occurred when she came
home with Kathy after Jan was alone with baby Matthew.
Speaker 7 (09:35):
We went in and matt was screaming, and Kathy said,
what's wrong with the baby, and he said, oh, I
was playing with him here on the table, and he
picked up the pepper shaker, and I guess he got
it in his eyes.
Speaker 10 (09:49):
Could you tell what the appearance was of this child?
Speaker 7 (09:52):
Boy was crying and his azar red.
Speaker 10 (09:54):
What did Kathy do? If anything?
Speaker 7 (09:56):
She took the baby and she got a washcloth and
washed his eyes out, gave him a bottle, and pretty
soon he stuck crying.
Speaker 10 (10:03):
Was there any further discussion that day as far as
you remember about what happened?
Speaker 7 (10:07):
No, never was mentioned again.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Then the questioning turned to the knight Matthew died.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
At any point once you got to the hospital, did
you make any effort or attempt to talk to Kat?
Speaker 7 (10:19):
Yes, I did. I just went straight to her and said, Kathy,
what happened? And Jan just came forward and said that
Tracy threw little matt from the crib and he was hurt,
real bad, and that's why they were there.
Speaker 11 (10:37):
Eighty eight.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Jeff Brickman asked Kathy's mother, Anne Davidson, those questions to
establish a history of abuse by Jan. On the other hand,
defense attorney Korean Mulls seemed to say, if the pepper
incident was so bad if there was abuse, why didn't
anyone call the police?
Speaker 12 (10:57):
Davidson, what was the name of the police officer? Spoke?
Speaker 11 (11:00):
You been told about this pepper incident?
Speaker 12 (11:02):
After that died?
Speaker 11 (11:03):
I didn't speak. You didn't.
Speaker 12 (11:06):
You didn't happen to say, God, God, this land not
only has he killed my child?
Speaker 11 (11:10):
Let me tell you about the pepper incident. No, didn't
say that to anybody?
Speaker 7 (11:13):
Did you?
Speaker 12 (11:15):
First time you ever mentioned it is July nineteen ninety
seven to these folks.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Defense attorney Krin Maul pointed out that Kathy's mother didn't
share that information with anybody until the second trial.
Speaker 12 (11:28):
Did you hear a sales soul besides your daughter's, say,
Jane Mary Sandlin told them that this child was thrown out.
Speaker 11 (11:35):
Of the bed by his sister.
Speaker 7 (11:37):
No, I didn't, okay.
Speaker 11 (11:38):
And your daughter also said she didn't know if he
did or not.
Speaker 12 (11:42):
Didn't she?
Speaker 7 (11:42):
That's right? Neither do I.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Corin Mal had spent hours questioning Kathy during the first trial,
and she had no plans to ease up in the second.
In fact, she would press Kathy even harder about inconsistencies.
Speaker 12 (12:04):
You have told her, and you have told us that
besides your initial different stories that you told her, the
prim death, banging the head on the throwing out, crushing
the baby shoes. Besides those different stories you have always
(12:26):
you said, maintain what happened that day to everyone having you,
and you maintained to everyone that you believed she'd thrown
the baby out of the bed.
Speaker 8 (12:38):
That's what I thought for many, many years.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
The defense wanted to make the point that even while
jan was out of their lives and in prison, Kathy
continued to communicate with him. It seemed like she still
wanted them to have a relationship.
Speaker 12 (12:54):
It was almen, you wrote a letter to your ex husband,
correct written to them, Yes, and you wrote to him
about Tracy making accusations, right. I don't really recall what
I wrote in those letters. Isn't it true, miss Ahman,
(13:18):
that you told in your letters, don't worry about Tracy.
You know my parents they've just been saying some ugly
things about you. I don't recall what was in those letters,
so I can't say I was very depressed when I
wrote him.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
I know that.
Speaker 9 (13:39):
I thought something's wrong with me.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
I don't know.
Speaker 11 (13:43):
In those letters.
Speaker 12 (13:46):
In the last letter that you wrote to mister Sandlin,
do you recall telling him in there not to be
concerned about Tracy because she just resented him not being there.
Speaker 6 (14:02):
I am, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
In another letter, Kathy had expressed frustration about Tracy Riquel's
younger brother, Jason. He was the second child Kathy had
with jam.
Speaker 12 (14:14):
Didn't you tell Jason that you told mister Sandwin, he's
bothering me, I'm going to beat him with a baseball.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
I don't recall that.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yes, that's what she wrote, that she was going to
beat her son with a baseball bat.
Speaker 12 (14:29):
Let me show you something and see if that refreshes
your recollection.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
A huh.
Speaker 12 (14:36):
Yes, I did say it in a joking way, and
you did say in a joking way, I'm going to
beat him with a baseball.
Speaker 7 (14:45):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
The prosecution came back one last time with Kathy to
put the focus back on Matthew's death.
Speaker 10 (14:54):
And on that day when you did leave matt for
the second time with that man over, there was this
child who was depicted in State five just two days
before his death.
Speaker 12 (15:05):
In this picture.
Speaker 11 (15:07):
Was he healthy?
Speaker 7 (15:08):
Yes, he was healthy.
Speaker 10 (15:09):
Was he as alive as could be, live as could.
Speaker 9 (15:11):
Be, happy as could be?
Speaker 7 (15:12):
In a very good, wonderful.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Baby When the prosecution finished, the defense left the jury
with this.
Speaker 12 (15:20):
Isn't it truth that the accident, and it was an accident,
was caused by Humasa.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
No, there was no more suggesting or circling around it.
There it was. The defense put it on the line.
It was your fault, Kathy. The defense never called a
single witness and Jan never took the stand. Jeff Brickman
remembers observing Jan's behavior as he watched the testimony.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
He had this twinkle in his eye. I got the
sense that he thought he was smarter than everybody. He
would smile, He smiled into the camera. He would smile
at witnesses. He tried to smile at Tracy. He tried
to stare down Kathy. He would stare back at us,
and he just kind of stared through you.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
In a way.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
I thought he found this was sort of a game.
I really do think he found pleasure in making everybody
who came in there to testify against him.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Hey, the last person to testify was the medical examiner
who performed the second autopsy, doctor Burton. The prosecution strategically
saved him for the end. He was their key witness.
The prosecution's case was straightforward, Matthew's death was from unspeakable abuse.
Speaker 8 (16:47):
Do you have an opinion, doctor Burdon, as to whether
these injuries could have been inflicted by a two year
old child throwing the baby out of a crip.
Speaker 13 (16:55):
Well, First of all, a two year old child couldn't
throw the baby out. It's a squirming, ten pound way,
and so to throw it out would be virtually impossible.
To say that a two year old could get in
the bed and somehow tug it up over the edge
of the rail and let the baby tip over the
edge of the rail and fall. It's possible, but even
that is not likely.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
In the last episode you heard, defense attorney Carin Mal
questioned Kathy about Tracy Riquel's heavy baby shoes because Kathy
had said she thought Tracy Riquel had stepped on Matthew's
head with her heavy baby shoes and that led to
his death. Ada Leeann Mangon showed doctor Burton a pair
(17:39):
of those shoes.
Speaker 13 (17:41):
These shoes have leather soles and rubber hills on them.
The soles and hills have edges on them. There's nothing
in any of the records to describe any type of
a pattern of bruise or abrasion to Matthew's head. This
tells us that the impact happened on a surface smooth
with no portray. Rubrin's is on it. There's not enough
(18:02):
mass in the foot and leg of a two year
old cause fractures on both sides of this baby's head
to compress the head against the floor. It would be
almost impossible for all the circumstances to exist for a
shoe not to leave a mark on Matthew's head.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Further emphasizing it was no accident, the prosecution asked how
a child would sustain the injuries found on Matthew, so.
Speaker 8 (18:28):
That the jury better understands the force which must have
been used in this case under what non abusive circumstances
would you expect to see these types of injuries?
Speaker 13 (18:38):
Fractures like this that are bilateral complex fractures you see
an automobile rex, you see them in children. Are people
who fall heights like fifteen twenty feet?
Speaker 8 (18:50):
Do you, doctor Burton, have an opinion based on a
reasonable degree of medical certainty as to the manner of
death of Matthew Stephen Golder on December the twenty seventh of.
Speaker 7 (18:59):
Nineteen that anyone.
Speaker 13 (19:01):
I do the injuries that resulted in Matthew's death were
inflicted or caused by another person.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Carin Mal did not mince words during the cross examination.
Speaker 12 (19:13):
The scenario that you were given was mainly to disprove
that this child had not been thrown out by a
two year old onto the floor from a bed from
a crib.
Speaker 11 (19:23):
Correct.
Speaker 13 (19:24):
Yes, I was trying to decide whether this was an
accidental death or some other type of death.
Speaker 12 (19:28):
And it's true, Doctor Burton, that this injury could have
been inflicted several different ways, and you have shown some
of them, correct.
Speaker 13 (19:36):
And there may be others.
Speaker 12 (19:37):
But the bottom line is that this child is not
thrown out of a bed by a two year old.
This child died as a result of abuse from an adult.
Speaker 8 (19:49):
Correct.
Speaker 13 (19:50):
I think that's the probability, Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
So which adult was it? Would the jury believe it
was jan or did the defense raise enough down by
presenting Kathy as a culprit Ada LeeAnne Mangon went first
in closing arguments.
Speaker 8 (20:13):
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a case about murder. This
is a case about the murder of a four month
old little boy, about the murder of a child.
Speaker 14 (20:25):
Who lived on this earth for less than twenty weeks.
This is the case about a murder which could have
been committed by only one person, and.
Speaker 8 (20:35):
That person is sitting right there.
Speaker 14 (20:38):
Jan Berry Sandlin is guilty of murder.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Leanne held up a photo of Matthew.
Speaker 14 (20:47):
Matt Golder is speaking to you, ladies and gentlemen. He's saying,
my name is Matthew Stephen Golder. I died when I
was four months old. I was robbed of my opportunity
to run, to jump, to laugh. My innocence was taken
(21:08):
from me. It was taken from me by that man.
Ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 8 (21:14):
Matt Golder is crying out to you today as he
must have cried in December of nineteen seventy one. But
today he's crying very differently. He's crying for justice, ladies
and gentlemen. He is asking that you send the loudest
and clearest message that you can. He wants you to
(21:35):
tell this man what you did was wrong, what you
did was murder.
Speaker 7 (21:41):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Defense Attorney Carin Maul gave her summation.
Speaker 12 (21:47):
While it is true that there's nothing worse than the
death of a child, and those of us who have
suffered it know how poignant that is, and know how
debilitating that is. But second to that is to convict an.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Innocent Carine mal then focused on Kathy's strange behavior, specifically
towards Tracy Riquel. Cathy told the same story over and
over again, even to Tracy Raquel's doctor when she was
just a teenager.
Speaker 12 (22:23):
You're giving information to your child's doctor that you so
badly wanted. You don't lie to that doctor. You tell
them everything. You especially would not tell your child's doctor
that your child had thrown the baby out of the
bed when any fool could have seen that didn't happen,
(22:49):
And you certainly wouldn't blame it on a child. From
nineteen eighty two to nineteen ninety seven, when your child
is in your face telling you, how could you do
this to me? January nineteen ninety seven, what does miss
Almond do? She brings the baby shoes.
Speaker 11 (23:12):
Still trying to blame Tracy Ray. She knows what happened.
She's the only one that knows what happened. Miss Almond
is responsible not for killing her child, but for the
death of her job.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
There was no more to say. Arguments were finished. The
trial concluded, and now the waiting began. I always knew.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
That it was up to those twelve citizens. We slept
with a jury out. We went home one night and
came back.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
The next morning.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
I don't remember them deliberating a long time, but I
remember the call that we got being that there was
a verdict.
Speaker 8 (23:55):
We the jury found the defendant, Jan Barry Sandlin.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
This case takes yet another turn, and it was a shocker.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
My stomach dropped.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
That's next time on Burden of Guilt. Stay tuned for
Burden of Guilt at 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 burdenofguiltpod at gmail dot com. That's Burden of
(24:28):
Guilt pod at gmail dot com. If you or someone
you know is worried about maltreatment or suspect that a
child is being abused or neglected, call the Child Help
National Child Abuse Hotline. You can call or text one
eight hundred four a child. That's one eight hundred four
(24:49):
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 and review Burden of Guilt. Five
star reviews go a long way, A big thank you
for listening, and also be sure to check us out
(25:10):
and follow 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 Andrea Gunning and Carrie Hartman, also produced
(25:32):
by Ben Fetterman 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 and
mixing by Matt Delvecchio. Burden of Guilt's theme composed by
Oliver Baines. Music library provided by my Music And For
(25:56):
more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
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