November 22, 2023 • 26 mins
Burden of Guilt has been turned into a docuseries, now streaming only on Paramount+. Available to watch HERE!
And make sure to binge all episodes of the podcast that inspired the show before you watch!
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?
If you would like to reach out to the Burden of Guilt Team, email us at burdenofguiltpod@gmail.com
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, please reach out and call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
To report a case of child abuse, please contact your local police department or call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1.800.422.4453.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, aall, we have some exciting news to share. Paramount
Plus has turned Burden of Guilt into a docuseries. You
will get to meet the people involved, You'll hear from
the people who have never spoken before, and you get
to see where the story took place. We are so
proud and excited to share it with you. You can
(00:20):
stream it right now on Paramount Plus.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
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 1 (00:56):
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 Riquel told the
(01:19):
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
(01:39):
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 (01:52):
Jeff and I felt pretty deflated by the fact that
the mistrial had been declared. When Judge Fuller declared the
mist trial, he did make that ruling in a way
that allowed us to make a decision about whether we
wanted to retry the case.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
We are in the dumps. I mean, don't get me wrong,
but you know, you look at each other and go,
this guy killed a four month old.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
District Attorney Jay tom Morgan.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
I was furious.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
I mean, all the work that Leanne and Jeff had
put into it, and so my job as a DiscT
attorney was to get my two assistants in there and say,
take a deep breath, let's do this again.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
After all of this had happened, I came into work
to a voicemail message from Tracy saying please don't give up.
Speaker 6 (02:44):
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 2 (02:51):
After going in and talking about it with Jay Tom
and looking at each other and realizing, you know, this
doesn't change what happen.
Speaker 7 (03:00):
Happened.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
It doesn't change the facts. And as I told Leanne,
you know what, last time I checked, there's no such
thing as the one free murder rule in Georgia. And
we were back at it within a month, supercharged out.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
The prosecution once again set out to prove that Jan
Berry Sandlin killed four month old Matthew.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
We didn't really change the theory of the case at all.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
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,
(03:49):
Tracy Riquel has spent a lifetime dealing with the abuse
she suffered at the hands of her father.
Speaker 6 (03:56):
He would just show up in milanit row us on
the street. We spent lots of time just sleeping on
a park bench. He put that camel cigarette off on me.
I was in the car with Kathy and she said,
day after tomorrow is Matthew's birthday, and I just had
(04:17):
this child like remark of you don't take me to
the cemetery of nervousbetian, she told Jan, and he beat
me terribly. He really enjoyed the belt, the wrong end
of the belt.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
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
(04:53):
were like a bad dream.
Speaker 6 (04:56):
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
(05:17):
the middle of the night, and people getting beat up
and abuse, like all of these things don't go away.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Lead Ada Jeff Brickman imagined how the series of events
unfolded between Jan and the baby who was not his son.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
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,
who cries a lot. They're crying, You're upset, they won't
shut up. You want to sleep. You're not real jazzed
(05:52):
up about the fact that you're being left at home
with this four month old is not even yours, and
you just wanted to be quiet. Just like that, You'll
get your quiet. You'll be dead, but you'll get the quiet.
So we knew that one of the things we wanted
(06:13):
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.
And as horrific as that is to imagine, that's exactly
(06:34):
what happened.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
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 2 (06:51):
This time, the defense was none too subtle, and we knew, Karen,
it was not going to be a well just can't
prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. It was one person
did it. It was Kathy Almon.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
There was more of a focus on Kathy Allman as
someone who may have had something to do with Matthew's murder.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
I distinctly remember talking to Kathy, going, let me tell
you what the defense is. You killed your four month old.
You get it. Now, it's up to you. I can't
get up and testify. You need to be convincing.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Adyajff 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 2 (07:40):
Kathy was kind of damaged over the years, and she
was very vulnerable. She was easy to pick on, and
karenn was great at finding weaknesses.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
They were introducing a suggestion that perhaps there's not enough
evidence to demonstrate that Jan Sanmlin was solely responsible.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
On day one of the t Tracy Roquel was the
second witness to be called. Assistant District Attorney Lee and
man Gone asked Tracy Raquel about the time she contacted
her father in prison.
Speaker 8 (08:12):
When you were younger, did you make a telephone call
to the defendant yes I did. Did you ask him
for an explanation for Matt's death? Yes, I did, And
in that telephone call, what was his response, asked your mother.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
She couldn't get a straight answer from Jan and her mother,
Kathy wouldn't provide any clarity either.
Speaker 8 (08:36):
Do you and miss Rain have any information which would
indicate that your mother is responsible for Matt's death?
Speaker 6 (08:41):
No?
Speaker 8 (08:42):
Can you tell the members of the jury why it
is you have worked so hard to find out what
happened to that? Well?
Speaker 7 (08:51):
I always knew that he had died, and it was
always a very if 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.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
I had no idea of it.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
It was because they thought that I had love.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
That was obviously very emotional for Tracy Riquel. She regained
her composure and lee Anne continued her questioning. She asked
Tracy Roquel what happened when she asked her mother to
have Matt's death investigated.
Speaker 8 (09:33):
What generally was your mother's response when you were talking
about that issue.
Speaker 7 (09:37):
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 that she needed.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
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 9 (09:59):
Were you when 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 4 (10:13):
Could you tell what the appearance was at this chart?
Speaker 9 (10:16):
Bob was crying, his eyes were red. What did Kathy do?
If anything?
Speaker 7 (10:20):
She took the.
Speaker 9 (10:20):
Baby and she got a washcloth and washed his eyes out,
gave him a bottle, and pretty soon he stopped crying.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Was there any further discussion that day as far as
you remember about what happened?
Speaker 9 (10:31):
No, never was mentioned again.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Then the questioning turned to the night Matthew died.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
At any point once you got to the hospital, did
you make any effort or attempt to talk.
Speaker 9 (10:43):
To kat Yes, I did. I just went straight to
her and said, Katy, 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 4 (11:01):
Eighty eight.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Jeff Brickman asked Kathy's mother, Anne Davidson, those questions to
establish a history of abuse by jam. On the other hand,
defense attorney Kren Malls seemed to say, if the pepper
incident was so bad, if there was abuse, why didn't
anyone call the police, Miss Davidson?
Speaker 4 (11:22):
What was the name of the police officer you spoke
to being told about this pepper incident after Matt died.
I didn't speak you didn't You didn't happen to say, God,
this land not only has he killed my child, Let
me tell you about the pepper incident. No, didn't say
that to anybody?
Speaker 7 (11:38):
Did you?
Speaker 4 (11:39):
First time you ever mentioned it is July nineteen ninety
seven to these folks.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Defense attorney Krin Mall pointed out that Kathy's mother didn't
share that information with anybody until the second trial.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
Did you hear a singales soul besides your daughter, say
Jane Mary Sandwin told them that this child was thrown
out of the bed by his sister.
Speaker 9 (12:01):
No, I didn't, okay, And your daughter.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Also said she didn't know if he did or not,
didn't she That's right, neither do I.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
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 4 (12:28):
You have told her, and you have told us that
besides your initial different stories that you told her the
Krim dead, banging the head on the throwing out, crushing
the baby shoes, besides those different stories, you have always
(12:50):
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. That's what I thought
for many, many years.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
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 4 (13:18):
It was almend you wrote a letter to your ex husband. Correctly,
you've written to them, yes, and you wrote to him
about Tracy making accusations.
Speaker 10 (13:34):
Right.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
I don't really recall what I wrote in those letters.
Isn't it truth in this Almond 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.
Speaker 7 (13:54):
I don't recall what was in those letters, so I
can't say I was very depressed when I wrote him.
Speaker 9 (14:01):
I know that.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
I thought something's wrong with me. I don't know in
those letters. 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
(14:25):
not being there, I have I don't know.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
In another letter, Kathy had expressed frustration about Tracy Raquel's
younger brother, Jason. He was the second child Kathy had
with jan Didn't.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
You tell Jason that you told mister Sandlin he's bothering me.
I'm going to beat him with a baseball.
Speaker 6 (14:45):
I don't recall that.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Yes, that's what she wrote, that she was going to
beat her son with a baseball bat.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
Let me show you something and see if that refreshes
nor recollection.
Speaker 7 (15:00):
Yes, I did say it in a joking way.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
And you did say in a joking way, I'm going
to beat him with a baseball.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Yes, the prosecution came back one last time with Kathy
to put the focus back on Matthew's death.
Speaker 11 (15:18):
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 States five just two days
before his death. In this picture.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Was he healthy?
Speaker 7 (15:32):
Yes, he was healthy.
Speaker 11 (15:33):
Was he as alive as could be, live as could.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Be, happy as could be in a very good, wonderful baby.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
When the prosecution finished, the defense left the jury with this, isn't.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
It truth that the accident, and he was an accident,
was caused by hums Ho.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
No, there was no more suggesting or circling around it.
Speaker 12 (15:57):
There.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
It was the defense put 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 2 (16:14):
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 9 (16:36):
In a way.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
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 1 (16:48):
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 (17:11):
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 12 (17:19):
Well, first of all, a two year old child couldn't
throw the baby out. It's a squirming ten pound weight,
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 1 (17:39):
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. A Leean Mangune showed doctor Burton a pair
(18:03):
of those shoes.
Speaker 12 (18:05):
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,
but no proturberances on it. There's not enough mass in
(18:27):
the foot and leg of a two year old to
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 1 (18:44):
Further emphasizing it was no accident, the prosecution asked how
a child would sustain the injuries found on Matthew, so.
Speaker 8 (18:53):
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.
Speaker 12 (19:01):
Of injuries fractures like this that are bilateral complex fractures.
You see an automobile wrecks, you see them, and children
are people who fall heights like fifteen twenty feet.
Speaker 8 (19:14):
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 nineteen seventy one.
Speaker 12 (19:25):
I do the injuries that resulted in Matthew's death were
inflicted or caused by another person?
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Carin Mal did not mince words during the cross examination.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
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. Correct.
Speaker 12 (19:48):
Yes, I was trying to decide whether this was an
accidental death or some other type of death.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
And it is true, doctor Burton, that this injury could
have been inflicted several different ways, and you have shown
some of them, correct.
Speaker 12 (20:00):
And there may be others.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
But 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. Correct.
Speaker 12 (20:14):
I think that's the probability, Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
So which adult was it? Would the jury believe it
was Jan or did the defense raise enough doubt by
presenting Kathy as a culprit Ada Lee and Mangon went
first in closing arguments.
Speaker 8 (20:37):
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 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 that person is sitting
(21:00):
right there. Jan Berry Sandlin is guilty of murder.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Leanne held up a photo of Matthew.
Speaker 8 (21:11):
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
(21:32):
from me. It was taken from me by that man.
Ladies and gentlemen. 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.
Speaker 10 (21:52):
He is asking that you send the loudest and clearest
message that you can. He wants you to tell this
man what you did was wrong, what you did was murderers.
Speaker 8 (22:05):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Defense attorney Carin Maul gave her summation.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
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 1 (22:29):
Innocent, Carin Maul then focused on Kathy's strange behavior, specifically
towards Tracy Riquel. Kathy told the same story over and
over again, even to Tracy Raquel's doctor when she was
just a teenager.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
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,
(23:14):
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, still trying to
(23:38):
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 1 (23:57):
There was no more to say. Arguments were finished, the
trial concluded, and now the waiting began.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
I always knew that it was up to those twelve citizens.
We slept with a jury out. We went home one
night and came back the next morning. I don't remember
them deliberating a long time, but I remember the call
that we got being that there was a verdict.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
We the jury found the defendant Jan Barrysilin.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
This case takes yet another turn, and it was a shocker.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
My stomach dropped.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
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 Burden of guildtpod at gmail dot com. That's
(24:51):
Burden of Guilt pod at gmail dot com. If you
or someone you know was worried about maltreatment or suspect
that the 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
(25:13):
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 for listening, and also be sure to
(25:33):
check us out 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
(25:55):
produced by Ben Fetterman and associate producer Kristin Melchure. 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 Guild's theme composed
by Oliver Baines. Music library provided by my Music and
(26:20):
For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hi, aall, we have some exciting news to share. Paramount
Plus has turned Burden of Guilt into a docuseries. You
will get to meet the people involved, You'll hear from
the people who have never spoken before, and you get
to see where the story took place. We are so
proud and excited to share it with you. You can
(00:20):
stream it right now on Paramount Plus.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
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 1 (00:56):
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 Riquel told the
(01:19):
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
(01:39):
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 (01:52):
Jeff and I felt pretty deflated by the fact that
the mistrial had been declared. When Judge Fuller declared the
mist trial, he did make that ruling in a way
that allowed us to make a decision about whether we
wanted to retry the case.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
We are in the dumps. I mean, don't get me wrong,
but you know, you look at each other and go,
this guy killed a four month old.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
District Attorney Jay tom Morgan.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
I was furious.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
I mean, all the work that Leanne and Jeff had
put into it, and so my job as a DiscT
attorney was to get my two assistants in there and say,
take a deep breath, let's do this again.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
After all of this had happened, I came into work
to a voicemail message from Tracy saying please don't give up.
Speaker 6 (02:44):
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 2 (02:51):
After going in and talking about it with Jay Tom
and looking at each other and realizing, you know, this
doesn't change what happen.
Speaker 7 (03:00):
Happened.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
It doesn't change the facts. And as I told Leanne,
you know what, last time I checked, there's no such
thing as the one free murder rule in Georgia. And
we were back at it within a month, supercharged out.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
The prosecution once again set out to prove that Jan
Berry Sandlin killed four month old Matthew.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
We didn't really change the theory of the case at all.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
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,
(03:49):
Tracy Riquel has spent a lifetime dealing with the abuse
she suffered at the hands of her father.
Speaker 6 (03:56):
He would just show up in milanit row us on
the street. We spent lots of time just sleeping on
a park bench. He put that camel cigarette off on me.
I was in the car with Kathy and she said,
day after tomorrow is Matthew's birthday, and I just had
(04:17):
this child like remark of you don't take me to
the cemetery of nervousbetian, she told Jan, and he beat
me terribly. He really enjoyed the belt, the wrong end
of the belt.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
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
(04:53):
were like a bad dream.
Speaker 6 (04:56):
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
(05:17):
the middle of the night, and people getting beat up
and abuse, like all of these things don't go away.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Lead Ada Jeff Brickman imagined how the series of events
unfolded between Jan and the baby who was not his son.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
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,
who cries a lot. They're crying, You're upset, they won't
shut up. You want to sleep. You're not real jazzed
(05:52):
up about the fact that you're being left at home
with this four month old is not even yours, and
you just wanted to be quiet. Just like that, You'll
get your quiet. You'll be dead, but you'll get the quiet.
So we knew that one of the things we wanted
(06:13):
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.
And as horrific as that is to imagine, that's exactly
(06:34):
what happened.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
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 2 (06:51):
This time, the defense was none too subtle, and we knew, Karen,
it was not going to be a well just can't
prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. It was one person
did it. It was Kathy Almon.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
There was more of a focus on Kathy Allman as
someone who may have had something to do with Matthew's murder.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
I distinctly remember talking to Kathy, going, let me tell
you what the defense is. You killed your four month old.
You get it. Now, it's up to you. I can't
get up and testify. You need to be convincing.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Adyajff 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 2 (07:40):
Kathy was kind of damaged over the years, and she
was very vulnerable. She was easy to pick on, and
karenn was great at finding weaknesses.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
They were introducing a suggestion that perhaps there's not enough
evidence to demonstrate that Jan Sanmlin was solely responsible.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
On day one of the t Tracy Roquel was the
second witness to be called. Assistant District Attorney Lee and
man Gone asked Tracy Raquel about the time she contacted
her father in prison.
Speaker 8 (08:12):
When you were younger, did you make a telephone call
to the defendant yes I did. Did you ask him
for an explanation for Matt's death? Yes, I did, And
in that telephone call, what was his response, asked your mother.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
She couldn't get a straight answer from Jan and her mother,
Kathy wouldn't provide any clarity either.
Speaker 8 (08:36):
Do you and miss Rain have any information which would
indicate that your mother is responsible for Matt's death?
Speaker 6 (08:41):
No?
Speaker 8 (08:42):
Can you tell the members of the jury why it
is you have worked so hard to find out what
happened to that? Well?
Speaker 7 (08:51):
I always knew that he had died, and it was
always a very if 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.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
I had no idea of it.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
It was because they thought that I had love.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
That was obviously very emotional for Tracy Riquel. She regained
her composure and lee Anne continued her questioning. She asked
Tracy Roquel what happened when she asked her mother to
have Matt's death investigated.
Speaker 8 (09:33):
What generally was your mother's response when you were talking
about that issue.
Speaker 7 (09:37):
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 that she needed.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
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 9 (09:59):
Were you when 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 4 (10:13):
Could you tell what the appearance was at this chart?
Speaker 9 (10:16):
Bob was crying, his eyes were red. What did Kathy do?
If anything?
Speaker 7 (10:20):
She took the.
Speaker 9 (10:20):
Baby and she got a washcloth and washed his eyes out,
gave him a bottle, and pretty soon he stopped crying.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Was there any further discussion that day as far as
you remember about what happened?
Speaker 9 (10:31):
No, never was mentioned again.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Then the questioning turned to the night Matthew died.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
At any point once you got to the hospital, did
you make any effort or attempt to talk.
Speaker 9 (10:43):
To kat Yes, I did. I just went straight to
her and said, Katy, 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 4 (11:01):
Eighty eight.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Jeff Brickman asked Kathy's mother, Anne Davidson, those questions to
establish a history of abuse by jam. On the other hand,
defense attorney Kren Malls seemed to say, if the pepper
incident was so bad, if there was abuse, why didn't
anyone call the police, Miss Davidson?
Speaker 4 (11:22):
What was the name of the police officer you spoke
to being told about this pepper incident after Matt died.
I didn't speak you didn't You didn't happen to say, God,
this land not only has he killed my child, Let
me tell you about the pepper incident. No, didn't say
that to anybody?
Speaker 7 (11:38):
Did you?
Speaker 4 (11:39):
First time you ever mentioned it is July nineteen ninety
seven to these folks.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Defense attorney Krin Mall pointed out that Kathy's mother didn't
share that information with anybody until the second trial.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
Did you hear a singales soul besides your daughter, say
Jane Mary Sandwin told them that this child was thrown
out of the bed by his sister.
Speaker 9 (12:01):
No, I didn't, okay, And your daughter.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Also said she didn't know if he did or not,
didn't she That's right, neither do I.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
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 4 (12:28):
You have told her, and you have told us that
besides your initial different stories that you told her the
Krim dead, banging the head on the throwing out, crushing
the baby shoes, besides those different stories, you have always
(12:50):
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. That's what I thought
for many, many years.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
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 4 (13:18):
It was almend you wrote a letter to your ex husband. Correctly,
you've written to them, yes, and you wrote to him
about Tracy making accusations.
Speaker 10 (13:34):
Right.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
I don't really recall what I wrote in those letters.
Isn't it truth in this Almond 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.
Speaker 7 (13:54):
I don't recall what was in those letters, so I
can't say I was very depressed when I wrote him.
Speaker 9 (14:01):
I know that.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
I thought something's wrong with me. I don't know in
those letters. 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
(14:25):
not being there, I have I don't know.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
In another letter, Kathy had expressed frustration about Tracy Raquel's
younger brother, Jason. He was the second child Kathy had
with jan Didn't.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
You tell Jason that you told mister Sandlin he's bothering me.
I'm going to beat him with a baseball.
Speaker 6 (14:45):
I don't recall that.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Yes, that's what she wrote, that she was going to
beat her son with a baseball bat.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
Let me show you something and see if that refreshes
nor recollection.
Speaker 7 (15:00):
Yes, I did say it in a joking way.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
And you did say in a joking way, I'm going
to beat him with a baseball.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Yes, the prosecution came back one last time with Kathy
to put the focus back on Matthew's death.
Speaker 11 (15:18):
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 States five just two days
before his death. In this picture.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Was he healthy?
Speaker 7 (15:32):
Yes, he was healthy.
Speaker 11 (15:33):
Was he as alive as could be, live as could.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Be, happy as could be in a very good, wonderful baby.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
When the prosecution finished, the defense left the jury with this, isn't.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
It truth that the accident, and he was an accident,
was caused by hums Ho.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
No, there was no more suggesting or circling around it.
Speaker 12 (15:57):
There.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
It was the defense put 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 2 (16:14):
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 9 (16:36):
In a way.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
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 1 (16:48):
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 (17:11):
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 12 (17:19):
Well, first of all, a two year old child couldn't
throw the baby out. It's a squirming ten pound weight,
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 1 (17:39):
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. A Leean Mangune showed doctor Burton a pair
(18:03):
of those shoes.
Speaker 12 (18:05):
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,
but no proturberances on it. There's not enough mass in
(18:27):
the foot and leg of a two year old to
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 1 (18:44):
Further emphasizing it was no accident, the prosecution asked how
a child would sustain the injuries found on Matthew, so.
Speaker 8 (18:53):
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.
Speaker 12 (19:01):
Of injuries fractures like this that are bilateral complex fractures.
You see an automobile wrecks, you see them, and children
are people who fall heights like fifteen twenty feet.
Speaker 8 (19:14):
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 nineteen seventy one.
Speaker 12 (19:25):
I do the injuries that resulted in Matthew's death were
inflicted or caused by another person?
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Carin Mal did not mince words during the cross examination.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
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. Correct.
Speaker 12 (19:48):
Yes, I was trying to decide whether this was an
accidental death or some other type of death.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
And it is true, doctor Burton, that this injury could
have been inflicted several different ways, and you have shown
some of them, correct.
Speaker 12 (20:00):
And there may be others.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
But 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. Correct.
Speaker 12 (20:14):
I think that's the probability, Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
So which adult was it? Would the jury believe it
was Jan or did the defense raise enough doubt by
presenting Kathy as a culprit Ada Lee and Mangon went
first in closing arguments.
Speaker 8 (20:37):
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 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 that person is sitting
(21:00):
right there. Jan Berry Sandlin is guilty of murder.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Leanne held up a photo of Matthew.
Speaker 8 (21:11):
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
(21:32):
from me. It was taken from me by that man.
Ladies and gentlemen. 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.
Speaker 10 (21:52):
He is asking that you send the loudest and clearest
message that you can. He wants you to tell this
man what you did was wrong, what you did was murderers.
Speaker 8 (22:05):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Defense attorney Carin Maul gave her summation.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
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 1 (22:29):
Innocent, Carin Maul then focused on Kathy's strange behavior, specifically
towards Tracy Riquel. Kathy told the same story over and
over again, even to Tracy Raquel's doctor when she was
just a teenager.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
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,
(23:14):
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, still trying to
(23:38):
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 1 (23:57):
There was no more to say. Arguments were finished, the
trial concluded, and now the waiting began.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
I always knew that it was up to those twelve citizens.
We slept with a jury out. We went home one
night and came back the next morning. I don't remember
them deliberating a long time, but I remember the call
that we got being that there was a verdict.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
We the jury found the defendant Jan Barrysilin.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
This case takes yet another turn, and it was a shocker.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
My stomach dropped.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
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 Burden of guildtpod at gmail dot com. That's
(24:51):
Burden of Guilt pod at gmail dot com. If you
or someone you know was worried about maltreatment or suspect
that the 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
(25:13):
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 for listening, and also be sure to
(25:33):
check us out 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
(25:55):
produced by Ben Fetterman and associate producer Kristin Melchure. 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 Guild's theme composed
by Oliver Baines. Music library provided by my Music and
(26:20):
For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Host
Nancy Glass
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