August 17, 2025 • 41 mins
Layla Santanello, a young mother from Tennessee, has been missing now for over two years. She was last seen June 27, 2023, in a field next to the Americourt Hotel.
Employees and guests reported that she appeared erratic and paranoid. Surveillance footage captured Layla walking around the hotel, reportedly knocking on doors and searching for someone.
The events leading up to her disappearance began on June 24, three days earlier. Jennifer Santanello, Layla’s mother, received a message from Layla’s Facebook account. The message, sent by Layla’s boyfriend, asked if Layla was in jail or the hospital, saying he hadn’t seen her in more than 24 hours. Later that night, Layla messaged her mother from the same account, writing, “I’m fine mom,” and adding, “I been with a friend. I don’t have a phone to text or call. I’m using someone else’s.”
About two weeks later, a series of strange Cash App requests were sent from Layla’s account to both her stepmother, Brittany Zeitler, and her mother. One request for $100 included the subject line “twlmg.” Several more requests followed in quick succession with the same subject line. Jennifer sent $1 to the account and asked if Layla was okay. As the transactions continued, she came to believe that “twlmg” meant “they won’t let me go.”
Another message allegedly read, “We have Layla. She owes a drug debt, and if she doesn’t pay, you’ll find her chopped up into pieces.”
Joining Nancy Grace today:
- Brittany Zeitler - Stepmom to Layla Santanello
- George Emmett - Dad to Layla Santanello
- Ben Powers - Criminal Defense Attorney; Facebook: Legal Powers PLLC
- Caryn Stark - Psychologist, Renowned TV and Radio Trauma Expert and consultant; Instagram: carynpsych, FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice
- Rick Shaffer - Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent
- Rebekah McNerney - Writer / Reporter at Kingston Times News; Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebekah-mcnerney/INSTA:- https://www.instagram.com/rebekahmcnerney
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):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, the family of a missing
woman last seen running barefoot from a hotel, just told
she would be chalked into pieces and a sick ransom text.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for
being with us.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Leila Santanello is a young Tennessee mom living with her
boyfriend Michael and baby daughter Nova. Things take a turn
when Laila and her boyfriend get into an argument and
Layla leaves the house.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
And loc.
Speaker 5 (00:41):
This is Leila Santanello, a young mother from Kingsport, Tennessee,
who hasn't been seen in nearly two years. Leayla is
mom to now four year old Nova Grace, who now
lives with her grandmother, Jennifer Santanello. Jennifer, Layla's father George Emman,
and stepmother Britney Zeitler are all desperate to bring Laila
(01:02):
home and reunite her with her daughter.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Where is Layelah? Again? Thank you for being with us
tonight and our search for missing mom? Leelah? What do
we know? Joining me and Allstar panel to make sense
of what we're learning right now? But first listen to this.
Speaker 6 (01:20):
She had to sit on and there was a pink
Teddy Bear exactly like literally the same color and everything.
And he was sitting in the chair and.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
He was holding her like this, right, and he had
his other.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Arm like this, She's in his lap. I took the
pink teddy.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Bear and I'll put it indybears.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
You see Leela telling a story about her most precious prize,
and that would be her daughter, Nova Grace, talking about
a pink teddy bear. You know what, I want to
see that one more time, guys. Look at Leelah now missing.
Speaker 6 (01:58):
She had to suit on, and there was a pink
teddy bear exactly like literally the same color and everything.
And he was sitting in the chair and he was
holding her like this right, and the end of an arm.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Like this, she said his lap.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
I took the pink teddy Bear and I put it
in teddybeary. Let me go straight out now to Leyelah's
father and stepmom, George Emmett and Brittany Zeiitler to both
of you. Thank you for being with us. George, tell
me about Leela when I see her singing along to
(02:35):
music or talking about her baby, Nova Grace. It's it's
hard to believe that she's out of Nova's life. I mean,
tell me about her. I understand she was a very,
very loving mother.
Speaker 7 (02:50):
Yeah, she was a very loving mother. She loved her
daughter very much. She loved her family. She was always
doing things with her daughter. You know, she was always
trying to strive to do better in life. So she's
she's she's a wonderful person, and I just want.
Speaker 8 (03:10):
Her back home.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
What has it been like, George without her?
Speaker 7 (03:14):
Miserable. I can't sleep, I can't think right. It's hard
to work. I got other kids I got to take
care of. It's just been very stressful. It's every parent's
worst nightmare.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Brittany is Wala's stepmother. Brittany, thank you for being with us.
What has it been like for you guys trying to
move forward? You've got Nova Grace that doesn't have her mother.
You're missing Layla. What has that been like since she
went missing?
Speaker 4 (03:41):
It's been really difficult, especially on all of us. It
definitely impacted us in many different ways, especially with having
to take on a little girl that is definitely missing
her mom and needs her need to be met, or
that little girl she needs all the extra TLC that
(04:02):
she condentually get and we can all as a whole,
blended family give her the best life that we could
possibly give her at this time. I mean, we've learned
during this unexpected tragedy that we've been faced with. Life
doesn't stop. Life keeps going whether we want it to
or not. And we still have to pick up all
(04:25):
the pieces, and there's still a lot of work that
has to get done, and we just keep holding on
to the little bit of hope that she is in
fact still out there.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
You said something very striking, Brittany. I remember when my
fiance was murdered. I felt like the whole world had
just stopped. And then I look back and was stunned
to say that the world just kept turning. I was
the only one that stopped. It feels like everything froze
in time. George, what do you tell Nova Grace about
(04:56):
her mom? What does she ask?
Speaker 7 (05:00):
She just basically, I guess, where's mommy, where's mommy? Where's mommy?
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Looking not my mom?
Speaker 9 (05:07):
Yeah, she doesn't really know. She was she was really young,
really young at the time we're talking to you, or
so she's was didn't really know much at that time.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
But she is starting to question where her mom is
and in fact, do I have a mom? You know,
she'll see cartoons, she'll watch other kids call mom, dad whatnot,
you know, and here she is wondering where's my mom?
So she is starting to ask those questions, where where
(05:39):
is my mom? And of course we get stumps, all
of us too, and we try to you know, rechange
you know, the topic, and show her her face and
show great pictures of Leila and Nova together so she
can at least see the good times that they did
(06:00):
have together and just hope that she can have more.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Brittany, you just broke my heart to think of baby
Nova Grace saying do I even have a mom? Do
I have a mom? What did you do when she
said that?
Speaker 4 (06:17):
When she just started talking about mom, I just sat
right back, all my tears and she's say, oh, you know,
you'll see mommy soon, and just try to redirect her
into a different topic or do something different, just to
kind of get that off the topic, because I honestly
(06:39):
don't know what to even say at this point. We
could say so much and we're going to run out
of things to say, and there's going to come a
point in time where what do we.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Say, guys? Uh? The family of a missing woman. Leela
last scene running barefoot from a hotel. I don't want
to put the cart before the horse. Let's start at
the beginning. Listen.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Just a few months after having her daughter, Nova Grace Leyla,
Sentinela loses her grandfather, with whom she was very close.
In the roller coaster of emotions between the joy of
becoming a new mom and the grief of doing so
without her grandfather, Layla leans on Michael Thompson for support.
The too quickly become inseparable, and Layla moves in with
Michael's family in Kingsport, Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
The grief that she went through when the grandfather died unexpectedly.
To Karen Start joining Me, renowned psychologist joining us out
of Manhattan, Manhattan, Radio trauma expert consultant at Karenstart dot com, Karen,
you never know how the loss of that father figure
or grandfather figure will affect you the rest of your life.
(07:50):
And for Leila, the loss of her grandfather was devastating.
It was a real turning point in her life. I
have no.
Speaker 10 (07:57):
Doubt, Nanti, that she was feeling that she she would
be able to share her daughter with him. She was
very very close to him and get them in many forms,
as you know, and in this case, with somebody so close,
it could have led to devastation. Here she is, she's
so confused. She loves her daughter and is excited, but
a tremendous loss and trauma when it came to her grandfather.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
And you know, very often we don't understand why people
do the things they do when they're functioning with immense grief.
How did the death of the grandfather affect her.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
George really really bad?
Speaker 7 (08:37):
Uh, she wasn't really talking to nobody, wasn't eating right,
just crying, constantly, crying every day.
Speaker 8 (08:45):
I've tried to hug her holder and love her.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
She just didn't want to be bothered.
Speaker 11 (08:50):
Really, we were.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Lucky enough to have her present when she found out
that her grandfather passed away. She was actually a majury
taking her family vacation with Nova, her mom and the
mom's boyfriend. And I want to say we were more
fortunate enough to be there through that traumatic time in
(09:13):
her life as a whole. And yes, she was very
devastated over the loss of her grandfather. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
And you know, Karen, start with me, psychologist, you think
that someone it would be traumatized when they lose their
mom or their dad, which they are typically, But I
can identify that when I lost my grandmother, my mother's
mother who raised us, Lucy that I then named my
daughter after my grandmother raised us while my mom worked,
(09:42):
and we were extremely extremely close. So a lot of
people can't relate to someone falling apart when they lose
a grandparent, right, but for many of us, it can
be devastating.
Speaker 10 (09:55):
Without a doubt, this is sort of a father figure
for her. Even though she had her dad and loves
her dad, she was extremely close to her grandfather, And
so you behavior that you have after a loss like that, Nancy,
anything is possible because you're in trauma. You're really feeling
extreme PTSD sometimes where you can't get over the event
(10:20):
and you can't get over the lost chap to come
to terms with it.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
It also makes me think, of course, I'm just an
armchair psychologist. Don't like you, Karen start, but it makes
me wonder if that's not why she then got so
attached to the boyfriend Michael Thompson. Listen.
Speaker 12 (10:36):
On Friday, June twenty third, Leayla gets in an argument
with her boyfriend Michael Thompson, and while the pair are
usually attached to the hip, Leayla takes off, leaving most
of her belongings, including the couple's shared phone behind. Layla
stays with several friends, but is not in contact with
family without her phone.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Oh my stars, this to me that starts the dominoes
falling when she leaves the boyfriend's place without a cell phone. Okay,
let me understand this, Brittany Zeidler. They were sharing one account.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Yes, they were working off of one working phone. The
other phone had a Wi Fi connected phone, so that
was when they were able to get a hold of
one another. Leila would stay behind, Michael would go run
his errands, and the sleep with one phone on the
one account for many months.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
So those two were sharing one phone. Then that phone disappears.
That right there marks for me the beginning of a timeline.
Why because nobody can be in touch with her. Rick
Schaeffer joining me, former FBI supervisory special agent. I mean,
(11:47):
in this day and age, Rick, your cell phone, I mean,
let's talk about the Alex Murdad case. For peace sake,
Murdod charged and the double murder of his wife and son,
Maggie and Paul, the digital footprint, the cell phone data
of the NAV system in his vehicle told a story.
I mean, as far as I was concerned, you put
(12:09):
that one digital analyst on the stand case closed because
it places murder like at the scene of the double murder.
At the time of the double murder, you hear his
voice in the background of a video taken and then
with the nav system you see what time he leaves
goes hies out at his grandmother's thirty minutes away. You
(12:29):
can even see where he slows down. Let's the window down. Yes,
you can tell that from a nav system and throws Maggie,
his now dead wife's phone out the window and then
takes off. You can tell all that from modern digital science.
So when you don't have a phone that greatly greatly
(12:52):
impedes a criminal investigation, absolutely.
Speaker 8 (12:55):
Or absolutely correct. Not only are you going to be
able to determine where that phone is, but who's in
possession of it at time, not only from the cell
tower it's painting off, but any metadata that can be
extracted from photos or text or anything.
Speaker 10 (13:12):
Of that nature.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
But it looks like the police department has done everything
they can from a cell phone data collection standpoint, looking
at cameras, any digital technology that would help track or whereabouts,
and the reality of it is is she's clearly vanished,
and that's a very difficult thing to do in today's
(13:34):
environment out there where everything is digitally captured.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Leila is last seen in an open field before seemingly
vanishing into thin air. Now her family is looking for
answers as to the whereabouts of the young Tennessee momus.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
And where is Leila after a sick money grab where
the family gets threatening ransom texts threatening to chop Lila
into bits if money isn't forked over. This during the
(14:35):
search for the missing mom As it goes on, we
were just describing how Leila and the boyfriend that she
suddenly moves into after the death of her grandfather have
an argument. They have an argument, she takes off without
a cell phone.
Speaker 13 (14:57):
Then what happens Saturday morning? Michael, since Jennifer sendsanello a
message on Layla's Facebook profile, Jennifer is immediately worried. It's
unusual that Michael wouldn't know where Layla is. Michael says
he hasn't seen Layla in more than twenty four hours,
Jennifer spent several hours trying to track Layla down. Layla
isn't hospitalized anywhere. Finally, Jennifer's niece gets word from a
(15:20):
mutual friend that Layla spent the night at his house
and was okay when she left.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Okay, so there. Even after she takes off without a
cell phone, which destroys everybody because they can't get in
touch with her, we find out she's at a friend's house. Okay,
everything is okay. But finally we actually hear from Leelah herself.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Sunday morning, Jennifer Sonanela wakes up to another Facebook message,
this time from Layla. Laylah says she's okay and doing fine,
much to her mother's relief. Jennifer has a few questions,
but when Layla is vague, Jennifer assumes it's because Layla
knows Michael can access the count she doesn't want him
to know where she is. Leyla reminds her mom that
she isn't carrying a phone, but she'll do her best
(16:06):
to check in as much as possible. Jennifer's niece places
Leila out of friends again, confirming Layla borrowed their phone
to message her mom.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Okay, now we have a genuine lead. I was suspicious
about those messages because they didn't sound like Leela, and
I don't have to talk about Gabby Petito, who went
on a cross country trip with fiance Brian Laundry. He
murdered her and was using her phone and her Fortransit
(16:35):
and her credit cards and her money, and was texting
odd texts. They wouldn't seem odd, probably to you or
to me, but to the family that was getting them,
they knew that wasn't Gabby. For instance, when she asked
about her grandfather, she said, in my case, well how's
Walter Malcolm and Grace Senior. She would never have said that.
(16:58):
She would be saying, how's granddaddy? So they knew something
was wrong. Well, they were right. It wasn't her texting.
It was Brian Laundry trying to give the appearance that
Gabby was still alive. However, in this case, there was
another reason that Leela was not being forthcoming in her
text to Britney Zeitler, her stepmom, and George Emmett, her
(17:19):
father to Brittany, apparently because they shared the same cell phone.
And we had this occur recently in the case of
glam yoga instructor Kaitlyn Armstrong, who murdered her boyfriend, Colin
Strickland's former girlfriend out of a fit of jealousy. She
(17:42):
the yoga instructor, was sharing an account with Colin Strickland,
the boyfriend, so when he was texting the victim Maureen,
she could see it all. She could see it all.
It pop right up on her iPad, right, So here
do you believe that was Leila messaging but that she
(18:03):
was intentionally being vague because she shared that account with
the boyfriend that she just walked down on. Yes.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Absolutely, we really did think that it was Leela for
the moment. So we you know, we're like, Okay, maybe
she doesn't want to know where she is at. He
wants to stay away from her vice versa. So we
just let it be at that moment in time. But
when we didn't hear from her voice, we started to question.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
You know what about it, George, When you found out
about that Facebook message I'm fine, I'm at so and
so friend and then that was corroborated by someone else. Yes,
that's where she has Everything's fine. At that point, you
were not concerned, is that right? Yeah?
Speaker 14 (18:52):
At that point, I thought maybe she did get an
argument with them and joh I didn't want to get
away from them at first, but then when I tried
to reach out to her and didn't get a response back,
that's when I started getting a little nervous.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
The case moves forward. Now it's Monday morning. Monday morning,
Michael Thompson is becoming more insistent that he can't find Layla,
claiming she asked him to pick her up from a
friend's house but wasn't there when he arrived. Jennifer still
believes her daughter is avoiding Michael and doesn't want to
tip him off to where she is.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Michael then reaches out to Layla's dad, George Emmett, making
him intensely worried.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Okay, right there, when did you become concerned George? That
something was a mess.
Speaker 9 (19:41):
When I texted her and I didn't get no response
the next day, that's when.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
I was really worried because that's not like my daughter.
Speaker 7 (19:49):
She picks up for me and I'm no matter what.
So that's when I really got worried and decided I
was going to call and make a police report on
my you.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Know, I want to talk about what you just said.
George joining me is Leila's father, George and stepmom. Brittany
joining me now is a renowned defense attorney, Ben Powers.
You can find them at legal Powers Online. Ben. Thank
you for being with us. Ben. It's called routine evidence,
(20:20):
and I don't like that description because it sounds like
you're talking about the typical, run of the mill, standard evidence.
But what it means is evidence of someone's routine.
Speaker 7 (20:32):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
A routine a routine that you unintentionally carry out or
repeat every day. I do the same thing every single
morning in an effort to get my children to school,
take care of my mother who lives with us, take
care of a multitude of pets before I can start
my real job. Right. It's a routine that has been
(20:56):
perfected to save time and accomplish things. Right. That's a routine.
And here, when George Emmitt says she didn't call, a
lot of people will go, hey, I don't hear from
my daughter for two weeks at a time, and that's okay.
I called my mom and dad, say what you want
every single day in the morning and at night, at
a bare of minimum. That has been my routine. I
(21:19):
wanted to hear from them. I wanted to hear their voice.
So routine evidence is very powerful, being powers. I guess
some defense attorneys would argue it means nothing.
Speaker 11 (21:28):
I would say routine evidence can be important. But under
these circumstances, the routine was clearly turned upside down and
inside out. You know, she has a big argument with
her boyfriend that they're basically attached at the hill because
of extenuating circumstances, they're relegated to one phone instead of two,
and so she could be separated from him and the phone.
(21:50):
She could be separated from him with the phone. You know,
that type of distinction in the timeline definitely throws the
routine into question and isn't as reliable as maybe under
regular circumstances that the routine usually exists within.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
She had to sit on and there was a pink
Teddy Bear exactly like literally the same color and everything,
and he was sitting in a chair and he was
holding her like this right, and I'm like this just
in his lap.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
I took the pink Teddy Bear and I put it in.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Teddybears George with me. This is Loayla's dad. Why are
you crying?
Speaker 6 (22:31):
Nice?
Speaker 9 (22:32):
Devastating that's been too long. It's very stressful on me,
my family. I just it's a lot. That's why I'm crying.
That's every parent's worst nightmare, you know.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
And I was thinking, George, after you know, my fiance
was murdered, I never ever thought that I could ever remarry,
that I would ever have children. I thought that was
just a dream that was just over, and it was.
It was for over twenty years. Then suddenly I have
(23:11):
a family. Can I tell you the greatest thing that
happened to me was having the twins. And let me
see those videos in your control room. I mean, this
was the time of Leela's life. She finally has Nova Grace,
(23:33):
just the love of her life, finally happiness, she has
this beautiful baby girl. I mean, I guess most moms
out there would agree that's the best time of your
life when you finally have your children. And to think
(23:56):
she's snatched away from her daughter and now her daughter
George has patures in these videos that's it and says
things like do I even have a mommy? I mean,
I get while you're crying.
Speaker 9 (24:11):
George, Yeah, she's all my granddaughter, is all I have
left of my daughter as of now for two years. Oh,
it's really hard and devastate.
Speaker 11 (24:22):
I just want to answers.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Hell loove closure.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Guys, we left off, we left off where George is
now becoming extremely worried. Listen.
Speaker 12 (24:34):
George calls Jennifer to discuss whether they should report Layla missing.
Extremely concerned after his last conversation with Michael based on
her last text conversation with Laila, Jennifer doesn't want to
jump the gun. The parents decide to report Layla missing
the next morning, which will be forty eight hours since
Layla's last contact with family. However, George can't shake the
feeling he needs to do something, and after several sleepless hours,
(24:57):
makes an official report that Laylah Santonello is missing in
the early morning hours of June twenty seventh.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
So George, since Michael Thompson, the boyfriend and Layelah had
been so close joined at the hip following her grandfather's death,
When he is starting to ask you, where's Laila, you
know something is really wrong. What prompted you to report
her missing at that time?
Speaker 9 (25:22):
Well, when I couldn't get a hold of her and
she didn't respond back to me, I already knew something
was wrong, something, something was not right. So when he
was reaching out to me and sending me text messages
about not being able to find my daughter and everything,
that just made it.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
Ten times worse for me.
Speaker 7 (25:39):
I mean I went right out there right away.
Speaker 9 (25:43):
We hired a private detective. We have a private detective
that's been on the case since day one.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
We have a private detective.
Speaker 9 (25:52):
We've been We've drove from boys you Jorgey to Tennessee
out several I can't many times already on behalf of
my daughter.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Then the searches on was George reports her missing and
finally a lead listen.
Speaker 13 (26:09):
Kingsport Police immediately began investigating, speaking with Michael Thompson and
his family around two am June twenty seventh. By the
end of the day, investigators have a lead. Layla checked
into the Americourt Hotel for the night of June twenty sixth.
Employees and other guests say Lala seemed paranoid. Laila is
caught on CCTV knocking on doors to look for someone.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Join me now, a very special guest. Rebecca McNairy, reporter
writer at Kingston Time News. Rebecca, thank you so much
for being with us. So who was she looking for?
Why are people there at the hotel describing her as
afraid of something?
Speaker 14 (26:49):
You know?
Speaker 15 (26:50):
Going based off the facts that we have received from
the Kingsport Police Department and other local authorities, we have
not been sure of who specifically she was looking for.
We know that witnesses testified that she was acting paranoid
and looking for something, but the Kingsport Police Department has
(27:11):
not released any specific details regarding that certain matter.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
You know, Rebecca McNary, you're so right speaking of a
witness perceived good samaritan, this is what we learned. Please
let me help you. I have a room, My mom,
my son are inside. You can sit down. I will
talk to you. How would do any tag him to
help you?
Speaker 10 (27:32):
She froze for a moment, full a breath, and he
was like, and she looked at my room, She looked
at me, and then she said no, I can't and.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
She just ran out and through the part camat and
that was a life I saw her.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Is that right, Rebecca mnary? She this good Samarita said, look,
what's wrong? Who are you looking for? Why are you afraid?
And apparently Lila goes, no, no, I can't talk to
you about it. It takes off running.
Speaker 15 (27:59):
Yeah, that is several witnesses accounts. I believe the police
department and local authorities have told me that, but again
I can't comment on that specifically because the police department
has not come forward with that specific information.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Where is a mom of one little nova grace we're
talking about Layela? Do we finally have a bead or
where she may be? And now is this a break? Listen?
Speaker 12 (28:29):
As police tried to determine Layla's next move, employees at
the nearby warehouse provide another lead. Around six or fifteen
in the morning, Layla asks if she can bump a cigarette.
None of the men have smokes on them. Layla thanks
them anyway and walks away. The men say Layla was
perfectly polite and seemed coherent. Layla did appear slightly disheveled
with messy hair and grass and leaves on her back,
(28:50):
like she maybe had laid down in the field.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Now, how does a marble slab creamery fit into this
search for Laylah? We all know what that is very
popular ice cream place a shop. Listen.
Speaker 5 (29:04):
An employee at a nearby ice cream shop, the Marble
Slab says a blonde woman came into the store around
noon on the twenty seventh, with no shoes on.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
She says.
Speaker 5 (29:14):
The woman was very disheveled, wearing a white T shirt
and black luggings. The woman seems somewhat incoherent and made
a comment about her husband wanting to kill her before
asking to borrow the employee's phone. The woman walked back
out of the store, saying she wanted to head to
a nearby five below to buy shoes.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
When shown a photo of.
Speaker 5 (29:32):
Leila, the employee is convinced that's the woman she spoke to.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Okay, we've all heard attacks on eyewitnesses, and in this
particular case, we hit a dead end.
Speaker 13 (29:44):
Kingsport police intensely focused on the marble slab lead, checking
with several more nearby establishments. Authorities believe they are zeroing
in on Layla, but CCTV and phone records eventually proved
the employee was mistaken about the woman's identity. Officers tracked
the woman down, who confirms it was her in the
ice cream shop that afternoon, not Leila. Santanello Ah Crime
(30:12):
Stories with Nancy Grace.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Joining me, investigative reporter and writer at the Kingsport time
needs Rebecca McNairy, Rebecca, that's devastating to get an eyewitness tip.
The woman is absolutely convinced this is Leelah that comes
into Marble Slab Creamery and she's disproved. Tell me what happened.
(30:40):
The woman was so convinced it was Leilah.
Speaker 15 (30:42):
Yeah, according to report, she was convinced that she had
seen Layla. Again, the Kingsport Police investigated and that was
indeed not the case based off the records and the
surveillance footage that they had. But again, something like that
where you think that you have a lead and then
instead is definitely devastating for the family that's trying to
(31:04):
bring Leila home.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
To Ben Powers joining US criminal defense attorney, Ben It's
also bad for an investigation, a potential trial in the future,
because when you get a lead, an eyewitness lead, and
the woman is absolutely convinced she sees Layelah right later on,
a defense attorney can say, see, she saw Layelah at
(31:27):
this time on this date, and my client on trial
now was here in another state or whatever fill in
the blank. When you try, when you try a case,
you have to go down every avenue to get to
the truth. You can't leave anything out. But when you
(31:48):
go down those avenues, for instance, if you name a
person of interest or suspect too soon it turns out
to be wrong, that's a field day for the defense,
just like a false tip.
Speaker 11 (31:57):
Yeah, I would agree. I think the significance of the
witness being mistaken as it shows that police went down
the wrong thread. You know, it ultimately led to a
Tom commitment from the investigation that ended with a dead
end in the investigation. So then they've got to go
back and figure out what direction do they take the investigation.
And so now that tim, that effort, that dedication has
(32:20):
been spent on something that wasn't fruitful. Oh yeah, and
something like this. You know, Tom is the enemy of
an investigation. The longer time goes on, the harder the
investigation gets.
Speaker 12 (32:32):
Two weeks after Layla's disappearance, both mother and stepmother start
getting cash apt requests from Layla's account, but the message
is attached to the requests send chills down their spines.
They're keeping me hostage. I owe someone fifteen minutes or
you'll find her In pieces and the acronym TWLMG panics.
(32:53):
The women send various amounts of money with messages like
are you okay and call me in the hopes that
Laila would see them, also reporting the activity to Believes.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Oh my Stars, sick ransom text to Leilah's family, George Emmitt,
what happened.
Speaker 9 (33:10):
At that point? We got really scared, We got really nervous,
and we were willing to do whatever it took to
try to get a hold of her.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
At that point. I mean, in all of her history,
had Leyela ever sent you a text or an email
like that.
Speaker 9 (33:25):
Never? Never, So that's why we were very discerned and
worried that somebody might.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Actually threatened to chop her up.
Speaker 4 (33:34):
Yes, correct, Yes, you know.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
It's just actually making my stomach hurt. After all you
had been through, and someone is threatening to chop her
up unless they get money. Look, we're showing you the
sick ransom text. I mean, Brittany, what went through your
mind when you get this?
Speaker 4 (33:54):
I was in utter shock, and of course I reached
out to Jennifer. I reached out To's boyfriend Michael, and
while I am on the phone with Michael, I'm like,
are you getting any cash up requests? Because I'm getting
some right now, saying for abbreviations, and I gave him,
(34:15):
you know, TWMLG and he goes, oh, well, my brother says,
they won't let me go or they will let me go.
And I'm not processing everything that's going on at that moment.
I'm just thinking, oh my god, how do we do this?
I want to hear her voice. I want to know
that she is in fact, okay, do they really have her?
So there were so many things just running through my
(34:37):
mind as well as George's, and we were just dumbfounded, like,
oh my, what do we do? Do we send all
this money? Do we I dragged it out as much
as I possibly could to be able to get as
much information as I possibly can, and Jennifer and I
were asking questions like, you know, what's your youngest brother's name,
what's your pop secret pass code? Only things that Layla
(35:00):
can answer, and they were left and answered.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
So how did he the boyfriend know what t w
l MG means. It's not like he's I DK. I
don't know. I had to figure out what does t
w l MG mean? And he knew it off the
tip of.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
His tongue, That's what I was saying, And like I,
of course wasn't processing it at that exact moment. But
once I had a moment to process everything on what
was going on and rereading all of the messages and
everything that I had sending it to the investigators, I
was just like, wow, Like, I know, I got a
lot going on, but how do you know exactly what
(35:38):
that meant? In an instance? I was just I was roud.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
I was roud. This is what Leila's mother has to
say about that ransom text.
Speaker 16 (35:48):
It's one thing for a stranger to try and capitalize
on something like that the way that they that he did.
It's a whole other thing when it's someone.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
That you care about. From our friends at News five
wcy B to Rebecca McNary joining US reporter Kingsport Time News,
who is he who sent the ransom text threatening to
talk Lala into bits?
Speaker 15 (36:15):
Yeah, so police later found out during their investigation of
that was her boyfriend at the time, Michael Thompson, who
was sending those pretty alarming messages to Leyla's family about
two weeks after she was reported missing. He was later
indicted by a grand jury here in Sulliwyn County on
financial exploitation, credit card fraud, and identity theft.
Speaker 13 (36:38):
Thompson otherwise cooperates with the investigation, and neither family nor
cops believe Thompson had anything to do with Layla's disappearance,
but obviously tried to take advantage of this situation. Jennifer
Santanello claims Thompson has taken a polygraph test, but the
results were inconclusive because he was not sober for the
five hour exam.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
George, jam And, I want to confirm with you. Our
sources have told us that you do not believe Thompson
had anything to do with Layla's disappearance.
Speaker 7 (37:07):
No, I don't believe. Well, they cleared them first. First
they cleared them.
Speaker 4 (37:12):
How do you feel.
Speaker 9 (37:15):
I feel he might know something or know some people
that could be involved are whereabouts.
Speaker 7 (37:21):
That is possible, but he's not saying nothing for nobody.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
So guys, what about the search now.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
In addition to grid searches near the America Court Hotel,
Kingsport PD have searched the home Layla shared with Michael
Thompson and served at least thirty more search warrants. Officers
have also issued at least twenty five subpoenas. Officers remain
tight lipped about their most current leads to protect the investigation,
but have searched several other locations in addition to the field,
totaling six ground searches.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
To Rebecca McNary joining us from Kingsport, Time News tell
me about the search as it stands right now and
the reward.
Speaker 15 (37:59):
I know that the search the ground searches were subsided
a little bit during the colder winter months, but that
those are expected to pick up again here in the
near future. As far as any kind of reward money,
I'm not sure. I believe the last number that I
heard was around seven grand that her family was offering
(38:21):
do whoever had information about her whereabouts and disappearance.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
To George and Brittany. This case has taken so many
twists and turns, false reports of false siding that seems
so credible. The ransom text just cold blooded ransom text
money grab. So where are we left? In my mind,
(38:45):
we're left with the warehouse workers that didn't have a
cigarette seeing her walk off into a field. That's where
we are.
Speaker 9 (38:55):
What about it, George, That's where we are as of
right now. That's the last known place that she was
actually seen.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
So that's all we know is.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
Of right now.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
What about it, Brittany.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
Well, so even though that's all that we have at
this time, we're going to continue to work as hard
as we can to.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Figure out what direction she went.
Speaker 4 (39:20):
And I call it the direction of the unknown. Since
it's been two years almost now, and I know, any
type of surveillance footage that we have tried to grab
off of weather cameras or any type of surveillance that
our investigator had tried to pull, I know at this
(39:42):
time it's definitely going to be extremely difficult to be
able to pull. So we're got to just keep on
search in and put ground searches in place to be
able to gather as much resources that we possibly can
from nonprofit organizations that offer out of our dogs, drones, extensive, yes, extensive,
(40:07):
wide varieties of you know, needs for Layela to be
able to be found, since we feel like we're working
next little of nothing at this time.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
If you know or think you know anything about the
disappearance of Layelah Santanello, please dial four two three three
four three nine seven eight zero or toll free eight
hundred TB I find eight hundred eight two four three
four sixty three. There is a seven thousand dollars reward
(40:40):
for information in the disappearance of Leyela, and that reward
is growing. We now remember an American hero, Senior Deputy
Christopher Corzilias, Travis County Sheriff, Texas, passed away in the
line of duty, survived by a grieving partner Bethany, mother, Nancy, father, Paul,
(41:04):
stepmom Patty. American hero Senior Deputy Christopher Crasilius, Goodbye friend,
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, the family of a missing
woman last seen running barefoot from a hotel, just told
she would be chalked into pieces and a sick ransom text.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for
being with us.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Leila Santanello is a young Tennessee mom living with her
boyfriend Michael and baby daughter Nova. Things take a turn
when Laila and her boyfriend get into an argument and
Layla leaves the house.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
And loc.
Speaker 5 (00:41):
This is Leila Santanello, a young mother from Kingsport, Tennessee,
who hasn't been seen in nearly two years. Leayla is
mom to now four year old Nova Grace, who now
lives with her grandmother, Jennifer Santanello. Jennifer, Layla's father George Emman,
and stepmother Britney Zeitler are all desperate to bring Laila
(01:02):
home and reunite her with her daughter.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Where is Layelah? Again? Thank you for being with us
tonight and our search for missing mom? Leelah? What do
we know? Joining me and Allstar panel to make sense
of what we're learning right now? But first listen to this.
Speaker 6 (01:20):
She had to sit on and there was a pink
Teddy Bear exactly like literally the same color and everything.
And he was sitting in the chair and.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
He was holding her like this, right, and he had
his other.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Arm like this, She's in his lap. I took the
pink teddy.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Bear and I'll put it indybears.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
You see Leela telling a story about her most precious prize,
and that would be her daughter, Nova Grace, talking about
a pink teddy bear. You know what, I want to
see that one more time, guys. Look at Leelah now missing.
Speaker 6 (01:58):
She had to suit on, and there was a pink
teddy bear exactly like literally the same color and everything.
And he was sitting in the chair and he was
holding her like this right, and the end of an arm.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Like this, she said his lap.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
I took the pink teddy Bear and I put it
in teddybeary. Let me go straight out now to Leyelah's
father and stepmom, George Emmett and Brittany Zeiitler to both
of you. Thank you for being with us. George, tell
me about Leela when I see her singing along to
(02:35):
music or talking about her baby, Nova Grace. It's it's
hard to believe that she's out of Nova's life. I mean,
tell me about her. I understand she was a very,
very loving mother.
Speaker 7 (02:50):
Yeah, she was a very loving mother. She loved her
daughter very much. She loved her family. She was always
doing things with her daughter. You know, she was always
trying to strive to do better in life. So she's
she's she's a wonderful person, and I just want.
Speaker 8 (03:10):
Her back home.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
What has it been like, George without her?
Speaker 7 (03:14):
Miserable. I can't sleep, I can't think right. It's hard
to work. I got other kids I got to take
care of. It's just been very stressful. It's every parent's
worst nightmare.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Brittany is Wala's stepmother. Brittany, thank you for being with us.
What has it been like for you guys trying to
move forward? You've got Nova Grace that doesn't have her mother.
You're missing Layla. What has that been like since she
went missing?
Speaker 4 (03:41):
It's been really difficult, especially on all of us. It
definitely impacted us in many different ways, especially with having
to take on a little girl that is definitely missing
her mom and needs her need to be met, or
that little girl she needs all the extra TLC that
(04:02):
she condentually get and we can all as a whole,
blended family give her the best life that we could
possibly give her at this time. I mean, we've learned
during this unexpected tragedy that we've been faced with. Life
doesn't stop. Life keeps going whether we want it to
or not. And we still have to pick up all
(04:25):
the pieces, and there's still a lot of work that
has to get done, and we just keep holding on
to the little bit of hope that she is in
fact still out there.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
You said something very striking, Brittany. I remember when my
fiance was murdered. I felt like the whole world had
just stopped. And then I look back and was stunned
to say that the world just kept turning. I was
the only one that stopped. It feels like everything froze
in time. George, what do you tell Nova Grace about
(04:56):
her mom? What does she ask?
Speaker 7 (05:00):
She just basically, I guess, where's mommy, where's mommy? Where's mommy?
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Looking not my mom?
Speaker 9 (05:07):
Yeah, she doesn't really know. She was she was really young,
really young at the time we're talking to you, or
so she's was didn't really know much at that time.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
But she is starting to question where her mom is
and in fact, do I have a mom? You know,
she'll see cartoons, she'll watch other kids call mom, dad whatnot,
you know, and here she is wondering where's my mom?
So she is starting to ask those questions, where where
(05:39):
is my mom? And of course we get stumps, all
of us too, and we try to you know, rechange
you know, the topic, and show her her face and
show great pictures of Leila and Nova together so she
can at least see the good times that they did
(06:00):
have together and just hope that she can have more.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Brittany, you just broke my heart to think of baby
Nova Grace saying do I even have a mom? Do
I have a mom? What did you do when she
said that?
Speaker 4 (06:17):
When she just started talking about mom, I just sat
right back, all my tears and she's say, oh, you know,
you'll see mommy soon, and just try to redirect her
into a different topic or do something different, just to
kind of get that off the topic, because I honestly
(06:39):
don't know what to even say at this point. We
could say so much and we're going to run out
of things to say, and there's going to come a
point in time where what do we.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Say, guys? Uh? The family of a missing woman. Leela
last scene running barefoot from a hotel. I don't want
to put the cart before the horse. Let's start at
the beginning. Listen.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Just a few months after having her daughter, Nova Grace Leyla,
Sentinela loses her grandfather, with whom she was very close.
In the roller coaster of emotions between the joy of
becoming a new mom and the grief of doing so
without her grandfather, Layla leans on Michael Thompson for support.
The too quickly become inseparable, and Layla moves in with
Michael's family in Kingsport, Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
The grief that she went through when the grandfather died unexpectedly.
To Karen Start joining Me, renowned psychologist joining us out
of Manhattan, Manhattan, Radio trauma expert consultant at Karenstart dot com, Karen,
you never know how the loss of that father figure
or grandfather figure will affect you the rest of your life.
(07:50):
And for Leila, the loss of her grandfather was devastating.
It was a real turning point in her life. I
have no.
Speaker 10 (07:57):
Doubt, Nanti, that she was feeling that she she would
be able to share her daughter with him. She was
very very close to him and get them in many forms,
as you know, and in this case, with somebody so close,
it could have led to devastation. Here she is, she's
so confused. She loves her daughter and is excited, but
a tremendous loss and trauma when it came to her grandfather.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
And you know, very often we don't understand why people
do the things they do when they're functioning with immense grief.
How did the death of the grandfather affect her.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
George really really bad?
Speaker 7 (08:37):
Uh, she wasn't really talking to nobody, wasn't eating right,
just crying, constantly, crying every day.
Speaker 8 (08:45):
I've tried to hug her holder and love her.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
She just didn't want to be bothered.
Speaker 11 (08:50):
Really, we were.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Lucky enough to have her present when she found out
that her grandfather passed away. She was actually a majury
taking her family vacation with Nova, her mom and the
mom's boyfriend. And I want to say we were more
fortunate enough to be there through that traumatic time in
(09:13):
her life as a whole. And yes, she was very
devastated over the loss of her grandfather. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
And you know, Karen, start with me, psychologist, you think
that someone it would be traumatized when they lose their
mom or their dad, which they are typically, But I
can identify that when I lost my grandmother, my mother's
mother who raised us, Lucy that I then named my
daughter after my grandmother raised us while my mom worked,
(09:42):
and we were extremely extremely close. So a lot of
people can't relate to someone falling apart when they lose
a grandparent, right, but for many of us, it can
be devastating.
Speaker 10 (09:55):
Without a doubt, this is sort of a father figure
for her. Even though she had her dad and loves
her dad, she was extremely close to her grandfather, And
so you behavior that you have after a loss like that, Nancy,
anything is possible because you're in trauma. You're really feeling
extreme PTSD sometimes where you can't get over the event
(10:20):
and you can't get over the lost chap to come
to terms with it.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
It also makes me think, of course, I'm just an
armchair psychologist. Don't like you, Karen start, but it makes
me wonder if that's not why she then got so
attached to the boyfriend Michael Thompson. Listen.
Speaker 12 (10:36):
On Friday, June twenty third, Leayla gets in an argument
with her boyfriend Michael Thompson, and while the pair are
usually attached to the hip, Leayla takes off, leaving most
of her belongings, including the couple's shared phone behind. Layla
stays with several friends, but is not in contact with
family without her phone.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Oh my stars, this to me that starts the dominoes
falling when she leaves the boyfriend's place without a cell phone. Okay,
let me understand this, Brittany Zeidler. They were sharing one account.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Yes, they were working off of one working phone. The
other phone had a Wi Fi connected phone, so that
was when they were able to get a hold of
one another. Leila would stay behind, Michael would go run
his errands, and the sleep with one phone on the
one account for many months.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
So those two were sharing one phone. Then that phone disappears.
That right there marks for me the beginning of a timeline.
Why because nobody can be in touch with her. Rick
Schaeffer joining me, former FBI supervisory special agent. I mean,
(11:47):
in this day and age, Rick, your cell phone, I mean,
let's talk about the Alex Murdad case. For peace sake,
Murdod charged and the double murder of his wife and son,
Maggie and Paul, the digital footprint, the cell phone data
of the NAV system in his vehicle told a story.
I mean, as far as I was concerned, you put
(12:09):
that one digital analyst on the stand case closed because
it places murder like at the scene of the double murder.
At the time of the double murder, you hear his
voice in the background of a video taken and then
with the nav system you see what time he leaves
goes hies out at his grandmother's thirty minutes away. You
(12:29):
can even see where he slows down. Let's the window down. Yes,
you can tell that from a nav system and throws Maggie,
his now dead wife's phone out the window and then
takes off. You can tell all that from modern digital science.
So when you don't have a phone that greatly greatly
(12:52):
impedes a criminal investigation, absolutely.
Speaker 8 (12:55):
Or absolutely correct. Not only are you going to be
able to determine where that phone is, but who's in
possession of it at time, not only from the cell
tower it's painting off, but any metadata that can be
extracted from photos or text or anything.
Speaker 10 (13:12):
Of that nature.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
But it looks like the police department has done everything
they can from a cell phone data collection standpoint, looking
at cameras, any digital technology that would help track or whereabouts,
and the reality of it is is she's clearly vanished,
and that's a very difficult thing to do in today's
(13:34):
environment out there where everything is digitally captured.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Leila is last seen in an open field before seemingly
vanishing into thin air. Now her family is looking for
answers as to the whereabouts of the young Tennessee momus.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
And where is Leila after a sick money grab where
the family gets threatening ransom texts threatening to chop Lila
into bits if money isn't forked over. This during the
(14:35):
search for the missing mom As it goes on, we
were just describing how Leila and the boyfriend that she
suddenly moves into after the death of her grandfather have
an argument. They have an argument, she takes off without
a cell phone.
Speaker 13 (14:57):
Then what happens Saturday morning? Michael, since Jennifer sendsanello a
message on Layla's Facebook profile, Jennifer is immediately worried. It's
unusual that Michael wouldn't know where Layla is. Michael says
he hasn't seen Layla in more than twenty four hours,
Jennifer spent several hours trying to track Layla down. Layla
isn't hospitalized anywhere. Finally, Jennifer's niece gets word from a
(15:20):
mutual friend that Layla spent the night at his house
and was okay when she left.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Okay, so there. Even after she takes off without a
cell phone, which destroys everybody because they can't get in
touch with her, we find out she's at a friend's house. Okay,
everything is okay. But finally we actually hear from Leelah herself.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Sunday morning, Jennifer Sonanela wakes up to another Facebook message,
this time from Layla. Laylah says she's okay and doing fine,
much to her mother's relief. Jennifer has a few questions,
but when Layla is vague, Jennifer assumes it's because Layla
knows Michael can access the count she doesn't want him
to know where she is. Leyla reminds her mom that
she isn't carrying a phone, but she'll do her best
(16:06):
to check in as much as possible. Jennifer's niece places
Leila out of friends again, confirming Layla borrowed their phone
to message her mom.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Okay, now we have a genuine lead. I was suspicious
about those messages because they didn't sound like Leela, and
I don't have to talk about Gabby Petito, who went
on a cross country trip with fiance Brian Laundry. He
murdered her and was using her phone and her Fortransit
(16:35):
and her credit cards and her money, and was texting
odd texts. They wouldn't seem odd, probably to you or
to me, but to the family that was getting them,
they knew that wasn't Gabby. For instance, when she asked
about her grandfather, she said, in my case, well how's
Walter Malcolm and Grace Senior. She would never have said that.
(16:58):
She would be saying, how's granddaddy? So they knew something
was wrong. Well, they were right. It wasn't her texting.
It was Brian Laundry trying to give the appearance that
Gabby was still alive. However, in this case, there was
another reason that Leela was not being forthcoming in her
text to Britney Zeitler, her stepmom, and George Emmett, her
(17:19):
father to Brittany, apparently because they shared the same cell phone.
And we had this occur recently in the case of
glam yoga instructor Kaitlyn Armstrong, who murdered her boyfriend, Colin
Strickland's former girlfriend out of a fit of jealousy. She
(17:42):
the yoga instructor, was sharing an account with Colin Strickland,
the boyfriend, so when he was texting the victim Maureen,
she could see it all. She could see it all.
It pop right up on her iPad, right, So here
do you believe that was Leila messaging but that she
(18:03):
was intentionally being vague because she shared that account with
the boyfriend that she just walked down on. Yes.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Absolutely, we really did think that it was Leela for
the moment. So we you know, we're like, Okay, maybe
she doesn't want to know where she is at. He
wants to stay away from her vice versa. So we
just let it be at that moment in time. But
when we didn't hear from her voice, we started to question.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
You know what about it, George, When you found out
about that Facebook message I'm fine, I'm at so and
so friend and then that was corroborated by someone else. Yes,
that's where she has Everything's fine. At that point, you
were not concerned, is that right? Yeah?
Speaker 14 (18:52):
At that point, I thought maybe she did get an
argument with them and joh I didn't want to get
away from them at first, but then when I tried
to reach out to her and didn't get a response back,
that's when I started getting a little nervous.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
The case moves forward. Now it's Monday morning. Monday morning,
Michael Thompson is becoming more insistent that he can't find Layla,
claiming she asked him to pick her up from a
friend's house but wasn't there when he arrived. Jennifer still
believes her daughter is avoiding Michael and doesn't want to
tip him off to where she is.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Michael then reaches out to Layla's dad, George Emmett, making
him intensely worried.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Okay, right there, when did you become concerned George? That
something was a mess.
Speaker 9 (19:41):
When I texted her and I didn't get no response
the next day, that's when.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
I was really worried because that's not like my daughter.
Speaker 7 (19:49):
She picks up for me and I'm no matter what.
So that's when I really got worried and decided I
was going to call and make a police report on
my you.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Know, I want to talk about what you just said.
George joining me is Leila's father, George and stepmom. Brittany
joining me now is a renowned defense attorney, Ben Powers.
You can find them at legal Powers Online. Ben. Thank
you for being with us. Ben. It's called routine evidence,
(20:20):
and I don't like that description because it sounds like
you're talking about the typical, run of the mill, standard evidence.
But what it means is evidence of someone's routine.
Speaker 7 (20:32):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
A routine a routine that you unintentionally carry out or
repeat every day. I do the same thing every single
morning in an effort to get my children to school,
take care of my mother who lives with us, take
care of a multitude of pets before I can start
my real job. Right. It's a routine that has been
(20:56):
perfected to save time and accomplish things. Right. That's a routine.
And here, when George Emmitt says she didn't call, a
lot of people will go, hey, I don't hear from
my daughter for two weeks at a time, and that's okay.
I called my mom and dad, say what you want
every single day in the morning and at night, at
a bare of minimum. That has been my routine. I
(21:19):
wanted to hear from them. I wanted to hear their voice.
So routine evidence is very powerful, being powers. I guess
some defense attorneys would argue it means nothing.
Speaker 11 (21:28):
I would say routine evidence can be important. But under
these circumstances, the routine was clearly turned upside down and
inside out. You know, she has a big argument with
her boyfriend that they're basically attached at the hill because
of extenuating circumstances, they're relegated to one phone instead of two,
and so she could be separated from him and the phone.
(21:50):
She could be separated from him with the phone. You know,
that type of distinction in the timeline definitely throws the
routine into question and isn't as reliable as maybe under
regular circumstances that the routine usually exists within.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
She had to sit on and there was a pink
Teddy Bear exactly like literally the same color and everything,
and he was sitting in a chair and he was
holding her like this right, and I'm like this just
in his lap.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
I took the pink Teddy Bear and I put it in.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Teddybears George with me. This is Loayla's dad. Why are
you crying?
Speaker 6 (22:31):
Nice?
Speaker 9 (22:32):
Devastating that's been too long. It's very stressful on me,
my family. I just it's a lot. That's why I'm crying.
That's every parent's worst nightmare, you know.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
And I was thinking, George, after you know, my fiance
was murdered, I never ever thought that I could ever remarry,
that I would ever have children. I thought that was
just a dream that was just over, and it was.
It was for over twenty years. Then suddenly I have
(23:11):
a family. Can I tell you the greatest thing that
happened to me was having the twins. And let me
see those videos in your control room. I mean, this
was the time of Leela's life. She finally has Nova Grace,
(23:33):
just the love of her life, finally happiness, she has
this beautiful baby girl. I mean, I guess most moms
out there would agree that's the best time of your
life when you finally have your children. And to think
(23:56):
she's snatched away from her daughter and now her daughter
George has patures in these videos that's it and says
things like do I even have a mommy? I mean,
I get while you're crying.
Speaker 9 (24:11):
George, Yeah, she's all my granddaughter, is all I have
left of my daughter as of now for two years. Oh,
it's really hard and devastate.
Speaker 11 (24:22):
I just want to answers.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Hell loove closure.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Guys, we left off, we left off where George is
now becoming extremely worried. Listen.
Speaker 12 (24:34):
George calls Jennifer to discuss whether they should report Layla missing.
Extremely concerned after his last conversation with Michael based on
her last text conversation with Laila, Jennifer doesn't want to
jump the gun. The parents decide to report Layla missing
the next morning, which will be forty eight hours since
Layla's last contact with family. However, George can't shake the
feeling he needs to do something, and after several sleepless hours,
(24:57):
makes an official report that Laylah Santonello is missing in
the early morning hours of June twenty seventh.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
So George, since Michael Thompson, the boyfriend and Layelah had
been so close joined at the hip following her grandfather's death,
When he is starting to ask you, where's Laila, you
know something is really wrong. What prompted you to report
her missing at that time?
Speaker 9 (25:22):
Well, when I couldn't get a hold of her and
she didn't respond back to me, I already knew something
was wrong, something, something was not right. So when he
was reaching out to me and sending me text messages
about not being able to find my daughter and everything,
that just made it.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
Ten times worse for me.
Speaker 7 (25:39):
I mean I went right out there right away.
Speaker 9 (25:43):
We hired a private detective. We have a private detective
that's been on the case since day one.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
We have a private detective.
Speaker 9 (25:52):
We've been We've drove from boys you Jorgey to Tennessee
out several I can't many times already on behalf of
my daughter.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Then the searches on was George reports her missing and
finally a lead listen.
Speaker 13 (26:09):
Kingsport Police immediately began investigating, speaking with Michael Thompson and
his family around two am June twenty seventh. By the
end of the day, investigators have a lead. Layla checked
into the Americourt Hotel for the night of June twenty sixth.
Employees and other guests say Lala seemed paranoid. Laila is
caught on CCTV knocking on doors to look for someone.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Join me now, a very special guest. Rebecca McNairy, reporter
writer at Kingston Time News. Rebecca, thank you so much
for being with us. So who was she looking for?
Why are people there at the hotel describing her as
afraid of something?
Speaker 14 (26:49):
You know?
Speaker 15 (26:50):
Going based off the facts that we have received from
the Kingsport Police Department and other local authorities, we have
not been sure of who specifically she was looking for.
We know that witnesses testified that she was acting paranoid
and looking for something, but the Kingsport Police Department has
(27:11):
not released any specific details regarding that certain matter.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
You know, Rebecca McNary, you're so right speaking of a
witness perceived good samaritan, this is what we learned. Please
let me help you. I have a room, My mom,
my son are inside. You can sit down. I will
talk to you. How would do any tag him to
help you?
Speaker 10 (27:32):
She froze for a moment, full a breath, and he
was like, and she looked at my room, She looked
at me, and then she said no, I can't and.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
She just ran out and through the part camat and
that was a life I saw her.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Is that right, Rebecca mnary? She this good Samarita said, look,
what's wrong? Who are you looking for? Why are you afraid?
And apparently Lila goes, no, no, I can't talk to
you about it. It takes off running.
Speaker 15 (27:59):
Yeah, that is several witnesses accounts. I believe the police
department and local authorities have told me that, but again
I can't comment on that specifically because the police department
has not come forward with that specific information.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
Where is a mom of one little nova grace we're
talking about Layela? Do we finally have a bead or
where she may be? And now is this a break? Listen?
Speaker 12 (28:29):
As police tried to determine Layla's next move, employees at
the nearby warehouse provide another lead. Around six or fifteen
in the morning, Layla asks if she can bump a cigarette.
None of the men have smokes on them. Layla thanks
them anyway and walks away. The men say Layla was
perfectly polite and seemed coherent. Layla did appear slightly disheveled
with messy hair and grass and leaves on her back,
(28:50):
like she maybe had laid down in the field.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Now, how does a marble slab creamery fit into this
search for Laylah? We all know what that is very
popular ice cream place a shop. Listen.
Speaker 5 (29:04):
An employee at a nearby ice cream shop, the Marble
Slab says a blonde woman came into the store around
noon on the twenty seventh, with no shoes on.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
She says.
Speaker 5 (29:14):
The woman was very disheveled, wearing a white T shirt
and black luggings. The woman seems somewhat incoherent and made
a comment about her husband wanting to kill her before
asking to borrow the employee's phone. The woman walked back
out of the store, saying she wanted to head to
a nearby five below to buy shoes.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
When shown a photo of.
Speaker 5 (29:32):
Leila, the employee is convinced that's the woman she spoke to.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Okay, we've all heard attacks on eyewitnesses, and in this
particular case, we hit a dead end.
Speaker 13 (29:44):
Kingsport police intensely focused on the marble slab lead, checking
with several more nearby establishments. Authorities believe they are zeroing
in on Layla, but CCTV and phone records eventually proved
the employee was mistaken about the woman's identity. Officers tracked
the woman down, who confirms it was her in the
ice cream shop that afternoon, not Leila. Santanello Ah Crime
(30:12):
Stories with Nancy Grace.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Joining me, investigative reporter and writer at the Kingsport time
needs Rebecca McNairy, Rebecca, that's devastating to get an eyewitness tip.
The woman is absolutely convinced this is Leelah that comes
into Marble Slab Creamery and she's disproved. Tell me what happened.
(30:40):
The woman was so convinced it was Leilah.
Speaker 15 (30:42):
Yeah, according to report, she was convinced that she had
seen Layla. Again, the Kingsport Police investigated and that was
indeed not the case based off the records and the
surveillance footage that they had. But again, something like that
where you think that you have a lead and then
instead is definitely devastating for the family that's trying to
(31:04):
bring Leila home.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
To Ben Powers joining US criminal defense attorney, Ben It's
also bad for an investigation, a potential trial in the future,
because when you get a lead, an eyewitness lead, and
the woman is absolutely convinced she sees Layelah right later on,
a defense attorney can say, see, she saw Layelah at
(31:27):
this time on this date, and my client on trial
now was here in another state or whatever fill in
the blank. When you try, when you try a case,
you have to go down every avenue to get to
the truth. You can't leave anything out. But when you
(31:48):
go down those avenues, for instance, if you name a
person of interest or suspect too soon it turns out
to be wrong, that's a field day for the defense,
just like a false tip.
Speaker 11 (31:57):
Yeah, I would agree. I think the significance of the
witness being mistaken as it shows that police went down
the wrong thread. You know, it ultimately led to a
Tom commitment from the investigation that ended with a dead
end in the investigation. So then they've got to go
back and figure out what direction do they take the investigation.
And so now that tim, that effort, that dedication has
(32:20):
been spent on something that wasn't fruitful. Oh yeah, and
something like this. You know, Tom is the enemy of
an investigation. The longer time goes on, the harder the
investigation gets.
Speaker 12 (32:32):
Two weeks after Layla's disappearance, both mother and stepmother start
getting cash apt requests from Layla's account, but the message
is attached to the requests send chills down their spines.
They're keeping me hostage. I owe someone fifteen minutes or
you'll find her In pieces and the acronym TWLMG panics.
(32:53):
The women send various amounts of money with messages like
are you okay and call me in the hopes that
Laila would see them, also reporting the activity to Believes.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Oh my Stars, sick ransom text to Leilah's family, George Emmitt,
what happened.
Speaker 9 (33:10):
At that point? We got really scared, We got really nervous,
and we were willing to do whatever it took to
try to get a hold of her.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
At that point. I mean, in all of her history,
had Leyela ever sent you a text or an email
like that.
Speaker 9 (33:25):
Never? Never, So that's why we were very discerned and
worried that somebody might.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Actually threatened to chop her up.
Speaker 4 (33:34):
Yes, correct, Yes, you know.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
It's just actually making my stomach hurt. After all you
had been through, and someone is threatening to chop her
up unless they get money. Look, we're showing you the
sick ransom text. I mean, Brittany, what went through your
mind when you get this?
Speaker 4 (33:54):
I was in utter shock, and of course I reached
out to Jennifer. I reached out To's boyfriend Michael, and
while I am on the phone with Michael, I'm like,
are you getting any cash up requests? Because I'm getting
some right now, saying for abbreviations, and I gave him,
(34:15):
you know, TWMLG and he goes, oh, well, my brother says,
they won't let me go or they will let me go.
And I'm not processing everything that's going on at that moment.
I'm just thinking, oh my god, how do we do this?
I want to hear her voice. I want to know
that she is in fact, okay, do they really have her?
So there were so many things just running through my
(34:37):
mind as well as George's, and we were just dumbfounded, like,
oh my, what do we do? Do we send all
this money? Do we I dragged it out as much
as I possibly could to be able to get as
much information as I possibly can, and Jennifer and I
were asking questions like, you know, what's your youngest brother's name,
what's your pop secret pass code? Only things that Layla
(35:00):
can answer, and they were left and answered.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
So how did he the boyfriend know what t w
l MG means. It's not like he's I DK. I
don't know. I had to figure out what does t
w l MG mean? And he knew it off the
tip of.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
His tongue, That's what I was saying, And like I,
of course wasn't processing it at that exact moment. But
once I had a moment to process everything on what
was going on and rereading all of the messages and
everything that I had sending it to the investigators, I
was just like, wow, Like, I know, I got a
lot going on, but how do you know exactly what
(35:38):
that meant? In an instance? I was just I was roud.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
I was roud. This is what Leila's mother has to
say about that ransom text.
Speaker 16 (35:48):
It's one thing for a stranger to try and capitalize
on something like that the way that they that he did.
It's a whole other thing when it's someone.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
That you care about. From our friends at News five
wcy B to Rebecca McNary joining US reporter Kingsport Time News,
who is he who sent the ransom text threatening to
talk Lala into bits?
Speaker 15 (36:15):
Yeah, so police later found out during their investigation of
that was her boyfriend at the time, Michael Thompson, who
was sending those pretty alarming messages to Leyla's family about
two weeks after she was reported missing. He was later
indicted by a grand jury here in Sulliwyn County on
financial exploitation, credit card fraud, and identity theft.
Speaker 13 (36:38):
Thompson otherwise cooperates with the investigation, and neither family nor
cops believe Thompson had anything to do with Layla's disappearance,
but obviously tried to take advantage of this situation. Jennifer
Santanello claims Thompson has taken a polygraph test, but the
results were inconclusive because he was not sober for the
five hour exam.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
George, jam And, I want to confirm with you. Our
sources have told us that you do not believe Thompson
had anything to do with Layla's disappearance.
Speaker 7 (37:07):
No, I don't believe. Well, they cleared them first. First
they cleared them.
Speaker 4 (37:12):
How do you feel.
Speaker 9 (37:15):
I feel he might know something or know some people
that could be involved are whereabouts.
Speaker 7 (37:21):
That is possible, but he's not saying nothing for nobody.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
So guys, what about the search now.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
In addition to grid searches near the America Court Hotel,
Kingsport PD have searched the home Layla shared with Michael
Thompson and served at least thirty more search warrants. Officers
have also issued at least twenty five subpoenas. Officers remain
tight lipped about their most current leads to protect the investigation,
but have searched several other locations in addition to the field,
totaling six ground searches.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
To Rebecca McNary joining us from Kingsport, Time News tell
me about the search as it stands right now and
the reward.
Speaker 15 (37:59):
I know that the search the ground searches were subsided
a little bit during the colder winter months, but that
those are expected to pick up again here in the
near future. As far as any kind of reward money,
I'm not sure. I believe the last number that I
heard was around seven grand that her family was offering
(38:21):
do whoever had information about her whereabouts and disappearance.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
To George and Brittany. This case has taken so many
twists and turns, false reports of false siding that seems
so credible. The ransom text just cold blooded ransom text
money grab. So where are we left? In my mind,
(38:45):
we're left with the warehouse workers that didn't have a
cigarette seeing her walk off into a field. That's where
we are.
Speaker 9 (38:55):
What about it, George, That's where we are as of
right now. That's the last known place that she was
actually seen.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
So that's all we know is.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
Of right now.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
What about it, Brittany.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
Well, so even though that's all that we have at
this time, we're going to continue to work as hard
as we can to.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Figure out what direction she went.
Speaker 4 (39:20):
And I call it the direction of the unknown. Since
it's been two years almost now, and I know, any
type of surveillance footage that we have tried to grab
off of weather cameras or any type of surveillance that
our investigator had tried to pull, I know at this
(39:42):
time it's definitely going to be extremely difficult to be
able to pull. So we're got to just keep on
search in and put ground searches in place to be
able to gather as much resources that we possibly can
from nonprofit organizations that offer out of our dogs, drones, extensive, yes, extensive,
(40:07):
wide varieties of you know, needs for Layela to be
able to be found, since we feel like we're working
next little of nothing at this time.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
If you know or think you know anything about the
disappearance of Layelah Santanello, please dial four two three three
four three nine seven eight zero or toll free eight
hundred TB I find eight hundred eight two four three
four sixty three. There is a seven thousand dollars reward
(40:40):
for information in the disappearance of Leyela, and that reward
is growing. We now remember an American hero, Senior Deputy
Christopher Corzilias, Travis County Sheriff, Texas, passed away in the
line of duty, survived by a grieving partner Bethany, mother, Nancy, father, Paul,
(41:04):
stepmom Patty. American hero Senior Deputy Christopher Crasilius, Goodbye friend,
Host
Nancy Grace
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