January 30, 2025 • 45 mins
The family of Jade’s father share their remembrances of a life tragically ended and thoughts on the woman they believe took it. Speculation as to what could have motivated the murder takes an unlikely turn, leading to Salem, Massachusetts.
Email us with thoughts, suggestions or tips at investigatingmurder@iheartmedia.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Murder on Songbird Road is a production of iHeart Podcasts.
Previously on Murder on Songbird Road.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
She found out she was pregnant in jail.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
It was rough, the best possible blessing at the worst
possible time.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Yes, exactly, two million dollar bond and we went in
for a reduction and Judge Green denied it. So we
tried again when she was around eight months pregnant, and
he denied it again. There were no presumptions of innocence
while we were awaiting child.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
There was none of that.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
None of it, especially it would seem when it came
to Beverly's labor and delivery.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Malon Reynolds tells me that the judge ordered Thomas would
be taken as soon as the umbilical cord was cut.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I wanted to scream at that moment. I said, no
one told me this.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
I'm Lauren Bright Pacheco, and this is Murder on Songbird Road.
(01:20):
Jade Beasley's murder left the blended family she was a
part of splintered with grief, anger, and confusion. That ripple
effect has reverberated throughout the extended family of her father,
Mike Beasley. But Bob and I were very hopeful the
family would eventually respond to our ongoing offers to sit
down for an interview.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
I am Jade's great aunt. I am the sister of
her grandmother, Sheila.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
That's Brenda, the sister of Sheila Beasley, who is Mike's
mother and Jade's paternal grandmother.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
My name is Bailey, and Jade's father, Michael is my
first cousin.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
And that's Bailey, the niece of Brenda. Sheila. Bailey and
Brenda work together to craft the victim impact statement that
Brenda delivered in court while addressing Julia Beverly before her sentencing.
For both Bob and me, it was incredibly important to
connect with them.
Speaker 7 (02:13):
I'm so grateful that y'all have allowed us to speak
to you. I want to know every side of this tragedy,
and I'm half blind if I don't have these conversations
with you too, so I'm sure I'm sharing for Lauren
as well.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I am so appreciative that you've agreed to speak with us.
Speaker 7 (02:33):
I'm very grateful that y'all are willing to do this
and kind enough to do this. But I can imagine
how difficult it is to rehash this stuff.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
I noticed both of you ladies are wearing pink intentional.
Speaker 5 (02:45):
This is Jay's favorite color. It's Jay's color. She just
absolutely loved pink, and it is the color we have
chosen for the foundation for Jake. Marie Beasley Speak Live
founding that spreads kindness in the community and helps children
express themselves. She expressed herself in her own unique way,
(03:11):
hence the Speak Life Foundation. She loved music, she loved
the arts, and she didn't get an opportunity to grow
and learn, so we are hoping to carry that on
for Jade.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Wearing pink became a symbol of solidarity with the Justice
for Jade movement, particularly during the lead up to and
throughout Beverly's trial. We'll explore the significance of this color,
especially its presence from the courtroom bench in future episodes.
Beyond wearing pink, both women share not only a familial
resemblance to Jade, but a profound grief over her tragic murder.
Speaker 8 (03:50):
It's just it's never something you would think to experience.
Speaker 6 (03:54):
I know for me, I'll never forget when I found
out and getting that phone call and how quickly it
changes your lives.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
I know that this is a difficult topic for both
of you. If you could just tell me a little
bit about Jade and Bailey, I'll let you go first.
Speaker 8 (04:13):
I would say.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
The first thing I have to say about her was
that she was very eccentric and individualistic in the best way,
even for a child. If you look at pictures, you know,
you'll notice there may be a one pattern and a
headband and a completely different pattern and a shirt. She
loved to play with her own style and dress herself
(04:34):
and be expressive in that way.
Speaker 8 (04:37):
Jade was very kind.
Speaker 6 (04:38):
She loved all of her siblings and all of her
cousins very deeply.
Speaker 8 (04:44):
Brenda, I think i'll let you go ahead.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
From my perspective, Jade was just as sassy as she
was sweet. She was very kind. She loved animals. She'd
loved butterflies. She would come visit me, either at the lake,
then we would go boating, or her favorite place was
to go to the beach, to Orange Beach and golf shores,
(05:10):
and she would just love to get up and walk
on the beach and look at the tiniest little shell
or creature.
Speaker 9 (05:18):
She just loved life period.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
She was always kind, no matter if somebody was mean
to her.
Speaker 9 (05:27):
She was kind, that was just her nature.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
We are all used to reading awful stories in the
headlines and hearing them on the radio and television, But
could anything have prepared you, guys for experiencing this within
your family.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
Absolutely not never, Never that happens to other families.
Speaker 6 (05:57):
I was in shock and disbelief. Something you can't wrap
your head around. It's just it's something you can never
prepare for, and it's something you would never expect to
happen to your family, or do you or do your
loved one.
Speaker 8 (06:14):
It's hard for somebody to say that Jade's dead or
that this person died. It's they're gone, and it's what
do you mean they're gone? Are they missing?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Gone?
Speaker 8 (06:25):
You know what is gone?
Speaker 7 (06:29):
I just first wanted to say, I'm I can't even
imagine the loss that your entire family has experienced and
will always experience. I can't even imagine it what that
feels like unless you're in it. You just can't, Like,
I could try to contemplate what it might be like,
(06:51):
but I could never know what you guys have experienced.
This is so valuable to us to hear from you, guys,
to learn about who Jade was as a human being,
who she was to you guys, what she meant to you,
and to give us your impressions of Julie. Because we
(07:12):
came into this not knowing anybody.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
I felt strongly that Jade needed to have representation because
I'm sure you guys could go on with or without us,
And I get it. The biological mother and her father
they want at this point no part of a podcast
because they just specifically they can't even think about it anymore.
Speaker 9 (07:36):
It's just too overwhelming.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
A quick note that dynamic would eventually change. We are
deeply grateful for the ongoing conversations we've had with Jade's
family and are continually impressed by their openness and willingness
to engage. When we first spoke with Bailey and her
aunt Brenda, it was August of twenty twenty four. By then,
they had spent nearly four years processing the murder and
(08:00):
everything that had unfolded since, including Julia Beverly's arrest, trial,
and ultimate conviction.
Speaker 7 (08:07):
When you first heard that it was Julie, was there
part of your mind that was like, no way, or
was there part of your mind where you're like that
totally makes sense for me.
Speaker 8 (08:18):
I think I was somewhere in the middle.
Speaker 6 (08:20):
I would say it was more of shock there because
it's somebody so close, somebody that had been around the family, obviously,
that had children with Michael.
Speaker 8 (08:29):
There is a.
Speaker 6 (08:30):
Shot there in that aspect, I would say. At the
same time, though, when I did hear that, it kind
of makes your brain start working backwards and thinking of
the times when she was so withdrawn from everybody else
around her, and that makes you start thinking, did she
(08:51):
have an issue that she didn't say, Was it suppressing
these emotions? Were you enjoying being around everybody or were
you not?
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Happen pretty quickly after the murder five days later, and
at the time they had no confession, no murder weapon,
no DNA evidence. But the thing that Bob and I
have spoken about multiple times is that there's always a motive.
(09:21):
There's a motive that unless you're dealing with somebody like
a serial killer, where it's just irrational or driven by
things that we can't even imagine. But you mentioned something
in the victim impact statement that stuck with me, which
is why I wanted to ask you you'd use the
word jealousy. I believe, if I'm not mistaken and I
(09:43):
was wondering if you could expand upon that.
Speaker 5 (09:47):
The limited times that the family came here collectively together,
Jade and I had had conversations, and so my perspective
of jealousy was Jade was the princess. She was her
daddy's little girl. She was from a different marriage. She
(10:09):
was loved dearly by both sides of her family. Her
biological mother, her biological father. They got along very well.
It was a textbook seven day on, seven day off,
joint custody situation. There was a lot for that child
since she was born and they divorced at quite a
(10:32):
young age, and they were young when they had Jay.
But you can be nice to someone but not really
care for them.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
That duality stuck out to both Bob and myself immediately
because we'd not heard any examples of conflict or abuse
between Beverly and her stepdaughter. I know that Julie did
come down with Mike and the kids twice, not mistaken
to visit you in Alabama. Looking back, did you observe
(11:06):
anything about that dynamic that sticks out?
Speaker 5 (11:08):
But I didn't really talk that much to her. And
then when she came with the family in any family event,
Julie never interacted with the family. She was very withdrawn
and she would withdraw herself from family situations.
Speaker 9 (11:26):
So yes, over.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Seven and a half years, I guess they were together.
The family came to Alabama at least four times a year,
but not Michael and Julie and that family. Jade would come,
but she maintain So I mean, anything that I say
is clearly from my limited perspective with her and from
(11:49):
my conversations like I said, with Jade, and I do
know that Jay did not feel totally inclusive in the
Michael Julie pod, but she would not speak about things
that would make other people look better feel bad at all.
I wasn't there day to day with the family, but
(12:12):
I do know that the night that she spent the
night there with Michael and Julie at their home. On
Songbird wrote, the other children were with my sister, and
my sister did say, why don't you stay, Why do
you want to go?
Speaker 9 (12:30):
Why do you want to go so bad?
Speaker 5 (12:32):
The other kids are here, there's nobody home, you know,
And she says, well, I want to see my dad
because I have my sister's birthday party to go to
this week, so I.
Speaker 9 (12:41):
Want to see my dad before I go.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
And that's how she she says, not just because I'm
not going to be able to be with him that week,
because there was a lot going on and she wanted
to see her dad that eden.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
It is of note that by all accounts, the before
the murder, Jade asked to come back to Songbird Road
and Julia Beverly willingly volunteered to stay home with her
that night while Mike went out back to Bailey.
Speaker 6 (13:10):
Brenda mentioned with being with John, you know, we are
a big family. We are a pretty loud family. On
our side, there's a whole bunch of us. There's a
lot of kids. When you get everybody together, it is
loud and it is crazy. There was a year specifically
that sticks out to me now that everything's happened, And
it was around Christmas time and some of the kids
(13:32):
were opening up gifts and Kim and Michael were there,
and Julie and everybody was kind of in the living
room met Shea's house at Michael some others and some
people were kind of in the.
Speaker 8 (13:44):
Kitchen and there's this chair that sits.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
If you're looking at the fireplace and the TV to
the left of it, and Julie was sitting in that chair,
and when everybody else around her is engaged in opening
gifts and talking, she's very quiet, very reserved, and kind
of just sitting there and observing. And that is just
something that stuck with me from that one interaction.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
What immediately struck Bob and me was the specific critique
Julia's family had of Mike was his quiet and somewhat
introverted demeanor at their family gatherings. Back to Brenda and Bailey.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
I am awarees you all are that in court the
state did not go for a motive. Jennifer never presented
a motive or at least directly stated one that she thought.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Jennifer is Special Prosecutor Jennifer Mudge, who tried the case
against Julia Beverly.
Speaker 6 (14:44):
My personal opinion is that sometimes people snap, and that
is what.
Speaker 8 (14:50):
I believe happened in this case.
Speaker 6 (14:52):
As Brenda said, you know, Jade was from a previous marriage.
She was the only child in their immediate family from
a different marriage, and that is where we believe the
jealousy came in and where we believe she.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Said murder on Songbird Road. We'll return after the break
here again is murder on Songbird Road.
Speaker 7 (15:23):
I'm always trying to go through the psychology of it.
But in terms of Julie's version of what she claims happened,
when did you guys hear that, like how soon after
they say okay, Julie's the suspect. Was that right away?
Where you heard this story? Or is it a trial
or is the prosecutor? Let you know, we had.
Speaker 5 (15:45):
Heard bits and pieces prior to the trial that she
had left the house, somebody was there or somebody ran out.
We of course had heard some pieces of it, but
we actually heart the full version.
Speaker 9 (16:00):
At the trial.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
We followed the information of which, by the way, was
Julie's statement as to where she went. And from my
perspective on jumping straight to it being Julie, I had
already told my sister and unlessened the shut the social
media off, shut the noise up. Let's find the facts first,
(16:26):
And I said, you will hear the facts, so you
follow the facts here Julie's story and verify.
Speaker 9 (16:38):
So I trust, but verify.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
And when the evidence was presented at the trial is
exactly when I made my mind up, because I've followed
the evidence. She told her story, she placed herself as
having her own cell phone with her, and they follow
the cell phone data. She told them she went to Hawks.
(17:04):
I never knew they dug up a dump, a garbage
dump and found what they found until the trial.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
But in all fairness, what they found had nothing to
do with the case.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
The coordinates were exactly where the dumpster had been and
exactly what they had dumped in.
Speaker 9 (17:27):
There was two dumpsters she went to.
Speaker 7 (17:29):
So anyway, wait, wait, tell me.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Explain that to us, because that's not something that we've
come up.
Speaker 7 (17:36):
Yeah, we did not hear that. Like, the only thing
that we've heard was that she had stopped in the Hawks.
Her story was that she had made her way all
the way down to Carbondell to go to Walmart. Right,
so we have that lie that's in place. And now
when this video from Hawks.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Surfaces, a quick aside after Julie remembered making the stock,
Renee actually called in the Hucks tip before the video surfaced.
Speaker 7 (18:04):
And so she says, okay, well, I'm at the light.
My gaslight pops on, I pull into the Hawks. I'm
going to get gas. I realize I don't have my cards.
So then that's when we see the thing which to
me sounds like it was a rather small package, like
and this is the stuff that I look at critically.
I wasn't at the trial, you guys, especially you Brenda,
(18:29):
because I'm assuming Billy, as you said, you were trying
to deal with your college life. You know, probably didn't attend.
Speaker 9 (18:35):
He did not miss the so.
Speaker 8 (18:39):
Like so.
Speaker 7 (18:40):
But I have not heard anything about a second dumpster
at all.
Speaker 5 (18:44):
Around the back of Hucks as a dumpster. So there
was something dumped here and then pulled to the I
believe I could be mispeaken, but there's a dumpster at.
Speaker 9 (18:56):
The back that I had heard.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
Something was put in, and there was the dumpster here,
and the only place I could have heard that was
at the try.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
I only have that video of look at her throwing away.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Yeah, see where she drove, Which direction she drove first,
because to the backside of HUWKS as another dumpster, and
then she threw something in that package and there's an
additional dumpster.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Anyway, Remember this understanding or misunderstanding of what was discarded
at Hucks and that dumpster and what was discovered at
the landfill. It is crucial and will be clarified in
the court transcripts which we would soon possess back to Brenda.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
I could be misspeaking, but honestly, the dumpster not even
that's I just had never seen so much law enforcement
come through garbage like that in my whole life. I
never knew they would even do that. I didn't even
realize they had the core in some new trash that
they did.
Speaker 6 (20:02):
I would say for me with that, and during the trial,
you know, we know it was in a landfill, so
it was not tested for DNA. In my opinion, no
matter what, it would have been contaminated, and clearly that's
what they thought as well. However, if you kind of
go back to the mindset and kind of the talk
(20:28):
throughout the pre trials and leading up to the jury trial,
and what we knew that Julie's family and friends were
saying was that the police were not making an effort,
or they were not doing everything that they.
Speaker 8 (20:43):
Could, or this or that, and it was.
Speaker 6 (20:46):
All negative to how there wasn't a thorough investigation, or
this was not done or that was not done.
Speaker 8 (20:53):
And for me.
Speaker 6 (20:55):
Personally, and what I took from that moment during the
trial was.
Speaker 8 (20:59):
The was thorough.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Again digging through the landfill for anything they could possibly
infer could be linked to the murder could also be
seen as desperation, not dedication back to Bailey.
Speaker 6 (21:12):
And they did try to do everything that they could
do throughout this case.
Speaker 8 (21:18):
And I think that's.
Speaker 6 (21:19):
Spoken to in other ways as well, when they're going
through blood evidence and they're talking about all the different
people that worked.
Speaker 8 (21:25):
On this case and how many hours went into it.
Speaker 6 (21:29):
We've lived this for almost four years at this point,
obviously December fifth will be four years, and.
Speaker 8 (21:38):
Going throughout the past.
Speaker 6 (21:40):
Four years and attending pre trials and that week of
jury trial, and I where I sit today, I am
confident that Julie Beverley is guilty of this crime.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
So I have two hundred percent convinced Julie is guilty.
Speaker 9 (21:58):
I will go to my grave thank you that.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
But on the other side, I believe in right and
I believe in forgiveness, and if somebody missed something and
somebody can show me the proof, I will be the
first one in line to say I am so sorry.
Speaker 9 (22:20):
I would, I would and forgive.
Speaker 5 (22:24):
Me for thinking what I've thought or and I just
took the only evidence that I have been presented with.
Speaker 6 (22:33):
I am in the same Jesus, Brenda that if something
were to change in the case and she was to
be proven innocent or not guilty, we will apologize to her.
I can't say we would have a relationship with her necessarily.
I think everybody's a little too far gone for that
(22:55):
being realistic. But you know, we would apologize if that
was to be the case. I do not believe that
to be so, but I don't want it to come
across as blind animosity or just an ignorant will to
believe whatever is put in front of you, because I
(23:16):
do not believe that that was the case for any
of us.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
The willingness of Jade Beasley's family to extend grace and
remain open minded even to the slightest possibility that the
investigation might have been flawed, speaks volumes about their integrity
and character, which aligns deeply with the Christian principles they referenced.
During our conversation, Bailey, you did mention that you're religious,
and I know Brenda that you are as well, and
(23:43):
that you worked on that victim impact statement together. One
thing that I remember was the children will be raised Christian. Yes,
if you could just explain that to me and why
that was of solace to you after all of this.
Speaker 9 (24:00):
The family has a I know that a.
Speaker 5 (24:03):
Family member owns a pagan store in Salem or whatever,
but they believe in witchery or witchcraft. I view that
as an occult. There ain't no good witch. There's not
a good witch in mind, although I did like the
witch growing up. But I would just say that, you know,
(24:23):
in the mother Renee, I mean, we hear rumors of
all this, okay, but out of the mouths of babes.
I will tell you that her own daughter said, I
don't like witches. I don't like witches. I don't want
to go back there. I don't like a witch. I
don't know what they were practicing or not practicing, but
(24:45):
Julie didn't really want them to.
Speaker 9 (24:46):
Go to church.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
That pagan relative of Julie's Brenda is referencing is actually
her cousin, Nicki. Nicki owns a metaphysical shop in Salem,
Massachusetts with her mother, Michelle Renee's sister. Their shop gained
attention on social media more than a full year before
the trial even began, when Mike Beasley's new girlfriend, Brooke,
shared a screenshot from the website of the Salem shop
(25:11):
Nicki and her mother own, showing several ceremonial daggers for sale,
with the caption quote, I know I've got a few
knife collectors on my page. I came across a website
that has some interesting blades if you're looking for a
new one.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Unquote.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Here's Beverly's cousin, Nicki.
Speaker 10 (25:32):
She is the person who decided to go on to
our store website, take the picture out and share that picture.
I think is one incredibly in boord A.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Something doesn't stay right with me on that.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
This was especially striking to Nicki, as Brooks post would
increasingly reveal she was raising Julia Beverly's three youngest children
as her own.
Speaker 10 (25:56):
It's just it was a little too too weird that
she just wants to be involved in the drama. She
posts that Fisher from our site 'uring this time to
rehashing all these emotions and things that happened.
Speaker 9 (26:10):
Your primary goal should.
Speaker 10 (26:11):
Be there and you should be there for your partner,
rather than boeing online and making such tasteless hope. Because
of the way that she was marked in trying to
make that insinuation just to stir the pot.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
It's disgusting and it's imperienced me that somebody like that
is a key role in both his life. I don't
know what's worriesome.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
At the time this episode was recorded, I'd made multiple
unsuccessful attempts to connect with Brooke dating back to February
of twenty twenty four. She finally responded in January of
twenty twenty five, declining comment. But the link to witchcraft
also surfaced during the trial when Nikki testified as a
character witness on Julie's behalf. Special Prosecutor Jennifer or Mudge
(27:00):
made a point of bringing up the topic in her
cross examination.
Speaker 11 (27:05):
She started focusing on my spiritual faith in my line
of employment, which I don't understand how has anything to
do with the trial. Me and my mom run a
witchcraft shop in Salem, Massachusetts. We are both practicing Pagans,
and that was the main focus on my line of
(27:25):
questioning from her was just the way to try to immediately,
I guess, shed a negative light on me.
Speaker 10 (27:33):
Like I said, the community is very Christian, very very religious,
and a little hate these words, but a little dumb.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
To other religions or spiritualities that.
Speaker 10 (27:44):
Are not Christian They have the painted picture of what
they think witchcraft is and paganisms, and it seems like
they've watched a lot of Disney movies or regimeny grim
fairy tale. I mean, if they did any sort of
research into.
Speaker 9 (27:59):
The city where we are, they put a witch on everything.
Speaker 10 (28:01):
It's on the side of the police car, it's on
their badges, it's everywhere.
Speaker 9 (28:05):
It's been turned into an entire fame of the city.
So it's really kind of normal here for us.
Speaker 4 (28:10):
It was a just kind of odd that that was
level focus with me.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
The vilification of pagans and witchcraft and the sensationalizing of Salem,
Massachusetts isn't overly odd to this woman though.
Speaker 12 (28:22):
My name is Tricia Pione. I'm the project director for
New England Hidden Histories at the Congregational Library and Archive
in Boston, and I have a PhD in Early American
history and I specialize in the history of witchcraft in
New England.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
If you could just give me an idea in terms
of historical, social, political, religious context, what the environment was
at the onset of the Salem witch trials.
Speaker 12 (28:52):
Sure, so, in general, Massachusetts was in a real period
of turmoil in sixteen ninety two, they were in the
middle of war, they had overthrown their governor. So when
the crisis started, they did not have a legal system
that was functioning or a political system that was functioning,
and that meant that during the first few months of
the crisis, accusations were spreading quickly. They were able to
(29:15):
issue arrest warrants and put people in jail, but they
could not try them. They could not establish a court
until the new royal governor returned to Salem, and so
that meant they couldn't hold trials. So they just held
people in jail and started collecting evidence and witness statements,
which really kind of spiraled things.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Now. I know that there were witch hunts in other areas,
particularly in New England, and you know obviously throughout Europe
at the time as well, but in terms of the
scope of it in Salem, how many people are we
actually talking about in terms of being accused and actually
being executed.
Speaker 12 (29:53):
So in Salem, about two hundred people are accused of witchcraft,
fifty people about fifty people actually can and said that
they had practiced witchcraft, they had signed a covenant with
the devil, and then nineteen people were convicted and executed,
and then there were several other people who died in
jail during the trials.
Speaker 9 (30:14):
Five people died in jail, and one man.
Speaker 12 (30:16):
Giles Corey, was pressed to death not as a sentence,
not as an execution, but as part of a fascinating
old timey legal system in which because he didn't enter
a plea, they tried to force his plea of guilty
or not guilty out of.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Him by stacking rocks on.
Speaker 9 (30:33):
Yeah, it's so horrible.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
And though, yeah, you know, it is.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Interesting because you said the number of people who confessed,
is it safe to say that these were coerced confessions?
Speaker 12 (30:44):
Yeah, I think what we know now about false confessions,
I think is really interesting to consider how that might
have played out in Salem today. It would be illegal
to torture someone to get a confession. It's technically illegal
to do that, but there are all sorts of version
that can happen, and actually torture to produce a confession
was also illegal under law at the time in sixteen
(31:07):
ninety two, but their idea of torture and version.
Speaker 9 (31:10):
Was different from ours.
Speaker 12 (31:11):
So we do have some evidence that some people were
beaten and things that we would consider to be physical
torture as well as mental torture, and then confessed.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
I tracked doctor Pone down after being struck by a
quote she'd given. You said, the seventeenth century is a
lot different than today, but people are essentially the same.
It tells us what could happen in a community where
someone is hated and seen as a target for frustration
and anger.
Speaker 12 (31:38):
Yeah, I still think that's true. I agree with myself,
but it is. It's very difficult to understand the past.
I think it might actually be impossible for us to
ever truly know or understand why people did the things
they did. I think that's a tough question, and so
because of that, people often prefer a very simple explanation
for Salem. They'll often blame teenage girls, and they'll often
(32:00):
try to create these heroes or these villains in the story.
But it's not that easy. I think all that we
can really do is try to interpret the evidence. Those
interpretations can change. But what we can also do is
just consider that people are still essentially the same. People
often have the same motivations, people experience grief, people still
like to scapegoat each other. So we can look to
(32:22):
the past for clues about things that are happening today,
and I think we can look at Salem as an
example that can tell us some things about what happens
when someone becomes a target or a group of people
become a target for community frustration or anger. We still
have a dominant culture that values some people's lives more
than others. We still live in a patriarchal society. Some
(32:43):
people today still believe pretty similar ideas about women as
they did in the seventeenth century, and they express it.
So I think we can kind of look at some
of those parallel It's hard to draw exact parallels. Actually,
In some of the writing from the time, people like
Cotton Mather had this kind of tendency towards conspiratorial thinking,
which I think we can also see today and makes
this still relevant today.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
For those not familiar, Cotton Mather was a somewhat controversial
purit enclergyman and author in colonial New England who wrote
extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects.
Speaker 12 (33:16):
Cotton either talked about witchcraft as a conspiracy, and I
think sometimes today still like people would rather believe in
a conspiracy than try to actually solve issues or make
changes in.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Terms of Salem, Massachusetts. However, there have been profound changes
in terms of the way in which witchcraft and the
Salem witch Trials are framed.
Speaker 12 (33:36):
Since the late nineteenth century, Salem has started to dip
their toe into using this history as a way to
promote tourism.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
When did that start? Because you know, Salem, Massachusetts is
to witchcraft and witch hunts what colonial Williamsburg is to colonization.
Speaker 9 (33:56):
Yep.
Speaker 12 (33:56):
Yeah, So I think really the efforts kicked off starting
in the nineteen seventies to make it really a big business.
And that's had a little bit to do with Salem
constantly being portrayed in movies. There's movies from the nineteen
thirties that talk about sit the Salem witch Trials. But
by the nineteen seventies in the early eighties is when
the first museums start to open up in Salem dedicated
(34:18):
to the history of witchcraft and the witch trials. I
think it's nineteen eighty two where the Salem Chamber of
Commerce starts this Haunted Happenings, which is tourists come to
Salem for Halloween. I know that last year Salem tourism
hit a new record, and over a million people visited
Salem in the month of October. So it's big business today.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Really.
Speaker 12 (34:41):
Since the eighties, maybe the late seventies too, people who
practice modern witchcraft, whether they're wickan or pagan or some
other form of modern witchcraft, have been drawn to Salem
and have set up there.
Speaker 9 (34:54):
Nineteen ninety two was probably a watershed.
Speaker 12 (34:56):
Year for Salem in terms of this because that's the
year it was the three hundred anniversary of the witch Trials.
A lot of historians were unpublishing books, new books, new
histories of what happened, so changing our understanding of what happened.
That's the year that they dedicated Witch Trials Memorial Park
in downtown Salem. Some of the modern witches, modern practicing,
which is who had come to Salem and started living there,
(35:18):
protested this new memorial because they felt like it was
giving this idea of witchcraft as sinful and wicked and
demonic this historical ideas. So they objected to some of
the language that it was unfairly stereotyping their beliefs.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Murder on Songbird Road will continue after this. Now back
to Murder on Songbird Road. Curious I made the road
trip to Salem to visit the Covens Cottage. The shop,
Nikki shares with her mother, Michelle, who is Renee high
Tower's younger sister.
Speaker 9 (35:54):
Hi, how are you nice to meet you?
Speaker 2 (35:56):
Oh my gosh, she looked like your sister. Sorry for
my freezing Cohn.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Michelle shares a strong resemblance to her older sister Renee,
though a bit more fair in terms of her coloring
and clothing, but their voices and intonations are similar.
Speaker 9 (36:10):
This is beautiful.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
What a magical shop? No unintended in person, The family
owned shop resembles the sort of English apothecary you'd imagine
spotting in a scene from Bridgerton or Harry Potter. Dried flowers,
organic herbs, and artisanal trinkets adorn the walls and ceilings,
creating an enchanting atmosphere.
Speaker 9 (36:32):
Oh it's awesome, listen to you too. I don't know
what anyone use.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
According to the store's website, they offer a range of Norse, Germanic,
Celtic and nature based traditions, with items handcrafted by the owners,
local artisans and practitioners. Selections include all natural teas, oils, balms,
soaps and salves in addition to themed gifts, de core,
and books, the shop exudes a magical vibe that's more whimsical,
(36:58):
fairy like charm than ominous. I was going to teach
you when we first met. I was going to say, so,
are you a good witch or a bad witch?
Speaker 2 (37:07):
You must get that all the time sometimes. Yeah.
Speaker 13 (37:10):
I think the best way to respond to that is,
witches are people. So it's just like you have good
people and bad people. It's not black magic, white magic.
That kind of thing is just magic. Whatever the person
decides to do with it is that person. Under those guidelines,
I would be a good witch.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
I suppose.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
The shop is nestled on Essex Street, a historic retail
stretch in downtown Salem. If you've never visited the small
Massachusetts city, as Nikki described, it's thoroughly steeped in witchcraft
themed tourism. It's no exaggeration to say you'd be hard
pressed to cast a stone without hitting a broomstick or
a pointy black hat. That said, you'd also be hard
(37:51):
pressed to find anything overly touristy or cheesy in this shop.
That's a choice. According to Michelle, we.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Always wanted to own a shop with my daughter.
Speaker 13 (38:01):
So our ideal would be to be a nice, peaceful
store and help you each person that comes in.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
But in October it can be really chaotic. It's it's
I mean, it's beautiful.
Speaker 8 (38:10):
There's there's something.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
This is our brand of witchcraft.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Yeah, but it's very earthy, very kind of organic feeling.
It has absolutely a magical feel to it, but in
a very artisan way. And it has a timelessness to it.
You feel like you've walked back in time when you
walk it.
Speaker 13 (38:29):
Yeah, it's like walking into another world, is how people
describe it.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
And it's very very much feels like a celebration of nature.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
Which is what basically what paganism is. That's my side.
If people read a book, they.
Speaker 13 (38:44):
Would see it has nothing to do with worshiping the
devil and all that. It's very much nature based and
agricultural based.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
As for the association of witchcraft and Salem being used
against her niece Julia Beverly and in relay to Jade
Beasley's murder, Michelle believes it comes with the territory.
Speaker 13 (39:04):
Literally, we moved to southern Illinois when I was eleven.
My husband is born and raised in southern Illinois, and
then We lived there until two thousand and nine, so
our kids went to school.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
There, grew up there. So yeah, we have known the
whole area.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
For someone who hasn't been there or not familiar with
the area, how would you categorize it in terms of
just the overall mindset of the community. Is it liberal?
Is it conservative?
Speaker 13 (39:34):
Political wise? Tends to lean more conservative. It is very
much a Bible belt area when it comes to religion.
I think they're very closed minded, extremely closed minded, and
that is.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Part of why we moved away.
Speaker 13 (39:50):
I'm a practicing which I have been since I was sixteen,
and it's misunderstood by a lot of people. Not just
people in that area, but a lot of people in
that area. Won't say all, but a lot of them
are unwilling to educate themselves otherwise they are set.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
In their ways.
Speaker 13 (40:07):
You know, it's Satanic, even though the whole concept of
Satan is a Christian belief. It's not pagan in any way,
So that guy belongs to them.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Not us.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
Religious debate aside, Michelle's emotions became authentically overwhelming for her
when the topic turned to Jade. How do you describe
your emotion and where does it come from? What is
the feeling that you have about all of this.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
Uh? Yeah, I would say it's.
Speaker 13 (40:44):
Absolute horror and sympathy for Jade.
Speaker 5 (40:58):
I was not.
Speaker 13 (41:06):
I wasn't super close to Jade because of the distance
we live, but she's an eleven year old girl.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
And that is absolutely horrible.
Speaker 1 (41:21):
During the trial, Michelle stayed back in Salem to watch
Nicki's three children while her daughter traveled to testify on
behalf of her cousin, Julia Beverley's character. They didn't realize
their efforts would backfire and be used against Beverly.
Speaker 13 (41:37):
It all hinged on the shop that we own, where
the shop is, what kind of shop it is.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
I don't know how a shop.
Speaker 13 (41:44):
In Salem, Massachusetts has anything to do with a trial
in southern Illinois that Nicki is not a part of
other than being a character witness. Our shop and her profession,
her occupation has nothing to do with that. But they
seem to harp on that, and that struck Nicki as
very odd.
Speaker 2 (42:01):
But she knew what was going on. What do you
think was going on?
Speaker 13 (42:05):
I think that they were trying to another swaying of opinions.
They're trying to make people believe that Julie is associated
with witchcraft in some way, but their idea of what
witchcraft is. The people down there associate witchcraft with something evil,
So they're trying to associate evil with Julie.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
And negate Nikki's character reference because she's a witch. And
then when you hear witchcraft murdered eleven year.
Speaker 13 (42:32):
Old, right, well, she had to have done it because
she's an evil witch. I mean, I think that was
their goal there. She's been raised in this. Look, her
cousin is a witch. They own a shop and sale
on that kind of thing. They don't realize that on
a grander scale, this isn't a big thing to people.
It's another religion. It's protected in.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
The absence of actual evidence.
Speaker 9 (42:58):
It's in you and.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Could have been used to railroad a potentially innocent woman.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
Right, which a lot of people seem to be okay with.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
On the next murder on Songbird Road, access to the
dispatch records from the day of the murder raises new questions.
Speaker 14 (43:23):
It's important if we can find out if, in fact,
they had sent officers out to that area based on
the other fall saying dude just ran through my backyard
and all black.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
As does another description of an alleged intruder given to authorities.
Speaker 10 (43:41):
Well it struck me is this description of whoever called in.
Speaker 7 (43:47):
They were looking for a person in a dark hoodie
and dark ants.
Speaker 1 (43:53):
And Julia Beverly lands on the radar of a formidable activist.
Jason Flom Bob, Bob, Jason, Nice to meet you. Man.
Murder on Songbird Road is a production of iHeart Podcasts.
Our executive producers are Taylor Chackoine and Lauren Bright Pacheco.
Research writing and hosting by Lauren Bright Pacheco. Investigative reporting
(44:17):
by Bob Matta and Lauren Bright Pacheco. Editing, sound design
and original music by Evan Tyre and Taylor Chaqoine. Additional
music by Asher Kurtz. Please like, subscribe, and leave us
a review. Wherever you're listening, You can follow me on
all platforms at Lauren Bright Pacheco and email the show
with thought, suggestions or tips at Investigating Murder at iHeartMedia
(44:40):
dot com. For more iHeart podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app,
(45:04):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. Thanks
for listening.
Murder on Songbird Road is a production of iHeart Podcasts.
Previously on Murder on Songbird Road.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
She found out she was pregnant in jail.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
It was rough, the best possible blessing at the worst
possible time.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Yes, exactly, two million dollar bond and we went in
for a reduction and Judge Green denied it. So we
tried again when she was around eight months pregnant, and
he denied it again. There were no presumptions of innocence
while we were awaiting child.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
There was none of that.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
None of it, especially it would seem when it came
to Beverly's labor and delivery.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Malon Reynolds tells me that the judge ordered Thomas would
be taken as soon as the umbilical cord was cut.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I wanted to scream at that moment. I said, no
one told me this.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
I'm Lauren Bright Pacheco, and this is Murder on Songbird Road.
(01:20):
Jade Beasley's murder left the blended family she was a
part of splintered with grief, anger, and confusion. That ripple
effect has reverberated throughout the extended family of her father,
Mike Beasley. But Bob and I were very hopeful the
family would eventually respond to our ongoing offers to sit
down for an interview.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
I am Jade's great aunt. I am the sister of
her grandmother, Sheila.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
That's Brenda, the sister of Sheila Beasley, who is Mike's
mother and Jade's paternal grandmother.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
My name is Bailey, and Jade's father, Michael is my
first cousin.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
And that's Bailey, the niece of Brenda. Sheila. Bailey and
Brenda work together to craft the victim impact statement that
Brenda delivered in court while addressing Julia Beverly before her sentencing.
For both Bob and me, it was incredibly important to
connect with them.
Speaker 7 (02:13):
I'm so grateful that y'all have allowed us to speak
to you. I want to know every side of this tragedy,
and I'm half blind if I don't have these conversations
with you too, so I'm sure I'm sharing for Lauren
as well.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I am so appreciative that you've agreed to speak with us.
Speaker 7 (02:33):
I'm very grateful that y'all are willing to do this
and kind enough to do this. But I can imagine
how difficult it is to rehash this stuff.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
I noticed both of you ladies are wearing pink intentional.
Speaker 5 (02:45):
This is Jay's favorite color. It's Jay's color. She just
absolutely loved pink, and it is the color we have
chosen for the foundation for Jake. Marie Beasley Speak Live
founding that spreads kindness in the community and helps children
express themselves. She expressed herself in her own unique way,
(03:11):
hence the Speak Life Foundation. She loved music, she loved
the arts, and she didn't get an opportunity to grow
and learn, so we are hoping to carry that on
for Jade.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Wearing pink became a symbol of solidarity with the Justice
for Jade movement, particularly during the lead up to and
throughout Beverly's trial. We'll explore the significance of this color,
especially its presence from the courtroom bench in future episodes.
Beyond wearing pink, both women share not only a familial
resemblance to Jade, but a profound grief over her tragic murder.
Speaker 8 (03:50):
It's just it's never something you would think to experience.
Speaker 6 (03:54):
I know for me, I'll never forget when I found
out and getting that phone call and how quickly it
changes your lives.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
I know that this is a difficult topic for both
of you. If you could just tell me a little
bit about Jade and Bailey, I'll let you go first.
Speaker 8 (04:13):
I would say.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
The first thing I have to say about her was
that she was very eccentric and individualistic in the best way,
even for a child. If you look at pictures, you know,
you'll notice there may be a one pattern and a
headband and a completely different pattern and a shirt. She
loved to play with her own style and dress herself
(04:34):
and be expressive in that way.
Speaker 8 (04:37):
Jade was very kind.
Speaker 6 (04:38):
She loved all of her siblings and all of her
cousins very deeply.
Speaker 8 (04:44):
Brenda, I think i'll let you go ahead.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
From my perspective, Jade was just as sassy as she
was sweet. She was very kind. She loved animals. She'd
loved butterflies. She would come visit me, either at the lake,
then we would go boating, or her favorite place was
to go to the beach, to Orange Beach and golf shores,
(05:10):
and she would just love to get up and walk
on the beach and look at the tiniest little shell
or creature.
Speaker 9 (05:18):
She just loved life period.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
She was always kind, no matter if somebody was mean
to her.
Speaker 9 (05:27):
She was kind, that was just her nature.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
We are all used to reading awful stories in the
headlines and hearing them on the radio and television, But
could anything have prepared you, guys for experiencing this within
your family.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
Absolutely not never, Never that happens to other families.
Speaker 6 (05:57):
I was in shock and disbelief. Something you can't wrap
your head around. It's just it's something you can never
prepare for, and it's something you would never expect to
happen to your family, or do you or do your
loved one.
Speaker 8 (06:14):
It's hard for somebody to say that Jade's dead or
that this person died. It's they're gone, and it's what
do you mean they're gone? Are they missing?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Gone?
Speaker 8 (06:25):
You know what is gone?
Speaker 7 (06:29):
I just first wanted to say, I'm I can't even
imagine the loss that your entire family has experienced and
will always experience. I can't even imagine it what that
feels like unless you're in it. You just can't, Like,
I could try to contemplate what it might be like,
(06:51):
but I could never know what you guys have experienced.
This is so valuable to us to hear from you, guys,
to learn about who Jade was as a human being,
who she was to you guys, what she meant to you,
and to give us your impressions of Julie. Because we
(07:12):
came into this not knowing anybody.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
I felt strongly that Jade needed to have representation because
I'm sure you guys could go on with or without us,
And I get it. The biological mother and her father
they want at this point no part of a podcast
because they just specifically they can't even think about it anymore.
Speaker 9 (07:36):
It's just too overwhelming.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
A quick note that dynamic would eventually change. We are
deeply grateful for the ongoing conversations we've had with Jade's
family and are continually impressed by their openness and willingness
to engage. When we first spoke with Bailey and her
aunt Brenda, it was August of twenty twenty four. By then,
they had spent nearly four years processing the murder and
(08:00):
everything that had unfolded since, including Julia Beverly's arrest, trial,
and ultimate conviction.
Speaker 7 (08:07):
When you first heard that it was Julie, was there
part of your mind that was like, no way, or
was there part of your mind where you're like that
totally makes sense for me.
Speaker 8 (08:18):
I think I was somewhere in the middle.
Speaker 6 (08:20):
I would say it was more of shock there because
it's somebody so close, somebody that had been around the family, obviously,
that had children with Michael.
Speaker 8 (08:29):
There is a.
Speaker 6 (08:30):
Shot there in that aspect, I would say. At the
same time, though, when I did hear that, it kind
of makes your brain start working backwards and thinking of
the times when she was so withdrawn from everybody else
around her, and that makes you start thinking, did she
(08:51):
have an issue that she didn't say, Was it suppressing
these emotions? Were you enjoying being around everybody or were
you not?
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Happen pretty quickly after the murder five days later, and
at the time they had no confession, no murder weapon,
no DNA evidence. But the thing that Bob and I
have spoken about multiple times is that there's always a motive.
(09:21):
There's a motive that unless you're dealing with somebody like
a serial killer, where it's just irrational or driven by
things that we can't even imagine. But you mentioned something
in the victim impact statement that stuck with me, which
is why I wanted to ask you you'd use the
word jealousy. I believe, if I'm not mistaken and I
(09:43):
was wondering if you could expand upon that.
Speaker 5 (09:47):
The limited times that the family came here collectively together,
Jade and I had had conversations, and so my perspective
of jealousy was Jade was the princess. She was her
daddy's little girl. She was from a different marriage. She
(10:09):
was loved dearly by both sides of her family. Her
biological mother, her biological father. They got along very well.
It was a textbook seven day on, seven day off,
joint custody situation. There was a lot for that child
since she was born and they divorced at quite a
(10:32):
young age, and they were young when they had Jay.
But you can be nice to someone but not really
care for them.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
That duality stuck out to both Bob and myself immediately
because we'd not heard any examples of conflict or abuse
between Beverly and her stepdaughter. I know that Julie did
come down with Mike and the kids twice, not mistaken
to visit you in Alabama. Looking back, did you observe
(11:06):
anything about that dynamic that sticks out?
Speaker 5 (11:08):
But I didn't really talk that much to her. And
then when she came with the family in any family event,
Julie never interacted with the family. She was very withdrawn
and she would withdraw herself from family situations.
Speaker 9 (11:26):
So yes, over.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Seven and a half years, I guess they were together.
The family came to Alabama at least four times a year,
but not Michael and Julie and that family. Jade would come,
but she maintain So I mean, anything that I say
is clearly from my limited perspective with her and from
(11:49):
my conversations like I said, with Jade, and I do
know that Jay did not feel totally inclusive in the
Michael Julie pod, but she would not speak about things
that would make other people look better feel bad at all.
I wasn't there day to day with the family, but
(12:12):
I do know that the night that she spent the
night there with Michael and Julie at their home. On
Songbird wrote, the other children were with my sister, and
my sister did say, why don't you stay, Why do
you want to go?
Speaker 9 (12:30):
Why do you want to go so bad?
Speaker 5 (12:32):
The other kids are here, there's nobody home, you know,
And she says, well, I want to see my dad
because I have my sister's birthday party to go to
this week, so I.
Speaker 9 (12:41):
Want to see my dad before I go.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
And that's how she she says, not just because I'm
not going to be able to be with him that week,
because there was a lot going on and she wanted
to see her dad that eden.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
It is of note that by all accounts, the before
the murder, Jade asked to come back to Songbird Road
and Julia Beverly willingly volunteered to stay home with her
that night while Mike went out back to Bailey.
Speaker 6 (13:10):
Brenda mentioned with being with John, you know, we are
a big family. We are a pretty loud family. On
our side, there's a whole bunch of us. There's a
lot of kids. When you get everybody together, it is
loud and it is crazy. There was a year specifically
that sticks out to me now that everything's happened, And
it was around Christmas time and some of the kids
(13:32):
were opening up gifts and Kim and Michael were there,
and Julie and everybody was kind of in the living
room met Shea's house at Michael some others and some
people were kind of in the.
Speaker 8 (13:44):
Kitchen and there's this chair that sits.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
If you're looking at the fireplace and the TV to
the left of it, and Julie was sitting in that chair,
and when everybody else around her is engaged in opening
gifts and talking, she's very quiet, very reserved, and kind
of just sitting there and observing. And that is just
something that stuck with me from that one interaction.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
What immediately struck Bob and me was the specific critique
Julia's family had of Mike was his quiet and somewhat
introverted demeanor at their family gatherings. Back to Brenda and Bailey.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
I am awarees you all are that in court the
state did not go for a motive. Jennifer never presented
a motive or at least directly stated one that she thought.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Jennifer is Special Prosecutor Jennifer Mudge, who tried the case
against Julia Beverly.
Speaker 6 (14:44):
My personal opinion is that sometimes people snap, and that
is what.
Speaker 8 (14:50):
I believe happened in this case.
Speaker 6 (14:52):
As Brenda said, you know, Jade was from a previous marriage.
She was the only child in their immediate family from
a different marriage, and that is where we believe the
jealousy came in and where we believe she.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Said murder on Songbird Road. We'll return after the break
here again is murder on Songbird Road.
Speaker 7 (15:23):
I'm always trying to go through the psychology of it.
But in terms of Julie's version of what she claims happened,
when did you guys hear that, like how soon after
they say okay, Julie's the suspect. Was that right away?
Where you heard this story? Or is it a trial
or is the prosecutor? Let you know, we had.
Speaker 5 (15:45):
Heard bits and pieces prior to the trial that she
had left the house, somebody was there or somebody ran out.
We of course had heard some pieces of it, but
we actually heart the full version.
Speaker 9 (16:00):
At the trial.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
We followed the information of which, by the way, was
Julie's statement as to where she went. And from my
perspective on jumping straight to it being Julie, I had
already told my sister and unlessened the shut the social
media off, shut the noise up. Let's find the facts first,
(16:26):
And I said, you will hear the facts, so you
follow the facts here Julie's story and verify.
Speaker 9 (16:38):
So I trust, but verify.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
And when the evidence was presented at the trial is
exactly when I made my mind up, because I've followed
the evidence. She told her story, she placed herself as
having her own cell phone with her, and they follow
the cell phone data. She told them she went to Hawks.
(17:04):
I never knew they dug up a dump, a garbage
dump and found what they found until the trial.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
But in all fairness, what they found had nothing to
do with the case.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
The coordinates were exactly where the dumpster had been and
exactly what they had dumped in.
Speaker 9 (17:27):
There was two dumpsters she went to.
Speaker 7 (17:29):
So anyway, wait, wait, tell me.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Explain that to us, because that's not something that we've
come up.
Speaker 7 (17:36):
Yeah, we did not hear that. Like, the only thing
that we've heard was that she had stopped in the Hawks.
Her story was that she had made her way all
the way down to Carbondell to go to Walmart. Right,
so we have that lie that's in place. And now
when this video from Hawks.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Surfaces, a quick aside after Julie remembered making the stock,
Renee actually called in the Hucks tip before the video surfaced.
Speaker 7 (18:04):
And so she says, okay, well, I'm at the light.
My gaslight pops on, I pull into the Hawks. I'm
going to get gas. I realize I don't have my cards.
So then that's when we see the thing which to
me sounds like it was a rather small package, like
and this is the stuff that I look at critically.
I wasn't at the trial, you guys, especially you Brenda,
(18:29):
because I'm assuming Billy, as you said, you were trying
to deal with your college life. You know, probably didn't attend.
Speaker 9 (18:35):
He did not miss the so.
Speaker 8 (18:39):
Like so.
Speaker 7 (18:40):
But I have not heard anything about a second dumpster
at all.
Speaker 5 (18:44):
Around the back of Hucks as a dumpster. So there
was something dumped here and then pulled to the I
believe I could be mispeaken, but there's a dumpster at.
Speaker 9 (18:56):
The back that I had heard.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
Something was put in, and there was the dumpster here,
and the only place I could have heard that was
at the try.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
I only have that video of look at her throwing away.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Yeah, see where she drove, Which direction she drove first,
because to the backside of HUWKS as another dumpster, and
then she threw something in that package and there's an
additional dumpster.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Anyway, Remember this understanding or misunderstanding of what was discarded
at Hucks and that dumpster and what was discovered at
the landfill. It is crucial and will be clarified in
the court transcripts which we would soon possess back to Brenda.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
I could be misspeaking, but honestly, the dumpster not even
that's I just had never seen so much law enforcement
come through garbage like that in my whole life. I
never knew they would even do that. I didn't even
realize they had the core in some new trash that
they did.
Speaker 6 (20:02):
I would say for me with that, and during the trial,
you know, we know it was in a landfill, so
it was not tested for DNA. In my opinion, no
matter what, it would have been contaminated, and clearly that's
what they thought as well. However, if you kind of
go back to the mindset and kind of the talk
(20:28):
throughout the pre trials and leading up to the jury trial,
and what we knew that Julie's family and friends were
saying was that the police were not making an effort,
or they were not doing everything that they.
Speaker 8 (20:43):
Could, or this or that, and it was.
Speaker 6 (20:46):
All negative to how there wasn't a thorough investigation, or
this was not done or that was not done.
Speaker 8 (20:53):
And for me.
Speaker 6 (20:55):
Personally, and what I took from that moment during the
trial was.
Speaker 8 (20:59):
The was thorough.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Again digging through the landfill for anything they could possibly
infer could be linked to the murder could also be
seen as desperation, not dedication back to Bailey.
Speaker 6 (21:12):
And they did try to do everything that they could
do throughout this case.
Speaker 8 (21:18):
And I think that's.
Speaker 6 (21:19):
Spoken to in other ways as well, when they're going
through blood evidence and they're talking about all the different
people that worked.
Speaker 8 (21:25):
On this case and how many hours went into it.
Speaker 6 (21:29):
We've lived this for almost four years at this point,
obviously December fifth will be four years, and.
Speaker 8 (21:38):
Going throughout the past.
Speaker 6 (21:40):
Four years and attending pre trials and that week of
jury trial, and I where I sit today, I am
confident that Julie Beverley is guilty of this crime.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
So I have two hundred percent convinced Julie is guilty.
Speaker 9 (21:58):
I will go to my grave thank you that.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
But on the other side, I believe in right and
I believe in forgiveness, and if somebody missed something and
somebody can show me the proof, I will be the
first one in line to say I am so sorry.
Speaker 9 (22:20):
I would, I would and forgive.
Speaker 5 (22:24):
Me for thinking what I've thought or and I just
took the only evidence that I have been presented with.
Speaker 6 (22:33):
I am in the same Jesus, Brenda that if something
were to change in the case and she was to
be proven innocent or not guilty, we will apologize to her.
I can't say we would have a relationship with her necessarily.
I think everybody's a little too far gone for that
(22:55):
being realistic. But you know, we would apologize if that
was to be the case. I do not believe that
to be so, but I don't want it to come
across as blind animosity or just an ignorant will to
believe whatever is put in front of you, because I
(23:16):
do not believe that that was the case for any
of us.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
The willingness of Jade Beasley's family to extend grace and
remain open minded even to the slightest possibility that the
investigation might have been flawed, speaks volumes about their integrity
and character, which aligns deeply with the Christian principles they referenced.
During our conversation, Bailey, you did mention that you're religious,
and I know Brenda that you are as well, and
(23:43):
that you worked on that victim impact statement together. One
thing that I remember was the children will be raised Christian. Yes,
if you could just explain that to me and why
that was of solace to you after all of this.
Speaker 9 (24:00):
The family has a I know that a.
Speaker 5 (24:03):
Family member owns a pagan store in Salem or whatever,
but they believe in witchery or witchcraft. I view that
as an occult. There ain't no good witch. There's not
a good witch in mind, although I did like the
witch growing up. But I would just say that, you know,
(24:23):
in the mother Renee, I mean, we hear rumors of
all this, okay, but out of the mouths of babes.
I will tell you that her own daughter said, I
don't like witches. I don't like witches. I don't want
to go back there. I don't like a witch. I
don't know what they were practicing or not practicing, but
(24:45):
Julie didn't really want them to.
Speaker 9 (24:46):
Go to church.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
That pagan relative of Julie's Brenda is referencing is actually
her cousin, Nicki. Nicki owns a metaphysical shop in Salem,
Massachusetts with her mother, Michelle Renee's sister. Their shop gained
attention on social media more than a full year before
the trial even began, when Mike Beasley's new girlfriend, Brooke,
shared a screenshot from the website of the Salem shop
(25:11):
Nicki and her mother own, showing several ceremonial daggers for sale,
with the caption quote, I know I've got a few
knife collectors on my page. I came across a website
that has some interesting blades if you're looking for a
new one.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Unquote.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Here's Beverly's cousin, Nicki.
Speaker 10 (25:32):
She is the person who decided to go on to
our store website, take the picture out and share that picture.
I think is one incredibly in boord A.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Something doesn't stay right with me on that.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
This was especially striking to Nicki, as Brooks post would
increasingly reveal she was raising Julia Beverly's three youngest children
as her own.
Speaker 10 (25:56):
It's just it was a little too too weird that
she just wants to be involved in the drama. She
posts that Fisher from our site 'uring this time to
rehashing all these emotions and things that happened.
Speaker 9 (26:10):
Your primary goal should.
Speaker 10 (26:11):
Be there and you should be there for your partner,
rather than boeing online and making such tasteless hope. Because
of the way that she was marked in trying to
make that insinuation just to stir the pot.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
It's disgusting and it's imperienced me that somebody like that
is a key role in both his life. I don't
know what's worriesome.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
At the time this episode was recorded, I'd made multiple
unsuccessful attempts to connect with Brooke dating back to February
of twenty twenty four. She finally responded in January of
twenty twenty five, declining comment. But the link to witchcraft
also surfaced during the trial when Nikki testified as a
character witness on Julie's behalf. Special Prosecutor Jennifer or Mudge
(27:00):
made a point of bringing up the topic in her
cross examination.
Speaker 11 (27:05):
She started focusing on my spiritual faith in my line
of employment, which I don't understand how has anything to
do with the trial. Me and my mom run a
witchcraft shop in Salem, Massachusetts. We are both practicing Pagans,
and that was the main focus on my line of
(27:25):
questioning from her was just the way to try to immediately,
I guess, shed a negative light on me.
Speaker 10 (27:33):
Like I said, the community is very Christian, very very religious,
and a little hate these words, but a little dumb.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
To other religions or spiritualities that.
Speaker 10 (27:44):
Are not Christian They have the painted picture of what
they think witchcraft is and paganisms, and it seems like
they've watched a lot of Disney movies or regimeny grim
fairy tale. I mean, if they did any sort of
research into.
Speaker 9 (27:59):
The city where we are, they put a witch on everything.
Speaker 10 (28:01):
It's on the side of the police car, it's on
their badges, it's everywhere.
Speaker 9 (28:05):
It's been turned into an entire fame of the city.
So it's really kind of normal here for us.
Speaker 4 (28:10):
It was a just kind of odd that that was
level focus with me.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
The vilification of pagans and witchcraft and the sensationalizing of Salem,
Massachusetts isn't overly odd to this woman though.
Speaker 12 (28:22):
My name is Tricia Pione. I'm the project director for
New England Hidden Histories at the Congregational Library and Archive
in Boston, and I have a PhD in Early American
history and I specialize in the history of witchcraft in
New England.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
If you could just give me an idea in terms
of historical, social, political, religious context, what the environment was
at the onset of the Salem witch trials.
Speaker 12 (28:52):
Sure, so, in general, Massachusetts was in a real period
of turmoil in sixteen ninety two, they were in the
middle of war, they had overthrown their governor. So when
the crisis started, they did not have a legal system
that was functioning or a political system that was functioning,
and that meant that during the first few months of
the crisis, accusations were spreading quickly. They were able to
(29:15):
issue arrest warrants and put people in jail, but they
could not try them. They could not establish a court
until the new royal governor returned to Salem, and so
that meant they couldn't hold trials. So they just held
people in jail and started collecting evidence and witness statements,
which really kind of spiraled things.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Now. I know that there were witch hunts in other areas,
particularly in New England, and you know obviously throughout Europe
at the time as well, but in terms of the
scope of it in Salem, how many people are we
actually talking about in terms of being accused and actually
being executed.
Speaker 12 (29:53):
So in Salem, about two hundred people are accused of witchcraft,
fifty people about fifty people actually can and said that
they had practiced witchcraft, they had signed a covenant with
the devil, and then nineteen people were convicted and executed,
and then there were several other people who died in
jail during the trials.
Speaker 9 (30:14):
Five people died in jail, and one man.
Speaker 12 (30:16):
Giles Corey, was pressed to death not as a sentence,
not as an execution, but as part of a fascinating
old timey legal system in which because he didn't enter
a plea, they tried to force his plea of guilty
or not guilty out of.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Him by stacking rocks on.
Speaker 9 (30:33):
Yeah, it's so horrible.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
And though, yeah, you know, it is.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Interesting because you said the number of people who confessed,
is it safe to say that these were coerced confessions?
Speaker 12 (30:44):
Yeah, I think what we know now about false confessions,
I think is really interesting to consider how that might
have played out in Salem today. It would be illegal
to torture someone to get a confession. It's technically illegal
to do that, but there are all sorts of version
that can happen, and actually torture to produce a confession
was also illegal under law at the time in sixteen
(31:07):
ninety two, but their idea of torture and version.
Speaker 9 (31:10):
Was different from ours.
Speaker 12 (31:11):
So we do have some evidence that some people were
beaten and things that we would consider to be physical
torture as well as mental torture, and then confessed.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
I tracked doctor Pone down after being struck by a
quote she'd given. You said, the seventeenth century is a
lot different than today, but people are essentially the same.
It tells us what could happen in a community where
someone is hated and seen as a target for frustration
and anger.
Speaker 12 (31:38):
Yeah, I still think that's true. I agree with myself,
but it is. It's very difficult to understand the past.
I think it might actually be impossible for us to
ever truly know or understand why people did the things
they did. I think that's a tough question, and so
because of that, people often prefer a very simple explanation
for Salem. They'll often blame teenage girls, and they'll often
(32:00):
try to create these heroes or these villains in the story.
But it's not that easy. I think all that we
can really do is try to interpret the evidence. Those
interpretations can change. But what we can also do is
just consider that people are still essentially the same. People
often have the same motivations, people experience grief, people still
like to scapegoat each other. So we can look to
(32:22):
the past for clues about things that are happening today,
and I think we can look at Salem as an
example that can tell us some things about what happens
when someone becomes a target or a group of people
become a target for community frustration or anger. We still
have a dominant culture that values some people's lives more
than others. We still live in a patriarchal society. Some
(32:43):
people today still believe pretty similar ideas about women as
they did in the seventeenth century, and they express it.
So I think we can kind of look at some
of those parallel It's hard to draw exact parallels. Actually,
In some of the writing from the time, people like
Cotton Mather had this kind of tendency towards conspiratorial thinking,
which I think we can also see today and makes
this still relevant today.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
For those not familiar, Cotton Mather was a somewhat controversial
purit enclergyman and author in colonial New England who wrote
extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects.
Speaker 12 (33:16):
Cotton either talked about witchcraft as a conspiracy, and I
think sometimes today still like people would rather believe in
a conspiracy than try to actually solve issues or make
changes in.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Terms of Salem, Massachusetts. However, there have been profound changes
in terms of the way in which witchcraft and the
Salem witch Trials are framed.
Speaker 12 (33:36):
Since the late nineteenth century, Salem has started to dip
their toe into using this history as a way to
promote tourism.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
When did that start? Because you know, Salem, Massachusetts is
to witchcraft and witch hunts what colonial Williamsburg is to colonization.
Speaker 9 (33:56):
Yep.
Speaker 12 (33:56):
Yeah, So I think really the efforts kicked off starting
in the nineteen seventies to make it really a big business.
And that's had a little bit to do with Salem
constantly being portrayed in movies. There's movies from the nineteen
thirties that talk about sit the Salem witch Trials. But
by the nineteen seventies in the early eighties is when
the first museums start to open up in Salem dedicated
(34:18):
to the history of witchcraft and the witch trials. I
think it's nineteen eighty two where the Salem Chamber of
Commerce starts this Haunted Happenings, which is tourists come to
Salem for Halloween. I know that last year Salem tourism
hit a new record, and over a million people visited
Salem in the month of October. So it's big business today.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Really.
Speaker 12 (34:41):
Since the eighties, maybe the late seventies too, people who
practice modern witchcraft, whether they're wickan or pagan or some
other form of modern witchcraft, have been drawn to Salem
and have set up there.
Speaker 9 (34:54):
Nineteen ninety two was probably a watershed.
Speaker 12 (34:56):
Year for Salem in terms of this because that's the
year it was the three hundred anniversary of the witch Trials.
A lot of historians were unpublishing books, new books, new
histories of what happened, so changing our understanding of what happened.
That's the year that they dedicated Witch Trials Memorial Park
in downtown Salem. Some of the modern witches, modern practicing,
which is who had come to Salem and started living there,
(35:18):
protested this new memorial because they felt like it was
giving this idea of witchcraft as sinful and wicked and
demonic this historical ideas. So they objected to some of
the language that it was unfairly stereotyping their beliefs.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Murder on Songbird Road will continue after this. Now back
to Murder on Songbird Road. Curious I made the road
trip to Salem to visit the Covens Cottage. The shop,
Nikki shares with her mother, Michelle, who is Renee high
Tower's younger sister.
Speaker 9 (35:54):
Hi, how are you nice to meet you?
Speaker 2 (35:56):
Oh my gosh, she looked like your sister. Sorry for
my freezing Cohn.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Michelle shares a strong resemblance to her older sister Renee,
though a bit more fair in terms of her coloring
and clothing, but their voices and intonations are similar.
Speaker 9 (36:10):
This is beautiful.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
What a magical shop? No unintended in person, The family
owned shop resembles the sort of English apothecary you'd imagine
spotting in a scene from Bridgerton or Harry Potter. Dried flowers,
organic herbs, and artisanal trinkets adorn the walls and ceilings,
creating an enchanting atmosphere.
Speaker 9 (36:32):
Oh it's awesome, listen to you too. I don't know
what anyone use.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
According to the store's website, they offer a range of Norse, Germanic,
Celtic and nature based traditions, with items handcrafted by the owners,
local artisans and practitioners. Selections include all natural teas, oils, balms,
soaps and salves in addition to themed gifts, de core,
and books, the shop exudes a magical vibe that's more whimsical,
(36:58):
fairy like charm than ominous. I was going to teach
you when we first met. I was going to say, so,
are you a good witch or a bad witch?
Speaker 2 (37:07):
You must get that all the time sometimes. Yeah.
Speaker 13 (37:10):
I think the best way to respond to that is,
witches are people. So it's just like you have good
people and bad people. It's not black magic, white magic.
That kind of thing is just magic. Whatever the person
decides to do with it is that person. Under those guidelines,
I would be a good witch.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
I suppose.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
The shop is nestled on Essex Street, a historic retail
stretch in downtown Salem. If you've never visited the small
Massachusetts city, as Nikki described, it's thoroughly steeped in witchcraft
themed tourism. It's no exaggeration to say you'd be hard
pressed to cast a stone without hitting a broomstick or
a pointy black hat. That said, you'd also be hard
(37:51):
pressed to find anything overly touristy or cheesy in this shop.
That's a choice. According to Michelle, we.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Always wanted to own a shop with my daughter.
Speaker 13 (38:01):
So our ideal would be to be a nice, peaceful
store and help you each person that comes in.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
But in October it can be really chaotic. It's it's
I mean, it's beautiful.
Speaker 8 (38:10):
There's there's something.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
This is our brand of witchcraft.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Yeah, but it's very earthy, very kind of organic feeling.
It has absolutely a magical feel to it, but in
a very artisan way. And it has a timelessness to it.
You feel like you've walked back in time when you
walk it.
Speaker 13 (38:29):
Yeah, it's like walking into another world, is how people
describe it.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
And it's very very much feels like a celebration of nature.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
Which is what basically what paganism is. That's my side.
If people read a book, they.
Speaker 13 (38:44):
Would see it has nothing to do with worshiping the
devil and all that. It's very much nature based and
agricultural based.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
As for the association of witchcraft and Salem being used
against her niece Julia Beverly and in relay to Jade
Beasley's murder, Michelle believes it comes with the territory.
Speaker 13 (39:04):
Literally, we moved to southern Illinois when I was eleven.
My husband is born and raised in southern Illinois, and
then We lived there until two thousand and nine, so
our kids went to school.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
There, grew up there. So yeah, we have known the
whole area.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
For someone who hasn't been there or not familiar with
the area, how would you categorize it in terms of
just the overall mindset of the community. Is it liberal?
Is it conservative?
Speaker 13 (39:34):
Political wise? Tends to lean more conservative. It is very
much a Bible belt area when it comes to religion.
I think they're very closed minded, extremely closed minded, and
that is.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Part of why we moved away.
Speaker 13 (39:50):
I'm a practicing which I have been since I was sixteen,
and it's misunderstood by a lot of people. Not just
people in that area, but a lot of people in
that area. Won't say all, but a lot of them
are unwilling to educate themselves otherwise they are set.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
In their ways.
Speaker 13 (40:07):
You know, it's Satanic, even though the whole concept of
Satan is a Christian belief. It's not pagan in any way,
So that guy belongs to them.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Not us.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
Religious debate aside, Michelle's emotions became authentically overwhelming for her
when the topic turned to Jade. How do you describe
your emotion and where does it come from? What is
the feeling that you have about all of this.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
Uh? Yeah, I would say it's.
Speaker 13 (40:44):
Absolute horror and sympathy for Jade.
Speaker 5 (40:58):
I was not.
Speaker 13 (41:06):
I wasn't super close to Jade because of the distance
we live, but she's an eleven year old girl.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
And that is absolutely horrible.
Speaker 1 (41:21):
During the trial, Michelle stayed back in Salem to watch
Nicki's three children while her daughter traveled to testify on
behalf of her cousin, Julia Beverley's character. They didn't realize
their efforts would backfire and be used against Beverly.
Speaker 13 (41:37):
It all hinged on the shop that we own, where
the shop is, what kind of shop it is.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
I don't know how a shop.
Speaker 13 (41:44):
In Salem, Massachusetts has anything to do with a trial
in southern Illinois that Nicki is not a part of
other than being a character witness. Our shop and her profession,
her occupation has nothing to do with that. But they
seem to harp on that, and that struck Nicki as
very odd.
Speaker 2 (42:01):
But she knew what was going on. What do you
think was going on?
Speaker 13 (42:05):
I think that they were trying to another swaying of opinions.
They're trying to make people believe that Julie is associated
with witchcraft in some way, but their idea of what
witchcraft is. The people down there associate witchcraft with something evil,
So they're trying to associate evil with Julie.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
And negate Nikki's character reference because she's a witch. And
then when you hear witchcraft murdered eleven year.
Speaker 13 (42:32):
Old, right, well, she had to have done it because
she's an evil witch. I mean, I think that was
their goal there. She's been raised in this. Look, her
cousin is a witch. They own a shop and sale
on that kind of thing. They don't realize that on
a grander scale, this isn't a big thing to people.
It's another religion. It's protected in.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
The absence of actual evidence.
Speaker 9 (42:58):
It's in you and.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Could have been used to railroad a potentially innocent woman.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
Right, which a lot of people seem to be okay with.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
On the next murder on Songbird Road, access to the
dispatch records from the day of the murder raises new questions.
Speaker 14 (43:23):
It's important if we can find out if, in fact,
they had sent officers out to that area based on
the other fall saying dude just ran through my backyard
and all black.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
As does another description of an alleged intruder given to authorities.
Speaker 10 (43:41):
Well it struck me is this description of whoever called in.
Speaker 7 (43:47):
They were looking for a person in a dark hoodie
and dark ants.
Speaker 1 (43:53):
And Julia Beverly lands on the radar of a formidable activist.
Jason Flom Bob, Bob, Jason, Nice to meet you. Man.
Murder on Songbird Road is a production of iHeart Podcasts.
Our executive producers are Taylor Chackoine and Lauren Bright Pacheco.
Research writing and hosting by Lauren Bright Pacheco. Investigative reporting
(44:17):
by Bob Matta and Lauren Bright Pacheco. Editing, sound design
and original music by Evan Tyre and Taylor Chaqoine. Additional
music by Asher Kurtz. Please like, subscribe, and leave us
a review. Wherever you're listening, You can follow me on
all platforms at Lauren Bright Pacheco and email the show
with thought, suggestions or tips at Investigating Murder at iHeartMedia
(44:40):
dot com. For more iHeart podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app,
(45:04):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. Thanks
for listening.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com