March 22, 2023 • 41 mins
Series Premiere. When Julien Solas receives word that James Fincher’s execution date has been set, he returns to Mantawauk County after 14 years to reconcile his past and uncover the truth behind the killings of two teenage boys.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Manowa Caves is intended for mature audiences. It contains
(00:03):
strong language and depictions of bullying, violence, and sexual assault
that some may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. Also,
this is an extremely immersive experience and headphones are recommended.
You're listening to The Manawat Caves, a production of iHeartRadio,
Blumhouse Television and Psycopia Pictures where God, Jesus fuck, don't paying.
(00:56):
Just know you expected this, you play it for it.
The black count are more frequent now, they last longer.
That's why you left this message for yourself, Julian, to
help you remember. First thing I need you to do.
Start the car. You need to drive. Never mind the fog.
(01:20):
Visibility is going to be shipped for a while, doesn't matter.
Just head north and don't stop. No matter what. You
should have at least a half tank, so just drive,
drive until the fall breaks, and hopefully you will do it.
Must be done while you're still able to hit rewind,
(01:45):
go all the way back, then play it, all of it.
(02:11):
We have some breaking news. The Manowa County Sheriff's Department
said they found I'm an identified human remains in the
Appalachian Mountain three days an investigation not to the Erica
and there two they had permission to be here or
if they were trespassing a ghost in the the boys
bodies were lying here in a million door. Remains of
(02:34):
the comment. Hadley and Deacon Hadley, the twin brothers who
were reported missing on May nineteen, along with a third boy,
James m Okay. Here goes Today's July thirty, twenty twenty one,
(03:20):
Planet Earth, Cold Spring, New York. To be exact, this
is Julian Salisome, thirty three. I'm a writer, well, an
aspiring writer, nothing published yet. Maybe this will be the one. Um,
they say, right, Well, you know, well, this is a story.
(03:44):
I know this is personal, but it isn't an easy
one to tell. Matter of fact, I've been trying to
block it out ever since I left home fourteen years ago.
Like my mother used to say, sometimes the only way
to get to the other side of the mountain is
(04:06):
to go through it. So I guess I'll start there.
It was May May eighteenth, two thousand and seven, the
Hadley brothers, two seventeen year old twins from a prominent
and wealthy family in Maniwa County, went missing it was
(04:26):
the night before high school graduation. They were found ten
days later. The bodies were retreated from inside the mouth
of a cave, along with their cell phones, which contained
haunting audio and grainy images clues to what had happened.
I say, clues, clues fucking so so stupid, scoopy, fucking
(04:52):
do clues come on? Julian Okay? Starting over? All right?
So um okay? Based on their self Based on their
cell phone records, witness testimonies in the Corners report, it
was likely just after midnight the time of death. Another
(05:16):
boy went missing that day two, James Fincher, we called
him Finch. Finch came from a multiracial family. His mother
was black, his father part Latino and part Cherokee. At
the time of the Havley killings, Finch was only eighteen
(05:39):
years old. Today he's thirty two, and he's on death
row away in execution for the murder of the Haveley boys,
a double homicide in the first degree. But Finch didn't
do it. Okay. August first, twenty twenty one, just left
(06:06):
New York. I'm driving back to Manua County today. I
don't want to go back. I don't want to do
any of this. Hell, I didn't even go back for
my own father's funeral. And you know what, I was
okay with that, because the part of me that was
born and raised in Manowa County died there too. As
(06:26):
far as I was concerned, I thought i'd put man
to walk behind me for good. But I got a
call about a week ago. Usually don't pick up, but
it was an eight six to five area code. Someone
from home. Hello, Julian, Julian Tallis Yeah, Da Dana Benherm,
(06:55):
Dana Hey has how how are you? It's been a
long time, fourteen years. Yeah, I'm calling to let you
know about James. Yeah, yeah, how's how's the uh? I mean,
it has been set for the execution. I thought you
(07:19):
might want to know. We're almost out of time now,
so it ain't looking great. I'll be honest. Look, I
know it's been a long time, Julian, and you've moved
on from all this, but we haven't. Okay. Yeah, I
mean I didn't want to call you, but I got
no choice here. I need your help, okay, with what
(07:44):
the appeal. I need you to make a statement. I
need you to tell the truth about what happened. I
can only imagine how fucked up it would be to
(08:06):
witness in execution. No thanks, I'm not interested in watching
James Fincher die. But I would come back even if
Dana Fincher hadn't called, because I have no choice. I
(08:28):
started waking up from bad dreams drenched in sweat, and
these nightmares are happening more frequently. I'm I'm hearing things too, Voices.
They were quiet at first, they were like whispers and
the static, but the getting louder, and I'm getting I
(08:54):
don't know, flashes like a fever. Dream images looping through
my brain between my waking hours, reliving ship from my childhood,
shift from my past that either forgotten were buried from.
There was a long before the nightmares began warming their
way into my waking moments. The leaky fawsett in my
(09:16):
kitchen started dripping so loud it drowned out the rest
of the world, like the droplets were sliding off salad
tights and splashing into cating pools below. And then there
was the sleep walking. The first time it happened, I
woke up in the middle of the night to find
myself back in a suitcase. The next night, I came
(09:37):
to I was bought ass naked in the kitchen cark.
He's clutched in my hand. Time after that, I was
in the driver's seat in my car, jabbing the key
repeatedly into the dashboard, just shy the imission. Then a
couple of nights ago, I actually got the car halfway
down the block before I realized what was happening. So,
(10:00):
you see, it got to the point where I figured
I was coming back to Maniwau County. Whether I wanted
to or not. It seemed to hell a lot safer
to be conscious for the ride. It's another reason I'm
documenting this trip. After each blackout, I'll lose hours of memory.
(10:30):
Willson Mechanical Solutions a stylis. I've known Tyler since I
was little. We grew up together. Who was one of
those guys the teachers wrote off as a burnout, but
who in reality just never bought in. I looked him up.
He's a repair man now, lives in the woods on
the outskirts of Maniwa County, outside of possible. Hey, todd Um,
(10:56):
it's as Juliana. Julie. Yeah, you gotta be fucking kidding me.
M hmm, Well, holy God damn Julian fucking Solace. Huh
it's me. Well to what do I owe the pleasure? Uh?
(11:23):
I was hoping this will be your number. Well, you
gotta ride bet it is. Yeah. So when you're getting here, what,
how do you know? I wasn't you might be coming
back soon, circumstances being what they are, Tyler as um,
(11:46):
I was hoping. Uh oh, I was hoping, hoping. Come on,
say what you need. Don't be shotting now, motherfucker. I
need to go back to the whole unless that's too much.
I just don't know if I'll be able to find
my way back. It's been so long with Tyler. Tyler,
(12:13):
you're here, okay? Are you sure? Yeah? No, it's cool.
Let's do it. August second. The air smells like rust
(12:37):
and Decayne leaves an asphalt after the rain. It stirs
old thoughts and feelings. It feels haunted. There's something daunting
about the roads into the Great Smokies, a sub range
of Appalachia hiding in the corner of Tennessee, North Carolina.
He got roadside warnings that say dense fog likely These
(13:03):
mountains are ancient and mysterious. Oldest Mountain range on earth.
They crouched low, like they're huddled against you, secretive, covered
in old growth forests. Everything is shadow and missed, and
the fog gets denser the closer I come. It was
only after I crossed the county line that the fog lifted,
(13:27):
like mana walk itself had pulled back the curtain for
another show. Pottsville is the town I grew up in.
It's nestled in the heart of the county, and it
hasn't changed one bit since I left. Still small and poor.
Most folks still find work in the paper mill a
few towns over, or if they're good at bullshit, and
(13:48):
they might get a job at Hadley Chevrolet. If you
were lucky. That's where you weren't my father did. He
ran the mechanic shop of the dealership. Anyway, People here
are poor, most of them double wides and dogs running loose,
the rusted husks of cars on cinder blocks. The main
(14:12):
drag is lined with abandoned and decaying two story mid
century brick buildings, weird antique and second hand shops. A
hardware store started with American flags, and of course the
Lord of First Baptist Church, a fundamental stronghold in the
center circle. I shall not want, oh man. This is
(14:33):
Reverend Perkins from First Baptist and many to lie down
in green pastures. Man likes the sound of his own
voice so much he records every damn one of his
own sermons and posts them on the church website. Thomas
and Deacons, friends and family grapple with their deaths. This
recording is from the archives Hadley Brothers Memorial services. Because
(14:58):
this feels senseless, Why were these two innocent souls taken
from us? These two who shone so brightly and showed
them such a great promise, Why, oh Lord, were they
so truly taken? We asked, innocent souls hardly? Tom and
(15:21):
Diacon Hadley were the sons of Bobby and Mona Hadley,
who owned the Hadley Chevrolet Dealership, one of the most
profitable car lots in the state. They were a wealthy
and powerful family in the community. In many ways, their
money and political ties made this town. There's like they
owned it. A new county ordinance, a new construction permit.
It was impossible to get anything done in Maniwa County
(15:43):
without the consent of Bobby Hadley and the power bloated them,
made them cruel. Hadley twins didn't fall far from the tree.
In that sense, we coexisted them and me, sharing the
same habitat on East Elite. They skulked around Manowa County
like predators. They were not identical. Now. Deacon was the
(16:09):
smaller of the two. He was the quiet one. He
wore the silver cross round his neck like a flashy
reminder of the inequities of life, like he was protected
by a righteous order, a constant reminder that some people
can be as sadistic as they please with no consequences.
Thomas was the stand out. He was taller and more lean.
(16:34):
His red hair seemed almost unreal, like it was woven
into his scalp. I remember Thomas strutting through the corriors
of Carter High, always with the same look plastered on
his face, the corners of his lips twisted in a
permanent grin, and sharp green eyes that seemed to be
(16:57):
staring out from behind a mask. And then there was
his laugh. You could hear it echo across the high
school quad like a fucking hyena, almost always triggered by
some act of casual cruelty. Deacon Hadley was different this one.
(17:20):
Never smiled, never laughed, hardly spoke eyes like scalpels. His
cruelty seemed almost scientific. After their bodies were found, the
autopsies indicated that the Hadley brothers had been attacked, bludgeons
and stabbed. That much as certain the investigation would dig
(17:42):
up town secrets as old and dark as the caves themselves,
it would also change the lives of everyone involved, including me.
After all, I'm the one who found the bodies. Well,
Tyler and me, Damn, we should have been night right now,
(18:05):
Tyler memory as soon as I crossed the county line
and took me on a little hike down memory Lane,
literally remember being closer to the south entrance of the
Manawa Caves, or as we used to call it, the
whole No. To get to the caves, we had to
(18:26):
hop a barbed wire fence, trespass across private property, and
hike all trail for at least a mile through. You
think underbrush, we'll find it. Where are you saying? The
motel all fiveway forty two? I can't believe that place
is still standing up. She's abute, all right, Well, listen,
(18:51):
you get tired of bring the mill, dude, through your
pillow case. Hit me up, I'll clear on the back room.
Oh man, look at that coming out earlier night. Must
be hungry. Yeah, well the Cays were forbidden long before
(19:13):
we started hanging out there. Ever since the teenage boy
was found dead inside back in ninety eight suicide, nobody
went near it after that except us. This should be
it appear around this band nine one one. What's your emergency? Um,
(19:38):
I just need to report. Um, go ahead, sir, I'm listening.
We we found bodies out here. Um did you say bodies.
It's ma'am, Um, it's ma'am. They they've been dead a while.
Thomas h Dickon Hadley. I think I think it's him
(20:00):
and his brother Thomas. It's uh, he's got it's got
red hair. So I'm okay. Well, can you give me
the address, sir? I don't know address web. Uh, we're
down by the caves. Okay. I'm gonna have you stay
on the line with me until I can get somebody
(20:22):
out there. Yes, uh, oh god damn. They look they
look lived. They were mauld Okay, mald by an animal
or a stabbed or something. I don't know. I don't
I don't know. And you're sure they're not breathing. Yes, man,
(20:54):
here there it is. Holy shit. The air was cool
and damp and smelled of earth and minerals and eons
of decay. The jetty moss covered granite rocks along the
(21:14):
southwest entrance of the cavern are not unlike reptilian teeth,
and it's easy to imagine a colony of hungry bats
are swirling out of the throat of some prehistoric monster.
As I stood there, my skin tingled, and I felt
a pull, a weight like a vertigo that spread outward
(21:34):
from my gut, like that feeling you get standing on
the edge of a cliff, like I was looking down
into the earth into an abyss, the caves beckoning me.
I have trouble remembering that time in our lives, but
I remember that day we found him. You remember the
(21:55):
first thought you had, the first thing that came to mund.
I remember the light from the morning sun. Yeah, it
was just barely creeping into the cave, and it popped
off Thomas's red hair. That's what caught my eye. Then
(22:23):
I saw his skin. It stood out against the stones,
cold blue, and the blood dried all black. But my
brain wouldn't um, except you know what I was seeing
like it was scrambling to make up some other explanation
(22:44):
of I don't know, shaped dog some shit now buy
no deer, hell, I don't, I don't know. Anything was
more acceptable than um, dead kid. This is Jue Campbell. Hey,
(23:49):
miss Campbell, it's Julian Julian Silas. I don't know if
you remember mete. Wow, of course I remember. How are you?
I'm okay. Look I just got back into town. Yes, god,
it's been fourteen years. I heard you, uh switch teams
(24:14):
a while back. You're not a deputy anymore. Nope, mitigation specialist.
This is about James Fincher. Right. Can you make time
to see me today? Shit? Um, I'm sorry? Can you?
(24:38):
Can you used to keep starting over because I am
I'm still firing out the stammer corner here. What do
you need to record this for? I'm just I'm gathering information,
like for a book or something. Oh yeah, I hope
so you know we'll see Look you could help, you
know it, raise awareness for Finches for James's case, bring
(25:00):
some public attention, some outside influence. Can you say your
name and profession? Jill Campbell, I'm a mitigation specialist here
in the state of Tennessee. And what does that entail?
So I scrub evidence that trial proceedings, prosecution, defense also
to look at someone's background and other circumstances that can
(25:22):
reduce a death sentence to life in prison. Did you
build a case for Finch? I mean, can you prove
that he didn't kill the healthy brothers? I work with
James Fincher's defense attorney, but there's only so many appeals
you can file in a capital case. You have to
be strategic in your timing. There was no sorry, but
there was no physical evidence time James or anyone else
(25:44):
to the murder of Deacon and Thomas Hadley. Correct. That's right.
James's conviction and sentence and was based entirely on circumstantial
evidence and as you know, false testimony. And you were
a deputy sheriff in Manuel County back in that's right
two thousand and one to two thousand and three, promoted
(26:04):
a few times lieutenant in two thousand and seven at
the time of the Hadley murders. I made captain in
two thousand and eight. Criminal Investigation. Why did you quit?
I got into law enforcement because I wanted to do
some good, but ninety percent of what we were doing
had nothing to do with justice. Criminal investigation isn't really
(26:27):
about catching a bad guy, at least not Manawak County. No. No,
especially homicide. The department is incentivized to find any evidence
they can to support an eventual prosecution. Whether you have
the right guy or not, it doesn't matter. The primary
goal is to make damn sure the prosecution will get
(26:50):
their conviction. So when the jury returned to death verdict
for James Fincher, I was upset about it. I knew
it wasn't right. I was anguished of my part in it.
I thought I could make a difference from with them.
That was naive, so I got into defense. This is
why he came home, isn't it? James Fincher's executions coming up?
(27:15):
And you're anguish too, Ain't you excuse me? Hey man?
Can I get a rephill please? There was obvious discrimination
in the trial from the get go. James Fincher was
a multiracial man and men in Wake County. He was different.
He stood out. I want to give a Sheriff Hooper's
(27:36):
interrogation at James Fincher, good luck with that. What do
you mean James Fincher doesn't say a thing on those tapes.
What the hell are you doing here, Julian? I want
to help. Look, I've worked hard to get the courts
to recognize that James Fincher does not deserve death. I've
(27:59):
come piled a comprehensive and well documented psychosocial history of
James based on an exhaustive investigation, I'm built a case
on all the factors this early life trauma, then packed
on his development, including effects on personality and behavior, not
to mention the bullying and what happened does sister Dina?
(28:21):
So basically, you're saying he did it, but he couldn't
help it. Have you given up on his innoc not? No,
but the people have, the courts have so right now
untill the real killer turns up. This is our best strategy. Okay,
but the courts are not hearing it. I'm sure you
remember the State Supreme Court denied his appeal after the
(28:43):
sentence and phase of the trial. But we may still
be able to get the sentence commuted on other grounds,
commuted to what life, But an innocent man would still
be locked up for life. Life is better than death.
Last time I checked. Guess that depends on the circumstances.
(29:04):
DNA Fincher seems to think that we can still petition
a higher court inner on the grounds that the key
witnesses testimony was coerced. Yes, I appreciate Dina's efforts and yours, Julian,
but you're clinging to threads and I understand you want
to do the right thing, but that's not going to
have been enough of the higher court to make the
(29:24):
ship Birds of Manawa County review James Fincher's case. Again,
you need to understand how this works and how it doesn't.
The system did not merely permit the miscarriage of justice
that got Fincher convicted for a crime he did not.
The system encouraged it. James Fincher has been convicted and
he's been sentenced, so at this point, in the eyes
(29:45):
of the court, he is guilty guilty until proven innocent. Look,
the only surefire way to stop Fincher's execution is to
prove he didn't do it. And the only way to
do that that is to prove dead that what you're
here to do. If that's what it takes, Yes, ma'am, Look,
(30:17):
I could probably make a call and see if I
can't get a hold of those interrogation tapes for you.
I still got friends in the department over at Hooper Station. Okay,
I'm not sure it'll do any good though, Okay, thank you,
thank you, thank you, Joe. Detective Solomon Smith what he
(30:40):
was on the case. You probably remember him, Detective Solomon Smith. Yeah,
he believed James was innocent and had some leads on
some other suspects, but he disappeared. What do you mean
he disappeared? Well, I don't know what happened to him,
(31:02):
but if you want to find out who was behind this,
you should find out what Smith knew. Follow his tracks.
He may be on those interrogation tapes, and he kept
an audio logged during the investigation. I'll see what I
can dig up. Les A Sheriff Kirby Hooper interviewing James
(31:29):
Fancher case nine four seven three five two June fifth,
two thousand and seven, ten ten am. Morning, James, how
are you feeling today? Jill Campbell was true to her word.
One call from her and the Archives Department handed the
(31:50):
investigation tapes over. Don't feel like talking today? Huh? I'm
going to need you to answer a few questions about
what happened the other day. I think you can do
that more. Listening to these tapes and hearing Sheriff Kirby
Hooper's voice again was unsettling. He was an earnest man, humorless.
(32:17):
In fact, he always seemed perplexed by the laughter of others.
Sharp eyes and a tall figure. He always wore the
same dull brown uniform like he was born in it,
and he would probably be buried into two. His shoulders
were permanently stooped, like it was some sisophine curse. To
maintain order in his small corner of the universe, he
(32:39):
needed to determine to have the brothers cause of death.
He needed autopsies, but the medical report was confusing to say.
At least the next show's short force injuries, the Brown,
the Chess, and the dam and Black show injuries with
transaction of the lift and tom jug Leavine. Primary and
(33:01):
perhaps fatal wound begins on the left side of the
groin and reaches across the testicles. Is gaping measures three
inches in length with clean edges. With a case like this,
there's not really anyone with the right sort of training
or experience to decipher the clues. Sure as hell not
(33:22):
Sheriff of bro So we quickly named James Fincher the
prompt suspect in the case. You gotta be scared right,
tired of strangers poking and pridden at you. I can
make all that stop games, I can make them go away,
but you're gonna have to talk to me if you
(33:45):
want that to happen. You're gonna have to tell me
what you were doing in those games with those boys.
I played this first audio file in the car and
had to pull over. Something about it felt eerily familiar.
(34:06):
It wasn't just the sound of Sheriff Hooper's interrogation, though
that dredged up some old feelings, for sure. It was
the sort of static hits of the state owned recording device.
It was agitating. It made something in my brain itch,
something panic. I came back to man a walk after
(34:43):
I started waking up from bad dreams, drenched in sweat,
and then one morning when I caught myself in the
mirror and didn't recognize what I saw, Like my hands
didn't belong to my arms. My eyes were not mine either,
like something else was staring back at me from behind
(35:04):
the glass. That's how it happens. See, just happens little
by little, like when the song you were singing in
the showers playing on the radio, when you start your
car an hour later, or when you always notice the
clock it's exactly three thirty three, or maybe you will
(35:28):
suddenly think of an old friend the day before, finding
out on Facebook that they recently died. Yeah, these are
the signs. This is how you will know what's coming,
moving across the void, closer and closer, like the dad
of a thousand hungry bads, screeching in the gloom and
(35:48):
the dusk. Remember this, It always starts with the noise,
the white noise, white noise, the sounds of the shower,
or the incests in the summer, locusts, or the box
fan you keep in your room. You will know the
sound when you hear it. I hear it in James
(36:12):
Fincher's in Derogation tape. For fourteen years, I've or to Pottsville,
in those goddamn caves. Like I said before, I do
(36:33):
not want to be back in Manouel County. I fucking
hate it. I hate the cold, gray stone of the
town and the sharp, cruel eyes of the churchgoers at
first Baptist. I hate the creeping darkness that overtakes the
town every night. It took the Hadley Brothers, took many
others too soon, it will almost certainly take James Fincher,
(37:00):
and one day it may take me too. I tried
to stay away, but it found me. It's been pulling
me back ever since. And I know in my core
that it's not gonna stop until I see James Fincher
set free. And in order to do that, well, I
(37:24):
have to figure out who really killed Thomas and Dickonhandley.
If I don't, James Fincher is going to be executed
in twelve days. The Ghost and the Dancing the Manoa
(38:15):
Caves stars Jonathan Tucker as Julian Salis, Eddie Gaffeggy as
James Fincher, Clark Peters as Detective Solomon Smith, Nick Sercy
as Sheriff Kirby Hooper, Justin Wellbourne as Tyler Wilson, Jill
Jane Clements as Jill Campbell, Brad Carter as Dooley Tappert,
Scott Poythress as Reverend Perkins, Samantha Ashley as Deana Fincher,
(38:38):
Justin Matthews Smith as Paul Salis, Tara Oakes as Laura Salis,
Jonathan Horn as Deacon Hadley, Alden Kronovitch as Thomas Hadley,
Mike w Anderson as Griff Washington, Bodie walter Off as
Jimmy Fincher, Brian McClure as Ian Speaks, Larry Clark as
Bobby Hadley, Peyton Fallis as ed La, Vic Pliss as
(39:01):
William Fowler, Nick Dakaski as Richard Rydell, and Aileen moy
as The Darkness, with additional performances by Clint McGowan, Dina Dill,
Edward Howard and Henry Foster Brown, Jamie Joseph, Juan Manzalez,
Christopher Curry, Bailey Hyneman, David Mitchell, and Bernard Satara Clark.
(39:23):
Created by Connel Byrne and Dan Bush, Written by Dan Bush,
Zoe Cooper and Nicholas Dakoski, featuring our theme song Killer Inside,
Written produced and performed by Lea Lynn. Our executive producers
are Matt Frederick, Alexander Williams, Michael Monte, and Courtney Dufrees.
Our executive producers at Blumhouse Television are Jeremy Gold Chris
(39:46):
Dickey and Noah Feinberg. Produced by Dan Bush, music by
Ben Lovett, additional music by Alexander Rodriguez. Edited by Dan Bush,
Chris Childs, Stephen Perez, and David Chen. Sound design by
Benjamin Malcolm. Additional sound designed by Alexander Rodriguez. Dialogue editing
and sound mixing by Juan Campos. Recorded at Studio Awesome
(40:10):
in Los Angeles, sound Bite Studio in Atlanta, and Echo
Mountain in Asheville. Casting by Sunday Bowling, Kennedy and Meg Mormon.
Our dialect coach is Linda Basseesti, Assistant director Michael Monty,
second assistant director, script supervisor and production coordinator Sarah Klein.
Supervising producer Josh Thine. Special thanks to Mary Ellen and
(40:32):
Jason Davis, Jonathan Deeter, and Joe Rickman. The Manoel Caves
is a production of iHeartRadio, Plumhouse Television, and Psycopia Pictures.
(41:08):
The Side of the Side
The Manowa Caves is intended for mature audiences. It contains
(00:03):
strong language and depictions of bullying, violence, and sexual assault
that some may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. Also,
this is an extremely immersive experience and headphones are recommended.
You're listening to The Manawat Caves, a production of iHeartRadio,
Blumhouse Television and Psycopia Pictures where God, Jesus fuck, don't paying.
(00:56):
Just know you expected this, you play it for it.
The black count are more frequent now, they last longer.
That's why you left this message for yourself, Julian, to
help you remember. First thing I need you to do.
Start the car. You need to drive. Never mind the fog.
(01:20):
Visibility is going to be shipped for a while, doesn't matter.
Just head north and don't stop. No matter what. You
should have at least a half tank, so just drive,
drive until the fall breaks, and hopefully you will do it.
Must be done while you're still able to hit rewind,
(01:45):
go all the way back, then play it, all of it.
(02:11):
We have some breaking news. The Manowa County Sheriff's Department
said they found I'm an identified human remains in the
Appalachian Mountain three days an investigation not to the Erica
and there two they had permission to be here or
if they were trespassing a ghost in the the boys
bodies were lying here in a million door. Remains of
(02:34):
the comment. Hadley and Deacon Hadley, the twin brothers who
were reported missing on May nineteen, along with a third boy,
James m Okay. Here goes Today's July thirty, twenty twenty one,
(03:20):
Planet Earth, Cold Spring, New York. To be exact, this
is Julian Salisome, thirty three. I'm a writer, well, an
aspiring writer, nothing published yet. Maybe this will be the one. Um,
they say, right, Well, you know, well, this is a story.
(03:44):
I know this is personal, but it isn't an easy
one to tell. Matter of fact, I've been trying to
block it out ever since I left home fourteen years ago.
Like my mother used to say, sometimes the only way
to get to the other side of the mountain is
(04:06):
to go through it. So I guess I'll start there.
It was May May eighteenth, two thousand and seven, the
Hadley brothers, two seventeen year old twins from a prominent
and wealthy family in Maniwa County, went missing it was
(04:26):
the night before high school graduation. They were found ten
days later. The bodies were retreated from inside the mouth
of a cave, along with their cell phones, which contained
haunting audio and grainy images clues to what had happened.
I say, clues, clues fucking so so stupid, scoopy, fucking
(04:52):
do clues come on? Julian Okay? Starting over? All right?
So um okay? Based on their self Based on their
cell phone records, witness testimonies in the Corners report, it
was likely just after midnight the time of death. Another
(05:16):
boy went missing that day two, James Fincher, we called
him Finch. Finch came from a multiracial family. His mother
was black, his father part Latino and part Cherokee. At
the time of the Havley killings, Finch was only eighteen
(05:39):
years old. Today he's thirty two, and he's on death
row away in execution for the murder of the Haveley boys,
a double homicide in the first degree. But Finch didn't
do it. Okay. August first, twenty twenty one, just left
(06:06):
New York. I'm driving back to Manua County today. I
don't want to go back. I don't want to do
any of this. Hell, I didn't even go back for
my own father's funeral. And you know what, I was
okay with that, because the part of me that was
born and raised in Manowa County died there too. As
(06:26):
far as I was concerned, I thought i'd put man
to walk behind me for good. But I got a
call about a week ago. Usually don't pick up, but
it was an eight six to five area code. Someone
from home. Hello, Julian, Julian Tallis Yeah, Da Dana Benherm,
(06:55):
Dana Hey has how how are you? It's been a
long time, fourteen years. Yeah, I'm calling to let you
know about James. Yeah, yeah, how's how's the uh? I mean,
it has been set for the execution. I thought you
(07:19):
might want to know. We're almost out of time now,
so it ain't looking great. I'll be honest. Look, I
know it's been a long time, Julian, and you've moved
on from all this, but we haven't. Okay. Yeah, I
mean I didn't want to call you, but I got
no choice here. I need your help, okay, with what
(07:44):
the appeal. I need you to make a statement. I
need you to tell the truth about what happened. I
can only imagine how fucked up it would be to
(08:06):
witness in execution. No thanks, I'm not interested in watching
James Fincher die. But I would come back even if
Dana Fincher hadn't called, because I have no choice. I
(08:28):
started waking up from bad dreams drenched in sweat, and
these nightmares are happening more frequently. I'm I'm hearing things too, Voices.
They were quiet at first, they were like whispers and
the static, but the getting louder, and I'm getting I
(08:54):
don't know, flashes like a fever. Dream images looping through
my brain between my waking hours, reliving ship from my childhood,
shift from my past that either forgotten were buried from.
There was a long before the nightmares began warming their
way into my waking moments. The leaky fawsett in my
(09:16):
kitchen started dripping so loud it drowned out the rest
of the world, like the droplets were sliding off salad
tights and splashing into cating pools below. And then there
was the sleep walking. The first time it happened, I
woke up in the middle of the night to find
myself back in a suitcase. The next night, I came
(09:37):
to I was bought ass naked in the kitchen cark.
He's clutched in my hand. Time after that, I was
in the driver's seat in my car, jabbing the key
repeatedly into the dashboard, just shy the imission. Then a
couple of nights ago, I actually got the car halfway
down the block before I realized what was happening. So,
(10:00):
you see, it got to the point where I figured
I was coming back to Maniwau County. Whether I wanted
to or not. It seemed to hell a lot safer
to be conscious for the ride. It's another reason I'm
documenting this trip. After each blackout, I'll lose hours of memory.
(10:30):
Willson Mechanical Solutions a stylis. I've known Tyler since I
was little. We grew up together. Who was one of
those guys the teachers wrote off as a burnout, but
who in reality just never bought in. I looked him up.
He's a repair man now, lives in the woods on
the outskirts of Maniwa County, outside of possible. Hey, todd Um,
(10:56):
it's as Juliana. Julie. Yeah, you gotta be fucking kidding me.
M hmm, Well, holy God damn Julian fucking Solace. Huh
it's me. Well to what do I owe the pleasure? Uh?
(11:23):
I was hoping this will be your number. Well, you
gotta ride bet it is. Yeah. So when you're getting here, what,
how do you know? I wasn't you might be coming
back soon, circumstances being what they are, Tyler as um,
(11:46):
I was hoping. Uh oh, I was hoping, hoping. Come on,
say what you need. Don't be shotting now, motherfucker. I
need to go back to the whole unless that's too much.
I just don't know if I'll be able to find
my way back. It's been so long with Tyler. Tyler,
(12:13):
you're here, okay? Are you sure? Yeah? No, it's cool.
Let's do it. August second. The air smells like rust
(12:37):
and Decayne leaves an asphalt after the rain. It stirs
old thoughts and feelings. It feels haunted. There's something daunting
about the roads into the Great Smokies, a sub range
of Appalachia hiding in the corner of Tennessee, North Carolina.
He got roadside warnings that say dense fog likely These
(13:03):
mountains are ancient and mysterious. Oldest Mountain range on earth.
They crouched low, like they're huddled against you, secretive, covered
in old growth forests. Everything is shadow and missed, and
the fog gets denser the closer I come. It was
only after I crossed the county line that the fog lifted,
(13:27):
like mana walk itself had pulled back the curtain for
another show. Pottsville is the town I grew up in.
It's nestled in the heart of the county, and it
hasn't changed one bit since I left. Still small and poor.
Most folks still find work in the paper mill a
few towns over, or if they're good at bullshit, and
(13:48):
they might get a job at Hadley Chevrolet. If you
were lucky. That's where you weren't my father did. He
ran the mechanic shop of the dealership. Anyway, People here
are poor, most of them double wides and dogs running loose,
the rusted husks of cars on cinder blocks. The main
(14:12):
drag is lined with abandoned and decaying two story mid
century brick buildings, weird antique and second hand shops. A
hardware store started with American flags, and of course the
Lord of First Baptist Church, a fundamental stronghold in the
center circle. I shall not want, oh man. This is
(14:33):
Reverend Perkins from First Baptist and many to lie down
in green pastures. Man likes the sound of his own
voice so much he records every damn one of his
own sermons and posts them on the church website. Thomas
and Deacons, friends and family grapple with their deaths. This
recording is from the archives Hadley Brothers Memorial services. Because
(14:58):
this feels senseless, Why were these two innocent souls taken
from us? These two who shone so brightly and showed
them such a great promise, Why, oh Lord, were they
so truly taken? We asked, innocent souls hardly? Tom and
(15:21):
Diacon Hadley were the sons of Bobby and Mona Hadley,
who owned the Hadley Chevrolet Dealership, one of the most
profitable car lots in the state. They were a wealthy
and powerful family in the community. In many ways, their
money and political ties made this town. There's like they
owned it. A new county ordinance, a new construction permit.
It was impossible to get anything done in Maniwa County
(15:43):
without the consent of Bobby Hadley and the power bloated them,
made them cruel. Hadley twins didn't fall far from the tree.
In that sense, we coexisted them and me, sharing the
same habitat on East Elite. They skulked around Manowa County
like predators. They were not identical. Now. Deacon was the
(16:09):
smaller of the two. He was the quiet one. He
wore the silver cross round his neck like a flashy
reminder of the inequities of life, like he was protected
by a righteous order, a constant reminder that some people
can be as sadistic as they please with no consequences.
Thomas was the stand out. He was taller and more lean.
(16:34):
His red hair seemed almost unreal, like it was woven
into his scalp. I remember Thomas strutting through the corriors
of Carter High, always with the same look plastered on
his face, the corners of his lips twisted in a
permanent grin, and sharp green eyes that seemed to be
(16:57):
staring out from behind a mask. And then there was
his laugh. You could hear it echo across the high
school quad like a fucking hyena, almost always triggered by
some act of casual cruelty. Deacon Hadley was different this one.
(17:20):
Never smiled, never laughed, hardly spoke eyes like scalpels. His
cruelty seemed almost scientific. After their bodies were found, the
autopsies indicated that the Hadley brothers had been attacked, bludgeons
and stabbed. That much as certain the investigation would dig
(17:42):
up town secrets as old and dark as the caves themselves,
it would also change the lives of everyone involved, including me.
After all, I'm the one who found the bodies. Well,
Tyler and me, Damn, we should have been night right now,
(18:05):
Tyler memory as soon as I crossed the county line
and took me on a little hike down memory Lane,
literally remember being closer to the south entrance of the
Manawa Caves, or as we used to call it, the
whole No. To get to the caves, we had to
(18:26):
hop a barbed wire fence, trespass across private property, and
hike all trail for at least a mile through. You
think underbrush, we'll find it. Where are you saying? The
motel all fiveway forty two? I can't believe that place
is still standing up. She's abute, all right, Well, listen,
(18:51):
you get tired of bring the mill, dude, through your
pillow case. Hit me up, I'll clear on the back room.
Oh man, look at that coming out earlier night. Must
be hungry. Yeah, well the Cays were forbidden long before
(19:13):
we started hanging out there. Ever since the teenage boy
was found dead inside back in ninety eight suicide, nobody
went near it after that except us. This should be
it appear around this band nine one one. What's your emergency? Um,
(19:38):
I just need to report. Um, go ahead, sir, I'm listening.
We we found bodies out here. Um did you say bodies.
It's ma'am, Um, it's ma'am. They they've been dead a while.
Thomas h Dickon Hadley. I think I think it's him
(20:00):
and his brother Thomas. It's uh, he's got it's got
red hair. So I'm okay. Well, can you give me
the address, sir? I don't know address web. Uh, we're
down by the caves. Okay. I'm gonna have you stay
on the line with me until I can get somebody
(20:22):
out there. Yes, uh, oh god damn. They look they
look lived. They were mauld Okay, mald by an animal
or a stabbed or something. I don't know. I don't
I don't know. And you're sure they're not breathing. Yes, man,
(20:54):
here there it is. Holy shit. The air was cool
and damp and smelled of earth and minerals and eons
of decay. The jetty moss covered granite rocks along the
(21:14):
southwest entrance of the cavern are not unlike reptilian teeth,
and it's easy to imagine a colony of hungry bats
are swirling out of the throat of some prehistoric monster.
As I stood there, my skin tingled, and I felt
a pull, a weight like a vertigo that spread outward
(21:34):
from my gut, like that feeling you get standing on
the edge of a cliff, like I was looking down
into the earth into an abyss, the caves beckoning me.
I have trouble remembering that time in our lives, but
I remember that day we found him. You remember the
(21:55):
first thought you had, the first thing that came to mund.
I remember the light from the morning sun. Yeah, it
was just barely creeping into the cave, and it popped
off Thomas's red hair. That's what caught my eye. Then
(22:23):
I saw his skin. It stood out against the stones,
cold blue, and the blood dried all black. But my
brain wouldn't um, except you know what I was seeing
like it was scrambling to make up some other explanation
(22:44):
of I don't know, shaped dog some shit now buy
no deer, hell, I don't, I don't know. Anything was
more acceptable than um, dead kid. This is Jue Campbell. Hey,
(23:49):
miss Campbell, it's Julian Julian Silas. I don't know if
you remember mete. Wow, of course I remember. How are you?
I'm okay. Look I just got back into town. Yes, god,
it's been fourteen years. I heard you, uh switch teams
(24:14):
a while back. You're not a deputy anymore. Nope, mitigation specialist.
This is about James Fincher. Right. Can you make time
to see me today? Shit? Um, I'm sorry? Can you?
(24:38):
Can you used to keep starting over because I am
I'm still firing out the stammer corner here. What do
you need to record this for? I'm just I'm gathering information,
like for a book or something. Oh yeah, I hope
so you know we'll see Look you could help, you
know it, raise awareness for Finches for James's case, bring
(25:00):
some public attention, some outside influence. Can you say your
name and profession? Jill Campbell, I'm a mitigation specialist here
in the state of Tennessee. And what does that entail?
So I scrub evidence that trial proceedings, prosecution, defense also
to look at someone's background and other circumstances that can
(25:22):
reduce a death sentence to life in prison. Did you
build a case for Finch? I mean, can you prove
that he didn't kill the healthy brothers? I work with
James Fincher's defense attorney, but there's only so many appeals
you can file in a capital case. You have to
be strategic in your timing. There was no sorry, but
there was no physical evidence time James or anyone else
(25:44):
to the murder of Deacon and Thomas Hadley. Correct. That's right.
James's conviction and sentence and was based entirely on circumstantial
evidence and as you know, false testimony. And you were
a deputy sheriff in Manuel County back in that's right
two thousand and one to two thousand and three, promoted
(26:04):
a few times lieutenant in two thousand and seven at
the time of the Hadley murders. I made captain in
two thousand and eight. Criminal Investigation. Why did you quit?
I got into law enforcement because I wanted to do
some good, but ninety percent of what we were doing
had nothing to do with justice. Criminal investigation isn't really
(26:27):
about catching a bad guy, at least not Manawak County. No. No,
especially homicide. The department is incentivized to find any evidence
they can to support an eventual prosecution. Whether you have
the right guy or not, it doesn't matter. The primary
goal is to make damn sure the prosecution will get
(26:50):
their conviction. So when the jury returned to death verdict
for James Fincher, I was upset about it. I knew
it wasn't right. I was anguished of my part in it.
I thought I could make a difference from with them.
That was naive, so I got into defense. This is
why he came home, isn't it? James Fincher's executions coming up?
(27:15):
And you're anguish too, Ain't you excuse me? Hey man?
Can I get a rephill please? There was obvious discrimination
in the trial from the get go. James Fincher was
a multiracial man and men in Wake County. He was different.
He stood out. I want to give a Sheriff Hooper's
(27:36):
interrogation at James Fincher, good luck with that. What do
you mean James Fincher doesn't say a thing on those tapes.
What the hell are you doing here, Julian? I want
to help. Look, I've worked hard to get the courts
to recognize that James Fincher does not deserve death. I've
(27:59):
come piled a comprehensive and well documented psychosocial history of
James based on an exhaustive investigation, I'm built a case
on all the factors this early life trauma, then packed
on his development, including effects on personality and behavior, not
to mention the bullying and what happened does sister Dina?
(28:21):
So basically, you're saying he did it, but he couldn't
help it. Have you given up on his innoc not? No,
but the people have, the courts have so right now
untill the real killer turns up. This is our best strategy. Okay,
but the courts are not hearing it. I'm sure you
remember the State Supreme Court denied his appeal after the
(28:43):
sentence and phase of the trial. But we may still
be able to get the sentence commuted on other grounds,
commuted to what life, But an innocent man would still
be locked up for life. Life is better than death.
Last time I checked. Guess that depends on the circumstances.
(29:04):
DNA Fincher seems to think that we can still petition
a higher court inner on the grounds that the key
witnesses testimony was coerced. Yes, I appreciate Dina's efforts and yours, Julian,
but you're clinging to threads and I understand you want
to do the right thing, but that's not going to
have been enough of the higher court to make the
(29:24):
ship Birds of Manawa County review James Fincher's case. Again,
you need to understand how this works and how it doesn't.
The system did not merely permit the miscarriage of justice
that got Fincher convicted for a crime he did not.
The system encouraged it. James Fincher has been convicted and
he's been sentenced, so at this point, in the eyes
(29:45):
of the court, he is guilty guilty until proven innocent. Look,
the only surefire way to stop Fincher's execution is to
prove he didn't do it. And the only way to
do that that is to prove dead that what you're
here to do. If that's what it takes, Yes, ma'am, Look,
(30:17):
I could probably make a call and see if I
can't get a hold of those interrogation tapes for you.
I still got friends in the department over at Hooper Station. Okay,
I'm not sure it'll do any good though, Okay, thank you,
thank you, thank you, Joe. Detective Solomon Smith what he
(30:40):
was on the case. You probably remember him, Detective Solomon Smith. Yeah,
he believed James was innocent and had some leads on
some other suspects, but he disappeared. What do you mean
he disappeared? Well, I don't know what happened to him,
(31:02):
but if you want to find out who was behind this,
you should find out what Smith knew. Follow his tracks.
He may be on those interrogation tapes, and he kept
an audio logged during the investigation. I'll see what I
can dig up. Les A Sheriff Kirby Hooper interviewing James
(31:29):
Fancher case nine four seven three five two June fifth,
two thousand and seven, ten ten am. Morning, James, how
are you feeling today? Jill Campbell was true to her word.
One call from her and the Archives Department handed the
(31:50):
investigation tapes over. Don't feel like talking today? Huh? I'm
going to need you to answer a few questions about
what happened the other day. I think you can do
that more. Listening to these tapes and hearing Sheriff Kirby
Hooper's voice again was unsettling. He was an earnest man, humorless.
(32:17):
In fact, he always seemed perplexed by the laughter of others.
Sharp eyes and a tall figure. He always wore the
same dull brown uniform like he was born in it,
and he would probably be buried into two. His shoulders
were permanently stooped, like it was some sisophine curse. To
maintain order in his small corner of the universe, he
(32:39):
needed to determine to have the brothers cause of death.
He needed autopsies, but the medical report was confusing to say.
At least the next show's short force injuries, the Brown,
the Chess, and the dam and Black show injuries with
transaction of the lift and tom jug Leavine. Primary and
(33:01):
perhaps fatal wound begins on the left side of the
groin and reaches across the testicles. Is gaping measures three
inches in length with clean edges. With a case like this,
there's not really anyone with the right sort of training
or experience to decipher the clues. Sure as hell not
(33:22):
Sheriff of bro So we quickly named James Fincher the
prompt suspect in the case. You gotta be scared right,
tired of strangers poking and pridden at you. I can
make all that stop games, I can make them go away,
but you're gonna have to talk to me if you
(33:45):
want that to happen. You're gonna have to tell me
what you were doing in those games with those boys.
I played this first audio file in the car and
had to pull over. Something about it felt eerily familiar.
(34:06):
It wasn't just the sound of Sheriff Hooper's interrogation, though
that dredged up some old feelings, for sure. It was
the sort of static hits of the state owned recording device.
It was agitating. It made something in my brain itch,
something panic. I came back to man a walk after
(34:43):
I started waking up from bad dreams, drenched in sweat,
and then one morning when I caught myself in the
mirror and didn't recognize what I saw, Like my hands
didn't belong to my arms. My eyes were not mine either,
like something else was staring back at me from behind
(35:04):
the glass. That's how it happens. See, just happens little
by little, like when the song you were singing in
the showers playing on the radio, when you start your
car an hour later, or when you always notice the
clock it's exactly three thirty three, or maybe you will
(35:28):
suddenly think of an old friend the day before, finding
out on Facebook that they recently died. Yeah, these are
the signs. This is how you will know what's coming,
moving across the void, closer and closer, like the dad
of a thousand hungry bads, screeching in the gloom and
(35:48):
the dusk. Remember this, It always starts with the noise,
the white noise, white noise, the sounds of the shower,
or the incests in the summer, locusts, or the box
fan you keep in your room. You will know the
sound when you hear it. I hear it in James
(36:12):
Fincher's in Derogation tape. For fourteen years, I've or to Pottsville,
in those goddamn caves. Like I said before, I do
(36:33):
not want to be back in Manouel County. I fucking
hate it. I hate the cold, gray stone of the
town and the sharp, cruel eyes of the churchgoers at
first Baptist. I hate the creeping darkness that overtakes the
town every night. It took the Hadley Brothers, took many
others too soon, it will almost certainly take James Fincher,
(37:00):
and one day it may take me too. I tried
to stay away, but it found me. It's been pulling
me back ever since. And I know in my core
that it's not gonna stop until I see James Fincher
set free. And in order to do that, well, I
(37:24):
have to figure out who really killed Thomas and Dickonhandley.
If I don't, James Fincher is going to be executed
in twelve days. The Ghost and the Dancing the Manoa
(38:15):
Caves stars Jonathan Tucker as Julian Salis, Eddie Gaffeggy as
James Fincher, Clark Peters as Detective Solomon Smith, Nick Sercy
as Sheriff Kirby Hooper, Justin Wellbourne as Tyler Wilson, Jill
Jane Clements as Jill Campbell, Brad Carter as Dooley Tappert,
Scott Poythress as Reverend Perkins, Samantha Ashley as Deana Fincher,
(38:38):
Justin Matthews Smith as Paul Salis, Tara Oakes as Laura Salis,
Jonathan Horn as Deacon Hadley, Alden Kronovitch as Thomas Hadley,
Mike w Anderson as Griff Washington, Bodie walter Off as
Jimmy Fincher, Brian McClure as Ian Speaks, Larry Clark as
Bobby Hadley, Peyton Fallis as ed La, Vic Pliss as
(39:01):
William Fowler, Nick Dakaski as Richard Rydell, and Aileen moy
as The Darkness, with additional performances by Clint McGowan, Dina Dill,
Edward Howard and Henry Foster Brown, Jamie Joseph, Juan Manzalez,
Christopher Curry, Bailey Hyneman, David Mitchell, and Bernard Satara Clark.
(39:23):
Created by Connel Byrne and Dan Bush, Written by Dan Bush,
Zoe Cooper and Nicholas Dakoski, featuring our theme song Killer Inside,
Written produced and performed by Lea Lynn. Our executive producers
are Matt Frederick, Alexander Williams, Michael Monte, and Courtney Dufrees.
Our executive producers at Blumhouse Television are Jeremy Gold Chris
(39:46):
Dickey and Noah Feinberg. Produced by Dan Bush, music by
Ben Lovett, additional music by Alexander Rodriguez. Edited by Dan Bush,
Chris Childs, Stephen Perez, and David Chen. Sound design by
Benjamin Malcolm. Additional sound designed by Alexander Rodriguez. Dialogue editing
and sound mixing by Juan Campos. Recorded at Studio Awesome
(40:10):
in Los Angeles, sound Bite Studio in Atlanta, and Echo
Mountain in Asheville. Casting by Sunday Bowling, Kennedy and Meg Mormon.
Our dialect coach is Linda Basseesti, Assistant director Michael Monty,
second assistant director, script supervisor and production coordinator Sarah Klein.
Supervising producer Josh Thine. Special thanks to Mary Ellen and
(40:32):
Jason Davis, Jonathan Deeter, and Joe Rickman. The Manoel Caves
is a production of iHeartRadio, Plumhouse Television, and Psycopia Pictures.
(41:08):
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