December 24, 2024 • 31 mins
Following years in the hands of the Louisiana State Police with no actionable progress, new Washington Parish Sheriff Jason Smith announced he has regained control of Donna Arceneuax's case. In this bonus episode, Sheriff Smith elaborates on his plans for the case in an exclusive interview with Tucker.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
>> Narrator (00:00):
The claims, views and opinions expressed are those of the speaker
and do not represent those of But Why Media or its
partners. All subjects are innocent until proven
guilty. This is a podcast about
difficult topics and it may not be suitable for all
audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
>> Tucker Simmons (00:18):
What's up guys? Its been a few weeks since we wrapped up Part
One. I've spent this downtime sifting through leads
and catching up on those future episodes for Part Two.
But as many of you may already know, there was a major development
yesterday in Donna's case. We're right here at Christmas and
everyone's with their families or on vacations, so this episode
isn't as produced as the others, but we wanted to make sure you had the
(00:38):
information as soon as possible. So let's dive in.
>> "Something Strange" by Tabitha Meeks (00:43):
I'm feeling heavy there's a pounding in
my chest, the shadows
hiding but I see the siluettes,
fear lives in the quiet,
whispers in the silence.
>> Tucker Simmons (01:03):
I'm Tucker Simmons and this is Freeze
Frame, an investigation into the unsolved
murder of Donna Arsenalau.
(01:25):
Yesterday, Washington Parish Sheriff Jason Smith
announced his administration has officially taken the Arceneaux
case back from the Louisiana State Police
Just to refresh your memory, since 2019, the
Louisiana State Police have had Donna's case. At
that time, her family had lost confidence in the investigation,
for good reason, so it made sense for the State Police to
(01:46):
take over. Throughout this podcast, I've been critical at
times of their investigation and what appears to be, a lack of
action based on the information available to me. They've interviewed a
lot of people, processed a significant amount of evidence from the
scene of the crime, and from my understanding, even
reinterviewed a few interested parties based on information revealed in
this podcast. But after so many years and multiple
(02:06):
investigators on and off the case, I believe yesterday's
announcement is a huge step forward. So why don't we just
start with the announcement itself? This is the audio of
the video Sheriff Smith posted online Monday
morning.
>> Jason Smith (02:20):
Hey, so we've been in discussions with the State Police
and as of last week, we now have responsibility
for investigating Donna Arseneaux's murder.
I want to thank the podcast. You know, it's fair to say that had
the podcast not generated the attention that it did, and
it has generated a lot of attention both inside the Parish and outside
even the State we, we wouldn't be looking into this case
(02:41):
now. There is a higher legal threshold that we're go going to have
to meet beyond just entertainment in order to move this case
forward. But I do appreciate them looking
into it and keeping the interest in this case alive.
I'm also thankful for the State Police They
didn't ask to get this case. It should never have been given to them
in the first place, and now it's back where it
(03:01):
rightly belongs. We're gonna continue to work with them.
It's almost like we're on a road trip, the only difference now
is we pulled over and changed drivers. But they're going to continue to support
us, they've got lots of resources. But
as the Chief Law Enforcement officer in Washington Parish
it's my responsibility to investigate crimes
that happen inside the Parish to our citizens. And
(03:22):
now the case is back where it should always have been.
We're going toa do regular updates on the status of
the case. I ask everybody's patience, I'm not sure what that
timeline is going to be, and I'll be as transparent as I
can. But it's up to us now to bring this case
forward and to resolve it not only for the victim,
not only for her family, but for those that may have been falsely
(03:42):
implicated. I want to give everybody an opportunity to tell their
story so that we can get to the bottom of that.
The things that I've seen with the case so far,
I'm pretty confident that we can get this thing resolved. How
long it's going to take, I'm not entirely sure, so I ask everybody's patience.
And anything less than justice in this case is going to be
unacceptable. And that's what we're working. Outside of
(04:02):
that, I appreciate everybody's attention and interest. If you
know anything or you feel like you need to say something, you can
go to our website and register an anonymous tip
on the website, or you can certainly go through the
podcast. I'm taking information from all
sources. I'm not going to discount them just because of who they are. It's
up to us to find out what's true and what's not
true, and we're going to get to the bottom of this. I want to wish everybody
(04:25):
a Mary Christmas and Happy New Year, and there'll be more to come. Thanks
so much.
>> Tucker Simmons (04:29):
This announcement is less than three minutes long, but there's a
ton of information to dissect. As you can imagine,
I had 101 questions after listening to Sheriff Smith's
announcement, so I gave him a call.
Hey, Sheriff Smith. You made some, some news
today. Was hoping you could chat for a few minutes.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (04:45):
Sure.
>> Tucker Simmons (04:46):
I think last time we spoke, you were pretty confident in the State
Police's investigation or at least
the little bit that you've had seen. Was there anything
specific that happened or has this all come
about?
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (04:59):
No, I think the only change really
is probably a character flaw
on my part is that I'm just impatient
and if, you know, I'm put in a position
where people will constantly ask me
questions about the case. And
I figured if I was going to get asked questions, I wanted to be able to
(05:20):
be in a position to answer those questions. And
I could not do that if we were in a supporting
role to the State Police And so
it wasn't anything specific that I was
dissatfied with. I just wanted, I felt like I
was, would be more comfortable if
I was in the driver's seat and they were in a supporting position
and then we could direct the investigation forward.
>> Tucker Simmons (05:43):
Right, right. I should say thanks for the shout out for the
podcast. We appreciate that. I think...
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (05:49):
Well, I mean, it wasn't, it's the truth in the
sense that I think a lot of people
know of cases that they're dissatisfied with the
resolution of. And because
we're just dealing with people, the more attention you bring to
something, it starts to
energize the people that are
(06:10):
meant to investigate these things. Cases that don't get
investigated, it's usually not as a result of people
willfully not investigating something. It's just
that everything is
racked and they're prioritized. You know, every day is
a triage and you have to decide what's more important
on a daily basis. And so, without
(06:30):
that level of attention, some of these cases just don't get focused
on.
>> Tucker Simmons (06:34):
Well, that was our goal from the beginning, just to bring
awareness. You know, I haven't been shy about
my skepticism of the State Police
and also the original investigation. So we're excited to
see, how things progress. And if there's
information that we have that you need, we're an open
book. But I guess my only
(06:54):
concern is will anyone who was originally on the case
be working it again for you, or have you made a decision about
who's going to be working it?
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (07:02):
No, nobody that is working the case or
nobody that worked the case, in 2017
is going to be on the case now. I
don't even have, I think I have one detective that may
have assisted in the case in
2017 that's still with the Sheriff's
Office Everybody else has left.
My Chief Investigator is going to be the
(07:25):
lead investigator on this. He comes from St Tammany Parish
so he's completely unaffiliated with anything that's gone on, and he's
held this job at a much larger
agency, and it's had a much larger role.
We've got some assistance from the district attorney's
Office They're going to look at it through a prosecutorial
lens. They're completely unaffiliated
(07:46):
with the case. So we're definitely bringing in a
new energy to the case with a
new perspective. I think that was
one of the things I tried to focus on during the campaign is
that we're not in the business of
protecting our ego at the expense of getting a
resolution to anything. It's more important to me to just get to the bottom of
something.
>> Tucker Simmons (08:06):
We love hearing that. Obviously, you've
seen details of the case. I'm not sure how much you can share,
but do you feel like there's a lot of investigating
left to do or things that are. That the State Police
were waiting on coming back, or is it just a matter
of getting enough for the prosecutor to
act?
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (08:25):
Well, at the risk of being vague and
evasive, it's a little bit of all of
that. There are some things that
I do know from looking at the case file
and reading some of the transcripts of official
statements, some of the people that spoke
on the podcast, the things that they said
(08:45):
differed a bit from the things they said in their
official statements. And so those are some of the things, some of the
discrepancies we're going to have to clarify. There are some
forensic things that need to be clarified,
and analyzed. I'm fairly
confident with what we've got that we can
resolve this. I think your original question was how much investigating
actually needs to be done. I honestly don't think
(09:08):
a lot of investigating needs to be done. It just. There's some
things that need to be tightened up a bit
in order to bring this, put this in front of a Grand Jury
and then we'll go from there.
>> Tucker Simmons (09:19):
Well, yeah, I've attempted to talk to Bas a few
times. We just haven't coordinated. But my question for him
has always been, what is the threshold
to bring the case to the Grand Jury and
actually prosecute? And I haven't ever really gotten
an answer, but, it sounds like his Office is on board, so
that's progress.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (09:38):
Well, it's one of those things like, you
know, how long can you drive a car with the warning light
on? Like, there's no clear answer to that
question that the District Attorney,
he has to prioritize which cases he brings
forward. And it really comes down to
the prosecutor that he's assigned to the case, some
(09:58):
of the evidence involved in the case, some of
the actions of the investigating agency.
There's a lot of different variables that go into what is
essentially a subjective decision. There are some objective legal
standards that have to be met. But at the end of the day,
it's his decision on which cases to bring
forward. And there's not a matrix or a
checklist or anything else that he has to decide. Now
(10:20):
he, he's the district attorney for the
entire 22nd Judicial District,
which encompasses St. Tammany and Washington Parish. So that's
a lot of cases. So a
case from 2017 is not going to
be high on his list. That's really where I come
in. If I want him to bring this case forward,
I'm going to have to be the one that advocates it and convinces
(10:42):
him that this is something that is worthy
of prosecution.
>> Tucker Simmons (10:47):
Well, it sounds like you're doing that. So
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (10:50):
Well we're trying to.
>> Tucker Simmons (10:51):
Yeah. I'm assuming you've listened to
the podcast with, you know, locals are talking about it a lot
and it's all over social media. So have you heard
everything or are you purposely not listening with
what s your thought on Pocast?
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (11:05):
Yeah, I have tried to stay away from it, if I'm
honest. I have... I wanted to remain
objective just because I knew at some
point we were going to get the case returned to us or I wanted to
get the case returned to us. But the truth is
that my wife has been obsessed with it,
the podcast, and so I've heard parts
(11:26):
of it and I'm constantly asked about
it. Ah. And I think it probably
speaks to the quality of the podcast and that the things
that people tell me are
all pretty consistent. You know, it's not
wide variety of things that people are saying to
me. So the message that you're trying to get
out has been received by people because they're
(11:48):
delivering it back to me. so I'm familiar with some of it. I
haven't sat down and listened to it. but that's a long
way to answer a very short question. Yeah, I've listened to some of it.
>> Tucker Simmons (11:57):
Hopefully it will be helpful.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (12:00):
No's, like I said, it's been very helpful so far. I mean,
you've done a lot of work on this. I know there are some
people that probably think that we shouldn't
use anything that's from the
podcast because podcasts are designed to entertain
people. But it's
information, and I would be foolish not to
use any information that I thought might be helpful. I
(12:22):
don't really care where it comes from. so the
work that you've done, I'm very grateful for because you've done a
lot of work, far more than anybody,
else has done on it.
>> Tucker Simmons (12:34):
Well, I appreciate that. We just want to
know what happened. That sounds like, this is a really
great development. So we appreciate your interest in the case
as well, and I know Donna's family does. So like I
said before, if you need anything, let us know.
Just out of curiosity, what is the process for
getting the case back? I mean, does State Police like, actually
(12:55):
hand deliver the case fileing evidence to your
Office or how does that work?
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (13:02):
We met with them. A lot of it is
electronic. some of it is paper copies
and hard copies of things.
my chief deputy went down to their investigative
Office and we just took
possession of it. They transferred back the
electronic files to us and gave us all the hard copies
(13:22):
of stuff. I mean, there wasn't a ceremony
or an official letter or anything. It
was, much in the same way that we gave
them the case, we just got it returned to us.
>> Tucker Simmons (13:33):
Yeah, it didn't seem like there was ever a formal transfer,
so I was just curious.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (13:37):
No, honestly, I haven't done this before you. I've only been to Sheriff
since the 1st of July, and I actually asked
that question. I had assumed that we would have to have
some sort of official notification, but,
that's just really not the way these things work. And it's interesting
that the default position is that the Sheriff is
responsible for the case. So it was
(13:58):
always going to be mine as soon as I
became comfortable in asking for it.
And there were some things that delayed my decision. You know, we
just taken over the Sheriff's Office There was a lot of moving parts,
and I wasn't comfortable early
on, even though I had been made aware of the case. And I think
my intention had always been to get the case back.
(14:19):
I wasn't prepared and I wasn't confident
enough in our operating
procedures to say, hey, let's take on this
other cold case from 2017.
Amongst all the other things that we're dealing with problems in the
jail, problems with personnel, moving the
911 dispatch. I mean, I could go down a long list of things
(14:39):
that are in front of us every day. And
so, the only thing that's change is now here we're six months
down the road, and I feel a lot more comfortable in what we've got going on that
I think we can take this on and give it the
energy and attention that it deserves.
>> Tucker Simmons (14:54):
Excellent. Well, I appreciate all the info
and if there's anything that you need from us, happy to
help. We provided a lot of it to the State Police already,
but if it doesn't make its way to you, happy to
provide what we can.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (15:08):
Hey, Tucker, let me call you back.
>> Tucker Simmons (15:10):
Okay.
Before we wrapped up, Sheriff Smith ended our call
abruptly. A few minutes later, he called back
after pulling someone over.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (15:18):
Well, yeah, sorry about that. We're driving back from Bougalusa this
guy passed like four vehicles in a row on
a hill. And after the events of last Sunday,
I'm a little, I have very little patience for that.
>> Tucker Simmons (15:31):
There were multiple fatalities in a car accident a week
prior. It was interesting to see how hands on he is
firsthand. I'm not sure Washington Parish has had such an
engaged and working Sheriff for quite some
time.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (15:43):
No, the only thing I think I probably would ask
is just to temper people's
expectations. you know, we're not
ready to bring this to a Grand Jury for anything
yet, and I'm not sure what it's going
to require yet to get in front of a Grand Jury
So everyone just needs to understand that this isn't
an episode of Law and Order where we can go from crime to conviction
(16:06):
in an hour's time. It's going to take a little bit of time.
Unfortunately it's been since 2017, so it's worth
it to me to make it to go a little bit more
slowly, Then, I want to do a correct it
quickly, if that makes sense.
>> Tucker Simmons (16:20):
Yeah, for sure. I think everyone will understand
that. Again,
thanks for, the shout out to the podcast and if
we've been able to help in any way, that was the goal. So
I'll check back in and see how things are going.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (16:34):
Sounds great. I appreciate itol.
>> Tucker Simmons (16:36):
Thanks Sheriff.
He doesn't have a magic wand, but the fact that he already has
buy in from the DA's Office is extremely
important. I have no doubt this process won't happen
overnight, but fresh eyes on the case and a game plan
to get it in front of a Grand Jury Man,
it's just such a relief knowing there's actually a plan in
place. Speaking of a Grand Jury in
(16:58):
Louisiana, it's a panel of 12 citizens, typically
serving anywhere from 12 to 18 months.
Grand Jury proceedings or closed door sessions where the
prosecutor presents evidence, witnesses can be called
under oath, and evidence can be Subpoenaed
Grand juries are enlisted to test the prosecution's case and
determine if there's enough compelling evidence to support an
(17:19):
arrest. A true bill is confirmation that there is
sufficient evidence. A no bill is the
opposite (17:25):
there isn't sufficient evidence. As
the Sheriff explained, it'll be up to he and his team to
assemble a compelling case that convinces the DA's Office
to get the ball rolling. Sheriff Smith has publicly
spoken about this podcast now, but much like Demmie
told me way back when I first spoke to her, I
don't want him or his team taking my word for what's in the
podcast. I wouldn't expect them to. Now they
(17:47):
have all the evidence, and once they've had a chance to review the case
file in full, I expect our investigation will
speak for itself. Shortly after Sheriff Smith's
announcement, I received a text from Donna's brother, tj.
After my call with the Sheriff I wanted to update TJ and help
explain what all this means. So I looped in his sister Sherry
as well.
>> Tucker Simmons (18:06):
All right, Sherry, TJ, you guys both there?
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (18:09):
Hey. Hey, T.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (18:10):
You.
>> Tucker Simmons (18:12):
Well, thanks for hopping on so early. TJ I know you
are aware of the news this morning because you sent me
a text, but I just thought we'd talk about it as a
group. So Jason Smith announced this morning
that the Sheriff's Office officially has
dona case back. They've got cooperation from the
DA's Office and Jason's,
(18:32):
number two, his chief investigator, will be taking
the lead.
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (18:36):
Okay. I guess that's
good. I mean. Okay, so what
happened that made him decide to take it
back?
>> Tucker Simmons (18:45):
A couple months ago, when the State Police presented he
and his chief their investigation, they
felt like it wasn't appropriate to take the case back.
But I think as time went on, they were
getting so many questions about the case and felt like
they didn't have enough information, and the State
Police are overwhelmed as it is. So
(19:06):
he basically said, we would like to keep
you, the State as a resource, but
he really wanted to take ownership of it and
devote resources.
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (19:17):
Yeah.
>> Tucker Simmons (19:17):
TJ, I think I interrupted you a second ago. You're gonna ask something.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (19:21):
I'm like, Sherry, what else do... I mean... what's...
>> Tucker Simmons (19:23):
The issue is, is the State Police
the whole time they've been investigating, the DA's Office has
not been involved or privy to the case.
So I think what's going to happen now
and what Jason confirmed is his
purpose for getting the case back is so that
Collin Sims and his prosecutor can
(19:44):
be actively involved in what evidence
there is there. And it's very possible that the prosecutor will look at it
and say there's an overwhelming amount of
information here. Let's take it to the Grand Jury
get an indictment. Or the prosecutor could
say, look, it's very circumstantial. You
need to retest this DNA. You need to
(20:04):
re interview this person. You need to put pressure.
There really isn't a blueprint. It really just a matter
of what's going to bring the strongest
case. So I have the same question, like what in
the world could they possibly need?
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (20:18):
I'm okay with it. I mean as long as they
gonna... do what they need to be done. You know what
I'm saying?
>> Tucker Simmons (20:25):
I mean my question for him was is anyone who
worked the case originally going to be on the case? And he
immediately said no.
So that's...
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (20:33):
That's what I was worried about.
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (20:35):
Yeah, that's a positive. That's most definitely a positive.
I really believe that Jason Smith
has a very... I don't even know how
to say it, but I believe that he has a positive thing going. You know,
like everything that has been happening,
he's making arrest that he's like, I'm fixing clean
up and I don't care who likes it,
(20:56):
who don't. So I do feel like
he's, he is really doing everything that he has said he's going
to do so far.
>> Tucker Simmons (21:03):
Yeah, I agree.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (21:05):
How you feel about it Tucker? You think
that...
>> Tucker Simmons (21:09):
I feel very positive. I mean it should have been at the
Sheriff's Office to begin with because it should have been handled properly.
So I think it's... like he said in his announcement video, it's
returning to the Sheriff's Office where it should have
stayed and it should have been looked at properly to begin with. So I'm
feeling really good about it.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (21:26):
Good.
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (21:27):
I am too. I am too Tucker. I really am. I
feel like he has a personal, personal stake
in us at this point. Like you said, he'come out publicly and now
it's personal, and...
>> Tucker Simmons (21:37):
I think it's, it's the best we could ask for at this point.
And he knows that we're going to hold his feet to the fire
no matter how much people like him.
>> tj (21:45):
Yeah, I feel like does, he knows he's got some pressure,
you know.
>> Tucker Simmons (21:49):
For sure, for sure. Well, I, I'll keep you
guys in the loop.
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (21:52):
Okay, well, Happy... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. If we
don't talk to you before then. TJ I love ya.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (21:58):
I love you, too Sherry.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:00):
Y'all too. All right, well, thanks so much, guys, and I'll
be here if anything comes up.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (22:05):
Yes, sir. We appreciate you, brother.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:08):
Take care.
>> Demmie Rice (22:08):
Bye bye.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:12):
Donna's siblings, her mom, her kids,
her loved ones, they really have blown me away with
how they've handled this entire situation. Despite the
anger, disappointment and grief, they haven't lost
hope. I think the public's support has played a huge role
in helping them get through such a tough time reliving
Donna's death so publicly. As the Sheriff
stated, this won't happen overnight, but continued
(22:34):
progress is all we can ask for. Now,
no episode of Freeze Frame would be complete without a call to
Demmie. I had a feeling she'd already heard the news.
>> Demmie Rice (22:43):
Good morning.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:44):
Have you seen, Jason's announcement?
>> Demmie Rice (22:48):
I did. Best Christmas gift ever.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:51):
I hear you. Yeah. I wanted to get your thoughts. I mean,
how are you feeling about it?
>> Demmie Rice (22:56):
Joyous. I am thrilled.
I know that Jason Smith is
going to see this case through
and justice will be served in so
many ways.
>> Tucker Simmons (23:09):
A lot of people, I feel like they're going to say the
State Police have so many more resources and it should have stayed with
them. And I mean, what's your take on that?
>> Demmie Rice (23:18):
Well, that is true. The State Police does have more
resources. I feel they should
have put more of an effort for. People are
tired of this case dragging on
for so long
and there is enough evidence.
There was enough evidence to begin with to
(23:39):
make an arrest. I've told you before, Tucker, that God
has many ways of doing things
and it wasn't meant for it to
happen back then because so many
more – Have since the podcast came out –
so much more information has come out
now. The Sheriff Jason Smith taking his
(23:59):
case over. He will have the
knowledge and the evidence to take this
case to justice.
>> Tucker Simmons (24:07):
From my understanding, the DA's Office and a
prosecutor has not been involved up to this point.
So, like I told Sherry and TJ this morning, I think
it's probably the best thing that we could all ask for
is for Jason to get it and have the DA's
Office cooperating.
>> Demmie Rice (24:22):
Correct? We, we have a whole different DA
now. I've met Collins Sim
myself. if he's presented with the proper
evidence, he will prosecute.
When I was taken off the case,
and, when State
Police I believe it was in March of '19, I'm not
certain, they came, I made
(24:45):
personally copied everything all
the interview disks, all the audio,
all the photographs.
However, after giving them that they had came
back a second time, six months, a
year later, saying they didn't have something. And
I had showed them my paper. I had them sign, yes, I
(25:06):
did. Y'all misplaced it. Here's proof. I gave it to
you. We gave him whatever it was.
But since that time that
they, you know, picked up their copy, because
I kept the originals, I kept it
secured in a box inside of my Office.
When I retired, and I went the Saturday
(25:27):
after my last day and cleaned out my Office So
I took the box, went down another hall
where, there was an Office that
were used for records for,
another basic division, and
slid that box into their records.
I had secured it with an extra bunch
of evidence tape and
(25:50):
just scribbled Donna's name on the top of the box
and a bunch of my initials on the tape.
And I had learned that, they were looking
for the case file. Well,
they were looking for a file, like a basic
file, and I learned that they
thought it was maybe locked in somebody's desk or
(26:10):
something. I'm like, no, it's too
big. So I let them
know this is where you can find
it. And that is where they went
and found it, where I had left it. My
reasons for doing that is because things
disappeared over there. And, I mean,
someday this. This case would come back to
(26:32):
life.
>> Tucker Simmons (26:33):
Well, that's. That's great news. I mean, I'm sure whatever the
State Police handed over had a lot of that stuff in there, but hopefully there's
something that they found that will be
useful.
>> Demmie Rice (26:42):
I hope so, too. It's a shame all
decide to happen because, of
negligence of others.
>> Tucker Simmons (26:50):
I, for one, am grateful that there's
action being taken. And like I said, I think having the DA's Office
involved and helping figure out what is needed for the
Grand Jury can only be seen as positive. So
we'll see what happens.
>> Demmie Rice (27:04):
But how we Sherry and TJ?
>> Tucker Simmons (27:07):
They were good. I think they were maybe a little bit caught off guard
and surprised, but I, you know, they
wanted to know what I thought, and I basically just said, I
think it can be seen as nothing but positive at this
point. The State Police have had it for a long time,
and you and I have provided them information in the last
couple months that
wasn't acted upon quickly.
(27:30):
And I think a lot of that.
May just be because they're overwhelmed and have multiple cases at
one time, and they feel good about it.
They feel good about it.
>> Demmie Rice (27:38):
Awesome! That is so awesome.
You know, I just can't reiterate
enough how this. This is
taking a, a weight off my chest after
all these years.
>> Tucker Simmons (27:51):
Thank you again for all of your help throughout the process.
And we're far from done.
>> Demmie Rice (27:58):
No thank you is necessary.
I'm just glad you reached out to me.
>> Tucker Simmons (28:03):
Well, look, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'm sure
I'll talk to you before then, but,
I'll keep you in the loop if I hear anything. And
please do the same.
>> Demmie Rice (28:14):
I will. I will.
>> Tucker Simmons (28:17):
Have a good day and I will talk to you soon.
>> Demmie Rice (28:20):
All right, love. Bye.
>> Tucker Simmons (28:21):
Thanks, Demmie. Bye.
It's not uncommon for investigative agencies to be tight
lipped about ongoing investigations. But as I've
said many times, when there's so much public interest in a
case like Donna's, I believe it's important to let the public
know what's happening. If nothing else than to reassure
the community that something is actually being done.
(28:41):
In some ways, this is just the beginning. Once again,
as usual, the team and I will do our best to keep you in the
know. Until then, I'm, back at it on
Episodes for Part Two. So far, we've
unfolded the story in our investigation as it happened for
us, but yesterday's announcement was too significant
not to address immediately. I appreciate your patience as
we continue to investigate and we'll make an announcement soon about
(29:04):
the Release of Part Two. So until then, Merry
Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year.
I'll see y'all soon.
>> "Something Strange" by Tabitha Meeks (29:27):
Look close, I see, something staring back at me ...
something strange in the air
.
>> Tucker Simmons (29:50):
Make sure you follow, rate and review on Apple Podcasts,
Spotify or wherever you're listening. It's a huge help in spreading the
word about Donna's case. Then head over to
freeframepodcast.com for behind the scenes details on
the investigation and follow us on socials at
FreezeFramePod for exclusive content. Freeze Frame
is a But Why Media production. It's written and produced by
me, Tucker Simmons, editing in post
(30:13):
production by Evan Desagier, narration by
Greg Gerringer and Carrie Lauren and our
original music is Something Strange by Tabitha Meeks.
The claims, views and opinions expressed are those of the speaker
and do not represent those of But Why Media or its
partners. All subjects are innocent until proven
guilty. This is a podcast about
difficult topics and it may not be suitable for all
audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
>> Tucker Simmons (00:18):
What's up guys? Its been a few weeks since we wrapped up Part
One. I've spent this downtime sifting through leads
and catching up on those future episodes for Part Two.
But as many of you may already know, there was a major development
yesterday in Donna's case. We're right here at Christmas and
everyone's with their families or on vacations, so this episode
isn't as produced as the others, but we wanted to make sure you had the
(00:38):
information as soon as possible. So let's dive in.
>> "Something Strange" by Tabitha Meeks (00:43):
I'm feeling heavy there's a pounding in
my chest, the shadows
hiding but I see the siluettes,
fear lives in the quiet,
whispers in the silence.
>> Tucker Simmons (01:03):
I'm Tucker Simmons and this is Freeze
Frame, an investigation into the unsolved
murder of Donna Arsenalau.
(01:25):
Yesterday, Washington Parish Sheriff Jason Smith
announced his administration has officially taken the Arceneaux
case back from the Louisiana State Police
Just to refresh your memory, since 2019, the
Louisiana State Police have had Donna's case. At
that time, her family had lost confidence in the investigation,
for good reason, so it made sense for the State Police to
(01:46):
take over. Throughout this podcast, I've been critical at
times of their investigation and what appears to be, a lack of
action based on the information available to me. They've interviewed a
lot of people, processed a significant amount of evidence from the
scene of the crime, and from my understanding, even
reinterviewed a few interested parties based on information revealed in
this podcast. But after so many years and multiple
(02:06):
investigators on and off the case, I believe yesterday's
announcement is a huge step forward. So why don't we just
start with the announcement itself? This is the audio of
the video Sheriff Smith posted online Monday
morning.
>> Jason Smith (02:20):
Hey, so we've been in discussions with the State Police
and as of last week, we now have responsibility
for investigating Donna Arseneaux's murder.
I want to thank the podcast. You know, it's fair to say that had
the podcast not generated the attention that it did, and
it has generated a lot of attention both inside the Parish and outside
even the State we, we wouldn't be looking into this case
(02:41):
now. There is a higher legal threshold that we're go going to have
to meet beyond just entertainment in order to move this case
forward. But I do appreciate them looking
into it and keeping the interest in this case alive.
I'm also thankful for the State Police They
didn't ask to get this case. It should never have been given to them
in the first place, and now it's back where it
(03:01):
rightly belongs. We're gonna continue to work with them.
It's almost like we're on a road trip, the only difference now
is we pulled over and changed drivers. But they're going to continue to support
us, they've got lots of resources. But
as the Chief Law Enforcement officer in Washington Parish
it's my responsibility to investigate crimes
that happen inside the Parish to our citizens. And
(03:22):
now the case is back where it should always have been.
We're going toa do regular updates on the status of
the case. I ask everybody's patience, I'm not sure what that
timeline is going to be, and I'll be as transparent as I
can. But it's up to us now to bring this case
forward and to resolve it not only for the victim,
not only for her family, but for those that may have been falsely
(03:42):
implicated. I want to give everybody an opportunity to tell their
story so that we can get to the bottom of that.
The things that I've seen with the case so far,
I'm pretty confident that we can get this thing resolved. How
long it's going to take, I'm not entirely sure, so I ask everybody's patience.
And anything less than justice in this case is going to be
unacceptable. And that's what we're working. Outside of
(04:02):
that, I appreciate everybody's attention and interest. If you
know anything or you feel like you need to say something, you can
go to our website and register an anonymous tip
on the website, or you can certainly go through the
podcast. I'm taking information from all
sources. I'm not going to discount them just because of who they are. It's
up to us to find out what's true and what's not
true, and we're going to get to the bottom of this. I want to wish everybody
(04:25):
a Mary Christmas and Happy New Year, and there'll be more to come. Thanks
so much.
>> Tucker Simmons (04:29):
This announcement is less than three minutes long, but there's a
ton of information to dissect. As you can imagine,
I had 101 questions after listening to Sheriff Smith's
announcement, so I gave him a call.
Hey, Sheriff Smith. You made some, some news
today. Was hoping you could chat for a few minutes.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (04:45):
Sure.
>> Tucker Simmons (04:46):
I think last time we spoke, you were pretty confident in the State
Police's investigation or at least
the little bit that you've had seen. Was there anything
specific that happened or has this all come
about?
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (04:59):
No, I think the only change really
is probably a character flaw
on my part is that I'm just impatient
and if, you know, I'm put in a position
where people will constantly ask me
questions about the case. And
I figured if I was going to get asked questions, I wanted to be able to
(05:20):
be in a position to answer those questions. And
I could not do that if we were in a supporting
role to the State Police And so
it wasn't anything specific that I was
dissatfied with. I just wanted, I felt like I
was, would be more comfortable if
I was in the driver's seat and they were in a supporting position
and then we could direct the investigation forward.
>> Tucker Simmons (05:43):
Right, right. I should say thanks for the shout out for the
podcast. We appreciate that. I think...
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (05:49):
Well, I mean, it wasn't, it's the truth in the
sense that I think a lot of people
know of cases that they're dissatisfied with the
resolution of. And because
we're just dealing with people, the more attention you bring to
something, it starts to
energize the people that are
(06:10):
meant to investigate these things. Cases that don't get
investigated, it's usually not as a result of people
willfully not investigating something. It's just
that everything is
racked and they're prioritized. You know, every day is
a triage and you have to decide what's more important
on a daily basis. And so, without
(06:30):
that level of attention, some of these cases just don't get focused
on.
>> Tucker Simmons (06:34):
Well, that was our goal from the beginning, just to bring
awareness. You know, I haven't been shy about
my skepticism of the State Police
and also the original investigation. So we're excited to
see, how things progress. And if there's
information that we have that you need, we're an open
book. But I guess my only
(06:54):
concern is will anyone who was originally on the case
be working it again for you, or have you made a decision about
who's going to be working it?
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (07:02):
No, nobody that is working the case or
nobody that worked the case, in 2017
is going to be on the case now. I
don't even have, I think I have one detective that may
have assisted in the case in
2017 that's still with the Sheriff's
Office Everybody else has left.
My Chief Investigator is going to be the
(07:25):
lead investigator on this. He comes from St Tammany Parish
so he's completely unaffiliated with anything that's gone on, and he's
held this job at a much larger
agency, and it's had a much larger role.
We've got some assistance from the district attorney's
Office They're going to look at it through a prosecutorial
lens. They're completely unaffiliated
(07:46):
with the case. So we're definitely bringing in a
new energy to the case with a
new perspective. I think that was
one of the things I tried to focus on during the campaign is
that we're not in the business of
protecting our ego at the expense of getting a
resolution to anything. It's more important to me to just get to the bottom of
something.
>> Tucker Simmons (08:06):
We love hearing that. Obviously, you've
seen details of the case. I'm not sure how much you can share,
but do you feel like there's a lot of investigating
left to do or things that are. That the State Police
were waiting on coming back, or is it just a matter
of getting enough for the prosecutor to
act?
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (08:25):
Well, at the risk of being vague and
evasive, it's a little bit of all of
that. There are some things that
I do know from looking at the case file
and reading some of the transcripts of official
statements, some of the people that spoke
on the podcast, the things that they said
(08:45):
differed a bit from the things they said in their
official statements. And so those are some of the things, some of the
discrepancies we're going to have to clarify. There are some
forensic things that need to be clarified,
and analyzed. I'm fairly
confident with what we've got that we can
resolve this. I think your original question was how much investigating
actually needs to be done. I honestly don't think
(09:08):
a lot of investigating needs to be done. It just. There's some
things that need to be tightened up a bit
in order to bring this, put this in front of a Grand Jury
and then we'll go from there.
>> Tucker Simmons (09:19):
Well, yeah, I've attempted to talk to Bas a few
times. We just haven't coordinated. But my question for him
has always been, what is the threshold
to bring the case to the Grand Jury and
actually prosecute? And I haven't ever really gotten
an answer, but, it sounds like his Office is on board, so
that's progress.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (09:38):
Well, it's one of those things like, you
know, how long can you drive a car with the warning light
on? Like, there's no clear answer to that
question that the District Attorney,
he has to prioritize which cases he brings
forward. And it really comes down to
the prosecutor that he's assigned to the case, some
(09:58):
of the evidence involved in the case, some of
the actions of the investigating agency.
There's a lot of different variables that go into what is
essentially a subjective decision. There are some objective legal
standards that have to be met. But at the end of the day,
it's his decision on which cases to bring
forward. And there's not a matrix or a
checklist or anything else that he has to decide. Now
(10:20):
he, he's the district attorney for the
entire 22nd Judicial District,
which encompasses St. Tammany and Washington Parish. So that's
a lot of cases. So a
case from 2017 is not going to
be high on his list. That's really where I come
in. If I want him to bring this case forward,
I'm going to have to be the one that advocates it and convinces
(10:42):
him that this is something that is worthy
of prosecution.
>> Tucker Simmons (10:47):
Well, it sounds like you're doing that. So
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (10:50):
Well we're trying to.
>> Tucker Simmons (10:51):
Yeah. I'm assuming you've listened to
the podcast with, you know, locals are talking about it a lot
and it's all over social media. So have you heard
everything or are you purposely not listening with
what s your thought on Pocast?
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (11:05):
Yeah, I have tried to stay away from it, if I'm
honest. I have... I wanted to remain
objective just because I knew at some
point we were going to get the case returned to us or I wanted to
get the case returned to us. But the truth is
that my wife has been obsessed with it,
the podcast, and so I've heard parts
(11:26):
of it and I'm constantly asked about
it. Ah. And I think it probably
speaks to the quality of the podcast and that the things
that people tell me are
all pretty consistent. You know, it's not
wide variety of things that people are saying to
me. So the message that you're trying to get
out has been received by people because they're
(11:48):
delivering it back to me. so I'm familiar with some of it. I
haven't sat down and listened to it. but that's a long
way to answer a very short question. Yeah, I've listened to some of it.
>> Tucker Simmons (11:57):
Hopefully it will be helpful.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (12:00):
No's, like I said, it's been very helpful so far. I mean,
you've done a lot of work on this. I know there are some
people that probably think that we shouldn't
use anything that's from the
podcast because podcasts are designed to entertain
people. But it's
information, and I would be foolish not to
use any information that I thought might be helpful. I
(12:22):
don't really care where it comes from. so the
work that you've done, I'm very grateful for because you've done a
lot of work, far more than anybody,
else has done on it.
>> Tucker Simmons (12:34):
Well, I appreciate that. We just want to
know what happened. That sounds like, this is a really
great development. So we appreciate your interest in the case
as well, and I know Donna's family does. So like I
said before, if you need anything, let us know.
Just out of curiosity, what is the process for
getting the case back? I mean, does State Police like, actually
(12:55):
hand deliver the case fileing evidence to your
Office or how does that work?
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (13:02):
We met with them. A lot of it is
electronic. some of it is paper copies
and hard copies of things.
my chief deputy went down to their investigative
Office and we just took
possession of it. They transferred back the
electronic files to us and gave us all the hard copies
(13:22):
of stuff. I mean, there wasn't a ceremony
or an official letter or anything. It
was, much in the same way that we gave
them the case, we just got it returned to us.
>> Tucker Simmons (13:33):
Yeah, it didn't seem like there was ever a formal transfer,
so I was just curious.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (13:37):
No, honestly, I haven't done this before you. I've only been to Sheriff
since the 1st of July, and I actually asked
that question. I had assumed that we would have to have
some sort of official notification, but,
that's just really not the way these things work. And it's interesting
that the default position is that the Sheriff is
responsible for the case. So it was
(13:58):
always going to be mine as soon as I
became comfortable in asking for it.
And there were some things that delayed my decision. You know, we
just taken over the Sheriff's Office There was a lot of moving parts,
and I wasn't comfortable early
on, even though I had been made aware of the case. And I think
my intention had always been to get the case back.
(14:19):
I wasn't prepared and I wasn't confident
enough in our operating
procedures to say, hey, let's take on this
other cold case from 2017.
Amongst all the other things that we're dealing with problems in the
jail, problems with personnel, moving the
911 dispatch. I mean, I could go down a long list of things
(14:39):
that are in front of us every day. And
so, the only thing that's change is now here we're six months
down the road, and I feel a lot more comfortable in what we've got going on that
I think we can take this on and give it the
energy and attention that it deserves.
>> Tucker Simmons (14:54):
Excellent. Well, I appreciate all the info
and if there's anything that you need from us, happy to
help. We provided a lot of it to the State Police already,
but if it doesn't make its way to you, happy to
provide what we can.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (15:08):
Hey, Tucker, let me call you back.
>> Tucker Simmons (15:10):
Okay.
Before we wrapped up, Sheriff Smith ended our call
abruptly. A few minutes later, he called back
after pulling someone over.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (15:18):
Well, yeah, sorry about that. We're driving back from Bougalusa this
guy passed like four vehicles in a row on
a hill. And after the events of last Sunday,
I'm a little, I have very little patience for that.
>> Tucker Simmons (15:31):
There were multiple fatalities in a car accident a week
prior. It was interesting to see how hands on he is
firsthand. I'm not sure Washington Parish has had such an
engaged and working Sheriff for quite some
time.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (15:43):
No, the only thing I think I probably would ask
is just to temper people's
expectations. you know, we're not
ready to bring this to a Grand Jury for anything
yet, and I'm not sure what it's going
to require yet to get in front of a Grand Jury
So everyone just needs to understand that this isn't
an episode of Law and Order where we can go from crime to conviction
(16:06):
in an hour's time. It's going to take a little bit of time.
Unfortunately it's been since 2017, so it's worth
it to me to make it to go a little bit more
slowly, Then, I want to do a correct it
quickly, if that makes sense.
>> Tucker Simmons (16:20):
Yeah, for sure. I think everyone will understand
that. Again,
thanks for, the shout out to the podcast and if
we've been able to help in any way, that was the goal. So
I'll check back in and see how things are going.
>> Sheriff Jason Smith (16:34):
Sounds great. I appreciate itol.
>> Tucker Simmons (16:36):
Thanks Sheriff.
He doesn't have a magic wand, but the fact that he already has
buy in from the DA's Office is extremely
important. I have no doubt this process won't happen
overnight, but fresh eyes on the case and a game plan
to get it in front of a Grand Jury Man,
it's just such a relief knowing there's actually a plan in
place. Speaking of a Grand Jury in
(16:58):
Louisiana, it's a panel of 12 citizens, typically
serving anywhere from 12 to 18 months.
Grand Jury proceedings or closed door sessions where the
prosecutor presents evidence, witnesses can be called
under oath, and evidence can be Subpoenaed
Grand juries are enlisted to test the prosecution's case and
determine if there's enough compelling evidence to support an
(17:19):
arrest. A true bill is confirmation that there is
sufficient evidence. A no bill is the
opposite (17:25):
there isn't sufficient evidence. As
the Sheriff explained, it'll be up to he and his team to
assemble a compelling case that convinces the DA's Office
to get the ball rolling. Sheriff Smith has publicly
spoken about this podcast now, but much like Demmie
told me way back when I first spoke to her, I
don't want him or his team taking my word for what's in the
podcast. I wouldn't expect them to. Now they
(17:47):
have all the evidence, and once they've had a chance to review the case
file in full, I expect our investigation will
speak for itself. Shortly after Sheriff Smith's
announcement, I received a text from Donna's brother, tj.
After my call with the Sheriff I wanted to update TJ and help
explain what all this means. So I looped in his sister Sherry
as well.
>> Tucker Simmons (18:06):
All right, Sherry, TJ, you guys both there?
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (18:09):
Hey. Hey, T.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (18:10):
You.
>> Tucker Simmons (18:12):
Well, thanks for hopping on so early. TJ I know you
are aware of the news this morning because you sent me
a text, but I just thought we'd talk about it as a
group. So Jason Smith announced this morning
that the Sheriff's Office officially has
dona case back. They've got cooperation from the
DA's Office and Jason's,
(18:32):
number two, his chief investigator, will be taking
the lead.
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (18:36):
Okay. I guess that's
good. I mean. Okay, so what
happened that made him decide to take it
back?
>> Tucker Simmons (18:45):
A couple months ago, when the State Police presented he
and his chief their investigation, they
felt like it wasn't appropriate to take the case back.
But I think as time went on, they were
getting so many questions about the case and felt like
they didn't have enough information, and the State
Police are overwhelmed as it is. So
(19:06):
he basically said, we would like to keep
you, the State as a resource, but
he really wanted to take ownership of it and
devote resources.
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (19:17):
Yeah.
>> Tucker Simmons (19:17):
TJ, I think I interrupted you a second ago. You're gonna ask something.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (19:21):
I'm like, Sherry, what else do... I mean... what's...
>> Tucker Simmons (19:23):
The issue is, is the State Police
the whole time they've been investigating, the DA's Office has
not been involved or privy to the case.
So I think what's going to happen now
and what Jason confirmed is his
purpose for getting the case back is so that
Collin Sims and his prosecutor can
(19:44):
be actively involved in what evidence
there is there. And it's very possible that the prosecutor will look at it
and say there's an overwhelming amount of
information here. Let's take it to the Grand Jury
get an indictment. Or the prosecutor could
say, look, it's very circumstantial. You
need to retest this DNA. You need to
(20:04):
re interview this person. You need to put pressure.
There really isn't a blueprint. It really just a matter
of what's going to bring the strongest
case. So I have the same question, like what in
the world could they possibly need?
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (20:18):
I'm okay with it. I mean as long as they
gonna... do what they need to be done. You know what
I'm saying?
>> Tucker Simmons (20:25):
I mean my question for him was is anyone who
worked the case originally going to be on the case? And he
immediately said no.
So that's...
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (20:33):
That's what I was worried about.
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (20:35):
Yeah, that's a positive. That's most definitely a positive.
I really believe that Jason Smith
has a very... I don't even know how
to say it, but I believe that he has a positive thing going. You know,
like everything that has been happening,
he's making arrest that he's like, I'm fixing clean
up and I don't care who likes it,
(20:56):
who don't. So I do feel like
he's, he is really doing everything that he has said he's going
to do so far.
>> Tucker Simmons (21:03):
Yeah, I agree.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (21:05):
How you feel about it Tucker? You think
that...
>> Tucker Simmons (21:09):
I feel very positive. I mean it should have been at the
Sheriff's Office to begin with because it should have been handled properly.
So I think it's... like he said in his announcement video, it's
returning to the Sheriff's Office where it should have
stayed and it should have been looked at properly to begin with. So I'm
feeling really good about it.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (21:26):
Good.
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (21:27):
I am too. I am too Tucker. I really am. I
feel like he has a personal, personal stake
in us at this point. Like you said, he'come out publicly and now
it's personal, and...
>> Tucker Simmons (21:37):
I think it's, it's the best we could ask for at this point.
And he knows that we're going to hold his feet to the fire
no matter how much people like him.
>> tj (21:45):
Yeah, I feel like does, he knows he's got some pressure,
you know.
>> Tucker Simmons (21:49):
For sure, for sure. Well, I, I'll keep you
guys in the loop.
>> Sherry (Donna's Sister) (21:52):
Okay, well, Happy... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. If we
don't talk to you before then. TJ I love ya.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (21:58):
I love you, too Sherry.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:00):
Y'all too. All right, well, thanks so much, guys, and I'll
be here if anything comes up.
>> TJ (Donna's brother) (22:05):
Yes, sir. We appreciate you, brother.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:08):
Take care.
>> Demmie Rice (22:08):
Bye bye.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:12):
Donna's siblings, her mom, her kids,
her loved ones, they really have blown me away with
how they've handled this entire situation. Despite the
anger, disappointment and grief, they haven't lost
hope. I think the public's support has played a huge role
in helping them get through such a tough time reliving
Donna's death so publicly. As the Sheriff
stated, this won't happen overnight, but continued
(22:34):
progress is all we can ask for. Now,
no episode of Freeze Frame would be complete without a call to
Demmie. I had a feeling she'd already heard the news.
>> Demmie Rice (22:43):
Good morning.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:44):
Have you seen, Jason's announcement?
>> Demmie Rice (22:48):
I did. Best Christmas gift ever.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:51):
I hear you. Yeah. I wanted to get your thoughts. I mean,
how are you feeling about it?
>> Demmie Rice (22:56):
Joyous. I am thrilled.
I know that Jason Smith is
going to see this case through
and justice will be served in so
many ways.
>> Tucker Simmons (23:09):
A lot of people, I feel like they're going to say the
State Police have so many more resources and it should have stayed with
them. And I mean, what's your take on that?
>> Demmie Rice (23:18):
Well, that is true. The State Police does have more
resources. I feel they should
have put more of an effort for. People are
tired of this case dragging on
for so long
and there is enough evidence.
There was enough evidence to begin with to
(23:39):
make an arrest. I've told you before, Tucker, that God
has many ways of doing things
and it wasn't meant for it to
happen back then because so many
more – Have since the podcast came out –
so much more information has come out
now. The Sheriff Jason Smith taking his
(23:59):
case over. He will have the
knowledge and the evidence to take this
case to justice.
>> Tucker Simmons (24:07):
From my understanding, the DA's Office and a
prosecutor has not been involved up to this point.
So, like I told Sherry and TJ this morning, I think
it's probably the best thing that we could all ask for
is for Jason to get it and have the DA's
Office cooperating.
>> Demmie Rice (24:22):
Correct? We, we have a whole different DA
now. I've met Collins Sim
myself. if he's presented with the proper
evidence, he will prosecute.
When I was taken off the case,
and, when State
Police I believe it was in March of '19, I'm not
certain, they came, I made
(24:45):
personally copied everything all
the interview disks, all the audio,
all the photographs.
However, after giving them that they had came
back a second time, six months, a
year later, saying they didn't have something. And
I had showed them my paper. I had them sign, yes, I
(25:06):
did. Y'all misplaced it. Here's proof. I gave it to
you. We gave him whatever it was.
But since that time that
they, you know, picked up their copy, because
I kept the originals, I kept it
secured in a box inside of my Office.
When I retired, and I went the Saturday
(25:27):
after my last day and cleaned out my Office So
I took the box, went down another hall
where, there was an Office that
were used for records for,
another basic division, and
slid that box into their records.
I had secured it with an extra bunch
of evidence tape and
(25:50):
just scribbled Donna's name on the top of the box
and a bunch of my initials on the tape.
And I had learned that, they were looking
for the case file. Well,
they were looking for a file, like a basic
file, and I learned that they
thought it was maybe locked in somebody's desk or
(26:10):
something. I'm like, no, it's too
big. So I let them
know this is where you can find
it. And that is where they went
and found it, where I had left it. My
reasons for doing that is because things
disappeared over there. And, I mean,
someday this. This case would come back to
(26:32):
life.
>> Tucker Simmons (26:33):
Well, that's. That's great news. I mean, I'm sure whatever the
State Police handed over had a lot of that stuff in there, but hopefully there's
something that they found that will be
useful.
>> Demmie Rice (26:42):
I hope so, too. It's a shame all
decide to happen because, of
negligence of others.
>> Tucker Simmons (26:50):
I, for one, am grateful that there's
action being taken. And like I said, I think having the DA's Office
involved and helping figure out what is needed for the
Grand Jury can only be seen as positive. So
we'll see what happens.
>> Demmie Rice (27:04):
But how we Sherry and TJ?
>> Tucker Simmons (27:07):
They were good. I think they were maybe a little bit caught off guard
and surprised, but I, you know, they
wanted to know what I thought, and I basically just said, I
think it can be seen as nothing but positive at this
point. The State Police have had it for a long time,
and you and I have provided them information in the last
couple months that
wasn't acted upon quickly.
(27:30):
And I think a lot of that.
May just be because they're overwhelmed and have multiple cases at
one time, and they feel good about it.
They feel good about it.
>> Demmie Rice (27:38):
Awesome! That is so awesome.
You know, I just can't reiterate
enough how this. This is
taking a, a weight off my chest after
all these years.
>> Tucker Simmons (27:51):
Thank you again for all of your help throughout the process.
And we're far from done.
>> Demmie Rice (27:58):
No thank you is necessary.
I'm just glad you reached out to me.
>> Tucker Simmons (28:03):
Well, look, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'm sure
I'll talk to you before then, but,
I'll keep you in the loop if I hear anything. And
please do the same.
>> Demmie Rice (28:14):
I will. I will.
>> Tucker Simmons (28:17):
Have a good day and I will talk to you soon.
>> Demmie Rice (28:20):
All right, love. Bye.
>> Tucker Simmons (28:21):
Thanks, Demmie. Bye.
It's not uncommon for investigative agencies to be tight
lipped about ongoing investigations. But as I've
said many times, when there's so much public interest in a
case like Donna's, I believe it's important to let the public
know what's happening. If nothing else than to reassure
the community that something is actually being done.
(28:41):
In some ways, this is just the beginning. Once again,
as usual, the team and I will do our best to keep you in the
know. Until then, I'm, back at it on
Episodes for Part Two. So far, we've
unfolded the story in our investigation as it happened for
us, but yesterday's announcement was too significant
not to address immediately. I appreciate your patience as
we continue to investigate and we'll make an announcement soon about
(29:04):
the Release of Part Two. So until then, Merry
Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year.
I'll see y'all soon.
>> "Something Strange" by Tabitha Meeks (29:27):
Look close, I see, something staring back at me ...
something strange in the air
.
>> Tucker Simmons (29:50):
Make sure you follow, rate and review on Apple Podcasts,
Spotify or wherever you're listening. It's a huge help in spreading the
word about Donna's case. Then head over to
freeframepodcast.com for behind the scenes details on
the investigation and follow us on socials at
FreezeFramePod for exclusive content. Freeze Frame
is a But Why Media production. It's written and produced by
me, Tucker Simmons, editing in post
(30:13):
production by Evan Desagier, narration by
Greg Gerringer and Carrie Lauren and our
original music is Something Strange by Tabitha Meeks.
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!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.