February 26, 2024 • 38 mins
As we piece together the life and untimely passing of Dr. Teleka Patrick, a story emerges that challenges our understanding of the intersection of mental health, online personas, and real-world consequences. The enigma of Teleka's existence, from a high-achieving psychiatrist to a woman ensnared by her own mind's illusions, casts a haunting light on the secrets we keep and the facades we maintain. Our journey through her world uncovers a labyrinth of tweets to an elusive love, the unheeded warnings of her mental struggles, and the paradox of her outward success against an inner turmoil that would ultimately lead to a tragic end.
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Episode Transcript
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Wendi (00:24):
Hello and welcome to another episode of Criminal
Discourse Podcast.
I'm Wendy and I'm Trish and I'mgoing to be doing an all new
episode for you today.
No crime updates, no shout outs, so we're going to get right
into it, right?
Trish (00:37):
So we know that there are so many true crime podcasts out
there to choose from and onlyso many hours in the day, and we
want to take a moment to say wetruly appreciate you choosing
to listen to us today.
If you want to join thediscourse, you can reach out to
us on our website,criminaldiscoursepodcastcom, or
on social media.
We're on Facebook, instagramand YouTube at Criminal Dispod
(00:58):
and Criminal Discourse Podcast.
And one last thing the viewsand opinions discussed on
Criminal Discourse Podcast arejust that Our views and opinions
, and everyone is presumedinnocent until convicted in a
court of law.
Wendi (01:12):
Now.
We've dealt with a lot ofmissing person cases on our
podcast, and sometimes finding amissing person leads to more
questions than answers, and thatwas the case when 30 year old
doctor Tleika Patrickaccidentally drowned in a lake
100 miles from her home.
Tleika's social media postsrevealed a shocking secret side
to her life she was stalking apopular gospel singer and
(01:35):
experiencing serious mentalhealth problems, even as she
successfully pursued a career inpsychiatry.
Though her case is officiallyclosed, some believe her death
wasn't accidental.
But one thing is indisputableWhatever happened to Tleika is
both terrifying and tragic.
Tleika Patrick was born toparents Irene and Mathias, a
(01:56):
reverend, on September 18, 1983.
The Patrick's lived inHyattville, maryland, which is a
suburb of Washington DC, untilabout 1985 when they relocated
to Queens, new York.
Now they move a lot.
We're going to cover a lot oflocations, so we're not going to
go super in depth with any ofthem here today.
Tleika's parents.
Once they moved to New York,they had another daughter,
tanisha, and a son also namedMathias being.
(02:18):
Tleika was an avid reader,outstanding student and talented
violinist.
Tleika grew into a caring youngwoman who loved people and
seems like she uplifted everyoneshe met.
Her academic accomplishmentswere so impressive that she was
accepted into the Bronx HighSchool of Science, which counts
nine Nobel Prize winners amongits alumni, and I believe that's
(02:39):
the most of any secondaryschool in the entire world.
Tleika graduated with highhonors and multiple achievement
awards.
The Patrick's are also activemembers of the Seventh Day
Adventist Church.
It's a Christian denominationthat believes the week begins on
a Sunday and ends on Saturday,the Sabbath, a day of rest,
which mirrors the Bible'sdescription of creation.
(03:00):
Adventists are also known fortheir health consciousness, and
Tleika followed those lifestylechoices by, for example, being a
vegetarian and studying forcareer in healthcare.
In 2004, tleika graduated fromOakwood University in Huntsville
, alabama.
She was in Adventist Collegewith a bachelor's degree in
theology and biology.
That summer, tleika enrolled inCalifornia's Loma Linda
(03:23):
University, another Adventistcollege located in an area where
about half of the populationare also Adventists.
She earned her master's and PhDdegrees in biochemistry there.
Her research focus was survivaldisparity among African
American women with breastcancer.
One of Tleika's professors saidshe's not just intelligent,
she's brilliant.
(03:43):
Tleika's performanceconsistently impressed her
classmates, colleagues andeducators, who called her bright
, talented and goal-oriented.
Now, in 2006, when TleikaPatrick was attending Loma Linda
University, she married a mannamed Ismail Kaldaron.
Unfortunately, I couldn't findout any information about how
they met, who he is, how old heis, anything like that.
(04:05):
Ismail would later reveal,though, to the media that Tleika
heard voices and attributedthem to God.
He said he quote begged her toseek treatment for auditory
hallucinations.
According to Ismail, tleikarefused to get help, believing
that it would ruin her careerprospects.
He said these arguments aboutTleika's recurring paranoia and
(04:25):
delusions those are words heused eventually resulted in the
couple's divorce in 2012.
The lawyer who handled theirdivorce proceedings said the
mental health issues were nevermentioned.
That would make sense to me,too, if it didn't come up.
If she was trying to protecther career, she wanted to become
a psychiatrist and also forIsmail, if he was still trying
to protect her as well andfollow her wishes.
(04:47):
That it might not have come upin the divorce proceedings Makes
sense.
After graduating from Loma Lindain the spring of 2013, tleika
was accepted to Western MichiganUniversity in Kalamazoo where
she planned to study childpsychiatry.
She told university staff thatshe relocated quote for her
fiance and grand rapids.
Tleika was referring to MarvinSapp, a Grammy nominated gospel
(05:11):
singer.
She had never met but hadstarted contacting after her
divorce.
Marvin was the pastor atLighthouse Full Life Center
Church in Grand Rapids, michigan, which is also where he was
born and raised.
Tleka's sister remembered shementioned Marvin to family
members, saying she planned tomarry him, but not everyone took
her seriously.
It's not clear if any of Tleka'sfamily found her infatuation
(05:34):
concerning or if they knew aboutthe mental health problems that
her ex-husband said led totheir divorce.
Tleka's mother firmly deniesquote allegations of mental
instability.
She insists that if she hadknown Tleka needed help quote I
would have sought care for her.
Tleka's online activitiespainted a different and far more
worrying portrait than what shepresented to her family.
(05:56):
From April 2013 until herdisappearance that December,
tleka Patrick created fiveTwitter accounts and posted more
than 20,000 tweets from them,dozens every day.
Virtually all of them areaddressed to a singular, unnamed
love interest, presumablyMarvin's sap.
Trish (06:13):
Were any of her family members connected to her on
social media to see these posts.
Wendi (06:18):
No, there were a couple accounts that used her first
name, but it seems that, atleast at the time, there were no
engagement, no views other thanTleka herself, so they would
have been unaware.
In some of these tweets Tlekatalked about her daily life or
promoted Marvin's work.
She often referred to what shecalled the telepathic or psychic
connection she felt she hadwith her love, tweeting messages
(06:41):
like I started hearing feelingyou again around 10 am.
The signals went haywire for awhile and then they reset
themselves.
But Tleka would also post abouther doubts, questioning whether
the relationship was real orimagined.
On April 15, tleka tweeted thatquote when I get to you, things
will start to make a lot moresense, I promise.
She moved to Kalamazoo andstarted her four-year residency
(07:05):
of psychiatry a gorgeous medicalcenter.
That summer Tleka moved over2,000 miles from California to
be in the same state as Marvin'ssap, just 50 miles south of his
church and home.
They still had never met inperson.
On June 2nd she tweeted I havejust relocated to be with you,
so I really hope you want me.
Aside from her previous marriage, it seems that Tleka was
(07:27):
successful keeping herintensifying mental and
emotional problems private or atleast confined to social media,
but on July 7th, a month aftermoving, tleka flagged down an
officer on campus claiming thatsomeone was after her.
That officer reported Tleka'sbehavior to university staff
concerned that she was sufferingfrom mental health issues.
She agreed to take a drug test,which came back negative.
(07:49):
Otherwise, by all accounts, itseemed that Tleka was happy with
school and work, earning praisefrom her peers and educators,
just as she always had.
Two weeks later, on July 21st,tleka posted a series of tweets
showing how she was questioningher actions and state of mind.
Quote if I am not directly,personally and explicitly
invited into your life, I willassume that I am unwanted.
(08:12):
I need to deal in realities,understand, or else I won't be
sure if what I'm thinking iscorrect or not.
How will I know if I'm right ifnothing I've communicated to
you has ever been validated EverExactly?
This makes no sense.
So clearly she's not gettingany messages back from Marvin,
and I think what's alsoremarkable here is she's very
aware that this is one-sided,and I guess another thing too
(08:35):
that a lot of people point outis the immaculate spelling and
grammar that she has through allof these messages on social
media Tleka presents, even here,in the midst of this kind of
mental health issue as a veryeducated, put-together person.
Trish (08:50):
Did any of the people respond to what she was posting
out regarding this individual?
No, no one.
She's just posting out Mm-hmm.
Wendi (08:57):
Now, on August 4th, Tleka tweeted.
I began to think that thisentire time I had been messaging
you, that it was all in my headthe entire seven months that
you never cared about me, thatthe experiences I thought we
were sharing we never did Afterall.
I could not prove any of it.
You never messaged me backdirectly.
You only sent thesenon-specific messages and there
(09:18):
was no way that I could be surethat any of it was intended for
me.
Now, by non-specific messages,tleka bent secret messages and
codes that she believed MarvinSapp directed to her through his
sermons and social media posts.
Later, that same day, tlekaadded quote I can't be believing
things that aren't true.
I'm trying to become apsychiatrist, not be in need of
(09:40):
one.
Trish (09:40):
When she would put out these posts.
I take it she would tag MarvinSapp.
Wendi (09:44):
Not necessarily.
She usually only tagged Marvinwhen she was directly promoting
his work, complimenting hissermons, things like that.
Posts like this she justreferred to love baby you.
She didn't name him directly.
She was actually quite carefulto keep his name out of posts
like that.
And do we know how manyfollowers?
Trish (10:03):
she had None, so she's just putting this out to the
universe, to no one.
Wendi (10:07):
Correct Now.
Attendees at Marvin Sapp'sAugust 25th service recalled him
admonishing a woman in thecongregation who had entered his
home uninvited when he was outof town.
Marvin's three children, whowere ages 19 to 22 at the time.
They were at his house andtalked to the woman until she
left.
It's not been officiallyconfirmed that this woman was
Tleka Patrick, but Tleka hadreached out to his children on
(10:31):
social media before and shown upat his home before too.
Tleka tweeted later that dayabout Marvin's strange sermon,
acting like he was talking aboutsomeone else, and she referred
to quote the rest of them, thoseother women.
Did she go to his church?
She did.
She attended services, and thiswould be about an hour's drive,
45 minutes to an hour from herhome, and she did that on a
(10:52):
regular basis.
I'm not sure if it was regularor not, but at least on the
August 25th she did, and severalother occasions Now.
A week after that, tleka tookto Twitter to complain.
That quote I'm tired of hopingand imagining.
Please, baby, I want it to bereal.
This town is small as hell.
Not much happens here.
It's boring, and when I havefree time I get depressed and
(11:15):
lonely.
Then on September 17th, marvin'sapp obtained a personal
protection order against Tleka,producing more than 400 pages of
unsolicited correspondence.
Tleka sent him that.
He never answered.
Now I can't find details ofexactly what this correspondence
was, but I don't think it wasthe Twitter accounts.
These were maybe things shesent him in the mail.
(11:36):
She was sending things to himover his Facebook page.
On the same day she was servedthat PPO from Marvin's app.
Tleka tweeted quote when Godtold me about you, I thought
about it for a quick minute.
Then I jumped on it mad quick.
You know why?
Because when you don't hear aword from God for eight long
years, you start to getdesperate.
So, yeah, I hopped on it madquick, no questions asked.
(11:56):
God said jump.
I said how high?
So, love, tell me, why are youso scared of us being together?
Trish (12:02):
Interesting.
What are the eight long yearsLike when she first got baptized
to when she first startedhearing these voices, when she
was married to her first husband?
Wendi (12:13):
Well, actually I hadn't thought about that, but yeah,
eight years before this wouldhave been 2005.
That's when she was at LomaLinda University out in
California.
And, yeah, she married herhusband in 2006.
So, you know, then she's withher husband and starts talking
about you know, she thinks she'shearing voices from God.
So maybe that's an indicationthat around 2005 is when she
(12:35):
started to have these problems.
Also interesting, just givenour own knowledge of mental
health issues, that would puther what?
Early to mid-20s, and that's alot of time when some of these
symptoms schizophrenia, bipolar,things like that start to
present themselves.
Tileka's cycle of questioningand confirming this relationship
continued over Twitter.
(12:56):
On October 2nd.
She posted why do I carry youin my heart every day?
And how do I know for a factthat you carry me in your heart
every day?
You long for me so much that itis palpable.
Everything within you cries outand somehow I can feel it.
But then, two days later, shetweeted you've made it
abundantly clear that, forwhatever reason, you are not
(13:17):
ready to pursue a loverelationship.
A PPO will tell you that itsure will, and I think this is
the.
It's starting to increase now,right, the intensity of the
feelings and how quickly she'sgoing back and forth from one to
the other.
On October 24th, her tweetsshowed just how much she was
starting to suffer from this.
She said I have to leave youalone so you don't hurt me
(13:37):
anymore.
I have spent the last 10 monthslike that.
It's not healthy.
I am not eating right, I am notsleeping right, I am not taking
care of myself the way I'msupposed to, and my excitement
about life is way down.
I feel emotionally, spirituallyand mentally drained, and I am
a fun, loving and sociableperson.
I'm not supposed to be likethis.
Trish (13:57):
I don't like it During this time and she's in this
intense psychiatric program thatshe's studying to be a
psychiatrist as anyone she'sworking with I know you said
peers and professors still foundher very brilliant and engaging
.
No one in her life saw thisobsession.
Because tweeting out that much,that often you can't be focused
(14:19):
on anything else.
It takes a lot of time.
Wendi (14:22):
I think that the tweets served as kind of like a journal
, like a dumping ground for allof this that was going on in her
, because it does seem shockingto me that no one who saw Tileq
on a daily basis would noticeany.
She wouldn't say anything odd.
They knew she liked Marvin'ssap, they were aware of that,
they knew she was religious, butthey had no idea that there was
(14:44):
all of this underneath her.
She presented as completelynormal.
She was still getting excellentgrades, she was still showing
up to every shift at work, doingexcellent work, pulling you
know the residencies you pulled12, 16 hour shifts, no problem.
Trish (14:58):
Now, I know her family wasn't close by during this time
, so I get it, though, that herfamily's saying, like her mom
said, if I knew this I wouldhave gotten help.
Wendi (15:07):
We never saw this Right.
Yeah, when she went to, I guessit would have been Oakwood
University in Alabama, likesince then she went to Alabama,
then California, now she's inMichigan.
So she does.
She's not around her familyvery much at all.
On November 6th, tileqa createda YouTube channel and she
posted the first of nine videos,all addressed to an unnamed
(15:27):
love interest.
Just like her tweets, shedressed up for the videos like
she was going on a date, evencooking meals for two.
But again it's just her livingby herself.
The meal is going on eaten.
In one video, tileqa points hercamera to the food while saying
if you were here, this would beyour plate.
In another video, as Tileqapans her camera along the
ingredients on her counter,including a large pack of
(15:48):
chicken breasts, she explains Idon't even eat chicken, I'm a
vegetarian, but I want that foryou.
One video is several minutes ofTileqa sitting in front of the
camera while talking and singingalong to background music.
At one point in the video, shesuddenly pauses, touches her
chest and smiles, saying baby, Ifelt that.
So again, this telepathic,psychic connection she thinks is
(16:11):
happening.
She posted her last YouTubevideo on November 10.
Like her tweets, tileqa'svideos didn't receive any views
or engagement at that time.
That same month, tileqa tweetedthat she was going to stop
taking in Vega.
Now, that's a prescription drugused to treat schizophrenia.
However, there is no publiclyavailable information about
Tileqa seeking or receivingtreatment.
(16:33):
Her tweets reveal rapidlychanging and intensifying
emotions around this time aswell.
On November 16, she tweeted Ihate that.
I still have feelings for you.
I hate it.
Five days later, I'm going tomarry you and you want to marry
me too.
I have to be with you.
I need you.
Two days after that, I changedmy life for what I thought it
would be.
Since then, I have had painfulsurprise after painful surprise.
(16:57):
Are you a demon possessed?
The next day, november 24,tileqa tweeted you are not being
rushed.
I have been messaging you foralmost a year.
I think we should at least givea chance.
You already know I am notvindictive and irrational.
I basically got papers in themail which were a whole bunch of
lies.
I chose not to fight anything.
If I was really guilty, I wouldhave just started spreading
(17:20):
lies about you or the truth.
That's just as bad, but I'm notthat type of person.
I answered to God.
That's why I protect you.
Trish (17:28):
I take it the papers she received were the DPO?
Wendi (17:30):
Yeah, and I don't know that was back in September, so I
don't know if there was moreand updated or right you know it
?
Trish (17:37):
or maybe court summons?
Wendi (17:39):
That could be two.
Now, throughout several postsduring that fall of 2013, tileqa
indicated that her loveinterest was sharing what she
called dark secrets, althoughshe never mentioned specific
details.
This would have been you knowthings that she was receiving
through that psychic connection.
Through her tweets, tileqa wasactively counseling him through
those troubles that he wascommunicating.
(18:00):
At some point, she startedbelieving that these confessions
were actually from manipulativeand demonic energies, not the
real person with whom shethought she had been
communicating.
The Thanksgiving holiday wasthe last time that Tileqa's
parents talked with her.
Less than a week later, onDecember 4th, tileqa called her
friend, james Davis, who wasliving in St Louis Missouri.
(18:21):
James said she soundeddistraught and that she quote
feared for her life, believingsomeone connected to Marvin Sapp
or his security team was afterher.
He said I don't think she wasdelusional.
Now Tileqa asked James to visither and he promised he wouldn't
in a few days, but he couldn'tdrop everything and make the 400
mile trip right away.
It was a Wednesday night.
(18:42):
He wanted to come out to her,but he just couldn't.
That same day, tileqa tweetedlove, you are hurting me.
Stop reaching out to me in thatmanner.
Stop it, please leave me alone.
I want to be a pure vessel forGod.
Until you can pick up the phoneand call me, my Twitter goes
down and you do not exist to me.
If I don't protect myselfspiritually then I can't even
(19:02):
help you.
Now, the next day, a Thursday,december 5th, tileqa tweeted I
can't take much more of this.
There are normal ways tocontact people.
You know you reach me through ademonic power that gives demons
power over me and dilutes myspiritual authority, because you
are using a demon to contact me.
When I turn my heart towardsyou, it passes through a demonic
(19:23):
power.
When I say I love you, I amalso saying I love you to a
demon, because that is how youmade me fall for you.
Now Tileqa posted her finaltweets later that same day.
One was my authority in thespirit realm and my ability to
cover will be markedly decreased.
Please understand, I mustprotect myself spiritually.
The other was I just activatedat tweet delete on my account to
(19:46):
automatically delete my oldtweets.
We can only speculate with thefinality of Tileqa's tweets
meant to her Now, december 25th.
That day at work, tileqa toldsome of her coworkers that she
was going to visit a relative inChicago and she did have a
cousin who lived there.
After her shift ended around 730 pm, tileqa asked a coworker
to give her a ride to a nearbyhotel in downtown Kalamazoo,
(20:08):
telling him she was going tomeet a man there.
The co-worker, who was a fellowdoctor in residency, said that
Taleeka spoke in a high-pitchedvoice and her eyes were blinking
rapidly.
The co-worker said Taleeka wasacting scared, nervous and off,
but he agreed to help her, evengiving her $100 cash when she
realized she forgot her wallet.
Although Taleeka appearedconfused and asked her co-worker
(20:29):
on the way if he believed indemons, he simply dropped her
off outside the hotel lobby anddrove away.
This really bothers me that hejust left her with nothing but
$100 cash in that kind of estatedowntown.
I don't know if he went back towork, told anybody else.
I don't know the wholesituation, but that part does
bother me a little bit.
Now, once she was at the hotel,taleeka did try to get a hotel
(20:51):
room but she wasn't able tobecause she didn't have a credit
card to cover incidentals.
A hotel shuttle returned her toBorges Medical Center at about
8 pm and when she got out shetold the driver quote not to
tell anyone.
We did this, and then she justkind of disappeared between cars
in the parking lot, acting likeshe was trying to run away and
not be seen.
The shuttle driver is the lastknown person to see Taleeka
(21:13):
Patrick alive.
Less than two hours later,indiana State Police received
reports of an erratic driver ina gold Lexus traveling westbound
on Interstate 94.
At 10.02 pm Taleeka's vehicle,a light gold Lexus, was reported
abandoned in a ditch along thesame roadway in Porter, indiana,
about 100 miles southwest ofKalamazoo.
(21:33):
Police arrived on the scene by10.20 pm.
The front left tire ofTaleeka's car had burst and gone
flat.
A receipt from a repair shopfound inside the car listed it
as unsafe to drive, citing anail in the tire.
The car's keys were gone, butTaleeka's wallet and some of her
clothing were still inside thevehicle.
The next day, taleeka'sresidency program coordinator
(21:54):
filed a missing persons reportafter Taleeka didn't show up for
her scheduled work shift.
Her cell phone and some otherpersonal belongings were still
on campus.
Trish (22:02):
So when she left that night to go to the hotel.
She didn't take her cell phonewith her.
Wendi (22:06):
No, it was like she was just trying to leave.
She didn't take her wallet, shedidn't take her phone, nothing.
She just wanted to get away asquick as possible to the hotel.
On the ground, search effortsbegan that same day so this
would be December 6th focusingon the wooded area between the
highway and nearby Lake Charles,which had already started
freezing over.
Taleeka's family was frustratedbecause police were quick to
(22:27):
state that there were no signsof foul play, so they hired a
private investigator.
Police said they activated andexhausted all their resources
searching for Taleeka early onbecause she had quote no reason
to be missing.
Within the first few days ofTaleeka's disappearance, police
interviewed and cleared MarvinSapp, calling him quote an
innocent victim of an apparentstalking, and this is when they
(22:49):
realized for the first time thatshe had that personal
protection order against her andhad been stalking him.
Her ex-husband, ismail Kaldaron, was also cleared.
Taleeka's friend, james Davis,had a solid alibi and although
police were a little suspiciousof him at first, they considered
him just a concerned friend.
Investigators discoveredthrough interviews of different
witnesses and people who knewTaleeka that she would sometimes
(23:11):
quote check into motels forshort stints, a claim that her
family, however, denied asassumptions made without proof.
They just don't agree with it.
Taleeka's computer and othercommunication devices were
searched and that revealed herconcerning social media posts,
taleeka's family said they hadno idea who she was trying to
communicate with because, as faras they knew, she was single.
(23:33):
A week after she disappeared, abloodhound track Taleeka sent
from the ditch where her car wasfound back up to the highway,
leading to theories that she wasabducted along the road or got
into another vehicle.
Several weeks later, on January29th, police drilled several
holes in the ice covering thelake that was just a few yards
from her abandoned vehicle.
They placed sonar over theholes, but they didn't get any
(23:55):
indication of a body in thefreezing water below.
On April 1st, once most of thesnow had melted, investigators
returned to the area to conductmore searches.
They had to skip the lake,though, since it was still iced
over.
In the entire time, she hadbeen missing.
Taleeka never accessed her bankaccounts, credit cards or
social media.
After a four-month multi-statesearch, a fisherman finally
(24:17):
recovered Taleeka Patrick's bodyfrom Lake Charles on April 6th
2014.
When dental records confirmedTaleeka's identity, her family
was devastated.
They thanked supporters fromaround the world who had prayed
for her safe return and askedthem to continue helping them in
their fight for answers.
An autopsy determined thatTaleeka asphyxiated by drowning
and once again there was noevidence of foul play.
(24:39):
The keys to her broken downLexus were still in her pocket.
Her toxicology report took fourmore long months to come back,
but when it did, it indicatednothing suspicious or out of the
ordinary.
With these results, policeannounced that Taleeka's death
was an accidental drowning.
They theorized that she wassuffering from a manic episode.
On the night she disappearedand inadvertently fell into the
(25:00):
freezing lake while she wasrunning, believing that she was
being followed by someone whomeant to harm her.
Taleeka's family wasunsatisfied with the
investigator's conclusion anddemanded a second autopsy,
insisting that quote she can'tspeak and most of these things
are unfounded, referring to whatthe police were reporting.
A second autopsy found water inTaleeka's nasal cavity and
(25:21):
confirmed that she died ofaccidental drowning.
Now it's unclear where Taleekawas headed in those final
moments, why she was on the moveand exactly what happened to
her before she drowned.
Taleeka traveled almost all ofthe 100 or so miles of her
journey from her work to theditch where she had been in her
car, on the same highway in thesame direction.
Now, if Taleeka had made itjust a little farther, she could
(25:43):
have connected with Interstate90 and drove another 50 or so
miles more northwest to Chicago,and that's what she told her
co-workers she planned to doearlier that day.
Taleeka's friend, james Davis,believes that she was going to
head south instead, travelinganother 300 miles to St Louis to
see him, since he couldn'tvisit her as she had requested
the day before.
We do know that Taleekacouldn't drive her vehicle any
(26:05):
farther on that blown out tire,so investigators believe Taleeka
fell into the semi-frozen LakeCharles while she was running
away from her vehicle in a manicstate, fleeing an imaginary
pursuer.
It could have also happened,though.
If she was just trying to gethelp for her flat tire.
Taleeka might have seen thelights of a truck stop that's
nearby, on the other side of thelake, and took the shorter
(26:26):
direct path through the woodedarea by her car, rather than
walking back up to and along thebusy Interstate to get there.
The lake did freeze over thatnight, so perhaps Taleeka
stepped on ice, thinking that itwas just more.
Snow covered solid ground, andthe water was cold enough to
shock her system and prevent herfrom swimming to safety.
Regardless of how she ended upin it, taleeka's parents and
(26:47):
others who were close to her,like her friend James Davis,
believe there's more to her casethan what police concluded, and
they do have many supporters.
Taleeka's tragic death, nomatter how or why it occurred,
is even harder to accept,considering how hard she worked,
how talented she was and thebright future she had ahead of
her.
Although he was officiallycleared, some are still
suspicious of pastor and gospelsinger Marvin Sapp, the apparent
(27:11):
object of Taleeka's obsession.
No one's saying Marvin did it,but people still have questions,
I guess is the best way to putit.
To begin with, tleika was nothis only stalker.
In 2014, a 45-year-old womannamed Gladys Gaines stole an SUV
from a dealership in Florida,claiming that Marvin told her
she could have it as a birthdaypresent.
In 2016, marvin publiclydenounced another woman claiming
(27:33):
to be his wife on Facebook.
And these are just two examples, but that doesn't mean that
Marvin is inviting this kind ofbehavior, and churchgoers
stalking their pastors is commonenough occurrence that they
even have a moniker for itthey're called biting sheep.
It's not hard to find recentcases following similar patterns
to Tleika, patrick and MarvinSapp's experience In 2012,.
(27:54):
For example, 55-year-old LydiaKuznar was arrested for stalking
her pastor in Chicago, claimingit was God's plan for them to
be together.
2014, we have Kegan Forge.
She was a Texas teacher in herearly 30s.
She was arrested after stalkingher pastor for more than four
years.
That same year, same state,31-year-old Carly Shatarva was
(28:15):
arrested after stalking herpastor for three years, but
those charges were dropped aftershe was deemed not competent to
stand trial.
Trish (28:22):
Did Tleika's family ever find out, or through the police
investigation, who prescribedher that medication?
Someone had to prescribe it forher.
Wendi (28:33):
I have not seen from the police, from the family, any
official source about the inVega.
The only mention I find of itis in Tleika's tweet.
Trish (28:42):
Maybe she wasn't taking that.
They didn't find anything inher.
I know some time had passed soit might not have been there in
her toxicology report.
Wendi (28:49):
Well, and even the toxicology report.
We don't know what all theyfound, just that nothing was
suspicious.
I guess the worst case scenariowould be that, okay, the
speculative worst case scenariois that Tleika knows she's
having these issues.
She doesn't want to get introuble and lose her career.
So maybe she I hate to say it,but maybe she took some
medications from work.
(29:10):
Maybe she's experimenting withsome different medications to
see if it helps.
Wrote of prescription yeah totry to help herself without it
being on the record, but thenagain you would think she
wouldn't tweet about it if shedid that.
So I'm not sure Nobody's reallymentioned that.
And again, her family flatlydenies that she had any kind of
mental health problems, evenafter all of these social media
(29:32):
posts came to light.
Trish (29:33):
Yeah, that was my next question.
What did they think, once theydiscovered she had all of these
Twitter accounts, that she wasusing it, as you said, as a way
to like a diary, almost a socialdiary.
And then the YouTube channelsare.
Wendi (29:48):
Everybody and their mom has one, and they post weird
stuff.
I get that they post weirdstuff.
Trish (29:52):
But after seeing that and not knowing about it in the day
, of social media too.
Like, did she have regularaccounts, like you said had her
name on it, that she postedSunrise, whatever normal things.
That you post out thoughts,whatever, or reaching out to
people happy birthday?
Like, did she have those socialmedia accounts that she was
also active on?
Wendi (30:13):
She did have a Facebook and that was, I think, mostly
her public like you're referringto, kind of like her normal.
I'm Tileka Patrick and this isthe normal stuff I do that I'm
okay with everybody seeing, andthat's how she communicated back
and forth with Marvin andtagged onto his sermons, watched
his live streams and thingslike that.
So I would think that was alsohow she kept her family updated
(30:35):
in that way.
But no, I think, if anything,the family and also her friend
James Davis none of them aresaying we think Marvin Sapp did
it, but I think when they sawall of the social media posts
revolving around Marvin in thisrelationship, they find it hard
to believe that he didn't engagewith her at all, that it was
purely one-sided.
(30:56):
So again, they're not saying hedid it, he's responsible, but I
guess in their minds maybe theythink that there was more to it
than just Tileka havingdelusions.
Now, on that same topic, a mannamed Bob Corolla.
He's a spokesperson for theNational Alliance on Mental
Illness.
When he was interviewed aboutTileka Patrick's case, he said
quote it's not unusual for aperson not to be aware of their
(31:18):
own disorders or symptoms andequally, until there's a crisis,
people around them, don't pickup on symptoms.
Not everyone knows enough aboutmental illness, knows what to
look for, so they thinkeverything is fine until
everything falls apart.
Now it's remarkable that Tilekamanaged to be the woman she was
considering what she must havebeen struggling with, almost
entirely by herself.
(31:39):
By all accounts, she protectedher friends and family from
whatever she was experiencing asmuch as she could, and it does
seem like she was really awareof what she was going through.
But sometime after that divorcein 2012, it appears that that's
when Tileka experienced hercrisis.
In about a year, she fell inlove with a celebrity.
She sent him hundreds ofmessages, she moved thousands of
(32:00):
miles to stalk him and shespent her free time on social
media documenting therelationship that appeared to
only exist within her mind.
Just as her psychological andemotional tension reached a
breaking point, tileka made arun for parts unknown and
tragically drowned under whatsome still believe are
mysterious circumstances.
So, unfortunately, there maynever be answers to all of the
(32:22):
questions we have in TilekaPatrick's case, but there's
still a lot to learn from it.
We can't say whether someoneshould have seen the warning
sign sooner, and we can'treverse time and make Tileka
take her symptoms more seriously.
But if you or someone you knowneeds help or more information
right now, you can start byvisiting the National Alliance
on Mental Illness' websitethat's N-A-M-I dot org or
(32:44):
reaching out to someone youtrust to talk about it.
I think for me, tleeka's case Ilearned about it about a year
ago it sticks with me because Ithink about it in myself.
Like you can be such a goodstudent, such a good career
person, so intelligent, soeducated, so with it she was
religious, all of thesewonderful things like you would
want to be, tleeka Patrick.
There are probably so manypeople she knew who looked up to
(33:05):
her and yet still have yourlife fall apart in this way.
That's very scary.
Trish (33:11):
Did you ever find anything on if she was the woman
that had come to his house thatnight and talked to his adult
children Like?
Was there any confirmation ofthat by police?
Wendi (33:22):
No, and actually that only comes out because when the
media got hold of the story, oneof the members of his
congregation came forward totalk about the sermon that day.
They were like, oh my gosh, Iremember this.
I remember, you know, on August25th he had this sermon where
he mentioned a woman coming tohis home I wonder if that was
Tleeka.
And then she did have a post onthe same day where she talked
(33:45):
about him having a sermon, wherehe talked about that, but she
made it seem like it was not her.
But then, you know, two and ahalf weeks later, three weeks
later, she's getting the PPO.
So I think when you connect allthe dots it does seem like that
was Tleeka.
But the police have never saidand Marvin Sapa has been very
distant from the event Like hetalked to police, he did what he
(34:06):
had to do with police when hewas interviewed, but he hasn't
really come out publicly andtalked about it very much.
He, you know.
But in all, fairness, he didn'treally know this woman and
apparently, he has otherstalkers, yeah, and this is a
case where I feel like Tleekadid some things wrong for sure,
but at the same time, this is alot of victims in this case as
well, and Marvin is definitelyone of them.
(34:27):
She's a very beautiful woman.
She is very beautiful.
She's beautiful, educated,religious.
She's a very good cook by herYouTube videos, very good writer
, excellent writer, flawless20,000 tweets, no typos,
grammatical errors.
It's incredible.
While she's going through this,we have links in the show notes
(34:48):
I.
It's really hard to find nowall of the different.
I mean, I don't think theaccounts are active on Twitter
anymore.
They've all been deleted, butyou can find archives of it.
And I did link in the shownotes to a video by a YouTuber
named Nick Crowley.
He has clips of her YouTubevideos in a little summary that
he did.
But the original YouTube videosare also kind of hard to find.
(35:08):
When this first came out, theywere on the news.
Everybody saw them, sure, butnow they're gone.
But it's I mean, it's sad, it'sI.
My entrance to it was this isthis creepy, like what happened
with these weird YouTube videos?
And then, as you kind of unpackthe case, it's actually very
tragic, it is.
Trish (35:24):
And it's interesting that even after all this came out
the two autopsies, all of that,from what you're saying, nobody
that she worked closely with atthe medical center, even
patients that she may have dealtwith, have come back and said,
oh, you know that secondhandsite like, oh, that would
explain that, or that wouldexplain that weird statement she
made or how she was acting,Except for that one night, the
(35:46):
night she she died really fromthe fellow resident that dropped
her off at the hotel.
There's nothing that people arecoming out after the fact
saying, oh, I wish I would haveaddressed it or wish I would
have directed her or toldsomeone, or nothing.
Wendi (36:00):
Yeah, that's what's so unique about to leak is case.
It's not even just that peopledidn't see the warning signs she
was in, there weren't any, andshe was in a workplace, in a
school area, a campus where ifanyone's going to see that, it's
them.
Yes, they still didn't see it.
So it's like.
Then I go back to what her exhusband said of you know her,
whether he's being truthful ornot or just trying to cover up.
(36:23):
You know his own feelings ofguilt, but you know he said she
was terrified that if anyoneknew what she was experiencing
it would ruin her career andthat meant so much to her.
Right, okay.
Trish (36:33):
Well, if you want to learn more about today's case,
head over to our website,criminaldiscoursepodcastcom.
On there, you will find all ofthe resources Wendy put together
for you and detailed show notes, and we invite you to join the
discourse and let us know yourthoughts on today's or any other
case we've covered, through ourwebsite contact page or by
(36:54):
messaging us on social media.
Reach out anytime you know,tell us about yourself or
suggest a new case for us tocover, and if you've enjoyed
today's episode, then don'tforget to subscribe on whatever
platform you're listening to uson, leave us a five star review
and tell a friend so they canjoin the discourse too.
And, as always, if you seesomething, know something, say
(37:16):
something.
You might have that missingpiece of the puzzle it takes to
solve a crime.
I think we've already talkedabout this that there were
pieces missing.
There was nothing to report,the people that interacted with
her daily, it's just one.
I think that's why this case isso mysterious.
Yeah, I'd agree.
And before we go, remember wewant you to stay safe out there.
Let's be kind to one anotherand watch out for one another.
(37:39):
So until next time, guys, bye.
Hello and welcome to another episode of Criminal
Discourse Podcast.
I'm Wendy and I'm Trish and I'mgoing to be doing an all new
episode for you today.
No crime updates, no shout outs, so we're going to get right
into it, right?
Trish (00:37):
So we know that there are so many true crime podcasts out
there to choose from and onlyso many hours in the day, and we
want to take a moment to say wetruly appreciate you choosing
to listen to us today.
If you want to join thediscourse, you can reach out to
us on our website,criminaldiscoursepodcastcom, or
on social media.
We're on Facebook, instagramand YouTube at Criminal Dispod
(00:58):
and Criminal Discourse Podcast.
And one last thing the viewsand opinions discussed on
Criminal Discourse Podcast arejust that Our views and opinions
, and everyone is presumedinnocent until convicted in a
court of law.
Wendi (01:12):
Now.
We've dealt with a lot ofmissing person cases on our
podcast, and sometimes finding amissing person leads to more
questions than answers, and thatwas the case when 30 year old
doctor Tleika Patrickaccidentally drowned in a lake
100 miles from her home.
Tleika's social media postsrevealed a shocking secret side
to her life she was stalking apopular gospel singer and
(01:35):
experiencing serious mentalhealth problems, even as she
successfully pursued a career inpsychiatry.
Though her case is officiallyclosed, some believe her death
wasn't accidental.
But one thing is indisputableWhatever happened to Tleika is
both terrifying and tragic.
Tleika Patrick was born toparents Irene and Mathias, a
(01:56):
reverend, on September 18, 1983.
The Patrick's lived inHyattville, maryland, which is a
suburb of Washington DC, untilabout 1985 when they relocated
to Queens, new York.
Now they move a lot.
We're going to cover a lot oflocations, so we're not going to
go super in depth with any ofthem here today.
Tleika's parents.
Once they moved to New York,they had another daughter,
tanisha, and a son also namedMathias being.
(02:18):
Tleika was an avid reader,outstanding student and talented
violinist.
Tleika grew into a caring youngwoman who loved people and
seems like she uplifted everyoneshe met.
Her academic accomplishmentswere so impressive that she was
accepted into the Bronx HighSchool of Science, which counts
nine Nobel Prize winners amongits alumni, and I believe that's
(02:39):
the most of any secondaryschool in the entire world.
Tleika graduated with highhonors and multiple achievement
awards.
The Patrick's are also activemembers of the Seventh Day
Adventist Church.
It's a Christian denominationthat believes the week begins on
a Sunday and ends on Saturday,the Sabbath, a day of rest,
which mirrors the Bible'sdescription of creation.
(03:00):
Adventists are also known fortheir health consciousness, and
Tleika followed those lifestylechoices by, for example, being a
vegetarian and studying forcareer in healthcare.
In 2004, tleika graduated fromOakwood University in Huntsville
, alabama.
She was in Adventist Collegewith a bachelor's degree in
theology and biology.
That summer, tleika enrolled inCalifornia's Loma Linda
(03:23):
University, another Adventistcollege located in an area where
about half of the populationare also Adventists.
She earned her master's and PhDdegrees in biochemistry there.
Her research focus was survivaldisparity among African
American women with breastcancer.
One of Tleika's professors saidshe's not just intelligent,
she's brilliant.
(03:43):
Tleika's performanceconsistently impressed her
classmates, colleagues andeducators, who called her bright
, talented and goal-oriented.
Now, in 2006, when TleikaPatrick was attending Loma Linda
University, she married a mannamed Ismail Kaldaron.
Unfortunately, I couldn't findout any information about how
they met, who he is, how old heis, anything like that.
(04:05):
Ismail would later reveal,though, to the media that Tleika
heard voices and attributedthem to God.
He said he quote begged her toseek treatment for auditory
hallucinations.
According to Ismail, tleikarefused to get help, believing
that it would ruin her careerprospects.
He said these arguments aboutTleika's recurring paranoia and
(04:25):
delusions those are words heused eventually resulted in the
couple's divorce in 2012.
The lawyer who handled theirdivorce proceedings said the
mental health issues were nevermentioned.
That would make sense to me,too, if it didn't come up.
If she was trying to protecther career, she wanted to become
a psychiatrist and also forIsmail, if he was still trying
to protect her as well andfollow her wishes.
(04:47):
That it might not have come upin the divorce proceedings Makes
sense.
After graduating from Loma Lindain the spring of 2013, tleika
was accepted to Western MichiganUniversity in Kalamazoo where
she planned to study childpsychiatry.
She told university staff thatshe relocated quote for her
fiance and grand rapids.
Tleika was referring to MarvinSapp, a Grammy nominated gospel
(05:11):
singer.
She had never met but hadstarted contacting after her
divorce.
Marvin was the pastor atLighthouse Full Life Center
Church in Grand Rapids, michigan, which is also where he was
born and raised.
Tleka's sister remembered shementioned Marvin to family
members, saying she planned tomarry him, but not everyone took
her seriously.
It's not clear if any of Tleka'sfamily found her infatuation
(05:34):
concerning or if they knew aboutthe mental health problems that
her ex-husband said led totheir divorce.
Tleka's mother firmly deniesquote allegations of mental
instability.
She insists that if she hadknown Tleka needed help quote I
would have sought care for her.
Tleka's online activitiespainted a different and far more
worrying portrait than what shepresented to her family.
(05:56):
From April 2013 until herdisappearance that December,
tleka Patrick created fiveTwitter accounts and posted more
than 20,000 tweets from them,dozens every day.
Virtually all of them areaddressed to a singular, unnamed
love interest, presumablyMarvin's sap.
Trish (06:13):
Were any of her family members connected to her on
social media to see these posts.
Wendi (06:18):
No, there were a couple accounts that used her first
name, but it seems that, atleast at the time, there were no
engagement, no views other thanTleka herself, so they would
have been unaware.
In some of these tweets Tlekatalked about her daily life or
promoted Marvin's work.
She often referred to what shecalled the telepathic or psychic
connection she felt she hadwith her love, tweeting messages
(06:41):
like I started hearing feelingyou again around 10 am.
The signals went haywire for awhile and then they reset
themselves.
But Tleka would also post abouther doubts, questioning whether
the relationship was real orimagined.
On April 15, tleka tweeted thatquote when I get to you, things
will start to make a lot moresense, I promise.
She moved to Kalamazoo andstarted her four-year residency
(07:05):
of psychiatry a gorgeous medicalcenter.
That summer Tleka moved over2,000 miles from California to
be in the same state as Marvin'ssap, just 50 miles south of his
church and home.
They still had never met inperson.
On June 2nd she tweeted I havejust relocated to be with you,
so I really hope you want me.
Aside from her previous marriage, it seems that Tleka was
(07:27):
successful keeping herintensifying mental and
emotional problems private or atleast confined to social media,
but on July 7th, a month aftermoving, tleka flagged down an
officer on campus claiming thatsomeone was after her.
That officer reported Tleka'sbehavior to university staff
concerned that she was sufferingfrom mental health issues.
She agreed to take a drug test,which came back negative.
(07:49):
Otherwise, by all accounts, itseemed that Tleka was happy with
school and work, earning praisefrom her peers and educators,
just as she always had.
Two weeks later, on July 21st,tleka posted a series of tweets
showing how she was questioningher actions and state of mind.
Quote if I am not directly,personally and explicitly
invited into your life, I willassume that I am unwanted.
(08:12):
I need to deal in realities,understand, or else I won't be
sure if what I'm thinking iscorrect or not.
How will I know if I'm right ifnothing I've communicated to
you has ever been validated EverExactly?
This makes no sense.
So clearly she's not gettingany messages back from Marvin,
and I think what's alsoremarkable here is she's very
aware that this is one-sided,and I guess another thing too
(08:35):
that a lot of people point outis the immaculate spelling and
grammar that she has through allof these messages on social
media Tleka presents, even here,in the midst of this kind of
mental health issue as a veryeducated, put-together person.
Trish (08:50):
Did any of the people respond to what she was posting
out regarding this individual?
No, no one.
She's just posting out Mm-hmm.
Wendi (08:57):
Now, on August 4th, Tleka tweeted.
I began to think that thisentire time I had been messaging
you, that it was all in my headthe entire seven months that
you never cared about me, thatthe experiences I thought we
were sharing we never did Afterall.
I could not prove any of it.
You never messaged me backdirectly.
You only sent thesenon-specific messages and there
(09:18):
was no way that I could be surethat any of it was intended for
me.
Now, by non-specific messages,tleka bent secret messages and
codes that she believed MarvinSapp directed to her through his
sermons and social media posts.
Later, that same day, tlekaadded quote I can't be believing
things that aren't true.
I'm trying to become apsychiatrist, not be in need of
(09:40):
one.
Trish (09:40):
When she would put out these posts.
I take it she would tag MarvinSapp.
Wendi (09:44):
Not necessarily.
She usually only tagged Marvinwhen she was directly promoting
his work, complimenting hissermons, things like that.
Posts like this she justreferred to love baby you.
She didn't name him directly.
She was actually quite carefulto keep his name out of posts
like that.
And do we know how manyfollowers?
Trish (10:03):
she had None, so she's just putting this out to the
universe, to no one.
Wendi (10:07):
Correct Now.
Attendees at Marvin Sapp'sAugust 25th service recalled him
admonishing a woman in thecongregation who had entered his
home uninvited when he was outof town.
Marvin's three children, whowere ages 19 to 22 at the time.
They were at his house andtalked to the woman until she
left.
It's not been officiallyconfirmed that this woman was
Tleka Patrick, but Tleka hadreached out to his children on
(10:31):
social media before and shown upat his home before too.
Tleka tweeted later that dayabout Marvin's strange sermon,
acting like he was talking aboutsomeone else, and she referred
to quote the rest of them, thoseother women.
Did she go to his church?
She did.
She attended services, and thiswould be about an hour's drive,
45 minutes to an hour from herhome, and she did that on a
(10:52):
regular basis.
I'm not sure if it was regularor not, but at least on the
August 25th she did, and severalother occasions Now.
A week after that, tleka tookto Twitter to complain.
That quote I'm tired of hopingand imagining.
Please, baby, I want it to bereal.
This town is small as hell.
Not much happens here.
It's boring, and when I havefree time I get depressed and
(11:15):
lonely.
Then on September 17th, marvin'sapp obtained a personal
protection order against Tleka,producing more than 400 pages of
unsolicited correspondence.
Tleka sent him that.
He never answered.
Now I can't find details ofexactly what this correspondence
was, but I don't think it wasthe Twitter accounts.
These were maybe things shesent him in the mail.
(11:36):
She was sending things to himover his Facebook page.
On the same day she was servedthat PPO from Marvin's app.
Tleka tweeted quote when Godtold me about you, I thought
about it for a quick minute.
Then I jumped on it mad quick.
You know why?
Because when you don't hear aword from God for eight long
years, you start to getdesperate.
So, yeah, I hopped on it madquick, no questions asked.
(11:56):
God said jump.
I said how high?
So, love, tell me, why are youso scared of us being together?
Trish (12:02):
Interesting.
What are the eight long yearsLike when she first got baptized
to when she first startedhearing these voices, when she
was married to her first husband?
Wendi (12:13):
Well, actually I hadn't thought about that, but yeah,
eight years before this wouldhave been 2005.
That's when she was at LomaLinda University out in
California.
And, yeah, she married herhusband in 2006.
So, you know, then she's withher husband and starts talking
about you know, she thinks she'shearing voices from God.
So maybe that's an indicationthat around 2005 is when she
(12:35):
started to have these problems.
Also interesting, just givenour own knowledge of mental
health issues, that would puther what?
Early to mid-20s, and that's alot of time when some of these
symptoms schizophrenia, bipolar,things like that start to
present themselves.
Tileka's cycle of questioningand confirming this relationship
continued over Twitter.
(12:56):
On October 2nd.
She posted why do I carry youin my heart every day?
And how do I know for a factthat you carry me in your heart
every day?
You long for me so much that itis palpable.
Everything within you cries outand somehow I can feel it.
But then, two days later, shetweeted you've made it
abundantly clear that, forwhatever reason, you are not
(13:17):
ready to pursue a loverelationship.
A PPO will tell you that itsure will, and I think this is
the.
It's starting to increase now,right, the intensity of the
feelings and how quickly she'sgoing back and forth from one to
the other.
On October 24th, her tweetsshowed just how much she was
starting to suffer from this.
She said I have to leave youalone so you don't hurt me
(13:37):
anymore.
I have spent the last 10 monthslike that.
It's not healthy.
I am not eating right, I am notsleeping right, I am not taking
care of myself the way I'msupposed to, and my excitement
about life is way down.
I feel emotionally, spirituallyand mentally drained, and I am
a fun, loving and sociableperson.
I'm not supposed to be likethis.
Trish (13:57):
I don't like it During this time and she's in this
intense psychiatric program thatshe's studying to be a
psychiatrist as anyone she'sworking with I know you said
peers and professors still foundher very brilliant and engaging
.
No one in her life saw thisobsession.
Because tweeting out that much,that often you can't be focused
(14:19):
on anything else.
It takes a lot of time.
Wendi (14:22):
I think that the tweets served as kind of like a journal
, like a dumping ground for allof this that was going on in her
, because it does seem shockingto me that no one who saw Tileq
on a daily basis would noticeany.
She wouldn't say anything odd.
They knew she liked Marvin'ssap, they were aware of that,
they knew she was religious, butthey had no idea that there was
(14:44):
all of this underneath her.
She presented as completelynormal.
She was still getting excellentgrades, she was still showing
up to every shift at work, doingexcellent work, pulling you
know the residencies you pulled12, 16 hour shifts, no problem.
Trish (14:58):
Now, I know her family wasn't close by during this time
, so I get it, though, that herfamily's saying, like her mom
said, if I knew this I wouldhave gotten help.
Wendi (15:07):
We never saw this Right.
Yeah, when she went to, I guessit would have been Oakwood
University in Alabama, likesince then she went to Alabama,
then California, now she's inMichigan.
So she does.
She's not around her familyvery much at all.
On November 6th, tileqa createda YouTube channel and she
posted the first of nine videos,all addressed to an unnamed
(15:27):
love interest.
Just like her tweets, shedressed up for the videos like
she was going on a date, evencooking meals for two.
But again it's just her livingby herself.
The meal is going on eaten.
In one video, tileqa points hercamera to the food while saying
if you were here, this would beyour plate.
In another video, as Tileqapans her camera along the
ingredients on her counter,including a large pack of
(15:48):
chicken breasts, she explains Idon't even eat chicken, I'm a
vegetarian, but I want that foryou.
One video is several minutes ofTileqa sitting in front of the
camera while talking and singingalong to background music.
At one point in the video, shesuddenly pauses, touches her
chest and smiles, saying baby, Ifelt that.
So again, this telepathic,psychic connection she thinks is
(16:11):
happening.
She posted her last YouTubevideo on November 10.
Like her tweets, tileqa'svideos didn't receive any views
or engagement at that time.
That same month, tileqa tweetedthat she was going to stop
taking in Vega.
Now, that's a prescription drugused to treat schizophrenia.
However, there is no publiclyavailable information about
Tileqa seeking or receivingtreatment.
(16:33):
Her tweets reveal rapidlychanging and intensifying
emotions around this time aswell.
On November 16, she tweeted Ihate that.
I still have feelings for you.
I hate it.
Five days later, I'm going tomarry you and you want to marry
me too.
I have to be with you.
I need you.
Two days after that, I changedmy life for what I thought it
would be.
Since then, I have had painfulsurprise after painful surprise.
(16:57):
Are you a demon possessed?
The next day, november 24,tileqa tweeted you are not being
rushed.
I have been messaging you foralmost a year.
I think we should at least givea chance.
You already know I am notvindictive and irrational.
I basically got papers in themail which were a whole bunch of
lies.
I chose not to fight anything.
If I was really guilty, I wouldhave just started spreading
(17:20):
lies about you or the truth.
That's just as bad, but I'm notthat type of person.
I answered to God.
That's why I protect you.
Trish (17:28):
I take it the papers she received were the DPO?
Wendi (17:30):
Yeah, and I don't know that was back in September, so I
don't know if there was moreand updated or right you know it
?
Trish (17:37):
or maybe court summons?
Wendi (17:39):
That could be two.
Now, throughout several postsduring that fall of 2013, tileqa
indicated that her loveinterest was sharing what she
called dark secrets, althoughshe never mentioned specific
details.
This would have been you knowthings that she was receiving
through that psychic connection.
Through her tweets, tileqa wasactively counseling him through
those troubles that he wascommunicating.
(18:00):
At some point, she startedbelieving that these confessions
were actually from manipulativeand demonic energies, not the
real person with whom shethought she had been
communicating.
The Thanksgiving holiday wasthe last time that Tileqa's
parents talked with her.
Less than a week later, onDecember 4th, tileqa called her
friend, james Davis, who wasliving in St Louis Missouri.
(18:21):
James said she soundeddistraught and that she quote
feared for her life, believingsomeone connected to Marvin Sapp
or his security team was afterher.
He said I don't think she wasdelusional.
Now Tileqa asked James to visither and he promised he wouldn't
in a few days, but he couldn'tdrop everything and make the 400
mile trip right away.
It was a Wednesday night.
(18:42):
He wanted to come out to her,but he just couldn't.
That same day, tileqa tweetedlove, you are hurting me.
Stop reaching out to me in thatmanner.
Stop it, please leave me alone.
I want to be a pure vessel forGod.
Until you can pick up the phoneand call me, my Twitter goes
down and you do not exist to me.
If I don't protect myselfspiritually then I can't even
(19:02):
help you.
Now, the next day, a Thursday,december 5th, tileqa tweeted I
can't take much more of this.
There are normal ways tocontact people.
You know you reach me through ademonic power that gives demons
power over me and dilutes myspiritual authority, because you
are using a demon to contact me.
When I turn my heart towardsyou, it passes through a demonic
(19:23):
power.
When I say I love you, I amalso saying I love you to a
demon, because that is how youmade me fall for you.
Now Tileqa posted her finaltweets later that same day.
One was my authority in thespirit realm and my ability to
cover will be markedly decreased.
Please understand, I mustprotect myself spiritually.
The other was I just activatedat tweet delete on my account to
(19:46):
automatically delete my oldtweets.
We can only speculate with thefinality of Tileqa's tweets
meant to her Now, december 25th.
That day at work, tileqa toldsome of her coworkers that she
was going to visit a relative inChicago and she did have a
cousin who lived there.
After her shift ended around 730 pm, tileqa asked a coworker
to give her a ride to a nearbyhotel in downtown Kalamazoo,
(20:08):
telling him she was going tomeet a man there.
The co-worker, who was a fellowdoctor in residency, said that
Taleeka spoke in a high-pitchedvoice and her eyes were blinking
rapidly.
The co-worker said Taleeka wasacting scared, nervous and off,
but he agreed to help her, evengiving her $100 cash when she
realized she forgot her wallet.
Although Taleeka appearedconfused and asked her co-worker
(20:29):
on the way if he believed indemons, he simply dropped her
off outside the hotel lobby anddrove away.
This really bothers me that hejust left her with nothing but
$100 cash in that kind of estatedowntown.
I don't know if he went back towork, told anybody else.
I don't know the wholesituation, but that part does
bother me a little bit.
Now, once she was at the hotel,taleeka did try to get a hotel
(20:51):
room but she wasn't able tobecause she didn't have a credit
card to cover incidentals.
A hotel shuttle returned her toBorges Medical Center at about
8 pm and when she got out shetold the driver quote not to
tell anyone.
We did this, and then she justkind of disappeared between cars
in the parking lot, acting likeshe was trying to run away and
not be seen.
The shuttle driver is the lastknown person to see Taleeka
(21:13):
Patrick alive.
Less than two hours later,indiana State Police received
reports of an erratic driver ina gold Lexus traveling westbound
on Interstate 94.
At 10.02 pm Taleeka's vehicle,a light gold Lexus, was reported
abandoned in a ditch along thesame roadway in Porter, indiana,
about 100 miles southwest ofKalamazoo.
(21:33):
Police arrived on the scene by10.20 pm.
The front left tire ofTaleeka's car had burst and gone
flat.
A receipt from a repair shopfound inside the car listed it
as unsafe to drive, citing anail in the tire.
The car's keys were gone, butTaleeka's wallet and some of her
clothing were still inside thevehicle.
The next day, taleeka'sresidency program coordinator
(21:54):
filed a missing persons reportafter Taleeka didn't show up for
her scheduled work shift.
Her cell phone and some otherpersonal belongings were still
on campus.
Trish (22:02):
So when she left that night to go to the hotel.
She didn't take her cell phonewith her.
Wendi (22:06):
No, it was like she was just trying to leave.
She didn't take her wallet, shedidn't take her phone, nothing.
She just wanted to get away asquick as possible to the hotel.
On the ground, search effortsbegan that same day so this
would be December 6th focusingon the wooded area between the
highway and nearby Lake Charles,which had already started
freezing over.
Taleeka's family was frustratedbecause police were quick to
(22:27):
state that there were no signsof foul play, so they hired a
private investigator.
Police said they activated andexhausted all their resources
searching for Taleeka early onbecause she had quote no reason
to be missing.
Within the first few days ofTaleeka's disappearance, police
interviewed and cleared MarvinSapp, calling him quote an
innocent victim of an apparentstalking, and this is when they
(22:49):
realized for the first time thatshe had that personal
protection order against her andhad been stalking him.
Her ex-husband, ismail Kaldaron, was also cleared.
Taleeka's friend, james Davis,had a solid alibi and although
police were a little suspiciousof him at first, they considered
him just a concerned friend.
Investigators discoveredthrough interviews of different
witnesses and people who knewTaleeka that she would sometimes
(23:11):
quote check into motels forshort stints, a claim that her
family, however, denied asassumptions made without proof.
They just don't agree with it.
Taleeka's computer and othercommunication devices were
searched and that revealed herconcerning social media posts,
taleeka's family said they hadno idea who she was trying to
communicate with because, as faras they knew, she was single.
(23:33):
A week after she disappeared, abloodhound track Taleeka sent
from the ditch where her car wasfound back up to the highway,
leading to theories that she wasabducted along the road or got
into another vehicle.
Several weeks later, on January29th, police drilled several
holes in the ice covering thelake that was just a few yards
from her abandoned vehicle.
They placed sonar over theholes, but they didn't get any
(23:55):
indication of a body in thefreezing water below.
On April 1st, once most of thesnow had melted, investigators
returned to the area to conductmore searches.
They had to skip the lake,though, since it was still iced
over.
In the entire time, she hadbeen missing.
Taleeka never accessed her bankaccounts, credit cards or
social media.
After a four-month multi-statesearch, a fisherman finally
(24:17):
recovered Taleeka Patrick's bodyfrom Lake Charles on April 6th
2014.
When dental records confirmedTaleeka's identity, her family
was devastated.
They thanked supporters fromaround the world who had prayed
for her safe return and askedthem to continue helping them in
their fight for answers.
An autopsy determined thatTaleeka asphyxiated by drowning
and once again there was noevidence of foul play.
(24:39):
The keys to her broken downLexus were still in her pocket.
Her toxicology report took fourmore long months to come back,
but when it did, it indicatednothing suspicious or out of the
ordinary.
With these results, policeannounced that Taleeka's death
was an accidental drowning.
They theorized that she wassuffering from a manic episode.
On the night she disappearedand inadvertently fell into the
(25:00):
freezing lake while she wasrunning, believing that she was
being followed by someone whomeant to harm her.
Taleeka's family wasunsatisfied with the
investigator's conclusion anddemanded a second autopsy,
insisting that quote she can'tspeak and most of these things
are unfounded, referring to whatthe police were reporting.
A second autopsy found water inTaleeka's nasal cavity and
(25:21):
confirmed that she died ofaccidental drowning.
Now it's unclear where Taleekawas headed in those final
moments, why she was on the moveand exactly what happened to
her before she drowned.
Taleeka traveled almost all ofthe 100 or so miles of her
journey from her work to theditch where she had been in her
car, on the same highway in thesame direction.
Now, if Taleeka had made itjust a little farther, she could
(25:43):
have connected with Interstate90 and drove another 50 or so
miles more northwest to Chicago,and that's what she told her
co-workers she planned to doearlier that day.
Taleeka's friend, james Davis,believes that she was going to
head south instead, travelinganother 300 miles to St Louis to
see him, since he couldn'tvisit her as she had requested
the day before.
We do know that Taleekacouldn't drive her vehicle any
(26:05):
farther on that blown out tire,so investigators believe Taleeka
fell into the semi-frozen LakeCharles while she was running
away from her vehicle in a manicstate, fleeing an imaginary
pursuer.
It could have also happened,though.
If she was just trying to gethelp for her flat tire.
Taleeka might have seen thelights of a truck stop that's
nearby, on the other side of thelake, and took the shorter
(26:26):
direct path through the woodedarea by her car, rather than
walking back up to and along thebusy Interstate to get there.
The lake did freeze over thatnight, so perhaps Taleeka
stepped on ice, thinking that itwas just more.
Snow covered solid ground, andthe water was cold enough to
shock her system and prevent herfrom swimming to safety.
Regardless of how she ended upin it, taleeka's parents and
(26:47):
others who were close to her,like her friend James Davis,
believe there's more to her casethan what police concluded, and
they do have many supporters.
Taleeka's tragic death, nomatter how or why it occurred,
is even harder to accept,considering how hard she worked,
how talented she was and thebright future she had ahead of
her.
Although he was officiallycleared, some are still
suspicious of pastor and gospelsinger Marvin Sapp, the apparent
(27:11):
object of Taleeka's obsession.
No one's saying Marvin did it,but people still have questions,
I guess is the best way to putit.
To begin with, tleika was nothis only stalker.
In 2014, a 45-year-old womannamed Gladys Gaines stole an SUV
from a dealership in Florida,claiming that Marvin told her
she could have it as a birthdaypresent.
In 2016, marvin publiclydenounced another woman claiming
(27:33):
to be his wife on Facebook.
And these are just two examples, but that doesn't mean that
Marvin is inviting this kind ofbehavior, and churchgoers
stalking their pastors is commonenough occurrence that they
even have a moniker for itthey're called biting sheep.
It's not hard to find recentcases following similar patterns
to Tleika, patrick and MarvinSapp's experience In 2012,.
(27:54):
For example, 55-year-old LydiaKuznar was arrested for stalking
her pastor in Chicago, claimingit was God's plan for them to
be together.
2014, we have Kegan Forge.
She was a Texas teacher in herearly 30s.
She was arrested after stalkingher pastor for more than four
years.
That same year, same state,31-year-old Carly Shatarva was
(28:15):
arrested after stalking herpastor for three years, but
those charges were dropped aftershe was deemed not competent to
stand trial.
Trish (28:22):
Did Tleika's family ever find out, or through the police
investigation, who prescribedher that medication?
Someone had to prescribe it forher.
Wendi (28:33):
I have not seen from the police, from the family, any
official source about the inVega.
The only mention I find of itis in Tleika's tweet.
Trish (28:42):
Maybe she wasn't taking that.
They didn't find anything inher.
I know some time had passed soit might not have been there in
her toxicology report.
Wendi (28:49):
Well, and even the toxicology report.
We don't know what all theyfound, just that nothing was
suspicious.
I guess the worst case scenariowould be that, okay, the
speculative worst case scenariois that Tleika knows she's
having these issues.
She doesn't want to get introuble and lose her career.
So maybe she I hate to say it,but maybe she took some
medications from work.
(29:10):
Maybe she's experimenting withsome different medications to
see if it helps.
Wrote of prescription yeah totry to help herself without it
being on the record, but thenagain you would think she
wouldn't tweet about it if shedid that.
So I'm not sure Nobody's reallymentioned that.
And again, her family flatlydenies that she had any kind of
mental health problems, evenafter all of these social media
(29:32):
posts came to light.
Trish (29:33):
Yeah, that was my next question.
What did they think, once theydiscovered she had all of these
Twitter accounts, that she wasusing it, as you said, as a way
to like a diary, almost a socialdiary.
And then the YouTube channelsare.
Wendi (29:48):
Everybody and their mom has one, and they post weird
stuff.
I get that they post weirdstuff.
Trish (29:52):
But after seeing that and not knowing about it in the day
, of social media too.
Like, did she have regularaccounts, like you said had her
name on it, that she postedSunrise, whatever normal things.
That you post out thoughts,whatever, or reaching out to
people happy birthday?
Like, did she have those socialmedia accounts that she was
also active on?
Wendi (30:13):
She did have a Facebook and that was, I think, mostly
her public like you're referringto, kind of like her normal.
I'm Tileka Patrick and this isthe normal stuff I do that I'm
okay with everybody seeing, andthat's how she communicated back
and forth with Marvin andtagged onto his sermons, watched
his live streams and thingslike that.
So I would think that was alsohow she kept her family updated
(30:35):
in that way.
But no, I think, if anything,the family and also her friend
James Davis none of them aresaying we think Marvin Sapp did
it, but I think when they sawall of the social media posts
revolving around Marvin in thisrelationship, they find it hard
to believe that he didn't engagewith her at all, that it was
purely one-sided.
(30:56):
So again, they're not saying hedid it, he's responsible, but I
guess in their minds maybe theythink that there was more to it
than just Tileka havingdelusions.
Now, on that same topic, a mannamed Bob Corolla.
He's a spokesperson for theNational Alliance on Mental
Illness.
When he was interviewed aboutTileka Patrick's case, he said
quote it's not unusual for aperson not to be aware of their
(31:18):
own disorders or symptoms andequally, until there's a crisis,
people around them, don't pickup on symptoms.
Not everyone knows enough aboutmental illness, knows what to
look for, so they thinkeverything is fine until
everything falls apart.
Now it's remarkable that Tilekamanaged to be the woman she was
considering what she must havebeen struggling with, almost
entirely by herself.
(31:39):
By all accounts, she protectedher friends and family from
whatever she was experiencing asmuch as she could, and it does
seem like she was really awareof what she was going through.
But sometime after that divorcein 2012, it appears that that's
when Tileka experienced hercrisis.
In about a year, she fell inlove with a celebrity.
She sent him hundreds ofmessages, she moved thousands of
(32:00):
miles to stalk him and shespent her free time on social
media documenting therelationship that appeared to
only exist within her mind.
Just as her psychological andemotional tension reached a
breaking point, tileka made arun for parts unknown and
tragically drowned under whatsome still believe are
mysterious circumstances.
So, unfortunately, there maynever be answers to all of the
(32:22):
questions we have in TilekaPatrick's case, but there's
still a lot to learn from it.
We can't say whether someoneshould have seen the warning
sign sooner, and we can'treverse time and make Tileka
take her symptoms more seriously.
But if you or someone you knowneeds help or more information
right now, you can start byvisiting the National Alliance
on Mental Illness' websitethat's N-A-M-I dot org or
(32:44):
reaching out to someone youtrust to talk about it.
I think for me, tleeka's case Ilearned about it about a year
ago it sticks with me because Ithink about it in myself.
Like you can be such a goodstudent, such a good career
person, so intelligent, soeducated, so with it she was
religious, all of thesewonderful things like you would
want to be, tleeka Patrick.
There are probably so manypeople she knew who looked up to
(33:05):
her and yet still have yourlife fall apart in this way.
That's very scary.
Trish (33:11):
Did you ever find anything on if she was the woman
that had come to his house thatnight and talked to his adult
children Like?
Was there any confirmation ofthat by police?
Wendi (33:22):
No, and actually that only comes out because when the
media got hold of the story, oneof the members of his
congregation came forward totalk about the sermon that day.
They were like, oh my gosh, Iremember this.
I remember, you know, on August25th he had this sermon where
he mentioned a woman coming tohis home I wonder if that was
Tleeka.
And then she did have a post onthe same day where she talked
(33:45):
about him having a sermon, wherehe talked about that, but she
made it seem like it was not her.
But then, you know, two and ahalf weeks later, three weeks
later, she's getting the PPO.
So I think when you connect allthe dots it does seem like that
was Tleeka.
But the police have never saidand Marvin Sapa has been very
distant from the event Like hetalked to police, he did what he
(34:06):
had to do with police when hewas interviewed, but he hasn't
really come out publicly andtalked about it very much.
He, you know.
But in all, fairness, he didn'treally know this woman and
apparently, he has otherstalkers, yeah, and this is a
case where I feel like Tleekadid some things wrong for sure,
but at the same time, this is alot of victims in this case as
well, and Marvin is definitelyone of them.
(34:27):
She's a very beautiful woman.
She is very beautiful.
She's beautiful, educated,religious.
She's a very good cook by herYouTube videos, very good writer
, excellent writer, flawless20,000 tweets, no typos,
grammatical errors.
It's incredible.
While she's going through this,we have links in the show notes
(34:48):
I.
It's really hard to find nowall of the different.
I mean, I don't think theaccounts are active on Twitter
anymore.
They've all been deleted, butyou can find archives of it.
And I did link in the shownotes to a video by a YouTuber
named Nick Crowley.
He has clips of her YouTubevideos in a little summary that
he did.
But the original YouTube videosare also kind of hard to find.
(35:08):
When this first came out, theywere on the news.
Everybody saw them, sure, butnow they're gone.
But it's I mean, it's sad, it'sI.
My entrance to it was this isthis creepy, like what happened
with these weird YouTube videos?
And then, as you kind of unpackthe case, it's actually very
tragic, it is.
Trish (35:24):
And it's interesting that even after all this came out
the two autopsies, all of that,from what you're saying, nobody
that she worked closely with atthe medical center, even
patients that she may have dealtwith, have come back and said,
oh, you know that secondhandsite like, oh, that would
explain that, or that wouldexplain that weird statement she
made or how she was acting,Except for that one night, the
(35:46):
night she she died really fromthe fellow resident that dropped
her off at the hotel.
There's nothing that people arecoming out after the fact
saying, oh, I wish I would haveaddressed it or wish I would
have directed her or toldsomeone, or nothing.
Wendi (36:00):
Yeah, that's what's so unique about to leak is case.
It's not even just that peopledidn't see the warning signs she
was in, there weren't any, andshe was in a workplace, in a
school area, a campus where ifanyone's going to see that, it's
them.
Yes, they still didn't see it.
So it's like.
Then I go back to what her exhusband said of you know her,
whether he's being truthful ornot or just trying to cover up.
(36:23):
You know his own feelings ofguilt, but you know he said she
was terrified that if anyoneknew what she was experiencing
it would ruin her career andthat meant so much to her.
Right, okay.
Trish (36:33):
Well, if you want to learn more about today's case,
head over to our website,criminaldiscoursepodcastcom.
On there, you will find all ofthe resources Wendy put together
for you and detailed show notes, and we invite you to join the
discourse and let us know yourthoughts on today's or any other
case we've covered, through ourwebsite contact page or by
(36:54):
messaging us on social media.
Reach out anytime you know,tell us about yourself or
suggest a new case for us tocover, and if you've enjoyed
today's episode, then don'tforget to subscribe on whatever
platform you're listening to uson, leave us a five star review
and tell a friend so they canjoin the discourse too.
And, as always, if you seesomething, know something, say
(37:16):
something.
You might have that missingpiece of the puzzle it takes to
solve a crime.
I think we've already talkedabout this that there were
pieces missing.
There was nothing to report,the people that interacted with
her daily, it's just one.
I think that's why this case isso mysterious.
Yeah, I'd agree.
And before we go, remember wewant you to stay safe out there.
Let's be kind to one anotherand watch out for one another.
(37:39):
So until next time, guys, bye.
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