January 28, 2025 • 40 mins
This episode delves into the tragic disappearance of Layla Santanello, a young mother battling addiction, and the complexities surrounding her case. Through a combination of personal narrative and investigative insights, we explore the impact of addiction on relationships, the mysterious circumstances of Layla's last sighting, and the unsettling messages that emerged as her loved ones sought answers about her fate.
Consider supporting Layla's family by sharing their story and relevant information.
Sources:
https://disappearedblog.com/layla-santanello/
https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/keep-her-story-alive-layla-santanellos-disappearance-hits-1-year-mark/
https://www.the-sun.com/news/10583616/layla-santanello-missing-update-police-know-boyfriend-arrested/
https://wcyb.com/news/local/family-clings-to-hope-on-one-year-anniversary-of-layla-santanellos-disappearance
https://www.newsnationnow.com/missing/layla-santanello-hollynn-snapp/
https://wcyb.com/news/local/laylas-hope-family-starts-program-for-missing-youths-after-personal-tragedy
https://www.therogersvillereview.com/police_report/article_e4147e22-95db-11ee-8c41-efd06450b203.html
https://www.facebook.com/MissingPeopleInAmerica/posts/based-on-witness-statements-layla-spent-the-night-of-6252023-at-the-americourt-m/1041932277962397/
https://nypost.com/2023/12/06/news/young-moms-disappearance-could-absolutely-be-drug-related-stepmom/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByEkIjU6uZY
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/kingsportcitytennessee/PST045224
Music:
Crime Trap by MuzaProduction
Don't Look Down the Basement by Gioele Fazzeri
Creepy Atmosphere with Piano and Pad by Universfield
A Piano with a Creepy Atmosphere by Universfield
Gone in a Blink is created by Heather Hicks and Danielle E.
Written and produced by Heather Hicks and hosted by Danielle E. and Heather Hicks.
Gone in a Blink theme: Crime Trap created and produced by Muzaproduction
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Thanks for joining us on the airwaves. And remember......Be Safe, Be Smart, and Try Not to Blink.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
When you're 20 years old, you sometimes feel as if
you're invincible, becomingeasily influenced by those you
choose to surround yourself with.
You feel like the people aroundyou are your people, and when
addiction plays a role in youreveryday life, you may lean more
(00:37):
on those who you feel arefighting the same fight, are
fighting the same fight the onesthat know what it's like to
need what you need so badly, andthe ones who know how it feels
to have your world turned upsidedown by something that is
(00:59):
holding on to you so tight itfeels as if it will never let go
.
For 20-year-old LaylaSantanello, her two-year-old
daughter, nova, was her entireworld, but her fight with
addiction was so much bigger andthe love she had for her little
(01:19):
girl was no match for the pathher addiction was leading her to
was no match for the path heraddiction was leading her to.
This is the case of LaylaSantanello, and this is Gone in
(01:45):
a Blink.
Hey, true crime fans, I'm yourhost, heather, and I'm Danielle.
Welcome to episode 32 of Gonein a Blink.
I hope everyone across the US isstaying warm during these
frigid temperatures.
I believe I saw on the newsthat some places in the
southeast portion of the country, such as Pensacola and New
(02:05):
Orleans, louisiana, galveston,texas, just to name a few, got
pelted with blizzard-likeconditions this past week.
That is something theycertainly don't see every day.
Meanwhile, in LA andsurrounding areas, they are
still battling the wildfires.
So many people have lost theirhomes and so many animals have
(02:30):
been displaced as well, and itabsolutely breaks my heart to
see things on the news and seethings on social media of people
just kind of wonderingaimlessly because their entire
house and everything they loveis gone, and you see animals
that are roaming around.
They can't find their owners.
(02:50):
It's just absolutelyheartbreaking and our hearts do
go out to everyone who has beenaffected by these fires.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
You know what I see on social media a lot that
they're reporting on all of themovie stars that had lost their
homes.
But I think that we need toremember as well, of course, the
animals, but also that therewas people that had houses up
there that were not as as wellto do as some of these movie
stars cameramen, maybe producersjust starting out.
(03:20):
I want to recognize thosepeople as well, because anybody
to lose their home in a fireit's just so devastating.
And, of course, pets losingpets.
I've seen wildlife trying toescape but having no place to go
.
I also want to thank so muchthe people that have went out to
LA and are giving out meals,clothing, also to animal
(03:47):
shelters that are taking in someof these animals, even wildlife
that they're taking in to tryto shield from these fires.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yeah, I've seen a lot of that as well and I know,
like you said, there are a lotof content creators.
There are a lot of people thatare selling things like shirts
with California Relief to raisemoney to help with animal
shelters that are completelyoverwhelmed, or to help with
helping feed people, or peoplethat own Airbnbs are renting
(04:19):
that out for nothing, actuallyjust letting people stay there
for so many days, and it'sreally brought together the
community, everyone helpingeveryone.
Now there are people I have Ihave heard reports of people
that are taking advantage andactually some people are looting
(04:40):
houses that have been impactedby the fire, and I know that you
pretty much see that type ofthing anywhere.
It's just that's, that's how itis and it's awful.
It's awful that people wouldtake advantage of people that
literally have the shirts ontheir back and that's it.
It's just it's sick thatsomebody would do that.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I know it sickens me so much and unfortunately we
still have to be safe.
Even if you are donating to anyof these causes, please make
sure that it's a reputable cause.
Please do some research beforeyou give your money, because in
these times there's such goodpeople in the world that they're
like oh I can't be in LA, but Iwant to give, and I just would
(05:24):
hate for anybody to be scammedor for someone to take advantage
of that kindness.
So please be safe, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
So today's case was suggested to us by Riley K
Schell.
Today we are talking about thedisappearance of Layla
Santanello, so if you're ready,let's jump right in.
Layla Marie Santanello was bornon August 5th 2002 in the
(05:52):
Neptune Township area of NewJersey to parents George Emmett
and Jennifer Santanello.
Three months later, george andJennifer eventually split up,
and Layla and her mother movedin with her maternal
grandparents.
Layla spent quite a bit of timewith her grandparents and
therefore had formed a closebond with them.
(06:12):
Her mother began working nightsas a waitress, and so Layla
would pretty much spend herevenings hanging out with her
grandparents.
By March of 2005, jenniferdecided to take Layla and move
to Florida to be closer to hernew boyfriend.
Jennifer's new boyfriend playeda significant role in helping
to raise Layla.
Less than one year later,jennifer would give birth to
(06:35):
Layla's little brother, whomthey named Robbie Soon.
After Robbie was born, the fourwould pack up and move again,
this time to Tennessee, to becloser to Jennifer's boyfriend's
family.
Layla would split her timebetween her mom's house and
going back to New Jersey tospend time with her dad and his
parents.
Layla would split her timebetween her mom's house and
going back to New Jersey tospend time with her dad and his
parents.
Layla would again become a bigsister to another baby brother
(06:57):
by the name of Elijah, and shewas just over the moon with
excitement.
Layla was described by hermother as being a sassy, strong,
independent light.
She was also described by manyas being an extremely creative
and talented artist.
She delved into art camps anddrama clubs and had a passion
(07:20):
for music and theater.
Aside from Layla's creativeside, she was also very
independent and strong-willed.
Layla would sometimes show arebellious side growing up.
However, by the time she turned17, she really started trying
to get her life on track.
She graduated from high schoolearly and got a job to start
trying to make her own money.
(07:41):
By December of 2018, layla'sfather, george, met a woman by
the name of Brittany Zietler,and by 2019, brittany and George
decided to get married.
Layla was unsure of Brittany inthe beginning because of past
letdowns and things like that,but over time, the two formed an
inseparable bond.
Then, in April 2021, at the ageof 18, layla became a mother to
(08:06):
a little girl of her own thatshe named Nova Grace, after it
was discovered that the child'sfather was not going to be in
the picture.
Layla and her family ralliedaround young Nova and really
made sure that she hadeverything she needed and that
she knew how much she is loved.
About one year before Layla'sdisappearance, she started
(08:27):
suffering from postpartumdepression as well as the loss
of her grandfather.
This ended up leading to abattle with addiction.
Initially, layla was completelyagainst drugs of any kind and
she was quite vocal about it.
Also, she would try to help herboyfriend Michael detox and she
felt as if this was bringingthe two of them closer together.
(08:49):
Instead, layla spiraled intoher own addiction and, despite
her mother's efforts to get help, layla always refused, with the
belief that she could controlthe addiction herself.
So not only did she beginbattling her own addiction
issues, she was also trying tohelp Michael battle those issues
(09:09):
that he was having as well.
So before Layla's disappearance, layla and her boyfriend
Michael were living together.
However, their relationship waspretty strained.
Layla had been couch surfing atdifferent friends' houses while
trying to distance herself fromMichael and still fight the
battle of her heroin andfentanyl addiction.
(09:30):
On the night of June 25th 2023,witnesses claimed to have seen
Layla at the AmeriCorp Motel at1900 American Way in Kingsport,
tennessee.
On June 26th 2023, witnessesobserved Layla going
door-to-door at the same motel.
She appeared frantic butrefused help from anyone
(09:51):
offering her assistance.
In the late morning hours ofJune 26th Layla had an
altercation with an unknownperson.
She was reported to have anargument with motel staff who
had asked her to leave due toher erratic behavior.
Layla then ran to a nearby treeline around midday.
The following morning Layla wasspotted in the early morning
(10:13):
hours of June 27th atapproximately 6.15 am in a field
next to the AmeriCorp motel.
There is also a warehouselocated on the property and,
according to about fivewitnesses that were employed by
the warehouse, layla looked asif she had spent the night in
the field.
Now, it is important to notethat, according to Jennifer
(10:35):
Santanello, it was discoveredthat Layla had spent the night
at a homeless encampment thatwas located in the woods behind
the AmeriCorp motel.
She asked one of the employeesfor a cigarette before walking
onto what is referred to as theGreenbelt, and the Greenbelt is
a local path used for walkingand biking and running and
(10:56):
things of that nature.
She then took off into anunknown direction, so it was
later reported that around noonon June 27th Layla was seen at
the Marble Slab Creamery, whichis a local ice cream shop
located at 2003 North EastmanRoad in the East Stone Commons
(11:17):
Shopping Center.
She was wearing a white tanktop, black leggings and no shoes
.
She spoke to an employee at thecreamery, telling the employee
that she was going to the nearbyFive and Below store to
purchase shoes.
This would be the lastconfirmed sighting of Layla, as
she never made it to that store.
So Layla was reported missing byher stepmother, brittany, on
(11:39):
June 27th after receiving somestrange yet worrisome messages
from Layla's boyfriend, michael,according to an article in the
US Sun.
Three days before Layla wasreported missing.
So on June 24th, michael textedLayla's mother, Jennifer, from
Layla's Facebook account, askingif Layla was in the hospital or
(12:01):
in jail, because he had no ideawhere she was.
Then, later that same night,layla appeared to have messaged
her mother, jennifer, from thesame Facebook account.
The message said I'm fine, mom,I've been with a friend.
I don't have a phone to text orcall, I'm using someone else's.
Jennifer replied OK, I love you.
(12:22):
To which Layla replied I loveyou so much more.
This was Layla's final message.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Now that final message.
Is that something do we knowthat Jennifer and her daughter
would share that saying specific, or could that have been
somebody else?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Actually, we don't know that that wasn't someone
else.
There were no reports thatinsinuated that that was
something that they commonlysaid when they were messaging or
anything like that.
So I don't think that shereally had any reason to believe
that it wasn't her.
And you know, I'm not sure whatto make of those messages at
(12:58):
all.
I mean, could they have beensomeone else messaging Layla's
mother to make her believe thatLayla was okay, when in fact she
was not?
I mean, that's definitely apossibility.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Or maybe that really was her and her disappearance
was merely due to someone takingadvantage of her vulnerable
state of mind, which is a verygood possibility, as well, I
guess what I was thinking on thelines of that that this message
came from somebody else's phone, and maybe we haven't got that
far yet if we've figured outwhose phone, and then just kind
(13:30):
of the cryptic messages from herboyfriend, that honestly made
me believe there could be foulplay yeah, I think I mean
obviously hindsight's, 2020.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
So what we do know now looking back, it makes you
wonder.
You know, yeah, that's a greatpossibility that that was not
even her, because that was nother phone, although she could
have been using someone else's.
So multiple agencies took partin the search efforts, walking
the Greenbelt Trail with canineunits and searching the
(14:00):
surrounding areas on foot aswell as with drones.
However, the search effortsturned up nothing.
Layla's father, george, and herstepmother, brittany, made
numerous trips to Kingsport fromout of state to help with the
search.
Then, approximately two weeksafter Layla's disappearance, a
series of unusual requests beganfilling Jennifer and Brittany's
(14:23):
inbox.
They were from Cash App, whichis an app that allows users to
send and receive money, amongother things.
These requests were sent fromLayla's account to Jennifer as
well as Brittany, and they wereasking for money, and the
subject line of one request inparticular had the letters in
(14:44):
all caps TWLMG, and to us thatwould mean pretty much nothing.
I mean, I wouldn't even knowwhat to make of that.
It was a request for $100.
Then several more requests camethrough with the same subject
line, all within just a fewminutes of each other.
So, being very skeptical,jennifer sent $1 to Layla's
(15:08):
account and asked her daughterif she was okay.
Her question went unansweredand it was reported that Layla's
mom believed that the lettersTWLMG were an acronym for they
won't let me go.
I don't know what made her cometo that conclusion.
I mean that fits.
But you'd really have to sitthere and and think I mean I
(15:34):
don't know, I don't know ifthat's far-fetched or not, but
there could have been somethingto give her that idea that it
could even be something socryptic like that.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
But what it's sounding like that's a mother
trying to figure it out that sheprobably has a lot of time to
try to kryptonize ordecryptonize those letters.
Has you know?
I'm sure that that's justwhirling in her head of what
happened to my daughter and toget something like that.
I guess I think like, oh,somebody has gotten a hold of
(16:04):
Layla's account and that they'retrying to get money I mean, I
guess they don't know for surebut to then get TWLMG in the
notes or however, that would beso scary and I could just see
her mom trying to think of allpossibilities.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
I could totally see that, especially from a mother's
point of view.
So that's what she thought, andshe thought that her daughter
was being held hostage.
She then decided to ask theanonymous person behind her
daughter's account more personalquestions that only Layla could
answer.
She asked questions such aswhen Layla's little brother's
(16:44):
birthday is and what is herbrother's middle name.
The person on the other end ofthe messages would not respond
to any of it.
It was at this point thatJennifer felt that something was
terribly wrong, and so shecontacted the police.
Throughout the next severalweeks, jennifer and Brittany
continued to receive messages,and this time they were far more
(17:05):
threatening.
One request in particular wasfor $95, and the caption read
For 15 minutes, or you'll findher in pieces.
For 15 minutes, or you'll findher in pieces.
Eventually, police were able toaccess Layla's Cash app, where
they tracked the requests tonone other than Layla's
boyfriend, michael.
(17:26):
It was reported that Layla'sstepmother, brittany, had
suspected that Michael wasbehind the requests for several
weeks prior and that sheconfronted him about the
requests.
He adamantly denied doing it.
However, brittany told him thatshe was not mad about it and
that she knew that he did it outof desperation, as any addict
(17:47):
would have.
So obviously Layla's stepmotherknows a side of Michael that
most people probably do not.
I feel like for most people,myself included, this would have
raised a huge red flag for me.
I would probably not have beenas understanding as Brittany was
and I am trying to keep an openmind here because I don't know
(18:08):
Michael and just because he'sbattling addiction does not mean
that he is a killer.
So I really want to make thatclear.
I guess I just feel that hisactions only a couple of weeks
after his girlfriend wentmissing kind of says a lot to me
.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Anyway, no, I definitely agree.
An addiction is hard and I'mwondering if Brittany sees
another side of Michael, towhere it sounds like she's
trying to keep an open mind.
We never know.
Maybe she's dealt withaddiction before and can kind of
see it from that point of viewthat she's a little more
understanding.
But unfortunately it does seemlike at this moment a lot of the
(18:50):
signs are pointing to Michaeland foul play all through his
addiction.
Now we don't know right.
I mean, you are exactly right.
Just because somebody isaddicted to something does not
make them a killer.
Unfortunately, with addiction,whether that's stealing from
someone you hear that a lot orgoing to whatever lengths it can
(19:10):
take to get that next high,that is something that you see a
lot of as well.
Next high that is somethingthat you see a lot of as well.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Now I would be interested to see, you know, if
there are any other suspects.
As of right now, police are notsaying that there are any
suspects, but police are sayingthat they have a pretty good
idea of who they think it is.
So I don't know, maybe thereare technically suspects that
are not being released.
The names are not beingreleased.
It was also reported that justdays before Layla disappeared,
(19:43):
layla and Michael had been in anargument because she had
started seeing another man andthat is really why she had been
staying at friends' houses andeventually ended up at the
AmeriCorp motel before herdisappearance.
So her and Michael were alreadyhaving issues, and I think she
was trying to get clean.
(20:04):
She had spent time trying toget him clean as well, and I
think it sounds like she justshe was trying to possibly
better her life, but she washeld under by this addiction to
heroin and fentanyl, and I.
I don't know what Michael'saddiction was too, but I do know
(20:24):
that drugs will make you dothings that you would not
normally do, and so it makes mewonder if something happened
under the influence and whetherit was an accident or not.
It happened, and now maybe he'strying to save his own ass and
that's a very real possibility.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
ironically, someone that battles with addiction that
I spoke to this week theymentioned meth and heroin are
the two most addicting drugs andthe hardest to get off of.
So I can just imagine thestruggle that she was going
through in her own life if shewas addicted to heroin, and then
(21:06):
I mean for fentanyl.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
you said that I mean I don't know as far as, like,
the addiction level and how hardit is to wean off of that, but
it's amazing that she didn't die, because things laced with
fentanyl, I mean, can killsomeone in an instant yeah, it
doesn't take much of the drugfentanyl to kill a person and I
don't know all the ins and outsof these certain drugs, but I do
(21:31):
know that with certain drugs itwill make you do things that
you would not normally do.
So it wouldn't be out of reachto say something could have
happened and Michael maybe waseither involved or he knows
something about it.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Well, I think also what you said I mean could be so
very true that the intention tokill we don't know.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
But maybe something accidentally happened, something
unintentional well and, as Imentioned, she had some pretty
erratic behavior at the mayoralcourt in the days leading up to
her disappearance.
So I know that if you'rewalking around and you're
clearly on something and you'rehaving this episode, I believe
(22:20):
there are people out there thatwill see that and they will prey
on that and they will takeadvantage of your vulnerable
state of mind and, unfortunately, anything is possible at this
point.
Somebody could have seen her.
I don't know anything aboutthis motel.
So many people saw her actingerratically at the AmeriCorp and
(22:43):
a lot of people tried to helpher, but she refused help and,
probably because she was havingone of these episodes, it
sounded like she was paranoid,very paranoid too.
So somebody could have seenthat and, instead of helping her
, decided that they were goingto go take advantage.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yeah, didn't you mention that she was knocking on
several doors at the AmeriCorpsand I wonder when they would
open the door.
Was she just not making sense,or would she?
Speaker 1 (23:15):
I'm trying to get the reasoning that she's knocking
on these doors but then whenpeople offered the help, she
wouldn't accept the help thereweren't any reports about what
exactly was being said and ifshe was rambling or not making
any sense, but she was in a verydistressed state of mind.
Michael was ultimately arrestedfor the Cash App scheme.
(23:39):
He was charged with identitytheft, theft under $1,000,
illegal possession of fraudulentuse of a credit card and
extortion.
Investigators did say, however,that he is not currently
considered a suspect in Layla'sdisappearance.
Layla's stepmother, brittany,does not believe Michael was
(24:02):
involved in Layla'sdisappearance.
However, she does believe thathe knows more than he's saying.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Yeah, that's seeming like it, because how would he
have had access to her creditcards or even to her cash?
Speaker 1 (24:15):
app.
Well exactly, I mean, I don'tknow anything really about the
cash app, maybe it's kind oflike Venmo, I'm assuming in a
way.
But to have access to heraccount, I guess all you need is
her username, password, stufflike that maybe, and then you
can access her account.
But usually when you get moneyit goes into a bank account.
(24:36):
So I don, you get money, itgoes into a bank account.
So I don't know if it was goinginto her bank account or how he
was getting his hands on it.
Or maybe he got in there andswitched to his bank account,
which seems like a whole lot.
I don't know.
I really don't know how he gotany money.
Maybe he didn't get any money.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Well, so it sounds like he was trying to get money,
and for him to be charged andarrested he had to have got
something, maybe from the creditcard.
I don't know a whole lot aboutCash App either.
However, I have always heardthat it's a little easier and
little easier to access themoney than Venmo, so there may
(25:14):
be something with that.
But yeah, unfortunately I don'tknow a whole lot.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Well, it was reported by the US Sun that before
Michael's arrest he talked toBrittany, telling her that he
had some information about Layla, and so she arranged for a
meeting with law enforcement atMichael's requests.
However, michael never showed up.
So Brittany believes that Layla, who was already struggling
(25:40):
with addiction, possibly hadoverdosed and whoever was with
her may have failed to report itand possibly even covered it up
and disposed of her body.
And according to Brittany,michael had been struggling hard
with Layla's disappearance andsince then has spiraled deeper
into a path of self-destructionand excessive drug use.
(26:02):
So they're pretty firm on thebelief that Michael had nothing
to do with this.
But they do think that he knowsmore than he's letting on, and
the only thing I could think ofas to why anyone would have more
information than they'reletting on is because they
played some sort of part ineither something happening to
(26:23):
her or disposing of her to coverit up.
I mean, how do you feel aboutthat?
If you've got information andyou have nothing on you because
you didn't do anything, whywould you not go to the police
and tell them what you know,unless you thought that you were
going down for something?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
well, and how you mentioned earlier that one of
the messages on the cash appsays that and you may have to to
remind me a little bit.
I believe you said you wouldfind her in pieces, that that
would be pretty damning.
So they know that that michaelwas the one that had control of
the cash app, but then to make acomment like that, it's almost
like he was trying to make itlook like a ransom, almost.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Oh, I definitely felt that way too.
I felt like it's a form ofintimidation.
Extortion is what he's beingcharged with to get money.
But I don't know if it was asituation where he was saying if
you give me this money, I willtell you where Layla is.
It didn't really go in depthfrom all the things that I found
(27:26):
on how far he took it, but itwas threatening.
He was threatening, so itsounded more like if you don't
give me this money, I'm going tokill her and I don't know.
Yes, he's battling addictionand you're going to do things
that you normally wouldn't dofor that fix.
And we can sit here and say howdisgusting it is because he
(27:51):
just lost his girlfriend.
You know he doesn't know whereshe's at, she could be dead
somewhere and two weeks later heis saying this stuff and using
her cash app to get money fromher parents, who it sounded like
he kind of had a little bit ofa relationship with, at least
with Brittany, layla'sstepmother, who was also on the
(28:14):
other end of these messages.
So you know, this family istraumatized by Layla being
missing and they're in anextremely vulnerable state and
you are taking advantage of that.
But that's the addiction.
The addiction is takingadvantage of everything, and
even Brittany said she told himshe's not mad at him because she
(28:35):
knows that he's doing thisbecause of his addiction.
So she's not wrong, but Ireally do feel like he knows
where Layla is and he knows whathappened to her.
So less than four months afterLayla disappeared, another young
girl went missing.
19-year-old Holland Snappdisappeared from a residence not
(28:58):
far from where Layladisappeared, in Kingsport.
Holland was described by hermother, heather, as having an
addictive personality and wasalso struggling with a meth
addiction.
At the time of herdisappearance, her mother went
on to explain that Hollandfunctions at a 10-year-old level
and is extremely trusting ofothers, making her more
(29:21):
vulnerable to anyone out therewho may want to harm her
daughter out there.
Who may want to harm herdaughter?
According to Heather, hollandhad been at a party on October
5th 2023, when she was in analtercation with another
individual whose name has notbeen made public.
That was the last time anyonehad seen Holland.
(29:42):
Both Layla's mother as well asHolland's mother have come
together to search for clues asto what happened to their
daughters.
One thing that seemed to catchtheir attention were the
similarities between the twoyoung women.
It was discovered that bothHolland and Layla ran around
with the same circle of friendsand had similar lifestyles,
(30:03):
although it's unclear whether ornot the two ladies knew each
other.
Lifestyles although it'sunclear whether or not the two
ladies knew each other.
Then, on December 5th of thesame year, a third young woman
went missing from Kingsport.
33-year-old Shauna Lee wasreported missing by her family
after they became concerned forher welfare and decided to
contact the Kingsport PoliceDepartment.
She was last seen in the areaof the Five and Below store at
(30:27):
2003 North Eastman Road and,ironically enough, this is the
same Five and Below store thatLayla was going to be headed to
once she left the ice cream shop, but she never made it there,
and I felt that this was reallypretty coincidental.
Kingsport isn't that small of atown and, according to the US
(30:49):
Census Bureau, in July of 2023,it had a population of just
under 57,000 people, so it'sjust a bit strange to me that
the Five and Below store wouldbe mentioned in both
disappearances, and for ourlisteners who may not be
familiar with Five and Below,it's basically a neat little
(31:10):
store that has a little bit ofeverything from makeup to
stationery and books, t-shirts,shoes, games, phone accessories
and different things like thatat a discounted price.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
That is very ironic, that it would be the same area.
So I mean I wonder if thepolice have explored the
possibility that someone is kindof staking that area and
looking for young women, whetherthey're showing erratic
behavior or however.
I mean, like you said, thatpeople unfortunately can take
(31:45):
advantage of that.
And yes, Five Below, we know itwell, Unfortunately.
I wish they'd changed the namebecause sometimes it's not Five
and Below, but you know Idigress.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
It's supposed to be a more discounted store and my
kids are crazy about it, so itis ironic that the store is
involved.
Well, it's not really the storeitself, but that area involved
in both of these cases, and I'vealways been pretty firm that I
don't believe that there are anycoincidences when it comes to
(32:18):
crime.
So I find it really hard tobelieve that this just was
coincidental, just happened tobe that same area around that
store.
Whatever it is about this area,I do believe, like what you
said, that there's someone thatis just kind of keeping an eye
out and stalking, maybe to acertain degree, young women that
(32:43):
are in a vulnerable state.
Well, and I'm not sure that inHolland's situation that she was
acting erratic.
Nothing that I found said thatshe was acting erratic at the
time, but she had been at aparty and she had gotten into an
altercation or a fight withsomeone there and that was the
(33:06):
last time she was seen.
Didn't say if she was using atthat moment or if she was acting
erratic, but that was the lasttime she was seen.
She was actually at someone'shouse, but it was a party, so
they ran into the same circle,so maybe it's someone in this
circle that is preying on.
(33:27):
That's kind of what I'm goingwith, because it just so happens
to be that they run in the samecircle.
Whether or not they know eachother remains to be seen, but I
don't know.
I just feel like there's a goodpossibility that it could be
someone within that circle, andI don't even know if it's a big
(33:47):
circle of friends or I think ifit was a smaller circle then
they would without a doubt haveknown each other.
So it could just be a bigcircle of people that kind of
interact with each other,intertwine with each other, but
may not necessarily know I getwhat you're saying there and you
make a good point.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
I'm wondering if they traveled in the same circle,
even if it was a larger circle.
Has there been any connectionto Michael to Holland?
Do we know if he?
Speaker 1 (34:17):
knew her.
There hasn't been any mentionof whether or not Michael knew
her.
That's a very good question,though I'd like to know that one
Police are looking into thethree missing person cases to
see if they are connected in anyway.
So Shauna's case and Layla'scase have that common factor in
(34:40):
there, which is the five andbelow.
But Layla and Holland were thetwo that ran with the same
circle of friends, so it is easyto get confused.
It is easy to get confused withthis, but as far as we know,
neither one of the girls had anyconnection to Shauna.
Shauna was a lot older too.
(35:01):
Shauna was 33 years old, so itdoesn't mean that they couldn't
have known each other threeyears old, so it doesn't mean
that they couldn't have knowneach other.
But there's nothing insinuatingthat she was tied in with the
other two, at least not yet.
But, like I said, police arelooking into the possibility
that the three missing personcases are connected, maybe by
the same person who's out therepreying on obviously younger
(35:24):
women.
So, according to reports,layla's life had begun to spiral
downhill in the weeks leadingup to her disappearance.
Two weeks before Layla was lastseen, she had lost temporary
custody of her two-year-olddaughter, nova.
Her next family court date wasset for June 28th, two days
(35:44):
after she was reported missing.
In the days leading up to herdisappearance, layla was in the
process of trying to cut tiesfrom her boyfriend, michael.
Layla's family believes she hadmet a new man and, although
this man's name has not beenmentioned, he had been trying to
take care of Layla by lettingher stay with him a few times at
(36:05):
his house before herdisappearance.
Friends and family of LaylaSantanello started a program
designed to help others insimilar situations called
Layla's Hope.
Layla's aunt, stacy Morgan, isthe executive director of the
program, which is an active partof the Mental Health
Transformation Alliance, analliance that aims to help
(36:28):
families and young adults withdisabilities.
Stacey says that their goal isto connect families and young
adults with the proper resources.
Their mission is to ensure thatmissing, runaway, homeless and
street youth slash, young adultswho have been subjected to or
are at risk of being subjectedto sexual abuse, human
(36:52):
trafficking or sexualexploitation and their families
have access to resources andsupport that rebuild connections
and develop a sense of safety,hope and leadership.
And I will post a link to theFacebook page for Layla's Hope
on our Facebook page.
Layla's family believe that herdisappearance could be
(37:16):
drug-related and they are askingfor the public's help in
locating her.
Layla Santanello is a whitefemale with blonde hair and
brown eyes.
She is 4 foot 10 inches talland weighs approximately 135
pounds.
She has multiple tattoos,including Roman numerals on her
collarbone and her daughter'sname, nova Grace, on her left
(37:40):
forearm.
Layla's mother, jennifer, hashired a private investigator to
help work on her daughter's case.
If you have any information onthe whereabouts of Layla
Santanello, please contact theTBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND or the
Kingsport Police Department atarea code 423-343-9780.
(38:07):
In addition, layla's mother,jennifer, has hired a private
investigator to help withLayla's case.
A tip line has been set up atarea code 423-212-5804 and you
can remain completely anonymous.
Holland Snap was 19 years old atthe time of her disappearance
(38:29):
and would be 20 years old today.
She is 4 foot 8 inches tall andweighs approximately 90 pounds,
with brown hair and hazel eyes.
If you have any information inHolland's disappearance, you are
urged to contact DetectiveAnthony Stevens at area code
432-279-7330 or PrivateInvestigator Steve Fisher at
(38:57):
area code 877-619-9890.
Both Layla and Holland are nowclassified as missing and
endangered.
Private investigator SteveFisher is working both cases of
Layla and Holland, and he hasbeen working tirelessly to
explore the possibility of anyconnection between the two
(39:19):
disappearances.
Shauna Lee is a 33-year-oldwhite female with black hair and
brown eyes.
She is approximately 5 foot 8inches tall and weighs
approximately 140 pounds.
Anyone with information on thewhereabouts of Shauna is urged
to call the KPD CriminalInvestigations Division at area
(39:42):
code 423-229-9429 or theKingsport Central Dispatch at
area code 423-246-9111.
Thank you for listening toanother episode of Gone in a
Blink.
I want to say thank you againto Riley for suggesting this
(40:05):
case.
Our hearts go out to thefamilies and we pray that the
right person comes forward withinformation leading to their
safe return.
If you like our show, pleaseconsider giving us a five-star
review on Apple Podcasts and toget the latest updates on the
cases we cover, follow us on anyof our social media sites.
(40:26):
You can follow us on Facebookat Gone in a Blink, or on
Instagram at Gone in a Blink Pod, and if you have an idea for a
show or you know of someone whois missing and you'd like us to
cover their case, drop us anemail at goneinablinkpod at
gmailcom.
And don't forget be safe, besmart and try not to blink.
When you're 20 years old, you sometimes feel as if
you're invincible, becomingeasily influenced by those you
choose to surround yourself with.
You feel like the people aroundyou are your people, and when
addiction plays a role in youreveryday life, you may lean more
(00:37):
on those who you feel arefighting the same fight, are
fighting the same fight the onesthat know what it's like to
need what you need so badly, andthe ones who know how it feels
to have your world turned upsidedown by something that is
(00:59):
holding on to you so tight itfeels as if it will never let go
.
For 20-year-old LaylaSantanello, her two-year-old
daughter, nova, was her entireworld, but her fight with
addiction was so much bigger andthe love she had for her little
(01:19):
girl was no match for the pathher addiction was leading her to
was no match for the path heraddiction was leading her to.
This is the case of LaylaSantanello, and this is Gone in
(01:45):
a Blink.
Hey, true crime fans, I'm yourhost, heather, and I'm Danielle.
Welcome to episode 32 of Gonein a Blink.
I hope everyone across the US isstaying warm during these
frigid temperatures.
I believe I saw on the newsthat some places in the
southeast portion of the country, such as Pensacola and New
(02:05):
Orleans, louisiana, galveston,texas, just to name a few, got
pelted with blizzard-likeconditions this past week.
That is something theycertainly don't see every day.
Meanwhile, in LA andsurrounding areas, they are
still battling the wildfires.
So many people have lost theirhomes and so many animals have
(02:30):
been displaced as well, and itabsolutely breaks my heart to
see things on the news and seethings on social media of people
just kind of wonderingaimlessly because their entire
house and everything they loveis gone, and you see animals
that are roaming around.
They can't find their owners.
(02:50):
It's just absolutelyheartbreaking and our hearts do
go out to everyone who has beenaffected by these fires.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
You know what I see on social media a lot that
they're reporting on all of themovie stars that had lost their
homes.
But I think that we need toremember as well, of course, the
animals, but also that therewas people that had houses up
there that were not as as wellto do as some of these movie
stars cameramen, maybe producersjust starting out.
(03:20):
I want to recognize thosepeople as well, because anybody
to lose their home in a fireit's just so devastating.
And, of course, pets losingpets.
I've seen wildlife trying toescape but having no place to go
.
I also want to thank so muchthe people that have went out to
LA and are giving out meals,clothing, also to animal
(03:47):
shelters that are taking in someof these animals, even wildlife
that they're taking in to tryto shield from these fires.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yeah, I've seen a lot of that as well and I know,
like you said, there are a lotof content creators.
There are a lot of people thatare selling things like shirts
with California Relief to raisemoney to help with animal
shelters that are completelyoverwhelmed, or to help with
helping feed people, or peoplethat own Airbnbs are renting
(04:19):
that out for nothing, actuallyjust letting people stay there
for so many days, and it'sreally brought together the
community, everyone helpingeveryone.
Now there are people I have Ihave heard reports of people
that are taking advantage andactually some people are looting
(04:40):
houses that have been impactedby the fire, and I know that you
pretty much see that type ofthing anywhere.
It's just that's, that's how itis and it's awful.
It's awful that people wouldtake advantage of people that
literally have the shirts ontheir back and that's it.
It's just it's sick thatsomebody would do that.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I know it sickens me so much and unfortunately we
still have to be safe.
Even if you are donating to anyof these causes, please make
sure that it's a reputable cause.
Please do some research beforeyou give your money, because in
these times there's such goodpeople in the world that they're
like oh I can't be in LA, but Iwant to give, and I just would
(05:24):
hate for anybody to be scammedor for someone to take advantage
of that kindness.
So please be safe, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
So today's case was suggested to us by Riley K
Schell.
Today we are talking about thedisappearance of Layla
Santanello, so if you're ready,let's jump right in.
Layla Marie Santanello was bornon August 5th 2002 in the
(05:52):
Neptune Township area of NewJersey to parents George Emmett
and Jennifer Santanello.
Three months later, george andJennifer eventually split up,
and Layla and her mother movedin with her maternal
grandparents.
Layla spent quite a bit of timewith her grandparents and
therefore had formed a closebond with them.
(06:12):
Her mother began working nightsas a waitress, and so Layla
would pretty much spend herevenings hanging out with her
grandparents.
By March of 2005, jenniferdecided to take Layla and move
to Florida to be closer to hernew boyfriend.
Jennifer's new boyfriend playeda significant role in helping
to raise Layla.
Less than one year later,jennifer would give birth to
(06:35):
Layla's little brother, whomthey named Robbie Soon.
After Robbie was born, the fourwould pack up and move again,
this time to Tennessee, to becloser to Jennifer's boyfriend's
family.
Layla would split her timebetween her mom's house and
going back to New Jersey tospend time with her dad and his
parents.
Layla would split her timebetween her mom's house and
going back to New Jersey tospend time with her dad and his
parents.
Layla would again become a bigsister to another baby brother
(06:57):
by the name of Elijah, and shewas just over the moon with
excitement.
Layla was described by hermother as being a sassy, strong,
independent light.
She was also described by manyas being an extremely creative
and talented artist.
She delved into art camps anddrama clubs and had a passion
(07:20):
for music and theater.
Aside from Layla's creativeside, she was also very
independent and strong-willed.
Layla would sometimes show arebellious side growing up.
However, by the time she turned17, she really started trying
to get her life on track.
She graduated from high schoolearly and got a job to start
trying to make her own money.
(07:41):
By December of 2018, layla'sfather, george, met a woman by
the name of Brittany Zietler,and by 2019, brittany and George
decided to get married.
Layla was unsure of Brittany inthe beginning because of past
letdowns and things like that,but over time, the two formed an
inseparable bond.
Then, in April 2021, at the ageof 18, layla became a mother to
(08:06):
a little girl of her own thatshe named Nova Grace, after it
was discovered that the child'sfather was not going to be in
the picture.
Layla and her family ralliedaround young Nova and really
made sure that she hadeverything she needed and that
she knew how much she is loved.
About one year before Layla'sdisappearance, she started
(08:27):
suffering from postpartumdepression as well as the loss
of her grandfather.
This ended up leading to abattle with addiction.
Initially, layla was completelyagainst drugs of any kind and
she was quite vocal about it.
Also, she would try to help herboyfriend Michael detox and she
felt as if this was bringingthe two of them closer together.
(08:49):
Instead, layla spiraled intoher own addiction and, despite
her mother's efforts to get help, layla always refused, with the
belief that she could controlthe addiction herself.
So not only did she beginbattling her own addiction
issues, she was also trying tohelp Michael battle those issues
(09:09):
that he was having as well.
So before Layla's disappearance, layla and her boyfriend
Michael were living together.
However, their relationship waspretty strained.
Layla had been couch surfing atdifferent friends' houses while
trying to distance herself fromMichael and still fight the
battle of her heroin andfentanyl addiction.
(09:30):
On the night of June 25th 2023,witnesses claimed to have seen
Layla at the AmeriCorp Motel at1900 American Way in Kingsport,
tennessee.
On June 26th 2023, witnessesobserved Layla going
door-to-door at the same motel.
She appeared frantic butrefused help from anyone
(09:51):
offering her assistance.
In the late morning hours ofJune 26th Layla had an
altercation with an unknownperson.
She was reported to have anargument with motel staff who
had asked her to leave due toher erratic behavior.
Layla then ran to a nearby treeline around midday.
The following morning Layla wasspotted in the early morning
(10:13):
hours of June 27th atapproximately 6.15 am in a field
next to the AmeriCorp motel.
There is also a warehouselocated on the property and,
according to about fivewitnesses that were employed by
the warehouse, layla looked asif she had spent the night in
the field.
Now, it is important to notethat, according to Jennifer
(10:35):
Santanello, it was discoveredthat Layla had spent the night
at a homeless encampment thatwas located in the woods behind
the AmeriCorp motel.
She asked one of the employeesfor a cigarette before walking
onto what is referred to as theGreenbelt, and the Greenbelt is
a local path used for walkingand biking and running and
(10:56):
things of that nature.
She then took off into anunknown direction, so it was
later reported that around noonon June 27th Layla was seen at
the Marble Slab Creamery, whichis a local ice cream shop
located at 2003 North EastmanRoad in the East Stone Commons
(11:17):
Shopping Center.
She was wearing a white tanktop, black leggings and no shoes
.
She spoke to an employee at thecreamery, telling the employee
that she was going to the nearbyFive and Below store to
purchase shoes.
This would be the lastconfirmed sighting of Layla, as
she never made it to that store.
So Layla was reported missing byher stepmother, brittany, on
(11:39):
June 27th after receiving somestrange yet worrisome messages
from Layla's boyfriend, michael,according to an article in the
US Sun.
Three days before Layla wasreported missing.
So on June 24th, michael textedLayla's mother, Jennifer, from
Layla's Facebook account, askingif Layla was in the hospital or
(12:01):
in jail, because he had no ideawhere she was.
Then, later that same night,layla appeared to have messaged
her mother, jennifer, from thesame Facebook account.
The message said I'm fine, mom,I've been with a friend.
I don't have a phone to text orcall, I'm using someone else's.
Jennifer replied OK, I love you.
(12:22):
To which Layla replied I loveyou so much more.
This was Layla's final message.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Now that final message.
Is that something do we knowthat Jennifer and her daughter
would share that saying specific, or could that have been
somebody else?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Actually, we don't know that that wasn't someone
else.
There were no reports thatinsinuated that that was
something that they commonlysaid when they were messaging or
anything like that.
So I don't think that shereally had any reason to believe
that it wasn't her.
And you know, I'm not sure whatto make of those messages at
(12:58):
all.
I mean, could they have beensomeone else messaging Layla's
mother to make her believe thatLayla was okay, when in fact she
was not?
I mean, that's definitely apossibility.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Or maybe that really was her and her disappearance
was merely due to someone takingadvantage of her vulnerable
state of mind, which is a verygood possibility, as well, I
guess what I was thinking on thelines of that that this message
came from somebody else's phone, and maybe we haven't got that
far yet if we've figured outwhose phone, and then just kind
(13:30):
of the cryptic messages from herboyfriend, that honestly made
me believe there could be foulplay yeah, I think I mean
obviously hindsight's, 2020.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
So what we do know now looking back, it makes you
wonder.
You know, yeah, that's a greatpossibility that that was not
even her, because that was nother phone, although she could
have been using someone else's.
So multiple agencies took partin the search efforts, walking
the Greenbelt Trail with canineunits and searching the
(14:00):
surrounding areas on foot aswell as with drones.
However, the search effortsturned up nothing.
Layla's father, george, and herstepmother, brittany, made
numerous trips to Kingsport fromout of state to help with the
search.
Then, approximately two weeksafter Layla's disappearance, a
series of unusual requests beganfilling Jennifer and Brittany's
(14:23):
inbox.
They were from Cash App, whichis an app that allows users to
send and receive money, amongother things.
These requests were sent fromLayla's account to Jennifer as
well as Brittany, and they wereasking for money, and the
subject line of one request inparticular had the letters in
(14:44):
all caps TWLMG, and to us thatwould mean pretty much nothing.
I mean, I wouldn't even knowwhat to make of that.
It was a request for $100.
Then several more requests camethrough with the same subject
line, all within just a fewminutes of each other.
So, being very skeptical,jennifer sent $1 to Layla's
(15:08):
account and asked her daughterif she was okay.
Her question went unansweredand it was reported that Layla's
mom believed that the lettersTWLMG were an acronym for they
won't let me go.
I don't know what made her cometo that conclusion.
I mean that fits.
But you'd really have to sitthere and and think I mean I
(15:34):
don't know, I don't know ifthat's far-fetched or not, but
there could have been somethingto give her that idea that it
could even be something socryptic like that.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
But what it's sounding like that's a mother
trying to figure it out that sheprobably has a lot of time to
try to kryptonize ordecryptonize those letters.
Has you know?
I'm sure that that's justwhirling in her head of what
happened to my daughter and toget something like that.
I guess I think like, oh,somebody has gotten a hold of
(16:04):
Layla's account and that they'retrying to get money I mean, I
guess they don't know for surebut to then get TWLMG in the
notes or however, that would beso scary and I could just see
her mom trying to think of allpossibilities.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
I could totally see that, especially from a mother's
point of view.
So that's what she thought, andshe thought that her daughter
was being held hostage.
She then decided to ask theanonymous person behind her
daughter's account more personalquestions that only Layla could
answer.
She asked questions such aswhen Layla's little brother's
(16:44):
birthday is and what is herbrother's middle name.
The person on the other end ofthe messages would not respond
to any of it.
It was at this point thatJennifer felt that something was
terribly wrong, and so shecontacted the police.
Throughout the next severalweeks, jennifer and Brittany
continued to receive messages,and this time they were far more
(17:05):
threatening.
One request in particular wasfor $95, and the caption read
For 15 minutes, or you'll findher in pieces.
For 15 minutes, or you'll findher in pieces.
Eventually, police were able toaccess Layla's Cash app, where
they tracked the requests tonone other than Layla's
boyfriend, michael.
(17:26):
It was reported that Layla'sstepmother, brittany, had
suspected that Michael wasbehind the requests for several
weeks prior and that sheconfronted him about the
requests.
He adamantly denied doing it.
However, brittany told him thatshe was not mad about it and
that she knew that he did it outof desperation, as any addict
(17:47):
would have.
So obviously Layla's stepmotherknows a side of Michael that
most people probably do not.
I feel like for most people,myself included, this would have
raised a huge red flag for me.
I would probably not have beenas understanding as Brittany was
and I am trying to keep an openmind here because I don't know
(18:08):
Michael and just because he'sbattling addiction does not mean
that he is a killer.
So I really want to make thatclear.
I guess I just feel that hisactions only a couple of weeks
after his girlfriend wentmissing kind of says a lot to me
.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Anyway, no, I definitely agree.
An addiction is hard and I'mwondering if Brittany sees
another side of Michael, towhere it sounds like she's
trying to keep an open mind.
We never know.
Maybe she's dealt withaddiction before and can kind of
see it from that point of viewthat she's a little more
understanding.
But unfortunately it does seemlike at this moment a lot of the
(18:50):
signs are pointing to Michaeland foul play all through his
addiction.
Now we don't know right.
I mean, you are exactly right.
Just because somebody isaddicted to something does not
make them a killer.
Unfortunately, with addiction,whether that's stealing from
someone you hear that a lot orgoing to whatever lengths it can
(19:10):
take to get that next high,that is something that you see a
lot of as well.
Next high that is somethingthat you see a lot of as well.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Now I would be interested to see, you know, if
there are any other suspects.
As of right now, police are notsaying that there are any
suspects, but police are sayingthat they have a pretty good
idea of who they think it is.
So I don't know, maybe thereare technically suspects that
are not being released.
The names are not beingreleased.
It was also reported that justdays before Layla disappeared,
(19:43):
layla and Michael had been in anargument because she had
started seeing another man andthat is really why she had been
staying at friends' houses andeventually ended up at the
AmeriCorp motel before herdisappearance.
So her and Michael were alreadyhaving issues, and I think she
was trying to get clean.
(20:04):
She had spent time trying toget him clean as well, and I
think it sounds like she justshe was trying to possibly
better her life, but she washeld under by this addiction to
heroin and fentanyl, and I.
I don't know what Michael'saddiction was too, but I do know
(20:24):
that drugs will make you dothings that you would not
normally do, and so it makes mewonder if something happened
under the influence and whetherit was an accident or not.
It happened, and now maybe he'strying to save his own ass and
that's a very real possibility.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
ironically, someone that battles with addiction that
I spoke to this week theymentioned meth and heroin are
the two most addicting drugs andthe hardest to get off of.
So I can just imagine thestruggle that she was going
through in her own life if shewas addicted to heroin, and then
(21:06):
I mean for fentanyl.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
you said that I mean I don't know as far as, like,
the addiction level and how hardit is to wean off of that, but
it's amazing that she didn't die, because things laced with
fentanyl, I mean, can killsomeone in an instant yeah, it
doesn't take much of the drugfentanyl to kill a person and I
don't know all the ins and outsof these certain drugs, but I do
(21:31):
know that with certain drugs itwill make you do things that
you would not normally do.
So it wouldn't be out of reachto say something could have
happened and Michael maybe waseither involved or he knows
something about it.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Well, I think also what you said I mean could be so
very true that the intention tokill we don't know.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
But maybe something accidentally happened, something
unintentional well and, as Imentioned, she had some pretty
erratic behavior at the mayoralcourt in the days leading up to
her disappearance.
So I know that if you'rewalking around and you're
clearly on something and you'rehaving this episode, I believe
(22:20):
there are people out there thatwill see that and they will prey
on that and they will takeadvantage of your vulnerable
state of mind and, unfortunately, anything is possible at this
point.
Somebody could have seen her.
I don't know anything aboutthis motel.
So many people saw her actingerratically at the AmeriCorp and
(22:43):
a lot of people tried to helpher, but she refused help and,
probably because she was havingone of these episodes, it
sounded like she was paranoid,very paranoid too.
So somebody could have seenthat and, instead of helping her
, decided that they were goingto go take advantage.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yeah, didn't you mention that she was knocking on
several doors at the AmeriCorpsand I wonder when they would
open the door.
Was she just not making sense,or would she?
Speaker 1 (23:15):
I'm trying to get the reasoning that she's knocking
on these doors but then whenpeople offered the help, she
wouldn't accept the help thereweren't any reports about what
exactly was being said and ifshe was rambling or not making
any sense, but she was in a verydistressed state of mind.
Michael was ultimately arrestedfor the Cash App scheme.
(23:39):
He was charged with identitytheft, theft under $1,000,
illegal possession of fraudulentuse of a credit card and
extortion.
Investigators did say, however,that he is not currently
considered a suspect in Layla'sdisappearance.
Layla's stepmother, brittany,does not believe Michael was
(24:02):
involved in Layla'sdisappearance.
However, she does believe thathe knows more than he's saying.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Yeah, that's seeming like it, because how would he
have had access to her creditcards or even to her cash?
Speaker 1 (24:15):
app.
Well exactly, I mean, I don'tknow anything really about the
cash app, maybe it's kind oflike Venmo, I'm assuming in a
way.
But to have access to heraccount, I guess all you need is
her username, password, stufflike that maybe, and then you
can access her account.
But usually when you get moneyit goes into a bank account.
(24:36):
So I don, you get money, itgoes into a bank account.
So I don't know if it was goinginto her bank account or how he
was getting his hands on it.
Or maybe he got in there andswitched to his bank account,
which seems like a whole lot.
I don't know.
I really don't know how he gotany money.
Maybe he didn't get any money.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Well, so it sounds like he was trying to get money,
and for him to be charged andarrested he had to have got
something, maybe from the creditcard.
I don't know a whole lot aboutCash App either.
However, I have always heardthat it's a little easier and
little easier to access themoney than Venmo, so there may
(25:14):
be something with that.
But yeah, unfortunately I don'tknow a whole lot.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Well, it was reported by the US Sun that before
Michael's arrest he talked toBrittany, telling her that he
had some information about Layla, and so she arranged for a
meeting with law enforcement atMichael's requests.
However, michael never showed up.
So Brittany believes that Layla, who was already struggling
(25:40):
with addiction, possibly hadoverdosed and whoever was with
her may have failed to report itand possibly even covered it up
and disposed of her body.
And according to Brittany,michael had been struggling hard
with Layla's disappearance andsince then has spiraled deeper
into a path of self-destructionand excessive drug use.
(26:02):
So they're pretty firm on thebelief that Michael had nothing
to do with this.
But they do think that he knowsmore than he's letting on, and
the only thing I could think ofas to why anyone would have more
information than they'reletting on is because they
played some sort of part ineither something happening to
(26:23):
her or disposing of her to coverit up.
I mean, how do you feel aboutthat?
If you've got information andyou have nothing on you because
you didn't do anything, whywould you not go to the police
and tell them what you know,unless you thought that you were
going down for something?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
well, and how you mentioned earlier that one of
the messages on the cash appsays that and you may have to to
remind me a little bit.
I believe you said you wouldfind her in pieces, that that
would be pretty damning.
So they know that that michaelwas the one that had control of
the cash app, but then to make acomment like that, it's almost
like he was trying to make itlook like a ransom, almost.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Oh, I definitely felt that way too.
I felt like it's a form ofintimidation.
Extortion is what he's beingcharged with to get money.
But I don't know if it was asituation where he was saying if
you give me this money, I willtell you where Layla is.
It didn't really go in depthfrom all the things that I found
(27:26):
on how far he took it, but itwas threatening.
He was threatening, so itsounded more like if you don't
give me this money, I'm going tokill her and I don't know.
Yes, he's battling addictionand you're going to do things
that you normally wouldn't dofor that fix.
And we can sit here and say howdisgusting it is because he
(27:51):
just lost his girlfriend.
You know he doesn't know whereshe's at, she could be dead
somewhere and two weeks later heis saying this stuff and using
her cash app to get money fromher parents, who it sounded like
he kind of had a little bit ofa relationship with, at least
with Brittany, layla'sstepmother, who was also on the
(28:14):
other end of these messages.
So you know, this family istraumatized by Layla being
missing and they're in anextremely vulnerable state and
you are taking advantage of that.
But that's the addiction.
The addiction is takingadvantage of everything, and
even Brittany said she told himshe's not mad at him because she
(28:35):
knows that he's doing thisbecause of his addiction.
So she's not wrong, but Ireally do feel like he knows
where Layla is and he knows whathappened to her.
So less than four months afterLayla disappeared, another young
girl went missing.
19-year-old Holland Snappdisappeared from a residence not
(28:58):
far from where Layladisappeared, in Kingsport.
Holland was described by hermother, heather, as having an
addictive personality and wasalso struggling with a meth
addiction.
At the time of herdisappearance, her mother went
on to explain that Hollandfunctions at a 10-year-old level
and is extremely trusting ofothers, making her more
(29:21):
vulnerable to anyone out therewho may want to harm her
daughter out there.
Who may want to harm herdaughter?
According to Heather, hollandhad been at a party on October
5th 2023, when she was in analtercation with another
individual whose name has notbeen made public.
That was the last time anyonehad seen Holland.
(29:42):
Both Layla's mother as well asHolland's mother have come
together to search for clues asto what happened to their
daughters.
One thing that seemed to catchtheir attention were the
similarities between the twoyoung women.
It was discovered that bothHolland and Layla ran around
with the same circle of friendsand had similar lifestyles,
(30:03):
although it's unclear whether ornot the two ladies knew each
other.
Lifestyles although it'sunclear whether or not the two
ladies knew each other.
Then, on December 5th of thesame year, a third young woman
went missing from Kingsport.
33-year-old Shauna Lee wasreported missing by her family
after they became concerned forher welfare and decided to
contact the Kingsport PoliceDepartment.
She was last seen in the areaof the Five and Below store at
(30:27):
2003 North Eastman Road and,ironically enough, this is the
same Five and Below store thatLayla was going to be headed to
once she left the ice cream shop, but she never made it there,
and I felt that this was reallypretty coincidental.
Kingsport isn't that small of atown and, according to the US
(30:49):
Census Bureau, in July of 2023,it had a population of just
under 57,000 people, so it'sjust a bit strange to me that
the Five and Below store wouldbe mentioned in both
disappearances, and for ourlisteners who may not be
familiar with Five and Below,it's basically a neat little
(31:10):
store that has a little bit ofeverything from makeup to
stationery and books, t-shirts,shoes, games, phone accessories
and different things like thatat a discounted price.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
That is very ironic, that it would be the same area.
So I mean I wonder if thepolice have explored the
possibility that someone is kindof staking that area and
looking for young women, whetherthey're showing erratic
behavior or however.
I mean, like you said, thatpeople unfortunately can take
(31:45):
advantage of that.
And yes, Five Below, we know itwell, Unfortunately.
I wish they'd changed the namebecause sometimes it's not Five
and Below, but you know Idigress.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
It's supposed to be a more discounted store and my
kids are crazy about it, so itis ironic that the store is
involved.
Well, it's not really the storeitself, but that area involved
in both of these cases, and I'vealways been pretty firm that I
don't believe that there are anycoincidences when it comes to
(32:18):
crime.
So I find it really hard tobelieve that this just was
coincidental, just happened tobe that same area around that
store.
Whatever it is about this area,I do believe, like what you
said, that there's someone thatis just kind of keeping an eye
out and stalking, maybe to acertain degree, young women that
(32:43):
are in a vulnerable state.
Well, and I'm not sure that inHolland's situation that she was
acting erratic.
Nothing that I found said thatshe was acting erratic at the
time, but she had been at aparty and she had gotten into an
altercation or a fight withsomeone there and that was the
(33:06):
last time she was seen.
Didn't say if she was using atthat moment or if she was acting
erratic, but that was the lasttime she was seen.
She was actually at someone'shouse, but it was a party, so
they ran into the same circle,so maybe it's someone in this
circle that is preying on.
(33:27):
That's kind of what I'm goingwith, because it just so happens
to be that they run in the samecircle.
Whether or not they know eachother remains to be seen, but I
don't know.
I just feel like there's a goodpossibility that it could be
someone within that circle, andI don't even know if it's a big
(33:47):
circle of friends or I think ifit was a smaller circle then
they would without a doubt haveknown each other.
So it could just be a bigcircle of people that kind of
interact with each other,intertwine with each other, but
may not necessarily know I getwhat you're saying there and you
make a good point.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
I'm wondering if they traveled in the same circle,
even if it was a larger circle.
Has there been any connectionto Michael to Holland?
Do we know if he?
Speaker 1 (34:17):
knew her.
There hasn't been any mentionof whether or not Michael knew
her.
That's a very good question,though I'd like to know that one
Police are looking into thethree missing person cases to
see if they are connected in anyway.
So Shauna's case and Layla'scase have that common factor in
(34:40):
there, which is the five andbelow.
But Layla and Holland were thetwo that ran with the same
circle of friends, so it is easyto get confused.
It is easy to get confused withthis, but as far as we know,
neither one of the girls had anyconnection to Shauna.
Shauna was a lot older too.
(35:01):
Shauna was 33 years old, so itdoesn't mean that they couldn't
have known each other threeyears old, so it doesn't mean
that they couldn't have knowneach other.
But there's nothing insinuatingthat she was tied in with the
other two, at least not yet.
But, like I said, police arelooking into the possibility
that the three missing personcases are connected, maybe by
the same person who's out therepreying on obviously younger
(35:24):
women.
So, according to reports,layla's life had begun to spiral
downhill in the weeks leadingup to her disappearance.
Two weeks before Layla was lastseen, she had lost temporary
custody of her two-year-olddaughter, nova.
Her next family court date wasset for June 28th, two days
(35:44):
after she was reported missing.
In the days leading up to herdisappearance, layla was in the
process of trying to cut tiesfrom her boyfriend, michael.
Layla's family believes she hadmet a new man and, although
this man's name has not beenmentioned, he had been trying to
take care of Layla by lettingher stay with him a few times at
(36:05):
his house before herdisappearance.
Friends and family of LaylaSantanello started a program
designed to help others insimilar situations called
Layla's Hope.
Layla's aunt, stacy Morgan, isthe executive director of the
program, which is an active partof the Mental Health
Transformation Alliance, analliance that aims to help
(36:28):
families and young adults withdisabilities.
Stacey says that their goal isto connect families and young
adults with the proper resources.
Their mission is to ensure thatmissing, runaway, homeless and
street youth slash, young adultswho have been subjected to or
are at risk of being subjectedto sexual abuse, human
(36:52):
trafficking or sexualexploitation and their families
have access to resources andsupport that rebuild connections
and develop a sense of safety,hope and leadership.
And I will post a link to theFacebook page for Layla's Hope
on our Facebook page.
Layla's family believe that herdisappearance could be
(37:16):
drug-related and they are askingfor the public's help in
locating her.
Layla Santanello is a whitefemale with blonde hair and
brown eyes.
She is 4 foot 10 inches talland weighs approximately 135
pounds.
She has multiple tattoos,including Roman numerals on her
collarbone and her daughter'sname, nova Grace, on her left
(37:40):
forearm.
Layla's mother, jennifer, hashired a private investigator to
help work on her daughter's case.
If you have any information onthe whereabouts of Layla
Santanello, please contact theTBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND or the
Kingsport Police Department atarea code 423-343-9780.
(38:07):
In addition, layla's mother,jennifer, has hired a private
investigator to help withLayla's case.
A tip line has been set up atarea code 423-212-5804 and you
can remain completely anonymous.
Holland Snap was 19 years old atthe time of her disappearance
(38:29):
and would be 20 years old today.
She is 4 foot 8 inches tall andweighs approximately 90 pounds,
with brown hair and hazel eyes.
If you have any information inHolland's disappearance, you are
urged to contact DetectiveAnthony Stevens at area code
432-279-7330 or PrivateInvestigator Steve Fisher at
(38:57):
area code 877-619-9890.
Both Layla and Holland are nowclassified as missing and
endangered.
Private investigator SteveFisher is working both cases of
Layla and Holland, and he hasbeen working tirelessly to
explore the possibility of anyconnection between the two
(39:19):
disappearances.
Shauna Lee is a 33-year-oldwhite female with black hair and
brown eyes.
She is approximately 5 foot 8inches tall and weighs
approximately 140 pounds.
Anyone with information on thewhereabouts of Shauna is urged
to call the KPD CriminalInvestigations Division at area
(39:42):
code 423-229-9429 or theKingsport Central Dispatch at
area code 423-246-9111.
Thank you for listening toanother episode of Gone in a
Blink.
I want to say thank you againto Riley for suggesting this
(40:05):
case.
Our hearts go out to thefamilies and we pray that the
right person comes forward withinformation leading to their
safe return.
If you like our show, pleaseconsider giving us a five-star
review on Apple Podcasts and toget the latest updates on the
cases we cover, follow us on anyof our social media sites.
(40:26):
You can follow us on Facebookat Gone in a Blink, or on
Instagram at Gone in a Blink Pod, and if you have an idea for a
show or you know of someone whois missing and you'd like us to
cover their case, drop us anemail at goneinablinkpod at
gmailcom.
And don't forget be safe, besmart and try not to blink.
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