August 16, 2024 • 38 mins
Send us a textChapter 5: Jennifer...To Us
Jennifer is remembered by her family and friends, who are determined to keep Jennifer's spirit alive and will never stop fighting for justice.
Don't miss Jules' weekly true crime podcast, True Crime and Headlines with Jules & Jen
Help support our show by leaving us a 5 star review and rating wherever you get your podcasts!
10 % of all profits from this podcast will be donated back to the Wix family to fund their costs in this journey of justice.
For more information, visit our website www.missinginhushtown.com
You're wanted.
You're loved.
And you deserve to be found.
Thank you to our episode sponsors:
Hampton & CO Designs
Prater Industrial Services
Honest Air Heating and Cooling
Hometown Connect
Your all-in-one app for Middle TN communities. SixOneFive Real Estate Advisors, LLC
People Over Profit.Relive Studio
Unlock the story your brand deserves. Andi B's Boutique
Creating faith, pet, and family-friendly designs for all. Hometown Connect
Your all-in-one app for Mid TN communities. SixOneFive Real Estate Advisors, LLC
People Over Profit.Andi B's Boutique
Creating faith, pet, and family-friendly designs for all. Relive Studio
Unlock the story your brand deserves. Hometown Connect
Your direct connection to local dining, shopping, events, jobs, and news in Middle Tennessee communiSixOneFive Real Estate Advisors, LLC
People Over Profit.Andi B's Boutique
Creating faith, pet, and family-friendly designs for all. Relive Studio
Unlock the story yourSupport the show
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/missing-in-hush-town--6404892/support.
Jennifer is remembered by her family and friends, who are determined to keep Jennifer's spirit alive and will never stop fighting for justice.
Don't miss Jules' weekly true crime podcast, True Crime and Headlines with Jules & Jen
Help support our show by leaving us a 5 star review and rating wherever you get your podcasts!
10 % of all profits from this podcast will be donated back to the Wix family to fund their costs in this journey of justice.
For more information, visit our website www.missinginhushtown.com
You're wanted.
You're loved.
And you deserve to be found.
Thank you to our episode sponsors:
Hampton & CO Designs
Prater Industrial Services
Honest Air Heating and Cooling
Hometown Connect
Your all-in-one app for Middle TN communities. SixOneFive Real Estate Advisors, LLC
People Over Profit.Relive Studio
Unlock the story your brand deserves. Andi B's Boutique
Creating faith, pet, and family-friendly designs for all. Hometown Connect
Your all-in-one app for Mid TN communities. SixOneFive Real Estate Advisors, LLC
People Over Profit.Andi B's Boutique
Creating faith, pet, and family-friendly designs for all. Relive Studio
Unlock the story your brand deserves. Hometown Connect
Your direct connection to local dining, shopping, events, jobs, and news in Middle Tennessee communiSixOneFive Real Estate Advisors, LLC
People Over Profit.Andi B's Boutique
Creating faith, pet, and family-friendly designs for all. Relive Studio
Unlock the story yourSupport the show
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/missing-in-hush-town--6404892/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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Speaker 3 (01:31):
Missing in Hashtown Season one is proudly sponsored by the
following relive studio, Andy B's Boutique, six one five real
Estate Advisors, and Hometown connect. Thank you to our sponsors.
Thank you to our episode sponsors. Hampton and Co. Designs meaningful,
gold filled jewelry that doesn't harnish smalltown's talk. And we've
(01:53):
been listening. I'm your host, Jules Thorpe, an independent investigated
podcaster living in the same town Jennifer and Adriana Witch
went missing from in two thousand and four. This is
missing in Hushtown. Jennifer to us, before we continue to
(02:31):
pour over the events of March twenty fifth, two thousand
and four, I want to make sure we honor Jennifer,
the Jennifer that so many people knew and loved, The
Jennifer that so many missed every single day. The Jennifer
that may have become a park ranger or perhaps a rider,
or maybe today she'd have a horse sanctuary. Jennifer's legacy
(02:52):
is not and will never be just March twenty fifth,
two thousand and four. She will forever be more than
her tragedy. That's our hope. Let's get to know her
together from those who knew her best. Jennifer was the
oldest daughter, the oldest of six, the first baby in
the family. Jennifer's mom, Kathy.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Jennifer, she was a little spitfire, and she was a
spitfire from the moment she was born. I remember them
the morning that she was born. They didn't bring the
babies in to stay in your room with you in
nineteen eighty two, and I would ask the nurse how
she was doing, and she would tell me she's doing
(03:36):
just fine. She's keeping all the other babies awake and entertained.
So yeah, she was very headstrong. She was a headstrong baby,
little girl. She was colle so had she had collic
and didn't sleep much. The first year of her life.
So she and I took lots of rides in the
(03:58):
car together to get her to sleep. And yeah, she was.
She was always a lot of fun. Of course for
those first three years, her being my only child, you know,
it was just just me and her, and we had
quite a special bond from right off. But she was
she was cute, and she was funny, and she was headstrong.
(04:19):
She had a little temper. She she liked to get
her way and knew how to do it. She always
knew how to get get her way with me and
her daddy. It was very close with her daddy. They
were two peas in a pod, so very close. High
school was a struggle for Jennifer. Just academically. She was
very smart, but she struggled with math, and so she
(04:44):
she was in special education math classes and from second
grade all the way through graduation from high school. She
liked school and she had lots of friends. She was
by the time she got to high school, she was
very modest, and you know, she was one of those
kind of girls who kept her t shirt on over
her bathing suit at the pool.
Speaker 6 (05:05):
You know.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
Uh, so she was she was very modest and kind
of not shy, but she didn't like to be the
center of attention, so you know, she struggled with that
a little bit. But she she really she had friends
that were athletes and cheerleaders, to the special education kids.
(05:29):
She she radiated towards special needs children and anyone who
She used to say they were on the island of
the misfits. You tea Chattanooga, That's where she had decided
she wanted to go as you tea Chattanooga, and she
wanted to study to become a park ranger. That's something
(05:49):
that I believe that she probably would have done had
she had the opportunity to do it and lived long
enough to do it, I think that she would have
fulfilled those streams. Her junior prom, she went to prom
with the star quarterback of the football team, and she
was thrilled about that, you know, because she didn't think
(06:10):
of herself as one of the popular girls. You know,
so when he asked her to go to prom, you know,
that thrilled her to death. And of course she was beautiful.
And then her senior year, her and some girls went
together stagged and they had a great time doing that.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Born August sixteenth, nineteen eighty two to mother Kathy and
father Michael Wicks. Jennifer was an incredibly well loved and
precious soul to her parents. Although Jennifer's parents would go
on to divorce and Jennifer would choose to stay with
her mother, she was still very much a Doddy's girl.
Jennifer's darker complexion skin came from her father's side Cherokee blood.
(06:47):
Her dark hair was almost as dark as her beautiful,
deep brown eyes. And those eyes, they were intense. They
would soak up the world around her and you could
almost see her mind describe what she sees in poetic stanzas.
She loved to write and had quite a gift with words.
In fact, this was one way Jennifer preferred to communicate
her big feelings with those she loved. A girl who
(07:09):
felt so much also had so much love to give.
With a tender heart for animals, Jennifer was a nature lover.
She was known by her family and friends alike to
be an avid horse lover, which is why when you
visit Springfield, Tennessee and go to the Hidden Heroes sub
shop across the street from Willie May's Barbecue, you'll see
a gorgeous horse mural with the words hashtag justice for
(07:32):
Jennifer and Adriana underneath it. Jennifer's sister, Casey wanted a
place in Hushtown that honors her sister and her niece,
a place to go to and celebrate them for the
beautiful souls that they were. It's a beautiful image of
a mother horse with her full It's bright and feminine,
and it's framed with beautiful flowers. Kathy recalls how Jennifer
(07:53):
loved horses so much that she found a way around
not being able to afford to have her own.
Speaker 5 (07:59):
She loved war horses, and she loved horses since she
was a little girl and always wanted one, and I
never could afford to get her one. But in middle
school she came up with a plan. She asked me
to take her. She had found a riding stable in
Cross Plains and she asked me to take her there
(08:19):
one day after school. She wanted to talk to the lady.
I didn't know what was going on, but when we
got there she told me. She said, I'm going to
ask for a job. And so she was in about
eighth grade and she wanted me to stay in the car,
and she just wanted to go and.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Talk to the lady.
Speaker 5 (08:38):
So she did, and she come back with the biggest
smile on her face and she said, I did it.
And I said, what did you do? Because I really
didn't know what was going on. And she said, I'm
going to start coming here. I'm going to ride the
bus here after school, and I'm going to clean the
stables and help her take care of the horses in
exchange for riding time. So that's how she got to
(09:00):
ride horses.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
A small southern town with deep family roots, Jennifer spent
most of her life in Robertson County, living in Cross Plains, Springfield, Greenbrier,
and White House. She developed strong friendships at a young
age with women who to this day still fight for
justice for their missing friends. In the words of her friends,
I present to you, Jennifer.
Speaker 7 (09:22):
I'm Wanda Shawnee s Arterburn and I am from a Darreval, Kentucky.
We just kind of clicked, you know. We were very popular.
We just had our own little group and I don't know,
we just hit it off. There isn't many people like myself.
Me and her have a lot of the Native blood
in US, so we that and love for animals. Jennifer
(09:44):
was all about horses. She wanted a horse ranch, so
we clicked on that. Like I said, having parents that
weren't together at the time was something that we bonded over.
So just serve likenesses in our life as being young
teens and we were together. We did basic girl things,
(10:08):
talked about the guys we liked. She liked a couple
of the guys in our circle. And I mean, I
can't think that she was any average. She was not
an unruly girl. She was not a bad girl. I said.
There was never no trouble in school. You know, applied herself.
I mean, I can't she was just the average team.
(10:31):
So we would walk up through cross Plains sometimes because
she lived right there in the middle of cross Plains.
So I went and stayed the night with her a
couple of times, and we would generally walk up and
down through go up to Thomas Drugs. You could get
cold drinks and stuff in there. Sometimes we would walk
down toward the when you pass the high school. There's
(10:53):
creeks down there, so we would go there. In a
small town, there ain't a whole lot to do but
jump off the little bridges at the creek, or I
know you've heard cow tip and we didn't get to
do that, but we do do that. I would say
she was free spirited. She's very free spirited. She was beautiful,
(11:17):
of course, she had a wonderful personality.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
She was down to earth.
Speaker 7 (11:23):
She was not one of those people that looked down
on other people. She always was there if you needed her,
no matter what was going on for her. She was
a loyal friend, hard to come by these days. I
ran into her years later after we graduated and she
was pregnant with Adrian and I ran into her white house,
(11:44):
and it was as if in that moment that we
had never lost touch. It was like, no matter how
much time had passed when we seen each other, it
was just like we picked right back up. It was instant,
and we trusted each other no matter the distance. So
that was good. And she looked great, she was glowing,
she was beautiful. With Adriana. I was sad that we
(12:07):
lost so much touch. Life just happened sometime the last
time I saw her, we made plans to be back
in touch, and I did not know I was going
to be the last person to see her as a friend.
I ran into her at the Springfield Walmart. She had Adriana,
(12:28):
and I had my son and my youngest. My youngest
and Adriana were closer in age, and I was living
on Green Road off of Owen's Chapel and she was
living off Owens Chapel and we had no idea we
had been so close. But when she seen me and
I seen her, we just lit up. We came out
(12:48):
of an aisle.
Speaker 6 (12:50):
And uh.
Speaker 7 (12:52):
She just threw her arms around me. She's like, it's
so good to see you. I was like, likewise, She's like,
where are you staying at now? And I told her.
She was like, oh my god, we're so close. She
was like, I'm right down the road and uh. I
was like that's great. I was like, we need to
get the kids together. She was like definitely. She was like,
let's get together in the next week or two. She
was happy to see me, but she wasn't She didn't
(13:13):
look like she did when I seen her pregnant with Adriana.
She looked dishoveled.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
She looked tired.
Speaker 7 (13:21):
She was always kind of well kept, and although she
seemed happy to see me, it just didn't seem like
my Jennifer. But I got to give her a hug,
we got to tell each other we loved each other,
and we had made plans to get back together very soon.
So the fact that they came up missing, yeah, it
(13:44):
was a shock to me. I didn't even know. I
got a call a couple of days later from her
mom and she asked me. She's like, have you talked
to Jennifer? And I was like a couple of days ago.
I was like, I seen her at Walmart and she
was like, well, they're missed and you were the last
friend to see her. And I was like, they're missing.
What are you talking about? And she said, turn on
(14:05):
the news and I mean when I turned it on,
there it was. And she was like, we can't find her.
We can't find the baby. Like none of her stuff,
you know, she took nothing with her. And I was like, okay,
that's not like her. I was like, she would have
took something for Adrian at least, or not her. She
was like, you were the last person can tell me anything,
(14:25):
And you know, I told her everything, just like I
just told you. And that was the last time I
spoke to her. I'm thankful that I got to hug her,
and we got to tell each other we loved each other.
But I didn't have any idea. That was the last
time I was shocked, to say the least, I was
(14:45):
shocked because I didn't know anything that had been going
on with her. I didn't know anything about what had happened.
Adrianna looked good, she looked fine, she looked content and
happy in the cart. I mean, I would have that
was the last thing I would have guessed. That's the
(15:07):
last thing I would have twenty years jen was a fighter,
and I believe if anything happened to Adrianas, she would
have protected her with her life. If that's what it
came down to. I hope I'm wrong. I hope that
(15:27):
there are those few cases that, twenty years later, you
find I have never seen any of the bittens at
any of the vigials, the rides to support anything that
we've done to bring Jennifer and Adriana home, to open
up their land. If you have nothing to hide, why
aren't you helping find these girls? If you loved her,
(15:49):
if you know something, step up. I mean, don't be afraid.
These girls deserve to be found. They are somebody's order
they're somebody's child, they are somebody's friend. They deserve to
(16:10):
be found, and that family deserves peace and answers.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
I am Joe Ellen Abernathy. She just always wanted to
have a family and be successful and make her family proud.
She was always really close with her family. She wanted
to watch her sisters grow up and see what they
would become. It's just you know, the normal stuff. But
I mean, like small town that's she wasn't dream like
two big. She always wanted to do something with horses,
(16:39):
so she wanted to grow up and do something with that.
But just staying close to her family was the main thing.
Jennifer's personality she was She was a gentle soul, but
don't push her. She will stand up for herself. When
I found out she was missing, our friend Travis, who
called tea Rock, called me and told me I actually
(17:00):
used to go and hang out at the lake together.
We used to go jump off the cliffs at Percy
Priese and just spend like our summer days out there
with him, run around the back of his car. It
was great. So he called me and he said, Jennifer's missing,
What do you mean Jennifer's missing, and he told me,
and I was just in shock. I was like, something's
not right about that. She wouldn't just be missing. She
(17:23):
was too close to her family to just be gone.
Casey was her little dude, man. I don't never she
Don't get me wrong. She loved Heather, but they were
closer in age, so there was a little bit of
that there. But she loved her sisters equally, but Casey
was her little homie.
Speaker 6 (17:40):
She really was.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
I remember spending the night over at our house and
Casey would just want to be right there with us
and hang out the whole time. And it never bothered Jennifer.
She she loved little Casey man. And I remember this happened.
That's the first thing I thought. I was like, Oh
my god, her sisters. And then I was like, oh God,
Kafy because I know how close they were, So I
just think, I, I definitely know Jennifer would be over
(18:03):
the moon proud, how absolutely proud of Casey for hearing,
finding her and figuring out what's going on.
Speaker 8 (18:09):
My name's Leslie Durham. I always kept my mouth shut
on what could shit or what, but in my heart
I knew something happened in that house. I knew in
my heart like something happened in that house because Jennifer
would have never, would have never, ever, ever just disappeared.
Certain people that, you know, I'm not gonna mention exactly
(18:30):
names just because of who they are and stuff, but
like I'll see him at a store or something and
I'll be like, hey, you know, what about the bonfire? Totally,
there's this bonfire, and certain people have said they've seen
certain things in the bonfire seat, the car seat, you know,
certain like that they were burning her stuff, some of
(18:51):
the clothing. Things like that, like we're in this bonfire.
That happened, I guess a couple of nights or night
or something. I'm not sure specifically what day it was,
but these are rumors or whatnot ever things that we've
heard throughout the years. Supposedly Joey has been at parties
and said, you know, I did this or that to
them specifics. You know, I'm not too sure, but you know,
(19:14):
people come back and like, you know, I was at
a party Joey and he said that, you know, you'll
never find the girls, you know, things like that, And
then you know, I've said stuff to certain people that
I know were friends with him back then, including one
of her cousins, and one of her cousins got really
mad at me about it.
Speaker 7 (19:29):
I had spoke to.
Speaker 8 (19:29):
Kathy and she said, her biggest fear and still makes
me want to cry, is her dying not knowing what
happened to her girls. Can you imagine feeling that? And Ka, Sindy,
you're a mom like that doesn't touch your heart? Or
are you just that evil even if you didn't have
(19:52):
anything to do with it, even if you disliked the girl? Whatever,
you know what I mean? Like, whatever the situation was,
how can you go to sleep at night knowing that
another mother is fearing death because she can't find out
what's wrong with her child? Like, I'll never understand that.
(20:13):
I'll never understand the pure evilness of that.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Jennifer's mother, Kathy, would go on to have two more children,
two daughters. First will come Heather, who was just a
few years younger than Jennifer, and then would come Casey,
the baby of the family. Whereas Heather and Jennifer were
so close in age that there was natural competition along
with fierce love and protection, Casey was Jennifer's little living
doll with six years between the oldest and the youngest.
(20:40):
Jennifer can be seen in many family photos with her
arms around Casey, holding her and protecting her. She referred
to Casey as hers, and it was obvious to all
who knew them that Jennifer and Casey shared a special
and different kind of bond that anyone else had With Jennifer.
Here's Jennifer's sister, Heather.
Speaker 6 (20:59):
So I am Heather Martin and I am Jennifer's middle
sister on my mom's side. My relationship with my sisters
growing up, I feel like it we went in different stages,
so we bickered and argued all the time, Like we
would argue about the dumbest things ever, like down to
(21:20):
you know, whose clothes that you're wearing, stealing my clothes,
stealing my makeup. But we had a love like no other.
The older I got, we became best friends. My memory
is not so great. My memory is shot, and even
though it was twenty years ago, I do feel like
that's like a part of PTSD. I've researched it. I
(21:42):
struggle with remembering anything these days. She literally has the
biggest heart in the world, and she is a very
passionate person. There was no denying that, despite the arguments
between her and I or her and Mom, that she
did not love us. We were her rocks, We were
(22:02):
her safety net. Who did she run to when he
put a gun to her mouth? She was just in
a domestically violent, abusive, toxic relationship, and you can't understand
unless you're in one of those as to why she
went back. I don't know how long it would have
taken her to actually see it and get out, because
(22:23):
that can take a long time. But that had nothing
to do with her not loving us or hating her family.
Speaker 9 (22:29):
She loved us.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
I wish everyone would get it out of their head
that she ever ran away, because she did not run away.
My sister's not a runaway. The people she needed most
are still right here looking for and she knows where
to find us. She didn't run away. This is probably
the third time I've been to Springfield other than a ride,
since my sister went missing. I moved out of Robertson
(22:53):
County because of my sister. I'm missing. I live in
constant anxiety of like something happening to my children and
nothing being done about it. My sister was so young.
I'm thirty eight years old now. She was only twenty
one when she went missing. That is a baby in
my eyes. Even though she might be of legal age,
(23:15):
she still had her whole entire life ahead of her.
She never got to watch her own daughter grow up
to like I always wonder what her career would have been.
The man that would come around to ask her to
be his wife and would treat her like gold, like
she deserved to be treated. Who would take Adriana, you know,
(23:36):
in as his own as a stepfather one day and
show her what a real man should treat a woman
like I know she has her daddy too, who would
give anything? And Adriana was here, who would show her
how a woman deserves to be treated. But all of
that just angers me, And it's just not fair, like they,
both of them, even Adriana as an adult now, and
(23:59):
what would she had been. She could have been married now,
she could be even having her own child soon, you know,
and all of these things because of a monster, they
were robbed of them, and then we all were robbed
of watching their lives unfold as well. You know that
(24:21):
sucks for Casey and I because and her other three
sisters on her dad's side. But we all, you know,
have husbands and children now, and we'd give anything if
our own children could know how great Jennifer was their aunt,
Jennifer and Adriana their cousin. But they deserve to be faultful.
(24:47):
And I think that we're on our way and we're.
Speaker 10 (24:49):
Going to find them.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Don't go anywhere, We'll be right back back. Sixty one
five real Estate Advisors People over Profit. Sixty one five
real estate advisors are committed to bringing people in our
community home every single day. This includes Jennifer and Adriana Wicks.
Located in Robertson County, Tennessee. Six one five real Estate
(25:19):
Advisors proudly serve all of Middle Tennessee. Andy B's Boutique
custom tees for all your needs, creating faith, pet and
family friendly designs for all. Visit shopandybees dot com for
an exclusive Jennifer and Adriana Wicks shirt. Andy Be's boutique
will donate profits from each Wick shirt back to the
(25:39):
Wicks family to fight for justice. That website is shop
andybes a and d i bs dot com. Don't go anywhere,
We'll be right back. Real Estate Advisors People over profit.
(26:03):
Six one five real Estate Advisors are committed to bringing
people in our community home every single day. This includes
Jennifer and Adriana Wicks, located in Robertson County, Tennessee. Six
one five real Estate Advisors proudly serve all of Middle Tennessee.
Andy Bee's boutique custom tees for all your needs, creating faith,
(26:25):
pet and family friendly designs for all. Visit shopandybees dot
com for an exclusive Jennifer and Adriana Wick shirt. Andy
Be's boutique will donate profits from each Wick shirt back
to the Wicks family to fight for justice. That website
is shop andybes a and d i bs dot com.
Speaker 10 (26:46):
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Speaker 3 (27:20):
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will refuse to give up looking for her sister. This
BONDI shared it was never broken, it will never be broken,
(29:16):
it will stay within her forever.
Speaker 6 (29:20):
I'm so damn proud of my little sister. It blows
my mind, the woman that she has become and the
mother that she is, the daughter she is. She's the
most caring, selfless person I've ever met in my life.
And I don't know how she does it all, but
somehow she does it all. She is the rock of
(29:44):
this entire family. It makes me feel bad because I'm
the older sister and I feel like it should be
me who's the rock, and I'm not.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
I'm just.
Speaker 6 (29:58):
I just can't even thank her enough and tell her enough,
how freaking proud of her.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
I am Michael Wicks. Jennifer's father would soon move just
a few hours drive away from Jennifer, yet Jennifer would
spend weekends and summers with her father and her sisters. Yes,
she had more sisters, Holly, Jamie, and then Megan. Megan Wicks,
the youngest of all of Jennifer's sisters, recalls her time
(30:27):
with her sister Jennifer.
Speaker 9 (30:29):
I'm Megan, and I am Jennifer and well, I'm Jennifer's
sister on her dad's side, and I am Adriana's aunt.
We grew up about two hours away from each other,
so we lived in separate households. I can remember her
coming to visit and it being such a big deal,
you know, because we didn't get to see her that much,
and just look it up to her, you know, thinking
(30:52):
she was just the coolest person. She's older and you know,
were the cool clothes. And I don't want to speak
for him too much much, but I think we should
talk about the relationship between Adriana and Granddad Wicks, which
is Jennifer's dad's dad, because they were very close and
when they disappeared, I think it's safe to say my
(31:14):
granddad took it pretty hard. So the I don't know
the time frame, but the time that Jennifer would stay
with my granny on and off. My granddad, you know,
he worked at Hankle Rocker for mm hmm. He worked
at Hankle I guess it's called Pinkle Rockers, the rocking
(31:36):
chair place that makes the rocking chairs for cracker barrel.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (31:40):
So he made Adriana her own porch swing her own little,
tiny porch swing that sat next to their big swing,
because they would swing on it every night. And every night,
my granny said, she would sit in her little swing
and Granddad would sit in the porch swing, and he'd
swing her and they'd sing together. And even after she disappear,
(32:00):
he would go out there every night next to her
swing and he would sing to her for years, and eventually,
I don't know how many years later, it could have
been ten years, fifteen. It was a long time, you know,
he finally took that rock and chair down. But I
would say, of everybody I know, it took the toll
(32:23):
on him the worst. You have to understand, my granddad
was the funniest person in the entire world. I mean,
you were laughing until you were hurting. He every time
he visited, you knew you were gonna have fun, You're
gonna have a good time. And when she disappeared, I
(32:43):
vividly remember. And this is actually something I've recently brought
up in therapy. You know, I'm going through therapy trying
to excuse me, going through therapy, trying to not only that,
but you know, other things, but this being the main
thing that you know, I'm going for because.
Speaker 6 (33:03):
I don't know.
Speaker 9 (33:03):
I think it's something that everyone should deal with and process.
But one of the main memories I remember is them
coming to visit shortly after my grand and granddad coming
to visit Manchester at our house, shortly after Jennifer and
Adriana disappeared, and we're all sitting around on the couch
(33:25):
watching TV. I even remember the carcial that was on TV,
the song that was playing and you know, funny Grandad
good Time, waiting for him to crack me up, makee jokes,
held me as tight as he could, and he just
broke down and cried and cried. And you have to realize,
you know, I have my small world growing up. This
(33:48):
is coming from the perspective of someone that's fourteen years old.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
You know, you have all.
Speaker 9 (33:52):
These perspectives of this is what the parents went through,
this is what the friends went through, but this is
what the kids went through. Fourteen years old, I'm watching
grown men. I'm knowing my whole life breakdown. And you know,
there's supposed to be my heroes and supposed to be
these strong people, and here's my granddad, the funniest person
in the world, and he's hanging on to me and
he won't let go and he's just crying. I didn't
(34:16):
know how to react, you know, and so in my
fourteen year old mind, I'm like, don't cry, don't get upset.
You've got to hold it together. And that that is
the mentality that I have kept ever since because of
that moment, you know, at fourteen years old, I had
to learn how to suck it up, be tough, get
grown about it, you know. And that's that's not something
(34:38):
someone that age should go through. And I remember no
one in the room reacting, no one responding to it
or acting like anything was happening, no one helping me
out and trying to get me out of the situation.
And it just felt like it went on for forever,
you know, And that happened a couple of times. I
remember him really just breaking down out of nowhere, and
(35:00):
and was never the same. When they left, a part
of him left to or I should say disappeared. We
don't know they left, We don't know really went. But
when they vanish, part of my granddad was gone. You know,
he was He's still funny, and he's still funny around grandchildren.
You know, he can kind of flip that switch back
on old Granddad. But you can just you can look
(35:24):
in his eyes and you can just see like the
the hurt and how much he misses them and they
meant everything to him, and I know that they're what
keeps him going. And so to lose that is it's unthinkable.
It's hard to even imagine that mindset, because you know,
we lived two hours away, by one and a half,
(35:45):
two hours away. He's in it every day. He's in
the memories where she one of the last places she lived,
you know, and looking at the porch swing where he
and Adriana sat every night. He's in it. He can't
get away, and all he has is memories, and that's hard.
In my heart, I believe that Jennifery is gone, you know,
I felt that way for a long time. When it's
(36:11):
your sister, you just know, you just feel it. But
then every time you say that, you go, well, what
if one day she shows up? And so to say
that and be wrong, that's hurtful. It'sward her. But no,
I don't believe she's alive.
Speaker 6 (36:23):
You know.
Speaker 9 (36:23):
I have believed and hoped for a long time that
Adriana is alive and out there because murder on its
own is wrong and how could someone do that, put
to do that to a baby, I mean, that really
takes an evil person. So I like to believe she's alive,
But as the years go on, I know that I'm
(36:45):
gonna have to start accepting what if she's not. And
I know a day could come, or I hope a
day comes that they are found, And then I have
to decide, do I want to know what happened? Can
I deal with what happened? Can I Is it gonna
be too much, because it's gonna be a lot just
to accept that Adriana is not with us. I've made
peace a long time ago that my sister was going.
(37:07):
I know she's I know she's with me in spirit.
If Adriana is out there today, which my hope has
always been, you know, she's grown into her own person.
She has her own life, and she's doing well, and
she's you know, just as smart as her mama was
and just out there being bold and strong. And I
(37:35):
don't know, I always imagined her being a lot like Jennifer.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
We want to ensure we look at every theory, not
just the ones we want to be true, stay with
us It's coming up this season and next time I'm
Missing in Hushtown Jennifer meets Joey. Thank you to our
(38:25):
episode sponsors Hampton and Co Designs Meaningful gold filled Jewelry
that doesn't tarnish and Prater Industrial Services providing complete piping
construction on the industrial level and honest air heating and
cooling honest, fast, reliable. Missing in Hushtown was executive produced
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and written by Me Your Host Jules with Anley Audio
House LLC. Casey Robinson was co producer. Special thanks to
John Thorpe, Patrick Robinson, my parents and Jen Rivera, and
to our children. To follow our content nude efforts on
Justice for Jennifer and Adriana Wicks. You can find us
on Facebook at Justice for Jennifer and Adriana Wicks. This
(39:07):
page is personally managed by Casey herself and you can
find me jewles Hi on Instagram at your Host Jules.
Notes and updates can be found on our website www
dot Missing in hushtown dot com. Please help us continue
to grow by considering leaving a five star review and
rating wherever you're listening. If you have a tip for
this case, please please call one eight hundred TBI find
(39:30):
help us bring the Wis Girls home. To donate to
this family's continued fight for justice, please visit GoFundMe dot
com slash Jennifer and Adriana Wis and to support the
podcast and to help us continue this production, you may
clicks support the show and the show notes and donate
a wiskiss. Ten percent of all profits from season one
(39:52):
of Missing in Hushtown will be given to the Wicks
family indefinitely. As always, You're wanted, you are loved, and
you deserve to be found. Don't you forget it. I'll
see you next time.
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Speaker 3 (01:31):
Missing in Hashtown Season one is proudly sponsored by the
following relive studio, Andy B's Boutique, six one five real
Estate Advisors, and Hometown connect. Thank you to our sponsors.
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(01:53):
been listening. I'm your host, Jules Thorpe, an independent investigated
podcaster living in the same town Jennifer and Adriana Witch
went missing from in two thousand and four. This is
missing in Hushtown. Jennifer to us, before we continue to
(02:31):
pour over the events of March twenty fifth, two thousand
and four, I want to make sure we honor Jennifer,
the Jennifer that so many people knew and loved, The
Jennifer that so many missed every single day. The Jennifer
that may have become a park ranger or perhaps a rider,
or maybe today she'd have a horse sanctuary. Jennifer's legacy
(02:52):
is not and will never be just March twenty fifth,
two thousand and four. She will forever be more than
her tragedy. That's our hope. Let's get to know her
together from those who knew her best. Jennifer was the
oldest daughter, the oldest of six, the first baby in
the family. Jennifer's mom, Kathy.
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Jennifer, she was a little spitfire, and she was a
spitfire from the moment she was born. I remember them
the morning that she was born. They didn't bring the
babies in to stay in your room with you in
nineteen eighty two, and I would ask the nurse how
she was doing, and she would tell me she's doing
(03:36):
just fine. She's keeping all the other babies awake and entertained.
So yeah, she was very headstrong. She was a headstrong baby,
little girl. She was colle so had she had collic
and didn't sleep much. The first year of her life.
So she and I took lots of rides in the
(03:58):
car together to get her to sleep. And yeah, she was.
She was always a lot of fun. Of course for
those first three years, her being my only child, you know,
it was just just me and her, and we had
quite a special bond from right off. But she was
she was cute, and she was funny, and she was headstrong.
(04:19):
She had a little temper. She she liked to get
her way and knew how to do it. She always
knew how to get get her way with me and
her daddy. It was very close with her daddy. They
were two peas in a pod, so very close. High
school was a struggle for Jennifer. Just academically. She was
very smart, but she struggled with math, and so she
(04:44):
she was in special education math classes and from second
grade all the way through graduation from high school. She
liked school and she had lots of friends. She was
by the time she got to high school, she was
very modest, and you know, she was one of those
kind of girls who kept her t shirt on over
her bathing suit at the pool.
Speaker 6 (05:05):
You know.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
Uh, so she was she was very modest and kind
of not shy, but she didn't like to be the
center of attention, so you know, she struggled with that
a little bit. But she she really she had friends
that were athletes and cheerleaders, to the special education kids.
(05:29):
She she radiated towards special needs children and anyone who
She used to say they were on the island of
the misfits. You tea Chattanooga, That's where she had decided
she wanted to go as you tea Chattanooga, and she
wanted to study to become a park ranger. That's something
(05:49):
that I believe that she probably would have done had
she had the opportunity to do it and lived long
enough to do it, I think that she would have
fulfilled those streams. Her junior prom, she went to prom
with the star quarterback of the football team, and she
was thrilled about that, you know, because she didn't think
(06:10):
of herself as one of the popular girls. You know,
so when he asked her to go to prom, you know,
that thrilled her to death. And of course she was beautiful.
And then her senior year, her and some girls went
together stagged and they had a great time doing that.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Born August sixteenth, nineteen eighty two to mother Kathy and
father Michael Wicks. Jennifer was an incredibly well loved and
precious soul to her parents. Although Jennifer's parents would go
on to divorce and Jennifer would choose to stay with
her mother, she was still very much a Doddy's girl.
Jennifer's darker complexion skin came from her father's side Cherokee blood.
(06:47):
Her dark hair was almost as dark as her beautiful,
deep brown eyes. And those eyes, they were intense. They
would soak up the world around her and you could
almost see her mind describe what she sees in poetic stanzas.
She loved to write and had quite a gift with words.
In fact, this was one way Jennifer preferred to communicate
her big feelings with those she loved. A girl who
(07:09):
felt so much also had so much love to give.
With a tender heart for animals, Jennifer was a nature lover.
She was known by her family and friends alike to
be an avid horse lover, which is why when you
visit Springfield, Tennessee and go to the Hidden Heroes sub
shop across the street from Willie May's Barbecue, you'll see
a gorgeous horse mural with the words hashtag justice for
(07:32):
Jennifer and Adriana underneath it. Jennifer's sister, Casey wanted a
place in Hushtown that honors her sister and her niece,
a place to go to and celebrate them for the
beautiful souls that they were. It's a beautiful image of
a mother horse with her full It's bright and feminine,
and it's framed with beautiful flowers. Kathy recalls how Jennifer
(07:53):
loved horses so much that she found a way around
not being able to afford to have her own.
Speaker 5 (07:59):
She loved war horses, and she loved horses since she
was a little girl and always wanted one, and I
never could afford to get her one. But in middle
school she came up with a plan. She asked me
to take her. She had found a riding stable in
Cross Plains and she asked me to take her there
(08:19):
one day after school. She wanted to talk to the lady.
I didn't know what was going on, but when we
got there she told me. She said, I'm going to
ask for a job. And so she was in about
eighth grade and she wanted me to stay in the car,
and she just wanted to go and.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Talk to the lady.
Speaker 5 (08:38):
So she did, and she come back with the biggest
smile on her face and she said, I did it.
And I said, what did you do? Because I really
didn't know what was going on. And she said, I'm
going to start coming here. I'm going to ride the
bus here after school, and I'm going to clean the
stables and help her take care of the horses in
exchange for riding time. So that's how she got to
(09:00):
ride horses.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
A small southern town with deep family roots, Jennifer spent
most of her life in Robertson County, living in Cross Plains, Springfield, Greenbrier,
and White House. She developed strong friendships at a young
age with women who to this day still fight for
justice for their missing friends. In the words of her friends,
I present to you, Jennifer.
Speaker 7 (09:22):
I'm Wanda Shawnee s Arterburn and I am from a Darreval, Kentucky.
We just kind of clicked, you know. We were very popular.
We just had our own little group and I don't know,
we just hit it off. There isn't many people like myself.
Me and her have a lot of the Native blood
in US, so we that and love for animals. Jennifer
(09:44):
was all about horses. She wanted a horse ranch, so
we clicked on that. Like I said, having parents that
weren't together at the time was something that we bonded over.
So just serve likenesses in our life as being young
teens and we were together. We did basic girl things,
(10:08):
talked about the guys we liked. She liked a couple
of the guys in our circle. And I mean, I
can't think that she was any average. She was not
an unruly girl. She was not a bad girl. I said.
There was never no trouble in school. You know, applied herself.
I mean, I can't she was just the average team.
(10:31):
So we would walk up through cross Plains sometimes because
she lived right there in the middle of cross Plains.
So I went and stayed the night with her a
couple of times, and we would generally walk up and
down through go up to Thomas Drugs. You could get
cold drinks and stuff in there. Sometimes we would walk
down toward the when you pass the high school. There's
(10:53):
creeks down there, so we would go there. In a
small town, there ain't a whole lot to do but
jump off the little bridges at the creek, or I
know you've heard cow tip and we didn't get to
do that, but we do do that. I would say
she was free spirited. She's very free spirited. She was beautiful,
(11:17):
of course, she had a wonderful personality.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
She was down to earth.
Speaker 7 (11:23):
She was not one of those people that looked down
on other people. She always was there if you needed her,
no matter what was going on for her. She was
a loyal friend, hard to come by these days. I
ran into her years later after we graduated and she
was pregnant with Adrian and I ran into her white house,
(11:44):
and it was as if in that moment that we
had never lost touch. It was like, no matter how
much time had passed when we seen each other, it
was just like we picked right back up. It was instant,
and we trusted each other no matter the distance. So
that was good. And she looked great, she was glowing,
she was beautiful. With Adriana. I was sad that we
(12:07):
lost so much touch. Life just happened sometime the last
time I saw her, we made plans to be back
in touch, and I did not know I was going
to be the last person to see her as a friend.
I ran into her at the Springfield Walmart. She had Adriana,
(12:28):
and I had my son and my youngest. My youngest
and Adriana were closer in age, and I was living
on Green Road off of Owen's Chapel and she was
living off Owens Chapel and we had no idea we
had been so close. But when she seen me and
I seen her, we just lit up. We came out
(12:48):
of an aisle.
Speaker 6 (12:50):
And uh.
Speaker 7 (12:52):
She just threw her arms around me. She's like, it's
so good to see you. I was like, likewise, She's like,
where are you staying at now? And I told her.
She was like, oh my god, we're so close. She
was like, I'm right down the road and uh. I
was like that's great. I was like, we need to
get the kids together. She was like definitely. She was like,
let's get together in the next week or two. She
was happy to see me, but she wasn't She didn't
(13:13):
look like she did when I seen her pregnant with Adriana.
She looked dishoveled.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
She looked tired.
Speaker 7 (13:21):
She was always kind of well kept, and although she
seemed happy to see me, it just didn't seem like
my Jennifer. But I got to give her a hug,
we got to tell each other we loved each other,
and we had made plans to get back together very soon.
So the fact that they came up missing, yeah, it
(13:44):
was a shock to me. I didn't even know. I
got a call a couple of days later from her
mom and she asked me. She's like, have you talked
to Jennifer? And I was like a couple of days ago.
I was like, I seen her at Walmart and she
was like, well, they're missed and you were the last
friend to see her. And I was like, they're missing.
What are you talking about? And she said, turn on
(14:05):
the news and I mean when I turned it on,
there it was. And she was like, we can't find her.
We can't find the baby. Like none of her stuff,
you know, she took nothing with her. And I was like, okay,
that's not like her. I was like, she would have
took something for Adrian at least, or not her. She
was like, you were the last person can tell me anything,
(14:25):
And you know, I told her everything, just like I
just told you. And that was the last time I
spoke to her. I'm thankful that I got to hug her,
and we got to tell each other we loved each other.
But I didn't have any idea. That was the last
time I was shocked, to say the least, I was
(14:45):
shocked because I didn't know anything that had been going
on with her. I didn't know anything about what had happened.
Adrianna looked good, she looked fine, she looked content and
happy in the cart. I mean, I would have that
was the last thing I would have guessed. That's the
(15:07):
last thing I would have twenty years jen was a fighter,
and I believe if anything happened to Adrianas, she would
have protected her with her life. If that's what it
came down to. I hope I'm wrong. I hope that
(15:27):
there are those few cases that, twenty years later, you
find I have never seen any of the bittens at
any of the vigials, the rides to support anything that
we've done to bring Jennifer and Adriana home, to open
up their land. If you have nothing to hide, why
aren't you helping find these girls? If you loved her,
(15:49):
if you know something, step up. I mean, don't be afraid.
These girls deserve to be found. They are somebody's order
they're somebody's child, they are somebody's friend. They deserve to
(16:10):
be found, and that family deserves peace and answers.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
I am Joe Ellen Abernathy. She just always wanted to
have a family and be successful and make her family proud.
She was always really close with her family. She wanted
to watch her sisters grow up and see what they
would become. It's just you know, the normal stuff. But
I mean, like small town that's she wasn't dream like
two big. She always wanted to do something with horses,
(16:39):
so she wanted to grow up and do something with that.
But just staying close to her family was the main thing.
Jennifer's personality she was She was a gentle soul, but
don't push her. She will stand up for herself. When
I found out she was missing, our friend Travis, who
called tea Rock, called me and told me I actually
(17:00):
used to go and hang out at the lake together.
We used to go jump off the cliffs at Percy
Priese and just spend like our summer days out there
with him, run around the back of his car. It
was great. So he called me and he said, Jennifer's missing,
What do you mean Jennifer's missing, and he told me,
and I was just in shock. I was like, something's
not right about that. She wouldn't just be missing. She
(17:23):
was too close to her family to just be gone.
Casey was her little dude, man. I don't never she
Don't get me wrong. She loved Heather, but they were
closer in age, so there was a little bit of
that there. But she loved her sisters equally, but Casey
was her little homie.
Speaker 6 (17:40):
She really was.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
I remember spending the night over at our house and
Casey would just want to be right there with us
and hang out the whole time. And it never bothered Jennifer.
She she loved little Casey man. And I remember this happened.
That's the first thing I thought. I was like, Oh
my god, her sisters. And then I was like, oh God,
Kafy because I know how close they were, So I
just think, I, I definitely know Jennifer would be over
(18:03):
the moon proud, how absolutely proud of Casey for hearing,
finding her and figuring out what's going on.
Speaker 8 (18:09):
My name's Leslie Durham. I always kept my mouth shut
on what could shit or what, but in my heart
I knew something happened in that house. I knew in
my heart like something happened in that house because Jennifer
would have never, would have never, ever, ever just disappeared.
Certain people that, you know, I'm not gonna mention exactly
(18:30):
names just because of who they are and stuff, but
like I'll see him at a store or something and
I'll be like, hey, you know, what about the bonfire? Totally,
there's this bonfire, and certain people have said they've seen
certain things in the bonfire seat, the car seat, you know,
certain like that they were burning her stuff, some of
(18:51):
the clothing. Things like that, like we're in this bonfire.
That happened, I guess a couple of nights or night
or something. I'm not sure specifically what day it was,
but these are rumors or whatnot ever things that we've
heard throughout the years. Supposedly Joey has been at parties
and said, you know, I did this or that to
them specifics. You know, I'm not too sure, but you know,
(19:14):
people come back and like, you know, I was at
a party Joey and he said that, you know, you'll
never find the girls, you know, things like that, And
then you know, I've said stuff to certain people that
I know were friends with him back then, including one
of her cousins, and one of her cousins got really
mad at me about it.
Speaker 7 (19:29):
I had spoke to.
Speaker 8 (19:29):
Kathy and she said, her biggest fear and still makes
me want to cry, is her dying not knowing what
happened to her girls. Can you imagine feeling that? And Ka, Sindy,
you're a mom like that doesn't touch your heart? Or
are you just that evil even if you didn't have
(19:52):
anything to do with it, even if you disliked the girl? Whatever,
you know what I mean? Like, whatever the situation was,
how can you go to sleep at night knowing that
another mother is fearing death because she can't find out
what's wrong with her child? Like, I'll never understand that.
(20:13):
I'll never understand the pure evilness of that.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Jennifer's mother, Kathy, would go on to have two more children,
two daughters. First will come Heather, who was just a
few years younger than Jennifer, and then would come Casey,
the baby of the family. Whereas Heather and Jennifer were
so close in age that there was natural competition along
with fierce love and protection, Casey was Jennifer's little living
doll with six years between the oldest and the youngest.
(20:40):
Jennifer can be seen in many family photos with her
arms around Casey, holding her and protecting her. She referred
to Casey as hers, and it was obvious to all
who knew them that Jennifer and Casey shared a special
and different kind of bond that anyone else had With Jennifer.
Here's Jennifer's sister, Heather.
Speaker 6 (20:59):
So I am Heather Martin and I am Jennifer's middle
sister on my mom's side. My relationship with my sisters
growing up, I feel like it we went in different stages,
so we bickered and argued all the time, Like we
would argue about the dumbest things ever, like down to
(21:20):
you know, whose clothes that you're wearing, stealing my clothes,
stealing my makeup. But we had a love like no other.
The older I got, we became best friends. My memory
is not so great. My memory is shot, and even
though it was twenty years ago, I do feel like
that's like a part of PTSD. I've researched it. I
(21:42):
struggle with remembering anything these days. She literally has the
biggest heart in the world, and she is a very
passionate person. There was no denying that, despite the arguments
between her and I or her and Mom, that she
did not love us. We were her rocks, We were
(22:02):
her safety net. Who did she run to when he
put a gun to her mouth? She was just in
a domestically violent, abusive, toxic relationship, and you can't understand
unless you're in one of those as to why she
went back. I don't know how long it would have
taken her to actually see it and get out, because
(22:23):
that can take a long time. But that had nothing
to do with her not loving us or hating her family.
Speaker 9 (22:29):
She loved us.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
I wish everyone would get it out of their head
that she ever ran away, because she did not run away.
My sister's not a runaway. The people she needed most
are still right here looking for and she knows where
to find us. She didn't run away. This is probably
the third time I've been to Springfield other than a ride,
since my sister went missing. I moved out of Robertson
(22:53):
County because of my sister. I'm missing. I live in
constant anxiety of like something happening to my children and
nothing being done about it. My sister was so young.
I'm thirty eight years old now. She was only twenty
one when she went missing. That is a baby in
my eyes. Even though she might be of legal age,
(23:15):
she still had her whole entire life ahead of her.
She never got to watch her own daughter grow up
to like I always wonder what her career would have been.
The man that would come around to ask her to
be his wife and would treat her like gold, like
she deserved to be treated. Who would take Adriana, you know,
(23:36):
in as his own as a stepfather one day and
show her what a real man should treat a woman
like I know she has her daddy too, who would
give anything? And Adriana was here, who would show her
how a woman deserves to be treated. But all of
that just angers me, And it's just not fair, like they,
both of them, even Adriana as an adult now, and
(23:59):
what would she had been. She could have been married now,
she could be even having her own child soon, you know,
and all of these things because of a monster, they
were robbed of them, and then we all were robbed
of watching their lives unfold as well. You know that
(24:21):
sucks for Casey and I because and her other three
sisters on her dad's side. But we all, you know,
have husbands and children now, and we'd give anything if
our own children could know how great Jennifer was their aunt,
Jennifer and Adriana their cousin. But they deserve to be faultful.
(24:47):
And I think that we're on our way and we're.
Speaker 10 (24:49):
Going to find them.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Don't go anywhere, We'll be right back back. Sixty one
five real Estate Advisors People over Profit. Sixty one five
real estate advisors are committed to bringing people in our
community home every single day. This includes Jennifer and Adriana Wicks.
Located in Robertson County, Tennessee. Six one five real Estate
(25:19):
Advisors proudly serve all of Middle Tennessee. Andy B's Boutique
custom tees for all your needs, creating faith, pet and
family friendly designs for all. Visit shopandybees dot com for
an exclusive Jennifer and Adriana Wicks shirt. Andy Be's boutique
will donate profits from each Wick shirt back to the
(25:39):
Wicks family to fight for justice. That website is shop
andybes a and d i bs dot com. Don't go anywhere,
We'll be right back. Real Estate Advisors People over profit.
(26:03):
Six one five real Estate Advisors are committed to bringing
people in our community home every single day. This includes
Jennifer and Adriana Wicks, located in Robertson County, Tennessee. Six
one five real Estate Advisors proudly serve all of Middle Tennessee.
Andy Bee's boutique custom tees for all your needs, creating faith,
(26:25):
pet and family friendly designs for all. Visit shopandybees dot
com for an exclusive Jennifer and Adriana Wick shirt. Andy
Be's boutique will donate profits from each Wick shirt back
to the Wicks family to fight for justice. That website
is shop andybes a and d i bs dot com.
Speaker 10 (26:46):
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crucial chance, neglecting the power of captivating content. While others
captured hearts. Their story remained hidden, But you can rewrite
your story. Relive Studio transforms your brand with striking photos
and video content. Visit www dot relive dot studio. Mention
(27:11):
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Speaker 3 (27:20):
Hometown Connect your local list, Hometown connect your ultimate list.
Bringing communities together through small town business connections They're your
go to app for all things Middle Tennessee. They empower
local businesses and promote the shop local revolution through advanced technology,
while never sacrificing online privacy. With innovative bluetooth, proximity marketing,
(27:45):
direct customer messaging, and in app marketing tools, They're your
ultimate local list. Hometown Connect.
Speaker 10 (27:57):
In the shadows of the city, a business mystic crucial chance,
neglecting the power of captivating content while others captured hearts.
Their story remained hidden, but you can rewrite your story.
Relive Studio transforms your brand with striking photos and video content.
(28:17):
Visit www Dot relive dot studio, Mention this ad and
receive free photos with your video package. Unlock the story
your brand deserves.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Hometown Connect your local list. Hometown Connect your ultimate list,
bringing communities together through small town business connections. They're your
go to app for all things Middle Tennessee. They empower
local businesses and promote the shop local revolution through advanced
technology while never sacrificing online privacy with innovative bluetooth, proximity marketing,
(28:55):
direct customer messaging, and in app marketing tools. They're your
ultimate local list. Hometown Connect. Perhaps this is why Casey
will refuse to give up looking for her sister. This
BONDI shared it was never broken, it will never be broken,
(29:16):
it will stay within her forever.
Speaker 6 (29:20):
I'm so damn proud of my little sister. It blows
my mind, the woman that she has become and the
mother that she is, the daughter she is. She's the
most caring, selfless person I've ever met in my life.
And I don't know how she does it all, but
somehow she does it all. She is the rock of
(29:44):
this entire family. It makes me feel bad because I'm
the older sister and I feel like it should be
me who's the rock, and I'm not.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
I'm just.
Speaker 6 (29:58):
I just can't even thank her enough and tell her enough,
how freaking proud of her.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
I am Michael Wicks. Jennifer's father would soon move just
a few hours drive away from Jennifer, yet Jennifer would
spend weekends and summers with her father and her sisters. Yes,
she had more sisters, Holly, Jamie, and then Megan. Megan Wicks,
the youngest of all of Jennifer's sisters, recalls her time
(30:27):
with her sister Jennifer.
Speaker 9 (30:29):
I'm Megan, and I am Jennifer and well, I'm Jennifer's
sister on her dad's side, and I am Adriana's aunt.
We grew up about two hours away from each other,
so we lived in separate households. I can remember her
coming to visit and it being such a big deal,
you know, because we didn't get to see her that much,
and just look it up to her, you know, thinking
(30:52):
she was just the coolest person. She's older and you know,
were the cool clothes. And I don't want to speak
for him too much much, but I think we should
talk about the relationship between Adriana and Granddad Wicks, which
is Jennifer's dad's dad, because they were very close and
when they disappeared, I think it's safe to say my
(31:14):
granddad took it pretty hard. So the I don't know
the time frame, but the time that Jennifer would stay
with my granny on and off. My granddad, you know,
he worked at Hankle Rocker for mm hmm. He worked
at Hankle I guess it's called Pinkle Rockers, the rocking
(31:36):
chair place that makes the rocking chairs for cracker barrel.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (31:40):
So he made Adriana her own porch swing her own little,
tiny porch swing that sat next to their big swing,
because they would swing on it every night. And every night,
my granny said, she would sit in her little swing
and Granddad would sit in the porch swing, and he'd
swing her and they'd sing together. And even after she disappear,
(32:00):
he would go out there every night next to her
swing and he would sing to her for years, and eventually,
I don't know how many years later, it could have
been ten years, fifteen. It was a long time, you know,
he finally took that rock and chair down. But I
would say, of everybody I know, it took the toll
(32:23):
on him the worst. You have to understand, my granddad
was the funniest person in the entire world. I mean,
you were laughing until you were hurting. He every time
he visited, you knew you were gonna have fun, You're
gonna have a good time. And when she disappeared, I
(32:43):
vividly remember. And this is actually something I've recently brought
up in therapy. You know, I'm going through therapy trying
to excuse me, going through therapy, trying to not only that,
but you know, other things, but this being the main
thing that you know, I'm going for because.
Speaker 6 (33:03):
I don't know.
Speaker 9 (33:03):
I think it's something that everyone should deal with and process.
But one of the main memories I remember is them
coming to visit shortly after my grand and granddad coming
to visit Manchester at our house, shortly after Jennifer and
Adriana disappeared, and we're all sitting around on the couch
(33:25):
watching TV. I even remember the carcial that was on TV,
the song that was playing and you know, funny Grandad
good Time, waiting for him to crack me up, makee jokes,
held me as tight as he could, and he just
broke down and cried and cried. And you have to realize,
you know, I have my small world growing up. This
(33:48):
is coming from the perspective of someone that's fourteen years old.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
You know, you have all.
Speaker 9 (33:52):
These perspectives of this is what the parents went through,
this is what the friends went through, but this is
what the kids went through. Fourteen years old, I'm watching
grown men. I'm knowing my whole life breakdown. And you know,
there's supposed to be my heroes and supposed to be
these strong people, and here's my granddad, the funniest person
in the world, and he's hanging on to me and
he won't let go and he's just crying. I didn't
(34:16):
know how to react, you know, and so in my
fourteen year old mind, I'm like, don't cry, don't get upset.
You've got to hold it together. And that that is
the mentality that I have kept ever since because of
that moment, you know, at fourteen years old, I had
to learn how to suck it up, be tough, get
grown about it, you know. And that's that's not something
(34:38):
someone that age should go through. And I remember no
one in the room reacting, no one responding to it
or acting like anything was happening, no one helping me
out and trying to get me out of the situation.
And it just felt like it went on for forever,
you know, And that happened a couple of times. I
remember him really just breaking down out of nowhere, and
(35:00):
and was never the same. When they left, a part
of him left to or I should say disappeared. We
don't know they left, We don't know really went. But
when they vanish, part of my granddad was gone. You know,
he was He's still funny, and he's still funny around grandchildren.
You know, he can kind of flip that switch back
on old Granddad. But you can just you can look
(35:24):
in his eyes and you can just see like the
the hurt and how much he misses them and they
meant everything to him, and I know that they're what
keeps him going. And so to lose that is it's unthinkable.
It's hard to even imagine that mindset, because you know,
we lived two hours away, by one and a half,
(35:45):
two hours away. He's in it every day. He's in
the memories where she one of the last places she lived,
you know, and looking at the porch swing where he
and Adriana sat every night. He's in it. He can't
get away, and all he has is memories, and that's hard.
In my heart, I believe that Jennifery is gone, you know,
I felt that way for a long time. When it's
(36:11):
your sister, you just know, you just feel it. But
then every time you say that, you go, well, what
if one day she shows up? And so to say
that and be wrong, that's hurtful. It'sward her. But no,
I don't believe she's alive.
Speaker 6 (36:23):
You know.
Speaker 9 (36:23):
I have believed and hoped for a long time that
Adriana is alive and out there because murder on its
own is wrong and how could someone do that, put
to do that to a baby, I mean, that really
takes an evil person. So I like to believe she's alive,
But as the years go on, I know that I'm
(36:45):
gonna have to start accepting what if she's not. And
I know a day could come, or I hope a
day comes that they are found, And then I have
to decide, do I want to know what happened? Can
I deal with what happened? Can I Is it gonna
be too much, because it's gonna be a lot just
to accept that Adriana is not with us. I've made
peace a long time ago that my sister was going.
(37:07):
I know she's I know she's with me in spirit.
If Adriana is out there today, which my hope has
always been, you know, she's grown into her own person.
She has her own life, and she's doing well, and
she's you know, just as smart as her mama was
and just out there being bold and strong. And I
(37:35):
don't know, I always imagined her being a lot like Jennifer.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
We want to ensure we look at every theory, not
just the ones we want to be true, stay with
us It's coming up this season and next time I'm
Missing in Hushtown Jennifer meets Joey. Thank you to our
(38:25):
episode sponsors Hampton and Co Designs Meaningful gold filled Jewelry
that doesn't tarnish and Prater Industrial Services providing complete piping
construction on the industrial level and honest air heating and
cooling honest, fast, reliable. Missing in Hushtown was executive produced
(38:46):
and written by Me Your Host Jules with Anley Audio
House LLC. Casey Robinson was co producer. Special thanks to
John Thorpe, Patrick Robinson, my parents and Jen Rivera, and
to our children. To follow our content nude efforts on
Justice for Jennifer and Adriana Wicks. You can find us
on Facebook at Justice for Jennifer and Adriana Wicks. This
(39:07):
page is personally managed by Casey herself and you can
find me jewles Hi on Instagram at your Host Jules.
Notes and updates can be found on our website www
dot Missing in hushtown dot com. Please help us continue
to grow by considering leaving a five star review and
rating wherever you're listening. If you have a tip for
this case, please please call one eight hundred TBI find
(39:30):
help us bring the Wis Girls home. To donate to
this family's continued fight for justice, please visit GoFundMe dot
com slash Jennifer and Adriana Wis and to support the
podcast and to help us continue this production, you may
clicks support the show and the show notes and donate
a wiskiss. Ten percent of all profits from season one
(39:52):
of Missing in Hushtown will be given to the Wicks
family indefinitely. As always, You're wanted, you are loved, and
you deserve to be found. Don't you forget it. I'll
see you next time.
Speaker 11 (40:05):
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