September 21, 2025 • 34 mins
In the Spring of 1998, in Winter Park, Florida, a 19-year-old co-ed was found dead inside her dorm room. The scene was bizarre and suspicious. This homicide investigation would lead to strange, conflicting forensic reports and leave people to wonder whether it was an accident, suicide, or murder.
This is the unsolved murder of Jennifer Kairis.
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Research Materials for Episode 58 include:
3 doctors say death at Rollins a homicide
Accident, Suicide, or Murder? - Season 5, Episode 4 Justice for Jennifer
Campus sexual assault: Fact sheet from an intersectional lens.
"Highly Unusual" Death of a Vivacious Florida College Student Becomes a Years-Long Mystery | Oxygen
Police say Rollins student was killed
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
On March 31st, 1998 in Winter Park, FL, when a 19 year old
girl's body was discovered inside her dorm room, responders
were puzzled at the scene beforethem.
The victim was lying face down on the floor in a strange and
unnatural position. This homicide investigation
would take many twists and turnsthat no one could predict.
(00:27):
Who was this young woman, and will the monster who murdered
her on a college campus ever be brought to justice?
(01:09):
Hello and welcome to Shades of Murder.
I am your host Alita Caldwell. In this podcast, I discuss cases
of murder from around the world and throughout history,
attempting to unravel the layersof darkness that hell make
humans Fanta monsters. Please be forewarned that each
(01:32):
episode contains specific and attimes very graphic and
disturbing details of the case. This show is not intended for
all audiences and listener discretion is strongly advised.
Rollins College in Winter Park, FL is a lush and beautiful
(01:53):
liberal arts school sometimes referred to by its students as
The Country Club. Rollins College sits near the
shores of Lake Virginia. This campus is breathtaking.
A tiny private school featuring gorgeous architecture and a
Spanish Mediterranean style. Lined with palm trees and brick
paths, the campus resembles moreof a sanctuary than a college.
(02:17):
Established in 1885 by Lucy Cross, founder of the Daytona
Institute for Young Women, it has long been considered a
premier private college and by far one of the most impressive
looking. As of 20/24, it had 3029
students enrolled. It's undergraduate tuition and
fees begin at 58,300, so Needless to say, school is not
(02:41):
established for the unprivileged.
Born on July 18th and 70 in beautiful San Luis Obispo, CA,
Jennifer Carris had big dreams to be on stage.
She was absolutely thrilled whenshe was admitted to Rollins
College in Winter Park, FL. She was excited to be pursuing a
major in theatre there and had recently been dating a new guy,
(03:02):
Paul, a member of the school's Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
When the 19 year old Co had failed to show up for her
morning classes on Monday, her friend Shannon O'Grady felt that
something was terribly wrong. It was not in her friend's
character to be a no show at school.
Jennifer Carris was midway through her sophomore year at
(03:23):
Rollins College and was known for being a reliable and good
student. Shannon reached out to
Jennifer's parents, telling themthat she had been able to get in
touch with her. They frantically tried to reach
their daughter, but Jennifer never answered them, nor did she
call them back. She was very close to her family
and it was not normal behavior for her to just ignore them.
(03:46):
That Monday evening, Shannon decided to request that their
RA, or Resident Assistant of thedorm check on Jennifer in her
room. On March 31st around 9:30 PM, an
assistant, Carlos Barcia, used his master key to open
Jennifer's dorm room. He felt in his gut that
something was wrong. When he arrived, the door was
(04:06):
locked. When he opened the dorm room, he
was faced with a grisly sight. His mind could barely process
what he was seen and he felt theroom begin to spin.
Jennifer Karis's body was on thefloor, already stiffened from
rigor mortis. The teenage girl was awkwardly
(04:26):
lying between the floor and the bed with one of her legs propped
up in a very unnatural and suspicious position.
She was visibly deceased, stiff and blue.
The RA caller's Marcia immediately contacted local
police to report the discovery of the young woman's death.
When first responder John Flynn arrived at the scene, he
(04:47):
observed that the victim was lying face down.
Some kind of fluid appeared to be oozing from her mouth, likely
blood. Her legs were visibly bruised.
The victim was fully closed, except her skirt had been hiked
up from the front. The young woman's underwear had
been pulled over to the side. There was strong suspicion of a
rape or an attempted assault. It also seemed probable that the
(05:10):
victim had been abusing pills. Upon entering the scene, the
head detective noticed several things that raised concern.
The college students room was inabnormal disarray.
There were piles of clothing stacked in the corners of the
room and several bottles of pills sat on the dresser.
This scene was later identified as being particularly odd
(05:33):
because Jennifer Carris was not known for being a messy person.
The scene was so bizarre that police officers handled the case
as a homicide from the start. At 9:37 PM, nineteen year old
Jennifer Carris was declared officially dead.
Police covered the body with a comforter that had been lying on
(05:54):
the girl's bed. Winter Park law enforcement were
now investigating a murder. Jennifer Carris's body was
promptly sent to the pathologistfor an autopsy to be performed.
In the interim of waiting for the report, Detective Fenn
interviewed Jennifer's fellow students and friends.
When he spoke to them, he learned that she had attended A
frat gathering with her boyfriend that Sunday night.
(06:15):
Before heading to the party, however, according to these
witnesses, she had four mixed cocktails and a beer at a
restaurant. According to witnesses at the
frat house, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Jennifer Karis appeared to be
highly intoxicated. One key piece of the story stood
out to Jennifer's friend Shannon.
And I didn't sit right with her.Everyone whom the police
interviewed who had been at the frat party Jennifer was at spoke
(06:38):
of how she appeared to be more out of it than they had ever
seen her before. They described her as being
completely wasted. But this was not normal behavior
for Jennifer, as she was not particularly known for being a
party girl. Several people reported that she
and her boyfriend, frat brother Paul, got into a heated
argument. Jennifer Carris was barely able
(07:00):
to walk. But instead of walking her
safely back to her dorm room at Ward Hall, her boyfriend Paul
decided to have one of his pledges take her back.
When officers interviewed, this pledge was simply identified as
a student named Tim. He claimed he half carried, half
dragged Jennifer back to her dorm and he let her inside and
she fell on the bed, barely conscious.
(07:23):
He watched as Jennifer began to gurgle.
Tim observed some bubbles aroundher mouth.
But instead of making sure the young woman was OK or calling
for help, Tim left her alone with the door unlocked.
The time had been around 3:00 AMon Sunday.
(07:43):
It also made no sense that if the pledge Tim had dropped
Jennifer off inside her dorm room at 3:00 AM, as he said, how
was it possible that her body wasn't discovered until 9:30 PM
the following night? That left an 18 hour window with
(08:04):
her dorm room unlocked, and no one noticed anything strange
about that. There was no way to determine
what had happened to Jennifer Karis over those 8 teen hours in
which she live, vulnerable and highly intoxicated, alone in her
room. Police did their best to be
(08:24):
patient and wait for the autopsyresults, which surely would
clarify the circumstances surrounding this young woman's
death and its possible 'cause, but the report only led to more
questions. Jennifer Karis's autopsy was
originally performed by medical examiner Dr. Merle Reyes.
She observed how the deceased had multiple contusions on her
(08:47):
body. Specifically, there was a large
area of hemorrhaging around Jennifer's neck.
What was really surprising though, was when the toxicology
results returned. Jennifer Karis was not that
drunk the night she was killed. Despite the claims made by
multiple witnesses, autopsy results revealed an abnormally
(09:09):
high level of heart medication Jennifer occasionally took for
migraines. It was more than twice the
amount she would have needed to ingest to be at a toxic level.
Jennifer Kerr's blood also showed two different kinds of
antidepressants, another migraine drug and over the
counter cold medicine. Two additional pathologist,
(09:29):
Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Anderson and Doctor
Sarah Urgang, agreed with DoctorMerle Ray's original findings
and signed off on the girl's death being a homicide.
According to Doctor Anderson, between the assault and the high
level of drugs present in her system, her heart was sensitized
by the substances and her neck being compressed led to a lack
(09:52):
of oxygen for a substantial period of time.
These two factors led to cardiacarrhythmia causing her death.
Initially announced on September1st to the press as being a
homicide, it soon became clear that someone didn't want murder
to be the official cause of Jennifer Karis's death.
(10:14):
At the time of the initial autopsy, 3 veteran investigators
were all in agreement that Jennifer Karis had been
murdered. The homicide investigator on the
case, mind you, was the only investigator on the case and his
very first. At the time, he also believed
that the young woman been killed.
However, within just a few days,when Sergeant King was handed
(10:38):
over the case, this homicide detective changed his mind.
Brought on by Winter Park PoliceSergeant R King's skepticism
regarding this determination, Chief Medical Examiner Dr.
Shashi Gore was brought into thefold.
Doctor Shashi Gore had more than40 years of experience, but he
was not board certified in pathology.
(11:00):
Upon his examination of JenniferKaris's body, Doctor Shashi Gore
decided that the initial conclusion for her cause of
death being declared as a homicide was wrong.
Doctor Gore stated that it was amistake to claim that someone
had killed a college student andthere was evidence to support
this change. He stated that in all
(11:20):
likelihood, the young woman had died from an accidental
overdose. Doctor Stephen J Nelson as well
as his assistant agreed with this new analysis.
As to the excessive bruising, both the Chief Medical Examiner
and the detectives explained these away by falling down while
intoxicated. However, staff members of Doctor
(11:43):
Gore's believed there was strongevidence that Jennifer Karis's
death have resulted from homicide without Doctor Gore's
knowledge. In the fall of 1998, Doctor
Merle Reyes, the original pathologist, took autopsy photos
with her to South Florida. There, she secretly met with
several investigators and pathologists presenting her
(12:04):
findings. Palm Beach County Medical
Examiner Dr. Jacqueline and Martin agreed after examining
the photos and facts of the crime scene that Jennifer
Caris's death was highly suspicious.
The scene did not appear to be 1of an accidental nor intentional
overdose. Jennifer's injuries showed
evidence of a struggle. They were consistent with the
(12:26):
following scenario as she kickedat her assailant, doing her best
to fight him off. He pinned her to the ground,
face down, attempting to pull her legs apart, trying to rape
her. The injuries she sustained,
including multiple bruises and scrapes, were a direct result of
this attack. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Gore
(12:48):
went so far to write a letter toJennifer's parents claiming that
Doctor Mulreys had agreed with his new determination of her
death. Their daughter, who had been
senselessly and brutally murdered, would not receive
justice. The cause of her death was now
being placed solely upon Jennifer.
Following the autopsy performed by Doctor Gore, the description
(13:11):
of the neck trauma was changed from being substantial to
minimal, resulting in Jennifer'sdeath being declared and
accidental overdose. However, what was not realized
or addressed at the time was howphotos that showed serious
markings on Jennifer's neck, which had been the primary
determining factor in homicide, being her cause of death, were
(13:34):
not found within the original autopsy file.
The only photos that proved thisyoung woman had been brutally
murdered had since vanished. Doctor Anderson and Doctor Reyes
had taken several photographs ofJennifer's neck area to support
their decision of homicide, but now only one of the photos
(13:56):
remained in the file when it waspassed over to Doctor Shashi
Gore to analyze. The rest of them had
disappeared. The case closed in 1999, but
thanks to an inquisitive reporter from the Orlando
Sentinel, interest in Jennifer Carris's case resurfaced.
In January 2004, they released areport addressing the gross
(14:18):
mishandling of Jennifer Carris'sdeath and subsequent
investigation. This is when The Dirty little
secrets surrounding the Winter Park Police Department and its
medical Examiner's office would be exposed.
It wouldn't be until six years had passed that the original
pathologist would speak the truth.
Doctor Merle Reyes, who had performed the initial autopsy
(14:38):
that led to the conclusion of Jennifer's cause of death being
homicide, had been pushed aside by Chief Medical Examiner Dr.
Shashi Gore, who then reversed her decision.
Doctor Merle Reyes claimed that she was pressured to step away,
and she feared she would lose her job if she spoke up against
the Chief Medical Examiner. Ever since Doctor Reyes was
(15:01):
forced to leave her position as a pathologist on Jennifer
Karis's case back in 1998, she had been silent about the
reverse decision. But now she stated that she
never swayed away from her initial decision and that she
believed Jennifer Karis had beena victim of foul play.
This contradictory statement by the original pathologist led to
(15:23):
many questions surrounding the investigation into Jennifer
Karis's death. This new statement by the
original pathologist surfaced when the county recently hired a
board certified pathologist to replace Doctor Shashi Gore.
What was the purpose of Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Gore
suddenly intervening in the caseand insisting on performing his
(15:46):
own autopsy unless someone had an invested interest in changing
its outcome somewhat? Or multiple persons did not want
this case to be declared A homicide and they went to
extreme but blatantly obvious links to change the results, It
would be revealed that the Winter Park Police had failed to
perform any due diligence on this poor young woman's death.
(16:10):
When the rape kit was performed on Jennifer Carris's body,
several perishable swabs were held by its lead investigator.
The rape kit sat at the morgue for 10 weeks before he finally
sent it to the lab for testing. A strand of hair was discovered
inside Jennifer's mouth and on her body, neither which were
(16:30):
ever tested. The samples were never sent to a
lab to determine whether the hair belonged to Jennifer Carris
or someone else. Perhaps even more disturbing is
how her murder was the investigators first homicide
case as aforementioned, who was then later fired from the police
force for unknown reasons. The truth was out in the open
(16:51):
for everyone to read. Tragically, everything,
including all case files and evidence were destroyed in 2002.
Once this report was published, Dr. Shashi Gore soon became the
center of high controversy and was severely criticized for
errors he made in other unrelated autopsies.
(17:14):
He would quickly and quietly disappear into retirement.
As a result of this story, whichclearly illustrated the gross
neglect and lack of due diligence performed by the
Winter Park Police Department, the State Attorney of Florida
reopened Jennifer Karis case. Doctor Bruce Goldberger was
assigned to review and analyze the neck injury photos.
(17:36):
This resulted in yet again, a change in Jennifer Karis's
official cause of death. Doctor Goldberger now determined
that her official cause of deathwas suicide.
He posited, based on the evidence he was provided, that
Jennifer Carris had intentionally taken an overdose
of pills and then locked the door behind her.
(17:56):
Doctor Goldberger further suggested the excessive bruising
on Jennifer's body was caused byseizures.
Jennifer's parents and friend Shannon were not buying this new
version of events they were being sold.
The family requested then Governor Jeb Bush to bring in an
outside medical examiner so theycould look at their daughter's
case and her autopsy results. They wanted an independent
(18:20):
investigation performed since there was a need for resolution
and what they deemed to be the dueling medical examiners.
Bruce Heima, Chief Medical Examiner for Miami-Dade County,
who was also an expert toxicologist, was hired by State
Attorney Lawson Lama to conduct an extensive review of the
results on March 4th, 2004, almost six years after her
(18:42):
murder, after Hyman now declaredthat their daughter had
committed suicide through the use of various prescription
drugs. Again, the critical photographs
that showed the severe hemorrhaging done to Jennifer
Carris's neck were gone, so it wasn't realistic or practical
that the findings would revert back to homicide.
(19:04):
Any possibility that they would receive justice for their
daughter's murder was destroyed when these pictures were
intentionally lost. Jennifer Carris's case was
officially closed on April 13th,2005.
There are so many questions regarding Jennifer Carris's
death that remain unanswered. The investigation into this
(19:25):
young one's brutal and bizarre murder barely existed, and the
little that was done only supports the theory that her
homicide was covered up. The most obvious suspects were
her boyfriend Paul, who multiplewitnesses saw get into an
altercation with the victim at the party, and Tim, his pledge,
whom he requested take his girlfriend Jennifer back to her
(19:47):
dorm. Without any known details of
their interviews with the police, it is difficult to
understand why exactly these twoyoung men were ruled out as
suspects in her murder. Nevertheless, both of them were
soon eliminated as being the potential perpetrator.
There didn't appear to be any other leads or possible suspects
in the crime. There was always the possibility
(20:08):
that Paul ended up going over toJennifer's dorm room that night
in which things became violent, except you would think there
would have been some sign or sounds made that she was in
trouble. The same applies to Tim,
although he seems to be the morelikely suspect in this crime.
He had the means, motive and opportunity.
The crime may have been motivated by rage, jealousy and
(20:31):
or lust. This is not to blame Tim as I
have no information about this young man to believe that he is
a sexual predator who murdered ayoung woman.
But I can say that he lacks integrity and has questionable
morals for leaving a young womanalone in her room who was not
only visibly intoxicated from something, but was showing
possible signs of an overdose with the door unlocked.
(20:54):
What kind of person does that? I understand that he was a
teenager and a very scared one, but there are anonymous ways to
let someone know that a person may be in need of medical care.
Or even if it hadn't been that serious of a situation, why
would you just abandoned her andnot make sure she locked the
door behind her before you left?Or knock on one of the coeds
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doors and ask them to check in on her?
There is no information as to what Tim did after leaving her
dorm room. For that matter, there is no
information as to who Tim was atall outside of being her
boyfriend Paul's frat pledge. There are no last names of these
young men, which may be the key as to why this murder was not
(21:39):
properly investigated and subsequently covered up.
Who were Paul's parents? Who were Tim's parents?
Were they connected with law enforcement or were the major
beneficiaries of this elite private school?
I am merely speculating on who and why could be behind this
obvious conspiracy. There are questions which remain
(22:01):
of a practical sense that also don't add up from what is known.
Between Tim claiming that he left the door unlocked when he
left, Jennifer barely conscious on the bed that night, and the
resident assistant stating that the door was locked, we must
presume that someone inside the room locked the door.
Hypothetically, could it have been Tim or Paul who then snuck
outside the window to leave? I mean, there is no information
(22:24):
as to how many floors the dormitory had or what kind of
windows and doors it was equipped with.
What if the door lock was one that you can lock from inside
and then close behind you? To play the devil's advocate,
what if Jennifer Cares had been the one to ultimately lock the
door? That sure as hell doesn't
explain why her skirt was hiked up, her panties pulled to the
side, and her leg unnaturally posed on the bed.
(22:48):
Nothing explains the excessive bruising she had around her
neck, which indicates asphyxiation.
That is not an injury you can inflict yourself while having
convulsions. On a personal note, I
experienced multiple seizures incollege and not once did I
bruise any part of my body. People don't typically stand up
while convulsing and bumping to walls.
(23:09):
There were also multiple bruising along her legs, which
was very unlikely to be caused by her falling down drunk.
Not unless she fell off a curb or down a stairwell.
It was also addressed by the resident assistant himself,
Carlos Barcia, in the episode Justice for Jennifer on the
series Accident, Suicide or Murder.
How he found it very odd and troubling that no one in law
(23:32):
enforcement had ever interviewedhim.
Yes, that's right. The man who discovered a young
college girl dead in her room ina very provocative and
suspicious manner was never talked to by the police.
He had to forcefully open her door.
And yet the detective, if you can even call him that, never
(23:53):
asked this man questions. The first person who found her
deceased was never interviewed. Think about that for a moment.
How many cases have we all heardof where the first person at the
crime scene who claims they werethe ones that found the body is
in fact the one who did it? I don't suspect that RA on any
(24:13):
level, but that was his point, that if the investigation had
been thorough, he should have been viewed as a potential
suspect from the start who needed to be interviewed and
eliminated. Jennifer Kerr's parents not only
refused to believe that her death was accidental, but they
were never given any legitimate explanation as to how she had
received substantial bruising around her neck and on her legs.
(24:37):
Jennifer Kerr's parents firmly believe that their daughter was
raped and murdered by her boyfriend, Paul.
This case doesn't only expose a major conspiracy in covering up
this young woman's homicide, butit speaks to a larger issue at
hand, being sexual violence committed against females, in
particular college students. Despite its alarmingly high
(25:00):
prevalence, this crisis is not given the resources and
attention it demands. CSA, also known as campus sexual
assault, comprises somewhere between 28% and 43% of all on
campus crimes that occur at secondary institutions in the
United States. Of the known recorded incidents,
(25:21):
the rate is approximately 8 forcible sex offenses per 10,000
students. Females are not the only ones
being victims of sexual assault on college campuses.
Research shows that one in 16 male college students will
experience sexual assault, and some studies show as high as 19%
of male students experience somekind of unwanted sexual contact.
(25:45):
What is deeply concerning is that according to the Bureau of
Justice Statistics, who attend college are 78% more likely to
become victims of CSA compared to men of the same age who don't
participate and secondary education.
As in most incidents of sexual assault, females are
overwhelmingly the victims of campus sexual assault.
(26:05):
However, interestingly, the riskgoes slightly down when a female
attends a school of higher education.
They are 20% less likely to be victims compared to women who
don't attend college. The beginning of a new school
year between August and Novemberis referred to as the Red Zone,
and there is a strong correlation between the
frequency of social gatherings that take place this time of the
(26:27):
year and the rate of sexual assault.
Data supported that 50% of campus sexual assaults occur
during this part of the school year, and new students are
especially vulnerable to becoming victims.
Prompted by the 1986 rape and murder of a 19 year old college
student in her dorm room. The Clary Act requires that
universities and colleges reportcrime statistics to the
(26:50):
Department of Education. The Clary Act was recently
amended in 2000 which increase the repercussions post secondary
institutions will face, including strict financial
penalties if it is discovered they have misreported these
findings. The penalty is set at $27,500
(27:10):
per incident not reported. However, the Clary Act does not
require that these institutions report the data to the Uniform
Crime Reporting Program every year.
When a female code embarks on a journey of higher education, she
is faced with a high risk of becoming a victim of sexual
violence. The data clearly shows that
(27:30):
college students are significantly more likely to be
sexually harassed, stalked, and sexually assaulted.
What is this a reflection of? Our embedded rape culture
combined with various environmental elements leads to
approximately 1 in four undergraduate college females
being a victim of rape or attempted rape.
It is estimated that of the known assaults, 4 out of five
(27:52):
are reported. Of those that are, they seldom
receive any justice. An investigative story published
in 2022 revealed that colleges and universities on average
suspended 1 out of 12,400 students who were accused of
sexual offenses and only one in 22,900 were expelled from the
(28:14):
school. The number of reported forcible
sexual offenses saw a massive increase between 2009 and 2019,
going up 363%. It is estimated that 90% of
incidents are never reported. With the many challenges
(28:35):
prosecutors face and therefore proving cases of rape, in
particular what is referred to as date or acquaintance assault,
in addition to the hyper protective and often defensive
behavior exhibited by institutions of higher
education, nothing much seems tochange.
Although there is no exact data on the prevalence of sexual
assaults committed by members ofthe Greek system, multiple
(28:57):
studies have shown that members of fraternities are three times
more likely to commit rape. Often times, excessive alcohol
and drug use is pointed to be the culprit, the main trigger
for such violent behavior, with alcohol overwhelmingly being the
tool used by rapists. This only serves to provide
these young men with an excuse, an explanation for why they
(29:20):
thought or didn't care, whether or not a girl wanted to or was
even capable of saying yes. Sorority houses are not
permitted to throw their own parties with alcohol, which
means that a great majority of parties on campus and off campus
are being held at frat houses, which are male dominated and
completely controlled by them. Female members of sororities are
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74% more likely to be raped thanother college women.
What I find to be the most disturbing about these facts is
that individuals attending college are expected to be the
brightest and potentially most successful and powerful
individuals in our society. These are the young men who will
(30:02):
shape and direct the institutions that run our
communities. Yet somewhere along the way they
are being instilled with an innate lack of respect for
females and their bodies. How is it possible that within
the institutions that represent higher education and
enlightenment, and which ideallygenerate the best members of
society, lay the darkest and most violent of individuals?
(30:26):
Parents place their faith and trust and a great deal of
financial investment in these institutions.
They encourage their children tobecome pillars of society,
pursue higher education and become more enlightened and
well-rounded individuals. But they are something very dark
and troubling occurring at colleges and universities around
(30:48):
this country. And there have been many
incidents where school officialsand Deans don't follow set
protocol nor did they ever pursue justice for these
victims. They are too invested in their
academic reputation to tarnish the image of the schools.
And due to this reason in itself, not enough is being done
to combat this epidemic of sexual violence being committed
(31:10):
against their female students. In the case of Jennifer Karis,
we may never know who was behindwanting to conceal her assault
and murder. It is evident that someone or
multiple individuals were highlyinvested and committed to making
sure no one paid for her death. It is asinine to me how little
was done by officials in law enforcement and the medical
(31:31):
examiner's office to try to convince anyone of the story
they are selling to her family and loved ones.
An accidental overdose could have been believable had it not
been for the strong physical evidence of a sexual assault and
the violence that ensued. These facts can't be erased from
the case, no matter what the oneremaining photograph indicates.
(31:56):
It makes you wonder what level of corruption exists within the
Winter Park Police Department and potentially across all of
Florida for this kind of nonsense and injustice to take
place and almost no one his ringing conspiracy bells
screaming cover up around it. It also needs to be addressed
(32:18):
how Jennifer Karis takes off every box of the typical victim
who would normally be plastered across the media.
She was a young, attractive white female, in particular a
blonde from an affluent family. And yet somehow there was and
still is minimal media coverage of this case.
Jennifer Karis's death was the first recorded homicide on
(32:40):
Rollins campus over it's 113 years in existence.
It seems obvious that multiple persons were invested in its
prestige and danger free reputation and had too much at
stake to let this change. They had far reaching power to
silence the media and buy off the police and medical examiner.
(33:02):
We may never know who assaulted Jennifer Carris and caused her
brutal, senseless death. It is officially a closed case,
and the only thing that could hypothetically change this is if
someone came forward who knew something about what happened to
her that night. But even if someone did, would
the truth ever be allowed to come out?
(33:23):
My gut tells me that her violentperpetrator was someone who's a
wealthy and highly influential family would not allow their
male heirs future to be tarnished with the label of
rapist, much less murderer. Thank you so much for listening
to the intriguing and tragic story of Jennifer Karis.
(33:45):
Please let me know your thoughtson this case.
If you have any comments, questions, or ideas for future
episodes, I would love to hear from you.
Please reach out. I wanted to sincerely apologize
for the inconsistency of my releasing episodes as of late.
Within the last couple months, Iupgraded my recording software,
but like any software and technology, there's a learning
(34:07):
curve and lots of issues have come into play.
If you enjoy the show and have not already followed or
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please make sure to just take a moment and rate the show.
It means a lot to me personally and it really helps to circulate
the show so it and get to other dear listeners.
(34:29):
I appreciate it very much. Until next time, stay safe and
watch over Shades of Murder happening in the streets next
door, especially inside your ownhome.
Shades of Murder is created, researched, written and edited
by Alito Caldwell. Original music stranger composed
(34:51):
by Stereo Code.
On March 31st, 1998 in Winter Park, FL, when a 19 year old
girl's body was discovered inside her dorm room, responders
were puzzled at the scene beforethem.
The victim was lying face down on the floor in a strange and
unnatural position. This homicide investigation
would take many twists and turnsthat no one could predict.
(00:27):
Who was this young woman, and will the monster who murdered
her on a college campus ever be brought to justice?
(01:09):
Hello and welcome to Shades of Murder.
I am your host Alita Caldwell. In this podcast, I discuss cases
of murder from around the world and throughout history,
attempting to unravel the layersof darkness that hell make
humans Fanta monsters. Please be forewarned that each
(01:32):
episode contains specific and attimes very graphic and
disturbing details of the case. This show is not intended for
all audiences and listener discretion is strongly advised.
Rollins College in Winter Park, FL is a lush and beautiful
(01:53):
liberal arts school sometimes referred to by its students as
The Country Club. Rollins College sits near the
shores of Lake Virginia. This campus is breathtaking.
A tiny private school featuring gorgeous architecture and a
Spanish Mediterranean style. Lined with palm trees and brick
paths, the campus resembles moreof a sanctuary than a college.
(02:17):
Established in 1885 by Lucy Cross, founder of the Daytona
Institute for Young Women, it has long been considered a
premier private college and by far one of the most impressive
looking. As of 20/24, it had 3029
students enrolled. It's undergraduate tuition and
fees begin at 58,300, so Needless to say, school is not
(02:41):
established for the unprivileged.
Born on July 18th and 70 in beautiful San Luis Obispo, CA,
Jennifer Carris had big dreams to be on stage.
She was absolutely thrilled whenshe was admitted to Rollins
College in Winter Park, FL. She was excited to be pursuing a
major in theatre there and had recently been dating a new guy,
(03:02):
Paul, a member of the school's Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
When the 19 year old Co had failed to show up for her
morning classes on Monday, her friend Shannon O'Grady felt that
something was terribly wrong. It was not in her friend's
character to be a no show at school.
Jennifer Carris was midway through her sophomore year at
(03:23):
Rollins College and was known for being a reliable and good
student. Shannon reached out to
Jennifer's parents, telling themthat she had been able to get in
touch with her. They frantically tried to reach
their daughter, but Jennifer never answered them, nor did she
call them back. She was very close to her family
and it was not normal behavior for her to just ignore them.
(03:46):
That Monday evening, Shannon decided to request that their
RA, or Resident Assistant of thedorm check on Jennifer in her
room. On March 31st around 9:30 PM, an
assistant, Carlos Barcia, used his master key to open
Jennifer's dorm room. He felt in his gut that
something was wrong. When he arrived, the door was
(04:06):
locked. When he opened the dorm room, he
was faced with a grisly sight. His mind could barely process
what he was seen and he felt theroom begin to spin.
Jennifer Karis's body was on thefloor, already stiffened from
rigor mortis. The teenage girl was awkwardly
(04:26):
lying between the floor and the bed with one of her legs propped
up in a very unnatural and suspicious position.
She was visibly deceased, stiff and blue.
The RA caller's Marcia immediately contacted local
police to report the discovery of the young woman's death.
When first responder John Flynn arrived at the scene, he
(04:47):
observed that the victim was lying face down.
Some kind of fluid appeared to be oozing from her mouth, likely
blood. Her legs were visibly bruised.
The victim was fully closed, except her skirt had been hiked
up from the front. The young woman's underwear had
been pulled over to the side. There was strong suspicion of a
rape or an attempted assault. It also seemed probable that the
(05:10):
victim had been abusing pills. Upon entering the scene, the
head detective noticed several things that raised concern.
The college students room was inabnormal disarray.
There were piles of clothing stacked in the corners of the
room and several bottles of pills sat on the dresser.
This scene was later identified as being particularly odd
(05:33):
because Jennifer Carris was not known for being a messy person.
The scene was so bizarre that police officers handled the case
as a homicide from the start. At 9:37 PM, nineteen year old
Jennifer Carris was declared officially dead.
Police covered the body with a comforter that had been lying on
(05:54):
the girl's bed. Winter Park law enforcement were
now investigating a murder. Jennifer Carris's body was
promptly sent to the pathologistfor an autopsy to be performed.
In the interim of waiting for the report, Detective Fenn
interviewed Jennifer's fellow students and friends.
When he spoke to them, he learned that she had attended A
frat gathering with her boyfriend that Sunday night.
(06:15):
Before heading to the party, however, according to these
witnesses, she had four mixed cocktails and a beer at a
restaurant. According to witnesses at the
frat house, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Jennifer Karis appeared to be
highly intoxicated. One key piece of the story stood
out to Jennifer's friend Shannon.
And I didn't sit right with her.Everyone whom the police
interviewed who had been at the frat party Jennifer was at spoke
(06:38):
of how she appeared to be more out of it than they had ever
seen her before. They described her as being
completely wasted. But this was not normal behavior
for Jennifer, as she was not particularly known for being a
party girl. Several people reported that she
and her boyfriend, frat brother Paul, got into a heated
argument. Jennifer Carris was barely able
(07:00):
to walk. But instead of walking her
safely back to her dorm room at Ward Hall, her boyfriend Paul
decided to have one of his pledges take her back.
When officers interviewed, this pledge was simply identified as
a student named Tim. He claimed he half carried, half
dragged Jennifer back to her dorm and he let her inside and
she fell on the bed, barely conscious.
(07:23):
He watched as Jennifer began to gurgle.
Tim observed some bubbles aroundher mouth.
But instead of making sure the young woman was OK or calling
for help, Tim left her alone with the door unlocked.
The time had been around 3:00 AMon Sunday.
(07:43):
It also made no sense that if the pledge Tim had dropped
Jennifer off inside her dorm room at 3:00 AM, as he said, how
was it possible that her body wasn't discovered until 9:30 PM
the following night? That left an 18 hour window with
(08:04):
her dorm room unlocked, and no one noticed anything strange
about that. There was no way to determine
what had happened to Jennifer Karis over those 8 teen hours in
which she live, vulnerable and highly intoxicated, alone in her
room. Police did their best to be
(08:24):
patient and wait for the autopsyresults, which surely would
clarify the circumstances surrounding this young woman's
death and its possible 'cause, but the report only led to more
questions. Jennifer Karis's autopsy was
originally performed by medical examiner Dr. Merle Reyes.
She observed how the deceased had multiple contusions on her
(08:47):
body. Specifically, there was a large
area of hemorrhaging around Jennifer's neck.
What was really surprising though, was when the toxicology
results returned. Jennifer Karis was not that
drunk the night she was killed. Despite the claims made by
multiple witnesses, autopsy results revealed an abnormally
(09:09):
high level of heart medication Jennifer occasionally took for
migraines. It was more than twice the
amount she would have needed to ingest to be at a toxic level.
Jennifer Kerr's blood also showed two different kinds of
antidepressants, another migraine drug and over the
counter cold medicine. Two additional pathologist,
(09:29):
Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Anderson and Doctor
Sarah Urgang, agreed with DoctorMerle Ray's original findings
and signed off on the girl's death being a homicide.
According to Doctor Anderson, between the assault and the high
level of drugs present in her system, her heart was sensitized
by the substances and her neck being compressed led to a lack
(09:52):
of oxygen for a substantial period of time.
These two factors led to cardiacarrhythmia causing her death.
Initially announced on September1st to the press as being a
homicide, it soon became clear that someone didn't want murder
to be the official cause of Jennifer Karis's death.
(10:14):
At the time of the initial autopsy, 3 veteran investigators
were all in agreement that Jennifer Karis had been
murdered. The homicide investigator on the
case, mind you, was the only investigator on the case and his
very first. At the time, he also believed
that the young woman been killed.
However, within just a few days,when Sergeant King was handed
(10:38):
over the case, this homicide detective changed his mind.
Brought on by Winter Park PoliceSergeant R King's skepticism
regarding this determination, Chief Medical Examiner Dr.
Shashi Gore was brought into thefold.
Doctor Shashi Gore had more than40 years of experience, but he
was not board certified in pathology.
(11:00):
Upon his examination of JenniferKaris's body, Doctor Shashi Gore
decided that the initial conclusion for her cause of
death being declared as a homicide was wrong.
Doctor Gore stated that it was amistake to claim that someone
had killed a college student andthere was evidence to support
this change. He stated that in all
(11:20):
likelihood, the young woman had died from an accidental
overdose. Doctor Stephen J Nelson as well
as his assistant agreed with this new analysis.
As to the excessive bruising, both the Chief Medical Examiner
and the detectives explained these away by falling down while
intoxicated. However, staff members of Doctor
(11:43):
Gore's believed there was strongevidence that Jennifer Karis's
death have resulted from homicide without Doctor Gore's
knowledge. In the fall of 1998, Doctor
Merle Reyes, the original pathologist, took autopsy photos
with her to South Florida. There, she secretly met with
several investigators and pathologists presenting her
(12:04):
findings. Palm Beach County Medical
Examiner Dr. Jacqueline and Martin agreed after examining
the photos and facts of the crime scene that Jennifer
Caris's death was highly suspicious.
The scene did not appear to be 1of an accidental nor intentional
overdose. Jennifer's injuries showed
evidence of a struggle. They were consistent with the
(12:26):
following scenario as she kickedat her assailant, doing her best
to fight him off. He pinned her to the ground,
face down, attempting to pull her legs apart, trying to rape
her. The injuries she sustained,
including multiple bruises and scrapes, were a direct result of
this attack. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Gore
(12:48):
went so far to write a letter toJennifer's parents claiming that
Doctor Mulreys had agreed with his new determination of her
death. Their daughter, who had been
senselessly and brutally murdered, would not receive
justice. The cause of her death was now
being placed solely upon Jennifer.
Following the autopsy performed by Doctor Gore, the description
(13:11):
of the neck trauma was changed from being substantial to
minimal, resulting in Jennifer'sdeath being declared and
accidental overdose. However, what was not realized
or addressed at the time was howphotos that showed serious
markings on Jennifer's neck, which had been the primary
determining factor in homicide, being her cause of death, were
(13:34):
not found within the original autopsy file.
The only photos that proved thisyoung woman had been brutally
murdered had since vanished. Doctor Anderson and Doctor Reyes
had taken several photographs ofJennifer's neck area to support
their decision of homicide, but now only one of the photos
(13:56):
remained in the file when it waspassed over to Doctor Shashi
Gore to analyze. The rest of them had
disappeared. The case closed in 1999, but
thanks to an inquisitive reporter from the Orlando
Sentinel, interest in Jennifer Carris's case resurfaced.
In January 2004, they released areport addressing the gross
(14:18):
mishandling of Jennifer Carris'sdeath and subsequent
investigation. This is when The Dirty little
secrets surrounding the Winter Park Police Department and its
medical Examiner's office would be exposed.
It wouldn't be until six years had passed that the original
pathologist would speak the truth.
Doctor Merle Reyes, who had performed the initial autopsy
(14:38):
that led to the conclusion of Jennifer's cause of death being
homicide, had been pushed aside by Chief Medical Examiner Dr.
Shashi Gore, who then reversed her decision.
Doctor Merle Reyes claimed that she was pressured to step away,
and she feared she would lose her job if she spoke up against
the Chief Medical Examiner. Ever since Doctor Reyes was
(15:01):
forced to leave her position as a pathologist on Jennifer
Karis's case back in 1998, she had been silent about the
reverse decision. But now she stated that she
never swayed away from her initial decision and that she
believed Jennifer Karis had beena victim of foul play.
This contradictory statement by the original pathologist led to
(15:23):
many questions surrounding the investigation into Jennifer
Karis's death. This new statement by the
original pathologist surfaced when the county recently hired a
board certified pathologist to replace Doctor Shashi Gore.
What was the purpose of Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Gore
suddenly intervening in the caseand insisting on performing his
(15:46):
own autopsy unless someone had an invested interest in changing
its outcome somewhat? Or multiple persons did not want
this case to be declared A homicide and they went to
extreme but blatantly obvious links to change the results, It
would be revealed that the Winter Park Police had failed to
perform any due diligence on this poor young woman's death.
(16:10):
When the rape kit was performed on Jennifer Carris's body,
several perishable swabs were held by its lead investigator.
The rape kit sat at the morgue for 10 weeks before he finally
sent it to the lab for testing. A strand of hair was discovered
inside Jennifer's mouth and on her body, neither which were
(16:30):
ever tested. The samples were never sent to a
lab to determine whether the hair belonged to Jennifer Carris
or someone else. Perhaps even more disturbing is
how her murder was the investigators first homicide
case as aforementioned, who was then later fired from the police
force for unknown reasons. The truth was out in the open
(16:51):
for everyone to read. Tragically, everything,
including all case files and evidence were destroyed in 2002.
Once this report was published, Dr. Shashi Gore soon became the
center of high controversy and was severely criticized for
errors he made in other unrelated autopsies.
(17:14):
He would quickly and quietly disappear into retirement.
As a result of this story, whichclearly illustrated the gross
neglect and lack of due diligence performed by the
Winter Park Police Department, the State Attorney of Florida
reopened Jennifer Karis case. Doctor Bruce Goldberger was
assigned to review and analyze the neck injury photos.
(17:36):
This resulted in yet again, a change in Jennifer Karis's
official cause of death. Doctor Goldberger now determined
that her official cause of deathwas suicide.
He posited, based on the evidence he was provided, that
Jennifer Carris had intentionally taken an overdose
of pills and then locked the door behind her.
(17:56):
Doctor Goldberger further suggested the excessive bruising
on Jennifer's body was caused byseizures.
Jennifer's parents and friend Shannon were not buying this new
version of events they were being sold.
The family requested then Governor Jeb Bush to bring in an
outside medical examiner so theycould look at their daughter's
case and her autopsy results. They wanted an independent
(18:20):
investigation performed since there was a need for resolution
and what they deemed to be the dueling medical examiners.
Bruce Heima, Chief Medical Examiner for Miami-Dade County,
who was also an expert toxicologist, was hired by State
Attorney Lawson Lama to conduct an extensive review of the
results on March 4th, 2004, almost six years after her
(18:42):
murder, after Hyman now declaredthat their daughter had
committed suicide through the use of various prescription
drugs. Again, the critical photographs
that showed the severe hemorrhaging done to Jennifer
Carris's neck were gone, so it wasn't realistic or practical
that the findings would revert back to homicide.
(19:04):
Any possibility that they would receive justice for their
daughter's murder was destroyed when these pictures were
intentionally lost. Jennifer Carris's case was
officially closed on April 13th,2005.
There are so many questions regarding Jennifer Carris's
death that remain unanswered. The investigation into this
(19:25):
young one's brutal and bizarre murder barely existed, and the
little that was done only supports the theory that her
homicide was covered up. The most obvious suspects were
her boyfriend Paul, who multiplewitnesses saw get into an
altercation with the victim at the party, and Tim, his pledge,
whom he requested take his girlfriend Jennifer back to her
(19:47):
dorm. Without any known details of
their interviews with the police, it is difficult to
understand why exactly these twoyoung men were ruled out as
suspects in her murder. Nevertheless, both of them were
soon eliminated as being the potential perpetrator.
There didn't appear to be any other leads or possible suspects
in the crime. There was always the possibility
(20:08):
that Paul ended up going over toJennifer's dorm room that night
in which things became violent, except you would think there
would have been some sign or sounds made that she was in
trouble. The same applies to Tim,
although he seems to be the morelikely suspect in this crime.
He had the means, motive and opportunity.
The crime may have been motivated by rage, jealousy and
(20:31):
or lust. This is not to blame Tim as I
have no information about this young man to believe that he is
a sexual predator who murdered ayoung woman.
But I can say that he lacks integrity and has questionable
morals for leaving a young womanalone in her room who was not
only visibly intoxicated from something, but was showing
possible signs of an overdose with the door unlocked.
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What kind of person does that? I understand that he was a
teenager and a very scared one, but there are anonymous ways to
let someone know that a person may be in need of medical care.
Or even if it hadn't been that serious of a situation, why
would you just abandoned her andnot make sure she locked the
door behind her before you left?Or knock on one of the coeds
(21:16):
doors and ask them to check in on her?
There is no information as to what Tim did after leaving her
dorm room. For that matter, there is no
information as to who Tim was atall outside of being her
boyfriend Paul's frat pledge. There are no last names of these
young men, which may be the key as to why this murder was not
(21:39):
properly investigated and subsequently covered up.
Who were Paul's parents? Who were Tim's parents?
Were they connected with law enforcement or were the major
beneficiaries of this elite private school?
I am merely speculating on who and why could be behind this
obvious conspiracy. There are questions which remain
(22:01):
of a practical sense that also don't add up from what is known.
Between Tim claiming that he left the door unlocked when he
left, Jennifer barely conscious on the bed that night, and the
resident assistant stating that the door was locked, we must
presume that someone inside the room locked the door.
Hypothetically, could it have been Tim or Paul who then snuck
outside the window to leave? I mean, there is no information
(22:24):
as to how many floors the dormitory had or what kind of
windows and doors it was equipped with.
What if the door lock was one that you can lock from inside
and then close behind you? To play the devil's advocate,
what if Jennifer Cares had been the one to ultimately lock the
door? That sure as hell doesn't
explain why her skirt was hiked up, her panties pulled to the
side, and her leg unnaturally posed on the bed.
(22:48):
Nothing explains the excessive bruising she had around her
neck, which indicates asphyxiation.
That is not an injury you can inflict yourself while having
convulsions. On a personal note, I
experienced multiple seizures incollege and not once did I
bruise any part of my body. People don't typically stand up
while convulsing and bumping to walls.
(23:09):
There were also multiple bruising along her legs, which
was very unlikely to be caused by her falling down drunk.
Not unless she fell off a curb or down a stairwell.
It was also addressed by the resident assistant himself,
Carlos Barcia, in the episode Justice for Jennifer on the
series Accident, Suicide or Murder.
How he found it very odd and troubling that no one in law
(23:32):
enforcement had ever interviewedhim.
Yes, that's right. The man who discovered a young
college girl dead in her room ina very provocative and
suspicious manner was never talked to by the police.
He had to forcefully open her door.
And yet the detective, if you can even call him that, never
(23:53):
asked this man questions. The first person who found her
deceased was never interviewed. Think about that for a moment.
How many cases have we all heardof where the first person at the
crime scene who claims they werethe ones that found the body is
in fact the one who did it? I don't suspect that RA on any
(24:13):
level, but that was his point, that if the investigation had
been thorough, he should have been viewed as a potential
suspect from the start who needed to be interviewed and
eliminated. Jennifer Kerr's parents not only
refused to believe that her death was accidental, but they
were never given any legitimate explanation as to how she had
received substantial bruising around her neck and on her legs.
(24:37):
Jennifer Kerr's parents firmly believe that their daughter was
raped and murdered by her boyfriend, Paul.
This case doesn't only expose a major conspiracy in covering up
this young woman's homicide, butit speaks to a larger issue at
hand, being sexual violence committed against females, in
particular college students. Despite its alarmingly high
(25:00):
prevalence, this crisis is not given the resources and
attention it demands. CSA, also known as campus sexual
assault, comprises somewhere between 28% and 43% of all on
campus crimes that occur at secondary institutions in the
United States. Of the known recorded incidents,
(25:21):
the rate is approximately 8 forcible sex offenses per 10,000
students. Females are not the only ones
being victims of sexual assault on college campuses.
Research shows that one in 16 male college students will
experience sexual assault, and some studies show as high as 19%
of male students experience somekind of unwanted sexual contact.
(25:45):
What is deeply concerning is that according to the Bureau of
Justice Statistics, who attend college are 78% more likely to
become victims of CSA compared to men of the same age who don't
participate and secondary education.
As in most incidents of sexual assault, females are
overwhelmingly the victims of campus sexual assault.
(26:05):
However, interestingly, the riskgoes slightly down when a female
attends a school of higher education.
They are 20% less likely to be victims compared to women who
don't attend college. The beginning of a new school
year between August and Novemberis referred to as the Red Zone,
and there is a strong correlation between the
frequency of social gatherings that take place this time of the
(26:27):
year and the rate of sexual assault.
Data supported that 50% of campus sexual assaults occur
during this part of the school year, and new students are
especially vulnerable to becoming victims.
Prompted by the 1986 rape and murder of a 19 year old college
student in her dorm room. The Clary Act requires that
universities and colleges reportcrime statistics to the
(26:50):
Department of Education. The Clary Act was recently
amended in 2000 which increase the repercussions post secondary
institutions will face, including strict financial
penalties if it is discovered they have misreported these
findings. The penalty is set at $27,500
(27:10):
per incident not reported. However, the Clary Act does not
require that these institutions report the data to the Uniform
Crime Reporting Program every year.
When a female code embarks on a journey of higher education, she
is faced with a high risk of becoming a victim of sexual
violence. The data clearly shows that
(27:30):
college students are significantly more likely to be
sexually harassed, stalked, and sexually assaulted.
What is this a reflection of? Our embedded rape culture
combined with various environmental elements leads to
approximately 1 in four undergraduate college females
being a victim of rape or attempted rape.
It is estimated that of the known assaults, 4 out of five
(27:52):
are reported. Of those that are, they seldom
receive any justice. An investigative story published
in 2022 revealed that colleges and universities on average
suspended 1 out of 12,400 students who were accused of
sexual offenses and only one in 22,900 were expelled from the
(28:14):
school. The number of reported forcible
sexual offenses saw a massive increase between 2009 and 2019,
going up 363%. It is estimated that 90% of
incidents are never reported. With the many challenges
(28:35):
prosecutors face and therefore proving cases of rape, in
particular what is referred to as date or acquaintance assault,
in addition to the hyper protective and often defensive
behavior exhibited by institutions of higher
education, nothing much seems tochange.
Although there is no exact data on the prevalence of sexual
assaults committed by members ofthe Greek system, multiple
(28:57):
studies have shown that members of fraternities are three times
more likely to commit rape. Often times, excessive alcohol
and drug use is pointed to be the culprit, the main trigger
for such violent behavior, with alcohol overwhelmingly being the
tool used by rapists. This only serves to provide
these young men with an excuse, an explanation for why they
(29:20):
thought or didn't care, whether or not a girl wanted to or was
even capable of saying yes. Sorority houses are not
permitted to throw their own parties with alcohol, which
means that a great majority of parties on campus and off campus
are being held at frat houses, which are male dominated and
completely controlled by them. Female members of sororities are
(29:41):
74% more likely to be raped thanother college women.
What I find to be the most disturbing about these facts is
that individuals attending college are expected to be the
brightest and potentially most successful and powerful
individuals in our society. These are the young men who will
(30:02):
shape and direct the institutions that run our
communities. Yet somewhere along the way they
are being instilled with an innate lack of respect for
females and their bodies. How is it possible that within
the institutions that represent higher education and
enlightenment, and which ideallygenerate the best members of
society, lay the darkest and most violent of individuals?
(30:26):
Parents place their faith and trust and a great deal of
financial investment in these institutions.
They encourage their children tobecome pillars of society,
pursue higher education and become more enlightened and
well-rounded individuals. But they are something very dark
and troubling occurring at colleges and universities around
(30:48):
this country. And there have been many
incidents where school officialsand Deans don't follow set
protocol nor did they ever pursue justice for these
victims. They are too invested in their
academic reputation to tarnish the image of the schools.
And due to this reason in itself, not enough is being done
to combat this epidemic of sexual violence being committed
(31:10):
against their female students. In the case of Jennifer Karis,
we may never know who was behindwanting to conceal her assault
and murder. It is evident that someone or
multiple individuals were highlyinvested and committed to making
sure no one paid for her death. It is asinine to me how little
was done by officials in law enforcement and the medical
(31:31):
examiner's office to try to convince anyone of the story
they are selling to her family and loved ones.
An accidental overdose could have been believable had it not
been for the strong physical evidence of a sexual assault and
the violence that ensued. These facts can't be erased from
the case, no matter what the oneremaining photograph indicates.
(31:56):
It makes you wonder what level of corruption exists within the
Winter Park Police Department and potentially across all of
Florida for this kind of nonsense and injustice to take
place and almost no one his ringing conspiracy bells
screaming cover up around it. It also needs to be addressed
(32:18):
how Jennifer Karis takes off every box of the typical victim
who would normally be plastered across the media.
She was a young, attractive white female, in particular a
blonde from an affluent family. And yet somehow there was and
still is minimal media coverage of this case.
Jennifer Karis's death was the first recorded homicide on
(32:40):
Rollins campus over it's 113 years in existence.
It seems obvious that multiple persons were invested in its
prestige and danger free reputation and had too much at
stake to let this change. They had far reaching power to
silence the media and buy off the police and medical examiner.
(33:02):
We may never know who assaulted Jennifer Carris and caused her
brutal, senseless death. It is officially a closed case,
and the only thing that could hypothetically change this is if
someone came forward who knew something about what happened to
her that night. But even if someone did, would
the truth ever be allowed to come out?
(33:23):
My gut tells me that her violentperpetrator was someone who's a
wealthy and highly influential family would not allow their
male heirs future to be tarnished with the label of
rapist, much less murderer. Thank you so much for listening
to the intriguing and tragic story of Jennifer Karis.
(33:45):
Please let me know your thoughtson this case.
If you have any comments, questions, or ideas for future
episodes, I would love to hear from you.
Please reach out. I wanted to sincerely apologize
for the inconsistency of my releasing episodes as of late.
Within the last couple months, Iupgraded my recording software,
but like any software and technology, there's a learning
(34:07):
curve and lots of issues have come into play.
If you enjoy the show and have not already followed or
subscribed, please make sure youare doing so on your platform of
choice. And if you would be so kind to
please make sure to just take a moment and rate the show.
It means a lot to me personally and it really helps to circulate
the show so it and get to other dear listeners.
(34:29):
I appreciate it very much. Until next time, stay safe and
watch over Shades of Murder happening in the streets next
door, especially inside your ownhome.
Shades of Murder is created, researched, written and edited
by Alito Caldwell. Original music stranger composed
(34:51):
by Stereo Code.
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