September 27, 2023 • 23 mins
24-year-old Rebekah Gay was reported missing on the morning of Halloween in 2012 when she didn't show up for work. She never got to take her son trick-or-treating for Halloween that evening, or ever again. (Updated and re-recorded episode.)
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Tell me a true crime story.
Hey there, welcome to Tell Me aTrue Crime Story podcast.
(00:20):
I'm your host, holly.
I'm so appreciative of you forbeing here.
I'm truly honored that you takeme along with you while you
drive, work out clean, cook workor when you lay down to go to
sleep.
Thanks for letting me keep youcompany and be a part of your
day.
I hope that you and your familyare happy, healthy and together
(00:43):
forever.
Big hugs to all of you.
So this podcast has grown a lotlately.
I know I told you guys thatlast week, but a big part of it
is because you guys are tellingyour friends and your coworkers
and your family about thepodcast and it's also because of
(01:05):
your reviews.
I've been asking you guys toreview the podcast and you've
been doing it for me.
I'm just overwhelmed and it'sso sweet and thoughtful.
I have 28 ratings on Apple now.
That's three more than lastweek, so I just wanted to go
(01:25):
through those really quick.
I would like to thank John andRory.
John said I love this podcast.
I work the Graveshift andlately I started listening to
podcasts to keep me busy whenit's a quiet night.
Keep up the good work, john.
Thank you so much, john, forthe very kind words and for
(01:47):
taking the time out of your dayto write that for me.
And Rory said best podcast.
I just love how calm your voiceis.
I'm so glad I found you.
Lots of hugs, rory.
Rory, that was so sweet.
Thank you for that.
So sweet of you.
And now I did get another oneand it was only two stars, but
(02:09):
that's okay, I'm going to shareit with you guys.
Anyway.
Lady Bulldog said quote twostars for original cases.
But unfortunately this isdelivered like a fourth grader
delivering a book report.
I'm not sure where the humanityis.
It's flat, without drama or thesense that Holly actually knows
the case at all.
Numbers and places get rattledoff without intonation or
(02:32):
meaning, end quote.
So I was thinking that maybeLady Bulldog was listening to
some of my earlier episodes andI will admit I was not
comfortable at all in front ofthe microphone and I sounded
like robotic and I talked superslow.
My kids even told me that theywere like mom, you need to
(02:53):
loosen up.
Like you sound funny, you soundlike a robot and like you're
just so scared.
And I was scared.
This was not me to like.
Get in front of a microphone,I'm okay with people like one on
one, but if I feel like alleyes or all ears are on me, like
it's really nerve wracking forme.
(03:13):
But, yeah, okay, you know, I'vegotten better at it.
It just takes time andrepetition.
So, um, you know it took me along time to get where I am now
and I still have a ways to go.
I'm sure I still have a lotmore, you know, growing to do,
but I'm way better than I was.
But I am disappointed that LadyBulldog thinks that I sound as
(03:36):
if I don't know the cases that Icover.
I really pour my heart intoeach episode and I read and
study and read and read and readsome more and add as much
accurate detail to each episodethat I can possibly dig up for
you guys.
And as far as lacking drama,I'm not so much concerned with
like delivering the cases in adramatic way, like I'm not
(03:57):
trying to sensationalize thesestories.
I feel strongly about mypodcast being like victim
focused and fact based.
I just want to recount thesetrue crime cases to my audience
in a respectful and thoroughmanner.
But, like I said, you can'tplease everyone, I guess, and I
(04:19):
can only be me and deliver eachcase to you in my style.
So, um, and then last week Imentioned to you guys about Sus
Living.
I don't know if it's like Seuss, like Susan or like Sus Living,
like I'm not sure, but it's SusLiving or Seuss Living.
So they left me a really sweetreview, and I mentioned this
(04:42):
last week.
They left me a really sweetreview and it said I stumbled
upon this podcast and boy I'mboy, am I glad I did.
But they only gave me one star.
So I assumed that that one starwas a mistake because of the
nice words.
And so I said last week on thepodcast I said if you're
listening Sus Living or SusLiving, please edit your writing
(05:05):
on Apple and change the starsfrom one to five.
If you really did mean to putfive.
And guess what they did.
I mean that was so nice andthoughtful that they went back
and fixed that and they actuallyheard it and, you know, did
that.
So, like I really appreciate youguys.
I have some really nicelisteners and I'm just so
(05:30):
grateful for you guys.
I know how busy life is and howbusy just everybody is trying
to take care of everyone andeverything in life and make
money to pay the bills, and itmeans the world to me that you
guys stop what you're doing fora few minutes and take valuable
time out of your day to help meout.
So big, big hugs to you guysfor being so kind.
(05:55):
For those of you that gave mefive stars without writing a
review, I thank you so much too.
I'm sorry that I can't thankyou by name because it doesn't
let me see your names if youjust leave the stars.
But big hugs to you and bighugs to all the Spotify users
that are rating me on Spotify.
I got a couple more this week,so I'm grateful for all of that.
(06:18):
Thank you so much.
And so for those of you who arelistening and like the podcast
and haven't done so yet, ithelps me out a ton if you can
leave me a five star review onApple or a five star rating on
Spotify.
So to leave me a rating onApple, you just go to my show
page and you scroll down tillyou see ratings and reviews.
(06:40):
Then you select a star rating,then below that, you click on
write a review.
So one more thing before we getinto this episode, and if you're
tired of hearing me blab, justfast forward like 30 seconds or
so.
I went to Crimecon in Orlandoon Friday and, if you listened,
last week I told you that Icouldn't afford the tickets for
(07:01):
me and my two daughters to go.
So we all signed up tovolunteer and we got accepted as
volunteers and when youvolunteer, you get to go, like,
for a day for free.
So it was lots of fun and wejust didn't have enough time to
like experience everything.
But that's okay.
Like now, I know for next yearto like save my money to go or,
(07:22):
you know, hopefully, fingerscrossed, next year I will be at
Crimecon on podcast row withthis podcast.
That's what I'm shooting for.
That would be like my dream.
But if you want, you can seepics of me and my daughters at
Crimecon on my TikTok.
It's at tell me a true crimestory.
(07:43):
So please follow me on TikTok,facebook and Instagram at tell
me a true crime story on allthree of those.
So enough of all that talking.
Now let me tell you a truecrime story.
Rebecca Gay's trailer home wasdecorated with pumpkins and
scarecrow's On Halloween,october 31st of 2012,.
(08:06):
Rebecca Gay was looking forwardto taking her son Conway trick
or treating along with herfiance Erin, but on Halloween
morning she didn't show up atthe Goodwill store where she
worked.
Her co-workers were worried andone of them went to her home to
check on her.
She wasn't there, but her carwas parked next door in the
(08:26):
parking lot of a bar named BarnDoor.
Rebecca Gay was reportedmissing around noon by her
co-workers.
By October of 2012, john DouglasWhite had been pastor at the 14
member Christ CommunityFellowship for the past three
years.
Pastor White asked the membersof his congregation at Christ
(08:47):
Community Fellowship Church topray for his missing young
neighbor, rebecca Gay.
He told his congregants thatRebecca was 24 years old and a
single mom to a three-year-oldboy named Conway.
John White knew Rebecca prettywell.
They both lived in BroomfieldValley Trailer Park in rural
Broomfield Township, michigan,and John often watched Rebecca's
(09:10):
toddler son Conway for herwhile she worked.
Not only were they neighbors,but Rebecca's mom, sally, was
engaged to Pastor John White,and Sally was one of the 14
members of Christ CommunityFellowship Church.
The truth about Rebecca's suddendisappearance was horrifying
and would very soon be revealed.
(09:30):
No one knew it, but Pastor JohnWhite was hiding a dark past
and an even darker obsession heenjoyed watching porn that
showed women being murdered andacts of necrophilia, and I'm
sure most everyone listeningknows what necrophilia is, but
just in case you don't,necrophilia is the sexual
(09:52):
attraction to dead bodies.
As I mentioned, john White washiding a dark past.
Now we're going to rewind andgo back in time 18 years.
Vicky Sue Wall was only 26 whenshe went missing in July of 1994
from Kalamazoo County, michigan.
Friends and family had not seenher since July 10th and she was
(10:14):
reported missing on July 15th.
Two days later her vehicle wasfound in the parking lot of a
Meyer store on Gull Road inKalamazoo, michigan.
Police obtained footage from acamera there that showed Vicky
getting picked up in the Meyerparking lot at about 3 am on
July 11th by a man with a beardin a black pickup truck.
(10:36):
The police investigation intoher disappearance determined
that although Vicky was married,she had been having an affair
with a man she'd met at work.
His name was John Douglas White.
He was married with twochildren and had another child
on the way.
Six weeks after she wentmissing in September of 1994 and
(10:57):
two miles away from the Meyerstore she disappeared from.
Vicky Wall's body was recoveredby a local resident.
The man noticed drag marks onthe side of a two-track driveway
and followed them.
He soon came upon a whitetennis shoe.
The trail of drag markscontinued, as evidenced by some
flattened weeds.
(11:18):
He continued to follow thattrail of flattened weeds until
he came upon a pair of women'sunderwear.
Suddenly he smelled a horribleodor and caught a glimpse of a
skull.
Vicky Sue Wall had been found.
Her body was naked but therewas a shirt and a bra around her
neck.
Her body was so badlydecomposed the forensic
(11:39):
pathologist couldn't determineexactly how she died, but stated
that the quote manner of deathwas suggestive of homicide.
End quote.
Investigators alleged that Vickywas pressuring John about the
affair they'd been having.
Perhaps she wanted him to leavehis wife for her.
John White was arrested at theKalamazoo Regional Psychiatric
(12:01):
Hospital in September of 1994,approximately a week after Vicky
Wall's body was found.
He'd checked himself into thepsychiatric hospital shortly
after the day.
He was caught on camera pickingher up from the Meyer store
parking lot.
Because of a lack of evidencein the case, john White was
allowed to plead guilty toinvoluntary manslaughter in 1994
(12:25):
.
According to mlivecom, atJohn's sentencing in 1995, he
said Vicky Sue Wall's deathquote was a tragic accident.
End quote.
I love Vicky.
He said, he was sentenced toeight to fifteen years.
John White served almostthirteen years in prison and was
(12:45):
released in 2007.
Vicky Sue Wall was not JohnWhite's first victim.
Now we're going to rewind theclock back even further, from
1994, when Vicky went missingand her body was recovered, to
the year 1980.
John White's first known victimwas seventeen-year-old Teresa
(13:09):
Etherton.
In 1980, john White wastwenty-two years old and married
.
Teresa was John White'sneighbor where they lived in
Battle Creek, michigan.
John White invited Teresa tohis house to look at his
racetrack in his basement.
While down in the basement,without warning, he started
stabbing her from behind nearher shoulder blade.
(13:30):
He stabbed her a total offifteen times in the back and
chest, but thankfully, teresasurvived, and in a 2012 article
by Ken Culker of woodtvcom,teresa stated that John White
said to her that day, quote I'mreally sorry you had to go like
this, but what the fuck?
(13:50):
You're just a woman.
End quote.
John White was convicted ofattempted murder.
He was sentenced to five to tenyears in prison.
Calhoun County Circuit JudgePaul Nicolik also recommended he
receive mental healthcounseling while he did his time
in prison.
John White appealed hisconviction on grounds that his
(14:11):
attorney had not mounted aninsanity defense on his behalf,
the Michigan State Court ofAppeals ruled in John White's
favor and threw out the juryverdict.
John White was not retried forthe vicious attack on Teresa.
Instead, he was given a pleadeal.
He was ordered to undergomental health treatment and
received two years of probation.
(14:32):
His victim, teresa, was notinformed of John White's release
from prison or his plea deal.
No doubt Teresa received theshock of her life when she was
standing in line in a stateoffice and heard John White's
voice behind her, the voice thathad haunted her since she'd
(14:52):
been so brutally attacked a fewyears earlier.
She'd turned around and therehe stood, smiling.
So that's who John White reallywas.
He'd hid the truth of hisreprehensible past deeds from
his small congregation and fromhis fiance Rebecca's mom, sally
(15:13):
Gay.
He'd hid it from Rebecca, whoentrusted him with the care of
her little boy.
He'd nearly killed his youngneighbor Teresa in 1980 and
murdered his lover Vicki in 1994.
Because of lax sentencing lawsback in the day, john was led
out into the world to kill again.
(15:34):
According to John White'sconfession to police, after
drinking about four or fivenatural light beers, he went to
Rebecca Gay's home around 2 amon Halloween morning he walked
into her trailer and a lightcame on in her bedroom.
She walked to a side door wherehe'd come in.
That's when John White hit heron the head several times with a
(15:55):
rubber mallet.
John White said that when hehit her over the head she said
to him I know you.
He hit her until she lostconsciousness.
When he noticed she was stillbreathing, he put a large zip
tie around her neck andtightened it until she died.
He then dragged her body intothe kitchen and undressed her.
He touched her naked body butsaid he could not remember if he
(16:18):
had sex with her body or not.
He told police that he wasunable to get any erection.
All the while her little son,conway, was in his room sleeping
.
John White said he put Rebecca'sbody, her clothes, the rubber
mallet and bloody towels he'dused to clean up her blood in
large construction trash bags.
He placed the garbage bags intothe back of his truck.
(16:42):
When he did this, a bag rippedand some stuff spilled out.
He dumped Rebecca's body in aditch in a wooded area and
dumped the rubber mallet andbloody towels.
About one mile away, at theintersection of Pickard Road and
Woodruff Road in Mount Pleasant.
John White threw Rebecca'spurse, car keys and phone in a
dumpster at their trailer park,where they were later recovered
(17:04):
by police.
He then drove Rebecca's car tothe barn door parking lot to
throw off investigators and makethem think she'd been abducted.
He returned to her trailer home, dressed her three-year-old son
Conway in his Halloween costumeand drove him to his father.
As part of their investigation,police interviewed John White
and saw that he had a scratch onhis nose.
(17:26):
He said it was from a shelffalling on him at his place.
Police ended up finding bloodevidence in his home and truck
and also a necklace in the backof his truck.
John White was questioned byinvestigators and eventually
confessed to killing Rebecca anddumping her body.
Then-sheriff of Isabella County, leo Metashewski, told the
(17:48):
Associated Press that John saidhe had been attracted to Rebecca
and thought she was a very cutegirl and for weeks prior to the
murder he'd been thinking aboutkilling her and having sex with
her dead body.
John White revealed whereRebecca's body had been dumped
and it was recovered in a ditchon the southeast corner of the
intersection of Coldwater Roadand Pickard Road On March 27,
(18:11):
2013,.
In the Isabella County trialcourt, john Douglas White
pleaded guilty to second-degreemurder as a habitual third
offender for the murder ofRebecca Gay In April of 2013,.
He was sentenced to 56 to 85years in prison.
In the Michigan Department ofCorrections, john White was
(18:31):
inmate number 167-505.
He was serving his time as alevel four offender at the
Michigan Reformatory in Ionia,michigan, when he committed
suicide by hanging at 4.17 am onWednesday, august 28, 2013.
Staff and EMTs tried to revivehim, but could not.
(18:52):
John White was pronounced deadat 4.38 am.
He was only months into servinghis sentence.
He was 56 years old.
We're going to end today'sepisode talking about our
beautiful victim.
Rebecca Jane Gay was born inMidland, michigan, on March 26,
1988, to Thomas and Sally Gay.
(19:13):
She was a member of theequestrian team and graduated
from Bullock Creek High Schoolin 2007.
She studied cosmetology and wasalso a graduate of In Session
School of Cosmetology.
Rebecca had worked at Bo Rick'shaircare in Shelby Township
before starting work at theGoodwill Store in Mount Pleasant
(19:33):
, where she'd just recently beenpromoted to management.
Rebecca was known to her familyas Becaboo.
She was totally devoted to herson, conway.
Her mom said after her deathquote she said prayers with her
son every night before bedfollowing story time end quote
Rebecca's online obituarydescribed her like this Rebecca
(19:57):
enjoyed life to the fullest andwas an inspiration to all that
knew her.
She was very family-oriented,caring for others before herself
.
She was a loving mother,daughter, sister, aunt and niece
.
Rebecca is buried at JeromeTownship Cemetery in Sanford,
michigan.
(20:19):
Thank you, guys, for listeningto this episode of Tell Me a
True Crime Story.
Please tell your friends,coworkers and family about this
podcast.
Share a link to the podcastwith someone who's interested in
true crime stories, or share alink to your favorite episode.
Let them know that they canlisten to this podcast on Apple,
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(20:41):
And please stop what you'redoing and go follow the podcast
on social media.
Facebook, instagram and TikTokare at Tell Me a True Crime
Story.
So I have two ways that you cansupport my podcast.
You can buy me a coffee bygoing to buymeacoffeecom slash
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(21:02):
And the other way is totallyfree.
You can write a short but sweetreview for the podcast on Apple
Podcast or give it a five-starrating on Spotify.
And one more thing before weleave each other this episode
Many of you probably don't knowthat I have another podcast.
I did about six episodes therebefore.
(21:24):
I had to stop and just focus onthis one.
But what I'd like for you guysto do for me is to go listen to
a few of the episodes on thatpodcast and let me know if you
enjoy listening to those typesof stories and if you find them
interesting.
You can let me know byreviewing that podcast on Apple,
just like you would review thisone.
(21:47):
You can review that one and letme know, tell me your thoughts
or whatever.
Or you can email me with yourthoughts.
So my email address isholliestellmepodcastatgmailcom.
That's holly with a Y Holliestellmepodcastatgmailcom.
(22:08):
So the podcast that I want youto go check out and listen to,
my other podcast is called AllAvailable Units Respond.
You might have a hard timefinding it because it's not got
that many episodes or reviews soit's like not that relevant and
it doesn't show up easily whenyou search for it.
(22:29):
But I promise you it's there,it's live, it's there.
If you look for it and youreally really cannot find it,
just email me and I'll send youa link to it.
So again, it's called AllAvailable Units Respond and my
email, if you need to email me,is Hollies H-O-L-L-Y-S.
(22:50):
Hollies tell me podcast atgmailcom.
Thank you guys again, so muchfor being here.
I love each and every one ofyou.
I wish you safety as you goabout your days.
I wish you all good health andlots of happiness too.
That's why I always say I hopethat you and your family are
(23:11):
happy, healthy and togetherforever.
Please join me in the nextepisode, which will be episode
29, when I'll tell you anothertrue crime story.
Big, big, big hugs to each andevery one of you.
Bye-bye, pooling.
Tell me a true crime story.
Hey there, welcome to Tell Me aTrue Crime Story podcast.
(00:20):
I'm your host, holly.
I'm so appreciative of you forbeing here.
I'm truly honored that you takeme along with you while you
drive, work out clean, cook workor when you lay down to go to
sleep.
Thanks for letting me keep youcompany and be a part of your
day.
I hope that you and your familyare happy, healthy and together
(00:43):
forever.
Big hugs to all of you.
So this podcast has grown a lotlately.
I know I told you guys thatlast week, but a big part of it
is because you guys are tellingyour friends and your coworkers
and your family about thepodcast and it's also because of
(01:05):
your reviews.
I've been asking you guys toreview the podcast and you've
been doing it for me.
I'm just overwhelmed and it'sso sweet and thoughtful.
I have 28 ratings on Apple now.
That's three more than lastweek, so I just wanted to go
(01:25):
through those really quick.
I would like to thank John andRory.
John said I love this podcast.
I work the Graveshift andlately I started listening to
podcasts to keep me busy whenit's a quiet night.
Keep up the good work, john.
Thank you so much, john, forthe very kind words and for
(01:47):
taking the time out of your dayto write that for me.
And Rory said best podcast.
I just love how calm your voiceis.
I'm so glad I found you.
Lots of hugs, rory.
Rory, that was so sweet.
Thank you for that.
So sweet of you.
And now I did get another oneand it was only two stars, but
(02:09):
that's okay, I'm going to shareit with you guys.
Anyway.
Lady Bulldog said quote twostars for original cases.
But unfortunately this isdelivered like a fourth grader
delivering a book report.
I'm not sure where the humanityis.
It's flat, without drama or thesense that Holly actually knows
the case at all.
Numbers and places get rattledoff without intonation or
(02:32):
meaning, end quote.
So I was thinking that maybeLady Bulldog was listening to
some of my earlier episodes andI will admit I was not
comfortable at all in front ofthe microphone and I sounded
like robotic and I talked superslow.
My kids even told me that theywere like mom, you need to
(02:53):
loosen up.
Like you sound funny, you soundlike a robot and like you're
just so scared.
And I was scared.
This was not me to like.
Get in front of a microphone,I'm okay with people like one on
one, but if I feel like alleyes or all ears are on me, like
it's really nerve wracking forme.
(03:13):
But, yeah, okay, you know, I'vegotten better at it.
It just takes time andrepetition.
So, um, you know it took me along time to get where I am now
and I still have a ways to go.
I'm sure I still have a lotmore, you know, growing to do,
but I'm way better than I was.
But I am disappointed that LadyBulldog thinks that I sound as
(03:36):
if I don't know the cases that Icover.
I really pour my heart intoeach episode and I read and
study and read and read and readsome more and add as much
accurate detail to each episodethat I can possibly dig up for
you guys.
And as far as lacking drama,I'm not so much concerned with
like delivering the cases in adramatic way, like I'm not
(03:57):
trying to sensationalize thesestories.
I feel strongly about mypodcast being like victim
focused and fact based.
I just want to recount thesetrue crime cases to my audience
in a respectful and thoroughmanner.
But, like I said, you can'tplease everyone, I guess, and I
(04:19):
can only be me and deliver eachcase to you in my style.
So, um, and then last week Imentioned to you guys about Sus
Living.
I don't know if it's like Seuss, like Susan or like Sus Living,
like I'm not sure, but it's SusLiving or Seuss Living.
So they left me a really sweetreview, and I mentioned this
(04:42):
last week.
They left me a really sweetreview and it said I stumbled
upon this podcast and boy I'mboy, am I glad I did.
But they only gave me one star.
So I assumed that that one starwas a mistake because of the
nice words.
And so I said last week on thepodcast I said if you're
listening Sus Living or SusLiving, please edit your writing
(05:05):
on Apple and change the starsfrom one to five.
If you really did mean to putfive.
And guess what they did.
I mean that was so nice andthoughtful that they went back
and fixed that and they actuallyheard it and, you know, did
that.
So, like I really appreciate youguys.
I have some really nicelisteners and I'm just so
(05:30):
grateful for you guys.
I know how busy life is and howbusy just everybody is trying
to take care of everyone andeverything in life and make
money to pay the bills, and itmeans the world to me that you
guys stop what you're doing fora few minutes and take valuable
time out of your day to help meout.
So big, big hugs to you guysfor being so kind.
(05:55):
For those of you that gave mefive stars without writing a
review, I thank you so much too.
I'm sorry that I can't thankyou by name because it doesn't
let me see your names if youjust leave the stars.
But big hugs to you and bighugs to all the Spotify users
that are rating me on Spotify.
I got a couple more this week,so I'm grateful for all of that.
(06:18):
Thank you so much.
And so for those of you who arelistening and like the podcast
and haven't done so yet, ithelps me out a ton if you can
leave me a five star review onApple or a five star rating on
Spotify.
So to leave me a rating onApple, you just go to my show
page and you scroll down tillyou see ratings and reviews.
(06:40):
Then you select a star rating,then below that, you click on
write a review.
So one more thing before we getinto this episode, and if you're
tired of hearing me blab, justfast forward like 30 seconds or
so.
I went to Crimecon in Orlandoon Friday and, if you listened,
last week I told you that Icouldn't afford the tickets for
(07:01):
me and my two daughters to go.
So we all signed up tovolunteer and we got accepted as
volunteers and when youvolunteer, you get to go, like,
for a day for free.
So it was lots of fun and wejust didn't have enough time to
like experience everything.
But that's okay.
Like now, I know for next yearto like save my money to go or,
(07:22):
you know, hopefully, fingerscrossed, next year I will be at
Crimecon on podcast row withthis podcast.
That's what I'm shooting for.
That would be like my dream.
But if you want, you can seepics of me and my daughters at
Crimecon on my TikTok.
It's at tell me a true crimestory.
(07:43):
So please follow me on TikTok,facebook and Instagram at tell
me a true crime story on allthree of those.
So enough of all that talking.
Now let me tell you a truecrime story.
Rebecca Gay's trailer home wasdecorated with pumpkins and
scarecrow's On Halloween,october 31st of 2012,.
(08:06):
Rebecca Gay was looking forwardto taking her son Conway trick
or treating along with herfiance Erin, but on Halloween
morning she didn't show up atthe Goodwill store where she
worked.
Her co-workers were worried andone of them went to her home to
check on her.
She wasn't there, but her carwas parked next door in the
(08:26):
parking lot of a bar named BarnDoor.
Rebecca Gay was reportedmissing around noon by her
co-workers.
By October of 2012, john DouglasWhite had been pastor at the 14
member Christ CommunityFellowship for the past three
years.
Pastor White asked the membersof his congregation at Christ
(08:47):
Community Fellowship Church topray for his missing young
neighbor, rebecca Gay.
He told his congregants thatRebecca was 24 years old and a
single mom to a three-year-oldboy named Conway.
John White knew Rebecca prettywell.
They both lived in BroomfieldValley Trailer Park in rural
Broomfield Township, michigan,and John often watched Rebecca's
(09:10):
toddler son Conway for herwhile she worked.
Not only were they neighbors,but Rebecca's mom, sally, was
engaged to Pastor John White,and Sally was one of the 14
members of Christ CommunityFellowship Church.
The truth about Rebecca's suddendisappearance was horrifying
and would very soon be revealed.
(09:30):
No one knew it, but Pastor JohnWhite was hiding a dark past
and an even darker obsession heenjoyed watching porn that
showed women being murdered andacts of necrophilia, and I'm
sure most everyone listeningknows what necrophilia is, but
just in case you don't,necrophilia is the sexual
(09:52):
attraction to dead bodies.
As I mentioned, john White washiding a dark past.
Now we're going to rewind andgo back in time 18 years.
Vicky Sue Wall was only 26 whenshe went missing in July of 1994
from Kalamazoo County, michigan.
Friends and family had not seenher since July 10th and she was
(10:14):
reported missing on July 15th.
Two days later her vehicle wasfound in the parking lot of a
Meyer store on Gull Road inKalamazoo, michigan.
Police obtained footage from acamera there that showed Vicky
getting picked up in the Meyerparking lot at about 3 am on
July 11th by a man with a beardin a black pickup truck.
(10:36):
The police investigation intoher disappearance determined
that although Vicky was married,she had been having an affair
with a man she'd met at work.
His name was John Douglas White.
He was married with twochildren and had another child
on the way.
Six weeks after she wentmissing in September of 1994 and
(10:57):
two miles away from the Meyerstore she disappeared from.
Vicky Wall's body was recoveredby a local resident.
The man noticed drag marks onthe side of a two-track driveway
and followed them.
He soon came upon a whitetennis shoe.
The trail of drag markscontinued, as evidenced by some
flattened weeds.
(11:18):
He continued to follow thattrail of flattened weeds until
he came upon a pair of women'sunderwear.
Suddenly he smelled a horribleodor and caught a glimpse of a
skull.
Vicky Sue Wall had been found.
Her body was naked but therewas a shirt and a bra around her
neck.
Her body was so badlydecomposed the forensic
(11:39):
pathologist couldn't determineexactly how she died, but stated
that the quote manner of deathwas suggestive of homicide.
End quote.
Investigators alleged that Vickywas pressuring John about the
affair they'd been having.
Perhaps she wanted him to leavehis wife for her.
John White was arrested at theKalamazoo Regional Psychiatric
(12:01):
Hospital in September of 1994,approximately a week after Vicky
Wall's body was found.
He'd checked himself into thepsychiatric hospital shortly
after the day.
He was caught on camera pickingher up from the Meyer store
parking lot.
Because of a lack of evidencein the case, john White was
allowed to plead guilty toinvoluntary manslaughter in 1994
(12:25):
.
According to mlivecom, atJohn's sentencing in 1995, he
said Vicky Sue Wall's deathquote was a tragic accident.
End quote.
I love Vicky.
He said, he was sentenced toeight to fifteen years.
John White served almostthirteen years in prison and was
(12:45):
released in 2007.
Vicky Sue Wall was not JohnWhite's first victim.
Now we're going to rewind theclock back even further, from
1994, when Vicky went missingand her body was recovered, to
the year 1980.
John White's first known victimwas seventeen-year-old Teresa
(13:09):
Etherton.
In 1980, john White wastwenty-two years old and married
.
Teresa was John White'sneighbor where they lived in
Battle Creek, michigan.
John White invited Teresa tohis house to look at his
racetrack in his basement.
While down in the basement,without warning, he started
stabbing her from behind nearher shoulder blade.
(13:30):
He stabbed her a total offifteen times in the back and
chest, but thankfully, teresasurvived, and in a 2012 article
by Ken Culker of woodtvcom,teresa stated that John White
said to her that day, quote I'mreally sorry you had to go like
this, but what the fuck?
(13:50):
You're just a woman.
End quote.
John White was convicted ofattempted murder.
He was sentenced to five to tenyears in prison.
Calhoun County Circuit JudgePaul Nicolik also recommended he
receive mental healthcounseling while he did his time
in prison.
John White appealed hisconviction on grounds that his
(14:11):
attorney had not mounted aninsanity defense on his behalf,
the Michigan State Court ofAppeals ruled in John White's
favor and threw out the juryverdict.
John White was not retried forthe vicious attack on Teresa.
Instead, he was given a pleadeal.
He was ordered to undergomental health treatment and
received two years of probation.
(14:32):
His victim, teresa, was notinformed of John White's release
from prison or his plea deal.
No doubt Teresa received theshock of her life when she was
standing in line in a stateoffice and heard John White's
voice behind her, the voice thathad haunted her since she'd
(14:52):
been so brutally attacked a fewyears earlier.
She'd turned around and therehe stood, smiling.
So that's who John White reallywas.
He'd hid the truth of hisreprehensible past deeds from
his small congregation and fromhis fiance Rebecca's mom, sally
(15:13):
Gay.
He'd hid it from Rebecca, whoentrusted him with the care of
her little boy.
He'd nearly killed his youngneighbor Teresa in 1980 and
murdered his lover Vicki in 1994.
Because of lax sentencing lawsback in the day, john was led
out into the world to kill again.
(15:34):
According to John White'sconfession to police, after
drinking about four or fivenatural light beers, he went to
Rebecca Gay's home around 2 amon Halloween morning he walked
into her trailer and a lightcame on in her bedroom.
She walked to a side door wherehe'd come in.
That's when John White hit heron the head several times with a
(15:55):
rubber mallet.
John White said that when hehit her over the head she said
to him I know you.
He hit her until she lostconsciousness.
When he noticed she was stillbreathing, he put a large zip
tie around her neck andtightened it until she died.
He then dragged her body intothe kitchen and undressed her.
He touched her naked body butsaid he could not remember if he
(16:18):
had sex with her body or not.
He told police that he wasunable to get any erection.
All the while her little son,conway, was in his room sleeping
.
John White said he put Rebecca'sbody, her clothes, the rubber
mallet and bloody towels he'dused to clean up her blood in
large construction trash bags.
He placed the garbage bags intothe back of his truck.
(16:42):
When he did this, a bag rippedand some stuff spilled out.
He dumped Rebecca's body in aditch in a wooded area and
dumped the rubber mallet andbloody towels.
About one mile away, at theintersection of Pickard Road and
Woodruff Road in Mount Pleasant.
John White threw Rebecca'spurse, car keys and phone in a
dumpster at their trailer park,where they were later recovered
(17:04):
by police.
He then drove Rebecca's car tothe barn door parking lot to
throw off investigators and makethem think she'd been abducted.
He returned to her trailer home, dressed her three-year-old son
Conway in his Halloween costumeand drove him to his father.
As part of their investigation,police interviewed John White
and saw that he had a scratch onhis nose.
(17:26):
He said it was from a shelffalling on him at his place.
Police ended up finding bloodevidence in his home and truck
and also a necklace in the backof his truck.
John White was questioned byinvestigators and eventually
confessed to killing Rebecca anddumping her body.
Then-sheriff of Isabella County, leo Metashewski, told the
(17:48):
Associated Press that John saidhe had been attracted to Rebecca
and thought she was a very cutegirl and for weeks prior to the
murder he'd been thinking aboutkilling her and having sex with
her dead body.
John White revealed whereRebecca's body had been dumped
and it was recovered in a ditchon the southeast corner of the
intersection of Coldwater Roadand Pickard Road On March 27,
(18:11):
2013,.
In the Isabella County trialcourt, john Douglas White
pleaded guilty to second-degreemurder as a habitual third
offender for the murder ofRebecca Gay In April of 2013,.
He was sentenced to 56 to 85years in prison.
In the Michigan Department ofCorrections, john White was
(18:31):
inmate number 167-505.
He was serving his time as alevel four offender at the
Michigan Reformatory in Ionia,michigan, when he committed
suicide by hanging at 4.17 am onWednesday, august 28, 2013.
Staff and EMTs tried to revivehim, but could not.
(18:52):
John White was pronounced deadat 4.38 am.
He was only months into servinghis sentence.
He was 56 years old.
We're going to end today'sepisode talking about our
beautiful victim.
Rebecca Jane Gay was born inMidland, michigan, on March 26,
1988, to Thomas and Sally Gay.
(19:13):
She was a member of theequestrian team and graduated
from Bullock Creek High Schoolin 2007.
She studied cosmetology and wasalso a graduate of In Session
School of Cosmetology.
Rebecca had worked at Bo Rick'shaircare in Shelby Township
before starting work at theGoodwill Store in Mount Pleasant
(19:33):
, where she'd just recently beenpromoted to management.
Rebecca was known to her familyas Becaboo.
She was totally devoted to herson, conway.
Her mom said after her deathquote she said prayers with her
son every night before bedfollowing story time end quote
Rebecca's online obituarydescribed her like this Rebecca
(19:57):
enjoyed life to the fullest andwas an inspiration to all that
knew her.
She was very family-oriented,caring for others before herself
.
She was a loving mother,daughter, sister, aunt and niece
.
Rebecca is buried at JeromeTownship Cemetery in Sanford,
michigan.
(20:19):
Thank you, guys, for listeningto this episode of Tell Me a
True Crime Story.
Please tell your friends,coworkers and family about this
podcast.
Share a link to the podcastwith someone who's interested in
true crime stories, or share alink to your favorite episode.
Let them know that they canlisten to this podcast on Apple,
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(20:41):
And please stop what you'redoing and go follow the podcast
on social media.
Facebook, instagram and TikTokare at Tell Me a True Crime
Story.
So I have two ways that you cansupport my podcast.
You can buy me a coffee bygoing to buymeacoffeecom slash
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(21:02):
And the other way is totallyfree.
You can write a short but sweetreview for the podcast on Apple
Podcast or give it a five-starrating on Spotify.
And one more thing before weleave each other this episode
Many of you probably don't knowthat I have another podcast.
I did about six episodes therebefore.
(21:24):
I had to stop and just focus onthis one.
But what I'd like for you guysto do for me is to go listen to
a few of the episodes on thatpodcast and let me know if you
enjoy listening to those typesof stories and if you find them
interesting.
You can let me know byreviewing that podcast on Apple,
just like you would review thisone.
(21:47):
You can review that one and letme know, tell me your thoughts
or whatever.
Or you can email me with yourthoughts.
So my email address isholliestellmepodcastatgmailcom.
That's holly with a Y Holliestellmepodcastatgmailcom.
(22:08):
So the podcast that I want youto go check out and listen to,
my other podcast is called AllAvailable Units Respond.
You might have a hard timefinding it because it's not got
that many episodes or reviews soit's like not that relevant and
it doesn't show up easily whenyou search for it.
(22:29):
But I promise you it's there,it's live, it's there.
If you look for it and youreally really cannot find it,
just email me and I'll send youa link to it.
So again, it's called AllAvailable Units Respond and my
email, if you need to email me,is Hollies H-O-L-L-Y-S.
(22:50):
Hollies tell me podcast atgmailcom.
Thank you guys again, so muchfor being here.
I love each and every one ofyou.
I wish you safety as you goabout your days.
I wish you all good health andlots of happiness too.
That's why I always say I hopethat you and your family are
(23:11):
happy, healthy and togetherforever.
Please join me in the nextepisode, which will be episode
29, when I'll tell you anothertrue crime story.
Big, big, big hugs to each andevery one of you.
Bye-bye, pooling.
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