317: Tracie McBride

One night in February 1995, Dawn Walker was talking to a friend stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas. But during that call, her friend’s voice trailed off. She was distracted. There was somebody with her. Suddenly the line went dead. What happened that night would set off a chain of events that shook a military community to it’s very core.

SPONSORS -

MAGIC MIND: If you need something to help with your focus, give Magic Mind a try. Get 60% off your subscription at https://magicmind.com/morbidologymm or use code MORBIDOLOGY60 on their website!

PUZZLEYOU: Create your own custom photo puzzle with 20% off using code "MORBID" at: http://puzzleyou.com/morbid

COOKIE JAM: Master over 11,000 levels of tasty cookie and candy puzzles as you match, pop, blast, connect, swap, and crush your way to match-3 victory. Download Cookie Jam for free and play now!

SHOW NOTES - https://morbidology.com/morbidology-podcast/
PATREON - https://www.patreon.com/morbidology
YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/morbidology

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/morbidology--3527306/support.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Goodfellow Air Force Base lies just east of downtown so
and Angelou in Texas. It's a sprawling stretch of runways, dormitories,
and dusty roads, tucked into the heart of West Texas.
It isn't a base known for fighter jets or heavy artillery.
The mission here is quieter, sharper. Here, intelligence specialists are shaped,

(01:08):
cryptologic linguists, fire protection experts, and signal analysts come to
learn the skills that keep global operations running silently and
effectively daan night. Students in uniform moved between loose lung
buildings and secure classrooms, carrying the weight of missions they
can't talk about. Preparing for futures in shadowy corners of
the Armed forces. Good Fellow is a place of purpose,

(01:30):
of strict schedules and guarded perimeters, But no mound of
security can account for the unpredictable and the dangerous, or
the evil that sometimes walks in under a uniform like
everyone else. In early ninety ninety five, young woman named
Tracy McBride had just arrived a Good Fellow. She was
part of a fresh intake of trainees. Disciplined, eager and

(01:52):
proud to serve. Tracy was a long way from home,
but surrounded by comrades, and she was settling into her
new life. One quiet night in February, Tracy called the
friend named Dawn Walker in Lino Lakes in Minnesota. At first,
the conversation was casual, light, but then the tone shifted.
Tracy's voice grew distracted, broken by hesitation in the background,

(02:17):
Dawn could hear that somebody was with Tracy. Seconds later,
there was a scuffle, and then the phone line went dead.

(02:39):
Centreville and Minnesota sits quietly among the lakes and forests
of the Upper Midwest. It's a close knit tourn and
one that the McBride family called home. Jim and i
Rain McBride were fixtures of the local church scene, and
their three children were brought up within the fold of
the Redeeming Love Church. So they wasn't just another day
for the McBride family. It was a cornerstone of life.

(03:03):
Among their children was Tracy. She was the kind of
person who left an impression, who made people feel seen
and heard. Her middle name was Joy. Those who knew
her said that it fitted her perfectly. In church, she
sang solos with a clear, soulful voice that could rush
a crowded pew. She loved singing with her mother. Tracy's
faith wasn't just performative. She was a missionet, honor star,

(03:26):
and achievement to kin to reaching the highest level in
the Girl Scouts, but with the spiritual core. It reflected
Tracy's discipline, her dedication, and the values that were instilled
in her from an early age. Terracy was just as
devoted in her academic life. She was an honor student.
She never missed a single day of school. In high school,
Tracy was a cheer leader, but again she wasn't just

(03:48):
there for the pom poms and the halftime routines. According
to her principal, Gary Kropela, Tracy was what he called
the peer leader, somebody who helped mediate conflicts between students
who stay in with grace when things got tense. He
remembered her distinctly, even among the hundreds of students that
passed through his halls. He recollected, you don't remember every student,

(04:11):
but you remember some of them, and she was one
of them. She had a smile that let up the
whole room. It was that smile and that energy that
carried Tracy into her next chapter. In April of ninety
ninety four, at just nineteen years old, Tracy McBride enlisted
in the United States Army. But camp can break even
the most determined recruits. The grilling early mornings, the endless drills,

(04:34):
the psychological pressure. It's designed to strip you down and
rebuild you. But not only did Tracy survive it, she thrived.
She finished basic training at the top of her class,
and unlike many of her peers, she actually enjoyed it.
She once said that it was challenging and active, the
kind of structured intensity that she welcomed. Her mother, Irene

(04:56):
recollected Tracy was really excited about the Army. She wanted
to develop her character. She wanted to be an airborne ranger.
After basic training, Tracy was sent to California to study Spanish,
preparing for her career in military intelligence. She had the discipline,
the brains, and the curiosity, and she was just getting started.

(05:17):
Her friend Don Wahlberg said of her, she's very nice, congenial.
She has a few really good friends and a lot
of acquaintances. She doesn't usually get close to people, yet
she's very outgoing. On the tenth of February nineteen ninety five,
Tracy McBride arrived at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas.
This was where her journey in military intelligence training would begin.

(05:40):
A new time, a new chapter, and for Tracy, a
new challenge to embrace what lay ahead would be far
darker than anything Tracy had faced before. The night of
February eighteenth, nineteen ninety five, a good Fellow Air Force

(06:04):
Base in San Angelo, Texas, the chaos of daily life
had begun to quiet. The base, which was typically bustling
with drills and commands, was setting in to its more
subdued rhythm. The walkways were lit by flickering street lamps,
pills of light stretching out over cracked pavements. Inside the
barracks and dormitories, soldiers were winding down from the wake.

(06:26):
Laughter trickle from behind closed doors radios played softly. Nineteen
year old Private Tracy McBride had laundry to do. It
was one of those small, ordinary tasks that filled the
in between moments of military life, the kind of errand
that demanded very little thought. Tracy made her way across
the base towards the coin operated laundry facility. It was

(06:48):
nestled in a modest building that looked like all the others, brick,
uniform and plane. It was just after nine p m.
Tracy loaded her clothing into one of the machines and
sat down. As she waited on her laundry, she reached
for the phone. A familiar voice answered on the other end.
It was a friend, Don Wahlberg, picking up from her

(07:09):
home in Leno Lakes in Minnesota, over a thousand miles away,
but just a dial tone apart. The two young women
chatted easily, just another Saturday night check in between friends.
But as I spoke, somebody else entered the laundry room.
Anybody passing by. The man might have seemed just like
any other service member. He wore a solid grain military

(07:32):
style jacket and remarkable on a baslike Good Fellow, where
camouflage and olive drab were part of the scenery. He
carried a green bag, presumably filled with laundry. But something
about the man didn't sit right. As Tracy looked up,
perhaps ready to offer a polite hello, the man moved quickly.
From inside the bag. He pulled out a nine millimeter handgun.

(07:55):
He grabbed Tracy around the neck and her voice disappeared
from the phone. Tom was still on the other end
of the line, not yet realizing what was unfolding. The
man barked orders, the barrel of the gun pressing against Tracy.
He forced her to leave with him. In a nearby building,
Army Private Michael Peacock and Marine Sergeant Thomas Peeple stood

(08:17):
near a window outside in the shadows of the walkway,
they spotted Tracy being led away. The man still had
his arm around her neck. In his other hand was
the unmistakable shape of a gun. The way that Tracy walked,
it was clear that this was in some harmless encounter.
Something was very, very wrong. Without hesitation, both men sprang

(08:41):
into action. They rushed out of the building and split up,
hoping to intercept them before they disappeared into the night.
Private Peacock ran towards the shadows. Then suddenly he saw her.
Tracy was standing alone in the dark, motionless. Her eyes
were wide and terrified, but she didn't say a word. Then,

(09:02):
before Peacock could call out or move any closer, a
man stepped out of the shadows. He raised the pistol
and brought it down hard on Peacock's head. The world
went black. While Peacock lay unconscious, the man grabbed Tracy again.
He forced her into the backseade of a dark sports car.
The door then slammed and the engine roared, and just

(09:24):
like that, he was gone, gone into the night with
Tracy McBride. By the morning after Tracy McBride's abduction, it
was painfully clear this wasn't just a misunderstanding. This wasn't
a domestic dispute or a soldier going a wall. This

(09:47):
was a kidnapping, and it had happened in the heart
of a United States military base. The FBI was quickly
brought in. Local authorities knew that they were dealing with
the federal crime, and time was critical. Every hour that
passed chipped away at the odds of bringing Tracy home safely.
Detectives began piecing together what little information they had. Fortunately,

(10:08):
there was a witness to in fact, Army Private Michael Peacock,
who had been struck on conscious trying to stop the abduction,
and Marine Sergeant Thomas Peoples, who'd witnessed the incident from
the building next door. Together they provided a vital lead.
The suspect had fled the base in what appeared to
be a red er maroon Chevrolet Cameroon, a card that
had been seen both entering and speeding away from Goodfellow

(10:31):
Air Force Base. As to the man himself, they described
him as black, somewhere between five foot seven and six
feet tall, stocking the medium build, and around one hundred
and fifty to one hundred and eighty pounds, a wide
enough range to be troubling. Either man had recognized him,
They said that he wasn't somebody they had seen on
the base before. This led to a deeply unsettling question.

(10:54):
How had a man would gun managed to gain access
to secure military facility and leave with the young soul.
Drint Tracy's father, Jim, struggled to make sense of it.
He said to reporters, I cannot fatom the idea of
how that could have happened on a military base around
all the military personnel. I mean, you would think there
would have been a way to check that. The scrutiny

(11:16):
quickly shifted towards Goodfellow's Gate security. Jerry Dedrick, the base's
deputy public affairs officer, responded to the growing public concern
and said the investigation is still ongoing, but there's nothing
specific yet, and we have not identified the suspect. She
assured that Strict's procedures were still in place for vehicle entry,

(11:38):
but still Tracy was gone. Within ours the search effort
kicked in the high gear. Families of service members took
it upon themselves to print and distribute hundreds of flyers
across Goodfellow. They bore Tracy's photograph, a description of her abdoctor,
and a plea for information, but authorities weren't quite ready
to release the composite sketch yet. Inside the base, federal

(12:00):
and military investigators began a door to door sweep. Every
person housed in the dormitory addition to the laundry facility
was questioned, but nobody could recognize the man. By the
next day, the stakes were raised even further. A twenty
five thousand dollar reward was offered for any information leading
to Tracy's whereabouts. It had been put forward by REMAC specialists,

(12:23):
where her father, Jim worked. Back home in Minnesota, Jim
and his wife Iraine, flew out to Texas. They came
not just Fairn's desperate for answers, but as people determined
to bring their daughter home. Irene was calm composed as
she said, we will be here, hopefully not too long.
However long it takes, we're playing it day by day.

(12:45):
In the midst of the chaos, one expected moment stood out.
Private Michael Peacock, the young soldier had been struck unconscious
trying to save Tracy, sought out the McBride's. He apologized
he felt he hadn't done enough, but Jim disag great.
He commented, this young man felt hurt because he felt
he hadn't really done enough. But my wife and I

(13:06):
feel that he is a hero. Here's a young man
who saw a perpetrator assolt my daughter, and he didn't
hesitate at all. He went right out there to try
and help her, and that took a lot of courage.
As the days passed without developments, the community rallied around
Tracy's family. Laura Powers Rasmussen, a local woman, began distributing
yellow ribbons. They appeared on front doors, on mailboxes, pinned

(13:30):
to shirts and jackets. Each one was as symbol of
hope and solidarity, a silent reminder that Tracy wasn't forgotten.
Debor von Rudin, who helped distribute the ribbons, said we
want them to know that the community is thinking of them. Then,
on the first of March, almost two weeks after the abduction,
detectives finally released the composite sketch of the abductor. They

(13:52):
also revealed a major shift in the investigation. Originally, the
working theory was that Tracy had been taken by somebody
on the base, a fellow soldier. But now detectives weren't
so sure. The suspect, they said, might still have military ties,
but he wasn't from goodfellow, He hadn't been stationed there.
He wasn't listed in any of their logs. They were

(14:14):
expanding their search beyond the base. They believed that they
were chasing somebody from the outside, but, as it would
soon turn out, they were wrong. On the same day

(14:37):
the composite sketch was released, a woman stepped forward with
a chilling accusation, one that would send the investigation hurtling
in a new direction. As a new mum running on
broken sleep and sheer will parr. I'll be honest, most
days feel like a blur of knappies, feed scriptwriting and
trying to stay on top of everything else that life
throws in my way. I know I needed something to
help me with my focus. A few weeks ago, Magic

(14:58):
Mind sent me their new tropic shot try, and I'm
happy to say they've now become a sponsor of the
show because I haven't missed a morning since. With baby
brain and full effect, focus and energy can feel like
distant memories, but this little two our strink has been
a game changer. It's a mental performance shot that you
can use in addition to your daily routine. But for
me personally, I've been trying to cut back on coffee,
which usually leaves me jittery and then wiped out. But

(15:19):
Magic Mind gives me a clean, sustained energy thanks to
time released to caffeine and none of the dreaded crash.
It's packed with adaptogens matcha and mushroom nootropics, all natural,
all backed by science. If you're running on fumes like me,
but needing to be mentally sharp, then I really recommend
giving Magic Mind to go. Whether you're a new parent,
working long hours, studying, or just want to feel more

(15:40):
focused and less frazzled, this is honestly something that's made
a difference for me. They have a limited time offer.
It's sixty percent off on your subscription, which is insane.
This offer won't be around for long, so I'd really
grab it now. I can't recommend it enough. If you
have a lot of stuff to get done. There's a
special link to get it in the show notes, or
you can just go on their website and use code
at checkout Morbidology sixty. They also have a one hundred

(16:03):
percent money back guarantee. If you don't like it, they
refund one hundred percent no questions asked, which basically means
you're trying for free, and you can cancel the subscription
at any time. Check it out while it lasts. Staff
Sergeant Xandra Lane, a member of the Air Force stationed
at Goodfellow, filed a formal complaint with the Office of
Special Investigations. She reported that her ex husband had raped there.

(16:27):
His name was Lewis Jones. He was a forty four
year old retired Army ranger now working as a civilian
boss driver on the base. He was a man who
had worn the uniform with distinction. He was decorated, respected,
and once seen as a model of military service. Behind
the rigid structure of his resume was a life steeped

(16:49):
in pain, violence, and unraveling control. Jones had grown up
in poverty, born in Memphis but raised in the unforgiving
straits of Chicago's South Side. One of ten children, he
was baptized young, worked at a grocery store by the
age of eleven, and graduated high school as a standout
student an athlete, But even then there were warning signs.

(17:12):
At seventeen, Jones had his first brush with the law.
According to family, he and his brother were attacked by
gang members. One pulled a gun, and Jones retaliated with
the baseball bat. He wouldn't be his last act of violence.
After high school, he married his childhood's sweetheart, but it
ended in divorce. He remarried in Germany fathered a daughter,

(17:33):
but that marriage too fell apart. Still, Jones thrived in
the military. He had enlisted in the Marine Corps in
nineteen sixty eight, then transitioned to the Army in nineteen
seventy one. Over the next two decades, he climbed the ranks.
He served in Grenada, he led men in Operation Desert Storm.
By nineteen ninety one, he was a first sergeant of

(17:54):
a ranger unit, among the highest enlisted positions. Then in
nineteen ninety ten, he retired. By then, Jones had a
mass seventeen medals and ribbons, including seven good conduct medals.
He moved to San Angelo in Texas. Was dreamed of
becoming a teacher, but he took a civilian job driving
a boss a good fellow. He tried to start over,

(18:16):
but Jones had never outrun his demons. He married Sandra
in nineteen ninety two, but it didn't last long. The
couple divorced just two years later, and Sandra had filed
assault charges, although she later withdrew them. Lewis Jones had
a history of rage and control of physical abuse. On
one occasion, he even threw his own teenage daughter to

(18:37):
the ground when she had tried to stop him from
hitting Sandra. A restraining order had followed, but the violence
didn't stop. Roughly a month before Tracy McBride's production, police
had been called I mediate a dispute between Jones and
Sandra after his teenage daughter moved in with her. Then,
on the sixteenth of February, just two days before Tracy vanished,

(18:58):
Sandra said that Jones abducted her. He had kicked in
her door, pulled a nine millimeter semi automatic pistol from
his waistband and forced her to leave a message on
his answering machine saying that she wanted to reconcile, but
that wasn't enough. Jones then forced her into his nineteen
ninety two plum colored Ford Thunderbird and drove her to
her bank, where he made her withdraw eight hundred dollars

(19:20):
in cash. Then he took her to his home. There
he raped her Throughout the ordeal, he threatened her. He
warned her to obey and told her that if she
didn't do as he said, her daughter would no longer
have a mother. After the ordeal, Jones returned her to
her home. He alliter to retrieve the eight hundred dollars
from his glove compartment as if to solidify his control.

(19:44):
Sander told investigators that he had used a nine millimeter pistol,
the same kind of weapon used in Tracy's abduction, and
when Jones was arrested later that day, detectives were immediately
struck by one thing. He looked exactly like the man
in the composite sketch. When Lewis Jones was escorted into

(20:12):
the interrogation room at the San Angelo Police Department, he
didn't speak at first, he just sat there, his hands
covered his face, and he rocked back and forth. Then
slowly he looked up at specially Agent Charles mcdoll and whispered,
if I had a gun, I'd shoot myself. It was
clear to McDowell that something was deeply wrong. Jones wasn't

(20:35):
just troubled. He was unraveling. But it wasn't just about
what he had done to Sandra. Agent mcdoll later reflected
on the moment and said, throughout the conversation, mister Jones
seemed to be agitated. He asked me what would happen
to him? I told him he had two responsibilities. One
was personal, he had to redeem his soul, and the

(20:55):
second thing he had to do was return McBride to
her parents. And somehow those words go through, because in
that moment, Lewis Jones broke. He looked mcdawll in the
eye and said, I cracked her skull. Jones explained that
on the night of Tracy's abduction, he had been upset.
He had received a phone call from Sandra, his ex wife,

(21:16):
and his anger had boiled over. Fueled by rage, he
drove to good Fellow Air force base searching for Sandra,
but instead he found Tracy. She was alone. Jones was
carrying a laundry bag that night. Inside it was a
nine millimeter pistol in a tyre arm He abducted Tracy
and drove her to his off base residence in San Angelo.

(21:39):
There he raped and sodomized her. He then forced Tracy
into a closet, made her clean herself with hydrogen peroxide,
gagged her with two socks, and bound her wrists and
ankles with white nylon rope. Then Jones took her military
uniform and washed it. Later that night, at a round
ten p m. A friend named Margaret Rodriguez came to visit.

(22:00):
Jones said he made sexual advances towards her, but what
mattered most, what changed everything, was what Margaret said. She
called him by his name, and Tracy was still alive
and listening from inside the closet when she heard it.
After Margaret left, Jones asked Tracy if she had heard
his name. She said yes, and that sealed her fate.

(22:24):
Jones told detectives that he led Tracy out of the closet,
made her to walk across toiles to avoid leaving footprints.
And brought her to his car. He placed a toil
over her head, put her in the passenger seat, and
began to drive. Tracy asked him if he was taking
her back to the base. He told her that he was,
but he was lying. Instead. He headed north on YES

(22:47):
Route two seven seven towards Abuldean, out into the dark,
empty stretch of West Texas. Eventually he pulled over. It
was pitch black. Jones used to flashlight to was Tracy
to walk with him down a slope into the brush
underneath a bridge. There, in the middle of the night,

(23:07):
under the cover of trees and desert wind, Lois Jones
beat Tracy to death with a tire iron. He struck
her at least nine times in the head. The pathologist
would later say that the trauma was worse than most
high impact car wrecks. Tracy never stood a chance. After confessing,
Jones led detectives to the bridge around twenty seven miles

(23:30):
north of San Angelo. It was a desolate culvert surrounded
by scrubby ranchland, he pointed, and there they found Tracy.
She had been redressed in her freshly washed US Army uniform.

(23:58):
Louis Jones was formerly Chld. With the kidnapping that led
to the death of Tracy McBride, as well as the
aggravated sexual assault of Sandra Lane. Federal prosecutors also added
a second charge, kidnapping with death resulting. Both of these
charges carried the death penalty. Jones was ordered to be
held on two kinds of one hundred thousand dollars bond,

(24:19):
but no amount of legal procedure could soften the blow
of what had happened. The discovery of Tracy's body devastated
not only her family, but the tight knit community of
San Angelo. It could even deeper because the man responsible
had been one of their own. He'd warned the uniform,
he'd served his country, He'd worked at Goodfellow Air Force
Base alongside people who trusted him. Tom Green County Justice

(24:44):
of the Peace Eddie Howard summed up the heartbreak when
he said, Goodfellow has a very close association with the town.
Even though Tracy McBride had only been at the base
for nine days, they's still an affection for that individual.
The people I see are just devastated. Lieutenant Colonel James
Foss echoed the shock steering I've never heard of this

(25:04):
happening in the United States, Jones's access to the base
had never been restricted. As a retired military man, he
didn't need to check in or out. He could simply
drive past the guard post without slowing down. Even after
the abduction and murder, he continued chewing up to work
like nothing had happened. There were posters plastered around the

(25:25):
base composite sketches of the suspect, but nobody recognized him.
One of his co workers in the transportation department admitted
the drawing was so bad that nobody recognized him. He
came to work every day like no big thing. Jones
had even talked about the case with his colleagues. Karen Liftsy,
retired Air Force Master sergeant, remembered one chilling moment. She said,

(25:49):
a comment was made that the person was probably still
right there at work. He said, you know, you'd never
know who could have done it. It could have been me.
On the fourth of March, the Good Fellow community gathered
to honor Tracy. More than seven hundred military personnel and
local residents packed into a theater on base. Loud speakers
were set up outside to accommodate the overflow. Cloud flags

(26:13):
flew at half staff. Tracy's parents, Jim and I Ring,
were there. It was a formal military ceremony, sacred, dignified,
and somber. Sergeant William Stinnett of the Alpha Company called
roll one by one. Her fellow soldiers answered, Then he
called her name McBride. There was only silence after the memorial.

(26:36):
Tracy's body was returned to centervillein Minnesota, her hometown. Her
funeral was held at the church where she had grown up.
Her mother, Irene stood beside the flag draped casket and sang,
through tears, I've got friends in high places. Her sister
Stacy read a poem, but she struggled to keep her composures.
She said, if only I could give you one last

(26:57):
hug and tell you one last time how much I
love you. But I know in your heart you know
that I care. I'll always love you only as a
little sister can do. Tracey McBride was then laid to
rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Her grave, which was
surrounded by whiteheadstones and American flags, became the final resting
place for a young woman who had dedicated her life

(27:19):
to service, and whose life had been stolen far too
soon for Jim and I rn grief would eventually give
way to something else. Determination. They were determined to see
justice through. Jim said, I want him executed. I'm absolutely
clear my thoughts about that. She couldn't defend herself against him.

(27:41):
She was one hundred and five pounds. What he did
to my daughter, he deserves nothing but to die. Lewis
Jones's ex wife, Sandra, was horrified when she learned what
had happened. Overcome with guilt, she reached out at gem
and Irene McBride. Through Here, she told them that if
she had of reported her own assault when it happened,
John would have been behind bars and Tracy might still

(28:02):
be alive. Jim gently told her not to blame herself.
He had seen the fear that Sandra carried with her,
and it stirred something inside him. He announced in the
media that he planned on building a sheltered for battered women.
He already had a design in mind. It was something
that he and Tracy had talked about. Tracy had once

(28:23):
sketched out a rough plan for her dream home. She'd
shown it to her father, and he promised her that
when she left the military, they would find some land
and he would build it for her. He made that
same promise to his other children. Jim was a contractor
in her real estate agent. Building was in his blood,
but this project would have meant more to him. He explained,

(28:44):
I was robbed of the opportunity to build something for her.
It's my way of doing something Tracy would have wanted
me to do. Although Jim never got the chance to
open the shelter, Tracy's memory was honored in other ways.
A park in Centerville, Minnesota, was dead dedicated to her name.
The family also established the Tracy Joy McBride's Scholarship Fund

(29:05):
to support young people pursuing their dreams. Meanwhile, the legal
case was moving forward. In June, Judge Sam Cummings ruled
that the trial would be moved from San Angelo to
Lubbock due to the widespread media coverage in the area.
Federal prosecutors announced that they would seek the death penalty
of Jones were convicted. A petition had been submitted to
the court, signed by more than seven five hundred residents,

(29:29):
all supporting the death penalty. Because it was a federal crime,
the trial would be held in federal court. Summer's here
and with it comes wedding season and anniversary celebrations. If
you're looking for a perfect gift that's both meaningful and interactive,
I'm excited to tell you about today's sponsor Puzzle You.
You know, we spend so much time analyzing the pieces

(29:51):
of complex cases here on Morbidology, but there's something only
therapeutic about putting together actual puzzle pieces. Puzzle You lets
you create custom photo puzzles that are perfect, one of
a kind gifts and keep six. Maybe it's that perfect
family photo, a memorable vacation shot, or even a tribute
to somebody special. Their free design tool makes it incredibly easy.
Just pick your puzzle size from forty eight to two

(30:12):
thousand pieces, upload up to sixty five photos, choose from
dozens of templates, and even customize the box. Here's what's
really cool. They're one thousand piece puzzles come in three sizes,
including the extra extra large forty five inch poster size,
and my favorite has got to be the smart Sordid.
This genius system presorts your thousand piece puzzle into forty
separate boxes with twenty five pieces each. It's like having

(30:33):
a roadmap for your puzzle. You can tackle its section
by section without the overwhelming chaos of dumping one thousand
pieces onto your table. Don't have the perfect photo. Choose
from over twenty five thousand customizable designs. Most puzzles arrive
in about a week, and with summer wettings and anniversaries happening,
these make incredible gifts for couples and families. Ready to
create your own custom photo puzzle head To puzzle you

(30:55):
dot com slash more bid today and use code more
bit of checkout to save twenty percent on your own order.
That's puzzle you dot com slash morbid with code morbid
for twenty percent off, valid through the end of July.
As somebody who spends ours analyzing evidence, following clues and
piecing together mysteries, I'm always drawn to anything that challenges

(31:17):
my problem solving skills. That's exactly what happened when I
discovered Cookie Jam. Cookie Jam is this incredibly satisfying match
three puzzle game that scratches the same itch as solving
a cold case. You're matching cookies, candies, and treats to
clear the board, but it's not just mindless Swiping Every
level is like a new mystery to crack. You've got
limited moves obstacles to overcome, and you need to think

(31:38):
strategically about every match that you make. What I love
most is that methodical approach you need to take. You're
studying the board, looking for patterns, planning your moves several
steps ahead. I've been playing through the eleven thousand levels,
and they add new ones every week, so there's always
a fresh challenge waiting. Plus Chef Panda and his adorable
family guide you through these fantastical bakery islands, which is

(31:59):
honestly a delightful break from the darker stories that I
always dive into. Cookie Jam is completely free to play,
with daily rewards and special events that keeps things interesting.
My favorite part has got to be those rare moments
when you chain together a massive combo and just wipe
the board. Master over eleven thousand levels of tasty cookie
and candy puzzles as you match, pop, blast, connect, swipe

(32:20):
and crush your way to match three. Victory Done though
Cookie Jam for free and play NOI. The trial was
originally set for October of that year, but as jury
selection began, the defense filed the motion for a delay.
Attorneys called to mclory and Dan Hurley argued that the
jury pool lacked diversity. They claimed that there wasn't enough

(32:44):
potential jurors who were black, and this would be unfair
to Jones. The judge denied the motion. The murder trial
began on the twentieth of October ninety ninety five. A
jury was selected, consisting of eight women and four men.
Among them were one black woman and two Hispanic women.
Louis Jones was escorted into the courtroom and quietly took

(33:05):
a seat at the defense table. His attorney, Dan Hurley
opened with a metaphor, telling the jury Lewis Jones's life
is like a bridge that developed cracks. All of these
cracks widened and worsened until this bridge that was Lewis
Jones's life collapsed. Harley described a man who had returned
from his military service broken. He said that Jones suffered

(33:28):
from brain damage, a crumbling marriage, and severe financial stress.
There was no attempt to deny what had happened to
Tracy McBride. Instead, the defense argued that Jones was deeply unwell.
Harley continued, steering nearly every bit of evidence the government
has came from Lewis Jones. The case had not been solved.

(33:48):
The body had not been found until Louis Jones told
them what had happened. He told the jury that Jones
had been remorseful and that was why he had taken
detectives to Tracy's body. He added that Tracy bore a
resemblance to Jones's ex wife, Sandra, suddenly suggesting a psychological trigger.
Prosecutor Roger McRoberts painted a different picture in his opening statement.

(34:11):
He described the abduction of Tracy and chilling detail. He
laid out how Jones had held her captive for several
hours before bludgeoning her to death with the tire iron.
He said to the jury, during the next eleven days,
he carries on a pretty normal life. He works, he bowls,
He carries on conversations about Tracy McBride's disappearance. McRoberts emphasized

(34:34):
that while Jones's ex wife had once been Tracy's drill agent,
Jones himself had never met Tracy before the day he
abducted her. Testimony began after the opening statements. Tracy's friend
Dawn testified about the last phone call she had. Army
private Michael Peacock recounted his frantic attempt to intervene as
Tracy was being dragged away. Special agent Charles McDowell took

(34:57):
to the stand to describe Jones's confine. As McDonell spoke,
Jones covered his face with his hand and began to shake.
He then pulled out a tissue started to sob. Several
other witnesses also testified, including a neighbor who recalling Jones
meticulously cleaning his car the day after Tracy was abducted.

(35:18):
The murder trial was brief. It lasted just two days.
The defense declined to call any witnesses. It was clear
that their focus wasn't on guilt or innocence. They were
preparing for the punishment phase. They knew that Lewis Jones
had confessed. Their fight was not to frame him, it
was to spare his life. The jury deliberated for just

(35:39):
sixty five minutes. When they returned, they delivered their verdict guilty.
The punishment phase began the next day. Testimony quickly turned

(35:59):
to the explodeh relationship between Lewis Jones and his ex wife,
Sandra Lane. Whitnesses described brutal fights in a pattern of
controlling violent behavior. Their marriage had ended long ago, but
the chaos hadn't. Even after the divorce, Jones remained a
looming presence in Sandra's life, so much so that he
was formerly banned from the military base where she worked.

(36:22):
The only exception to that restriction was his daily route
to and from his job as a boss driver a
good Fellow Air Force base. That debarment had stemmed from
a disturbing incident in March of nineteen ninety four. Jones
had tried to confront Sandra while she was driving into
the base. She refused to speak with him, so he
used his car to physically block her path. Six months later,

(36:44):
Jones penned a letter to the base authorities asking for
the restriction to be lifted. He wrote, I'm extremely embarrassed
for losing my self control. I can assure you I
have learned from the incident, and I can assure you
I will conduct myself in a manner expected of me.
His request was granted and the restrictions were lifted. As

(37:04):
the defense began building their case, the courtroom was taken
on a deeply personal and disturbing journey into Lewis Jones's past.
His older sister Lorrain painted a bleak picture of their childhood.
The household was ruled by their abusive father, who often
used belts, ironing cords, or anything else within rage to
beat Jones, especially when he tried to protect their mother

(37:27):
from violence. His sister testified, my father came and went
in our lives, and each time he came there produced
another sibling. My father was a man of flesh. He
was one who liked to look good. He was a womanizer.
Eventually their father abandoned the family for good. What followed

(37:47):
was crushing poverty. There was never enough food to go around,
and lurking behind the veil of hunger and hardship was
something even darker. The rain revealed that Jones had been
sexually assaulted as a child by a man they called
Uncle Jack, somebody their mother had trusted to look after
them while she worked. She said, I didn't know what

(38:08):
was going on, but I knew it was bad. I
was afraid I was going to get in trouble because
I let something bad happen to Junior, so I never
told anybody. Another sister, Jacqueline, took to the stand with
an admission so raw that it hushed the courtroom. She
testified that Jones had once tried to sexually assault her,
but when she told him to stop, he did. From there,

(38:29):
the defense introduced expert testimony from doctor Mark Cunningham, a
psychologist who had evaluated Jones and tried to make sense
of what led to the horrific crime. For the first time,
jurors heard a detailed psychological timeline of the night that
Tracy McBride was abducted. In the hours before the abduction,
Jones had been replaying a phone call he had secretly
recorded with his ex wife over and over again. He listened.

(38:54):
With each play back, his anger grew. Sandra had mentioned
in the call that she might need to stop by
the laundry thing Cildy on Bass. That night, in a
fog of rage and obsession, Jones began drinking heavily. He
consumed around seventy five ounces of a strong German beer,
and then he drove to the base to try and
find Sandra. Sandra wasn't there. Instead, he saw Tracy. Doctor

(39:18):
Conningham said that Jones had hoped irrationally that this woman
was Sandra. He didn't get a good look. He was intoxicated,
emotionally unhinged, and desperate. Still, the question lingered why did
he take Tracy even after realizing it wasn't his ex wife.
Jones gave Cunningham an answer that was both chilling and confused.

(39:39):
He said, I didn't want that young lady. I wanted Sandy.
I wanted her to be Sandy. I wanted her to
make love to me like Sandy did. Once Tracy was
in his custody, Cunningham said that Jones entered a state
of tunnel vision emotionally and psychologically. He questioned her about
her sexual preference, and then he raped her. After the murder,

(40:03):
Jones claimed he had a surreal, almost spiritual experience, an
out of body moment where he looked on on himself
and saw a dark mist parting as his fate. He
said he heard demonic laughter. But this wasn't just a
man haunted by what he had done. Cunningham argued that
it was a man long fractured by trauma and untraded

(40:23):
brain damage. Jones had actually reached out for help months earlier,
in the summer of nineteen ninety four, He had seen
a Count's Alert goodfellow and had been referred to an
anger management class, but the class never happened. Not enough
people had signed up. Cunningham explained, I don't see an
anger management class as a treatment. It's educational, but it's

(40:45):
not treatment. He was all alone out here. He comes
in for help. Cunningham testified that jones a severe emotional
disturbance was the result of layers of unresolved trauma, years
of childhood abuse, military combat stress, and multiple head injuries
that had likely damaged the frontal lobe of his brain,
the part responsible for impulse control and judgment. He stated,

(41:09):
I believe Lewis Jones committed the offense under severe emotional disturbance,
and I believe he is remorseful. Others believed it too.
Among those who took the stand in support of Lewis
Jones was Reverend Jason Fry. He told the jury that
Jones had reached out to Broken Chain's ministry, writing a
letter filled with grief, shame, and sorrow. He testified, the

(41:31):
thing that impressed me the most is he was so
filled with the depth of sorrow and pain. He didn't
use God's love as an excuse or to escape what
he had done. From there, the defense shifted its focus
to science, specifically the human brain. Doctor Jonathan Pinks neurologist
testified that Jones showed significant impairments during a battery of

(41:54):
neurological tests. He said that Jones had struggled with nearly
every task that involved his brain frontal lobe, the part
that controls logic, impulse regulation, judgment, and social behavior. According
to doctor Pinkus, the damage was real and it was profound.
He pointed to a lifetime of trauma, childhood beatings, a

(42:15):
car crash, rough parachute landings during his time as an
elite soldier, and a nineteen eighty seven military accident that
has left him unconscious for an hour and a half.
His message was clear, Lewis Jones wasn't a monster, he
was broken. Those who had served with him in the
military echoed that sentiment. They described Jones as loyal, dependable,

(42:37):
someone who lifted others up, who made them better. But
then came the prosecution's rebuttal. During a particularly sharp cross examination,
Prosecutor Roger McRoberts turned to Command Sergeant Major George Conrad.
He asked, is a comrade a soldier, including a nineteen
year old private. Conrad answered yes. The prosecutor then and

(43:00):
said was rape and murder? Ever? Part of that ranger training.
The question cut through the courtroom like a razor. The
state then called their own expert, doctor Daniel Martel, a
forensic neuropsychologist. Doctor Martel said he believed that Lewis Jones
had not suffered grand damage. What he saw instead were

(43:20):
symptoms of mental health issues that were unrelated to the
crime itself. More importantly, he believed that Jones had planned
the abduction and murder and calculated every step. He described
how Jones had parked away from the laundry facility, making
sure that nobody saw him leave with Tracy. He described
how Jones had cased the area waiting for the right victim.

(43:41):
He stated, I think it significant he selects a victim
with red hair. I suspect he wanted to do to
his ex wife what he did to Tracing McBride. He
also noted that Jones had already told people that Sander
wouldn't be on the base that night. In his view,
Jones knew exactly what he was doing and who he
was told. Doctor Martell also cast out on the so

(44:03):
called demonic vision that Jones had described telling the courtroom.
He didn't mention any of that until the third examination.
None of it looks like an impulsive, out of control crime.
In my mind, this is evidence he was thinking ahead.
The prosecution argued that the abduction wasn't a crime of opportunity.
It was a military style ambush, and they said that

(44:25):
was a credit to Jones's training, not an excuse for
his actions. In his closing argument, Roger McRoberts reminded the
jury of a haunting detail that Jones had washed Tracy's
clothing before he killed her. He said, she knew he
was preparing her to die, and folks, that is mental torture.

(44:45):
The defense begged for mercy. They said that Jones was
a victim himself a physical abuse, emotional trauma, and untraded
psychological wounds. They pleaded with the jury for life instead
of death. The defense the man is tacked with remorse.
We don't need to kill Lewis Jones. But the jury

(45:06):
saw it differently. The same twelve people who had convicted
him now agreed unanimously Lewis Jones Junior deserved to die
for what he had done to Tracy McBride. In the
final moments of sentencing, Judge Sam Cummings asked Jones if
he had anything to say. He turned to Tracy's parents.
His voice was quiet as he said, I know that

(45:29):
if I live until the end of eternity, it can
never scratch the surface of the pain you have. I'm
sorry I inflicted that pain on you. Outside of the courtroom,
Tracy's father, Jim, embraced Jones's sister with an unimaginable grace.
He whispered, I'm sorry. After his sentencing, Lewis Jones was

(45:59):
sent to the l unit near Huntsville, Texas, where the
state housed its death row inmates. But in ninety ninety
nine his case changed course because Tracy McBride had been
abducted from federal property. Jones was now transferred into federal custody.
By early two thousand and three, he had exhausted every appeal.

(46:20):
In February of that year, Jones made a final desperate play.
He wrote a letter to President George W. Bush asking
for clemency. In it, he admitted to the murder and
expressed deep remorse. He said he was no longer the
man who had returned from the Gulf War in nineteen
ninety one. Alongside that letter, his attorneys filed the clemency
petition that introduced a new theory. Doctor Robert Haley, an

(46:44):
epidemiologist and golf war illness expert, claimed that Jones had
sustained brain damage during his service. According to doctor Haley,
Jones had been exposed to toxic chemical followed after US airstrikes
Hieraki weapons depots. The Pantagon had even sent Jones a
letter back in two thousand confirming that he had been exposed.

(47:05):
He had inhaled saren and silo saren nerve agents released
when the army demolished the munitions planted in March of
nineteen ninety one. Jones was one of roughly one hundred
and thirty thousand US soldiers exposed to the gas. His lawyer,
Timothy Floyd, argued that these chemicals had altered his brain,
unbalanced his personality, and were a key factor in Tracy

(47:27):
McBride's murder. In his clemency letter, Jones also spoke about
finding faith he had become a Christian. If his life
were spared, he said he wanted to spend administering to
other inmates, but Tracy's family weren't moved. Her mother, Irene,
said a lot of people have come back from the
Gulf war not murdered people. Her father, Jim was blunt.

(47:50):
Why should he get life? My daughter didn't get it.
They pointed out that Jones had shown violent tendencies before
the war, beating up co workers, fellow soldiers, even friends
on at least four documented occasions. Lewis Jones was scheduled
to die on the nineteenth of March two thousand and three,
unless the President intervened. Tracey's family prepared for the day

(48:13):
they'd waited for nearly a decade for Jim, Irene and
their four surviving children flew to Indianapolis, where they were
met by a prison psychologist. Federal prison staff then escorted
them to their hotel and later the prison itself, where
they would be led to a chapel, then into a
private viewing room. Lewis Jones fought for his life until

(48:35):
the very end, but on the night before his execution,
the U. S. Supreme Court denied his final appeal. President
Bush refused clamency. At dawn on the nineteenth of March
two thousand and three, Lewis Jones was served his last meal.
He asked for fresh fruit, peaches, nectarines, and plums. He
spent his final hours with his attorneys and his daughter Barbara.

(48:59):
Then shortly before six a m. Prison officials came to
a cell. They led him, shackled and quiet down a
corridor to the federal execution chamber. Inside, Jones was guided
onto the gurney. He lay flat on his back beneath
thrightfulescent lights as straps were placed tightly across his wrists, ankles, chests,

(49:19):
and thighs. Two ivy lines, one in each arm, were inserted.
Leaning into a hidden room where the executioner waited, curtains
were drawn back to reveal the viewing room behind the glass.
His daughter and attorney stood silently on one side. On
the other Tracy McBride's family, who had waited eight years

(49:40):
for justice. The warden asked Jones if he had any
final words. He turned towards the glass and silently mouthed,
I love you. Then he spoke aloud, although the Lord
hath chastised me forth he had not given me over
unto death. He began softly singing a hymn in the cross.

(50:00):
In the cross be my glory ever till my raptured
soul shall find rest beyond the river. As the first
drug sodium pentethal flowed through his veins. The singing stopped.
Jones stared at the ceiling, his mouth slightly open. The
second drug, pancaronium bromide, paralyzed his muscles and stilled his breathing.

(50:24):
The third, potassium chloride, stopped his heart. Lewis Jones was
pronounced dead at six o eight a m. He was
fifty three years old. Outside the prison gates, a small
group of death penalty opponents held a candlelight vigil. One
sign read the tragic irony as we rushed recklessly to
war with Iraq, we are killing a veteran of the

(50:46):
First Gulf War. There were no death penalty supporters present.
Lewis Jones was the third person executed by the federal
government thence executions resumed in two thousand and one after
a thirty eight year high end, the first of being
in Oklahoma City bomber Timothy mcphae. The second was drug
kinpin Wang Garza. Lewis Jones had just become the third

(51:10):
after McBride's left the penitentiary. Jones's attorney read a lawut
a final handwritten statement from his client. I accept the
responsibility for the pain, anguish and graef. I caused the
McBride's for taking Tracy from them. I ended a beautiful
life that God created. I never asked the family for
forgiveness because I felt I had no right to make

(51:32):
such an appeal. Tracy's mother Irone, later reflected today was
a great day of justice for Tracy. Today Lewis Jones
finally was made accountable for his actions, and today he
will meet his ultimate judge. Everybody is glad this is over.
It's been long eight years. The healing is not over,

(51:53):
it's just beginning. Well, Bessie's That is it for this

(52:22):
episode of Morbidology. As always, thank you so much for listening,
and I'd like to say a massive thank you to
my newest supporters up on Petreon, Larisa, Brittany, Dawn and LaRue.
Morbitology is just a one woman's team to the support
upon there serious he goes such a long way. If
you'd like to support the show in another way, please
consider leaving me a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

(52:43):
or wherever else you may be listening. I genuinely do
appreciate the feedback and it's a super easy way to
support a show that you enjoy. Remember to checks out
at morbiology dot com for more information about this episode
and to read some true crime articles. Until next time,
take care of yourselves, stay safe, half an amazing week.