All language subtitles for Citizen.Sleuth.2023.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264 (SDH)

[projector reel snaps]

[somber music]

[Emily]Do you know
who Jaleayah Davis is?

[man]I had heard
of Jaleayah Davis.

I didn't actually
know her, though.

[Emily]Do you know
how Jaleayah died?

[man]I know what everyone
has said happened.

[woman 1]There was
a suspicious car accident

on 77 toward Marietta, I think.

I know there's a
lot of naysayers

who don't agree it
was just an accident.

[woman 2]I believe
she was hit by her own vehicle

by somebody else and murdered.

Do you think the
investigation was thorough?

[man]I'm sure
that someone knows something

that they don't wanna say

just to protect themselves.

[thunder crashing]

[Emily] Mile Marker 181
is a true crime podcast

and may contain discussion

of graphic or
disturbing details.

I'm your host, Emily.

[music ends]

[birds chirping]

[wind blowing softly]

[crunching]

It's like this local
lore, this obsession.

It goes through highs and lows,
but it always comes back around.

And there's always somebody
that wants to talk about it.

My covenant is,
like, with the truth.

[bird cawing]

Like, I mean, think about it.

If it were you,

wouldn't you want
your family to know the truth?

And I'll admit part of
it's for my own nosiness.

You know, I was never out
to make money off of it.

I would just want
to know everything.

- [man] Why?
- I have to.

That's my character flaw.

I'm gonna... Okay,
wait, Wi-Fi's up.

Let's see if it's gonna work.

Hi, Denise. I was
in, like, a month ago

and had given a FOIA request
to Chief Martin.

[faint voice on phone]
I cannot hear you.

You're cutting out really bad.

Oh, I'm sorry.

[phone beeping]

Call failed [laughs].

I'll be so annoyed if this...

If I literally can't
make any of these calls.

[birds chirping]

[man] So, tell us where we are.

The middle of fucking
nowhere. [Laughs]

- Hey, come on, come inside...
- [chewing]

so the coyotes don't get you.

- [door opens]
- Harvey Nestor,

go, go.

This is my wall.

These are everybody's timelines.

So, you've got Katy,
Freddie, Kristin.

This is stuff that,
like, I know is, like,

on deck to be covered.

And then once I'm done with it,

I just, like, move it over here.

Um, I cut down the sound foam
and made it this thing,

and then I set my
mic up on its tripod

and set the mic right here.

And I just kind of
talk into the box

and it's like my own
tiny little sound studio.

People think it's real glamorous

or that I'm in, like,
a studio or something.

I'm, like, no.

Before I had that,
I recorded in the closet.

When you get down to, like,

the order of events
for each individual,

I mean, you can see how...
What a cluster fuck this is.

And that's a pretty
organized way to put it.

It's detail heavy,
and I get people...

Like, a lot of people don't
like the show for that reason,

but, like, I can't
change the case.

If you wanna, like,
do a deep dive

and actually do the
investigative part of it,

you've gotta go and you've gotta
like talk to people yourself.

- [line ringing]
- [finger snaps]

[man] Do you have any bug spray?

[woman on recording]
Thank you for calling...

Uh-uh.

- I'm about to hop on this.
- [man] Okay.

- [woman]Hello?
- Hi, is this Camille Waldron?

- It is.
- Hi, this is Emily Nestor.

I do theMile Marker 181 podcast.

Um, about the
Jaleayah Davis case.

But since you worked
and you were lead on that case,

you know I'd love to...

If you're not willing to record,
I understand that,

but I'd at least love
to have a conversation with you.

[Camille] I think
I'm gonna pass.

I'll stand on the
merits of my report.

It's closed for now,

unless something
totally enlightening

would come forward
to say, oh, you know.

[phone beeping]

Was this handled correctly?
Absolutely not.

It's time that somebody,
like, do it justice

and have the balls to say,
"This is what I think happened."

I read the case files, and I
was like, "murder cover-up.

What the hell?"

That needs to be
fucking handled.

So, why not me? [Chuckles]

[soft music]

Welcome toMile Marker 181.

I'm your host, Emily.

I'll tell you a little
bit about myself later,

but for now, let's
just dive right in.

This story starts in 2011,

on the evening of Friday,
November the 18th.

I could tell you a lot of things
about Jaleayah Davis.

I could tell you
that just like me,

she just had her 20th birthday,

but unfortunately
I have to tell you,

she never lived to see 21.

[music ends]

The people that I've
had that are experts,

that have looked at this, said,

"You know, by all
means, it's bizarre."

It's a bizarre scene.
Everybody agrees on that fact.

Hey, you know it's not
your average traffic accident.

It very much looked like
she was acting as a pedestrian

out of her own vehicle,
based on injuries that she had,

based on her clothing
being placed over a guardrail.

Normally your clothing is
either on you or on the roadway.

It doesn't hang
over a guardrail.

This is what we're calling

the original point
of impact right here.

Bam, right there.

[urgent music]

We're essentially

at what at least
investigators consider

to be the point of impact
for Jaleayah's vehicle.

What they're saying happened
is her vehicle hit here,

she was ejected,

her head hit the guardrail post

and then her car
reentered the roadway.

Her body was thrown
nearly into the median

and then her car continued
four-tenths of a mile

further down the road.

So, it perfectly came to
rest against the 181.8.

In between, you've
got blood spatter,

you've got brain matter,

you've got skin,
you've got teeth.

Her clothes were
in a really suspicious order.

It was bra first, then
a T-shirt over top,

and then her peacoat
over top of that.

So, what you're seeing

with the whole scene
is just totally bizarre.

The people involved that
were with Jaleayah that night

were Freddie Scott, Katy Nelson,

and Kristin Bechtold.

She left her house.

She went over to Kristin's,

they drank,

they went to the Nip n' Cue,

till approximately
three o'clock,

and then that's when
everybody's stories

start to get slightly different.

Jaleayah had been dancing
with the boyfriend of Katy.

They had had an argument,
admittedly with her.

There was a lot going on.

There was some tension.

So, it becomes a situation of,

you know, was there foul play?

[man] So, what's the theory?

They pulled over,
and then she got run over.

The common rumor?
That they had pulled over,

maybe gotten in a fight

or maybe kicked
Jaleayah out of the car.

Kristin got in
the driver's seat.

Jaleayah was acting
as a pedestrian

and then Kristin came along
and plowed her down.

That's the rumor.

90% points to murder,

from the blood patterns,
from the clothes,

from acceleration
marks in the roadway,

to the way her body was
in relation to her car,

- three-tenths of a mile down.
- [dog howling]

Everything about that scene

was totally just like
something doesn't add up.

And then you get into
everybody's individual story.

[car engine revving]

Kristin, before this,
didn't have a good reputation.

Kristin, after this,
has a much worse reputation.

I've had someone
go so far as to say

that she's not kind to animals,

which if you know
anything about, you know,

the psychology of murderers,

then that's a
pretty damning thing

to have somebody
say about your past.

I also had somebody actually say

that she's a bedwetter too,
which is also really damning.

[man] Who outed her
as a bed wetter?

I can't tell you that. [Laughs]

You know I can't tell you that.

That's somebody that came to me
privately that told me that.

And I do have them on the phone,

but they want to
be left anonymous.

[soft music]

Kristin Bechtold would not
talk to investigators

until she had a lawyer.

Even in high school
she was very polarizing.

She was very popular,

but it seemed like
everybody hated her.

I remember that,
and I've never spoken to her.

Party animal within
the community.

Dad's a doctor, privileged,

at least for Appalachia.

Spoiled!

[man] Who accuses
Kristin of murder?

Mostly Jaleayah's family
accuses her of murder.

Kim Davis.

[sighs]

You're listening
to Mile Marker 181.

This episode will
be the first time

you get to hear Jaleayah's
mother, Kim Davis, speak.

I want to be perfectly clear,

Kim is the only reason
I'm able to do this podcast.

She obtained over 700 pages
of documents

through the Freedom
of Information Act.

I got in contact with Kim

about my interest in
her daughter's case.

A week later,
I had those same case documents

and photos in my hands.

Anyways, enough from me.

Here's Kim speaking about the
day she lost her oldest child.

[Emily] Right there.

[Kim] The day that it happened,

- my dad had gone to the scene.
- [background conversation]

Said, "It's not an accident.
This was murder."

And my dad would never
lie to me about that.

[traffic moving]

[woman on video] That's
the post that killed Jaleayah.

[Kim] You're not
driving your car,

but somehow, on the right
hand side of the road,

your head's hitting a post.

No, it was on the
Justice for Jaleayah site,

all over the community.

[traffic moving]

[indistinct conversation]

She was definitely murdered.
I'll tell anybody that.

She was definitely murdered.

They killed her in
one of the worst ways.

When you see the pictures
of her laying there,

you'll say the same thing too.

Yeah, and I told Kim, I said,

you cannot trust that
sheriff down there.

You can't trust no cop.

[man] Do you carry
your gun right now?

Oh, yeah.

Right there, yeah.

Right there.

- I carry that.
- [man] Why?

Because on account of the cops.

You know doggone well

all the clothes
wouldn't come off

and folded up on
the guardrail post.

No.

One cop, they'll
lie for another.

[man] Why do you think
it was covered up?

Uh, because.

Freddie Scott,

his dad was a former
police officer in Parkersburg.

Katy Nelson, her dad
was a former police officer

in Parkersburg.

That's why I feel
it's covered up.

Plus, he's got a lot of money.

Uh... Kristin Bechtold's
dad, he was rich.

So, I feel that, you know,

there might have been
some money changed there.

That's my feeling.

[man] I hope you get
some closure on this.

Oh, I do too.

I hope before I die.
I'm 76 years old.

I hope I do.

[man] We're gonna follow
Emily's investigation

- and I hope...
- Yeah, she's really good.

She's really good.
I'm surprised Nancy Grace

didn't jump onto this.

- I know.
- Yeah.

[traffic moving]

[soft music]

[Emily] Before we
begin this episode,

I wanna remind you
that in the mid-Ohio Valley,

nothing stays secret
for very long.

If you have information
you think might be valuable,

please contact Kim

through the Justice
for Jaleayah Facebook page

or myself through
theMile Marker 181page.

I wonder sometimes
why Kim Davis did trust me.

Somebody else had approached her

about doing a podcast about this

and she turned them down.

I just felt like I
knew... When I started,

I knew what I was capable of,

and I know that I'm capable
of telling the truth

and I knew that being local

was going to be
very advantageous.

[mysterious music]

Ohh!

[Ben] There was an
accident on I77.

So I just read outta curiosity,
and you get out of the blog

and you see all these,
these comments, right?

It was a kind of a curiosity
thing. Okay, what's going on?

[Tyler] There was a podcast
by a girl named Emily.

You know, getting that look
from different places

and people wanting to help out
was absolutely amazing.

Basically, people want
justice in the area.

I love Sherlock Holmes.

I like just different crime
shows, different documentaries.

Putting two to two together,

looking at the smallest
little detail and evidence

and cracking a case.

Emily's show, Mile Marker 181,

that's my first podcast

that I've ever followed
for any reason.

It's just crazy what they're
trying to say had happened.

That car's not gonna go another
quarter of a mile up the road

without a driver in it.

I can't wrap my head around it.

[Brian] The only way you're
gonna get your head ripped off

on the guardrail post, is to be
run down by a vehicle.

After looking at the body,

yeah, I was pretty much sure
that it was a homicide.

I don't think it
was no accident.

One of the girls
supposedly beat her up

and killed her on the
interstate, or one of the guys.

First I wondered maybe
if somebody hadn't

drug her out of the car and
was beating her on something.

The sheriff's department said
that she went out of her car

and she hit the guardrail,
and she went over to the car.

You know, I just don't think
a body can bounce like that.

That's...

That's too wild
of a story for me.

The family has a
different opinion

of what the police said,

and they've been trying
to keep it alive.

She was an African
American girl.

There's a lot of stigma,

a lot of racism in the area
and everything.

I just believe, you know,
with a Caucasian girl,

it would've been
more investigated.

People here don't have to be
conspiracy theorists

to believe that there's
a lot of corruption.

In Kim Davis's case,

well, we have to
give a lot of leeway

for mourning mothers, don't we?

I mean we, we just do.

[music ends]

[equipment beeping]

Hi there, it's me.

Welcome back toMile Marker 181.

I think it's time I tell you
a little about myself.

I don't plan on
doing this often.

It's important I
try not to insert

my own personal
opinions into this story

or tell you too much about
myself besides what's relevant.

As for why I got
into true crime,

- here's the story.
- [mysterious music]

When I was 13,

I was totally obsessed
with Silence of the Lambs.

I grew up with true crime.

But back then, we didn't
call it true crime.

It wasForensic Files
and Date line and John Walsh.

I wanted to be Clarice Starling.

[man on TV]Closer, please.

Clarice Starling was
from West Virginia.

She had a slight
Appalachian accent.

She was a great role model.

You know, she was one of
the only honest characters

and it was a strong
female character.

I'm still in training
at the academy.

[Emily] I was
watching The Keepers.

I was watching
Making a Murderer.

Michelle McNamara's book,
I'll Be Gone In The Dark

came out, I devoured
it, and I thought

this is the kind of deep dive
that I wanna do.

I mean, up until this year,
I worked at a doggy daycare,

overlapped with waiting tables
at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Before Buffalo Wild Wings,
I had bartended at a strip club

'cause I thought that
would be a good idea.

Turns out I didn't enjoy it
as much as I thought I would.

But I do have good stories,
which is the point, right?

Now, I'm a full-time podcaster,

which is still weird
to say. [Laughs]

- [mysterious music]
- Hi, crime junkies.

Today's episode
is a gruesome one.

I had gotten into podcasts

and the more I got into it,
the more it became an obsession.

[podcast host 1]Welcome
toMy Favorite Murder.

[host 2]Welcome to
the Murder Squad.

Nancy Grace here.

[host 3] Wine and Crime
contains graphic

and explicit content
that may not be suitable

for some listeners.

[tattoo gun buzzes]

[Emily] I've got two tattoos
from the show Dexter.

I've got like a blood slide,

and I've got the hand
from the Ice Truck Killer.

[buzzing]

We both have Richard
Ramirez quotes.

In full disclosure, not 'cause
we love Richard Ramirez, no.

[buzzing]

And I'm adding into that leg

like, a mom-style
traditional tattoo

with a dagger through it.

But instead of "Mom" on the
banner, it says "True Crime."

[man] Now, who's
your favorite murderer?

It's Israel Keyes.

Favorite?

My favorite murderer
is Israel Keyes.

I already talked
to you about this.

I'm her best friend.

We wrestle back and forth
about it all the time,

and she'll come back to me
with new information

and be like, hey,
listen to this.

Like this is why I think this
happened or didn't happen now.

And let's hash it out.

I love it.

She doesn't have any training
whatsoever.

I don't know that that's
a good thing to...

Well no, no, but seriously,
she doesn't do...

She doesn't have
any audio visual training.

She doesn't have any recording,
like anything like that.

She didn't go to
school for journalism.

She doesn't have any background
in forensics or crime

or anything.

Or being in the
public eye at all.

And she just decided,
hey, this is an opportunity

where I can try to teach myself
something.

And then she did it,
and then also to help somebody,

and then out of
her own curiosity,

she just made it happen.

Yeah, yeah.

Kind of like your life.

Mm. I'm living it, man.

I didn't say you
weren't. [Laughs]

[music ends]

I mean, I realized through
the process of this all

that I have a voice
and people will listen.

And if you use that voice
for the right things,

you can change a lot of things.

- [crickets chirping]
- [owl hooting]

Harvey.

Harvey, you should
run for sheriff.

I'd vote for him.

Do you wanna be sheriff?

[dog chewing]

I am not joking when I say
he's like my true crime buddy.

Oh, he is so good.

He's so pure.

You're never gonna
do anything wrong.

You're too good.

Except poop in the house.

[Harvey whines]

You know, just from Kim

posting about it on the
Justice for Jaleayah Page,

I got a lot of, like,
traction that way,

'cause anybody who
follows that case

is obviously gonna listen

to anything that
comes out about it.

Okay, so, theMarietta Times,

I had like two episodes out
when they reached out to me

and they were like, "Oh,
we wanna run a story on it."

And I was like, cool, when
can I expect it to be out?

You know, we'd set up a call,
she interviewed me

for 30 minutes on the phone.

She's like, "Oh, it'll be front
page tomorrow."

I was like, okay, must be
a slow news week.

It's pressure.

It's just like this,

like, the more attention
you get for it,

the more like accountable
you have to be

for what you're putting out.

Like, if nobody's
paying attention,

it doesn't matter if it sucks.

[crickets chirping]

[door opens and closes]

[Jamie] Is my bra
straps showing?

[man] No, no, you're okay.

Been working on
that the whole time.

[man laughs]

Look at that! Look
at that hillbilly!

When anything has happened major
in West Virginia

and you see it on
the national news,

they do not portray
us in a good light,

because not everybody
in West Virginia has no teeth

or can't make a full sentence.

People do wear shoes here.

[man] Gimme a wave.

- Okay.
- Or this wave.

Emily kind of had
the calling, I guess,

but because she
didn't go to college,

she just assumed, you know,
"I can't be a profiler,"

which is what she
kind of wanted to do.

"So, I'll just go do this."

But actually, you can solve
some crime without a degree,

with enough know-how
and enough gumption.

I wasn't familiar
with what a podcast was.

I was happy for her,

but it didn't mean
a whole lot to me.

I'm like, okay, have fun,
do what you wanna do.

Do what makes you happy.

So, I really didn't understand
what that meant.

But it really
snowballed, you know,

from a snowflake
to a great big hill of snow.

So, it just has taken off
in several different directions.

It's not just one avenue,
it's multiple avenues.

- [people chattering]
- [soft music]

[Emily] Hi there.
CrimeCon is coming up quickly

andMile Marker 181
will be there on Podcast Row.

If you are not
familiar with CrimeCon,

it's basically the
Super Bowl of true crime.

CrimeCon is like Comic-Con.

You've got everybody involved
with Golden State Killer.

You've got Nancy Grace,
you've got Date line.

Like it's, it's some wild shit.

[announcer] Ladies
and gentlemen,

please welcome Paul Holes,

host of The DNA of Murder.

[audience applauding
and cheering]

[Paul] Are you guys having fun
here at CrimeCon?

Anytime I walk into a scene,

and I see something
that is contradictory,

that's where I have to step back

and go, okay, I need to
look at that more closely.

Well, let me tell ya,

anytime is the right time
to do the right thing.

And if you fail, you'll remember
it the rest of your life.

[audience applauding
and cheering]

Okay, so here I am.

This is Billy Jensen's podcast.

So, they've got me
in good real estate.

I'm fine with it.

It's exciting,
like, it feels good,

but I'm like my own worst
enemy, you know what I mean?

I am.

I self-sabotage.

[man] What do you want
to accomplish here at CrimeCon?

[Emily] Well, honestly, I wanna
see my listeners shoot up.

It's about me exploring
more opportunities.

[Paul] To all the
podcasters that are out there.

You're here to have fun,
you're here to learn.

But also just be mindful,

these are real cases
involving real people,

so be respectful with
your questioning.

[Emily] Part of getting a case
out has to also be entertaining,

'cause I've heard podcasts
that aren't entertaining

and they're very fact-driven,
and guess what?

People don't talk about
the case actively.

If you're gonna use it
to try and bring exposure,

I think a little bit of
entertainment factor helps you.

You have a single blow
to the back of the head.

Do you see her shoes?

I feel like the
true crime community

is a really good place.

Like, when you're in
the right corner of it.

Now, was there a heavy amount
of blood in her ear here?

Because there are people
that are just opportunists,

that just wanna make
a buck off of it.

They don't care about the
people behind the stories.

No!

- [mysterious music swelling]
- No, no, no!

But more good than bad.

I think that's hard to find in
other genres of entertainment.

These are podcasters.
They can't be trusted.

I wouldn't call me
to get me outta jail.

I'm not sure if you're aware,

but I don't make money
doing this podcast.

I consciously chose
not to run paid ads.

Something about the idea
of making money off of this

- felt weird.
- [music ends]

Thank you so much.
Did you get stickers?

- I did.
- Okay, cool, great.

Hi, I love your podcast.

- Thank you!
- We're both from Ohio.

So, take some stickers.
Nice to meet you.

I love the shirt.

How are ya? It's gonna be
not what you expect.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

When a window breaks,

you're supposed to leave fiber,
and hair, and skin behind,

and there was none of that.

Emily Nestor decided on a whim
to buy a ticket

to CrimeCon in
Nashville, Tennessee.

She had no idea she'd be
attending the following year

as talent on Podcast Row.

Holy shit!

- What isMile Marker 181?
- I got a description over here.

Come here.

Suspicious set of circumstances.

It's just kind of a lot
of unanswered questions

and it's from my hometown, so...

- Where is that?
- Parkersburg, West Virginia.

I would love you to
come on our podcast

and talk about your show.

- Sure.
- And why you care about it.

Hold on.

[Nancy speaking indistinctly]

Do you have a business card?

- I do, yeah.
- Thank you.

There you go.

- We'll be in touch.
- Thank you.

What? [Laughs] What?

At CrimeCon, I'd met everybody
that I was meant to meet

- to make this happen.
- Take a seat.

Hey there, I'm
Stephanie Gomulka.

I'm joined with the mind
behindMile Marker 181,

podcaster Emily Nestor.

Thank you so much
for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

The case was ultimately
ruled accidental,

but a lot of people think
that there was foul play.

The last person that
was with Jaleayah

was the granddaughter
of our former sheriff

and the sheriff's department
is the investigating agency

in Jaleayah Davis's death.

Got it.

Everybody was acting on emotion
or what was best for them.

I don't think anybody
in the whole thing, genuinely,

fully had Jaleayah's

story and her life in mind.

- Do you?
- Do I have her life in mind?

I hope. I try really hard.

[somber music]

[cawing]

This week, I'm angry.

I'm angry because
no matter how many small dots

I feel like I connect,
or Kim has long ago connected,

no one is listening.

I'm not talking about you,
you're listening,

but is the law listening?

My name is Emily,

I'm your host, and
this week I'm angry.

There's a study that shows

that waitresses that wear
red lipstick make higher tips.

And that's kind of the
philosophy I've just adapted.

Testing.

[somber music continues]

Just gonna put this right here.

This is my little setup here
that I travel with,

my one little...

That's nice and neat.

Yeah. $400 piece of equipment
there, though.

- Uh-huh.
- All right.

So, what stood out
to you the most

about this case in particular?

Well, the fact that the driver
was ejected out of the car,

and then it was a sad scenario

where she was hit
by passing semi-trucks.

Do you think it's a possibility

that things at the
scene were moved,

in particular the clothing
perhaps even by law enforcement?

I don't think it's fair for me
to answer that question.

But I guess what I'm trying
to wrap my brain around is...

In your opinion,
you do agree with the conclusion

that it was an accident?

- Yes, I do.
- Okay.

And if this is gonna continue
in this direction,

I'm not gonna have
any further conversation.

- Okay, that's fine.
- Because you're asking me

to second guess
investigation of...

- No, I get it.
- What they've done at the time.

And I do not feel that
that's fair to be doing that.

Nor do I wanna sit
here and debate.

Um.

I think that's pretty much it
as far as that goes.

'Cause there were some more
heavy-hitter questions there,

but we'll skip those.

Well, thank you. 'Cause
I know some of that stuff...

That's the questions
I have to ask, though,

- you know what I mean?
- I understand.

I have to play devil's advocate.

But I totally respect
you not wanting to answer them.

What? That... Oh,
I'm not even...

Hey, I have to dig and
see what I can get.

You know what I mean?

- Can you blame me?
- Emily.

Oh, I'm sorry.

- So, we done?
- [man] I believe so, yeah.

I think so, yeah.

[sheriff]

[man] I don't know
what she's doing.

[sheriff]

[soft music]

[rumbling]

It sucks because I feel like

I'm just working for the truth,
and the truth is really ugly.

And I understand you don't wanna
throw people under the bus,

but that's kind of bullshit.

Because if those people
fucked up that investigation,

and that's the reason why

there's never any
justice brought

for this one fucking person,

that is such bullshit,
and that's such a bad excuse.

Like, that's such a bad excuse.

You've gotta be able to
have some balls and say,

"These people could have
possibly messed this up."

These people could
have possibly,

and I didn't even ask him the
worst question of all. [Laughs]

I said, do you think it's
possible that Kristin Bechtold

wiggled her way out of an
involuntary manslaughter charge,

because her grandpa
used to be sheriff.

[music fades]

That was more like...
I hate being misunderstood,

like, it's one of my
least favorite things.

I feel like I'm
chronically misunderstood.

And it just sucks,

like, when somebody
takes offense to something

that you actually
had good intentions with.

[thunder rumbling]

This is my job.
Like, that's my job.

But people don't take it serious
because I'm working for myself.

Like, I'm not
working for a paper,

I'm not working
for a news source.

And it's funny 'cause I don't
belong with the journalist

and I don't belong
with law enforcement,

and I feel like I'm floating
somewhere in between. [Laughs]

[sighs]

People don't like
assertive women.

[thunder rumbling]

There is a monologue
from Silence of the Lambs

- that I can almost recite.
- Hit me, come on.

I can't read it.
I'm gonna be emotional over it.

I hate being vulnerable,

- and I hate being...
- I know.

I'm fine with being on camera

'cause I can ignore it,
but being vulnerable

in front of one person is hard.

It's not even the camera.

It's like the three people
in the room. Okay.

- They don't exist.
- Oh, yeah, that's true.

- Just read it to me.
- Okay.

"You know what you look like
to me with your good bag

and your cheap shoes?"

Like, that's such
a good, like...

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Like a good,
backhanded compliment.

[both laughing]

Uh... "You look like a rube",

a well-scrubbed hustling rube
with a little taste.

Good nutrition is giving you
some length of bone,

but you're not more
than one generation

from poor white trash.

Are you, Agent Starling?

And that accent you're trying

so desperately to shed,
pure West Virginia.

And oh, how quickly
the boys found you.

All those tedious,
sticky fumblings

in the backseats of cars,

while you could only dream
of getting out,

"getting anywhere, getting
all the way to the FBI."

That's fucking epic.

- You know what I mean? That...
- Yeah.

That's way too close to home.

Yeah, but what did
it make you think?

Fucking, like be brave

and fucking tell the truth

even when it sucks
balls. [Laughs]

Yeah.

It's so amazing that
she's been doing this

for such a short period of time.

It's fascinating how podcasting
has become like this

I'm not trying to
imply anyone can do it,

but if you're really good,

it doesn't take much of an
investment, and you can launch.

And Emily's a really good
example of that.

If you don't know
what the rules are,

I mean, pfft, it's wide open.

You can do whatever you want.

Journalists are bound by rules.

If you work for a newspaper,

you really can't just spend time
with the police officer

and kind of find
out how things are.

That would be totally
against the rules.

[animals howling]

[Robin]Hello,
everyone, and welcome

to our latest episode
of The Trail Went Cold.

I'm here with the host of
Mile Marker 181.

And this accident
makes no sense whatsoever.

I do these cases
all the time on my podcast,

where they're cold cases,

and you can't come up
with a logical solution

which makes 100% complete sense.

And I think this one qualifies

because even if she legitimately

died in an accident,

you at least wanna
know the truth.

If they're saying
that it's an accident,

we're missing some piece.

- I think.
- Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, there's a
missing piece there.

Well, you never
know with podcasts.

They sometimes get these cases
reopened and solved, so...

- Yeah.
- Could happen.[laughs]

- Knock on wood.
- Yeah.

Yeah.

[ominous music]

So, my mom and I are gonna
drive Kristin's alibi drive.

I guess technically
it's really more Freddie's.

So, the route that Freddie Scott
said that they took

from dropping Jaleayah off
to the McDonald's drive-through.

Freddie and Katy Nelson both say

that they go to McDonald's
and they each name a route.

Kristin, you know,
she says they go to McDonald's

but she's like, "Oh, I don't
remember how we got there."

Like she doesn't even remember
what car they're in.

I don't buy either of those
stories on Kristin's part.

I just don't buy it.

So, we're gonna start
this timer at 3:27 a.m.

It's a Friday night.

It's the same day of the week,

and it's the same time of day.

So, who are you waving at?

- Those people over there.
- Oh.

You're also on camera [laughs].

This is going in a documentary.

[Robin]Freddie is kind of
the wild card in this thing.

Like you can't really figure out

how he fits into
the whole scenario,

but he could know more
than he's telling.

Absolutely. So, can
we trust him at all

is even my kind of question.

[Tyler] Kristin, Freddie.
There was pictures of them

caught on the video cameras
at the McDonald's

before they went
all the way to the highway.

They were kind of, you know,

you can't touch me,
that kind of thing.

Kristin's rich, she
has a lot of money

and Freddie, you know, his
father was in law enforcement

and everything like that.

So, basically,

they were acting
like they were untouchable.

[Emily] Freddie's story
is that he, Kristin and Katy

took 7th Street to McDonald's.

At 3:32, Freddie leaves
the McDonald's drive-through

with two passengers.

[car engine revving]

So, I mean, his route actually
makes the most sense

out of anybody's,
which makes sense to me

because we know Freddie Scott
went to McDonald's.

His face is on the video.

So, we are pulling back into
the McDonald's drive-through

and ending our experiment.
And it is 3:34,

and it took us approximately
seven minutes, 10 seconds

to conduct this experiment.

But look, it's still not
accurate to what they're saying.

Either that time stamp is wrong,
which is possible,

or something's, like,
wildly off here,

because you know, we pulled in,
like I said, 3:33, 3:34.

They were already leaving
the drive through by 3:32.

Something in our data,
like, in this case is wrong.

- Right.
- Whether it's cell tower data,

the time stamp of the
McDonald's video footage,

or someone is telling
a massive lie.

I just don't see them getting
to the 181 in time for murder.

[Robin]The weirdest part
of the accident scene

were Jaleayah's clothes,
which were found off her body

and neatly folded up
onto the guardrail.

So, I'm trying to see it
from the other perspective,

like theoretically,
if there was foul play

and someone else
was responsible for her death,

why would they take her
clothing and neatly fold it up

and place it on the guardrail?

Is there any logical
reason for that?

[clicks tongue]

I don't think that there is.

[Robin]Okay.

[somber music]

One important detail
that I do wanna discuss

is glass at the scene.

The witness said that when he
was walking around the scene,

he never saw any broken glass

that should have come from
her passenger side window

if she was ejected from it.

Just as I crested over the hill,

I seen another trucker
along the guardrail,

the vehicle down in front of it.

All I could tell was

a pair of blue jeans
laying in the road.

My truck just thump, thump,
thump across the top of it.

And I immediately
just pulled off the road.

[Emily over phone]

[Brian over phone]

[Emily]

[Brian]

[Emily]Okay.

So, Jaleayah's
passenger side window,

investigators say
it was busted out.

The Davis family thinks

that maybe something else
occurred there

because of the way
that the glass was thrown

all the way up under
her driver's side,

under the gas and brake.

So, I'm gonna bust this,

and then I'm gonna test
the visibility of the glass

in an environment where
it's totally dark.

[loud thud]

Ooh, it's tough.

I might not be able to get it.

Well that was satisfying.

Like, that felt
really good. [Laughs]

You see the way
that all this is breaking up,

it's almost like crystals.

So, tell me how
you go out a window

and not have glass in your
scalp, your hair, nothing.

I am walking from a far distance

to kind of see at what point

this pile of glass becomes
recognizable as a pile of glass.

You know, is it significant
that the first witness said,

"Oh, I saw no glass
at that scene."?

But he would have never
been close enough

to identify the glass as glass.

So, him saying, "Oh,
I didn't see glass",

and that's mysterious,"
that's not meaningful.

[music continues]

Like what the hell?

[man] What are you doing now?

I'm just getting some stuff
for my social media,

and for, like, science's sake.

- [camera shutter clicking]
- [Robin]I've seen this happen

with some people who have
reached out to podcasters

and tried to make
the relative's death

look like foul play.

But then the evidence shows
it was an accident.

Oh, wow. Oh, that's interesting.

[whistles]

So, I guess the
final question is

are there any extra steps

that can be taken to
help solve this case,

any other outside agencies

who might be willing
to look at it

if the local law
enforcement doesn't?

The best way to quote "solve it"

or put the issue to rest is to
just hire experts at this point.

- Yeah, I think so.
- Yeah, yeah.

[whirring]

This is only my second time
looking at microfilm,

and I'm madly in love with it,

like, I've already
looked up how much it is

to own a microfilm machine.

Um, I'd rather buy that
than a TV right now.

Like this is way more
entertaining to me

than anything on television,

except maybe Mind hunter.

[mysterious music]

Found something that pertains

to the Davis family
from December of 1986.

It was an article
about Jaleayah's grandfather

and his brother.

"Two brothers again
allege police harassment."

They named Jaleayah's grandpa,
Roger, and his brother.

- I carry that.
- [Emily] There's a pathology

behind that family history

with radical claims

of disagreement with
law enforcement.

It's like somebody reached out

and was like, take this
information and run with it.

But it's just so wild.

So, Jaleayah's grandfather,

the one that said,
"This is a murder,

and they're covering it up,"

has had a running
history of claims

and issues with law enforcement.

But I'm not finding
that this is murder.

I'm finding that
this is an accident.

It's like in this story,
you can't trust anybody

to give you the full truth

'cause everybody's trying
to cover their own ass

in some manner.

[crickets chirping]

I'm gonna record,
so I have this audio

for the later episode.

[beeping]

I am here with Paul Holes.

He is a DNA expert who solved
the Golden State Killer case.

We met at CrimeCon.

What was your first impression
on this case

when I sent you those files?

[Paul]My initial assessment
when I took a look at this case

is this vehicle did
not strike a pedestrian

that was standing
in front of it.

There is no damage to the front
end of this car, to the hood,

um, to indicate that this car
struck anything head on.

Jaleayah is in this vehicle
when it strikes the guardrail.

She had a significant amount
of alcohol in her system.

Yes.

[ominous music]

The damage is along
the right side of the car.

So, if somebody's inside this
vehicle without a seat belt,

they will be flung both forward

and to the right
at the same time

out of the passenger window.

So, as her head and upper body
is hitting the guardrail,

she's going to be flung up

onto the trunk of the car
into the middle of the street.

And then the car,
because of the flat tires

on the passenger side,

is going to end up
drifting to the right

back over onto the right side
of the road again

when it will eventually
come to rest.

And then, unfortunately,
in this case,

after she rolls off the trunk

and is in the
middle of the road,

that's when she gets hit
by another vehicle.

[Emily] People who follow
this case in general,

we all have issues
with the clothing.

That's, like, the
number one thing.

[Paul]When you start
talking about the clothing,

where now her body is being
pulled along a guardrail

and her clothing is going
to catch on different things.

It is not surprising at all

to see a jacket
coming off the body.

[Emily] Yeah. So, if she's being
ejected out of that window

and the glass is cracking,

I mean, realistically,
is it possible

she doesn't have
any glass particles

in her hair, in her skin?

[Paul]That tempered glass
on the passenger side

could easily have been fractured

as a result of the
impact of the vehicle.

It's already in the process
of dicing up and falling.

So, by the time her body
impacts the windshield,

while the tempered glass
in the front passenger window

- is already...
- Already gone.

Gone. She's going through
an empty window.

So, in my opinion, I don't
think the absence of glass

in Jaleayah's, you know, hair,
or on her clothing or anything

is significant at all.

It's just when you do have

circumstances that
are suspicious,

it's fodder to start going down

different type rabbit holes

that really don't have anything
to do with the facts.

Report the facts.

And not circumstantial.

- Yes.
- Yeah.

Yes.

[Emily sighs]

[soft music]

[Emily sobs then sighs]

[fortuneteller] Cut
the cards, Emily.

What's your first question?

Am I on the right path
regarding my career?

Cut.

Hmm, there's not very
much information here.

The universe is not
able to connect,

even though I know
there are angels

that are trying to
connect with you,

but they say you don't listen.

Don't worry about your success.

That's not the issue.

You are not listening
to your angels.

The career you choose
is supposed to benefit others,

but your talkativeness
is gonna bring you harm.

Use it to your advantage.

Remember this, Emily.
Your words have power.

They're like a vehicle.

They can go forward,
backward, or run amuck.

Watch what you recycle.

[boat horn blaring]

[vehicle backup alarms beeping]

[Emily] So, it's turned into
kind of a monster

that I didn't know
that it was gonna become.

[man on call]Yeah.

It's been an interesting
learning experience

as far as, kind of, I haven't
been trained in this formally

by any means, and podcasting
is so relatively new as far

- as a medium for journalism.
- Yeah.

It is. I think traditionally
trained journalists

sometimes get a little annoyed
when people like me and you,

are kind of having some success
in this digital journalism.

But true crime fans
I imagine are loving it.

I was binging all weekend.

What are your plans?

Where is this going?

What's the end game here?

Um, so as far as
this project goes,

you know, I wanna
see it through. I want answers.

I wanna know what the truth is.

You know, if it was murder,

someone should be
held accountable.

- Right.
- Looking at that scene,

even just as a normal civilian,

you look at that
and you're like,

how in the world did this happen

um, the way that
they're claiming?

Yeah. It's very confusing.

And I'm wondering
if Freddie and the crew there

went to McDonald's
to establish an alibi

or whether or not they
just happened to be there

and those people in that car
did not kill Jaleayah.

Right, yeah. I mean there's
a lot of gray area here.

Okay.[laughs]

It is compelling, though.

It is compelling. [Laughs]

Yeah, it really is.

It's pretty shady.

Oh, yeah.

[Emily grunts]

[man] Is it hard trying
to talk about it as a murder

when you think it
was an accident?

I just realized
you were doing that during it,

and I was, oh, you were like,

had to click into a mode that
is, like, dangerous territory.

Like where I need
to cover my own ass,

as far as a storyteller.

Yeah, it's a skill
I'm learning. [Laughs]

I just have to ignore everything
that I've learned along the way,

and act like I'm
investigating it actively.

I mean, I still am,
like, I'm not close-minded.

Like, somebody can prove to me
that it was a murder.

Like I'm open to that.

But it's hard to prove a murder
when it wasn't one.

[man] Is that what
you're trying to do?

[birds chirping]

[man] Is it really all about
finding the truth on this

or is there some kind of

I mean, I'm guilty on this
myself for being here.

Is there some kind
of personal gain

that's involved with that

and what is the
ethics of that when...

Your ethics or my ethics?

Well, you're telling a story
about what I'm trying to do,

and what I'm trying to tell
a story about within that story

is something that I've been
in deep for over a year now.

[man] I just hope we're doing it
for the right reason.

[mysterious music]

Welcome back toMile Marker 181.

I'm your host, Emily.

Thanks for joining
me for season two.

Let's face it,
you're probably here

because you're really
into true crime.

If you're like me and you
collect serial killer T-shirts,

check out Dead Co. Apparel

and their true
crime-influenced clothing.

Use the promo code
M-I-L-E during checkout.

Let's get back to the alibis.

The first time I read this
statement, my jaw dropped.

This episode, let's
talk about lies.

Listen up, you can start
an Audible membership

and save 66%
on your first three months.

If you enjoy other
true crime podcasts,

you'll have to check out
True Crime Idol Candles

dedicated to the
heroes of true crime

and one of everyone's favorite
detective, Paul Holes.

Spoiler alert, this doesn't end
where you hope it will.

I don't want to lead
a massive witch hunt.

I'm just stating the
facts as they are.

I can't help that they appear
to be suspicious

to the average person.

That's right. The
Chris that Jaleayah

had been flirting
and texting with

is the same Chris
that dated Katy Nelson.

I'm not sure what the term
I'm looking for is,

but the best that comes to mind
immediately is love triangle.

The podcast hit 20 on iTunes,
like on all of iTunes,

not just like the genre.

Vultureand thenBuzzfeed
featured it on a list.

I'm almost to two million
overall downloads now.

That's pretty fucking
crazy. [Laughs]

Marker.

[Emily] I'm excited about things

that are happening
behind the scenes.

- [director] Action, Emily.
- Yes, there is a documentary

that is currently in production.

And one day,
you'll get to see the outcome.

[director] Okay, I'm sorry,
just do it one more time.

My Instagram's kind of
blowing up right now.

If you wanted to grab
a Mile Marker 181

or Justice for Jaleayah
shirt or hoodie,

you'll be able to order those
until the 31st of this month.

I've worked with Warby Parker,

so like I get a free
pair of glasses.

I just need to go
get my eyes checked.

An Away suitcase,

which I really wanted
one of those for a long time.

So, I was so pumped
when they sponsored the show.

When I started the show,

I told Kim that it
would be possible

that advertisers
would jump on later,

and that I wasn't
really opposed to it.

But then the more I got into it,

the more sleazy that it felt
to make money off of

essentially somebody's death.

And then it came to the point

where the podcast was just
becoming too much to do,

like in my spare time.

It got serious pretty quickly.

So, when the network reached out

and wanted to do
advertisements, I said, yes.

What Kim's saying is,
I'm only out for profit

and all of this
just insane stuff.

She thinks she's
being exploited now.

If you're gonna go with that
and roll with that

and accuse me of
exploiting somebody,

then every single piece
of journalism is exploitation.

Like, somebody
is the feature of the story.

I've known
that I'm a polarizing character,

and I'm not
everybody's cup of tea,

but I just kind of have
to lean into that and own it.

Like that's what
Nancy Grace does.

She's doing all right. [Laughs]

[indistinct chatter]

["These Boots Are Made For
Walkin'" playing in distance]

I wanna go and investigate it.

- What are you doing?
- [man] Filming. [Laughs]

What are you doing?
Are you drunk too?

[man laughs]

♪ You keep lying When
you ought to be truthing ♪

♪ You keep losing
When you ought to not bet ♪

♪ You keep saming ♪

♪ When you ought
To be changing, yeah ♪

♪ Now what's right is right
And you ain't been right yet ♪

♪ These boots Are
made for walking ♪

♪ And that's just
What they'll do ♪

♪ One of these days ♪

♪ These boots
Are gonna walk all over you ♪

♪ Are you ready, boots? ♪

♪ Start walking ♪

[man] All right, how about
a round of applause for Emily.

[group cheering and applauding]

Kicking ass on the microphone
this evening.

[birds chirping]

[man] All right. And a little
more, and you're good.

- How's that?
- Yeah.

All right.

I really am... I still
can't believe Kim,

like she's genuinely
pissed over something

that I can't like rationalize
being pissed about.

Isn't the goal to
get more coverage

for your daughter's case?

I don't think she has faith
in me at this point

for whatever reason.

I don't know if she thinks that

I'm going to
Hollywood with this.

I wonder if maybe

she has her own doubts,

and she's not even aware of
her own doubts about the case.

Do you see what I'm saying?

Does she maybe in
the back of her mind

in a place that she can't
even consciously go to,

does she not wanna know
if it was an accident?

[soft bright music]

Welcome back toMile Marker 181.

I'd like to remind you
that I'll be speaking

at the Parkersburg
Public Library.

I'll discuss Jaleayah's case
and citizen sleuthing

and supply you with some
Mile Marker 181stickers.

Thanks everybody for coming.
My name's Emily Nestor,

which you may already
know. [Laughs]

I am your host ofMile Marker 181

about the Jaleayah Davis case.

I've used this
quote a lot lately.

You can hire me, but the one
I'm working for is the victim.

And that's kind of my philosophy
on the truth as well.

Um, there are gonna be things
that I cover

that people aren't gonna like
by the time that this is done.

You've got a massive,
massive rumor mill

and then you can't even
begin to dig around

and figure out
where something got started.

I'm just following
the breadcrumb trail.

Somebody's got a question. Yeah.

Is there a theory out there,

as Kim thought or you thought
that maybe Jaleayah and Kristin

get in her car,
they're going to drive,

and then maybe Freddie Scott
and Katy follow her.

Kristin and Jaleayah
get in a fight

and it's... That's how
they're able to, so quickly,

leave the interstate
and get to McDonald's.

They freak out and they're like,
okay, we gotta go somewhere.

Do you get into
theories behind that

or is it just kind of like,
we don't have anything so...

So, you'll hear it
in the next episode.

That's all I'm gonna say.

[group laughing]

Uh, but as far
as the McDonald's footage,

Now that I have those pictures
from Jaleayah's phone

to reference
of what everybody was wearing,

I'm gonna go back through
and look at every angle

and see if I can
place the clothing.

Because I wanna say
somebody had stripes on,

and that's gonna be something
that picks up pretty easily in
footage.

[woman 1]

The timing of it was
really, I mean...

- Damning.
- Right.

And obviously, it is
situational and...

Sure. It comes down
to being situational.

So when you lift up a rock
and you look deep enough down,

you're gonna find things
in everybody's past

that look really bad.

Some... Other people, yeah.

[woman 2]
I worked with her grandmother.

And at one time,
Freddie Scott came to work.

And seeing Freddie
Scott strut his stuff

in front of her grandmother.

I mean, there was speculation
at one time

- that they had her head out the
window. - Right.

And was bumping
her head on the guardrail.

That they had held her head
out the window and drove.

And to hear her say,
"That's my baby. That's my baby.

How could somebody do that
to my baby?"

You know, it's just...

It goes back to the caring part.

[Emily] Yeah, right.

[woman 3] As your supporters,
is there anything

that we can do as a community

that could help you
or help this case?

That's a loaded question.

[group laughing]

Keep listening.

There's stuff that, you know,

I haven't covered
in the podcast yet.

There's a lot that
hasn't been covered.

You do tend to piss people off
when you're pursuing the truth

because not everybody likes it.

Everybody thinks
they want the truth,

but rarely do they
actually like it.

- You wanna ask any questions?
- [woman 4] I don't.

I'm just here to be entertained.

Okay. [Laughs]

Well thanks
everybody for coming.

I do have stickers here
if anybody wants them.

Thank you guys.

Have a good one.

- I'm a big fan.
- Oh.

You totally got me into every
single true crime podcast

- I can get into.
- Good, yes, yes!

Yay.

This is like my mini
CrimeCon. [Laughs]

Also, I want to tell
you that I admire you

- so much.
- Oh God.

I really do.

And I think that if
there is any justice,

- this is the justice she's
going to get. - Right.

I mean, the fact that now
everybody knows,

that is the justice
that she's gonna get.

She would not have had any

- had it not been for you.
- Thanks. Thank you.

[indistinct chatter]

[Emily sighs]

[somber music]

[gunshot]

Since I started the podcast,
I did up my anxiety medication.

It's, like, aged me
like a president.

I mean, my hair's thinning.

People have started
to demand answers out of me

that aren't answers
that I'm obligated to give them.

Or, like, people
will demand facts.

You know, when I
close my computer

after I put a new
episode out, I'm relieved

for about 12 hours,

and then I go back
to being stressed about it.

It's definitely high stress,

and it's a high
pressure to perform,

but also do it
with respect towards Jaleayah,

with respect towards her family.

That's a really
hard line to walk.

Because when you start
these kind of projects,

or cases, you're so like,

you hit the pavement so hard
at the beginning

that you're not even
processing about the victim.

You are, but it's like a case.

Um, you can't think
about it too hard.

But I think the longer
that you're in it,

the more you see
the humanity in the person

and the harder it
becomes to not care

and to detach completely.

So, I've gotta consider that.

["Are You Sure?" playing]

♪ Look around you ♪

♪ Look down the bar from you ♪

♪ At the faces that you see ♪

Welcome back toMile Marker 181.

♪ Are you sure ♪

♪ This is where
You want to be? ♪

I think it's really important
that we talk about Jaleayah

as a human being
and not just as a victim.

♪ These are your friends ♪

♪ But are they real friends? ♪

♪ Do they love you
As much as me? ♪

Tragedies like this do seem
to become the focus.

♪ Are you sure ♪

♪ This is where
You want to be? ♪

She was a sister, a daughter,
a granddaughter, a friend.

♪ You seem in such a hurry ♪

Sometimes I find myself
thinking of her as a peer.

♪ To leave this kind of life ♪

♪ And you've caused
So many pain and misery ♪

I have to remind myself she's
not just a character that
somebody made up.

♪ But look around you ♪

♪ Take a good look ♪

♪ At all the local
Used-to-be's ♪

♪ And are you sure that This
is where you want to be? ♪

[song ends]

I think a lot of what people
misunderstand

about what I was trying to do is

they think that I was in this
to exploit Kim.

I really, I really
had these high hopes,

like these Nancy Drew hopes
of coming in

and being the
person to fix this.

[man] Did you talk
to Freddie Scott?

No, I did not talk
to Freddie Scott.

Did you talk to Katy Nelson?

I've reached out to Katy Nelson,

but I have not talked
to Katy Nelson.

Did you talk to
Kristin Bechtold?

Um, I reached out
to Kristin Bechtold,

but I had not talked
to her, not directly.

[church bells ringing]

[crackling]

[man] When we first connected

and started bonding
earlier this year,

I thought you were primed to
really do something significant

and I was excited for you.
I mean I saw you at CrimeCon

and you look really
good on camera

and then just slowly
I just saw you sabotaging it

with poor choices.

I think there's just
a lot of information

that you haven't shared.

There's not a lot from this year
that I feel great about.

And it's not my typical
behavior either.

It just sucks that it...
You know what I mean?

Like along with the
self-promotion of the podcast

and everything,
you have to also push yourself

like a product in
a way, you know.

Especially when you
believe it's a murder

and you're trying to
push for that justice

and you want that
crowd behind you.

You want that support.

The louder your
voice is, you know,

if there was an injustice here,
if she was murdered,

that... that's much more
powerful to go into that fight

with people behind you.

Well, I think that's the
usefulness of true crime media.

- Yeah, for sure!
- It's a tool, um,

to put the spotlight on cases
that are being neglected.

- Yeah. - I think the central
narrative of...

And that's what I
thought this was.

The central narrative
of the private citizen

either working with
or against law enforcement,

- the establishment.
- Sure.

That's the compelling
narrative that...

- Yeah.
- Even though it's like,

it's kind of maybe
been done to death,

- it's still relevant and fresh.
- Yeah.

Well, you still have
theMile Marker 181platform.

- Yeah, no, and it will.
- And you really should use that

- to address all of this.
- Oh, that's the plan.

- That's been the plan.
- Yeah.

[door closes]

[man] So, what do
you make of all that?

I mean, you can give me a
fucking diagnosis of the
situation

because I'm in it and I can't
fucking see it anymore,

when you're in it.

I mean, like, I don't...
I literally, after that,

I don't even know
if I'm a good person anymore.

That's how that made me feel.

[somber music]

[dog barking]

- [man] Hey, how are you?
- [Kristin] Good, how are you?

- I'm Chris.
- [Kristin] Hi, Chris.

[Chris] So, I'm a filmmaker.

I listen to that Mile
Marker 181podcast.

- Uh-huh.
- So, your name

has been associated with it
the whole time,

- and it's like, I don't know.
- [Kristin] Yeah.

I've heard a couple
of the podcasts

and I feel like she tries to
kind of like make me look bad

and that's why I
stopped listening,

'cause I'm like... It
just makes me upset.

We have nothing to do with it.

And yet she keeps persisting.

Like, "it was Kristin. It was
Katy and Freddie." And yeah,
it's sad.

My name is Frederick Scott.

I'm from Parkersburg,
West Virginia.

I've never spoken on camera
about it ever,

not once, to nobody.

[somber music]

I am the real Katy Nelson,

the one that's in the
articles or whatever.

"Is that you?" Yeah, that's me.

- Did you murder Jaleayah?
- I didn't murder Jaleayah.

Nobody murdered Jaleayah.

Especially not Kristin Bechtold.

Kristin Bechtold
did not murder Jaleayah Davis.

Freddie Scott
did not murder Jaleayah Davis.

Nobody murdered Jaleayah.

Whenever I heard
that Emily made a podcast...

Um... I was like, I'm
not listening to that.

I don't wanna listen to that

'cause it's all shit.
You know, I was like,

Oh, my God, these idiots are all
sharing this idiot's podcast.

Who is this girl and
what is she doing?

Shut up. You know. [Laughs]

Like, why?

[Freddie] I just met
Jaleayah that night.

So, we were in the bar and
then Jaleayah approached me

and said she was ready to leave.

So, I texted Kristin,

I said, your
friend's ready to go.

[Kristin] So, we leave there,
we get in an argument.

She's trying to get her keys.
'Cause I'm like, dude, you're
not fucking driving.

You're wasted. And she's crying

and saying
I'm a fucking bitch or whatever.

So, anyways, it
gets to the point

where she's trying to fight me,

and I'm like, dude,
just take your fucking keys.

- [man] And then what?
- Jaleayah got out.

I just drove off.

[man] What's the last image
you remember seeing her?

Her just walking
towards her car.

I heard that I hit
her with my car,

that I sold my car the next day.

I heard that I picked
Kristin up after it happened.

[man] What did you
hear about Kristin?

Uh, just that she, like,
threw her out of her car.

Even though she didn't.

They're like, "There's no way
that you can be driving

and go through
your passenger's side window."

Of course, there's a way that
that can happen

if you just think
about it for a second,

instead of thinking
that everyone else is murderers.

Like, don't you think that maybe
the experts know what they're
talking about

and maybe you don't?

Sally in your
fucking double-wide.

[Kristin] They try and say that
we were like trying to kill her.

We were jealous of her,
all this crazy stuff.

The day after this happened,

her mom started
saying that we did it.

And I'm like, what the fuck?

Like, I literally came home
and did nothing.

It's crazy. I mean,
I've had death threats

coming from a family
that has money.

She wants to blame
everything on me.

It just sucks. Like, this whole
thing fucking sucks.

And I just like, I literally
just want it to go away.

To be honest with you,
this is ruining my life.

At first, I liked
the Justice for Jaleayah page.

But then I'm like,
wait a second, eh,

what are you guys talking
about, justice for, like

I mean, you're
trying to... mm-hmm.

So, I think I unliked
it. [Chuckles]

You know, I was, like, hmm.
Like... [laughs]

[man] Why do you think people
believe in conspiracy theories?

They love drama. They love
having something to talk...

Like they feel like
they're a part of something.

I know 100% for a fact that Kim
Davis knows that we didn't do
anything wrong.

[man] How?

Because one, like,
science backs us up.

You know what I mean?
Timing backs us up.

Like nothing we could have
done would've led to that.

Nothing at all.

And the thing is she knows
she's making up all these lies.

So, it's like, I don't know what
her real objective is with this,
like, at all.

[man] Do you think
it comes from grief?

I mean, losing a kid, you know,
would make you a little crazy,

but what she's doing now
is over-the-top crazy.

Like trying to damage
people's whole lives, careers.

Like, it doesn't make
any sense to me at all.

Like, not even a little bit.

I met Jaleayah's grandfather
shortly after it happened,

talked to him,
told him what really happened.

He didn't believe me,
called me liar and stuff.

Then he said, if I do think
you're lying to me,

I'm coming back with my .44
or something like that.

And I'm just like,
okay, good talk.

Jaleayah's grandpa
came to my house,

and I just started freaking
the fuck out. I was shaking.

I was like, um, no, mm-mm.

I said, get the cops here.
Like, who knows?

'Cause people had been
saying crazy stuff like,

"I'm gonna kill you,"
and "I know what you did."

Nah, nah, nah, nah. You know?

And then, literally,
the cops come

and they're like,
"Well, he has a gun."

And I'm like, [grunts]
"Well, that's scary."

You know.

Because you didn't come
to the girl's house

that you think was involved
in your granddaughter's death

with a gun

just to shoot the
shit, you know.

Maybe we should
all let her rest.

Shit!

All right, let's do this.

I don't want to be out here.

[man] All right. Set.

- [Roger] Hi, how are you?
- [Emily] Good.

- How are you?
- All right.

[man] This is Emily.

- Is this Emily?
- This is Emily.

Huh?

- Yeah.
- Right.

[Roger]

[traffic humming]

- [car door closes]
- [man] You okay?

[Emily] No, I'm not okay!

[man] No one's out,
everything's okay.

[Emily] For me to
want to sit there

with fucking Roger
and look him in the eye,

like I believe what
he's fucking saying.

I wanted to vomit.

I'm not ready to confront them
with my truth about it yet.

So, it was really, really hard
to be around him just now.

- Yes.
- And I'm trying

to put out content
about something

that I no longer believe.

This is fucking
giving me problems.

I'm done. I'm just done.

- I understand.
- I don't care. I'm done.

[somber music]

[crackling]

As consumers of true crime,
we listen, watch,

or read about the
most horrific things

that humanity endures.

We are all removed
from the direct impact

and then we turn off the lights
and we go to bed every night.

And I understand for many of
you, this is passive listening.

This is even entertainment.

In the past few months, I've
spent hours staring at a blank
screen

trying to type out words
before they left my brain.

Writing and creating a podcast

that revolves around a traumatic
and mysterious death

comes with its own challenges,

and the biggest one I found is
just finding the right words.

I started this podcast
based on a personal need

to find the answers
about what really happened

to Jaleayah Davis.

I genuinely feel like
telling the truth

is sometimes the absolute
hardest thing you will do.

The raw audio I'm going
to share with you now

was recorded
a few days ago on my phone.

[Katy]I feel like
there's no way to prepare

for telling people the worst
thing that they ever hear,

but as I'm learning
in true crime,

sometimes things
aren't what they appear.

What happened to Jaleayah
was a horrible,

horrible, tragic accident,
but it was not murder.

A lot of people have issues
with law enforcement

and people, when they
look at Jaleayah,

I think that they
see their loved ones

that have maybe not had justice.

And so people use Jaleayah
like a projector screen.

And so I can understand
why there is this community

that supports Kim
because she lost someone

that she loved more than
anything in life.[sniffles]

But there's a difference
between supporting someone

and allowing for false
information to be put out

and people's names
to be run through the mud.

And I'm talking about the Davis
family and myself as well.

Hopefully, somebody out there

who has been hurt
by what happened to Jaleayah

can hear this and
find some peace in it.

It had to be done, right?

Somebody had to say it.

[soft mysterious music]

[announcer]A listener note. This
story contains violent content
and language.

[woman 1]Hello, friends,
and welcome back to the show.

[woman 2]Hello and welcome
to Crime Lore, the podcast.

[man 1] Welcome
toFact and Suspicion.

[man 2]This is
Obsessed with Murder.

[woman 3]And we're here
to bring these dead stories

back to life.

[woman 4]
Today we are discussing a case

that is not typical for us.

[woman 5] You know,
this one's a beauty.

I go back and forth
trying to decide

if this is a mysterious death

or a full-blown conspiracy.

[woman 6] I went down
a dark rabbit hole

after I got a random email
from a stranger.

[woman 7]He definitely
had something going on.

[woman 8] It's a
suspicious death.

[man 3] Some people
just want answers.

[man 4]How then do we
unravel fact from fiction?

[woman 9] I can't believe more
people aren't talking about
this.

[woman 10]It's all really sad,
but what a story.

In my personal opinion,

- it was definitely...
- [man 5]Murder.

- [woman 11]Murder.
- [woman 12]Murder!

[woman 13] This case
confirms for us,

you never really know.

[woman 14]There really is room

for interpretation of the facts.

[mysterious music]