Who's Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey part 5

Speaker: INTROWoke up in the middle of the night in a dead panic and saying, his name starts with a D, his name starts with a D and my mom said, what are you talking about? And I said, his name starts with a D. This is audio from LaDonna Humphrey's documentary titled Uneven Ground, The Melissa Witt Story. In the documentary, LaDonna features a witness who was at the bowling alley the day that Melissa Witt disappeared. The witness says that they heard a big argument in the parking lot. The witness says that they heard a big argument. The witness said that they heard a big argument in the parking lot when I could hear from the argument, it was, uh, more. Like, bickering. Um, stop, leave me alone, go away. Um, to me, she did not sound scared. It sounded like,I need you to go away and leave me alone. You're, you've annoyed me enough today and you need to stop. The person didn't make the connection right away, but when police discovered Melissa Witt's car, that's when they called to make their report. Alicia Lockhart recalls a time when LaDonna hired a hypnotist to try They met in a hotel room

Alecia Lockhart: During that process, the, the witness, recounted what she saw and heard of the abduction,

Speaker: Two former Fort Smith police detectives were present. J. C. Ryder and Chris Boyd. So this is far from an official police investigation

Alecia Lockhart: Melissa Witt was fighting with a man named Daniel, and she was saying, stop, leave me alone, you and your little girlfriend, just get out of here.

Speaker: there was like a white truck. So it sounds like Melissa Witt may have been abducted by a man named Daniel and his girlfriend in a white truck. Y'all know how I feel about hypnosis. But let's play along here for a second. Who is the man named Daniel? And could he have anything to do with Melissa Witt's disappearance? the answer is no, because hypnosis is not a credible form of evidence, But that doesn't matter, because LaDonna Humphrey is zeroing in on this person named Daniel, and she's getting ready to pin Melissa Witt's murder on him with no evidence. I'm Javier Leyva, and this is Pretend, stories about real people pretending to be someone else. INTROAlicia, laDonna Humphrey, and two former detectives are sitting in a hotel room with a psychic and a person claiming to have heard an argument outside of the bowling alley The day Melissa Witt disappeared. This is not an official police investigation.It's more like a scene from Oni Murders in the building. The hypnotist guided the witness through a deep relaxation meditation and then questioned her. The witness said that Melissa was yelling, Go away, Daniel. Leave me alone, Daniel. It's over, Daniel. Alicia says that they all looked at each other in shock. Daniel was the guy that they had been suspecting this entire time. Daniel Watson, Melissa Witt's ex boyfriend. Listen, before you get too excited, Even though LaDonna Humphrey and the former detectives were, quote, in shock, This was exactly the name they were hoping the witness would say. Alicia says that they went out to dinner right afterwards and they talked about it and they were so excited, they were confident that they were going to arrest him and They were confident that they were going to arrest Daniel the next month. That arrest never happened . As a reminder, some courts allow hypnosis under strict conditions. I'm pretty sure that hypnosis conducted in a hotel room with a true crime sleuth and two former detectives wouldn't hold up very well as evidence. The scientific community largely agrees that hypnosis can make individuals more suggestible, which can lead to the creation of false memories or the distortion of actual memories. Alicia tells me that LaDonna befriended this witness and would often talk on the phone with her. is it possible that the witness heard LaDonna's theories? What if LaDonna asked, could it have been Daniel Watson? That would be enough to taint the witness. But none of that mattered, because she had all she needed to start her campaign against Melissa Witt's ex boyfriend, Daniel Watson. Here's a voice memo LaDonna sent Alicia. We've got some really good things set up with Brad. He's gonna start bringing in Daniel's exes starting next week to, uh, you know, interview them and get information on the record. I'm gonna go back up on the 13th and help with some of that. So, we're making headway. Brad, by the way, is Brad Marion, a current detective at the Ford Smith PD. I think with the new evidence that came in that I really do believe that Daniel Watson killed Melissa wit. I really firmly do believe that. Um, there's always a margin of error, but I do feel like that he is the one. But this But listen, this wasn't just LaDonna's personal feeling about the case. She was gearing up to go public with this information. This is a clip from LaDonna's podcast, Extinguished I've specifically honed in on and investigators have honed in on that seems to fit the profile of her killer. I don't know if the listeners know this. I think that you know this. The FBI did come up with a profile in Melissa's case pretty much in the beginning, the beginning stages of When she had been missing, I think she'd only been missing, you know, a couple of weeks and they believed that she had been kidnapped by someone who was very familiar with the area. They call them a beer drinking country boy who most likely drove a truck and had anger issues and was most likely a womanizer. And the interesting thing is, is that there are at least two people in her diary that fit that bill. In this video that she sent Alicia Lockhart, LaDonna asked her young daughter who she thinks did it. Hey, I need to ask you a question. So, uh, who do you think killed Melissa Witt? I'm not going to play you the daughter's response, but you'll never believe it. She guessed Randall or Daniel. Randall is the name of the director who shot Alicia's Death Fetish film, aka Death Fetish Master, aka Death Fetish Master, aka Fetish Master, And Daniel is Daniel Watson, Melissa's ex boyfriend. Here's another clip from her podcast, Extinguished So I'm curious to hear from you right off the bat. Who you think killed Melissa Witt? Oh, you know, that's one of my burning questions, and that's why I've been on this journey for, um, gosh, going on eight years now. (List possibel suspects) David, we talked a lot about several people, uh, Larry Swearingen, Doug Logan. Travis Crouch, William Dillard Taylor, and the list goes on and on. But I don't believe that any of those men are responsible for the murder of Melissa Witt. Instead, I believe that Melissa was killed by someone that she knew. And honestly, someone that she had most likely dated before, I believe his name is in that diary, and I believe that that diary holds the key to this entire puzzle of who killed Melissa. LaDonna stopped short of using Daniel Watson's name in public. But here's the thing, she doesn't have to say Daniel Watson's name in order to be held liable for defamation. as long as that person can be reasonably identified by others. And let's not forget, she's a public figure accusing him of murder, and her only evidence is because his name was written, and her only evidence is that his name was written in his girlfriend's diary, and that a witness heard an argument in a parking lot when she was a kid. This person didn't witness Daniel or Melissa fighting And the only reason why she knows his name is because she was hypnotized in a hotel room. Hardly a smoking gun. For public figures like LaDonna, there needs to be proof of actual malice, meaning she's recklessly disregarding the truth for whatever reason. Be it fame, attention, whatever. The point is, Not saying his name is not going to protect her. Just saying. So I called up Daniel Watson to see what he has to say about this. That is after the break Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: how are you? Hey, thanks man? This is Daniel Watson. I asked him if he has ever been in contact with LaDonna Humphrey. Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_L: remember Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: um, called and she called or she hit me up on Facebook or something and started talking about she was a victim's advocate and she believed that I was a victim in that whole case, that I'm one of the last surviving members. of anybody that knew Missy. . You know, that was. close to Missy with that time, you know, that all of her family had died and that she just wanted to touch base and, and, uh, if I could give her any leads towards anybody who might would have wanted to hurt her. And I said, well, that's the thing about it. She was such a sweet girl. No one would want to hurt her. And I don't, so I don't, I mean, I've already been over this with the FBI, the state police. Fort Smith police, Russellville police, and everybody, you know, and my name, I've never been a suspect. I said, well, there's not really anything for us to talk about. And it's true, as far as I can tell. Daniel Watson has never been a suspect, but then again, I don't have Carp Blanche inside Fort Smith's police department. Side note, I asked Fort Smith's police department if they would allow me to see the evidence and watch the body video. They haven't returned my email. Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: But let's get back to Daniel's story. And then one time she came down, she asked me, she said, I'm driving through Russellville. Do you care if like we have dinner, sit down and have dinner? And she said, I'll buy. And I was like, Yeah, sure. I'll go with you. And, uh, we had dinner one night and she, you know, just asked all kinds of stuff. At first, LaDonna was friendly, but that quickly changed. Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: And then it's, you know, at some point it got to where I could tell that she was trying to set me up, get me to say something or slip or, you know, Daniel, if you, if you, um, have anything you're guilty about and you want to confess to me, just please, you're more than welcome to do it. I'm like, Well, I mean, I don't really have, I don't really have anything, you know, I, don't really do much of anything to create a reason to need to confess Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_L: was, she still being nice or. Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: She still, oh Yeah. she, she's been trying, she's been nice to me pretty much the whole time. Uh, the one, the last times I remember her doing it, she called and said, she called me acting like she was crying and scared, saying that Fort Smith police had called her wanting my information so they could call me and put me under arrest for, you know, for the murder of Missy Witt. HE GETS ANGRY WITH HERDaniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: And I was like, whoa. And at this point I was done being nice to her. . I was like, whoa, shut up with all your, listen to me. I said, I need names. And badge numbers. And she said, what? I said, I needed names and badge numbers of every person that you're talking about. Because this is some BS. I need it right now. Give me the information. She was like, what? And I was like, you heard what I said. We're not going a step further in this relationship talking about anything else until you get me the names and badge numbers of any police officer in Fort Smith, Arkansas that says I did this and it's coming out for me to arrest me. And she, and I called her bluff, and she couldn't believe it, and, and I, so I said, and so she said, Well, Danny, you're getting mad at me for no reason. I said, No, I'm not getting mad at you for no reason. You're threatening me with the police. I'm getting mad at you for a reason. And she said, Let DISCOVERING THAT LDH MIGHT ACCUSE HIM OF MURDEDaniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: me see what I got. Daniel said that that phone call, that phone call was a year and a half ago. LaDonna never did get back to him with those names and badge numbers WHY IS SHE GOING AFTER HIM?Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: So, I don't know why I'm being accused of it or that. I think, I think she's trying to do this so she can make money to pay for, for Christopher's lawsuit. You know what I mean? Christopher's lawsuit, as in Anthony Christopher, remember LaDonna's former employee who sued LaDonna and won a 3. 5 million, and won a 3. 57 million judgment against her. SUN ARTICLELaDonna's shadow campaign to peg Daniel Watson and the murder of Melissa Witt wasn't limited to voice memos or even vague references in her books and podcasts. Oh no, her wild theory was published, her wild theory was published by the U. S. Sun. A tabloid known, a tabloid known for sensational journalism, celebrity gossip, and other pseudo news. The headline read, quote, he knows, I know. I suspect my old roommate killed Melissa Witt. The article says that a former roommate urged Melissa Witt's killer to turn her, The article says that a former roommate Urged Melissa Witt's killer to turn himself in. He also said he fears the killer is going to shoot him. They don't use the roommate's real name in the article. They go by the, they use the pseudonym Nixon O'Neal. According to the article, the roommate, Nixon O'Neill, first met Melissa Wittz Killer in 2001 through a mutual friend, and they eventually moved in together. As far as I know, this roommate wasn't interviewed by The Sun. This could be all according to one source referenced in the article, LaDonna According to the article, Nixon O'Neill said his roommate had a dark side, especially when he was drunk or high. This Nixon O'Neill reportedly said that his roommate had a woman's Mickey Mouse watch hanging on the wall. When Nixon asked his roommate about the watch, his roommate replied, Have you ever heard of Melissa Witt? I was actually seeing her at the time, and I got the Mickey Mouse watch, and got her one, And I got a Mickey Mouse watch and got her one because she really liked Disney stuff. The article ends with this quote. The article ends with this quote. It's just so damn sad, he said, seeing this piece of shit get away with something like that. Here's what Daniel Watson had to say about the U. S. Sun article. Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: uh, just basically that, um, the murderer had a roommate that he lived with, who had a bad temper when he got messed up. had been with Missy, or knew Missy, had the Missy Mouse watch of hers on the wall, on his wall, or something, or had gotten one like it and put on the wall, and it's just, it's just weird. I think maybe she forwarded, the, uh, story that she has in the book to my boss, because he just came out of nowhere. I don't know if he was just trying to keep me from getting mad at Madonna. And maybe she sent it to him. But somehow he got that, he got that Sun advert, er, the Sun article about, the roommate of this murderer that killed Mi Missy Witt. that's the only reason why I know any of this is going on, because he came to me and said, you need to figure out what's, what this is and who, what's going on, because it sounds like that lady up in Fayetteville is causing so many problems. In her book, Connected by Fate, LaDonna recalls getting a mysterious one. In her book, Connected by Fate, LaDonna recalls getting a mysterious one sentence email. It read, quote, probably not relevant, but my old college roommate told me that he was meeting Melissa Witt the night she disappeared. LaDonna wrote in her typical dramatic flair. Quote, he removed his hat and sat down at our secluded table. As the ambient lighting cast shadows over our tense expressions, Nixon slid an envelope across the table. He said, it's all in there. Everything he told me about Melissa Witt. I opened the envelope and pulled out a single piece of paper. Written on it was a name. One that I had seen before in Melissa Witt's diary. My eyes widened in shock. The man named on The man named on this paper Was our unnamed suspect unquote so I asked Daniel Watson if he knows the identity of Nixon O'Neill Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: they used a friend of mine's initials for, in the, in the fake name and they, they're trying to tell me, That my friend Nathan Oliver has been and I do and I he has been talking to her and I'll be it He has done things with her and I've asked him. Have you In the past i've asked him if he's ever said has she implicated me in this or anything? He's like no and no one has um But I don't know. It's just and and then I and then when I found this I said are you doing a podcast? Saying that I killed somebody here Here in a couple, you know in may sometime he said No, I said, I've never been in the podcast, nor do I ever plan on being in the podcast, and I was like, okay, I'll just,

Javier: Do you think he would do that to you? I mean, are you guys pretty close?

Speaker: Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: I, uh, we've all, I mean, historically, we've been really close? I mean, I will say this, she, she did, um, hook him up with some girl that he dated for a little while and screwed around with, so I mean, Maybe they, you know, maybe she, maybe she got to him through sex or something. I mean, maybe he got drunk and said stuff and didn't realize what he was saying, you know what I mean?

Javier: And so do you think she's going to pin this on you or something?

Speaker: HE HAS AN ALIBIDaniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: Well, she can try, she sure can try if she wants, but it's going to cost her a lot of money. I I have an alibi. I mean, I'm, the FBI, I've talked to the FBI. FBI CALLED TO ASK ABOUT LDH HARASSMENTDaniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: Five months ago? Four months ago? Six months ago around there? he really didn't call to talk to me about Missy Witt or anything. He called to talk to me about LaDonna. they know what happened and, I mean, they know way more than me or you or anybody. And the last time I talked to them, they were more asking me questions about her.

Javier: about LaDonna?

Speaker: Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: Yeah, it was more of the, the questions were more about her and had she been harassing me and blah, blah, blah than they were about Missy Witt.

Javier: Oh, really?

Speaker: Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: Yeah. I go, you're the FBI, you're the one that knows everything. You've got the file. You know that I'm not a suspect. And he go, well, he goes, yeah, I know. He goes, I go with him. Why are you here? He goes, well, because this LaDonna doing this the books and the, and the podcast and she's saying she's gonna, she's gonna, you know, tell us who the murderer is And I'm like, You should know as well as I do that I've already been cleared along, you know, I was never a suspect. Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_L: were you ever a person of interest or anything like the police ever questioned you and when LAST PERSON TO TALK TO MISSY BEFORE SHE DIED / DATING CASUALLYDaniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: Yeah, oh yeah, they did. They did. I think I might have been one of the last people she talked to on the phone before she disappeared. Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_L: So you were dating her like around the same time she went missing Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: I, we did date. I was very, when we would go on physical dates, it might have been like four times we did something ALIBIDaniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: And um, I tried, I, if you were my friend from back then, you'd be like, what's wrong with you, Watson? Because I never really tried to do anything with her. Ias far as I knew, she was a virgin. And I tried treating her with respect and not, and being nice to her and, and, and I think that made her like me a lot, so. WHERE HE WAS THE NIGHT OF THE MURDERDaniel Watson 20240508 1402_L: where, where were you when she went missing? Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: I was at my parents house that night. Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_L: And, uh, and like the police got proof and everything about Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: Oh yeah, it's documented. It's documented. Multiple witnesses say they saw Daniel Watson an hour away from Fort Smith Just like he said at his parents house. He told me he would have needed a helicopter to pull off the murder Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: I'm not worried about her or being in trouble because I didn't do anything. So, like my dad always said, when you're right, you're right. I have not reached out to Daniel's former roommate. But one day, his alias, Nixon O'Neill, reached out to me. Here's my conversation with Anthony Christopher the day I got the message in my inbox. NIXON O'NIEL EMAILJavierLeiva21988024783: Did I tell you that? Today I received the Uh, not a harassing message, but, uh, a spoof message on in my email. Did I tell you about that? AnthonyChristoph11988024783: No, this is absolutely wild. I can already, I can already assume where it came from NIXON O'NEILLJavierLeiva21988024783: So the title is Missy Whitcase. Okay, and tell me if you recognize this email Nixon O'Neill 78. AnthonyChristoph11988024783: O'Neill. That's ironic. So Nixon O'Neill is the pseudonym that she gives, um, for Nathan Oliver, who she claims was the roommate to Daniel Watson, who was an early suspect in the Missy Witt case. JavierLeiva21988024783: This email doesn't exist. It's a spoof email, a hundred percent. And the message said, Javier, I appreciate your coverage on the Missy Witt case. I grew up in the area and you seem to be an expert on the case. Do you have time to compare notes? In my 45 years living in Arkansas and being familiar with this 30 year old case, you must be a genius. Regards, Nixon. Now what's, I have to remind people that today is. Thursday, June 30th. The podcast hasn't even come out yet and I'm already getting messages. AnthonyChristoph11988024783: You know, it's, I wish I could say I was shocked, Javier, you know, I mean, you would think that the obvious person, especially in this case, being exposed for being behind emails and anonymous sources would not use that same technique to go after an individual who she knows is exposing the use of these behaviors. And within moments, like you said, before your podcast is even out, you're receiving spoof and anonymous messages. It's wild to me. I'm not a betting man, but my money is that Daniel Watson's roommate Nathan Oliver didn't write that email AnthonyChristoph11988024783: You know what's unfortunate, Javier, is I think that LaDonna would be the individual that would be in a courtroom, and they would have exact video and audio footage implicating her and proving her guilt in a crime, and that woman would still look at a jury and lie to their face and tell you it wasn't her. WHY IS SHE GOING AFTER HIM?Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: So, I don't know why I'm being accused of it or that. I think, I think she's trying to do this so she can make money to pay for, for Christopher's lawsuit. You know what I mean? she has, she has spent, um, at least four years of my life harassing me Daniel Watson was uneasy to talk to me. He doesn't want to be on my podcast or her podcast He just wants to be left alone, but he also wants to get ahead of this NERVOUSDaniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: this all makes me nervous. You know what I mean? Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_L: no, I, it makes everybody nervous, man. It Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: How could it not?! She's trying to frame me for murder. I didn't do, man. Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_L: Yeah. Daniel Watson 20240508 1402_R: I'm like, you know, my life is full. I got a four year old daughter that if she this affects my kids life in any way I'm gonna go crazy, when we come back, we're going to talk about a very famous case and how LaDonna tried to suggest that the victim's family might be responsible for the murder. That's after the break. julie murrayYou might be familiar with Maura Murray's case, a 21 year old nursing student who disappeared February 2004. Who disappeared February 2004 after a car accident on Route 1 After a car accident in a rural After You may have heard the case of You may be familiar with the case of Maura Murray, a 21 year old After You may, you may be familiar with the case of Maura Murray, a 21 year old nursing student who disappeared February 2004 after a car accident in New, after a car accident on, after a car accident on Route 112 in New Hampshire. She was pulled over after losing control of her car and crashed into a snowbank. Passerbys called the police, but Mora vanished before the authorities arrived. But Mora vanished before the authorities arrived. Her disappearance remains one of the most baffling, and her disappearance remains one of the most baffling and unsolved missing persons cases in the United States. Her story was featured on CNN, ABC's 2020, Nancy Grace. It was around this time that LaDonna Humphrey first contacted the Maury family

Julie: Well, on November 20th, 2006, and I'm going to be very specific here with these dates and times, um, because I've provided you with all of these emails, um, we got an inquiry into the Mara Murray I think it was maramurray. com at that point, and it was from LaDonna, and she was offering help.

Speaker: LaDonna Humphrey asked if her non profit, called Let's Bring Them Home Can Help

Julie: And at that point in 2006, uh, early 2007, LaDonna, um, wanted to do a national PR campaign to get the word out about Mars still missing. And, um, so we're like, okay, you know, we're not one, we're not in a position to turn down help.

Speaker: So that started our relationship with LaDonna. In one of her correspondence, she told them, I'm willing to help stir as much attention as possible if you would like me to. Someone out there has to know where she is. Someone knows something. so the Maury family, desperate for answers, accepted Ladonna's help

Julie: So there wasn't a whole lot of movement until 2007 when LaDonna proposed offering up a 75, 000 reward.

Speaker: And the Murray family, desperate for answers, accepted LaDonna's help.

Julie: so, my aunt, Helena, by marriage, she was the administrator for this site, so she was the one that would respond to these messages, and so on and so forth.

Speaker: We, we didn't really know how rewards worked. Um, we were, you know, fresh into this tragedy and we knew that it could possibly generate leads, um, but we weren't exactly sure of the legalities. So LaDonna assured Helena that they had, um, a, Liability insurance for the nonprofit at the time. Let's bring them home. So she provided us with the liability insurance, which I provided you. But we also wanted to see that the funds existed. So one of the things that Helena wanted to ensure was that there was a dedicated account. earmarked for this particular purpose, so that if tips came in and we had to pay out, that my family was protected. I mean, it seems reasonable to ask, where was the money coming from? Was insurance policy proof? Was proof of insurance good enough? But the Murray family was still concerned about the money, and they wanted to make sure that their family wasn't going to be held liable.

Julie: So that's when Helena reached out to her friend who was a lawyer. And the lawyer said, you know, if you, if you don't see this dedicated earmarked bank account, then what you could do as a family is do up a letter of Indemnification to protect against any liability.

Speaker: So we did that, and so we had the liability insurance documents, which I provided you, and we had the letter of indemnification. So at that point, we're, we've got We're thinking, okay, we're covered. so we've got the documentation in order. We feel good about going forward with the reward. So on August 4th, 2007, a press release was issued and It was issued through the end of the year. So the reward would end on December 31st of 2007, and that's in the press release. the day that press release was issued, the day that that press release was issued, another non profit reached out to the Murrays and warned them about LaDonna

Julie: interesting part of her email to Helena was this chilling message, warning family about LaDonna, personally.

Speaker: This person wrote you need legal documentation that the you need legal documentation that this money exists that there's a bank account earmarked for this purpose if there's rewards or if the reward funds is bogus The money does not really exist, and any tipster that comes forward with any information and is not paid, that tipster can sue the family and anyone connected to the reward fund But this person offered a chilling warning. Let me read you the email. I have been told by more than one highly reputable person in the business that this woman is mentally ill. She sounds like a sociopath to me. she sounds like a sociopath to me. We won't have anything to do with her or her organization. and we will not refer anyone to them. I trust that you relay, I trust you not relay from whom you received this info. She has been known to attack reputable organizations and family members, and I don't want her after us. I don't want to see families mixed up with her. I care deeply for you and felt like I had to say something

Julie: at that point we had already put out the press release. I mean, the train was. You know, out of the station, so there was nothing that we could do, but we felt confident that, okay, we've got this in the indemnification.

Speaker: Um, we've got this proof of insurance, and it's only five months, so how bad could it be? And if it generates a couple tips, and we get something to go on, okay. So, we weren't too concerned at that point Javier_Leiva: And that's the same day that the first tip came in, right? Mm

Julie: yep. The first tip comes in on August 7th. And let me just explain how the tip system worked. So there was a toll free number that, People could call and it wasn't answered by a person. It was answered by automated voice message machine and tipsters could leave their tips in a recording.

Speaker: So those audio files, um, go to LaDonna and then she would forward those to my aunt Helena and, and that's how it worked. Javier_Leiva: LaDonna's acting as a middleman here, right?

Julie: right

Speaker: So in total, there were six tips in total forwarded to my family. Um, so we had two come in on August 7th. I have all the audio files and, and it was kind of information we already knew, but we went ahead and forwarded it to the detectives. Um, tip number five is the one that's curious. So tip number five came in on September 29th, 2007. And in this particular tip, there's no caller number listed, which is different than all The other tips that I, um, sent to you. Um, but it did have an audio file and I listened to it and it is from a local woman, um, providing some information Javier_Leiva: kind information? I think people are going to be curious about it.

Julie: this was a woman that worked in a local establishment in the town that my disappeared. And she noticed, um, I think this one was a man come into her store.

Speaker: So this tip was the only tip. That I have on record that, uh, that LaDonna forwarded directly to my dad. So she forwards this to my dad on October 3rd, 2007 at 1 14 a. m after that February 14th, 2008. We don't have a whole lot of communication or any, uh, written anyways with LaDonna. The reward had expired. We only got six tips and we kind of went on our ways. I mean, it was worth the effort to try, to try to do the reward to see if anything, uh, materialized, uh, but it really didn't. in the end, LaDonna never reached back out again. There was no notification once the reward expired or any communication to the family that the ward or any communication to the family about what happened to the money.

Julie: So we don't hear from LaDonna again until a decade later. And that is on March 27th, 2018 where LaDonna resurfaces and provides her friend and associate an email of the tip I just described from September 29th, 2007. And it's used as evidence that my dad wanted to monitor all tips. And she goes on to say that my dad was hostile controlling and difficult to work with.

Speaker: And that because of those reasons, she rescinded the reward. Javier_Leiva: And what is, what is the, what is the implication there? What kind of messages she tried to send 10 years later?

Julie: well, that's a good question. I don't know why all of a sudden, um, that happened. Um, but in. In the email that she provided her friend, it's very different than the actual original email. So on the email that she provided her friend as evidence that my dad was controlling, it includes a line at the bottom and it says,

Speaker: Javier_Leiva: It says for it all calls to me immediately before you listen to them.

Julie: Yes. Now, I have all my Aunt Helena's and all my dad's emails and I don't have a record of my dad sending an email and what's also curious about this is if you look at the email that she provided, it's actually from her to my dad. So, She's using this email from herself to my dad and this extra line at the bottom to imply that the, these are the reasons why the Murray family is suspicious and controlling, and she no longer wants to work with my family.

Speaker: And so I've tried to understand where this email came from. I even LaDonna, um, and asked her, Do you have that email? I don't have that. Here's the original. Um, and it, they look different. And there's a few little key pieces of the email that she provided her friend that are very different. I mean, the, the, the time is different on her email. It says 4 28 AM on the original email. It says 1 14 AM. Um, there's the letter, the letters at. AT that are on the email. She provided that are not on the original email. So there's a bunch of little curious things. Javier_Leiva: Yeah. And I took a look at the email myself and I'm not, I'm not any, you know, digital forensic expert, but, you know, the F's in the from, in the header, they're, they're slightly different sizes. Like you pointed out, the ampersand, which is that little at sign. It's in one on the top of the email, but not at the bottom. It's spelled out. Uh, there's also like strange artifacts, and I don't know if that's because it's been screen captured, but it almost looks like there was information that had been deleted. And why would Fred Murray email himself, you know? There was a lot. I mean, there was a lot there that initially it looks like a real email, but then when you start picking it apart and and you've showed me the original email, right? And that message was not there.

Julie: No. So the significance of this is that this was weaponized against my family and it was referenced and reposted and republished. Many times as evidence that my family is, um, suspicious. And so obviously I want to know why I don't understand why I don't understand why, you Um, I wasn't able to, to get an explanation.

Speaker: I sent LaDonna an email. I provided that to you. And of course I didn't get any response. So as I sit here today, I'm still, I just want an explanation. I just want to know where did this come from? And if I could see that, then I could, you know, maybe make it make sense. But. Right now, it doesn't make any sense. Javier_Leiva: Yeah, it's it's crazy because what motivates someone 10 years later. To make these kinds of accusations against a family that's gone through so much, like what, what is there for her to gain from this?

Julie: Yeah, I'd love to know.

Speaker: That true crime author and blogger that true crime that true crime that true crime author and blogger took the post down. But I want to read to you what LaDonna said in that blog post. Fred, Maura's dad, was difficult, often hostile, very controlling. I did everything he told me to do, and that was the extent of the relationship. I did everything he told me to do, and that was the extent of the relationship. He would only talk to me when he felt like it and if he felt like it. I found him to be difficult and at times I was helping dozens of other families like this. It was strange. I never felt like I was getting the full story. They were all secretive. it frustrates me because I did a lot of interviews for them back then about the reward in Maura's case. I backed out of the case slowly and have never spoken to anyone again about this until I emailed you. LaDonna ended her statement by saying, I ended up pulling the reward about three months later. I was trying, I wasn't trying to be ugly to the family, but there were just too many demands put upon our organization by the Morey family.