The Midwest Crime Files
The Midwest Crime Files
Jade's Story
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This is the story of Jade Marie Beasley, an eleven-year-old girl from Marion, Illinois who was tragically murdered by her father's girlfriend. Her mother, Jessica, is a close personal friend of your host, Gina, and tells the story of how she lost her beautiful baby girl in this very special episode.
*I do not pretend to be unbiased in this episode*
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Welcome to a very special episode of the Midwest Crime Files. Here we tell the stories of small towns and heinous crimes. Today I'm gonna tell you a story of a crime so close and personal to me that I cannot pretend to be unbiased in the least. In fact, I won't be doing much of the storytelling. Today I am blessed to be joined by my dear friend Jessica Bradley, and she is going to tell her story today. A story that has touched not only my life, but obviously her life as it is her story to tell, the tragic death of her 11-year-old daughter Jade. Please welcome Jessica to the show. Say hi, Jessica. Hello. Um, so before we get started into the tragic details of what happened to your daughter, please tell us a little bit about Jade as a baby and a child.
SPEAKER_00Uh she was great. She was spunky and funny. Um, she was a really good baby. Um, she was really, really smart, um, gave us a run for our money for sure. Um and she just had a lot of joy and just enjoyed being around people and animals and her friends, um, going to church and um when she started school, she enjoyed going to school. Um, she just really enjoyed just being.
SPEAKER_02Do you remember how what it felt like when you found out you were pregnant with Jade? I was ecstatic.
SPEAKER_00I was ecstatic. We had been uh we had been trying for almost two years, and um, I was actually just about to go seek out like fertility help because I thought something might be wrong. Um, and literally the month right before I was like, okay, I'll give it two years, and it was literally one year and 11 months, and then I found out I was pregnant with her.
SPEAKER_02Oh wow, yeah, yeah. She was kind of like your miracle.
SPEAKER_00Oh, right. Oh, yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's amazing. That's amazing. At the time you were married to Michael, right? Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then there she was. How was her birth?
SPEAKER_00Um, it was long. Um, and I like I we were looking at those pictures earlier, and I just think like, oh my gosh, I look like a raccoon because I was just like all the colors out of my face. It was just so young. Well, yeah, I was just a baby. Um, it was like I had to be induced, and it was, and I still remember like the time and everything because it was we went in at like 5 a.m. and then she was born at 7 44 p.m. So it was 13 hours and 44 minutes, and it was Potosin and all of those things, and it was just really she didn't make it easy. She did not make it easy. She was a little chunky, she was like nine pounds and two ounces. Um, but she once she came out, I mean, it's always that thing, like whenever you have children, it's like terrible, and then as soon as they're born, you're like, what just happened? Oh, this is fantastic, you know. God makes it all look for sure, for sure. And then you forget, you're like, I don't even remember what that was like, you know. But yeah, and she was her little face was so chunky and smushy, and she was just so cute. And so I was just like, okay, that was worth it, you know. But yeah, she was it was great.
SPEAKER_02We were just looking at her baby pictures, and and she was just so beautiful. She made her grand debut on August 3rd, correct? 2009. Yep. Um, and Jade was just a beautiful child, and unfortunately, it didn't work out with you and Michael.
SPEAKER_00No, no.
SPEAKER_02Um, and she had a blended family. Tell me a little bit about the blended family.
SPEAKER_00So when he and I split up, um, we tried to make it as amicable as possible for her. Um, and that was always that is one thing that I was always and still am proud of, um, that we were able to keep kind of our personal stuff out of mess getting messy with her. Um, because ultimately it was just we weren't working. And so when we split, it was everything we did was about her and what was going to be best for her, what would make her happy um and healthy and be a good environment, stable, you know, things like that. Um, so when we split, we agreed to do weeks at a time. Um, because we weren't good together, but that doesn't mean that we weren't good parents. We were very good parents to her, just not together. Um, and so she would get to spend a week with him, and then she would get to spend a week with me. Um, and she really, really enjoyed that because she knew that that week was all about her and whatever she wanted to do or whatever needed to be done for her. And then it worked out for us too as parents, because then on those weeks that they were with the other parent, we could take care of any personal stuff that we had to do or any appointments or whatever, so that we could devote that full week to whatever needed to be done for her, you know, spending time with her. So um it actually really worked out for her and she really enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_02That's great. That's and it sounds like it was unlike a lot of custody situations where there's a lot of negativity, yeah, yeah, and a lot of arguments over money and financial issues, and and you and Michael didn't have that problem.
SPEAKER_00No, no, it was what's mine is mine, what's yours is yours, and she's ours, and so we just do the best we can with her. You know, she was she was always the main focus.
SPEAKER_02That's great. Um, and then eventually other people came into Jade's life, um, loved ones uh from Michael's side and from your side. Yeah. And so tell me a little bit about that.
SPEAKER_00Um, so I had moved on and met someone, um, and they were really, really great with her. Um, and she she really enjoyed having she just loved family. So anyone extra that was in the mix was just like, oh, it's more family. So, and even for his side, um, he had a relationship um afterwards where there was um and I just won't mention her because privacy for her, but um, she had a couple of boys and um actually three, and she had never had a daughter, and they were together for a while. Um, and that was probably the best blended situation for Jade because she didn't have a daughter, and so Jade was the daughter she never had, and she treated her like a princess. Like she just she was so loving and warm towards her. Um, and just she would call me and say, Oh, you'll never believe what I found for her, or oh, her and I are gonna go and do this, we're leaving the boys at home, and like we're going. She would take her on like almost like little mommy and me outings with her, you know. And I thought it was great. I know a lot of women when the ex moves on, there's some animosity and things like that. And it wasn't like that with her because I could tell she was very genuine and she really cared about Jade and she wanted what was best for her, and in no way, shape, or form was trying to take over from me, just being an ad basically an extension or an addition to me, just a motherly figure in the home because there wasn't one.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00You know, um, and she was great, and Jade really, really loved her a lot. Um, unfortunately, they did not work out. Um, but still to this day I'm close with her um because she was such an important part and such a big impact on Jade. Right. Um, and so then a little while after that, um, and years are time frames are just you know, they all sort of tend to blend together after a while. Exactly. So he had met um he had met Julie, um, and she had a son from a previous relationship, and then um, and they were close he was close in age to Jade, so they were close together, um, about six months or so apart. Um and at first it was pretty quiet, just you know, respecting his privacy, like I don't need to know what's going on with you, you know, like that's your business, you're an adult. Um and then, you know, I've kind of figured out like between Jade and just seeing him out and about, you know, that there was someone else. And I said, Oh, Jade has has dad got a new girlfriend, and she was like, Yeah, her name's Julie, and she has a little boy, and we play, and I'm Oh, okay, great, great. And so it was always just kind of there wasn't very much said, you know, and they were just together and they were together for up until this happened, it was about seven years. So Jade had spent a big majority of her time growing up with her in her life.
SPEAKER_02And she had step siblings as well.
SPEAKER_00She did, yeah. She had um she ended up all in total, but she had three. Um of course the last one came after she had already passed. Um, but she had two half-sisters um while she was alive, and then now this half-brother that she never got to meet. So, um but she she's a good big sister, and she would be would have been the oldest out of all of them. Right. Um, because her son was about six months younger than her, so she was the big sister to everybody, but she really enjoyed being a big sister.
SPEAKER_02Um what was it like the first time that you met Julie?
SPEAKER_00Honestly, it was very I won't say it was weird, like I won't pretend that like oh she was like a weirdo or anything like that. She was just very quiet, just very to herself kind of, not really interested in like conversation. And I honestly don't even remember when the first time was. I may have been taking her back over to the house like for drop off. Um, and she just happened to answer the door. Gotcha. Um and not really super great at eye contact, which like I know I'm a lot. I'm I'm overbearing. And sometimes, if you know me, like I'm very much like, hi, you know, whatever. You're very outgoing. Yeah, yeah. And so, and I but I recognize and appreciate that not everyone is. So at the time I just thought, oh, she's just shy, kind of, you know, introverted, like, no big deal, whatever. And really, like, I don't care what your personality type is, as long as you're good to my kid. You know what I mean? Like, so to me, it was just like, oh, he got him a quiet one this time. Like, you know, just kind of like whatever.
SPEAKER_02She didn't definitely didn't give you any warm and fuzzies.
SPEAKER_00Not no. She was pretty, she was pretty standoff-ish, almost like I don't want to say that there was anything about me that made her uncomfortable, but just the fact that she was having to interact with me made her kind of like, it was almost like a hurry up type thing, you know, like she just wanted to get it over with. And I was just like, hmm, you know, okay, whatever, you know. Again, if you're shy, I understand how painstaking it can be to have to talk to someone, you know. So I didn't try to be any certain type of way, just hey, thanks, okay, you know, and then to Jade, you know, bye Jade, love you, see you next time, you know, and okay, bye, mom. And then she shut the door, but she she smiled and she said bye, and it was just like, okay, whatever, you know. So I didn't really think much of it.
SPEAKER_02Did Jade ever express any concerns about Julie or any like dislike of Julie?
SPEAKER_00So the thing with Jade is that she was very much an autonomous child. As long as you weren't bothering her, she could care less. She it's it's hard to explain, even now. It's like she knew who in her family was very lovey-dovey with her and snuggle and like love on her, and then who who wasn't, who was more just kind of I don't want to say standoffish or cold because that wasn't it, but just like, oh hey kiddo, you know, like not really like oh, you know, bare hooked. Yeah, yeah, for what it was. Right. And so um the the only time that it ever made me concerned is she had extremely long hair, extremely long hair. Um, and it was very thick, almost like a horse's mane. Like it was very thick and long. Um, and her hair, you had to take care of it. Um and her dad's always been one of those, like, oh my god, I don't know how to do, you know, like most guys are like, I don't know how to do girls' hair. Yeah, you know, and I would be like, just brush it. Like just I don't know what. Like, just brush it. I don't make sure it's not in like a rat's nest at the nape of her neck, like just I don't know, conditioner, like you know, not that big of a deal. Yeah, and so like even his mom was like, Michael, you just kind of brush her hair, you know, just kind of like trying to get whatever, you know. But I thought, oh great, now there's a woman in the house, and she had longer hair, and her hair's curly, and she's she's ethnic, she's mixed. So if anything, if she can take care of her hair, which has to be taken care of in a specific way because she did have ethnic hair and it was curly, surely she could with Jade's hair, right? Right. Um that that didn't happen. So every other Monday when Jade would come home, we would spend about the first 30 to 45 minutes after I got her in the shower brushing out this giant rat's nest at the nape of her neck because they would not make her brush her hair and she would go to school like this. Like the teachers could tell whose week it was based on what her hair looked like.
SPEAKER_02Oh, jeez. They could tell. So she really wasn't putting in much effort as far as Jade was concerned.
SPEAKER_00Not really. Um, but again, like I said, Jade's very autonomous. She I I think just I think God honestly made her that way for a reason because she did know how to take care of herself as far as like dressing and things like that, but her hair was a little more than she could manage. And I had asked her on multiple occasions if she wanted it cut, and she always said no. And so I respected that. And I said, Well, then we just have to try to make sure. I even sent pictures of the shampoo and conditioner that we used at home that worked really well for her hair to him and said, Hey, if you guys try this, this is what helps. And he's okay. Whether or not that ever happened, I don't know. You know, I'm not there, that's their life, and I have mine, and I'm just trying to make sure her hair isn't, you know, in a rat's nest by the time I pick her up.
SPEAKER_02Exactly.
SPEAKER_00You know. Um, so that that was frustrating. Um, and then once they had the two girls that they had, I thought, oh, maybe her like motherly instinct, because I get it, she was a boy mom before. So it makes perfect sense why maybe she wouldn't, maybe she knew how to do her hair, wasn't really familiar with do like doing hair on someone else.
SPEAKER_02Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00Kind of like how you may be able to French braid other people's, but you can't do your own, or vice versa. Right. Maybe that's it. You know, trying to come up with like making excuses basically for the lack of, you know, but she didn't come home with weird bruises. She never said anything about being like mistreated or abused or anything. So it wasn't like, how far am I gonna push this issue about the hair? You know what I mean? So I tried to just be civil, let it go, you know, but it was really incredibly frustrating. So then after they had the two girls, I thought, okay, well, now she has girls of her own. Maybe that will help trigger some sort of something. No. Nope. And I just so then after that I just accepted the fact that she either didn't know how to do it or didn't want to. And whatever, you're just you're not her mom. And it appears that you don't even want to act like her stepmom. So as long as you're as long as you take care of her, you know, make sure she's safe. Whatever. You know, because at the time when Jade was 11, you know, it the and I don't know that I, you know, it's one of those things I don't know what Jade would have chosen to do, but in my mind, I was almost just kind of like biding my time, like, okay, when she's 12 or 13, maybe we can go back to court and she could decide where she wants to live full time. And in that, even if she, you know, say she chose me, still the offer would be there for her to go to her dad's anytime she wanted to, because my intention was never to keep her from him.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00Because like I said, he was a good dad to her. Um but with the added pressures of the two little girls, um his there just wasn't he was spread thin, you know what I mean? Trying to be, you know, everywhere at once. So my thought was, well, if I could get majority custody of her, not to hurt him, but just to make it easier. And then, and I never even said anything about this to him because it was just a thought in my head that I had had like if she could be with me the majority of the time, and then I could just drop her off over there whenever she wanted, then it would be better on her because then I could make sure that as she got older and hit puberty and things were happening with her body, it was probably better for her to be with me.
SPEAKER_02So there was something in the back of your head thinking that she wasn't getting everything she needed there. Right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02There was some instinct in your head thinking clearly.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Just because I know how motherly I am and how that instinct in me is so strong. It's it's always been difficult for me to see it not be like that in other people. Right. So it I don't want to say it was like a red flag, but it was definitely like a oh, that's kind of odd.
SPEAKER_02Well, there's some things that men don't really provide well. Correct. Correct. And so, you know, I I I get what you're saying for sure. Yeah. Um, were there any conflicts between her and Julie that you were aware of? Like like actual arguments between them? No.
SPEAKER_00No arguments ever. No, I mean, if Jade the thing about Jade is she hardly ever got in trouble. Like I couldn't even when when Michael and I sat down with the pastor of our church at the time, um, because her funeral her were uh visitation and funeral was held in the church um that she attended, we attended. Um he had asked us about like, you know, was she ever basically like trying to get an idea of her and something about the last time she got in trouble or how did she act or whatever. And I said, honestly, I can't even tell you the last time that she legitimately got in trouble. Cause she just wasn't that kid. Like she just didn't she would back talk a little bit, but all I had to do was be like, All right, seriously, just give her a look or like change my tone of voice, and she'd be like, sorry, mom. Right. Just kidding. Like, it's fine, you know. But she was never like in my face, like yelling or doing anything like that. Um She was a picky eater, had been since she was little. So there were definitely things that like I know that she had said that there would be something made for dinner and she didn't like it. And I the only thing that I can remember her ever saying is I would say, Well, what did you have? What'd you have for dinner last night? Like when I would go pick her up or whatever. And she would say, Ugh, well, Dad and Julie made this, and they know I don't like it, but they made it anyway. And I was like, Well, what did you have? And she's like, I just had a bowl of cereal.
SPEAKER_01Gotcha.
SPEAKER_00But it's like, so then my thought goes to you know, and I'm not one of these parents that's like, oh, little Johnny likes this and Timmy wants this, and so we make three different suppers for everybody. No, like I was raised in the I made it, you're gonna eat it. But but and I believe that, but if the child legitimately does not like a certain food, I'm not gonna make them eat it. And like so, like chicken and rice. She hates rice, hated rice. So why don't you just save that meal for literally the next night because she's not gonna be there? Why are you actively making something that you know she's not gonna eat and sit at the table with the family? She's just gonna get a bowl of cereal and go back to her room.
SPEAKER_02You think maybe she resented Jade?
SPEAKER_00I think she did. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02How was Jade's relationship with her father?
SPEAKER_00Uh, she was daddy's little girl. For sure. Wrapped around his finger. Oh yeah. And the more time that's gone by and the more clarity that I've had, you know, as I'm able to compartmentalize things in my brain and kind of separate emotion from fact and things like that, that's 100% what I think is that the number one spot in Michael's life was Jade. And he was very vocal about that. And so even being the girlfriend or the civil partner or whatever, because they were together for like seven years, I think in Illinois, it's like seven years to be a civil union or whatever. You just, you know, it's official, whatever.
SPEAKER_02Right, without a marriage certificate, but still longtime partner.
SPEAKER_00Right. But to just like I feel like that had to eat at her, just knowing that even though they had been together for so long, at no point in their life then nor in the future was she ever going to hold that number one place because that belonged to Jade, and he made that very clear to her.
SPEAKER_02So it's interesting. He also married Jade's mother, but he didn't marry her. Very interesting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, what do you remember telling Jade about what she should do if she was ever in a dangerous situation?
SPEAKER_00So uh this is about six months before. So this would have been like June or July um of twenty twenty. There had been in our in our local area um down in southern Illinois, there had been a pretty big uptick in um sex trafficking, um, child trafficking, um, kidnapping and things like that. It had kind of it was like there was like a cell that was moving around and you know, things like that. And there were like reports of, you know, strange people or you know, people going missing things like that. Um and she, I guess, had either seen something on the news about it or had heard something about it at school. And she said, We're in the car one day, and she said, Hey mom, what's uh what's sex trafficking? And I was just like, What?
SPEAKER_02Not really ready to talk to an 11-year-old about that.
SPEAKER_00Not yeah, that was not on my bingo card for that that year, you know what I mean? I was just like, What? And I said, Where did you hear that? And she didn't remember, she's like, I don't know if it was at school or on the news. Like, she was just, you know. And I said, Okay. And so I explained to her as best you do an 11-year-old. And the thing about Jade is she was very mature for her age, very forward in her thinking. She wasn't like the average 11-year-old that she should have been that was just like, you know, Lati Da in the clouds, and just, you know, she was very much like an old soul. Like she knew things that she and could understand things that most 11-year-olds were just like, what? You know, right. So I was just like, I was like, you know, there's some really bad people, and just tried to keep it as like even keel as possible to not one, to not freak her out. Because like I don't want her to be afraid to like ever go outside again or be in public. Like I don't need her, you know, having that. But at the same time, you need to be aware of your surroundings, you know, when you're in a store with grandma or dad or me, if you notice someone is like in every section that we go to and they're looking at you like you need to tell somebody because we need to be watching out, you know, watch our backs type thing. She was like, Okay. And then she was like, What uh what if they ever got me? Like what you know, and I was like, okay. I was like, listen, I'm gonna tell you this, and this goes for anytime, not just what we're talking about right now, this is for anytime, anywhere, anything, anyone. I was like, if you ever are around someone who is trying to hurt you, who's trying to take you somewhere you know you're not supposed to be, or take you away from someone, or even I said, even if it's family or someone you know, if they are trying to do something to you that you know is not right, I was like, you have permission to kick, scream, claw, bite, scratch, do whatever you have to do to get away from them. And then she said, and this is where I say she's so forward in her thinking, she said, Well, what if I don't get away? And I said, and I thought, what a serious thought for an 11-year-old to contemplate, like what happens if I can't.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00And so I said, Okay, then you either need to make sure that you leave some of yourself on them or you take some of them with you, like under your nails, or by biting them, or doing something that lets the people who would handle it afterwards, like a detective or you know, someone that they could figure out that it was you and that they would be able to you would be your own clue, basically. And she was like, Okay, okay. And so like that that was such a which now, you know, uh things God has made things revealed things to me later on. I know that was a preparation moment. At the time, I thought, what a wild thing to just talk about out of the blue. Right. That was so weird because it literally we had that deep conversation.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00Like a f like literally of like a sixth grader. Probably 10, actually, at the time. Actually, yeah, she would have been 10 because yeah, you're right. Yeah, she did turn 11 in August. Yeah. So yeah, a 10-year-old in in and actually it was in the summer, she's just she hadn't even started sixth grade yet. So a 10-year-old fifth grader, you know, about to be in sixth grade, like junior high. Wow. And it was just like out of the blue, which now that I look back, I'm like, it makes sense. I'm like, okay, that was that was meant to happen. But at the time it was just so bewildering to me. Because then we just went on like whatever, the rest of the day was just like a normal day. But that definitely stuck with me. It definitely stuck with me, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I have shared that wisdom with my child as well since this has happened, just because I've known that part of your story and it's stuck with me so much.
SPEAKER_00Lots of lots of my friends and family have done the same thing.
SPEAKER_02And it's just yeah, that that's the part that just has stuck with me so much. I'm gonna be getting to some hard questions. Can you tell me uh about your last memory with Jade?
SPEAKER_00Um so her sister, my youngest daughter, um was going to have her second birthday party the next day on that Saturday. Um and I guess Jade was notorious for like forgetting things. She's very forgetful. Um getting her to answer her phone was ridiculous. Like they got her dad got her a phone. Um, but sometimes I would call her and she wouldn't answer and be like, I'd finally get a hold of her, be like, what were you doing? And she's like, Oh, I was playing a game. Or oh, I was I was doing my homework or oh, I was doing this. Oh, well, why do you have a phone for? I don't know, mom. I just you know, so it was just like if you know, she so the fact that she was like forgetful, like she would forget certain things at my house. So then that night her um her grandma, his mom, actually brought her by and she just like busted through the front door like a whirlwind, and I was like, what are you doing here? And she's like, I forgot my and I'll be honest, I don't even know what she forgot because she said it so fast as she like blew past me into her room. And um, which side side note, that was something that just hit me. There was a and I don't know where it was because I've read lots of different just because I don't comment on anything doesn't really mean that I haven't read a lot of information. That was something that was like a rumor that she didn't have a room at my house, that she had um she slept on the couch and that she only had a room at her dad's house, which was hilarious to me because she she had her own room that was like decked out head to toe with everything that she wanted. But she did sleep on the couch because she liked to like camp out in the living room. So that was always something that I found funny, but never felt like I needed to clarify um like typing it back. Like I'm not like a I'm not like a keyboard warrior, you know what I mean? Right, but just but since you said that I was like now you get your platform.
SPEAKER_02So this is your chance, baby. You say any you you can dispel any of those rumors you can do.
SPEAKER_00But I was like, no, she 100% had her own room full of all of her crap. Like she had it took us months to go through all of her stuff because I wanted to do it slowly and make sure that I didn't pass over anything that was sentimental or important or you know, just something that whatever. And so yeah, she she 100% had her own place. Um, and it was like her little sanctuary. She lived in there, you could hardly ever get her to come out so and until her sister was born, and then she was very much about like coming out and being with Sissy and playing with her and stuff like that. Um, but so she had ran through and ran into her bedroom um and grabbed whatever it was. And I to this day I still have no idea. Like I see it in her hand, but I can't tell you what it is. And she starts to leave and I said, What do you what are you doing? Like, do I not get a hug or any like love you, bye, nothing? And she was like, Oh, I'm sorry, mom. And she came over, gave me a big hug and a kiss, and I said, Okay, I love you. And she's like, Love you too, see you tomorrow. And I said, Okay, I'll be there at about one to get you. And she was like, Okay, and just like ran out the door, and you know, just as fast as she had come in, she was gone. Um, and so then that I guess that night she had ended up going to her dad's because she had missed him. He'd been working a lot of hours lately, and she hadn't so whenever um he would work a lot. Julie worked from home. Um, she worked for Hyatt Regency basically where they're on like um making reservations and stuff for people online. Gotcha. So, but even though she worked from home, like I think people get working from home jobs misconstrued. They're like, oh, you can just have your kids and do all this. Well, no, you still have a job to do and you still have to be on the phone. So your your environment needs to be quiet. So people who work from home oftentimes still need daycare because they have to have a quiet workspace to get their job done.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00You have to be on the phone and a lot and be able to computer and yeah, exactly. So a lot of times if she was working a lot and he had worked, like if it was one of his where he would just work day after day, boom, boom, boom, a lot of times the kids would stay with his mom, which they loved going to grandma's. They love Sheila. Sheila's one best grandmas, like she takes all the kids, loads them in the car, and they just go off and do whatever. So, and I never worried about her being over there with Sheila because her and Greg were great people, and like they just they took so much, you know, care of her and all the other kids. Like every kid was their kid, like it didn't matter half, not even, you know, whatever the close with each other. Oh yes, yeah. Um, so I never worried about her being over there, you know, because I never was given a reason to. Um, and so she had been over there for a couple of days with Sheila and both of the little girls. Um, and I guess that her son had been with his dad on like a weekend visitation type situation. Um, but Jade had started missing her dad. And so he had to work one more shift that Saturday, but then he was off like Sunday and maybe a couple days into the week or something. So what she wanted to do was go over there that night, and then she would just hang out. She knew she was coming to the birthday party, um, and she was just gonna hang out with him, and then she would see him and then just kind of like bum around the house until it was time for me to come get her, and then I was gonna take her back that night, and then they were gonna hang out and then you know have the whole next day together. So um that was the plan anyway. Um so she she had that was why she had come over, was because on the way she had said, Oh no, I forgot whatever it was at mom's. And so that's why Sheila had swung her by on her way out to the to her dad's. Gotcha.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, gotcha. So she just wanted to see her dad. Yeah. Um tell me about the morning of December 5th, 2020.
SPEAKER_00So um the day before December 4th, is um her youngest sister's birthday. Um, and so since it was on a Friday, we decided to just do a Saturday afternoon family thing. Um, so I had gotten up, um, finished her cake and was getting everything together, and it was just gonna be like a family, like a small family get-together thing. Um and I I had tried to call or tried to text her, I guess, and said, Hey, are you up? Um, because she liked to sleep in, you know, which who doesn't? Um, and I didn't get an answer, which, like I said, she was terrible at answering her phone. Um, so I didn't think anything of it at first. And so as I got ready to leave, I text her again. I was like, Hey, I'm leaving the house to come get you. Are you ready? And I still didn't hear anything from her, so I tried to call her and she didn't answer. And I had checked Life 360 because I had her on there and it showed her at the house, and so I was like, okay, maybe she's just walked away from her phone again, lost track of time, whatever. So I had to stop by the post office first. And so I had um stopped by there and I just I had tried to call her again, and nothing had like she didn't answer, and I thought, okay, why this girl, why even have a phone, you know? So I had text her dad and say, I said, Hey, have you heard out of Jade today? And he messaged back and said, No. Why? And I said, So then I just he just called me because I guess he was in the middle of work, so it was easier for him to just step out and call than to try to answer. And I said, Well, I tried to call her a couple times. I've texted her, I was like, you know how she is with her phone? He was like, Yeah. And I said, But I can't get a hold of her, and I was like, Can you maybe like call Julie and see if, you know, like what's going on? And he was like, Yeah, give me a couple minutes, I'll do it right now. Because I was like, I'm literally heading out there. Like I need to be able to pick her up and leave. And he was like, right, right, right. He's like, let me, yeah, let me call her real quick and I'll let you know. I was like, okay. So I get back in the car and I'm going back down the road and I get a message from him, and he's like, She didn't answer me either, so I don't know what's going on. And I was like, Okay. And he's like, uh, I'm gonna be off at like 1 30. So even if something's up, like she overslept or whatever, he's like, I can always run her out there so you don't have to be late or you know, whatever. And I was like, okay. So I said, Well, I'm just gonna head out there and just knock on the door. And he said, Yeah, go ahead. I'll, you know, maybe knock on her window, maybe she's asleep. And I said, Yeah. So I head out there and they lived out um where they lived was kind of like out of town, kind of east out of town. Um, and there were some like older ball fields um that are out there, and so when you turn left onto onto Songbird, um there's like these little baseball fields, little like um like kid, like T-ball softball type things on your left and your right, and then you go down and there's a couple of houses, um, and then there's their house. Well, there's in the road, there's like a bit of a hill, but it's not not a lot, but just enough that it kind of obstructs your view until you're right up on that hill. Um, and so as I came around the corner and kind of up that incline, I could see like a fire truck, or maybe it was two ambulances. It's been now it I used to have it in my brain clear as day because I had to have it for trial. But now, since I've been able to go through therapy, I've been able to let some of that stuff go because I was holding on to it like to sear it into my brain so that I could recall factual information because it took forever to get the trial going.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00So I had to have it like locked in.
SPEAKER_02But now But you saw the lights.
SPEAKER_00Yes. So um there were there were lights there, and at first I thought it was at the neighbor's house, and I just I remember thinking, oh my gosh, like I hope they're okay. And then as I got closer, I realized, well, it's just not like a couple of ambulances, it's like a couple of ambulances and like several cop cars, and they're at their house. And I immediately like had that like heart drop into your stomach thing, and just like hot flash, just like what is going on? Because like this seems excessive for what like what could possibly be happening. So I pull over and I start to head up, and there's a there's a guy standing up there, um, and he's one of the he's with the sheriff's office, um, but he was kind of standing back in the yard because their yard, the house was set in kind of deep. So um, as I'm advancing up the yard, he turns, I said, Hey, excuse me. And he turns around and he kind of puts his arms out like to stop me. And I said, My daughter is in there, what is what is happening? And he was like, Well, I'm not really sure. Um, but he said, I think somebody has been cut, and I was like, Cut, and my brain instantly was just like, that doesn't warrant all of these people being out here, like that doesn't make sense, right? But I thought, well, I don't know, and it was such a like rush of adrenaline, and I was just trying to be calm because like obviously me starting to freak out is not gonna do anyone any good. You know, so I was just like, okay. And he said, I need you to stay back for a little bit. And I said, okay. So then I'm like watching. And I'm I immediately call um my parents. And I'm like, what? I was like, there's something going on. I don't know what the deal is. And they were like, do you want us to come out? And I was like, no, no, no, no. I don't know what's happening yet. But the more people that are here, that's not gonna help. I was like, just I'll let you know what's going on. And they were my dad was like, okay. And so I remember my brain just kind of shifting into it almost reminds me of like, if you've ever seen like the movie Terminator, where like they show you the point of view from inside his helmet, and like all the information is like bleeping across the screen. That's what it felt like in my brain. Like I was counting like how many cup cars, how many officers, where they were standing, what did their faces look like, trying to like read, like I just it was like I became like a computer, like trying to document like everything that was going on. And I think that was just my brain's way of like trying to take what little control in the situation that I could, because obviously I was just told to stand there, and I'm like my kids in there, I don't know what's happening. So I'm just like, well, maybe I need to pay attention to what's going on out here, right? And so as I'm like scanning the yard, I um I looked over and I could see Julie sitting sitting on the um porch, and she's like crisscross, sitting down, and she's got like a blanket or like a shawl or something like over her shoulders, and I start like walking up, and at this point, like there's cop cars that are like pulled in between me and the porch, so like I can't get up there. And one of the female detectives um was coming out and asking her questions, so I'm trying to see, like I'm trying to pay attention to like looking in the house, like trying to see what I can try to visualize. And at one point, she is just sitting there with her head down and she's just kind of like rocking, like real short little rocks back and forth. And I said, I was like, Julie. And she when she turned, there was nothing on her face, like no emotion, she's just staring straight ahead. But when she turned to look at me, it was so it was very weird because she just immediately looked like she was like sobbing and I was like, what is happening? Well then the detective stopped her from like turned her towards like trying to, you know, keep her from saying anything to me. But she as soon as she turned back around, that like crying emotional face was just gone. And so I was like, I that to me, now that I have had all these years to process, I think that was whenever I first initially became suspicious, is because I had always thought that she had a really strange lack of emotion. Um and again, I get everybody has different personality types and different things like that, but that always just seemed off. And so when that happened, I just thought, why would she look at me like that? And then immediately just have nothing on her face as she turns back around. I was like, that's weird. And so I just kind of like tucked that away for later. Um, and I at this point I'm still trying, still trying to figure out like where is Jade? What is happening? Why is Julie outside? Like, are they in there working on her? Like, did she and I'm still stuck on the fact that the guy said cut.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00So I'm thinking, because that was something too that her Julie's mother had got hung up on for a while was well, they tried to say that she had been cut. That was just a slice of information that I had gotten whenever I first got there because that particular law enforcement official didn't even know what was going on in that house.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00Um, he had no clue yet. And so he knew that there was blood and he knew that they had taken the stretcher in. He had no idea what had gone on, but he used context clues. Okay, if there's blood and there's an and there's a stretcher going in with the EMTs, somebody skin is open somewhere. Someone's bleeding. Like nobody is automatically gonna think, oh, there's a child in there that's been stabbed to death. They're gonna think the kid like got into something or cut herself or whatever, and they're trying to, you know, maybe she made a mess because she was trying to clean it up or trying to stop, you know, if she cut herself in a really capillated area or something. Like he didn't know. So that whole thing was one of those little like, oh, I'm just gonna say this to kind of like stir the pot situation. But it was just really he didn't have enough facts to say anything.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00Um, so at one point I'm standing there and I'm talking, I had called my dad again and said, I still don't know what's going on. Um, but I remember at one point they had taken Julie from the porch and they had put her in a one of the units, and they had left, like they left the scene with her. And after they did that is when they wheeled Jade out on the stretcher. Now, at the time, I still have no idea what's going on, but I know and I never got this fully um confirmed, so this is just a I think. They left her face uncovered, um, and I think it was because they didn't want anyone preemptively to know that she was gone. Um because when they wheeled her out, I could see her face, and I could see her right arm was kind of like hanging off the the gurney. But I could see how pale and how yellow her skin was. And so I was just I remember and I c whoever I was on the phone with at the time, I just remember saying, Oh my gosh, there she is. She doesn't look good, she doesn't look good. I can't see anything, but she doesn't look good, her color is really bad. And so whoever it was we got off the phone, um, dad or mom or again, some of the details are fuzzy now. Um, but they put her in the back of the ambulance, and I could see the ambulance like kind of like rocking and moving. And so I was like, okay, maybe they'll be able to get her in there because she was covered with the sheet all the way up to her neck. It was just her head and her one arm that was out. Um, so they were it was moving around, moving around, and I just remember just I was praying, but I was also like talking to her, and I was like, you've got to just fight. You've got to, you're gonna be okay. You just gotta be strong, you gotta, you know, I was like, please God, don't, you know. And I'm standing there, and they have the lights, like whenever an ambulance pulls up, they leave the lights going, you know. And I remember at one point it felt it felt like forever, but I know it was only a few minutes that I had been standing there just like eyes, like if my eyes could have burned a hole in that ambulance, they would have because I was just staring at the ambulance, just like praying and like willing her to live type thing. Um, because again, I didn't know what her injuries were, what had happened, but I remember and and around that time is when her dad got there, and he was like, What is happening? And I was like, I don't know. I was like, Julie was on the porch, she didn't say anything, but she was like rocking back and forth, and like the detectives were talking to her, they she's already gone, like they took her in a cop car away. And I was like, they brought Jade out on a gurney, but like she looked really bad, she was like really, really pale, and they've got her in the ambulance now, like they're working on her, but like I don't know anything. And he was like, Well, somebody's gotta know something, and I was like, just relax, because I don't even know that they know. Like, us getting all wild is not gonna help anything, so let's just I was like, you know, and so I guess his dad had at some point gotten there, and also his sister had got there, and so his sister was kind of like standing by me, and then him and his dad were back just a little ways. Um, and then I had noticed at one point they turned the ambulance lights off. And I'd been in healthcare long enough, and I had seen enough crime shows and done enough things, I knew what it meant. But I didn't tell him and I didn't tell her, I didn't say anything because I thought I don't because I don't that's all of the information I had. Like I have nothing else to go on. Um so at that point the two who would be the two main detectives eventually came up with some I feel like there was another officer that was I feel like there were three people that were standing there, but I knew I know that Carl and Cindy were the two main ones that were there. Um and so at this point we're all standing together, and that's when they told us that she was gone. Um that was such a weird it's so hard to explain. Like I knew it because of the lights, but to hear them say it was just like a gut punch because it was like the confirmation. But again, still had no idea what had happened, what her injuries were, like, you know. So he said, I want you guys to go down to the station and we'll talk and we'll try to figure this all out because he's like, We we've got a lot to figure out. And I was like, Okay, you know, so we left um and went in. We rode with one of the officers um down to the station, and since Michael was in a relationship with her and lived in the home, they interviewed him first. So I s I sat in this little conference room for like almost two hours, which not saying anything negative, but just to be like, 'cause they had to keep me somewhere, right? But just to be in that room and know that she's gone, know how bad she looked when they brought her out, how many cop cars were there, how many ambulances were there, the fact that they took her away, like just and still not knowing how she died, like what happened, just that she's gone. And it was just the that was one of the hardest parts, was just the unknown, because I couldn't begin to process anything because I didn't have any information to process.
SPEAKER_02I don't know how you would have gotten through that without any answers. I think that would would be the hardest part. It was it was not having any answers whatsoever.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. It was really difficult. Um so they finally came um and got me. And I've seen course now it's I know that it's on YouTube, my interview, his interview, and the first part of hers is all on YouTube, and I've watched all of it. Um but I w when I watch mine, and I had watched it prior, um, because after the case was closed, I had sat down with our prosecutor, um, and she had had me watch some because I asked her to let me see a lot of the case files, um, just for my own ability to have closure for everything. Yeah. Um, and so I had, and I had even watched it prior um when we were getting ready for the case because she wanted to know if there was anything that was different now than the information that I had provided, like if I had remembered anything more um for like the questions she was gonna ask during you know her prosecution part. Um, and it there wasn't, it was all the same. But I remember watching myself um answer those questions, and I I remember thinking, because I've been like a true crime fan for forever. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02Like well and you find yourself on this side of it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but I think it was it was helpful because I have watched so many interviews and to be overly emotional, and I don't again, I'm not telling anyone how to deal or how to emote or anything like that, but if you can keep your thoughts about you to answer the questions that they're asking you in to the best of your ability and be as detailed as possible, even if you think that the details that you're giving them mean nothing, it could be a big break for them. Um and also to not get overly emotional because the more time they're having to stop because you're not able to control your emotions, the longer it's gonna take for them to solve it for you.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00Um and and again, you know, not that you couldn't not that I want someone to take from this like, oh, I need to be stone cold if anything ever happened. No. But just try to be present in that moment with them and answer what they need you to answer because it it helps, you're helping yourself.
SPEAKER_02So how I should say I can't imagine how you've how you felt when you found out Jade's ultimate cause of death. And for those who have are not familiar with the case, her ultimate cause of death was blood loss due to stabbing, and she was found in the bathtub of her father's home, and she was stabbed, I believe, a hundred and seven times.
SPEAKER_00There was so there were a hundred and seven wounds on on and about her body. Um, and that could be that includes the stabs, the scratches, the cuts, like the slices, the any any wound on her body from the attack and the chasing about the house and all the things, um, which we'll get to. Um, that was every single mark that the that the um oh gosh, what are they called? The autopsy. The medical examiner. Medical examiner. There we go. M E was in my head, but I couldn't pull the words.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00So um that was every mark on her on her physical body that was counted. There were 22 individual actual through and through stab wounds.
SPEAKER_02Jesus. Did they ever find a murder weapon?
SPEAKER_00No. No, they never did. Um, and that bugs me to this day that they couldn't find it. And and not that I blame them, just that where did it go? Like it's somewhere. It has to be somewhere.
SPEAKER_02I think she dumped it.
SPEAKER_00I right, but it's like for people who don't realize Southern Illinois is vast farmland and like wide open spaces, but there's also like little strip pits, and just it could be anywhere, honestly.
SPEAKER_02How did you find out that they were arresting Julia?
SPEAKER_00So after my initial um interview with the detective, um we came back the next day and Michael and I were interviewed together because they wanted to find out, they were basically trying to figure out what had what was Jade's norm, like what was her day-to-day? Is this normal for her? Would she have done this? Would this they were trying to, without, and that's why it took so long for me, for us to figure out what exactly had happened, because they were trying not to paint anything, fill anything in for us, so that our answers were as original and organic as possible. Um, so we were answering like all these questions, like what's normal for her, what's not normal for her. Um, and in that first interview, he had asked me, he said, so we are looking at this as a homicide. And he said, but I have to, because before he had admitted that it was, he said, so we basically they were trying to rule out, which they knew uh clearly from her autopsy, from her, from her wounds that they even saw. They knew it wasn't suicide, but they still have to ask to rule out, you know. So he was like, could you is there any place that you could just imagine that she would have done this to herself? And I was like, no. I was like, if I was like, I will say this, if, and that's a big if, if anything had happened that made her want to do that, it would have had to have been something that was so horrific and so severe that she didn't even feel like she could talk to me about it. And I was like, and she's she tells me everything. I was like, she would have called. She something she would have gotten a hold of someone because that was not in her wheelhouse of things to do. And he was like, so then he was like, okay.
SPEAKER_02The pattern of wounds doesn't make any sense either.
SPEAKER_00Correct, correct. But it was just one of those things that they had to know what I would say. Yeah. So I said, and he said, so okay. He said, I I can see that. And he said, now on the flip side, if it was something that had been done by someone, he was like, is there anybody that could have done it? And I said, I of course I want to say no. And I was like, but and I there's a pause in that video because I'm just trying to like wrap my head around like who how somebody could do that. And I said, If it if it if you're saying that it was done in the house, I said, just based off of just what I know, I'm gonna say it would have been Julie. Because that's the only person that was there with her. And I was like, and then I'm drawing in my mind, I'm drawing back to those couple of weird interactions, the interaction on the porch, the fact that they took her before they took anybody else, and I'm just like piecing it together, and I'm like, okay, something happened in that house. Like, I don't know what it is yet, but something bad happened. Um, and just knowing, just having the knowledge that I know, the fact that all of those things took place in the order that they took place it it made it clearer to me that she would be a suspect because if she wasn't, she would have been standing right there with us when they told us. So then I and then just all of the be her behavio 'cause I watched her on that porch for a while and I just it was just Odd. Just her behavior was just off.
SPEAKER_02Your motherly instincts told you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah. Honestly. Um, so when he said that, and then I was like, it would have to be her. I was like, I don't want to believe that, but I was like, I don't really have a choice. And so that's where that kind of ended there. Um, so then when we were there the next day and we're talking about different things, and he said, um so then Carl tells me that they've they found her in the shower. And I was like, okay, well, I was coming to get her, so you know, maybe. And he said something about did she take baths or showers? And I said she would take a bath occasionally, but she preferred showers. And he said, Okay. And I said, But I can tell you because I knew she was on her period, because she had started her period that's over that summer. And I said, But I can tell you, she's still on her cycle, and she would not have taken a bath then, she would have taken a shower because the thought of sitting in bathwater just gagged her. She was like, Oh, I can't do that, you know. I'm like, Yeah, no, don't take a shower, like it's fine. Um So I was like, So if she was in a position to look as if she had been taking a bath, she would not have been, I can tell you. And I said, I don't know what she was wearing, but she probably had like a liner on or something. And so I'm sure that they confirmed, you know, with whatever. Um so then I think that kind of helped them figure out that like she wasn't in there intentionally. She didn't put herself in there of her own accord. Um and I think that's when that's when we knew that there was that it had been, she had been stabbed, but they still at that point did not tell us the severity where, what they because it was like pertinent for them to keep every bit of information they could quiet. But they knew us as parents, we needed to know how. So then I'm just like how do you stab an 11-year-old? Like, who does that? Right. So that was a whole thing. Um and so then they had told us that they because I had already knew that she had been taken she had been taken to her mother's and was staying with her mom. Um because since it was an investigation of a child, she wasn't allowed to be around any of the other children pending her, you know, whatever. So she was with her mom. And I remember um that they were giving me like updates here and there over the couple of days. So we had pr planned her funeral um on December 11th. Um and that was the same day. So the church that we attended at the time was directly across the street um from the courthouse. So we like their parking lot, they allow it their parking lot to be shared by the city. So like Monday through Saturday or Monday through Friday, it's used by the courthouse, and then like on Sundays it's used by the church members. Um so the fact that her funeral was across the street from the courthouse and she was arraigned the same day.
SPEAKER_02Oh wow.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm. Um they had arrested her the night prior. And so once she was arrested, one of the detectives called and said, Hey, I just wanted to let you know that she's been taken into custody and she'll be arraigned tomorrow. And I said, Jade's funerals tomorrow. And she said, We know. She said, We're going to be we're gonna be watching because we didn't know. We knew there were gonna be so many people, family, friends, school, you know, everybody. But also there was that like the fact that it was so close we didn't want any disturbances. Right. You know, because that wouldn't have been fair to her. So they they did a really good job of making sure that we could grieve in peace and not have to worry about it was a beautiful ceremony.
SPEAKER_02It was, it really was. Her funeral services and they were beautiful. Yeah. They did their best to hide her wounds. I know some of them were still somewhat visible. Yeah. But they did their best. Yeah, they really looked beautiful.
SPEAKER_00She did.
SPEAKER_02And she um so did you finally get to know the extent of her wounds then once she was arrested?
SPEAKER_00So they in the process of all of it, we had to switch um uh prosecutors. We had to have a special prosecutor from Springfield come down, um, and that was because the um uh initial prosecutor was retiring and she was going to finish out the case, but her um counsel uh was also leaving because she was retiring, so he needed another job. Well, uh it ended up that he had been uh had accepted a position on the defense side um in the public defender's office. Gotcha. And so that was gonna be a conflict of interest. So they went and just got um a special prosecutor, um, Jennifer Mudge, which she's incredible. Um and th through her is how I found out. Um, because they had done the very first um when they did the arraignment um and they gave the charges and what had happened, she called me to let me know how many because she didn't want me to read it or see it on the news first. So she said, I just wanna let you know. I don't know if they had told you already or not, but this is what it was, so that you know.
SPEAKER_02Oh, your poor mama heart.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I can't imagine how what a dark place you must have been in.
SPEAKER_00It was rough, it was very rough. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Julia claims that there was a man in all black that ran from the house that day that she came home and there was an intruder in the house. That's her story. Um so this claim seems pretty implausible given the ev given the evidence, correct?
SPEAKER_00Correct, correct. Um so a couple of things. Um the description of the guy changed multiple times. Um, there were officers in the area as soon as this happened because of that report. They were combing the area. Um there were a couple people that were stopped just because they had darker clothing on. Um ring doorbell camera, like, you know, home security systems were pulled. Nobody was in the area. Um they had one of the best canines um in the tri-state area come and try to find a trail. There was nothing. Um, nothing leading up to or leading away from the house. Um, the other part of it is that when because her claim was she was leaving to go Christmas shopping in Carbondale. And um and up until they gave her the evidence to her face that they knew for a fact that she never even got past Hucks, she stuck with the story that she had made it to Carbondale, even described the part of the parking lot she parked in, um and all these details. And then they came back and they and the and this is public knowledge now because the interview's been released, it's on YouTube, um, that she was she realized she left her debit cards, and so she drove all the way home, and then when she got there, supposedly she sat in her car for a few minutes um on Facebook, and that's why there's such a big difference from the time that she arrived home because there's a camera that shows her leaving and then returning, um, and they know about how far it is from that gentleman's house to where their house was. Um from the time that that happened to the time that the 911 fo phone call came through. So she claims she sat in her car for several minutes on Facebook and then decided to go inside and get her debit cards. Um, and then that's when, you know, this masked individual busted through the door and she fought him off and, you know, got a couple cuts on her hand, and meanwhile, he has supposedly created this bloodbath in the house and has killed an eleven year old, but he's gonna set let you go free with just a couple cuts on your hand, because he's gotta get out of here. Make that make sense. Just saying. Right. So then her story, which if you watch the video, this is nothing to do with me, this is her and her own words repetitively. She walks in and sees blood everywhere everywhere congealed, all over the house. Her hands bleeding, so she has to go wash that off first. She rinses it in the sink and gets her hand towel to wrap it around her hand and then goes to find Jade. And she repeats the same thing in this interview because they ask her like thirty-seven different ways, trying to get her to like, you know, I went in the door, I fought him off, cut my hand, I went in the bathroom, rinsed my hand off, got my little towel, and then I went to find Jade. And then I went to find Jade. It's the same in the same tone, the same fliction on the words, the same thing every time. So you're telling me as a mother that you've just fought off a masked knife-wielding intruder, and you got a teeny tiny little cut on your hand, and you see blood all over the place, and your motherly instinct is to go wrap your hand up and then go find the kid? Get out of here.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
SPEAKER_00No. I think she was trying to explain why there was blood in her own bathroom sink. Because whenever they lit it up with luminol, her whole entire bathroom blew up like a Christmas tree.
SPEAKER_02Ah, interesting.
SPEAKER_00It was on the floor and in the sink, and I've seen the crime scene photos.
SPEAKER_02So And she described this man also as being a very short man, is that correct? Um, because she herself is very small. Um, one of her other points of contention um is that there's no way that she could have pulled off this crime because eleven-year-old Jade could have overpowered her easily, according to her defense.
SPEAKER_00Well, and she's partially right because that's why she had to stab her all throughout the house and why there was blood on the front door, back door, hand prints on the refrigerator as Jade swung around the corner why there's blood pooled in certain parts of the house. She had to work for it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Maybe she wasn't expecting that.
SPEAKER_00I don't think she was.
SPEAKER_02Um there were bloody footprints. Um, her footprints were in the blood. She claims that this was because her flip-flops fell off as she ran.
SPEAKER_00She ran. But what's interesting is whenever she um when they took pictures of her after they had brought her in, you know, supposedly right after she had found her, her feet are clean. Perfectly clean.
SPEAKER_02Really?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Hmm.
SPEAKER_02That's very interesting. Um, what other forensic evidence connected Julia to the crime?
SPEAKER_00Um, there was Jade and now they'll there is a statute where they can't use the bite marks because Julie did have bite mark on her arm. Um and Jade listened to Mama? She did. And I can attest that those were her teeth because I've seen the molds and I've seen the photographs. They there's a statute that says that you can't use that as um evidence because there was a case um up north somewhere where they they basically said no.
SPEAKER_02A lot of times they consider it sometimes now junk science, even though it's right, like pseudoscience type thing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um the problem was, and then they said that the um, that was the other thing, is that the dentist, the odontologist that we used um wasn't credible enough. I'm not sure because I saw the bite marks, and I'm just a civilian. I'm not anything special. Um, Jade was missing two teeth on her right side. Um, one was partially the new tooth was partially grown in, and the one behind it hadn't grown in yet. And you can clearly see when it's overlaid on her bite mark that that is exactly what the bite mark is.
SPEAKER_02So even though it wasn't able to be used at trial, it clearly demonstrates that Jade bit Julia.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Um, she tries to claim that she's a self-harmer, um, that she had, you know, cut herself in the past, and that she was also a biter.
SPEAKER_02So she's a self-harmer, but she had to go hurry up and clean that blood off because she can't stand to see the blood on her hand.
SPEAKER_00Well, she had to wrap her hand up so she wasn't bleeding everywhere.
SPEAKER_02But she's a self-harmer, you'd think she'd like the way she bleeds.
SPEAKER_00Well, you would think, but sorry, I'm getting it.
SPEAKER_02No, you're too.
SPEAKER_00Right. Yeah. So yeah, that that was a whole thing. Um, and then so the other thing about the bite mark is that where it was on her arm, there's no physical way for her to get her arm contorted in such a way for her to have been able to bite herself that hard. It was on like the outside of her forearm as if you were on top of someone holding them down while you're attacking them. Yeah, I can't imagine. I'm trying to do it now. You guys should see me. I look ridiculous. Yeah. So that was that was the other thing is oh, she and she said that conveniently she had done it that night prior. Okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Aye, aye, aye. Uh, is there any other evidence you can think of that we've left out or haven't talked about?
SPEAKER_00Um, Jade was a nail biter, so her nails were very short, but even in that, the nail clippings that they took from her and the scrapings had Julie's DNA underneath.
SPEAKER_02She did listen to you.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02And she solved her own case by doing it.
SPEAKER_00I was just gonna say, yeah, if it wasn't for her, if if God had not put that thought in her head to ask me and then given me the knowledge to tell her that.
SPEAKER_02Right. The strength to not just say, don't worry about it, you're too young to hear about something.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Or oh my gosh, we're not talking about that or anything.
SPEAKER_02Because it takes a lot to talk to your child about such a serious topic.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Good for you, mama. Good for you.
SPEAKER_00I think everybody should do that. There's every kid should know what to do. Because even if it is someone that they know, that doesn't mean anything.
SPEAKER_02And you know what? More often than not, you're gonna be your kids going to be hurt by someone they know, not a stranger. Like when we were growing up, it was all stranger danger, but the reality is you're more often harmed by someone you know, not a stranger.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_02Um, Julie garnered a lot of sympathy during her incarceration leading up to the trial because she was pregnant, and um, you know, there was a lot of boo-hoo for her during that time. Do you feel like she was treated fairly? Or do you feel like there should have been more done for her for her to be able to spend more time with the baby? Or I mean, how do you feel about that?
SPEAKER_00No, I d I think that obviously, you know, that baby didn't ask for any of that. So do I think that it's important for her to be treated physically, health-wise, properly, and to ensure the health of that baby, of course. Because that it's not that baby's fault.
SPEAKER_02I think she found out she was pregnant when she went to jail.
SPEAKER_00No.
SPEAKER_02Did she already know?
SPEAKER_00I think she did.
SPEAKER_02Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00And the reason I think that is because when they first let me know that she was pregnant, they gave me they let me know when she went to the doctor, because whenever you're pregnant in jail, you have to have all your regular things. Um, she went not too long after that. Um, and the due date that they gave me, I plugged it in on a one of those little due date calculators to see how far along. They had originally told me that she was about six weeks, and so I thought, okay, yeah, maybe she just did find out, maybe she didn't know. So when they gave her the projected due date, which was almost spot on to when he was born, um, I reverse looked it up, and she was actually 12 weeks.
SPEAKER_02Ah.
SPEAKER_00And that would be her fourth child.
SPEAKER_02Gotcha.
SPEAKER_00So I think she knew. And I think that um, this is my own personal opinion. There's no evidence, there's no anything, this is just my my own personal thought, is that she already has her son there, who's eleven almost. She has Jade there. She has her two younger daughters, and now here comes another baby who, you know, they had just got this, they had had this house for just a little while. Right. But it was already gonna be they were gonna run out of room.
SPEAKER_02So And she was tired of Jade.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And thought she could get away with it by saying, because they lived out in the country, oh, some crazy guy broke in and everything's fine.
SPEAKER_02Well, and uh one of her Well, we'll get to that later. I don't want to get to that yet. Um, let's talk about the trial itself. How do you feel the prosecution pr did presenting their case against Julia?
SPEAKER_00Fantastic. Fantastic. It but it was easy.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00It was so easy. There was so much evidence. There was copious amounts of evidence that could have been used. I think at one time I remember there were a couple of pictures um whenever I testified, and I know that the evidence number marker on those was like 400 and something. Oh wow.
SPEAKER_02So there were upwards of over 400 pieces of evidence put into Were there any parts of the trial that you were not able to emotionally handle?
SPEAKER_00Um, so I because I was subpoenaed to be a witness um because I was on scene that day. Um I was kept out of the trial. I was not allowed to anyone who is subpoenaed to appear cannot be in there um during the trial because they want they don't want to taint anything. They want me, they want the people who they're asking the questions to only remember what they know they know and not be not be colored by anything else or in you know, um and so I was kept out, um and her mother was as well. Um and there was there was a big list of people who were subpoenaed for the potential. Um they just didn't get to they didn't end up using everyone. Um, but there was a pretty big list, I feel like it was at least 20, if not more, of potential witnesses that they could have talked to, um, depending on how the trial went and which directions it took, who they would call to the stand, um, and who they wouldn't need to based on answers from previous witnesses.
SPEAKER_02Gotcha. So leading up to the trial, mostly on social media, there was a big, you know, we'll show them at trial, the defense for Julie, that is. We'll show them at trial, we'll show them at trial. And so I'll be honest, I was waiting to hear what they were gonna show. Like, what bombs are they gonna drop?
SPEAKER_00Me too. I'm still waiting, actually.
SPEAKER_02Me too. Because basically what I heard was Jade was bigger in size than Julie, and that you guys using a picture of her when she was smaller was misleading.
SPEAKER_00Um, I didn't know it wasn't okay to kill a nine-year-old, but it was okay to kill an 11-year-old.
SPEAKER_02Right. And that there was sexism and racism involved.
SPEAKER_01Right. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Because she's mixed and she's female.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02Yes. The victim was also a female.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02And a child.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02But oh okay.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02Um, so I really don't know what defense the defense to me didn't make any sense.
SPEAKER_00Well, so there was another sorry.
SPEAKER_02So I just didn't understand the defense. I I'm still waiting for the bombs to drop.
SPEAKER_00I don't so the defense didn't even really have a defense.
SPEAKER_02Um Oh, and that there was never any conflicts with Julie and Jade before. That was their other defense.
SPEAKER_00Correct. She loved her like she was her own. But she couldn't brush her fucking hair. Uh right. Yeah. But okay. Yeah. So um yeah. I mean Yeah, I mean it's yeah. So there was even a point where I was able to find out later after everything was said and done, that they the defense was talking about, you know, these these two potential guys that they had for um the masked intruder, where they had figured out they knew who it was. The one guy that they actually brought him from jail and was gonna have him testify, but turns out they didn't actually need to because of the time frame that it had happened. He was a younger guy, a younger, shorter guy, um, and he was in the area, but the time frame didn't make sense. Um, and he actually had a mental episode and was taken um to get uh mentally evaluated, but he had there was nothing on him, nothing, he had nothing. He was just having a mental episode in the area, and by area, I mean I don't even know. He wasn't anywhere near the house. He was like off in deeper in the neighborhood somewhere. Um, but they had him, and so his timestamps for like when he was admitted to the hospital don't match the time frames that they gave. Gotcha. And then the other guy that they tried to say it was uh come to find out, he was actually dead. Oh. So that doesn't work out either. He definitely wasn't there.
SPEAKER_02So tell me about what happened in the courtroom when the verdict was read.
SPEAKER_00Um, for our side, it was, you know, you of course you can't treat the courtroom, it's it's a you know, an honorable place. You can't hoop and holler and get all crazy and shout and everything like that. But there was definitely, you know, like the sighs of relief, crying, praising God, you know, that whole thing, um, on our side. Now the other side, um, one of her brothers who was, don't know if he still is, um, but was in some form of military, I believe he was a sailor um in the Navy. Um, he actually threw his hat down in protest um and was removed from the courtroom. Um and then as she was being taken out after they had found her guilty, she was more worried about why he couldn't have an outburst, but we could cheer. Is literally words that came out of her mouth.
SPEAKER_03Oh, for fuck.
SPEAKER_00You were just you were just found guilty of first degree murder of an eleven year old who you stabbed to death and you're found guilty, and you're worried why your brother can't have a crybaby fit in the jury in the courtroom. I think you have bigger I think you have bigger fish to fry.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I would say. Julie was sentenced to 55 years in prison. I believe she's appealed at least once, correct?
SPEAKER_00Um, I believe she has tried I can't be sure on that. I know at least once.
SPEAKER_02And that was, of course, denied.
SPEAKER_00She did appeal re I say recently because it just got just got denied recently. Um, but she did appeal to the appellate court. Um, the appellate court um I listened and read the transcript from that, um, and everything was backed up um because of COVID. So recently we found out that it was denied. Um so basically what cap what happens is she can now the only appeal she has left is the Supreme Court, um, but Supreme Courts don't hear cases like this. So then they would kick it back down to the appellate. Well, the appellate's already said no, so then it would be kicked back down to our jurisdiction, and our judge obviously is not gonna change his mind because she wasn't awarded a new trial at our level to begin with. So even though she can subpoena or not subpoena, but appeal for that, it's not gonna do anything. So she she is done.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so she is going to have to serve um a good first sentence.
SPEAKER_00As far as I know, she has no possibility of parole, so she will serve the entire 55. Um good for her.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, she'll happen to a better person.
SPEAKER_00She will be 86 when she is able to hobble out of there. Well, that's what you get for stabbing a child. Yeah. Which I've always said if she makes it to 86 and can get out of there, good for her. No, she'll probably die in person. You've served your time and that's that's good for you.
SPEAKER_02Does she get to see her other children? Do you know?
SPEAKER_00I'm not sure about visit I know obviously, you know, she would be able to get pictures and like phone, like um, where they do like the video calling and stuff. I know that that can happen. Um, but as far as like actual visitation, I'm not sure what that particular prison's policies are or protocols for that. Um, I would assume that they would because most children are able to go.
SPEAKER_02But does Michael allow it?
SPEAKER_00That part I'm not sure. Um, he and I don't have a lot of contact. Oh, gotcha, gotcha. And so I'm not really sure. Me as an individual, not even a mom, but just as an individual, I can't see how that would be mentally productive for them to go visit their mom in prison for a crime she supposedly didn't commit, but yet she's in the prison and she has to stay there.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_00I don't I worry about them. Yeah, for real. Because it it's at what point do you have to tell them the truth of what happened? And then you have within their own family, you have their father who knows what happened, um, and the rest of that side of the family who knows what happens and knows the truth, and then you have the grandmother on her side who's adamant that it didn't happen. So I really feel bad for the kids because they're gonna grow up, it's gonna be a nightmare for them mentally.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's a terrible story. Um, tell me a little bit about how you've been able to cope and move forward.
SPEAKER_00Um, Jesus. Every day, all day. Um, it wasn't too long after she was killed. Um of course it was heartbreaking and it it was it was awful. I mean, it's awful. You lose a child, like what you know, and and for any parent to lose a child, whether it's miscarriage, stillbirth, a freak accident, a car accident, their murder, there it doesn't matter the cause necessarily, just the fact that you've lost that child is painful. Um but it was pretty quickly on that I just felt this overwhelming peace because no matter how horribly her death was and how vicious and horrific it was, she doesn't remember. She doesn't have to worry about that. And she's safe, she's with Jesus, she doesn't have to she doesn't remember the pain, she doesn't remember the fear and all of that. Um and so that for me to just know she's protected is good. Um there were some other things that happened in my life after that, um, just like my like my season of Job. If you ever if you've read the Bible, just open it to Job and just all of the crazy things that he had to go through. Um and a lot of people would say, Well, why did God make Job go through all that? Why did God take all of that stuff away? And it was never it was never a test to see if Job would stop believing in God. It was a it was a test to see if he would be tempted. Um and he wasn't. He allowed Satan to do the things that he did to Job. But the thing is, is that Job never stopped talking. God, even though he was angry, some of those prayers in there, he is livid, and he's crying out, you basically saying, Why did you even let me be born? Why didn't you, you know, um, and his friends are like lamenting, like, oh, you must have done something bad to make God mad, you must have done and he didn't. He he was a perfect man of God. Um, but it was, you know, God lets us go through things sometimes because he's trying to either protect us or protect the individuals. Um, because I don't know what trials or things that she would have faced as she got older. What if by me wishing that she would have s been able to live, what if something more horrific would have happened to her later? And people have said, Well, don't you wish she could have survived? No. No. Because after I found out all of her physical wounds, her quality of life would have been terrible. Um, the location of some of the stab wounds, she probably would have had to have a catheter, she probably would have had to have a colostomy at some point, um, she would have had to have a tracheotomy, um, there would have been skin graphing, there would have been multiple surgeries, um, and that's just the physical. To go then into the mental of this person who was supposed to love and care for me and take care of me could do such a horrific thing. How does an 11-year-old come back from that? How do they trust anyone? How do they learn to love people again? How do they, you know what I mean? So the trauma of it would have been horrible, horrible, and I never would have wanted that for her. So when people say, Don't you wish she could No, I'm I'm happy that she passed because it was the best thing for her. Given the severity. Yes. Um, and that's the thing about God's plan is that's his plan. We're we're stupid. We don't we don't know. We don't know what the future holds or what you know, just like that. How weird of a conversation to have on a random drive. Right. Well, no, that was him preparing her for what he knew could happen.
SPEAKER_02Your faith has always inspired me, and it continues to inspire me every day, friend.
SPEAKER_00Oh I Here I go again. I know. I know. I I honestly I we've talked about this at church a couple of times, and there's there's this um they liken God to a silversmith. Um and and what does a silversmith do? He melts down the metal to make the silver. Well, how does he know when it's done? It's when he can see his reflection in it.
SPEAKER_02It's beautiful. It's beautiful. Is there anything else about Jade's story that you want to share?
SPEAKER_00Um obviously teach your kids what to do um if they're ever in a terrible situation. The world that we live in now is scary and it's only gonna get worse. Um the future that kids nowadays have to look forward to, who knows, you know, um, but being able to protect themselves um is a is a big deal. Um and if you if you have if you're a parent, whether you're a mom or a dad, if you if there is kind of a blended family situation or just actually not even that, anyone in your family or your spouse's family that you get a weird vibe about, be vocal about it. Because there's sometimes that those things could be stopped just by someone being verbal about it, and you know, what's done in darkness can't hide from the light, it will come out. And that was one of their things that they always that her side always said is what's done in darkness will come to light, and it has.
SPEAKER_02Yep, absolutely. So um, you guys may or may not know this, but this podcast started in January of 2021, and it was inspired in large part by Jade's story and Jade's murder. Um, Jessica and I have always been true crime fans, and it's something we've always bonded over. But after Jade's murder happened, it inspired the podcast to even begin, and this podcast probably would not exist without um Jade's story. And so to do Jade's story justice, it's taken a long time for both myself and Jessica to feel ready. Um and if you go to the website www.midwestcrimefile.com, um, I'm going to share lots of pictures of Jade with Jessica's permission. Yes. Um, and uh also references, which references is basically um Jessica. Yeah, essentially, yeah. I will share some links to um the YouTube videos that she mentioned if you're curious, um, and some articles that were written, and then the DOC page where you can see the bitch's face if you'd like. Um I'm sorry, I'm not nice. She's way more Christian than I am.
SPEAKER_00I just let God handle it. I don't have to worry about it now.
SPEAKER_02Like it's, you know, I am a little bit more.
SPEAKER_00Like it's done. I don't have to, you know.
SPEAKER_02But thank you guys so much for um listening to this very, very, very special episode of our podcast. I hope that you um I don't want to say enjoyed it, but I hope that you found it worth the listen.
SPEAKER_00Maybe bring closure for those that knew about it and always wondered and have kind of been waiting for the story. I'm glad we finally did it. Yes, me too.
SPEAKER_02Thank you guys.