This episode may contain content of a graphic nature, including descriptions of physical and
sexual violence against adults, children, and animals. Listener discretion is advised.
Hi everyone, I'm Tanya and I'm Talia, and we are Crimes and Consequences,
a true crime podcast. Hi Talia, him Tanya. Welcome back everyone
to an exciting episode of Crimes and Consequences. I'm not going to ask you
how you are because I'm sick. Yeah, you're not feeling well today.
I don't know what's wrong. My kids, they're filled with germs storm factory.
My daughter was sick and now I'm sick. I hope you don't make
me sick anyway. Get over it, it over. It's not deadly,
hope not. I don't think so. It's only day one, so wash
your hands. I have a story today that was suggested by Jess m and
Johnnifer s Oh, two people. Two people suggested this case. And before
I start telling you, I would just like to remind everyone to hit the
subscribe or follow button on your favorite app. And I'm gonna get into it.
So two people suggested it is in a famous case that I wouldn't know.
I didn't know this one. Okay, it is about nine year old
Erica Baker. Don't worry. It's not child abuse, don't it's not that.
I'm just telling everyone I can't do that. Okay, it's not it's
not. But in February nineteen ninety nine, nine year old eric Baker vanished
from her neighborhood in Kettering, Ohio. Have you ever been to Kettering?
I don't think I have been to Ohio, but yeah, I've been to
Ohio. I've driven through Ohio a few times. Okay. The investigation that
would follow would shake residence to their core. Kettering was once considered a safe
place to raise children, but now you know, they feel like a madman
was on the loose when this happened, because she disappeared. Yeah, what
was she doing once she disappeared? I'm going to tell you. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I get excited. Okay. So, as I said,
Kettering, Ohio. It's in Montgomery County. It's in Ohio's southwest.
Okay, I think so, oh I got you there? I know?
Is that Kentucky? Yeah it is right map anyway. Anyway, it's considered
the inner suburb of Dayton, oh Dayton and Kettering's really connected to Dayton.
In nineteen ninety nine, Kettering had a population of about fifty eight thousand people,
so it's not huge way, but it's not small. It just was
considered a safe place to raise a family. There was lots of school and
educational facilities, so it seemed like a great suburb to live. Parents instilled
the motto stranger, danger and children. You know you told your kids,
I'm sure mine? Are you kidding me? I literally would ride by with
her playing and be like, I'm sorry, I lost my puppy. Could
you help me find it? Would you like some candy? Did they ever
fall for it? And they're just like you, They're like, mom,
what are you? What are you doing? You're embarrassing me? Exactly in
nine year old Erica. She obviously was given this talk two so. Erica
was born on June twenty second, nineteen eighty nine, to her parents,
Melissa, who went by Misty, and Greg Baker. Unfortunately, the relationship
between Misty and Greg did not last, and the two eventually divorced. Erica
was the youngest of four children, and she was the only girl. Greg
Baker stated that his daughter was a real daddy's girl. The two love to
spend daddy daughter time together, and Erica enjoyed camping, hiking, and fishing.
And despite being small, like she was just a little girl, Erica
matched the energy of her three brothers and she was very much the baby of
the family. Like her brothers were really protective of her. Erica could often
be seen wearing pink, and it's safe to say it was her favorite color.
Her childhood friend Katie reminisced, saying that the pair would often make up
dance moves and wear matching outfits at sleepovers. I feel like you're gonna make
me really sad, and you said you wouldn't. Well, I told you
wasn't child abuse. I didn't say anything about not being sad, all right,
Tanya, Katie and Erica were inseparable, partly because Katie lived just a
couple doors down from Greg Baker. Erica was doing well at school and she
was interested in cheerleading. She also loved animals. Like most little girls,
she loved getting her hair done and like wearing bows and braids. She loved
all that stuff. Yeah, she loved to look her best and always flashed
a smile and everyone she met. Those who knew Erica described her as a
kind, sweet and innocent young girl who was incredibly popular. By nineteen ninety
nine, Missy was living with her mom, Pam Schmidt, and Missy and
Greg were sharing custody of their four children. This arrangement worked well for the
family, and Erica looked forward to spending her weekends in the Indian Riffle Park
with her dad. The park was close to Erica's home, and she often
wandered to the park for a day of adventure. There's also a recreation center
and a senior center. I feel like that's already you're going to say,
a fishing pond, and the school Erica attended was within the park. There
was always something for Erica to get into. There are adults watching Erica in
the park. I don't know. I don't, no girl, I listen,
okay, you know, go ahead them. So On February seventh,
nineteen ninety nine, this was just a regular day and Kettering. The temperature
was moderate, but it was rainy and dreary a little bit. On that
day, Greg had the children, including Erica, and the five of them
were getting ready to return to their mother's house. Greg bundled his children into
the car and drove to Misty and Pam's house. While in the car,
Greg and Erica talked about the father daughter dance that was taking place at the
rec center that night, the one that's in the park. Erica had asked
her father to go with her. She had been asking him for weeks,
but Greg wasn't able to get tickets like it sold out. What he called
around, he can make an exception, come on, not a Taylor Swift
concert. He called around to friends and family. He was just desperate to
put a smile on little Erica's face because he knew she really really wanted to
go, and he should just sneak in. Would They'd have been funny,
that would have been I know, No, you can't come here with your
daughter all dressed up in pink, right, They really turn away? Sorry?
Sorry. When Erica learned that her father hadn't secured the tickets for the
dance, she was just heartbroken. And Greg felt a lot of guilt after
Erica's disappearance because the dance took place around the same time she disappeared, and
he just beats himself up to this day, thinking like if I had just
taken nerves dance. I had just gotten those tickets. If I would just
busted in that place, right exactly, I'm sure that's the thoughts that go
through his side. I would. I mean, he probably kills himself with
guilt every day. So, as I mentioned, Greg and the kids are
on their way to Misty's house. So after a short drive, they get
there and the children hopped out of the car, waiting in line to hug
their dad goodbye, give him a little kiss. When Greg held his arms
around his little girl, he had no idea it's to be for the last
time. I know. I'm sorry. Just before Eric had stepped into the
house, Greg promised her that he would make up for missing that father daughter
dance. Erica put her disappointment to the side when she saw her mom,
Misty. She told her what she'd up to with her dad that weekend,
like, we just had a lot of fun and whatever. As I mentioned,
so it's a little bit rainy, and Pam, who is Misty's mom
and Erica's grandma, remembers the weather very well. February seventh is just forever
etched in her mind. At around three pm, Erica had donned her favorite
Winnie the Pooh sweater and pink raincoat. At first, Pam and Misty didn't
want Erica to go outside in the rain, but she had promised to wear
her raincoat. I love being in the rain. Oh me too. So
after pleading with her mother and giving the please, please please, I got
to go to the Daddy daughter day. Let's just go the rain exactly?
Can I just go outside? Pam and Misty said, Okay, fine,
you can go outside. Erica told her mom she was heading to Indian Riffle
Park to take Jamie. And Jamie is a shitsu dog. She was gonna
take Jamie for a while. So if her parents didn't live that far from
each other, no, no, they didn't. Some sources say that Jamie
was the family dog, but others say that the dog belonged to Erica's aunt.
So I can't say, oh, she took her dog, you know,
I'm not sure. Nevertheless, Erica laughed at about three thirty, and
people recalled seeing her in her pink raincoat walking toward Indian Riffle Park. Missy
and Pam trusted that Erica could walk the dog safely on her own. Indian
Riffle Park was just a stone's throwaway from their house, and the community was
regarded safe and peaceful. Witnesses and people who knew Erica and her family recall
seeing her in the park, walking and playing with Jamie. One witness would
later come forward to investigators saying that they saw Erica standing by the bleachers alone
in the pouring rain. So it's wondered, like, why was she alone?
Was she waiting for someone? Like, what's going on? That's a
question that's never been answered. Well, maybe she was just chilling for a
second. Ye she was alone at the park, and it's maybe she was
under the bleachers. Just two joggers making their rounds in the parks. Did
Erica playing with Jamie? These two joggers are regarded as some of the last
people to see Erica. Are you calling and I'm sorry? According to Missing
Erica Baker and Missing Erica Baker is a podcast by Dayton twenty four seven Now
the podcast, a lot of the information in the podcast was used in this
and our pasts. Yes in our podcast. So according to Missing Erica Baker,
there was also an elderly couple who recalled seeing Eric in the park day
afternoon. But I'll talk about that a little bit later, when Pam looked
up through the basement window and saw that it was getting dark outside, she
rushed upstairs to see if Erica and Jamie had returned. Like most children,
Erica was scared of the dark, and Pam hadn't heard the front door slam
shot that afternoon. Yeah, there's no way in nine year old girls may
hanging out a park. No. I wouldn't even hang out in a park
in the dark. Hell no, not today. They would fuck that.
No, I would not be hanging out of the park in the rain in
the dark. No, thank you. That's where the creepers go. Exactly.
So Misty was equally worried. Erica had never failed to return home for
dinner like most of us. When faced with a horrific situation, Misty ran
to her mom, like, what are we gonna do? I'm gonna call
him police. Yes, Well, before they called the police, they put
on their coats and went to the park to look for Erica. Pam and
Misty's that podcast I mentioned that Missing Erica Baker podcasts Pam and Misty. They
are interviewed on this podcast and they're featured pretty heavily in it. Pam commented
that during the initial hours of Erica's disappearance, she searched in bushes, trees,
cars, and any other spot that she could think of. The two
began calling Erica's friend's house to see whether she had taken shelter there, but
she hadn't. I was just call nine one. Then that hysterical mom,
Oh my god, I know, right, but I mean I'm not no,
no, I know. Erica's brothers quickly figured out what was happening,
and they took off to look for their baby sister. The group also searched
the school in Indian Riffle Park, which Erica attended, along with the rec
center where the father daughter dance was taking place at the same time. Ye,
Missy hoped, yeah, Eric had wandered into the dance, that maybe
she had begged someone to let her in, But their hopes were shattered when
the searches turned up no sign of Erica. After failing to locate her in
the park, Pam ran home and placed the nine one one call. Pam
provided exact detail in the call to eight operators and getting the call through with
correct information. She hadn't even finished giving the nine one one operator all the
details when she saw a swarm of flashing lights. That's awesome. Yeah,
they were quick. Around six pm, Greg's homephone rang. He was in
the middle of dinner, so he gets up from the table and he answers
it and it's Misty. His head just started to spin as he listened to
his ex wife and the other of his children tell him that their daughter Erica
was missing. In a state of panic and shock, Yeah right, Greg
sped down to Misty's house. He was also in the Missing Erica Baker podcast
and he told them that seeing the sea of Cuttering police cars outside of the
home just cemented to him that this is serious, this is real. He
just described the whole thing as being surreal. A command center was created in
the park that Indian Riffle Park, and the Cunning Police Department immediately began plans
for the search for Erica. Dozens of residents poured into the park to see
what was going on, and this is when they learned of Erica's disappearance.
The Cuttering Police Department deployed helicopters, search teams that's yeah, in sniffer dogs
to try and locate Erica as soon as possible. Sniffer dogs sniffer dogs.
Okay, some dogs what they call all right, sniffer whatever. Okay,
okay, okay, I'm not getting hum up at them. Pam and Misty
were told to stay home in case Erica returned, but they really wanted to
be part of the investigation. They wanted to look for Erica. Yeah,
well too, I'd have like one person can stay home, right, right.
So this desire to want to be a part of the search just became
too much and they ended up returning to the park not long after they had
stayed home for a little bit. Word of Erica's disappearance had spread like wildfire.
By this point, Cattering was very interconnected in a close knit community,
and over three hundred residents turned up to the rec center to help look for
her. Volunteers headed out with police units to scour every inch of Indian Riffle
Park. Hours after the Cattering Police Department were alerted to Erica's disappearance, they
also received a call about the dog Jamie. Remember she was with Jamie.
An elderly couple in their sixties had been walking through the park that afternoon with
their dog Muppet. That's an elder couple you were talking about. Earlier.
Yeah, when they spotted Erica and Jamie playing. And they said, though,
but one moment she was there and the next she was gone, okay,
and they didn't see anything else. No, and they didn't see anything
else. And they told investigators that at around five PM, that's when they
found Janie alone. The dog was soaking wet and terrified, and her collar
and her leash were still attached. And this became just crazy because Erica would
have never left the dog right. That couple wasn't aware of the significance of
their discovery at the time, and Jamie was taken to a local pound like
they didn't know, but she was later reunited with the family and tracker dogs
tracker dogs sniffer dogs. Investigators were now slowly piecing together Erica's last movements to
her family had just made no sense. She would leave Janie alone. She
was a social butterfly that would talk to anyone, but she also loved animals.
At ten thirty, Detective Bob Green received a call. Now, Detective
Green was a new detective, had only been a detective for seven months,
but he was known for having impeccable interviewing and interrogation skills. And he had
no idea that this call would change the course of his career. He was
briefed about Erica's disappearance. Anne was asked to get down to the makeshift command
center as soon as possible. When he arrived, he spoke with fellow officers
to get a handle on the situation. And before I tell you more,
we're going to take a break. The detective's first thought was that maybe Erica
had fallen into There's a pond in this park and it's like two point nine
million gallons. Oh, it's huge. It's the size of a football field,
and according to the CDC, drowning is leading cause of death and children
under four. Did you know, Anne, I didn't know that. I
didn't know that. I think poisoning is up there too. Really, I'm
accidentally eating something that they shouldn't. The water level in this pond were unusually
high due to the heavy rainfall that the area had gotten recently. Detective Green
immediately set us sights on the pool. Well, if there's rainfall, wouldn't
there be footprints and things? You would think so, right, because it
was raining, Yeah, it was raining. When you see like little footprints,
Yeah, I'm not a detective. I know, I'm not a detective
either, but you would think so, right, I don't know. Pam
and Misty watched as officers began to search the pond. They immediately knew in
their hearts that Erica wasn't in the water. She was described as a strong
swimmer and had fished dozens of times in the park with her dad. Grag.
She also knew how to get herself out of the water. But nonetheless,
it happens. Yeah, kids round and so it gets searched. Volunteer
searchers continue to look for Erica throughout the night. The Kettering Fire Service also
joined the search. Immedia CRUs had solowly begun creeping into the park. Media
yeah. Media. By the next morning, Erica's disappearance had made Kettering news
and everyone was talking about it. Suspicions immediately flew Greg's way. I don't
know, you know how people are people. I know he couldn't even take
her to a daddy daughter. Damn right, exactly right. The people of
Kettering had once considered Greg a friend, they now considered, hey, he
is the one that's responsible. How horrible is that You're people think you did
it? I know, people avoided him on the streets. It was just
bad. They can off right. Neighbors and colleagues of the family began to
talk to airing any secrets that the pair, like Greg and Missy, may
have divulged in innocent conversations, and all of a sudden things that weren't suspicious
before. Right, all of a sudden, you look at it a different
way. Yeah, exactly, Katie, Erica's best friend that I told you
about before. She remembers that the neighborhood children were no longer allowed to walk
to the bus stop alone or play outside without supervision. The entire town was
on edge, and the children of Kettering were just confused. Why it was
Erica's school desk empty? When was she coming home. Katie also said she
had no idea Erica was missing until she saw it on the morning news or
parents didn't even tell her. I know. When the sun came up on
February eighth, nineteen ninety one, Greg and Missy realized that their little girl
wasn't coming home, breaking my heart right now, I'm sorry. The notion
hit both of them incredibly hard. While officers searched and drained the pond,
the FBI was notified and they arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. Detectives and
FBI agents held two briefings daily at eight am and four pm. For the
next few months months, detectives would work sixteen hours a day, seven days
a week to find Erica. This is not like New York City's fifty eight
people in it, right, It's just like a suburb of Ohio. It's
just sad. For the next two to three days, the Cutting Police Department,
assisted by experts and other agencies, drained that two point nine million gallon
pond. The operation continued until the last drop was gone, and they didn't
find anything. They didn't find anything. No, I always think they'd find
a body or something like a bicycle or some something. They didn't find anything.
Panamisty knew that Erica hadn't been in the water, but this really gave
them no relief. She wasn't in the pond, So where is she?
Yeah? So where is she? That's not a better scenario, not think
about it. Shortly after Erica's disappearance, remember that elderly couple I told you
about. Yeah, yeah, they agreed to be interviewed. The man Rackx
told investigators everything he knew and agreed to be put under hypnosis. Oh I
love hypnosis, Yeah, to see if there was any subconscious memories. He
told the police department that the condition of Janie struck them as odd. Rex
recalled that the park was empty and that Erica and Jamie were playing near the
bleachers. One moment she was there, the next she was gone. All
known sex offenders in the area were questioned, as well as Erica's family.
They didn't see any cars there or anything. No, no, missy,
Pam, Pam's partner, and Greg were all interviewed. This interrogation did little
to quell the rumors of Greg's involvement. They're being interviewed, Yeah, the
police are talking to him. In one instance, he walked into a restaurant
and kettering and noticed that everyone pulled their children away from I mean, come
on, people are just idiots sometimes. Yeah, but then they don't know.
They might think he did. And what if he did? I know.
He was actually asked to leave as the waitress felt it was too sad
to serve him. Despite what the townspeople said, Greg continued to search for
his little girl. As the investigation progressed, the center moved from the parking
lot to the rec center, the same rec center where the dance, The
Dandy Daughter Dance was held. Is this months later? Still? I don't
know how long? How long it is? Yeah, it's months later.
Greg felt tinges of pain and regret that he couldn't take Erica to the dance,
and like I said, he still has this feeling today. Pam and
Misty spent as many hours as possible the rec center manning the phone lines.
A dedicated tip line had been created for Erica, and the tips poured in
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the FBI stayed with the
investigation at no cost to the city of Kettering. On June twenty second,
nineteen ninety nine, well how long is this? She's disappeared? February?
This is four months later. Misty brought a sheet cake to the command center
and celebrated what would have been Erica's tenth birthday. Heartbreakingly, she cut the
first slice and said she would freeze it to say for Erica when she came
home. Oh, man, I know. Pam, Misty and Greg displayed
resilience and mental fortitude throughout the investigation. At least they didn't blame each other.
Yeah, right, the fingers at each other. You know, that's
at least they stuck together. Yeah, Like you said, their dedication helped
to keep Erica's case alive, and they're the reason that Erica's case continues to
make headlines. Tips and leaves poured in, but they often led to dead
ends. The residence of Kettering were on edge thinking that a child killer was
on the loose. Kettering is about five miles from Dayton, like from Downpound
Dayton, and most residents felt that these types of crimes only happened in the
bigger cities. In July nineteen ninety nine, Pam picked up the phone and
received a tip that would change the course of the investigation. The caller uttered
one name, Christian Gabriel to Pam. Yeah, because she's at the command
center. Remember Christian Gabriel and his girlfriend at the time, Jan Franks,
were known to the Kettering Police Department the periods drugs and often found themselves in
trouble with the law. Around the same time, Detective Green received a call
from Clifford Butts, a prisoner who had recently watched America's Most Wanted Erica's case
had been featured, and he told Detective Green he knew what happened to Erica.
Detective Green sprung into action and immediately drove to meet with Clifford. This
is where Erica's case takes a buzz our turn. Oh boy, Christian,
we got a guy in prison that was watching America's most wanted said, hey,
I know what happened. Okay, you got to talk to this guy,
Clifford. Clifford butts. Clifford told the detective, you got to talk
to Christian, okay. So this is one of the stories that Christian told
the police. During Clifford's meeting with Detective Green, he said Christian confessed to
accidentally killing Erica on February seventh. That afternoon, Clifford, his wife,
Christian, and Jan, which was Christian's girlfriend. So Clifford was out of
jail. Yeah, Clifford was out of jail. They were in the parking
lot of a supermarket. Christian left his van and he said that's when the
accident happened. So it's believed that Christian and Jan were high end crack at
the time. Sack Man and this account of what happened would later change.
So this is Clifford's account. Yeah, what happened. Then Detective Green brought
Christian in for interrogation and a lie detective tests. Oh and he agreed.
Yeah, I guess so. During the initial interview, Christian maintained his innocence
and told officers he didn't kill Erica, he didn't know who did, and
he didn't know if her body was somewhere. He had no idea. Detective
Green was determined to discover the truth, even if it was going to take
him like the rest of his life. And you told me, he's really
good at interrogation. Yeah, and he knew that something about Christian's story just
wasn't right, so he continued to apply the pressure. Investigators were also interested
in Jan Frank's that was Christian's girlfriend. Yeah, you got to get the
woman the right because Clifford Butts also said that Jan was there in the van
that day. But they would come to find out that Jan was married while
she was dating Christian, so she immediately lawyered up. Anne was assigned a
federal public defender named Beth Lewis, So that means they charger. Yeah,
she's assigned. Why they would I don't know why they would charge her charger
with her. She's assigned an attorney. I mean, she's charged with some
bullshit misdemeanor being in a park when she should be whatever. Applying the pressure,
Beth Lewis was determined not to let the Kettering Police Department nor the FBI
talked to her client Jan throughout the nineteen nineties. In the early two thousands,
Beth continued to create a wall of silence around Jan. So Bath is
Jan's attorney, Yep, and she's doing a badass job. Yep, she's
defending her client. Yeah. Then two thousand and one, Jan Franks passed
away due to an overdose. So who knows what she knew? I feel
he has an attorney. I'd be like, Okay, now I can write
that book, right, I know? But can't you want to know?
You know? I told you like Jan was married. Her husband couldn't break
that attorney client confidentiality privilege. But he decided after she died, he was
going to do what was right her husband, and he went to Erica's family
because, I mean, there's no marital privilege anymore. She's dead, right,
Who's gonna question that. Jan's husband wanted Beth to go to Erica's family
and be like, Okay, we have to come clean. But Beth continued
to stay quiet. She argued her case for several years. That was until
she was hit with a contempt of court order. The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously
decided Beth Lewis had to talk in two thousand and four as an attorney,
Yeah, how is that possible? I don't know. They made her though.
The prosecutor, Matthias heck Junior told AP News, quote, anything and
everything we can get is what we're after. We want every bit of information
we can about what happened, where Erica is and what happened to her.
After the Supreme Court ruling, Beth Lewis had no choice but to talk and
guess what, she had no viable information for the least. To this day,
nobody knows why Beth went to extreme lengths to protect information that wasn't even
useful. Yeah, I mean, if you know, I don't know,
I don't know. Listen, I'll talk to you guys. This is what
mc clients said. Didn't say shit. I know in this process she picked
up a contempt of court charge. I've never had one of those. I
haven't either not yet not yet. She likely ruined her professional reputation. I
mean, I don't know, or she got more publicity and people called her
all the time. Yeah that's true, Say shit, I know, right,
so, but I don't know what she's doing today. The pressure on
Christian was also mounting. He had found himself a new girlfriend, Jane was
married to somebody else and Plush passed away, and this girlfriend had no idea
about his possible involvement in Erica's case. The National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children decided to up the ANNIE and showered the area where the pair lived with
Erica's missing persons posters and flyers. At one point, Christian's new girlfriend demanded
to know what was going on. This moment was captured during a recorded prison
call while Christians he was serving time on unrelated charges. I demanded, no
on a prison phone. Yeah if you killed somebody? Okay, Well girl,
I ain't telling you shit. I'm on a prison phone, so Christian's
new girlfriend. She was then contacted by Detective Green. He briefed around the
case, and when cattering Police Department officers arrived to her door, she was
exceptionally forthcoming. Living in the area, she had heard of Erica's case,
but she had no idea that her boyfriend and the father of her child,
Yeah, had been interviewed and viewed as a suspect. When she welcomed the
officers into her home, she guided them toward the kitchen. The officers were
confused at first. In the kitchen, she approached the fridge, removed herself
from view, and stop pointed to Erica's missing poster, but she had placed
there, Okay, all right. She also revealed that Christian had relapsed and
began smoking crack again. As Christian had found himself incarcerated once more, Detective
Green decided it was time to pay him another visit. Detective Green said,
So, I had a chair right next to him, and I moved over
him. I said, why don't you tell me more about that? And
as in listening, I said to myself, I will never forget this for
as long as I live. On July nineteenth, two thousand and four,
Christian confessed to Detective Green that he jan Frank's, Clifford Butts, and Clifford's
wife had been in his vand that day after me at the supermarket. Like
I told you, they were driving on the intersection of Glengarry Drive and pow
Wotton when they heard the thud of something hitting the van. But it wasn't
something. It was Erica. I know this story, you now, I
do. Christian claimed that she darted out into the middle of the road and
there was nothing he could do to stop. According to Detective Green, Christian
could describe both Erica and the dog, Jamie, right down to the minute
details of Jamie's adorable little doggie mustache. He then claimed they all panicked,
threw Erica into the back of the van, and drove to his apartment.
Christian couldn't remember whether Erica was alive or dead when he threw her into the
van. Instead of calling police or seeking help for Erica, they drove back
to his apartment, left her body in the van, and then the four
smoked crack, okay, just to take the edge off. And while they
were smoking crack, they decided what they were going to do with Erica.
As Detective Green pointed out, they could have driven Erica to a nearby hospital,
but they are smoking cracked. They could have left her at the entrance.
I mean, they didn't even have to just crawled anonymously, right,
But instead they're going to do something really stupid. After finishing their crack smoking,
apparently, Jan hopped into the driver's seat and assured Christian that she knew
a great spot to hide a body. Oh that's nice, and that little
Airica would never be found. Oh that's fucking great. I know. The
defective Green would later question the validity of this confession. Is Jan Franks couldn't
drive a manual car. Oh it was a stick shift. Yeah it was
a stick shift. I can't drive one even I Can'm bad ass. They
don't have them anymore, but I tried to learn once when I had owned
a Mustang, but I bought an auto. Man Mustang such a bad ass
to it was a convertible. I love it. Ah, of course she
would, And then I got pregnant. He had to get rid of it.
Yeah that's right. You got him a minivan instead. One day.
I'm gonna get that must back another convertible one day, and it's going to
be an automatic because I can't drive a stick anyway. The four drove to
Huffman Dam, and again Christian gave varying stories. At first, he told
Detective Green that he could take them to where Erica's body was, which was
a fifteen or thirty minute walk into the woods. Then he changed his story
and said that he had stayed in the van while the others went to get
rid of Erica, and that he was drunk and high. He also threw
in details such as Clifford coming back without a coat, and also said they
had possibly driven to Caesar Creek State Park, a whole twenty six miles away
from Huffman. Dam what the fun man? And where the fuck is it?
Like? Where where did you go? I may not get your cracked
out? But come on, I know, come on. According to Detective
Green, Christian asked for a bathroom break like during this confessional pee I know,
And as he was leaving the room, he turned a Detective Green and
said, what would I get for tampering with evidence, gross abuse of a
corpse, and vehicular manslaughter. At this point, Christian had pretty much confessed
to driving the van that day, and Detective Green knew he had what he
needed. It would take several months, but on December thirteenth, two thousand
and four, Christian Gabriel provided the Kettering Police Department with a written confession.
Part of his confession read I'm really sorry, missus Baker for what has been
done. Nothing was done to her after she was hit. She wasn't raped
or anything like that. I know, because I'm not that sick of a
person that wouldn't rape a girl he hit on a road. I know,
I could just hurt some and then it's sick, like when somebody makes a
mistake in it's s I c like, so they fucked it up. He
wrote something fucked up here, like it didn't make sense. So I could
just hurt some that is so precious in God's eyes. Again, I'm sorry.
So I think maybe he meant I couldn't hurt someone, but I could
put her in the trunk and go smoke crack and if she's alive or daddy.
Yeah. But he yeah, Okay, he's got standards. He can
fuck off, I know. Right. In October two thousand and five,
just three days before the Statute of Limitations was up. It was a six
year statute for what the vehicular man so well, he was indicted on charges
of tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a course. Several weeks later,
he was found guilty on both counts and sentenced to a shocking six whole years
in prison. While Pam, Misty and Gregg were relieved that someone had finally
been held accountable for Erica's disappearance, the sentence nor the charges really felt like
justice. And we don't even know if he's fucking telling the truth about any
of this. I know he couldn't be charged with murder because according to Ohio
law, a body must be found before someone can beg an old law.
Christians story has changed so much over the years that nobody believes him at all.
Was it really an accident or was Erica targeted? Christian claimed that he
wanted to take Erica to the hospital, but Jane, who was no longer
alive to dispute this, said it would get them in trouble. Some believe
the group didn't turn themselves in due to the drug use prior convictions, or
maybe the fact that they likely had drugs in the van. No DNA evidence
was ever found in Christian's van, and by the time it had been forensically
searched, had been cleaned and given to a new owner. Better have some
sort of closure for me, Tanya, As if this case doesn't have enough
twists and turns, they're still more in June twenty eleven, Christian was released
after serving his measly six year sentence. The residence of Cattering were anticipating his
release and was shot that a car was waiting outside the prison for him.
Insight, said a woman. But it wasn't Christian's mom, who had stood
by him throughout the case. It was someone else's mom. He fell in
love in fucking prison. No, it was Pam. Pam, yeah,
grandma, yeah, grandma. Yes. When Greg Baker heard that Pam had
picked Christian up from prison, he was living What the fuck is this shit?
I know, he was pi. Christian been convicted of abusing a corpse
and tampering with evidence, and now Pam's given him ride home. She must
believe his sorry tale. Well, she said, she said, you know,
this is how she defended herself. She said the only reason she picked
him up on his release day was because she wanted to talk to him face
to face. She practically begged Christian to take her to her granddaughter's body,
and even told him that she had a shovel in the boot of the car
ready to bring Erica home. Oh man, I know, she told Fox
nineteen. I've done everything I can to try and convince him to tell me.
I even picked him up and took him to his mother, hoping he
would talk to me. Okay, well, I I mean I guess I
see she's lost it. Yeah. Unfortunately her this move didn't pan out.
Yeah, and Christian just feigned ignorance. Pam was just shattered. She thought
she could somehow reach his soul, but she didn't realize he has So he
has no fucking soul, right, somebody would know soul does something like this.
You accidentally hit somebody, if that's what really happened, you just bury
their body because you panicked and don't remember where you yeah, and don't yeah,
exactly because you bury so many bodies, right, come on. Pam,
Misty and Greg continued to advocate for Erica and want her remain so they
can give her the burial she deserves. As of two twenty three, Erica's
case is still being investigated. Stop I wanted an end, and although a
Detective Bob Green is now retired, he does not say that Erica's case is
cold, and neither do those still working on it in the Kettering Police Department.
And twenty twenty two, a new witness came forward who stated that they
had seen Christians Van in Huffman Dam on the evening of February seventh, nineteen
ninety one, and that's one of the places he had said. Yeah,
yeah, this witness did not come forward earlier because they feared repercussions. How
would you remember that? Like I wouldn't remember for a song. They might
know him. Maybe maybe that's why they feared repercussions. And of course they
has to drive a van exactly right, no offense all the other van drivers.
But you know what I'm saying. The police department continued to do searches
and such, and during one of these searches recently in twenty twenty two,
forensic investigators came across bones at Hoffman Dam. Unfortunately, they were later determined
to be non human, but to find has only encouraged the Cattering Police Department
to keep looking. Texas Equisearch has also sent officers and resources to Cattering sniffer
dogs. Sniffer dogs were also brought in and these dogs hit on two locations
close to a creek. Interestingly, the area that was searched and where the
dogs alerted was smack dab in between Hoffman Dam and there's another state park like
that other state park that Christian had talked about. Detective Green I mentioned has
long since retired, but he was present for the twenty twenty two search that
was brought about. He celebrates Erica's birthday every year and vows to never forget
her. Her case is one of the only ones in his career that remain
sort of unsolved. Technically, it sounds we don't really know what happened,
right, And he's made it his mission to bring the family closure before he
and they pass away. Misty and Pam have moved away from Kettering. They
were unable to stay in the home that held so many memories and so much
pain for them. I'll be able to stay in that town either. Pam,
Missy and Greg celebrate Erica's birthday every year. I'll drive around all the
time, just so right, and I like searching woods and you know,
losing my mind. Christian Gabriel has since dropped off the face of the earth.
Nobody knows where he's really no, I mean, nobody knows exactly where
he's at. Authorities believe he might be living in Oregon, but nobody knows.
Pam has said that the only real closure that she would have would be
if Erica walked through the door, you know, if she's still alive,
Erica would be thirty three years old today. And anyone with information is asked
to contact Detective Mason of the Kettering Police Department at nine three seven two ninety
six two five five, quoting case number nine nine zero two sixty six.
And that's the random story. And I know, I think they probably were
on crack and hit her. Probably, I mean, I wouldn't doubt it.
I sound they're a bunch of fucking idiots on crack. They didn't know
what to fucking do. And yeah, how is there no blood on the
dog leash? I know, like I'm thinking maybe the dog get away from
her and she ran to go get it. She ran to the street and
these idiots are coming by baryling down. Yeah, and they could not cranking
some music, smoking some c I mean, that could have happened. I
don't know who knows. That's sad. I know, I'm sorry, I'm
sorry. I want a sad one. The story is sad. Yeah,
you're right, it's usually about someone being murdered, that's true. But some
touched me more than others. Yeah, I know what you mean. Yeah,
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