WEBVTT 1 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:54.399 Maker is a small town of around one thousand residents, 2 00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:57.719 nestled about forty five miles east of Oklahoma City in 3 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:00.759 the heart of rural Oklahoma. It was founded in the 4 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:04.200 early nineteen hundreds and named after the Maker family. This 5 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:07.000 quiet community came to life when the railroad depot was 6 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:12.000 built on Julian Maker's property, with the generous landowner donating 7 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:15.239 the very ground that would become the town site. It's 8 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.159 the kind of place that embodies classic small town Oklahoma charm. 9 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:21.840 So small, in fact, that it doesn't even have a stoplight. 10 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:26.040 Most residents here own their own homes, with many retirees 11 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:30.400 drawn to its peaceful streets and friendly neighborhoods. This was 12 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:33.280 a time where everyone knew everyone, and families moved to 13 00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:37.239 Maker for exactly what it promised, the security and innocence 14 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:40.719 of small town America, far removed from the dangers and 15 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:45.040 complexities of city life. But on the eleventh of October 16 00:01:45.079 --> 00:01:48.680 two thousand and five, that sense of safety would forever 17 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:53.120 be shattered. Paramedics were dispatched to a modest home along 18 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:56.879 a quiet street. What happened in that house and the 19 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.599 devastating chain of missed opportunities that led to it would 20 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:19.680 expose a very broken system. Kelsey Smith Briggs was born 21 00:02:19.719 --> 00:02:22.360 on the twenty eighth of December two thousand and two 22 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:25.960 in Oklahoma City. She was the daughter of Red Dawn 23 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:29.759 Smith and Lance Briggs, a couple whose love story began 24 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:33.639 the way so many small town romances do. They had 25 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.680 met in the halls of Maker High School. Lance was 26 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:40.639 the football player, read the cheerleader. She was once even 27 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:45.039 a candidate for homecoming queen, with Lance proudly on her arm. 28 00:02:45.319 --> 00:02:47.759 Back then, their smiles and photographs told the story of 29 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:51.319 two teenagers wrapped in the promise of forever, but that 30 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:56.120 promise didn't really take shape until after graduation. The couple's 31 00:02:56.159 --> 00:03:00.319 early years together weren't without hardship. Before they marry married, 32 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:04.919 Ray became pregnant, but she suffered a miscarriage. Still, they 33 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:08.479 pressed forward, exchanging vows on the porch of her parents' 34 00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:12.360 home on the fifteenth of July two thousand, But the 35 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:16.879 fairy tale was short lived. Lance's mother, Kathy, would later 36 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:21.199 describe those years as chaotic. They battled all the time. 37 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:25.080 They had a terrible marriage for two years. They both drank, 38 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:28.280 they parted too much, They did all the wrong things. 39 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:32.599 But the fighting wasn't just words. Less than a year 40 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:35.439 into their marriage, Ray told police that Lance had slammed 41 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:38.919 her against a wall and pressed his forearm against her throat. 42 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:42.960 She said the argument sparked because she hadn't supersized his 43 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:47.639 McDonald's value meal. Lance was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor, 44 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:52.080 eventually pleading no contest. He was placed on probation and 45 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:56.360 ordered to take anger management classes. But even that incident 46 00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:00.599 was tangled in conflicting stories. Cathy claimed that Raylegh admitted 47 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:03.960 she'd made the whole thing up, that Lance had simply 48 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:06.680 taken her cads to stop her from going out, and 49 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:11.560 in retaliation she called police. According to Cathy, Ray tried 50 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:14.240 to have the charges dropped, but she was told she 51 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:18.480 could face trouble herself for filing a false report, so 52 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:23.560 the charges stood. There were other arguments, more trouble. Eventually, 53 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:27.040 the couple filed for divorce, finalizing it in July two 54 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:32.120 thousand and two. By then, Ray was pregnant again. When 55 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:35.680 Kelsey was born that December, Ray insisted that another man 56 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:40.240 was the father, but Lance pushed Freddie na test. Three 57 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:44.360 months later, he learned the truth. Kelsey was his From 58 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:47.839 then on, Kelsey's life was split between two households and 59 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:50.399 two parents who could hardly stand to be in the 60 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:54.639 same room together. The bitterness ran deep, and, as one 61 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:58.959 relative put it, the hatred between them became unbelievable. It 62 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:03.920 was just unreasonable. At times, Ray had primary custody. She 63 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.720 and Kelsey lived with Ray's mother and her ailing father. 64 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:11.360 Ray worked with the elderly, took shifts at a manufacturing plant, 65 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:17.000 and studied at Seminole State College. Lance meanwhile remarried Tying 66 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:19.279 the Knot with a woman named Ashley Liddle in June 67 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:22.800 of two thousand and three. Kelsey quickly bonded with her 68 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:26.319 new stepmother. When Lance was called the active duty in 69 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:29.319 Iraq with the U. S. Army Reserve, Kelsey was two 70 00:05:29.399 --> 00:05:33.959 years old and already full of personality. She loved afternoons 71 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:38.040 at the park, especially the swings. She twirl her hair 72 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:40.240 the same way she twirled the yarn locks of her 73 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:43.399 cabbage patch doll as she drifted off to sleep at night. 74 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:48.839 Disney's brother, Beaar, was on constant rotation. At a baby pageant, 75 00:05:48.839 --> 00:05:53.399 she took home title of Miss Personality. Kelsey was also 76 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:56.759 a regular at Miss Julie's Giggles and Grinn's Daycare, where 77 00:05:56.759 --> 00:06:00.879 owner Julie Sebastian remembered her as fearless and fun. She 78 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:04.319 said she was a happy child. She would play, she 79 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:06.720 would hang in there with the other kids. She would 80 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:10.800 do everything they did. Outgoing smart, she did what she wanted. 81 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.360 On the surface, Kelsey's world was filled with all the 82 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:19.160 ordinary joys of a toddler's life, swings, story books, and 83 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:23.160 stuffed toys. But beneath that, the tension between the adults 84 00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:26.959 in her life simmered, and soon they would have robbed 85 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:39.759 in ways that no one could take back. In two 86 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:42.959 thousand and four, when Ray's father passed away, she and 87 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.199 Kelsey left her mother's house and moved into an apartment 88 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:50.560 in Maker. Life was in transition, and before long another 89 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:54.959 major change was coming. On the night of October fifteenth, 90 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:59.759 Ray found herself at hot Rod's, a bar in nearby Shawnee. 91 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:03.279 The lights were low, the music loud, and somewhere between 92 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:05.920 the crowd and the dance floor, she met a man 93 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:09.759 named Michael Lee Porter. Before the night was over, the 94 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:12.720 two were dancing together, and soon they were more than 95 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:17.959 dance partners. Friend said that Porter fell hard. Wendell Kelly 96 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:21.680 Junior remembered it vividly. When he got with that girl, 97 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:24.040 he was in a daze. He was so in love 98 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:27.240 with her. If she said jump, roll over backwards, he'd 99 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.199 did it. Porter had two children of his own, eight 100 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:32.839 year old Whitney and little Michael, who was just two 101 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:37.399 years old. He was financially secure, at least on the surface, 102 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:41.759 having taken over his family's magnet manufacturing business after both 103 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:46.240 of his parents died. As president of Midwest Industries, Incorporated, 104 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:50.600 he oversaw a dozen employees producing magnets used in anything 105 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:54.680 from cell phones to computer keyboards. His sister actually owned 106 00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:57.720 the company, and to outsiders, he looked like a man 107 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:02.160 with his life in order. So when Kelsey's grandmother Kathy 108 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:06.199 heard about him, she was hopeful. She recalled, we had 109 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:08.079 heard that he was a really nice guy, and we 110 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:10.519 were excited for her. That she was with somebody that 111 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:13.120 had two children of his own, and we thought, great, 112 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:17.560 they'll be a great family. But not everybody shared her optimism. 113 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:23.439 Some of Porter's own friends felt uneasy. Wendell recalled that 114 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:28.079 girl had a temper. She'd throw tantrums. His bookkeeper when 115 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:31.519 it'da ward went as far to warn him directly, there's 116 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:33.759 too much drama in her life right now, you need 117 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:37.720 to stay out of it. But still the relationship moved quickly. 118 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:41.039 Ray was in the middle of a messy divorce, but 119 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:44.039 within months she and Kelsey had packed their things and 120 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:48.240 had moved to Porter's home in Shawnee. By April the 121 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:52.159 next year, they were married. There's a photo from that day, 122 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:56.279 taken on the court house steps. Porter's in a pullover shirt, 123 00:08:56.480 --> 00:09:00.559 jean shorts, and tennis shoes. Ray stands beside him with 124 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:03.840 Kelsey in her arms. They look for the moment like 125 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:08.240 a new family ready for a fresh chapter. But behind 126 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:12.799 the smiles, Porter's financial world was crumbling. He'd quietly lost 127 00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:16.159 his Shawnee home and lied to cover it up, telling 128 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:18.879 some people he had sold it, others that he'd least 129 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:22.480 or rented it. In truth, he had nowhere to live. 130 00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:26.000 That problem was solved when he brought Ray's mother's house 131 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:29.960 just outside. Maker Gaylas Smith sold it to them for 132 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:32.919 a reduced price of two hundred and forty thousand dollars, 133 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:37.360 a chance, it seemed, for stability, But what should have 134 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:40.240 been a fresh start for Kelsey and her blended family 135 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:45.600 was anything, but beneath the surface, tension and trouble were 136 00:09:45.639 --> 00:09:50.879 already building, the kind of pressure that would eventually shatter everything. 137 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:02.600 It wasn't long after Ray moved in with Michael Porter 138 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:06.679 that the first signs of trouble began to appear. In 139 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:09.799 January of two thousand and five, Kelsey came to the 140 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:14.759 attention of authorities she had a broken collar bone. Ray 141 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:17.879 took her to the emergency room for treatment, saying she 142 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.840 had fallen out of bed on January eighth while sleeping 143 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:24.360 at home. But just days later, while Kelsey was staying 144 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:27.480 with Lance and his wife Ashley, they noticed something that 145 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:31.960 went far beyond a simple fall. Kelsey had bruises across 146 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:35.360 her face and body, abrasions on her neck and bottom, 147 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:39.120 and that same broken collar boone. The bruises were in 148 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:44.399 various stages of healing, some fearing, others fresh. To Lance 149 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:51.320 and Ashley, it was unmistakable somebody had hurt her. 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Find out why nutrifoil is the best 177 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:17.639 selling hair growth supplement brand a neutrifoil dot com spelled 178 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:22.039 nut r fo l dot com promo code morbidology ten. 179 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:29.919 That's neutrafil dot com promo code morbidology ten. The physician 180 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:34.399 at Unity North Hospital in Shawnee shared their concerns the 181 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:38.320 facial bruises that appeared on January thirteenth hadn't been there 182 00:12:38.360 --> 00:12:41.879 when she was traded for the collarbone injury four days earlier. 183 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:46.279 The pattern of bruising suggested not an accident, but a baiting, 184 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:50.720 possibly with an object such as a hairbrush. When Lance 185 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:53.559 was asked if Ray could have caused the injuries, he 186 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:56.120 admitted that if she had been drinking and got mad, 187 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:00.159 she could go overboard. Ray insisted that the bruises on 188 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.399 Kelsey's face were from the fall out of bed. She 189 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:06.279 also claimed that when Kelsey went to visit Lance and Ashley, 190 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:10.360 she didn't have any of the other bruises. Despite the 191 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:13.799 injuries in the doctor's concern, Kelsey went home with her mother. 192 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:17.960 On January twenty first, Rahd took her to see another physician, 193 00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:22.320 doctor Deborah Catcher, who noted child is extremely fair and 194 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:24.960 bruises may show through more than the average child than 195 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:28.159 be visible for a longer period of time, but by 196 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:31.879 now the Department of Human Services, also known as DHS 197 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:36.440 was involved. On January twenty fourth, during an emergency hearing, 198 00:13:36.919 --> 00:13:39.919 Kelsey was sent to live with her paternal grandmother, Cathy. 199 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:44.440 A child welfare investigation concluded that Kelsey had been abused 200 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:48.360 while in her mother's care. In interviews, re admitted she 201 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:50.639 had spank to Kelsey on the diaper with her hand, 202 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:55.960 but denied seeing any bruises. DHS recommended that Kelsey not 203 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.519 be returned to her mother's custody because her safety couldn't 204 00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:03.679 be assured. While Nance was serving overseas in the military, 205 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:08.960 he agreed to his parents being Kelsey's guardians. By February, 206 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:13.879 Ray was granted modified visitation, including on supervised visits, as 207 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:18.159 long as Michael Porter wasn't present, but according to Cathy, 208 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:22.279 she actually had her more than we did. Actually recalled 209 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:26.000 that almost every visit ended the same way. It was 210 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:29.399 almost constantly, every time she brought her back there was 211 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:34.200 something wrong or something had happened. On March twenty fourth, 212 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:37.360 two thousand and five, a third referral was made when 213 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:39.840 Kelsey was seen at a medical facility for a bruise 214 00:14:39.879 --> 00:14:42.480 on her nose and right knee, along with a closed 215 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:45.919 head injury. The report said she'd been at her mother's 216 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:49.600 home when she fell over. The child welfare worker noted 217 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:53.480 it was unknown whether the injuries were intentional, but recommended 218 00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:58.120 that all visits be supervised to prevent further harm. Then 219 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:01.799 came April fourteenth, during what should have been an enjoyable 220 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:06.120 family adding to the zoo, Kelsey reportedly twisted her foot. 221 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:08.720 By the time she was examined, she had a spray 222 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:11.879 and ankle, bruising on both arms, and bruises on her 223 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:16.200 lower back. Some were yellow with age. One bruise on 224 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:18.840 her left arm was the size of a half dollar, 225 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:23.279 just below the elbow. Kelsey said she had bitten herself, 226 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:27.519 though it was unclear if there were actual teethmarks. Another 227 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:30.399 bruise on her right arm was black, pencil thin and 228 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:33.679 less than an inch long. On her lower back and 229 00:15:33.720 --> 00:15:37.200 spine were multiple small bruises, no larger than a dime. 230 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:42.440 The most alarming discovery came on April twenty fifth. Ray 231 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:46.440 brought Kelsey to the DHS office, where workers immediately saw 232 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:50.399 that she whimpered constantly and she refused to walk or crawl. 233 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:54.240 They ordered Ray to take her to the emergency room immediately. 234 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:59.600 X rays revealed the horrifying truth, bilateral fractures on both 235 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:03.519 her legs, left and right leg. An orthopedic surgeon at 236 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:07.799 ou Medical Center examined Kelsey on the second of May. 237 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:11.879 His conclusion was clear the injuries were the result of abuse. 238 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:16.480 Significant force would have been required, the kind caused by 239 00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:21.039 violently yanking or twisting a child's legs. His reports stated 240 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:24.440 that the injuries didn't match the explanations given by the family. 241 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:28.799 DHS informed the district attorney that allegations of abuse were 242 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:32.639 in the process of being confirmed. There were also concerns 243 00:16:32.679 --> 00:16:35.320 that Porter had been at Ray's home when Kelsey was there, 244 00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:38.799 in direct violation of the court order. But on April 245 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:42.600 twenty ninth, yet another referral came in. This time Kelsey 246 00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:46.519 had new facial injuries. There was bruising across the bridge 247 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:49.399 of her nose that extended to her eyebrows and not 248 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:52.639 by her right eye, and finger shaped marks on her cheeks. 249 00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:57.240 The collar believed that somebody had grabbed her face. Ray 250 00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:59.360 claimed that Kelsey had been sleeping in bed with her 251 00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:04.720 steps as when her stepsister accidentally elbowed her. A DHS 252 00:17:04.759 --> 00:17:09.599 worker called this explanation laudible. By May third, Kelsey was 253 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:14.079 once again placed in DHS emergency protective custody and moved 254 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:18.599 to live with her maternal grandmother, Gayla Smith. Court battles 255 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.480 over costoy intensified. On the fifth of May, Ray sought 256 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:26.160 to terminate the guardianship, insisting she had completed all court 257 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:30.920 ordered requirements. Despite the mounting evidence of abuse, some people 258 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.039 still believed that Kelsey should be returned to her mother's care. 259 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:37.839 At a June hearing, the judge heard from a dozen witnesses, 260 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:43.160 including DHS workers, a court appointed special advocate, and both grandmothers. 261 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:47.680 The DHS worker recommended that Kelsey remain with Gayla and 262 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:51.200 that any return to Ray should be phased in. Cathy 263 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:54.799 agreed she wanted Kelsey back with her mother. Eventually, but 264 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:58.759 only once the truth of the injuries was uncovered. But 265 00:17:58.839 --> 00:18:03.640 the Special Advocate recons commended immediate reunification. In the end, 266 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:07.480 the judge sided with that advice. Kelsey was returned to 267 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:11.200 her mother's home under the Community Home Base Service supervision. 268 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:15.720 Cathy was stunned. She was convinced that either Ray or 269 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:20.599 Porter was responsible for the abuse. She contacted everybody she 270 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:23.759 could think of, even writing a letter to the first 271 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:27.559 lady plating for help, But the court's position was clear. 272 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:32.079 The focus was on reunifying the family, not keeping them apart. 273 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:37.119 The incidents didn't stop, and now the change wasn't just 274 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:40.839 on Kelsey's body, it was in her eyes, her voice, 275 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:45.039 her very spirit. The vibrant little girl who once loved 276 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:58.960 swings and story books was beginning to fade. By August 277 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:01.720 two thousand and five, the changes in Kelsey were becoming 278 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:07.160 impossible to ignore. On August, second, HBS workers noted disturbing 279 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:11.960 new behaviors. Kelsey had begun harming herself and suffering from 280 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:15.799 night terrors. Two weeks later, on the nineteenth of August, 281 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:19.119 she was in a car accident. Four days after that, 282 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:22.880 she was refusing to eat. When Kathy saw her granddaughter 283 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:25.839 for the first time in weeks. She was unprepared for 284 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:29.920 what she saw. She recalled, we were expecting to walk 285 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:33.160 in there and see this happy, healthy little child, and oh, 286 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:36.880 my gosh, that's not what we saw. She was horrified. 287 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:41.400 Kelsey looked frail, withdrawn and nothing like the lively little 288 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:46.119 girl she remembered. Kathy immediately filed a complaint with DHS. 289 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:50.000 On the twenty ninth of August, a DHS worker visited 290 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.400 the home observed bruises on Kelsey's face and across her nose. 291 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:57.680 They were explained away as a result of the recent 292 00:19:57.720 --> 00:20:02.200 car accident, but there was more. Kelsey had lost significant 293 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:07.880 weight and her once bright personality had dimmed. She was timid, cautious, 294 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:13.359 almost afraid to move. September brought more troubling signs. On 295 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:15.720 the sixth of September, Kelsey had a blister on her 296 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:19.559 Eyelid Ray explained that she had been washing Kelsey's hair 297 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:21.920 with adult shampoo when soup got in her eye, and 298 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.279 Kelsey had rubbed it until a blister formed. Not long after, 299 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:30.200 Kelsey was spotted outside the home alone and unsupervised. Even 300 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:33.160 Kelsey's physician, who had followed her case for months began 301 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:36.920 raising alarms. In a letter to the Lincoln County Court 302 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:40.599 dated August thirtieth, she recommended that Kelsey remain in one 303 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:43.880 stable home so she could be properly evaluated for possible 304 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:48.279 seizure activity. That medical warning was serious enough that the 305 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:52.039 court placed new limits on certain visitation arrangements. But no 306 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:55.799 matter the restrictions, the decline in Kelsey's spirit was undeniable. 307 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:59.279 Over the course of the year, the spark that had 308 00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:02.920 once to find her was disappearing. At daycare, she was 309 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:05.839 no longer the bubbly, curious child who loved to play. 310 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:11.920 She'd become withdrawn, aggressive, sometimes biding and punching others without warning. 311 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:15.759 She didn't know what was going on, recalled Julie, a 312 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:20.519 daycare worker who watched the transformation firsthand. Kelsey's hair even 313 00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:24.079 began falling out. She stopped dating, and she refused to nap. 314 00:21:24.839 --> 00:21:28.759 She just changed completely, Julie said. The joy in Kelsey 315 00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:32.079 was being replaced by a confusion, fear, and a quiet 316 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:35.319 kind of resignation, as though the world had become a 317 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:38.640 place where bad things simply happened and there was no 318 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:51.559 way to stop them. It was the eleventh of October 319 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:55.359 two thousand and five, two year old Kelsey Smith Briggs 320 00:21:55.400 --> 00:21:58.839 was at home with her mother Ray. That evening, Kelsey 321 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:01.400 was supposed to go to the movie with her grandmother, Gayla, 322 00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:04.880 something she'd been looking forward to before the auting. There 323 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:07.359 was one more routine step in the long chain of 324 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:12.039 court oversight that had become part of Kelsey's life. DHS 325 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:16.400 worker Patty Bonner arrived for a scheduled home visit, the 326 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:19.799 eighteenth such visits in summer, each one ordered by the 327 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:24.440 court to check on Kelsey's welfare. Patty later described Kelsey 328 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:27.480 that afternoon, It's just like a normal two year old girl. 329 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:32.279 She was playful, climbing over her mother and smiling. But 330 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:35.720 Patty also noticed that when Ray left the room, Kelsey 331 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:40.400 became anxious, her energy shifting from carefred to uneasy in 332 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:44.359 just a matter of seconds. Michael Porter raised new husband 333 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.519 wasn't there. He was at work and, by all accounts, 334 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:50.759 in high spirits. The company he ran had just secured 335 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:54.119 a twenty thousand dollars deal. When he left the shop, 336 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:57.319 he was on cloud nine. His coworker, Wendell would later 337 00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:01.240 say Patty did notice a Nicolson sized bruise on Kelsey 338 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:03.880 and a band it on her finger. Still, there was 339 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:07.440 nothing that seemed on the surface to demand immediate alarm. 340 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:12.240 She left it around one thirty pm. Not long afterwards, 341 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:16.640 Porter returned home. When he arrived when Kelsey were napping together. 342 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:21.279 A short while later, Ray woke, left Kelsey in Porter's 343 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:24.039 care and went to pick up his daughter, Whitney from school. 344 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:28.519 What happened next took less than ninety minutes, but it 345 00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:33.599 would change everything. Sometime after Ray left, Porter dialed nine 346 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:37.799 one one. His voice was urgent. He told dispatchers that 347 00:23:37.880 --> 00:23:41.039 Kelsey been napping when he heard a strange grunting sound. 348 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.000 When he checked on her, she looked as though she 349 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:47.680 was having a seizure. Her body was rigid, her neck arched, 350 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:51.359 her hands and jaw were clenched. She had a history 351 00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:54.119 of seizures, he said. He claimed he tapped her on 352 00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:57.359 the face, shouted her name, splash coal water on her, 353 00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:00.359 blew in her mouth, even tried chess and press essions 354 00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:04.279 before calling for help. Then he ran outside, creatling Kelsey 355 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:08.319 in his arms, waiting for the ambulance. Paramedics arrived and 356 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:12.319 worked frantically as they sped towards Prague Hospital by the 357 00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:16.319 time they arrived, Kelsey was gone. The truth of her 358 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:19.599 final moments would come later. In the cold, clinical light 359 00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:24.680 of the medical examiner's office, Kelseie's body told a horrific story. 360 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:28.599 There were bruises across her ribs, chest, side, and back. 361 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:32.920 There was bleeding in her intestines, bruising on her scalp 362 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:36.200 and face, a tear in her upper gum, blood in 363 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:40.240 her ear, and one tonil was missing. Her cause of 364 00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:43.960 death was blunt forced trauma to the abdomen. The pathologist 365 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:46.640 explained that the injury could have been caused by a knee, 366 00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:51.160 a punch, or by being squeezed with tremendous force. There 367 00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:54.400 were also injuries to the genital area, though it couldn't 368 00:24:54.440 --> 00:24:56.920 be determined if they were the result of sexual abuse. 369 00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:01.880 This was clearly no accident. Two year old Kelsey Smith 370 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:15.400 Briggs had been killed. After Kelsey's death, Michael Porter and 371 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:20.279 Ray Smith were separated and placed into interrogation rooms. Almost immediately, 372 00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:23.079 they turned on each other, each pointing the finger for 373 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:27.359 the injuries that killed Kelsey. Right Old detectives that after 374 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:31.119 DHS worker Patty Bonner left that afternoon, she and Kelsey 375 00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:34.279 lay down for a nap Porter came home from work 376 00:25:34.359 --> 00:25:37.960 at about two thirty pm. She said. Fifteen minutes later, 377 00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:41.039 she left to pick up Porter's daughter from school, a 378 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:43.240 task she claimed that Porter had asked her to do. 379 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:47.119 According to Ray, Kelsey was fine when she walked out 380 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:50.359 the door. She also painted a picture of a strange 381 00:25:50.359 --> 00:25:54.799 relationship between Porter and her two year old daughter. Porter, 382 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:58.640 she alleged, was jealous of Kelsey, accusing Ray of neglecting 383 00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:01.759 his children, a year old Whitney and two year old Michael. 384 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:05.960 Ray's mother, Gala, confirmed that she had heard that tension before. 385 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:09.799 Just a week earlier, She recalled, Porter had yelled at Ray, 386 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:13.599 you don't care about anything but that thing in the back. 387 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:19.640 That thing was Kelsey. When detectives questioned Porter, his version 388 00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:23.279 of events initially matched Raise, at least on the surface. 389 00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:26.480 He said he found Ray and Kelsey asleep when he 390 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:29.240 came home. He also confirmed that Ray left at two 391 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:32.920 forty five to pick up his daughter, but in his telling, 392 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:36.640 that was unusual. He claimed he was the one who 393 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:40.559 normally collected Whitney from school, and that Ray's sudden departure 394 00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:44.079 didn't sit right with him. He even said he told 395 00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:46.759 her to wait that he would do the pick up himself, 396 00:26:47.319 --> 00:26:50.400 but said that she rushed out the door anyway. This 397 00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:53.480 directly contradicted Ray's claims that Porter had asked her to go. 398 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:57.839 Porter told investigators that are on fifteen to twenty minutes 399 00:26:57.880 --> 00:27:01.279 after Ray left, Kelsey began grunting and appeared to have 400 00:27:01.319 --> 00:27:05.920 a seizure. When asked if he would take a polygraph examination, which, 401 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:09.759