Speaker 1: All witnesses, suspects, and persons of interest are considered innocent
Speaker 1: until proven guilty in a court of law. Warning, this
Speaker 1: episode contains graphic crime scene detail. Please listen with discretion.
Speaker 2: Welcome to Primetime Crime. I'm your host, Kylie.
Speaker 1: Let's talk right now on true crime, and then together
Speaker 1: we're gonna work on warming up some cold cases.
Speaker 2: Let's go.
Speaker 1: Hey guys, welcome to this week's episode of Primetime Crime.
Speaker 2: It's Kylie.
Speaker 1: We are gonna get into right now on true crime.
Speaker 1: We have a few things to catch up on over
Speaker 1: the last week. So Dwayne Keefie D. Davis was officially
Speaker 1: convicted of first degree murder. They found him guilty of
Speaker 1: his role in Tupac Shakur's murder. And the verdict was
Speaker 1: dropped on August 31st, obviously of 2026, just a couple
Speaker 1: of days ago.
Speaker 2: And the jury deliberated for less than three hours.
Speaker 1: So, I mean, obviously the evidence was there to convict him.
Speaker 1: So after 30 years, Tupac was killed in 1996. After
Speaker 1: 30 years, we finally have a little sliver of justice
Speaker 1: for Tupac. So his formal sentencing hearing is scheduled for
Speaker 1: October 13th of 2026. And I will be sure to
Speaker 1: keep you guys updated.
Speaker 2: On all of that. And he faces a minimum of
Speaker 2: 40 years in prison.
Speaker 1: And prosecutors have said that he could face life.
Speaker 2: In prison that goes along with this sentence.
Speaker 1: So I will be sure to keep you guys updated
Speaker 1: on this one. We're going to have an official sentencing
Speaker 1: in October, so I will be sure to keep you
Speaker 1: guys in the loop. Okay, next order of business, we
Speaker 1: need to talk about the trial against James Elmore Jr.
Speaker 1: He is... one of the people that was involved in
Speaker 1: the death of Laura Miller, who is the daughter of
Speaker 1: Tim Miller. Tim Miller founded Texas EquiSearch following the abduction.
Speaker 2: And murder of his own daughter, Laura.
Speaker 1: Notoriously, if you look Laura up, you also will see
Speaker 1: the quote-unquote Texas Killing Fields murders. There have been a
Speaker 1: lot of bodies found in a very similar geographic area
Speaker 1: off of the I-45 corridor. in Texas, situated between Houston
Speaker 1: and Galveston. There have been more than 30 bodies of
Speaker 1: young women and girls aged 12 to 25 that have
Speaker 1: been discovered in this area since the 1970s. Now, it
Speaker 1: is suspected that not all of these victims are tied
Speaker 1: to a specific killer, but rather there are perpetrators and
Speaker 1: predators who are targeting women and using that as essentially
Speaker 1: their dumping grounds. Now, there have been victims who are
Speaker 1: believed to be tied to a man named Clyde.
Speaker 2: Hedrick, including Laura Miller.
Speaker 1: Now, Clyde Hedrick took his life earlier this year, literally
Speaker 1: right before he was probably about to be indicted for
Speaker 1: Laura's murder. So Laura was only 16 years old when
Speaker 1: she disappeared. And then 17 months later, her remains were
Speaker 1: found in a field off Calder Road in League City.
Speaker 1: Tim was Laura's father and never gave up hope that
Speaker 1: he was going to find out what happened to Laura.
Speaker 1: In his testimony, he recalls how he would always go
Speaker 1: to the site that Laura was found, and he felt
Speaker 1: like she was telling him basically not to give up,
Speaker 1: to keep searching, to keep hoping.
Speaker 2: So he did just that.
Speaker 1: In 2000, he founded Texas EquiSearch, and to this date,
Speaker 1: he said during his testimony that the organization has conducted
Speaker 1: searches in 42 states and 11 countries, They've recovered more
Speaker 1: than 400 deceased people and they have found many others alive.
Speaker 1: And he describes this organization as Laura's legacy. And I fully,
Speaker 1: a thousand percent believe in that. I really love seeing
Speaker 1: when people take something tragic and turn it into something
Speaker 1: as beautiful as possible. And in his case, founding Texas EquiSearch,
Speaker 1: it is huge. It is very well known. I talk
Speaker 1: about it very often in this podcast.
Speaker 2: It is one of the best.
Speaker 1: And if you do have somebody in your life that
Speaker 1: goes missing, you want Texas Echo Search in your corner.
Speaker 1: So how this trial came to be against this James
Speaker 1: Elmore Jr. guy. So Tim Miller testified that he got
Speaker 1: information in 2022 because James Elmore contacted Texas Echo Search
Speaker 1: And he said he wanted to talk about a missing
Speaker 1: persons case and get something off of his chest. So
Speaker 1: Tim then said that in the beginnings of this conversation,
Speaker 1: he identified Clyde Hedrick and Laura Miller as the subjects
Speaker 1: of this conversation. Now, Tim said he was initially skeptical
Speaker 1: because there had been so many false leads over the years,
Speaker 1: but Clyde Hedrick had been identified as a person of
Speaker 1: interest and possible suspect.
Speaker 2: But then Tim.
Speaker 1: Said that James Elmore began directing him to locations and
Speaker 1: describing details that Tim knew were not publicly known. James
Speaker 1: Elmore identified Clyde Hedrick's former home, which was actually two
Speaker 1: houses away from where the Miller family had previously lived.
Speaker 1: And he also identified an area that was located near
Speaker 1: a cemetery where Laura used to spend some time. Again,
Speaker 1: not stuff that was publicly known. Tim Miller testified that
Speaker 1: James Elmore eventually went on to describe being present inside
Speaker 1: of Clyde's home on the night that Laura died. According
Speaker 1: to Tim, James Elmore said that the group of them
Speaker 1: had been using drugs and that James Elmore was the
Speaker 1: guy who had mixed the drugs, so he mixed cocaine
Speaker 1: in a syringe. And then Tim Miller testified that James
Speaker 1: Elmore then said that Clyde Hedrick asked him to prepare
Speaker 1: another syringe of this cocaine mixture. And he said that
Speaker 1: he mixed up another syringe and then handed it to Clyde.
Speaker 1: James Elmore said that he told Clyde not to use it.
Speaker 1: But then Tim Miller testified that James Elmore told him
Speaker 1: that Clyde Hedrick then injected Laura with this mixture. And
Speaker 1: then that led to Laura passing away. And then they
Speaker 1: covered Laura with a Western-style shirt. And then her remains
Speaker 1: were found where I talked about earlier. Now, Tim Miller
Speaker 1: did testify that James Elmore described the shirt and then
Speaker 1: later recognized it in a photograph.
Speaker 2: There was a shirt found near Laura's body.
Speaker 1: James Elmore also went into detail to Tim Miller about
Speaker 1: the death of Audrey Cook, who James Elmore said that
Speaker 1: she was shot in the back with a. 22 caliber weapon.
Speaker 1: after she rejected Clyde's sexual advances. And her autopsy did
Speaker 1: show that she had been shot in the lower back
Speaker 1: with a.
Speaker 2: 22 caliber round.
Speaker 1: So the details that James Elmore was giving to Tim
Speaker 1: Miller very much did match up with law enforcement's evidence
Speaker 1: and information that they had. James Elmore also provided other
Speaker 1: information about another missing woman in a trip to Louisiana,
Speaker 1: which was supported by an interview with that woman's son.
Speaker 2: So investigators do.
Speaker 1: Believe that Clyde Hedrick killed Laura, Audrey Cook, and the
Speaker 1: other woman, and the detective testified that the authorities were
Speaker 1: preparing to seek indictments against Clyde Hedrick in the four killings. Now,
Speaker 1: like I said, he took his own life, so unfortunately
Speaker 1: that cannot happen. But they were able to bring manslaughter
Speaker 1: charges up against James Elmore Jr., and the trial started Monday,
Speaker 1: and I am recording this on Wednesday, and the jury
Speaker 1: has found him guilty of manslaughter connected to the deaths
Speaker 1: of Laura Miller and Audrey Cook. So that was the
Speaker 1: quickest turnaround for a trial and a verdict I've ever seen.
Speaker 1: I think it's great. I am so glad it did
Speaker 1: not take them long. I'm glad that Tim Miller got
Speaker 1: up there and told them everything. And also, let's cheer
Speaker 1: on Tim Miller for doing what he did in this
Speaker 1: case because he single-handedly started communicating with a man who
Speaker 1: had information possibly about his daughter's murder. He even would
Speaker 1: go out to the area where Laura's remains were found
Speaker 1: with James Elmore Jr. And they would talk about things.
Speaker 1: And he would give him all this information. James Elmore Jr.
Speaker 1: would talk to Tim about what happened. And he single-handedly,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, helped crack his own daughter's case. And
Speaker 1: I think if there's anything that I'm not surprised about
Speaker 1: is that Tim Miller is the one who solved his
Speaker 1: own daughter's murder. I know law enforcement had their hand
Speaker 1: in things, and I know all of that, but I
Speaker 1: truly do believe that if he hadn't done what he
Speaker 1: did in basically talking to James Elmore... that we might
Speaker 1: not be in this position now. And I think that
Speaker 1: that is amazing. And I think that Laura always coming
Speaker 1: through and telling him, don't give up, don't give up,
Speaker 1: don't give up, led to this moment. And I do
Speaker 1: think that there is going to be more to come
Speaker 1: on this. So I'm going to be sure to keep
Speaker 1: you guys updated. But I grew up knowing the name
Speaker 1: Laura Miller, having lived outside of the Houston area my
Speaker 1: whole life. I have always known Laura's case and I
Speaker 1: am so glad to live in a world now in
Speaker 1: 2026 where I'm able to tell you that there has
Speaker 1: at least been some movement in her case and hopefully
Speaker 1: some of the other victims as well will also get
Speaker 1: their justice. So in other terror person's news from one
Speaker 1: criminal to the next, Singer, and I use that term
Speaker 1: very lightly, David, D4VD, as he goes by on whatever
Speaker 1: platform he was viral on, David Anthony Burke, who is
Speaker 1: set to face death murder charges for the murder of
Speaker 1: Celeste Rivas Hernandez. His lawyers have withdrawn from his case,
Speaker 1: and he is now going to be represented by a
Speaker 1: public defender. And I think that this is great news.
Speaker 1: I think karma is slowly going to work its way
Speaker 1: to David. This man allegedly... is horrific, absolutely horrific. I
Speaker 1: read the affidavit. I am disgusted, utterly disgusted by everything
Speaker 1: that this man allegedly did. And I just can't wait
Speaker 1: for this one to play out in the court system.
Speaker 1: I am going to be staying on top of it.
Speaker 1: But as of right now, he is going to be
Speaker 1: being represented by a public defender. And I personally love
Speaker 1: this for him. Okay, we are getting into the I
Speaker 1: am starting the recording of this on Wednesday. So as
Speaker 1: of right now, there is no verdict. The jury cannot agree.
Speaker 1: They have been sent back multiple times. But I do
Speaker 1: want to talk about this situation that happened yesterday after court.
Speaker 1: This woman allegedly was filming the jurors. And she obviously
Speaker 1: was called on it. She actually got arrested and was
Speaker 1: in court this morning on it. She said it wasn't
Speaker 1: her intention to record the juror. She was trying to
Speaker 1: catch a glimpse of Lindsay and record her. But initially
Speaker 1: it was reported as juror intimidation, which is obviously not okay.
Speaker 2: And it has turned into a whole thing. So she
Speaker 2: was in court this morning. She was arraigned.
Speaker 1: And this woman is 56 years old. She is a
Speaker 1: retired nurse. She has pled not guilty and has been
Speaker 1: ordered to stay away from the courthouse. Prosecutors have been
Speaker 1: asked that she be held on a $ 50, 000 cash bond,
Speaker 1: but the judge did deny the request. She has agreed
Speaker 1: to stay away from the courthouse and not to have
Speaker 1: any contact with anybody associated with the case. And she
Speaker 1: is going to appear in court on October 15th. I'll
Speaker 1: keep you guys updated on this one. There has been
Speaker 1: so much going on surrounding the Clancy trial. And we're
Speaker 1: going to stop right there for now because I would
Speaker 1: imagine tomorrow is going to bring a little bit more
Speaker 1: of something that I can actually talk about because right
Speaker 1: now we have a jury that has not been able
Speaker 1: to come to a unanimous decision, and they are obviously
Speaker 1: very tired. I think that they are going to declare
Speaker 1: a mistrial.
Speaker 2: I think the jury is hung.
Speaker 1: I don't think they're going to be able to come
Speaker 1: to a unanimous decision, and that is my prediction. Well, guys,
Speaker 1: we are on Thursday, and we still don't have a verdict.
Speaker 1: So there was an issue today in court. The jury
Speaker 1: continued their deliberations, and then they sent another note to
Speaker 1: the court, And basically, it ended up going into sidebar
Speaker 1: where the defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, was visibly upset. And
Speaker 1: he and the judge kind of went back and forth.
Speaker 1: And then they ended up bringing Lindsey Clancy as well
Speaker 1: to the sidebar. And each of the deliberating jurors was
Speaker 1: brought out individually. And one by one, the jurors were
Speaker 1: sworn in and they were questioned by the judge at
Speaker 1: the sidebar. while the attorneys and Lindsay looked on. Now,
Speaker 1: it's not exactly clear what the judge was asking each
Speaker 1: individual juror, but they were responding by either shaking their
Speaker 1: heads or answering yes before they went back to the
Speaker 1: jury room. Then eventually, after all the jurors had been questioned,
Speaker 1: the entire jury was brought back into the courtroom. And
Speaker 1: the judge reminded them that they are required to follow
Speaker 1: the instructions that were given. And then he reread the
Speaker 1: instruction about reasonable doubt. Kevin Reddington objected to the way
Speaker 1: that the issue was handled and revealed that he was
Speaker 1: concerned and that this concern involved a specific juror that
Speaker 1: is refusing to listen to the law on reasonable doubt
Speaker 1: and is not following the instructions. So it does seem
Speaker 1: that there is one holdout. And that person seems to
Speaker 1: not be following things the way that they are supposed to.
Speaker 2: So Kevin wanted to remove the.
Speaker 1: Juror and have them replaced by one of the alternates.
Speaker 1: But the judge declined to remove the juror because this
Speaker 1: has obviously been a long bout of deliberations and there
Speaker 1: is just so much going on. So the jury has
Speaker 1: left for the evening and they will return tomorrow to
Speaker 1: continue their investigation said deliberations. I don't know where this
Speaker 1: is going. I can't believe that we are still here.
Speaker 1: And it does seem that there is just this one
Speaker 1: person that is a holdout. Now, whether it's a holdout
Speaker 1: for actual reason or there is a misunderstanding in the instruction,
Speaker 1: I am not really sure on that, but it seems
Speaker 1: like it is ongoing. So there's so much going on.
Speaker 1: I'm overwhelmed and I will try to keep you guys updated.
Speaker 1: But I have talked entirely too long on this right
Speaker 1: now on True Crime. So we are going to go
Speaker 1: ahead and get into today's episode. Okay, guys, we are
Speaker 1: jumping in to a brand new unsolved case today. In
Speaker 1: this week's episode, I'm going to be sharing about the
Speaker 1: suspicious death of 17-year-old Danny Violet out of Willard, Ohio
Speaker 1: in 1998. Now, this case originally didn't get much media
Speaker 1: attention when it happened, and I do think over the
Speaker 1: years more has definitely come out. And there have been
Speaker 1: a number of podcasts that have covered it, including Culpable,
Speaker 1: who did a long-form series on Danny's story back in
Speaker 1: 2025 in cooperation with Danny's family. It was a huge
Speaker 1: source that I used for this episode to fill in
Speaker 1: the gaps because honestly, there wasn't a whole lot out
Speaker 1: there about Danny's death. I will be sure to link
Speaker 1: the podcast in the show notes, but it is season four.
Speaker 1: So I highly suggest you guys go and check it
Speaker 1: out because it really does go into deep detail. But
Speaker 1: there still are so many unanswered questions to this day
Speaker 1: about what exactly happened to Danny. So that is why
Speaker 1: we are here to tell Danny's story and bring a
Speaker 1: little more attention to a case that deserves our attention.
Speaker 2: Let's go ahead and get into it.
Speaker 1: Daniel Danny Violet was born on February 23rd of 1981
Speaker 1: in San Diego, California, to his parents, Daniel and Jane Violet.
Speaker 1: He had two brothers, Drew and Ross, and a sister
Speaker 1: named Caroline. Danny was the oldest child of his siblings
Speaker 1: and was always very protective over them, but Danny was
Speaker 1: incredibly close with his youngest brother, Drew. Although they did
Speaker 1: have a five-year age gap, they were incredibly, incredibly close.
Speaker 1: But to this day, Drew is the driving force behind
Speaker 1: Danny's story and working to get justice for his brother.
Speaker 1: Prior to moving to Willard, Ohio in 1991, Danny and
Speaker 1: his family moved lived in Washington, Japan, and Long Beach, California.
Speaker 1: Since Danny's father was in the military, they bounced around
Speaker 1: and moved around a lot. But once he retired, they
Speaker 1: finally settled down for good in Willard, Ohio, at a
Speaker 1: house that was located on West Tiffin Street. Danny was
Speaker 1: 17 years old and a student at Willard High School
Speaker 1: and the Pioneer Career and Technology Center, where.
Speaker 2: He was a junior in the welding program.
Speaker 1: Now, the Pioneer Career and Technology Center is described as
Speaker 1: Ohio's fifth largest public vocational school serving high school juniors
Speaker 1: and seniors, as well as adult learners across the region.
Speaker 1: It offers hands-on career technical education, specialized professional certifications, and
Speaker 1: a modern lab design to build high-demand workforce skills. So
Speaker 1: Danny was learning welding, which honestly, I do think there
Speaker 1: should be more programs offered like this to high school students.
Speaker 1: They are great programs and great skills to learn and
Speaker 1: can translate to a wonderful career. And these are the
Speaker 1: type of jobs that are very in demand and they
Speaker 1: are great careers for people. So Danny was a wrestler
Speaker 1: and he lettered in wrestling in 1997 and was voted
Speaker 1: the most improved wrestler. He also loved soccer, basketball, swimming
Speaker 1: and football. In his free time, he enjoyed fishing, rollerblading,
Speaker 1: video games, and hunting. Danny attended church at the First
Speaker 1: Assembly of God in Willard. Danny was well-liked by his
Speaker 1: family and friends. He was described as adventurous, daring, and
Speaker 1: competitive with a wry sense of humor. He was loyal
Speaker 1: to his friends and would do anything for them. So
Speaker 1: like I said, Danny was very well-liked, very popular, and
Speaker 1: he had a very laid-back type of personality. which would
Speaker 1: often cause him to butt heads with his dad, Daniel,
Speaker 1: who was very military-like style and regimented. So they would
Speaker 1: butt heads. They would occasionally get into arguments. And as
Speaker 1: a normal teenager, Danny just kind of began to rebel.
Speaker 1: Danny began to use recreational drugs, and he would drink,
Speaker 1: and sometimes he would throw parties when his parents weren't home.
Speaker 1: Oftentimes when he would get into disagreements with his dad,
Speaker 1: he would leave home to cool off and often spend
Speaker 1: the next couple of days at a friend's house, but
Speaker 1: he would always return home. Danny's brother, Drew, said that
Speaker 1: Danny did get into a lot of trouble and he
Speaker 1: wasn't really the best student, but he really wanted to wrestle,
Speaker 1: so he knew that if he wanted to be involved
Speaker 1: in wrestling, that he needed to try and keep his
Speaker 1: grades up. One of the last conversations that Daniel had
Speaker 1: with his son was about how he needed to pick
Speaker 1: up his grades in order to keep wrestling. Jane, Danny's mom,
Speaker 1: told a story about how once Danny had gotten in
Speaker 1: trouble for shoplifting cigarettes. And this is a story that
Speaker 1: she told on the Culpable podcast. She discusses how the
Speaker 1: judge made Danny write a paper about why he was
Speaker 1: getting in trouble. And in that paper, she said that
Speaker 1: he wrote about having a good set of friends and
Speaker 1: then having a bad set of friends and that he
Speaker 1: could be very easily influenced. So when he was around
Speaker 1: the good set of friends, he was making good choices
Speaker 1: and good decisions. And when he was around the bad
Speaker 1: set of friends, he was making bad choices and bad decisions,
Speaker 1: which I do think for any normal teenager, this is
Speaker 1: not out of the ordinary. This is very normal behavior.
Speaker 1: Teenagers are very, very easily influenced, and they could be
Speaker 1: influenced in a good way or influenced in a bad way.
Speaker 1: During Danny's sophomore year, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Speaker 1: after he had an episode at school, and he had
Speaker 1: to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. He was prescribed
Speaker 1: lithium along with Seroquel. And the medicines did seem to
Speaker 1: help Danny at times, but Danny was also using recreational
Speaker 1: drugs and drinking alcohol, which obviously wasn't great because of
Speaker 1: the prescription meds that he was taking. So we're now
Speaker 1: going to get into the timeline leading up to Danny
Speaker 1: going missing. So the night is Friday, October 23rd of 1998.
Speaker 1: And after school, Danny decided to hang out with some
Speaker 1: of his friends, and he never came home after school.
Speaker 1: He just went straight to hang out with his friends.
Speaker 1: But he typically would let his parents know what his
Speaker 1: plans were. But this time, he didn't do that. That night,
Speaker 1: it is reported that Danny and his friends did LSD together.
Speaker 1: Danny had an adverse reaction to the LSD and reacted
Speaker 1: after being exposed to a strobe light and had a
Speaker 1: seizure as a result. Danny didn't return home until the
Speaker 1: afternoon the next day, Saturday around 1 p.m. So Jane
Speaker 1: saw Danny come into the house and was really worried
Speaker 1: about Danny because he seemed pretty out of it and
Speaker 1: he wasn't acting like himself. She sat him down in
Speaker 1: the kitchen and tried to get him to eat some cereal.
Speaker 1: And then she went and let her husband Daniel know
Speaker 1: that there was something going on with Danny.
Speaker 2: When she went to go get Daniel.
Speaker 1: Danny got up and left the home once again, saying
Speaker 1: goodbye to his younger brother, Ross, who was outside at
Speaker 1: the time. That would be the last time that Ross
Speaker 1: would see his brother. So Jane and Daniel would spend
Speaker 1: the rest of the day searching for Danny. Typically, they
Speaker 1: wouldn't be overly concerned, but Jane just got a feeling
Speaker 1: that something was not right with Danny.
Speaker 2: They searched all of.
Speaker 1: The common hangout spots and contacted all of his friends
Speaker 1: to see if they had seen Danny, but they hadn't.
Speaker 1: They knew that this was very unusual for him just
Speaker 1: to run off, and since he didn't look well when
Speaker 1: Jane saw him in the kitchen, they were worried. Jane
Speaker 1: and Daniel reported him missing on Sunday, October 25th. Danny
Speaker 1: was last seen wearing a gray Michigan University t-shirt, jeans,
Speaker 1: and a pair of black Nikes. The family held out
Speaker 1: hope that Danny would be found and that he was okay.
Speaker 1: In the next days, there would be some people that
Speaker 1: came forward with sightings of Danny. One tip came in
Speaker 1: that said that they saw Danny on the 24th, and
Speaker 1: they said they saw Danny crossing the tracks to Willard's
Speaker 1: east side. Another witness said they saw him at the
Speaker 1: YMCA on the east side on that same day. Another
Speaker 1: witness said they saw Danny at a grocery store, Meisler's
Speaker 1: grocery store, that was located at 20 Woodland Avenue at
Speaker 1: 7 p.m. that night, and he wasn't wearing any shoes.
Speaker 1: When Danny was at this grocery store, he was looking
Speaker 1: for certain friends to meet up with to attend a
Speaker 1: party that night. Now, that was the last known sighting
Speaker 1: of Danny Violet. Now, the east side of Willard wasn't
Speaker 1: the greatest. Drew said on the Culpable podcast that that
Speaker 1: was the side that you would go on if you
Speaker 1: were running with a shady crowd or looking to buy drugs.
Speaker 1: So then the week started and Danny's family got a
Speaker 1: call from the school that Danny was in fact in
Speaker 1: school and marked present in class. They went to the
Speaker 1: school to get Danny since it had been days of
Speaker 1: them worrying about him. But when they got there, they
Speaker 1: realized that there had been a mistake. Danny wasn't present.
Speaker 1: He was, in fact, marked absent. So the hope that
Speaker 1: they had gotten had unfortunately been ripped away, and they
Speaker 1: were back to wondering and worrying about where Danny was. They,
Speaker 1: of course, continued to try and hold out hope that
Speaker 1: Danny would come home. But sadly, on November 4th of 1998,
Speaker 1: the family got the news that would change their life forever.
Speaker 1: A police officer from the Willard Police Department came to
Speaker 1: the door and let them know that they had found Danny,
Speaker 1: but he was no longer alive. Drew remembers the moment
Speaker 1: he was told his brother was no longer alive. He
Speaker 1: was only 12 years old at the time, and this
Speaker 1: news just completely changed his life forever. The details of
Speaker 1: Danny's death were alarming. Danny was found in a cornfield
Speaker 1: by a farmer who was tending to his crops. His
Speaker 1: lifeless body was found wearing only his blue jeans. He
Speaker 1: had no shirt on. According to the autopsy report, Danny
Speaker 1: died from asphyxiation. He had post-mortem abrasions, which indicated his
Speaker 1: body had been moved from one location to another. There
Speaker 1: were also patterns across his chest resembling a tire tread.
Speaker 1: suggesting an ATV may have ran him over, and he
Speaker 1: also had ligature marks around his neck, but there was
Speaker 1: no ligature found at the scene. Danny's shirt was missing.
Speaker 1: The next day, investigators were called back to the scene
Speaker 1: because something else had been found. There was torn up
Speaker 1: money found at the scene near his body, $ 6 to
Speaker 1: be exact, along with a wallet that did in fact
Speaker 1: belong to Danny. and a gray Michigan shirt that he
Speaker 1: was last seen wearing. Now, this could mean one of
Speaker 1: two things. Either during the initial search of the area,
Speaker 1: they overlooked these items, or they were dumped after the fact,
Speaker 1: and I do think that this is very important. They
Speaker 1: weren't found that far away from where Danny's body was found,
Speaker 1: but it could very well mean that the people that
Speaker 1: went to the scene and discovered Danny's body didn't thoroughly
Speaker 1: search the area surrounding and they possibly could have missed
Speaker 1: these items. But it also is entirely possible that the
Speaker 1: items were dumped after the body had already been recovered.
Speaker 1: And like I said, I do think this is a
Speaker 1: very important little bit of information. So Despite all of this,
Speaker 1: Danny's death was listed as unknown. The lacerations to his
Speaker 1: neck were not consistent with hanging, so this ruled out
Speaker 1: that Danny did anything to try and harm himself. Whoever
Speaker 1: did do this to Danny took the ligature with them
Speaker 1: because it was never found.
Speaker 2: It wasn't found at the scene.
Speaker 1: From a toxicology standpoint, reports showed no alcohol or lithium
Speaker 1: was found in Danny's system. There was trace amounts of LSD,
Speaker 1: and an anti-seizure medicine present in his system. Now, this
Speaker 1: anti-seizure medicine was not a medicine that Danny was prescribed.
Speaker 1: Danny's death was believed to have taken place on the
Speaker 1: evening of October 24th or the early morning hours of
Speaker 1: October 25th. Now, I will say, if you listen to
Speaker 1: the Culpable podcast or go to the Facebook page that
Speaker 1: Danny's family has set up for him, they go into detail.
Speaker 1: about who exactly Danny was with that evening. Different friends
Speaker 1: of his who were brought in for questioning and such,
Speaker 1: and there was a lot of back and forth interviews
Speaker 1: with them. They play the interviews on the podcast, and
Speaker 1: it all really is very, very interesting. Now, there is
Speaker 1: a redacted individual that is brought up in the police
Speaker 1: interviews that allegedly had given Danny some LSD, but Danny
Speaker 1: never paid him. And this person had allegedly made comments
Speaker 1: about how Danny needed to pay him or he would
Speaker 1: have to, quote, beat his ass. Now, that is alleged.
Speaker 1: And the comments, again, allegedly were made after Danny's disappearance. Now,
Speaker 1: I think if you're looking at it in the way
Speaker 1: that I'm looking at it, the ripped up money was interesting.
Speaker 1: If you think about its correlation to this statement. It
Speaker 1: seemed to kind of suggest that maybe there was something
Speaker 1: involving money and debt over drugs that led to Danny
Speaker 1: losing his life. And maybe Danny only had $ 6 on
Speaker 1: him and he offered to pay said.
Speaker 2: Drug dealer allegedly $ 6.
Speaker 1: And then the money was ripped up as kind of
Speaker 1: a way to say, I don't want your $ 6. And
Speaker 1: the money was actually torn up. So obviously somebody tore
Speaker 1: the money up. up and it doesn't make any sense
Speaker 1: to me that Danny would have torn the money up.
Speaker 1: So we obviously, in my opinion, are working with someone
Speaker 1: on the outside. Now, the loss of Danny weighed heavily
Speaker 1: on the Violets and eventually Daniel and Jane separated and divorced.
Speaker 1: Despite all of this evidence that pointed towards foul play,
Speaker 1: Danny's manner of death has never been changed from unknown.
Speaker 1: Drew said that the family has received very little information
Speaker 1: since 1998 about Danny's case, and quickly it became cold
Speaker 1: with no leads or persons of interest, and there was
Speaker 1: nobody that was coming forward with any information.
Speaker 2: In December of 2014, a press conference was held.
Speaker 1: At the Huron County Sheriff's Office, it had been 16
Speaker 1: years since Danny's mysterious death. And Jane and Daniel were
Speaker 1: asking anyone for information to please come forward and help
Speaker 1: them in their search for what exactly happened to Danny.
Speaker 1: This wasn't your typical type of press conference where law
Speaker 1: enforcement was coming forward saying that they had information or
Speaker 1: a break in the case. It was basically Danny's family
Speaker 1: coming forward and asking for help. In 2020, Drew started
Speaker 1: to work and talk with a woman named Danielle, who
Speaker 1: had been looking into Danny's case as she was married
Speaker 1: to a man who went to school with and knew Danny.
Speaker 1: Danielle is actually the one who wrote into the Culpable
Speaker 1: podcast and pitched Danny's case to them, and the rest
Speaker 1: is history. She has been a driving force in keeping
Speaker 1: Danny's case in the forefront. She knew that there was
Speaker 1: a lot of rumor and a lot of speculation surrounding
Speaker 1: Danny's case, and she very much wanted to put all
Speaker 1: of the rumors and everything else to rest and find
Speaker 1: out once and for all what actually happened to Danny.
Speaker 1: There were so many rumors that Danny had passed away
Speaker 1: from a drug overdose, and that simply wasn't the case.
Speaker 1: There's also been a lot of talk about Danny's lifestyle
Speaker 1: and things he was involved in that ultimately led to
Speaker 1: his death.
Speaker 2: But truly, at least for me, there.
Speaker 1: Was nothing that Danny was doing any different than any
Speaker 1: other high school student in the late 90s. And none
Speaker 1: of his other classmates and friends ended up mysteriously dead
Speaker 1: in a cornfield. So let's stop putting the blame on
Speaker 1: the victim. And let's actually blame the person or persons
Speaker 1: who are responsible here. Because Danny was in high school.
Speaker 1: He was a normal teenage boy. The people that surrounded
Speaker 1: him were involved in the same type of things he
Speaker 1: was involved in.
Speaker 2: And Danny is the one who ended up losing his life.
Speaker 1: Danielle's involvement, along with the Culpable podcast, has also led
Speaker 1: to the involvement of a program at Tiffin University called
Speaker 1: the Cold Case Fellowship. Now, this gives students an inside
Speaker 1: look and a chance to be involved in cold case investigation.
Speaker 1: I really wish that something like this would have been
Speaker 1: offered when I was in college because I would have
Speaker 1: been all over it. I think these programs are amazing
Speaker 1: and are truly helping the future of cold cases across
Speaker 1: the country. And this is discussed in detail on the
Speaker 1: Culpable podcast. They do a lot of really great work
Speaker 1: with Tiffin University, and they worked really hard on Danny's case.
Speaker 1: And I do think that they really helped propel a
Speaker 1: lot of this forward in Danny's case. But as always,
Speaker 1: with any cold case that you're dealing with, it is
Speaker 1: a work in progress, and.
Speaker 2: It is constantly.
Speaker 1: challenging and making people jump through hoops to make any
Speaker 1: type of change or make any type of progress. So
Speaker 1: we are getting in now to, in my opinion, the
Speaker 1: most frustrating part of this case, and this is ongoing,
Speaker 1: active as we speak. So with everything that was recovered
Speaker 1: in Danny's case, they obviously have quite a few items
Speaker 1: that are potential for DNA testing. We have Danny's shirt
Speaker 1: that was not on his body.
Speaker 2: We have his wallet. We have the torn up money.
Speaker 1: There are definitely things that were recovered from the scene
Speaker 1: that had to have been handled by somebody other than Danny.
Speaker 1: Danny didn't rip up his own $ 6 and throw it
Speaker 1: in a cornfield. That doesn't make any sense. So we're
Speaker 1: going to get into the whole saga of the DNA
Speaker 1: and the DNA testing now, because I truly do believe
Speaker 1: that this is probably where the answers lie. But for
Speaker 1: some reason, even though DNA testing has been completed, the
Speaker 1: family nor nobody besides the Willard Police Department have any
Speaker 1: idea what the results of this testing were. So at
Speaker 1: the end of 2024, Danny's family, along with Danielle, started
Speaker 1: inquiring about the physical evidence that had been preserved. Like
Speaker 1: I said, the money, his clothing, all of that kind
Speaker 1: of stuff that was left behind. And of course, it
Speaker 1: had been tested back in 1998 when DNA testing was
Speaker 1: not what it is today. So they inquired about getting
Speaker 1: it retested, obviously using 2024 technology versus 1998 technology. They
Speaker 1: ended up reaching out to Sorenson Forensics, which is a
Speaker 1: private DNA analysis laboratory. And they did end up finding
Speaker 1: out that they could, in fact, retest these items. And
Speaker 1: they got a quote for about $ 6, 000, which.
Speaker 2: Was very doable.
Speaker 1: And Danielle took to the Justice for Danny Facebook page,
Speaker 1: which they had set up. And with the help of
Speaker 1: the people on that page, they were able to raise
Speaker 1: the money. They then would contact the Huron County Sheriff's Office,
Speaker 1: and they attached their estimate from the Sorenson Lab. Then
Speaker 1: they were informed that there was other steps that needed
Speaker 1: to be taken before they could send off this evidence
Speaker 1: for DNA testing. They said that the family had to
Speaker 1: have legal counsel to represent them, and so they got
Speaker 1: legal counsel to represent them. And the legal counsel reached
Speaker 1: out to all of the people that he needed to
Speaker 1: reach out to to ask what the next steps were
Speaker 1: in order to get this DNA testing done. And they
Speaker 1: were basically ghosted. They went weeks with no reply. They
Speaker 1: ended up setting up a meeting on February 21st of 2005.
Speaker 1: And that meeting didn't actually happen, which has to be
Speaker 1: so frustrating because they are willing to do anything they
Speaker 1: can to to get this DNA tested. They've raised the money.
Speaker 1: They've obtained counsel. They are doing everything that they have
Speaker 1: been told to do, but there is no cooperation from
Speaker 1: the Huron County Sheriff's Department, which is so frustrating. So
Speaker 1: they continued to work and try and get them to
Speaker 1: finally test this DNA. They jumped through hoops. They did
Speaker 1: everything they were told to. They were contacting many different people,
Speaker 1: hoping that somebody was going to be able to guide
Speaker 1: them and help them get this DNA tested. So I
Speaker 1: don't know exactly the set of circumstances that led to it,
Speaker 1: but the DNA was tested. According to a Facebook post
Speaker 1: on Justice for Danny Violet, the testing was approved on
Speaker 1: the condition that the Huron County Sheriff's Office would facilitate
Speaker 1: the testing and transfer of the evidence since the agency
Speaker 1: maintains custody of it. Because of that arrangement, Danny's family
Speaker 1: could not communicate directly with the independent laboratory or receive
Speaker 1: the testing results. I am reading this directly from the
Speaker 1: Justice for Danny Violet Facebook page. Now, if you remember,
Speaker 1: they are the ones that raised the money for this
Speaker 1: DNA testing. And it goes on to say, since we
Speaker 1: are the party that paid for the testing, however, we
Speaker 1: are notified that we'd be receiving a partial refund because
Speaker 1: not all of the requested testing could be completed. Based
Speaker 1: on the information communicated to us, it appears that not
Speaker 1: all of the requested evidence was available to the laboratory.
Speaker 1: So why wasn't all the evidence tested? Is the evidence lost?
Speaker 1: Is the evidence missing? Why wouldn't you test it? The
Speaker 1: money is there. Danny's family and supporters did all of
Speaker 1: the work to raise this money. And then it's just
Speaker 1: like a slap in the face saying that we didn't
Speaker 1: end up testing all of the evidence with no explanation
Speaker 1: given as to why. And I am sorry, but this
Speaker 1: is just super unacceptable. I do not buy it. I
Speaker 1: don't deal with stuff like this well. I'm going to
Speaker 1: call it out. I think it is shady. And I
Speaker 1: don't understand how you can look at a case that
Speaker 1: is 28 years old and think that this is acceptable
Speaker 1: and okay behavior to treat Danny's family like this. They
Speaker 1: are looking for answers. They want to know what happened
Speaker 1: to their son, and they deserve to know what happened
Speaker 1: to their son. So what was DNA tested? I don't
Speaker 1: really know, but I do know that there were some
Speaker 1: items that were DNA tested. However, the results are not
Speaker 1: available publicly, and they're not even available to Danny's family.
Speaker 1: And I never truly will understand this. I understand protecting
Speaker 1: the integrity of an investigation and trying to keep things
Speaker 1: close to the vest. I understand that. I understand that
Speaker 1: there are rules and regulations and things in place for
Speaker 1: a reason. But I will never understand, it will never
Speaker 1: make sense to me how something like this is allowed
Speaker 1: to happen. And the family is kept 0% informed on anything.
Speaker 1: And they're out here fighting for their lives, trying to
Speaker 1: figure out what happened to Danny. His death still is unknown.
Speaker 1: And It's never been ruled a homicide. And that is,
Speaker 1: I think, the most astonishing thing of it all. Because
Speaker 1: I think it is really, really clear to see that
Speaker 1: there was foul play involved in Danny's death.
Speaker 2: And Danny was a tough guy. He was a wrestler.
Speaker 1: It would have taken a lot to subdue Danny, so
Speaker 1: to say. So I do think there is a huge
Speaker 1: possibility that there is more than one person involved in this.
Speaker 1: And I very much think that there are more people
Speaker 1: out there that know what happened to Danny. And people
Speaker 1: talking about it and spreading awareness about it is making
Speaker 1: these people a little uncomfortable. And I think that that
Speaker 1: is exactly what needs to happen. I think more people
Speaker 1: need to talk about it. And we need to get
Speaker 1: Danny's story out there. And people need to be upset about.
Speaker 2: This because there is.
Speaker 1: a boy who was 17 years old who had his
Speaker 1: life stolen in 1998. And his family desperately wants to
Speaker 1: know what happened to him. And he now has so
Speaker 1: many supporters who are behind the family and who have
Speaker 1: listened to the Culpable podcast and have heard the complete
Speaker 1: entire story and know that things aren't adding up. I
Speaker 1: listened to the whole Culpable podcast series on Danny in
Speaker 1: a weekend.
Speaker 2: I listened to it last weekend.
Speaker 1: And when I was listening to the last episode, that
Speaker 1: is where they were talking about the DNA testing and
Speaker 1: all of the roadblocks that.
Speaker 2: They had hit.
Speaker 1: And then it went into another interview with Jane, Danny's mom.
Speaker 1: And she just talked about who Danny was as a
Speaker 1: person and how she loved him so much. She goes
Speaker 1: on to say that she believes that he would have
Speaker 1: found somebody special who would have helped him to straighten
Speaker 1: out his life and that he would be a great dad.
Speaker 1: He always told Jane that he wanted to be a dad.
Speaker 1: She said they still love him and they have always
Speaker 1: loved him. And then she went on to say that
Speaker 1: he's her little boy and he's always going to be
Speaker 1: her little boy. And when she said that, I just
Speaker 1: completely and utterly lost it. I was laying in my
Speaker 1: bed sobbing about that interview and just the way that
Speaker 1: she said it and the way that she spoke of
Speaker 1: Danny and how devastating this is for them and their family.
Speaker 1: 28 years later, they do not have answers as to
Speaker 1: what happened to Danny. And it just absolutely breaks my heart.
Speaker 1: It breaks my heart right now just talking about it.
Speaker 1: And I don't know why this case strikes me so
Speaker 1: different than all of the other ones I covered.
Speaker 2: They're all sad. They're all tragic.
Speaker 1: But there's something about this one that it just makes
Speaker 1: me so incredibly sad. And I think a big part
Speaker 1: of it is because it's still an unknown cause of death.
Speaker 1: And I think that needs to change. And I do
Speaker 1: think that all of the supporters, all of Danny's supporters,
Speaker 1: all of his family, all of his friends, all of
Speaker 1: the people that truly cared about him and care about him.
Speaker 1: are going to keep pushing until there are answers. And
Speaker 1: I do hope that one day I can bring you
Speaker 1: that there has been a break in the Danny Violet
Speaker 1: case and we have movement and things are finally progressing
Speaker 1: the way they should be. So there is someone out
Speaker 1: there that knows something about Danny's case and now is
Speaker 1: the time to speak up and share what you know.
Speaker 1: Like I said, his case is still unsolved, but there
Speaker 1: is always hope that somebody is going to get tired
Speaker 1: of holding on to secrets and come forward with information.
Speaker 1: Anyone with information on Danny's case can reach out to
Speaker 1: the Huron County Sheriff's Office at 419-668-6912. I thank you
Speaker 1: guys so much for tuning in to Dani's story. It
Speaker 1: was one that, honestly, when I first started researching it,
Speaker 1: I didn't realize how deep it really went. And The
Speaker 1: Culpable Podcast did such a great job telling Dani's story
Speaker 1: and going deep on things. I am going to link
Speaker 1: it below so you guys can go listen to it.
Speaker 1: It is a really easy listen. Like I said, I
Speaker 1: listened to it in two days. It's eight episodes. And
Speaker 1: they really do go into detail and they have interviews
Speaker 1: with Danny's family. And it is just super, super well done.
Speaker 1: So I appreciate you guys listening to Danny's story. Please
Speaker 1: check over on my social media, my Instagram and Facebook
Speaker 1: pages for photos associated with this episode. And I hope
Speaker 1: that one day I can bring you the news that
Speaker 1: there is a break in Danny Violet's case and that
Speaker 1: his family is getting the answers that they so desperately
Speaker 1: need and really deserve at the end.
Speaker 2: Of the day.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you guys, and I hope you have a
Speaker 1: great weekend. And please, please, please stay safe.
Speaker 2: Have a good one.
Speaker 1: Bye.