WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.639 --> 00:00:11.039 You are now listening to True Murder, The most shocking 2 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:14.160 killers in true crime history and the authors that have 3 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:21.519 written about them Gaesy Bundy, Dahmer, The Nightstalker VTK Every 4 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:25.280 week another fascinating author talking about the most shocking and 5 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:29.879 infamous killers in true crime history. True Murder with your host, 6 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:33.359 journalist and author Dan Zufanski. 7 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:45.799 Good evening Connected by Fate, unfolds against the haunting backdrop 8 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:50.200 of the Ozark National Forest, where the unresolved murder of 9 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:54.000 Melissa Witt has cast a long shadow over the dense 10 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:59.880 woodlands for almost three decades. The mystery woven into the 11 00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:03.920 fabric of the remote mountaintop has become part of the 12 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:07.280 lore of the land, with the true identity of the 13 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:14.319 murderer eluding capture concealed by the forest's imposing presence, enter 14 00:01:14.519 --> 00:01:18.959 Lodonna Humphrey. Driven by a profound sense of justice and 15 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:23.599 a personal commitment to uncovering the truth. Despite never having 16 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:29.200 met Melissa Witt, La Donna's connection to the case transcends 17 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:33.719 the ordinary, fueling her with a relentless determination that has 18 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:40.680 defined her life for almost a decade. Loadonna's investigation is 19 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:45.560 a riveting narrative of courage, resilience, and an unwavering pursuit 20 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:50.680 of truth in the face of overwhelming odds. Each breakthrough 21 00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:55.280 and set back, each clue onearthed and lead followed, draws 22 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:59.040 her deeper into a web of intrigue that extends far 23 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:05.280 beyond the crime. Connected by Fate is more than a 24 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.919 true crime story. It's a testament to the power of 25 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:13.680 human spirit and determination, fueled by the knowledge that solving 26 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:18.439 Melissa's murder is not just about bringing a killer to justice. 27 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:23.199 It's about restoring dignity to a life cut tragically short, 28 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:28.199 and offering closure to a community haunted by the specter 29 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:33.039 of an unsolved crime. The book that we're featuring this 30 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:38.599 evening is Connected by Fate Who Killed Melissa Wit Book two, 31 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:45.400 with my special guest, investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker, and author, 32 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:50.400 the Donna Humphrey. Good evening and welcome back to the program. 33 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:53.240 Thank you very much for this interview, the Donna Humphrey. 34 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:56.719 Well, thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure 35 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:57.919 to be a guest on your show. 36 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:02.080 Well, thank you so much, and congrats on this Connected 37 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:02.599 by Fate. 38 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:07.680 Thank you. I'm really proud of this particular book and 39 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:09.719 I'm really proud of the work that's been done to 40 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:12.400 get us to this place. So I'm excited to talk 41 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:13.639 to you about it today. 42 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:19.479 Absolutely, as you do in the forward, by Seeking Justice 43 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:24.560 co host Lexi Cacus, we emailed you first in April 44 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:29.879 twenty twenty one, and she had started at Uncovered, a 45 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:35.479 crowdsource cold case database with a true crime community, and 46 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:39.000 you met up with her at Crime Con in Las Vegas. 47 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:43.879 Tell us what Lexi Cacus has to say in the 48 00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:46.520 ford about this book and your work. 49 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:51.000 Lexi, as you mentioned, she and I we originally met 50 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:53.560 through an email and just really could see the passion 51 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:57.199 that she had for cold cases. But she was particularly 52 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:00.560 intrigued about the Melissa Wit case, and so you know, 53 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:02.520 she did reach out to me. We met up at 54 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:06.199 Crime Con and then we continued to build a relationship, 55 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:09.759 and really through the forward she really touches on my 56 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:13.680 work on the Wit case, how it's inspired her work 57 00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:15.840 on cold cases, but then the work that you know 58 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:19.199 then she's also contributed to the Wit case, and so 59 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:21.600 I was really proud of her. I've really watched her 60 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:24.839 kind of grow up in her own investigative right since 61 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:27.759 we first met, and I was really honored that she 62 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:29.920 was willing to write the forward and to kind of 63 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:32.240 touch on all of the hard work and the things 64 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:35.839 that she has seen take place over the years that 65 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:38.920 I've tackled the Wit case. So that's really kind of 66 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:42.319 the gist of the of the forward, and I'm just 67 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:45.600 I'm honored by it just thinking about it now. 68 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:49.319 Right away, you take us to Bowling World parking lot 69 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:54.800 with retired detectives J. C Ryder and Chris Boyd. Tell 70 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:58.279 us what this significance of this location is and what 71 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:01.240 are you doing there and what you trying to ascertain? 72 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:02.319 What are you trying to learn? 73 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:07.000 So the Bowling World parking lot is the last known 74 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.279 place that Melissa ever was seen alive. That's where the 75 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:14.959 blitz attack took place when she was attacked and kidnapped, 76 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:20.800 And we revisited that scene on that afternoon as we're 77 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:24.480 taking a deeper dive looking back at the case. What 78 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:27.560 clues could we have missed? Really, they wanted to teach 79 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:29.800 me a little bit about the crime scene as well 80 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.560 and get a real feel for really how close she 81 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:36.040 was to the building, how close she was to safety, 82 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:39.839 how brazen this attacker was. So that was really like 83 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:42.519 the point of it, that particular day was just like 84 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:46.240 a lesson in this is what happened and how it happened, 85 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:50.240 to help kind of further my own personal investigation into 86 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:52.360 the case and to kind of reignite what they were 87 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:53.920 trying to do with the case as well. 88 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:57.519 You talk about you could take us back to December one, 89 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:02.279 nineteen ninety four. You take note of your notebook and 90 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:06.000 you have a crude outline of events from that December first, 91 00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:09.040 and one of those is from six thirty to six 92 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:13.800 forty pm, a witness here's a woman shouting in the 93 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:17.199 parking lot. Take us to what that witness hears. 94 00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:21.920 It's believed that that was Melissa Witt, and that the 95 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:26.439 witness hears her yelling helped me. And you know, that's 96 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:29.079 pretty pivotal for the case because we know there was 97 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:32.639 an altercation in the parking lot, you know, and it 98 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:35.839 also gives us the ability to kind of set a timeline. 99 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:40.040 So that's incredibly important to the case, and it's one 100 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:42.120 of the reasons why I wanted to include it in 101 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:45.279 the book, so people can really understand how a timeline 102 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:49.720 is constructed in a case like this and how few 103 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:53.040 people actually witnessed the actual abduction. I mean, it's a 104 00:06:53.079 --> 00:06:56.360 crowded parking lot, but everybody was inside, and so I 105 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:59.480 just I wanted people to maybe be as haunted by 106 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:03.399 that fact as I am that even though you know, 107 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:06.319 somebody actually heard this take place in the parking lot, 108 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:09.240 there was little anything anybody could do to help her 109 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:11.439 at that point. And so there was a lot of 110 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:14.160 reasons why I included it, And there's just so many 111 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:16.439 more reasons why it's really important to the case, and 112 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:19.319 so it's a good starting point, especially for those people 113 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:21.759 who are just now learning about the Wick case and 114 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:24.720 what happened to her and how it transpired. 115 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:29.319 You include one more important point that Melissa's car keys 116 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:33.160 were found in the parking lot around seven forty five 117 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:36.480 and turned into the front desk. But no one, you say, 118 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:40.120 notice the blood on Melissa's keys. 119 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:45.959 Yeah, that's a real unfortunate part of the investigation. You know, 120 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.360 these keys were probably in that parking lot for about 121 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:51.279 an hour before they were picked up by a good 122 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:53.800 Samaritan that you know, he was coming with his family 123 00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:55.600 and they picked up the keys. You know, they were 124 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:58.279 there for quite some time, and when they were turned in, 125 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:01.079 nobody saw these you know, these blood flakes that were 126 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:03.920 drying on the keys, and had they known or had 127 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:06.720 they seen it, it might have sped things up quite 128 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:10.000 a bit. But at that point, nobody knew Melissa was missing. 129 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:13.560 And again, I think this is just a lesson in 130 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:16.759 how these kind of crimes can take place, and how 131 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:21.600 bits of this information really individually doesn't mean anything, or 132 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:24.519 people don't pay close enough attention to things. We've got 133 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:27.160 to be more aware of our surroundings. I'd like to 134 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:29.480 believe had some of these clues been picked up earlier, 135 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:33.399 that maybe there would have been a different outcome in 136 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:36.919 this case. But you know, nobody knows that for sure. 137 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:42.279 But I think it's a good example of just not 138 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:47.240 paying close enough attention to what seems like something that's ordinary. 139 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:49.360 I hope people will kind of take note of that, 140 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:51.120 and if you find keys in a parking lot, pay 141 00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:51.799 close attention. 142 00:08:53.240 --> 00:08:57.000 Again, speaking of paying close attention, it was a different 143 00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:02.559 time and when they asked Melissa's mother, mary Anne, about 144 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:04.720 her day, they asked. One of the first questions they 145 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:08.679 asked when she filed the missing person's report was that 146 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:12.320 if they had an argument, so tell us about Melissa's day. 147 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:15.039 She spent the morning with her mom, mary Anne, but 148 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.759 tell us about the day, the argument, and then reaching 149 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:21.279 out to police finally, So it. 150 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:23.799 Was just an ordinary day, you know. They got up 151 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:27.279 that morning, Melissa asked her mom for some money. That's 152 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:31.000 pretty typical with teenagers and their parents, and Melissa's mom 153 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:35.200 said no, you know, no, she was aware that Melissa 154 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:37.320 was going to get paid that next day, which was Friday, 155 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:40.600 and she was really trying to teach Melissa money management, 156 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:43.480 and so she left to go on to work, and 157 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:46.559 mary Anne felt bad, as sometimes moms do when you 158 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:48.600 have to teach your kid a lesson, and left her 159 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:50.399 a note that said, Hey, I'm going to be a 160 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.519 Bowling World after work. It's my league night. Come see 161 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:55.960 me and I'll buy you a burger. So they both 162 00:09:56.039 --> 00:10:02.200 went about their day, and then obviously it ended up 163 00:10:02.200 --> 00:10:05.799 in tragedy. You know, Melissa never made it inside to 164 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:08.039 Bowling World when she did go visit her mom after 165 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:13.759 she found the note, and you know, right away, Marianne 166 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:16.600 Whitt knew that there was something tragically wrong because her 167 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:21.159 daughter had never just not come home, and she began 168 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:25.279 to drive the streets that evening looking for her daughter. 169 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:29.440 She never went to Bowling World to look for her car, 170 00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:32.320 because Melissa never showed up that night in her mind, 171 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:34.679 so she didn't think Melissa was ever there. You know, 172 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:37.679 this was not an event that had ever really happened 173 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:41.639 before in the River Valley. And you know, we don't 174 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.279 have access to like true crime stories like we do now. 175 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:47.679 Think about it. You know, her mom wouldn't have thought, oh, well, 176 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:50.600 I need to go see if you know, something happened 177 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:53.600 to her. And she never made it inside the you know, 178 00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:57.200 the Bowling World, and so she when ahead and went 179 00:10:57.240 --> 00:11:00.200 back home, started calling friends and Melissa's nobody knew where 180 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:03.519 Melissa was. You know, she waited until the next morning, 181 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:05.879 and she called a patrolman, and when the patrolman came out. 182 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:11.080 You know, Melissa was nineteen, and there's no law about 183 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:14.039 going missing when you're over eighteen, you know, you're an adult. 184 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:16.919 And this was before the National Center for Missing Unexploited 185 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:20.840 Children had extended their services to kids that were aged 186 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:24.840 twenty one. Nobody knew there was a crime. This patrolman 187 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:29.240 actually just thought that she was angry and didn't come home, 188 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:31.840 and that she would come home when she cooled down. 189 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:36.879 And she did this. You know, let me rephrase that 190 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:39.559 a little bit, not she did this, He did this, 191 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:42.240 and kind of chalked it up to, well, she was 192 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:46.120 a runaway because he sees this hundreds of times. Departments 193 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:48.679 see this hundreds of times a week, right the people 194 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:51.080 are reported missing or they run away and then they 195 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:53.480 just end up coming right back home. And that's really 196 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:57.840 what he thought was happening. And so that report didn't 197 00:11:57.840 --> 00:11:59.759 go to the major crimes unit. It really just sat 198 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:02.720 on a desk and that, you know, for a couple 199 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:04.919 of days, and that was pretty unfortunate. I think it 200 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:05.679 hurt the case. 201 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:10.320 Now, despite what the police believe, Mary Anne and family 202 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:12.799 and friends believe there's no way that she would have 203 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:15.279 ran away, and they think something's up. And so by 204 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:19.879 this happens Thursday. By Saturday, they were already organized and 205 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:24.480 have six thousand flyers. They're trying to get everybody. They're 206 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:27.679 blanketing the River Valley with over six thousand pleas for 207 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:32.240 help finding Melissa's help finding the missing team, and the 208 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:35.240 news stations pick up on the story on the search 209 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:39.519 as well, along with the Fort Smith Police Major Crimes Unit, 210 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:43.559 which you say is led by j c Ryder. So 211 00:12:44.200 --> 00:12:47.799 tell us more about this search and the police undertaking. 212 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:52.080 So the you know, Melissa's family and friends knew something 213 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:54.600 was wrong. As I mentioned, Melissa had never done anything 214 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:57.480 like this before. She was a really good kid, never 215 00:12:57.559 --> 00:12:59.759 had any issues with her, and so they knew, and 216 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:01.919 I say to her family and friends, they all knew 217 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:04.919 something was wrong. So as you mentioned, they banded together. 218 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:06.840 They get flyers and they're going to get out there 219 00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:09.639 and they're going to find Melissa. They needed people to 220 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:12.080 know that she hadn't come home and that something was wrong. 221 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:15.320 So the media did pick it up immediately, because again 222 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:18.559 you've got this nineteen year old college student that just 223 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:22.279 vanishes into thin air. This was new. These kind of 224 00:13:22.279 --> 00:13:25.639 things don't happen in small town Fort Smith at the time. 225 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:30.600 And when the Major Crimes unit caught wind of this 226 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:35.159 on television, they went back in to the department, said, 227 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:37.399 let me see this file of this girl. You know 228 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:39.799 what's going on here, you know. They they demanded to 229 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:42.639 look at it, and once they had it, of course, 230 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.320 they jump in. They realized that this is something they 231 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:47.679 need to look at, and so they get boots on 232 00:13:47.720 --> 00:13:50.879 the ground and they do the first thing that an 233 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:54.720 investigator should, and they went to Bowling World and that's 234 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.320 where they found her car. And when they find her 235 00:13:57.320 --> 00:13:59.399 car there, they know, now this is a crime scene 236 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:04.960 because they find crushed hair clip, they find spots of blood. 237 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:09.200 It's just very clear that something tragic has happened in 238 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:13.039 that parking lot. And that's really kind of what kicks 239 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:15.799 this entire investigation off. So thank goodness the friends and 240 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:18.360 the family had the forethought to get out there and 241 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:20.799 pass those flyers out because that made all the difference. 242 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:23.399 But this was Sunday, you know, she went missing on 243 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:26.440 a Thursday night. This was Sunday before they were able 244 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:27.159 to get involved. 245 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:31.080 Yes, you also talk about I mentioned that the car 246 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:35.320 keys were turned in, but nobody realizes the significance of 247 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:39.360 this and also the significance of the key chain leading 248 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:42.759 to an incredible clue of the identity of the missing keys. 249 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:46.480 It was it was later before somebody called in. You know, 250 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:51.120 they see all the news coverage and they realized that, hey, 251 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:56.639 these car keys they say Missy on them, and you know, 252 00:14:56.759 --> 00:15:00.000 they're seeing this missing girl that's you know, all over 253 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.279 the news, and that's when you know, they call police 254 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:06.440 and say we have these keys. The police go and 255 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:08.759 get the keys and then they realize that there's dried 256 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:12.120 blood on the keys, and it just continues to escalate 257 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:16.120 the situation. You know, now it's a it's not just 258 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.600 a girl that's run away or didn't come home. Now 259 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:21.799 it looks like a crime has been committed. You know, 260 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:25.559 that's when you know J. C Ryder and his team 261 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:30.799 really put everything into full speed ahead. They knew the 262 00:15:30.840 --> 00:15:34.159 clock was ticking and they had already lost time because 263 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:37.519 this is Sunday and Monday before you know, these things 264 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:40.360 are being uncovered, and so you know, they're having to 265 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:42.399 make up for lost time to be able to find 266 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:44.799 this girl what happened to Melissa Witt. 267 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:49.399 So they conduct a search, but what initial clues, if any, 268 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:52.120 do they have as to who this perpetrator might be. 269 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:57.399 In the beginning, they don't. They start interviewing local known 270 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:00.440 sex offenders. You know, they're interviewing people that were in 271 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:04.720 bowling world. You know, A red herring crops up pretty early. 272 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.000 Somebody reported seeing a Caucasian woman arguing with an African 273 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:12.240 American male, and so of course that gets blown up 274 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:14.360 all over the media, and that's how they start looking 275 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:16.639 for They get a sketch. It turns out that that 276 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:21.159 guy and that woman that argued were a couple. It 277 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:23.440 had nothing to do with the wit case, but it 278 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:27.600 cost the WIT case more time, and there were quite 279 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:30.759 a few red herrings that popped up immediately in the case. 280 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:35.320 But they did everything they could defind her. And then 281 00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:39.639 forty five days into this, you know, everything came to 282 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:43.720 a screeching halt, and that's when the trappers found a 283 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:45.879 body in the Ozark National Forest. 284 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:50.039 What can be determined once the medical examiner or the 285 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:54.039 coroner examined the body doing the autopsy, a. 286 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:56.840 Lot of important things were found. What I can talk 287 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.679 about is that they know that her body was out 288 00:16:59.720 --> 00:17:03.120 in the elements pretty much the entire time. They were 289 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:07.759 able to tell that she had not been held. There 290 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:11.000 were no ligature marks. They know that she was strangled, 291 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:14.400 manually strangled at broke her hyoid bone. They know she 292 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:17.480 was strangled face down because as she was strangled, she 293 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:21.359 and held dirt and other debrison leaves that were way 294 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:24.759 down in her airway, and that that was material that 295 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:29.200 was native to the Ozark National Forest. So they're, you know, 296 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:32.920 confident that the murder actually took place there. They were 297 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:36.839 not able to determine definitively that she had been sexually assaulted. 298 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:40.519 They did believe it could have been sexually motivated though, though, 299 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:43.559 because they believe it could have been sexually motivated, because 300 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:48.480 she was found nude, her killer stole her clothing, her shoes, 301 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:52.039 and her jewelry and her beloved Mickey Mouse watch that 302 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:54.640 she always wore. So, you know, there was a lot 303 00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:58.880 of interesting things to really kind of compare at the 304 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:01.319 crime scene because there's two crime scenes. Right There's where 305 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:04.279 she was abducted and then where she was actually murdered. 306 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:08.279 And where she was abducted was very disorganized. It's a 307 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:12.319 busy parking lot, it's a blitz attack. He leaves, you know, 308 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:16.240 there's keys left behind and earring, blood pools, all of that. 309 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:18.839 But then you get to the other crime scene, the 310 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:22.920 secondary scene, where she's actually murdered and they find her 311 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:26.880 body and you know, she's stripped clean of anything. You know, 312 00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:29.599 the killer has had time to be more organized and 313 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:33.319 decide what he's got to do, you know, to hide 314 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:36.160 his crime. And I think that's an interesting aspect of 315 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:39.559 the case. And you know, it's important to note that 316 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:42.480 where Bowling World is and where her body was found 317 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:45.720 was an hour drive, so he had lots of time 318 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:48.119 to think about what was going to happen next, what 319 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:50.680 he needed to do, and to kind of calm down 320 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:54.160 and to plan out, you know, the next series of events. 321 00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:57.160 It's tragic and it's horrible, but I think it's also 322 00:18:57.279 --> 00:18:58.880 something really important to point out. 323 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:03.599 What did j c Ryder and Chris Boyd, or at 324 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:07.119 least police at that time, what did they believe in 325 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:12.200 terms of his relationship to Melissa Wit This perpetrator and 326 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:14.240 also relationship to the area. 327 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:18.759 Always been believed by local law enforcement and even the 328 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:23.759 FBI that Melissa knew her killer, that this was somebody 329 00:19:23.799 --> 00:19:28.359 that she knew in some context in her life, especially 330 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:30.839 how things went down in the Bowling World parking lot. 331 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:33.839 So they believe it was someone that she had had 332 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:38.680 a relationship with before or knew in some capacity. And 333 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:42.960 they also believe and as per the FBI profile, that 334 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:45.319 her killer was someone that was local to the area 335 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:50.799 or at least traveled to the Ozark National Forest to hunt, fish, hike, swim, whatever, 336 00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:53.559 Because the place where her body was found is really 337 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:56.480 really pretty remote compared to some of the other areas 338 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:58.359 where people would go to do those things. You would 339 00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:00.839 have had to have been there before, and to go 340 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:04.319 there under the cover of night, you know, on that 341 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:06.480 Thursday night, he would have had to have known where 342 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:08.599 he was going and how to get back out again. 343 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.880 It's not an easy location and very accessible. So you 344 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:16.079 know that in itself spoke volumes about the killer. You know, 345 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:19.200 police take it a step further, and I agree with 346 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:22.359 them her you know, her Melissa's killer's name is in 347 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:25.039 that diary she left behind. It was someone that she knew, 348 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:26.640 and she knew fairly well. 349 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:29.000 I was going to ask, I was just going to 350 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:32.960 ask about this diary. What when do police find this 351 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:36.920 diary and what is contained in there that leads them 352 00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:40.799 to believe that their suspect is named in this diary. 353 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:44.440 You know, they look at the diary really early on, 354 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:46.799 because you start you have to start looking at everybody 355 00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:49.799 that's close to the victim once her body is found, 356 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:52.759 you know, and they had seen the diary even before 357 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:54.720 her body was found, like where could she have gone? 358 00:20:54.759 --> 00:20:57.359 Who would she have gone off off with? But then 359 00:20:57.400 --> 00:20:59.279 you know, when she's found murdered, of course, then this 360 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:03.480 becomes critical and so you know they're reading through it 361 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:05.599 and it's the musings of a nineteen year old girl. 362 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:09.240 I mean, I remember being nineteen. You write about cute boys, 363 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:12.000 and you know what your troubles are of the day, 364 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:14.599 and you know things that you're doing and your hopes 365 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:18.559 and your dreams. But there are there's a name or 366 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:24.440 two that come up repeatedly in the diary and without 367 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:28.559 giving a lot away. You know, it became something that 368 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:31.640 after her body was found and there was a series 369 00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:36.319 of events surrounding one of these people in the diary, 370 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:40.640 it became clear that he needed to be looked at closer. 371 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:44.759 And you know, by the time I came on the 372 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:49.200 scene in twenty fifteen, you know that was not something 373 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:52.400 that they had shared with me in the beginning. They 374 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:55.039 may never have shared with me. Hey, that this guy 375 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.599 is being looked at closely. That came about because he 376 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:02.599 contacted me himself. And we can talk about that more later. 377 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:05.079 But when you go back now and you read the 378 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:07.480 diary knowing everything I know now, I mean, his name 379 00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:09.559 just pops. It's like how can you miss it? Like 380 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:13.799 he should have been suspect number one the entire time. 381 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:18.880 Let's talk about your relationship with the retired JC Ryder 382 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.319 and Chris Boyd tell us how this happens, and tell 383 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:26.559 us more about this growing relationship and your team. 384 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:29.440 You know, when I first got involved, you know, it 385 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:32.440 was very arms length type of relationship. You know, they 386 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:35.599 wanted to see the documentary happen. You know, I met 387 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:38.440 them under the guise of I was doing this documentary. 388 00:22:39.079 --> 00:22:41.079 You know, they were sharing information with me. But you know, 389 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:43.440 I wasn't part of the team, and I wasn't going 390 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:45.200 to be somebody that they were going to work closely with. 391 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:48.000 I'm an investigative reporter, you know, just tell the story. 392 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:50.839 You know, that's really kind of where we were. But 393 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:54.440 you know, Jac and I ended up giving an interview 394 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:57.680 together early on with the newspaper. We had asked the 395 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:01.000 newspaper not to include a lot of idea identifying information 396 00:23:01.079 --> 00:23:03.519 about me, if any I wanted to be basically this 397 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:07.559 person who was doing a documentary but not really be named, 398 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:11.079 just for my own protection. And after the article ran, 399 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:13.400 Jac called me and he said, did you see the article. 400 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:17.160 You know they included your name and your photo, and 401 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:21.400