WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:05.160 This podcast is intended for mature audiences. Listener discretion is 2 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:29.160 advised by now you've heard so many names, friends, family, neighbors, suspects. 3 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:33.280 I've been managing it all with this big spreadsheet to 4 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:37.560 help me navigate this complicated and just strange story. And 5 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:40.560 yet as organized as I have tried to make this, 6 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:43.960 it's still proven to be a challenge, especially as new 7 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:47.560 people have come forward to share even more information we've 8 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:51.280 never heard before. In fact, I've learned so much in 9 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:53.960 the past few weeks that we are going to break 10 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:57.479 our last episode into two parts, starting with this one. 11 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:01.119 In the course of my reporting, what's clear is that 12 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:04.719 local law enforcement has always zeroed in on one guy, 13 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:07.359 Chris Didton, Kelly's boyfriend at the time. 14 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:09.560 He was considered to be a prime suspect and even 15 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:13.079 felt a polygraph test, but no charges ever brought. 16 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:17.159 Chris Denton. He died of cancer when he was just 17 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:20.239 thirty one years old. That was back in two thousand 18 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:24.560 and four, twelve years after Kelly vanished from Gilmer. Chris 19 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:27.000 and Kelly ran in the same circles. They had a 20 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:30.480 lot of mutual friends. Here's one friend, Lee, who was 21 00:01:30.519 --> 00:01:33.560 also a senior at Gilmer. During the ninety one ninety 22 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:37.040 two school year, Lee and Chris were especially close. 23 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:39.640 It was funny, he was hilarious. We were really good 24 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:43.599 friends because he was just fun to be around, always joking. 25 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:47.519 Lee acknowledges that Chris had some growing up to do 26 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:48.560 Back in high school. 27 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:50.760 He was a hothead. Not in a lie. He was 28 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:53.040 a hot heead you know, he would get in fights. 29 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:55.760 He would tell people what he thought when he thought it. 30 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.719 He drank, He definitely partied, but he kind of hung 31 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:02.799 out in all the groups because he was so funny. 32 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:05.560 He'd always break out into a you know, vanilla eyes, 33 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:06.599 rap songs, shit. 34 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:10.560 But Lee says Chris was also a generous friend. 35 00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:12.800 You know, he was the guy that didn't give you 36 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:15.479 the shirt off the back to help you out for real. 37 00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:19.039 And he was a very loyal friend, you know, up 38 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:21.879 until he died. He was a very loyal friend. Never 39 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:25.840 understood why they just focused in so hard on him. 40 00:02:26.199 --> 00:02:29.159 In the eyes of Gilmer police Sergeant James York Brown, 41 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:32.400 who led the search for Kelly, Chris didn't fit the 42 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:35.599 mold of a young delinquent. Everybody knew Chris had a 43 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:39.039 hot temper, and Sergeant Brown has alleged that Chris even 44 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:42.319 punched a girlfriend one time. Chris had also been arrested 45 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:46.280 more than once, most for relatively petty's stuff, misdemeanor, theft, 46 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:49.520 and running from the cops. But there was this one time, 47 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:52.960 less than a year after Kelly's disappearance. It was the 48 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:56.240 night before Halloween in nineteen ninety two. The high school 49 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.439 football team, the Buck Guys, were losing pretty bad to 50 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:02.400 a rivals school. One of Chris's friends got in a 51 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:04.719 scuffle at the game with a guy who is from 52 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:07.240 out of town. As this out of town fella and 53 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.000 his friends were walking back to their vehicle, a red 54 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:13.360 car passed by. Someone in the red car leaned out 55 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:17.159 the passenger window and stabbed one of them a knife 56 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:20.759 in the back. The guy wielding the knife he was 57 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:24.199 none other than Chris. Denton Police found Chris and his 58 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:28.000 buddies on a country road just off Cherokee Trace, where 59 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:30.479 teams were known to party in the woods, right outside 60 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:33.560 of town. Under the passenger seat was a knife and 61 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:37.000 a baseball bat. Chris admitted to the stabbing. He was 62 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:39.439 sentenced to one hundred and twenty days in jail and 63 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:43.840 ten years probation and get this. Sergeant James York Brown 64 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:46.599 was one of the police officers on the scene the 65 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.800 night of the stabbing, which isn't really that unusual given 66 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.599 how small Gilmer is, especially in Texas where Friday night 67 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:56.280 football is kind of an all hands on deck situation 68 00:03:56.639 --> 00:04:00.120 for local law enforcement. So what did Chris have to 69 00:03:59.879 --> 00:04:04.000 do with Kelly? The TV show Dateline actually interviewed him 70 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:06.000 about that around two thousand and two. 71 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:09.159 Kelly was a casual girlfriend to him. 72 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:12.120 They'd only hooked up around Christmas, just a few weeks 73 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:13.080 before she went missing. 74 00:04:13.479 --> 00:04:15.680 We went to two parties together, and went to cloud together, 75 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:17.639 and you slept together, you had sex with her. 76 00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:21.959 Chris told the news reporter that he partied with Kelly 77 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:25.920 the night before she disappeared. On Sunday evening, the last 78 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:29.000 night Kelly was ever seen. Chris said he and his 79 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:32.399 friend Marvin drove by the town square in Gilmer. The 80 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.040 video store where Kelly worked was already closed for the night. 81 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:38.680 Yeah, as we were driving by, Marvi, another shatire was 82 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:42.360 flat and so lah okay tires flat. Probably got a 83 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:44.639 ride home or whatever, and we went around on. 84 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:48.319 A Chris's story didn't convince the police for a second 85 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:52.040 According to Sargent Brown, Chris failed not one, but two 86 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:56.439 light detector tests. Keep in mind, though light detector tests 87 00:04:56.519 --> 00:05:00.560 are notoriously unreliable. Earlier in the series, we heard about 88 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:03.759 a guy who actually passed a light detector test when 89 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:08.120 claiming falsely that he sacrificed babies and a devil cult. 90 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:11.839 Joe Henry, the video store manager, the last person known 91 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:15.639 to see Kelly, also failed his light detector test and 92 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:18.720 was still cleared by the cops. So take all that 93 00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:21.879 with a grain of salt, and yet, investigators have said 94 00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:24.879 that Chris just couldn't keep his story straight and he 95 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:28.399 struggled for answers when questioned before a grand jury. According 96 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:31.800 to an Attorney General investigator's report, Chris was driving an 97 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:35.600 eighty four Chevrolet Celebrity on the night of Kelly's disappearance. 98 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:38.959 Chris's dad had bought the car just five months earlier, 99 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:42.399 but he didn't keep it long. Just one month after 100 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:44.959 Kelly was last seen, the car was sold to a 101 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:49.000 dealer in Louisiana to be shipped to Mexico. The FBI 102 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:51.560 tracked down the car. The floor mat in the trunk 103 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:54.920 was said to be missing. The FBI even vacuumed up 104 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:59.319 hair and other debris from the vehicle interior. When lab tested, however, 105 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:04.879 none of the material traced back to Kelly. Did you 106 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:06.199 kill Kelly Wilson? 107 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:09.040 No, did not kill Kelly Wilson. I have no idea 108 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:12.920 what happened to Kelly, whether where she's at, what happened 109 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:17.639 to her. I don't know anything about it. Only thing 110 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:20.519 I know of it I wish I'd never met her. 111 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:25.000 Chris Denton had a cousin, Brent Ward. From what everyone says, 112 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:28.399 Chris and Brent weren't just cousins, they were best friends. 113 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.040 This is local news reporter Philip Williams. 114 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:37.800 You may know that Denton's cousin, Brent Ward, was tried 115 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:42.480 for perjury in that case two different times. Ward was 116 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:45.160 the only guy that was ever tried in connection with him. 117 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.680 Like his cousin, Brent is no longer with us, from 118 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:51.839 what I've been told, He died of complications from diabetes 119 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:55.800 in twenty nineteen at the age of forty six. Case 120 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:58.519 files showed that during the search for Kelly Wilson, Brent 121 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:02.680 was questioned twice by the jury. Both times he testified 122 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:06.839 that he didn't know anything about Kelly's disappearance. Brent also 123 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:10.000 said under oath that he was working until about four 124 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:13.600 pm at this gated golf course community called Holly Lake 125 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:17.040 Ranch on the day of Kelly's disappearance. Brent said he 126 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:19.480 picked up Chris after work that day. They went to 127 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:22.399 eat some hamburgers, and then Brent dropped off his cousin 128 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:26.680 before eight pm. The timing is critical because Kelly was 129 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:29.519 last seen at the video store about thirty minutes later. 130 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:33.959 In other words, Brent's testimony gave Chris a pretty good alibi. 131 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:38.439 The authorities poked some holes in Brent's story. For one thing, 132 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:41.680 his timesheet from Holly Lake didn't show that he'd actually 133 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:46.040 worked that weekend. In his defense, several witnesses said the 134 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:50.480 time sheets weren't very reliable, and yet Brent's own supervisor 135 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:54.279 testified that Brent absolutely did not work on the day 136 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:59.519 Kelly went missing. It gets worse. The supervisor also testified 137 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:02.519 that Brent asked him to lie to tell police that 138 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.240 he'd been at work that day even though he hadn't. 139 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:09.680 According to a newspaper account from Brin's trials, Britt confided 140 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:13.279 in his supervisor that he was worried because he and 141 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:15.879 his two friends had been at the video store a 142 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:19.959 mere fifteen minutes before closing time. Brent said he and 143 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.560 his buddies had been quote messing with Kelly. The supervisor 144 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:28.600 refused to lie for Brent. A coworker overheard their conversation, 145 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:33.559 what if anything, did Brent know about the disappearance of 146 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:34.320 Kelly Wilson. 147 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:38.120 The State Attorney General's office believes this man, twenty two 148 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:41.440 year old Britt Ward, may have some answers, yet they 149 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:45.039 claim he's not the prime suspect. That accusation points toward 150 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:47.879 his best friend and first cousin, twenty two year old 151 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:51.919 Chris Denton. No charges have ever been filed against Denton 152 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:54.600 in the missing Team's case, but Ward has been charged 153 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:58.919 with aggregated perjury five times, charges alleging Ward lied about 154 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:02.000 where he was the night Kelly Wilson disappeared. In the 155 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:05.399 latest free trial hearing, former Gilmour police sergeant James Brown 156 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:09.399 testifies he always believed Chris Denton to be the prime suspect, 157 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:11.799 and he felt Brent Ward knew more than he'd admit. 158 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:15.679 In Brent's first trial, a next girlfriend testified that she 159 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:20.240 hadn't seen Brent since the Saturday before Kelly disappeared. When 160 00:09:20.279 --> 00:09:23.240 she called him that Wednesday or Thursday to ask where 161 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:26.639 he'd been. Brent told her, if the police ask, you 162 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:29.720 tell them you saw me, not that they will ask. 163 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:35.399 Brent denied the girlfriend's allegation. It was her word against his, 164 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:39.279 so a judge acquitted him. In the second trial, a 165 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:42.720 jury convicted Brent on one of two charges. He was 166 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:46.399 sentenced to three years in jail. But here's the deal. 167 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:50.600 Lee Taylor, a close friend of Chris and Kelly, says 168 00:09:50.679 --> 00:09:54.759 there's no way Chris murdered Kelly, and she has Chris's alibi. 169 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:58.480 And I never understood why the police weren't interested in that, 170 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:02.519 and they were never interested, like they never talked to me. 171 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:05.840 I went to the police station and told them, I 172 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:09.120 know y'all are looking into Chris, but I was on 173 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:12.320 the phone with him. The little secretary lady took my 174 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:14.200 information and no one ever called me. 175 00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:15.799 Wow. 176 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:21.559 Yeah, So like I never ever ever believed it was him. 177 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:24.799 Ever, Lee is far from the only one who is 178 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:28.519 convinced of Chris's innocence. Let's see what she and others 179 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:35.799 have to say. From Imperative Entertainment. I'm wes Ferguson This 180 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:56.039 is Deviltown. This is chapter ten, Part one. The boyfriend, 181 00:10:56.679 --> 00:10:58.600 if you can remember all the way back to the 182 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:02.240 first episode, is the high school friend who was supposed 183 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:04.360 to meet up with Kelly and go to that party 184 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:07.039 outside of town. When Lee got off work at the 185 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:10.480 local pharmacy, she drove over to the video store. Kelly 186 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:13.759 was still inside the store vacuuming, so Lee went home 187 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:17.279 to change clothes, and that's when her mom said, no way. 188 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:20.360 And then like shortly after, my mom was like, no, 189 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:23.840 you're not going. It's too late to go out now. No no, no, no, no, no no. 190 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:26.320 And I was like, dam I should just never come home, 191 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:28.879 you know, I should have gone straight to Kelly's. Right 192 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:32.799 about that time, Chris didn't called me, and we're talking 193 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:34.559 on the phone, and I was like, well, are you 194 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:37.559 going to go with Are you gonna go with me 195 00:11:37.960 --> 00:11:39.919 meet up with Kelly and them tonight at that party? 196 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:44.240 And he said something of the like nah, fuck that bitch, 197 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:46.639 I ain't going or she's being a bitch, I ain't 198 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:49.080 going or something, and I don't know, and I guess 199 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:51.240 they've gone in some little Honestly, I think she was 200 00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:53.279 trying to break up with him or kind of stop 201 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:56.840 hanging out with him so much and kind of blew 202 00:11:56.919 --> 00:11:59.759 him off. I don't really know the details of that, 203 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:02.480 but it wasn't like we got in this huge fight 204 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:06.480 da you know. It wasn't anything like that. And I 205 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:08.279 knew it couldn't be because she had just been at 206 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:13.279 the thing vacuuming fifteen minutes earlier. And so I just 207 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:17.200 never could understand how if he was the one to 208 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.480 get her from the video store, how kid he could 209 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:24.480 have already have done something, hidden her body somewhere and 210 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:26.879 called me and then totally normal. 211 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:28.960 She says. The timing just didn't make sense. 212 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:32.080 It was shortly before nine. It was like eight forty 213 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:35.159 five ish. And the reason I remember this so vividly, 214 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:38.600 and I don't remember very many things this vividly. I'm 215 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:41.279 almost a little bit nutty. And I wasn't allowed to 216 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:43.919 be on the phone after nine, and then she really 217 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:47.159 didn't like Chris didn't. And I remember it was like 218 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:49.159 nine oh five and I was on the phone with 219 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:52.200 him and she like walked into my round. I was like, 220 00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:54.000 what are you doing. I was like, I'm on the 221 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:56.679 phone with Chris, and she ripped my phone out of 222 00:12:56.679 --> 00:13:00.320 the wall. That's how I remember it so down thedly 223 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:03.480 because I never got a phone again, never got that 224 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:05.559 that thing put back on the wall where you could 225 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:06.600 plug a phone in again. 226 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:09.240 It sounds like Chris was none too happy with Kelly 227 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:12.000 that night. It reminds me of a comment made by 228 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:16.360 retired police officer Richard Sproule in the last episode The 229 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:19.879 Law Enforcement Theory that Chris was mad at Kelly because 230 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:23.360 she'd been spending time with another boyfriend instead of him 231 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:26.039 over the Christmas holidays. 232 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:27.360 And he was like, have you talked to Kelly? And 233 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:29.960 I was like, no, I drove by, she was vacuuming, 234 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:35.399 and I haven't called yet. And so I believe he 235 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:41.159 was with Marvin Pritchett. They were at Chris's house. They're 236 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:43.879 either at Chris's house or Marvin's house, and so it 237 00:13:44.039 --> 00:13:47.360 just doesn't make sense that he could have done something 238 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:50.360 to her and he didn't have a car. I don't believe. 239 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:53.000 I don't believe he had a car. I think he 240 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:55.279 was probably with Marvin, but I just I don't see 241 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:58.960 how they could have ever done something hidden her walked 242 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:02.360 into Chris's house out, you know, any blood on them 243 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:05.320 or anything, and then acted like it was normal. The 244 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:06.639 only place they could have had her was like in 245 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:10.559 the trunk of the car, and it just it just 246 00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:11.480 doesn't make sense. 247 00:14:12.360 --> 00:14:15.440 And then if someone was to say, well, maybe they 248 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:19.000 went out later and met up with her, No. 249 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:21.000 I just don't think that's even possible. 250 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:24.559 I can't say one way or the other. But I 251 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:27.720 really don't understand what's impossible about Kelly getting a ride 252 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:32.679 from someone else, maybe another love interest, and crossing paths 253 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:36.919 with Chris later that night. Chris didn't sister declined to 254 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:39.639 speak with me, but in a text message, she said 255 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:42.200 Chris was home with his family on the night Kelly 256 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:46.039 went missing, and Chris also told the Dateline reporter that 257 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:48.679 he went right home after he and his friend Marvin 258 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:51.919 saw Kelly's car with the flat tire at around nine 259 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:56.240 thirty pm. But it's certainly not unheard of for a 260 00:14:56.279 --> 00:15:00.879 teenager to sneak out after his parents are asleep. So 261 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:03.399 Lee is on the phone with Chris right after Kelly 262 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:07.279 gets off work. Several hours passed before the next morning, 263 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:10.639 when Kelly's stepdad finds her Dodge Charger with the slash 264 00:15:10.759 --> 00:15:14.960 tire outside the video store. That's a pretty big window 265 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:18.519 for anything to happen. Did Kelly say that she had 266 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:19.120 to tell you. 267 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:24.120 Something like something was going on? And I think, and 268 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:26.080 that's when I think she was kind of like trying 269 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:28.840 to get away from Chris, like they were kind of dating, 270 00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:33.879 and she's kind of trying to distance herself from Chris. 271 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:37.559 But there wasn't like nothing happened between them. There wasn't 272 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:41.519 a big sight. There wasn't, you know, nothing happened. If 273 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:43.600 she did seem like she wanted to talk about somemer 274 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:46.000 or was saying she wanted to talk about something, I 275 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:49.120 thought it was about breaking up with Chris, because him 276 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:51.240 and I were really good friends, and so I thought 277 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:53.759 she really just wanted to bounce it off of me 278 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:57.720 or you know whatever. But I didn't know any of 279 00:15:57.759 --> 00:15:58.600 that other stuff. 280 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:00.440 How long have they been together? 281 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:04.960 A few buds, I believe. I believe it had been 282 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:07.960 a few months, like maybe rightund the football season was 283 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:09.000 they had started dating. 284 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:12.960 Yeah, because when he talked to Dateline, he said that 285 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:16.320 they had just hooked up a couple times in December 286 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:17.720 and that was the extent of it. 287 00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:20.240 And I may and that may be it. I might 288 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:23.639 just be thinking they but I know they'd hung out 289 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:26.279 for a while, and there's no telling. I'm sure Chris 290 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:27.240 was just scared to death. 291 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:31.639 It's obvious that Lee cares a lot about Chris. Whether 292 00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:33.840 you think her phone call with Chris is an airtight 293 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:37.320 alibi or not, it is strange that Gilbert police had 294 00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:39.480 no interest in hearing what she had to say. 295 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:41.679 Well, I would love for it to come out that 296 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.519 he talked to me, because I've always felt like people 297 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:48.240 still to this day, you know, have this weird suspicion 298 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:52.159 of him, And to this day, out of every single 299 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.879 person that was ever suspected as the one person that 300 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.200 I don't believe could have possibly done it, I just 301 00:16:59.320 --> 00:17:01.360 I mean, I remember we were joking around. I mean, 302 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:04.200 wouldn't he have been out of breath or weird or 303 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:08.519 something if you just killed somebody? Had I was his 304 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:10.240 alibi and no one cared. 305 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:15.880 What about Chris's alleged violet streak. His and Kelly's other friend, 306 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:19.119 Michelle says this was also blown out of proportion. 307 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:25.000 I don't remembering much in high school, but I was 308 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:28.680 busy with my daughter, but he was honoring. He liked 309 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:32.920 to get in fights, and he was extremely smart and 310 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:37.440 ended up getting held back and graduating with us because 311 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:39.839 he just went to do his work. But when he 312 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:42.759 took his exit exams, he did better than any of us, 313 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:46.880 Like he was smart. He was just honoring and gave 314 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:50.599 his parents' fits. And there's nothing good about you know, 315 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:52.119 what he went to jail for. 316 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:55.200 But it's made out. 317 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:59.039 To be a different picture than what it was. There 318 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:05.119 was a common rivalry fight between two groups of kids, 319 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:09.599 and something had broken out and they purposely went to 320 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:12.920 get Chris because they knew he liked to fight, you know, 321 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:13.759 his friends dead. 322 00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:17.480 So they went gauding and went back. 323 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:20.640 To fight as a group, like one group against another group. 324 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:24.519 And unfortunately Chris pulled out a knife. 325 00:18:24.519 --> 00:18:27.519 Now it's not like this long butcher knife. 326 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:30.880 They make it sound like he's a serial killer and 327 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:34.519 went to stab in somebody. Okay, what he did is 328 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:36.440 not good. You can't pull out any kind of knife 329 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:39.880 and stab somebody, right. The person did not die, the 330 00:18:39.880 --> 00:18:44.079 person did not have great injury. It's never fun to 331 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:46.480 get stabbed by any kind of knife. But it wasn't 332 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:47.960 this deadly transaction. 333 00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:51.200 I guess. I'm not trying to make excuses for it. 334 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:51.519 I'm not. 335 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:55.720 And he learned a valuable lesson for it, and he 336 00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:58.440 was very serious. When he was on probation, he did 337 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:00.720 not break his probation. He didn't want to do anything 338 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:03.680 he wasn't supposed to do because he wanted to be 339 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:07.319 a good person. He went to jail, and after he 340 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:10.000 got out he really wanted to He was like, I 341 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:12.759 can't do I can't be the wild child anymore. And 342 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:15.880 he really started turning everything around. And then that's when 343 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:18.720 I got to know him. I've had a lot of 344 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:22.920 long conversations with Chris, and there in my mind, there's 345 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:25.559 absolutely no way he could have had anything to do 346 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:28.319 with it. I've had conversations with him or he's in 347 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:35.319 tears and wanted nothing more than to solve her case, 348 00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:40.319 and there's no way you could. Somebody could have those 349 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:43.200 conversations if they were guilty. That's the conversations that I 350 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:46.200 had with him. And he was one of the most 351 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:51.319 loving souls. Once he grew up and was not, you know, 352 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:54.920 acting out anymore. When he was an adult, he was 353 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:59.880 a wonderful man. He knew he was going to die 354 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.319 and he said, when I die, I need you to 355 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:05.920 be open to listening to me, because I'm going to 356 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:08.079 find I'm going to go to Kelly when I get 357 00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:10.440 to heaven and we're going to send you signals and 358 00:20:10.440 --> 00:20:12.359 you're going to have to help find her. 359 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:15.119 I mean, and he's serious. 360 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:19.240 I mean, this is one of his very last things 361 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:21.519 that he's going to do, is that he wants to 362 00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:24.599 be able to find her and clear his name, clear 363 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:28.160 Brent's name, and bring Kelly's mother closure. 364 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:32.640 I asked Michelle about a rumor that's been going around 365 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:37.720 for years that Chris made a deathbed confession involving Kelly's case. 366 00:20:39.559 --> 00:20:45.680 Well, no, none of that's accurate. None of that's accurate. 367 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:50.680 Of course, there's no deathbed confession. His last days were 368 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:54.400 spent at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, and. 369 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:57.160 He was very coherent for most of that time. 370 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:00.640 It was just a very short period of time that 371 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:04.039 he was not able to talk and be coherent, and 372 00:21:04.119 --> 00:21:06.039 it was during that time that I was having those 373 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:09.480 conversations with him, and nobody ever approached him to try 374 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:10.799 to get a confession. 375 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:13.400 So I was there the day he died. 376 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:17.240 Although Lee remembers Chris and Kelly being an item for 377 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:20.319 a few months, Michelle insists they were not in a 378 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:24.440 serious relationship. That was just the narrative being driven to 379 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:27.359 make Chris into the scapegoat for Kelly's disappearance. 380 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:31.079 I think it was more the media, and I think 381 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.759 the high ups in the community controlled the media and 382 00:21:33.799 --> 00:21:37.559 they wanted the spotlight off of them. And you know, 383 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:39.839 the first person they were going to question is the 384 00:21:39.880 --> 00:21:42.039 person they considered the boyfriend. 385 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:44.160 They weren't really truly boyfriend and girlfriend. 386 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:46.079 I think they'd just been messing around and they were 387 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:48.519 starting to have feelings or whatever was going on there. 388 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:50.920 That's your first easy target. 389 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:55.279 It's just like if there's a husband and wife and 390 00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:57.480 the wife gets murdered, the first person they're going to 391 00:21:57.559 --> 00:21:58.640 go towards this the husband. 392 00:21:58.680 --> 00:22:00.119 They're going to question them. 393 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:03.519 To be sure. There are details about Kelly's case that 394 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:07.599 point away from Chris and Brent. The fall before she vanished, 395 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:10.680 Kelly had told her cousin in Louisiana that she was 396 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:13.400 trying to get away from an ex boyfriend who dealt 397 00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:17.000 drugs and wouldn't leave her alone. We heard about that 398 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:20.799 in the last episode. Well, Chris was not a drug dealer. 399 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:24.200 There was also the night Kelly was dropped off by 400 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:26.720 a black luxury car and she claimed to have not 401 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:30.039