Speaker 1: Kate was a person who saw the best in the world.
Speaker 1: She knew what humanity could be and was an advocate
Speaker 1: to do better, to strive for more. Her passion in
Speaker 1: everything she stood for, however, would ultimately lead to her
Speaker 1: untimely and gruesome death, and the very organization that was
Speaker 1: at fault turned their back on her family in the aftermath.
Speaker 1: This is the story of Peace Corps volunteer Kate Poosy.
Speaker 2: My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked
Speaker 2: and Grim, a true crime podcasting.
Speaker 1: The following podcast and material in for a mature audience,
Speaker 1: listener discretion is advised. Remember that time I said that
Speaker 1: there's going to be a horrible transition into Patreon.
Speaker 2: Is this the time?
Speaker 1: This is it? It's that we're just thanking patrons right now.
Speaker 1: So shout out to Courtney Wheeler, Brittany Olsen, Boblet, Brianna Seymour.
Speaker 1: I'm probably gonna get this one wrong. I'm gonna do
Speaker 1: my best. Hellic, Nick tur and Kerry g Awesome. Thank
Speaker 1: you very much. You guys get all that awesome behind
Speaker 1: the scenes and everything.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Like we honestly appreciate that so much.
Speaker 1: We do. You guys really are a big integral part
Speaker 1: of keeping the show going. So thank you so much
Speaker 1: for everything you do. It means a lot. Plus you
Speaker 1: get to be awesome patrons. You get to be back
Speaker 1: there amazing people. So yeah, yeah, how was that for
Speaker 1: a horrible patreone?
Speaker 2: It was unexpected, that was what I was.
Speaker 1: I was like, all right, cool, it was different. Well,
Speaker 1: but it wasn't like smooth by any means. No, but
Speaker 1: that's okay, That's what I was aiming for. Yeah, we
Speaker 1: are officially five episodes away from Big two hundred. This
Speaker 1: is episode one ninety five. Wow, how does that make
Speaker 1: you feel old?
Speaker 2: Old?
Speaker 1: We've been going for a while, so.
Speaker 2: Yeah, like yeah, it makes me feel I don't know,
Speaker 2: time just flyes so darn fast. I don't I don't
Speaker 2: get it. I don't get it. Well, it does not
Speaker 2: seem like we've put two hundred episodes.
Speaker 1: Out, No, And I mean we're gonna be pumping out
Speaker 1: more now that we're starting to do Friday episodes. Because
Speaker 1: like last week, minus the whole like server error with
Speaker 1: our hosting platform, but we had two episodes out plus
Speaker 1: the Patreon episodes, we had three episodes we actually released last.
Speaker 2: Week and this one we record what day is it today? Saturday?
Speaker 2: I'm almost on holidays, so just don't mind me today
Speaker 2: Nichole's and holiday moment already, I'm trying to be Yeah,
Speaker 2: so it's Saturday, and this is the Tuesday episode.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we usually record on Monday, Monday night, right hours
Speaker 1: before the episode's release. Yeah, but yeah, we had to
Speaker 1: be above our normal schedule and be on the ball
Speaker 1: this time.
Speaker 2: So yeah, and we should note that too because of
Speaker 2: the whole thanking patrons. So you've kind of sign up
Speaker 2: and you're thinking you'll be thanked. It will be next week.
Speaker 1: Yeh, next Tuesday, because Fridays we're not, but Tuesday as well.
Speaker 1: Yet you get it, you understand, okay, Kate poosy Okay,
Speaker 1: are you ready for the story?
Speaker 2: No? No, I feel like this story is going to
Speaker 2: be terrible.
Speaker 1: It is. I mean, it's a true crime podcast, so
Speaker 1: mostly we deal with terrible things. Unfortunately, you don't say.
Speaker 1: I feel like we've been on a bit of a
Speaker 1: stint of doing some different type weird cases recently, and
Speaker 1: this one definitely falls in that category. Again, It's yeah,
Speaker 1: there's some different dynamics to it. We deal with the
Speaker 1: Peace corpses I already kind of mentioned, which we'll talk
Speaker 1: about what that is and how it was all involved
Speaker 1: and everything, but it's different. Maybe maybe one day soon
Speaker 1: we'll just get to the stereotypical serial killer and how
Speaker 1: they get caught. But for now we're going a little
Speaker 1: bit different.
Speaker 2: That's okay. I think that's great.
Speaker 1: Fair enough.
Speaker 2: You're doing a good job over there, Thank you.
Speaker 1: It means a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm just here for the ride until vacation. Well no,
Speaker 2: I mean after vacation, I'm hoping I can get a
Speaker 2: case out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that would be nice.
Speaker 2: That would be really nice.
Speaker 1: That would be But for now we're going to talk
Speaker 1: about Kate, so we digress back onto the case. Kate
Speaker 1: Poosey was born on June nineteenth, nineteen eighty four, in Augsburg, Germany,
Speaker 1: where both of her parents worked as teachers. Now, though
Speaker 1: born in Germany, they would soon move when she was
Speaker 1: only nine years old, and Kate spent her childhood from
Speaker 1: then on in Okinawa, Japan. Now this is where she
Speaker 1: continued to grow learn, you know, play as a kid
Speaker 1: right all the way up until she graduated high school
Speaker 1: and she left for college. Now, from a young age,
Speaker 1: though Kate showed a blend of empathy, finess, and smarts,
Speaker 1: and during her high school year she was actively involved
Speaker 1: in advocating for various causes, showcasing her passion for making
Speaker 1: a difference, and was elected even student body president twice.
Speaker 1: And she even graduate graduated as valedictorian in twenty wow
Speaker 1: in two thousand and two.
Speaker 2: Right on, yeah, she sounds awesome. She is.
Speaker 1: She's got a good heart, she's smart, and she isn't
Speaker 1: too much about herself. She's for others, other people for
Speaker 1: the better right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, that sounds awesome.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And from there, Kate would then attend post secondary
Speaker 1: in France, majoring in sociology with a minor in business Now.
Speaker 1: During these years, she also worked with underprivileged children, often
Speaker 1: supporting guidance for those you know in need, right, doing
Speaker 1: her volunteer work again doing what's best?
Speaker 2: Yeah, no kidding.
Speaker 1: Those who knew Kate said she was known for her
Speaker 1: radiant smile and positive attitude, and said that she always
Speaker 1: left a lasting impact on everyone that she met with
Speaker 1: a kind of person. With the kind of person that
Speaker 1: Kate was, it's not surprising to hear that she aimed
Speaker 1: to have a career in a nonprofit management position focusing
Speaker 1: on international development and advocacy for women and children. More specifically,
Speaker 1: everyone knew exactly what Kate was about who she was,
Speaker 1: and they would use all these different words and terms
Speaker 1: and descriptions and terminology that I've already thrown out there
Speaker 1: in an attempt to capture who she was in a
Speaker 1: summed up sentence. But Kate, for her, it was easy
Speaker 1: to define who she was. She simply described herself as
Speaker 1: an optimistic realist and was committed to making a positive
Speaker 1: difference in the world day.
Speaker 2: I feel like if someone was like doing an intro
Speaker 2: over me, I wouldn't be half that good. I know,
Speaker 2: Like she just sounds fricking phenomenal.
Speaker 1: I know. And then from what everyone like the resume
Speaker 1: she has on what kind of person she is and
Speaker 1: how everyone can describe her in such a heart of
Speaker 1: gold person, She's like, I'm just an optimistic realist.
Speaker 2: I feel like she's just like like light, just like light,
Speaker 2: very like beautiful.
Speaker 1: Human pretty much.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Now, after graduating, Kate continued to follow her heart of
Speaker 1: Gold and volunteered with the International International Rescue Committee, which
Speaker 1: is a global human humanitarian organization. I'm having troubles talking
Speaker 1: tonight apparently, sorry, my apologies for that, and now this
Speaker 1: organization provides emergency assistance and relief. As a result, Kate
Speaker 1: would find herself traveling extensively to countries like England, in Indonesia, Italy, Ghana, Greece, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco,
Speaker 1: Hong Kong, Spain, and Thailand.
Speaker 2: That's a lot of places.
Speaker 1: Yeah. There upon, yeah, going to different countries, volunteering and everything.
Speaker 1: Within her life, she traveled to many different places. Her
Speaker 1: talents for writing and photography that she developed from school
Speaker 1: and in her travels helped her share her experiences with
Speaker 1: friends and families, providing a window into her adventures and
Speaker 1: the cultures that she encountered along the way. In two
Speaker 1: thousand and seven, Kate expanded her dedication of doing good
Speaker 1: and bettering the world by joining the Peace Corps. So
Speaker 1: the Peace Corpse, if for anyone who doesn't know, is
Speaker 1: a US government initiative established in March of nineteen sixty
Speaker 1: one by President John F. Kennedy, and it aimed to
Speaker 1: foster world peace or aims as I should say, because
Speaker 1: it is still an organization today. Now they're objective, their
Speaker 1: core objective included providing technical assistance to developing nations, promoting
Speaker 1: a deeper understanding of American culture abroad, and enriching Americans
Speaker 1: awareness of other cultures as well. So from outside of assistance,
Speaker 1: it's a two way learning street, from culture to cultures.
Speaker 1: Volunteers worked in various sectors such as education, health, agriculture,
Speaker 1: and by living and working within local communities, they share
Speaker 1: American culture and values while immersing themselves in the customs
Speaker 1: and traditions of the host country itself. So those volunteers
Speaker 1: are actually going abroad to some of the countries that
Speaker 1: you know that Kate actually traveled to, living in the
Speaker 1: actual cultures the villages or wherever it might be, and
Speaker 1: volunteering to maybe agriculture, hospitals or schools, and they're they're
Speaker 1: immersing themselves in what these cultures are and then bringing
Speaker 1: their knowledge from North America and you know, like, well,
Speaker 1: this is how we teach North America and these are
Speaker 1: some of the things on English skills or whatever they're teaching.
Speaker 1: I don't know, And they just bring these things over
Speaker 1: and teach and share and then take back as well.
Speaker 2: That's like such a cool experience. Hey, Like I just
Speaker 2: feel like, that's just an amazing life experience. Oh.
Speaker 1: I can't even imagine going it'd be so phenomenal.
Speaker 2: And it's sorry it's called Peace Corp.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Peace Corpse Corpse Corps.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: Now, the experience with the Peace Corps volunteer, though, does
Speaker 1: not end with their actual service while they are abroad.
Speaker 1: Upon returning home home to North America, they bring back
Speaker 1: their invaluable insights and experiences, of course, contributing to the
Speaker 1: broader global awareness sort of thing, right, because it's not
Speaker 1: just so much about them going out and doing good
Speaker 1: in other countries. It's about like, hey, what can you
Speaker 1: bring back to right, what can we learn from your experience?
Speaker 2: Totally? Yeah.
Speaker 1: Now, since the Peace Corpse inception, over two hundred and
Speaker 1: forty thousand individuals have volunteered, which is phenomenal.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's really good. Wow.
Speaker 1: So this was the perfect thing for Kate to join.
Speaker 1: It made perfect sense, and it matched the whole sense
Speaker 1: of what kind of person she was perfectly to a t.
Speaker 2: Yeah, totally. I was thinking that.
Speaker 1: To be honest, Well, I mean, why else would I
Speaker 1: have just talked about it?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 1: Just Hey, we're talking about Kate and then Peace Corps
Speaker 1: but anyways, back to Kate.
Speaker 2: They do a line like that, it seemed like her
Speaker 2: values the values of this corporation, like in.
Speaker 1: A line there is definitely a ven diagram here going
Speaker 1: on with yeah for sure. Yeah. So when she did volunteer,
Speaker 1: she was assigned to teach English in a rule village
Speaker 1: of again probably going to pronounce this wrong bad deuish. Nope,
Speaker 1: there's no in that. I don't know why I said that.
Speaker 1: Bad dewey, bad dewey. I don't know b A d
Speaker 1: j o U d a e love.
Speaker 2: When you're not sure, you're just spelling it.
Speaker 1: Bad Joe day, bad Joe day.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: Anyways, it's in Benin, which is in West Africa.
Speaker 2: Okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 1: So the village itself can't pronounce my apologies, but it
Speaker 1: is in Benin, West Africa, okay. Now. Benin is a
Speaker 1: nation known for its rich history, including the powerful Kingdom
Speaker 1: of Dahomi, which holds cultural diversity with you know, many
Speaker 1: different ethnic groups and languages within the Benin country or yeah,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, right, Okay. Yeah, Sometimes it's
Speaker 1: really hard to portray another country, another place, like I've
Speaker 1: never visited.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, when when you're kind of just like learning
Speaker 2: about the.
Speaker 1: Place exactly right. So, yeah, now, the country's economic economy
Speaker 1: relies heavily on agriculture trade, particularly through the port of
Speaker 1: Port con To know, despite the uh economic growth of
Speaker 1: with this port, Beneen Face faces many challenges such as poverty,
Speaker 1: infrastructure deficits, which is exactly why Peace Corps has taken
Speaker 1: up in the area, right, So they're really trying to
Speaker 1: see what they can do to, you know, help them develop,
Speaker 1: help them grow specifically with you know, their their resources
Speaker 1: available like in this port for example, their trade, their
Speaker 1: their agriculture now. Kate, though served as volunteer over the
Speaker 1: course of these two years that she was there, and
Speaker 1: she built a strong relationship with the local community, particularly
Speaker 1: focusing on the women and children. Kate's initiatives included creating
Speaker 1: a girls club, organizing girls camps, teaching reproductive health, and
Speaker 1: addressing issues of male oppression, which reflected her deep commitment
Speaker 1: to advocating for women's rights. The Peace Corpse was everything
Speaker 1: Kate had dreamed it. She was making a difference, She
Speaker 1: was offering support and building a better world for people
Speaker 1: who needed it. Each day she did her best and
Speaker 1: it showed.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, that just sounds amazing, creates a girls club,
Speaker 2: like are you kidding me? Wow?
Speaker 1: However, like any group or organization in the world, there
Speaker 1: are those within it who are corrupt, people who will
Speaker 1: twist things in order to take advantage. Kate, Unfortunately, you
Speaker 1: would find out that the Peace Corpse was not an
Speaker 1: exception to this rule of thumb.
Speaker 2: Dang here, I was like, this is such a nice story,
Speaker 2: and here we go just going downhill from here.
Speaker 1: I'm assuming yeah, you could say that. Unfortunately, Kate would
Speaker 1: eventually discover that someone who was working for the Peace
Speaker 1: Corps organization was assaulting young girls. So, through her interaction
Speaker 1: with the local community and her students and being a
Speaker 1: beloved community member, she developed very close relationship and ships
Speaker 1: with these people, particularly the women and children with the
Speaker 1: clubs and organizations she was running and developing. Right through
Speaker 1: these relationships, she became aware of these incidents, and it
Speaker 1: left Kate with no other decision. She had to report
Speaker 1: what was happening to the organization.
Speaker 2: Kate, I'm confused, So someone like a volunteer was harassing
Speaker 2: like say, people in this girls club, or like other volunteers, or.
Speaker 1: We're going to get we're getting into it. Yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: literally about to just start describing on that, so don't worry.
Speaker 1: So on February ninth, two thousand and nine, Kate sent
Speaker 1: an email to her Peace Corpse County director reporting allegations
Speaker 1: of sexual misconduct by a local teacher named Constant Bio. Now. Constant,
Speaker 1: who taught at Kate's school, was also regularly hired by
Speaker 1: the Peace Corpse in Beneaen to facilitate volunteer training sessions.
Speaker 1: So it is a local of the area because everything
Speaker 1: that's happening with them being in this other country, it's
Speaker 1: not just all volunteers coming over, right, they also hire locals.
Speaker 1: They hire people and create this like I don't know station,
Speaker 1: if you will, and volunteers come over and help, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah that sounds great.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but yeah, so Constant was the one that we're
Speaker 1: talking about here, this local, Okay. So in her email,
Speaker 1: Kate's detailed how Constant had been assaulting and raping young
Speaker 1: girls in the village. She felt it was crucial for
Speaker 1: the county director to be aware of this behavior, not
Speaker 1: only for moral reasons of it needing to stop and
Speaker 1: this vile action needing to be putting an end to it,
Speaker 1: but she also had concerns that the association with the
Speaker 1: Peace Corpse and this individual would damage the organization's reputation
Speaker 1: within the community itself.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Wow, imagine finding out about that. Hey, yeah, that's disgusting.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think I'd be able to sit back
Speaker 1: very very long, if at all. Yeah, speaking up. So,
Speaker 1: while the email itself has not been least publicly, I
Speaker 1: was able to find an excerpt from what she said.
Speaker 1: So here is a little bit of a clip of
Speaker 1: how it reads, and it goes like this quote. Please
Speaker 1: believe me, I'm not someone who likes to create problems,
Speaker 1: but this has been weighing heavy on me. I've loved
Speaker 1: my time as a volunteer, and it's important to me
Speaker 1: that the Peace Corpse remain a respected organization in the
Speaker 1: eyes of our host country. This man is not someone
Speaker 1: I want representing Peace Corpse to the Benese community.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean it sounds like, yeah, like she really
Speaker 2: just from that little blip of the letter or the
Speaker 2: email that she put like a lot of thought into it.
Speaker 1: You know she did. She took this very seriously. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you can tell thought about it every which angle possibly
Speaker 1: and took it very not even just very seriously, but
Speaker 1: very professionally as well, which props to her. I don't
Speaker 1: know if I could have done that, I know I'd
Speaker 1: have been like, get this piece of fucking shit out
Speaker 1: of here.
Speaker 2: So yeah, because I feel like a lot of people,
Speaker 2: you know, they would just like lose their shit and
Speaker 2: could potentially go and approach this person, which could make
Speaker 2: things a lot worse. Right, So she was definitely doing
Speaker 2: the right thing.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So, with the new information at hand, the Peace
Speaker 1: Corps organization had a problem that clearly needed to be
Speaker 1: dealt with. So, due to the information that Kate had
Speaker 1: provided to the county director about this individual in Benin,
Speaker 1: Constant Bio was informed that he would no longer be
Speaker 1: employed by the Peace Corps.
Speaker 2: Okay, so that was that.
Speaker 1: That was that. Now. I don't know how things operate
Speaker 1: in this country in Benin, as I already mentioned, I've
Speaker 1: never been there, so describing it was already a challenge.
Speaker 1: But this is an assumption of mine here that I have,
Speaker 1: and I assume that in an un underdeveloped country like this,
Speaker 1: I'm sure securing a job might be hard to come by,
Speaker 1: and for the man that we're talking about, I'm sure
Speaker 1: it could have been very devastating news that he had
Speaker 1: just been fired from it.
Speaker 2: Right, that doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's also very unfortunate. But at the time, the
Speaker 1: Peace Corps volunteers had no whistleblower protection. Situations like this
Speaker 1: were very rare, and they weren't. There weren't very many
Speaker 1: protocols on how to deal with it, and so, according
Speaker 1: to a report from the Peace Corps Office of Inspector General,
Speaker 1: the information Kate shared was not kept confidentially.
Speaker 2: Oh you're kidding me.
Speaker 1: Which means it was well known within the Peace Corpse
Speaker 1: that this man had had been fired, why he had
Speaker 1: been fired, and more importantly, who relayed the information about
Speaker 1: the actions that he was doing that got him fired
Speaker 1: in the first place.
Speaker 2: That honestly just seems like common sense.
Speaker 1: So that you would keep that, one would think, why,
Speaker 1: one would think.
Speaker 2: Okay, holy shit, that's kind of scary.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So Kate had even received a follow up call
Speaker 1: from another Peace Corps employee regarding this matter and was
Speaker 1: told that the information had become widely among the employees
Speaker 1: of the Peace Corps office in Benin. One such employee, sorry,
Speaker 1: one such employee who learned what happened was a man
Speaker 1: by the name of Arlene Bio, also known as Jacques Bio,
Speaker 1: who was an associate director of the Peace Corps in Benin,
Speaker 1: and as you've probably already guessed by the last name,
Speaker 1: was the brother of Constant Bio, the individual who was fired.
Speaker 2: Oh shit, No, I actually forgot his last name, so
Speaker 2: I didn't put that together.
Speaker 1: Oh okay, fair enough, I'm glad I told you.
Speaker 2: Okay, well, shit, shit shit.
Speaker 1: The Peace Corpse response to Kate's report was, of course fantastic.
Speaker 1: They eliminated the problem right then and there. They got
Speaker 1: him out of the out of the situation, removing the
Speaker 1: man from his employment. However, the mishandling of the information
Speaker 1: proved to be a grave mistake, as the organization allegedly
Speaker 1: even disclosed to Constant Bio himself that Kate had been
Speaker 1: the one who reported the misconduct, directly compromising her safety
Speaker 1: and exposing too, of course, potential retaliation.
Speaker 2: Okay, like, what the actual shit? This just seems okay
Speaker 2: because it's not like she was reporting like something minor,
Speaker 2: like this was a big fucking deal. That's like you
Speaker 2: needed to be dealt with, like it needed to be
Speaker 2: dealt with.
Speaker 1: Correct, I agree?
Speaker 2: And so the fact that now she is in any
Speaker 2: sort of weird position is just like not okay, I
Speaker 2: just think that's terrible.
Speaker 1: I agree, there is one devil's advocate here. We are
Speaker 1: talking about an underdeveloped country still, So these are employees
Speaker 1: employed by the Peace Corps, so they are members of
Speaker 1: the Peace Corps organization, but they are beneath the civilians.
Speaker 1: So we're not talking about like people who are in
Speaker 1: skyscraper towers in downtown New York and Chicago who deal
Speaker 1: with this sort of sensitive information all the time. I
Speaker 1: guess I understand how without proper protocols, Yeah, they might
Speaker 1: not understand that you should keep your mouth shut. Well, yeah, potentially.
Speaker 2: I don't know what was she supposed to do. Like,
Speaker 2: it's not like she could just have had a blind,
Speaker 2: blind eye to that.
Speaker 1: No, she couldn't, especially for a person like Kate. There's
Speaker 1: no way she could have, especially when one of the
Speaker 1: big things she was fighting for was for advocacy for
Speaker 1: women and children.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so how everything played out. Just days after the
Speaker 1: report was made, Kate Poosey was found dead. Gosh, her
Speaker 1: lifeless body was discovered on the porch of her small
Speaker 1: home and beneen her throat had been cut open ear
Speaker 1: to ear.
Speaker 2: Holy shit, it was a brutal.
Speaker 1: End that sent shockwave to the Peace Corps community.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, that is just beyond fucked mm hmm, Like,
Speaker 2: oh my gosh, I don't even know what to say.
Speaker 2: You're trying to do the right thing and that happens
Speaker 2: to you. Oh man, Okay, that's terrifying.
Speaker 1: When their headquarters contacted Kate Poosey's parents to inform her
Speaker 1: of in form them of her death, they refused to
Speaker 1: provide any details or explanations on what happened. Lois and
Speaker 1: Harry Poosey, her parents had to piece together the circumstances
Speaker 1: surrounding Kate's death by reading her emails and speaking with
Speaker 1: other volunteers. Wow, they had to dig in and investigate
Speaker 1: what happened to themselves because the Peace Corpse they.
Speaker 2: Weren't taking any sort of responsibility.
Speaker 1: No, they were trying to sweep it under the rug.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but like someone who was amazing died, you can't
Speaker 2: just sweep that under the fucking rug.
Speaker 1: Someone does. Yeah, it's your responsibility to look after these
Speaker 1: individuals and under your care someone was hurt or died,
Speaker 1: doesn't matter which one. And you have a responsibility towards that,
Speaker 1: but they were trying to sweep it under the rug.
Speaker 2: You know. And this is this gosh, because Kate had
Speaker 2: thought this through so much, right and I bet you
Speaker 2: and this was the reason why she had to think
Speaker 2: it through so so much.
Speaker 1: Oh definitely, oh man, because I guarantee you if she
Speaker 1: was still in the USA, she wouldn't have had to
Speaker 1: think twice. She would have just reported it then and
Speaker 1: there because her nomine would have been kept.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Oh okay, that is just so fucking sad.
Speaker 1: Four months after Kate's murder, the Peace Corpse ceased. All
Speaker 1: communications with the Poosy family cut ties completely.
Speaker 2: What the hell they're just it's just like their hand
Speaker 2: going spiraling and handling this shit terribly.
Speaker 1: Authorities in Benin didn't take long to react to her
Speaker 1: murder and soon made the arrest on Constant Bio as
Speaker 1: well as his brother Jake's Bio, and a Nigerian man
Speaker 1: from Kate's village in connection with the murder. These men
Speaker 1: were held in prison for years without a proper trial occurring,
Speaker 1: trapped in legal limbo sitting behind bars. It would be
Speaker 1: eight years after Kate was murdered when the men finally
Speaker 1: saw the inside of a courtroom in Beneen. Unfortunately, it
Speaker 1: didn't play out as anyone would hope. The court acquitted
Speaker 1: all four men because there was a fourth that was
Speaker 1: arrested as well of killing her on February twenty fifth,
Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, and were released as free men without any
Speaker 1: criminal records from the incident.
Speaker 2: Gosh, why no evitt? Was there not enough evidence? Or
Speaker 2: they are doing like time and what is that when
Speaker 2: someone liked time served? Time served?
Speaker 1: Well, there's a few reasons, like over time, a lot
Speaker 1: of doubts in their involvement in Kate's murder did begin
Speaker 1: to emerge, but it was not really like anything. Really,
Speaker 1: It's like, eh, did they really maybe?
Speaker 2: But most likely most likely.
Speaker 1: There was no one else and it's like they had
Speaker 1: the motive and everything. But several factors were contributing to
Speaker 1: their release. Lack of concrete evidence was a big one.
Speaker 1: Directly linking these guys to the crime was proven to
Speaker 1: be really hard. I mean, we are talking about an
Speaker 1: undeveloped country as well. Investigating is probably not the best there.
Speaker 1: The prosecution's case relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, since they
Speaker 1: didn't have any actual concrete evidence and well the motive
Speaker 1: as well to go along with it. Additionally, reports of
Speaker 1: witness intimidation and fear allegedly affected the willingness of key
Speaker 1: witnesses to testify against the accused in court. O dang
Speaker 1: mishandling of evidence and potential corruption further complicated the case.
Speaker 1: Remember we are talking about an undeveloped.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, I guess that. Yeah. I mean, it's good
Speaker 2: that they serve some time. And the thing is too,
Speaker 2: there's some like I do believe that they did it,
Speaker 2: the brothers or whatever, Right, I don't know about the
Speaker 2: other people, but like, oh my gosh, sorry, this is
Speaker 2: just I'm so upset for Kate. I can't even fucking
Speaker 2: think right now. But we have had cases sometimes where
Speaker 2: like it is someone else, Right, we don't know everything
Speaker 2: that went down there, that's true. There's a small chance
Speaker 2: I guess that it could have been somebody else.
Speaker 1: That's true, Right, it could be I mean, she was
Speaker 1: working with women and children in these close quarters. Maybe
Speaker 1: there was something else going on that we're not Yeah,
Speaker 1: maybe she did something she wasn't even aware of.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, so there is like the tiniest possibility that
Speaker 2: maybe it wasn't them.
Speaker 1: I am ninety nine percent confident to say that it
Speaker 1: was constant and.
Speaker 2: Yeah, me too, But I mean, like you need evidence, right.
Speaker 1: You do. So. The acquittal of these four guys, these
Speaker 1: individuals in connection with her murder, was of course met
Speaker 1: with the frustration and disappointment from Kate's family and supporters.
Speaker 1: They wanted justice for her death, and the verdict was
Speaker 1: a significant blow to their hopes for closure and accountability now.
Speaker 1: The Peace Corpse is a government agency tasked with ensuring
Speaker 1: the safety and well being of the volunteers, and they failed.
Speaker 1: They failed Kate's they failed her family, and they failed
Speaker 1: the women who were assaulted as well. Kate's family and
Speaker 1: many others have questioned why the Peace Corps did not
Speaker 1: provide the necessary protection and support she needed, and why
Speaker 1: her identity was revealed to the very person she was reporting.
Speaker 1: The Poosy family, in response to the tragedy that they
Speaker 1: had faced, took action and created a project called Kate's Voice.
Speaker 1: The initiative aimed to raise awareness about Kate's murder and
Speaker 1: press for the necessary reform within the Peace Corpse. Lois Poosey,
Speaker 1: Kate's mother, expressed her resolve in an offen David sent
Speaker 1: to Congress, stating quote, after so much heavy grieving and
Speaker 1: feeling betrayed, we finally decided to stop being victimized, hoping
Speaker 1: in vain for support from the Peace Corpse. As a family,
Speaker 1: we developed an action plan to discover what really happened
Speaker 1: to Kate and assure that justice was done on her behalf.
Speaker 1: Kate's Voice sought to advocate for whistleblow or protection for volunteers,
Speaker 1: higher quality standards in Peace Corps management, and better support
Speaker 1: for volunteer victims and their families. As a Poosy family
Speaker 1: was building this report, another advocacy group known as the
Speaker 1: First Response Action was also being organized by Return Peace
Speaker 1: Corps Volunteer Now. First Response Action focused on demanding a
Speaker 1: stronger response from Peace Corps for volunteers who were victims
Speaker 1: of physical or sexual violence as well. One of the founders,
Speaker 1: Casey Frazzi, shared her personal experience quote, I was a
Speaker 1: Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa in two thousand and
Speaker 1: nine and I was unfortunately assaulted. While I was serving
Speaker 1: as a volunteer, I found that there were many other
Speaker 1: people who'd been raped or assaulted and weren't getting the
Speaker 1: services they needed. At the time that I was assaulted,
Speaker 1: there was no policy for how Peace Corps should respond
Speaker 1: to survivors of sexual violence and uphelic. We were just
Speaker 1: too far along in recorded history to not have policies
Speaker 1: like that. Both Kate's voice and first response action highlighted
Speaker 1: the significant need for reform within the Peace Corps to
Speaker 1: protect volunteers and provide adequate support for those who experienced violence,
Speaker 1: aiming to ensure that future volunteers would not face the
Speaker 1: same tragic circumstances as Casey or as Kate. In response
Speaker 1: to the tragic murder of Kate Poosey, the US Congress
Speaker 1: also made a move and passed the Kate Poosey Peace
Speaker 1: Corpse Volunteer Protection Act of two thousand eleven, which was
Speaker 1: signed into law by President or Barack Obama himself on
Speaker 1: November twenty one, twenty eleven. And I do want to say,
Speaker 1: there's also even a photo out there of President Barack
Speaker 1: Obama standing next to Kate's brother and he's he's holding
Speaker 1: a picture of Kate and he's just staring at the
Speaker 1: picture he's holding in his hand.
Speaker 2: Dang. Well, you often say like these like rules or
Speaker 2: policies and stuff or what is.
Speaker 1: Written in blood.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was going to say signed in blood, but yeah.
Speaker 1: They're written in blood because it takes someone to get
Speaker 1: seriously injured or killed for someone to say, hey, wait,
Speaker 1: we should probably do something about that.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, honestly, just like listening to this, it seemed
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm hoping it's gotten much better, but it's
Speaker 2: almost like disorganized in a way that they're you know,
Speaker 2: sending volunteers and stuff and to places and not really
Speaker 2: knowing what they're fully getting themselves into.
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, it's it comes down to it's a safety
Speaker 1: issue you do have. And I understand this might be
Speaker 1: a controversial thing for me to say, but you have
Speaker 1: white women going to underdeveloped countries where maybe the main
Speaker 1: population there is their colored skin individuals. I think a
Speaker 1: white woman from a first world country going into these
Speaker 1: areas is probably going to be like a target for
Speaker 1: assault or rape. And it's terrible to think that, Yeah,
Speaker 1: but I think that might be a case. So yeah,
Speaker 1: you have to look at their safety. How are you
Speaker 1: going to go along protecting these individuals. Whether it is
Speaker 1: white women, white man, color doesn't matter whoever it is.
Speaker 1: You have to look at their safety and how you
Speaker 1: can protect them. You're responsible, you're sending them there.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, it's just in well, gosh, maybe it's not
Speaker 2: intro like I feel at that time. They I mean,
Speaker 2: I think you even said it, it's surprising that they
Speaker 2: didn't have more in place, But every year we come
Speaker 2: like further and further with this kind of stuff, Right,
Speaker 2: that's true. So it just seems like for twenty eleven
Speaker 2: and stuff, that they should have already had something like this.
Speaker 1: Well that's exactly what Casey Frazzi was saying. To go
Speaker 1: back to her to quote, it felt like we were
Speaker 1: just too far along in recorded history to not have
Speaker 1: policies like that.
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, this legislation that was signed by President of
Speaker 1: Barack Obama KATEE. Poosey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act was
Speaker 1: designed to enhance the safety and security of Peace Corps volunteers,
Speaker 1: particularly those reporting misconduct or facing threats, and to ensure
Speaker 1: the organization provided better support and protection. One of the
Speaker 1: key provisions of this act was to was the establishments
Speaker 1: of the Office of Victim Advocacy within the Peace Corps itself.
Speaker 1: The office is dedicated to supporting volunteers who are victims
Speaker 1: of crimes, providing them with essential emotional, medical, and legal assistance.
Speaker 1: To address the issue of a whistle flower protection, the
Speaker 1: Act implemented stricter confidentiality protocols, basically meaning their names will
Speaker 1: not be leaked. The Act also mandated improved training programs,
Speaker 1: both for volunteers and staff, focusing on sexual assault awareness,
Speaker 1: risk reduction, and response strategies. This includes bystander intervention training
Speaker 1: and clear reporting procedures. Additionally, to ensure accountability, the Peace
Speaker 1: Corpse is required to provide annual reports directly to Congress,
Speaker 1: detailing the number of crimes reported by volunteers, the agency's response,
Speaker 1: and the measures taken to improve volunteer safety. Wow, annual reports.
Speaker 2: Okay, they're holding them accountable, big they are.
Speaker 1: Although Kate's life was tragically cut short, her legacy lives
Speaker 1: on through this legislation, which strives to create a safer,
Speaker 1: more supportive environment for Peace Corps volunteers. The change is
Speaker 1: brought on by the Act directly reflect the values Kate
Speaker 1: stood for during her life. Even in death, Kate is
Speaker 1: contributing to a more secure and peaceful world.
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh shit, that totally is.
Speaker 1: That's the story of Kate Poosey.
Speaker 2: Huh wow. I'm okay, Like this is good because at
Speaker 2: one point I was like, holy shit, like no one's
Speaker 2: going to ever volunteer for this organization ever again after
Speaker 2: hearing this, this is going real downhill. But it does
Speaker 2: sound like they're you know, kind of kind of learning
Speaker 2: from some big mistakes.
Speaker 1: Definitely so. And honestly though, like I don't want to
Speaker 1: speak bad on the Peace Corpse because I do think
Speaker 1: that they do phenomenal things. Well, yeah, they're an incredible organization,
Speaker 1: But I do think if it weren't for Kate's family
Speaker 1: actually going above their heads and like going to Congress
Speaker 1: and like fighting for this act that they were going for,
Speaker 1: I don't I think that the piece scarps would have
Speaker 1: just swept it under the rug. I really do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I honestly feel terrible for Kate's family, like they
Speaker 2: lost their child, but then to also, I don't know,
Speaker 2: to just be like, you know, swept under the rug
Speaker 2: like that too. I know, it's just like a double
Speaker 2: whammy of heartache.
Speaker 1: Really, thankfully it wasn't. Thankfully it was actually being able
Speaker 1: to get brought to the fore. Yeah, and I do
Speaker 1: think that's thankfully to her family for doing well.
Speaker 2: Clearly her family is probably just as awesome as Kate is.
Speaker 1: Right or was now, I do want to add one
Speaker 1: more little thing. I do think Kate would be okay
Speaker 1: with how things ended up. I mean, no one, of
Speaker 1: course wants to lose their life. But I think if
Speaker 1: Kate knew this act that was implemented and how many
Speaker 1: people she's probably helping with her incident, I do think
Speaker 1: if there was an afterlife, I think she's probably looking down,
Speaker 1: probably happy with what happened.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I don't think she's of course happy with being attacked,
Speaker 1: but I do think she's happy with the aftermath.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah something. I mean, it's always like you can
Speaker 2: just hope that something good will come out of terrible situations, right,
Speaker 2: and in this situation it kind of did.
Speaker 1: Ye. Still, it's been a while, but I officially want
Speaker 1: to name Kate our Badass of the Day. Yeah, one
Speaker 1: hundred and ten.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we haven't named one forever, Hey, I haven't, huh.
Speaker 1: It kind of caught me when I was writing this
Speaker 1: earlier that was like, we we haven't done that for
Speaker 1: a while. Kate someone who definitely deserves that title. She
Speaker 1: is our Badass of the Day. For sure.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, and she was born and was it ninety
Speaker 2: four or something? I think you said.
Speaker 1: No, she was eighty four, eighty four June nineteenth, nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty four.
Speaker 2: Still like just so taken way too goddamn young yeap.
Speaker 1: So yeah, well, I hope you enjoy your vacation. Now
Speaker 1: you have an eight hour drive ahead of you tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1: Hopefully you're not just thinking of this.
Speaker 2: I know it's you know, it's so interesting because before
Speaker 2: when I would take road trips, like I would always
Speaker 2: listen to true crime, like true crime podcast, like the
Speaker 2: Whole Way, right, and then I would get to my
Speaker 2: destination just be fucked because it's like so long to
Speaker 2: be listening to the ship right. Well like not that
Speaker 2: like that's bad, but just like terrible stories of people
Speaker 2: being like variable and and anyway, And I don't know.
Speaker 2: Now I just usually listen to audio books. It's changed,
Speaker 2: like I've changed a little bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, instead, you just.
Speaker 2: Because we're like researching and I hear them more on
Speaker 2: a daily basis.
Speaker 1: Well, whoa whoa, whoa whoa who's researching here?
Speaker 2: Well? I said we because I occasionally.
Speaker 1: Do you need to get back onto it and give
Speaker 1: us an episode here coming up.
Speaker 2: I know, I know.
Speaker 1: Okay, can you throw down the gauntlet and say before
Speaker 1: episode two hundred do you think you can do that?
Speaker 2: I'll let you know.
Speaker 1: Okay, how's this episode? Episode two oh one? Nicole's got it?
Speaker 1: That's one you two and yeah?
Speaker 2: Okay, so what is if I have one before? I
Speaker 2: just don't have to worry about until two o one,
Speaker 2: I guess. So okay, well we'll see I do like, no.
Speaker 1: I'm calling you out two hundred and what that's your
Speaker 1: doing that episode?
Speaker 2: Okay, it's funny. I do have actually quite a few
Speaker 2: cases picked that I want to research. It's just I mean,
Speaker 2: June was absolutely insane for photography.
Speaker 1: Well, I have a book that I've been reading for
Speaker 1: a few weeks. I haven't picked it up for a
Speaker 1: little while.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Speaker 1: It's a tough read because the story is very heavy hearted.
Speaker 1: I'll let you guys know right now. It's a story
Speaker 1: of j C. Dugard. So I'm doing a deep dive
Speaker 1: into her case. And yeah, so that one hopefully will
Speaker 1: be coming out before we reach episode two hundred. I'm
Speaker 1: really taking my time with it. I want to do
Speaker 1: that one.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's one you got to take your time on
Speaker 2: for sure. I also just have to say stop throwing
Speaker 2: me under the bus here.
Speaker 1: Well maybe you should say about with episode.
Speaker 2: This isn't my full this is your full time job, dude.
Speaker 2: To sha, I have another full time job to shae.
Speaker 1: But you still need to do an I know, you gotta.
Speaker 1: You gotta treat everyone.
Speaker 2: I know I should do one like once a month.
Speaker 2: That's not it's unrealistic.
Speaker 1: No, it's not. You were doing it once every other
Speaker 1: week before.
Speaker 2: Yeah, holy shit, yeah.
Speaker 1: Just yeah, holy shit. Yeah that's it.
Speaker 2: I know.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, no, for sure.
Speaker 2: But it's just like I don't know where the time goes.
Speaker 2: There's never enough time. I need a clone.
Speaker 1: Touche toche. Well, thank you guys for being here. Hopefully
Speaker 1: you guys enjoyed this one. Maybe just in Hoary Kate,
Speaker 1: just see if you can do a little bit good
Speaker 1: out there in the next few days, you know, just
Speaker 1: make the word a little bit of a better place,
Speaker 1: you know, Pick a piece of litter, give someone a compliment,
Speaker 1: something small. Doesn't have to be anything crazy.
Speaker 2: I know. I mean, Lord knows that it's needed.
Speaker 1: That's that's yeah, that's the truth right there. Yeah, if
Speaker 1: you guys want to check out all their links, then
Speaker 1: the description of this podcast, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, all that
Speaker 1: good stuff. You can get tickets to our two hundredth
Speaker 1: live event if you're local because it is a local event.
Speaker 1: If you want to join up for our Patreon, we
Speaker 1: will be striking our streaming it there as well. Yeah,
Speaker 1: give us a review if you enjoy the show. We
Speaker 1: appreciate you guys being here, especially if you are still
Speaker 1: here after the episode's already done. We've been rambling. You
Speaker 1: guys mean a lot to us. It means the world
Speaker 1: because we are an indie podcast. It's just us. This
Speaker 1: is it. There's no manager, no management team, no nothing.
Speaker 1: It's us in our tiny home with our pets.
Speaker 2: Just killing it over here, you know. Okay, And so
Speaker 2: next time I'm stay wicked.