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Speaker 1: Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence, and is

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not intended for all audiences.

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Speaker 2: Listener discretion is advice. Did you child her? Did you

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put something over a face or how did you stop

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her reading? Did you use something? Did she say anything

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to you when she at home? You didn't give her

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an opportunity?

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Speaker 1: Welcome to Sword and Scale, season eleven, episode two hundred

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and seventy two, a show that reveals that the worst

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monsters are real. It hurts to see someone struggling, someone

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that's in pain. There's an instinctual empathy for a person

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in need, especially if it's family. The natural reaction is

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to help. If someone's feeling down, you cheer them up.

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If someone needs a little money, you loan it to them.

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Someone's hungry, you feed them. You know all the things

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that this country was founded on. Give me you're tired,

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you're poor, your huddled masses, et cetera. Sympathy like this

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usually makes those that are helped, and the world in general,

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a better place. Being helped normally gives those down on

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their luck renewed hope about life. Even those offering help

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get the pleasure of seeing the happiness return to their

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downtrodden faces. They get to feel like they did something,

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and they did. But here's the thing you need to

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hear and probably don't want to. Sometimes it's better just

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to mind your own fucking business, Karen, And yes, I'm

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specifically talking to the white women in the audience, which

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is all of you. I know you want to help,

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but sometimes it's better to worry about your own problems

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instead of trying to solve the world's problems. Sometimes it's

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better to just mind your own business because sometimes helping

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can actually hurt, It can stunt a person's emotional growth.

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Let me ask you something. If someone's always helped you

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do something and you count on it, why do it yourself?

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Why bother? In this week's case, we're gonna examine a

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mother who loved her son so much that she always

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wanted to be there for him when he was in need,

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which happened to be most of the time. She wanted

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to help her son, even to her own detriment. Sometimes

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a person in need, no matter how hard you try,

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can't be helped, and if you're not careful, they'll drag

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you down with them. On September twenty eighth, twenty twenty

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two Hurricane Ian made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

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Speaker 3: The state of Florida is under assault tonight, and the

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damage is likely to be catastrophic. Hurricane Ian blasted ashore

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today near Fort Myers on the Gulf Coast and began

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a slow trek toward the Atlantic. It packed sustained winds

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of one hundred and fifty miles an hour and knocked

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out power to more than a million homes and businesses.

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Speaker 1: With historic rainfall and flooding predicted, Venice resident Nancy Luton

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took the queue to evacuate ahead of the storm. She

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didn't want to hang out and find out for herself

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if her double wide mobile home less than half a

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mile from the beach could withstand it.

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Speaker 4: Smart Early this morning, Hurricane Ian quickly escalated into a

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near Category five storm across Florida's Gulf Coast. Residents braced

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for a brutal impact, boarding up businesses and stocking up

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on supplies and gas. Forecasters warned that storm surges could

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reach up to eighteen feet across more than two hundred

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miles of the Gulf coast. The storm is expected to

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track across the state, dumping as much as eighteen inches

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of rain on areas like Orlando in central Florida and

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Jacksonville on the Atlantic coast.

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Speaker 1: She hopped into her red Ford escape aptly named I

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Might add and set off to outrun the hurricanes, wind

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and rain. She drove nine hours straight to her niece

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Amy's house in Dallas, Georgia.

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Speaker 5: She came here to escape the hurricane. Their other residents

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was damaged in the hurricane. They came here to Georgia

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to stay with me.

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Speaker 1: But little did Nancy know that another storm was brewing

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at her home in Toledo, Ohio.

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Speaker 5: She had some concerns about her son, some things going

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on there.

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Speaker 1: Nancy was originally from Ohio, and even though she retired

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to Sunny Florida after her husband passed away, she kept

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the family home in Toledo. Now, she was worried about

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her son, who stayed behind in Georgia escaping the wrath

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of Ian. She was already halfway there, so she decided

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to drive to Toledo to check on him, and.

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Speaker 5: Then continued on to Ohio, Okay. His family on His

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name is Travis Luton, same last.

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Speaker 1: Name Travis S. Newton was Nancy's thirty one year old son.

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He lived alone in their family home. Nancy had been

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trying to get in contact with him since before she evacuated,

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but hadn't gotten a reply.

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Speaker 6: I think he has some issues that you know, she

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was concerned they need require maybe some intervention, some kind

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of intervention.

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Speaker 5: Of some sort with getting help.

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Speaker 7: And I'm not.

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Speaker 5: Pretty to all of that. I just I'm sure my mother,

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her sister who is also here from the hurricane, could

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if it came to that, could could offer more information.

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Speaker 1: Nancy often tried to intervene in Travis's life. To say

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he had issues was a bit of an understatement. Despite

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being in a private school, he got into plenty of trouble,

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and by the time he was eighteen, got his first

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real charge. He hit a park car, and when officers arrived,

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Travis leaned against the trunk for stability, exclaiming I was

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driving drunk. Probably not a good strategical move. Strategical, I

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don't know, I'm tired, guys anyway. His blood alcohol concentration

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was zero point one, nine, twice the legal limit. Less

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than a year later, he was caught shoplifting headphones from Walmart.

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When Lost Prevention confronted him, he put up his fists

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and tried to punch them. Then he brandished a pair

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of pruning shears, likely the ones he used to open

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up the headphones. Those cases are a real pain in

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the ass with the plastic, you know. Then he threatened

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to stab the Walmart employees. He then fled, jumped into

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his car, and sped away, but not before sideswiping a

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park car. It's kind of like his mo I guess,

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hitting stationary vehicles. About ten years later, against his mother's

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Willie took her car. He screamed at her that he

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would kill himself if she called the cops, so you know,

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of course she did call the cops and he was arrested,

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and now.

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Speaker 5: Apparently her son had stolen a package off of a

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neighbor's port.

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Speaker 1: Travis was a porch pirate, the most despicable species there is.

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You've seen him on the old youtubees and the tiktoks

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and the what nuts, running up and steal in your

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packages right before Christmas. A real grinch, you know. Living

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next door to the Lwton family home was a college

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student named Erica Sheehan. She and she and I don't know,

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I'll get letters no matter how I say any word,

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So send them in people see if I give a

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shit anyway. Erica she Han, days before Hurricanian made landfall

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in Florida, was expecting a package a pair of new shoes.

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Her notifications said had been delivered, but she couldn't find it.

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She looked around and it wasn't there, so she checked

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the doorbell camera. There, in high resolution clarity was Travis

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swiping the package from her porch. She tried knocking on

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the door to asked Travis about it, but he didn't answer.

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In the days following, he seemed to be avoiding her altogether.

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Erica told her mother, Sue, and she emailed Nancy.

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Speaker 8: They were going.

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Speaker 1: To press charges if the package was not returned. Of course,

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Nancy was embarrassed, who wouldn't be. She assured them that

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she was trying to get Travis some help and that

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in no way did she condone his behavior. She confessed

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Travis had been distant since his father died. You know

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all the excuses mothers make for their kids so they

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can continue to stunt their development and boost their own ego.

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Years earlier, Travis had been mugged on the way home

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from high school. After that he was never really the same.

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The death of his father in twenty fourteen only made

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him more reclusive.

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Speaker 2: She said.

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Speaker 1: Of course, we've all experienced death close to us, some

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closer than others. Not all of us are doing terrible things.

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Nancy sent Travis several upset emails about the incident. She

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had to email them because he didn't have a job

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and subsequently didn't have cellular service. He relied on the

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home WiFi for all communication. In her emails, she encouraged

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him to return the package or they were going to

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call the cops, but she never got a response. But

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what do you do with a pair of ladies sneakers?

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Speaker 5: Anyway, I don't believe she was getting any kind of

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correspondence from him either, so she must fear to go there,

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So I do know that much.

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Speaker 1: When Nancy couldn't get a response from Travis, the neighbor

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went ahead and involved the police. They came out to

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the house to talk to Travis about the theft.

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Speaker 5: And they had they already have had the police department,

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your Toledo police department go buy her home and try

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to do like a well check on him. Apparently he

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did not answer.

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Speaker 1: Nancy was worried about the lack of response from Travis,

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and she feared the worst. She loaded up her red

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Ford Escape and pulled another marathon nine hour drive straight

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to Toledo. She emailed Travis one last time before she left,

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letting him know that she'd be home sometime after midnight.

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Travis was troubled. He just couldn't seem to get out

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of his own way. Nancy had been taking care of

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this overgrown child most of her life, and now she

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feared that he may have actually followed through with all

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those childish threats of suicide. She left her sister and

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niece behind in Georgia and hurried home. But this call

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from Amy wasn't about Travis, it was it was about Nancy.

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Speaker 5: We have not heard from for forty one hours now,

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and she was traveling from where I live in Dallas,

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Georgia to her part time residence in Toledo. And I'm

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calling to see if there's any way somebody could go

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to her home.

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Speaker 7: Sure is whatever made it about forty one hours ago?

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Speaker 5: That is correct, Thursday at four pm. We have called, texted,

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we're getting no reply.

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Speaker 1: Nancy left Dallas, Georgia on Thursday, September twenty ninth, at

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four pm, as the Category four hurricane carved a path

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of destruction across Florida, Nancy carved her path through the night.

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The trip only took about nine hours. But now it

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was nine am, Saturday, October first, forty one hours later

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and no one had heard from Nancy or Travis.

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Speaker 5: My concern is that when the police department did the

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well check before prior to my aunt coming home, she

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did not come to the He would not answer the door,

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and they, you know, of course they did not you know,

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do any kind of forcible entry. I don't know that

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he would come to the door. He knows, probably through

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her texting him that, even though he didn't reply to

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her that it's a big situation and if the police

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were going to pursue you know, some you know, criminal

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charges in some way, the neighbor was so I just

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I want you to make I just want them to

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know that that he probably if he's in there, would

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probably not come to the door. And if my aunt's

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car is in the driveway and no one comes to

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the door, then I just wanted to you know, that's

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a situation also because she would absolutely come to the

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door if her car is there.

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Speaker 1: Unsure of what was going on in Toledo, Amy tried

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to give the dispatcher any scenario that should cause alarm.

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She knew her aunt and her cousin. She knew that

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if Nancy's car was in the driveway, she was there.

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So if she didn't come to the door, something was wrong. Travis,

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on the other hand, wasn't likely to come to the door,

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even if he wasn't aware of the pending legal actions

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for being a porch pirate.

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Speaker 7: Okay, he's never done anything, as far as you know,

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to harm her at all, and he could.

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Speaker 5: Not that we're aware of, but to himself that I could,

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that could be potentially a possibility.

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Speaker 1: Nancy left Florida to escape the storm. She left Georgia

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for fear that something was wrong with her son. No

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one had heard from him despite repeated attempts to contact him.

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She couldn't think of any reason why he wouldn't respond

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other than bad ones. Maybe some thing happened to him

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while he was home alone, maybe he did something to himself,

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or perhaps whatever tragedy befelt, Travis was lying in wait

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when Nancy returned home. Nancy Luton fled Florida to escape

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the catastrophic destruction of Hurricanean, but a different catastrophe was

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brewing on her horizon. In our hometown of Toledo. Her

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son Travis was getting into truck. The neighbor had video

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evidence of him stealing a package from her front porch.

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This neighbor tried to contact him several times. She knocked

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on the door without answer. She left notes on both

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the front and back doors asking Travis to please return

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the package. She even had her father's stop eye she

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knew he was in there, but never got a response. Finally,

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the neighbor resorted to sending an email to Nancy to

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see if she could intervene. This was a close community

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and she didn't want to call police on her neighbor

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over a stolen pair of shoes. Nancy emailed Travis several

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times before evacuating Florida, but he didn't reply. She left

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the safety of Amy's house in Georgia and drove nine

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hours back to Toledo to check on her adult son.

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Her sister and niece began to worry when they didn't

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get confirmation that she made at home. After forty one

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hours with no word from Nancy and still no word

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from Travis. They did what they actually should have done

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to begin with, call the Toledo police and ask them

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to perform a welfare check.

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Speaker 7: All right, well, listen, I got it in and I

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appreciate it. Rebec you're already will we're saying they're un

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scene there, so hold on, Oh you have a minute,

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let's see you say I do, ma'am? Thank you? Really?

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Speaker 5: May I put you on spear and phone?

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Speaker 3: Thank you.

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Speaker 6: I'll call you that all right?

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Speaker 2: Okay?

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Speaker 5: I gave her all the IMA.

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Speaker 2: She's chunking it.

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Speaker 5: Right now to please.

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Speaker 6: Are actually already on the this location.

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Speaker 5: Oh good.

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Speaker 1: Officers must have been in the area because they were

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on the scene in less than five minutes. Nancy's niece

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relayed the information to her mother and Nancy's sisters.

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Speaker 7: And because they're there, I'm gonna, as a matter of fact,

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put you on a brief hold for let's see if

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they have any updates yet.

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Speaker 5: Okay, I appreciate it.

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Speaker 1: Probably want The police arrived quickly, but details were coming

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back slowly. The dispatcher put Amy on hold to see

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if she could reach them for more information. The dispatcher

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didn't know that the officers who responded were stumbling onto

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a bizarre scene.

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Speaker 7: Yes, I think great, they're there. They haven't come over

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there and said anything yet, So if you want, I

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will just keep an eye on it and see what

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I can find out and give you a call back.

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I hate to keep you hanging on hold.

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Speaker 5: No, that's fine. So you just don't know what's going

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on or why they.

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Speaker 7: Are Yeah, I mean here back. Yeah, they made it

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to the house. They came, you know, said that they

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were unseen there, but they haven't come over there and

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said anything.

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Speaker 1: So officers arrived at eighteen sixty five Wildwood Road. It

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was the fourth house on the just as you entered

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the neighborhood from Highway twenty four. The house was a

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traditional two story home with light blue vinyl sighting and

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a bold green front door. To the left of the

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home was a driveway leading to a detached two car garage.

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The lawn and landscaping were nice, albeit a bit neglected.

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It was clear this home was well taken care of

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for many years. Behind the property was heavily wooded, hiding

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the steep descent to the Delaware Creek. No sooner did

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an officer take all this in than a person showed up.

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Laura Malick approached the officer and explained her mother and

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Georgia called her about her aunt Nancy. She was Amy's

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sister who still lived in Toledo. She explained how unusual

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it was for her aunt not to let her family

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know when she made it to town and if she

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even did make it. Laura led the officer to the

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garage and peeked through the window. Inside was Nancy's red

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Ford escape. She had made it home. Just then, the

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officer noticed they were being watched from the upstairs window.

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They could see the figure fig figure of a chubby man.

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He had short, messy hair and a five o'clock shadow.

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He stood there staring at the two by the garage.

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Laura told the officer that it was her cousin Travis,

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and the officer tried to talk to him through the window.

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Travis just stood there and shook his head no. The

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officer continued to try to get a response from Travis

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until he disappeared into the room behind him. Is that

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00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:59,839
how adults act? It's very strange. The officer, freaked out

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00:22:59,839 --> 00:23:04,559
by this weirdo, then called for backup. Nancy was missing,

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00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:08,920
or at least in communicado, and Travis was refusing to

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come outside or even speak through a window pane. They

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00:23:13,519 --> 00:23:16,880
didn't even know what was going on, but they thought

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they might need a negotiator to talk him out. He

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could be heavily armed and detached from reality for all

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they knew, and it seemed like he was like his

325
00:23:28,759 --> 00:23:34,240
entire life. As weakening Hurricane Ian bore down on the Carolinas,

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a swarm of police officers descended on Travis and Nancy

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Luton's Toledo home. The responding officers secured the house, surrounding

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00:23:44,839 --> 00:23:48,599
it as others tried to get Travis to come open

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the door. One officer at the back door noticed something

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unusual on the back porch. There was a pile of

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clothes in front of a chair. Next to the chair

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was a pair of pruning shears. The clothes were in

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a crumpled pile on top of a rolled up rug

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and a clear plastic sheet. It looked as if someone

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sat in the chair and removed all their clothing. Their

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boots were muddy, and upon closer inspection, the officer noticed

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the clothes were covered in plant matter. Dozens of little

338
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:28,920
seed burrs clung to the fabric. Then, next to the porch,

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and the grass was a pair of socks and underwear.

340
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Whoever disrobed here seemed to have rinsed off with the

341
00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:40,759
garden hose and left all these items strewn about. But

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00:24:40,799 --> 00:24:44,079
where were they coming from? The officer eyed an open

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gate in the back of the property. Beyond that gate

344
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was a worn path down into a wooden ravine. From

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this vantage point, the officer could see what looked like

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a wheelbarrow and a hand truck for moving furniture at

347
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,720
the bottom. He radioed this info to the lead officer,

348
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and he decided to ping Nancy's cell phone. You never

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want to stumble upon moving equipment in the woods when

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looking for an elderly person, probably a bad sign. The

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00:25:17,039 --> 00:25:20,480
ping placed her cell phone within three hundred feet of

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the house. With this information, they forced their way inside

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to see if they could find Nancy. On the growl,

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several officers made their way inside. They kicked open the

355
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back door and made entry. An officer equipped with a

356
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riot shield led the way, clearing the downstairs. Then they

357
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cautiously made their way up the stairs and into the

358
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master bedroom, where they found Travis. He was just lying

359
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in bed when they burst through the door. With guns

360
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trained on him.

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Speaker 2: Right where we could see it. Get your hands there

362
00:26:05,519 --> 00:26:10,839
were there? Where's everybody else? Here? Where's mom? Travis? Where's

363
00:26:10,839 --> 00:26:15,240
your mom?

364
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Speaker 1: He was as stoic as he had been at the window.

365
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The officer's questions fell on deaf ears as they handcuffed

366
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him behind his back. They searched the house for Nancy

367
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a while, and they didn't find her. They found plenty

368
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,920
of signs, though, that she was there. Her car was

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in the garage, still loaded with her luggage from the trip.

370
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In the basement, they found her purse and her wallet.

371
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There just wasn't Nancy herself. They arrested Travis on the

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spot and took him down to the station for questioning

373
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to try to get to the bottom of where the

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hell his mother was.

375
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Speaker 2: Hey, Travis, I'm a detective. Quickly, this is Sergeer Kennedy. Okay.

376
00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,559
They want to talk to you about what officers were

377
00:26:59,559 --> 00:27:01,960
out of her. Okay.

378
00:27:02,079 --> 00:27:06,200
Speaker 1: He sat like a statue, his hands laid flat on

379
00:27:06,279 --> 00:27:11,400
his thighs. By American standards, he was average height and weight,

380
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:16,039
but when compared to a frail elderly woman, he was

381
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a beast. At five foot eight inches tall and two

382
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:25,880
hundred and ten pounds. He far outweighed his mother. They

383
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,759
were eager to see what he had to say, but

384
00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:33,319
first they had to mirandize him, something he said he'd

385
00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:37,440
never done before. He's been arrested before and convicted, but

386
00:27:37,559 --> 00:27:41,039
those were open and shut cases where they didn't even

387
00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:42,000
need to question him.

388
00:27:42,559 --> 00:27:48,319
Speaker 2: So, do you know why ofsters came to your house today? Yes? Well,

389
00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:56,680
why what's the story with that? They were looking for

390
00:27:56,799 --> 00:28:01,880
my parents? Yes? Do you know where she's at?

391
00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:07,440
Speaker 1: He talked like a teenager in trouble. He fidgeted with

392
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:12,039
his hands and avoided eye contact, but he seemed to

393
00:28:12,039 --> 00:28:16,039
know exactly what was going on. He knew they were

394
00:28:16,079 --> 00:28:17,319
looking for his mother.

395
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:24,759
Speaker 2: Do you know I guess she would be your cousin Laura? Yes, okay? Where?

396
00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:27,960
And so it's my understanding that your mom was down

397
00:28:28,039 --> 00:28:31,440
and she was supposed to be in Florida, right, yes,

398
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:33,519
but because of the hurricane, she was in Georgia. Was

399
00:28:33,519 --> 00:28:34,519
that here understanding?

400
00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:34,880
Speaker 9: Yes?

401
00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,480
Speaker 2: Okay? Did you go down there with her? He stayed

402
00:28:38,559 --> 00:28:42,400
up here? Yes? Okay, because so when she's she was

403
00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:46,119
back and forth right between, okay, and then so when

404
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:50,720
she's up here, you guys live together, right, Okay, when

405
00:28:50,799 --> 00:28:55,160
was the last time you talked to your Momber thirtieth?

406
00:28:55,759 --> 00:29:00,480
When September thirtieth? Okay, you know what time the day?

407
00:29:03,119 --> 00:29:07,279
It was late? It was sleep, two o'clock.

408
00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,400
Speaker 1: They probed him with questions they already knew the answers to.

409
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,480
They were looking for either information that led to Nancy

410
00:29:16,279 --> 00:29:19,559
or evidence that he was hiding something, evidence he was lying.

411
00:29:20,559 --> 00:29:22,880
He said he'd last talked with his mother on September

412
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:27,480
thirtieth at two o'clock. Two am on September thirtieth would

413
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:30,640
have been ten hours after Nancy left Georgia.

414
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:33,599
Speaker 2: Was she still down in Georgia at that time or

415
00:29:33,599 --> 00:29:36,720
did she say where she was? And no, she sends

416
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:41,839
me emails when she's he's contact me. She started home

417
00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:49,000
from Georgia. She sent an email, yes, saying what home

418
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:54,279
she was on her way? Yeah. Yeah, she hasn't taxed

419
00:29:54,279 --> 00:29:56,000
her callya.

420
00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:59,839
Speaker 1: We all know the answer to that question. He had

421
00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:03,759
a phone, it just wasn't connected to a network. Travis

422
00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:08,519
completely relied on his mother To live. Without her, he

423
00:30:08,519 --> 00:30:11,440
wouldn't have a house to live in or a car

424
00:30:11,599 --> 00:30:15,559
to drive, the very same car. I might add that

425
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:20,039
he was arrested for stealing years previous. He backpedaled the

426
00:30:20,079 --> 00:30:23,640
comment about speaking with his mother and instead said he

427
00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:26,440
received an email from her saying she was on her

428
00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:30,880
way home. While Travis was answering their questions, the cadence

429
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:35,200
of his speech made the conversation confusing for detectives.

430
00:30:35,599 --> 00:30:38,279
Speaker 2: Okay, so when was the last time he actually talked

431
00:30:38,319 --> 00:30:43,279
to her and heard her voice? Which she was in

432
00:30:48,319 --> 00:30:50,400
May this year? Okay?

433
00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:54,920
Speaker 1: So yes, he said, the last time he heard his

434
00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:59,079
mother's voice was months before she left for Florida. That

435
00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:01,079
was a long time ago to go without hearing your

436
00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:04,799
mother's voice. Then you said this.

437
00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,839
Speaker 2: So do you know did she make it back to

438
00:31:07,839 --> 00:31:11,799
Toledo and make it back to the house. Yes, she

439
00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:15,400
did make it back to the house, yes, okay. And

440
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:22,640
what day was that Sincember thirtieth? Yesterday? Okay, ladies, it

441
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:29,240
was two am. What's that she got back two am

442
00:31:30,079 --> 00:31:33,880
on the thirtieth? Yes, Okay, I guess I maybe my

443
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,519
son said, I thought you said she was leaving Georgia

444
00:31:37,559 --> 00:31:41,880
on the thirtieth, okay, but you're saying she came back

445
00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:45,599
on the yes, at two am? Yes, okay. And where

446
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:47,680
were you at the house at that time? Yes? It

447
00:31:47,759 --> 00:31:50,599
was were you sleeping or did you you must have

448
00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:52,640
heard her come in or something, or did you talk

449
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,920
to her at all? I heard it coming through the door? Okay,

450
00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:59,559
we and were you? So did you talk to her all? Then?

451
00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:00,720
When she no?

452
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,440
Speaker 1: I guess you could call it being cooperative, but he

453
00:32:04,559 --> 00:32:08,559
wasn't being forthcoming. He kept his answers short, mostly yes

454
00:32:08,799 --> 00:32:12,240
or no. But when he did give more details, you

455
00:32:12,279 --> 00:32:18,160
could tell he's holding something back. Detectives don't think he's lying,

456
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:22,519
just not giving the whole truth. He said he heard

457
00:32:22,519 --> 00:32:25,039
his mother come home at two am on the thirtieth.

458
00:32:25,799 --> 00:32:29,279
He heard her walk through the kitchen door. He heard this,

459
00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:31,559
but he didn't speak with her.

460
00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:37,000
Speaker 2: Okay, So that was on the thirtieth. And then when

461
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:38,920
you woke up the next morning, was she's still there?

462
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,599
Then you know where she went?

463
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:45,359
Speaker 7: No.

464
00:32:46,759 --> 00:32:49,640
Speaker 1: By the time he woke up the next morning, she

465
00:32:49,759 --> 00:32:53,119
was already gone. But when asked if he knew where

466
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:58,039
she went, he hesitated for a long time before answering. These

467
00:32:58,079 --> 00:33:02,839
types of responses made detectives sure he wasn't being completely forthcoming.

468
00:33:03,319 --> 00:33:08,960
Speaker 2: Okay, what car she owns? Two cars right the escape?

469
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:14,000
And what kind of is the other car? Which one

470
00:33:14,039 --> 00:33:20,599
did she drive to Georgia Escape Cape. Yes, you know,

471
00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:24,200
because her because her car is still on the garage

472
00:33:24,799 --> 00:33:29,480
right from what we saw. Yes, okay, so he don't

473
00:33:29,519 --> 00:33:31,440
have any idea where she's at.

474
00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:35,880
Speaker 1: No, the detectives pointed out that Nancy's car was still there,

475
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:39,640
hoping you would realized the point they were trying to make.

476
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:44,720
If she left, her car wouldn't be there. So since

477
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:49,920
it was there, he clearly didn't leave. Yet, Travis continued

478
00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:53,920
denying knowing anything about where his mother was.

479
00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:56,839
Speaker 2: Did you guys have any kind of arguments or anything

480
00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:02,720
when there were arguments about the money, you know, having

481
00:34:03,119 --> 00:34:06,599
about money? Yes, what's what's what? The money.

482
00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:08,679
Speaker 9: For food?

483
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:14,239
Speaker 2: And uh, this is my household, I guess. So you

484
00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:16,800
were arguing that you didn't have enough money for food

485
00:34:17,079 --> 00:34:21,800
or yes? Okay. And then when did this argument take

486
00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:23,159
place after she got back?

487
00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:27,440
Speaker 10: No, that's been kind of a continuous thing. What did

488
00:34:27,519 --> 00:34:31,239
you use and goes back from Florida?

489
00:34:31,679 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 2: If I have, you know, food or money to take

490
00:34:35,039 --> 00:34:38,559
care of myself, I guess. Okay, so the problem you

491
00:34:38,679 --> 00:34:41,079
have is that you're not having enough food and money

492
00:34:41,079 --> 00:34:46,119
while she's in Florida? Okay, Yes, So when she came back,

493
00:34:46,119 --> 00:34:48,400
at two am and the thirty did you guys argue

494
00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:49,039
about pantent?

495
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:54,800
Speaker 1: He admitted he and his mom had an ongoing argument

496
00:34:54,840 --> 00:35:00,400
about his let's just call it his allowance, but he

497
00:35:00,519 --> 00:35:04,360
was consistent with his previous statements, saying they did not

498
00:35:04,559 --> 00:35:09,239
argue when she returned early on the thirtieth. Remember, he

499
00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:11,159
said he never spoke with her.

500
00:35:11,599 --> 00:35:14,000
Speaker 2: So you don't have any idea where she's at right now?

501
00:35:17,159 --> 00:35:19,360
Have you? Do you ever go down into the ravine

502
00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:23,400
there too? You don't go down there because there's some

503
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:27,039
there's some stuff down there. We were wondering did you

504
00:35:27,079 --> 00:35:29,239
put some stuff down there? Because we were wondering why

505
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:33,000
there was like a wheelbarrow? Yes, what were you And

506
00:35:33,079 --> 00:35:35,760
there's like a dolly I call it a dolly, one

507
00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:42,119
of those things with that righte a wheelbarrow into dolly? Like,

508
00:35:42,159 --> 00:35:49,599
what what were you doing with those? I'm not answer that.

509
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:55,920
You don't want to answer that well because I think

510
00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:57,519
you probably know what we're getting at, right.

511
00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:01,880
Speaker 1: Yes, this was the first time the detectives mentioned the

512
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:06,360
items in the ravine, denying knowing where his mother was.

513
00:36:07,159 --> 00:36:11,840
It worked up to this point. Now he knew what

514
00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:14,840
they were getting at. You could hear him sigh when

515
00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:18,960
he realized there's no way to wiggle out of this from.

516
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:22,760
Speaker 2: What your aunt ant says that do you have some

517
00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:26,880
do you have disabilities or anything you've been diagnosed with. No,

518
00:36:27,559 --> 00:36:30,039
you never been diagnosed with any kind of mental illness

519
00:36:30,119 --> 00:36:30,920
or anything like that.

520
00:36:31,119 --> 00:36:31,320
Speaker 7: No.

521
00:36:32,519 --> 00:36:36,480
Speaker 2: Okay, Well, your your aunt and your uncle or your

522
00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:41,000
aunt or I'm sorry, your cousin Laura and her husband

523
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,719
are kind of upset. They would like to know where

524
00:36:44,639 --> 00:36:47,800
your mom's dad. I mean, what should we tell him?

525
00:36:49,079 --> 00:36:54,880
Speaker 1: After a long pause, Travis muttered the following, you have

526
00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:55,440
to tell them.

527
00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:57,679
Speaker 2: I thank you my mom.

528
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:03,559
Speaker 1: So he admitted the whole truth he had killed his mother.

529
00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:08,280
Of course, they already knew something happened to Nancy, they

530
00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:09,239
just didn't know exactly what.

531
00:37:10,599 --> 00:37:11,000
Speaker 2: You see.

532
00:37:11,039 --> 00:37:14,159
Speaker 1: After they arrested Travis, they took him in and they

533
00:37:14,159 --> 00:37:17,400
searched the house. Like the outside, the inside of the

534
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:21,840
house showed signs of being well taken care of until recently.

535
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:27,440
Another section of the wall was removed from an upstairs bedroom.

536
00:37:28,079 --> 00:37:34,079
The pieces from this project were stacked messily nearby. The

537
00:37:34,119 --> 00:37:38,199
basement was empty, prepped for a new floor, but only

538
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:42,639
a few boards had ever been laid down. This is

539
00:37:42,679 --> 00:37:47,280
where they found her purse and wallet in an empty basement.

540
00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,679
That was the first clue that something bad happened to Nancy.

541
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:57,039
Just like the basement, her purse and wallet were also empty.

542
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,639
Calling her phone led officers to one of the kitchen cabinets.

543
00:38:02,559 --> 00:38:06,440
Inside they found Nancy's vibrating cell phone, her driver's license,

544
00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:11,239
her debit and credit cards, and her car keys. Further

545
00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:16,239
searching discovered even more disturbing things and the garage in

546
00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:21,159
a trash can was a rolled up area rug. When

547
00:38:21,199 --> 00:38:26,119
officers unrolled the rug, they found a pink sweatshirt inside.

548
00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:30,440
On the shirt was a single blood stain. The rug

549
00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:33,719
itself had a much larger stain of what appeared to

550
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:37,920
be blood in the center of it. Next To the

551
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:42,760
driver's side door of Nancy's Ford escape was a single

552
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:44,039
sandal hy.

553
00:38:44,199 --> 00:38:48,360
Speaker 2: We appreciate having ho us. Okay, I know there's some

554
00:38:48,519 --> 00:38:51,320
things probably, but we just want to understand, okay, because

555
00:38:51,679 --> 00:38:54,880
there's two sides to every story. We know that, So

556
00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:57,039
now is the time for you to give us your

557
00:38:57,119 --> 00:39:02,320
side of the story. Right, So when she got did

558
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,760
she really get home at two am? Then yes, okay?

559
00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:09,320
And then what happened when she at home. We had

560
00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:15,000
a fight that he had a fight, yes, like an

561
00:39:15,199 --> 00:39:20,760
argument with words or a physical fighty okay, and he

562
00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:22,559
got to pick up a little for me. Kids. Try

563
00:39:22,599 --> 00:39:25,039
to make sure I can understand this. So he had

564
00:39:25,039 --> 00:39:27,079
a physical fight. What was that over? Was it about

565
00:39:27,119 --> 00:39:30,079
the money and the food? Yes? Okay.

566
00:39:31,119 --> 00:39:34,360
Speaker 1: To say they got into a fight seems wrong. Is

567
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,320
it a fight when it's between a thirty one year

568
00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:39,480
old man and a seventy one year old woman? Not

569
00:39:40,239 --> 00:39:44,280
much of one. No, sounds more like an attack or

570
00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:49,679
an assault. I doubt anything Nasy did could be considered fighting.

571
00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:53,800
Speaker 2: Just in your words, what happened? This is your story.

572
00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:59,719
Speaker 10: I attacked my my mother she came home from Florida.

573
00:40:00,079 --> 00:40:04,360
Speaker 1: That's more like it. Travis attacked his mother as soon

574
00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:05,840
as she walked through the door.

575
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:08,880
Speaker 2: And where, again, did you first attack her? Was it

576
00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:10,480
inside out in the kitchen?

577
00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:11,320
Speaker 9: Okay?

578
00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:14,960
Speaker 2: So had she started unload her car at that point

579
00:40:15,159 --> 00:40:17,639
or was she getting stuck out of her car? She

580
00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:21,639
walked in and turned, uh sure what the kitchen likes on?

581
00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:26,119
And she only brought her person. She just sort of

582
00:40:26,159 --> 00:40:30,400
lay on and you were there, yeah, yea, yes, okay,

583
00:40:30,639 --> 00:40:32,519
what do you mean an attacked her, like with your

584
00:40:32,639 --> 00:40:35,639
fists or did you have something else in your hand?

585
00:40:39,079 --> 00:40:44,920
I don't know. I don't remember that weapon or not there.

586
00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:50,000
Speaker 10: There might be weapons in my house, but not nothing

587
00:40:50,199 --> 00:40:51,840
like that was use.

588
00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:52,960
Speaker 2: I guess sir.

589
00:40:54,199 --> 00:40:58,320
Speaker 1: They didn't get into a fight. He blindsided her as

590
00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:00,199
soon as she got home from a ten hour her

591
00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:05,159
trip the mother that took care of him. He attacked

592
00:41:05,199 --> 00:41:08,679
her the moment she got there. I guess he was

593
00:41:08,679 --> 00:41:10,519
telling the truth about not talking to her.

594
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:13,800
Speaker 2: Okay, when when you say you attacked her, like, what

595
00:41:14,199 --> 00:41:18,559
exactly happened? Would you do? I attacked her when she

596
00:41:18,639 --> 00:41:25,519
came home from she when she returned from floor from Georgia.

597
00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:27,920
How did you attack her?

598
00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:28,039
Speaker 9: Like?

599
00:41:28,079 --> 00:41:36,880
Speaker 2: What happened? Uh? Stopped? It was her breathing. I guess

600
00:41:37,039 --> 00:41:43,480
her breathing stopped? Yes, yes, how did you do that? Physically?

601
00:41:43,719 --> 00:41:50,079
My my my body? I attacked her.

602
00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:53,440
Speaker 10: What do you mean though? You just help me understand

603
00:41:54,280 --> 00:42:01,760
what happened. I used my I wait hours to kill

604
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:14,400
my mother. That was my plan. Anyway, it did last four.

605
00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:16,440
Speaker 9: Sometime.

606
00:42:16,559 --> 00:42:23,400
Speaker 2: I guess if he wanted my confession on that, I

607
00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:27,679
attacked her when she came home two am. She said

608
00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:37,280
she would be home sometime after twelve, and I made

609
00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:47,840
the decision to attack her and stop her stop her breathing.

610
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:53,960
Speaker 1: He described it almost clinically, like a sociopath. He stopped

611
00:42:54,039 --> 00:42:57,559
her breathing, but what he actually did was wrap both

612
00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:01,639
meaty hands around his mother's neck and squeeze as hard

613
00:43:01,679 --> 00:43:05,360
as he could for as long as he could. When

614
00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:07,880
his hands got tired or he couldn't bear to look

615
00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:11,000
her in the eyes any longer, he pushed his elbow

616
00:43:11,039 --> 00:43:15,039
into her throat and used his entire body weight to

617
00:43:15,079 --> 00:43:15,960
finish the job.

618
00:43:16,559 --> 00:43:19,280
Speaker 2: Okay, now, so do you mean then you like, did

619
00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:21,880
you choke her? Did you put something over her face?

620
00:43:22,039 --> 00:43:25,320
Or how did you stop her? Reading? Was choking her

621
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:30,280
with your hands around your hear? How were you choking her? Exactly?

622
00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:36,639
Did you use something? My elbow? I guess your elmow? Yes?

623
00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:39,760
Speaker 10: Did she even get did she say anything to you

624
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,400
when she at home?

625
00:43:42,840 --> 00:43:44,079
Speaker 2: She didn't give her an opportunity.

626
00:43:44,599 --> 00:43:49,239
Speaker 1: No, you didn't even allow her to speak before he attacked.

627
00:43:49,239 --> 00:43:51,800
He didn't even allow her to beg for her life.

628
00:43:52,840 --> 00:43:55,880
She just walked through the door, and her son, whom

629
00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:59,840
she'd always rushed to help, stared into her eyes and

630
00:44:00,079 --> 00:44:04,440
strangled the life out of her. Does that make you mad,

631
00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:08,599
because it sure as fuck makes me mad. The once

632
00:44:08,719 --> 00:44:12,800
little boy she brought into this world removed her from it.

633
00:44:14,039 --> 00:44:18,599
As the police continued at the house, the neighbors were shocked,

634
00:44:18,760 --> 00:44:21,360
but not caught off guard completely.

635
00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:26,480
Speaker 8: We knew him since he was in high school, and.

636
00:44:26,199 --> 00:44:28,199
Speaker 2: He had trouble.

637
00:44:27,920 --> 00:44:30,639
Speaker 8: Back then, like a lot of kids, but maybe a

638
00:44:30,639 --> 00:44:33,800
little bit more, and it just followed him as he

639
00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:34,280
grew up.

640
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:37,840
Speaker 9: It's very unexpected. Yeah, the big drama on the Facebook

641
00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:40,840
neighborhood page usually is Oh, I think somebody broke into

642
00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:44,159
my car last night. You know, this is just not

643
00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:48,960
something we're used to experiencing, but it's it's very real

644
00:44:49,239 --> 00:44:50,079
in our community.

645
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:52,480
Speaker 8: Literally is shocking because it's a quiet neighborhood. It's a

646
00:44:52,519 --> 00:44:55,199
very quiet neighborhood, and for something like this to happen,

647
00:44:55,599 --> 00:44:56,960
it's quite a shock to everybody.

648
00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:01,000
Speaker 1: Her friend back in Florida, who had known her since

649
00:45:01,079 --> 00:45:04,400
the third grade, chose to remember her as she was

650
00:45:04,960 --> 00:45:09,079
rather than how she horrifically died. She knew Travis was

651
00:45:09,199 --> 00:45:12,280
verbally abusive to his mother and that he struggled with

652
00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:17,679
his mental health, but never does she think he would

653
00:45:17,719 --> 00:45:21,639
have homicidal thoughts. They never think these things. No matter

654
00:45:21,639 --> 00:45:23,639
how many times it happens, it.

655
00:45:23,679 --> 00:45:28,599
Speaker 3: Hasn't really come to reality because it's so outed, it's

656
00:45:28,679 --> 00:45:29,920
so unbelievable.

657
00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:34,960
Speaker 2: She was like a sister to me and to my children.

658
00:45:35,760 --> 00:45:38,960
Speaker 3: She set asideline a couple hours every day to send

659
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:40,639
out encouraging.

660
00:45:40,199 --> 00:45:44,559
Speaker 9: Messages to feel that she didn't even know, because that.

661
00:45:44,639 --> 00:45:45,400
Speaker 2: Was her nature.

662
00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:49,800
Speaker 1: Nancy Luton, known for her kindness to strangers and her

663
00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:54,000
devotion to her son, died on the kitchen floor of

664
00:45:54,039 --> 00:45:58,920
their family home. Her son failed to appreciate all that

665
00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:01,840
she did for him through the three decades of his

666
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:06,840
miserable life. He murdered the woman who wrote prayers in

667
00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:11,159
the margins of her Bible asking for divine assistance with

668
00:46:11,239 --> 00:46:16,480
her son, the idiot. She wanted the best for him,

669
00:46:16,519 --> 00:46:21,880
even though he was difficult. To put it mildly. Now,

670
00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:26,880
all that was left for detectives to understand was why

671
00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:29,280
and what happened in that ravine?

672
00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:33,320
Speaker 2: What happened when you got her down there? I I'll

673
00:46:33,360 --> 00:46:38,920
trut you couldn't move myself from any.

674
00:46:40,599 --> 00:46:44,599
Speaker 10: Anything that would connect me to to this.

675
00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:51,719
Speaker 2: What happens? How did you do? That's a fire?

676
00:47:23,559 --> 00:47:26,400
Speaker 1: The welfare check for Nancy Lowton led to a bizarre

677
00:47:26,440 --> 00:47:30,599
interaction with her son Travis. He stared at officers from

678
00:47:30,639 --> 00:47:34,199
the upstairs bedroom window. He refused to talk or even

679
00:47:34,559 --> 00:47:38,440
come to the door. Officers noticed odd things in the

680
00:47:38,519 --> 00:47:44,400
ravine behind his house, a wheelbarrow and a handtruck. This

681
00:47:44,719 --> 00:47:47,679
combined with his cousin Laura pointing out that Nancy's car

682
00:47:47,719 --> 00:47:51,599
was in the garage and she should be home, raised

683
00:47:51,639 --> 00:47:55,639
further suspicions Nancy always came to the door if she

684
00:47:55,719 --> 00:48:01,320
was home. Officers suited up and breached the back. They

685
00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:04,960
found Travis lying in bed watching TV and took him

686
00:48:04,960 --> 00:48:09,559
into custody. He denied everything until he realized the officers

687
00:48:09,679 --> 00:48:14,360
had seen what was in the ravine. Then he finally

688
00:48:15,159 --> 00:48:19,079
told the truth. He attacked his mother as soon as

689
00:48:19,119 --> 00:48:23,800
she walked through the door, and then strangled her when

690
00:48:23,840 --> 00:48:26,880
he got tired. He used his elbow and his weight,

691
00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:32,239
all two hundred and ten pounds. He confessed to killing

692
00:48:32,440 --> 00:48:36,800
his mother, but what he did after is just as heinous.

693
00:48:37,159 --> 00:48:43,639
Speaker 2: Okay, so after she stopped freeing them, well, he said,

694
00:48:43,719 --> 00:48:45,679
I was in the ravine and saw at the woods

695
00:48:45,719 --> 00:48:46,960
line in my house.

696
00:48:47,000 --> 00:49:00,559
Speaker 10: There she was unconscious, I guess I chuted tooth out

697
00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:04,000
to make it look like, you know, there was any

698
00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:10,880
altercation or fight, to kind of get rid of any

699
00:49:10,920 --> 00:49:12,159
evidence or I.

700
00:49:12,199 --> 00:49:14,280
Speaker 2: Didn't get rid of Okay, So did you take your

701
00:49:14,360 --> 00:49:16,280
mom's mom down to the ravine?

702
00:49:16,280 --> 00:49:16,480
Speaker 9: Then?

703
00:49:17,400 --> 00:49:23,199
Speaker 2: Yes? Yes, How did you get her down there? Oh? Through,

704
00:49:24,519 --> 00:49:27,000
I might have to kind of carry carry it out there?

705
00:49:28,119 --> 00:49:34,920
He carried her, yes, okay, Like he didn't have to

706
00:49:35,039 --> 00:49:40,960
use anything else, just carried her like this or fireman's carrier. Like,

707
00:49:41,000 --> 00:49:42,960
how did you get her down there? Because that's pretty steep.

708
00:49:43,360 --> 00:49:45,800
The reason I asked, I mean we went down there

709
00:49:45,800 --> 00:49:47,199
and that it's pretty steel.

710
00:49:48,719 --> 00:49:55,519
Speaker 10: Yeah, I guess I did. With with trying to get

711
00:49:55,599 --> 00:49:56,320
rid of evidence.

712
00:49:56,599 --> 00:50:01,480
Speaker 1: I guess movie her as is his mother's body lay

713
00:50:01,519 --> 00:50:04,960
lifeless on the rug in the kitchen, Travis came up

714
00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:07,880
with a plan. He cleaned up to get rid of

715
00:50:07,880 --> 00:50:11,199
any evidence of a struggle. He rolled up the rug

716
00:50:11,239 --> 00:50:14,440
and stashed it in the garage. He took his mother's

717
00:50:14,440 --> 00:50:18,119
purse and wallet, emptied them of any money, and hid

718
00:50:18,159 --> 00:50:22,079
them in the basement. Then he grabbed a flashlight and

719
00:50:22,159 --> 00:50:27,280
his mother's body and carried her to the ravine behind

720
00:50:27,320 --> 00:50:29,320
the garage. At the back of the property was a

721
00:50:29,360 --> 00:50:33,159
gate and a path into the ravine. It was a

722
00:50:33,199 --> 00:50:36,079
steep hill going down to somewhat of a landing before

723
00:50:36,760 --> 00:50:41,599
another trail went deeper. The woods were dense with lots

724
00:50:41,599 --> 00:50:46,480
of bushy undergrowth. Travis cleared the path, cutting low branches

725
00:50:46,519 --> 00:50:51,159
and snapping high weeds. The trail was long and winding,

726
00:50:51,239 --> 00:50:55,800
heading ever lower and deeper into the woods. Eventually it

727
00:50:55,960 --> 00:51:00,440
ended at an access point to this storm drained system.

728
00:51:00,480 --> 00:51:03,840
A man hold jutted out of the ground a couple

729
00:51:03,840 --> 00:51:07,559
of feet high. Travis removed the cover and placed the

730
00:51:07,599 --> 00:51:11,280
small body of his mother and the pipe. Then he

731
00:51:11,360 --> 00:51:14,360
just went back to his garage and grabbed the hand truck.

732
00:51:15,360 --> 00:51:18,199
He loaded it with scraps of wood from all the

733
00:51:18,280 --> 00:51:21,880
incomplete renovations and went back to the ravine where he

734
00:51:22,119 --> 00:51:25,599
packed the scraps around her body and the pipe. Then

735
00:51:25,599 --> 00:51:28,760
he went back to the garage for the wheelbarrow and

736
00:51:28,880 --> 00:51:29,719
a gas can.

737
00:51:30,239 --> 00:51:39,000
Speaker 2: Well, what happened went firely. I tried to guess rid

738
00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:39,960
of the evidence of.

739
00:51:40,320 --> 00:51:40,760
Speaker 9: Her and.

740
00:51:42,199 --> 00:51:44,519
Speaker 2: Okay, you gotta be a little more more specific, So

741
00:51:44,719 --> 00:51:46,679
what what happened to her? Mom's body?

742
00:51:46,719 --> 00:51:51,119
Speaker 10: And I put her into a It was a sewer,

743
00:51:52,239 --> 00:52:02,840
an open sewer, and then I lit the fire. Yes,

744
00:52:06,639 --> 00:52:09,079
destroy the evidence.

745
00:52:10,280 --> 00:52:14,039
Speaker 1: He dowsed the wood and his mother with gasoline and

746
00:52:14,119 --> 00:52:18,119
litter on fire. Now, whether or not Travis knew this

747
00:52:18,239 --> 00:52:21,920
was a good plan, it was. The drain pipe was

748
00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:25,320
constructed in such a way that at the bottom were

749
00:52:25,400 --> 00:52:29,360
two smaller pipes. These pipes usually carried rain water to

750
00:52:29,400 --> 00:52:32,559
the creek, but when Travis lit the fire, they became

751
00:52:32,639 --> 00:52:36,280
an inlet for fresh air. The size of the pipe

752
00:52:36,320 --> 00:52:38,599
and the fact that it was made of metal and

753
00:52:38,719 --> 00:52:44,199
concrete made it an ideal incinerator. The fire was so

754
00:52:44,239 --> 00:52:47,800
hot that it burnt the tree limbs above it. Travis

755
00:52:47,800 --> 00:52:49,599
had to go back to the garage and grab a

756
00:52:49,679 --> 00:52:54,360
pump sprayer to dowse the surrounding foliage with water to

757
00:52:54,400 --> 00:52:56,559
prevent catching the whole woods on fire.

758
00:52:57,320 --> 00:52:59,400
Speaker 2: Swot tenants jewel that was at all way at like

759
00:52:59,440 --> 00:53:08,320
two and the more it was and over an eighteen

760
00:53:08,320 --> 00:53:09,599
hour period of time.

761
00:53:09,760 --> 00:53:12,800
Speaker 1: Yes, it was weird to think that no one noticed

762
00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:15,880
a blazing fire at the bottom of a ravine, but

763
00:53:16,559 --> 00:53:19,760
it is a clue to how thick these woods really were.

764
00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:24,960
Travis manned the fire for hours, feeding it wood and

765
00:53:25,039 --> 00:53:29,519
stoking the flames. When officers finally pulled Nancy's remains from

766
00:53:29,559 --> 00:53:33,880
the pipe, she wasn't even recognizable as human. What was

767
00:53:33,960 --> 00:53:38,039
left of her only weighed thirty six pounds. Her arms

768
00:53:38,079 --> 00:53:42,239
and legs were reduced to little more than bone and ash.

769
00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:47,320
Her torso was charred and burned, revealing the city black

770
00:53:47,519 --> 00:53:52,400
organs inside. The front upper part of her skull was

771
00:53:52,440 --> 00:53:57,760
fragmented from the extreme heat, exposing brain matter. They couldn't

772
00:53:57,800 --> 00:53:59,800
tell if she was alive when she was set on

773
00:53:59,800 --> 00:54:04,440
fire due to the airwaves being charred, but the examination

774
00:54:04,719 --> 00:54:10,480
of her lungs revealed a low carboxy hemoglobin saturation. If

775
00:54:10,519 --> 00:54:13,360
I said that right, In other words, she was dead

776
00:54:13,840 --> 00:54:18,119
before she was set aflame, thank god, at least for that.

777
00:54:19,519 --> 00:54:22,400
Travis strangled his mother to death and then burned her

778
00:54:22,480 --> 00:54:26,039
body in a makeshift incinerator to try to get rid

779
00:54:26,079 --> 00:54:29,519
of the evidence. That part now made sense, but the

780
00:54:29,639 --> 00:54:33,559
question remained. Why Why would Travis kill the only person

781
00:54:33,599 --> 00:54:37,280
in his life who ever cared about him? I mean,

782
00:54:37,800 --> 00:54:41,199
she was certainly the person taking care of him. He

783
00:54:41,199 --> 00:54:44,400
couldn't take care of himself. And I'll say one more thing,

784
00:54:45,280 --> 00:54:47,920
it's weird that a person that can't really take care

785
00:54:47,920 --> 00:54:51,159
of himself and you know, get a job at Taco

786
00:54:51,280 --> 00:54:55,960
Bell to pay their bills. Has all this ingenuity to

787
00:54:56,239 --> 00:55:01,960
put together this entire plan and kill someone weird, right.

788
00:55:02,360 --> 00:55:04,079
Speaker 2: So you you said that you had made a plan

789
00:55:04,159 --> 00:55:06,239
to do this. You just decided that when she came home,

790
00:55:06,320 --> 00:55:11,679
that was what we were going to do. Yes, how come? What? What? What? What? What?

791
00:55:11,360 --> 00:55:12,840
I guess made you get to that point?

792
00:55:12,920 --> 00:55:13,119
Speaker 9: Well?

793
00:55:13,679 --> 00:55:16,960
Speaker 2: Drove there? It was how are you feeling? I guess

794
00:55:17,599 --> 00:55:28,679
I was feeling. I guess. Uh. It was the decision from.

795
00:55:27,440 --> 00:55:31,480
Speaker 10: I said, my household right now and what I'm going

796
00:55:31,519 --> 00:55:35,800
through when I don't have support or help from I

797
00:55:35,800 --> 00:55:36,719
guess others.

798
00:55:37,079 --> 00:55:39,239
Speaker 2: So you were angry before when or before she even

799
00:55:39,280 --> 00:55:39,719
got home.

800
00:55:41,400 --> 00:55:45,559
Speaker 1: Travis had been harboring anger towards his mother for some time.

801
00:55:46,559 --> 00:55:49,599
He complained that he couldn't take care of himself because

802
00:55:50,280 --> 00:55:54,119
she never left him with enough money for his household.

803
00:55:55,280 --> 00:55:58,559
Think about that for a second, think about it real good.

804
00:55:59,079 --> 00:56:05,519
Speaker 2: It was over over money and I guess, ah, what

805
00:56:05,800 --> 00:56:09,519
would I have at my house? Or what do you

806
00:56:09,559 --> 00:56:14,440
mean by way in your house? She's got there? I spoke,

807
00:56:14,559 --> 00:56:20,360
So it was it was kind of like how I

808
00:56:20,480 --> 00:56:26,480
either take care of myself or feed myself and.

809
00:56:23,480 --> 00:56:27,760
Speaker 1: I eat food if I can get it at Now

810
00:56:27,760 --> 00:56:30,679
that he was finally saying it out loud, Travis didn't

811
00:56:30,679 --> 00:56:33,400
seem to know why he decided to kill his mother.

812
00:56:34,360 --> 00:56:39,519
It all sounded so dumb. His explanation was little more

813
00:56:39,519 --> 00:56:44,239
than ramblings and incomplete thoughts. It seemed he was worried

814
00:56:44,280 --> 00:56:47,079
about his mother finding out about his marijuana use, but

815
00:56:48,039 --> 00:56:51,199
more about him not being provided the means to take

816
00:56:51,199 --> 00:56:55,400
care of himself. You see, when you do everything for someone,

817
00:56:55,519 --> 00:56:59,480
when you give them everything they need, take away any

818
00:56:59,559 --> 00:57:03,280
in the past, and it's or sense of self by

819
00:57:03,440 --> 00:57:08,320
just providing everything. What ends up happening, more often than

820
00:57:08,360 --> 00:57:12,920
not is that that person getting everything starts to take

821
00:57:12,920 --> 00:57:16,639
it for granted. I mean, it's there no matter what

822
00:57:16,679 --> 00:57:20,280
they do. And once they've taken it for granted enough,

823
00:57:21,280 --> 00:57:24,400
they then start to resent you for not giving them more.

824
00:57:25,480 --> 00:57:32,760
It happens to entire societies in fact. I mean, just

825
00:57:32,800 --> 00:57:35,639
take a look around, so I know there's more and.

826
00:57:35,480 --> 00:57:40,239
Speaker 2: More reasons I do this. Right, Well, we're willing to

827
00:57:40,360 --> 00:57:43,840
listen to you and why if there's other reasons, how's

828
00:57:43,840 --> 00:57:45,039
your time to tell us?

829
00:57:45,360 --> 00:57:45,599
Speaker 7: Right?

830
00:57:46,960 --> 00:57:48,880
Speaker 2: Do you want to tell us or what else is

831
00:57:48,960 --> 00:57:49,440
going on.

832
00:57:51,159 --> 00:57:51,199
Speaker 7: That?

833
00:57:51,280 --> 00:57:52,960
Speaker 2: Were you mad about her for something else?

834
00:57:53,760 --> 00:57:53,960
Speaker 7: Oh?

835
00:57:56,159 --> 00:58:01,639
Speaker 10: I think it was my problems with I've had problems

836
00:58:01,800 --> 00:58:07,360
dealing with my life's and family's lives.

837
00:58:08,559 --> 00:58:12,519
Speaker 1: He was trying to give a reason for what he did,

838
00:58:12,519 --> 00:58:16,639
but it just wasn't very good. Who kills their mother

839
00:58:16,760 --> 00:58:20,039
because he's mad about his allowance and not having enough money.

840
00:58:20,880 --> 00:58:22,639
I wouldn't want to give him any money if I

841
00:58:22,679 --> 00:58:25,440
were Nancy, and if I learned he was spending it

842
00:58:25,480 --> 00:58:28,239
on pot, you know, get the fuck out of my house.

843
00:58:29,119 --> 00:58:32,480
That's how you raise kids, at least ones that aren't

844
00:58:32,519 --> 00:58:33,559
a complete piece of shit.

845
00:58:34,199 --> 00:58:37,440
Speaker 2: I haven't been diagnosed with with anything, but I do, Guys,

846
00:58:39,920 --> 00:58:44,760
I've had problems before, and I guess it kind of

847
00:58:45,920 --> 00:58:54,480
all accumulated into me making that decision.

848
00:58:55,800 --> 00:58:58,800
Speaker 1: All of the little bullshit excuses he had for being

849
00:58:58,800 --> 00:59:03,559
mad at his mother culminated in him deciding to murder her.

850
00:59:04,559 --> 00:59:07,719
He said he didn't have enough money for food, and

851
00:59:07,760 --> 00:59:11,000
he blamed his mother for this. He said she was

852
00:59:11,079 --> 00:59:14,280
upset about him smoking pot and he resented her for it.

853
00:59:15,199 --> 00:59:19,039
He said he had trouble coping with life, and all

854
00:59:19,159 --> 00:59:24,199
that combined led to his decision. These reasons are poor

855
00:59:24,239 --> 00:59:29,199
ones individually, but put together, Travis found himself at a

856
00:59:29,239 --> 00:59:32,920
breaking point and sounds like Travis had a low bar

857
00:59:33,079 --> 00:59:36,920
for breaking. But this wasn't the spur of the moment

858
00:59:37,000 --> 00:59:39,079
decision he planned.

859
00:59:39,119 --> 00:59:44,159
Speaker 2: It was this planned for a while. So what do

860
00:59:44,239 --> 00:59:46,519
you remember what day it was or where you decided

861
00:59:46,639 --> 00:59:48,920
in your head this what you were going to do?

862
00:59:50,920 --> 00:59:53,719
Like was it just as she came home or was

863
00:59:53,760 --> 00:59:55,800
it days before that that you had made up your

864
00:59:55,800 --> 00:59:57,840
mind when she was on a lie I think out

865
00:59:57,840 --> 01:00:02,239
a week before she came home, before he had classes

866
01:00:02,320 --> 01:00:02,719
killing her.

867
01:00:03,559 --> 01:00:08,719
Speaker 1: Yes, well before Hurricane Ian was anywhere close to landfall.

868
01:00:09,599 --> 01:00:13,440
Travis had decided to kill his mother. He was mad

869
01:00:13,480 --> 01:00:17,320
at her. He blamed her for everything. Rather than take

870
01:00:17,400 --> 01:00:22,159
any responsibility for his life, he put everything on his mother, unjustly.

871
01:00:23,320 --> 01:00:25,880
Nancy always ran to his side when he needed help,

872
01:00:26,079 --> 01:00:29,960
just like she did this time. She funded his lifestyle

873
01:00:30,079 --> 01:00:36,119
or lack thereof. But it wasn't enough for Travis. Never is.

874
01:00:37,119 --> 01:00:39,880
I'm sure there's a Travis in your life. There's been

875
01:00:39,920 --> 01:00:44,559
the Travis in mine, that's for sure. Every perceived slight

876
01:00:44,719 --> 01:00:48,599
in his life was all because of Nancy. He had

877
01:00:48,599 --> 01:00:52,639
no aspirations, no real future. I mean, what was his

878
01:00:52,679 --> 01:00:55,239
plan if he got away with it, which he could

879
01:00:55,280 --> 01:00:58,880
have really if he weren't so fucking lazy. He could

880
01:00:58,880 --> 01:01:01,760
have burnt the purse and everything in it. He could

881
01:01:01,760 --> 01:01:06,320
have stoked the fire longer completely to destroy his mother's body.

882
01:01:07,360 --> 01:01:10,360
He could have ditched the car somewhere rather than leave

883
01:01:10,400 --> 01:01:14,239
it in the garage. Then Nancy would have just been

884
01:01:14,280 --> 01:01:20,719
missing under mysterious circumstances. But then, what was Travis just

885
01:01:20,719 --> 01:01:23,079
going to go back to watching TV and smoking pot

886
01:01:23,119 --> 01:01:25,920
in bed? What happened the next time he needed to

887
01:01:25,960 --> 01:01:26,599
buy some more?

888
01:01:27,480 --> 01:01:27,559
Speaker 9: What?

889
01:01:27,679 --> 01:01:31,320
Speaker 1: Then? Who was going to give him money for his household?

890
01:01:32,239 --> 01:01:35,119
He had a plan to kill his mother, but it

891
01:01:35,239 --> 01:01:39,800
sort of lacked all semblance of logic. Travis killed the

892
01:01:40,079 --> 01:01:44,880
only person left who truly cared and loved him for

893
01:01:44,960 --> 01:01:50,840
no good reason. Travis was indicted for tampering with evidence,

894
01:01:51,480 --> 01:01:57,119
folonious assault, aggravated robbery, abuse of a corpse, murder, and

895
01:01:57,199 --> 01:02:02,840
aggravated murder. He pleaded not get gilty by reason of insanity.

896
01:02:03,000 --> 01:02:07,199
Apparently Travis had a difficult birth, including not breathing for

897
01:02:07,239 --> 01:02:10,880
at least half a minute and subsequently spending time in

898
01:02:11,440 --> 01:02:16,840
isolated intensive care. Afterwards, they surmised that this led to

899
01:02:16,920 --> 01:02:22,000
the mental health issues he had since childhood. But then again,

900
01:02:22,039 --> 01:02:24,880
he could have just been a piece of shit. You know,

901
01:02:24,960 --> 01:02:27,400
you ever consider that science, You ever consider that some

902
01:02:27,440 --> 01:02:30,559
people are just a piece of shit. But the judge,

903
01:02:30,599 --> 01:02:36,119
you know, being a judge, granted the defense a complete evaluation,

904
01:02:37,000 --> 01:02:42,440
and after that everything changed. Travis entered an Alfred plea,

905
01:02:43,119 --> 01:02:46,840
which is a guilty plea without admitting to the crimes themselves.

906
01:02:47,960 --> 01:02:50,119
I don't know what legal scholar came up with this,

907
01:02:50,280 --> 01:02:53,159
but it's like admitting to a crime without admitting to

908
01:02:53,199 --> 01:02:59,679
a crime. Way to go. Legal system sounds super good.

909
01:02:59,679 --> 01:03:04,800
For it was an attempt to lessen his sentence because

910
01:03:05,519 --> 01:03:07,679
he knew that if he went to trial, he would

911
01:03:07,679 --> 01:03:09,880
go to prison for much longer.

912
01:03:10,440 --> 01:03:15,119
Speaker 9: Travis has struggled for since he was a young man.

913
01:03:15,719 --> 01:03:18,119
And I think the fact that, as Ray said, it's

914
01:03:18,119 --> 01:03:22,599
a quiet neighborhood, it just highlights that mental health issues

915
01:03:22,639 --> 01:03:27,199
are universal. We need more community resources, we need help.

916
01:03:27,239 --> 01:03:30,639
It doesn't matter nobody is immune. A mother's love just

917
01:03:30,679 --> 01:03:33,960
doesn't end no matter what your sen's mental illness is.

918
01:03:34,239 --> 01:03:36,679
And I'm sorry it ended this way.

919
01:03:37,559 --> 01:03:42,679
Speaker 2: Oh she did all she could to encourage him, and

920
01:03:43,679 --> 01:03:45,079
she wasn't able to do it.

921
01:03:46,039 --> 01:03:50,599
Speaker 1: At the sentencing hearing, his family gave statements despite what

922
01:03:50,679 --> 01:03:54,840
he had done, they begged for mercy on him. Laura

923
01:03:54,920 --> 01:03:57,639
Malick asked the judge to give him a chance at

924
01:03:57,679 --> 01:04:02,440
release if he underwent mental health treatment in prison. She said,

925
01:04:03,079 --> 01:04:06,000
it's never too late and no one is ever too

926
01:04:06,159 --> 01:04:09,360
far gone to receive God's gift of forgiveness if they

927
01:04:09,360 --> 01:04:13,320
only ask have mercy on her son in spite of

928
01:04:13,360 --> 01:04:18,840
his crimes, because that's who Nancy Lewton was. Without hope,

929
01:04:19,800 --> 01:04:23,480
there is nothing. Just before handing down his sentence, the

930
01:04:23,559 --> 01:04:28,320
judge spoke to Travis directly, saying, I don't know how

931
01:04:28,400 --> 01:04:31,440
quickly she died. I don't know if she looked into

932
01:04:31,440 --> 01:04:34,159
her son's eyes, or what it might have been like

933
01:04:34,239 --> 01:04:37,760
to know that the person you loved more than life

934
01:04:38,079 --> 01:04:42,639
is taking yours. I suspect her last thoughts were about you,

935
01:04:43,719 --> 01:04:47,079
not in fear or anger, but in worry about who

936
01:04:47,119 --> 01:04:52,199
would take care of you. Afterward, he then sentenced him

937
01:04:52,239 --> 01:04:57,199
to life in prison. Big Daddy State can take care

938
01:04:57,239 --> 01:05:01,880
of you now that Mommy's gone. Travis Sluton laid around

939
01:05:01,920 --> 01:05:05,679
all day in his mother's house, watching TV, his mother's TV,

940
01:05:05,760 --> 01:05:08,920
I might add, running off the electricity in the cable

941
01:05:09,280 --> 01:05:12,239
that his mother paid for. He slept in a comfy

942
01:05:12,280 --> 01:05:15,920
bed with clean sheets in the master bedroom, his mother's

943
01:05:16,079 --> 01:05:19,480
master bedroom. Even the food he ate was thanks to

944
01:05:19,519 --> 01:05:25,559
his mother. His life was uneasy mode, but he acted

945
01:05:25,679 --> 01:05:26,880
like he had it tough.

946
01:05:28,079 --> 01:05:28,840
Speaker 2: Ugh, whoe is me?

947
01:05:29,039 --> 01:05:33,480
Speaker 1: Oh, look at all my ailments. Nancy provided everything for

948
01:05:33,599 --> 01:05:37,239
this fucking loser, and all she asked in return was

949
01:05:37,280 --> 01:05:41,480
for him to give it the old college. Try, you know, try,

950
01:05:41,719 --> 01:05:45,280
just try to do something, something, anything with your life.

951
01:05:46,280 --> 01:05:50,960
Turn off the computer, turn off the television, go outside,

952
01:05:51,039 --> 01:05:54,440
Go find out who you are. Go find out how

953
01:05:54,480 --> 01:05:59,719
to build a life for yourself. You'll fail, you'll fall,

954
01:05:59,760 --> 01:06:01,079
you'll stumble, you'll get.

955
01:06:01,000 --> 01:06:01,920
Speaker 2: Up, you'll do it again.

956
01:06:02,840 --> 01:06:07,679
Speaker 1: That's what it takes to be on this spinning rock.

957
01:06:08,480 --> 01:06:10,679
And if you don't want to be on it, be

958
01:06:10,840 --> 01:06:15,480
my guest and get the fuck off. But don't burden

959
01:06:16,320 --> 01:06:20,000
everyone around you with your bullshit. Don't burden your own

960
01:06:20,079 --> 01:06:25,199
mother for the rest of your life because you're too

961
01:06:25,840 --> 01:06:30,639
fucking lazy to get out and go get a job. Nancy,

962
01:06:31,639 --> 01:06:34,519
God bless her, She loved her son. She didn't want

963
01:06:34,519 --> 01:06:37,760
to see his life wasted. She tried everything she could

964
01:06:38,199 --> 01:06:41,360
to try to help him. She tried everything she could

965
01:06:41,400 --> 01:06:45,559
think of, but it was all for nothing. She poured

966
01:06:45,599 --> 01:06:49,559
her love into Travis and helped him at every opportunity,

967
01:06:49,599 --> 01:06:54,079
so much that she stunted him. Travis wasn't capable of

968
01:06:54,119 --> 01:06:58,679
taking care of himself because he never had to. It

969
01:06:58,719 --> 01:07:02,679
wasn't her fault. She only wanted her son, whom she loved,

970
01:07:02,719 --> 01:07:07,280
to be happy and successful. But all her helping only

971
01:07:07,360 --> 01:07:12,840
did was harm him and in the end, harm herself.

972
01:07:14,239 --> 01:07:22,400
Sometimes all you can do is try, unless trying is

973
01:07:22,440 --> 01:07:28,960
the problem and it's up to someone else to try instead.

974
01:08:22,640 --> 01:08:24,560
That does it for another one. Thank you once again

975
01:08:24,560 --> 01:08:28,039
for joining us if you haven't already considered joining plus,

976
01:08:28,079 --> 01:08:30,479
it's just ten bucks a month and it really helped

977
01:08:30,560 --> 01:09:08,840
us out. Swordscale dot com. Stay safe,