Christian Andreacchio: Part 3

Posted on January 21, 2025 by Life and Lemons

I’ve been trying to arrange all this in some kind of order and I’m afraid it’s going to be all over the place. Information overload and the OCD brain are quite the combination! Stay with me as best you can please!

I’ve been going back through my notebook and reading and rereading everything. Some of this needs to be mentioned and some needs to be elaborated on a little more. Christian was not “friends” with Dylan and wanted him to stay away. Dylan went to the emergency room, due to drugs, two days before Christian died. On the morning of the 25th, he checked himself out of detox. I’m assuming, like several others, he needed money fast for his next “fix”. The first 911 call is next.

When the 911 operator asked about the emergency, Dylan’s response was, “We’ve had a suicide.” This speaks volumes to me. It’s like he and Whitley were a team and possibly others. Using the word suicide sets the narrative. Why would he do that? Think about it. How does he know it is suicide and how does he even know Christian is dead? He didn’t stay with him during the 911 call. Dylan was calm and using his manners. During a tragic situation, most innocent people are frantic and rushed. They will speak quickly and even use harsh language, due to the intense moment. We know C had been dead for hours (4.5 hours +) before this call was made, yet Whitley is wailing in the background like she just discovered him. At one point in the call, Dylan calls her name and she immediately stops wailing and putting on a show and yells “WHAT?”. Neither one of them seems concerned for Christian. They aren’t checking him for signs of life or simply being by his side while trying to get help for him. Dylan deliberately gives the wrong apartment complex and is too concerned with getting off the phone. He called his step-brother after the 911 call and made sure to give him the correct complex address. His brother, by the way, works for EMS that are being dispatched to the scene with the wrong address! Law enforcement lost 9-13 minutes due to this. He also sounds like he is doing “forced” breathing, but when he answers questions he is calm and not frantic. Dylan was downstairs and outside when on the phone, according to witnesses. His main concern was making other calls and even asked the operator if he could put her on hold. What the hell?!? He called Whitley’s mom and aunt, his grandfather, Dallas (friend of Whitley), and the aunt again. There were even 2 three-way calls that involved his grandad, her aunt and someone in Florida. At the scene there was Dylan’s mom, Pam, Whitley’s mom, aunt and her fiance, Christie, Kimberly and Houston and Dylan’s step-brother, Ben. Not one call to Christian’s family was made. Not one!

The second 911 call was because law enforcement and EMS couldn’t find the apartment. The operator is trying to get the right address out of Dylan but HE PUTS HER ON HOLD TO ANSWER A CALL! He’s not asking Whitley what the address is. He’s not yelling for anyone to help. Once the correct address is established, he almost sounds relieved. He already had his step brother at the scene and others on the way or already there too. He even makes a remark that the “Police secured the scene.” Using that phrasing suggests someone is coaching him, in my opinion. That is something EMS would say, not the average every day citizen. With his brother working for EMS, it makes one wonder how much he coached those two before they spoke with LE. The phones are an issue for me too. They both used their phones that day but began using Christian’s a lot. D acted like he didn’t have his. W claims her phone was broken.

Life insurance. Who thinks about life insurance at 20 years old? No one I know but Whitley did! Whitley had told C at one point that she thought she might be pregnant. While discussing the matter, she brought up his job and how dangerous it could be. She wanted to know what would happen to her and their possible child is he were to die while on the tugboat. C did, in fact, have a policy, but the beneficiary listed was his ex girlfriend. He spoke with his dad about it and his dad discouraged him from putting W on the policy. Whitley, on the other hand, thought C had changed the policy and so did Dylan. After C’s death, Dylan went to C’s grandfather claiming he was sent to ask when the life insurance policy would be paid out. D found out no policy had W’s name on it as the beneficiary. Is this really what two people would be concerned with after a dear friend allegedly commits suicide?

Christian had 2 guns. One, which was taken from the jeep and ended up in the bathroom, was the 45 you’ve seen pictures of and the second one was in a lock box that was thought to be under his bed. Perhaps this is why his mattress was slashed with a hole cut in it. C had told others on the tugboat that his lock box was kept because he needed a place to put his other pistol and the $7000 he had saved. Not only was his hand gun taken from the jeep but the jeep had been moved from where Christian had parked it. The security cameras in the lot were unfortunately not recording. Dylan and Whitley both knew the gun was kept inside the jeep, in the driver’s side door. A couple of co-workers on the boat knew it was there too. Oh, and no one in law enforcement talked to a single soul he worked with on the tug boat. And remember, Dylan had more than enough time to get the gun from the jeep before picking up Christian that morning. Moving along…

There were texts between Whitley and Matt Miller right before Christian got home. Here they are. Feb. 26 at 11 am: W-Hey! Christian is kicking me out. I need you to come get me please. M-I went to work. W-Please! I have nowhere to go! Call! M-I really can’t leave now. W-After last night you can’t leave? M-It’s a job. I was already late. I swear I would but I can’t. W-Did I say your name last night? M-No, why? W-Cause I normally do. Duh lil boy. M-What do you mean? W-I don’t remember shit from last night. M-Nothing?….Do you remember her saying anything in her statement about Christian kicking her out and trying to get Matt to come pick her up? How about mentioning Matt at all? Neither do I!

In December, a couple of months before the murder, Christian was buying some furniture for the apartment. He sent Whitley to the bank with his card to get cash for some of the things he had found. She called and told him that the bank wouldn’t give her any money because he was the only account holder. So Christian already knew giving his card to someone wouldn’t work! He wouldn’t send Dylan to the bank to “take all his money out” knowing the bank would never give him a penny. Whitley told her lawyer, at one point in time, that Christian’s body was moved because Dylan went through his pockets. On the flip side, Dylan said Whitley is the one who went through Christian’s pockets to find cigarettes.

Dylan sure seems like a good buddy, huh?! This POS only cares about himself!

On the night of Christian’s homicide, when his Uncle Chris went to the police station, he asked for the keys and Christian’s phone. The officer went to ask Whitley about them. She said she didn’t have them. The officer told her she wasn’t leaving until those two items turned up. She reached in her purse and provided both to the officer. Law Enforcement never pursued, to my knowledge, why she had his phone for hours. Christian had two phones as well. Whitley didn’t mind using either. And before you ask about a lock code on the Iphone 4, Whitley had it. She used Christian’s phone that day to call and message Dylan after Christian was killed. Dylan called his phone at 12:40 pm, knowing Whitley would answer. There was no activity until 3:44 pm on the phone after that call. From 3:44 – 3:54 pm Christian’s phone was used to call Matt Miller 6 times! There was another call to Matt from that phone at 5:11 pm. None were answered. I, along with others believe Christian was dead before 12:30 pm and the coroner listed the time of death as possibly 3:30. Shit isn’t adding up! And by Dylan’s timeline they were all watching a movie at 3:30 pm. Remember the 911 call and Dylan trying to get off the phone to call family? Christian’s phone was used for those calls too! At 4:48 and 4:55, Dylan used Christian’s phone to call a close friend and his own mom, not Christian’s.

timeline found online that is backed up by screenshots and statements

Law enforcement told Dylan and Whitley they were going to test them for GSR. Whitley immediately said she would have it on her hands and test positive because she shot a gun the night before with Matt Miller at his cousin’s house. That cousin is Jett Miller and we’ll go into that soon.

“Gun Night” is referring to the night before Christian’s homicide. Allegedly, Whitley, Matt Miller, Jett Miller and Zack Tabb. Not sure if I spelled that name right or not. No two stories match about that night and one has to wonder if it even happened at all. I will talk a little more about this night when I address what the private investigators found out.

On March 1st Whitley texted Matt: This is Whitley. Wyd? I feel like you’re avoiding me. On March 3rd she texted him again: Hey! Because I had gun residue on my hands from us shooting guns. You’re not a suspect. They’ve already ruled it a suicide. They know by the ballistic test what gun was used and what time and the GSR on Christian’s hands. (Not only did LE not know what gun left the GSR but the results were not even released until March 31st!!!) W:When did they question you? M:They didn’t. His family did. W:What did they say? M:Saying that it wasn’t suicide and that I better pray I wasn’t behind it. Like I always get caught up in shit because of you! W:I’m getting threatened too but I can’t help it. That’s not even the issue to me. The issue is he’s gone and there’s no way it was a homicide either because he was shot in the side of the head. I didn’t even know that till yesterday. And I didn’t have his kind of gun powder on my hands. M:And I’m sorry he’s gone but I didn’t talk to him or nothing but I’m in it. W:Because I shot guns with you the night before he shot himself Matt! >Here again, she’s obviously lying. The results from the GSR tests were not even back yet. The type of gun powder wasn’t even in the report from March 31st. And she definitely knew before “yesterday” where the gunshot was on Christian’s head.

Here’s a statement from Dallas Steele from April 15, 2014. Whitley went to shoot guns with Matt and Jett Miller. Matt said he didn’t remember shooting a gun and Jett said they didn’t shoot guns. Whitley said Christian was shot in the temple. When Dallas was asked how well she knew Whitley her response was, “Which side of her? She has many. She’s a compulsive liar. When asked about Matt Miller…She said they hung out before and were texting afterwards. Dallas didn’t believe Christian killed himself and thinks Whitley was involved. She said Whitley gave many different stories.

Matt Miller told law enforcement that he met Whitley at 20 years old and hung out years before, but a few days before Christian’s death she messaged him out of the blue about hanging out. He asked about Christian and she told him they broke up and that he was seeing another girl. They agreed to hang out at Jett Miller’s house. Jett is Matt’s cousin. They went to the pasture down the road and shot some cans, but Matt said that Whitley wouldn’t shoot. Around midnight he took her back to her car. Whitley then said she wanted to stay with him, so he took her back to his place. Matt said they had sex and woke up around 6:30 -7 am. He said he was late for work, dropped her off at her car and figured she went to Christian’s apartment. He got off work, went home and took a nap. Jett called and told him about Christian. Remember this because I think this is rather significant! When he called Whitley she told him that Christian had found out about the two of them. Whitley told him that she and Christian rode around and talked for a while and then came back to the apartment and slept. She told him she woke up to the gunshot, ran upstairs and found Christian dead with a bullet hole to the throat. I question the whole “throat” comment since that makes zero sense! But didn’t Whitley say she slept through the gunshot and that Dylan woke her up? Matt said he tried to call her around 8 pm and got no answer so he called Dallas. He said he talked to Whitley and when she tried to call later, he ignored her call. A week later was when he heard the different story of Dylan finding Christian and waking Whitley up. He then called her to ask about what he heard. She said Dylan did in fact find Christian and that he was shot in the head. She also said Christian had threatened suicide that day and that she told him if he was going to do it, just don’t do it in the face. She started asking Matt why he was putting this on her and just quit talking to her. Investigators asked what kind of person Whitley was. Matt said she is a compulsive liar, cheater and very sneaky. When asked if she could’ve done this, he said yes. He said Christian had threatened to kick her out and take back the car. But added that he didn’t think Dylan had anything to do with it.

Text messages between Whitley and Matt on March 4, 2014 M-Did you find Christian or did Dylan find him? W-Dylan M-You told me you woke up to a gunshot and found him. W-No, Dylan found him and told me I found him M-Your story has changed so much! W-What? M-So where was he shot? You told me something completely different. W-His head. I didn’t even know where he was shot when it happened because it didn’t go through. I just found that out. How did I do that? M-You told me ya’ll fell asleep together, you woke up to a gunshot and found him. You said nothing about Dylan. You said you found him. W-Dylan didn’t even go upstairs. Dylan told me to go check on him and I did. He was dead. M-Dylan said he found him but you told police a whole different story. W-You’re trying to say I’m guilty? M-I don’t know. Nobody knows. Why would he kill himself: Everybody’s trying to find out. W-Wish I could tell you. M-Yea

March 23, 2014 W-My story did change because I didn’t wanna make you feel bad. You have to consider I went through way more than I should have. I was cleared as a suspect and it was ruled a suicide. Did anyone stop to think my whole entire life ended by finding what I found in the bathtub for one night of fucking up? I’m not saying this cause I wanna get high with you, just to clear stuff up. Life’s too short, smoke one.

Looking at statements, text messages, evidence and the crime scene makes me wonder why Dylan and Whitley weren’t actually interrogated. They were only interviewed. This case is insane. An arrest or two should’ve been made that same year! Records of Whitley and Dylan’s phones are not known, pings and such. Whitley had Christian’s phone for HOURS after his death and Dylan could change dates, times and add texts to it. And we know she definitely had his passcode. She was making calls and sending texts to Matt from it after Christian died. His bank account had about $1300.00 in it and his $1000.00 jumpsuit was gone. Law Enforcement didn’t canvas the complex but one neighbor is in a report. He left work at 3 pm, went home, then to Dollar General and back to the apartment around 4:15 pm. There was a gold Chevrolet or GMC truck parked next to the silver BMW, Christian’s car that W drove. It was idling in the parking spot. It left soon after, went around the bend and left the complex. He went into his apartment and after 5 pm the police showed up at Christian’s apartment. He personally knew C because he worked for his mom, Rae. He claimed the truck being there was strange. I think this is going to be important in just a bit! Whitley set up hanging out with Matt and none of the stories match from that night. She also texted him about C kicking her out. She claims she couldn’t remember anything from the night before but remembers gun night somehow. She says she shot guns the night before but Matt says she didn’t. He said she was too scared to shoot.

Possible planted text by Dylan on Christian’s phone

Yes, I really think messages were planted. I looked and found out that messages, times and dates could be altered on the Iphone 4. The messages that Christian typed on the night of the 25th do not match what he actually told people with his mouth! Dylan was known for his tech cracking abilities and such and definitely, according to friends, could’ve altered those things. Do I think he was suicidal? No. Do I think Whitley was narcissistic and made him feel guilty? Yes. And remember, more than just a few people have said out loud she likes to play victim!

Another neighbor came forward saying she heard a gunshot that day. She even took her sleeping baby away from the window when the shot rang out. She said the baby was napping so it had to be between 12-1 pm. See? Christian died before Dylan went to the bank at 12:30! This neighbor also said law enforcement never questioned her.

Another lady had some information about that day. Rae, not trusting Whitley at all, asked this lady to just keep an eye on the place. On the day he died, she saw 2 guys coming out of the apartment between 12:30 – 1:15 pm. They were in a black 4×4 with a grill on the front. One was wearing a hat and had his head down and the other’s face was seen. She thought it was Dylan until she was shown pictures. It wasn’t Dylan…remember this for the next post! It ends up making a lot of sense!

I’ve listened to the audio of Dylan’s interview too. He said Christian held the gun to his head in the earlier argument but they made up very quickly. He said Whitley was on drugs and said she only cared about having all Christian’s money. Investigators told Dylan she was stealing money from Christian and that she took the rent money for the past 2 months. Christian and his brother would send her the rent money to pay the office. And remember, Dylan said Christian wanted him to have all his money that day. Seem a little odd to you? He told them that Whitley had cheated and got caught. He brought up the money again and said he was on the phone with Christian while at the bank. We know that’s not true because Christian knew the bank wouldn’t give him any money. It may have been Christian’s phone but Whitley was on the other end. He said he left the bank, got the food and went back to the apartment. They all separated the food and ate. Go back and see what was in Christian’s stomach. It wasn’t Chick-Fil-A. He said that they left and he took a nap after eating. He said when he woke up he talked to Christian and went to Best Buy and came back to him being dead. He said Whitley had no real tears at all.

Is your head spinning yet??? All the he said, she said, mumbo jumbo will make for a nice headache! Part 4 will cover the “gun night”, politics, MBI’s report of the case, theories, private investigators, crime scene reconstruction, etc.

Christian Andreacchio: Part 2

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Life and Lemons

Before we get into the crime scene, I want to point out that there are two 911 calls. The second call is due to Dylan giving the wrong apartment complex. Remember during the first call he kept wanting to get off the phone with the operator to make calls to family? He specifically gave the wrong complex, called certain people and gave them the correct address. Those specific people, which we will get into later, were there before law enforcement. Think about that as we go through the scene of the crime.

Willow Ridge Apartment Complex showing apartment 801 via Google Earth

Christian and Josh’s apartment via Google Earth

EMT’s arrive on scene and note that there looked to have been a 3 day drinking, partying and smoking event. The smell of cigarette smoke was heavy, ashtrays galore, beer bottles and food wrappers were everywhere. The apartment was an absolute mess! In the upstairs bathroom, there was Christian leaning over the bathtub, blood in the tub, and they began looking for a gun based on the 911 call. They wanted to locate the weapon to avoid an accidental discharge. The gun was on Christian’s left side between his left thigh and the bathtub. Christian was right handed by the way. They noted no blood spatter and his body was stiff. Christian had to be lifted a good 18 inches due to rigor and the way he was placed. Yes, the way he was placed! The bullet and casing were located in the tub.

The first officer arrived on the scene at 5:08 pm. Dylan was at the front door. The “crime scene investigation” had begun. EMT’s noted the lack of blood at the scene. There wasn’t spatter on the walls like one would expect to see in a suicide. There was blood on the outside of the bathroom door, which is odd. The bullet and casing were found in the tub, yet there was no bullet hole in the tub wall. Things were starting to look “off”.

Looking at the diagram of the tiny bathroom, there should have been a bullet hole in the bathtub wall and a lot of blood spatter based on the position of the Christian’s body. So how is there a bullet hole in the wall on the opposite side of the bathroom? If he was sitting on the toilet when this happened, the bullet would’ve entered where the wall socket is.

If this doesn’t scream staged, I don’t know what does! How did he end up in that position with his hands and arms on the outside of the tub? Why isn’t the left side of the tub wall, bathroom wall and shower curtain covered in blood? If he’s right handed, and the wound is in the right side of his head, how does the gun end up on his left side wedged between his left thigh and the bathtub? It was also reported that the shower curtain appeared brand new and still had crisp creases in it.

A photo of the gun that law enforcement placed on the counter. Note the hammer placement.

This photo is also very significant. This weapon is decocked. This 45 has to be manually placed in this position. You cannot do that if you’ve shot yourself in the head. I also want to tell you that this particular gun WAS INSIDE CHRISTIAN’S LOCKED JEEP IN VICKSBURG!!! Remember the post that Dylan made about his “trip” that morning? Christian and Dylan spoke on the phone about Dylan coming to get him at 1:37 am. From Meridian to Vicksburg is 2 hours. From Vicksburn to St. Rose is 3 hours. If Dylan left by 3 am, he could’ve made it to Christian by 8 with no problem. They leave and head back to Meridian and get to the apartment around 11:30. Dylan accidentally told on himself by posting that on social media.

Bullet hole in wall near the bathroom door, opposite of tub

This photo shows where the bullet entered the wall. Later on you’ll hear how it somehow ricocheted out of the hole and landed in the tub. Was someone hoping normal people wouldn’t understand physics?

Based on where the bullet hole was in the bathroom, where is the blood? Where is it??? That counter, sink and wall should be covered. Use common sense please. Think about it! Don’t fall into the magic bullet theory. Bullets aren’t magical. Science shows definitive proof with angles and trajectories.

Photo showing spatter on outside of bathroom door via 48 hours

Dylan said he knocked on that door, not once but twice. He knocked and asked Christian if he was ok. He then went downstairs, woke Whitley and went back upstairs to knock again before entering the bathroom. How in the hell did blood spatter get on the OUTSIDE of the door?

Photo showing the lividity in Christian’s right calf

Lividity is the pooling of blood by gravity. It starts to develop in 2-4 hours after death. This proves that Christian was lying on the floor with his calves face down for at least 2 hours, possibly longer. Blood cannot pool in the calves if the calves are face up like he was found. When removed from the scene, Christian’s body maintained the “bent over” shape, which means rigor mortis had definitely set in. Rigor mortis starts to set in around 2-4 hours after death and is fully set in 12 hours. After that, the muscles begin to relax. Based on the science, Christian was dead for 2-4 hours before he was moved and the scene was cleaned. Going back to the 911 call, at 4:45 pm, Christian was dead by 12 – 12:15 pm. I say this because GSR (gun shot residue) was on Dylan’s hands and he was at the bank at 12:30 pm. The time of death was listed at 3:30 pm (that’s wrong), when he claimed to be at Best Buy too.

GSR results: came back and released on March 31, 2014.

Christian: present on right palm and back of left hand.

Dylan: present on right hand, back of left hand and left palm

Whitley: present on back of right hand, back of left hand, right palm and left palm

Christian’s GSR results make sense. Being in the vicinity of a gunshot will put it on anyone’s hands. Dylan claimed to be outside the apartment and nowhere near Christian. Whitley said she was asleep downstairs when it happened. The next post will go into what Whitley and Dylan said about the presence of GSR on their hands.

I want to go back to the Chick-Fil-A for a moment. The receipt, drink and food was found in the apartment. The receipt showed the time of 1:06 pm for the amount of $20.04. Christian was negative for drugs and alcohol. Dylan and Whitley were not tested for either. Christian had caffeine in his stomach and a bit of partially digested food, which I believe is from the gas station he and Dylan stopped at on the way to the apartment. If he had consumed any of the Chick-Fil-A, it wouldn’t have had time to digest. The gun was tested for prints and none were found. So, this is ruled a suicide, yet both Whitley and Dylan had GSR on their hands and the gun was wiped down? How does a dead man wipe the gun he shot himself with? And remember all the talk of money? The bank account, the life insurance policy and Christian paying for Whitley and Dylan’s lifestyle? Well, remember Dylan saying that Christian came down the hill and took off his jumpsuit? That is worth $900-$1000. It wasn’t on the boat, in the vehicle or the apartment. And is was decided that Christian died by a gunshot to the head but the cause was listed as undetermined. The specific location was what stuck out and seemed odd. It wasn’t a shot to the temple. It was above and behind the right ear! Think about that! The coroner did. He gave law enforcement the green light on a homicide investigation right there with the “undetermined” manner of death. There are a couple more pieces of evidence and I’ll get to those in a minute. Finding out what they are and how they were found will shock you. This was ruled a suicide before the autopsy or any tests. I’ll get into it more in another post, but Chief Lee even went to the scene and told law enforcement to “wrap it up”. The investigation was stopped at the 45 minute mark and ruled a suicide. No DNA or prints were taken at the scene either.

The next post will have all the people, statements, texts and such. But I want to bring up Christian’s uncle, Chris Thompson, real quick. On the evening of Christian’s death, 7:30 – 8 pm, Rae called Chris telling him that law enforcement had informed her that Christian was dead. She couldn’t believe it! Christian had talked to her that morning and he was on the tugboat. It wasn’t making sense to her. She asked Chris to go to the apartment and see what was going on. When he got there he saw the crime scene tape and was told to go to the police station. At the station they confirmed Christian was dead and that two people were at the apartment when 911 was called. The officer said they were currently being interviewed. Chris asked about keys to the apartment and if he was allowed to go in. Officer Thompson said he could go there if he wanted to. This shocked Chris! That same evening, just after Christian was taken from the scene, he could just go in and it wasn’t a problem. He went and got as far as the bathroom. He couldn’t do it. He locked the apartment and left.

The next morning Chris and Josh went to the apartment together. Chris noted the size of the apartment, about 700 square feet. How did Whitley sleep through the shot from a 45 in such a small space? Josh said the apartment had been pretty much destroyed in time he was on the tugboat. He said that Christian’s mattress was slashed and a chunk was missing out of it like someone was looking for something or removing something. Josh took pictures of the bathroom and stuff. There was no spatter on the walls. There was a small stream of blood in the tub. He noticed blood on the outside of the bathroom door. There was a bullet hole in the wall at the wall socket. Josh saw a Chick-Fil-A cup in the tub near where Christian’s right shoulder was. One other cup and bags of food were downstairs. A piece of paper was found that had Christian’s banking information and routing # written on it. It was a post it note. There was a 9 inch knife on the floor and another knife that appeared to have blood on it. There was a shirt in the bathroom, covered in blood, dirt and hair, balled up behind the toilet. He said it looked like it was used to wipe blood off the floor. He then, of course, turned all this in to law enforcement.

I’m sure most of you are asking yourselves how this case managed to NOT be worked as a homicide. Let’s go over it all before going on to the next post.

Whitley and Dylan were living rent-free, with bills being paid and food provided. They were free to do drugs and weren’t working jobs. Whitley thought she was added to Christian’s insurance policy. She knew she was caught cheating and knew Christian was coming home to kick her out. Dylan ratted himself out with his Vicksburg post on social media. Both Dylan and Whitley’s stories and timelines don’t add up. Dylan’s 911 call was BS. The people that showed up to the scene before EMT’s and law enforcement mean Dylan gave them the correct address. Christian’s jumpsuit was missing. Dylan and Whitley had GSR on their hands and palms. The location of the bullet wound is odd too. The wound being above and behind the right ear seems like an odd angle and not your typical shot to the temple or under the chin in a lot of suicides. Based on the receipt, bank surveillance camera, the lividity of Christian’s calf muscle and the full onset of rigor mortis Christian was dead before 12:30 pm. The bullet hole in the wall by the door, the placement of the gun between his left thigh and the tub, the spatter on the outside of the door, the lack of blood at the scene, the new shower curtain and lack of blood on it, the bullet and casing being in the tub with no bullet hole in the tub wall, the bloody shirt bound up behind the toilet, the slash and chunk missing from Christian’s mattress and the gun even being in the apartment prove this was a homicide.

I don’t know about you but I’m sick to my stomach.

Christian Andreacchio: Part 1

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Life and Lemons

Where do I begin with this insane, web-like story? How am I supposed to put all this together and make it make sense? When I say, “I went down the rabbit hole on this one!”, I literally spent weeks in a daze trying to find everything, see everything, read everything and make sense of it somehow. It seems open and shut on the outside but inside is such a tangle of lies, deceit and a botched investigation! It’ll make your head spin! I’m going to try my best to present this as well as I can, but please go easy on me!

Christian died on February 26, 2014. He sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was in the upstairs bathroom of the apartment he shared with his brother, Josh. Dylan Swearingen made the 911 call and Whitley Goodman was also present in the apartment. After law enforcement spent 45 minutes on the scene, his death was ruled a suicide and case closed. This is where it was supposed to end…for some. This was supposed to stay off the radar and under the rug. Thankfully, Christian’s family dug in their heels and decided to fight for him! This post will lay out that day and some of the night before. The second post will lay out the crime scene. The third will lay out statements, messages, alibis etc. and the fourth will be about the politics, the lack of investigation and all the hard work put in by the Andreacchio family.

Christian, Josh and their dad Credit: Crime Watch Daily

Christian lived with his brother, Josh, in apartment 801 at the Willow Ridge Apartments in Meridian, Mississippi. He moved in a few months prior to his death due to an issue between his parents and his “girlfriend”, Whitley Goodman. I put it that way for a reason! Trust me, you’ll see why. Christian had dated Whitley for a few months and she moved in with him and his parents. She had told Christian and his family that her family wouldn’t let her live at home. They felt sorry for her and wanted to help. It wasn’t too long before things went downhill. Whitley wasn’t very respectful. She had dropped out of high school and was kind of taking advantage of Christian’s family. One evening she went into his parents’ bedroom and presented his mom, Rae, with a picture she had stolen. It was a picture of Christian and his ex, Avery, of 5 years or so. She tossed it on the bed, with holes driven in it and said, “That’s how I feel about that picture.” Odd, huh? Next thing they knew, she had given Christian’s young sister, Alexa, a Xanax pill and left her alone in the basement. When his parents found her she was completely out of it. That was the last straw. They wanted her out of the house and I don’t blame them! After giving Christian a bit of a guilt trip and pity party, he decided to go too. He moved in with his brother and the “plan” was that Whitley would only stay at the apartment when Christian was there. I need to clarify that statement a bit. Christian was working on a tugboat and well on his way to becoming the youngest captain in Mississippi! He would leave out on a “hitch”, which is a 30-32 day run and then back home for a bit. Josh had started working on a tugboat as well, so he was gone a lot too. It soon turned into Whitley overstaying her welcome and basically living in the apartment.

They had an extremely toxic relationship, according to those around them the most. Christian had asked his brother, Josh, to keep an eye on her due to her past and present drug use and lack of trust. Before his death, Christian asked Josh to get her to take a drug test and to kick her out if she failed it. Josh bought the test and asked Whitley to take it. At first, she refused, saying she would fail it anyway, but eventually took the test. I believe he said she had three different drugs in her system. Regardless, she failed the test, and he told her to get her things and leave. She gathered her things in a bag and left with what seemed like a bit of arrogance. She was, according to a lot of people, very manipulative and narcissistic. Shad had dropped out of school, was 17 years old and not working. Christian was completely supporting her and she was a kid that could live free and come and go as she wished since Christian was gone for a month at a time. When he was home, she pretty much kept him in the apartment but when he left, she’d go out with friends, party a lot and allegedly cheated a good bit. Was she really gonna let this “free life” slip through her fingers? Was she really gonna let this breakup happen? I don’t think so and neither did anyone else.

Let’s go ahead and introduce Dylan Swearingen. From my understanding, Dylan and Whitley knew each other for most of their lives. Dylan began hanging out with her a good bit when she started staying at the apartment. Christian wasn’t too happy about them hanging out. He felt her behavior and drug use was stemming from being around Dylan. Dylan wasn’t working either and was always at the apartment when Christian was away. Josh, when home, just kept to himself. Dylan was living free as well. When Christian was on a hitch, Christian kept Whitley supplied with money. That money was spent on her and Dylan. When Christian was home, he paid for both of them with everything they did. So you have two people living rent free, no bills, on drugs and possibly looking at no place to live. Christian was at the point of being done with them.

A month or two before his death, Christian had spoken with his father, Todd, about his life insurance policy. It seems that Christian and Whitley had hit another speed bump in the relationship, with Christian wanting to break up, and Whitley told him she may be pregnant. Classic, huh? Anyway, it turned out she wasn’t and she brought up the fact that it could happen one day. She asked what would happen to her or her and the baby if anything were to happen to him. He understood she was talking about his life insurance and told her he had a policy. His beneficiaries were his mom and ex-girlfriend, Avery. This did not sit well with Whitley at all! This is what led him to discuss the matter with his dad. Todd told him he didn’t think it was a good decision, especially since Christian had told his family that he and Whitley weren’t that serious. He felt that him and Avery would get back together when she was done with vet school. He and Avery had an amicable split due to her schooling and his work schedule. They were just in a spot where both were going in their own direction and needed to focus on that. Both of them and their families thought they’d be back together in the near future. But once Whitley came on scene, she backed off thinking Christian had just moved on. Christian also spoke with Cheryl Stanley, a co-worker of his on the tugboat. Cheryl was given the nickname “Tugboat Mama” and Christian was close with her. Cheryl says Whitley was demanding and their relationship was always rocky. When he asked about the policy, she told him to do nothing until he was sure Whitley was pregnant and even then, didn’t think it was a good idea. Anyway, it’s been said that Whitley was under the impression that Christian had changed the policy.

call log from Christian’s phone via Crime Watch Daily

Let’s get to the 25th of February, the day before Christian died. He called Whitley 5 times between 5:16 pm and 12:50 am. He called again, on the 26th, at 7:15 am and none of the calls were answered. Christian had received calls from Dylan about Whitley riding around with some guy. They each had trackers on their phones and could see where the other was. Christian could see that Whitley stayed at another house on the night of the 25th. The guy she stayed with was Matt Miller. This was it! Christian was done. He made plans to get off the tugboat, go home, break up with Whitley, make her leave and then go back to work. There were 4 calls to and from Dylan from 1:37 am to 8 am. Christian also called one of his co-workers, Justin Burns, to ask for a ride home. He then called back saying he had a ride and appreciated it anyway. Justin could tell something was very wrong. He tried making sure Christian was ok and assured him he didn’t mind coming to get him. Come to find out, Dylan had offered to come get him that morning. He spoke with his mom around 7:43 am but didn’t mention problems with Whitley or getting off the tugboat.

Matt Miller and some of the call log via Crime Watch Daily

Christian had to get permission to leave the tugboat. He spoke with the captain and Cheryl and used the excuse that his parents had an argument and that his dad and sister needed a place to stay. Without a key to his apartment, he needed to go meet them so they could gain access to the apartment. Now, Cheryl knew this was a BS statement and told him so. He told her he was going to break it off with Whitley, kick her out and was coming back to the boat the following day at 5 pm. He was getting off in St. Rose, Louisiana. Christian had asked Dylan to be at the dock between 7:45 – 8 am. At 4:57 am, Dylan made a post that said he was going from Meridian to Vicksburg to New Orleans and back to Meridian. He picks Christian up and claims Christian came down to the vehicle and took off his tankerman suit and climbed in. I’ll get to the statements in a bit. They get back to the apartment around 11:30 am. After this, stories DO NOT MATCH or add up! Dylan called 911 around 4:45 pm with the opening statement, “Ma’am, we’ve had a suicide.”

911 call from Dylan with Whitley in background

Now, I want you to stop reading and listen to that again, possibly 2-3 more times. I’m going to kind of sum up their statements and then we will get detailed with them in a bit. I’ll start with Dylan’s statement: Dylan says that Christian called him at 1:37 am and asked for a ride home from the dock in St. Rose, LA. He told him he would and left around 3:45 – 4 am. They exchanged a few calls along the way to update the status of the trip. He says he arrived at about 8 and that Christian came down the hill and removed his blue jumpsuit and they headed back. They stopped for gas and Christian filled up his tank. Along the way, they talked a bit and listened to music. He says Christian left the boat without permission. They got back around 11:30 and he and Whitley began arguing about Matt Miller and her being with him the night before. Whitley said she took Xanax and couldn’t remember anything. Dylan went upstairs and heard Christian yelling, “Do you love me?”, several times. He claims Christian put a gun to his head. After a while, things calmed down and they watched a movie. Dylan asked him if he wanted some food. Christian said yes and gave him his debit card, told him to get Chick-Fil-A and to go by the bank and take all his money out. He also said that Christian broke Whitley’s phone during the argument. Dylan said he went to the bank but the bank wouldn’t let him take any money out because he wasn’t the account holder. He claims he came back and they watched movies. Afterwards, Christian and Whitley were leaving to ride around and he fell asleep. He slept for 2 hours. When he woke up, Whitley was asleep on the couch and Christian was sitting there. He told Christian he was going to Best Buy to look at some speakers. He adds in that he took the gun from Christian earlier and hid it. He then gave the gun back to Christian and left for Best Buy. When he got back from the store he noticed the upstairs bathroom light was on. He knocked on the door and asked Christian if he was alright and got no answer. He figured he was taking a shower. He went downstairs, woke up Whitley and said they needed to check on him. She went back to sleep and he went and knocked again. He asked louder if he was alright and decided to go in when he wasn’t answered. He found Christian dead, leaning over the tub and not moving. He yelled to Whitley that Christian was dead. She came in and held Christian while he dialed 911.

Whitley’s statement is a bit different about that day. She said Christian left out on the 22nd and that evening she went to a Mardi Gras party with family. Christian stopped talking to her the day he left around 1 pm. He left for work around 5 am and didn’t talk to her for two days. She said he had trust issues and didn’t want her going out. She said she considered breaking up with him. Whitley said he called to say he was coming home and quitting his job. She said they drove to Bonita that day and that Christian felt he couldn’t make anyone happy, her or his mom. Dylan woke her up and she went upstairs to find him face down in a puddle of blood.

Let’s talk about the issues here. Whitley claims Christian didn’t talk to her after he left out on his hitch. How come she didn’t mention the multiple calls from him that went ignored? She says she thought about breaking up with him. It’s odd to me that witnesses claim it was the other way around. Christian was, in fact, coming home to end their relationship. Then she says he was coming home and quitting his job. That is the complete opposite from all witnesses! He even made arrangements to get back on the tugboat the next day at 5 pm. She mentions no fight, no Matt Miller, no gun, no movie watching, no suicidal actions and says SHE found Christian dead. She stated Dylan woke her up. She slept through the shot from a 45 in a 700 sq. foot apartment? And trust me, this isn’t all that’s wrong with statements she made to law enforcement.

Part of Dylan’s statement in his handwriting

Feel like discussing this pile of rubbish? Let’s start with the day before, shall we? Why does he fail to mention the talks with Christian about Whitley riding around with Matt Miller? Why did he mention the blue jumpsuit? This will come back around later, by the way! But consider the details he gives about the pick up. Why does he add in the statement that Christian left without permission and that security and the sheriff were coming? Leaving without permission can be easily found out by talking to the captain of the tugboat. And security and a sheriff coming because he quit his job? Seriously? This makes zero sense unless he was trying to somehow sway opinions of law enforcement that Christian was making crazy decisions and too upset about Whitley to care about his job. I mean, think about it. And let’s not forget his “conclusion” of not knowing if Christian left by “self choice” and leaving the “destination”! I’ve heard this boy talk and he doesn’t talk like that. I also want to bring up that he forgot to mention his pit stop along the way. Remember the Facebook post he made? Remember Vicksburg? That’ll be important too! Why does Dylan say that Christian told him about a guy causing issues with him and Whitley and that’s why he was coming home? Did he forget that he was the one that told Christian about it? He talks about the argument and says Christian held a gun to his head. He claimed Whitley tried to grab the gun away and that things calmed down and they watched a movie. WTF?! I’m not even going to waste time typing about the absurdity of that statement. Onto the bank issue. Dylan said Christian told him to take all the money out of his account. Really? What for? It sounds like he was trying real hard to plant the “suicide” idea. He says he couldn’t get the money and came back and they watched another movie. These times are not adding up. Do the math! They leave and he takes a 2 hour nap. He then goes to Best Buy and comes back to Christian dead. OK, let’s see. They get back at 11:30 am. Let’s add 30 minutes for the argument and an hour and a half for the movie. Now, it’s possibly 1:30 pm. He then goes to Chick-Fil-A and the bank and to get Whitley’s phone fixed. Based on distance and time, he could be back by 2:30 pm. Now, they watch another movie. That puts it now around 4 pm. He sleeps for 2 hours while they go for a drive. Now it’s 6 pm. He wakes up to go to Best Buy and talks to a technician. Oh, and he gave the gun back to Christian before he left too! Let’s just say he is gone for 30 minutes. Best Buy is very close to the apartment as well. He comes back. It should now be around 6:30 pm, give or take a little bit, right? He comes in and immediately wants to check on Christian. Why? Was he scared he’d do something? I mean, he gave him the gun back, right? He then claims to find Christian dead slumped over the tub but Whitley says she found him. The 911 call, again, came in at 4:45 pm. Not one damn thing adds up here and there is a ton more!

Here’s proof he lied about times and events. Damn, I almost forgot! The Chick-Fil-A receipt was found in the apartment with a timestamp of 1:06 pm. He also added to law enforcement and claimed to be at Best Buy at 3:30 pm but no employee remembers seeing him there that day. Law Enforcement did not seek out any footage from Best Buy until way later and there was no footage available. Things that make ya go hmmm! If you ask me, Christian was dead before 12:30 pm that day. And I promise I can back up that claim with facts and science!

Dylan, at the bank at 12:29:55 via 48 hours, holding his phone in his hand and Christian’s debit card

Is your head spinning? Are you currently giving yourself a face palm to the forehead? Are you mad? Are you gritting your teeth? Are you mouthing or yelling WTF? Trust me, I’ve done all of the above! I’ve had my own tragedy and been through my own hell, but I cannot imagine what this mom has been through. I hope you stick around and read the other posts. Together, we will try to figure out what truly happened to Christian Andreacchio.

The murder of Stephen Smith

Posted on May 19, 2024 by Life and Lemons

I found Stephen Smith’s case as I was just looking through some of the information on the Murdaugh family. This 19 year old young man seems to have a cloud of mystery around him. I’ll take you through it with me as I find information. Before we get started, I want to tell you two things. Number 1: I do some research, then I type. I do some more research, then I type some more. I research more, I type more. I add and add until I think I’m done. I know that sounds crazy but it’s what I do a lot of the time. Number 2: ALL NAMES, LOCATIONS AND INFORMATION I FIND IN THIS WRITE-UP IS OUT THERE FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE. I read articles, watch and listen to videos and look for released information from law enforcement. Everything is coming from information readily available to the public to search for and find.

Here we go! Stephen’s body was found in the middle of Sandy Run Rd. by Mr. Ronnie Capers at 0357 on July 8, 2015. Mr. Capers was on his way to work when he saw the young man’s body lying in the middle of the rural roadway. Law enforcement first arrived on the scene at 0407 and immediately thought the right side head wound was from a gunshot. There were no skid marks, no glass, no debris, his shoes were still on and oddly in tact. The shoes remaining on and in tact point to no classic hit and run incident. Although it is possible, generally, shoes do not stay on the victim’s feet. Time of death was listed at 0300, about an hour before he was found.

Stephen’s shoes still on his feet and in tact

The two orange circles are marks made by LE to label where his feet were.

Red dot indicating the location of Stephen’s body

Orange box indicates where his body was found.

Stephen’s phone after being retrieved from his pocket

As you can see…the positioning of his body is an immediate red flag. Well, it is to me at least! This young man is literally in the middle of the road, and his body looks “placed” in that spot. His arms and legs aren’t sprawled out. There doesn’t seem to be, at first glance, any injuries other than a head wound. Arms and legs do not appear broken. A pool of blood can be seen from his head but no path of blood. By that I mean, there’s no blood trail from his body going across the pavement. I have found out that his right shoulder was dislocated and his right eye socket broken. So, with all that and being in the middle of the road, this doesn’t appear to be a head-on hit and run at all. And who in the hell walks in the middle of the road? I seriously doubt this young man was struck by the front of any vehicle. Now, could he have been struck by part of a vehicle or an object sticking out of a vehicle? I do believe that is possible. The roadway was clear. Trees are on one side and corn on the other. There are no sharp turns or hills. I am even questioning, at this moment, was this young man killed “on the road” or possibly killed and thrown out right here. Stephen’s phone doesn’t appear to have any damage, which is insane to me. I have read that it was retrieved from his pocket. One would expect it to come out of his pocket or at least have some damage from his body skidding across a road. It’s just another red flag to me. Even the coroner’s words, upon arriving and looking at the scene and the body got me. He said, “This is not a hit and run. This is a murder.” Oh! And his key was in his pocket as well! But there’s been no mention of his wallet.

Ok, so we have a time of death listed as 0300 and a young man lying dead in the middle of a rural road. I have to ask myself where was he supposed to be and find the missing pieces. Stephen’s parents did not live together and his mother, Sandy Smith, last saw him a week earlier on July 1. He told her that he was going on a trip, a deep sea fishing trip. She, of course, asked with whom and he avoided telling her a name. The only information he gave was that the gentleman was a “prominent person”. Now, I need to add that Stephen was openly gay and usually only interested in older men. So I’m sure this definitely peeked his mother’s curiousity. He was also in school studying to be a nurse and hopefully a doctor later on. She has also stated he was acting out of character around that time. She said he “played hookey” from school and that he NEVER skipped school in the past. Fast forward to July 7 now. The night before he was found dead, Stephen was supposed to be at his dad’s house. I’m not sure what time he was expected to arrive, only that he was supposed to arrive by that evening. On the morning of the 8th, news broke of a body being found and Sandy Smith immediately thought of her son because the location reported on the news was close to his father’s house. I believe his body was found about 2 miles from his father’s house and his car was about 5 miles from the residence. She called his sister to check on him and his sister was wondering if Stephen was with her because he never came home the night before. Both women immediately felt sick with dread. So, there’s quite a large window of time missing here, possibly a six hour or more window. It also may be a three hour window. I’m honestly not sure. I’ll get into more of the evidence in a bit, I promise. But let’s move on to the absence of a vehicle.

Looking back at the pictures above, there’s no civilian vehicle in sight. So naturally, you wonder how he ended up in the area. His yellow Chevy was found a few miles away, off Bamberg Hwy., with the gas tank open and gas cap off. The battery was working but the car wouldn’t start. Oddly, his wallet was still in the car. Let’s see the pictures and see what we get from them. Most pictures came from “The Interview Room” YouTube channel.

The actual location where Stephen’s car was found via Google Earth

My thoughts looking at this picture start with wondering what time he pulled over, if he actually pulled his car over here at all. If he did, why didn’t he call his dad or sister for a ride. He was close to them, in distance, and anyone that I know would’ve made that call for a ride. Also, the time wouldn’t have mattered either. If he really pulled his car over right here, no matter what time, why not call for someone to pick him up?

There doesn’t seem to be damage to the car. Nothing else really sticks out except the gas cap.

This shot of the car shows no damage either. I only note the gas cap and where the car is actually located. There is literally a blacktop area to the left of the car that is off the road. Anyone I know, including myself, would have just parked in or coasted to the paved area. It’s a little odd.

This picture shows me that he was rather neat and tidy. There are items on the back seat together and not strung about. There is a trash bag on the floor of the car indicating he doesn’t just throw trash in the floorboard. Moving along.

Back seat of passenger’s side after LE moved things

Ok, we can tell law enforcement has moved things to take pictures of all items inside the car. The notebook, I would assume, is from school. The brush and deodorant tells me he cares about his appearance and hygiene.

Back seat floorboard after LE dump out bag of trash

I immediately take note of the 10W-30 oil bottles. His car presumably has an oil problem.

I still note the oil bottles. I also notice the water jug and there was another in a picture above. Does his car overheat? Hell, I’m not sure why jugs of water would be needed. Now, he was reported to have been at a lake earlier the day before. He possibly brought the water to drink while there. I also notice two more deodorant sticks. Maybe he sweated a lot? That’s a lot of deodorant! The lemonade, juice and glass could’ve also been used at the lake. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one to drink from the glass or bottles too. I really hope those were tested.

Front passenger seat showing wallet in between the seat and door

More oil bottles in front floor board, I see. There is a school book and binder on the seat. He like Ritz crackers and there lies his wallet. Could it have slid off the seat into that spot? Could it have been placed there by someone else? Why wasn’t it in his pocket?

Who leaves their wallet behind in their car? If your car breaks down and you have to start walking, who takes their cell phone but not their wallet? Men generally keep their wallets in their pockets. This wallet looks placed there to me. I don’t like this at all.

The trunk is also clean, just like the rest of the car. There is yet another bottle of oil for the car. He obviously had a pretty good leak somewhere!

This screams “STAGED” to me! How many people run out of gas and then look in the gas tank? This makes zero sense to me. If you’re out of gas, you’re out of gas! No one takes off the gas cap and peers inside the little gas hole! His mother stated in an interview with Court TV that he has ran out of gas before and always called his sister. This leads me to believe something happened to him either here or somewhere else and his car was planted here or someone tried to make it appear out of gas. The fact that the car is in the grass, near the woods, and not on the little strip of pavement to the side of the road adds to the possibility someone else parked this car here or there was another vehicle pulled up along the side his car on the left at one point.

Picture showing tire impressions left in the grass to the left of Stephen’s car

Those tire impressions lead me to think someone could’ve pulled up alongside his car. Was he taken forcefully from this spot? I also need to note that I read he called the older man he had been seeing but I do not know who that is. I haven’t dug real hard into that either for the fact LE never seemed to have him on their radar based on any of the evidence and such. He, from the research I have done, didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Stephen. However, I don’t know what time he made the call or what was discussed. I’ll make a note of this and look more into it.

I have also wondered about the driver’s seat position. Did it match Stephen’s height? Was the seat too far forward or too far back? I’m assuming fingerprinting was done and all debris was examined. This whole thing stinks so far. The cloud looming over this case just gets thicker and darker. I found pictures of Stephen’s clothing on that YouTube channel, “The Interview Room” and I have to say, a lot of his clothing doesn’t add up either.

The scene seems odd to me. I have to agree with the gentleman in the YouTube video that it’s odd to be walking in the middle of the road. First of all, there are no indications of the body sliding across the pavement. Secondly, based on the inside of the car’s appearance and the way he is described by family, Stephen seemed to be the type of guy that would not walk in the middle of the roadway. What I mean by the car’s appearance is that he didn’t seem scattered or messy. Most people, when walking down a road, tend to walk on the side of the road. But I, along with others, could see a messy/scattered type of individual possibly walking down the middle of a road. Either way, it still doesn’t add up for the average person. Plus, based on reports of him being at the lake earlier that day, it was more than likely dark or close to it when whatever happened to him. Who walks down the middle of the road in the dark? No one I know!

Image depicting the huge laceration of the forehead and the major fracture to the back of his head

Model showing the 7.25 inch laceration of Stephen’s forehead

The two screenshots above show major fractures of the skull. The one to the forehead was noted to possibly be from a side mirror of a truck. That’s one hell of a hit! Now, do I believe it definitely came from a side mirror? No, but I won’t rule it out either. There only seem to be two hits. A blow to the forehead and an impact, from the road, to the back of the head. Could he have been struck in the head and thrown out of a truck? That is possible.

Stephen’s shirt. This is a screenshot from a video on that YouTube channel and I apologize for the “line” going down the shirt. The screenshots from this video all have that line in them.

Here is the shirt Stephen was wearing. I note the blood stain on the collar of the shirt, which makes sense with the massive head wound. But due to the shirt being black, I cannot tell if there is blood anywhere else on the front of the shirt. The red arrows don’t indicate anything to me, other than the white lines on the shirt itself. If you look close, you can see possible blood on those white lines. That DOES NOT add up to the position of the body!

The front of Stephen’s shorts with what appear to be blood stains

Stephen’s shorts present some questions. I’m assuming these are blood stains but not 100% sure, of course. The upper left arrow looks like possible fingertip smudges. Could they be transferred and not from Stephen’s hands? With the type of wound he had, I wouldn’t think these came from his hands. The arrows on the right show areas of possible blood stains, but that wouldn’t exactly make sense either. If he was struck by a side mirror of a moving truck, how would those stains end up there? To me, these are possible transfer stains.

His shoes appear to be wet but I cannot tell. I notice the sand and still wonder, if he was struck by a truck, how they remained on his feet. I haven’t seen any socks so, here again, I’m presuming he just slipped his shoes on when leaving the water the day before he was found.

This shows blood drop and smear on front and side of shoe plus sand on top of the shoe

Alright, I’m no blood spatter expert and I’m damn sure not Dexter! Let’s just get that clear right now! But I see this and wonder how in the hell did a blood drop get right there. To me, that drop could only get in that spot from blood hitting a surface and casting off to where it landed, which still doesn’t add up to me. Or did this drop come from someone standing over Stephen? When I say standing over, I mean either from someone’s hand, face, arm, etc or from an object someone is holding. Think about it.

Sand in bottom right of picture and blood drop on front toe area of shoe

Here is the close up of that drop. There’s actually a few drops there but the one is clear in this shot. Think about the head wound and the position of the body. Think about where blood was at the scene. See why this drop stands out?

Close up of blood droplets on front toe of shoe

The close up shot of that area shows the droplets are rather circular and not splattered. Here again, I’m no expert but those droplets look like they fell straight down. I could be very wrong. If anyone has another theory please enlighten me. Maybe I’m just not considering a situation where these drops could end up here like they did.

This shows the sand on the bottom and side of his shoes. This is how his feet were positioned when he was found.

Before I talk about the sand and dirt, look at his left shoe. That is the shoe from the pictures above. Ask yourself how in the hell those blood drops got on the front toe of that shoe. Now, onto the sand and dirt. That appears to be sand to me, which makes plenty of sense. That area has tons of sand and him being at the water the day before totally adds up. What doesn’t add up to me is the fact that most of the sand remained on the bottom of his shoe, yet his car was approximately three miles away from his body. He walked three miles on pavement and all that sand stayed there? Nope. I’m not buying it. I can see the sand staying on top of the shoes but not on the bottom. I also checked the weather from that evening/early morning. It wasn’t raining and his time of death was one hour before being found. That sand is still there and for the main part, dry.

This is the “unknown substance” discussed in the video.

This “unknown substance” referred to in the video could be a few things. It could be wet sand, dirt or blood soaked sand or dirt. I’m not sure and that’s the analyst’s job. If it’s wet sand, I want to know how and wet with what. If it’s blood mixed with sand or dirt, I still want to know how. There wasn’t any blood at his feet at the scene. Regardless, the sample can be tested to tell where the sand or dirt came from as well. I’m interested in knowing that answer.

In looking at all the clothing, as a whole, it is rather odd that his clothes appear to be in good condition. By that, I mean, there’s no holes or road rash evidence on the clothing. If someone is hit by a vehicle or thrown from one as it’s moving, the body will skid across the roadway. Where is the evidence of that? There is no indication of road rash or torn clothing. I have seen the back of his shirt and pants as well. No markings to indicate being thrown or hit is on them.

Let’s deep dive down this insane rabbit hole, shall we? There seems to be 4 theories out there. Theory #1 is Buster Murdaugh. Theory #2 is Marc. Theory #3 is Connelly. Theory #4 is the escort service. I’ll go through all 4 with everything I’ve found so far.

Now, if you’ll remember at the beginning, I mentioned coming across this case while being nosy about the Murdaugh murders. I don’t watch the news much, but I know the Murdaugh family was in the news quite a bit due to the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh and the husband/father (Alex Murdaugh) being convicted for it. I initially wasn’t understanding the connection between this case and the Murdaugh name. I had to just read everything I could find. Apparently, there were rumors that went around about a possible romantic relationship between Stephen and the oldest Murdaugh son, Buster. I know at least three friends/acquaintances came forward saying they had knowledge of this relationship; Kayla, Issac and Cameron. I also want to add that I read an article that addressed a conversation with Stephen’s sister. She claimed that a classmate told her that Buster was in a vehicle that evening and that he struck Stephen in the head with a bat from a moving truck. I listened to a YouTube video that had audio recordings released by law enforcement talking to a number of Buster’s and Stephen’s classmates. They allegedly played baseball together. The recordings involved people by the names of Jessica Smith (Stephen’s sister), Brianna, Ben, Victoria, Angela and Xavier. Some heard that Buster did the crime. One heard “they”, meaning Buster and a couple friends, beat him and tossed him from a truck. Some were told of a relationship. Some were not aware of that rumor. Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were murdered June 7, 2021. SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) reopened Stephen’s case on June 23, 2021. Things that make ya go hmmm! This adds so many puzzle pieces to the already insane case of Stephen Smith!

The Murdaugh family – L to R: Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex

Google Earth image showing Murdaugh property and location of Stephen’s body

via TMZ showing the exhumation of Stephen’s body on 3/31/23

#1 First off, let me go back a bit to the morning Stephen’s body was found, because two specific events were such red flags that I immediately got that hair-raising, goose bumps feeling. I’ve learned enough about this family to know that when something goes wrong, phone calls are immediately made to Alex, Randy and/or their father. At 0930, that morning, Alex and Randy showed up at the scene of Stephen’s body. They were both let behind the crime scene tape by Hampton County Sheriff’s Office, according to a few articles I read. Why??? How did they know? Why would they be there at all? Why would law enforcement let them into the crime scene? How did they find out? I mean, shit, they knew BEFORE Stephen’s parents were even notified! Stephen’s mom, Sandy, saw both Murdaugh brothers at the scene that morning as she and her other children drove past the scene heading to the funeral home. Randy actually called her immediately and said, “Was that you that just passed by? I wish you would’ve stopped so I could’ve met you.” He was also seen at the scene the following day with investigators. Did someone make a call to daddy between 3-3:30 am? Mr. Smith, sadly passed away three months after his son, said the second call he received that morning was odd. According to Mr. Smith, Randy Murdaugh was the second person to call him right after he spoke with the coroner. Randy offered to take Stephen’s case pro bono. What the hell?! By the way, he ditched the case soon after! He’s also suing his brother, Alex, for thousands in unpaid loans!

Buster Murdaugh seems to have been brought up numerous times in the beginning of Stephen’s case. In fact, the original case file mentions Buster and the name Murdaugh dozens of times. He never spoke to Highway Patrol investigators or the public until two weeks after his father’s murder convictions. That’s when he told the public his alibi and he denied having any involvement in Stephen’s death. Buster says on the night of Stephen’s murder he was at the family’s Edisto beach house with his mom and brother, Maggie and Paul. That’s a little inconvenient, since his mom and brother are no longer here to verify that alibi.

Remember when I mentioned that Stephen’s mom said he talked with her on July 1, 2015, a week before his death, and said he was going on a deep sea fishing trip with “someone prominent”? Could he have meant Buster or was he referring to someone else? Did he even go on a fishing trip? I have no idea and haven’t seen anything about that week and fishing. His phone would definitely show whether that happened or not.

During SLED’s investigation into Maggie and Paul’s murders, they must have found something VERY IMPORTANT if they opened their own investigation into Stephen’s murder. What could they have found? I’ve read that people may have come forward about the rumored relationship between Buster and Stephen, now that the Murdaugh family has fallen and doesn’t scare the public as much as they did in the past. People around the area have spoken in the past about it being “Murdaugh Country” there and that you don’t want to go against that family. I’ve also read that people think Stephen’s phone and tablet hold key information that possibly links him to Buster. Either way, I have been doing this a long time and I can tell you that people ALWAYS talk and usually at least 3-5 people know the truth.

Here is a picture of an interview between Buster and a SLED detective after the murders of his mom and brother. He’s in the passenger seat of the SUV answering questions about the incident when he’s directly asked about Stephen and the rumors that he was involved. He’s looking out the window, drops his head and does this before answering.

Buster looking into camera and hesitating before answering SLED about Stephen

Now, doesn’t that seem odd? Last thing I’ll add about this family for a bit is the ruthlessness I’ve read about. The men in this family seem rough. One video discusses when Randolph Murdaugh’s wife, Libby, was going to leave him he posted an actual obituary for her in the Low Country paper. She ended up staying with him after that incident. Doesn’t that scream WTF?!

Speaking of Stephen’s phone, Sandy Smith, his mom, asked the FBI to crack into his phone in 2016. According to her, one agent told her there was a lot of information that needed to be looked into. Right after that, all progress stopped. Sandy says, “There’s something on that phone that nobody wants out there.” Lawyers agree with her on that statement. Since then, his phone and tablet have been investigated so let’s hope they help solve this!

Rumors have been told that Buster and friends were driving around that night and that he struck Stephen in the head with a bat. Now, Dr. Michelle DuPre, a retired investigator and forensic pathologist, thinks Stephen died from a single blow to the head and died where he was found. Dr. Kenny Kinsey states, “Whatever hit him was fast and it was large.” With a dislocated right shoulder, broken right eye socket and 7.25 inch forehead/head wound, what could’ve caused that from a moving vehicle? Doctors don’t believe it was a bat or tire iron. How about a shovel?

#2 The second theory involves a man named Marc Bickhardt. According to Jessica Smith, Stephen’s sister, this man showed up at Stephen’s wake claiming to be his boyfriend. He made a quick call, in front of Jessica, and said, “Yea, Stephen’s dead.” and just hung up the phone. He asked what happened to Stephen and Jessica told him it was a hit and run. He disagreed and said he was beaten to death. He asked if Stephen was sexually assaulted and then left. The family was taken back and confused. Hell, me too! Law enforcement met him at his home to ask him some questions. I have listened to the audio. He was in his late 40s and stated he was on a medication, which I found out is used for bipolar and schizophrenia. He talked kind of crazy, in my opinion. He said he met Stephen a year prior when he was 18. Marc said they spoke and texted the night Stephen died. He said, while they were on the phone, he could hear trucks going by and dogs barking. He asked him if he was walking and Stephen said no. He said the last call was at 3 and the last text was at 0337.

Jessica says that Marc claimed he and Stephen got into an argument about a 22 year old man and that Marc showed her pictures of the man. She said the person in the picture appeared to be 13 years old! She doesn’t believe he knew her brother as long as he claimed. And with that, I present you with this screen shot of his Facebook status change. It says May of 2015 but the status change was actually made on June 22, 2015, 16 days before Stephen’s murder. And remember, Stephen’s mom and sister said he was acting different about two weeks before he was killed. Was it because of this man or the “prominent man” he spoke of?

I have a few screenshots of messages, from a month after Stephen’s death, between Marc and the aunt of a child he had been messaging. I’ve chosen not to put those here but she’s extremely upset at Marc for messaging her nephew. She orders him to stop, reminds him of the boy’s age and threatens action if he doesn’t stop. Marc is pretty much rude and denies all she says. He just seems gross and creepy!

#3 In talking with law enforcement, Marc also brings up a possible explanation and motive for his murder. That leads to the third theory and I’ll get to that now. Marc tells LE about an escort service via Craigslist that Stephen was participating in. Believe it or not, Stephen’s sister confirms this. Stephen was using the escort service as a way to make money. Marc said when Stephen came over Saturday, which would’ve been July 4, he said that Marc was gonna have to get waxed. Marc said he told him he wasn’t comfortable with that and they are boyfriend and boyfriend. This makes no sense to me! And I also want to add that on July 4, according to what Stephen told him mom, he was at/on the ocean with the prominent guy. Back to the escort thing. Sandy found a pass to a gated community on Hilton Head in his car. LE reached out to the man that Stephen met up with. He claimed that on June 28th he texted Stephen, due to the Craigslist ad, and that Stephen came over. He insists no money was exchanged. This proves he was actively meeting men through the ads but doesn’t prove it lead to his murder. I have to say that SLED opening a case file on Stephen’s murder, while investigating the Murdaugh murders, poses the possibility that a Murdaugh man could have contacted him via one of those ads.

#4 I found out a tip came in about 5 months after Stephen’s murder. Darrell Williams claims his step-son, Patrick Wilson, told him some interesting information about the Smith case. Patrick claimed a buddy of his, Shawn Connelly, confessed to hitting someone on accident with his truck. He said Mr. Connelly told him that he accidentally struck something with the side mirror of his truck and when he finally went back to see what it was, there was law enforcement everywhere. That’s how he knew he had hit Stephen Smith. Now, I’ll admit, that’s quite unsettling. Could it be true? Sure. But I haven’t found where the tip panned out. I haven’t seen where LE has anything concrete on that story. After some more digging I found more information on this. Wilson and Connelly were originally on the radar. Both were teenagers at the time and lived a few miles from where Stephen was found. I’m not sure which one contacted the other, but Williams verified that Randy Murdaugh told him to send in the “tip”. Randy, as many of you know, is Alex Murdaugh’s brother. It makes one wonder what scheme he was up to. According to FitsNews, Wilson was facing felony charges that were dropped shortly thereafter. Within a year of Stephen’s murder, Randy also filed two motor vehicle lawsuits against Connelly on behalf of clients. Both cases ended up being dismissed by judges who were friends of the Murdaugh family. Sounds kind of convenient, huh? This isn’t the only tip at the time though. Wanna know something crazy? On December 7, 2015, a tip is called in naming Buster and two of his friends as having involvement. I’ve heard audio of LE making contact with one of the friends and asking questions. Now, two days later on December 9, 2015, Mr. Williams calls in his tip as ordered by Randy Murdaugh. Is your head spinning yet? Mine definitely is! Did the Murdaugh men get wind of the tip about Buster and proceed to get Williams to call in that “tip”?

A post made by Shawn showing the tag #mcmillanfarms. McMillan Farms was not far from where Stephen was found and his grandfather owns the farm.

The distance is awful convenient, I think. Was the heat too hot for the Murdaugh family? Could this “tip” really be worthwhile and end up the slam dunk of this case? I’ll let ya’ll be the judge.

Well, there you have it! I’ll add more at a later date if I come across other things. Stephen’s murder, on the outside, looks like it would be easily solved. Looking inside, it’s a web of hell! Do I have a rock solid opinion of what happened and who did it? No. I will say I’m hoping more people come forward with what they know now that the Murdaugh “hold” on that county seems to have lost it’s grip. I’m hoping Stephen’s phone and tablet give much needed insight into what happened. I hope all questions can be answered as well! I’ll list some of the questions and see what you think. As always, thank you for reading and please visit again!

Was Stephen killed in that spot on the roadway or put there?
What object hit him that caused those injuries?
Who hit him and why?
Did he walk that 3 miles from his car or was he picked up?
How did blood get on his clothes and shoes the way it did?
Why didn’t he just call his sister?
What do the phone and tablet show?
Where was he, if not walking, during the time he left his car?
Why was his wallet in his car and in the that particular spot?
Why was his car pulled up on the grass near the woods and not on the paved spot?
Who do those tire tracks belong to?
Why was the gas cap off?
Was the driver’s seat moved at all?
Was the car actually out of gas?
How did he end up in the middle of the road?
What was on the bottom of his shoes?
Where was Buster that night?
How did the Murdaugh men (Alex and Randy) find out about Stephen so quick?
Why were they at the scene?
Why did Randy call both parents?
Why did Randy order Williams to call in the tip?
Did Buster have any involvement?
Where was Stephen that week?
Did he go fishing?
Was he with the “prominent man”?
Did he have a relationship with Buster or any Murdaugh men?
Was Marc just a fan of Stephen or was there more there?
Does the escort service have anything to do with his murder?
Could the Connelly tip be real?

Cindy Lynch Mystery

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Life and Lemons

Cindy Lynch, by all accounts, was an absolute wonderful woman. She was a hard worker and owned the Bangles Salon located in Swainsboro, GA. She was a terrific mother, loving friend and all-around beautiful human being. She was living on a yacht in Thunderbolt, GA with her husband, Chet, at the Thunderbolt Marina. She seemed to have it all going for her, but on the evening of January 17, 2005 things changed dramatically.

Cindy had a troubled marriage and confided as much to her close friends and family. She had also made statements expressing concern about her future. Cindy spoke of the ghastly feeling that something horrible was going to happen to her. What was going on behind closed doors to make her feel this way? Why was she so fearful? Her husband made a point to bring up her drinking on multiple occasions after her blood alcohol level was released. But did anyone question why she may have been drinking that night or why she even drank at all? I’m not saying she had an alcohol problem. I honestly don’t believe she had a problem; I believe she needed an escape from the hell she was living in. Let’s see what unfolded on that last evening.

On the evening of January 17, 2005, Cindy spent most of the evening on the phone. Here is the timeline I have and then we will discuss them.

6-8pm~Chet claims to have been on the phone with Connie, Cindy’s sister. 8:00pm~Cindy spoke with her sister, Connie, briefly. 8:15-8:45pm~Cindy and Chet had an argument. 9-9:45pm~Cindy made calls to her work colleague. 9:30pm~Chet claims he laid down. 10:10pm~Chet claims to have gone upstairs for water, close the door and go back to the bedroom. 9:55-11:18pm~Cindy was on an 83 minute call to a neighbor at the marina. 11:30pm~Security guard, at the marina, saw Cindy in the parking lot and Chet claims to have called her saying he was ready to go to bed. 1:00pm (the following day)~Chet reports Cindy missing.

Ok, so from 6-8pm, Chet was possibly on the phone with Connie. I haven’t personally spoken to Connie about that call so I’m not 100% sure what was said, but Chet has said he spoke of their marriage and their troubles. I will admit, it’s a little odd to me that he and her spoke that long about a subject that is normally between sisters. But I also have to add it’s understandable as well. Perhaps Connie was trying to mediate between them and help find a solution. Perhaps Chet was just venting and she was being a sweet sister-in-law. It’s totally possible.

Sometime between 8:00-8:15pm Cindy spoke with Connie about some rodeo tickets. At least, that’s what I was told…

The 8:15-8:45pm argument is key, in my opinion. I know all my questions and thoughts are speculation but one has to wonder all possible scenarios due to the tragedy that unfolded later that night. What did they argue about? Could he have been angered by something Connie said? Did she let something slip that Cindy told her? Did one or both of them accuse the other of something? Did they discuss divorce? Whatever was said and/or done in that 45 minutes led Cindy to leave the yacht and spend the rest of the evening away from it.

9-9:45pm Cindy made a call to her colleague. Here again, I haven’t personally spoken with neither the colleague nor her sister about the calls. (If either one of you are reading please feel free to reach out and clarify the calls and I’ll update this post for accuracy!) I’ve been told Cindy and her colleague spoke about an appointment that had been set for the following day. I was also informed that she had spoken earlier with Connie about personal issues within her marriage but I’m not sure if it was a call earlier that particular day. I don’t think the two spoke for 45 minutes but I’ll hopefully find out soon.

9:30pm and 10:10pm are questionable to me but…anyway, Chet claims to lay down at 9:30pm and get up at 10:10pm. He says he went upstairs to get a drink of water and noticed the door cracked open. He claims that he didn’t see Cindy so he shut the door, went back to the bedroom, talked on the phone and watched tv. This makes NO SENSE to me at all! The door is open and he didn’t look for his wife or call out for her? Why didn’t he go outside to find her? Why didn’t he call her right then? Who did he talk to when he went back downstairs? Did he really close that door and go back to the bedroom or did he go find Cindy? Could he have spied on her? Did he hear her conversation with her neighbor? There’s tons of possibilities here. One thing I know for sure….people always talk! I hope someone comes forward and tells what they know about that night.

At 11:18pm Cindy ends the phone call with her neighbor, Sam Phillis. I’m not sure his name is spelled correctly and I haven’t been able to locate him yet, but I’d love to know what they discussed. I’ve been told her colleague called twice during that call and I’m hoping to find out what Cindy said and how her tone was. But Sam, at the time, didn’t seem too honest about that phone call. I believe he told Cindy’s daughter he didn’t speak with her. I also think he claimed to have only spoken to Cindy for a few minutes and the laid the phone down. That makes zero sense and sounds like complete lie. Why lie? What was he hiding? Did he do anything wrong? Did he witness something? Why did they speak on the phone for 83 minutes and not in person? Was he on his yacht that night? Did they talk in person and just keep the call connected? There’s too many unanswered questions during that call!

At 11:30pm Chet says he called Cindy to ask what she was doing and say he was ready to go to bed. He says she told him that she took out the trash and was loading things into her car. Now explain to me how it took her that damn long to do those two things? Naw, she was staying away from him, in my opinion. There was a security guard who said he saw her in the parking lot at that time too. Now I haven’t heard any statements regarding anything negative or out of sorts about the guard seeing her. As far as I know, he never said she was acting strange. This is the last time anyone claims to have seen her.

January 18, 2005 at 1:00pm~ Chet reports his wife missing. Now why did it take him so long to report her missing? I don’t know. I have lots of thoughts and questions but I just don’t know. That day and the days that followed are so questionable to me. There’s things that simply don’t add up, make sense or leave you wondering how far down the rabbit hole this goes.

During the search for Cindy, Chet made a call in reference to Cindy’s son needing to “come down quick because this wasn’t going to end good.” Many have questioned why he would make such a statement. Was it made because he already knew the outcome or was he simply assuming the worst because his wife had been gone that long with no contact? Chet also referred to her in the past tense during that first two weeks which left Cindy’s family wondering why he’d use that tense before she was even found. He also had his lawyer with him constantly from the beginning. That makes me wonder. Everyone knows that a spouse is always looked at first in situations like this and they’re constantly watched for changes in behavior and such. Having a lawyer present during a time like that, before the missing person has even been located, looks suspicious to many. I forgot to add that his daughter, Stacie, also referred to Cindy in the past tense before she was found. I know some say slips like that mean nothing, and maybe it doesn’t, but every detail matters in cases of missing and/or murdered.

A reader on a community board posted this comment the day she was found. There seemed to have been quite a few people that believed Chet was involved.

A quote from Chet’s daughter during an interview.

The search for Cindy lasted two weeks. No personal items, like purse or cell phone, were found during that time. The water was searched, nearby areas searched and her car was given a look. At 7:40pm on January 31, 2005, two weeks after being last seen, Cindy Lynch was pulled from the Wilmington River. Fred Beason, of the Bottom Line Echo Company, spotted Cindy. She was 35 feet from her own yacht…

35 FEET FOLKS! After two weeks of “searching”, she was found 35 feet from her own damn yacht! Can anyone riddle me that shit?! I’m sorry but it’s insanely questionable that she was that close plus all the other actions and words of certain people during those 2 weeks! Let me show you the area and you tell me your thoughts.

Im hoping I have this labeled correct. This is the google earth image of the marina and where law enforcement think she fell into the water.

Do I believe she fell into the water in a drunken stupor? NOPE! Even if she did, everyone I’ve spoken with (and myself) believe she could’ve made it back to the dock, even though Detective Bill Buttersworth stated her blood alcohol level was .30. I have issues with blood alcohol content measured 2 weeks after death and a body submerged in water. No, I’m not a doctor. But I know factors play a role in decomposition and a possible increase of alcohol in the tissues.

Regardless, the security guard heard nothing; no splashes, no yelling for help, nothing. There were reports of cuts and gashes to her hands and face. Now could that have happen in the water, I guess so. But it’s also possible those injuries happened prior to her going in the water as well. And how did she remain in the water for two weeks without being detected, being THAT CLOSE TO HER OWN YACHT???

In closing out this post, I obviously have more questions than answers. What happened to make Cindy fear for her life? What did she and her husband argue about that evening? Why didn’t he look for her sooner? Why did her neighbor lie and where the hell is he? How was she not found sooner? Why did her husband and step-daughter refer to her in the past tense? Why was Chet’s lawyer right there from the beginning? What did she and Sam, her neighbor, talk about? Was Chet on the yacht the whole time that night? Was there any video surveillance of the parking lot and dock? Anyway, dive in and let me know your thoughts. As always, if you know something please come forward! I’ll keep you anonymous. The case is officially closed and needs something drastic to come up to reopen it. I’ll stay on the case until her family gets actual answers! Thank y’all for reading and please let me know your thoughts!

The Murder of Vann Brown

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Life and Lemons

Vann Brown was senselessly murdered at the age of 39 while attending a wedding and reception on Dec 31, 2019/Jan 1, 2020. The event was held at 1200 Woodrow Harper Rd in Ambrose, GA, which is the home of Jeffrey Harper. The cause of death is said to be asphyxiation resulting from multiple blunt force trauma. You may ask yourself, how does a wedding reception end with a murder and you wouldn’t be alone asking such a question. Weddings are supposed to be blissful and full of smiles and laughter. This one, however, turned ugly with lots of anger, intoxication and murder.

Due to the current trials of this case, the information I’ve received from eyewitnesses won’t be on this post, either at all or in their entirety. I do not want to compromise the trials and am hopeful justice will be served. After verdicts are rendered I’ll do an additional post to include everything I have. Please understand that I just want justice for Vann and have no intention of dangling anything over anyone’s head. With that being said, let’s get to it!

Vann was attending the reception of Travis and Sara Heidenreich. At some point, after midnight, Vann was supposedly ordered to leave the event. Evidence during Justin Anderson’s trial, an interview video of Justin and GBI Agent Seacrist, shows Justin saying that Kelli Harper, Jeffrey’s wife, was yelling for people to get Vann off her property. He stated that she was accusing Vann of groping girls and even flirting with her. Justin claimed that he, Jason Anderson and Cam Coffee escorted Vann up the hill some 200 yards to his truck. Within a short amount of time, Jeffrey Harper and others were storming towards Vann. Cam Coffee testified that Vann argued back with Jeffrey Harper and Morgan Lewis about halfway to his truck. Coffee claims that when Vann reached his truck he cussed and was reaching for his gun. He then threw Vann to the ground, causing an injury to himself that rendered him unable to walk at the time.

Now, I have to throw my two cents in here! No one I’ve spoken with has mentioned Vann being inappropriate at all during that evening. In fact, most people have mentioned the lack of clothing worn by the young women, the way those women were acting and the amount of alcohol Jeffrey Harper and several other men had consumed since around noon that day. How much and which statements are true? Decide for yourself. Here are a couple of still shots taken from the wedding video that is posted on YouTube and a picture retrieved off social media.

Vann Brown looking confused, in my opinion. It’s almost like he’s being accused of something. The woman he’s looking at resembles Kelli Harper, but I don’t know that for sure.

A still shot from the wedding video on YouTube. Vann is talking to a gentleman that I was told is possibly JP Harper. Again, I’m not 100% sure who Vann is speaking with.

Another still shot from the wedding video. A few watch as he walks away. Why? I have no idea. It just struck me as odd.

And another still shot. The guy in the white ball cap seems to be talking with someone as Vann looks on. I was told the woman standing next to Vann is Kelli Harper, but I honestly don’t know for sure.

Ok, so let’s get back to Vann being on the ground. According to the testimony of Annsley Coffee, someone came to the reception tent saying someone had been shot, possibly Cam Coffee. Naturally, she took off toward the scene. She said, upon arriving, Vann was on his back with Jeffrey Harper sitting on his torso. She also stated that Justin Anderson was holding Vann’s left arm down and Jason Anderson was holding his right arm down. There were, to her, two unknown men holding down Vann’s legs. As she got closer to Vann, she ordered everyone off him. She pushed Jeffrey Harper out of the way and knew immediately that Vann was dead. She claimed his pupils were dilated, no pulse and was blue in color. There was blood all around his head and Matt Lewis was carrying a bent baton.

Two cents time again! I’ve got to be careful here because I’ve been told and shown a great deal that gives me a pretty narrowed down timeline of these events. And if it hasn’t been released publicly, I don’t want to risk anything delaying or sabotaging the trials. Everyone knows Vann was short. Most of the men that have been arrested tower over him. Vann never got his hands on a gun. Never! Previous testimony proves that and Daniel Anderson, supposedly, got Vann’s gun and put it in his truck. Law enforcement retrieved it from his truck that night. (EDIT: It has been brought to my attention that I made a mistake! No excuse for it. I should’ve double checked facts! There was a gun retrieved from Daniel’s truck, but Kelli Harper actually turned over Vann’s gun to law enforcement.)So, with NO WEAPON, the assumed intention to leave the property and his size…it took 5 men to hold Vann down, beat him and ultimately cause his death??? “Excessive” doesn’t even begin to describe this horrible crime. And the bent baton?? Vann had two wounds to the top of his head caused by the baton. Matt Lewis testified that Justin Anderson told him to get rid of the baton. He took it to the woods and hid it under some pine straw. The following day Matt told law enforcement about the baton and what he did with it. So again, it took all these men to do this and claiming they only acted because he had a gun, that he in fact NEVER HAD? I just don’t buy it. I can’t. There’s more to it. There’s rumors going around and I have to tell ya, a couple of them kinda add up.

Matt Lewis plead guilty for hiding the baton. Charges were dropped on Jay Turk, which I don’t agree with. Justin Anderson was found not guilty of murder and aggravated assault and guilty of making false statements and tampering with evidence. I don’t agree with that verdict either!

Above are the mugshots of those arrested initially. Now, 911 was called at 12:50am. It was too late. Vann had already succumbed to the brutal hell he was put through in that short span of time. I don’t have much that I can share about the time after law enforcement arrived on scene except there seems to be a chunk of time the accused had to themselves instead of being hauled in immediately. I don’t think this was handled 100% professionally due to Harper’s name, his money and that good ol’ boy system. I think some people were held there until around 5am or so, including Vann’s body. But I have to say, the new development and arrest of Joey Anderson, the father of Justin and Jason, has eased my worries some. Mr Anderson attempted to tamper with the jury in his son’s trial.

The wedding video. Feel free to watch and pause frequently during the reception to look at everyone. Some things look odd…

I believe Jason Anderson’s trial is set for July 31st and Jeffrey Harper’s is set for August 29. I honestly hope for justice for Vann and his friends and family. They’ve been through hell and deserve closure.

At the end of the day, I’m glad there have been arrests made and trials underway. I just still think there’s more to this than Vann being accused of flirting and told to leave, tempers flared and tragedy unfolded. I wonder if there was something beforehand that happened and caused hostility. I’ll be sure to add an additional post in the future. And remember, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. I’ve made no remarks about who I think is responsible for anything. I just stated that it doesn’t add up to me, I don’t agree wholeheartedly with dropped charges and the last verdict and I don’t understand it taking that many men to subdue one individual.

Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to speak with me. I really appreciate your help and dedication to Vann and his family.

Terry “Bubba” Rewis Case Update

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Life and Lemons

Trying to find those responsible for Terry’s murder has been quite a journey. There is now an updated timeline, that I will include below, plus several pieces of crucial information given by witnesses that have come forward. As always, those who have shared their information and given statements will remain completely anonymous. I will also include information about certain aspects that show that this is indeed a homicide case.

Updated timeline of Terry’s final hours

~April 20, 2002 @ 12:30-1:30pm- Terry, along with James Kirby, stops to clean up, change clothes and head to the Redbreast Festival.

~2:00pm- They arrive at the festival and Terry meets up with his girlfriend. Kirby’s girlfriend wasn’t feeling well and had a headache. She chose to stay in the truck while the two guys went into the festival. Throughout the day, Terry went to check on her and see if she wanted to join them or get something to drink or eat.

~5:30pm- Terry’s girlfriend leaves the festival to go to work. She has verified that Terry had his cellphone, backpack, wallet and gold cross necklace in his possession.

~8:30pm- Terry calls Jessica Taylor to confirm their plans after the festival.

~9-9:30pm- Terry and James Kirby fight. The fight was supposedly over two things: Kirby owed Terry money for work and had not been paying him and the fact the Kirby’s gf had stayed in the truck at the festival but Kirby was flirting with women instead of being with her and/or taking her home. Several witnesses have come forward about seeing the fight and corroborate the fact that both gentlemen were asked to the leave the festival. Law enforcement was called and did make an appearance due to the fight. Terry begins walking down Hwy 56 at this time. I’ve asked people in attendance what Terry’s appearance was when he left. Were his knuckles bruised and/or bloody? Were there any abrasions to his face? Was he bleeding anywhere? Were his clothes torn? Everyone claims the fight didn’t last long and that neither man had any real injuries.

~10:00pm- Kirby’s girlfriend, at the time, says they got to her mother’s place of residence. She says Kirby was drunk and angry about the fight. He told her that he was going out and not to wait up for him.

~10:30-10:45pm- Witnesses see Terry walking near the little country store on Hwy 56 in Summertown. I spoke with 2 of the 4 people that saw him at this time. Both said he was walking, as he always did, and seemed fine. They regretted not being able to give him a ride but they simply had no room in the car.

~11:00-11:30pm- Terry is allegedly picked up by a few men in a pickup truck. A fight begins, with Terry being outnumbered, and lasts for a couple miles in the back of the truck. Finally, as Terry is fighting with every ounce of his being, someone made the decision to throw him over the side of the truck as it is speeding down the highway. Someone backs up over Terry, while his belongings are collected, and then speeds forward, possibly striking him again. Several people have provided the same story over these last few years. There have even been a couple of family members, of those allegedly involved, that have shared the same story. What also bothers me here is the time. If he died before midnight, which makes sense due to the so-called friend telling his mom and others, where was Terry’s body during those 7-7 1/2 hours? In all those hours, not one person saw a body in the middle of 56? Was he there the whole time or was he put there later on?

April 21, 2002 @ 12 midnight- The childhood friend of Terry goes home crying to his mom about what has happened. He spends his time panicking and making phone calls about Terry’s death. This was reported to law enforcement multiple times that week! How did he know Terry was dead? Who told him? Could he have been a witness? Why didn’t he call 911? Why wasn’t he brought in for questioning? And yes, I’ve spoken with both of them.

~approximately 1am- Terry’s sister, Jeannie, receives a phone call at work. The caller is none other than the mother of Terry’s childhood friend. She asks Jeannie if she had heard from Bubba or knows where he is. Jeannie told her she hadn’t heard from him but knew he went to the festival. The woman said nothing more and hung up. Why did she not inform Jeannie? Why didn’t she just tell her what she had been told?

~1:30am- Terry’s girlfriend is informed of his death and picked up from work. She is told nothing other than “Bubba was in an accident and has died”. This was confirmed by his girlfriend as well. She was told by her father, who had just received a call from his ex wife letting him know the news. Was she ever asked to give a statement? Did law enforcement ever speak with her about the events of that day plus the events leading up to that day?

~3:00am- The guy who claims to have been so close to Rewis being his childhood friend calls Jessica Taylor. He informs her that Terry has been in an accident and has passed away. Jessica begins making phone calls to hospitals and such trying to find Terry to validate the shocking news. She found no information. She reported this to the Emanuel County Sheriff’s Office multiple times and attempted to give her statement a few times. One detective finally took her written statement. Why wasn’t she asked to give a formal statement from the get go? Didn’t law enforcement wonder how the person that called her knew hours before his body was even found?

~6:30am- Terry’s body is finally discovered (7-7 1/2 hours AFTER his death). Two hunters come upon Terry’s body in the middle of Hwy 56 and call 911. One of these men spoke up and disagreed when he heard it was listed as an “accidental” hit and run.

~6:52am- Terry is pronounced dead at the scene. One of Terry’s friends went to view and identify his body. He claims there were clear injuries proving that Terry had been in a bad fight. He said his knuckles were busted up as well.

~9:30am- The first family member (Terry’s sister, Jeannie) is informed of his death. So that one guy who made calls to inform others of Terry’s death must’ve forgotten to call Terry’s actual family. Does that make sense to anyone?

~10:00am- Kirby’s girlfriend, at the time, received a phone call at her mom’s. The caller asked to speak to Kirby. She woke him up (doesn’t know what time he actually came back home though) and told him that he had a phone call. When Kirby hung up the phone he said that it was Tyson Stephens (the sheriff at the time and has since passed away) on the phone. He claimed that Stephens informed him of Rewis’ death and that he was asked about Rewis’ wallet, what it looked like and that he was needed to identify the body. What the hell?!? That makes zero sense! The woman said she was shocked and immediately questioned him about what happened last night. Given no answer and feeling uneasy, she went into town driving Kirby’s truck. At the gas station she saw a deputy that seemed to take interest in the truck. She said he walked over and began looking at the truck as he circled it entirely. He even bent down at the front of the truck to examine a large dent. The deputy said nothing and proceeded to walk back to his car. I looked into this and found out that the lead investigator did ask Kirby about the dent but Kirby claimed he had hit a deer 2 days prior to Rewis’ death. Why wasn’t the truck processed? Why weren’t local mechanic shops immediately checked? People were already talking, willing to make statements and answer questions. Why wasn’t this looked into more?

~The day of the service- There have been multiple reports of a black dodge at the funeral home that day. A man with short black hair, mustache and goatee sat in his truck and stared at the funeral home and several of Terry’s friends as they gathered outside to talk. When several of the guys got frustrated, they yelled at the man and headed over to his truck to ask what he was doing there. The man fled the area as fast as he could. Who was this man? What was the reason for staring and not attending the service? Why speed away instead of having a conversation? Why didn’t law enforcement try to find the truck owner? They were told by quite a few people that were there that day.

~Over the next 2 weeks- A couple of Terry’s friends worked at the peanut plant at the time. They began receiving threatening phone calls. The caller would state things like, “You’re next!” and “Stop poking around and asking questions or you’ll end up just like Bubba!” One particular night, a friend was getting off work at the plant and got another call. The caller made threats and the line went dead. About two minutes after leaving the plant a white truck sped up behind him and ran him off the road. Again, who was the driver/caller? Why did they not want Terry’s friends asking questions about his death? What was he so afraid of?

Here is a map to provide you with a better visual than what was in the last post. My drawing skills are horrible, so I figured this time it would be better to actually print out a map and add pins so you could get a better idea of where this happened and the short distance covered during this tragedy.

The top point shows the location of the Redbreast Festival. The middle point shows the location of the country store where Terry was last seen alive. The bottom point shows where Terry’s body was found.

Points to prove this was a malicious crime and should be investigated:

It seems that more than just a handful of people possibly knew about the fight with Terry or have information about that night. This investigation has been a flop and no one has been named as a person of interest/suspect or been brought in for questioning in all these years. I’d also like to point out that Jessica Taylor not only called the Sheriff’s Department several times, but she also gave her statement only to have it thrown away instead of being filed and investigated.

1. The childhood friend seems to have major jealousy issues. He allegedly had a problem with the relationship that Terry and Jessica had. He’s been arrested several times in the past and just can’t seem to get it together. He has actually been spoken to about Terry’s death and came up with a whopping 3 lies in less than 5 minutes! The last thing he wanted to say about Terry’s case was, “Just let the damn dead stay dead, in the ground and gone.” Sound likes a lovely person huh?

2. The assault and conversation in the months preceding Terry’s death- As you may recall from the first post, Terry was assaulted a few months before he died. He was walking to his sister’s house when someone pulled up along side him and threw a bottle that caused a severe laceration to his head. As he was being tended to, Terry told his sister about the possibility of people coming after him and killing him. He wanted her to know that whatever happens would NOT be an accident. I wonder if the man that threw the bottle was the same one that remained at the funeral home for almost an hour staring.

3. Terry’s “final goodbye” to his friends- The weekend before his murder was a somber time. Terry spent an evening expressing his gratitude to his friends for always being there for him and making him feel loved. He wanted them to know they were important to him and that he cherished his time with them. I firmly believe that he knew something bad was going to take place soon. He had to have an idea of the tragedy waiting around the corner.

4. The updated timeline- The new timeline has much more information and fills in the time throughout that final night. The childhood friend still plays a huge role. The fact that he knew Terry was deceased and began telling people immediately puts him right in the middle of this. He actually began telling people 6-6 1/2 hours before Terry’s body was even found! Was Terry’s body in the roadway that whole time or was he thrown there sometime in the early morning hours?

5. The missing items- Terry always had his cellphone, backpack, wallet and gold cross necklace with him. These items were missing from the crime scene. Now, riddle me this…how many times have you heard of a hit and run happening where the driver stops their vehicle, backs up and collects items off the deceased? Go ahead, I’ll wait……… Yea, I’ve never heard of it either. This wasn’t just some hit and run. Someone didn’t accidentally hit Terry Rewis, stop his/her car and steal items off his dead body. Hit and run offenders hit someone and take off immediately. This was a deliberate act and those involved took these items before leaving the scene. They thought he had money in the backpack, wanted to remove anything that may contain evidence from the fight and figured the cellphone would have incriminating calls or text messages. Oh! And where is his wallet that has a specific sticker on it?

6. The several people that desperately need to be questioned + witness statements- Throughout the course of this case, I’ve gathered tons of notes and statements that show people have knowledge of this incident and have information in Terry’s death. And another thing that bothers me is the fact that some individuals close to them have known all these years and never came forward to do the right thing.

7. One man has gotten a little worried and antsy now that his possible knowledge has been brought out in the open. He has called Terry’s sister, Jeannie, just to let her know he’s around. He and another convict even tried the tactic of calling Jeannie with an elaborate story to attempt to make her throw in the towel. I guess when the going gets tough the cowards try and scare others into silence. He sure backed off when I told him where he was located, living in a tent!

8. The fact that this case didn’t seem properly investigated to begin with is a red flag to me. Certain people that have certain last names or reputations seem to rotate back pockets in southern small towns. This is one of the reasons the phrase, “Good ol’ Boy’s Club” exists. When cases like this go unsolved/ignored for so long people start to ask who knew who, who was rumored to be involved or have information and who owes who a favor. The people in the community start to lose faith and trust in their local law enforcement and that’s not good. The community should feel comfortable and safe knowing their LE will help find the answers/truth and bring closure/justice. I sincerely hope this sheriff’s office digs in and helps this family.

9. The autopsy report. The scene. He was in the middle of the road, nothing on the sides of the road. There were no belongings or blood on the side of the road, to my knowledge. The list of injuries to his body is horrendous. Just take a look for yourself and see if you think this was an accident or a deliberate act.

The above picture is the inventory sheet listing what was released to the family and what was kept as evidence. Notice there is no wallet, cell phone, green backpack with the contents or gold cross necklace. I also want you to know that the evidence kept is still in a box at the sheriff’s department and it’s never been processed/tested. Can you believe it??? Rewis’ sister was told about the box at the department and laid eyes on the box.

As we just hit the 23rd year of this wicked act, I hope all the knowledge gained in this case will soon bring complete closure to Terry’s family. I had the pleasure,years ago, of speaking with Terry’s mother. She was still suffering and yearns for the day those responsible will be put behind bars and her son is finally set free.

As always, please feel free to call or message with any information you may have related to Terry’s murder. I can promise that you will stay anonymous.

To those responsible: I can also make you a promise. I promise that your day is coming. I refuse to give up and let you continue living outside those steel bars.

Here’s a petition that Jeannie started for all unsolved cases. Feel free to check it out and sign. http://www.change.org/p/increase-attention-on-unsolved-missing-and-murdered-cases-in-georgia

Terry “Bubba” Rewis

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Life and Lemons

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

Terry Rewis…How does one even begin to describe him? Are there even enough words to make people understand the simple, yet complex life that he lived? I’ve had the incredible privilege of talking to his friends and family for quite a while now. Basically, to know Terry was to love Terry. He was one of those rare diamonds you were lucky enough to stumble upon, and that scarcity made you hold on to him for dear life every day thereafter.

Terry Brooks Rewis didn’t have a fairytale childhood. There were six children within this family and Terry’s parents divorced while his mother was pregnant with him. Terry’s mother struggled during her pregnancy, at one point living out of her car for a bit.

Terry’s siblings didn’t get to meet him until he was a little over a year old. He’s remembered as being a good baby, happy and chunky! He and his mother soon moved to Portal, Ga, which was closer to family.

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

Life didn’t quite gain structure and normalcy for Terry though. Around the age of 3, he and his mother were living with a friend of hers. One afternoon Terry’s mom left with an unknown gentleman. Terry was left in the care of her friend. As with any toddler, Terry was adventurous and curious. He wandered outside the home and into town. The stranger that found him claimed he was asking for his mother. It was at this point Terry was put into foster care.

Terry bounced around in foster care until the age of 13-14 years old. He stayed with his father and siblings for a bit, but decided that “structure” wasn’t for him. Terry had become a loner with a gypsy soul. Around the age of 16 he began living life on his own.

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

From the age of 16 on, Terry moved around from place to place. The one person he stayed with the most was Jessica, a dear friend of his. He kept his close friends near and dear to his heart but didn’t stay in one place long. He even hopped on a bus to Oklahoma at one point just for a change of scenery! He lived all over Georgia, coming and going as he pleased. He made money here and there doing construction work and always made time to visit and hang out with his close friends. He didn’t care much for possessions. All he ever carried were his green backpack (which held his drawings, cell phone, charger and a small amount of money) and a gold cross around his neck that he never removed.

I can’t mention Terry’s friends without telling you about Jessica Taylor. Jessica meant the world to Terry. She was his “safe place to land” whenever he needed down time or a place to feel like he belonged to. They loved each other through thick and thin, through time and distance and through those crazy teenage years! Jessica has been an amazing ally and friend throughout this entire process of getting to know Terry and understanding how he lived and died. I can’t thank you enough, Jessica, for putting up with me! All the calls, messages and countless questions from me haven’t gone unnoticed. Thank you!

Photo provided by Jessica Taylor

Photo provided by Jessica Taylor

The last 6-8 months of Terry’s life seemed “normal” for all intents and purposes. Terry was living within the areas of Nunez, Metter and Swainsboro, Georgia. He was working construction with James Kirby, hanging out with friends and family and seemed to be settling down a little. But within this “normal” life, Terry had a shadow on his back that few knew about. Two to three months before his death, Terry was assaulted while walking down the street to visit his sister, Jeannie. Allegedly, a guy was driving by, hollering obscenities at Terry and threw a bottle at him. The bottle struck Terry’s head and left a nasty gash. Terry got to Jeannie’s house and she fixed him up as best as she could. According to Jeannie, Terry told her, “If I ever end up dead, it will not be an accident.” Terry told her that he had a couple people “on him that wanted him gone”. Jeannie, of course, questioned her brother relentlessly about his statements. She wanted to know what was going on and who wanted to hurt him. But Terry wouldn’t talk anymore about it. He didn’t want her to worry. He just wanted her to be aware of the situation.

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

The last two months of Terry’s life went by without incident. He seemed happy. His life seemed routine and natural. But the weekend before his death, that dreadful shadow emerged. He spent the weekend of April 12th with Jessica Taylor and a couple of their friends, which included one of his previous foster brothers. They stayed at the house that Jessica’s father owned. The weekend was typical with the exception of a late night conversation Terry had with Jessica and another friend. He expressed how much their love and friendship meant to him. He reminisced about the past and thanked them for always being there when he needed them the most. It almost seemed like a final goodbye. Terry was questioned about this. He was asked if everything was alright and given support if he needed it. But Terry, as usual, didn’t want anyone worrying about him. He ended the night by saying he just wanted them to know how he felt and how grateful he was. Could Terry have known of the impending doom that awaited him? Did he expect someone to come after him within the next week or so? Did he know a sort of count down had begun?

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

Terry spoke with a friend that following Tuesday or Wednesday and confirmed that he would return to Jessica’s that weekend following a festival he planned to attend.

Here is where the water gets muddy. According to friends and family, Terry was getting a ride to the Redbreast Festival in Midville, GA with James Kirby. They stopped to let Terry get cleaned up and change clothes before heading to the festival around 2pm. Terry enjoyed his time at the festival. There was good music, tailgating, good food and drinking. Terry called Jessica around 8:30pm to say he was having a good time and wanted to hang out a bit longer and then would be on his way to her house. Details get murky from this point.

According to witnesses, there was a fight between Terry and James Kirby. During the fight, someone called the police. The Midville PD arrived at the festival and told the guys to go their separate ways. I haven’t found an incident report and can assume no report was made due to the fight being broken up and the gentlemen leaving. No injuries were reported and no charges were filed. Terry left walking down Hwy 56 some time between 9-9:30pm. (Sadly, Mr. Kirby has since passed away. I’m not sure how he passed. I know he was questioned by the police at the time.) The timeline gets really hazy here. It would’ve taken about an hour to an hour and a half for Terry to reach the Prong Creek bridge, located a few miles outside Swainsboro, GA. Around 6:30am two hunters, a father and son, found Terry dead in the middle of the road on 56. They called 911 and waited for police to get there.

From what I’ve gathered of the crime scene and Terry’s injuries, it looks like more than just a hit and run. There was a great deal of blood at the location of Terry’s body in the road and about 19 or so feet of a blood trail. He was very bruised and battered. The other injuries are absolutely horrendous. There was a pool of blood in the middle of the road, where his body was originally. Then there was a blood trail about 19 feet long leading back towards Midville. The entire crime scene was about 85 ft, according to one report. His green backpack, cellphone, wallet and gold cross necklace were missing. Here is a diagram to better explain the scene.

Crappy drawing provided by me

The individual that struck Terry after his death was cleared and also passed a polygraph. In my opinion, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of an original hit and run though. And speaking of that, a woman later told Jeannie that as far as she knew, Terry was thrown from the back of a truck going down Hwy 56! Even more mysterious is the fact that Jessica Taylor received a phone call that night, at 3am, from a childhood friend of Terry saying that there had been an accident and Terry was dead! Now tell me this…how in the hell did this person know Terry was dead before he was even found by the hunters at 6:30am?!? How? This person knew at least 3 1/2 hours before Terry was even found that he was already dead! Jessica Taylor went immediately into panic mode! She called every hospital, jail and Sheriff’s department she could think of trying to find Terry. For two hours she called every single place within a 100 mile radius of Midville, GA. Jeannie was informed early that morning about the death of her brother and had the dreadful responsibility of telling her entire family.

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

There was a viewing for Terry before he was cremated. I spoke with the man that identified Terry’s body and he claimed that Terry had wounds to his hands/knuckles that indicated a fight. The day of the service was hard on his family and friends. But one oddity happened that day. A gentleman in a black dodge pick up truck parked across the street from the funeral home and stared for at least 45 minutes. Several of Terry’s friends began to grow agitated and yelled at the driver demanding his name and reason for being there. As soon as they took off after the gentleman, he sped off. Over the next few weeks several of Terry’s friends tried to find out what happened to him. They asked questions and searched high and low for anything that made sense pertaining to his death. One of his friends received a threatening phone call while at work. The mysterious caller simply stated, “Stop digging or you’ll end up just like Terry!” Eventually it started to look like they would never get answers.

Days, weeks, months and years have gone by with no definite answers. Over the years there have been several people that have gotten upset with Jeannie for continuously asking questions. Some people have offered up information only to give a sliver of info and then go silent.

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

Photo provided by Jeannie Ellis

Below are reports of evidence collected, the medical examiner’s report, autopsy report and Terry’s death certificate.

All documents provided by Jeannie Ellis

Breakdown of Terry’s last day alive:

12:30-1:30pm- Terry, riding with James Kirby, stopped at a friend’s house to clean up and change clothes.

2:00pm- Terry arrived at the festival.

8:30pm- Terry called Jessica Taylor to say he was staying a little longer and then would head to her house. (He seemed happy and fine.)

8:30-9:30- The fight occurred, police were called and Terry left the festival walking down Hwy 56 towards Swainsboro. (The screenshots above, showing the messages between Jeannie and the woman, mention the fight being witnessed. Others have come forward saying they witnessed the fight as well.) I also want to mention that Terry walking was not uncommon at all. He tended to walk everywhere he went.

3:00am- The phone call from the past foster brother to Jessica Taylor. He stated that, “there had been an accident and Terry was dead”. How did he know before 3am? Did someone call and inform him? Was he present during Terry’s death? Was he involved in any way? He has been asked several times over the last 17 years by Jessica and others how he knew that information but has never given an answer.

6:00-6:15am- A woman returning home from work struck Terry while he was lying in the middle of the road. She thought she had hit a deer. It has been presumed that Terry was already deceased. I do believe he was already dead at that point.

6:30am- The father and son hunters find Terry dead in the road and call 911.

Things that make me believe Terry was murdered:

The assault on Terry a couple months before his death and his conversation with Jeannie about someone wanting to get rid of him. He even mentioned that, in the event of his death, it would not be an accident.
The “final goodbye” conversation with his friends the weekend before his death.
The fight at the festival. Why? What was it about? We all know festival + drinking alcohol + fighting = disaster. Did the fight continue after Terry left the festival?
The time frame after leaving the festival. If you consider the 3am phone call of his death, that means 9:30pm-3:00am (5 1/2 hours) is unaccounted for. Hwy 56 is pretty well traveled on a Saturday night. If this was only a hit and run, someone would’ve definitely seen him before 6:30am! Was he picked up by someone within the time frame? And we have to remember that Jeannie was told that Terry was thrown from the back of a truck! Who picked him up and threw him out? I have received statements from people about this and I have to say that they all match! Hmmmm….
Terry’s green backpack, wallet, cellphone and gold cross necklace were not at the scene. Terry always carried that backpack. We know he had his cellphone because he used it to call Jessica from the festival. He never removed his necklace. So where are these items?
Looking back at the screenshots above, who did the woman see driving the truck? Why was she so upset? What does she know about that night? And why stop talking to Jeannie before giving all the information?
The 3am phone call. This boggles the hell out of me! How did the childhood friend know Terry was dead 3 1/2- 4 hrs before the body was found? Did he receive a call about it? Did he do it? Was he in on it? Why won’t he talk about it to anyone?
The strange man in the pickup truck at the funeral home is sketchy. Why show up at a viewing and park across the street just to sit and stare for almost an hour?
The strange, threatening phone call received by one of Terry’s friends. Who was it and why did he want him to stop looking into Terry’s death?

Hopefully this case will be solved very soon! We are working very hard to bring those responsible for Terry’s murder to justice. I want to thank Jeannie Ellis for answering that first phone call and not hanging up! She really put her faith in me on this. She dealt with all my phone calls and constant questions! She’s been fighting for her brother for years, constantly hitting wall after wall after wall. But she never gave up. She pushed through all the obstacles and people that constantly bashed her online. Thanks for never giving up and allowing me into your life!

If you have any information about this case please call one of the following numbers.

Jeannie- 912-314-6540

Emanuel County Sheriff’s Dept- 478-237-7526

https://www.facebook.com/justiceforbubbarewis/

Steve Stephens

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Life and Lemons

I have been following the story on Steve Stephens, 37, since Easter Sunday. It has been so confusing as to why this man decided to turn his life into one of chaos and murder. On Sunday, he shot and killed 74 year old Robert Godwin, Sr. while videoing the entire act. He posted the video to his Facebook account and then did a live stream confessing to and discussing the murder. It was a seemingly random murder and Stephens blamed his actions on a woman named Joy Lane. Cleveland police issued a $50,000 reward for information leading to his capture and arrest and the FBI added him to the ‘Most Wanted’ list. Pennsylvania State Police spotted Stephen’s car this morning in Erie as he left a McDonald’s. After a short pursuit and trying to get him to pull over, Stephens stopped his car across from an elementary school and shot and killed himself.

I’m guessing all the facts and little unknown secrets about this man will come to light within the week, but it is still so unnerving! In one of the live streams he did on Monday, he confessed to killing 13 people. He gave locations and street names as well. Now, I’m not saying he did or didn’t commit any other murders but I find it very possible. He didn’t seem to hesitate when shooting Mr. Godwin on Sunday. This seemed to be an act he had committed before. He was calm, collected and didn’t seem to mind taking another individual’s life. I’ve read reports that say his sexuality played a key role in him deciding to go on this rampage. Others say it’s from the breakup with his girlfriend. Perhaps they are tied together. What are your thoughts???

Regardless of the ‘why’… crimes connected to social media seem to be on the rise these days. People are committing terrible crimes and going live on Facebook or uploading the terrible videos they’ve made. I just don’t understand. Anyway, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this particular incident as well as others that have ended up on social media. Thanks for reading!