Betrayal - S2: E2 - Blood Ties

Episode Date: May 25, 2023

Ashley is interviewed by her local police department and finds out more about what her husband had been doing while isolating himself from the family. During a police interview, she learns devastating... details about his crimes; the worst detail is that they involve her daughter.  If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal Team, email us at betrayalpod@gmail.com To report a case of child sexual exploitation, call The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline at 1-800-THE-LOST If you or someone you know is worried about their sexual thoughts and feelings towards children, find help at stopitnow.org See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:01:35 listening. I got out and stood by my car and I put my hands together in prayer motion. I just said, God, please be with me. And I opened my eyes and I walked towards him. And I yelled at him. I yelled so loud, I said, how fucking dare you? That's when he put his head down. And he wouldn't look at me after that.
Starting point is 00:02:07 I'm Andrea Gunning and this is betrayal. Episode 2. Blood Ties. to. Blood ties. Ashley Linton discovered her husband was in possession of child pornography. With the help of her sister Anna, Ashley contacted law enforcement and reported him. On September 29th, 2021, it was a how did I get here moment for Ashley. Her life imploded. Her sense of safety for her children was gone. Like any of us in the wake of betrayal, grief, destruction, and heartbreak, you revisit everything.
Starting point is 00:02:58 I was going through some of our old photos and videos. I came across one specific one where he was teaching her to ride the bike. As she was driving away for the first time, she was yelling back like, Daddy, look, Daddy, look! And he was kind of cheering her on. Jason's father shared the love of football with him. That's how they bonded. And Jason wanted to have that with his kids. Jason has been a Viking's fan his whole life. The story that I got was his father had gotten each one of his brothers a stuffed animal.
Starting point is 00:03:39 And Jason happened to get the Minnesota Viking stuffed animal and his brothers got to other teams so their whole lives lay chaired for those teams. I had been at work and he'd been home with the kids and the Vikings were gonna play and he had like a shrine of Viking stuff all over my living room. I mean, he had jerseys laid out, he had stuffed animals, he had other memorabilia.
Starting point is 00:04:04 Ave was wearing one of his huge Vikings furseys laid out, he had stuffed animals, he had other memorabilia. Ave was wearing one of his huge vikings, furseys, and I was like, uh, what are you doing? From that moment on, every time the vikings played, everyone was decked down vikings, scared, that was our tradition. And he wasn't just a fan. Jason coached in the Little League football community.
Starting point is 00:04:26 Julio Heiss lives in Ashley's neighborhood. Jason was his son's coach. Jason actually asked me to assist coaching. We just clicked football brought us close. He is very passionate and he actually really care about the kids. Like, it showed 100% how much he care. It was great. Jason also played. Played Flag Football, I went all their games. Of course, my son played with them too. Great athlete, coach. While Jason was known for his love of football, friends also found him hilarious. Ashley's friend, Emmy.
Starting point is 00:05:08 He was one of the funniest people I have ever met. You put Jason and my husband together and yet a couple cocktails in there. They would sing into a wooden spoon as they ran around the kitchen. They were just always so goofy and he was kind of that guy paired with my husband that reminded me that there are good men, they're still out there. Ashley had taken on adult responsibilities
Starting point is 00:05:38 since she was a kid, taking care of her mother, raising her siblings, an early motherhood. She was ready for a partner, someone to help carry the weight. I think because I had spent so much my life being the person that had to be in charge and make the decisions. When Jason came along, I defer to him with everything, everything I did. Even when we bought our house, I was like, listen, I don't give a shit what house we buy at this point. Pick a house, let's do it.
Starting point is 00:06:09 I don't care. Like, you know best, so you do it. It doesn't matter to me. In marriage, Ashley finally felt part of a team. She loved it, sharing coffee with Jason in the morning, family dinners in the evenings, when sports weren't taking the kids in three different directions.
Starting point is 00:06:25 But after eight years of being married, their family dynamic started to change. From the outside looking in, we just had this picture perfect life. Beautiful home, wonderful kids, both of us have careers, we're both like semi-young and in shape. What the reality was, very different. Two years before COVID, Jason stopped interacting with us. Ashley's stepmother, Kathy Trujillo. He wasn't going to work and she was having money struggles and they were kind of like living two separate lives.
Starting point is 00:07:05 But you don't know what goes on in people's four walls, so you're like, you know, try and just to be supportive to Ashley, that's all, you know, we tried to do as a besiefer, and she wanted to hang in there and keep it going, then we were gonna try to stand behind her. Jason was a talented tradesman when he showed up for work. Jason's former employer, Steve Ihausen. He liked to take a lot of time off and he would say his children were sick or he had to go to school for something like that and so he was using excuses that weren't true to take time off and do something for himself.
Starting point is 00:07:49 It was actually putting their mortgage in jeopardy. And now like in retrospect, I'm like, was he just staying home and watching all of this stuff? Just went work. We're couple two, three weeks at a time. And I'm sure it was not because he didn't have any work. He just didn't want to go to work. Jason also lost interest in spending time with friends and family. Ashley's family enjoyed Jason's company. She comes from a big family with siblings, step siblings, nieces and nephews. Any excuse was a good one for a family party, and John Ashley's dad
Starting point is 00:08:26 loved to host. I mean he didn't come to our fungicide, or it's like, man, where's that guy? Oh man, you know. He would tell her family he needed to go to work. He told work, he was prioritizing family. Most times, he was doing neither. They had traveled a lot for her competitive soccer league, and he wouldn't come with us. We went to California, Colorado, went to Las Vegas, went to St. George. We went to all these places, and he wouldn't go. So Ashley took the kids and left Jason behind. We used to do so much together. We did. We were active. We were outside. We were at the movies. We were at the movies. We
Starting point is 00:09:06 were at the aquarium. We were in the mountains. Like, we did things all the time with the kids. Ashley was determined to keep going. I was like, we can't wait for you to live life with us. We can't not do anything. So I just started leaving him. I'd be like, if you want to come along with us, we want you to come. But we're not going to sit in this house and do nothing anymore. Eventually Jason stopped bringing anything to the table. So I asked him for divorce, and he told me that he'd give me a divorce. It's like praise the Lord. You know, we cannot live like this anymore. But then COVID happened and all of a sudden, my Jason came back and he was being the man of the house type of thing. He was taking
Starting point is 00:09:52 charge. Like, we need to make a plan and we need to get food and we need to make sure the kids are taking care of and, you know, make sure that we're safe. I was like, all right, so we just didn't talk about it again. But as lockdown orders were lifted and life returned to normal, Jason withdrew again. He would kind of revert back to being a hermit. We walked on H. Shels with him every single day. We did everything we could to like not piss him off. We did everything we could to just not be noticed by him.
Starting point is 00:10:22 All of us did. But for the most part, Jason stayed in our bedroom. But he wasn't showing any interest in Ashley there. Jason stopped showing any interest in sex or intimacy. I thought it was me, and I thought, I'm like, boy, I have three kids. So it's like a hot dog down hallway, maybe. And so I was like, I'm not gonna do this to myself anymore.
Starting point is 00:10:44 Ashley sought help from a therapist and she learned that his behavior had nothing to do with her. I'd come to some self-realization I'm like I am beautiful. I'm a good mom and I'm a good wife and this problem isn't me it's him. At that point it kind of reinvested my time with God. And so I was like, I made this covenant with my husband and with God. I was going to love him through sickness and health, and he would never leave me. And so I had decided that I wasn't going to get divorced. I was like, I'm gonna love him harder. I'm gonna love him more.
Starting point is 00:11:27 I'm gonna be there for him. I'm gonna help him through this. And it's gonna be okay. That's what I thought. I just thought he was insanely depressed. And I wanted him to go see a therapist. He went to his general family doctor. He's diagnosed ADD.
Starting point is 00:11:48 He put him on Adderall and I think Prozac. And then Mike, he thought he had it under control because he's like, well, I'm not going to take it on the weekend. And that's why he was sluggish on the weekend. That's what he'd say. It's not a good idea to take a medication vacation when you're on Prozac and Adderall without a doctor's consultation. Jason continued to isolate himself and became hyper focused on a new hobby.
Starting point is 00:12:11 I bought him a drawing table because he liked to draw. He would lose himself for hours in a sketchpad. I don't remember why we hit stop by but we were outside and he was in the house and he said I'm getting into drawing now. Come in, I want to show you guys my drawings. That was like, go clean your bathroom. You know what's thinking? What are you doing? Why are you sitting here drawing? In my head, I was like, what is he doing?
Starting point is 00:12:35 Anna thought, his drawings were bizarre. He's showing me these drawings, and I don't know if he drew them himself or he outlined them from a printed off image or something, but they were like highly sexualized characters. Very seductive clothing, huge boobs, all women. I just remember thinking like, what the fuck? What is he doing? This is not normal to me. And I remember telling Ashley, I'm like, you need to tell him to stop showing people those. It's fucking weird.
Starting point is 00:13:07 He wasn't help Ashley with anything. She came over here and we fixed her brakes, fixed her tires, whatever it was, you know, and he, it was at some excuse. She worked overtime constantly. She changed jobs for a better opportunity. She gave and gave and gave and gave. your tails because it gets better than that. I mean, not better like more impressive than a talking dog exactly. But if you apply now at Crocodotles.com, you could adopt me or any other breed we offer with just a few easy steps. Whether you find a match immediately or buy your time looking for just the right family member, we're worth the wait. We're all raised by reputable, responsible breeders and could be delivered anywhere in the United States. We're
Starting point is 00:14:02 even certified by the Better Business Bureau and have over 500 positive reviews. But if you don't believe me, just ask Bentley. He's British, so he knows what he's talking about. Cooper is quite right. Are we coming all different breeds and sizes in personalities? Plus, we have a three-year health guarantee. So, check us out at Crocododles.com
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Starting point is 00:16:06 off your first month of seeds DSO1 daily sinbiotic. That's seed.com S-E-E-D dot com slash iHeart with code iHeart. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Okay, so I've read through the initial report. I was hoping that maybe we could talk a little bit more in depth how it all came about. On a day that felt completely surreal, Ashley Linton was finally sitting at the Riverton Police Station. Her husband was at his brother's house, hoping to hear from her. It was ten at night but the officer in charge of special
Starting point is 00:16:55 victims wanted to talk right away. He had worked quickly to secure a search warrant and inventory what Jason had in the hidden file. Now Ashley sat across from the detective, Jason Rue, in a small interview room. I went through, I've been through probably about 1500 photos in that account that you told me about. I'm so disgusted. This is obviously serious stuff. Not only does he have child pornography on his thing, but he's produced it basically.
Starting point is 00:17:32 Oh my god. You're outside doing something with your plants and he walks into... Oh man. Yeah, so she had a white shirt on. And so he's like, hey, where's your mom? And anytime she turns around, he's. And so he's like, it was your mom. And any time she would turn around, he's going up so you can actually see her breasts of her shirt multiple times.
Starting point is 00:17:50 Thank God. I'm so worried about me. My daughter. There were videos from their family trip to Disney as well. It was the only trip Jason had taken with his family in two years. Detective Ruhe explains,
Starting point is 00:18:08 The stepdaughter was getting out of the shower and told everyone, hey don't look, and Jason had set up his phone to video record her coming out of the shower while she had no clothes on. And then he proceeded to act like he wasn't watching, although he was recording her. Legally Aveo was Jason's stepdaughter, but he had raised her since she was two years old. She called him dad. Did you have a point of shoes that you're aware of? Absolutely. Our home marriage has been flooded with it. It was just always really awkward.
Starting point is 00:18:48 I think we've had sex maybe five times in two and a half years. And I'm kind of like masturbating like weird times. Like with me and my daughter, my eight-year-old, like she slept in our bed and he's like all the four masturbating looking at his phone. And I'm like, what the fuck are you doing? Her family's here, like, what's wrong with you?" Ashley revealed other upsetting details about her marriage to Jason.
Starting point is 00:19:17 He had an affair on me when I was five months pregnant with my young guest. And the girl he had a affair with, I think she was 18, but I knew that she had just graduated. She was a little... Seven, eight years ago. How did you find out about that? He left his phone one time at home, looking at you. He went to shape tech so I was like so excited to see you tonight. He had come up with this huge elaborate story. I mean, he's a talker. He could, he, you know, that stupid thing, he could sell ice to Eskimos, that, that's him. And that, anybody's like, call her. And I was like, you know, he's getting ready to have baby and I'm already, I know two children, it's just like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. The conversation turned to the messages Ashley had been receiving from Jason.
Starting point is 00:20:07 I understand Europe's out here right now and don't want to see me. I really want to talk to you and you're ready. Don't hassle you after this. Text message, I'm sorry, I've created this problem for our family. I love you, Ashley. I'm so sorry. I know I need help and I'm going to get it. I promise to work hard and make sure you're there. They're taking care of.
Starting point is 00:20:25 But Detective Ruiz skeptical about the tax from Jason concerning the images. In my opinion, it's someone who just got caught doing something they know is not just wrong, but illegal. It starts going into manipulation saying, I'm sorry I did this to our family. I'm a bad husband, nothing about the victim, nothing about the wife. It's all about I've been caught. Now I need to say
Starting point is 00:20:53 sorry and try to build this trust again. Later on he says, I will get the help I need to quit ignoring my issues. And so, you know, he's throwing all these things out like negotiation, I will do this and I need to do this and I'll do better if you don't say anything and just mean you do it together. That's how I read these text messages. Once Ashley reported the crime, Detective Rue moved quickly. We were able to get the correct paperwork to get a warrant to get into those photos a couple hours before he deleted them Few hours later. Yes The police and listed Ashley to help make the arrest So basically how it'd be if we could get them somewhere where our guys came just
Starting point is 00:21:41 Bring them into me here and if you're here, I'd like to do it tonight, to be honest. I just wonder if there's maybe a way that we could get him to leave the house and meet you somewhere and just come pick him up, etc. Do that and go off on his brother's door. The Riverton Police weren't keen to arrest Jason at another police officer's house. And it's easy to see why. There's a firearm on the premises. It's complicated.
Starting point is 00:22:08 But Detective Rue was still irritated that Jason's brother didn't do the right thing. I don't care if you're a brother, you're an law enforcement. That is a no, no, like he, if you get himself in some trouble. He should be there first brother. I'm cool with that,
Starting point is 00:22:23 but on the way here to talk to us about it, you know, like, you screwed up Roy O'Rea and this is probably what's going to be happening to you. The plan was to get Jason out of his brother's house to a neutral meeting spot where he would believe he could make his case one-on-one with Ashley. I just told him how about let's meet away from him outside. I don't want the kids to know. Yeah, and it's only 20, 25 minutes. Ashley was setting him up to be arrested.
Starting point is 00:22:54 And I was just going to wait here while they do that. And then once they get him, I'll try to talk to him. I'll have to see if he wants to talk to me about that. I have to see if he wants to start. I tried to imagine what Ashley was thinking, driving from the Riverton Police Station to the Walmart parking lot. It must have been the strangest drive of her life. It was 11.30 p.m. Jason pulls in, and I could feel this like fire burning inside of me thinking that he had filmed up my daughter's shirt and saw her bare breasts.
Starting point is 00:23:37 Our daughter's shirt. So I had this like flash. We were kind of parked where people returned their carts and there's like, big rocks. For a moment, she fantasized about vigilante justice. In my head, it played out. I'm like, I'm gonna grab a rock and I'm gonna smack him over the head and then he's gonna pass out and then I'm gonna kick him really hard and then I'm gonna, you know, like all these terrible violent things. Ashley felt so sad for his victims.
Starting point is 00:24:09 I wanted to like take his eyes away from him so he can never look at my daughter again. Look at anybody's daughter again. All those little girls that I saw in those photos, everything, I just, it was so awful. And so when I thought out, I didn't grab a rock, St. Pod, but I just started hitting him. And he just let me in. Was like, what are you doing? Ash, Ash, what are you doing?
Starting point is 00:24:39 And then the police pulled up right after and they took him into custody right then. Just like that, it was done. He was on his way to the police station. His work truck was still sitting in the parking lot. You know, we're married, so this is my asset to this. I should probably make sure that I don't leave it in the Walmart parking lot but I don't have anyone to drive it anywhere for me so I called his brother a psych 12 o'clock at night at this point he was
Starting point is 00:25:17 sleeping and he was like what did you do what did you do and I was like I did what you couldn't do I did what you were supposed you do? What did you do? And I was like, I did what you couldn't do. I did what you were supposed to do that you didn't do. His brother agreed to pick up Jason's truck. Finally, after 14 hours, the hospital, a police interview, the longest and most awful day of Ashley's life had come to an end. better like more impressive than a talking dog exactly. But if you apply now at Crocodordles.com, you can adopt me or any other breed we offer
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Starting point is 00:26:24 But if you don't believe me, Jess asked Bentley. He's British, so he knows what he's talking about. Cooper is quite right. Are we coming all different breeds and sizes in personalities? Plus, we have a 3 year health guarantee. So, check us out at Crocododles.com and apply for the perfect addition to your family now. I shouldn't lie around while you're there, we're terribly popular.
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Starting point is 00:28:29 That's seed.com S-E-E-D dot com slash iHeart with code iHeart. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. You know, the right to admit silent, so you don't need to say anything to me. Anything you say can't will be used against you in court. You have the right to have a lawyer. While being right as Miranda writes, Jason explained that he'd never been arrested. He was polite. Do you understand each of these rights I've explained?
Starting point is 00:29:07 Detective Rue tried to engage Jason in a conversation about the charges. Actually, contact me. It sounds like you guys have had a pretty rough day today. So that's some of the things that I was hoping to talk to you a little bit about. You're better understanding what has been going on, things of that nature. I'm willing to talk to you about whatever, if you are, but if you prefer not to, then we'll just stand our conversation. Regardless of whether we talk or not tonight, I'm going to have you booked into the Salvin County Jail. So as far as being, just because I have no idea how this process goes, being booked in the
Starting point is 00:29:45 gel and am I just going to be stuck there or do I... Um, some of the charges that I'll book you in are really hefty, okay? So I don't know if they're going to just be like, hey you're out tomorrow morning. It just feels like since I've never been in a situation before, I'm almost rather having an attorney president. Also I don't want to do something I I'm not supposed to be able to understand. Jason understood he'd be sleeping in a jail cell that night. No matter what, he was behind bars.
Starting point is 00:30:16 That was taking care of. But there were the kids and questions about where dad was. It's hard to imagine a day like this. Managing putting one foot in front of another let alone the micro and macro decisions that Ashley had to make for herself, her children, and the safety of others, the children in those photos. Not to mention in the wake of incredible trauma. She had been in the ER, the police station, and witnessed her husband be arrested, all in the same day.
Starting point is 00:30:46 And then, there was the weight of this. Her husband had violated her eldest daughter, an innocent kid who called him dad. Ashley knew she had to face them, but the truth was too ugly to share. She wanted to protect them, especially Avea, all while feeling as though she failed them already. For the night, keeping it simple felt like the right decision. She needed to buy time to find the words. All of us knew that Jason had been struggling with his mental health. The kid's hot. So when Ashley told the kids that Jason was seeking help for his mental health issues, it made sense to them. Besides, she was exhausted and didn't have much time to
Starting point is 00:31:32 recover. The very next morning, Ashley had to make a big presentation for work. There was a lot riding on it. Anna went with Ashley so she wouldn't be alone so soon after Jason's arrest. Anna went with Ashley so she wouldn't be alone so soon after Jason's arrest. She hadn't told her boss what had happened, and I remember her like saying, I'm not gonna let this ruin my fucking career. But I remember watching her do the presentation, and I was like, none of these people know what just happened to her. Like her life has blown up and look at her. She was up there making jokes and just confident in trying to engage the audience and these people had so many
Starting point is 00:32:13 questions for her and she was just on it answering all these questions and I remember thinking you are a fucking badass. Like I do not know how you're doing this. Your husband isn't jail right now. Jason had been disengaging from the family, isolating himself. Ashley had grown stronger and more independent. I still am so proud of her. I don't know how she did it. I really think something psychological like happened for her to do that. And the work that she did, the year prior, maybe that's what got her through it. Ashley felt strong enough to keep it all inside. She thought she could hold everything in. She was in protection and survival mode.
Starting point is 00:32:57 But then there was this. Somebody text her and said, it's in the news. And a man from Riverton has been arrested for 100 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor after someone came forward after helping 40-year-old Jason Linton set up a Venmo account. And then she just let out this horrible, horrible scream. And I just remember looking at her and her whole body was like shaking. Almost like cum bullsing. I've never seen it before.
Starting point is 00:33:28 And then she just was like rocking back and forth and like putting her head in her knees like she looked like a crazy person. I don't even remember what I said to her to try to calm her down. Like I did not know what to do. And I've never seen my sister like that. I don't ever wanna see her like that ever again. Detective real. I try to prepare them a little bit
Starting point is 00:33:52 for the next morning when they wake up. All let them know, like, hey, these cases, the news picked these cases up quick. In my mind, I'm talking to these victims and these family members and I'm explaining things, but sometimes when you're in that situation, most of it's maybe going over your head or in one and out the other. Just because you just got railroaded by your husband, you're so focused on, I don't even know what's going on.
Starting point is 00:34:20 Ashley was already managing the feelings of grief, anger, and betrayal. The added shame that came when Jason's crimes became public, it was unbearable. When this hit any ounce of pride or ego that I had went right out the door, it was gone. I literally felt like I was just naked. And there was nothing too hide. There was nothing to even try to explain away or make better. I was just like, okay, I understand. It didn't take long for the word to spread. Abeya found out from a friend's mom. She had called her and was like, for the word to spread. Abeya found out from a friend's mom.
Starting point is 00:35:05 She had called her and was like, did dad take videos of me or what happened? Because the news mentioned that. He had taken, I don't know if they said, a video or videos of his daughters. Anna couldn't believe an adult would be so thoughtless with Abeya. She's like, did your dad take videos of my daughter? That's how she found out. It was out. Her husband was that guy. The guy you warned your kids about.
Starting point is 00:35:33 Her kids knew, her friends knew. Everyone knew. There was no controlling it. It was a runaway train. On the next episode of Betrayal, a veil will have her daincourt and Jason will try to remain a free man. As a disclaimer, Ashley told her story about her conversation with Jason's older brother to police, and it was included as part of the affidavit of probable cause that led to Jason's arrest.
Starting point is 00:36:11 This older brother's conduct as a police officer was investigated by the authorities, and ultimately, it was determined that there was insufficient evidence of any violations of law by him. If you would like to reach out to the betrayal team, email us at patrialpod.com That's patrialpod.com. To report a case of child sexual exploitation, call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Cyber Tip Line at 1-800-THE LOST. If you or someone you know is worried about their sexual thoughts and feelings towards children, reach out to stopitnow.org. In the United Kingdom, go to stopitnow.org.uk. These organizations can help.
Starting point is 00:36:51 We're grateful for your support. One way to show support is by subscribing to our show on Apple podcasts. And don't forget to rate and review betrayal. Five star reviews go a long way. A big thank you to all of our listeners. The trail is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group and partnership with IHART Podcasts. The show was executive produced by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted and produced by me, Andrea Gunning, Written and Produced by Carrie Hartman, also produced by Ben Thederman, Associate Producer, Kristen Melcuri, our I Heart teams, Ali Perry and Jessica Crinecheck, special thanks to our talent Ashley Litten and production assistant, Tessa Shields,
Starting point is 00:37:31 audio editing and mixing by Matt Albeckio, Troyal's theme composed by Oliver Baines, music library provided by my music, and for more podcasts from I Heart, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ask from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now at Crocodoodles.com, you can adopt me or any other breed we offer with just a few easy steps. Each puppy is raised by a network of families that deliver exceptional doodles anywhere
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