Crime Junkie - MURDERED: Aaron Taylor from Phoenix

Episode Date: December 26, 2024

This episode was originally released in January 2023, and is one of seventeen episodes from the archives we’ll be bringing you every Thursday, now through top of next year. And now you know why... we’re going on tour! Get your tickets now at  crimejunkiepodcast.com!  

Hey, Crime Junkies, it's Britt, and we're almost through our upcoming Crime Junkie Tour route, which means we are that much closer to getting to see you in person. 2025 is coming up in no time, and we can't wait to deep dive into a case with you all. But until then, you know the drill, we want to re-share a story from our next stop. And today we're headed back to Phoenix, Arizona, where in January 2023, Ashley told you how an innocent man's life was senselessly ripped away from him. Police are certain there are individuals who know who is responsible, but even today, justice remains to be seen.

Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host Ashley Flowers. And I'm Britt. And the story I have for you today is about a truly horrific death that you probably haven't even heard of. And that's because our victim was experiencing homelessness, and for some reason our society has decided that we shouldn't give these stories national attention. We shouldn't become obsessed with the outcomes of those cases. But we crime junkies don't buy into that.

This is absolutely a case you'll be obsessed with and furious over. This is the story of Erin Taylor. It's Christmas Day 2007, a Tuesday, and despite the holiday, there's this strip mall in Paradise Valley Village, which is a neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona. And it has no shortage of customers thanks to a Circle K convenience store on one end of the plaza. And that thing's open 24-7. One of those customers is this guy named Nimoy. He's with a woman headed to the Circle Cave from his nearby apartment, and

this is like 6.50 PM. And suddenly, the both of them hear screaming coming from an open air breezeway, which is basically like a walkway that separates some of the buildings. It sounds like a man screaming, but they can't really see what's going on until they come around the side of the subway sandwich shop to a courtyard that has these like concrete picnic tables and like benches and Something is on one of those benches right next to the subway and whatever it is is on fire And at first they don't know what they're looking at but they quickly realize that it is a person engulfed in flames

My god Nimoy and the woman rush over to the circle K to get help But they quickly realized that it is a person engulfed in flames. Oh my God. Nimoy and the woman rush over to the Circle K to get help. There's actually a customer who's leaving the store and they like tell them, listen, someone is on fire. We need your cell phone to call 911. Now listen, the customer had seen something burning when he drove into the parking lot, but he figured it was like a tiki torch because one of the restaurants had some of those outside. So this guy actually thinks that these people are screwing around with him. And so he tells them that he doesn't have a cell phone, even

though he actually does. Can you even imagine being told, hey, there's a guy on fire and just not carrying or checking out or anything? Well, again, I don't know why he thinks these people are screwing with him, but he actually goes over to get a look for himself. It's not like he just gets in his car and goes away. He's like, I'm just gonna like see what's going on. And the closer he gets, he realizes like, holy sh**, it is a person. So he does call 911. And while he's on the phone with dispatchers, a clerk from the Circle K actually comes running over. But for some reason, even this clerk, when he first gets a look at the fire, he also thinks that someone is playing some kind of practical joke because it doesn't even look

human. It looks like this big jacket and pants that were maybe stuffed with something. Okay, I'm going to be honest, I've never heard of something or I don't know, someone being on fire and being like, oh yeah, this is clearly just a hilarious prank being played on me What's with these people? I don't know. I think it's their brain trying to like rationalize that like again is Christmas Day That's also the last thing you expect to find right like a human Burning right outside your place of work that has never happened before certainly not on this like family holiday, whatever I don't know why that's the first thing that comes into their mind. But this guy at least is like, okay, whatever it is, it's a fire. It needs to be put out.

So he tries to actually smother the flames with his jacket, but it doesn't work. And the fire is still burning when first responders get there at 7-0-1, within minutes of the initial 9-1-1 call. Thankfully, when firefighters approach, they realize that this isn't a joke. This is definitely a man who is straddling a concrete slab bench hunched forward. So they put out the fire and they move him into the open courtyard to start CPR. And that's when Nimoy, who had come back after getting help, realizes something that makes his heart sink. He actually knows the man that was on fire.

He can tell by his build and by his beard that it's his friend, 36-year-old Aaron Taylor. Aaron is clinging to life as an ambulance rushes him to the hospital, but he doesn't make it. He's pronounced dead in the burn unit at 7.35 p.m. Police now have to try and figure out what in the world happened. As Phoenix detective Dominic Rosenberg told our reporter Nina, this isn't something Police now have to try and figure out what in the world happened. As Phoenix detective Dominic Rothenberg told our reporter Nina, this isn't something you see every day.

I mean, the scene is kind of a mess. There's water and foam on the ground from firefighters' efforts. There's blood and black charring on the bench that Erin was sitting on. And there's a ton of evidence to collect, like burnt remnants of clothing. There's little liquor bottles, snack wraps, used matches and cigarette butts. Collecting everything they can is great, but if it got damaged by water or flame extinguishers or even just the fire itself, I mean, is it even going to be useful? I don't know.

Like so much of it is wet or fire damaged, but they're still at least collecting all of it just in case something can be useful now or in the future. And as they're gathering evidence, there are other officers that are interviewing witnesses that were at the Circle K. And it turns out a lot of people in the area actually did know Aaron, either because they live nearby and they frequent this strip mall area or they work in that strip mall area. You see, Aaron was experiencing homelessness and he spent lots of time hanging around there.

His long hair and this beard that he had had earned him the nickname with locals that was Homeless Jesus. Nimoy tells police that he's known Aaron for like three years. He was this sweet guy who struggled with alcoholism, often drinking until he passed out. But he never bothered anybody or caused any trouble.

In fact, he had just seen Aaron yesterday on Christmas Eve and he seemed happy. He had never mentioned wanting to hurt himself and even though he's a smoker, Nimoy doesn't know of any times that he was careless with fire. When they talk to the Circle K clerk, he tells police that Aaron came in several times that very day to buy beer and like other random stuff. What he knew of Aaron was that he was lonely. He liked to talk a lot. And actually, he came in that afternoon sometime between 2.30 and 4 p.m. just to say hi. He'd been by himself. He didn't even seem drunk when he was there. But even though people who knew him said that he was generally pretty cheerful,

it's also common knowledge in the neighborhood that he had been dealing with some severe harassment from this one group of guys. Basically, they would like get him really drunk, then they would assault him, make fun of him, and just do some pretty awful stuff. Like, for instance, police learned that about a year ago, this group had apparently duct taped Aaron to a bench

in that very same courtyard. And there's even talk that one of them broke Aaron's ankle. Lots of people remember seeing him wearing a cast around that time. And it seems like everybody's heard stories of Aaron getting beat up or having things thrown at him or even having stuff stolen from him. So do they know who these alleged assholes are? Yeah, so police keep hearing four names in connection to the harassment.

And just so you know, so from here on out, I'm going to be using pseudonyms for everyone. So they learn about two brothers, Nate and Max, and then a couple of their friends, Charlie and Donnie. And apparently this group of four are like known troublemakers. They like to hang around this strip mall courtyard and security guards tell police that they've actually had to boot them off the property multiple times, once for pushing Aaron around and pouring water on him even. And every time they like stay away for a month or two and then they just start coming back. The clerk actually refers to this group as the quote post high school guys

Oh, I can totally picture this kind of guy like hang out in like 7-eleven parking lots with teenagers Even though they're like definitely in their 20s with it and that's exactly who these guys are So Nate's the oldest at 22 his brother brother Max is only 17, Charlie is 20, and Donnie is 19 when all of this is happening. One witness basically tells officers these guys are like the beavis and butt head of the area, like they egg each other on to act like idiots. And this witness says that he thinks they're likely the ones who started the fire. And have they been hanging around there recently?

Well, yes. So the Circle K employees tell police that they were in and out multiple times throughout that very afternoon. Now before police can track these guys down, results from Aaron's autopsy come in the next day. The medical examiner determines that he was alive when he caught fire and he was severely burned on his head, his upper torso, his arms, and the top of his thighs. His cause of death is listed as conflagration, basically a large fire,

and the manner of death is undetermined. Because even though the circumstances are clearly suspicious, police don't know what actually happened. But they are determined to get to the bottom of it. So that same day, officers back at the strip mall start canvassing businesses for surveillance cameras. Only two stores actually have them. The Circle K is one of them, and then that subway right by that courtyard. But the problem is Circle K's isn't going to do any good because it's not like trained on the courtyard where all of this went down. So they might have better luck with subways, but it's going to take some time to download the footage and comb through it. So while that's going on, detectives follow up on a new lead.

There's a mall security guard that reaches out to them and says that someone named Robert is at their office and he wants to speak with police about Aaron. Now when police go to the security station that he's waiting at, they can tell that Robert's been crying. He seems really nervous, and once they start talking to him, it becomes clear why he's so nervous. Robert tells officers that he and a friend were with Aaron right before this all happened. He says Aaron was in the courtyard drinking with Nate and Charlie, plus two other white guys whose names that he says he

doesn't know. And Robert says that he heard Charlie say, quote, We're gonna f*** him up. End quote. Now it's important that Robert does tell police that the guys were planning to give Aaron like four or five more beers. So I'm not sure if that comment was supposed to mean that they were planning to beat him up or just get him really drunk or what. Anyway, he says that he and his friend left before any kind of fire started, but

he thinks that Nate and Charlie are involved somehow, along with Nate's brother, Max. Though Robert says he didn't actually see Max that night anywhere, but he says these brothers are always together. And so it sounds like maybe he's thinking that Max came by like after he was already gone. And Max isn't one of the two guys that he doesn't know. No. So for sure, he says like he would know Nate and Charlie and Max and Donnie. Like he knows all of those regular guys. So he said whoever those other two were, he didn't know them.

Now this is really interesting from Robert. And it's especially interesting because he's not the only one who can place them at the scene. Police get a call from a woman who says that her daughter told her that Nate had been bragging about setting Aaron on fire. Now this is the start of a big he said, she said scenario because as news of Aaron's death has spread, there are also rumors about what really happened and who was with him that night that start to spread as well. So when police contact the woman's daughter, she says that, well, you know, I didn't personally hear Nate bragging about it, but I heard this rumor that he had poured gasoline on Aaron and then lit him on fire.

And she says that she heard the rumor from her boyfriend who heard it from someone else. Cool, cool, cool. So this is just a big game of telephone. Exactly. So a couple of days later, investigators contact Robert again, hoping he can maybe elaborate on some of the stuff that he said.

He's really like their only witness who was there right before it happened. But he says that he doesn't want to come to the station. He thinks that the people responsible for Aaron's death are going to retaliate against him for snitching. So instead, he agrees to meet detectives at a McDonald's where he nervously goes over his story with them one more time. And most of the story is the same. He and a friend are with Aaron, Nate, Charlie, and those two guys that he can't name, this is around 6 or 6.30. He says that Aaron was already drunk and someone from the group had bought him some of those

little like airline bottles of liquor for Christmas. So they're like egging him on to drink like more and more and more. And before he left, he says that he heard Charlie tell Nate quote, Aaron's gonna fall hard tonight. Wait, that's a different comment than the one that he originally shared with police, right? That's correct. So it's a different thing that Charlie supposedly says. Yeah. The thing is, I don't think investigators get too hung up on that specific quote or that difference or line or whatever, because it's not clear if Charlie reportedly said both things or if Robert truly is confused and

completely swapped them out. But either way, he says that he didn't think much of the comment at the time. Again, whether it was the first one, the second one, he didn't know what it meant. And maybe the reason they don't spend too much time on it is because there's something else that he adds to the story that's new. He says that hours after the fire, this would have been around 1 a.m., that he went to the strip mall again and he was approached by a group of young men who threatened to jump and rob him. He said that he's pretty sure some of them are friends of Nate's and although nothing ended up

happening, he believes that they just wanted to intimidate him before he could talk to police. Now he clarifies that he's never heard any people from that group brag about hurting Aaron, even though they do think it's funny to get him drunk and mess with him. And he says he's never heard them threaten Aaron either, aside from that one comment Charlie made, which Robert only found threatening in hindsight. But despite this, despite that he hasn't like seen or heard anything directly, he says he still thinks that Nate or his friends must have somehow been involved. Like somehow they started that fire.

Yeah, it definitely sounds like he thinks that they're capable, but maybe that they didn't mean to do this. Is there a chance that they just took things too far and this was actually an accident? Well, I mean, they're not sure yet, right? That's why it's undetermined. But even if it was an accident, Erin is still dead and someone is responsible. So what they're hoping, police anyway, is that the answer is going to be in that security footage from Subway.

It's going to give them something to work with. However, when they get it back, it turns out that none of their cameras have footage of the courtyard. So there is no way to see what happened. More importantly, there's no way to even verify Robert's story. Now it's around this time that police are finally able to locate Aaron's family and they have to deliver the difficult news of his death to his parents. But they're hopeful maybe learning more about Aaron can potentially help them find out what led to his death. And when his family finds out, they're stunned. I mean, they're horrified to

hear the details of how it happened. Though they haven't seen or even spoken to Aaron in, honestly, years, they don't understand why someone would do this to him. You see, police learn that he'd had a really happy childhood. There were five siblings altogether, so there was always someone to play with, and Aaron was like the daredevil of the bunch, always climbing these big trees that they had in their yard of their family home in Oregon. And it wasn't until high school that Aaron began getting into trouble. By that time, they had moved to Phoenix, and Aaron started drinking and using drugs, and when he was 19, he had crashed his motorcycle while being chased by police. He actually almost died in that accident, and he

ended up suffering some brain damage, and that is when he really started to pull away from his family. When his parents moved back to Oregon for a bit, he actually stayed behind in Phoenix, preferring to sleep in homeless shelters. And when they eventually came back to Phoenix, he tried living with them for like a minute, but it just didn't last very long. Over the years, he was in and out of jail, including a seven-year stint for burglary. And after he was released, his family tried to find him and even bring him home.

His dad even hired two private investigators to track him down at one point. But Aaron was restless. Like he didn't like to stay in one place for very long. And this whole time, his struggles with drugs and alcohol use are continuing. But his family says they never stopped loving him and they never stopped hoping that he was gonna turn his life around.

So now to learn that not only was that never going to happen, but that he died in this god-awful way is just beyond devastating. Now, because his family hadn't talked to him in so long, they couldn't offer anything valuable to police to progress their investigation. But around this time, they do get what they think is a promising lead elsewhere. See, the rumor mill hadn't stopped turning, and the police were determined to get to the root of it all. So they track down this guy, Carl, who seems to be at the center of this rumor mill.

Lots of people they talk to are basically like, well, I heard this or that or whatever, but I heard it from Carl. But the problem is, once they get to Carl, he says, well, I'm just telling people what Robert told me. Oh my God. So around and around and around the story goes. Now, it's a good thing they did track Carl down though, because there are a few noticeable differences between the story that Robert has been telling Pellee's

and what he's apparently been telling Carl. Like for one, in this new version of events, Robert's been telling Carl that Charlie wasn't even there. Again, Charlie's the one that has the two statements that are changing. He says he's not there, but Max, Nate's brother, was there. It seems like they're basically swapped out. Now, as they continue to talk to Carl,

what they find out is that Carl, I guess, at some point, actually confronted Nate about the fire. And Carl says that Nate denied being involved to him, so he's not bragging about being involved to everyone. And he even said that if he had done anything to Aaron, he'd be two states away by now. But Carl says he doesn't believe him. He also thinks that Nate is responsible for Aaron's death.

But Carl says that he won't testify to any of that should this case ever go to trial. That's so frustrating. I feel like everyone is just talking around this same group of guys, but no one can actually definitively say, yes, I was there. This is who started the fire. Have they actually talked to any of this group yet? No. So that's the thing.

Like these guys are proving to be difficult to actually track down. Detective Rothenberg told us that at the time they think Nate and Max might have left the area for a while, but it sounds like Max might have actually been at college at the time. And Charlie had apparently moved to California. Oh, so they all just conveniently peaced out at the exact same time? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So the timing isn't lost on me either. But there isn't much they can do.

Again, they don't have an eyewitness. And like I said, even though Carl's like, oh, I'll never testify, I don't know what he would even testify to because he wasn't there. He's hearing rumors like everyone else. And so that's the problem. Everything in this is like heard third hand, and lead after lead falls through. And everyone who says that they have information just ends up regurgitating the same rumors that they've heard a thousand times. So until they get some concrete evidence, that's all everything is, just rumors. But with these rumors, some people start to suggest a possible motive. Some of these guys who are known to mess with Erin, I guess are wealthy.

Maybe they just don't have any sympathy for homeless people because they've never dealt with any hardships. And that might seem like a stretch, but this lack of empathy isn't just towards Aaron. I kind of looked into this, and according to John Dickerson's reporting for the Phoenix New Times, there had been a recent uptick in violence against homeless people. And that disturbing trend can be seen across the country.

The National Coalition for the Homeless says that in 2006, 122 homeless people were attacked and 20 of them were murdered. Now that's probably an underreporting. Again, that's from years and years and years ago. Yeah, I was gonna say, that's also just the ones that were reported. Exactly, because what I know is that

Aaron didn't report any of the incidents that were happening to him to police. And everyone saw it happening. They did. I mean, how many accounts said like, this was going on, these that were happening to him to police. And everyone saw it happening. They did. I mean, how many accounts said like, this was going on, these guys were messing with him like anytime they were around. Well, and what's especially sad is that it seemed like despite everything, despite the harassment, Aaron kind of thought of these guys like as friends.

He thought that they liked him or something. But these so-called friends now are nowhere to be found. And for months, the police are just at a standstill. And time doesn't bring more answers. In early June, police learned that no ignitable liquid residues were found on any of Aaron's clothing. But the lab does caution that negative results don't rule out the possibility that liquids, specifically ignitable liquids, were initially at the scene. So like an accelerant? Yeah, yeah, we're talking like gasoline or something like that and they're saying that we couldn't find any. That doesn't mean they weren't there. They could have

evaporated. They could have been completely consumed by the flames. So physical evidence is telling them nothing. But that month, that's when a guy named Ryan comes forward with a story that police haven't heard yet. When Ryan sits down with them, he tells three variations of the same story. And I'm not gonna tell you every single detail because honestly it gets super confusing. Like I can't tell you how many times I had to go over it over and over again and I was still finding myself getting confused. But the basics of what you need to know are this. He introduces two new people, Curtis and Ramon. And he says that these guys hang out with lots of the people in our original

group of four guys, who if you remember are Nate, Max, Charlie, and Donnie. Although notably Donnie hasn't been placed at the scene by anyone yet. It's all been Nate, Max, and Charlie. But everybody knows that Donnie always hangs around with these other three guys. So that's why he's kind of like being lumped in with them. Right. And now Ryan is saying that Curtis and Ramon also hang out with these guys regularly.

Got it. So basically where his story ends up landing is these two new guys, Curtis and Ramon also hang out with these guys regularly. Got it. So basically where his story ends up landing is these two new guys, Curtis and Ramon, and then three of the original group, Nate, Charlie, and Donnie. So basically everyone but Nate's brother Max. Right, right, right. Okay, so you're following. I know there's a lot of names. There's a lot going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he says those five people were all there with Aaron on the night that he died. And he said that while they were hanging out, Donnie and Nate were flicking lit matches at Aaron.

And he says that it was Donnie's match that got caught on either Aaron's beard or the sleeve of his wool coat that he was wearing. And Ryan says that Aaron was really drunk, so he didn't really react to this happening. Now he says like, I mean, it has to be really shortly after they flick this, but basically he's like, we all got up and we got in the car and we drove away and we look back and that's when we noticed that Aaron is face down on the bench burning. But they just like figured he'd put the fire out by himself and they just kept driving. So was Ryan there? No.

Of course he wasn't. I mean, I know. Okay. So if he wasn't there, then where did he get this information? If you tell me he heard it from a friend, I might scream into this mic. Well, I mean, that's the only way he can. So go ahead and scream. But he does say that like someone there told him.

So he says that he heard it from Ramon, who again, he's saying Ramon was there when it happened. And like in this same breath, he also tries like vouching for Ramon. He's like, he's a good guy. He was the one that was like crying as he recounted what had happened that night. He knows that it kills him inside

to think that they could have helped him but didn't. But he says that the other guys he heard were not sad at all. Like I guess they were finding it funny. They're like laughing about it. Okay. Do police believe any of this story though? I mean, maybe. Again, it's interesting. It's at least different than everything they've heard before. They're at least like one degree removed right from the person, not like six or whatever. Right, right. But the person, not like six or whatever. Right, right. But the problem is it is still someone who heard the story from someone else.

It is not an eyewitness. And now they want to corroborate this as best as they can. At the time, police are still having a hard time tracking down everyone, except they are able to actually track down Ramon, who is supposed to be the source of this information. And if what Ryan is saying is true, that he is the one who has like a sense of remorse about this whole thing, maybe they're going to have like some luck getting him to talk. When they bring Ramon in, he is freaked out. And at first, he insists that he wasn't there during the fire.

He says that they were all hanging out, but he and Curtis just kind of smoked some weed and then they left. But police don't believe him. So investigators warn him that they have security footage, which we know they don't, but they're like hoping that that'll get him talking. And it works because finally Ramon breaks. He tells detectives that he actually saw the whole thing.

He says that Donnie was trying to light a blunt with some matches, but they were all duds. So Donnie would like strike a match, then flick it, and one of the matches landed on Aaron's wrist or cuff or something. And Aaron was so drunk that he couldn't even lift up his head. He was like basically passed out on the bench. And in the position that he was in, which was like half sitting, half slash like laying, the match landed by his shoulder and by his long hair. Now he says, Donnie finally got the blunt lit while this is going on, and they all jump in someone's car to drive away.

But as they're pulling out of the parking lot, Ramon looked over and saw the sleeve of Aaron's coat was on fire. But he says, they didn't turn back. And later on, Nate got a text from someone asking if he had heard about what happened. And that is when Donnie started to freak out saying that he needed to get out of the state and that if anyone told on him, he'd have them killed.

Since then, Donnie had called Curtis and others from private numbers to threaten them, he said. Which is why Ramon says that he hasn't come forward. He was scared for his life and for even his family's safety. Ramon says that he doesn't think Donnie meant to kill Aaron, but accident or not, if Ramon is telling the truth, Aaron's death is Donnie's fault. Yeah, and if they were all there and knew that he was on fire, but decided not to turn around and help, then they're all technically involved with Aaron's death and could actually be held accountable in some way.

Right, especially if what they're saying is true, that Aaron was so drunk that he couldn't even sit up, like he wasn't even conscious. Completely incapacitated, yeah. Yeah, any thought anyone might have had of like, oh, he'll put himself out? I don't even know how you could actually think that. So this interview actually changes everything. Like Ramon might not be 100% consistent, but police finally have somebody who was there. They have an eyewitness, not somebody who heard it from somebody who heard it from somebody

else. Yeah, this is huge, honestly. Yeah. So a couple of days later, after detectives consult with a medical examiner, Aaron's manner of death is officially changed from undetermined to homicide. Meanwhile, the used matches that they found at the scene, which had not been sent to the lab for testing,

are submitted for DNA analysis. And detectives also decide to bring in Curtis to see if he'll corroborate what Ramon said. But he says that he doesn't remember much from Christmas. He says the whole night was like a blur, but he certainly doesn't remember Aaron catching fire. And he says he can barely even recall names of the guys who were there because he doesn't know them all that well.

However, police know that's not true. You see, they have his phone records, which show that he had called Nate four times within an hour that night. And when they confront him with this, he said that Nate knows a guy who gets them weed. So he's like, that's the only reason I was calling. That's why there's like four calls, whatever. Okay. Now they want him to take a polygraph.

He's like, definitely not willing to do that. Mostly because he says he just smoked a few hours ago and he doesn't know like what that's going to do to the results. And this is where police like jump in and they're like, actually, you've already been taking a polygraph this whole time. You just didn't know it. Police tell him that they have been analyzing his voice and doing like a stress test analysis thing as he's talking.

And so they're like, you know, even though you don't think you're taking a poly, like we know you're lying. Now, this isn't actually true. Police weren't testing his voice. And Britt, I actually had you look this up anyways. Like, if they were doing it, would it have been accurate? And you found some interesting things, right? Yeah. So basically, voice stress tests definitely are not all that accurate. I actually found this one study by the National Institute of Justice, and it shows that even the most popular programs used to conduct those tests at that time are really no better than flipping a coin when it comes to getting an accurate definition of truth or lies.

I feel like I heard one time that they're even less reliable than a polygraph, but I'm not 100% on that. Either way, so they tell him this lie, Curtis doesn't know that they're lying, so he starts to backtrack. And eventually he's like, okay, I did see someone flicking matches, but only at the ground. And he admits that when they were all in the car, someone got a text about how the whole area had turned into a crime scene, like there was tape all around it. But he says that he's not sure who was messing with Aaron or who was flicking matches. and he doesn't think anyone knew that Aaron

had even caught fire. So as far as witnesses go, this guy's like meh at best. But regardless, investigators know that it's time to go after one of their big fish, the alleged fire starter, Donnie. And it's their lucky day. They learn that Donnie was just arrested that past May in Washington. Detectives contact prosecutors there in Washington and find out that Donnie had recently checked into a drug rehab facility. His defense attorney wouldn't

give the prosecutors any details, but that attorney promised that Donnie would be at his next court appearance on July 10th at 9 a.m So these Phoenix detectives fly out to Washington on July 9th they get a search warrant to take DNA samples from Donnie and true to his lawyer's word the next day Donnie appears in court and after the appearance wraps police bring him in to chat with him and He pretty much agrees to talk openly as long as his lawyer is present And so after taking that DNA sample they sit down to hear Donnie's version of events And he pretty much agrees to talk openly as long as his lawyer is present. And so after taking that DNA sample, they sit down to hear Donnie's version of events.

He says that back at home, he and his friends often hung out in that little courtyard by the subway. That was a regular hangout spot. And he knew that people messed with Aaron, although he says he didn't participate because he didn't think it was funny. And he says even though people messed with Aaron, everyone still liked him. Like they were cool with him. They weren't doing it because they didn't like him. Again, I don't know if this goes back to like them being bored rich kids or what, but he's like the whole crew would give him money. They'd buy him cigarettes, stuff

like that. And he's like, listen, Aaron was a good guy. I even considered him a friend. So when it comes to that day, he tells detectives that on Christmas, he met up with Nate and Charlie and this third guy that he only knows by the nickname, Color Banger. And police don't recognize this alias at all. And Donnie says all he knows about this Color Banger guy is that he's the skinny white guy, early 20s, he uses meth, lives somewhere around the area and wears colorful tight clothing, hence the nickname, I guess, I don't know. Basically, he's got this punk rock style, short spiky hair and piercings.

So anyways, there's this new guy now. So on Christmas, they're all hanging out with Aaron and someone bought Aaron a sandwich and some shooters, which are those small airline bottles that they found at the scene. Donnie says that he wasn't drinking at all because he had to drive, but Aaron got really drunk and passed out on the bench. He says other people kind of came and went while they were there, friends, people from the neighborhood, Curtis, possibly Ramon. Then around maybe six or seven, Donnie says his aunt calls his cell

to let him know that Christmas dinner was ready, so he needed to get back. So that's when he says he left alone in his own silver BMW. He thinks maybe he stopped somewhere to get cigarettes, and then he went right to his aunt's house, which is in Scottsdale, where he spent the night. Wait, so he's saying that he wasn't even there when the fire was started. Bingo. According to Donnie, he only found out about the fire the next morning from an unnamed friend, and he said he didn't even believe it at first because the whole story was so

shocking, again, so unexpected. Now he says that whoever that unnamed friend is told him that it was Colorbanger who threw the match or couple of matches at Aaron's arm, which resulted in the fire, but it was all an accident. Okay, to be clear, this could just be another situation where information or supposed details about this crime has been passed down from one friend to another. Is there anyone else who can verify the story, like that friend, for instance? Well, no, because Donnie tells detectives that he's not sure where his friend got his information and he doesn't know how to get in touch with him.

He doesn't know how to get in touch with his friend? Yeah, he says no. Cool. Yeah. Awesome. Perfect. Yeah, it's definitely not the confession investigators were hoping for. And basically, the interview ends when Donnie's defense attorney says,

listen, he's due to appear in court on another case, like we gotta go. So detectives head back to Phoenix with Donnie's DNA. But when they talk to the folks at the lab, they're told that all they can really test DNA on are the matchsticks and in that process, they're gonna basically totally consume any DNA that's there. So, this is a question that comes up a lot in cases. We can try the testing, but if nothing's there, you can never test again. Right.

We can try the testing, but it's the only testing we could ever do. Yeah. And in a year or two, the testing might be better if you want to wait. It's like this conundrum that so many detectives find themselves in. But at this point, it's November 2008. So they're coming up on the one year anniversary of Aaron's death. And I mean, they don't have any more than rumors and speculation to go off of. So they're like, you know what, let's just see what we can find. Go ahead, test the matchsticks. But months later, in April 2009, the lab reports come back that there is no human DNA that was detected on the matches. So after the DNA

is a bust, years start to go by. Tips occasionally come in, but there are no major developments. Then in the fall of 2015, police decided to take a fresh look. They appoint Detective Rothenberg, who is assigned to Phoenix's cold case unit, and he reviews all of the evidence investigators collected eight years prior. Interview transcripts, audio files, lab reports, photos, everything. And in February of 2016, they decide to go all the way back to the very beginning and talk to Robert again. Okay, let me make sure I remember his story.

He's the one who originally placed Nate, Charlie, and two other unnamed guys at the scene with Aaron. Mm-hmm. And he thinks that maybe Nate's brother Max might have joined them later in the evening, but he wasn't like 100% sure. Right. And he's the one who was at the center of the Rubber Mill back when everything first went down.

Okay. But now they're hoping that maybe he'll remember something new. And even if he doesn't remember anything new, maybe he'll finally stick to one story. That'd be lovely. Yeah, but that's actually the opposite of what happens because his story has changed again.

And this time, not like, oh, a little, oh, Charlie said this or whatever, like a drastic change. Robert now says that Nate's brother Max was there that night. Not only that, he says when he left the courtyard, he saw Max walking towards where Aaron and everyone else was hanging out, and he was carrying a red gas can. Um, that's not just different. That's like a big important different. Huge! Am I wrong? Like, a gas can? Yeah, this is the first time anyone has brought up a gas can.

And they find it hard to believe this crucial detail would just slip someone's mind, you know? Right, I mean, someone was on fire and there was a gas can. Those feel really connected like you'd remember it the first time. Mm-hmm. and there was a gas can. Those feel really connected like you'd remember it the first time. And even if the accelerants at the scene were evaporated or washed away like you said earlier, I don't know how this wasn't in his original version of events. Like a red gas can, that's going to stick out in your mind. SONIA Yeah. And again, to remind you, Max wasn't in his original version of events. He like was very specific in saying like, I never saw him, but they're just like always together.

So I assume he's there and now you- We have a whole extra person and a gas can in his story. Yeah, it's so strange, but strange or not, it's been years since police have gotten anything substantial. So they're like maybe we just get Max's DNA just to be safe. Okay, but they don't have anything to test it against, do they? No, they don't. But I think the idea is to maybe get a sample just in case they can test it against something in the future, or it's a chance to talk to Max or make Max think there's DNA.

I don't know. What I know is that when Max comes into the station to give the sample, they try and talk to him about Aaron, but he basically asks for a lawyer right away and like that's the end of that. Now over the years, there are a few other names or at least nicknames that kind of pop up. Like for instance, in April of 2020, Phoenix police get an anonymous call from someone who says that word on the street is that a Hispanic man known only by the nickname Psycho took part in killing Aaron.

Now this psycho is supposedly in his mid-20s with short dark hair, brown eyes, and tattoos. They say he's like 5'6", 5'7", 135, 140 pounds, and he has a criminal record, although the anonymous caller didn't say what the record was for. And police are never able to identify this quote unquote psycho person. And apparently it's like a really popular nickname. So like it doesn't even narrow it down. Right. And speaking of nicknames, they also never find out who color banger was, if there was

a color banger. Like Detective Rosenberg says he might not even be a real person at all, just a fictitious nickname and description that was fed to police. Right, to kind of like throw them off or whatever. Right. So what about Nate and Charlie? Were they ever able to track those two down? Oh, yeah. So they were able to track down Nate, but just like his brother, he lawyered up right away and has basically overall refused to assist in the investigation.

As for Charlie, police haven't been able to find him. They confirmed that he moved to California, but as of the release of this episode, he still hasn't been located. Police would love to talk to him if he's out there and wants to give him a call. So here's where the case stands today. Investigators have preserved DNA samples from a number of people, including Donnie and Max. They're still submitting evidence for lab testing and trying to locate some of the potential key players that they never got to speak with. What they really need to solve this case are eyewitness accounts, someone who can corroborate

Ramon's story. Because they say it's going to be too difficult to just move forward with Ramon because he's associated with the whole incident. say it's going to be too difficult to just move forward with Ramon because he's associated with the whole incident. So Detective Rostenberg is hoping that people who know what happened to Aaron will do the right thing and come forward. And of course, no one wants the case solved more than Aaron's family. His sister Nikki told us how frustrating it is to try and pick up the pieces and go on

without her brother, while whoever is responsible for cutting his life short gets to live theirs every single day. So if you have any information about the death of Aaron Taylor in 2007, on Christmas Day, please contact the Phoenix Police Department at 602-495-5883. Or you can email coldcasehomicide.ppd at phoenix.gov. There's also an option to leave anonymous tips by contacting Silent Witness at 1-800-343-TIPS. You can find all the source material for this episode on our website, crimejunkiepodcast.com. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. It's a great way to get started. Crime Junkie is an AudioChuck production. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?

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