Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Honey Malone: Sweet and ‘bubbly’ high school girl murdered at friend’s house and dragged into closet, family desperately needs answers

Episode Date: September 24, 2018

Police believe Vanessa "Honey" Malone was just at the "wrong place at the wrong time" when she was shot to death inside a Stone Mountain, Georgia, apartment, but her family thinks the 18-year-old was targeted by her killers. Nancy Grace talked to Honey's mother and sister as she digs into this tragic cold case. Also joining the search for answers are Cold Case Research Institute director Sheryl McCollum, Southern California prosecutor Wendy Patrick, Los Angeles psycho analyst Dr. Bethany Marshall, and CrimeOnline.com reporter Leigh Egan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. If you have heard about the murder of Jessica Chambers, do not miss the new docuseries on Oxygen. It's the true story of a teen girl, a cheerleader in Mississippi, who is burned alive. And the story of the man accused of this heinous crime. Is it the right guy on trial? Who is he? And who is Jessica Chambers? And how does such a horrific crime occur? With more questions than answers, this is a case that has captured national headlines, taken over social media, and leaves a small town divided. This is a must-see TV event. It features exclusive interviews that take you inside the investigation as the search for answers and justice goes on.

Unspeakable Crime, The Killing of Jessica Chambers, Saturdays at 7, 6 Central on Oxygen, the new network for crime. Five Christmases have gone by and Flora Malone hasn't celebrated one of them. I don't celebrate at all. I don't go buy gifts. I don't put up a tree. Flora can't bring herself to enjoy the holidays because her joy was stolen when someone murdered her daughter, Vanessa. Who wants to outlive their children? Vanessa, who everyone affectionately called honey, was shot to death in 2012. DeKalb police say the 18-year-old walked in on an armed robbery at a Stone Mountain apartment complex. Detectives believe she interrupted three to six armed robbers who had tied up two people staying there. I'm Nancy Grace. This is

Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. When I hear the story of Honey Malone, which has haunted me now for years, it sends a chill down my arms, and I'll tell you why. This beautiful young girl is so beloved by her family, by her mother, Flora, her sister, Cassandra, and so many others. And she reminds me of my little girl, Lucy. That day, Honey's mom, Flora, picked her up, her teen girl, from work. Yes, she was working. She lived with her mom, of course, in Stone Mountain, Georgia at the time they headed home. And then, like so many other teens do, she wanted to go out with her friends. Well, that was fine. Everything was fine. So she's going to go out for just a little while with her teen girlfriends, but she never comes home again.

Joining me right now is Honey's mother, Flora Malone, and her sister, Cassandra. Also with me, veteran prosecutor out of the California jurisdiction, Wendy Patrick, L.A. psychoanalyst, renowned in her field, Dr. Bethany Marshall, director of the Cold Case Research Institute, Cheryl McCollum, and Crime to thank you for being with us. And I know how much telling Honey's story dredges up a lot of pain. Why are you doing it? First of all, Nancy, thank you for having us. Because our opinion is that the more we can get her name and face the story out there, the better chances we have of having somebody come forward finally and saying what they know on her face. Because it's just the story that they told is so bizarre to us.

It can't be true. Well, I thought it was bizarre too, Ms. Malone. We are talking about Flora Malone's beautiful girl. I wish you could see a picture of her that I'm looking at right now. Beautiful curls cascading down her, down below her shoulders, framing her face. Just really classic, beautiful features. Vanessa Malone, nicknamed Honey, gorgeous and gone. Flora, that evening, when you let Honey go out with her teen friends, you thought nothing of it, correct? Correct.

She said she was tired and wouldn't be gone very long at all. What happened that evening after she walked out the door? What happened that evening after she walked out the door? What happened next? Well, the funny thing is she came right back in like two minutes later and she came all the way around to my room and said, mom, I really love you. And I said, I love you too. And then she said, I'll be right back. And then we didn't. Also with me is Vanessa Malone, known as Honey, Cassandra Kennedy, her sister. Cassandra, what do you recall of that evening?

Well, I was at work all day that day. When I got back home, I took my shower as normal. I was about to get in bed, and I get a hysterical phone call from my mom. I mean, totally hysterical. I'm like, mom, what's wrong? What's wrong? What's wrong? She's like, I think my worst nightmare has happened. And I'm like, what do you mean? Like, what do you mean? What do you mean? And she's like, honey got shot. And I said, what do you mean she got shot? Mom, tell me like what happened? What happened? But she was crying so hard that all I could do was just say, okay,. And I jumped in the car. I sped straight over there praying like, please God, don't let it be honey. Please don't let it be Vanessa. Please don't let it be Vanessa. And I get there. We walked through to where she was. Well, the apartments where she was and it's taped off and we're just sitting there waiting mom said that the police hadn't told her anything hadn't said that it was her anything yet so we're just kind of standing there waiting I probably arrived maybe uh maybe we'll just say midnight

I got there somewhere between 1145 and midnight. And we sat there on the curb, like praying it wasn't Vanessa. And unfortunately kind of praying that it would just be a lookalike. I know that sucks to other families, but we were just hoping that it wasn't her. And we, um, we sat on the curb, like thinking like thinking like oh if it is her what are we going to do like it was just really really sad and we just were just sitting there so we didn't get a confirmation hold on just a moment hold on just a moment that night started off so innocently joining me cheryl mccullum director of the cold case research institute Honey comes home from work. She's a teen girl, but she has a job. And her mom said that even though she was tired, it was very odd that all

of a sudden, having gone from very tired, she wanted to go out with her friends and is firmly convinced that someone texted or called and lured Honey Malone, Vanessa, out of their home. Cheryl McCollum, you have been on the case from the get-go. Tell me from the beginning your analysis. Nancy, it's exactly what you just said. She was tired. She was going to hang out. Suddenly, she got some message or a phone call from someone and changed her mind and wanted to go over to this apartment where her friends were. And the thing that sticks out for me is that the family knows so little. Some of the basic information that you would give, Nancy, both you and I will tell people

we started our careers really as victim advocates. That's what we've been fighting for from the beginning. And you've got a family here that doesn't know the caliber of the weapon, whether or not police have the weapon. They've never seen crime scene photographs. They don't have an autopsy report. They know so little. It leaves me speechless. Well, Cheryl, I don't understand how there cannot be an autopsy report.

Oh, I didn't say there wasn't an autopsy report. We were told we couldn't get it. Why? They said that we had to wait until the case was solved. We can't even hear a 911 call. We have asked several people. We have even requested it through the 911, official forms and everything. And they said sure until they saw the name name and then they said not in her case.

And my question is, you hear 911 calls all the time. Yeah. Faces don't have to be found. You're absolutely right. Well, there are many theories out there as to why the family is not able to get even the most elementary information about Vanessa's murder. Listen to this. Cops believe Honey was killed when she unwittingly walked in on an armed robbery of a suspected drug den. But Honey's family wonders, is there something more?

Why not kill all the witnesses? What's the difference? If you've got one body on you, you might as well just take them all out. Flora and Honey's sister Cassandra believe Honey was lured to the apartment to silence her. Why don't you believe that she walked into a robbery? I believe that they thought she knew something or saw something and was worried that she was going to tell. She wouldn't just walk into a kicked-in door to see what happened. That's not her.

From our friends at Crime Watch Daily, murder of young girls, another young teen girl, Jessica Chambers. If you have heard about her horrific death, you do not want to miss the new docuseries on oxygen. The true story of a teen girl, a cheerleader in Mississippi, burned alive. The story of the man now accused of the crime. Is he the right man? Is the right guy on trial? Who is he and who is Jessica Chambers? How does such a horrific crime even occur?

With more questions than answers, it is a case that has captured national headlines, taken over social media, and still leaves a small town divided. A must-see TV event, unspeakable crime, the killing of Jessica Chambers. Saturdays, 7, 6 Central on Oxygen, the new network for crime. Because I'm the big sister and I just feel like I was supposed to always be able to protect her. Honey's sister, Cassandra Kennedy, is also heartbroken and feels a sense of guilt, even though she knows there was nothing she could do. That was my baby sister. With each holiday season that passes, the family can't help but mourn and pray for closure. Mom hasn't been able to celebrate any holiday because of this. This family says they lost their ability to be happy the moment

they were robbed of their loved one. We just want justice. We just want to know who did it and why they did it. The pain of losing someone you love so much changes your life forever. But now that pain is topped off with the questions, the wonder, who did this to my little girl? Who did this to my sister? And getting no answers. I'm talking about the murder of a beautiful young teen girl, Vanessa Malone, Honey Malone. Her mother, Flora, and sister, Cassandra, with us today to Wendy Patrick, veteran California prosecutor. Wendy, I understand how some evidence is withheld from the public, but not from the family, Wendy. Yeah, you know, Nancy, first of all, my prayers are with you, the two family members we have on the phone. I mean, God bless you and your resilience. It's so frustrating in so many cases that more evidence isn't shared. We've got to believe there's some reason for that.

But again, it would be nice to know what that reason is to be able to understand perhaps the risks of compromising the integrity of an ongoing investigation. That's often the explanation. Because one of the things that maybe is heartening in all of this is cold cases are solved more and more every year because while memories do not improve with age, technology does, forensics does. And I know we've got a panel of experts on the line with us that can attest to this fact. So it's too bad that it's not more of a collaborative effort in terms of sharing at least with the two of you and with other family members. But I really hope that the reason for that, whatever it is, is in search of and in pursuit of finding justice sooner rather than later to get these answers to the very important questions that you have voiced.

But Wendy, I find it very odd that the police and prosecutors are not sharing the information with the family. I understand not making it public, but why not let the family come to the police station and give them the information? I don't understand that, Wendy. Yeah, Nancy, it's a question that I've heard from victims all over the country, and the answers are different in different jurisdictions. And I wish I knew what the answer was in this particular case. You know, we hope there's a good reason for it, but not knowing what that reason is,

I understand can be heartbreaking. Nancy, I'm with you. Well, what could a possible reason be? The biggest possible reason would be something having to do with not wanting information to get into the public realm, even through a leak, in order to make sure that they're able to get the bad guys to pursue leads they have. You know, tips come in on crimes like this continuously and on an ongoing basis. And one of the things they always want to do is surprise the perpetrators and able to,

you know, in other words, surprised. All right, because it happened in 2012 everybody will be surprised let me just put that tip line out there 404-577-8477 repeat 404-577-8477 i want to talk very quickly about her cell phone because shortly after vanessa left home, her mom says she hear what she thought were fireworks nearby. They live in apartment complex and she picks up the phone and she tries Honey's cell phone. You know, just a natural instinct. When I hear an ambulance, I know it's crazy. I immediately call people I know to make sure they're okay. Well, Flora called her daughter, Vanessa. No answer. Now, at first, she didn't think anything of it because it sounded like the cell phone was turned off. But then she saw emergency vehicles and she called again. Honey still didn't pick up.

And this time, mom deep inside knew something was wrong. But listen. One troubling question. Why was Honey's cell phone found far away from the murder scene? We tracked her cell phone after the murder to a location about a half mile away where it stayed there until it died. So how did Honey's cell phone end up half a mile away? It was stolen during the incident. Why would they take her cell phone? They've already killed her. What do they need her cell phone for?

Thinking that maybe she could call for help? No, they're just easy to resell on the street. That's for our friends at Crime Watch Daily, but her phone was not resold on the street. So that was not the motive for taking her cell phone. Joining us now, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter Lee Egan. Lee, where was the cell phone found? What can you tell me about the cell phone? Well, Nancy, it was found in a wooded area not too far away from where Honey was found in the apartment. And you're right.

It was never resold. The police found it. I don't think the family ever got the phone back. And there's been no explanation as to why it was found there aside from the officer saying that it was probably going to be resold and something happened and maybe somebody got wind of the crime and just ditched it. But other than that, there's no explanation. You know what's interesting? To Miss Malone, this is Honey's mother, how long after she left the home did you hear those fireworks as you thought they were?

I'm not sure exactly. I'm going to think that it was like 10, 15 minutes. Wow. Okay. For me, for me, that's quite the coincidence. Cheryl McCollum, director of Cold Case Research Institute. That is quite the coincidence. She leaves home and within 20 minutes, gunfire occurs.

She's dead immediately. Then her phone is found nearly a mile away. Nancy, Lee Egan and I have walked that scene. So we started at the condominium where Honey lived, and we walked the track that she would have taken to this apartment. Two minutes is about right, maybe, if she stopped to speak to one other person. But this happened very, very quickly. And again, for me, what's troubling is the cell phone obviously was not stolen. It was thrown out

of the car to get rid of it so they wouldn't be found with it. And again, the family doesn't know. They haven't been shown. This is a text message. These are the calls. Do y'all know these people? They haven't been able to cross-check. But now the 911 call to say, hey, we know that guy. He doesn't even sound upset or nervous or, you know, asking for help. They would be able to fill in some gaps here. Well, my question is, was the phone mined for information? Do we know about that? We don't know. The family knows nothing. Nothing has been shared with them. They know the phone was found approximately a half a mile away. They don't know what's in the phone. And let me just say this, I agree with the prosecutor. The integrity of the case is paramount. My concern is the only time

that Flora and Cassandra have been able to see a crime scene photograph on Crime Watch Daily because it was shared with them. On TV, the only time that they have seen crime scene photos. And I find it very curious indeed that kind of doubt, the not knowing, do to the human psyche? Not knowing, ambiguity is one of the worst things that you can expose a human being to, especially if that person's anxious. Because when we're faced with an ambiguous situation, we fill in the worst. We always fill in the blanks with the worst. So Flora and Cassandra have nothing to hang their thoughts on. They have no way to think about this.

They have no way to know what happened to Honey in her final moments. And I think it's so sad because that cell phone is a treasure trove of information. And Cassandra and Flora could help the police. They could possibly identify the perpetrator. They perhaps even know who lured Honey over there, but they're not being brought into the loop so they can help with the case. And, you know, they want to know what happened to Honey in her final moments. Like the panel's been talking about, she came home from work. She was tired. She was going to stay in. A phone call came through. She wanted to go out. That's very suspicious. 10 to 15 minutes later, her mother hears sounds that sound like popping sounds, like fireworks.

Flora wants to know what happened to her daughter. Wouldn't you want to know? I mean, this is, to me, this is unconscionable from the standpoint that the investigation, I think, is slowed down by not having information from the family. And also that Flora and Cassandra are now re-victimized by this ambiguity. Cops believe Honey was killed when she unwittingly walked in on an armed robbery of a suspected drug den. But Honey's family wonders, is there something more? Why not kill all the witnesses? What's the difference? If you've got one body on you, you might as well just take them all out. Flora and Honey's sister Cassandra believe Honey was lured to the apartment to silence her. Why don't you believe that she walked into a robbery?

I believe that they thought she knew something or saw something and was worried that she was going to tell. She wouldn't just walk into a kicked-in door to see what happened. That's not her. Our friends at Crime Watch Daily, what happened to Vanessa Honey Malone? With me, her mother, Flora, and sister, Cassandra, along with Wendy Patrick, Dr. Bethany Marshall, Cheryl McCollum, and Lee Egan from CrimeOnline.com. Tip line 404-577-8477. To Flora, Honey's mother, that evening, okay, they finally, around 2.15 in the morning, officially identify the victim to be Vanessa Malone.

Detectives from DeKalb County were assigned to investigate. They start interviewing friends and family. And during that time, two of Honey's friends who were renting the apartment where Honey was killed, tell police they were victims of a home invasion. Now, according to police, the couple claimed that three to six men, dressed in black, yielding guns, kicked down the door, tied them up, and forced them into the bathroom. And while they're ransacking the house, police say their theory is Honey stumbled in on the armed robbery.

She turned to run and she was shot for the first time. The pair in the bathroom said they heard screaming, then the sound of a gunshot. Now, according to what we have learned through the DeKalb County Public Information Officer, Honey was shot once in the back, then brought to a back bedroom and put in a closet where she was shot for a second time in the chest. Now, her so-called friends go on to tell police they hear the masked intruders leave, that they waited a few moments, then untied each other and got free. Huh. Robbery gone wrong theory. You know, Cheryl McCormick, what I don't understand is what's their motivation to kill Vanessa Malone but leave the other two people tied up in the bathroom

so loosely they could untie each other. Explain why her and not them. That's the million dollar question, Nancy, because she was the least threatening person in that room. She was the only person robbed. Her phone was the only thing taken. And for me, when you get to that apartment and you have a gunshot, the number of people that could have heard that are 20, 50. I mean, you're talking about, you know, apartments in front, you know, each side in the back, but they don't run immediately after shooting her the first time. They drag her through the living room, into the master bedroom, into the closet. They shoot her a second time. Then they rifle through her pockets to make sure

they have her cell phone. And again, why? She? Yeah, I don't get it. I don't get the significance of. She's the only one robbed. It appears to me she was targeted. Well, I agree to Wendy Patrick, California veteran felony prosecutor. What is the significance? What is the motive to shoot her not once but twice and hide her in a closet when the other people in the home who were ostensibly the home invasion targets, they don't get robbed. If anybody saw the perp's face, those two managed to live and were tied up so loosely they could untie each other. Why did they live?

They were not robbed. And she was called over to the apartment. She was killed and somebody took her cell phone. Yeah, I think the instincts that I'm hearing voiced by some of my colleagues on the panel are right on the money, that it almost looks like there at least was this belief that she knew something. You know, when you look at somebody being targeted, like you say, over others who may have witnessed the same set of facts,

couple that with the taking of the cell phone, mistakenly or truthfully, there was some fact or circumstance that perhaps incriminated somebody else that they thought she knew. You know, you worry, was it mistaken identity? Was it maybe somebody thought it was Honey that knew something when actually it was somebody else that they thought she knew. You know, you worry, was it mistaken identity? Was it maybe somebody thought it was Honey that knew something when actually it was somebody else? These are the kinds of answers that normally good old-fashioned questioning of witnesses

unearth. And you know, we don't know that that's not still taking place or that somebody won't come forward, even though I know it's been a number of years, and reveal that information. Because you're right. It certainly does seem like above other witnesses that were left alive, easily able to untie each other, that honey seems to have been targeted over the others. You know, Dr. Bethany Marshall, have you ever, ever heard me deliver a quote such as poetry ever?

Have you ever? I have heard. Yes. No. Yes? That's a yes, no. Yes, I have. No, actually. When did you hear me say a piece of poetry? Because I never have on air. Really? I'm going to rephrase the question.

Shakespeare. Yeah, not a poem. Not poetry. You are right, Shakespeare. Okay. Now, I want to tell you something. Shortly after my fiancé was murdered, I was trying to, I dropped out of school, as you know, and my life as I knew it ended. But I had to go far to go, I had to finish up one English literature class, and I very rarely, if ever, reopen my literature books, because it's just a part of

my life, I had to give up, and it hurts me, actually, it makes me sad to go back and look at it, but I remember this one poem has stuck with me all these years. And it was called Hap, like happenstance. And it was by Thomas Hardy. When I read this poem in school, I had to get up and leave the classroom. It's very short. And it goes, If some vengeful God would call to me from the sky and laugh and say, Thou suffering thing, your sorrow is my ecstasy.

Your love's loss is my profiting. Then I would bear it. I would clench myself and die still by the sense of anger unmerited, eased that a God stronger than me had willed me the tears I shed, but not so. How it arrives, its joy lies slain, unblooms the best hope ever sown, casualty obstructs the sun and rain. And that threw me over the edge that my life was ruined. Keith was murdered. His family's life was ruined on her deathbed. 20 years later, his mother was having memories of him. For what? No rhyme or happenstance. And I want to ask you, in this case, the family is saying, this wasn't just random. We don't accept that.

Are they wrong? Because I don't think they're wrong. Or are they just searching for some reason to make sense of it? Because I don't think they're wrong. Because this story does not make sense. Well, I don't think this is happenstance. I think the fact that she was tired, that her phone rang, she went straight to the apartment. 10 to 15 minutes later, she's dead. She was lured there. And the senseless part is I imagine these five or six men dressed in black, so dramatic, seemingly, allegedly ransacking this apartment, tying up two other victims who

unleashed themselves so easily, tells me that they wanted Honey over there. They wanted to kill her. Her life meant nothing to them. But what does an 18-year-old girl really know? That's what's so sad. I can't imagine that whatever they think she knew, that she really knew it all. She's a child. She was working. She was living with her mother. She was beautiful. Nancy, did you see the photos of her? I mean, I was looking at photos. They break my heart. You know, earlier when I was asking you about trying to make sense of violent crime, I think I heard either Cassandra or Flora saying something. Ladies, which one of you were talking? That was me, her mom. Jump in, dear. I know somebody had to have opened the door to let her in. So if they were really

being robbed, why would a robber let her in? That doesn't make sense. 18-year-old Vanessa Malone, called Honey by family and friends, was shot several times after police say she interrupted an armed robbery at this apartment complex. This homicide is our top priority in the office right now. We're working at every different angle possible. We really need help from the community. Detective Lynn Shuler says Honey Malone walked in on four to six men who tied up three people inside and were armed with semi-automatic weapons the three victims that we had tied up in the bathroom all heard her come in and then they heard the shots so it appears that she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time oh man how many times have I heard wrong place wrong time you're hearing that from Fox 5 Atlanta reporter Julia

Reynolds trying to get to the bottom of this. To Lee Egan joining me, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Give me a recap for those just joining us. Well, Honey Malone, 18-year-old teen girl, goes over to a friend's house in October 2012, and as soon as she walks in the door, she's shot in the, I think it was the back, and then they pull her into the closet of the master bedroom, shoot her again in the chest, killing her and leave. It just, you know, Cheryl, I'm going to stop saying over and over. It doesn't make sense because, you know, I can say it a million times. It's not going to change anything. I used to say to defense lawyers, you know, you

say it over and over again, like that's going to change something. It's not. But I'll say it one last time. It doesn't make sense. And I think it was Flora, Vanessa's mother, just said, why would the robbers open the door for her? I mean, in that configuration, I'm pretty sure that there was a back door. Why would they open the door for a witness if it were a home invasion? Why didn't they steal anything other than Vanessa's cell phone? The entire story does not make sense, and I'd be very curious, curious indeed, Cheryl McCollum, as to where these so-called friends are now. Exactly. Nancy, one other thing that is really pertinent about that scene, it appears that one of the perpetrators was also hit with a bullet. And one of the witnesses saw one of the perpetrators helping another one down the steps and into a car.

There's blood. There's blood evidence outside that DeKalb County collected. It came back not matching honey. That means we have their DNA. So, again, what we are begging for is has that been put into CODIS? Could we ourselves pay for phenotyping to get a look at who this person is? Wendy Patrick, California prosecutor, please explain what CODIS is. Well, we have a system, thankfully, it's getting better every year, where you can actually input DNA to see if you get what we call hits,

matches with other cases, with other suspects. That's one of the reasons, as my colleagues on the panel know, and you know as well, Nancy, that we take DNA from people when they're arrested. So it's one of those systems that is excellent for tying suspects, particularly unknown suspects, to other cases and for identifying suspects. So you're right. Anytime you have a case where there's DNA collected, that's the first thing you want to know. Now, of course, you hope that there are samples from other cases to compare them with. If they're not, then unfortunately, it's far more difficult to use that DNA to actually come up with a profile. Many people, even within the police force, believe this was a home invasion robbery,

but it doesn't make sense to me because nothing was robbed that we know of other than the victim's cell phone. She didn't even live there. To Cassandra Kennedy, this is Vanessa's sister. Cassandra, do you believe that the people that lived in that apartment, that someone may have had drugs? Yes, I'm not understanding why they would drag her body through the apartment. And the reason why we know that she was drugged is because I met up with the gentleman that they rented the apartment to and left her blood there in the carpet. To you, Cheryl, I was talking about illegal drugs. Do you believe that somebody had stashed drugs there? Do you believe that they were robbed, the owners of the apartment, but it was of drugs, and so they never told police what was taken? So it doesn't matter what, you know, they're trying to portray.

The issue is, again, the only person harmed is Honey, who didn't live there, who didn't stash drugs there, who wasn't a drug dealer. The only person that had anything stolen from them was Honey, who, again, was not a drug dealer, who didn't live in that apartment. Well, hold on. Hold on just a moment. Just a moment. It is pertinent to me, and I'll tell you why. Because unless something was stolen that the residents are not telling us about, that means nothing was stolen. Correct. If nothing was stolen, then the residents, in my mind, should be questioned again.

Now, a lot of times, as you know, out to you, to Dr. Bethany Marshall, people will, let's just say, flunk a polygraph. They may not be lying about, let's just say, the murder. They may be lying because at the time of the murder, they had an ounce of pot in their pocket. Right. And they don't want to get in trouble. Or they might have been high or they might have been driving drunk. And they're lying about that. And that throws off the lie detector test.

What I am saying is, if there was some contraband, if the residents there had stolen something, or it could be anything. And they're lying about it. And I am sleuthing right now. I don't have a shred of evidence to support that. But I'm trying to make sense of this. If they didn't have something stolen from that apartment, then the whole story is a lie. So my question is, was some contraband stolen that they don't want to tell cops about?

Well, I think it's an excellent question because what it tells me is if there was contraband they did not want to tell the police about, then they are not going to be completely forthcoming and tell all of the relevant information needed to solve this crime. And then Honey becomes a sacrificial lamb. And that word sacrificial lamb keeps coming to my mind as we're talking about this case, because I do believe Honey was sacrificed in some way. I do believe, according to one report, the door was kicked down. Is that right? The two residents are tied up so loosely they can get away. Nothing ostensibly is stolen from the apartment. That would be like money, cash, jewelry, something like that. Could have been

contraband as you're saying, but for some reason, the residents believe it's necessary to call honey over there. I feel like they're trying to distract the men who invaded the apartment by having Honey over there in order to pin the perpetrator's anxiety on Honey, as if she knows something, as if if they get rid of her, they're going to be safe, and that the residents were kind of saving their own skin. I know this is kind of a loose theory, but that's what makes sense to me. Well, we do have one development. In the last months, was a handgun seized that could lead to the killer of Vanessa Malone? Cheryl McCollum, what can you tell me about this seized handgun we were just hearing about? Well, one of the people that was involved in this overall crime of Honey being shot was arrested. And he had a gun on him at the time, and he's a convicted

felon. So they're hoping that that gun, which was a 9mm, is going to match up with the 9mm casings that were found at Honey's scene. Well, what do you mean he was connected? He was, I believe, one of the people that was tied up. Well, you know what? That leads me to a whole plethora of questions because when you hear home invasion, you think of violence and threats and beatings. But from what I've learned, the people living there claim guys dressed all in black with masks on, I mean, come on,

straight out of a fifth grade murder mystery novel, please. They claim they were tied up with a belt and the cord of an electric razor and put in the shower. An electrical cord? Really? And you couldn't get away? That doesn't sound true to me. How did Flora Malone, Honey's mother, that sounds like a lie.

Is that for real? None of them has ever agreed to talk to us. We have asked them several times. I have tried to reach out to different family members of theirs, different orphans of theirs, and none of them has ever been willing to speak to us. I find that very odd right there, Flora, because why wouldn't they agree to talk to you?

What are they hiding? That's my theory, too, because why wouldn't they agree to talk to you what what are they hiding that's that's my theory too because why wouldn't you i mean the girl that was there she didn't even say i'm sorry she's dead not sorry that i did it or anything but i just don't understand how they could just remain silent if they didn't have anything to do with it because it doesn't make sense. I mean, the whole robbery story doesn't make sense to me. The guy that was there said that his phone, his wallet was stolen. The girl that was there, she said her cell phone was stolen. But the police gave her cell phone back to her.

The whole phone wasn't stolen at all. And why would you do a whole home invasion dressed in ninja black with masks on to get a cell phone and one of them said three people and one of them said six there's a big difference if they would have said five or six i mean if one said five or one said six i can understand it but one said three so there's a big difference between three and six you don't know how many people robbed you. No one has been charged in connection with Vanessa Malone's murder. If you have information, please call 404-577-8477. Repeat, 404-577-8477. We are investigating the case. Go to CrimeOnline.com for all breaking crime and justice news,

including the investigation into the murder of Vanessa Honey Malone. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. this is an iHeart podcast