Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Missing tot boy miraculously found alive, soaking wet in briar patch after nearly 3-day search! PLUS: Renters facing eviction allegedly kill, stuff landlord in crawlspace

Episode Date: January 25, 2019

Little Casey Hathaway wandered a dense, swampy North Carolina forest for 2 days before he was rescued by searchers late Thursday. The 3-year-old went missing while playing in his grandmother's backyard on Tuesday. Nancy celebrates the boy's rescue with a panel including victims' advocate Marc Klaas, psycho analyst Dr. Bethany Marshall, private investigator Vincent Hill, and reporter David Deitert. Nancy also dives into the murder of a landlord allegedly murdered by renters he was attempting to evict. David Stokoe, a 40-year-old father of 4, was found dead in a crawlspace of the apartment. The panel includes lawyer Ashley Willcott, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan, psychologist Caryn Stark, and reporter Robyn Walensky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Do you know another parent or expecting parent? Are you wondering what can I give them as a gift? Don't give them another onesie. Don't give them a plastic toy or, God forbid, a toy gun that's just going to end up in the garage. Give them something that matters. And what matters the most is protecting their child.

What do you love most in the world? Your children. What will you do to protect them? Anything. I sat down with the smartest people I know in the world on matters of child safety, finding missing children, fighting back against predators. And what I learned is so important, powerful, and information so critical. I want you to have it. I want them to have it. Go to crimestopshere.com for a five-part series with action information that you can use to change your life and protect your child. Give that as a gift, not another onesie.

Find out how to protect your child when you're out at the mall or the store, the grocery, in the parking lot, at home. Find out about protection regarding babysitters and daycare, even online. I'd rather have that any day of the week than a plastic toy or, God forbid, a toy gun. Join Justice Nation. Go to crimestopshere.com. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Okay, and what's going on there? We lost my two-year-old grandson.

He's walked in the woods back there, and we can't find him. Three-year-old grandson. Okay in the woods back there, and we can't find him. Three-year-old grandson. Okay, so who's there with him? His whole sister. Are you saying his three-year-old? Yeah, he's three. Okay. The girls come to the house and left him there, and he's walked off somewhere, and we can't find him.

Okay, but you're not there at the house now? I'm at the house, yeah. Okay, and how long ago do you know he walked in there? It's been at least 45 minutes because we've been looking all in the woods for him. And it's behind your house? Huh? Is it directly behind your house? Yeah.

Well, on the side, yeah. Is he a white, black? He's white. Do you know what he was wearing? Probably a black little coat. You are hearing the frantic 911 call of a grandma, the three-year-old tot boy, Casey, goes missing. And in the last hours, listen. We responded on a tip and located by voice this young man and went to him uh disentangled him from some

briars or he was hung up in uh brought him out here we are that's right you heard it right a miracle three-year-old casey has been found alive trapped in thorn bushes, soaking wet, and calling out for his mommy. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. First, let's go out to Shane Dietert, ABC 11 TV, Durham reporter. Shane, what happened? Well, Nancy, we shot calls into the newsroom somewhere around 9 o'clock. Rumors had been found, so then we tracked it down. And it's not that often that the story ends this way. And, of course, we had crews down in the area, and we went to the hospital.

There were the FBI and Sheriff's Department held a press conference to confirm it, let us know Casey was okay. The sheriff said that Casey hadn't been in the place where he was found the whole time. So still trying to figure that out. And not for sure that that'll ever happen with Casey being three years old. Well, you're right, because the three-year-old little boy you had been missing for two days in freezing temperature, the bombshell is has been found alive. It is a miracle.

He is in good health near the North Carolina home from where he disappeared. People coming out in droves to look for the little boy, us trying to find him as well. Joining me right now, Mark Klass, tireless advocate for missing children, founder of Klass Kids after his daughter Polly went missing. Mark Class, I can't believe it. As it was going into day two, I started wondering if he had been abducted. Well, of course, that's always a concern, and we've covered so many of those cases in the past. But to give a little context to this, Nancy, this was an incredibly rural area. And he wandered off into the woods and disappeared under pretty treacherous conditions. It was freezing at night. There were winds. There was rain. The woods are full of sinkholes. They're full of ponds. They're full of creeks.

And somehow this kid was able to survive. In fact, they even turned away volunteers because of the treachery of the conditions, which left it to the professional search and rescue individuals, these amazing teams that put their lives on the line time after time after time. And this time it came out with a great result. They got the tip. They heard the little boy. They were able to go and rescue him, and he'll now live a full and productive life. It's just a testament to search and rescue's greatness. It all started with this frantic 911 call from the grandma. Do you know what he was wearing? Probably a black little coat.

A black coat? Yeah. Okay. Does he usually do this? Huh? Does he usually do this? No. Was he wearing a coat? Yeah. Okay. Does he usually do this? Huh? Does he usually do this? No. Wasn't he wearing pants?

Yeah, he had pants. Was it jeans? Yeah, I think so. Okay. And you said about 45 minutes to go? Yeah. Okay. All right.

Is it a big area of woods behind your house? Yeah, it's pretty big. Okay, and you've been out there looking for them yes okay all right we got a deputy headed to you okay and you said 45 minutes directly behind your house or side yeah okay all right if you see unless no we have some deputies headed that way okay okay thank you thank you you're hearing the grandma on the phone to dr bethany marshall renowned psychoanalyst joining us out of la dr bethany the grandma on the phone to Dr. Bethany Marshall, renowned psychoanalyst joining us out of L.A. Dr. Bethany, the grandma's taken a lot of heat because she waited 45 minutes to report him missing.

But the reality is she was looking for him. And, you know, as Mark Klaus said, this was a rural community. This is a very innocent story. This is a loving grandmother who is allowing little kids, toddlers to play in the backyard. But we're not talking New York City. We're not talking Chicago. We're talking a rural setting where children can go out and play. And it's very, very safe. And I think this grandmother thought that she could find a little boy but little boys do wander um this was innocent on the little boys part as well and i think grandma went through 45 terrifying minutes

before she finally found finally called 911 and i think grandma's to be congratulated because she was providing child care instead of being criticized for not calling 9-1-1 right away. Yeah, the grandma's been taking a lot of heat because she waited the 45 minutes before she called 9-1-1. But again, during those 45 minutes, she was out in the woods all around calling him, calling him for Casey to come home. And it was only when she was met with complete silence that she came back in and breaks down and calls emergency dispatch to report the three-year-old is gone. Guys, I want to take one brief moment and thank our partners making today's program possible. It's Blink.

And here's the question. When do you want to spot the burglar? When he's casing your home or after he's already inside. Or maybe when he's sticking his foot through your bedroom window. You can ask John. His Blink camera alerted him a burglar is breaking in while he and his family were actually home. Or Shannon, her blink camera caught a thief stealing packages right there on her front porch. Both times, the blink video clips

were sent to cops who helped catch the crooks. Blink motion-activated indoor-outdoor cameras are wire-free. They set up in minutes. They run on two AA batteries that last up to two years. And if you're traveling, Blink's live feed option lets you monitor your home. You can check on your pets, your packages, your home from anywhere using Blink smartphone app. No contracts, no subscriptions, completely affordable. And Blink works with Alexa. Blink camera systems make great gifts. And they're an excellent way to monitor when packages come, when people are coming to your door, whatever you want to monitor. Visit BlinkProtect.com slash Nancy.

BlinkProtect.com slash Nancy. BlinkProtect.com slash Nancy. Blink is an Amazon company. And I thank you, Blink, for being our partner. We just want to tell everybody that we're very thankful that you took the time out to come search for Casey and prayed for him, and he's good. He is good. He's up and talking. He's already asked to watch Netflix, so he's good.

He is good. Thank everybody for coming out, all the prayers. It means a lot. Yeah, just thank you. Thank everybody for coming out all the prayers. It means a lot. Yeah, just thank him. Thank you. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you, buddy. You're hearing the voices of little tot Casey parents, Brittany and Chris Hathaway, thanking everyone for all the efforts in the cold, in the wind, in the rain, trying to find their little boy. And I know they are exhausted. To Dr. Bethany Marshall joining us, I don't know how you ever get that out of your mind.

Like, I can remember right now when I turned around inside a baby's arrest and john david was gone that's nothing compared to what they've lived through i mean how do you ever get past that bethany i don't think you can because from the moment a parent has a child that parent knows that that child's entire well-being is dependent upon them. You're responsible for that child in the world to keep them safe, to keep them protected. And the idea that you would lose contact with that child and not know where they are is incredibly traumatic. And that's why when people are criticizing this grandma for not calling 911 for 45 minutes, can you imagine what was going through her mind? She must have been absolutely frantic. There are certain things that happen to us in life that touch on our core,

most primitive fears. And I think the idea of losing a child is just the worst trauma that a person can go through. And I want to say one thing about grandma grandma's taking care of her grandchild so that the grandchild's parents can work so that they can earn a living and take care of that child and to criticize this grandmother or any other grandparent who's taking care of a child I don't think that is respectful for the role that grandparents play in our society and allowing parents to work and support their children. You know what? You're absolutely right. You know, every time I have to go out of town, Bethany, my mom is here with the children. With me right now, Mark Klass, founder

of Klass Kids Foundation. Mark, I know that you endured so much pain when Polly went missing. Do you remember? It must have been like a nightmare blur even to this day. Well, first of all, Nancy, everything that Bethany said is absolutely spot on. And as she was speaking, it took me back to those times. And it was absolutely the worst thing that I've ever had to live through. And I can tell you that you feel like you're in the middle of a tornado of activity that you have absolutely no control over. And she's absolutely correct. You tell your children that you'll always be there for them, that you'll always protect them. And in reality, no parent can do that.

You can't be a helicopter parent 24-7. And it took me a good decade to be able to put my life in a place where I could look forward and I could appreciate things and I could listen to the music and I could smell the flowers. You know, Mark, when you look back on that time when Polly was missing before her body was found, that horrible, horrible period of time, what does that, like, I don't even like to think back

on when Keith was murdered, my fiancé, because it can drag me down and then I can't get back out. What reaction do you have when you look back at that time period, that chunk of time? Well, it was a seminal moment of my life. I mean, it was the first huge moment of my life was the day that my daughter was born because it taught me unconditional love. And during that period was the second huge moment of my life, although it lasted two months, but I existed in anger, I existed in fear, yet I also existed in diminishing hope.

And right until the minute that they were able to tell us that Polly's remains had been recovered, I had convinced myself and I think many, many other people that she was out there and that she was alive and that we would get the kind of a resolution that Casey Hathaway's parents received just last night. You know what, every time I talk to you, Mark Klass, it breaks my heart and it gives me so much hope that you have devoted your life to moments just like this, like bringing Casey Hathaway home alive. Joining me from ABC 11 TV Durham reporter Shane Dietert. Shane how did they find him and what had the little boy endured? Nancy there was a tip searchers went out and called his name and he answered them and the sheriff of Craven County actually walked to him and helped get him out of the briars. The day before, the weather

was so bad, it was raining and cloudy. At one point, they thought they may have to call the search off. He endured a lot with just the weather, cold temperatures. We talked about all the rescuers that were out there to help. There were even some soldiers and some Marines, and they were doing the grid search you know they were doing something shane i don't understand how he's out in the wilderness but then they get a tip how did that what is that you know that's what we are questioning ourselves and the sheriff didn't answer that question or the fbi last night we were told that there is you know they never thought he was abducted which is one reason that amber alert was never

issued yeah i'm back to the question i'm back to the question if he's out in the wilderness stuck in briars who called in a tip there's still something to this story that we don't know yet. That's what we will be working on to figure out. And for him to be less than a quarter of a mile from where he went missing from and, you know, the way the grandmother went and looked for him, the sheriff did tell us that he hadn't been there in that spot the whole time. So he was moving around. But he survived in 30-degree temperatures for over 48 hours. The tip to Vincent Hill, a private investigator, former cop, author of Playbook to a Murder on Amazon.

I don't understand how you get a tip and you follow the tip and you find the boy in briars in the wilderness so where would a tip about that have come from yeah that's a million-dollar question Nancy especially since the authorities said he was not previously there when they searched so how did he get there what what did you just say he was not previously there where they found him. So how did he get there? Was he moving around for these 48 hours?

To your point, how did he stay warm for these 48 hours? So I would question this tip, where it came from, who made this tip? How did they know where to go look? A lot to be investigated. A lot of questions still floating around, but I'm going to go again to Mark Klass and the joy of the moment of a miracle. It hardly ever happens. Mark. Well, Nancy, I think first to the tip,

I think that somebody either heard the little boy or they saw something and they understood that it was treacherous conditions and they contacted law enforcement so they could get the search and rescue team over there to pull them out of the briars. That would be my guess. But this is something that we have to hold on to. This is like Jamie Close. We're in a place now where children are being rescued. Their disappearances are being taken seriously. They're being assessed correctly. And we're finding them more often than we did in the past. And I think it's a testament to everybody that's working on this issue of missing children and how to recover them that we're in this place and we can only hope that things continue to get better and that more and more children are

brought home and even more importantly that less and less children are abused or otherwise find themselves in these difficult circumstances. We responded on a tip and located by voice, young man, and went to him, disentangled him from some briars that he was hung up in, brought him out, and here we are. He was cold, but he was verbal, in command to us. So the more we warmed him up, the more active he became. And I think for the conditions, I think he fared very well.

We're very fortunate for where we are. How far away from where he was reported missing did you find him? I want you to maybe less than a quarter of a mile maybe. Quarter and a half. Yeah, a little over a quarter of a mile. You guys obviously still have some questions, can you tell us what questions the process going forward in terms of any further investigations?

Well, as we treat, we're treating it from. The beginning as a missing child, you know the child has been found. Casey's been found and brought home. So like I said, the family was very cooperative. That was key as were all the neighbors. So, Jamie, you have anything?

No. Good to go. Any indication there was any kind of abduction, or that he was taken and then returned, or do we think this was a- No, absolutely not. At no time did we see any indications of an abduction. And just to take that a little further, that's why an Amber Alert was not put out. There were no signs of abduction.

Believe me, had there been the slightest we would have done that. Was he still in the same clothing as what was reported for people to look at? And then he cuts for Bruce as you said. He was in his still in his coat. It was zipped up. And he is.

He's cut up a little bit, scraped and stuff like that, but in very good spirits, very happy. And like I said, you know, what was really special was when he saw his little sister and smiled. So it was a very touching moment, very touching. What a miracle. Our prayers are answered. K.C. Hathaway, found alive.

Hi, Nancy Grace here. Have you ever Googled yourself, your neighbors, somebody at work, a crush? 57% of Americans admit to keeping an eye on their own online reputation. 46% admit to using the Internet to look up somebody from their past. But Google and Facebook, the tip of the iceberg when it comes to finding personal information. There's an innovative new website

called Truthfinder. It's now revealing the full scoop on millions of Americans. Truthfinder can search through hundreds of millions of public records in a matter of minutes. Truthfinder members can literally begin searching in seconds for sensitive data like criminal, traffic, arrest records. Before you bring someone new into your life and around the people you care for, your children, consider using Truthfinder.

What you find may astound you. Go to truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy. Find the truth. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. CRIME STORIES WITH NANCY GRACE. Police say learning the details while investigating this case has not only been disturbing, but unimaginable. Flashing lights outside Princeton Avenue near Windsor Street late Friday night. This is where police were looking for David Stokoe, a father of four reported missing on Thursday. When we arrived there, we saw things on scene that rose the level of concern for his well-being.

Stokoe was a real estate agent from South Jordan on his way to collect rent from this residence. Stokoe was found dead with a gunshot wound in a crawl space in the house. Police then turned to looking for who shot him. You are hearing from our friends in Salt Lake. That's reporter Erin Cox, and she's talking about a young father of four, David Stokoe, who goes to a property that he's renting out he's never seen alive again. Then, this. The victim in this homicide, David, was actually in that apartment.

There was an area that was not obvious when we went into that apartment and searched it initially. It was a secret place, crawlspace type of area. Once we began processing that scene, we discovered that secret passage or secret door and then discovered his remains. So he was at that apartment that entire time. It was only through processing that crime scene that we were able to discover his whereabouts. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. How did a young, handsome father of four end up dead in a crawlspace? Joining me right now, Ashley Wilcott, juvenile judge and lawyer. Joe Scott Morgan, forensics expert, author of Blood Beneath My Feet and professor of forensics,

Jacksonville State University. Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer. And joining me right now, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, Robin Walensky. Robin, let's start at the beginning. The dad leaves home to go to this property. What happens then? What do we know? We know that he goes to this place that he owns and he's renting out to two people, a man and a woman. And he's going there to collect rent and evict these people. And then suddenly this father of four kids, he has a son and three daughters and a beautiful wife, and is just never seen again. Never seen again. Then cops start investigating.

Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer. You know, this reminds me a little bit of cops going to a domestic. They go just to probably break up a fight. Next thing you know, they end up dead this guy goes on seemingly a simple errand to collect rent and or tell the people they got to get out if they don't pay the rent he's found in the crawl space dead Kathleen Murphy how does something so simple when you start dealing with family dynamics go it goes so wrong. You're the North Carolina family lawyer. In family situations, domestic situations where police officers come to the scene,

they have no idea what they're dealing with. You know what, to Joe Scott Morgan, how does a simple thing like a cop going to a domestic where you think you're just going to break up a crime or going to collect rent, how does everything go so sideways? You're the forensics expert. It starts out so simply, and then all of a sudden, you got a homicide. Yeah. I mean, domestic situations, Nancy, are proven time and time again to be the most violent of all because they contain passion. Many times money is involved or potentially drugs. You've got people that are in an intimate space. They're

arguing, they're fighting, they're stressed. This I'm not you know, it's not some dark specter that rises up out of the dark. It's many times people in that intimate circle, people in that environment that are so tense. Horror happens many times. Well, here's another issue to you. Robin Walensky, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, the name John Wayne Yacy spreads terror. John Wayne Yacy, as you will recall, was responsible for at least 29 murders. And those bodies, six of them, were found in the crawl space within his home. So hiding a body in a crawl space or within a wall is not unusual. It's not the first time it's ever happened, Robin. No, it's not unusual. I think that in this case that, you know, you're saying, you're making the point that, you know, police go and knock on the door.

They don't know what they're getting into. And then there's an argument potentially. and things go south very, very quickly. And there's many crimes of passion. I mean, not necessarily in this case, a crime of passion, but things can go from cold to hot in a matter of seconds. And then people panic after someone is knifed or shot or whatever happens or a neck is broken and then people panic and then they try to hide the body. Well you can't put the body under the bed, you can't leave the body on the couch, you can't put the body in the kitchen, so I guess you put the body in the crawl space if you don't have a basement. And that really limits the number of suspects because who else has

access to a crawl space for Pete's sake? This realtor, a young, handsome 40-year-old father of four, David Stokoe, initially reported missing on a Thursday when he failed to come back home after going to an apartment to collect rent from tenants. He never left that apartment, according to police. Police find David fatally shot and his body stuffed, hidden inside a crawl space inside the wall of the apartment he was visiting to collect the rent. A seemingly mundane task going to collect the rent goes sideways. David Stokoe worked here at Rand Life Real Estate as an associate broker. STOCO WORKED HERE AT RAND LIFE REAL ESTATE AS AN ASSOCIATE BROKER. HIS COLLEAGUE HERE TELLS ME HIS DEATH HAS DEVASTATED THEIR ENTIRE TEAM AND HAS SHAKEN THE ENTIRE REAL

ESTATE COMMUNITY IN UTAH. STOCO WAS A LICENSED REAL ESTATE REALTOR FOR MORE THAN 18 YEARS AND IN THAT TIME, THOSE WHO KNEW HIM TELL ME HE HAS A VERY GOOD REPUTATION OF BEING SOMEONE THAT WAS KIND AND EASY TO WORK WITH. INVESTIGATORS SAY STOCO WAS SHOT AND KILLED DURING A CONFRONTATION He has a very good reputation of being someone that was kind and easy to work with. Investigators say Stokoe was shot and killed during a confrontation while trying to evict one of his tenants.

They say this tragedy is an alarming reminder for them of how dangerous their jobs can be. It's crippling. Just crippling. Here at the office, I mean, as an asset, he's amazing. He had more energy to give than most people I know. Positive energy, let alone the pillar he was in the community. I think it really hit me hard because it was actually here, someone I knew, and in Utah. I read about these stories in other states, but not here. How senseless the death of a father of four, not the death, the murder, you are hearing KTVX ABC4 reporter Rosie Jen speaking with his real estate colleagues as they remember him. But why did it have to be this way? Just collecting the rent goes so wrong. Drugs, Nancy, and I said to your producer, in this particular situation, the individuals

were probably high on drugs. Take a listen to what cops are telling us right now in a police presser. The people that we're dealing with are drug users, and so drugs were part of the world that they were involved in. Certainly our victim was an innocent person that didn't have anything to do with the drug world. He just happened to be involved in interacting through renting this apartment to people that were involved in the drug world. I think it unfolded very quickly once he was there. I don't think that there's anything that had we moved faster would have changed any of that. It was a very quick incident.

And I haven't spoken with the family. I know our investigators have. They've reached out and had communication. The different pieces, obviously, we found the vehicle in West Valley, and we thought that's possibly where people were. We were in an apartment in South Salt Lake, so we're tracking down leads all over. Primarily the South Salt Lake location early this morning was where we found several of our individuals associated with this incident.

It looks like most of these people were found at the one location. You were hearing Detective Greg Wilking with the Salt Lake City PD. You know, your initial hunch, Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer, was absolutely correct. This was a situation that was exacerbated by drug use. Not by the victim, the father of four, David Stokoe, but by allegedly the people he went to go collect rent from. I mean, what could be more normal than paying your rent? And why did it have to end in homicide, Kathleen Murphy? The drugs that are affecting

our population right now is causing such turmoil and trauma. This guy was shot. I don't know how many times he was shot, but then his body was put into a crawl space. How inhumane is that? I mean, with no regard for the family at all. And I want to go to you, Joe Scott Morgan, forensics expert and author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon.

Joe Scott, we see it every day in our line of business. No remorse, no empathy at all for the victim or the victim's family at all. Yeah, you're absolutely right. Let me put one more element in here. No common sense on the part of these perpetrators. Nancy, they have left a wide swath of forensic evidence behind that's going to be very, very difficult for them to escape. What I'm really curious about here, the way this young man was killed, the way he was executed, I want to know what kind of position did they put him in? Did they stand over him and shoot him in the back of the head? Did they just stick a gun in his belly and shoot him?

I want to know these things. And Kathleen had mentioned the inhumanity of taking this guy and stuffing him into a crawl space. That is going to bode very, very poorly for them in court. You know what's really haunting me right now to Robin Walensky, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter Robin, it's everyday things like going to collect the rent, a cop going to a domestic where you think it's not going to be a big deal. And I can't tell you how many times, Robin, you know my husband very well,

he'll be at a red light, The person on one movie beeps the horn. No, he more sits on the horn. It's aggressive. Not like a toot toot. And I'm like, David, have you lost your mind? He goes, they need to go. I'm like, true, they do need to go. But look around.

You don't know who just got out on parole. You don't know who's packing a gun right now. You just don't know who just got out on parole. You don't know who's packing a gun right now. You just don't know what seemed to you is no big deal can turn on a dime, Robin, and that's what happened here. I know. I think exactly like you do, Nancy. You know, I get frustrated in those situations, and then you think, wow, does somebody have a gun that's just going to turn around and shoot you? You don't know if people are hopped up or high on drugs or opioids or what they're doing. Did they just get high? Are they on cocaine? You just don't know. And I think that we need to point

out that this guy was not a drug user. He was not going there to buy drugs and putting himself in jeopardy. Not at all. No, not at all. That's the point I really want to stress and that the police are stressing. And that basically he's just there. You know, when you're a realtor, this is a guy who feels comfortable showing strangers homes. So he has no reservations about going into this house because he's the homeowner and they're the tenant in a normal relationship. And so you and I have both rented apartments. You know, the homeowner comes to check on things or collect the rent and nothing like that is going to go down. So he felt comfortable in this scenario because he's a realtor. He deals with strangers. He goes to houses and apartments

all the time. So I don't think in his mind this scenario ever played out. You know, it reminds me when I was prosecuting downtown, Robin, and I lived in Midtown forever, right behind the popular restaurant Mary Mac's, where you can still get collards and turnips. And I rented a little, oh gosh, I don't know what you would call it, a little tiny, tiny apartment house. And it was behind one of the big old homes on Penn. And the landlords was the little old lady who had been born in the home and her new husband. Okay. And they're both in their eighties. He was in and out of my apartment all day, every day, Merv. And he was always fixing this or doing that. And I never thought anything about it. I couldn't have cared less. But, you know, people, especially when they're exposed to

drugs or they're on drugs, they just don't think the way we think. And I'm looking right now, Kathleen Murphy, family lawyer, I almost feel sick to my stomach. Jackie, look at this picture. This is a picture of David Stokoe with his wife. She's beautiful. And they've got three little girls. She's got them all dressed in these little winter white vests and a little boy who's dressed like his dad in the picture. Oh, my stars. Three little girls and a little boy. He's 40. Now, what are they going to do, Kathleen? I mean, because of these three drug fiends don't want to pay their rent, and they kill this dad. Oh, Nancy.

I swear, I almost feel sick to my stomach just looking at this picture and imagining what this mom, what is she going to do now with these four children to raise all on her own? Nancy, I have three girls and one boy. My husband has been on many domestic calls as a Raleigh firefighter. It is scary for her. It is done. It's happened. Her worst fear has come true in that I'm going to be by myself and my kids will not have the main role model those girls will need in their life.

Very sad and tragic. Kathleen, I want you and Robin and Joe Scott and Ashley, Jackie, Alan, listen, because this is his brother. This is David's brother speaking to Aaron Cox. Dave was a real estate agent who was murdered while trying to collect rent from two of his tenants. Absolutely horrific news, but his family says that's not what they're focusing on. And any strengths and abilities that I have that are the result of somebody on this earth, he's the one. Neil Stokoe is the youngest in his family of six boys. His older brother David was murdered on Thursday. He was everything to him. I looked up to him as a

leader, as a friend, as a mentor, as someone who has my back, has my best concern, my best interest in mind. Neil says Dave took the time to know people, especially his four kids. He made decisions like I'm going to stay home and I'm going to color with my kids. Not only a family man, but Dave was also a religious man. Neil says Dave believed his life had a purpose. We had a brother that committed suicide when we were, you know, when we were in our teenage years and it had a big impact on us. And so he took that cause and he took that situation and he turned it into a way to help others. Dave was the one who inspired Neil to serve a mission

for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dave would write him letters of encouragement while he was gone. Every letter that he would send me, he always signed it the same thing. He said, travel well the journey. He would say, I love you, bro. Travel well. travel well the journey and that's what neil intends to do focusing on the life they shared with dave and hoping for good things to come just like dave would have done the biggest compliment someone someone could pay me is man you sound like your brother leaving behind a family of four and a wife neil says he believes he will see dave again

and until then in dave's words i love you bro travel well the. Doing good because of this. And that is the very thing that Dave would want out of this whole thing. He would see this as an opportunity for people to be better. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.