Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - MOM DRAINS POND HERSELF WITH SUMP PUMP TO FIND MURDERED SON WHEN SHERIFFS REFUSE

Episode Date: October 7, 2022

Edward Goodwin went missing in June 2015. For more than two years, his family didn't know what happened to their son. Eventually, witnesses say Goodwin had been beaten to death, his body dumped into a pond.  The sheriff’s department partially drained the pond and found human hip bones, a femur bone, and some ribs. Edward Goodwin's body had been found, but the rest of his body was never recovered. This is despite assurances from law enforcement that the recovery would happen. After waiting for authorities to act, Connie Goodwin, Edward's mom, took it upon herself to get her son back. The Goodwins rented a sump pump to drain the pond themselves. As they started pumping the water out, bones could be seen sticking up through the water. The coroner was called and Edward Goodwin came home.    Joining Nancy Grace Today: Ed Goodwin - Victim's Father Connie Goodwin - Victim's Mother Jim Elliott - Of Counsel, Butler Snow LLP, www.butlersnow.com; Instagram: JimElliott1957 Sheryl McCollum - Forensic Expert; Founder: Cold Case Investigative Research Institute in Atlanta, GA,; ColdCaseCrimes.org; @ColdCaseTips  Jim Akers - Coroner, Butler County, (Poplar Bluff, MO); Medicolegal Death Investigator; Instructor: Missouri Coroners and Medical Examiner's Association, Academy Instructor, Missouri Sheriff's Association Training Academy, Former Deputy Sheriff/Detective, Butler County Police Department Ryan Krull - Journalist, The Riverfront Times; Twitter: @RyanWKrull, RiverfrontTimes.com Josephine Wentzel - Krystal Mitchell's Mother & Founder of "Angels of Justice;" Author: "THE CHASE: In Hot Pursuit of My Daughter’s Killer;" AngelsofJustice.org,  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. It is often said and quoted that there is nothing on earth stronger than a mother's love. A love that will make a mother do anything, go anywhere, brave dangerous circumstances, and most of all, never give up. And that is today's Crime Stories. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories.

Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. I'm talking about a handsome young guy, Edward Goodwin. Take a listen to our friends at KFVS. Goodwin was the father of two children, a teenager and a young child. What does your grandson say to you about his dad? He misses him. On Goodwin's birthday, his mother erected a cross in their front yard,

the only memorial she has for her son. Every week there's a new flower on there. The Butler County Sheriff says he hears from Mrs. Goodwin almost every day. I do. I'm probably a pain in his neck. I guess so. Your son just disappears off the face of the earth. You have no idea where he is. You know he would never walk out on his children or you, his mother. But yet no resolution and seemingly nothing being done about it.

Can you imagine going out to your front yard and erecting a cross for your son that you can't find, that you haven't heard from, and every day putting another flower there, one day after the next, after the next, after the next. What happened to Edward Goodwin? Listen. Edward Goodwin was a self-employed tile lair and father to a son and daughter. Connie Goodwin says her son came to visit often, but in June, several days went by without contact. And then Edward Goodwin uncharacteristically missed a planned family barbecue for the 4th of July. The next day, Connie Goodwin reported her son missing. And more from our friends at KFVS. Connie Goodwin hears a lot of stories about her son, but she's hoping now a new

tip can blow the sheriff's investigation wide open. I will never stop searching for my son. Connie Goodwin has been fighting for answers for the past year and is not giving up. Edward Goodwin disappeared June 27th of last year. It's been a living hell because you don't know where your son's at. The Butler County Sheriff's Department believe he's probably dead. They believe he's probably dead? Okay, joining me, an all-star panel of experts. But first, I'm going to go to a special guest joining us. This is Edward's mother, Connie Goodwin, along with his father, Ed Goodwin.

Ms. Goodwin, thank you for being with us. Thank you. I mean, that's a fine how do you do. Oh, he's probably dead. What? I mean, if a sheriff came and told me that about somebody I love, I think I would blow up like a stick of dynamite. But before we get to the sheriff saying, oh yeah, he's probably dead,

I want to talk about when you first realized something was wrong, that you had no idea, where is your son, Edward? What happened? I noticed something was wrong the weekend, the last weekend in June. It was just, it just didn't feel right. July the 29th, it was, during that whole week, it was just, it was just a different feeling. I can't explain it. But whenever,

and we searched everywhere, we called his phone. We never could get a hold of him. What, would it just go straight to voicemail? Yes. Yes. And July the 4th, we never, ever, never showed up for the barbecue. Okay, that's not right. No. That is not right. As long as the twins have been alive, we have had

a July the 4th blowout. We grill, we cook out, we have people over, we get a slippy slide for the front yard, the whole shebang. Right. And that's kind of a command performance. You show up for July the 4th. Exactly.

And he already had plans to pick up his daughter at this time. And whenever he didn't pick her up, right then and there, we knew there was something wrong. He didn't show up for July the 4th. My daughter, Jennifer, she got on the phone with AT&T and, you know, kind of explained to the lady. And the lady gave her some numbers that was called from my son's phone and some text messages, numbers that was sent. But still, nobody could find your son. Right. And when did the texts and the phone calls, could you see or understand when they stopped?

And did that coincide with when you missed him? Yes. The last time Edward used his phone was June 29th that morning. To Ed Goodwin, this is Edward's father, so we've got the last time he uses his phone, June 29th. Mr. Goodwin, when did you start feeling uneasy? What made you feel uneasy and feel that something was amiss with Edward? You know, I couldn't get a hold of him. Nobody talked to him.

And I went to some places to work, people that knew him, that, you know, might have seen him because nobody had seen him. And everybody felt that they hadn't seen him in a few days. You know, Cheryl McCollum, I'm trying to figure out what that's like when you start going, okay, I guess with the children, I would go to the playground. I would go to the school. I would go to where they have scouts.

I'd go everywhere around the neighborhood. Edward's a grown man, so I guess you go to the friend's house. You go to their house. You go to where they work, just everything you can think of, and that feeling of always hitting a dead end. With this case, Nancy, the family, once they saw what you and I talk about all the time, that break in somebody's pattern, he's not returning calls, he's not picking up, That's not normal. This is a man that owns his own business, so that cell phone is his livelihood. So he's not answering the phone.

He's not picking up his child, which he's never failed to do that before. And now he's missed a family event, which, again, he's never failed to do. So these multiple breaks in pattern are a great concern. To Connie Goodwin, this is Edward's mother, how old are his children? At the time, Haley, she was four, and Gage, he was 15. Oh, no. No way would he leave behind those children. No.

And how did they respond with their father being gone and nobody hearing from him? They hurt. You know, Haley, she was, you know, real small. You know, it's like, you know, she really didn't understand, but she knew Daddy wasn't coming around. And Gage, you know, he finished school. He went all the way to graduate, you know, and uh i mean and he misses him every day still yeah even when my husband goes out of town for work that night when it's just the three of us sitting

around the table i mean him not being there it just feels all wrong and now you've got these two children and no dad when did you first report him missing, Connie? I reported him missing July the 5th, the day after July the 4th. So the day after he doesn't show up for the July the 4th party, you report him missing. Right. I want to go to another mom joining us who never gave up on justice for her daughter, Josephine Wentzel. This is Crystal Mitchell's mother, founder of Angels of Justice. Josephine, when did you get the feeling something was wrong with Crystal? That was the day I woke up and I knew something was wrong. And she was, unbeknownst to me, she was laying there dead, unfounded, when I was going through all those feelings and emotions.

And later on, it got intense. When the police got to the scene, my feelings got more intense. I got sick to my stomach. I knew definitely something was wrong. I was getting all these feelings that were coming to me. It's a terrible feeling, but I'm really sorry, Connie and Mr. Goodwin, what you're going through. The pain that you're going through is shared by many. I have two cases that I'm working on right now, assisting with, and two missing girls, and the same thing.

Nobody would take, I try to get the FBI to work on it and they won't take the case unless they're searching for a body. Man, that's tough. And all of these cases have moms who want answers. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Connie Goodwin, when you contacted the sheriffs, what did they say? They started searching a little bit. And therefore, at first, it felt like they wasn't taking it very seriously. I mean, it went on for like a couple of months like that. Why? Because he's a grown man? Yeah.

Well, that was one of the stories stating that he had took off with some girl to Alabama. Why do they always say that? Normally they say it about women, Ms. Goodwin. Oh, she took off with her boyfriend. Right. A boyfriend or a lover. Instead of realizing the mom is saying he never goes a day without texting me.

He didn't just, quote, take off. How often did you talk to Edward via text or by phone? Every day, every day. You know, there would maybe be like a day in between. You know, it depends on how his work schedule was and how he was working. But I mean, it was every day, every other day that he would call home or text or come by.

And whenever you don't do, you know, whenever your child don't do that, there's something wrong. And just like she was talking about, you know, that you get feelings, you know,

I mean, I've had so many feelings that, you know, it's hard to describe, but you feel it. I mean, you really feel that there's something wrong, you know, and when you try to tell somebody, you know, they're hard to describe, but you feel it. I mean, you really feel that there's something wrong, you know, and when you try to tell somebody, you know,

it's like they don't know what you're talking about, so they look at you like, you know, there's something wrong with you, you know. Yes, correct. There's a feeling that a mother gets when something is wrong. You know, it sounds to me like the sheriff's just assuming, well, he's a grown man, He took off. The mom is crazy. Guys, they tell her, well, if he is dead, his body has not been recovered. Take a listen to our friend Sheree Honeycutt. They say his body has not been recovered.

I mean, we go out and we search for a son on gravel roads, logging roads, holes, wells, you know, you name it. Recently, she even put up a billboard hoping for a new lead. He wasn't perfect. I'm not saying he was perfect, but whatever he did do, he didn't deserve to be beat to death. You know, I mean, he had a family he loved, and they loved him. You know, you just said something, Ms. Goodwin. He wasn't perfect.

And I always like to say, he may not be perfect, but he's perfect for me. Exactly. Tell me about your son. What was he like growing up? What kind of man did he grow into? He was always high spirited, joking around all the time. You know, I mean, he had a real good sense of humor. He always loved laughing, you know, playing with the kids, his nieces and nephews. On holidays, like on Easter, he would be the first one out there to hide the eggs and take the little ones out to, you know,

to hunt the Easter eggs. He was always there for the kids on Christmas mornings. He was always here. He was always the first one on Mother's Day or my birthday. He was always the first one to be here at the house. And that's an empty feeling when it doesn't happen anymore. You told me that you talked to him on the phone or texted with him or he would just drop by every day one of those three things would happen nearly every day tell me about him just dropping by what was that

like he would just stop by and get his sandwiches and say hey mom hey dad you know uh what you know do we need any help with anything or you know and check on gage. You know, a lot of times he would come and he would weed eat and he would mow. You know, just whatever we needed done. You know what I mean? You know, you said something funny right there. You said he'd come over and make a sandwich. Didn't you say that? Yes.

I'm just thinking about my son. My daughter, of course, doesn't eat like a horse like my son, but some of the happiest moments that we have, our whole family is sitting down together for supper or after school. It's always my son comes in and we sit at the kitchen table or hang around the kitchen and he cleans out the fridge and it could not make me happier. I'm just thinking about Edward just coming by and you hear his car pull up or his truck and the next thing you know you hear the door open. You know it's

him. I can tell who's coming in the door. I can tell if it's my husband, my son, my daughter, or my mother who lives with us. She's 91. I can tell by the way they come in the door,

even the way the door opens and shuts, who it is. And I can just imagine you in the home and you hear Edward come in. Yes. Man, I bet you smiled on the inside every single time. Yes, I did. So you even

put up a billboard. Did I hear that right, Mr. Goodwin? With me is Edwards' father, Ed Goodwin. You guys put up a billboard trying to get a lead? Yes, we did. Okay, Ryan Kroll, help me out. Ryan Kroll, investigative journalist with the Riverfront Times. Ryan, they have to put up a billboard to get a lead?

I mean, listen, I am all about law enforcement. I spent my whole legal career catching the bad guys. But what are the sheriffs doing? The family has to go put up a billboard. Yeah, it's incredible. And I wish I could say this is the only case I've covered in Missouri where a family has put up a billboard trying to keep their missing loved one's name in the public conscious. But it's something I've heard of before. And whenever the Riverfront Times first reported the story, broke the story last week, I spoke to Connie. And to be honest, I think in our conversation over the phone,

I really didn't grasp the sort of enormity of her efforts and her dedication until I sort of had time to digest it. I mean, it's just a, it's an incredible story, an incredible testament. Ryan Krull with the Riverfront Times, did you hear she puts up a cross in her front yard and every day puts a flower because she doesn't have it if he's dead. She doesn't have a grave. She doesn't have an urn. She's got nothing. So she erects a cross and puts a flower. Can you imagine that? Going to lay a flower down every day and wonder, where's my boy? Where is my boy? My son.

Yeah. Okay. Then we think we get a break. Take a listen to our friends at Crime Online. For two years, the Goodwins had no idea of what happened to their son, Edward. Few tips came in, but then a break. Police get word of a grudge between Edward Goodwin and two men he had known since grade school. The men had even worked together.

Both Connie and law enforcement came to believe that the two men killed Goodwin. Police say there were witnesses and the witnesses ultimately talked. Goodwin had been assaulted. Goodwin had been assaulted. Goodwin had been assaulted. You get a tip of a grudge, an argument of sorts between Edward and some guys he has known since elementary school. But still, nobody can find Edward. Based on the little bit that they've got, they make an arrest. Listen to KFVS.

When he was brought in by Sheriff Dobbs, my camera was rolling and I asked him if he had anything to do with the disappearance or murder of Edward Goodwin. Do you have anything to do with the disappearance of Edward Goodwin? No. You didn't kill him? No, ma'am. Nothing to do with it? No. What do you have to say for yourself? About the county. I stopped killing innocent people. Yeah, Sheriff Dobbs tells me they found her while they were serving a warrant and that he was hiding in the back bedroom. Cheryl McCollum joining me, forensic expert and founder of the Cold Case Research Institute. You can find her at coldcasecrimes.org.

You know what? When a cop comes to my front door, I don't go run hide under the bed. That's just not what I do. So what's he running to the back bedroom and hiding for? Well, I'm sure to guess he knows there's a warrant because he knows exactly what he's done in probably multiple situations.

So he's going in probably multiple situations. So he's going to run thinking they're not going to look for him and, you know, find him under the bed or wherever he was hiding in the closet or wherever. But, you know, Nancy, it wasn't just his running. It's the fact that for two years he sat in that same town with those same people. I guarantee you they know what happened to Edward. Absolutely. Jackie, let's play our cut five. Our friends at KFVS.

Goodwin says all the hard work and pain is worth it for the son she loves so much. I miss his smile. I want Edward found so we can lay him to rest. The Butler County Sheriff says a person of interest in this case has stopped cooperating with their investigation. He's currently incarcerated on unrelated charges and was originally charged with assault, but those charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.

Ms. Goodwin, when you find out the case against these so-called grade school friends is dropped for lack of evidence, what went through your mind? I exploded because I knew. And he just lived like three miles from my house. I would have to pass his house every day going to town. It just doesn't make sense to me. It sounds like somebody is not doing their job. They've got a guy, had a grudge, had a fight, according to witnesses, around the time your son disappears.

They get him, and then suddenly the charges are dropped. But what about data? What about evidence? Take a listen to our friends over at Families United for Justice in Butler County speaking with Connie. Mid-July 2015, this area is where my son's phone pinged, and mid-July, Butler County searched the field, okay? But they didn't search the pond. When Edward Goodwin was reported missing in July of 2015, the search included tracking his cell phone and where it pinged around the time he disappeared.

One of the areas was around an unnamed pond in Butler County. Investigators did not search the pond. They searched an area adjacent to the pond. Okay, I don't understand. It pings by a pond, but they don't search the pond, Connie Goodwin? Exactly. Did you ask them to search the pond? Yes, multiple times.

Ed Goodwin, did you ask them to search the pond? Yes. Why wouldn't they search the darn pond, Ed? Well, I guess it was just too much of a mentor. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Ryan Kroll, has anybody ever asked the sheriff why they wouldn't search the pond? Well, my understanding, and obviously, please, Connie or Edward, correct me if I'm wrong, was that every time someone did ask the sheriff, there was always some reason not to. Maybe there was other crimes that were more immediate. For two years? For two years?

They're too busy? What other crime? A shoplifting at the Dollar General? Seriously? Yeah, that's what I heard. Or they would blame weather or something like that. Basically, there was always an excuse to not go out. Nancy, I got to jump in here jump i am

utterly gobsmacked at the fact they would have to ask that should have been done immediately when they searched the field the first time you've got a pond there that is obvious that is a a just traditional thing you're gonna to do. We're going to cover this field. And if there's a barn on it or an abandoned building or a wine cellar, we're going to check it. But if you've got a pond there, that's obvious. These parents should have never had to ask. Never. Yes. And you know what? Also, Nancy, there is other nonprofit organizations out there like Adventures for Purpose that would have been glad to have gone there. But my question is why law enforcement is not searching the pond. The family's begging them, and they do nothing.

I mean, Connie Goodwin, what would go through your mind? You know the phone ping there, and you can't get them to get off their rear ends and go search the pond. Exactly. Well, at that time, they was telling us that, you know, that there wouldn't be nobody there. You know, coyotes in coyote dens. You know, we were led to believe that, you know, that my son wasn't there. That's total BS. If your son is in the pond, a coyote is not going to swim down to the bottom in their dive equipment and get your son out.

That's not going to happen. Guys, take a listen to our cut number seven, Ms. Goodwin. Every day or whenever I go to town back and forth, you know, me, myself, my family, my husband, you know, we have to pass this area every day, you know, and there's not a time that goes by that you don't look over this way across the field. You know, I mean, it's just a sad feeling every day. And it's like, how can you move on when it's always there? And I don't see why it hasn't been done already all this time. To Connie Goodwin, could you describe what it would be like to go by that pond every day, knowing that your son's phone pinged right beside that pond,

but the sheriff's would not come and drain it and search for your son. What would go through your mind every day when you would drive by? Your heart literally break. You have like a wrenching pain in your stomach, empty, cold. You know, Cheryl McCollum, when I even drive by my dad's spot at our little Methodist church at the cemetery, a lot of times I can't even stand to look at it. I can't imagine Edward's mother and father driving by this pond every day and wondering, is Edward out there? It is unimaginable.

It is unimaginable that anybody would put her through that. You know, I'm of the belief, let's search it. If we're wrong and nothing's there, fine, we move on. We at least know where it's not. But the inaction is just astounding. I don't understand it. Joining me, special guest Jim Akers, coroner, Butler County,

that's Poplar Bluff, Missouri, medical legal death investigator, instructor at Missouri Coroners and Medical Examiners Association. It goes on and on and on. Former deputy sheriff, detective Detective Jim Akers, thank you for being with us. The suggestion given to the good ones that, well, he's not in the pond or coyotes got him if he was in the pond, that doesn't even make sense. How can coyotes got him if he was in the pond that doesn't even make sense how can coyotes if he was ever in

the pond get the body that doesn't even make sense you're correct that doesn't i it's hard for me to speak to that because i wasn't a part of that conversation but uh that certainly doesn't doesn't ring true to what normal law enforcement response would be. And Jim Akers, everyone, the coroner at Butler County, you have dealt with a lot of victims' families. Yes, ma'am. I know that they're grieving and they're upset and they don't understand what's happening, but they're not idiots for Pete's sake.

To tell them, well, if he was in the pond, then, you know, coyotes may have gotten him. To tell them something that doesn't even make sense or to delay and delay and delay. Now up to two years have passed. Yes, ma'am. Families know something's horribly wrong. How do you deal with victims' families? You've got to be honest with them, even if it hurts them. Yes, ma'am.

Honesty is the only way to be. From the law enforcement side and to play the devil's advocate, I've been a part of investigations where we have information and we don't want it to get to the public, and so we keep it very close. But you normally don't provide some type of a scenario that takes away hope. And I've been a part of searching ponds before this one with this department, and it's a big undertaking. It's a lot of work, but you do it.

Well, can I tell you, Mr. Akers, with me, Jim Akers, coroner of Butler County. I have dived all over the world, and diving in a murky pond is not easy. Very often, you can't even see your hand in front of your face. So, diving down into it and looking would not be the answer. It would have to be drained. Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Akers? Oh, absolutely. There would have been zero visibility. And this pond was quite large at the onset. From what I understand, they would take a boat out on it. Google Earth still shows it as a much larger body of water than what it is today. It would have been very difficult, nearly impossible, to have mapped out the entire bottom of that pond and to have done a recovery. Drainage would be the only way. The Sheriff's Department would need a search warrant or need permission from the owner to go forward with that,

whereas the open field doctrine would allow you to walk through the field. Absolutely. But, of course, if you don't get permission by the owners, you can always get a search warrant if you've got enough PC, probable cause. And with the phone pinging right there, that's PC enough to search that pond. Let me ask you, with me is Jim Akers, a very well-respected coroner out of Butler County there in Missouri, in Poplar Bluff with extensive background. Connie Goodwin, how many times did you question the sheriff regarding

you've got your son's phone ping right by this pond, but they won't drain it? How many times do you think you asked them to drain that pond? Hundreds. I mean hundreds. And every time you got a different excuse as to why they hadn't done it? Exactly. There was a break in the case in mid-October and November. That's when everything broke the levy and they drained partial of the pond and they left water in the pond. Partial drain. That's as good as you could get, but at least it's something. Guys, take a listen now to our friends at KFVF, our cut eight. New details this morning on a murder investigation that we've been following since 2015 in Butler County. Coroner Jim Akers confirming with us that more remains of Edward Goodwin have been found in a pond off of Route 572 in Butler County.

Goodwin went missing in June of 2015. Ricky Hurt has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with this case. The Sheriff's Department drained most of a pond where some of Goodwin's remains were first discovered. Akers says that this concludes the search, no word yet, on cause of death. So after all that time, years have passed, and finally, a partial draining was done and some remains were found, just as you suspected. Connie Goodman, tell me how that happened. There's a break in the case and it was like two weeks later, I messaged Mark Dobbs and asked him, you know, was there going to, were they going to, you know, break the levy? Were they going to drain it?

And anyway, I told him that I see that he's not doing nothing because it's been two weeks. And I told him, I said, but I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to get John Bowes, Dragon Gear, whatever I have to do. I'm going to search that pond. Hold on right there. Guys, take a listen to our cut 12 from Crime Online. After police unsuccessfully attempted to drain the pond last fall, Connie and Gage Goodwin, the son of Edward Goodwin, decided to take care of the job themselves.

They rented a sump pump and took water out of the pond. Connie Goodwin, you get out with a sump pump and you begin to drain the pond yourself, right? Yes, with the help of my husband, Ed Goodwin. Ed, how do you go about draining a pond with a sump pump? We had to back my truck all the way down in there. Me and Connie put it over there and then put the hoses out there and then we had to find something to get water out of the pond to prime the pump to get it going.

We finally got it going and we just kept the pump until we started seeing something. I told Connie, I said, I know that's concrete blocks over there too. And when I walked on the other side, I could tell that was two bones sticking up there in a concrete box.

And a year ago that same day, I mean, when we was over a year ago, me and Connie and Gage were sitting right there and just about 25 feet in front of us. There's where Edward was. And I was talking to him that day. I finally said, son, if you're in there, please let me know. Let me let you, let me find you and get you out of there.

And, you know, it just blows your mind. I'm just trying to take in what you just said mr goodwin miss goodwin were you there when your son's remains emerged yes what happened oh what a horrible thing i told my husband i said let's just keep on pumping let's keep on pumping because we we can't stop and call. I didn't want to call because I figured if I did call and then you know they come out I figured maybe they'd tell us to leave and I didn't want to leave. So we kept on pumping until all the water was completely out and that's when I called Jim Akers. You know he he come out and he confirmed what we seen.

Jim automatically just started taking off his shoes and his socks. And this mud was anywhere between two, two and a half feet deep. I mean, thick mud, suction mud. It was hard to, you know, to even walk through. And I don't see how

they just took off running, you know, my grandson. But we was trying to figure out how we could get out there, you know, without, because they were big snapping turtles in, you know, going through the mud. We seen like anywhere between six or seven of them, you know, and I didn't want him to get hurt and thinking, well, you know, hey, we run the corner out here and here we are getting him hurt, you know. What did you see, Ms. Goodwin, that made you know that was your son? We started seeing, it looked like sticks in a way at first when they started poking up, when the water was going down. But the closer you, I mean, you'd look, it was his knee bones.

And it looked like they was coming up out of the hose that the concrete blocked, almost like in a cross, you know, like it was crossed. So Jim Akers with me, the Butler County coroner. I heard cement blocks. Do you believe Edward had been weighted down with cement blocks and thrown in the pond? Yes, ma'am. I found his tibia and fibula through the center of the cement blocks

with a portion of barbed wire wrapped around the top of them and around the bottom. And under the cement block, I found both feet, well, the bones. And they were completely under the cinder block. So they had been there in that position since shortly after he had been placed in the pond. Mr. Goodwin, I heard you say that when you were draining the pond, you asked your son to help you find him yes do you think he do you think he heard you yeah i believe he did nancy can i say something yes this is just breaking my heart and and connie and i'm so sorry that you guys had to go through this no family should have to see or endure what you guys have seen or endured of your own

child. This is a shame. Ms. Goodwin, what went through your mind when you saw your son's leg bones? I just started shaking. I got worried. I felt like I was shaking. I felt numb. I just felt like I couldn't stand. I sat down on the side in the mud. I just couldn't move. You know, and then I watched Jim Akers and my grandson Gage, you know, Jim pulling things in the mud and seeing my grandson, Everard's son, you know, to see everything and seeing him break down, it was bad.

I hope no parent ever has to do this again. It's something that I'll never forget. It's something that Gage will never forget. You know, he's hurting now, and he just ain't the same as what he was before. Ed Goodwin, what went through your mind when you saw what you believed to be your son's bones? Well, it's just kind of hard to explain, but I tried to stay strong because of Gage and Connie.

You know, I just didn't want to break down myself because when Gage was out there putting everybody's parts in the kayak, he was turning his head and he was crying. He was trying to keep from crying. So that helped me from just breaking down myself.

You know, knowing what he was going through, getting his own dad out of there. I'm just so sorry what y'all have been through. I just hate it so much. Ms. Goodwin, did you put Edward to rest? Yes, I did. The day when Jim left the pond, my husband, he hauled the concrete box for Jim in the barbed wire to his office. And me and my daughter and Gage, we stayed there at the pond.

And it was just like an empty feeling, like Edward slept the building, you know. And we got Edward's remains back, you know, due to the circumstances that I hadn't cremated because I wanted him to come home. And I will keep it. The suspects, Eldred Smith and Ricky Hurt, brought to justice as a mother and a father and a family grieve. No mother, no father, no son should have to go through

what the Goodwin family has been through. But never once did the Goodwins give up. Never once did Mr. and Ms. Goodwin, Connie and Ed, ever stop on their mission to get justice and to bring their son home. Nancy Grace Gromstory signing off. Goodbye. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.