Going West: True Crime - Ali Kemp // 304

Starting point is 00:00:00 What is going on True Crime fans? I'm your host Tee. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody. Big thanks to Danielle for recommending this case. I could have sworn somebody emailed us about this one a couple weeks ago as well and I couldn't find it so if someone else recently recommended it and I'm missing you, I am so sorry. This is a really devastating

Starting point is 00:00:37 case out of Kansas and actually the victim's dad played a huge part in figuring out what happened. and the victims' dad played a huge part in figuring out what happened. Yes, we're starting to move into summer cases now, and this is going to be one of those cases. And if you want to see photos from this episode and all the other episodes that we've covered, head on over to our socials, we're on Instagram, at GoingWest Podcast, Twitter, at GoingWest Pod, and we also have a Facebook discussion group. Yes, it's great to follow us anyway, other than just seeing pictures of people that we talk about also being able to share things like missing posters or also we discuss a lot of updates.

Starting point is 00:01:13 So whenever we see an update for a case, we will post it all over our socials. Whereas, you know, we can't always make an update episode about cases if there's not enough to discuss in a full episode. So go give us a follow! Alright guys, let's get into today's case. This is episode 304 of Going West, so let's get into it. 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc

Starting point is 00:01:48 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc

Starting point is 00:02:04 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc 1 tbc In June of 2002, a 19-year-old college student was found murdered at the community swimming pool, where she was working for the summer in Kansas. With a composite sketch of the likely suspect, her father did everything he could to raise awareness, including placing a billboard along a local highway. And because of this decision, a crucial tip came into the police. This is the story of Ali Kem. Alexandra Elizabeth Kemp, who went by Allie, we're going to call her Allie today, was born to Kathy and Roger Kemp on October 11, 1982. Alongside two brothers named Tyler and Drew, she grew up in Leewood, Kansas, which is an

Starting point is 00:03:25 affluent suburb of Kansas City, and it's situated in the top 50 wealthiest areas in the country. Which I had no idea, no offense to anybody that lives in Kansas, but that wouldn't be my first guess. Well, it's really cute. We looked at a bunch of pictures of the town and it's adorable. Yeah, it's adorable. Yeah, it's just going to see.

Starting point is 00:03:44 It definitely looks like a great place to live and grow up. So from a young age, Ali was well-known, she was well-liked, and very popular within her school and her community. She played competitive soccer, and her dad Roger remembers that she was involved in 19 activities at her high school. Dang, that's a lot. That's a ton. 19 activities at her high school. She also served as a student ambassador and was also on the honor role. After graduating from Blue Valley North High School in 2001, she went on to study at Kansas

Starting point is 00:04:15 State University in Manhattan, Kansas, which is just about two hours away from her hometown. And there, she settled on a human ecology and mass communications double major. While in her freshman year at Kansas State, she made the honor roll again, you know, just as she did in high school, and she joined the Pai Beta Phi Sorority. She dreamed of helping people, and she told her family that she yearned to spend time abroad in Russia to be able to work with orphan children. So that was definitely on her bucket list. But sadly, she would never get the opportunity to do that. So in June of 2002, which is when today's story takes place, 19-year-old Ali was back

Starting point is 00:04:58 home in Leewood for the summer after completing her freshman year in college. Her long-term boyfriend Phil House, who had gone to the University of Kansas, was home too, and the couple was really looking forward to spending the summer together since they had gone to two different schools throughout the year. And Allian Phil had been dating for five years, and were by all accounts very happy together. They had even secured the same summertime job, which was working as attendance for the local swimming pool in Foxboro, which is a neighborhood of Leewood. The afternoon of Tuesday, June 18th, 2002 came in pretty

Starting point is 00:05:38 gray and overcast. Like it wasn't like the most ideal day to go swimming. So as you can guess, the local pool, which was usually bustling with families and teens during the day, was pretty empty, except for Ali, who was working her shift on her own. She had taken over the shift from her boyfriend Phil, and had originally asked him to stay with her to keep her company since it was such a slow day, but later just kind of changed her mind. So Phil said goodbye to Ali and headed to another pool to meet up with some friends before heading to a friend's house to play some video games.

Starting point is 00:06:12 But the two did have plans later that night for dinner, they had a date night, so Phil assured her that he would see her later and then left Allie there to tend to the quiet afternoon pool. But Allie's little brother Tyler was also working there that summer and was actually scheduled to take over from her when her shift ended. But when Tyler arrived around 5pm, Ali was nowhere to be found. The pool appeared deserted, but her person cell phone was still on the desk where she had been sitting to greet and check in pool guests that would come in that day.

Starting point is 00:06:46 Allie was known to be very responsible and very hard working, and she would never have walked out on a scheduled work shift. So obviously Tyler was incredibly confused as to why she was MIA. So he called his parents for reinforcement, and Allie's dad Roger, who had just arrived home from work, turned right around and headed for the pool to go look for her. He first checked the pools, just hoping that she hadn't fallen in by accident, but they were completely empty. There just seemed to be no sign of her, except for her abandoned belongings.

Starting point is 00:07:19 But he had to keep looking around in the immediate area just in case. So after searching the pools, Roger checked in the pool's pump room, which is where the water is filtered. It was dark and quiet in there, and again, there appeared to be no trace of alley. But as he was leaving, something caught his eye, a large blue tarp haphazardly tossed to the ground. As he looked around the tarp, he noticed that a leg was poking out from beneath it. Hesitantly, Roger lifted it up, and to his horror, he found his daughter underneath it,

Starting point is 00:07:58 badly beaten and unconscious. Roger later described Ali as beaten black and blue and laying in a pool of blood. Her shorts and underwear were missing and she had sustained blunt force trauma to the back of her head. There was a ligature mark around her neck that made it appear as if she had potentially been strangled and she sustained broken fingers and fingernails from fighting off her attacker. Yeah, she fought extremely hard. Roger hurriedly called 911, telling them, quote, I think someone murdered my daughter.

Starting point is 00:08:37 Ali was rushed to the hospital, but tragically it was too late for her and she had already passed. And especially considering that he had been the one to find her and he saw the exact condition that she had been left in, her dad was just heartbroken and he actually spent the night in the morgue with Ali's body because he didn't want her to be alone. The fact that there were three men in her life

Starting point is 00:09:04 that were in that area that day that she was murdered just makes this story so much more tragic like the fact that her father had to find her the fact that her brother Tyler was coming in to relieve her of her shift and also the fact that she had just been working with her boyfriend And she probably worked alone all the time because you know that was the gig she relieved him of his job Her brother was gonna relieve her of her job. The name of the job is to work alone, but on this particular day, of course, there was really just nobody around and she was completely alone. Based on her injuries, they believed her killer had used a wire or a cord and wrapped it around Ali's neck and then stepped on her shoulder

Starting point is 00:09:46 blades pulling it backwards to kill her, which is just so beyond brutal and violent. So ultimately her cause of death was strangulation from this act. But back to the scene, so the pump room was in complete disarray and it was very clear that a massive struggle had taken place. Near her body there was a discarded open tube of antibiotics from the first aid kit and on both the tube and the cap, there was unidentified male DNA and there was also DNA found on her remaining clothing. As words spread around this normally very safe community of Leewood, and in prom 2 memorial

Starting point is 00:10:31 was established outside the pool to commemorate Ali's passing, and then the following day, a vigil was held in her honor and Roger swore to get justice for his daughter. So this small police force really had their work cut out for them, but they were completely determined. They started by talking to people who were paying their respects for Allie at the pool, asking any friends, neighbors, and regulars of the pool if they had witnessed anything suspicious on the day of her murder. And here's the thing, they did. A few guests reported that they remembered seeing a man lurking around the pool the day prior to Ali's murder.

Starting point is 00:11:13 Witnesses described seeing a white male who stood at about 5'10' 6' tall, was pretty heavy set, had short brown hair, and possibly wearing a workers' jumpsuit, and believed to be in his 30s or 40s. Multiple people reported seeing this mysterious man seemingly creeping through the bushes in the landscaping surrounding the water that day. Others remember seeing a man circling the pool parking lot in his truck, which was described as a tan Ford model pickup truck from the early 1980s. So, of course, a bunch of people noticed that something was off that day.

Starting point is 00:11:49 As his typical and brutal slangs such as this, detectives also zeroed in on Ali's close friends, her family, and of course, her boyfriend, hoping to eliminate them first. Yeah, because like I said, this was such a brutal attack, it almost seemed personal. Yeah. So, they're thinking, was this done by somebody that she knew? Was it a crime of passion exactly? So Ali's boyfriend Phil remembered that Ali had actually been scared of being alone there and that she sometimes felt as if she was being watched. Now that particular day when Ali had arrived at the pool to relieve Phil from his shift around 2pm,

Starting point is 00:12:25 there had been landscapers nearby and she had initially asked him to stay with her to keep her company. But as Daphne mentioned, she changed her mind and she sent him home, at which point he headed out to meet some friends. An hour into her shift at around 3pm, shortly before she's believed to have been murdered. She called Phil her boyfriend and when he didn't answer, Ali left a message that she was really excited to see him for their date that night. And that would be the last time that he ever heard from his girlfriend. Phil said later, quote, I wish I could have answered that because maybe she was in trouble then, and was trying to get a hold of me. Around that same time, Ali also called her best friend Laurel to keep her company instead.

Starting point is 00:13:10 Laurel Vine arrived shortly after 3pm to keep Ali company, but when she pulled up, she honked her horn to signal to Ali that she had arrived, but instead of Ali, Laurel saw a man pop out of the maintenance room. He nodded and waved at her and fearing that it was maybe Ali's boss and that she was going to get her friend in trouble. Laurel just decided to drive away. But with the timing of this interaction, detectives determined that it was highly likely that that was in fact Allie's killer and that he had probably killed Allie in the window between when she had called Laurel and when Laurel arrived. It's crazy to think about the fact that Laurel was so close to being in danger herself.

Starting point is 00:14:01 The fact that there was this killer in the pool area and she just happened to leave because she didn't want to get her friend in trouble. Yeah, it's so hard because had she gone in, she could have met the same fate that Ali did, but I wonder if maybe Ali could have been clinging to life and and Laurel could have helped, but I also think that more than anything, it would have just gotten Laurel herself in trouble with With Ali's killer, but and of course she didn't know at the time who this person is that she's looking at she was just thinking Oh, I wonder if this is maybe Ali's boss or someone she works with like she had no idea and later she said Quote I thought oh my god. I just saw her killer and I didn't know it. Like she had no idea, she didn't know that her friend was even in danger.

Starting point is 00:14:48 So police really focused their investigation on this unidentified man, believing that he was maybe the same man who had been scoping out the pool area the day before. And of course he had not signed into the pool that day and he didn't work there, but based on Laurel's recollection of him, they drew up a sketch to be released publicly. And this sketch is a huge, huge piece of this case. So using accounts of the man seen driving in his truck in the parking lot the day before, a sketch artist also drafted a sketch of what his vehicle was believed to have looked like.

Starting point is 00:15:25 When police released the sketch, Phil, alongside Ali's friends and family, papered the area with flyers of both the sketches of the truck and the possible perpetrator because he did not look familiar to any of them. And that description listed under the composite was white male, mid-30s, 5'8'6'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0'0' eyes combined DNA index system or CODIS. But it was enough to test against her father, brother, and Phil to eliminate them as suspects which it eventually did. However, with no other evidence for investigators to trace back to this mysterious pool guest, the investigation slowed in the case threatened to turn cold. Then, Ali's father Roger had a brilliant idea

Starting point is 00:16:27 that would bring the team one step closer to facing the man who took Ali away from them. He explained that spotting billboards on the way to work was what prompted his new plan, saying, quote, I was going down the highway, and I looked at them and I thought, why not? Why not give them a call and see what a billboard costs? And that's what I did. I don't know why people haven't done this before. In looking at the billboards, I thought it might be a good avenue and it's worked

Starting point is 00:16:54 out to be a great avenue. And as we know, in so many cases we have covered this has been used by a lot of different people and I mean, I think it is a great way to get attention. Absolutely. So with this new plan in mind, Roger contacted the local branch of Lamar Advertising, which is a firm with thousands of billboards nationwide. Roger reached out hoping to purchase one or two in the area and planned a plaster the police sketches of the man and his truck alongside the tip-line phone number. But amazingly, after hearing this mission to seek out answers for his daughter, the local representative for Lamar offered him advertising space for 3, which is just so incredible. So nice. And he said, quote, I never thought we'd be involved in solving crimes.

Starting point is 00:17:42 He was fully prepared, I believe, to come in and buy one or two billboards and put them up and help generate leads to catch the guy that killed his daughter. And the local police credited this very idea with the eventual discovery of Ali's killer. The police major at the time remembers quote, When Roger came to me and said, what do you think? I thought, that's perfect. It'll be awesome. Because in newspaper, you read it, it gets tossed in the trash. Television, it's aired, it's gone. Billboard, it sits there for 24 hours, 7 days a week. The first week, we were probably pulling 100, 150 tips off the first Billboard. Then they just kept

Starting point is 00:18:24 rolling in. Before that quick break, Heath told us about Rogers' big idea to plaster the area with billboards featuring the composite sketch of Allie's killer. In addition to the billboards, the reward fund was also helping pull in tips because through his tenacity and devotion to doing right by his daughter, Roger fundraised to increase the reward from $1,000 to $50,000. Thus, meaningful tips began to come in. One about a local man named James Strater. The tip was regarding James' resemblance to the composite sketch,

Starting point is 00:19:31 but it turns out that he had more in common with Ali's killer than just his looks. So at first, James was able to kind of evade scrutiny because he was able to prove that he was at work on the day that Ali was killed. He worked as an auto mechanic, and his account of that afternoon was even corroborated by his boss. But later, James came back on their radar after already having been cleared when he was submitted via another tip. Not only did he have a truck that matched the description of the police sketch of, you

Starting point is 00:20:04 know, the tan Ford pickup, but it turned out that after being questioned in regards to Allie's murder, James had gone on a total crime spree. In just three weeks, he had committed three rapes and two kidnappings in Kansas and Missouri before fleeing in his vehicle. James was apprehended in February of 2003, so the year after Ali's murder, after skipping out on paying for gas at a gas station in Utah. That's crazy that that's the thing that got him.

Starting point is 00:20:38 Yeah, idiot. So when the attendant tipped off the police about, you know, him skimping out on paying, he was pulled over in the next town and arrested on assault charges. And according to the officer who stopped his car, James muttered, you might as well put the handcuffs on me now. Well, at least I'm glad that he knows he's a piece of shit. Yeah, well, good riddance to you, James. So in Missouri, James had assaulted his former girlfriend at knife point and then forced

Starting point is 00:21:04 her to come with him as he stalked his next prey. The two then drove to a new neighborhood and as he attempted to break into a home with his former girlfriend as is accomplice, James spotted a 14-year-old girl walking by. He threatened the young girl with his knife and then he abducted her in the back of his car, drove them to a third location and assaulted both of them. James was also suspected of kidnapping and raping a young woman from Kansas around this same time. He had run the doorbell of a woman who lived in Hutchinson, Kansas, saying that he was

Starting point is 00:21:39 having car trouble and had broken down in her neighborhood and when she let him inside to use her phone, James pulled a knife on her and, and when she let him inside to use her phone, James pulled a knife on her and threatened to kill her if she tried to run. He then sexually assaulted her, and then kidnapped her, driving her to Kansas City at which point this woman did thankfully escape, and James then fled again in his car. In addition to these rapes, he was charged with armed criminal action and burglary. So this guy, obviously, as I said, is just the biggest piece of shit. And because of his crimes, James was sentenced to life in prison for aggravated battery,

Starting point is 00:22:16 aggravated burglary, kidnapping, and rape. And he won't be eligible for parole until the year 2080. But despite his heinous crimes and rapidly expanding criminal record, James maintained that he had nothing to do with Ali's death. He was asked to submit DNA and even agreed to do so, but sadly, it was not a match. So frustrated and right back to square one,

Starting point is 00:22:43 Roger continued to get the word out about Ali, knowing that a tip was bound to come in. And then, in the fall of 2004, over two years after his daughter's murder, one finally did. Two separate tips came in about a man named Teddy Hoover, and he seemed to match the description and like James James had a criminal record Now Teddy was living in Kansas City at the time and worked in pool maintenance Oh, you don't say yeah

Starting point is 00:23:13 So when police visited the home that he shared with his girlfriend and question him about his whereabouts on that June day two years prior He was reluctant to speak with them two years prior, he was reluctant to speak with them. So when they asked him to provide a DNA sample to clear his name, he outright refused claiming that he needed to speak with his lawyer first. But then he disappeared all together. This bitch is on the run. Months later, another tip came in about Teddy, but this time that he and his girlfriend had relocated to Connecticut, so he was on the run.

Starting point is 00:23:48 He left the state, which obviously doesn't look good. So police spoke with the postal carrier for the address, which was located in Bantam, Connecticut. And this postal worker claimed that a man and a woman lived there together, both of whom were receiving mail there. But there both of whom were receiving mail there. But there was a third name receiving mail there, someone by the name of Benjamin Applebee. When police ran the records for the name's Teddy Hoover and Benjamin Applebee, they received multiple hits. Teddy was wanted on a charge of public exposure, public indecency, disorderly conduct and

Starting point is 00:24:30 risk of injury, while Benjamin Applebee had been arrested for seven felony charges and four misdemeanor charges, including robbery, burglary, sexual misconduct, and indecent exposure. Unconvince that Teddy Hoover had nothing to do with Ali's murder, Lee Wood Police contacted the police in Bantam and organized a bit of a setup. So Teddy was arrested on the warrant from his public exposure and in decency charge from seven years prior. And when he was, the Leewood police were waiting to question him. In Teddy revealed that he and Benjamin Applebee were the exact same person, and that he was

Starting point is 00:25:13 basically just using Teddy Hoover, which was the name of a friend who had passed away as a pseudonym. Over 1,300 miles or 2,000 kilometers away from Leewood, Bantam Police led 29-year-old Benjamin into a room that had been prepared just to prompt a confession, feeling confident that he was Ali's killer. And one detective actually described displaying pictures of the pool, Ali, her obituary, a timeline of the day's events,

Starting point is 00:25:42 the police sketches of the suspect and his truck, as well as binders with his actual name, which was again Benjamin Applebee. Just 10 minutes after arriving to be questioned, Benjamin broke down and said that he remembered that he had actually been at the pool on that summer day. He claimed that he had been scoping out the local pool in an attempt to solicit them as clients for his pool cleaning business. That day, Benjamin spotted Ali and was instantly drawn to her.

Starting point is 00:26:12 She had been tending to her duties and was working on something in the pump room when he approached her apparently trying to flirt with her. Benjamin then broke into sobs and confessed saying, quote, I hit on her, small talk. I don't exactly know what I said. She didn't, you know, wasn't interested in anything I had to say. I was blocking the doorway. I tried to hit on her.

Starting point is 00:26:33 I reached out. I touched her. Not hard, nothing, you know, on the shoulder or on the hip or something. She pushed me back and I fucking lost it. I took her clothes off with the intention of trying to have sex with her. I don't know how many times I hid her. I hid her back.

Starting point is 00:26:51 I hid her in the face, I think. You said she was strangled. I know. I strangled her. I don't know what I strangled her with and I don't know why I fucking did it. After realizing she was dead, he covered Ali with the blue tarp and fled the property. Early, this was when he ran into Laurel in the parking lot, and even more alarming, Benjamin

Starting point is 00:27:16 had actually returned to the pool later to survey the crime scene and was there, among horrified onlookers and mourners, as they pulled her body from the pump room and carted her into the ambulance. This account was actually confirmed later because he had been in a fender bender near the pool that evening, and had given the name Teddy Hoover to the driver that he hit. While awaiting trial, a clinical psychologist

Starting point is 00:27:43 diagnosed him with intermittent explosive disorder and anti-social personality disorder. Benjamin maintained Ali's death was an accident, and then he hadn't even known that she had been dead when he ran out on her. But frustratingly, although police had a recorded confession, Benjamin rescinded the confession after his arrest and pleaded innocent when faced with actually being convicted of her murder. Of course he did, of course this guy did. And of course we will put photos on our social so you guys can see a photo of him versus the composite. There are differences but I definitely see a similarity for sure.

Starting point is 00:28:23 Yeah definitely. And even though this bonehead was basically trying to claim his innocence after he confessed, the judge was just not buying it. And in 2005, Benjamin was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted rape. He was sent into what's called hard-50, meaning that he'll have to serve 50 years before he's eligible for parole. However, the victory was very short-lived, because Benjamin and his legal team have attempted to appeal his conviction multiple times, which has been really hard on Ali's family each time.

Starting point is 00:28:58 In 2019, Benjamin's legal team argued that his sentencing was actually unlawful, because basically hard 50 sentences were supposed to be decided by a judge and a jury, and he was only sentenced by a judge. Frustrated, Roger said quote, I don't know why we're going through this nonsense one more time. I'm doing everything I can so that this guy doesn't get out of there. Roger said in an interview that he had uttered the name of his daughter's killer only one time in his life, but that he needed to say it again to properly convey the impact that

Starting point is 00:29:33 an early release of someone like Benjamin could have on that very community. He said quote, Benjamin Applebee is a murderer and he does not deserve to be back on the streets. And now I'm going to say it a lot. People need to know his name, nobody did, know that we don't need him back in our society. He was a clear and past danger, he is a clear and present danger, and he will be a clear and future danger in our society if he's released early. What happened to her was so wrong. Our little girl was mining her own business, and this individual, Benjamin Applebee, the murderer, decided to take her life.

Starting point is 00:30:10 Yeah, I'm not happy. Fortunately, Benjamin's conviction was upheld and he remained in prison in Kansas to this day. Roger and his family were very thankful but angry that they have had to continue to fight for Ali's rights two decades after her death. Roger continued quote, We have someone that goes against our society, that goes against our laws, that doesn't care about the law until he's caught. And then he wants every right under the book that he's so willing to take away from someone

Starting point is 00:30:43 else. He silenced Ali's voice. to take away from someone else. He silence Ali's voice. She has no voice in this. She can't speak, so I am speaking for her." Spear headed by Roger himself, Ali's family started the Ali Kemba Educational Foundation slash Take Defense program, which provides self-defense classes to young women. Since the beginning tens of thousands of young women have attended these classes. Roger said simply quote, if we teach a hundred thousand and we save one life it was worth it. He added quote, we don't want it to happen to another little girl. We don't want it to

Starting point is 00:31:22 happen to their family. Ali lives on through every woman that she's helped learn to defend herself and through her young niece, who her brother named Alexandra in her honor. A local Kansas City author, James Kirkpatrick Davis even penned a tribute to her, called Ali was here a promising life of brutal murder, justice justice and a legacy of hope. Sadly, Roger passed away on March 1, 2022 at the age of 77, but the legacy that he left behind in the tireless fight for justice for his daughter is something that his community will remember forever. One of Ali's best friends said quote,

Starting point is 00:32:05 he's a true American hero and when the unimaginable happened, I've never had another human being in my life step up and do what he did. He helped all of us get through the hardest time in his life. After the billboard proved so instrumental in finding his daughter's murderer, Roger encouraged the police to team up with billboard advertising companies to promote unsolved cases, missing persons, and wanted criminals in communities around the country. In fact, in 2008, the FBI even announced a partnership with an outdoor advertising agency to distribute information in a fast and effective

Starting point is 00:32:45 way via billboards. Roger was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, which is considered the second highest civilian award bestowed by the President. President Obama himself presented this award to Roger. Roger also served on the Committee of the Kansas Attorney General's Office, and on the board of the Adhoc Commission against crime in Kansas City. Jill Leiker, who worked with Roger on his self-defense program, said after his death quote, he truly was a national treasure.

Starting point is 00:33:18 He entrusted me with the most special thing in his life, his daughter Ali and her legacy. He's taken the tragedy of losing his daughter and turned it into life-saving opportunities. The world's missing that smile. The end of his obit her father, Roger Dale Kim. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode, and on Tuesday we'll have an all new case for you guys to dive into. I'm so glad that this case did get resolution and fairly quickly and it's so amazing how hard her father fought for justice for her, but what a devastating story.

Starting point is 00:34:14 And just the fact that this had to happen at all. And I'm so glad that Benjamin Applebee's conviction was upheld and that he didn't get an appeal because this guy is just a piece of work really. Horrible. I mean the fact that he he claims that it was an accident and that oh I just fucking lost it because she rejected you like dude are you serious? Yeah it's just unbelievable. That's so so frustrating. That's a fragile dude right there. Yeah so thank you guys so much for listening. Remember to check out the composite sketch if you want to see it. Look at Ali.

Starting point is 00:34:47 She was absolutely beautiful. If you want to see a photo of her. And remember we post photos and updates on our socials. Instagram, we are at Going West podcast, Twitter at Going West Pod, and we're also on Facebook. All right, guys. So for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. Thank you. you

Going West: True Crime - Ali Kemp // 304

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