Going West: True Crime - Kadie Major // 375

Episode Date: January 24, 2024

In January of 2008, a 26-year-old pregnant woman and her young daughter were found dead along a railroad track in South Carolina, leading investigators to believe that she had purposefully taken their lives. But with the only other resident of their home showing incredibly suspicious behavior by changing their story, having gaps in their timeline, and having an extensive and new injury to their hand, the family started their fight for justice. This is the story of Kadie Major, and her daughter, River Lynn Major. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 Patreon: patreon.com/goingwestpodcast CASE SOURCES 1. Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24456332/river-lynn-major 2. Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24456312/kadie-lee-major 3. CBS: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/case-reopened-into-mysterious-deaths-of-s-c-woman-kadie-major-and-daughter-after-48-hours-investigation/ 4. Kadie and her Babies: https://kadieandherbabies.com/kadie-major-news-articles/ 5. The Post and Courier: https://www.postandcourier.com/news/authorities-woman-killed-by-train-was-months-pregnant/article_24bd48d5-7f72-52de-ab3d-07dc57d89f51.html?fbclid=IwAR3U6X3X8jlJyV9UrmVF4ZWgDtHb12bUTe9MwoXW2O5CKabaJRyZAp3wygY 6. Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/dv2n4v/were_kadie_major_and_her_daughter_really_killed/ 7. Kadie's Obituary: https://obits.postandcourier.com/us/obituaries/charleston/name/kadie-major-obituary?id=25736633 8. Live 5 News: https://www.live5news.com/2020/01/10/high-profile-attorney-hired-help-seek-justice-berkeley-co-murder-investigation/ 9. Change.org Petition: https://www.change.org/p/coroner-george-oliver-coroner-s-inquest-for-kadieandherbabies 10. Live 5 News: https://www.live5news.com/story/39041454/kadie-and-river-majors-death-case-reopened-task-force-formed-to-investigate/ 11. Kadie & her Babies Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/Victoriahall65/ 12. Aaron's interview with the detective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbQemyBsD4w Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on, true crime fans? I'm your host, Teeth. And I'm your host, Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello, everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in today. The case that we're going to talk about today just hit the 16 year mark since it occurred and you guys, your minds are going to be blown.

You're not going to believe the details that we're going to tell you today. And it is all thanks to the recommendations of Misty and our beloved friend Heather who is the host of the podcast, Big Mad True Crime. Heather became so invested in this case and she is just incredible all around. We love her, so thank you so much. Yeah, I honestly could not believe the details in this case, so let's dive right into it. Alright guys, this is episode 375 of Going West, so let's get into it. At Salesforce, we're all about asking more of AI.

Questions like, where's the data going? Is it secure? Are you sure? Are you sure you're sure? Get answers you can trust from Salesforce at AskMoreOfAI.com. Yes, that's gotta be the wings! Wings? Nice!

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Love that chicken with Popeyes. In January of 2008, a 26-year-old pregnant woman and her young daughter were found dead along a railroad track in South Carolina, leading investigators to believe that she had purposefully taken their lives. But with the only resident of their home showing incredibly suspicious behavior by changing their story, having gaps in their timeline, and having an extensive and new injury to their hand, the family started River and Katie Major. Katie Lee Hall was born on February 9th, 1981 in Marquette, Michigan to Vicki and Jeff Hall.

The oldest child, Katie grew up alongside a sister named Sarah and brothers Jeremy and Jesse. But they eventually relocated to Monks Corner, South Carolina, which is about 45 minutes north of Charleston. Katie's family described her as quote, full of life from a young age, and growing up on a farm, she was thrilled to spend her time around animals, and especially cherished the time

that she spent with her family's horses. Vicki remembers that her daughter dreamed of being a wife and mother, and that she loved to cook and tend to her garden. She was just a natural born caretaker. Above all, Vicki said quote, Katie loved life. While attending high school at Northwood Academy, Katie met fellow student Aaron Majer, who was two years younger, and the two began dating. Aaron remembers that from their first date, they were inseparable and became instant best friends. Thus, in 2003, when Katie was 22 and Aaron was about 20,

they got married and they were just very eager to start their lives together. Aaron started working for Jeff, Katie's dad, at his house painting business, and Katie headed to Trident Tech and worked at a bookstore for years. Then, a short while later, Katie and Aaron purchased a house together in the same area

they grew up. And four years after their wedding in 2007, they welcomed their first child. On March 30, 2007, 26-year-old Katie gave birth to a daughter that they named River Lynn. Her mom Vicky remembers with pride that Katie loved being a mother and took great pleasure in it. So later that year, the couple found out that they were pregnant with their second child, a boy that they plan to name Aiden Robert. Her family was the center of her universe, and Vicky remembered fondly that even with a husband and a baby at home,

they would speak every day and Katie would visit them around three to four times a week, which are just good details to remember that Katie and her mom were super, super close. So in January of 2008, 26-year-old Katie was four months pregnant and nearly nine years into her relationship with Aaron, eagerly awaiting a second addition to their family. But in a time of such anticipation, Vicki says that their perfect Southern family was beginning to buckle under the weight of Aaron's anger and instability.

So early on the morning of Thursday, January 17th, 2008, shortly before 2 a.m., Aaron phoned his mother-in-law Vicki at Katie's parents house telling her quote, I need to talk to you about something. Then he showed up on their doorstep minutes later, telling them that Katie had disappeared and taken River with her. Vicki recalled Aaron saying that Katie had been acting erratically, paranoid and suspicious of her surroundings, and said

that she apparently had a premonition that someone was going to kill her. He explained that he tried to get close to her in order to calm her down, but that she refused to let him, hovering in the doorway, holding River. He couldn't seem to calm her nerves, with Katie still allegedly very afraid of something, even asking Aaron if they could get a hotel room for the night just to get away from the house. According to Aaron, he told his wife Katie that he was going upstairs to take a shower and that they would figure it out and handle the situation when he was done.

Aaron apparently retreated upstairs, but while he was in the shower, he recalls hearing her truck start, Katie's truck, and when he came back downstairs, Katie and River were gone. So Aaron headed over to Katie's parents' house to seek their help, and see if maybe they had heard from her, but Vicki remembered a strange detail. Aaron seemed eerily calm about his pregnant wife and 10 month old daughter going missing, following what seemed to be an anxious episode of Katie's, according to the way he explained it all.

Vicki questioned whether Katie had her glasses, which were a necessity for her to drive at night. And Aaron responded that she did not. So obviously Vicki was extremely concerned by this, claiming that she would never, ever have driven without them, especially not with River in the car. It just wasn't safe. But what's even stranger is that Vicki claims that Aaron was the one who was acting paranoid,

and spouting baseless conspiracy theories, including that the government was responsible for the 9-11 attacks, and that he had insider knowledge that the anti-Christ was coming. So it was like everything he was saying was really concerning and strange like everything out of his mouth. Yeah, and that's that's the last thing that you would be talking about during a time like this like true Your wife your pregnant wife is missing. So is your 10-month-old daughter and you're talking about 9-11 Conspiracies come on which happened years earlier, by the way. Really good point, that is so weird.

So, although Vicki was immediately suspicious of the circumstances of the evening that led to Katie and River allegedly taking off, she focused on finding her daughter and her granddaughter. So the two set out in Vicki's car to look for Katie, by the two, I mean, Erin and Vicki, first searching local hotels for any sign of the girls or Katie's truck.

As she drove, Vicky claimed that she was combing the roads for Katie's car, but said that Erin didn't even seem to be looking or even seem to be concerned and instead busied himself chattering about his concern over those conspiracy theories. Like, they're literally out there actively searching. He's not looking out the window. He's just still talking about 9-11. Yeah. So dumbfounded, Vicki recounted, quote,

it didn't make sense to me. His wife is missing and he's talking about this conspiracy stuff. Meanwhile, Katie's sister Sarah went to Katie and Aaron's house to wait there in hopes that her sister and niece were coming back. And while she was in the house, Sarah noticed something strange on the kitchen table that she felt was Aaron's doing. In an open Bible on the table was a verse highlighted from Genesis 22 to that read quote, Then God said, Take your son, your only son, whom you love Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you. When Sarah later relayed this very strange discovery to her mom, like it was almost a

foreshadowing quote, they agreed that Aaron's behavior was worrisome, and they feared that Sarah later relayed this very strange discovery to her mom. They agreed that Aaron's behavior was worrisome, and they feared that it coincided with the disappearances of Katie and River. Vicki and Aaron eventually returned to Katie and Aaron's house to pick Sarah up to learn that there had still been no word from Katie. But Vicki and Sarah both noticed another very strange detail. Aaron's hand was enlarged to an abnormal size as if he'd been injured, and it had swollen so much that it resembled a baseballman.

I mean Sarah even likened it to a monster's hand. So what was that about? Coupled with Aaron's alarming behavior, Vicki began to wonder if his seemingly injured hand was not a coincidence, and if perhaps the couple had gotten into an altercation and Katie had been scared and fled. Or worse, if Aaron had threatened them and that he had something to do with Katie and River's disappearance.

So Vicki set out again to look for her granddaughter and her daughter alone this time. After a sleepless night of desperate searching, Vicki received a call from Eren at 11.31 AM, telling Vicki that he had heard on the radio about a collision, a local collision, between a car and a train that claimed two lives, but that the victims had not yet been named publicly. And how interesting that he happened to hear and discover this, especially with where the story is going. So remember that Aaron is the one who is saying this first. Right. Well, especially because Vicki was unable to find the report

that Aaron claimed that he heard about this train accident and became suspicious that he had fabricated this report. Aaron later told an investigator, quote, "'I was on my way driving through Somerville. That's when I heard on talk radio 94.3 that there had been a person and a young child hit by the train in Berkeley County. I didn't even want to think about it, I mean, I was worried, because they said a young

child, and I just thought that was weird. So terrified that it could be true, Vicky drove to the train tracks where they intersected with Oakley Road and Monks Corner in South Carolina, but found no signs of an accident having taken place. So puzzled, she began to drive away, and that's when she spotted Katie's white 2006 Chevrolet Colorado truck parked in a driveway near Oakley Road, where Aaron said that the accident had taken place. Horrified, she called Erin to let him know what she had found, but unbeknownst to Vicki,

a half mile or eight-tenths of a kilometer down the tracks, a forensics team was combing the area after two bodies were discovered by a railroad maintenance worker at about 8.20am that morning, so about three hours before Aaron informed Vicki of the situation. So when Vicki arrived on the scene, she approached Captain Rick Ollick of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department, who was helming the investigation, telling him that Aaron had tipped her off about the accident. When Rick asked where Aaron was, Vicki explained that he was heading to Columbia, which was about two hours away, to continue to expand their search for Katie.

Which I gotta say is really weird that you're traveling a couple hours away when you were the one to bring up this train accident, and you were the one to think that this could be connected to your wife and daughter, and you don't go down there yourself to hope to hell that you're wrong? Exactly, yeah. If you think that this has anything to do with your wife and your daughter, that's the only place you're going.

Yeah, you're going straight to those railroad tracks, but that's not what he did. He decided to drive two hours away. And two hours away? Like that's far. And also it's pretty sketchy that, you know, he's saying, I heard about this incident on the radio like do they often? I mean, I don't know there's no report reports

Yeah, because Vicki couldn't find the report nobody else could find the report of this You know supposed accident on the radio on 94.3 that that wasn't a thing Yeah, and that is happening and and while they're making this discovery, Aaron is leaving town. That's what he's doing. Exactly. Well, Captain Rick Ollick didn't like the idea of Aaron traveling away either, so we asked that Vicki instruct Aaron to convene at her house. By Vicki's recollection, Aaron didn't ask a single question about Katie or River when

she phoned to tell him to meet at her house, nor when he arrived there. In fact, she remembers he quote, just sat quietly on the couch. Erin was ushered away with a detective, and was reportedly so upset that he was unable to give a written statement, but Vicki believed that it was because he had broken his hand and not because of anything else. unable to give a written statement. But Vicki believed that it was because he had broken his hand and not because of anything else. Sadly, the Hall family who is Katie's family and Katie's husband Aaron were informed

that both 26 year old Katie and 10 month old River had been found deceased. Because that morning, Thursday, January 17th, 2008, the railroad maintenance worker discovered Katie on the tracks. Her shoes had been flung from her body and based on her injuries, investigators believe that she hadn't initially been hit by the train itself, but that she had been hit by something hanging off of it,

which then knocked her into the train's orbit. Katie had been wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and a black coat, and her tennis shoes had been flung from her in opposite directions. She sustained a deep cut almost two feet long to her abdomen, as well as lacerations on the inside of her right thigh. River was discovered about 50 yards away from her mother, faced down in a small pool of water near the railroad tracks, still clad in pink overalls and a white turtleneck, as well as matching pink shoes. Her cause of death was not immediately conclusive, but investigators were assuming that based on Katie's

injuries and where River had been recovered, that Katie had either made contact with the train while holding her or flung with her daughter into the path of the moving train. Yet there are a ton of discrepancies in general because police said that River didn't appear to have been hit by the train at all, and they actually originally identified the wrong train. Like police said it was a southbound train that hit her when the evidence showed that it would have been a northbound train. So nothing was adding up and police were insinuating

that Katie did this herself, that she killed herself and her daughter via this train that apparently neither of them were actually hit with. So that just doesn't make any sense to me. But her family knew that this couldn't be true, and that something was very wrong here. And not to be insensitive here at all, but, you know, don't you think that if she was trying to take her own life,

she would have jumped in front of this train and not Don't you think that if she was trying to take her own life, she would have jumped in front of this train and not or laid down on the tracks and not been hit by something that was hanging off the side of the train? Yeah, that they couldn't even identify and then to say that river wasn't hit by it. So it's like, okay, so when this train was allegedly passing,

even though you don't even know what side of the track it was on, where and how did it hit them? It doesn't make any sense. Yeah, did you just randomly walk into the path of something that was hanging off this train and just know that it was going to kill you? And then somehow River got 50 yards away? Like yards? That's 150 feet. Yeah, it's crazy. So through her grief, Vicki attempted to answer as many questions as she could about the circumstances that led to the horrific discovery of her lifeless daughter and granddaughter.

When she was questioned whether Katie had anyone she was afraid of in her life, Vicki actually named Katie's mother-in-law, Aaron's mom, Rhonda Major, which is really suspicious on its own that you're afraid of your mother-in-law, but also coupled with Aaron's strange behavior, like this is, it's not good, but let's get into why.

Now, earlier the previous day, before Katie and River disappeared, Katie was supposed to meet Rhonda in the parking lot of a Kmart in North Charleston, claiming that this was because she didn't want to be alone with Rhonda at her home, like she didn't want to go to Rhonda's house to drop River off.

So this just goes to show that they did not have a very good relationship. No, it was Rocky at best, which we are going to get into more as well later on So Katie's plan was to leave River with Rhonda for four hours while she ran a few errands And then meet her back in the Kmart parking lot to take River home And I would imagine as well that she's not so afraid of Rhonda that she thinks something's gonna happen to River in Rhonda's care But Rhonda and Katie together just did not, they did not see eye to eye.

Right. So Vicki can't be certain that this exchange ever happened though, because as far as she knows, Rhonda did not offer a statement to the police about the day leading up to the disappearance of her daughter-in-law. And Katie never confirmed to her that they met

up. But to this day, Vicki maintains that she finds the timing very suspicious. As Aaron and Katie's family spoke with investigators, Aaron's parents, Rhonda and David, arrived at the house but seemed concerned only with collecting Aaron from the premises. And then, the day after the discovery of the bodies, Vicki received a strange phone call from Rhonda, telling her that she didn't have to continue to speak with detectives, and that in fact, Rhonda believed that she shouldn't be speaking with detectives. And she allegedly even asked that Vicki refrain from mentioning the conspiracy theories and religious fanaticism.

Which is like, everything can be important to an investigation, so to go out there and say, please don't say these things about my son and also, you shouldn't even be talking to detectives. Like, what do you mean? Erin was the one that first told Vicki about the disappearance of her own daughter. Of course she should be talking to detectives. Absolutely, without a doubt. And Vicki also cites this as the beginning of the severing of her relationship with the major family, including Aaron.

Among other things, Vicki was also alarmed at the state of Katie and Aaron's house on the night of the deaths. She remembered items knocked off of River's dresser, clothes strewn on the night of the deaths. She remembered items knocked off of Rivers dresser, clothes strewn on the floor, and bathroom drawers pulled open, indicating that there may have been a struggle or a physical altercation in the hours leading up to Katie leaving their home. However, get this, the house was never fucking processed, like investigators didn't take anything from that home. Aaron returned to the home alone, just hours after Katie and River were discovered deceased,

and based on his preliminary findings at the scene, Captain Rick Ullich instantly suspected a murder suicide, with Katie herself being behind it all. Later that day, Aaron was asked to give a statement to the police about Katie's behavior leading up to her death, and while speaking to a detective, Aaron recounted the story that he had given Vicki. That Katie had been agitated and paranoid before her death, and said that she believed that she was being pursued by someone who wanted to kill her. He later alleged that he believed that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, which

is a rare form of postpartum depression that can leave new mothers at risk of harming themselves or their babies, which can typically take anywhere from 2 to 12 months or so to recover from. Which nobody in her life felt that she had postpartum psychosis, she was not experiencing any of those symptoms, this is all coming from Erin, who is also the only one claiming that she was acting erratically and being paranoid, like suddenly this just

came on just before she disappeared, which I'm not saying is impossible, but he's the only person saying this. Yeah, it's basically his word against everyone else, because he's the only one that can testify to this. Right, which we will touch on in a little while again later as well. But as Erin repeated the sequence of events from that night again and again to various members of law enforcement

and to Katie's loved ones, her family began to notice slight variations in his recollection of the evening, which is never a good sign if you ask me. In one version, Aaron claimed that Katie and River had been inside the house when they had the conversation about Katie fearing being killed. But in another, he said that she'd refused to go inside the house and was hovering in

the doorway. He also led with the story of her paranoia, but then later told the detective in a recorded interview that Katie had never displayed any sort of erratic or delusional behavior. The detective asked him, quote, did she ever have any problems that could make you think she was paranoid or anything like that? And Aaron responded by saying, quote, nothing paranoid at all. He then told the same detective that Katie's paranoia set in on Monday, January 14th, 2008, so two days before she and River died.

Aaron said, quote, "'It just seemed like since just pretty much Monday, all of a sudden, she just got real paranoid and quit trusting people and stuff. It just started on Monday, and Tuesday, it was a little worse.'" Aaron went on to explain that Katie had gone to an ultrasound appointment the day before her death

and had apparently expressed concern to Aaron that Katie had gone to an ultrasound appointment the day before her death and had apparently expressed concern to Erin that River and eventually their unborn son Aiden would be taken away from her. Erin continued quote, she wanted me to go with her because she was afraid the doctor was going to think she was crazy and try to take the children from her. I feel included. Resilient. At ease. I feel strong. I feel confident. These are just a few of the things you'll hear our members say when you join the YMCA. The Y is not like other gyms, and not all benefits of being a member are visible, but you'll surely feel them.

Try the Y free for seven days, and feel how the Y is way more than just a gym. Learn more at trythey.ca. After Erin explained Katie's alleged fear about losing her kids, he continued to explain that Katie believed that their phones were being tapped and that she was being followed and surveilled. He sheepishly explained that Katie quickly became a radicalized conspiracy theorist after doing a deep dive on 9-11 Truth or websites that blamed the government for detonating bombs inside the Twin Towers, which completely gobsmacked Vicky, who continued to maintain that Aaron had been the one spouting baseless conspiracy theories, including about

9-11, on the night that Katie and River were killed. But Aaron claimed that Katie was the one to introduce him to it after doing research all day on Monday while Aaron was at work. When asked what he thought about the theories, Aaron said delicately quote, It seems true based on what I saw, but I haven't had a chance to really dig into it, you know, to actually see what I really think. Sounds like you believe it. It sounds like you believe it if you're the one telling Vicki about this on the day that your wife and your daughter disappear.

Well also to say she was the one who was going off about these conspiracy theories and then for him not to say yeah I thought it was ridiculous that she was saying all this. He's like well you know I just don't know yet. Well if there isn't enough conspiracy here he also claimed that that she discovered a secret that she wasn't supposed to know and that the government was going to kill her to keep her quiet. She is just a regular woman with child, 26 years old, living in South Carolina. What secret could she possibly have stumbled across that the government wants to kill her over? Right, and it just seems at this point like he's creating new conspiracies on top of

the ones that he already believes. Yeah, and still, he's the only one talking about all this. Right. So in the days following the harrowing discovery of Katie and River's bodies, Aaron continued to offer his version of events to various inquiring sources, while Katie's parents, siblings, and extended family grew increasingly suspicious of him, and for good reason. Vicki and Sarah, Katie's mom and sister, just couldn't move past his swollen hand, and wondered if that was connected to the deaths, if perhaps the couple had been in

a fight or a physical altercation prior to the deaths. Aaron can even be seen in the footage of his police interview, with his right hand wrapped in a brace, and when detectives questioned him about his injury, Aaron said that he had hurt his hand, punching a wall at the funeral parlor while making final arrangements for the girls. Even though Vicki and Sarah said that he had had this injury to his hand before their bodies were even discovered. Yeah, like they saw his swollen hand the morning

that they were all searching for them before they even knew about this alleged train collision. Right, but Detective Rick Olex stated that this claim was confirmed by the funeral parlor director. However, Vicky and Sarah agree that Aaron manipulated the timeline and is changing when his hand was actually injured. Well, in addition to the story about Aaron's hand,

Vicki was growing wary of Aaron's behavior and found it incredibly suspicious, claiming he never seemed to be in mourning over the deaths of his wife and daughter. But worse than that, he seemed to want to box out Katie's family in the aftermath, blaming it on his grief and, according to Vicki, even told them that he didn't want Katie's family attending her and River's memorials. But that's what is so suspicious about this is, you know, here is Aaron's mom, Ron, to say, well, you guys can't talk to detectives and you shouldn't even be doing

this and you shouldn't say this. And now Aaron's like, yeah, guys, get away. It's like, you know. Yeah. And now you can't even go to the funeral of your daughter and your granddaughter? It's because he knows that they're on to him and he doesn't want them around to point out all of his inconsistencies. But the Hall family forged ahead even in their tremendous grief, wanting to give them a proper send off, obviously. So the family decided that they wanted an open casket to be able to properly bid farewell to Katie and River,

as neither of the girls had sustained injuries to their faces, making preparation for an open casket burial possible in this case. Vicki hoped that it would make it easier to say goodbye to them that way, but listen to this. Aaron told Vicki that he also wanted Aiden, their unborn son still in utero, displayed with Katie and River,

which the family found so disturbing and just in very poor taste. I mean, I can't even believe that he made that request. In Vicki's blog on the case, she also stated this about the funeral quote, Aaron acted like he didn't know us. Aaron's mom was cold. His dad was loud, overheard saying that maybe Katie was taking LSD from one of her uncles.

So there were so many reasons why Katie's family felt really disrespected during the service. And during the funeral, attendees remember Aaron sitting in the front row eating McDonald's in plain view of the bodies of his wife and baby daughter. Now, as we know, behavior in such insurmountable grief can vary, and it's absolutely possible that Aaron was severely struggling

and dealing with an impossibly painful situation the best way that he knew how, but even given those circumstances, Katie's family just found his behavior bizarre and offensive and I feel like we can all agree here. And after the funeral, Erin asked the funeral worker if she could cut off a piece of Katie's hair so he could keep it. I don't know guys, it's just too much for me. So the day after the funeral, he underwent surgery to fix his broken hand. And after his surgery, he was brought back into the sheriff's office for questioning yet again,

but denied any involvement and seemed to confirm what police already suspected, which was a murder suicide. Also, I have a comment that I probably should have made earlier, but it's really strange to me as well that they're saying that Katie had thrown herself in front of a train that is likely moving 50 to 100 miles per hour, and yet she had minimal injuries across her body and not even a cut on her face. Her mom said not even a scratch, actually. Yeah, that's really strange, just the fact that the biggest injury to her body was on her abdomen and you would think if she was hit by this by this piece of Whatever that was hanging off this train that she would have fallen to the ground

Maybe hit her face or her head or anything else any other part of her body and that just didn't appear to be the case and It just didn't make any sense to Vicki, who was so despondent at this implication, although Detective Rick Ollick maintained, quote, I always suspect foul play until proven otherwise. But a few things actually tipped the scale toward this ruling. Recovered from inside of Katie's pocket was a scrap piece of paper with seemingly incoherent scribbles on it. Included in the notes were the phrases,

Biased media, and the Antichrist could be a woman. So investigators claim that these nonsensical ramblings were indicative of declining mental health and that she was a conspiracy theorist suffering from some sort of delusional break from reality. However, Vicki argued that based on what Erin was spouting on the night of Katie's death, she believed that Katie was recording what Erin had been saying in order to keep track of it, and that these weren't her own thoughts. But the note in Katie's pocket and Erin's statement about her odd behavior and paranoia leading up toward death swayed the investigators, much to the dismay of Vicki and the rest of

Katie's family. So on January 22, 2008, Coroner Bill Salisbury ruled Katie's death a suicide, believing that she had killed River First and then jumped in front of the train. Katie's autopsy determined that she would have been alive when the train had struck her, which seemed to make it even more likely that she had been in charge of this decision. In River's case, investigators believed that she had drowned, but officially her cause of death was undetermined. I rate by this, Katie's parents hired

an independent forensic psychologist, but to their frustration, he ruled that there was, quote, no overwhelming evidence that could prove that it was not suicide. And in addition to saying that she knows Katie was not capable of suicide and of killing her daughter, Vicki believes that Aaron's behavior in the aftermath of the deaths alone was caused for more intense investigation,

and obviously we believe that as well. Because the timeframe that Aaron gave to investigators also calls his own story into question, as it appeared that Katie had been on the phone with her mom at the same time that Aaron said that he and Katie were having their conversation about needing to stay the night in a hotel room. From inside Katie's Chevrolet Colorado truck, investigators removed a book on religion and about $1,000 in cash, which was siphoned into multiple envelopes, spread out inside the car.

These discoveries, in addition to the discoveries of Katie's engagement and wedding rings in her pocket, have led many, including Katie's family, to speculate that she was unhappy and being held in the relationship against her will. Pregnant and with a young daughter, it's possible that she had been squirreling away money to arrange an escape from Aaron,

keeping the cash in separate places in order to conceal it from him. This also could have been how Katie and Aaron budgeted their money, but Vicki believes that it's possible that Katie was planning to leave Aaron and that incrementally setting aside money was a way that she could plan for the future when she didn't have a job or means of escape.

Aaron claimed in his line of questioning that by the time he got home from work, Katie was already acting erratically and saying that her life was in danger. But Vicki pulled up her own phone record and pointed out that around the time that Aaron alleged that happened, like Heath said, Katie had actually called her mom to see if she wanted to go to dinner.

At 6.43pm on the evening of Wednesday, January 16th, 2008, Katie called Vicki on her cell phone, saying that her sister Sarah had texted her that their mom Vicky was going to Applebee's for dinner. And Katie asked if she could meet her mom at the restaurant, but Vicky clarified that she was picking up takeout from Applebee's and was already headed back to the house with the food. They chatted for a few minutes and Katie told her that Erin had just gotten home from work and was in the shower. So again, when Erin said, oh, she was acting crazy and then I went in the shower,

here she is, all normal, calling her mom, saying, hey, do you wanna go out to dinner at Applebee's? Well, as the weather was offering a wet and frigid January night and it had started to rain, Vicki told Katie that she should hang up and speak to her later so that she could get home safely. They told each other they loved each other, and that was the last time they spoke. Aaron didn't explain what he had been doing in the hours between when he showered around

6.45pm and when he called Katie's parents to tell them that the girls were missing, which wasn't until early the next morning at 1.45 a.m. So that is seven hours of time that is unaccounted for on both Aaron and Katie's accounts. And of course, Rivers. So Vicki said about proving the investigation wrong, starting with those who knew Katie in her mental state intimately.

She spoke with Katie's obstetrician, whom Katie had had an appointment with the day before she died, and her obstetrician said that she never suspected Katie of having any postpartum depression or any psychosis at all, and no one else in her life believed this either, as she was outwardly ecstatic about having another baby. Though the autopsy ultimately ruled that Katie had died from the impact of the train, the private investigator hired by her family after the ruling of murder-suicide believes it's possible that she was deceased before the impact.

But for years, Katie's family and their private investigator toiled to get the case taken seriously as potential foul play, but they were ignored. In 2015, a new Berkeley County Sheriff, Sheriff Dwayne Lewis, was elected, and Vicki wasted no time alerting him to the situation and urging him to reopen the case. And to Vicki's relief, the new sheriff sided with her, and in September of 2018, Katie's case was officially reopened. Sheriff Lewis announced, quote, we have uncovered information that initially it was believed Katie was suicidal. I can tell you that is not the case. We're looking at everything. We are

all open-minded about this case and where it takes us still some work to do Then in May of 2019 Aaron Major was named the sole person of interest in the deaths of his wife and daughter However, Katie's cause of death remains and the efforts to conduct a more thorough investigation into Aaron's potential involvement have proved fruitless. Vicki said sadly quote, I know my daughter did not commit suicide, and they all agreed in the meeting that we had yesterday in the sheriff's office, as far as the officials that were there, that they all believe Aaron Major murdered his family. But to have enough information to prove that right now now because of the botched investigation originally in 2008, that's why they aren't going to change the ruling.

They're copping out though. They could change this ruling. Vicki continues her efforts 16 years later and still hopes to reveal the truth about what happened that night. On May 30th, 2023, Vicki took to the Truth and Justice for Katie and Her Baby's Facebook page and said, quote, with great heartache, I have to say my email to the new coroner, Darnell Hartwell, requesting a meeting was denied. He responded with, this case will remain closed and there is no need for any further meeting.

So they are leaving it ruled a suicide with no evidence of a suicide. We were never informed that the coroner's office closed the case. Everything appears to me to have been a three-year delay for nothing. South Carolina law enforcement division, or SLEDLED reviewed the case and turned it back over to the sheriff's office, who has also closed the file since December 2019. SLED was clearly very busy with the Murdoch case. I don't believe we were given much time. SLED had asked me to be quiet, but for what? The good ol' boy system sticking together is in my opinion against Katie, River Lynn, and Aiden. They should do the right thing, and the first thing is to change the manner of death. Why would you leave a case ruled suicide with a named suspect?

Sled agreed that they believe Aaron was involved. So frustrating. Why are they leaving this rule to suicide with no explanation? How do you close a case when Riverlin's manner of death is undetermined? Katie's is left suicide. That is unacceptable. At least show an effort by changing the ruling.

Vicki claims that Aaron's handling of the matter in the aftermath is just as concerning. The family would frequently place gifts, toys, flowers, and symbols of remembrance on the graves of Katie, River, and Aiden, and found that Aaron would throw them aside, break them, or just steal them. Vicki recalls that Aaron even put an old baby doll with a hole in its chest at the graves, specifically to taunt them. calls that Erin even put an old baby doll with a hole in its chest at the graves, specifically to taunt them.

She guessed that that was a jab at Katie having had her final sonogram the day before she died. But most disturbingly, in November of 2008, so 10 months after his wife and daughter died, Erin staged the home to look as if Katie and River were still living there, including stuffing the bed with pillows to resemble Katie asleep inside, and arranging River's high chair with food at the table to look like she was about to eat. And on top of this, he recorded a walkthrough of the home and left a videotape of the recording at their graves. And what a weird fucking thing to do. First of all, like to me, this shows his declining and terrifying state of mind around this time because I mean, who does that?

Along with everything else that he did and said, I don't understand this at all. Yeah, there's a lot of things that seem really, really sketchy here and just, again, in poor taste. And obviously, we've said it before and we're gonna say it again, while everybody grieves in different ways, Katie's parents and siblings believe that these gestures were purposefully provocative and very disturbing. I wholeheartedly agree, and just before we wrap up this case, I want to revisit the part where Aaron himself was the one to alert Katie's family about the train track incident

that he supposedly heard about on the radio. Like, this is just too convenient for me, especially since this report again was never found. This report that he claims he heard on the radio was never proven to have actually taken place. I truly believe he knew they were there only because, again, my opinion,

he pushed them into the tracks himself. And it's hard to imagine exactly what happened here. Like it's, it's hard for me to come up, come up with a conclusion and play this out in my mind, how they died and how this happened. But since we know there wasn't very much blood at the scene and it can't concretely be determined that Katie was killed by the train, we can imagine that she was potentially killed elsewhere and maybe planted on the tracks.

And since they didn't process the house or anything since it wasn't thought to be a full murder, we have no idea if a crime took place inside that house that night. Which could really paint this scene a whole different way and answer a lot of questions if they had just taken DNA from the home and properly inspected it. Yeah, I mean, I completely agree. I really think that that part of the investigation was severely botched.

They could have at least tried to process the home, especially since we know that that argument between Katie and Aaron took place at the home. Exactly. I also want to give a little bit more context about Rhonda, Rhonda Major that is Aaron's mom, and a little bit more about the week that Katie and River died.

So Rhonda had actually gotten Aaron and Katie a trip to the beautiful Highlands in North Carolina for Christmas, with Rhonda wanting to keep River with her during the trip. gotten Aaron and Katie a trip to the beautiful Highlands in North Carolina for Christmas with Rhonda wanting to keep River with her during the trip. And they were supposed to go the week she died, but Katie had asked if they could reschedule so she could vote in the primaries. So there was a lot of tension between them here as well because Katie, you know, she

knew it was very important for her to vote and she didn't want to miss that and was like, oh, I didn't know that the primaries were that week. I can't go on this trip anymore. We have to push it off. Right. And Rhonda was also apparently outwardly disappointed that their second baby was a boy and not a girl. And this really bothered Katie and her mom, Vicki. Yeah. It seemed like there was a lot of weird things like that

that stuck out to both Katie and Vicki of like, she just, the things she said apparently and the things that she did were really just off putting. And then back to that trip really quick. So Rhonda was apparently insisting that they go any way to the highlands and forgo voting. So a lot of people, including Vicki, are a bit suspicious about this trip and wonder if there was a plan to maybe do away with Katie while

River was at her grandparents house. Obviously pure speculation, but she was really really wanting this trip to happen and because it was supposed to be the week that Katie died anyway, it feels a little weird. And with Eren's parents refusing to give their whereabouts during the time of Cady and River's deaths, one can only wonder, especially since it said that Eren's last phone call on the night of the deaths was to his mother, Rhonda. And there are so many theories and examples on the website that Vicki made, and what I love is how respectful Vicki is, because she isn't just sitting at her computer trying to spread lies. She has so many blog posts about her thoughts, but she's not doing it in a spiteful way. Like she'll add things like, quote, if I'm mistaken and they have a statement on record

cooperating, please correct me. If Rhonda Major was not the last phone call that night, please correct me because she's going off the information that she has, she's saying if I'm wrong, please tell me and I'll back off. But she is making some very good points because if they haven't come forward to explain and Vicki and the public don't have any explicit proof to clear the major family of wrongdoing, again we can only be left to wonder. And here's another blip from that website.

Quote, Aaron absolutely became like a son to us. He was always quiet. We knew that there were some issues with his mom in particular wanting to be very controlling. Aaron's mom would also tell Katie that she was like a daughter that she always wanted. Aaron has an older sister, but apparently that was in a strange relationship because of her refusing to let Ronda control her. When Erin graduated, it was known that he had to go to Clemson University.

His parents told him that if he didn't go, they would disown him and have nothing to do with him, according to what Katie and Erin had told me. Later, when Katie became pregnant in October with Aiden, the relationship with him, according to what Katie and Aaron had told me. Later, when Katie became pregnant in October with Aiden, the relationship with Aaron, Katie and his parents had grown to be more and more estranged. Always seemed to be due to Rhonda wanting to control everything in their lives. I know Aaron's parents thought that they should wait much, much longer to have children. Katie was 26 and Aaron was 24 when their lives ended. Which I think is all just very good perspective to have. In the wake of the deaths of his wife and daughter, Aaron Major moved to Charleston with his parents,

starting his own house painting business and keeping busy with church, hunting, fishing, and family obligations. Though there's not enough evidence against him to make an arrest, he remains the only person of interest in the deaths of Katie and River. Katie's family is still offering a $25,000 reward for information, hoping that someday very soon the truth can come to light. If you have any information about the deaths of Katie and River Major, please call Crime Stoppers of the Low Country at 843-554-1111. 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 Friday we'll have an all new case for you guys to dive into. I don't know what else we can say that we didn't already say in this episode I mean this story just blows my mind and we hope you guys are just as Enraged as we are because we need to push this story We need more people to know about it because this is unacceptable the case deserves to have a much closer look So please share this one and thank you guys so much for tuning in today All right guys so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. Thank you for watching! you