Going West: True Crime - Kiera Bergman // 343

Starting point is 00:00:00 What is going on True Crime fans, I'm your host Teeve. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody, thank you for tuning in today. Heath and I are officially married. Yes, and it's been a long couple of weeks with family and friends, but we had an amazing night. It was just perfect. Yeah, our wedding was so so fun. We had it here in LA. We're gonna post pictures on our Instagram if you guys want to see, but it was

Starting point is 00:00:40 such a blast. I can't believe it. Just like flew by so fast, it was the fastest night of my life, but it was probably the best night, right? It was, yeah. We had so much fun, but anyway, back to true crime. So I just wanna give a quick thank you to Ari for recommending today's case. It's a more recent one, so thank you guys so much for tuning in.

Starting point is 00:00:59 Let's just dive right in. All right guys, this is episode 343 of Going West, so let's get into it! In August of 2018, a 19-year-old woman went missing from her home in Arizona. As police began digging deeper into her case, it became more and more clear that she had been met with foul play. When her body was found on a remote stretch of desert weeks later, their suspicions were confirmed. But was her boyfriend behind it? Or is it possible there was another mystery man involved? This is the story of Ky Bergman was born on July 18, 1999 to her mom, Kirsten in San T. California,

Starting point is 00:02:40 which is about half an hour outside of San Diego. Kirsten was fresh at a high school when she got pregnant with Kira, but she had the help of very supportive parents. And she remembers her daughter, Kira, as a happy, smiley, giggly baby. A few years later, Kirsten met and began dating Chris Bragg, and the two married and later welcomed another daughter, which was Kira's little sister Brady. All in all, the family was super close and Chris thought of Kira as his own. They settled in El Cajón, California, which is another

Starting point is 00:03:12 suburb of San Diego, and as a teen, Kira was known as a kind and free spirit. Her dad, Chris, added that he remembered her quote, as the fun-loving person that she was with the big hair and the beautiful smile. A friend of hers recalled a quote, she was super funny, her smile is very contagious, you could be yourself around her. Kira was also creative, artistic, she loved to paint, and she also sang in her school choir. Her mom Kirsten recalled trying to get her to play softball, but that Kira was more

Starting point is 00:03:44 interested in hair, makeup, and fashion. So she became focused on a career in hair and makeup and frequently watched tutorials on YouTube to learn new tricks and styles. After graduating from high school in 2017, Kira enrolled in Cosmetology School and was even offered a scholarship. She told her mom that she hoped that one day she could offer free haircuts and haircare to the homeless. That was a big part of her dream of becoming a stylist was to give back to her community.

Starting point is 00:04:15 In November of that year, again 2017, 18-year-old Kira met 22-year-old John Christopher Clark on Tinder after a friend set up a profile for her. Her family remembers Kira being thrilled about this new prospect in her love life, but they had their hesitations because soon after they began dating, John accompanied Kira to a family event, and Kira's mom Kirsten recalls the introduction going very poorly. She said they were all super skeptical of the relationship, saying, quote, What is a 22-year-old want with an 18-year-old? Kyr is family and friends watched as John systematically chipped away at her independence,

Starting point is 00:04:58 eventually stripping her of everything that she had built for herself. Kyrsten said sadly, quote, Before she met him, she was doing good. If she had a good job, she had her own cell phone, her own line, she had her own car, then she got with him, and all of those things started to go away. He started controlling everything.

Starting point is 00:05:18 Kiera, who had never really dated before, was so excited about the prospect of having a boyfriend that things moved quickly between the two, and within four months of dating, she decided to move in with them. But John was moving out of the state of California, and headed for Glendale, Arizona, which is near Phoenix. He had lived in Phoenix prior to living in California, and wanted to move back to the

Starting point is 00:05:42 area, so Kiera left Cosmetology School School and all of her family and friends behind and headed to the neighboring state of Arizona with John. But to the dismay of her family, John's alienation of Kiera from her support system continued. They were even unable to contact her via text or phone call. Kiersten explained, quote, once she got to Arizona, he canceled their cell phones so she could no longer have a cell phone line. The only way that we could talk to her was through Facebook Messenger or Instagram messaging. John had also begun to steal from Kiera, leeching off of her while refusing to obtain his own

Starting point is 00:06:21 job. Her family learned that he had talked her into taking out a loan to help them financially, putting up the car that she had owned herself as collateral. He claimed that he wanted to use the money from the loan to buy furniture for their new apartment, but when they secured that loan, John took the money and never purchased anything for them. So Kira accepted the first job that she could find at a call center, but John apparently remained unemployed.

Starting point is 00:06:50 So Kira found a second part-time position in order to keep them afloat. Then, within a few weeks of them moving to Arizona, John broke up with Kira seemingly out of nowhere. Thankfully, Kira's best friend from high school destiny happened to live in the Phoenix area, so the two decided to move in together. But Kira was really upset and confused by John's sudden change of heart, but her parents were really relieved at the prospect of getting their daughter back and her just getting

Starting point is 00:07:21 her life back and continuing on a good path. And things started to get much better. Kira got a new job working alongside her best friend Destiny at a furniture store, and at this point, Destiny was starting a modeling career and Kira wanted to follow suit. So she really just started acting like herself again and just getting motivated to follow her goals. But sadly, the split did not last. And by June of 2018, Kira was calling to let her mom know that she and John decided to

Starting point is 00:07:52 work things out and had gotten back together. She promised her friends and family that John was working on his issues and that she wanted to give the relationship another try. And this time because Kira had settled into an apartment with Destiny and John apparently still hadn't gotten a job, he moved into the girls' apartment with them. But Kira's friends and family again noticed a shift in her demeanor and behavior after they rekindled things.

Starting point is 00:08:20 She seemed withdrawn and even depressed for the first time in her life. It was kind of as if John was like dimming her light and just absolutely sucking the life out of her. Her sister Brady remembered John is controlling and that every decision Kira made, whether small or large, needed to go through him first. Kira felt like she needed to look to him for approval and validation when she spoke, and Destiny remembered that he rarely even let her go to the grocery store by herself. That summer, John was still on probation back in California and was frequently required to check in at a courthouse there, so Kiera would make the trip back with him every time,

Starting point is 00:09:02 but her mom Kiersten said that she was rarely able to see her daughter when they were in town. Kiersten, her husband Chris and Brady met Kiera and John for breakfast on one visit and also dinner the next visit. But those were the only occasions that John allowed them to make time for Kiera's family. And when they all met for dinner, John picked a fight with Kiera in front of her entire family over what she was ordering. Kiersten recalled, quote, he made it very clear that they were going to get what he wanted. I could just see her whole demeanor change. That dinner was the last time any of them saw Kiera. And according to Chris, Kiera's family was so disapproving of their relationship that

Starting point is 00:09:49 he and Kiera actually didn't speak for a couple of months leading up to our disappearance, which he says is something that he really regretted later on. But you know, this is a really tough situation because in their minds they're like, Kira, why are you with this guy? But she is trapped in this extremely manipulative and toxic relationship with somebody, and she probably feels like she can't get out of it. Right, and the sad thing is that they also can't force her out of the relationship. They can't tell her what to do. She's an adult, and she can date who she wants, but yeah, it seems like she's stuck, and they don't know how to do. She's an adult and she can date who she wants, but yeah, it seems like she's

Starting point is 00:10:26 stuck and they don't know how to help. So on Monday, August 6, 2018, Destiny called Kiera's mom concerned that she hadn't seen her heard from Kiera in nearly two days. Destiny hadn't seen her at home, calls in text to her cell, were going unanswered, and Kira had even missed a shift at work. Now initially, Destiny thought that Kira may have been out with John, but when she didn't see her here from her at all, she felt as if something was very wrong and then she finally notified Kirsten. Going without contact was completely unlike Kira, so the two decided that Destiny should file a missing person's report. She headed to the Phoenix Police Department to report Kiera missing, as her parents and sister made the 5-hour drive from Elk Hone to Glendale to search for her.

Starting point is 00:11:17 The last time Destiny had heard from Kiera was 2 days prior on Saturday, August 4. So at 12.09pm, Kiera texted Destiny asking what time she would be home. Then at 12.52, John texted Destiny telling her that Kiera had stormed out of the apartment. Right. So that's 45 minutes roughly between the time that Kiera texted Destiny to when John texted Destiny. Right. We've seen this in a lot of other cases where the husband or the boyfriend is saying, well,

Starting point is 00:11:51 they just stormed out. We had a fight and they stormed out and then I just never saw her again. This is feeling like the same situation. And then an hour later at 1.57pm that day, Kiera supposedly texted Destiny saying that she was with a man that she met at a store. The text read, quote, girl, my phone is about to die, but I'm fucking done with John. I met this guy a couple of days ago when I went to the store and I asked him to pick me up so I'm just chilling with him at his house.

Starting point is 00:12:22 I'll call you when I get a charger and make sure John leaves So this is tough because like you're saying this is supposedly coming from Kira This is the last thing that anybody is gonna hear from her But it's complicated because on one end you can say oh she is done with John now She's seeing the toxicity. Maybe she's able or feels like she's able to leave and finds this other guy. But then at the other side of the coin, it feels kind of like a convenient thing to say that she is leaving Jon. She is going to another man and then suddenly putting another person in the picture for

Starting point is 00:13:01 what is to come. Well, yeah, it did seem very convenient that this text seemed to give John an alibi. You know, because he was supposed to be banished from this apartment while simultaneously, you know, like pointing the finger at a mysterious and unidentified third party. So, yeah, it does feel a little bit weird. But immediately, Destiny, as well as Kiera's family, sensed that that text was just not coming from Kiera. Kiera's didn't say that she got an eerie sense from it, and that it just didn't feel like her daughter.

Starting point is 00:13:33 And she also didn't think that Kiera would ever be the one to go to a stranger's house by herself on a whim. Also, with how dedicated Kiera has been to John, how many chances she's given this guy despite what a monster he is It doesn't seem like she's the kind of person that would be like fuck John I found a new man like that. That doesn't sound like her well, and then there's another clue here And it's apparently that you know Chris pointed out that the text had been a pretty lengthy text But he also said that Kira never typed more than like two lines at a time. So they're kind of, they're getting this feeling. They know her very well, obviously.

Starting point is 00:14:09 They're sleuthen. They're sleuthen right now. So on top of Kiera being like a short textur, she also frequently abbreviated words, and she didn't really care to text much at all. Right. So these are a few very smart people who know Kiera very well and they are just recognizing this text as off right away for so many reasons. So Kiera had left everything but her phone behind as well.

Starting point is 00:14:37 And when Destiny checked her room, she found her purse with all of her cards and her money. So her dad Chris wondered, quote, her ID for work, her purse with her wallet, ID and credit cards was found thrown in the back of her closet. That is strange. What woman throws her purse in the back of her closet? Her car had also been left behind, so police mues that if she had met someone new, if that was even true, maybe they'd run off together because that's kind of where the mind initially goes for police. Yeah but I mean at the same time we're talking about you know

Starting point is 00:15:14 a person most people are gonna carry their ID and their credit cards and all of those things if they're planning on running away so that obviously goes right out the fucking window. Oh no, her parents claimed that there was no way that that's what happened. Like, she would have never left also on top of leaving her stuff without letting Destiny or her parents know where she was going. And Kira was also not one to miss work

Starting point is 00:15:39 or kind of screw off her responsibilities. And she couldn't have gone far even if she wanted to because the only thing she had with her was her phone. So her family did what they could to generate any information about her. They asked questions, looked for her on foot in by car, and hung missing posters all around the area. They also organized search parties to scout the area from which she disappeared, while her sister started a Facebook page to spread awareness. On August 11, so one week after she was last seen, they held a vigil for her with her friends, her neighbors, and co-workers, and her dad Chris pleaded, quote, �We just want her back.

Starting point is 00:16:20 Please just call the police. A piece of our heart is missing and without it, we don't feel whole. It's heartbreaking. Please, somebody say something. As the days ticked by, Kira's loved ones grew increasingly concerned, and police grew increasingly sure that she did not disappear of her own volition. So, they are quickly getting the sense that she did not run away and that something is wrong. And thankfully they did come to that conclusion. Yes. Unfortunately, it did take a few days,

Starting point is 00:16:53 but at least they got there. And really, of course, as you can imagine, there was only one person that her family and friends suspected of involvement is something did go wrong with Kira, and that person was John. August 4, 2018, so the day that Kira disappeared was actually John's 23rd birthday. Unsurprisingly, he had been the last person known to have seen her. When police questioned him, John said that Kiera had gone to work that morning without incident.

Starting point is 00:17:28 Then at 10.27am, she texted him that she wanted to be picked up from work because she wasn't feeling well. So he went to go get her and then supposedly they headed home together. And then after that, John was apparently pretty upset that they weren't doing more for his birthday. He was on FaceTime with his aunt and then hung up as soon as the couple became embroiled in a fight. John admitted to the police that they had a significant fight that morning, and that he

Starting point is 00:17:55 was apparently disappointed that Kira wasn't doing more for him on his 23rd birthday, but they also fought about their living situation. John claimed that he were dreaded the move to Glendale, not having a job was taking a toll on him and he was really stressed about his finances. Um, that move was your idea? Yeah, and your fault for not having a job, buddy. He also told Kiera that he was considering moving to Texas to stay with his aunt for a while, and that was apparently what he and his aunt were talking about on FaceTime when

Starting point is 00:18:24 Kiera started getting upset. He then claimed that Kira stormed out of the apartment after their fight around 1 p.m. and that he hadn't seen her since. A text exchange after her departure showed Kira giving John permission to withdraw money from her bank account. Then later that day, he used one of her debit cards to take out $500 in cash, and then drove her card to a gas station

Starting point is 00:18:50 and used her card to fill it up. And obviously we know this guy's a piece of shit, and basically just uses Kiera for her money. But also, if this is the day that they got in this big fight, why would she storm out and then say, sure, take my money. And then at that same time, be texting Destiny, fuck John, I have a new guy. Yeah, none of this is adding up. Not at all.

Starting point is 00:19:16 With Kiera's phone still missing, please brought John in for questioning and subpoenaed both her phone records and his. In the most damning discovery yet, police learned that both of their phones had been connected to their home Wi-Fi router when all of these texts were sent. So let's go back and read the text really quick to prove how much this does not make sense. So at 1252, John texted Destiny saying that Kira had stormed out of the apartment. Now that 1252 does stormed out of the apartment. Now that 1252 does align with John telling the police that she had left at about 1 o'clock.

Starting point is 00:19:51 1252, 1 o'clock about the same time, right? But then an hour later, at 157, Kira, text apparently or Kira's phone, texted Destiny that she was with a man that she met at a store and that text said, girl, my phone is about to die, but I'm fucking done with John. I met this guy a couple days ago when I went to the store and I asked him to come pick me up. So I'm just chilling with him at his house. I'll call you when I get a charger and make sure John leaves. So she's under her Wi-Fi at home saying that she's at some other guy's house? Yeah, this is where John fucked up.

Starting point is 00:20:32 I mean, really, this is where he messed up completely because probably didn't really think about where those texts were going to be coming from and that police were going to check those records to see where they were coming from. Exactly. And that last line of make sure John leaves really drives it home that she or whoever's posing as her is claiming that Kiera is not home yet her phone is. Yeah. Exactly. And this was an explosive revelation in this case because it meant that Kiera, or at least her phone, was in the apartment when she, or whoever it was, supposedly texted Destiny that she had left with this man, you know, that she had met from the store.

Starting point is 00:21:13 Now, she, I'm doing quotations here, had also been in the apartment when she texted John that he could take her purse from the back of her closet and use her card to pull out cash and then fill up her own gas tank. Yeah, so if they were both home under the Wi-Fi, why would they be texting A and B again after a fight, why would she say that he can take out hundreds of dollars from her account? Right, but even more suspiciously, this data showed that on August 7, 2018, three days after Kiera went missing, both her and John's phones connected to that Wi-Fi router in their apartment. At public mobile, we do things differently.

Starting point is 00:22:12 From our subscription phone plans to throwing a big sale right now when no one else is. Well, maybe they are, but who cares, our sale is better. And it's on right now. No waiting necessary. You have the latest phone, now take advantage of a great price on a 5G subscription phone plan. It's the perfect deal for anyone who could use some savings right now. Subscribe today at publicmobile.ca, different is calling. Before that quick break, Heath told us that three days after Kierou went missing on August

Starting point is 00:22:58 7, 2018, both she and John's phones connected to the Wi-Fi router in their apartment that they shared with Destiny. So the search of John's phone revealed another eerie interaction. After Kira's disappearance, John and a friend were talking on Instagram about how police could easily use the Find My iPhone feature on Kira's phone to see where her phone was. Later that day, this feature was disabled, her phone was turned off, and it has never been recovered. When police questioned if John had been the one to send the text messages from Kira's phone. He reportedly didn't deny doing so. Instead, he just asked them why he would do such a thing and told them that he didn't believe that Kira was dead. So he's not saying no, he's just saying, why would I do that?

Starting point is 00:23:58 Yeah, exactly. So when they asked him to consent to a polygraph exam, he would not, he refused to do so, and this only confirmed the suspicions of Kira's family and friends that he was involved. Kira's dad said, quote, I knew he was a shady person. A few days later, on August 13th, so nine days after Kira disappeared, police executed a search of John's vehicle. Though they didn't state if they found anything related to Kiera's disappearance, they did find proof of other illegal activity.

Starting point is 00:24:35 According to the Phoenix Police Sergeant in charge of the search, they recovered, quote, numerous items with personal identifying information of others, as well as items of forgery. They found 20 California state IDs belonging to other people. Oh, that's not a weird thing at all. Yeah, and basically police just suspected that these discoveries were linked to drug activity as John's social media posts were rife with drug references. So John was arrested on suspicion of 22 counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of forgery, but he was released the same day.

Starting point is 00:25:18 However, on August 17th, he was arrested again and this time held on a $25,000 bond. Though they didn't yet reveal if they believe that John was responsible for Kiera's disappearance, police did announce that they suspected foul play was involved in her case. Now let's go back a couple days before his second arrest. So on August 15th, like I said, in between these two arrests, John was interviewed by local news publication Arizona Central. He continued to deny any involvement in the disappearance of his girlfriend, saying, quote, We go back to the house and then we chill. She's trying to keep me in good spirits because it was my birthday.

Starting point is 00:26:05 But I was kind of sad because we weren't really doing anything. And then we just started to get into a little bickering, arguing. And then she got upset and then she left. John also took to Instagram to proclaim his innocence, writing, quote, Me and Kiera have our ups and downs, but that's in any relationship. I love Kiera with all my heart and would never do anything to her, or put her in harm's way. She left the house Saturday, August 4th, my birthday, because she was mad that I was contemplating going to live with my aunt in Texas. We messaged briefly after she left, and I was trying to get her back so that we could

Starting point is 00:26:41 talk, or find out where she went, but she didn't want to tell me. I called and messaged her all the remainder of Saturday and all day Sunday. I was also messaging her friend Destiny to see if she knew anything, and I was barely getting responses from her. Monday morning, when we saw that she was still not getting in touch with anybody and she was going to be missing work, I decided to call the police at that time. At that time, Kira's friend Destiny told me that the day Kira left, Kira messaged her, saying that she went to go chill and smoke with some dude. After we talked to the cop, I suggested for Destiny to call and tell Kira's mom, because I knew that she did not like me, and I didn't want to raise the tension at that time.

Starting point is 00:27:29 I've been nothing but open and honest with investigators and Kiarah's family, however, I'm still being looked at from her family as having something to do with this. Her family is accusing me of being in the cartel or being a drug dealer, which is very ignorant of them to think of me. It hurt me so deeply that I was not able to attend Kiera's vigil of hope because her mom did not want me there. I tried calling the head detective for two days with no response. Then, two days after Kiera's vigil of hope, I was abruptly surrounded by close to 20 tactical officers, handcuffed, and then brought down to the station. They fully searched my phone, car, and where I was staying. They treated me like I was a suspect from the jump.

Starting point is 00:28:08 With the day and age that we live in, with me being the black boyfriend of a missing girl and a half-white family, if the police even had a shred of evidence to say that I had anything to do with this, they would not have let me go. So to all of Kira's family that still wants to look at me negatively, you better have this same energy when Kira comes home because we will spend the rest of our lives together and I will not forget the way that you're treating me. So it's like he's just becoming this, he's trying to become the victim here like, oh, they're just saying I'm a bad dude and blah blah blah. And then even threatening them saying like, well, you better like eat

Starting point is 00:28:44 your words because when she comes back Like we're gonna be together and I'm not gonna forget that you treated me so bad Right, which is such a bad thing to say anyway if you fuck up if you want to spend the rest of your life with this woman And this is how you're talking to our family like you're the problem Yeah, you are a problem exactly who talks to their girlfriends family that way disgusting anyway That's a hard problem, exactly. Who talks to their girlfriend's family that way? Disgusting. Anyway, so for this post, he captioned it with, quote, this is to get the record straight with Kiera's family.

Starting point is 00:29:13 I'm tired of the negative accusations and alienation of me when it comes to anything going on with her. I love Kiera deeply and you're wrong for treating me this way. And then he hashtagged the post, Find Kiera. So around 3 p.m. on Monday, September 3rd, 2018, on a remote desert road over 40 miles or 64 kilometers from Kiera's Glendale apartment. A couple of cyclists spotted something on the side of the road. Kiera's decomposing body was recovered near the intersection of State Route 85 and Haze

Starting point is 00:29:51 in Road outside of Buckeye, Arizona, which is the westernmost suburb of Phoenix. Though investigators needed to confirm the identity of the body before they announced that they had found Kira. They warned her family that it was very likely that it was her. John was already in custody at the time for his identity theft and forgery charges, and police questioned him again just hoping their interview would connect him to her final resting location. And when he was asked about the area, John said he frequently traveled

Starting point is 00:30:25 the exact road on which she was found, again, State Route 85, to and from his court appearances in San Diego, California, and that he knew the route well. On Tuesday, September 4, 2018, using dental records, the medical examiner was able to confirm that the remains belonged to Kiera Bergman. When John was notified of her discovery, he declined to continue speaking with police and demanded an attorney. That same day, police released a probable cause statement to charge John with her murder. And the more police spoke to people in Kira's circle, the more they suspected John of involvement. Destiny claimed that she had seen bruising on Kira and that John had a history of violent

Starting point is 00:31:13 outbursts, and she described him as volatile, erratic, and controlling, and claims that she'd even seen him grab Kira by the throat. On the day that Kira disappeared, neighbors reported seeing a friend of John's come over with a car, and then John was seen removing trash bag after trash bag from the apartment and loading them into the car with the friend's help. So it just feels like everything is pointing to one conclusion and one conclusion only. But just wait to see where this goes. So Kira's family felt strongly that Kira had expressed interest in breaking up for good

Starting point is 00:31:54 with John and moving back because he was manipulating her and using her financially. And on September 14, 2018, he was indicted for second-degree murder and tampering with evidence, though he continued to protest that he was innocent. However, the state really had their work cut out for them because Kira's autopsy could not produce a cause of death, and the investigation didn't produce a murder weapon. And not only that, but there wasn't any DNA evidence on Kiera nor at the scene that connected John to the murder. Though the circumstantial evidence against him was obviously very strong, the jury felt

Starting point is 00:32:42 unsure about murder charges due to the lack of DNA evidence specifically. Sadly, the case was tossed out because of this, but then, on May 14, 2019, a new grand jury handed down another indictment for second-degree murder. On March 12, 2020, John was released after being in prison for a year and a half and was electronically monitored. But in April of that year, the judge dismissed the murder charges a second time, stating that the prosecution mishandled the evidence and bungled the case. In August of 2022, a judge in jury finally sided with John and ruled that he was innocent of Kiera's murder. Which just feels absolutely insane, but I guess tips came in that Kiera had been seen multiple times like after she left her apartment and after she left John in her apartment.

Starting point is 00:33:45 And these are claims that the defense alleges were not followed up on. Over the course of August 9th through August 16th, tips placed Kira in various locations around the Phoenix area, like three hours away in Kingsman, Arizona, and even all the way back to the vicinity of San Diego. And the defense even alleged that Kiera was seen with a young man with dreadlocks shortly after she left her apartment. And of course, sightings can be really difficult because it's not like there's video footage that shows that it definitely was without a doubt Kiera and that somebody's not just not, you

Starting point is 00:34:25 know, mistaking her for somebody else. But it obviously throws a wrench in everything because it makes you wonder was Kiera really seen after that? And was she really alive after the day that she allegedly stormed out on John? Well eight days after Kiera's disappearance, a woman in the area had called 911 to report a man shoving a young woman who looked like Kira into a vehicle. Then another tip came in claiming to have witnessed Kira and a man fitting the description of the man from this 911 call, which was a young African-American man with dreadlocks,

Starting point is 00:35:03 in an altercation at a restaurant. This tip claimed that Kira and this man were fighting in the parking lot of a local Mimi's cafe, but no witness statements were taken despite the efforts of the tipsters. There was also no surveillance footage pulled, and it seems kind of like these tips were stifled maybe because the police believe they already had their guy which was John and in his decision the judge stated quote the Phoenix police department did not attempt to corroborate the details of this incident

Starting point is 00:35:37 prior to the defendant's arrest on September 13th 2018. Obviously in a way I do understand the judge's decision here. It is the police's duty to investigate every case to the fullest extent and not look into something because they feel like they have their guy. But I also feel like, with all the circumstantial evidence against John, I would be incredibly surprised if what these tipsters are saying is true if kira really was seeing somewhere else after the day that she disappeared i it's hard for me to believe that with the text coming from her apartment

Starting point is 00:36:17 with the this fight that they apparently had with that text that kira allegedly sent saying she wasn't home when she was, you know, and the fact that he was carrying out trash bags and asked a friend for help. Like, there's so many things, also the fact that we know this man is violent. We know he's manipulative and abusive. And it's just hard for me to believe that with all of those things, all of the facts that he's not behind this. I mean even though John seems like he's the culprit behind this, he's actually stayed fairly quiet since the verdict, but for the duration of the trial he took to social

Starting point is 00:36:57 media to argue his side of the story and to bemoan his treatment and betrayal in the media. His TikTok page is mostly filled with pictures and videos of his young son and the pit bull puppies that he apparently breeds and sells. Ugh. But he also posted numerous videos proclaiming his innocence. And one post he wrote quote, trial with no cause of death, no time of death, and no crime scene. I'm an innocent black

Starting point is 00:37:25 man, don't let my story go untold, I'm not guilty." Though the jury was sympathetic to the plight of Kieres family, they were also honest in their belief that there was simply not enough evidence to prove without a doubt that John Clark was responsible for Kieres' death. The jury's statement read, quote, our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies go out to Kiera's family and friends. We sympathize with the pain that they've gone through since her tragic death in 2018.

Starting point is 00:37:56 We felt strongly about the case that we presented to a jury showing who we believe murdered Kiera. Our job as prosecutors is to provide facts and evidence under the law and a jury of our peers determines guilt or innocence. In this case, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. While we wished for a different outcome, we respect the jury's decision.

Starting point is 00:38:21 The Phoenix Police Department were similarly disappointed, but also stated that they believe they conducted the investigation to the best of their ability, writing, quote, the Phoenix Police Department conducted a thorough and fair investigation, and we stand behind the work that we did on this case. While we were hopeful for a different outcome, we were spec'd the decision reached by the jury. Kira's family were understandably devastated by this ruling and still believed that John

Starting point is 00:38:48 was involved in her death. It's been five long years since Kira was murdered, with no answers and no end in sight. The family is still fighting for justice for Kira, and her dad Chris said, quote, �I know God's going to forgive him, but as far as I'm concerned, I will never be able to forgive him, and I hope that he burns in hell." Kiera's mom, Kiersten, has turned to volunteering with other victims of domestic violence, empowering them to leave their situations. If you have any information about the murder of Kiera Bergman, please call Silent Witness at

Starting point is 00:39:26 480-948-6377. 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. Such a frustrating case, I mean again, circumstands to so annoying because it feels like, wow, we have it, it's right here, like obviously he did it, at least in my opinion. And then without physical evidence, you can't do shit and that's so frustrating

Starting point is 00:40:08 That's why this story is so important to share. It's an important one to tell because if anybody out there knows Something that could prove that John or somebody else murdered Kiera It can start up the investigation again because I feel like police kind of said okay Well, we did our best and it wasn't John so now we don't know who it was and we're not looking into it you know like that's the vibe you get yeah but at the end of the day we know that Kiera was murdered the foul play was involved and police know that too so hopefully there will come some new physical evidence or something that can point police in the right direction and justice

Starting point is 00:40:45 will be served here. Yeah, something else I really want to know is what the state of her body was because obviously we had mentioned that John was seen taking multiple trash bags out of the apartment. So I'd love to know more about what the state of her body was when it was found because we couldn't find anything that she was dismembered or anything like that. so for anybody else who's mind was going there as well, we don't know. But I feel like that is a detail that's usually included, so it's possible that her body was intact.

Starting point is 00:41:15 I just wish that we had more for this story, but again, thank you guys so much for listening. Don't forget to share, and we'll see you in a few days. Alright guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't forget to share, and we'll see you in a few days. All right, guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. Thank you. you

Going West: True Crime - Kiera Bergman // 343

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