Morbid - Episode 207: The Tragic Death of Emilie Morris

Episode Date: February 6, 2021

Emilie Morris was just sixteen years old when her coach and teacher started sexually abusing her. Emilie stayed in contact with her abuser throughout life, as she struggled to heal from what ...he had done to her. This had all started in the mid to late 90’s and finally in 2013 Emilie was ready to come forward and put a stop to the abuse this man was allegedly continuing to inflict on the young women around him. Unfortunately before the case could move forward, Emilie was found dead in her apartment, under some pretty mysterious circumstances. The Case Died With Her Buzzfeed Investigates As always, thank you to our sponsors: First Leaf: Join First Leaf today and you’ll get 6 bottles of wine for $29.95 and free shipping! Just go to TRYFirstleaf.com/MORBID Daily Harvest: Go to DAILYHARVEST.com and enter promo code morbid to get twenty-five dollars off your first box! Candid Co: Start straightening your teeth today, right now, you can save seventy-five dollars on Candid’s starter kit. Go to CandidCO.com/morbid and use code morbid  BetterHelp: This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and Morbid listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com/Morbid See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:01:28 That's ANGI, or download the app today. Hey, Weirdo's I'm Ash, and I'm Alena. And this is Morpid. It is more big. Whenever you get to say like, and this is more big, do you immediately hear the intro song in your head? Yes. Me too. D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d- It's slushy out. I haven't seen the sun in days. Yeah, we haven't had sun for a while. Mercury isn't retrograde. I'm fine without sun, but I know it affects you.
Starting point is 00:02:30 Yeah, I don't like, I mean, I like the sun. I don't like being hot, but I need the happiness that the sun provides. You know? See, I could live in like a place where it was just like cloudy all the time. It's funny, because I have said that about myself in the past, and then the more and more I think about it.
Starting point is 00:02:46 And for some reason, the older I got, I'm like, no, I need it. Like, I need a little happy day. I need the vitamin D. But I don't, I don't like when there's too many sunny days in a row either. Yeah, you need that gloomy day in there. Yeah, I'm pretty specific about my weather choices.
Starting point is 00:03:00 Not gonna lie. Plenty of the chance of people. I think there was one thing that Ash wanted to get out of the way right away because, let me tell ya. All right, I didn't know if I was gonna do my thing first or if you were gonna do your thing. You gotta get this out of there because I need closure on this. Well, so here's the thing, I either fucked up or I am fucked up because, so here's the
Starting point is 00:03:24 two options. I don't know if I had a fever dream about this email and it does not exist at all or if I if the email does exist and I read it and just lost it because somebody sent us an email and they basically said like whenever I listen to your paranormal episodes like my technology will like glitch out and like it never works for me and it leaves me feeling like super like spooked and like I don't like it. And then they went on to say that in our, I don't know if they're like a medium or something,
Starting point is 00:03:54 they said in your pod lab or wherever you record on the right side of the room, is there like a drawer or a cabinet because there's something in there that wants to get out. And I need to know what the fuck that means because I'm looking next to me and there's a big old cabinet with several drawers.
Starting point is 00:04:17 Yeah, and this place is old as fuck and I'm like, huh? Yeah, so it wants to get out. We came up to record yesterday and I was like, oh my God, did you see that email, that blah, like, huh? Yeah, so it wants to get out. We were, we came up to her record yesterday and I was like, oh my God, did you see that email, that blah, blah, blah? And she was like, Elaine, I was like, no. I was like, bring that up and I was like, oh, hang on,
Starting point is 00:04:32 like let me find it. And I swear I took a screenshot of it, but it was not in my screenshot at folder or anywhere in my phone and it's nowhere. And I can't find the email anywhere. So if you sent the email, would you mind resending it, like forwarding it?. So if you sent the email, would you mind resending it, like forwarding it?
Starting point is 00:04:46 And then if you don't exist, could you elaborate a little on the identity of the person or thing that would like to get out of my cabinet? That's next to me because I'm here to help. Yeah. I'm here to, I want to liberate whoever it is from these cabinets Because that sounds like it's stuck unless I was gonna stay out there. I don't know about that Like if they're like trapped in there and they're like a good thing like sure
Starting point is 00:05:14 Yeah, but like I just need to know more. I just want some more information. I need some more context Yeah, I just need some more hopefully that was a real a real email because otherwise I'm a little concerned about my psyche. Yeah, otherwise we're gonna have a chat But otherwise I may have hallucinated. I was like you better get that person to send that again I probably I would say I spent at least like 25 to 30 oh easy we were like 40 minutes deep I was like typing in different things to Gmail to like highlight the email. No. Right side.
Starting point is 00:05:47 Demon and drawer. I don't know how spooky. But yeah, so reset that if you did set that here. Thank you. Hello. And then I think the only other thing that was like really just wearing on my mind for this and that I have to talk about was the fucking Maryland
Starting point is 00:06:03 Manson thing. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I was a big Maryland Manson fan. You always, you always, I always liked his music. I always liked that he was weird. I always liked the like shock rocker thing. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:17 Obviously he said a lot of problematic things in the past, but you know, a lot of them I just didn't know about either because I don't follow like Yeah, like the sledgehammer thing anything. I don't know about that So I didn't know any of those but the shit that's coming out now and these women who are coming forward with their stories Like horrifying absolutely and it's like when you were like a fan of his it's so you feel so betrayed because you're like How dare you be this evil son of a bitch and victimize women and then like portray yourself as this like Solidarity with like weirdos, you know what I mean? Like you're not a fucking you're just evil You're giving weirdos a bad name and what bums me out the most is that
Starting point is 00:06:59 Everything is focusing now on like well. He's weird and he has a weird aesthetic Everything is focusing now on like, well, he's weird and he has a weird aesthetic. And so of course he's a fucked up person. And it's like, no, he's just a fucked up person. Can we all just focus on the fact that he's an evil son of a bitch? Well, because he's Ryan Warner is an evil son of a bitch. Yes.
Starting point is 00:07:19 Like, and he's, and Marilyn Manson is an evil son of a bitch, but it's like, don't focus on his aesthetic. The aesthetic has nothing to do with him being an evil son of a bitch, but it's like, don't focus on his aesthetic. The aesthetic has nothing to do with him being an evil son of a bitch because the thing is, he could be wearing a suit and like going to work as a doctor every day and still be going home and doing the same exact thing. Because that happens.
Starting point is 00:07:37 It has nothing to do with like him wearing makeup and saying like creepy shit. I feel like focusing on that and a lot of these articles, I'm reading is taking away from the reality of him just being at his core, a fucked up individual. And it's like, just let's focus on the demon that is him. Not what he, you know, what paintings he had in his house. Like, let's not talk about that.
Starting point is 00:08:00 I don't give a shit what he had in his house. I care that he abused, assaulted, and manipulated, and fucked with countless innocent women. And young women, very young women. Yeah, I just, and it's really shitty too, because it's like, there's plenty of weirdos in the world. Like all of you guys listening right now. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:18 And that like probably have some like the weird shit that Marilyn Manson has in his house. Like quote unquote weird shit. And they're like, oh, like I walked by this thing in his house, like should have known shit. And they're like, oh, I walked by this thing in his house, like should have known that. And it's like, okay, no, no, no, that's not what, don't focus on that. We should have known when he like said some of the things
Starting point is 00:08:33 that he did. And it's like he's evil. Like talk about what he did and what he said and what the things he, you know, like the horrible pain he inflicted on people. Right. Let's not just, like, I just wish it would just, they would take that part out.
Starting point is 00:08:46 Talk about the crime see committed and not his interests. And it happens because like will read crime stories on here where it's like, and he had a satanic Bible in his room, you know what I mean? And like you have to mention it. So I understand why it's being in these articles,
Starting point is 00:08:59 but I feel like it's being focused too hard on. Right, you know, as instead of being like, and of course he has this like aesthetic, that is pretty dark. Right. It know, instead of being like, and of course, he has this like aesthetic that is pretty dark. Right. It's not like, it should be a secondary thing. Yeah, it's too much. To the crime he has committed, but I feel like it's the first thing they're putting in
Starting point is 00:09:14 these things. And I'm like, no, no, make it the background. I agree. Like that, add that into it. Don't make it the first thing. I know. But it's just sucks. It sucks when you find out people that, you know, that you liked their
Starting point is 00:09:27 music or you liked their art or whatever. It's like, it sucks when you find out that it sucks when you find out that they're just a shitty person. When you find out they're a legitimate evil, evil person, like that. You find out that they're like, you could cover them on the podcast where we have that. That's also to be a real bummer. Yeah. So I just wanted to put it out because I'm sure a lot, I mean, I'm sure a lot of you were fans at one point or another because he, you know, we're all on this together. And even if it's like, even if it's shocking. So it's just like, and then I love Deed of On Tees.
Starting point is 00:09:58 I just want to put that out there. I mean, she said, luckily, nothing happened to her, right? She did. She said that was not her experience that they ended their I mean, she said luckily nothing happened to her, right? She did. She said that was not her experience. That they ended their relationship because of impidelity and his drug abuse. But I figured I'd end that on high note where,
Starting point is 00:10:15 can we all agree that D to one piece is like a knockout and like a wonderful human? Yeah, I think we can. Let's do that. Let's do that. You know what's weird too is not weird, but like just kind of strange timing is that this whole case that I'm doing today is like somewhat reminiscent of people coming forward like years like yes, it kind of worked out.
Starting point is 00:10:34 It does kind of like go on the same wavelength. It does. So guys, this month we are doing the Patreons know all about this. We're doing Patreon picks. So for the month of February, we put up a poll on the Patreon and everybody got to pick my cases and Alaina's cases for the entire month of February. Yeah, these are fully Patreon picked. Like we literally were like, say your cases that you want for February
Starting point is 00:10:57 and then we narrowed them down and it took a long time. It did take a very long time. Because you guys gave great suggestions. We're gonna cover every single picture. Well, because that's the thing, because people are like, oh my god, no, like it wasn't the one I wanted and I'm like, gave great suggestions. We're gonna cover everything for you. Well, because that's the thing, because people are like, oh my God, no, like it wasn't the one I wanted. And I'm like, don't worry, we're gonna end up covering.
Starting point is 00:11:09 Yeah, don't worry. I trust me, trust me, trust me, because I had probably, like, when one would be picked, I'm like, I do wanna cover that, but I also wanna cover that other one. So it's hard. We will. We will definitely cover them.
Starting point is 00:11:19 You guys gave us great, great suggestions. It must have been hard for you to handle for that control as a Capricorn. I hated it. I hated every second of it, but you guys did great. So you made it easier for me. I love it. I know.
Starting point is 00:11:32 I want to be honest with you and tell you it was really hard not to just like sneak in a case that you didn't say that I just wanted to cover. And like I hoped that you would vote for, but I didn't do that. No, and in the end, it was like there was so many to choose from. Yeah, and it worked out great.
Starting point is 00:11:44 So today we are going to talk about a girl named Emily Morris. So thanks to the Patreons for picking this. Yes, and before we start, I just want to give a little bit of a trigger warning. This involves sexual abuse. This involves like abuse between a teacher and a student and a coach and a student behavior. Gruming, so if that's not for you, if that's not something you want to listen to, then this is not the episode for you. Yeah. So Emily Allison Morris was born on September 22nd, 1979 in St. Louis, Missouri, which is funny because I think I had like a St. Louis accent like a minute ago when we were talking. Yeah. Now she was born to her parents, Richard and Joan Morris.
Starting point is 00:12:27 And she was their first daughter. She's the older sister to Andrea. Andrea? Which I love saying it like that. When I was researching, I thought it was Andrea. And I was like, still love that. Still love that I watched. Still love that I watched.
Starting point is 00:12:38 And I watched a documentary and they were like, Andrea. Love that. And I was like, oh, damn she. Now growing up, Emily's parents said that she was, quote, funny, fast, smart, and accomplished. Now Joan told Lonnie Coombs, who was a formal criminal prosecutor,
Starting point is 00:12:51 that Emily walked at just 10 months old. And she said, quote, children are supposed to crawl first. She had no interest in that. That reminded me of all of your children. I was just in a sense. It's literally the only reason I put that in there. It's both wonderful and terrifying out at the same time.
Starting point is 00:13:07 But I also think it says a lot about who your kid is gonna be. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like they're just like, yeah, I'm just gonna go straight for this. Very like steadfast. Emily's parents also went on to say that she was a super athletic girl, a bit of a tomboy. And she didn't always feel like she fit in, I think,
Starting point is 00:13:22 probably because she was like a little bit of a tomboy. But that she had this like, can do think probably because she was a little bit of a tomboy, but that she had this can-do attitude and she was never afraid to fail. Like she always wanted to go for it and if she was not the best at it, she was like, I'm gonna go get him next time. I'm dust myself off and try again. And I just have to say that her parents
Starting point is 00:13:38 look like the sweetest couple. I've ever seen two. They're also just very normal people. Yeah, just like you love them. Yeah. So before she started high school, Emily told her mom that she was gonna go out for the cross country team. Now she was already like a really good diver.
Starting point is 00:13:55 Like there's videos of her doing different dives that I could never do. Oh, no. But so the fact that she wanted to try a new sport, like with high school starting, wasn't out of character. So her mom was like, cool, that's great. Now, Emily's math teacher from middle school, Jim Wilder, was allegedly the one to suggest that she should go out for the track team, which was kind of weird, because he wasn't even
Starting point is 00:14:15 the track coach yet. But okay. Just a math teacher. Just a math teacher. Emily was a super talented runner, like right off the bat, and she quickly became the number one runner on the girls team. Wow, get it.
Starting point is 00:14:27 Yeah, she was, she was really getting it. Now there was a woman coach at first named Nancy and she was Emily's coach for the first two years that she was on the team, but then Nancy left to take a different job. And Jim Wilder, Emily's old teacher, took over both teams, the girls team and the boys team. Okay.
Starting point is 00:14:44 So it kind of seemed like it just merged to like a co-ed team. Yeah, for sure. Which, why the fuck is, isn't it? I know. Why aren't, like, I feel like all teams should just be men and women. Like I know, I don't get it. It would make sense to me. Like, why can't we all just be together?
Starting point is 00:14:58 So many thoughts on that. They do. But that's for a different time. Exactly. Now Emily's mom said that she remembered Emily talking quite a bit about Jim Wilder. And she kind of was like, oh, you know, I think she has a crush on him and whatever. Yeah. And he was 29, so he's like this young teacher.
Starting point is 00:15:15 Oh, so he's a young teacher. We all had a crush on a teacher at some point. Oh, really? Yeah. I had a crush on all the teachers, so. I had a crush on my English teacher at one point. Didn't everybody have a crush on your English teacher? Yeah. This is actually funny because I had a crush on my English teacher at one point didn't everybody have a crush on your English teacher I did this is actually funny because I had a crush on my math teacher
Starting point is 00:15:27 There you go. I remember one time he like came to a softball game and I was like oh I'm gonna like really rip one into the field. He'll really care about it And he definitely didn't because he was a good teacher because he was a good man That's weird to think about now. Yeah, so Jim like I said 29 He was a married man and I believe he had his first child at this point So Joan made sure to tell Emily like you act accordingly around that married older teacher man Because she was like I don't want anybody making up rumors like we don't need that Yeah, yeah, so when he took over both track teams Emily would go for
Starting point is 00:16:01 Advice like go to him for advice about, you know, different high school things, like boys she was dating and probably running tips obviously. And, you know, he would offer his advice and it was all well and fine. But then one day things went past the point of advice and crossed every single line that is put in the sand for teachers and students' relationships. He did a lot. I was talking with my hands, I just slammed them. So apparently, Emily was telling her coach about a guy that she liked and how they were going to play, they were either going to play the game chicken or they had played the game chicken.
Starting point is 00:16:37 Now, there's a lot of different chicken games because my first thought was the one in the pool. That's literally what I was thinking. So I never heard this specific game be called chicken, but I guess it is. They were talking about the chicken where a guy will put his hand on your knee and move his hand up. Oh, absolutely.
Starting point is 00:16:55 And I didn't know that was a thing. Adult chicken. Spicy chicken. I had no idea. Spicy chicken wraps the cream. That's... I... Whoa. So he keeps putting his hand up and up until you,
Starting point is 00:17:07 I think you say chicken when you're like, don't touch. I hate this. A lot. Yeah, yeah, me too. I hate that that exists. You do that. I mean, don't, don't do that. And yeah, no.
Starting point is 00:17:20 So Emily was telling her coach about this during a practice in the woods, because like, it's not super weird to have track practice in the woods for anybody that's not a runner, because at first I was like, wait, what? Yeah, because they run through paths and stuff. Yeah, because then I thought about it. I had a lot of friends on the track team, and they were always in the woods.
Starting point is 00:17:35 Yeah. So they were in the woods, and he was probably like standing at a certain point, and she ran by, and was like, oh, like, let's chat, and then they got into this. So she's telling them about this. Wow. And he suggests that they got into this. So she's telling them about this. Wow. And he suggests that they play.
Starting point is 00:17:47 Oh, nope, nope. Now Emily later told the police that Jim put his hand on her knee and kept going until his hand was over her groin area and over her jeans just to be specific. Now, right as his hand landed there, another teammate ran by, so he moved his hand super quickly. But that same day, he was supposed to drive Emily home from school.
Starting point is 00:18:10 And her mom had arranged this. I don't know if it was just like, just, I don't know, it was the 90s. So she arranged that the coach gave her a ride home. I feel like that happened a lot. I'm sure. And when they got home, her parents and her sister weren't home,
Starting point is 00:18:23 so he went inside with her. Uh-oh. And when they got inside, she was and her sister weren't home, so he went inside with her. Uh-oh. And when they got inside, she was sitting on the ottoman in the living room. And Jim basically just took off her pants and started performing oral sex on her. And she said that she told him to stop. And he did stop. And then he left. How old is she? 16.
Starting point is 00:18:43 Yeah. Oh, okay. Now that was she? 16. Yeah. Oh, okay. Now that was the first time. I really hate this. Yeah, this is a wrap one. Now that was the first time, but this abuse would go on for years. And it's funny that you just asked that
Starting point is 00:18:56 because I was like, I say abuse because he is 29, married with children and this girl is 16 years old. 16 year old, she's right. So it's like even because I want to clarify something, even if people were like, well, she was a willing participant, no, at 16, you're not a willing participant
Starting point is 00:19:14 with a 29 year old man. You're just not. So he spent time grooming her obviously because in her mind, I'm sure she knew it was wrong and she said she was like, I knew that this was wrong, but he made me feel special and he made me feel like this was a valid consenting relationship. Now, experts on sexual abuse point out that sexual grooming will create a compliant victim, but at the end of the day, they are just that. They're a victim. Now, to further groom Emily and make her feel like she was super special to him. Jim would tell Emily about how sexually frustrated he was.
Starting point is 00:19:47 This is the most fucked up thing I've ever heard. Yeah, it's really fucked up and it's about to get more fucked up. That damn it. Because the reason he was so sexually frustrated is because his wife was pregnant. Yeah, I knew, I was literally just gonna say she's pregnant or she just had a baby. That's one of the other.
Starting point is 00:20:02 Well, both because they had two kids. So he has a young kid and now his wife is pregnant. Oh my god, fuck this guy poor him. He shows sexually frustrating Oh my god like what what I Hate him. How are you frustrated when you're about to have a baby. I don't get it. I hate him so much. Yeah, so It's so like makes me angry so he would have her meet him in the wrestling room to perform oral sex on each other. And if they heard someone coming, he would have Emily hide in this box of uniforms until he was sure that the person had passed.
Starting point is 00:20:35 Now sometimes they would meet in the middle of like practices of track meets and stuff like that. Like one time they were found in the middle of a sexual act in a men's bathroom in a park where like this track meet was going on. Somebody just walked in on them. Another time this one is crazy and weird. The movie, the team was going to see the movie 7, which I feel like we've been talking a
Starting point is 00:20:58 lot about. Yeah, weird movie, because he has a team. That's the other thing. I was like, the team bonding. Motivation, I don't know. Like what's in the box. Run, run, run. So while they were out of town for a meet,
Starting point is 00:21:10 so it was like a team building exercise while watching a serial killer murder. Yeah, documentary. Not documentary movie. And documentary, Jesus. Imagine. Now Emily told the police later that while they were at the movie theater, this is really gross.
Starting point is 00:21:23 They were sitting next to each other and she was masturbating Jim while he was sitting next to another coach. So I'm like, the other, there's no way the other coach didn't notice that. No, there's absolutely no way, which is terrible. Yeah, and it's like obviously people knew that this was going on and we're gonna get into that
Starting point is 00:21:41 in like a second because my next notice, the more and more that this like I mean, I don't really know another word to use other than like relationship because yeah, because it was some form of a relationship with her Yeah, I mean relationships can be fucked up like yeah, so the more and more this relationship Progress the more people were catching on to things now parents in the town knew because like their kids are coming home telling them about it parents and the town knew because like their kids are coming home telling them about it. Other coaches and faculty allegedly knew and Emily's friends knew what was going on. Oh my god, and her parents. Now you imagine. So this is crazy because the rumors were flying around everywhere and eventually they made
Starting point is 00:22:16 their way back to the principal of the school. So it's funny that you said her parents. Uh-oh. Now, when the principal heard, he called Emily in, and she obviously denied everything. So then he calls Jim in. Obviously Jim denies everything, because he doesn't wanna lose his entire job. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:22:30 So then they call Emily's parents. Now they call, the principal calls the parents and says like, Emily has been accused of having a relationship with the teacher. Not the other way around. Oh, okay. Like Emily has been accused of this. This is a teen girl's, right. This has been accused of this, not the 30-year-old.
Starting point is 00:22:48 The coach has accused of having a relationship with your underage child. Not even the coach has been accused of sexually assaulting or becoming inappropriate with your daughter. They're saying accused of an affair, basically. It's like, okay, okay, school. So they, so yeah, they go in and they're like, what? So Emily wouldn't open up to them because, yeah, obviously, like, she's being accused now. She's the bad guy. Right.
Starting point is 00:23:16 So the principal and the parents just kind of chalked it up to the rumors, like, to rumors of jealous teammates. Because like I said, she's one of the most talented runners on the team. It's like she has all the stuff going for her. Like she was one time, she was like the only girl to qualify for a really big race that they were going to do. Only girl on the team with like all these other guy runners. So they were like, maybe there's a girl on the team that also has a crush on this guy
Starting point is 00:23:40 and she's like making shit up. Oh yeah. You know teenagers. Like she's getting like preferential treatment. Right. Right. So the school, even though like this was all unfounded, they're supposed to report any kind of incident like this to CPS.
Starting point is 00:23:54 Yeah. Because CPS is supposed to have like the right tools and everything to investigate. Even yeah. Like it's not up to a principle to decide if this is, if this is rumor or fact. Like it's up to like actual investigators. And it's like, I know this is shocking, but when you bring two people in and say, like, hey, 16 year old and 30 year old,
Starting point is 00:24:11 are you guys having a affair? They're probably gonna say no. Nine times out of 10, I feel like they're gonna be like, no. And they might be lying. Right, so like, and you might wanna call in reinforcements to check. And like not to mention, when you're a teacher
Starting point is 00:24:24 or a principal or any kind of faculty member in a school, you're a mandated reporter. Exactly. So like you're breaking the law either way. There's that. That's a big deal. There's always that. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:35 What makes a person a murderer? Are they born to kill? Or are they made to kill? I'm Candace DeLong and on my podcast Killer Psychie Daily, which you can find exclusively on Amazon Music, I share a quick 10-minute rundown every weekday on the motivations and behaviors of the criminal masterminds you read about in the news. I have decades of experience as a psychiatric nurse, FBI agent and a criminal profiler. On Killer Psychie Daily, I'll give you my expert perspective on cases like the mysterious
Starting point is 00:25:07 New York City drugings, Breaking Down Lori Vallow, a.k.a. Mommy Doom stays motives, and what drove Caitlin Armstrong to murder? I'll also bring on expert guests who add even more insight into these criminal minds. I promise you won't regret adding these 10 minutes to your morning routine. Hey Prime members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast Killer Psychie Daily in the Amazon Music app. Download the app today! What if you were trafficked into a cult over shot nine times or fell in love with a vampire or went into a minor surgery and woke up one week later, paralyzed. What would you do?
Starting point is 00:25:48 I'm Whit Missaldine, the creator of this is actually happening, a podcast from Wondry that brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them. From a young man that dooms his entire future with one choice, to a woman who survived a notorious serial killer. You'll hear their first-person account of how they overcame remarkable circumstances. Each episode is an exploration of the human spirit and personal discovery. These haunting accounts sound like Hollywood movies, but I assure you this is actually happening.
Starting point is 00:26:23 Follow this is actually happening wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to ad free on the Amazon Music or Wonder app. Now the older Emily got the more abusive things became. Emily's mood started to change completely. Like her, her friends were like she got super distant. Her family was like, she was just moody and upset all the time. Her little sister, Andrea, said, she was like, I remember her crying like every day before school and being like, holy shit, like, I don't want to go to high school.
Starting point is 00:26:56 That's what it is. She literally like, she just thought that was school. She thought that was high school. Now, she also, Emily became super self-conscious about herself, and she was like a pretty like, she was like an athletically built girl. Like there was nothing for her to be self-conscious about. But the reason why she was so self-conscious is because of the things that her coach and this man who's abusing her was saying to her because there's a picture of her sitting in her track uniform and her legs are like tucked underneath her to the side.
Starting point is 00:27:26 So like her leg is kind of pressed into the concrete, or the pavement a little bit, and he looked at the picture and looked at her and was like, you should get liposection. And she wrote on the back of a picture. Like there's like all these scrapbook memories and stuff that her mom was showing. She wrote on the back of the picture
Starting point is 00:27:44 like Coach Wilder told me to get liposuction after seeing this. What the fuck? Like with like a sad face I'm pretty sure. Yeah. So soon after that she developed an eating disorder, buliniac. So now he's like negging her. Mm hmm. Wow, he's an evil monster. And I have to wonder if it's because like the older she was getting she was like this is fucked up and she kind of maybe tried to distance herself. So he's like, oh, like fuck you. So he starts doing what he knows best.
Starting point is 00:28:07 Right. Now her friend from high school, so I said she developed the eating disorder of bulimia and her friend from high school remembered that at one point she was only eating the whites of oranges. So the pulp. What?
Starting point is 00:28:20 Yeah. The whites of, that's a thing that people do. I have never heard of that before, but I don't know. Wow. I don't know. That's shocking. Yeah, I can't imagine there's any nutritional value in that whatsoever.
Starting point is 00:28:33 Wow. Also, I hate pulps so much. I do too. I hate pulps so that I like freaks me out in a big way. Yeah. Now, Joan is catching onto this. Joan is her mom. And she's trying to talk to Emily.
Starting point is 00:28:44 She's, they had like a close relationship, and she's like, why aren't you? Like, obviously something is going on. It must be so hard. You won't open up to me. So can we try therapy? So she, I don't know if Emily, like agreed or not, but she ended up at the therapist,
Starting point is 00:28:57 and the therapist was like, yeah, I cannot crack her. Like, she won't open up. Wow. So she just completely shut down. Yeah. And Joan's like, I don't know what to do. Yeah, what do you do? That's the thing.
Starting point is 00:29:08 And so she also remembered how Emily was the only girl to qualify for that race that I mentioned before. And Emily was like so excited when this happened, because obviously that's a big achievement in your track career. Now when the day came to run the race, Emily got out of bed and was like, oh, I don't feel good.
Starting point is 00:29:24 Like, I'm not gonna go. And her mom was like, you're so excited. Isn't this like a lifetime movie? It really is. And her mom was like, you're so excited to go. Like, you know, I think I let's cheer you up. Let's bring you and see how you feel when we get there. Like red flags. Trying to be a supportive mom, trying to just like be like, you know, like you, this is a big deal. So she takes her to the race, and Emily the whole way there was arguing, being like, I don't feel like it, I don't want to. Now she ends up running in the race, but she didn't qualify to go on
Starting point is 00:29:52 to the next bigger race, I don't know how track works. And later on, she told her mom that she lost the race on purpose because she didn't, the next race that they were gonna have, she'd have to go out of town, and she didn't wanna go out of town with her coach. Because that's when a lot of the abuse would happen. Park breaking.
Starting point is 00:30:08 So she literally threw away the race because she was like, I don't wanna be alone with that. Oh, really shit. Yeah, so it's really unclear when this sexual abuse ended with Jim, but it affected her for the rest of her life. I think that's why it's so unclear. But she and Jim also stayed in contact over the years.
Starting point is 00:30:27 Like he would like check in on her. And again, experts on sexual abuse pointed out that this was just his way of keeping tabs on her, making her feel like they're still friends after everything that happened. And that's an important tactic because it's like, if you're friends with me, you're not gonna report me.
Starting point is 00:30:44 Well, that's a total control saying, it's like, if you're friends with me, you're not gonna report me. Well, that's a total control thing. It's like, I'm still in control of this situation. And I have to maintain control or if they could go somewhere. You could turn on me. Yeah. Now, she graduated in 1997. And I believe in one article I read,
Starting point is 00:30:57 the reason I didn't say definitively is because it was only in one article. It said, the abuse lasted through that summer. Oh, okay. But again, it was only in one. So she said the abuse lasted through that summer. Oh, okay. But again, it was only in one. So she graduated and then she went off to college and she eventually did earn her bachelor's of arts in English, but college was like really hard
Starting point is 00:31:14 for her to get through. Her mom was like, it was a nightmare trying to get her through college. Wow. Yeah. So obviously she's trying to cope with what happened in high school. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:31:23 So her friend Christine pointed out later, quote, when you're robbed of your innocence at a young age, it definitely plays a part in your bad behavior as an adult. Oh, yeah. And that's pretty much exactly what happened over time with Emily. She started turning to alcohol more and more. Obviously, like, it's a coping mechanism. Then she eventually got married.
Starting point is 00:31:42 And she did end up marrying an older man. And her mom pointed out that like a lot of her Relationships going forward were with people who were older than her like a lot older. She was kind of stuck in that Yeah, it's it's definitely a cycle now when she married this guy She had two children, but her past was always like around the corner affecting her So it basically ruined her marriage. She lost custody of her kids. And she just, I mean, like really fell into being, like having, I just fell into the trauma. Yeah, exactly. It's a sad case. It is. It's like overwhelming. It is. Now, Andrea said of the abuse,
Starting point is 00:32:20 quote, the problem is it's sort of never stopped. That person was always an influence on her. It just seemed like it not a way at her, her entire life until she decided to finally do something about it. Well, and never being able to like rid yourself of him, like he's keeping tabs, so he's still maintaining that of his. He's keeping tabs. She's in the same area. She's around people that know him, you know.
Starting point is 00:32:41 It's like the scab, it scabs over and then he is picking off the scab every time. And it's like it just never has a chance to heal. Right. And I think whenever you're a victim of like sexual assault, like you blame yourself, like that's a whole huge part of it, which it's never like shame. Right. And that's how she was feeling.
Starting point is 00:32:58 And all kinds of emotions. Right. Exactly. But in 2013, something happened that made Emily want to do something about it and come forward. So she was with her friend Christine Lieber, the woman I mentioned earlier, and another woman. And they were just like hanging outside together. Now one of the women's, the other woman's daughter got home from school and like was clearly upset and wanted to talk to her mom about something. And so she said that she was upset about something that happened at soccer practice. And she told her mom, she felt uncomfortable with the way that coach
Starting point is 00:33:29 Wilder had been massaging her leg. Oh, fuck this guy. Yep. Now, I can't even imagine like the alarm bells that sounded off in Emily's head. She wanted a scream. This is the same coach doing the exact same thing in the exact same school to these like young girls who were exactly like her like how many years later. So right then and there Emily was like fuck this I'm going to the police with my story because I think and like I think everybody else that knows this case saw that when she like she couldn't do anything about it because she was so stuck in her grief but then when she saw that this could like was affecting her friends children and like she couldn't do anything about it because she was so stuck in her grief, but then when she saw that this could, like was affecting her friend's children,
Starting point is 00:34:07 and like she has a daughter, they pointed out. It's like, this could happen to her kid too, absolutely. So that's when she was like, oh, fuck that, I'm doing something. Good. So she went to the police with her story and she was like, listen, this has been happening.
Starting point is 00:34:22 I'm pretty sure it's still happening. Like we need to do something with this. So she goes to the police and they, she still talks to Jim Wilder from time to time. So they're like, would you be willing to get him on the phone? Obviously try to start talking about what happened and get him to say something while we're like wiring the phone conversation.
Starting point is 00:34:39 And she's like, wire-tubbing, the wire. She's like, hell yeah, I will, like let's do this. So she, I know. So she calls Jim and he's like, liar, Tubby. Oh, liar. She's like, hell yeah, I will. Like, let's do this. So she had us. I know. So she calls Jim and he's like, oh yeah, like, I don't want, like, why don't we meet up and talk? Because he's like fully onto it.
Starting point is 00:34:53 Oh, of course. And he's like, you know, I don't really, he at one point says, like, when he does meet up with her, like, you know, all these government people are like listening to us. Oh, yeah. All these government people. Oh, you know the government. So he's like, okay, let's meet up, which is like, to us, basically. Oh, yeah. All these government people. Oh, you know the government. So he's like, okay, let's meet up.
Starting point is 00:35:06 Which is like, you know that she could be also wearing a wire too, right? He's done. Yeah. So she's like, yep, Sharer. So she goes to meet him in the parking lot of the St. Louis Scalery and Mall. And she has the recorder hidden in her bra.
Starting point is 00:35:18 Ah! And as she pulls into the parking lot, they have like the tape, obviously. And she says out loud, like, let's hope this goes well. So boy does it in the regards of him talking because they got so much stuff. And the way that she was able to get him there in the first place is that she was like,
Starting point is 00:35:35 she was like, I'm having a hard time and I'm going to therapy. And my therapist suggested that I kind of revisit my past a little bit. That was smart. It was. And he's like, you know, I'm this great guy. So.
Starting point is 00:35:46 I'm such a good guy. Let me help you revisit your past. He's a real gentleman. I feel like somewhere he like does it. I mean, he obviously doesn't think what he's doing is wrong, because he's like continuing to do it. And the way he talks about it, you're like,
Starting point is 00:35:58 what? Like, we're gonna get into some quotes. It's totally him convincing himself. Yeah, he's valid. 100%. 100%. Now the first thing that he asks when he gets in the car, he literally goes, are you wired like joking?
Starting point is 00:36:12 But like obviously he's not joking. How do you keep your face from just being like, I would literally shit my pants, shit, shit my pants. Like my face would drain of any color that I had. I am the worst liar on the face of the planet. I like have a different voice when I lie. I like terrible. I just, I'd be like, you be like,
Starting point is 00:36:32 I don't know. What? So she was super bad at us about it and she like laughed it off and was like, oh yeah, like you know me, I'm wired. Always wired. She's chillin' in my wires. Now, obviously, they just laugh it off. And by the end of the conversation, there was 87 minutes of everything recorded. So they have a shit ton. Because throughout the exchange, Jim makes multiple incriminating statements, talking openly about their relationship, and how Emily was the persuasive one. Oh, yeah. Of course, the 16 year old is always there, folks.
Starting point is 00:37:06 You just turned me into this shy guy when I, you turned me into him. He's like, when I was around you, you were the persuasive one and I was like, the shy guy. And he literally says it like that and you're like, I wanna punch you so hard in the Adam's apple that you get
Starting point is 00:37:20 and you didn't talk to him any Tuesday. And he said, this, I was watching the TV, because this part is part of the documentary. I was literally about to like take my TV and throw it out the window. He goes, you know, maybe none of this would have happened if your mom hadn't asked me to drive you home that day. I, like that is unbelievably evil.
Starting point is 00:37:47 Now you're putting in her head, like you think you're gonna be able to put in her head. It's your mom's fault. Put you in the situation, and it never would have happened if she didn't put you in that situation. Like, fuck you, dude. And also, it would have, because before you drove her home that day,
Starting point is 00:37:58 you were already inappropriately touching her. Of course, you were evil mom's fault. Sorry, are you blaming her mom? Because it's just another way to torture her. Now what only gets, unfortunately, it only gets worse. He goes, this is ridiculous. He goes, this kind of stuff, if we were the same age, would be no problem.
Starting point is 00:38:16 Yes, but you're not, kind of the crux of the issue, buddy. That's actually the entire point of why she's sitting in the car with you right now. And why she's telling you that she's in therapy. Like, no. What? And also, maybe it would have been an issue too, because you were married with a child,
Starting point is 00:38:32 and she's obviously feeling extreme shame for multiple layers of this whole thing. Yeah, this one. Like, you're an asshole no matter what age she was. You're just a dick. And he also goes on to say, we did something that wasn't right according to our laws these days. I also like that he's like these days.
Starting point is 00:38:49 I'm like, it's been a while that we aren't allowed to do things like that. He's one of those guys that's like, we should stone women when they laugh too loud. We should go back to the good old days. But in them at the stake, if they make a potion. He's one of those good old days, guys. And then he goes and says,
Starting point is 00:39:05 but you know I'm not a creeper. Oh no. I feel like actually that's all I know about you. I feel like the fact that you just said creeper makes you a creeper. I know, I know, right? Like grown-ass man. It's like no, I actually know the exact opposite of that.
Starting point is 00:39:17 I know that that's exactly what you're like. I know not of what they needed. And James Jim Wilder was arrested and charged with six counts of statutory, as I say, statutory. It's hard to say. Sodomy. And I know it's really yucky. And for a second, I was like, oh no, like that also happened. But Lonnie Coombs pointed out that under Missouri
Starting point is 00:39:45 law, Sodomy is an oral sex. Exactly. Or more, more, more. Yeah. So each charge would carry seven years in prison if you were convicted. And it was looking pretty promising. So Emily coming out with her story was met with obviously two very different reactions, as I always say. A lot of people in the area didn't believe her and just painted her as like this promiscuous girl
Starting point is 00:40:06 looking for attention. Of course. Which is bullshit. On the other hand though, she was not the only one who came forward. And when they looked a little deeper into Jim's past there, a very similar account came to light. Yeah, because he's a fucking monster.
Starting point is 00:40:21 And he's a monster who had actually been arrested for basically the exact same thing in 2008. Are you fucking kidding me? Because a 15 year old girl named him as the man who had been abusing her since eighth grade, which eighth grade is when Emily met him. Oh my god. So it's like, now she said everything started
Starting point is 00:40:40 with him massaging her leg and then, I don't even wanna get into it again. Basically just doing the same thing that he did totally. And she was able to give investigators specific details about his marriage, about his relationship with his wife, and also what his growing area looked like. Wow. So clearly she knew what was up. Yeah. And there's actually, I say there's a good oxygen article that I'm going to link, and also there's a good Buzzfeed article that I'm gonna link that talks more about that girl's account. Account, exactly.
Starting point is 00:41:11 But basically, the things that she said were just eerily similar to what happened to Emily, including specific places in the high school where things happened. Basically, like, he took her into the wrestling office and things went down, but like the same place. And he has a pattern. He does. And I'm just going to skip over a little bit of the abuse because this is like really abuse heavy.
Starting point is 00:41:33 And if you want to look more into it yourself, I'll link those articles so you can. Yeah. And it's all like repetitive at that point. Exactly. But she also mentioned that the two of them exchanged phone numbers and that they would call each other pretty often. And when he was asked about this, he was like, no, that's not true. What he didn't realize is that phone records are a thing?
Starting point is 00:41:52 Oh, those. Yeah, and you could get a warrant for those and they did. Yep. And it was determined to be a lie. Oh! Surface says that's a lie because he had called her multiple times on multiple days. I love that he just thinks he's going to get away with all this. No, I don't do it.
Starting point is 00:42:08 I never called her. No, I didn't do that. If you watched a crime show ever, you know they can check up on that. You're thinking that the government is watching you, but you don't think that you're worried about phone records. You're not worried about phone records? Investigating you aren't going to. Okay, cool.
Starting point is 00:42:21 Awesome. Now, this girl's grandparents who she lived with had actually written an email to all of her teachers asking if anything was going on at school because of the way that she had been acting at home, basically similar to the way that Emily was acting when she was being abused, irritable, sad, acting out. Now this girl had spoken to a teacher about what she should do if something like this
Starting point is 00:42:40 were happening to her. The teacher never reported the incident. She emailed another teacher and was like, oh, what should I do about this? something like this were happening to her, the teacher never reported the incident. She emailed another teacher and was like, oh, what should I do about this? And this is all the same school, right? What the fuck is wrong with this school? Oh yeah, it's, oh, wait until we get to the end,
Starting point is 00:42:56 you're gonna like rip your microphone off of everything and throw it out the window. Lord. Because this teacher, as this girl is walking away, because she came with a friend to talk to the teacher about it, because like, you know how that goes. Yeah. And she's walking away with her friend.
Starting point is 00:43:10 And she looks, she's like kind of talking to her friend and the teacher can't hear everything. But then she hears her say to her friend, I told him to get off of me and he told me this is the way it's done. What the fuck? And you still didn't report that. How? That is shameful. You're a band-aid reporter. These teachers and this this principle, they're that's shameful. There's a lot of shameful
Starting point is 00:43:34 things in this entire story because Jesus. The other thing is tea like obviously this he was arrested for this. So they're doing an investigation and teachers and students are pointing out that this girl was known to be very dramatic and she was She lied pretty often and she was a young troubled girl Which like hi that's exactly why he went after her most likely because he knew no one was gonna believe her Like have you ever heard of victim profiling? Oh my, hey And because of that because everybody was like no, no, no, she's kind of a liar,
Starting point is 00:44:06 the case was dropped due to a quote, lack of credible evidence that any sexual contact had taken place. Wow. Yeah, so that's okay. Okay, on the system. Cool. Oh, and he's arrested for this.
Starting point is 00:44:19 I've said that 84 times for a reason. He got arrested for like sexual assault against a student. And when the case was dropped, the man went back to teaching at the same exact school. Okay, so he went again, again, for the people in the back. What's the thought process here, school? He went back to teaching at the same school. No.
Starting point is 00:44:43 What? No, what? That doesn. No. What? No, what? That doesn't register. What? So many brains had to go into that decision, and that's really, really concerning. So many lack of, what do you always say? Lack of neurons. Lack of firing neurons in there.
Starting point is 00:44:57 Yeah. That's a neuron graveyard to say the least. Holy shit. Now, Emily obviously hoped that this time would be different because she literally had the guy confessing to the shit on tape. And everybody, once she went to the police and they started working on things, everyone around her saw a change on her. She was seeing her kids a lot more, she had gotten a new job, she was drinking a lot less. And I actually mentioned earlier, there's a really good BuzzFeed article, it a Buzzfeed investigates article written by Jessica Testa and the title being the same as
Starting point is 00:45:28 the oxygen documentary. It's the case dyed with her. Again, I'll link it in the show notes, but Jessica spoke with the family and Emily's mother. And Emily's mother, Joan, told her that while Emily was struggling with her drinking, Joan decided that she would keep a monthly calendar. And like she would mark Emily's good days with green ink and Emily's bad days with red ink. And she said throughout 2014, like after she went to the police, all of her, like most of the days in 2014 were marked with good green days. Oh my goodness, that hurts my soul. Yeah, like really, it really fucked me up. Now, I always mention like those little sentimental things
Starting point is 00:46:08 that the family does, because I feel like it helps tell the story better, but I always feel bad because like those sentimental things usually lead into the really bad thing that's coming. And here we are. Because in the beginning of November 2014, nobody could get in touch with Emily. Her family, especially
Starting point is 00:46:25 her dad, kept calling her, but getting no answer. Now, her dad knew that obviously she had struggled with her alcoholism. But for some reason, he was like, I just felt differently about this. Like, I had a different feeling. It's everybody, everybody feels that way. And when something's going on with their family like this. So after leaving her a couple messages, he stopped by her house on November 4th just to drop some things off for her, which I was like, oh my god. But as soon as he walked in the door,
Starting point is 00:46:51 he was like something just felt off about this entire scene. So he walked to Emily's bedroom, and unfortunately he found her face down on the floor. Her head was stuck in a large trash can that was all the way down to her shoulders. Her bottom was like bottom half was tucked into a big white blanket. And he didn't think she was dead right away. He was like, Emily, like, why are you laying on the floor? Like what? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:47:15 And so he moved the trash can off of her. And when he did, he realized that there was like vomit all inside the lining and all around her face and in her hair. And when he touched her, she was cold. Oh, yeah. So he called Joan, her mom, who came right away. And the police were called immediately, too. And this is going to break your heart.
Starting point is 00:47:34 When Joan got there, she said, quote, I sat down next to her crying and playing with her hair, because Emily loved having you play with her hair. That was her favorite thing of all. Oh, okay. Yeah Okay, just ruined. Literally shatter my insides. Yeah. Now, Richard started cleaning up the appointment
Starting point is 00:47:52 and Joe, the apartment. And Joan was like, it was because he didn't want anyone to think that she was a slob, because when he walked in, the place was like a mess. Like, I feel like that's such a like a parent thing. I literally, I was like these, these are two, like that's such a parent thing. I literally, I was like these are two, those are parents. Very parent things like touching her
Starting point is 00:48:09 and playing with her hair and cleaning the apartment. But the police arrived and they weren't super stoked that like the body and the skin have been fucked with. It's very bad, but it's comes from a place of love of not wanting to embarrass her lose more of her dignity than she already has. Exactly. So the police gave the family a little bit of grief for doing what they did. Which I can understand. I can see both sides. That's exactly what I wrote down. I said, I think a lot of parents would do the same thing and I think a lot of investigators would
Starting point is 00:48:40 feel the same way about it. For sure. But it's like, I mean, I don't speak from experience, but I don't think the first thing that you think when you find your daughter dead is to preserve the crime scene. No, of course not. So I get it. Yeah. Now, in Emily's bedroom,
Starting point is 00:48:53 there were some snacks laying near where she was found like on the floor around her and her phone was also on the floor like next to her. And her parents said that that was her usual position when she was detoxing because she would lay on the floor with her phone and some snacks next to her, because she was nauseous, so laying on the floor made her feel better
Starting point is 00:49:11 than the sometimes snacks held nausea. Excedil or stomach? Yeah, so it was just her kind of routine when she was going through this. Whoof. So the problem that they immediately saw, they were like, okay, there's an empty bottle
Starting point is 00:49:25 of vodka in the room. So they kind of immediately jumped to their conclusion and they wondered like, was she, did she just accidentally drink herself to death? Yeah, which is sad. But not crazy to assume based on her history, for sure. But there's some weird shit when you look further into it. Because the weird shit is, after her autopsy was done Her blood alcohol content came out to be just under 0.05. I think the exact number was 0.048
Starting point is 00:49:53 Okay, and like we know point 08 is the legal drinking limit So she's like less than half of that. Yeah, now and it would be the equivalent of like two drinks or she's like a little more over half So that's when yeah what I'm not gonna fractions. So it's like, did somebody do this to her? Was she murdered? Yeah, it's just, it's strange. It's a really weird and immediately people are like, I don't know, like with everything going on
Starting point is 00:50:17 and then this happens. But you just, you think about like the position. It's like was she just, you know, not like totally with it. Right. Tripped fell. Yeah, or like even she was vomiting into a waist-past. Well, that's what I thought of. I was like, maybe what happened was that she was in bed like wrapped, because when I'm in bed, I'm like wrapped up in the blanket. And then if you get sick, you kind of lean over. Maybe she was so like feeling so sick that she fell. Yeah. And then it's not crazy that her phone, like my phone is always on the floor in the morning.
Starting point is 00:50:47 Yeah. You know what I mean? Or that she was like on the floor already in that detox position that they said they knew so well from her. Uh huh. And that she was wrapped in that blanket on the floor, went to get sick into that basket.
Starting point is 00:50:59 She fell over and maybe wedged herself a little bit because she panicked perhaps. Yeah. And then she stuck in there. And yeah, I mean, there's a plastic lining, your vomiting and aspiration can happen. I feel like any number of bad things can happen. Absolutely, the only,
Starting point is 00:51:16 because where her arms wrapped in the blanket is I would. No, I'm not totally positive. They said that her bottom half was wrapped in the blanket. I'm pretty sure her arms were just by her side. Oh, okay. But the weird thing is that it was like, you know those white kitchen bins that are like, that's what I was pictured.
Starting point is 00:51:32 It's like, you're recycling bin actually. Yeah, like a tall one. Tall. So it's like, she was way in the bottom. Like, even if it would be hard to wedge yourself in there. Yeah, especially with your hands by your side. Cause you would stop yourself, you feel.
Starting point is 00:51:46 Right, unless she passed out. Well, yeah, and the other thing was, she had a lot of variables here. Her mom had said that she had seen her have seizures before. So maybe she had a seizure. And do you pass out after a seizure? Like is that something? I'm sure you can.
Starting point is 00:52:03 I think so many different things can happen. Right, during and after a seizure, so that's entirely possible. Right, so maybe she had a seizure and passed out, and threw up maybe while she was having a seizure, and then passed out and because there wasn't enough air. And she could have aspirated on the, right, because she's laying down.
Starting point is 00:52:22 Right, exactly. Exactly. Yeah, I mean, any number of things could have happened. No matter right because she's laying down right exactly in a weird position. Yeah. I mean any number of things could have happened no matter what. That's a nightmare situation. Oh, it's a gnarly, gnarly death. So it's weird. And it's weird because she just came forward about this huge thing that happened after like 15 years of silence. And then it looks like it was going forward. It looks like she was supposed to give a deposition the next week. That's odd timing.
Starting point is 00:52:47 That's odd timing. The other strange things were that the back door to her apartment, which was basic, it's like my apartment like with the sliding door. Mm-hmm. Glad that I just told you. I thought I had that. It's always locked and there's like a little thing wedged.
Starting point is 00:52:59 But hers was not locked. It was unlocked, which, yes. And it was slightly open. Oh, yeah, which yes, and it was slightly open. Oh, yeah, which that's weird. That is strange. Now, um, her cell, oh, this is the other weird thing. When I was like giving Elena a little bit of information about this before we started, and I didn't tell you this part, this part's weird. Her cell phone always had the same password and like her sister knew it,
Starting point is 00:53:22 but her cell phone wasn't unlocking with that password. And her sister was like, she always had the same password. She was never secretive about her phone. And there's really no reason to change that phone password. No. Unless it was compromised or someone else did it. Exactly. So her sister was like,
Starting point is 00:53:40 that just has always sat with me and I've always thought that was weird. Yeah, that's strange. And the last thing that they pointed out was that she was super, that just has always sat with me and I've always thought that was weird. Yeah, that's strange. And the last thing that they pointed out was that she was super, super claustrophobic and she would have never like stuck her head that far into a trash can. Like to be sick on purpose.
Starting point is 00:53:55 Yeah, it was just super weird. Now, they did investigate her death but the death investigation was closed after less than two months. And the official report states that the manner of death cannot be determined, which that's weird. The manner of death cannot be determined. But the cause of death was due to quote,
Starting point is 00:54:13 asphyxiation due to a trash can lined with a plastic bag over her head. Okay. That makes sense. Yeah. The plastic lining, I think, played a huge deal. She was definitely like, she probably like, literally inhaled that. Yeah. So, but then the manner like, she probably literally inhaled that. Yeah. So, but then the manner is how she got in there. Right. The first place.
Starting point is 00:54:30 It almost reminds me of the Phoebe Hensdok case. How did she get in the trash, in the trash shoot. And how Kendrick Johnson. Yes, like how did he, yeah. These are all very like, what? How did you end up there? And sure it's possible when you look into, for sure.
Starting point is 00:54:44 But it's also possible. You can see many angles of all of these cases. And it's like, but it's not cut and dry. No, it's like this one, this one, it's like accident seems most likely in my opinion, but I wasn't at the crime scene. So I can't tell you that like, and there are things that are pointing in other ways,
Starting point is 00:55:04 weird that the deposition was happening the next week and that she had just come forward and wired for this whole thing, which can make things scary. Absolutely. But then it's like, then you flip that around, was she much more stressed out because she knew she had a deposition coming up? Well, was she self-medicating because of that stress and anxiety and terror. And she was probably feeling the officer, the detective that was like dealing with this case. When she initially came forward, he was like, I could tell that she had been drinking. And he was like, but I still believed her account 100%. I think that like you said, she was just
Starting point is 00:55:39 self-medicating. Yeah, she was, she was really, really stressed and anxious. And probably that's the only way she had taught herself to deal with her nerves. And seems to me, if you were going to be deposed the next week that that would trigger a lot of emotions and stress and nerves. And you're, I mean, when you come forward about trauma, you start to relive that part of your life.
Starting point is 00:55:58 So I don't, it doesn't, it wouldn't shock me that she had like a relapse of, no, of having like a binge moment. And on the same, on the same thing, it wouldn't shock me that she had like a relapse of No. Of having like a binge moment. And on the same thing, it wouldn't shock me if that happened. And also, I really wouldn't be shocked if me and she was murdered. If it came out that somebody else did this,
Starting point is 00:56:14 I wouldn't be like, what? Oh, like goodness. I feel like, all right, I, yeah. We got an orange. So out of sense. Right. It's accident and somebody else doing it makes a lot of sense.
Starting point is 00:56:23 Yeah, you can see it both ways. Well, Emily's family and friends do think that there is a very strong possibility that she was murdered. And this is a little crazy because they were like, it didn't necessarily have to be Jim. Like we're not saying that he didn't. Because she had told her friends and family
Starting point is 00:56:40 that Jim was surrounded by people that she was afraid of. And there were a lot of people in town who knew about the situation and did not stand on her side. There was a lot of people that were very loyal to Jim. And think you're ruining a good man. Oh, and that's exactly what they were saying. Like this is every article described him as a golden boy.
Starting point is 00:57:01 Oh yeah, they always do. Always. And I'm like, that's nice. It's like Brock Turner, whatever the fuck his name is. That's what they're like. He had such a golden boy. Oh yeah, they always do. Always. And I'm like, that's like Brock Turner, whatever the fuck his name is. He has that, that's a promising future. And now it's ruined because he's a rapist. And it's like, oh, can we remember that and say this fucking idiot, took away his own future. He robbed himself of his future. Can we say that he took away someone else's future? Yeah, how about we don't even think about his future at all because he didn't. We just talk about his present, which is he's a dick. Yeah, I like that. That's how that should go. And now this young girl has to figure out the rest of her life. Why don't we think about her future? Exactly. So, yeah. So Jim is surrounded by like people who were sketchy. Obviously he's a sketchball,
Starting point is 00:57:41 but there's more sketchy people involved because around July, Emily was involved with a police officer. Now, her sister was describing the relationship and she was like, I wasn't necessarily like always a romantic relationship. Like it seemed like like a flirtatious relationship that may have crossed the line at one point and yeah, and we're on and off kind of casual thing. Yeah, like crossed the line of Jess friends, but maybe Emily wasn't into it anymore. Like that's what it seemed like, and she was telling people that she wasn't, she was like, I don't really wanna be with him.
Starting point is 00:58:11 And when she told him, he was not happy and like wasn't having it. So there was an incident confirmed one night where this, and he was a police officer. He showed up to her apartment unannounced and just like walked into her apartment and he found her there with another guy. Oh. Now the other guy that she was with was a coach at a nearby school and also a married man that she had been having in a fair with. Okay. Now her mom pointed out like this is like kind of Emily's pattern
Starting point is 00:58:43 after what happened to her. She did date very older men. She made bad choices. She did. And it was like her friend Christine said, like you make bad choices sometimes because you're so affected by your past, you just don't know how to get out of it. I'm not excusing it, but.
Starting point is 00:58:57 No, but it's just the reason why the choices are probably made. Exactly. So she had been having an affair with this man allegedly and apparently his wife found out and had been threatening her. So I mean, like why I mean it seems like nobody was too keen to keep the investigation going on into her death, but it's like when all that stuff starts to come out, like that should be interesting. Why not look into it a little bit. Yeah. So the fact that they didn't seem to care too much was really upsetting to the family and her friends.
Starting point is 00:59:28 The more upsetting thing though is that the charges against James Wilder were dropped when Emily died. What? Now she died before she was able to give her deposition. They wouldn't have enough to go to trial without her testimony. Because her testimony, along with the recording, would have been pretty good to have in court together. But still, even that wasn't going to be... They were like, we can go with this and it has a possibility of going really well.
Starting point is 00:59:56 But we also don't have any DNA or forensic evidence. So there is a chance that we'll lose this case. That's so bad. But now that they didn't even have her testimony, they were like, we basically have nothing like what we're really going to go with this audio here. We can't go forward. Oh, no.
Starting point is 01:00:13 Yeah. And Kat Lee cited in a medium article that quote, do to the confrontation clause of the sixth amendment to the United States Constitution, prosecutors were forced to drop the charges against James. According to this clause, a defendant has the right to the United States Constitution, prosecutors were forced to drop the charges against James. According to this clause, defendant has the right to confront the accuser. Because James' confession had been made outside of court, it was not sufficient evidence to indict the victim with his crimes. Wow. So there is a clause in the Constitution where basically he has the right to face her. Because that wasn't going to happen, it wasn't because the only factor made in a law in an interrogation or in a court of law.
Starting point is 01:00:57 Right. Right. What a fucking loophole. Uh-huh. God. And I said, I was like, I don't know what kind of like, like good luck charm that he carries around, but he really seems to avoid trouble.
Starting point is 01:01:09 He's got a, a Shamrock shoved up his ass. I love that. I like, I love that. I just said that because, so after Emily came forward and he was arrested in 2013, this is where you're gonna get real pissed at the school system. So he again, so he was arrested in 2008
Starting point is 01:01:24 just to remind everybody, and went back to pissed at the school system. So again, so he was arrested in 2008 just to remind everybody and went back to teaching at the same exact school. Then he's arrested in 2013. And when this happens, the school puts him on administrative leave and terminates his contract. So that's awesome, right? No, because he was still being paid his salary for the next year and eight months
Starting point is 01:01:43 and also got a severance package. Are you fucking kidding me? So this motherfucker who's being investigated of like, horrific things. Abusing the children he's supposed to be teaching. Abusing the children he's supposed to be teaching and you're supposed to be taking care of and protecting. And admitting it.
Starting point is 01:01:59 And it's on tape. And like that's awesome that you guys terminated his contract, but if you terminate it as contract, you don't owe him shit. He shouldn't have a severance pattern. Why are you paying him? That's insane. Because he was never convicted.
Starting point is 01:02:12 He never had to register as a sex offender. And he's still to this day currently, right now, as I speak, has a teaching license. So he's unable to teach in the Lindbergh district because this all happened at Lindbergh high school. He's unable to teach in that district, but he could go anywhere else and teach. Like he could come here to Massachusetts and teach. He could go literally, he could still be in Missouri, but be in a different district and teach. Wow. And be able to pry up on young girls
Starting point is 01:02:43 because clearly he admitted it. That's what he does. He had a relationship with a 16 year old while he was a 29 year old teacher and coach. Can we, I feel like that's the very least what we can expect from our teachers is to not abuse the children that they are. I feel like at the very least we should.
Starting point is 01:03:00 We could make that a bar. I feel. I feel like that's a good bar. Just that we're like, oh, if you don't abuse the children that you're teaching. No. And you can keep your job. Well, they do.
Starting point is 01:03:13 And why is this so hard to just be like, you know what, teaching's not for you. Yeah, don't do it. It's fine. Let's just end that dream for him. Let's just go right ahead. Bye. Well, no, don't do that. Why ruin his future?'s just end that dream for him. Let's just go right ahead. Bye. Well, no, don't do that.
Starting point is 01:03:27 Why ruin his future? Yeah, we don't want to ruin his future. Like, let's ruin that future for him. It's like, what about Emily's future? Oh my God. What? So Emily Sister Andreas said about this, quote, he's been arrested twice for statutory sawdemy by two different women.
Starting point is 01:03:43 And if you look up his criminal record today, it's completely clear. This is someone who still has their teaching license, and that seems wrong. Yeah, he has all the opportunities in the world. Now, I made out for him. Does he, though, because I wanted to end this on a high note? Good, thank goodness.
Starting point is 01:03:56 I know, because this whole thing was a real bummer. But you Patreon's picked it, and I said, yeah. I said, yeah. So the light at the end of the tunnel is a little bit of a catch 22. Now Christine Lieber, I've mentioned her a couple times, she's Emily's best friend. She started a Facebook page in memory of Emily and after the oxygen documentary came out in December, like it literally just came out and obviously so many people saw it and it shed new light on the case
Starting point is 01:04:20 and that in turn with this Facebook group. More students from Lindbergh High have come forward on the page sharing their stories of abuse at the hands of Jim Wilder. Amazing. Yep. Horrible, but amazing that they're sharing their stories. Right, and that's why I said you're 22 because it's like awesome that this he's finally
Starting point is 01:04:40 gonna get hopefully some kind of, like some justice will be served. I fucking hope. But horrific knowing that this was so widespread. Exactly. Now the amount of people coming forward made Christine reach out to Wesley Bell at the prosecuting attorney and he said about it, quote,
Starting point is 01:04:57 we place a high priority on seeing that their allegations are investigated and reviewed for potential criminal charges. So let's go. Let's fucking go because it's like, I hope that justice will be served and that Emily is like somewhere and like can see that she started this all.
Starting point is 01:05:14 Yeah, man. And I'm gonna end this on a girl. This is a quote that like she, I think she'd either texted or said this to somebody else. It said, she said, at first I doubted myself and I was scared to death, but I now realize I'm not only freeing myself, but saving other girls. It's a blessing and I know I've done the right thing.
Starting point is 01:05:34 That just gave me chilly willy. That was one of the last things she ever said. Now it's true than ever. I want for her parents, I want her parents to see some justice out of that and her sister. I know. And it seems like her, her parents are like trying to work with like these people and like, like, let us help them. Like, what can we do for you and her sister? Man. Yeah. That's outrageous. It was wild. It was really sad to, to research. That was so fun. There's so many articles for you to read
Starting point is 01:06:05 that I'm gonna link that I just like cried through reading. Yeah. And there's all Patreons. I know. I have to say the Buzzfeed article was really awesome because I had read that a long time ago. A long time ago, but. You and I were just talking about that.
Starting point is 01:06:17 And also like you obviously you know there's audio clips from the conversation in the choir chapter. There's I think there's something like five maybe. So you can hear his dumbass talk. Oh my God, in his voice. Yeah. It just, it makes sense. And it's so jokey and like jovial.
Starting point is 01:06:32 Like he just thinks it's all whatever. He just seems like a little boy who's, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, little butt, little bitch boy. Maybe a little butt. So yeah, I will link those in the show notes and you can also follow us on Instagram. At morbid podcast. Hit us up on Twitter.
Starting point is 01:06:50 At a morbid podcast. Send us a Gmail. morbidpodcast.gmail.com. We hope that you keep listening. And we hope you keep it. We're not so weird that you suck. Don't suck. Bye.
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