Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #120 - Arrest Of Unhinged Deputy Held Up By Murdaugh Associate, Duffie Stone

Episode Date: October 23, 2025

Investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell have learned over the years that taking a week off from True Sunlight means only one thing: the Good Ole Boys will go back to Good Ole Boying.   And last week we had mostly good things, starting with people’s love for “Murdaugh: Death in the Family.”  The series is a No. 1 hit on Hulu or ⁠⁠Hulu on Disney+⁠⁠, and the Official Companion Podcast, as well as True Sunlight and event the legacy feed of remastered Murdaugh Murders Podcasts, are all burning through the charts. Woo-hoo!!!  On today’s episode, Mandy and Liz look at South Carolina Alan Wilson’s decision to finally hand over the Scott Spivey/Horry County Police Department Corruption case to a special prosecutor. It’s an interesting decision from a man whose office told the Spivey family they couldn’t ethically or legally charge Weldon Boyd and Bradley Williams for Scott’s death.  Plus, an update on Charleston County Magistrate Judge James “Skipper” Gosnell’s child sexual abuse material case. And it’s been almost four weeks since Squires held local teenagers at gunpoint in a terrifying display of police misconduct and, according to sources, the SLED investigation is finished. So what’s the hold up? Finally, an update in the (48:16) Jane Doe No. 2 case accusing Wayne Miller of following her home. So much to cover, so let’s dive in! 🥽🦈Episode References Four episodes available for “Murdaugh: Death in the Family Official Podcast” 🎧 Mandy’s Alan Wilson - Gavin Newsom Facebook Post - July 7, 2025 🌐 Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight...☀️ Learn more about Premium Membership at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lunashark.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get bonus episodes like our Premium Dives, Corruption Watchlist, Girl Talk, and Soundbites that help you Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight Here's a link to some of our favorite things: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/4cJ0eVn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** ALERT: If you ever notice audio errors in the pod, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[e-mail]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we'll send fun merch to the first listener that finds something that needs to be adjusted! *** For current & accurate updates: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lunashark.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram.com/mandy_matney⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   |   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram.com/elizfarrell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bsky.app/profile/mandy-matney.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bsky.app/profile/elizfarrell.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrueSunlight.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok.com/@lunasharkmedia⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Alec Murdoch. I need police in an ambulance immediately. Murdoch, Death in the Family Official Podcast, is here. I'm joining Patricia Arquette, Jason Clark, and the cast to uncover all things Murdoch. Family first. To unravel the story piece by piece was really surprising because you don't want to believe it. Murdoch, Death in the Family Official Podcast, Wednesdays. And stream Murdoch, Death in the Family on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers.

Terms apply. I don't know why it has taken Duffy Stone over three weeks to charge the unhinged deputy who was caught on video committing crimes against children. Just kidding, we all know, because he's a good old boy. And also, we all know the one thing that good old boys can't stand, sunlight. My name is Mandy Matney. This is True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption, previously known as the Murdoch Murders podcast, which was the inspiration for Murdoch Death in the Family and the Murdoch Death in the Family official podcast both streaming on Hulu. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production, written with journalist Liz Farrell.

Well, hello, I think I sound different from the last time you heard from us. And it's because I am different. I am overwhelmed right now with pride, joy, and relief after Murdoch Death and the Family premiered on Hulu last week. Not only have I been absolutely blown away by the support for the show and the official podcast, but I overcame a lot of personal challenges last week. In just a few crazy days, I sat for over a dozen interviews next to Britney Snow. I walked the red carpet without tripping, and took photos that I actually loved the way my body looked in. I also interviewed legendary actors Patricia Arquette and Jason Clark, back to back, believe it or not. I participated in a Gotham panel with Jason Clark, Patricia Arquette, in our co-creators

Aaron Lee Carr and Michael D. Fuller. And then, at the end of the week, I felt energized, not exhausted. But actually, I was excited to return home to the work that we do, exposing the truth, giving a voice to victims and getting the story straight. If you would have told me four years ago that I would be doing all of that in one week in 2025, I would have never believed a word of it. In 2021, I would nearly collapse after the few interviews I did from stress and exhaustion. I'm an introvert with extreme social anxiety. So four years ago, I never thought anything like this would ever be possible for me. I thought that my mental health issues would have absolutely caused a disaster of some sort

that would have prevented me from doing something so cool and life-changing. But after years of therapy, therapeutic exposure to the public, specifically the public speaking tour I did last year at colleges in the Midwest, and a whole lot of work on myself in learning how to actually block out that noise of the haters and refuse to let their awful comets absorb in my mind. I have done what I thought was impossible. I entered rooms that I never thought I would be allowed in. I took up space in interviews I never dreamed of getting.

I stood tall and proud, really proud, without having to fight thoughts of self-doubt for the first time ever. Getting to experience the red carpet with Liz and David, who were there fighting the good fight every step of the way, that was such a big deal. It was the kind of joy I've never really felt before, and it inspired me to keep chasing that feeling of standing tall in the sunlight after enduring years of struggle, self-doubt, and depression. So I cannot say thank you enough. Thank you to the real fans, those of y'all who didn't stop listening after Murdoch Murdoch entered, those of you who loudly defend our honor on social media, and especially those of you who support our journalism through Lunashark Premium. To welcome more of you as Lunashark Premium members, we are offering 50% off our Premium Soak Up the Sun annual membership. If you join during the Hulu series release through November 19th.

That means ad-free and extended episodes, bonus drops, exclusive case files, access to a full fun new podcast, Girl Talk, with Liz and me, and curated behind-the-scenes coverage of the Hulu series. Join today at the link in the description. Now, before we get into today's show, I have one big ask for y'all. It's actually a bunch of small asks, but it could help us in huge ways. The Murdoch Murders podcast, True Sunlight Podcast, and the Murdoch Death and the Family official podcasts are all currently ranked on Apple Podcasts right now. now, and that is a big deal. If anyone listening could do us a huge favor and go subscribe to the Murdoch Death in the Family official podcast and give all of our podcasts a five-star rating,

that would mean the world to us, seriously. When we climb in the rankings, it shows public agencies just how much power we have to hold them accountable. And that, my friends, is also a very big deal. We will keep using that power for good, I promise you that. And speaking of using our power for good, let's talk about some really good news in the Spivey case. Starting with the Scott Spivey-Slas Orie County Police Department corruption case. After months and months of the Spivey family and their attorney Mark Zero Dark Tinsley asking to have a special prosecutor signed to the case, it's finally happening. But stick a pin in that because I need to say something before we get into the details. And I'm going to try not to get emotional about it because it's a really big thing. Also, if you are new to our

podcast or the Scott Spivey case, we've included a playlist of episodes related to the case in the episode description. The Spidey case has been one of the most shocking that Mandy and I have covered in our careers. And as you all know, we were neck deep in the Murdoch story. So the bar is pretty high for what we're calling shocking. So what I want to say is that you all have a lot to do with a special prosecutor getting assigned. You. Well, you and Mandy's epic and relentless and very hilarious trolling of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson on social media, reminding him daily of just how terrible he is at his job and how he's nothing but a lowly fool for constantly doubling down on his original decision not to press charges against

by these killers. Here's an example of that, by the way, one of my faves. Alan posted about California governor Gavin Newsom, calling him a radical and saying that South Carolina rejects a future like California is where Wilson says there's sky high crime. Governor Newsom fired back with this unfriendly fact. Your homicide rate is literally double Californians. And Mandy reposted it all saying, not going to lie. I love this for Alan Wilson, who she tagged and hate this for South Carolina.

Yes, South Carolina's murder rate is two times higher than California's murder rate, as Alan Wilson's own office continues to neglect its own murder cases. Murder rates will keep going up if Alan Wilson keeps letting all the good old boys walk. Blood is on his hands. Anyway, what I'm saying is what we've been saying all along, which is pressure breaks politicians. Even by just listening to our show regularly, you have been helping bring about this change. You're not just an audience. You're a member of an army. And that does not go unnoticed by those in power. They know our listeners are a force to be reckoned with. You are especially helping when you let your voices be heard on social media or by calling or emailing people like Alan Wilson, no matter where you're from, whether you live in South Carolina or New South Wales. They need to hear the truth about their actions or lack of action. And you never know which one of us will be the one who says the magic words that, unlock whatever dingy off-site storage unit they've been keeping their brains in. When it comes to the spivey case, you have helped Attorney General Alan Wilson

confront the fact or at least imagine that there could be enough evidence to charge North Myrtle Beach businessman Weldon Boyd and his friend Bradley Williams with shooting Scott to death on a road in Ory County in September 2023. You have given Alan an idea of how a jury might react to being presented with the same evidence that he and his staff, well, clearly didn't look at. They very obviously didn't do more than Reed Sledd's report, which was very curated to help protect Ory County PD's buddy Weldon. Allen's office took the easy way out, the political way at the time, which was to hide under the blanket of complicity that Allen's assistant prosecutor Heather Weiss knitted together for

them using two laws, citizens arrest and stand your ground, to exonerate Weldon and Browellon. A statutory cocktail that they all got to cheers with while the Spivey family was left sitting at the table, wondering how it was possible that the state's top law enforcement officer Alan Wilson can't seem to see that nobody wants to live in a world where two men, one of whom is very politically connected, are legally allowed to claim self-defense after chasing a person for miles, running up on his bumper as he tries to escape them, and continuing to follow him down the side road that takes him home, which they have no reason to be. on and then shoot him dead after he tells them to stop following him. How does Alan not see that the evidence does not match Weldon's and Bradley's accounts?

How does he not see that the witness statements also don't match Weldon's in Bradley's accounts? How does he not see that the one witness statement that seems to back part of Weldon's account on Highway 9 is from a person who is immediately discredited? How did he not hear the phone calls where Orie County Deputy Chief Brandon Strickland tells Weldon all the way as the department is helping the case go in Weldon's favor. How did Alan not see police officer Damon Viscovey right act like a victim on his not pad and show Weldon this at the scene? How did Alan not know that Weldon's attorney was allowed behind the yellow tape? How did he not read Scott's toxicology report to see that he didn't have

steroids in a system? There is no need to cover things up in an honest investigation. That should have been the hint right there. And also, get this. Alan was set to meet with the Spivey family this month, but instead publicly announced the appointment of this special prosecutor before doing so. The prosecutor was appointed on October 3rd, according to records, but Alan sat on it for nearly a week. Worse, Alan in his office never told the Spivey family. They had to find out when everyone else did. It is so petty and childish to punish a grieving family who haven't asked anything of you or the police other than that you guys actually do your jobs. But that's how it goes in Alan Wilson country. Expect pettiness. So let's rewind just a little. Remember that the Spivey family

had a meeting with the AG's office led by assistant prosecutor Heather Weiss in April 2024. I'm about to play a recording from that and the hymn that Heather Weiss refers to first is Weldon Boyd, which was telling to us because it wasn't a him. It was actually a them. It was Weldon and Bradley who killed Scott Spivey. But for Heather Weiss's purposes, for the purposes of her decision not to prosecute, it seemed to have been about Weldon. The Attorney General's office even appears to have forgotten to formally let Orie County Police know by letter that they weren't going to charge Bradley. It was all about making sure Weldon didn't go to prison. Anyway, here's Heather Weiss talking to Scott's sister, Jennifer Spivey Foley, his mother and father, and his uncle and cousin, along with a captain from

Sled and three officers from Ori County Police, including Detective Alan Jones, who was one of the, quote, right people sent to the scene by the now former deputy chief, Brandon Strickland. So from that perspective, from the citizens' arrest, which like I said, nobody's said that from their side, that's just about legal analysis of it, there's a right for him to go and use reasonable efforts to try to arrest and stop the threat. But then there's the standard ground that ultimately, I think, prevails over all of this, that once Scott got out of his car, walked around, talked to them,

but once he lifted the gun and pointed it out of, that that was, at that point, they had a right to fire because they were in fear for their lives. And that's really kind of, like I said, I'm just analyzing a very short period of time. But that was my analysis in deciding there's just, I'm not, I can't ethically, bring a charge that I can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that I don't believe I can

prove beyond a reasonable doubt. And I can't, and with the stand your ground law, you can't even bring a charge. If you believe that meets stand your ground, stand your ground is a pre-charging decision. And so if you believe it meets the elements of stand your ground based on the law, you're not even allowed to bring a charge. It's not, self-defense is an affirmative defense. So we could bring a charge, and then the defense could raise self-defense. You go through a trial and we present evidence of one thing, they present evidence of self-defense, and the jury decides that the self-defense, you know, if it meets the elements, the jury finds them not guilty.

Stand your ground, which takes self-defense, takes out the any duty to retreat or avoid the harm, says you cannot charge if it meets those elements. And this is a case where I just feel like it clearly meets the evidence. I know you missed the beginning part of it, that basically I was just explaining, first of all, that I'm very sorry that everybody has to even begin with, and that I don't know any of the parties involved that I'm looking at this as a very legal analysis, but that based on the fact that I have multiple 911 calls from the road, Highway 9, where Scott was running the car off the road, pointing a gun out of the window and driving erratically, that that then was off on Camp Swamp and gets out of his car, walks around the car, says stop following me, but then lifts his gun up and points it at him. At that point, based on our law, he has, they have the right to defend us because they have a reasonable fear of their life being

taken. I have one question. Yes, that is the first time we've heard the information that he got out of his car and walks around him. We'd like know what that information came from. We'll get things. We'll get a leather finish. All right. Continue. Yeah. So that's, so that's the analysis that I used.

And I can't, because I believe that it fits into that stand your ground, I can't ethically or legally even bring charges. And so that's where I know there have been a lot of things that have happened since the, you know, statements in the community and things like that. I hear them, you know, every once in a while, Glenn will fill me in on, you know, this is going on, or that's going on. And I'm sorry for all of that. There's no excuse for any of that. This is a, this is a tragedy should be for both people involved, for everybody involved. And I know it doesn't feel that way for the shooters, the way that I understand things

they've been saying. And I'm sorry for that. Heather Weiss told the Spivey family that the state of South Carolina could not charge Weldon and Bradley because the state, wasn't ethically or legally allowed to. If that were true, like really fundamentally true, then it would make sense that Alan Wilson kept doubling down on his decision not to reopen the criminal case or have a special prosecutor appointed. He is ethically and legally prevented from charging them. What can a man do, right? But it wasn't true, was it? It was a pathetic and embarrassing excuse. It was a retrofitted legal explanation designed to justify Weldon and Bradley's actions. It was Alan being even more stubborn about preserving his fantasy that he is a special man

with a special talent and not just a daddy's boy who got piggyback to his position in the name of family power. And we all knew that this explanation of why they couldn't prosecute was not true. We could hear it with our own ears. And yet, Alan, who has a law degree, was like, what? No, not us. Actually, here's David, was what Alan Wilson said on August 3rd of this year. After a thorough review of the investigative file presented to us by law enforcement, the Attorney General's Office provided its led our legal opinion that South Carolina's Stand Your Ground Law was applicable in the shooting case of Scott Spivey. The legal analysis of this case was reviewed by multiple career prosecutors within the office of the Attorney General, who all reached the same

conclusion. We have continued to review all information and evidence provided to us by law enforcement, including eyewitness statements, toxicology reports, video evidence, and forensic analysis. Our analysis has remained the same. Under South Carolina's Protection of Persons and Property Act, individuals have the right to defend themselves if they reasonably believe they are in imminent danger. Also known as the Stand Your Ground Statute, immunity from prosecution is provided in certain circumstances

where the use of deadly force is deemed lawful. Our office takes every loss of life seriously and remains committed to pursuing justice. If new material evidence comes to law, light, whether through the ongoing civil proceedings, further investigation, or new reports to law enforcement we are fully prepared to reevaluate the case. We encourage anyone with relevant information to contact law enforcement. The pursuit of justice does not expire, and we remain open to all credible evidence that could change the legal landscape of this case.

Can you imagine being presented with months' worth of weekly examples of evidence that your office ignored or discounted, and having members of both political parties being like, Nabo, this ain't the way, and still claiming there's not enough to go on for charges. The pursuit of justice does not expire? Well, tell that to Bishop Venter's, the daughter of Sarah Lynn Moore-Kalucci, who has been waiting for over 10 years for justice. and waiting for Allen and company to fix the mess they've made of her case. We remain open to all credible evidence that could change the legal landscape of this case.

Pardon me? You had all the evidence, but according to Heather Weiss in her letters to Ory County, you made the decision in April 24 to, quote, not maintain any records of investigatory activity associated with this case. Alan's press release seemed to set him up for a change of opinion on the case that would allow him to save face. But will there be new evidence? It seems like the evidence for prosecution already exists,

so it will be interesting to see what happens. If the special prosecutor decides to charge Weldon and Bradley, well, doesn't that make Alan in his office liars about not being ethically or legally allowed to do so? One more thing before we tell you about the special prosecutor in this case, after a quick break, and we'll be right back. Have you ever tried a Google therapist near me and ended up way more anxious than when you started? Yeah, same.

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Sessions average about $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0,000 depending on their plan. Visit Groth Therapy.com slash sunlight today to get started. That's growtherapy.com slash sunlight. growth therapy.com slash sunlight availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan okay so one more thing about Heather Weiss the assistant attorney general who initially looked at the spivey case and determined that there wasn't enough evidence to charge Weldon Boyd due to the stander ground law and the Citizens Arrest Law. In July, we had Luna Sharke reporter and researcher Beth Brighton, the person who found the act like a victim note

in the very same evidence file Allen in his office had, FOIA Allen's office for any letters from Heather Weiss that used that phrase insufficient evidence. In other words, we wanted to see letters similar to the ones that she sent to Ory County about Weldon and Bradley. We were especially interested in ones that noted the AG's office would not maintain the investigatory record. We got back 70 letters in which Heather Weiss used that phrase.

Now, Heather has worked for Allen since 2011, but left for a brief time between 2018 and 2019 to take over the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's office after its solicitor was indicted on federal charges pertaining to fraud and theft. Heather then went back to Allen's office after that. Here's a little rundown of what we found in those one-page letters, which were very sparse on detail.

On February 13, 2017, Heather Weiss sent a letter to Sled, saying there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute Florence County Sheriff Kenny Boone, who, by the way, was indicted two years later on embezzlement, misconduct, and domestic violence charges. He pleaded guilty to stealing from office, avoided a prison sentence, and instead got sentenced to 30 days in jail. And, who, word has it, might be considering seeking elected office again. You cannot make this stuff up. Anyway, Heather told Sled that she was returning their investigative file back to them with this letter.

Also in 2017, Heather told Lexington County Sheriff J. Kuhn that there wasn't enough evidence to merit criminal prosecution of someone named Tommy McDowell. Now, again, there's very little detail in these letters, so it's not clear who Tommy McDowell is or what Heather was looking into specifically. but according to news reports in 2024, a Lexington County jury found a man named Tommy McDowell guilty of a 1986 cold case in which he had kidnapped and killed a four-year-old named Jessica Gutierrez. He was given two back-to-back life sentences for that. Heather did not mention returning or not maintaining any case file.

Most of the letters claim to have come after a careful review of, quote, your investigation. and most end by saying that the investigation file will be returned to them. It's not until December 2023 that Heather changes the ending to what seems to be a form letter, saying that the AG's office will not maintain any records of investigatory activity associated with the case. That's what became the new catchphrase, and that's in an unspecified officer-involved shooting in which Heather said there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute an unnamed person. The next insufficient letter she sent, after Weldon's and Bradley's, was to Sled, telling them that she would return their investigative file to them and that her office would not be maintaining any records of investigatory activity associated with the case.

Her letters maintain the same ending through July 2025 when we floyd for them. They either say the AG's office won't be maintaining records or that they won't be maintaining records and they are returning the file to the agency involved. This is all just to say that this line that is at the end of Weldon's and Bradley's insufficient evidence letter appears to have been a new thing for Heather Weiss. Whether or not the office was returning the case file they have been given, they never before noted, at least according to these letters, that they wouldn't be maintaining any records related to the case at hand. And this is important because what records did the AG's office generate? Are those not being maintained? That seems like a violation of the public information laws. Or did they not generate any records because they didn't actually look into the case?

Did they just read the Sled report and get to work on creating an escape route for Weldon and Bradley? Is that how they do a business over there? On the South Carolina Attorney General website, where Alan posts a public release every single time he wants a sticker for his, I Did a Good Thing chart, there are only 12 that come up when you search Heather's name that pertain to her involvement in a prosecution. There are 12 press releases about cases she prosecuted,

but 70 letters to law enforcement agencies telling them that there's insufficient evidence to prosecute the person in question, most of whom seem to be in law enforcement themselves. Now, those are not real numbers to judge Heather Weiss on because we don't know the full scope of her caseload and what the actual ratio is of cases she's prosecuted, cases she's recommended be prosecuted,

and cases she's deemed not prosecutable. But it is telling, given our view of how she sounded in that meeting with the Spivey family. Okay, let's talk real quick about the special prosecutor who has been appointed to the Spivey case. His name is Barry Barnett, and so far, everyone we've asked about him has had a similar label for him, which is that he's quote unquote ethical, not corrupt, and, quote, unquote, a Boy Scout in a good way. Barry Barnett, much like Scott's sister Jennifer, was once a high school science teacher. Jennifer left her job to focus on getting justice for her brother, by the way. She's not only done an amazing job at that.

She's made it so clear to the men who matter in these decisions that she is not giving up until they do the right thing. Reopening the criminal investigation is step one to doing the right thing. Barnett did not graduate from the University of South Carolina Law school, which is surprising, but I consider it a great sign. He got his degrees from West Virginia University College of Law. He served as a magistrate of Spartanburg County and as chief violent crime prosecutor under Trey Gowdy, whose name you might recognize from Fox News. Barnett became a solicitor in 2011, and he was named Solicitor of the Year by South Carolina Law Enforcement Victim

Advocate Association in 2013. There are some red flags, too, though. The biggest one of all is that he sits on the South Carolina Commission on Prosecutorial Coordination with Duffy Stone, who is Eich, and Jimmy Richardson, who is a double yuck. According to phone calls, he is one of the quote-unquote helpers on Weldon Boyd's team. Anyway, we have a lot more research and phone calls to share with you about the Spivey case, so stay tuned for that in a future episode.

next set of good news is that Charleston County Magistrate Judge James Skipper Gosnell has been indicted on six counts related to the distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material. I don't want to ruin anyone's good day by going into what exactly he's accused of having, but I do want to mention that he has a co-defendant, and it appears to be the man who the government said Gosnell had been talking to about raping and torturing and even killing a baby belonging to the man's nephew. The name of the co-defendant remains under seal. It's not clear why, and it doesn't appear that he's been arrested.

Also, the order allowing for his name to remain under seal makes a note that prosecutors are permitted to share his name with officials in the United States government and foreign officials. Intriguing, right? We'll talk more about this case in the future, but for now we are celebrating that the U.S. Attorney's Office, amidst a government shutdown, is going hard when it comes to yet another public official

contributing to the abuse of children. All right, now let's talk about the Squiresgate situation. You know, the unhinged, now former Buford County Deputy who pointed his service weapon at children and assaulted children just because they were apparently walking in a public road too close to his house. Please. Hey, call the police.

I am the police. What are you doing? Get the fuck of the class! You, hey, stop. Hey, stop. Hey. Hearing that is still bone-chilling. I shared this video again on social media this week

and specifically tag Solicitor Duffy Stone because it is even more horrifying now that South Carolina officials specifically in charge of holding police officers to account have sat on this video that is full of probable cause evidence for a swath of charges against Squires for three weeks now. And still, we have nothing?

This incident should not be something that we have to cover for three episodes in a row. But here we are. When a teenager captures clear video of a police officer committing crimes on camera, it should not take five days for him to get fired. And it absolutely should not take more than three weeks for charges to be filed, especially when a first grader could have found enough probable cause to press charges literally weeks ago. But this is South Carolina,

where good old boys like 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffy Stone tend to move suspiciously slow on cases when they are investigating their own. And often, they don't move at all unless we are there to publicly call them out and shame them for their inaction. And yes, we are currently looking at Duffy Stone as the problem in this situation,

as it appears that he is the reason why this is taking so long. We were told by sources that SLED has completed their investigation. But old Duffy, what is he up to? He is the one that specifically announced his regional public integrity unit would be deciding on the charges. Anyway, I say this because I am highly suspicious of Duffy Stone, who is my solicitor, unfortunately. my tax dollars pay his salary. Duffy was the solicitor chosen by Randolph Murdoch III,

Alex Murdoch's father, to take over after the Murdox ended their nearly 100-year reign at the 14th Circuit Solicitor's office. Duffy Stone is also the solicitor who gave Elyke Murdoch a badge and basically a fake position as a volunteer solicitor, which gave Elyke Murdoch unchecked power for over a decade. Duffy Stone is also the solicitor who, despite his deep connections to the Murdochs, would not recuse himself for months in the Murdoch murder's investigation.

It's so crazy to me how he managed to evade all accountability for that, considering the fact that the investigation was messy from the get-go in a way that would only benefit Elyck. Duffy had obvious conflicts of interest in that case, but he stayed involved despite the political risk it carried four months. That makes you wonder, doesn't it?

I won't go into every detail about the Squire's investigation because we already have covered a lot in episodes 118 and 119, but we recently received a document that summarizes this incident quite perfectly. Previously, Beth Braden filed a FOIA request with the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy for Squire's separation papers. that were filed five days after the incident on October 3rd. They were filed the same day that Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner announced after ignoring days of public outcry and viral social media shame

that Squires had been terminated that morning. Along with firing squires, the sheriff's office also said that it recommended to the SC Criminal Justice Academy that Billy Squires be decertified. In other words, be barred. from being a law enforcement officer in South Carolina. Now, I want to have David read the best part of these separation documents, where it says for the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office to provide specific details for Squire's termination.

On September 28, 2025, William Squires, while allegedly intoxicated, drove his sheriff's office-issued vehicle to the scene of a small disturbance in his neighborhood. contacting several males in an off-duty capacity. William Squires then returned to his vehicle, armed himself with his duty weapon, donned his Kevlar vest, and returned to the juveniles. Cell phone video captured by the juveniles shows Squires pointing his firearm at them, ordering them to the ground, seizing a backpack, cursing and aggressively advancing. When one juvenile pushed him. Squires drew his firearm again, pointed it directly at the juvenile and threatened to shoot.

The video also shows him dragging one juvenile by the shirt, throwing him to the ground, and handcuffing him while shouting profanities. At one point, when one of the juveniles asked someone to call the police, Squires told them he was the police. At no time did Squire see a firearm, nor was an alleged handgun recovered during the subsequent criminal and administrative investigation. Officer was arrested? No. Criminal charges filed? No.

Criminal investigation? Yes. Um, there is a lot to unpack there because, wow, every sentence somehow gets worse. It's not just an explanation for the allegation that led to aspiring. It's a horrifying one paragraph summary of the situation at hand, ending with a note that captures the most insane part that, aside from his termination, Squires has not been held accountable for his horrific actions, like, at all. A couple of things to note here. One, did you notice how most of that paragraph was based on information that could be seen in the videos? Meaning, according to that, they made their termination decision based on information they had five days before that.

Two, it's interesting how even though the language came off as harsh against Squires, the chief deputy who wrote this report still managed to leave out a few facts. We've talked about this in so many episodes. It is always so important to triple check the police when there is video to compare it to. The discrepancies always tell an important story. The report said Squires drew his gun for the second time after he was pushed, as in the first time he had drawn his weapon, It was clearly heated in the moment, and the second time it was in self-defense.

It's clear in the video that the kids did not consider Squires to be an actual police officer. They asked a neighbor to call the police on Squires, in fact. And the kid only pushed Squires because he was a maniac, and he was attacking this kid's friend and trying to steal the kid's backpack. The push was a reaction to Squire's actions. It's also clear in this video that he not only pointed the weapon at the kid who pushed him, But he then drew his weapon for a third time and aimed his gun directly at the 19-year-old who was filming. This was actually the most terrifying part of the video because you can see how close this situation was to ending in death.

The moment when Squires, with his gun drawn, sees the phone recording him and identifies it as a problem. Mom! He's dragging him! Yo, what are you doing? What are you grabbing him now? Dude, what the fuck is your problem? Mom! You! Mom! Stop!

You! Call the Sheriff's Office. Again, can we all pause for a second and think, Where would we be if the 19-year-old big brother didn't record the incident to protect his little brother and his friends? I believe that those kids would either be in jail based on the word of a drunken cop, which that almost seriously happened, or I believe at least one of them would have been shot. I hope this incident serves as a teaching moment

for all parents to encourage your teenagers to please record their interactions with police officers for their protection. More on Squires after a short break and we'll be right back. important part of the paragraph explaining the incident that led to squire's termination is the last sentence that i will repeat one more time quote at no point did squires see a firearm nor was an alleged handgun recovered from the subsequent criminal and administrative investigation again there's a lesson here too i have received a bunch of hateful dms after my initial reporting on this

incident from Hilton Head locals who told me that I was jumping to conclusions too quickly by saying that Squires should be fired. There was a rumor floating around Facebook that unfortunately my former newspaper published claiming that the teens had a gun on them, which is what rumors claimed started the whole confrontation. I argued that if there was any evidence of the kids having a weapon on them, the sheriff's office would have shared that information immediately because it works in their benefit. Just listen to this clip from Sheriff P.J. Tanner's press conference. He was asked specifically if police had recovered a weapon that belonged to any of the kids on the scene, essentially trying to clear up the rumor that was

attempting to justify the cop's behavior. Listen to how Tanner responded. We took the duty weapon from Squires. As far as going into any kind of evidence that could be a part of the sled investigation, probably not going to go there. You'll have to wait. Yes, ma'am. Chloe?

Huh, it's almost like he was intentionally vague. I say this because I hoped that the Hilton had people who were nasty to me about this take a giant step back and know that Liz Farrell and I do not ever jump to conclusions. We are careful, we are judicious. When we say a person should be arrested, we say that knowing that our companies could be sued

and our careers could be over if we are wrong. Unlike TikTokers, pretending to be journalists, for instance, who have essentially nothing to lose with inaccurate reporting. To the people who scolded me to wait for the full story reminded me of all of the people in the summer of 2021, who sent me really mean messages with the same sentiment for writing critically about the Murdox. Maybe, just maybe, these people will stop immediately taking the side of the good old boys and giving them so much grace. And by giving them that amount of grace, by immediately defending a cop in any situation just because he's a

cop and not knowing the full facts of the story which were right there on the video and only got worse for Squires after more of the investigation came out, while you are protecting a corrupt system that could very well end up hurting you one day. Okay, now, for the last part, the worst part, the part that is the most enraging. The fact that he was not arrested on scene when he exhibited behavior that presented a clear and present danger to the community. The fact that as of the afternoon on Wednesday, October 22nd, no criminal charges have been filed in this case. If SLEDS investigation found probable cause to arrest, then, hello, please make that happen. Do the thing that would be happening to any one of us in the same situation. What exactly are y'all waiting

for. And the only hopeful thing here? Well, like so many of these horrifying situations where civilians' lives are damaged by the police. The wheels of justice in this case, too, are spinning much faster on the civilian side of the law. Two federal lawsuits have been filed by two different mothers of the boys who were held at gunpoint by Billy Squires. The lawsuits are against the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, William P. Squires, and John Doe's, one through five individually, who we can expect might be the creepy neighbor men who helped squires wrangle the kids and hold them down, which was shown on the video. Rob Maitro, an attorney on Hilton Head Island, is representing the boy's mothers in both lawsuits.

The first paragraph of both lawsuits perfectly summarizes their argument. Here is David reading from the complaint. This case arises from a brazen and unlawful incident involving Master's Sergeant William P. Squires of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, who, while visibly intoxicated and abusing his authority under color of law, launched an unprovoked assault on several teenagers lawfully walking along a street in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Squires deliberately enlisted neighborhood vigilantes to assist him drew his service weapon and pointed it at the unarmed teenagers, forcing them to fear for their lives. Video evidence captures the teenagers being

held at gunpoint, physically assaulted, violently thrown to the ground, and unlawfully detained without any legal basis. This shocking abuse of power represents a blatant violation of the victim's constitutional rights and demonstrates an egregious disregard for the law and public safety. The first lawsuit is filed by the mother of the kid we called Joe in episode 119, who was actually detained by another Beaufort County deputy at the scene and escorted to a police vehicle. I want to have David read this section of Joe's lawsuit that really captures the insanity of this situation. After handcuffing plaintiff, Squires berated him and falsely accused plaintiff and the other teenagers of possessing a gun when in truth Squire. was the only person who had one. Squire's use of physical force, handcuffs, and commanding tone

left plaintiff with no doubt that he was under arrest and not free to leave. Throughout the encounter, Squires repeatedly threatened plaintiff telling him that he was, quote, going to jail, end quote. Upon information and belief, other individuals from the neighborhood witnessed the incident and called 911. When responding officers arrived at the scene, Master Sergeant Squires provided a false statement of facts and, despite Squire's obvious intoxication, the responding officers detained plaintiff in a police car.

Upon information and belief, multiple neighborhood residents witnessed the incident and called 911. When responding officers arrived, Master Sergeant Squires provided a false account of the event, Despite Squire's apparent intoxication, the officers proceeded to arrest plaintiff, handcuff him, and detain him in a police vehicle. Eventually, plaintiff was released from custody and instructed to disregard the criminal citation that had been issued to him.

It was confirmed by BCSO that plaintiff did not commit any criminal acts, and that plaintiff did nothing wrong. There are two videos showing Squires screaming at this boy who is handcuffed and sitting on the ground while Squires holds onto his shirt. At times the boy is crying and asking for someone to call his mom. Squire's voice is palpable as he screams and cusses at the boy, who is maintaining his innocence and saying they did not have a gun, but also saying they did have videos showing what Squires did to them. The boy asked Squires to stop grabbing at him while he's cuffed. It's enough to make you sick, knowing that the whole gun story seemed to be nothing but made up

so that Squires could rationalize his very irrational actions. The mothers of the two boys are suing all defendants for violating the boy's Fourth Amendment rights through excessive force, unreasonable search and seizure, and unlawful detainment. Squires is being sued for violating USC Code 1983 state created danger by increasing risk of private danger while acting as a master sergeant for BCSO, even though he was off duty. The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office is being sued for gross negligence as the lawsuit claims that the agency failed to properly train and supervise Squires. And it feels like the fact that they didn't arrest him on scene is a clear example of that. The Sheriff's Office in John Doe's 1 through 5, who hopefully eventually will be named, are being sued for false imprisonment, assault and battery, and reckless infliction of emotional

distress and outrage, all for obvious reasons. Both of these lawsuits will be interesting to watch because they don't just seek to hold the obvious person who esquires accountable, but they seek to place blame on this system that made the monster, including the creepy neighbors who appeared to follow the orders of their unhinged, off-duty deputy neighbor. This situation is so much bigger than Squires. It reflects a much larger problem that we have without of control military-style policing in the United States that puts children's lives at risk every day. The police are paid by us to protect us.

When they choose to protect their own at the cost of public safety, it endangers all of us. And we all pay for that. So, Duffy Stone, here we are once again asking you to do the right thing, to press charges against Squires and the men who helped him.

Don't do it for us. Do it for the community, particularly for the children in our community who are watching you right now to see if you care enough about their safety to take real action that actually shows police officers who commit crimes

against children will not be tolerated. One last thing before we go, the Micah Francis case. We are still waiting to hear from the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office on the status of their investigation into Micah's so-called pastor husband, J.P. Miller, who has since gotten married again to the woman he was accused of having an affair with, while both Micah and the woman's husband at the time were alive. As you know, if you've been following the case, both Micah Francis, and Chris Skinner died under suspicious circumstances involving, in Micah's case, a so-called suicide that seems like something else,

and in Chris's case, a so-called accident that seems like a suicide. We've obviously been busy lately, so this is just to remind everyone that we are still on the case. Speaking of, let's talk really quickly about Jane Doe No. 2 and the police report she filed against J.P.'s father, Wayne Miller last month. As you might remember, Jane Doe No. 2 is the second woman to file a complaint against the Millers. saying that she attended Wayne Miller's private Christian school back in the 90s, where J.P. was one of the teachers. According to her complaint, when she was 14 years old, J.P. sexually assaulted her and after she reported the assault, she was severely and sadistically punished by Wayne Miller, who made her right that she would not say lies about his son 5,000 times,

among other things, and she was bullied and harassed by students and teachers alike. She was then sexually abused again by J.P. when she was 16, according to court records. Micah's death was widely reported in April 2024 and all eyes were on her sketchy husband and his even sketchier father. Sources tell us that associates of the Millers began contacting people who had accused JP of sexual assault, harassment, abuse, things like that in the past. Contact was said to be repetitive and to have felt threatening in the same way former members of J.P.'s church reportedly felt harassed and stalked after leaving his church for various reasons over the years. That said, On September 18th, Jane Doe No. 2 reported to police that she was being followed home from work by Wayne Miller.

We wanted to play the 911 call from that for two reasons. The first is because Jane Doe No. 2 is legitimately and profoundly terrified. It's very difficult to listen to, but it's important because this isn't a game. This is someone's real life, and this is a real reaction to the kind of terror that Wayne and J.P. are known for according to our reporting and our opinions. The second reason is that it's only a matter of time before a ticker talker or a YouTuber gets this call and we want to set the standard here. We are not only editing out information that could reveal Jane Doe No. 2's identity.

We are masking her voice completely. We know people who are looking into the Micaharanx case are curious and have good intentions, but they also aren't trained in making smart editorial decisions. So this is us saying, please don't share a raw copy of this call anywhere. Now, Jane Doe, number two, was coming home from work when she noticed Wayne. in his Honda behind her with a balloon in his car. Researcher and reporter Beth Braden looked up birthdays that might have been happening in Wayne's life at the time,

and September 18th is the birthday of a woman named Siddhoff, who is related to a man believed to be living with or involved with Wayne. After Mandy and I posted about this incident, Wayne Miller reached out to me at 10.25 p.m. on September 23rd, I'll have David Rita's message exactly as it was written. your post it a total lie last wed i have cataract surgery in georgetown and was unable to drive on thursday posting total made-up stories like this is just the ones this person made up please removed this false story period period the next day he reached out to me again at 1246 p.m

Here's David again. Checked with police depart. No such thing has been filed. Another lie. Does it not bother you that you lie and lie and harm and hurt to people and their families? So Wayne denies that he was following the woman suing him by acting exactly, like the man described in Jane Doe No. 2. lawsuit. I'm surprised I didn't get another message telling me to stand in the corner with a

Bible on my head while repeating, I will not lie and lie and lie and harm and hurt people and their families. I mean, this guy is something, especially because surprise, Wayne, get your balloon out of the backseat, you're the liar. A police report was filed September 18th. We have it. So on September 23rd and 24th, you would have been able to access it. Also, we're told an investigator or talked to you and you denied following her, but didn't deny driving that day and allegedly said that if you had been following Jane Doe No. 2, that it would have been

purely coincidence. Here's why we believe Jane Doe No. 2 and every allegation she has made about the Millers. This call has been redacted by us and by O'Re County. Ory County Dispatch, Billy speaking. How can they help you? Yes, Billy, can I have an officer

dispatch to my parents' house, please? I was followed from work by a person I'm in the middle of a court battle with. Okay. Sorry. I'm going to do my breathing. Okay. I just need to make a document and report with an officer about me.

All right. Okay. Try to take it deeper. I know it's... I know who he is. Okay. Okay. Okay. I'm going to have some questions to ask you. When I ask these questions, if you don't know, just tell me you don't know, okay? You said you were followed by home from work?

He was behind me right from my job. Okay. And do you have a court case against them? Yes. Now, like I said, when I ask you these questions, if you don't know, say you don't know. When did this happen? About five minutes ago, I just pulled into my parents' house. Okay. Because my parents told me if I'm scared to go there, and that's what I started to do. Is the suspect in the area?

He turned into a business when I started taking my phone out and recording from behind. And he turned, so he saw what I was doing. Are you sitting down? Yeah. I'm on my parents' porch. I'm just house sitting. They're out of town. Okay. All right. We're going to get you some assistance. I just don't want you to hyperventilate. That's all. I mean...

Yeah. I'm doing my breathing and focus on nature. Okay. All right. I smell. I have deep trauma. So... Were any weapons involved? No. He'd been hugged at me at the light. Like, because I wouldn't go right away. Like, honk, honk. Like, really aggressive. Okay. How old? I don't know. That's fine.

No worries. He has to be in the 60s or 70s by now. And were you able to tell what kind of clothing he had on? Like a dresser polo, and he had a birthday balloon in the back of his car. Okay. And the trunk on the back of his Honda is bashed up. And do you happen to know his day to birth or address or anything? Mm-mm. No, I do not. My attorneys have that. My attorneys have that information.

Okay, and I know you said, I need to get his, let me try it again, I need to get the vehicle description. What color was it? Silver Honda. Silver Honda? Mm-hmm. I have a picture of it. Okay, yeah. Yeah, if you can keep it. Because I slow down enough where I, he got past me. He looked right at me, and then he zoomed forward, and I took my phone out. I hated to do this. because I know it's against the law, but I had to get that. Do you happen to have the license plate number on it by chance?

On the picture, I do, yes. Okay, that's fine. That's fine. You can give that to the officer when he gets there. As long as you have it, that'll definitely help out. Okay. Are you or anyone else in danger right now? No, I'm by myself. Okay.

All right, well, if the suspect is nearby, keep very quiet and stay out of sight. I'm going to go inside my parents' house. My dad does have firearms in the house, but I don't have access to them. Okay, I got you. Because they're locked in the safe. Do not delete any text, messages, or emails.

I know you said you're in the court. If you have all paperwork available for the responding officer, if you have it, I don't know if you have it with you or not. I have nothing. My attorneys are handling every. Okay. An officer will be. dispatch as soon as possible and call us back if anything changes or you have any

further information or if the suspect arrives or excuse me returns does he know where your parents live my chance or I don't know but my information was docked and leaked by a reporter or a by his son so I don't know and okay well like I said the officer will be dispatched as soon as possible and And if for some reason he shows up at the house, please call us back on 911 so we can let the officer know, okay? Okay, thank you. All right, we're going to get someone out to you. Okay, thank you.

All right, bye-bye. Jane Doe number two declined to press charges against Wayne because she would not be able to do so while maintaining her anonymity, which she is owed. We are sending our love today to Jane Doe number two and Jane Doe number one, who decided. to come forward to ensure that J.P. and his father get held accountable for the allegations against them and to protect any future victims from harm. As you know, J.P. and Wayne Miller have both cultivated reputations as being nonsensically obstinate when it comes to accusations made against them. In our opinions, they are among the most diabolical men living in South Carolina right now, and they are not slowing down. When we return next week,

We have to tell you about J.P.'s latest courtroom antics in his effort to get out of paying a $3,400 judgment against him in a countersuit from a former church member. It really never ends with these good old boys. And that story is far from over. We have so much to share. And speaking of sharing, one final request to please share True Sunlight podcast on social media, and please give us a five-star rating. along with the Murdoch Death in the Family podcast. It really helps us climb the rankings. And that demonstrates to public agencies that we have the power to hold them accountable to we the people.

Until next time, stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sunlight. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production created by me, Mandy Matney, co-hosted and reported by journalist Liz Farrell. Research support provided by Beth Braden. Audio production support provided by Jamie Hoffman, case file management provided by Kate Thomas. Learn more about our mission and membership at LunaSharkmedia.com.

Interruptions provided by Luna and Joe Pesky.