Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #15 - Sunshine On “A Mountain Mystery” - What Happened to April Jones? Part One

Episode Date: September 7, 2023

In this very special episode of True Sunlight, we continue our mission of getting the story straight and giving voice to victims. Eric Alan Daume reports from the Blue Ridge mountains of South Carolina and digs into the deaths of April Jones and Kevin Craig, and the disappearance of Faith Roach. There are so many similarities between Eric Alan’s investigation into "A Mountain Mystery", the Murdaugh saga and the Solomon case, all cases that need a whole lot of sunlight on them. ** And just a warning, todays episode has some course language and graphic descriptions. Today, Liz Farrell gives a brief update on the new shenanigans in the Murdaugh saga, but we are not going to let their nonsense get in the way of highlighting Eric Alan Daume's investigation into "A Mountain Mystery" and what happened to April Jones, Kevin Craig and others in this in-depth investigation. If you're a Luna Shark Premium Member, you've seen Eric Alan in the trial chats, and on camera. You might recognize some of his footage, which we use to make our own video versions of MMP and TSP episodes. He covered the Murdaugh trial and covers other cases as well on his YouTube channel - click here to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/@Eric-Alan. Eric is an incredibly talented documentarian and we are proud to partner with him by sharing his talents with all of you — our amazing audience.  If you listened to this week’s COJ you know that Mandy and David are in Europe so Eric Alan’s episode allows them to enjoy some time away and it gives me a little much-appreciated downtime as well. Learn more about Eric Alan's mission on his YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/@Eric-Alan   The craziness in the Murdaugh saga is (as-always) heating up so tune into Eric Bland, Beth Braden and possibly a special guest this Thursday's Luna Shark Premium Happy Hour, September 7th at 6:30pm ET. And don't forget Premium Members get access to searchable case files, written articles with documents, case photos, episode videos and exclusive live experiences with our hosts on lunasharkmedia.com all in one place. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3BdUtOE. And just reiterating our big announcement about Blood On Their Hands - Mandy's new book which will be available in book stores near you on November 14th! Learn more or Pre-order your copy at bloodontheirhandsbook.com or lunasharkmedia.com/book. We all want to drink from the same Cup Of Justice — and it starts with learning about our legal system. By popular demand, Cup of Justice has launched as its own weekly show. Go to cupofjusticepod.com to learn more or click the link in the episode description to get a hot cup of justice wherever you get your podcasts! Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cup-of-justice/id1668668400 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Itp67SQTZEHQGgrX0TYTl?si=39ff6a0cc34140f3 SUNscribe to our free email list to get alerts on bonus episodes, calls to action, new shows and updates. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3KBMJcP And a special thank you to our sponsors: Microdose.com, PELOTON, Simplisafe, and others. Use promo code "MANDY" for a special offer! For current & accurate updates: TrueSunlight.com facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/ Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod Twitter.com/mandymatney Twitter.com/elizfarrell youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The justice system can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. Join us to hold public agencies accountable because we all want to drink from the same cup of justice. And it starts with learning about our legal system. With tales from the newsroom and the courtroom, Liz Farrell, Eric, Lann, and I invite you to gain knowledge, insight, and tools to hold public agencies and officials accountable. If you liked our Cup of Justice bonus episodes, you will love Cup of Justice shows on the new feed. Together, our hosts create the perfect trifecta of legal experience, journalistic integrity, and a fire lit to expose the truth wherever it leads. Search for cup of justice wherever you get your podcast

or visit cupofjusticepod.com. I don't know how many more times we're all going to have to suffer through Dick and Jim's theatrics and lies as they continue to trample over everything and everyone in their way. All in the name of overturning Elic Murdoch's well-deserved murder conviction. But I do know that we are not going to let their nonsense get in the way of us doing something new this week by featuring one of our amazing contributors,

Eric Allen Downey. But we'll get to that in a second. Hello everyone, as you can tell this is Liz, if you listen to this week's Cup of Justice episode, you know that Mandy and David are in Italy, so Eric Allen's episode allows them to enjoy some much-deserved time away, and it gives me a little much appreciated downtime as well. But first, we have to talk about the latest in the Murdoch case. In a new motion filed Tuesday with the South Carolina Court of Appeals, Elic Murdoch's attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpoutian are now claiming they have proof

of jury tampering. Griffin and Harpoutian are asking the Appellate Court to suspend their appeal, so they can file a motion in Circuit Court for a new trial, based on quote-unquote after discovered evidence, which includes affidavits from two jurors, one of whom was dismissed for allegedly speaking out about the case during the trial. In a stunning move, Ellic Murdoch and his legal team are now pointing the finger at celebrated Colton County Court of Court, Becky Hill, and asking for the U.S. Attorney's Office to open an investigation into her actions during the U.S. Attorney's Office to open an investigation into her actions during the trial. They are accusing Becky of trying to sway the outcome of the verdict in the pursuit of fame and money. They cite her new book, Behind the Doors of Justice,

as evidence that she was looking to cash in on the trial, and they cite passages from the book as evidence that she was advocating for ELECT to be found guilty. The South Carolina Attorney General's office said Tuesday that they are looking into these very serious allegations. They have 10 days to respond to Dick and Jim's motion. In our next episode of Cup of Justice, we'll talk more about this motion and about how all hell has basically broken loose as a result of it. For now though, we want to do something a little different as Luna Shark Media expands its horizons. One of her goals all along has been to partner with independent journalists who

believe in our mission of giving voice to victims, and Eric Allen-Downey has done just that. Eric Allen has been working with the Luna Shark team as our videographer for quite some time. You've seen him in the trial chats and on camera. He covered the Murdoch trial and has covered other cases as well on his YouTube channel, which you can find the link to in our episode description. You might recognize some of his footage, which we use to make our own video versions of these episodes. Eric is an incredibly talented documentarian and we are proud to partner with him by

sharing his talents with all of you, our amazing audience. This is the first in a series of video episodes that Eric Allen is publishing on his channel and has adapted for audio. There are so many similarities between this mountain mystery which we're about to share with you, the Murdoch saga and the Solomon case. They are all cases that need a whole lot more sunlight on them. Eric Allen has done some really great work here so we want to thank him for allowing us to share it with you and we want to thank you, our listeners, for helping us expand our mission. Mandy and I will be back next week. Until then, stay tuned, stay pesky,

and stay in the sunlight. The March Sona and everything were like she'd been drugged. All the tops, he said, look like she had broke burns on her wrists, her ankles, her neck. And they said, look like she'd been tied in the downward doggy position for two hours. They're a rape kid, came back clean, whatever. She had no panties, no brown, whatever. None of it made sense, so I think she struggled to try and get away from whoever it was. There's a small town on the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina called Wahala.

In this town, there's a community of people with a problem. In the past few years, there has been multiple deaths and disappearances in this group. I decided to try to get to the bottom of them. I was initially looking into two mysterious deaths and three disappearances. It was overwhelming. I spoke with family of the victims, the investigators on the case, and suspects. As I dove deeper, even more deaths and another disappearance in this circle of people caught my attention, I had to pause and step back. I'm likely going to be doing two seasons to cover these, but for

this first season I'm going to cover two deaths and one disappearance. In January of 2019 37-year-old April Jones was found dead in a workshop on her property, with bruises and scrapes covering her body. Her death was initially ruled a result of an accidental overdose and hypothermia, though evidence has since come to light that shows that might not be the case. A hot shot is a shot of drugs concocted to intentionally cause someone to overdose, and if you're looking to kill someone known to do drugs, this is the perfect way to do it.

One week after April was found, 26-year-old faithroach disappears. She was last seen about a mile from where April was found, at a home April was found, 26-year-old Faithroach disappears. She was last seen about a mile from where April was found, at a home April was at two days before her death. Faithroach is missing to this day. Three months after Faith's disappearance, 32-year-old Kevin Craig is found on a hot summer day dead. He was barricaded from the inside of a room in his trailer. There were syringes found next to him, but no drugs found in his system. His death was ruled as a result of heat exposure and seizures. Similar to April's death, information has been brought to light that could

change this, and the Sheriff's Office even wrote up warrants to charge someone with Kevin Craig's murder. Investigators believe his death is charge someone with Kevin Craig's murder. Investigators believe his death is related to Faith Roach's disappearance. So to recap, we'll be covering three cases, the death of April Jones, the disappearance of Faith Roach, and the death of Kevin Craig. Before we dive into the details, let's lay some groundwork. A county-County South Carolina where Wohala located, is in the northwestern part of the state, bordering Georgia and North Carolina.

The county from the south end to the north end is a gradient of foothills up to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The west border of the county runs along the Chattoga River with North Georgia on the other side. The east border runs along a series of connected lakes. The word acony actually stems from a Cherokee word meaning land beside the water. It's a truly beautiful area. My first trip to the area to film was as the weather was cooling down and the leaves were changing colors. Driving through the winding

mountain roads lined with trees of vibrant greens, yellows and reds felt like an oddly calm contrast to the reason for me being there in the first place, to get to the bottom of these tragic mysteries. By the way, my name is Eric Allen. I've been in this area before. I live about four hours away on the coast in Bufert, South Carolina. If you follow true crime, you'll know that's the area the Murdoch saga has been unfolding in, and that's actually how I got my start in True Crime. I was working in real estate photography and videography when the Murdoch story began to unfold in my town.

As a side project, I decided to make a short documentary on the first part of the story. Well, that video is currently sitting at over a million and a half views on YouTube, and as I continue to make these documentaries, people continue to watch them. But that's another story, back to a Coney South Carolina. Like I said, I've been in the area before.

It's a great place to get away and camp. I've taken my dogs up there, or gone up with friends and explored hiking trails, scenic mountain overlooks, and the abundant river streams and waterfalls. I've even whitewater rafted the Chittuga River, which is the western border of a county county. Wahala, South Carolina is a small town on the foothills. It calls itself the gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Many of the people I spoke with in the area had lived there their whole lives and many of them their families did as well for generations before them.

And that was the case for 58-year-old Andy Jones, the husband of April Jones. He grew up in Wahala and later built his home on the same road he grew up on. I remember pulling into his gravel driveway, going past the workshop that April was found in and making my way through the wooded area up the hill to a dark wooden home with a full-length front porch. There was a front porch swing on the left side next to a few rocking chairs, where I would

later sit down and speak with April's daughter Hannah. This house was different from many of the trailers that lined that same road. It wasn't fancy or anything, but it was a cozy well-built wooden home that, like I said, I would later find out Andy built himself. The road that this home is on has some sketchy or areas to it. One of the disappearances I'll be covering next season, a man named Josh, was last seen less than a quarter mile down the road. There's also a death I'm covering next season where the man was Josh, was last seen less than a quarter mile down the road. There's

also a death I'm covering next season where the man was beaten with a bat before he was left inside his trailer that was subsequently lit on fire, burning to the ground with him inside. Again, this occurred within about half a mile of April's home. As I hopped out of the car, I was a little nervous. Not that I felt in danger at Andy's or anything like that. Just nervous about doing something new. It wasn't long ago I was just taking pictures and making videos of homes for sale on Hilton Head Island. I'm not a seasoned investigative journalist and as I opened my car door to get out, I found

myself thinking how in the world did I get here, pulling up to a home to investigate a potential murder. I ended up speaking with Andy a bit, as well as April's daughter Hannah and on multiplications April's mother Debbie. April Jones was found lying in the back corner of the workshop on her and her husband's property. The workshop is located about a hundred yards from the house down a hill and through some trees. You pass it as you go up the driveway from the road to the house. April had been on a multi-day drug bender, and the official ruling of April's death was overdose and hypothermia.

The report says she had bruises consistent with a fall, but I've seen the crime scene photos. She was covered in bruises, and wounds and markings on her wrist and neck make it look as if she may have even been tied up. I'm not trying to be too graphic, but I want you to understand the extent of bruises and marks on April. It does look like she took a fall, but potentially tumbled down the side of a mountain. A larger percentage of her skin is discolored from wounds than not. Here's me looking at a few photos with April's family. I walked in and I looked at him and I said that's not my kid.

When you look at him, you'll know why. You tell me, look at these. This was around her neck. Okay, this was her neck. That was her feet. Wow. Okay, look at this. Those are feet. Wow. Okay, look at this. This is supposed to be consistent.

And she feels. And she feels. She feels. She feels. I mean, what's the bottom of a cliff? I mean, really seriously. It's the most dark. I don't know if you still see it.

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, this is like, it's more discolored bruising than, look at her face. That does not look like that. That's not my job. Yeah. Her family does not believe she died from an overdose and hypothermia.

We'll get into the details of her death later, but first let's get to know April Jones. April Jones had grown up in Wahala. She was 37 years old when she died and left behind her husband, three kids, and numerous friends and loved ones. Here's her mother. I grew up with my oldest daughter. She was... Rambo just decided to leave. Oh man, you know, she came into this world of screaming and probably went out screaming if I know her. She was a good kid.

She had her problems. She got involved with the drugs. I don't deny that. The drugs took a whole other. She would do great for a while, and then it was just like, you know, back into it. You know, you can't blame the people around her. People try to do that, but you're not gonna do what you don't want to do.

She was the type of person that child, she thought she could save everybody, okay? It didn't matter if somebody come to her and they needed a place to stay, they was there. She tried to save everybody but herself. That's just the person she was. She had a heart for us. Yes, she wanted to save everybody.

And we'll be right back. Where is the University of New Brunswick? It's where everyone is welcome. Where spirit thrives, we know you by name. Community is everything, and you'll take your shot. It's where you belong. April struggled on and off for years with drugs. As we dive deeper into these cases, you'll see that drugs play a huge part in this story. I also spoke with April's daughter, Hannah.

She's 20 years old but has lived more life than most. I'd been in the area for a few days and had spoken with people I haven't yet introduced in this podcast by the time I spoke with Hannah. I had seen and heard time and time again about drugs destroying lives. As I spoke with Hannah, I wrestled with the idea of how unfair life is. I'm a big supporter of taking personal responsibility. Often times it's not your fault, you're in a certain situation, but I believe it's always your responsibility to deal with it and handle it well. That said, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd grown up in the same shoes as some of these

people if I'd be in the same place that they are now, addicted to drugs and always looking for the next high. It seemed so hopeless for many of them who had been in the trenches of drug addiction for decades. But Hannah was different, she was only 20 years old, she didn't look at all the part of a seasoned drug addict like many of the people I had been in contact with. But knowing the area that she was in and the type of people she was likely spending time with, I knew the game was rigged against her in a way it wasn't for myself at her age.

I feel it would have been inappropriate and maybe judgmental, but I wanted to tell her to just get out of Wahala. Leave this circle of druggies and start a life somewhere else before it was too late. But I digress. Here's Hannah. Mama, that woman I'm telling you right now, she was the, she was the lot of this entire town.

Like, she, anybody that needed help, didn't have food, anything. She'd take canned foods to them. Like, you know, she was, she, didn't have food, anything. She'd take canned foods to them. Like, you know, she was, she was on both sides of the town, you know, like she, she had that reputation of, you know,

doing drugs or whatever, but then she also had, she had the other side of where it was like, she was a damn good person. Everybody loved her. Every person she came around, like that smile, ear to ear, she just had that, like, he walked in her room and it's like, you know, she brought, she brought some shine with her. Every person she came around, like that smile, ear to ear, she just had that like, he walk in her room and it's like, you know, she brought, she brought Son of China with her. Everything was getting normal really,

so it felt like then everything just kind of got stripped away again. As soon as I started actually getting a relationship with my mom for the first time in 14 years, she wouldn't take her away from me. April spent years in and out of jail before going to prison for two and a half years. When she got out, she started getting her life back together. When I spoke with April's mother, April's best friend had tagged along as well. Matter of fact, I was going to the Potter's house and she called me and she was

crying. She's like, JJ, I'm getting baptized on the way you go to church when I said, I will be there with bail zones. Seeing her take that step in life, I'm so so happy for her because I've watched her overcome so much. But the drugs would end up getting hold of her again, and drugs did change April in a massive way. They did change her, okay. They changed her into a, when she would come around me,

I would know, right, the enemy. She would be high strong in everything. I mean, just, wide open, wide open. She was very, a good person, no doubt. The drugs are the devil. Sometimes you lose yourself and there's a lot of times of drugs that is who you are. There's a different, like I said, you know,

drugs that it creates is alter ego of, it's kind of like a figment of the messed up. You know, it takes the ugly, it's how do you, you know, every piece and every insecurity and it puts it all in one and it shows itself. And it like amplifies. And it amplifies everywhere. Interesting.

And like, serious struggles, I would say to the least, you know, it's a lifestyle. Yeah. It is a lifestyle. It becomes, it becomes something that is your understanding. You wake up the devil and you really, that's all of it. Yeah.

A few days before her death, April got a huge argument with her family. Her kids were staying at April's mother's house, but April was over there watching them while her mother was out. During this time, she had taken her daughter, Hannah's car, and returned it completely trashed.

Right before mom's death, you know, she was from dead. Last time I seen her, you know, was an argument because I woke up that morning and my car's gone. My dad and I had been off doing whatever that night with her friends. And so my mom was watching at my nanny's house. My car's gone. As kids do their biceps, where's my car? I was livid trying to figure out where my car was, because small and everything, she was worth. I didn't control my reactions. I mean, I was really just a kid, honest. And, no, ask me, I do anything for you, just ask me.

She brings it back and she's got like baskets and baskets and glows and there's chocolate syrup all in my book and see, so I got in the chocolate syrup all in my bucket seat. So I got in the car and I was taking her home. She was in my face screaming, like, on the way home. I slammed on the brakes. She went to the dash, crazy shit. The last memory I had with my mom.

I'm not just sitting with that one for four years. Still won't sit with it for as long as I'm out. Before April left the house, she stole her mother's phone. When she left my house, she hijacked myself on. We got into it. And Hannah went to take Hannah, which is the oldest daughter,

went to take her home by dandies. And she told me she said, you'll need me before I need you. Last words. I never saw her again till under the truck. Yeah, that's sad. She then went on a drug bender and spent her last few days at a few homes near her house. And I feel like I found her because like, you know, before my mom and dad, I was

home dead, you dead, the neighbors. They came all the way up to my nennas and that was like, you know, April, she's in the house, she's a little everywhere, you know, she needed to come get her. We'd been dealing with her for almost two weeks before her. Like, went and got her, went and got her. Andy was here. What thought he was. You know, we're like, just telling Andy to get her.

He's right there, his wife. Yeah. And I know now that if we were to just gotten up and went and got her, she wouldn't be dead. She wouldn't. And for the nerve to everybody that told me, even the officials, they said if I would have gotten up, And for the nerve to everybody that told me, even the officials that said if I would have gotten up

and wouldn't have gotten her that day, she wouldn't be dead. You gonna tell me that. After speaking with Hannah, Andy walked me down to the workshop on the property where he found April. This was a surreal moment for me. When you spend so much time researching, preparing, and thinking about a case, then find yourself standing in the place where it actually occurred. There's a weight to it that I don't really know how else to explain.

Did you build this too? Mm-hmm, nice. You don't come down here anymore. And I do very little. My family. Right there. When I came in coming home from work, it was 1 a.m. 1, 20, something, and other like that. I saw the lotstone in here, and you see under that door. Yeah. I heard it in the Godways lots, you you see under that door. Yeah. You've heard it in your sideways lots,

you can see the lot was on. Yeah. And at time, my son, I got son, it's 23 now. He and some of his friends would come here and hang out in the evening, drink beer, play ping pong, or just listen to the radio, that was their hangout spot. My other stuff they'd been here, and left, forgot to turn the lot's off.

So I stopped going to cut the lights off. I was in that door when I pushed it back. I saw her laying in here. He explained that his truck was backed into the workshop and April was found lying in the small space between the truck and the workshop wall. Now I came over to the felt-. I tried to fill a false and went, but the instant I touched her, I knew she was dead. They're still in felt different.

Let me just, let me get a quick shot of this and we won't, we don't need to spend too much time in here. Andy had found April after getting off work late Monday night, technically early Tuesday morning at around 1 a.m., Here's a few excerpts from the police report. I pulled bits and pieces from different officers that responded and investigated to create a simpler and clear idea of what they found. They mentioned in a dress, which is the next door neighbors address. I Redact the actual address and just say next door instead. If April was trying to get home from his place, she would have walked through the woods, pass the workshop, then onto her home.

Here's the report. Andy stated today after getting off work, he noticed the lights in the building on and figured April was there. After going to check the building, Andy noticed the door was locked, and after checking the sliding door, he found that it was locked as well. Andy stated he grabbed a stick that was beside the door in the yard and tried to unlock the door from the outside, but the stick kept breaking, so he went to the house and got the fireplace poker and unlocked the door. Andy stated after the door was unlocked and he partially opened the door, he saw April lying on the ground beside the truck and she appeared to be asleep.

Andy stated at that time, he walked over and shook April to try to wake her up when he felt that her skin was cold to the touch and she appeared to be deceased. I observed the victim lying under the driver's door of a white GMC pickup truck which was parked inside the building back to in. The victim's head was close to the front driver's side tire and her feet were next to the wall adjacent to where the truck was parked. I walked over to the victim and immediately noticed some unusual red markings on her right wrist and hand area that looked like scratches, as well as several other markings

which did not appear to be scratches. I also observed what appeared to be bruises on her right forehead. I also noticed that the victim did not have any shoes on and only one sock which was on her left foot. But her big toe was exposed through what appeared to be some type of hole in the sock. The victim was lying on her back on the concrete floor of the building and was laying straight with only her head tilted to the left side of center. Her right arm was bent upward towards her chest and her left arm was lying on the floor on her left side. The coroner then advised that he was ruling this as a suspicious death at this time. At the address next door, we met Thomas Smith at the front door who had the odor of alcoholic

beverage on his person. Thomas stated the victim was brought to his house by two males in a truck. He did not know them. He did state that the victim had been at his house on the past Saturday and had stayed through Sunday morning, leaving around 9 a.m. He indicated she crossed his side yard to return to her home. He stated that she was a known drug user and believed that she was high on her drug of choice. Smith went on to say that the victim had done damage to his bathroom and had left several pieces of her clothing in his bedroom. He went on to report that she had left Sunday morning without additional issues and seemed to be in good health.

Andy stated on Sunday morning he received a phone call from his neighbor Bruce Smith. Stating April was at his residence and he needed to come pick her up. Andy stated after arriving at Bruce's home around 11 a.m. he and April fussed again and she went to the neighbor's home across the road and that's the last time he talked to her. End quote. There were two men mentioned at the house next door. This is Bruce Smith and his son Tom Smith.

April was hanging out with Tom the days leading up to her death. Bruce and Tom both declined to speak with me. For now, I'll just refer to both of them as the next door neighbor. More on them later. So let's recap the last few days of April's life. She had stolen her mother's phone and went on a multi-day drug binge. What actually happened on Sunday morning is a little unclear.

One report states the next door neighbor claims she left his house around 9 a.m. in seemingly good health walking towards her home. Another report says Andy got a call from the neighbor wanting him to come over and get April. Andy went over around 11 a.m. and after arguing with April a bit, she walks to a different home across the street. I didn't see anything in the report addressing these inconsistencies, but to be honest, it wouldn't be surprising that there is some level of deviation between stories simply due to drug and alcohol use

affecting memory. These are the last reports of anyone seeing April. I spoke with the owner of the house across the street where she was allegedly heading at one point, and he claims she never showed up. Andy was in the workshop on Sunday night with his daughter and April was not there. She is found late Monday night, early Tuesday morning, locked in that workshop on her property with bruises, scrapes, and cuts all over her body. What April was doing between mid-morning on Sunday when she was last seen and when she is found late Monday night, early Tuesday morning is unknown.

And when she is found late Monday night, early Tuesday morning, is unknown. She wasn't in the workshop on Sunday night, so she died sometime between Sunday night and late Monday night. The police ended up ruling April's death a result of accidental overdose and hypothermia. It was January after all, and the weather gets pretty cold in this area. The low the night before and the night April was found

was around 30 degrees Fahrenheit. This is plenty cold for hypothermia, especially if you're laying on something like cold concrete in a workshop that will quickly take the heat from your body. But why would April not just walk to her home next to the workshop? The workshop was not heated, and why would she lock herself in? And what about the condition of her body? None of this made any sense to April's family. I know, as well as I'm sitting here, that my daughter didn't kill herself.

You know, she didn't lay down under that truck. I'm just fine. I think she was already dayd before she was put under the truck. My opinion, because when I got to her, I mean, it was like I perfectly placed. I mean, she was just laying under the truck, her head, her upper body, was up toward the wheelbase and on the front of the truck, arms down by her side, just lately. I mean, touching her, I knew, you know, that I want him over, yeah? I wanted to grab her. That's my child.

But I knew, you know, not to. Well, April's family knew there had to be more to this story, and there was. You had something to do with that shit that happened to April because he left here at 11.30. Like the time frame, the way they was acting, Boston had three guns on him, okay? One in his bag, one in his front, here,

and one in his back pocket. Barry had two guns on him, but how was they scared? April's family did not buy the idea that April simply died of an overdose in hypothermia. The family says she was an experienced drug user. She knew how to come off of them safely. They also say she never went in the workshop when she wanted to go home, she went home.

They recalled multiple times that she broke into her own house when she had lost her keys. I mean, she always went home. It didn't matter if she had to break in on his windows, break the back door, and she was. She was going in and going to bed. And the little door where you could put the fireball at the end.

It calls early and goes through it. If that's what she had to do when it's time for her to go to bed, she was going to bed. Yeah. She was going home and then in her bed. She didn't matter what it took. And what about how badly beaten up her body appeared? But I'm telling you right now, my mom did not probably find that truck in the dark. To be honest, I think she struggled with somebody.

With the Mars, she was on the, well, like a whole, she nods off to the knee, the black thing. It was like, it was like redburn. You know what I'm saying? Like, we thought it was a hole or so much burned her. But we looked at it, we looked at it. And it was like a concrete burn. My mom had one sock on, one sock,

not on her ankle, it was broke. Oh, I could get a brand over. And my mom was known. That bitch was crazy. She was known that if she didn't want to be in a vehicle, she's talking to a road. She did. She did.

She jumped out of that car. April seems like a wild woman. A good way and a bad way. Yeah, and she had everything. She had a junior. Yeah. Still love, but. So you started laughing.

I think laughing sometimes is a good medicine. In before, even in bad situations. But so you think she might have jumped out of a car trying to escape something. Well, she said listen, I think she tried to jump out of a car. She didn't clear enough, ran over ankle. Right down there, I did my own investigation. Right before the mailbox, it was like, went up the road.

You know, like the muddy park, like, if it was running, the addition, well, I went and looked, and it was a sock in there. There's rather so. You know, like, you know, she tried to get out. Well, she even druged with the Mart Sona and everything, like she been drug. All the cops, he said, look, like she had rope burns on her wrist,

her ankles, her neck. And they said, look, like she had been tied in the downward doggy position for two hours. Then a rape kid came back clean? Whatever. She had no bannies, no wrong, whatever. None of it made sense, so I think she struggled to try and... try and get away from whoever it was. Quick side note here, you can hear a few sounds

at the end of that clip. They almost sound like sound effects that I added in, but they were actually gunshots in the distance while I was speaking with Hannah. You'll understand this more as you dive deeper into this podcast, but this place started feeling like the Wild West, like a lawless land. Remember, I initially was investigating five cases that occurred in this small mountain town, and even more deaths, murders, and disappearances in this town came to my attention while investigating. Maybe it was just in my head, but when you become hyper aware of the level of crime and evil deeds in such a small area, you begin to see everything there differently.

Anyways, I think if we want to figure out what happened to April, we need to dive deeper into the days leading up to her death. After April got an argument with her family and stole her mother's phone, she was at a home April's mother calls the White House. Faith, who went missing a week after April died, was also at the White House around this time. The White House is a mile and a half from April's home and it's a well known place in the area to get drugs.

A man named Kevin Maylor could often be found there. You know, people would tell me that she was at the end of my dirt road at the White House, making Kevin Maylor out there getting drugs. I have been told that fight was out there. Um, really, that those, that same time with, um, can you say who told you that? No, I'll not. That's fine.

That's a good, that's a good, that's a good, okay. Kevin Maylor, who many in this area refer to as Boston, is 56 years old. Kevin Maylor is a known drug dealer in the area, or at least he was. He has a long record of crime, including charges of possession of meth,

possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under suspension, disorderly conduct, domestic violence, unlawful carrying of a pistol, sale of a stolen pistol, possession of a firearm by person convicted of a violent felony, possession of contraband in prison and more. Some of these charges I listed had multiple counts of that charge for separate occasions over the years.

Before he moved to a Hollis-Earth Carolina in around 1996, he lived in Massachusetts where he was a suspect and disappearance of a young woman named Jennifer Fe, who went missing in 1989. I won't be covering Jennifer Fe in this podcast, but there is a podcast by Barstool Sports called The Case, who covered her as well as some of the people in this podcast. They did a ton of work and I'd encourage you to listen to it after this one for a different perspective. You'll hear me and others in this podcast refer to Kevin Maylor sometimes as Boston and sometimes as Kevin. So just keep in mind that's the same person.

Kevin has spent about eight of the past ten years in prison. We are going to talk a lot about Kevin Maylor in this podcast as his name has been brought up as a suspect in all three cases, and at one point, had murder charges written up for the third case, Kevin Craig. Through my investigations, I came up with multiple scenarios as to what could have happened with each case, and there's one scenario that links Kevin Maylor with them all. I apologize in advance for all the heavens in this next sentence. I'm trying to make it clear what's going on. When the murder charges were written up for Kevin Mailler in regards to the third case, Kevin Craig. The sheriff's office said that they believe Kevin Mailler killed Kevin

Craig because Kevin Craig had information that could implicate Kevin Mailler in the disappearance of faith roach. The second case that we're gonna be looking at. Kevin Wayne Maylor is being charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of Kevin Craig. It is our belief that Kevin Maylor has also known as Boston as a murderer, and he needs to be held accountable for the death of Kevin Craig.

Our investigators at the Chairman of Kevin Craig was murdered because investigators that determined Kevin Macri was murdered because of what he knew about the disappearance of one of our missing persons being faith-runch. Through my investigation, I found reason to believe that faith may have disappeared because she had knowledge that could implicate Kevin Maler in the death of April Jones. So the theory is that Kevin Maylor killed April Jones,

and in order to cover his tracks he had to get rid of Faith. Then in order to cover his tracks from getting rid of Faith, he had to get rid of Kevin Craig. But this was just my initial theory early on. Is there any truth to it? What evidence do we have for or against it, and what other theories are there for each case? There is a lot to cover in this podcast, and I want to encourage you to hold your opinions lightly and be open to changing them as new information is provided. I'll also try to look for biases I might have in my research and creation of this podcast, as well as biases you as a listener might have, and describe them as we go. The FS blog describes the complexity bias as, quote, a logical fallacy that leads us to give undue credence to complex concepts,

faced with two competing hypotheses, we are likely to choose the most complex one. That's usually the option with the most assumptions and regressions. This doesn't mean the complex hypothesis is the wrong one, just that statistically it is the less likely one, even though we as humans have a tendency to see it as the more likely one. I think there is even more to it when it comes to a podcast like this. I'm going to spend time covering the complex

theories so your mind will just be on them more often. And the more complex theories are simply more interesting and for a lack of better word entertaining. Just remember, this doesn't make them more likely to be true. Back to the story. At the time of writing this, Kevin Maylor, aka Boston, is currently in prison for possession of meth with intent to distribute, but when I first went to Wahala, I was able to speak with someone who was very close to Kevin Maylor in the past. We'll call this person, Person A. Person A, like so many people in this story, has battled with drug addiction much of their life. I spoke with them on multiple occasions, in the first time I did, they said they had been clean for about six months. They remember the night April died well. I've changed

Person A's voice for this podcast. January 28th is on April. And I say got killed because her mom's showing them pictures man and that girl didn't, that's not no, mom. Here's Person A referring to Kevin Maylor. You had something to do with that sheet that happened to April because he left here at 11.30 and I'll never forget this. It was not raining when he left. But when he came back it was and it was 2.30 am.

And he was running and he ran in the house. Him and Barry both ran in the house. And I was like, why are y'all running? And he said, he was going to jump on us and rob us. And I said, who? He said, fucking Bobby. And I'm like, where was you at? And he said, Cobb's junkyard.

Cobb's junkyard, two of you. And the pictures look like she even drove behind a damn car. He said, fucking Bobby, and I'm like, where was you at? And he said, cops junkyard, cops junkyard, two in a.n. And the pictures look like she even drugged my name card. Person A mentions the name Barry. This is referring to Barry Neal, who was a good friend of Kevin Maylors, as well as a driver when Boston was selling drugs.

I did get to speak with Barry Neal, and we'll talk about him more in future episodes. So let's take a look at this timeline. The neighbor says, at some point, April was brought to his home by two men he didn't know. Talk about him more in future episodes. So let's take a look at this timeline. The neighbor says at some point April was brought to his home by two men he didn't know. I think it's possible these two men were Kevin Meyler and Barry Neal. According to Person A, Monday night, Kevin and Barry Neal leave the house at around 11.30 p.m.

About an hour and a half later, around 1 a.m., April is discovered by Andy in the workshop. Kevin and Barry returned home at 2 a.m., clearly in a panic about something. Person A asks what's going on, and Kevin and Barry said that someone was after them, but Person A didn't buy it. Boston had three guns on him, okay? One in his bag, one in his front here, and one in his back pocket. Barry had two guns on him, but how was they scared? Then Person A saw the news of April's death. They said, um, the woman's body has been found on

Brock Crusher. He didn't say her name at first, you know. Boston and Barry still breathing heavy, okay? Barry said there, I can see him out of the corner, my eye. I can see him going like, looking at Boston in the corner of his eye and just, I guess I can see if he's looking at him, I don't know. I said, looking at Boston in the corner of his eye and just, I guess I'm gonna see if he's looking at him, I don't know.

I said they're watching them, you know. And I was like, y'all need to change house clothes or something, y'all get my damn bed weight. Boston said, damn, all you ever do is fucking bitch, I did it, I said look, you're gonna be like that, I said, you can't damn leave. I'm not gonna do this with you, you know. I said, oh by the way, I said, if you're gonna leave, don't go that way, cause there's a dead girl down there, this motherfucker. Spirits God.

Looks up like this and goes, she's got my was a dead woman found down the road. They tell Kevin Mayler that if he's going to leave to not go that way through all the commotion. At this point, Person A doesn't know its April, so Person A doesn't mention any name, but Kevin immediately looks up like he just remembered something and says, that girl's got my phone. Like he already knew that the dead woman Person A was speaking of was April. Kevin and Barry leave again and return around 7am with a phone. As I was speaking with people for this case, the name Boston or Kevin Maylor kept coming up?

That's when the source sent me some information about Kevin Maylor in April that the police didn't even have yet. And we'll be right back. So what was this evidence source sent me in regards to Kevin Maylor in April Jones? It was a handwritten letter that an inmate in prison named John Evans had wrote to one of his family members. I have to say, pretty vague with this info as this evidence isn't public in, I don't want to do anything that could impede the investigation, but John Evans claims he was

with Boston about a week before April died, and Boston told him he was going to kill April Jones by giving her a certain substance. John says he didn't take Boston seriously in the moment, but when he found out about April's alleged overdose, he immediately thought back to his conversation with Boston. John says as he's been sobering up in prison, his knowledge of this has started to weigh on him more heavily, and he felt compelled to come forward with this information. That's one thing I've been learning about when it comes to drugs. People are not themselves when they're using drugs, and typically when they sober up, they look back on their drug-influenced

actions with genuine shame. John also mentions that sometime after April's death, he got a hold of a phone from Boston, and this phone was April Jones' phone. If Kevin Maylor ended up with April's phone after she died, that would be big news. I wanted to try to confirm all of this information as best I could. John Evans was still in prison, but I spoke with two other individuals mentioned in the letter. They confirmed the particular time that they were all hanging out, but stated they were not with John and Kevin the entire time, and did not hear Kevin say anything about plans to kill April.

One of them did confirm that they saw a phone that was full of pictures of April and her family. They said that John was pretty secretive and they believe he knows more. I'm going to introduce him in the next episode, but I got to know a former Akone County Sheriff's Office investigator. Here's us talking about John Evans and the letter. Yeah, that that letter was was fascinating. You know, I wonder what prompted him to to finally write it. If it was his conscience, if there was something else, if it was, you know, the fact that some of these stories

are getting more attention, and it's just kind of being talked about more. When the letter says that he's clear-eyed since he's been away from drugs. Yeah. So maybe so. And I know him, John Evans. I know his whole family. I've arrest him for burgrie breaking in houses.

Maybe he's Always try to give people a benefit of the doubt. Maybe he's gonna have a turn around his life. I hope he does He's got some really good people in his family. He wasn't raised that way. You heard that saying before he wasn't raised that way He really wasn't raised that way. Yeah, it just something that way. It just something happened, drugs, I'm sure. Yeah, got into the wrong circles. Before we talk more about John Evans and April Jones, I want us to get to know Kevin Maylor, aka Boston a bit. I figured it might be a long shot,

but I wanted to try and speak with Kevin in prison. It's really important to me that I'm as fair as possible with these episodes and genuinely wanted to hear his side of this story. I was able to send him a message and tell him who I was. He was hesitant to speak with me and said he wanted to speak with his daughter about it first. Luckily for me, I've been really careful about treating suspects fairly in my work and giving all possible perspectives in order to be as fair as possible. It also helped that his daughter actually knew who I was and had watched my YouTube videos on the Murdoch's.

After messaging, back and forth with Kevin Meyler a bit. Hey, Kevin, how you doing, man? Kevin, have a high time, but I'm doing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm okay. You know what I mean? I really appreciate you being willing to speak with me. I spoke with Kevin many times, but you're about to hear some clips

from our very first phone call. Remember, I'm out and about in Wahala investigating. Kevin isn't able to schedule his calls from prison, so I would randomly get calls from him and have to stop what I'm doing or pull over on the side of the road to speak with him. I was recording on my phone on Speaker while sitting in a car next to traffic, so it's not the best audio quality, but I think it's important for you to hear from Kevin. I'll recap the conversation after these clips. We chat a bit and break the ice before I dive in

and ask about April. I don't bring up the John Evans letter as few people know about it, and I don't know if he knows it was written. I don't think my daughter real arises how serious this is. Yeah. Because she knows me, she knows.

I mean, I was basically a stay home dad. I basically raised her. I went to all the school functions. I taught her every book in the Bible. She knew by chance it was four years old. She could say every book in the Bible in order. You know what I mean? Yeah. And all the trouble I've been in for the past three years is all because I don't know if I'm pills. Yeah. And that was it for me, that just, but I mean, you know, this is my fourth time in person, I've never been written up. Not one right up, you know what I mean?

Never been arrested for a viral crime. So why am I gonna wait 50 some years to help people that don't make no sense? And when I agree to talk to you, I'm talking to you 100%. Yeah, so I'm in this, if I'm gonna talk to you, I'm talking to you 100%. Yeah. So I'm in this. If I'm going to talk to you both, I'm both one thing.

I'm going to open it up for everything. If we could start with April Jones, tell me about your relationship with April. Did you know her? Yes, I know her for a long time, about eight years. Oh, we were friends. We just broke together. The last time I saw was two days before the day come to body.

There's a lot of things I want being told. She was having an affair with the next door neighbor because that's the last place I've seen her. What happened was they had picked me up, gave me a ride. I heard the next door neighbor. I had left my phone in the truck, so I went to my phone that night. I went to the neighbor's house and

She finally came out of the woods She was scared to death and it was the first time I mean I told you I was known her eight nine years It was first time I was overseas a car and a gun Oh, especially for my husband There's then a lot of That history of Between them too. I don't know if he knew about this. Her and the neighbor, but it isn't the ones for a long time. And I'm not saying nothing bad about it because I like the girl who was a good part. I don't want anybody to say anything bad about it because she really wasn't good girl. She just wasn't at it.

Yeah. It's like the rest of us. Yeah. Do you know where she got the gun? No, I don't. I tried to take it away from her because she was a good girl. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. It was like the rest of us. Yeah. Do you know where she got the gun? No, I don't. I tried to take it away from her because she was high. She didn't even carry a gun. But she would not let me get it from her. I got you.

And did she explain why she had the gun? No. No. All she did, she came out of the woods. I talked to her for a few minutes, and she went right back into the woods, she was getting the dust, she kept thinking she heard her husband's truck coming. And when you say into the woods, what area of the woods did she? Maybe, what do you do, houses? Okay, like in between the workshop and the neighbor's house. Kevin says he was a good dad who lived a normal life before getting hooked on pills, which led him to the world of drugs. That yes, he's been in prison four times for drug charges,

but has never been written up while in prison. That he's not some violent serial killer like so many people have been making him out to be. He went on to explain he had known April around 10 years when she died, that they were friends and did drugs together on occasion. The last time he saw her was two days before they found her body. April and her neighbor Tom had picked Kevin up and when they did he left his phone in their truck. He says later that day he got a ride over to Tom's to look for the phone and April came out of the woods holding a gun. It was the first time Kevin had ever seen her with one. He says she was terrified about something. He mentions that she was having an affair with the neighbor Tom.

He says the last thing he saw her do was walk into the woods between Tom's house and her workshop. I spoke with Kevin Maylor many many times and we'll touch on those conversations in future episodes but at this point I was hearing a lot of things from a lot of people. There was one person I really needed to speak with though, John Evans. I thought of myself maybe I could get a hold of John Evans in prison, like I did Kevin, and speak with him. Maybe John was the key to finally solving this case and bringing April's family answers and closure.

But then I got a phone call from a source that would leave me absolutely shocked. Hey, I hope I'm not bothering you. No, you're good. That's what I'm telling you. OK, so you remember you was asking about John Evans? Yeah. He's dead. Next on Mountain Mystery, I'd

gotten to know the two lead investigators for the Aconic County Sheriff's Office. Hey man. Hey man, that's true. Yes, drug overdosing prison. Do you think there's any chance it has anything to do with the letter? I think it's got me looked at.

It could be a coincidence, but yeah. The question is, is everybody in this case died? Faith went to the bathroom. She heard two men beating these shnaught out of a female in the back room. The next day, they found April's own dead. After my life, everybody still get everything else from me. I had nothing, and you still look everything from me. Eric here, I want to cap off every podcast reminding you not to form strong opinions. There is so much more in this story to be told.

If you enjoyed this episode, there will be a condensed video version with interview footage, footage of Wahala, the workshop, April and her family, published on my YouTube channel. Depending on when you are listening to this, it may be a few weeks before that is released, but in the meantime, I've got videos on other cases that I think you will really enjoy.

I'd be honored if you checked it out. Simply go to youtube.com slash Eric Allen videos or search Eric Allen on YouTube and my channel will show up. That's ERICALAN. See y'all in the next one. you