Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #5 - Why We Need To Speak Up About The Bowen Turner Case Now + A Shocking Similar Case Involving ‘Football Star'

Episode Date: June 22, 2023

True Sunlight co-hosts Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell revisit the Bowen Turner case as new details emerge from a victim’s family. After bringing much needed sunlight to the secret plea deal being struck between a lawyer-legislator and the prosecution, the family of Dallas Stoller went suddenly quiet. They said they were told to stay out of the media so Dallas’ case could be reopened. Also, we expose a sexual assault case involving a football star named David Bennett Galloway III that looks like it was handled a lot like Turner’s case. Call the elected officials Involved Second Circuit Solicitor’s Office [phone] (ask for David Miller or Bill Weeks) [e-mail]  State Senator Brad Hutto: Business Phone [phone] Business Phone [phone] Send message to Brad Hutto here: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/email.php?T=M&C=912499891 Want to look at the documents referenced in this episode and others? Consider joining our Luna Shark Premium Membership community to help us SHINE THE SUNLIGHT! CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3BdUtOE. Through lunasharkmedia.com, Premium Members will get access to searchable case files, written articles with documents, case photos, episode videos and exclusive live experiences with our hosts - all in one place.  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! Find us on social media: facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/ Instagram.com/murdaughmurderspod/ Twitter.com/mandymatney Twitter.com/elizfarrell youtube.com/c/MurdaughMurders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the creative team behind the Brutalist and starring Academy Award nominee Amanda Seifred in a career best performance, Searchlight Pictures presents The Testament of Anne Lee. With rave reviews from the Venice Film Festival, this bold and magnetic musical epic tells the story inspired by a true legend. Anne Lee, founder of the radical religious movement, The Shakers, The Testament of Anne Lee. Exclusive Toronto engagement January 16th in theaters everywhere January 23rd. I don't know how elected officials can live with themselves after treating victims and the public that they serve with such little respect. But after speaking with Dallas Stoller's father about what's happening in the Bowen-Turner case, I am more enraged and more inspired than ever to fight for change in our justice system. My name is Mandy Matney.

This is True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption previously known as the Murdoch Murders podcast. True Sunlight is written with journalist Liz Farrell and produced by David Moses. We want to start this episode by thanking all listeners of True Sunlight and Cup of Justice. Your support of our sponsors and our mission makes it possible for us to shine the sunlight every single week. We especially want to thank Luna Shark Premium members for your awesome financial support of our mission. As such, we want premium members to get the most out of their membership, and that's why we are announcing new features to lunasharkmedia.com, launching July 1st. Through lunasharkmedia.com, premium members will get access to searchable case files, written articles with documents, case photos, episode videos, and exclusive live experiences with our hosts, all in one place.

Plus, there is a lot of content that does not make it into the public feed. These extended interviews and episodes are only available for premium members. Learn more at lunashircmedia.com slash membership. If you want to help us keep the pressure on our public agencies and help us expand our coverage to other cases around the country, become a premium member today and help us stay in the sunlight. Visit lunasharkmedia.com slash membership. Every week, as we poll at the strings attached to the cases that we cover,

we find more rot, more corruption, and more egregious behavior done by a lot of the same players who we have been talking about all along. I was already fired up yesterday, as Liz and journalist Beth Braden were uncovering some shocking documents related to Judge Casey Manning, who, as you remember, suspiciously signed early release orders for certain prisoners who have powerful lawyer-lawmaker attorneys. But then, I spoke with Carl Stoller, Dallas Stoller's father, who reminded me not only how bad the justice system is right now,

but how important it is to keep exposing the truth and to keep fighting. He told me that it means the world to their family just to see y'all support them in their fight. And that means the world to me and makes this job so special and important. And again, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this meaningful work possible. So let's get into it. This week, reporter Katie Kamen of Live 5 News wrote a story that shouldn't shock any of us, given what we know about South Carolina's abysmal justice system. But somehow it did.

Cayman first reported Bill Weeks, who was the Second Circuit solicitor in charge of the prosecutor who agreed to give Bowen Turner the sweetheart deal of a lifetime, asked Dallas Stoller's family to stay quiet, stay out of the media, and basically lay off their backs. If they did that, they reportedly said that they would reopen Dallas Stoller's case. Now for a reminder, Bowen Turner allegedly raped three different teenage girls in three different South Carolina counties between 2018 and 2019. I'm going to quickly go over

some of the important details in this case because it's been so long and some of these events are honestly still shocking to read the second time. So six months before Dallas was allegedly raped. In April 2018, Bowen allegedly raped another teenage victim, who has chosen to remain anonymous. We don't have a lot of details about that case because Bowen was a juvenile and any charges he might have received would not be public information. Dallas and Bowen both attended Orangeburg Prep, a private school in the small town of Orangeburg, South Carolina, which is why they were both at the same party on October 7, 2018, in Bamberg County.

The full details of what happened are in episode 40, but according to her family, Dallas drank that night at the party, and all of a sudden, her friends noticed that she was missing. Another kid at the party searched the woods where he allegedly found Dallas passed out on the ground

with scratches and bruises everywhere, and Bowen standing over Dallas zipping up his pants. Like so many other sexual assault victims, Dallas faced resistance, from the system at nearly every turn, starting with a moment at the hospital when the sexual assault nurse examiner, also known as the same nurse, allegedly talked Dallas out of doing the sexual assault exam and warned her about how bad it would be for her. Thankfully, the next day,

she went to the hospital in Charleston, where she decided to have a sexual assault exam to collect DNA evidence in her case. They also took photos of Dallas's injuries from the assault. including her black and blue neck from being strangled. Dallas's family said that she ultimately decided to press charges because she was legitimately worried about Bowen. She believed that he was dangerous when he was drinking. She wanted him to get help. But unfortunately, Dallas was bullied and ostracized,

not only by high school students, but by adults in the Orangeburg Prep community. Even teachers bullied her, made fun of her, and stood up for Bowen. Adults posted photos on Snapchat and his support. Bowen was arrested in charge in Dallas's case in January 2019. He was released on a $10,000 bond, which, by the way, remember last episode

when we told you about the newspaper editor who was arrested and charged in the 80s for calling politicians thieves and his bond was $40,000. because the system. Well, less than six months after Bowen was charged in Dallas's rape in early June 2019, Bowen Turner allegedly raped his third victim, Chloe Bess, who was so brave to tell us her story last year. But one of the most egregious and disgusting parts of this case is what happened during the bond hearing in Chloe's case.

when Senator Brad Huddo, whose influence the Turner's purchased, told the court that Chloe allegedly said that she felt ashamed, and he went on to say the following. Well, guess what? You know, you just had sex on the ground like, boy, you don't leave the mood, and you get up and you feel the shame. You feel the threat. That's not late.

I have to bring this up, because when we are talking about elected officials who have their hands dirty and who have their hands dirty, and who have completely escaped accountability aside from public ridicule, we have to talk about Senator Brad Hutto. Hutto is one of the most powerful members of the state legislature

as the Democratic leader of the Senate. Whenever abortion is up for debate, Brad Hutto is usually in front of media cameras, acting like he truly cares about women in our rights. To our knowledge, Hutto has not apologized for what he said to Chloe Best. who was a teenage rape victim, by the way. I know, I know he's a defense attorney,

and defense attorneys have to go to battle for their clients. But how can this man pretend to be a champion of women's rights? He literally called himself that, while displaying such outdated and sexist views in court. And again, it seems like Hutto's role as a defense attorney contradicts his duty to serve the citizens of South Carolina. And here we are again, with another lawyer-legislator problem.

So shortly after that shocking hearing in Bess's case, another judge let Bowen Turner out on bond while his victims continued to be bullied and harassed. As years passed without any movement in the case, Dallas's mental health deteriorated. Dallas Stoller died from self-inflicted injuries on November 14, 2021. She was 21 years old.

Here is a clip from her open. Dallus Stoller will be remembered as an example of strength and bravery, a heart full of boundless generosity, forgiveness, and kindness to others. Her ability to see the good when others couldn't, and her resilience in times of adversity will be her legacy. Her light remains in each of us who have had the blessing to be in her presence during her short time on earth. As a reminder, after Dallas's death in April 2022, Bowen Turner, with help of the state senator attorney Brad Hutto, was given a sweetheart deal of just five years probation after pleading guilty to assaulting Chloe Bess. Even after, he violated his court order ankle monitor more than 60 times. The solicitor's office, specifically David Miller, dropped the charges in Dallas's case in a close. closed-door hearing with a judge who usually doesn't appear in Orangeburg County, claiming

that they didn't have enough evidence to go forward with the case because the primary witness was dead. Essentially, blaming Dallas's death for not getting justice in her case. You know, because prosecutors can't try murder cases because the victims are dead. Oh wait, they can. Anyway, after we published our episode last April, the story went by and Bowen Turner's name and face were in headlines all over the world. This week, I caught up with Dallas' dad, Carl Stoller, to talk about what has happened in Dallas's case over the past 14 months. What bothers him the most looking back is that he doesn't think that any of the players involved, including Senator Brad Hutto, Solicitor David Miller, and Judge Markley Dennis, ever actually cared about the victims in this.

this case and none of them have been held accountable, nor have they faced a public investigation to our knowledge. I don't think that we mattered, okay, I'm trying to figure out how to put it, I don't think we mattered. And I honestly think when the plea deal was concocted and put together, that they still thought that we, you know, the other victims mattered, okay? And I think they were very, very surprised, taken off guard, if you will, when my baby's Brett and Carly reached out to you. And after Dallas's, after that hearing where Boeing got this sweetheart deal and they reached out to you.

I think I'm pretty sure you were the first one they reached out to. And you broke it. I really think they grossly underestimated what links we were willing to go to to get to break this thing open. Does that make sense? Good old boys tend to grossly underestimate victims, women, and frankly, anyone who isn't a good old boy. How many times have we learned that in the past few years? In April 2022, at the end of our first episode exposing the Bowen-Turner case, We had our first call to action, and I want to play it because it still matters now.

Show support for the victims. Make noise. Make so much noise that it's hard for the good old boys to ignore. Contact state senator Brad Huddo's office. Call the Second Circuit Solicitor's office. Call Judge Markley Dennis's office. These men work for us, the people. We didn't know what our MMP Army was capable of at the time,

but we knew that we had the audience and we had to try. After speaking with Dallas's family members, Chloe Bess and their attorney Sarah Ford, we knew how horrific the situation was, and we knew that we not only needed to warn the world about Bowen Turner, who was out on probation at that time, but the people who allowed this enormous miscarriage of justice to happen needed to feel the weight of the world so they would never do it again.

And turns out, y'all are really good at being pesky when it matters. Y'all showed up. You flooded the solicitor's office phone lines and inboxes, asking questions and demanding answers. So much to the point that Solicitor Bill Weeks finally said, enough. Let's meet with the stallers and see what we can do. I asked Carl about that meeting and how it was. went down. How was it that this lead prosecutor managed to explain that the best thing for them

to do in hopes of getting justice for Dallas was essentially to shut up, stop making noise, and toned down that pesky pressure that is interrupting their work? I asked Carl how exactly Solicitor Weeks explain this. Well, basically that it would take the pressure from folks like yourself, the media off his back and causing a public, a further public outcry that would, not just locally, but nationally, getting phone calls and emails from across the country. And I think many cases, there were some of them overseas, you know, and that sort of thing, because he was, he said, I'm spending more time fielding calls and taking emails. about this than being able to work the case.

Well, you know, that's that to me, that's a little bit of bull right there because you weren't even working the case at that point. You said your deputy said it was dismissed and over with. So you should have had plenty of time to field all those calls and emails, et cetera, at that juncture. So, you know, and I think, and when I say the investigation, the case is not reopened, Mandy, but it's apparently what they call it a reopening of an investigation into it. So, but apparently if we could shut down everyone talking about it,

that would come to see, so to speak, that would give them a chance to work on it uninterrupted. This is so wrong, because a lot of the times, especially when the system tramples all over victims, The only power and the only currency that they have left is their story and their voice. It is cruel and heartless to take that power and momentum away from the victims and offer them nothing but empty promises in return. I don't know how it gets much worse than that. We'll be right back. So the Stoller family, desperate for justice, agreed to the deal,

and they stayed virtually silent and out of the media for a year. Then, about eight weeks ago, they met with Solicitor Bill Weeks for a highly anticipated update on the case. After meeting with him, Brett and I meeting and Sarah, the three of us meeting with him over a year ago, when he asked us to, you know, see if we would be willing to back down a little bit and get some of the media pressure off of them and allow them to work. we, you know, this is where we are to date, so to speak, that he has spoken or his office has

spoken with some of the folks that witnessed, so-called witness the event or the immediate aftermath, if you will, of the event have basically changed their stories. And I said stories, plural, so that wouldn't be exactly accurate because he's only been able to my understanding, get a hold of one. That kid, I call him the kid, that he's a young man. He's currently working with the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety and law enforcement capacity or he's about to go to the academy or whatever. And I think he was not too willing to back up his original story.

and a lot of some things changed. He produced a video, Mandy, that showed Dallas drinking alcohol fairly heavily during that party in this recent interview with Solicitor Week's office. And so I'll always like to say this. I mean, if we have, please forgive us to the general public. We never hid the fact that Dallas was under the influence of alcohol the night she was assaulted. So I thought that that was public record, and I'm just trying to make sure everybody understands that. That's not something hiding. So anyway, this young gentleman, he released this information, changed this story again.

And then the other guy, it was so-called a key witness, is supposed to be a candidate. that for law enforcement with Ritzland County Sheriff's Office, and they can't get in touch with him to see whether his story is sticking or not. So nobody can seem to find him, and I don't, to my knowledge, I don't think anybody's really connected with the Richland County Sheriff's Office. So that's kind of where we are with that. And basically, the biggest thing we got out of, It was what we already knew is that Dallas was intoxicated. Here is what is wrong with the system in a nutshell. Even with the weight of the world on them,

even after being made a fool in international media for their lack of concern for this case, they still seem to be finding excuses to not prosecute sexual assault cases. It deeply concerns me for the sexual assault cases, where the second solicitor's office is facing no pressure at all from the media. What happens with those victims? Two, if that is true about witnesses going into law enforcement and not wanting to cooperate in this case, then I'm really worried about our future in South Carolina.

I hope that doesn't mean that a young man has been pressured to change his story to save his career in law enforcement. And three, shame on me. them for emphasizing Dallas' intoxication that night, and shame on them for silencing Dallas' family and getting their hopes up for new information when all they apparently found was further proof of what they already knew that Dallas was heavily intoxicated when the assault happened. Why is it that that evidence works against her? Shouldn't that mean that she wasn't able to consent? Why are we always blaming victims?

And I think what he was getting at, Mandy, with that, was to say that, you know, hey, this is because she was so intoxicated, this is, this may be a tough hill to climb, you know, and the witnesses changing stories, etc. So, you know, I don't know if it's just an excuse or, because, you know, I have said in the past, and one of those things I said a year or so ago, as I said, you went in a conversation with him. I said, listen, just. show me some effort. You know, at least try. I mean, you dropped the ball four and a half years ago, and you guys did nothing. Basically, your deputy, for sure, David Miller, who is, you know, he's supposed to be a superstar, but he's nothing in my book.

But he, you know, nothing happened. And I guess when I made that plea to at least, you know, try to do something, maybe that's, maybe that's what they're doing right now. saying, hey, when they come back with nothing, they can just say, oh, well, much as a dollar we tried, you know. Everything was wrong about the plea deal struck between Hutto, the lawyer legislator, Miller, the solicitor who had been trying and trying to get a judge gig, and Judge Markley Dennis, the judge who was almost never in Orangeburg, known not to favor victims, and seemed to be

strategically placed on this case. Dennis seems to be another good old boy who has done. dodged all accountability and managed to find a soft place to land after facing public scrutiny in this case. He got a private attorney job at, wait for it, Maynard Nexon, the firm previously known as Nexon Pruitt that apparently merged with an Alabama firm recently. Nexon Pruitt comes up a lot in this podcast, particularly because one, its attached PR firm was hired by the Murdoch family. And two, one of Greg Parker's attorneys, Mark Moore, works for them.

So interesting that he landed softly at that firm. Anyway, when I was talking to Carl, he gave me a fresh reminder of just how wrong this plea deal was, how carefully orchestrated it was, all to the benefit of Bowen. the day of that hearing that was supposed to be, and I want to make sure that I remind everybody of this, that that was supposed to be a bond revocation hearing for Mr. Turner that turned into a plea deal hearing, more or less. And, of course, it doesn't take much to read between the lines

and know that that was all concocted well before the hearing was scheduled, okay. Right. I mean, you know, it is what it is, right? So, but yes, he, that plea deal was set up that day. And of course, David Miller was representing the state on behalf of Solicitor Weeks' office. And he was granted that, in Chloe Bess's case, because Dallas was deceased. earlier that day right before the hearing, right before we went to the hearing,

he's David Miller scheduled a Zoom call with us at Sarah Ford's office to let us know that he was dropping, the state was dropping Dallas's case. That was just hours before that hearing, okay? And so at the end of the day, Mandy, he, Chloe's case was a plet down to assault and battery first degree and he was sentenced under the YLA Youthful Offenders Act to six years, not to exceed six years, suspended to whatever length of, I think it was five years of probation, and he would not have to register as a sex offender as long as he did not violate the terms of his probation. while he was on probation.

He would also be, if he successfully completed his probation, he would also be eligible to have his record as plunged. And because the world was watching, Bowen Turner was finally held accountable in May 2021. But only because y'all were watching. Weeks after our first episode was published, Bowen, predictably, violated his probation and was charged with public disordinary.

He was sentenced to 10 to 14 months in prison and will have to register as a sex offender when he's released. He is currently at Kirkland Correctional Facility and could be released as early as next month. Attorney Sarah Ford, who is representing the victim's family, said she doesn't even know exactly when he will be released. Another huge problem in our system. Imagine having no idea when your role when you're really to be released. when your rapist will be released from prison and having almost no time to prepare for that. Bowen's arrest and probation violation

was a surprise to no one paying attention to the case. Of course, a kid who the system has coddled and favored and made excuses for over and over again didn't learn his lesson. He violated his bond conditions more than 60 times. And what did the system do in response to that? that, they rewarded him with the deal of a lifetime and why. The short answer is politics and a system that is so corrupted by people's individual ambitions that it is regarded as normal.

Judges in South Carolina are elected by state legislators like Brad Huddo. And when people have ambitions of becoming judges like David Miller, their actions might change when they come face to face with those who can make them judges. I mean, they all deny that their ambitions had anything to do with the outcome here. And they all deny that Hara's position as a legislator meant anything in terms of the outcome. But we have eyes and brains. So yes, this was a systemic failure. And blood was absolutely on Solicitor Bill Week's hands.

His office is the one that agreed to all of this. But I have to give it to him, at least he apologized to the Stoller family. Yes, yeah. He said he was, basically, he said he was sorry. He went through that spiel about the, and listen, in his defense, I think he was sincere. And I do think, I'm not sure that a lot of things didn't take place without his full knowledge, because, you know, it's a known fact, and I'm not saying anything that's not true.

I think it's a matter of record that his deputy, David Miller, has been pursuing a circuit court judgeship. And because of, you know, how the JMSC is set up, what better person to have on your side than Senator Brad Hutto to get a recommendation to the JMSC to give those slots to go before the legislature for election. That's pretty strong back. And so with that being said, I don't know that Solicester Weeks was fully. I don't think he was fully and had full knowledge of what was going on.

Now, that could be considered inexcusable, but, you know, I know they have a hell of a caseload and a lot going on. So, I mean, it's, you know, everything might not catch his eye, but I would think something like that would have. But nevertheless, I am trying to defend it somewhat, right? But I did mention in that meeting that if all that's true, and this was me speaking as a source maker, that if I had an employee, whether it be in my business or whatever,

that my right-hand guy represented me in that way. And this is exactly how I put it to him. I said, I don't care if the guy did a million things right for me, I believe I'd have to part company with him. Right. And he said to me, he got angry. So he got angry. When Carl asked, why didn't you do something about the guy who did this,

It was so wrong. He got angry when this grieving father asked him a simple question about accountability. This is the problem. He said, he put his hands on the table and said, Mr. Stoller, you suggested that I terminate my deputy solicitor because of this? And I said, he may have done a million things right in his career. but my Lord, everything you've endured in the, and he did say earlier in the conversation, let me catch that up a little bit, that he had received hate calls and threats and that type of thing from the general public.

I said if he brought that kind of storm down on me, and namely if I'm elected official, that this thing could certainly jeopardize my future as solicitor to the Second Indicial Circuit, I don't believe I'd, I think I'd make a statement that my constituents and I'd say, hey, buddy, I'm sorry, but you got to go. I know in my capacity of law enforcement working for the sheriff of Orangeburg County, if I represented him that way, I wouldn't have a badge in my pocket. Hands down, no matter how much good I'd done. So I know that's how it works on that end.

But anyway, he did. About that, yes, ma'am. To Carl, this is about something. much bigger than his daughter. If the solicitor's office reopened the case, it would send a clear message to anyone who thinks that they can buy their way out of accountability. It would make legislators, judges, and solicitor's offices worry a little bit more about victims and a little bit less about preserving the reputations and futures of defendants like Bowen Turner. That would have been extremely impactful and it would have met, and I don't want to

speak for the public, but I think it would have meant a lot to the public to say that the show that Mr. Weeks is very serious about this, you know, and saying, hey, we did make the mistake. We did make a mistake. My guy I trusted wholeheartedly and have time and time again have dropped the ball in a major way. And unfortunately, because of that, I've got to release him. And I think that would have gone well in his favor to have done something like that. that and would have spoken volumes to the public, I'd say, Mandy, to say something is actually

going to get done. We're going to try to correct this wrong, you know? The way up and out of this is judicial reform. Lawyer legislators need to be taken out of the mix altogether, and we are not the only ones who want this. State Representative Joe White, who we've talked about on this podcast before, gave one of the strongest calls to action we have heard yet about changing the way our judges are elected and changing who they might feel beholden to. He was brave enough to say what needed to be said, and then he was apparently punished for it. Suddenly, $300,000 that had been earmarked by the state legislator for Public Safety and Joe's district was gone. No longer in the budget. The money was there at conference committee, but then

it was gone. How did that happen? It's not clear. It's likely not a coincidence that House Speaker Merle Smith assigned representative Todd Rutherford, you know from the Drod Price case as one of the three representatives on that committee. Both Smith and Rutherford are reportedly upset with Joe White and Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster because the two are outspoken about judicial reform. As of Of right now, it seems like Newberry is the only county to have lost that money. Do you see how wrong that is? Are we going to keep letting that happen? Are we going to keep when it's clearly a judge who's friendly to lower your legislators

because he knows that's how he got his job. You know, that's, and I know that's a piece of the puzzle, but in my opinion, I'm figuring out it's a big piece of the puzzle. Because the rest doesn't exist or will be much smaller if you can get that piece big. I know there's a lot of pieces that need to be big. Maybe that's a huge piece. Right. It is.

We got the Senator, I'm sorry, I keep saying Senator, but Representative White from Newberry Bury County, great guy's fighter, he wants us and he's doing it as own peril. I don't, you know, he lost $300,000 in state funding. to his Newberry County law enforcement because, and you can't say it's any other way, Mandy, that that was in the budget. And then as soon as he presses for this judicial reform, guess what happened?

Yes, ma'am, it's a fact. And he mentioned he brought it up to that meeting last Thursday night. And I'm shocked. And any judge who has the gall, I know of two and I can't forgive me, I can't call their names but they went against lawyer legislators in a criminal case and then in a civil case. And guess what?

They are not judges anymore. So tell me that it doesn't exist. Those guys say and swear it has no impact, but we know all too well that it does. You have to be blind not to see it. It goes back to what you and I sitting here, what you've been fighting passionately for, others, that, you know, you've got to defeat David and Goliath, right? You've got to get that Goliath out there in the ring. Remember, Carl works in law enforcement.

He looks like and talks like a good old boy born and raised in South Carolina. He knows all of the players involved, including Brad Hutto, who walked past him and refused to look at him at an event. the other day. And Carl sees how wrong all of this is, and he wants others to see it too before they are in his shoes.

How many more people are going to fall? How many more Stephen Smith will there be, Dallas Stollars, Chloe Bess, her, just the name the ones I'm immediately familiar with. How much that's going to happen? You know,

and how many times am I, as a sheriff's deputy, am I going to go and see a victim of a crime who knows that I'm not going to be able to help them should they press charges on a case because the reality of it is that person I lock up on Friday night will beat me home before I get off that shift because they're going to already be out on bond. Right. And victim, and I've had them tell me this. We know you mean well, Mr. Stahler, but here's the deal.

if I push this that you won't be able to get to me quick enough. Okay? And they know that. That's the kind of thing. I get unique insight on it on all sides, right? Yeah. And I get the feeling I feel for these people.

I feel the frustration of law enforcement, not just because I'm involved in it. I feel the frustration of prosecutors that want something done differently. sheriffs across the state. Again, mainly victims, the press. I feel the pain, but unfortunately I don't have any answers. But I know that we do have the power to change it.

And as a law enforcement officer, someone who knows the system, Carl said that he still believes that there is a chance for justice in this case. And, you know, the reality of his mandate is, you know, likelihood now of getting a conviction for criminal sexual conduct is probably, for all intents of purpose, nil. However, there is still an opportunity to go after him for the same thing they did for on Chloe Bess's case for assault and battery morning. And, I mean, that's still, that's still in play.

And you've got the Dallas's written statement. you've got a recorded statement, you've got photos, you've got DNA evidence, you've got, and SLED is continuing to work to get more information as the solicitor's office asked for them to find it

and a very response to that need. And so it sounds to me like you got, you do have something to work with, right? And so why don't you just do it? Another year or two years or three years, because as long as I'm living, I'm in it for the long haul, you know. But I just don't think that it should be the way it is. It's just it shouldn't be drawn out like this.

And again, I don't want to ever take away from what happens to the people as a whole. We're just a, yes, we're a victim's family, but we're trying to be, and we're nobody, right, but we're trying to be the voice and bring it out. And if people want to, you know, I'm no preacher. I'm no big speech giver, et cetera. I'm not that person, but I'm, but if people are willing to listen to me, if that's what it takes to get everybody to wake up and make this change happen, I'm more than happy to be that guy because here's the deal.

I owe that to my child. I owe that to her. And I owe that to these other people, these other victims. I do, and I feel like I need to carry it that weight on my shoulder. I'm a big guy, so I think I can carry it. And I owe that to them, yes, ma'am. I ask Carl whether, looking back on everything now, he believed Solicitor Weeks just wanted people off of his back,

or he actually had intended to do something about this. That is an excellent question. I would like to think, here's how I'm going to answer that. I would like to think that he had the best of intentions. I have no doubt in my mind he feels badly for how things will handle. I have no doubt about that. But at the same time, I can't help but believe because he won't do anything with his deputy to write him in. because of what the investigation for over a year now has yielded things we already knew,

and I'm laughing about it because it's hilarious in a way. I really have to believe, too, maybe that part of it is to get the media and the people off of his back. You know? Right. I think he's got great. Honestly, I want to give the man credit. I think he does have, I think his heart's in the right place. I think he wants it.

I don't think he's impressed by any kind of pressure from Senator Hutter. I don't think that. His deputy is that guy, okay? Yeah. I think he just, he just would like for it to go away and then say, and then in the end, like I said earlier, say, Mr. Stoller, Brett, Sarah, man, I guess. it my best shot. You know, I gave a shot. We screwed up so much stuff in the beginning. It was so much, so hard to fix. We did irreparable damage to the case, no question. And there's just nowhere

we can go. There's no need to take this to the, to the Grand Jury in Bamberg County, or if it is, we got defeated, right? You know, the grand jury decided not to issue a true bill, you know, but Yeah. I think his, again, I think his heart's in the right place, but at the same time, who wants some, you know, who wants the dog nipping at your heels all the time too? You know, and you just want it. And when you're in his position, I would say,

not to make this, it doesn't make it right, man, but you just don't want that. You just want this thing to go away because you want to get real leg. You know, so you need to get this thing in the rear view mirror as quickly as you can. But the reality of it is, we don't think that, you know, honestly, I don't think that they're going to be able to do anything because the chain of evidence, the changing of the statements from these witnesses, videos that surf surfaced that weren't obviously gotten initially or even, or at the barely forgotten, but not consumed by the solicitor's office. have done a lot of damage. You know, there's probably could be,

Mandy, I dare say, does videos, it could be inculpatory evidence or exculpatory evidence for the defendant. Who knows, you know? But if you didn't research it, how are you ever going to know? So I asked point blank, do you want people to turn up the pressure again?

Oh, 100%. Yes, ma'am. I really think they should. And listen, Mandy, you can't have folks. I'm inspired by those folks because here are these folks that are elected officials. And hear me out, you can't help but be inspired by that if you think about it because they're risking everything. Okay. They're risking their careers, their futures.

It's already a patented representative white because of what I mentioned earlier about losing that funding for Newberry County law enforcement. Whether they say that's connected or not, but we all know, okay? I can't not support those folks by the only way I can support those folks is by talking to you and talking to every dadgum body that's willing to listen to me and not word out. So that and that goes for you and everybody else. We got folks that are throwing aside. They're standing up for their beliefs, if you will. they're doing the moral thing, okay? And they don't care.

You know, if it costs them their career is the way I take it from talking to those folks and listen to them. They're not just up there throwing a big fiery speech. They're sincere. And if it costs them everything, then they're going to go down fighting, right? And so how can I not support that? How can I not support that? And the way I don't support it is to keep my mouth shut. So I got to talk and fire it out there.

And I want everybody who's willing to listen to take a little time. I know everybody's busy. But again, I can't emphasize enough that it does not matter who you are, what your social standing is, how much money you have or don't have, who you know or who you don't know. I hope it never happens to anybody else. but that's a, that's not real, right? Evil will come to visit you at some point in time. And don't you want the best representation against evil that you can get?

That's my message. And that's what I'm saying. So I've got to support those folks. And again, I'm repeating it over and over, but people need to understand it. You can't, you got people to. this now that's jumping out there on that political scene and local and up in Columbia, just sticking it on out there and you got to support them and you got to do it by talking and you can't just be quiet about it. So I'm back in action, so to speak.

So here it is our true sunlight warriors. The Staller family is asking for your support and peskiness once again. We need y'all to do exactly what you did last year. In the description of this episode, we've included. contact information for both Bill Weeks and Brad Huddo and links to our social media pages to follow. Later this week we will be posting a call to action with numbers to call, emails to send, and sample language for what to say. We want you to be pesky and effective, but also civil. This is how we get it done. Remember you are speaking for the victims' families when you call, so be kind. We owe that to them.

we're not looking for recognition. We really are. I mean, yeah, we suffered tremendous loss like Ms. Smith did and others and the Murdoch situation. I mean, it's loss after loss after loss. But we really want to see, I really want to see that I really want people,

I want to make sure that people are waking up to it and they're going to say, listen, it is truly enough is enough. And we got to get something, something different's got to happen. We'll be right back. That brings us to retired South Carolina judge Casey Manning, and a case that bears some resemblance to how the Bowen-Turner case was handled.

You remember Judge Manning, right? The man who in his final year on the bench signed eight of the 27 sentence reduction orders that were issued between January 22 and mid-April 2023. That was 30% of the total sentence reduction orders that we know about, almost a full third. Manning, as it turns out, was the judge who had denied Bowen Turner Bond, the second time Bowen was arrested on rape charges, which we applaud him for doing, even though it was the obvious thing to do there. but we all know that the bar is really low in South Carolina, so until that changes, we will celebrate the victories where we can get them.

Proof of that low bar, actually, would be that nine months after Manning put Bowen Turner in the Department of Juvenile Justice, another judge was brought in, and, oh, look at that, the new judge granted Bowen home detention with an ankle monitor, which Bowen and his family totally disregard. and violated as if it meant nothing, because in South Carolina, it kind of means nothing. Anyway, we began taking a bigger look at who Casey Manning is after the Gerard Price case came to light in April. You'll remember that Gerard is the South Carolina prisoner whom Judge Manning released 15 years before Price's murder sentence was over. Manning's name had come up several times in our work on the Murdoch case,

because of his connection to Judge Carmen Mullen, the judge who had signed off on the Satterfield settlement, despite the multiple red flags that should have caused her to, I don't know, do her job. She is also the judge who all but demanded a Beaufort County Sheriff's deputy, arrest a man who had not committed any crime. Manning from what our sources tell us, protected Mullen by making it clear to anyone who wanted to cross her that it would be a mistake, which is a familiar threat of his apparently, and by cross her,

we mean hold her accountable for her actions. So the case that has some things in common with how Bowen Turner's was handled, let's talk about that because even though we already knew that Bowen's case was emblematic of the problems that exist in our justice system, this is further evidence of that. In November 2021, an 18-year-old man named David Bennett Galloway III was arrested for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl a month before that. The press at the time was referring to it as, quote, statutory rape. Now, Galloway, who is described as a football star in just about every story written about him, denied that this was a case of sexual assault.

Also, he has steadily maintained that, He, A, didn't know the girl was 13, B, had passed a lie detector test about not knowing she was 13, and C, had consensual sex with the girl, which, as you know, there is no such thing as consent when it comes to 13-year-olds having sex with people who are legally considered adults. Galloway hired Attorney Jim May. You might recognize that name as the attorney who is working with PMPED in the afterbe. math of Ehrlich's thefts. He is a formal federal prosecutor who left the U.S. Attorney's Office to join the prestigious Weish law firm shortly after the murders of Maggie and Paul. He was seen

at Elex murder trial and also at Russell Lafitte's trial. At the time, he was hired to represent Galloway. He was still fresh on the scene as a defense attorney. Nevertheless, Jim May was able to get a sweet plea deal for Galloway with the Fifth Circuit solicit. office, which is the same office of Byron Gibson, who is also behind Gerard Price's early release. The charges stemmed from a party that Galloway had attended at a relative's house where there were no adults but apparently plenty of alcohol. It was fear that Galloway met the 13-year-old girl. Galloway, according to news reports, was drinking. He offered alcohol to the girl, but she declined.

Galloway and the girl reportedly had a sexual encounter that evening, which was stopped by someone at the party. Later that night, the two reconnected and had intercourse. The incident was later reported to police by the girls' school. Shortly after his arrest in November, Galloway was released on a personal reconnaissance bond of $45,000. According to the state newspaper, Jim May had told the court that his client had taken a lie detector test and passed. it. Galaway has never been in trouble before, Jim told the court. He's a fantastic student. He is the child people say they wish they had. Around this time, a petition popped up online calling for justice for Galloway. According to the state newspaper, the petition said, quote,

Bennett is a good, honest man who would never do something wrong and who helped his community. And, quote, Bennett is an incredible athlete with gifts most people would dream of, and he is now being stripped of his dream playing football. The site called Galloway a victim of a corrupt justice system. Thankfully, only 18 people had signed the thing at the time of publication. Let me say this, and I hope you can hear the imaginary clapping between my words. It is illegal for an 18-year-old man to have sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old. In South Carolina, we have what's called the Romeo Clause, which accounts for teenagers having sex with each other, and it still makes it illegal for an 18-year-old to have sex with a 13-year-old.

Literally, the law that was written to protect 18-year-olds from the oopsie of I have a 14-year-old girlfriend is like, no son. 13 is too young for that. So, in January 2020, which is mere mom. months after Galloway was charged in a state where rape cases tend to stay on the docket for years and years. Judge Manning allowed him to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault for, quote, unlawfully touching the 13-year-old, and to the misdemeanor of being a minor in possession of alcohol. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail, which was suspended to 240 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution so the victim could pay for therapy.

Galloway had originally been charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, which is a felony unpunishable by up to 20 years in prison. For his part, he did take full responsibility for his actions in court. He apologized to the victim and to her family and never spoke about not knowing the girl's age. at least not in the courtroom, but his attorney did that for him. Galloway's attorney was quoted by the state newspaper saying, quote, this is a nightmare for everybody. There are no winners.

And he, quote, emphasized that the situation, quote, could happen to most teenagers. He said it was a case of kids being kids. According to the state newspaper at that time, an advocate for the victim told the court that the impact on her had been severe. Actually, here's what the paper wrote word for word, because doesn't this sound familiar? Quote, the advocate told the court that a friend of Galloways told people that he had sex with the victim. That led to the victim and her family being bullied throughout Chapin. The victim was forced to drop out of middle school classes and attend school virtually.

Quote, the bullying of the Chapin community has been horrendous, the advocate said. Oh, there's more. According to the newspaper, the victim was getting photos sent to her on Instagram, with people flashing the number 21 for Galloway's jersey number. Classmates were yelling at her in the halls of her school, and her close relatives were getting harassed as well, including one who lost their job over this. There's another familiar moment.

Check this out. Quote, the prosecutor. The prosecutor. quote, describe this sex as consensual, saying the victim never indicated she did not want to have sex. A 13-year-old. Think about the 13-year-olds in your life and then relisten to what I just read to you. And again, get your clapping hands back out for this one. A 13-year-old cannot legally consent to having sex with an 18-year-old, meaning it's incumbent

on the 18-year-old to prevent this from happening, even if the girl seems okay. with everything. But the male prosecutor called it consent because, well, she didn't say no to it. It's amazing, isn't it? Even when we have laws that are written specifically with these incidents in mind, we still have people, including prosecutors, who look at it like it's an equivocal thing. Buddy plays football, but he's a good student. When will people understand that good people can do bad things, and they still need to be held accountable for them. A few days after the state reported on the soft plea deal that Judge Manning handed out, the one Galloway and his family were essentially able to purchase by hiring an attorney of Jim May's caliber and with Jim May's connections.

The reporter followed up with a story about the investigation into the assault. As it turns out, a witness had told law enforcement that Galloway had known the victim was only 13 because he had asked her and her friends how old they were. The girl told him she was 13 and in eighth grade. The witness also said that Galloway had misled the girls, including the victim, about his own age, telling them he was only a high school sophomore, meaning around 15 years old.

In reality, he was an 18-year-old high school senior who was being recruited by major universities. Why would he lie about his age? Hmm. The document, the reporter wrote, raises questions about whether Galloway should have been allowed to plea to the lesser charge. You think? Shortly after these stories ran in the state, the newspaper ran another follow-up. This time featuring victims' advocates who seemed pretty well horrified by not only Jim May's comments,

but by the public's reaction to the story as well. One person commented on the story that 13-year-olds sometimes looked 21 years old and, quote, aren't so innocent. Another was the like, hmm, it happens. Galway's attorney Jim May had earlier said there were no winners in this situation, but it kind of seems like Galloway won, no? And not for nothing. Is there anything more disgusting than to hear a grown man brush off sex with a minor as something that could happen to anyone? Actually, turns out May was right, because it happened again. Three months after Judge Manning oversaw the soft plea deal for Sir Galloway III, Sir Galloway the Third, Sir Galloway the third was again accused of sexually assaulting a minor. This time it was a relative of a Newberry

County Sheriff's Office, and because of that, the Sheriff's Office turned the case over to SLED. Again, doesn't this sound familiar? A young man with enough money to hire an attorney with access to power gets a little flick on the wrist by our justice system for deviant behavior that if ignored can and will get worse. And then guess what? It got worse. And no one is in these decision-making seats seems to get held accountable for that. The press reported on this new case in June 2022. One month after that, SLED closed the case, noting that there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction.

So I guess that's an instance when the system wasn't being corrupt if we're going to use the logic of that petition writer. By the way, for Funsies, you should Google David Bennett Galloway the third's name. You might notice that the stories about his plea deal and the second accusation aren't at the top of the search results. What does this mean? Hard to say, but it sure does seem like Sir Galloway III followed some, perhaps professional advice, to AT about managing a negative reputation online and getting the positive stuff to rank higher in search results. Here's what one janky site that's been padding the results says about him in the preview.

quote, David Bennett Galloway is an integrity man. Yes, integrity man. Living up to the highest ethical and moral standards, he has been very active in his community. I mean, obviously he's been active in his community. A judge told him he had to be active in his community or he'd go to jail for 60 days. So there we are. Another case that shows just how absolutely unapologetic our justice system is about rewarding those who can afford to buy the their way out of it. The question we're constantly asking ourselves when it comes to the good old voice system is why does it continue to be this way? Why does so few people speak out against what is going on? And why do so many people just keep on keeping on with the confidence that no one is

going to call them out for it? They should all be shaking in their boots right now, but there's a pact, mostly an unspoken one, that if you speak up, you'll be sorry. You'll regret it. Oh, look at me quoting Judge Casey Manning. That's right, I was quoting him. Next week, we have a story to share with you about yet another case that was handled by Judge Manning that is working its way through the appellate court right now. It's a doozy, but it will give you the best look ever into South Carolina's crazy court system. And we say this, knowing that you tuned in Teluk Murdoch's trial for six weeks. Just like Carl's dollar said, enough is enough. There's one thing that always sticks out to me about Dallas's

story. She wanted Bowen to get the help he so clearly needed. Dallas, a compassionate and kind girl who was tortured by her own community for something she didn't do, wanted Bowen to be able to build a future for himself after he repaid his debt to society. So I want to be clear, No one is saying that people don't deserve second chances because they often do. We're saying that second chances should not come in the form of special treatment at the expense of everyone, but the perpetrator. We're saying that second chances should include accountability and that the same measures of justice should be accessible by everyone. Enough is enough. True Sunlight is created by me, Mandy Matney, co-hosted by journalist Liz Farrell, and produced by my husband, David Moses.

True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production. Right, Luna?