Murder With My Husband - 111. Kara Kopetsky and Jessica Runions

Episode Date: May 9, 2022

On this episode of MWMH, Payton and Garrett discuss the murder of Kara Kopestsky and Jessica Runions, 10 years a part. LIVE ONLINE SHOW TICKETS HERE! https://www.moment.co/murderwithmyhusband Case Sources: Disappeared S2 E13 https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/yust-trial/case-details https://www.cbsnews.com/news/missouri-man-kylr-yust-charged-in-deaths-of-two-women-kara-kopetsky-and-jessica-runions-who-vanished-a-decade-apart/ https://www.kmbc.com/article/kylr-yust-found-guilty-in-deaths-of-kara-kopetsky-jessica-runions/36124218# https://people.com/crime/kylr-yust-killed-2-women-spurned-him-10-years-apart/ https://www.insideedition.com/missouri-man-convicted-of-killing-jessica-runions-and-kara-kopetsky-woman-and-teen-slain-9-years https://www.kmbc.com/article/the-trial-of-kylr-yust-judge-sentences-convicted-murderer-to-15-years-for-death-of-kara-kopetsky-life-for-jessica-runions/36649899 https://www.kmbc.com/article/the-trial-of-kylr-yust-judge-sentences-convicted-murderer-to-15-years-for-death-of-kara-kopetsky-life-for-jessica-runions/36649899 Links: https://linktr.ee/murderwithmyhusband  Ads: Betterhelp: www.betterhelp.com/husband Prose: www.prose.com/mwmh  Audible: www.audible.com/MWMH or text MWMG to 500-500 Helix: www.helixsleep.com/mwmh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Yes, you energy. Energy for everything. Captain Banner now to learn more. Hey everybody, welcome back to our podcast. This is Murder with My Husband. I'm Peyton Morland. And I'm Garrett Morland. And he's the husband.

I'm the husband. Dang, we had so much fun at CrimeCon this last week. Thank you to everyone who came. Thank you to everyone that we got to talk to. It was so fun. We love all of you so much. And I just, I can't wait for next year. Just a reminder, if you're listening on Apple or Spotify,

there will be like a follow button where you can follow us. Apple just recently introduced it. So please follow us. It might be a subscribe button still if you haven't updated it. But please follow us. It helps us a ton. All right, let's jump into your 10 seconds.

Well, I'm feeling a lot better. My voice is back, I'm feeling good. Garrett had a really rough couple weeks. It was pretty crazy, but I'm feeling good. Jaws feeling a lot better. No more food poisoning. Food poisoning's crazy because you get it and you get scared, like I'm scared to eat.

Like I want to eat so much, but then I go smart and I'm like, what if it's bad? Like Like I wanna eat so much, but then I go smart and I'm like, what if it's bad? Like is that cooked? Is that chicken does not look cooked to me? But it's weird because all you to steak, I mean, not rare, but I like, you know, medium, medium rare. But as soon as like chickens just looks anything,

like it's close to not being done, oh my gosh. Even if you're the one that cooked it, even if it's so good to eat.'re the I burn the heck out of my chicken when we cook it because I don't even want to take the chances. Other than that, I'm feeling good. Tomorrow morning, I'm going golfing. What? Yeah, I'm going golfing the morning.

I just found out like right before we came down here. Maybe I'll just research it in the case or something. I'm just doing nine holes, so I won't take too long. And then... Not with the way you golf. I know, it's gonna take like 12 minutes. I'll see you at 9 p.m. I'm gonna be sinking every single one.

No, it's actually the first time I'm golfing this season, so it's gonna be bad. Other than that, Peyton was driving by our sprinklers and apparently a bunch of... Yep. Not working, so I gotta figure that out. We're back to the lawn care. by our sprinklers and apparently a bunch of not working. So I gotta figure that out. We're back to the lawn care. Back to the lawn care. Good old story.

Hey, that's kind of crazy, like a year, a year. It feels like I haven't talked about lawn in forever because it's been snowing. Well, actually, when we were in CrimeCon, we realized that we passed our two year mark from our first episode. I know. Our two year mark was April,, 25th or something like that.

Take yourself back to that first episode, and that wasn't the first episode we recorded. Yeah. Because we recorded one before the one that's posted now. But take yourself back to sitting down in that basement. We had our little iPhone headphones. We were talking in. It was so awkward. I know, it was so awkward.

We had to do so many takes because we just didn't even know it to save me remember. We even know we were talking in, it was so awkward. I know, we're so awkward. We had to do so many takes because we just didn't even know what to say. We know we were doing. Oh my gosh, you now look at us. It's so weird. Captains of the ship just cruising along. Just coming down here, recording. It really is so cool though, to see that like two years has passed, we're still here. This community has grown. And I love it more than ever. Yeah, it's actually pretty crazy. Feels like a dream life. Anyways, those are my 10 seconds. Thanks everyone for wishing me well and feeling a lot better. So let's get into it. Okay, well, RK sources for this week's episode are kshb.com cbsnews.com.

A disappeared episode season two episode 13 KMBC dot com people dot com inside addition dot com. Okay, so our case this week is actually about two different victims who were killed 10 years apart by the same person. And every time we see this happen, it begs the question, did police or prosecution really need the second victim to finally arrest the murderer? Or could the second murder have been prevented completely? So let's get into the story and find out. The episode this week begins in Belton, Missouri, and Belton actually sits four miles from the Missouri Kansas border in northwest Cass County. And I'm not sure if this is still accurate,

but it's actually rumored that there is a post office in Belton that has been in operation since 1872. And Harry S. Truman, the 22nd president of the United States is from Belton as well. So just a little fun tidbits from Belton. The date is May 4th, 2007. It's 7am, and the school day is starting for every high schooler at Belton High School home of the pirates.

But in particular, one pirate, 17-year-old junior Kara Kepetski is also attending school. Her mother Ronda is up while Kara is getting ready and offers her actually a ride that morning to school. But it's May 4th and the school year is winding down. It's almost summer and it's beautiful outside and so Kara decides that she's just going to walk this day. Now I do have to say her mother thinks that it's not only the weather that persuades Kara to walk but also because she wanted to sneak a cigarette on her way to school. Now, Ronda was completely aware that Cara smoked. She wasn't happy about it, but after throwing away the first two

or three packages of Cara's cigarettes that she found, she realized that it didn't really matter what she said or did. Cara was still going to keep buying them, so she made her choice. Ronda decided that this was one of those things as a parent that she had to pick and choose. And so she gave up on the cigarette battle before this day because they had other things that they were kind of fighting with Kara about during this time. And I don't know about Garrett, but when I grew up like in elementary school, I really remember cigarettes being a thing that adults talked about that kids snuck. But by the time I got to high school I don't feel like they were as popular or a thing that kids did anymore, but in elementary school it felt like

Everyone smoked that was cool. Yeah, you know that's true because I I feel like it was probably the same. I mean you like watch a grease right and they're all smoking in high school But then you got to high school and you're like oh really nobody smoking they have. They have your few, but like it wasn't as popular as they may seem. It wasn't like the movie grease. Right. So like I said, it wasn't only the cigarettes in Cara's case. Cara and her parents were going through a rough patch during this time in her junior year.

Cara had kind of been skipping school recently, hanging out with some people that her parents thought were bad influences. And these were the tougher fights that were happening at home. But it wasn't always this way. Cara was the oldest of two children, and even from a child she had been very bubbly, outgoing, and loud. According to her mother, she was strong-willed, outspoken, and extremely loyal to her friends and family. And as she got older, Cara's loyalty grew stronger, and she wasn't afraid to share her opinion, even if others disagreed. She was always true to herself and her thoughts.

But as she got closer to the time of our episode, it had just been rough between Kara and her mom. Her stepfather Jim was also at home and reassured Ronda that Kara's behavior was just normal for teenagers. That teenage rebellion is just a part of life and it's something that everyone goes through. But as the year was closing, things had gotten a little better. And Jim remembers Cara talking about her future, what she wanted to do after she graduated

next year, and she was pretty set on going to college and nearby one. And this gave them hope that this rougher version of Cara was not a final thing and she still had dreams and aspirations and was really turning it around. So that day in May 2007, about an hour after walking to school, Cara actually called her mother Ronda and told her that she forgot one of her school books back at home. She asked her mom if maybe she could bring it

to her for her class and Ronda agrees. And then Cara also sneaks in that there was one more thing she needed asked her mom if maybe she could bring it to her for her class. And Ronda agrees. And then Cara also sneaks in that there was one more thing she needed from her mom. She also forgot to wash her work uniform. And she had worked that day after school around 4 p.m. So she needed the uniform washed before then. So Cara actually works at the local Popeyes in Belton. So before leaving for her own job, Rhonda washes the uniform and then takes the textbook to Belton High School for Kara, you know, just taking care of her daughter doing mother things. Rhonda just dropped the textbook off at the

front office for Kara. She didn't actually hand it to her in person. So Kara's school day and Rhonda's work day chugs on and then Jim arrives home from work after working in early shift that day. This would put him getting home around the same time that Kara would be arriving home from school as well and then getting ready to go to work. But around 3 p.m., Kara is still not home and this is definitely strange for her on a work day. Jim decides to call his stepdaughter and see where she is. Why isn't she home yet? But Kara never answers Jim's call.

A little while later, as Jim is at home anticipating Kara, Rhonda also gets home from work and is confused to hear that Kara still hasn't come home and isn't answering her phone. Even if something had happened, plans had changed. They both just know that Kara would at least text them from her phone and let them know. You said she usually walks home, correct? happened, plans had changed. They both just know that Kara would at least text them from her phone and let them know. And you said she usually walks home correct? How far away was her house from the school?

So actually, it didn't say in any of the sources and I'm not sure if they ever publicly released their address, but I'm assuming it's not very far because her mom said that she had walked to school and home often. Okay. So Jim wonders if maybe Kara got in trouble for texting on her cell phone at school and so it got taken away. And maybe that's why she's not answering. So he decides to head to the high school campus and see if maybe Cara is still there. But it's a Friday afternoon and basically every single student has ditched out for the weekend as fast as possible. So no one's there. After discovering that Kara isn't on campus,

Jim and Rhonda grow worried. It's almost 4 p.m. now, and Kara should be heading to work. But she still hasn't even come home and picked up her clean work uniform that she had gone out of her way to call Rhonda about earlier that day. Jim decides to just drive to Popeye's anyway and see if Kara is somehow there.

Maybe she'd just figured out a different uniform and gotten a ride with someone else. But when Jim shows up to Popeye's, Cara's manager asks him, Hey, do you know where Cara is? Jim is like, that's exactly what I'm here to ask you. Her manager explains that she still isn't there and they really need her for the shift. Jim decides to wait around, but by 4.20, Cara has still not showed up for her 4 o' the shift. Jim decides to wait around, but by 420, Kara has still not showed up for her 4 o'clock shift. He heads home and talks

to Ronda. They were both just so confused, not only did Kara never miss work, no matter what was going on. She also really loved her job. She loved shopping and going out to eat, which is why she even got the job in the first place. So she

would have the money to do the things she enjoyed. So they decide to the money to do the things she enjoyed. So they decided to call local family to help look for Cara. This is when I feel like I would start to get worried. Like, okay, she's not home, she's not at work. What in the world are going on? Is it answering her phone?

Yeah, that's when I think I would start getting a little nervous. Right. And I think her parents are like, who do you turn to at this point? You're just waiting to find Cara before you have no other option than the cops.

So Cara's family began driving around town, tracing her route from home to school, checking the local skate parks. They talked to kids, but no one had seen her. While all this is happening, Rhonda actually pulls up Cara's cell phone bill and begins calling the numbers that she was in contact with frequently,

which is so smart. But after calling almost every single number, Rhonda still has no idea where Kara is, or when she was last seen or heard from. Around 5 p.m. that day, just an hour after Kara was supposed to report to work, her parents decide to call the Belton Police Department and report her missing. An officer from the Belton PD responds to the call and comes out to the house to take down a report. But after learning about some of Cara's teenage rebellion, Rhonda and Jim feel like police aren't taking them very seriously. If they had known that talking about some of Cara's past honestly would lead to this,

they would have just left it out. But they wanted to be honest and they trusted the police. Cara's parents had told them that back on Cara's 16th birthday, they had actually grounded her for skipping school. Cara did not respond well and told Ronda and Jim that she didn't care for what they had to say. It was her birthday and she felt like they were being unfair. In a heated argument, Cara stormed out of the house to hang out with friends and didn't return until 7 a.m.

Oh, okay. But when she hadn't come back that night, Jim and Ronda had already called the police and reported her missing. So this isn't the first time they're calling police to report her missing. That would be hard. Right. So after remembering this last incident, police basically tell cars parents that, you know, she's probably just a teenage runaway. It happens all the time and we'll check back in again with you tomorrow. Jim and Rhonda are helpless. They promised police that Cara is not a runaway.

She had been struggling around the time of that first incident, but things had gotten better. Their relationships were getting better, and Cara had been maturing and thinking about her future towards the end of this junior year. Ronda even explains that Cara had actually broken off some of those friendships with that group of friends who had been about influence,

including breaking up with her abusive ex-boyfriend. In fact, just days earlier, they had taken Kara to file a restraining order against him. Her parents really believed that Kara was exiting her rebellious stage, and because of all that, Rhonda and Jim begged police to listen to them. Kara is missing, she's really missing, but again, police just leave. Nightfall comes, Kara does not come home. Rhonda and Jim stay up in the living room waiting for her.

By morning, May 5th, 2007, Kara has still not come home and Rhonda and Jim keep looking. Around 3 p.m., roughly 24 hours since they believe she went missing, they decide to call the police again and demand action. But during this follow up, Rhonda and Jim are told that there had actually been some movement in Carous case since they last spoke. What does that mean? That's exactly what they're like. What are you talking about? Police tell them someone else, one of Carous friends actually,

had come into the police station the day before and also reported Cara missing. Actually, almost around the same time that the officer was out at their home talking to them the day before. So two people reported Cara missing the day before around 5pm and nothing was done really until now. But police claimed the reason they didn't really know what to do was because the friend who came in claimed that she hadn't seen Cara since May 2nd 2007. That would be two days before May 4th when her parents had last seen her and actually reported her missing. Which, okay, I'm trying to wrap my mind around it, but the parents saw her on May 4th. Correct? She was sleeping there.

No one's lying. There was no quarry. No, no, they're like, no, we knew where she was. So police had to wonder if, okay, is this even the same person or the parents lying? The girl told police that Cara had not been at school the last two days, and that was the reason she was coming into recordings.

Okay, got it. But didn't the parents already talk to the school? Well, no, they haven't talked to the school yet. No, but remember that her mom went and dropped her textbook off at school the day she went missing. So her mom's like, why would she make me go there if she wasn't there? Okay.

And when police asks the friend, okay, well, if you haven't seen her in two days, like you claim, why didn't you just call Kar's parents? And the friend was like, well, if you haven't seen her in two days, like you claim, why didn't you just call Karra's parents and the friend was like, well, I'm kind of uncomfortable going to them, like, I don't know, they might be involved. And so, Oh my God, what she said. So this is why police hadn't called her parents back

because they are now confused. And it was at this moment that Ron and Jim realized the police hadn't told them because they're suspect number one. Like they think they're lying and they're suspect number one and their daughter's disappearance. No way. I'm already counting the parents out. Yes. I feel like there's no way they're suspects, at least according to Garrett. Right. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Have you ever found yourself at a crossroads unsure of which direction to take in life? We all face those moments of uncertainty where the right path seems elusive.

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That's nativedeo.com slash husband or use promo code husband at checkout native deo.com slash husband and use promo code husband. So Jim agrees to be questioned by police when all this happens and he takes a polygraph. But Jim can't help but fill that because he is car a stepfather. He's being paged as doing something awful to her because she's not his own blood, even though he raised her and loved her like a daughter. But Jim insists to police that he loves Kara, he had driven around looking for her stayed up all night and they reported her missing just one hour after she didn't show up. After a long and thorough interrogation, Jim is actually released from custody and told that he's

been cleared of any suspicion. So the police once they talk to him, they're like, okay, we, we believe you. We don't know what's going on with the school girl, but we believe you. And this is great, but police are losing time. This is precious valuable time. The first 48 hours in a missing persons investigation matters. So they begin canvassing the neighborhood and talking to as many people from school or car's life as they can find. They reach out to the media and hopes the publicity will generate new information,

but almost just as quick as they get the message out, something happens that would completely overshadow car's disappearance in the worst way possible. The same weekend that car went missing. The Greensburg Kansas tornado swept through the area and destroyed it all. Now, I don't know if you know the history about this tornado, but it leveled about 95% of Greensburg

killed 11 people in New York 63 and actually caused around $250 million in damages. So this was a big tornado, and not only did the tornado invade the area, it invaded the news, the media, and any coverage or effort that cars disappearance might have gotten is now gone. Two tragedies in the same weekend. It's all just so devastating. And I've actually thought about this before. Let's take 9-11 for example. It's just an overall day of tragedy for America. Everyone felt it, everyone hurt, but they were just the same amount of unrelated deaths,

sexual assaults, kidnappings, and other tragedies that day happening all over America like usual. Like, world, it just like it never stops, right? Right. So other people are hurting outside of the tragedy of 9-11, but it all got overshadowed because of 9-11, and I've thought about this before, just that weird parallel, like what you're saying, is that the world just keeps going on.

But while all the coverage and aftermath of the tornado was taking place, one investigative journalist still remembered cars' disappearance and tried to cover it when it was still really needed. His name was Russ, and he looked into the case 48 hours after Kara went missing and he decides to travel to Belford to talk to Kara's family and help share the story. He felt like there was enough quirks in it that maybe she might not be a runaway. When he arrived, Jim, her stepfather actually initially decided not to talk to him because he didn't know if it would be helpful in the case, but Russ persisted. He encouraged Jim to speak to him and reassured him that he wasn't a vulture.

He was just here to spread awareness, get her pictures in front of people, and share who she is and what's happened. Jim and Rhonda finally agree, and Russ learns upon further investigation that if Cara ran away, she left behind a lot of things that a teenager would miss. Her iPod, her phone charger, all of her clothes. Russ also feels like there's no significant trouble in the home outside of your average teenage fighting. There was no weird relationship between Kara and her mother or her stepfather Jim. And while all of this is happening, police are actually

back at Belton High School to try and figure out if anyone or anything saw Kara on May 4th. They need to make sure was she at school, was she not, if not, why did she ask her mom to bring the textbook? So police check the security footage at the school. Oh, thank goodness. I'm talking about. Yeah, and they try to track Kara through school, and it doesn't take them very long to find

Kara on the camera that day. Also, she was at school. She was at school and you can still watch this footage today and it will be played on our YouTube videos. We talk about it around 9 30 a.m. After asking her mother for the textbook Kara can be seen going into a bathroom a while later She comes out and stops and talks to a girl outside of the bathroom. After that conversation, Cara turns and walks out an outside door leaving the school before the school day was over around 9.29.30 a.m. and she never comes back. She's walks off. Walks off and they never see her on the cars again.

They don't see her getting 20 cars or anything like that. No, no footage in the parking lot that they can track. Okay. Which actually my high school didn't have footage in the parking lot either. Oh, really? Yeah. In the footage, Cara doesn't seem distressed or distraught. She doesn't, like, she's not being forced to leave.

So police decide that they really need to figure out who Cara talked to throughout that footage, especially the girl that Cara moutes sighted the bathroom right before leaving. Police start from the beginning and track down the students that Kara converses with on the footage and discover that she told many of them that she was ditching school and asked if any of them wanted to come. And all of them said no,

none of them could tell police where Kara was going to ditch though. She just never said, she just said, I'm leaving, do you wanna come? When police ask Kara was going to ditch though. She just never said, she just said, I'm leaving, do you want to come? When police ask Kara's parents, if maybe they know where she would go, they don't know for sure. But we're now starting to feel like maybe it had something to do with that dangerous ex-boyfriend that they had told them about earlier. Kara's ex-boyfriend, Kyler Yust, was the bad boy high school dropout type. Her parents hated him and he was actually the cause of a lot of the fights in the house.

But like they said, that relationship was over. Kara had moved on and was no longer interested as far as her parents knew. But Ronda reminds police again that just days before Kara disappeared, they helped her file in an ex-parte order of protection or a restraining order in Missouri against Kyler. Now according to court documents, it said that the order was filed because Cara claimed on April 28th, Kyler showed up to her workplace when she got off, kidnapped her, restrained her, choked her, and then threatened her with a knife. Well, did they not press charges?

No, but they are trying to get this restraining order. But because Kara went missing, the order was actually never served. She was supposed to be going to court soon to figure it out. But now she's missing. Oh my gosh. And I know what you're thinking.

Like, how is this dude not suspect number one? Seriously. How is this not the first information and everyone was talking about it? It was the first interview done. And I honestly can't tell you why. I don't know if it was the tornado. I don't know but somewhere along the way this got lost or maybe he was suspect number one But police couldn't do anything about it or the sources don't mention it. I don't know

But the police bring cars ex boyfriend at this point Kyler in for questioning and they give him a lie detector test He passes. What's up with the police department and just giving everyone lie detector test? I feel like it's not normal, right? I think it is, pretty normal. Okay, I could be wrong, but I do feel like in most cases, a lot like everyone that I read, it's like, oh, they were giving a lie detector test.

Okay, okay. And I don't know how I feel about that. I think it's still a thing. I feel like I don't really hear about it. I think it is still a thing. I mean, granted, I'm not in police departments very much and under arrest, but I feel like I don't hear about it very much. Well, here's the thing. I mean, like for instance, in Chris Watts case, I know that the him failing the lie detector test was basically the breaking point for him to confess because they were like, hey, you failed. So what are you going to say now?

So I can push people over the edge. Yeah. So maybe that's why it still use, I'm not sure, but either way, Kyler passes his. He tells police that the last time he'd spoke to Kara was May 3rd, the day before Kara was last seen. And he says that the day she went missing, he was at his aunt's nursing home during that time and was there the whole day. He says that he had actually had a miss call from Kara on May 4th around 11 a.m

So about an hour and a half after they saw her leave on cameras But she didn't answer when he tried to return the call So police decided to pull up Cara's phone records and they discovered that Kyler was lying According to her records Cara did call Kyler at 9.13 AM on May 4. Two hours earlier than he initially said. And he actually called her back at 9.20 AM. Cara literally walked out of the high school at 9.19 AM. Oh my gosh. So the light detector didn't work.

Right. Well, he just passed, which happens a lot. One minute before Kyler returned her call. So despite this information, police go to him, they're like, hey, you were lying about the call times, Kyler sticks to a story that the last time he did see her was the day before. And without enough evidence to hold him

in a possible alibi, police let Kyler go and they continue the investigation. Now, it's been roughly a week at this point and there's still no solid leads in the case. Police have interviewed Carlos friends, ex-boyfriend, schoolmates, family, basically everyone. Missing signs are posted everywhere and the community is still trying to rally

for the investigation. But nothing is really happening and this is really hard for Kara's family because it feels like every single time there might be a lead or anything like that, they just get brought right back to square one and nothing comes of it. So then on July 23rd, 2007, police bring Kyler in again to question him. It's now been over a month.

They are just unable to shake the feeling that he was somehow involved in car's disappearance. This time Kyler admits that he argued that day that he talked to involved in carous disappearance. This time, Kyler admits that he argued that day that he talked to her on May 3rd the night before she disappeared. Because, according to him, she had plans to hang out with another boy that upcoming weekend, and it pissed him off. And police are like, so you got on a fight with her, but he still demands that he wasn't involved, and he sticks to his story, he sticks to his alibi, that he did not see Kara on May 4th. And then days turn to weeks and police keep investigating, but no arrests are made in the search for Kara. It's been over a month now since Kara went missing and the investigation really has stalled. That is, until another girl

named Kelsey Smith, living just 15 miles away from Cara goes missing. Oh my God. She is the same age, the same height, the same weight. She went shopping to a target and never came home. I feel like they have a ton of cameras in target. So I hope something comes out of that. I feel like I have all these cameras in target. They do.

And because this was just a month after Car-O-Went like missing, Kelsey's case is now inevitably tied to Car's case. They're 15 miles away. That's same age. That's insane. And this fills to police like a possible new lead. I mean, how could the two disappearances not

be related? Well, today we are not going to dive into Kelsey's mind blowing case on this episode. But if you head over to Patreon right now, We are not going to dive into Kelsey's mind blowing case on this episode. But if you head over to Patreon right now, we have released a bonus episode that discusses Kelsey's case, the possible tie to Kara's case and everything in between. We haven't recorded that yet, so I don't even know what Payton's talking about. He still hasn't heard Kelsey's case, but you are going to want to hear Kelsey's case.

Unlike Kara, her disappearance is literally caught on camera. Someone kidnapping her out of the parking lot is caught on camera. Again, you can hear us cover Kelsey's story on our bonus Patreon episode this week. It is out right now as you're listening to this and how it ties to Cara's case. Now don't worry, if you can't get over to Patreon, you will still have the full story of Kara's case right here. But they do have an inevitable and strange tie that you might want to check out. So during all of this happening with Kelsey's missing person case, police are still conducting searches for Kara and the possible tie between the two cases, but time goes on, two years actually, and nothing ever surfaces. No leads, no forensic evidence, and no car. Leads and calls come in as tips and car is case,

but nothing much comes of it. Another year passes, and basically all hopes of finding her alive get smaller and smaller. The case continues to grow cold once again. But police have not stopped looking into Kyler, the ex-boyfriend during all of this. But the weird part to me is that during those initial days in the investigation, three years earlier, no one ever checked in with Kyler's alibi at the nursing home. What do you mean? Like literally no one just didn't even check his alibi. They just assumed, oh, he's clear. No one followed up. No one called to see if he was actually there.

They just assumed he had an alibi. And now it's three years later. And the new detectives that are looking into this case are like, it's been too long to try and figure out if his alibi is legit. There's no one to talk to. Can't believe it's been three years already. So police really have no idea if Kyler has an alibi or not,

and Karis case is cold. Either way, they are still following him, tracking him, and still interviewing friends of his from three years ago to present. And this is like, I mean, this is fast time of what we see when we cover these cases. But this is just Karis still missing. She's never been found.

And every once in a while the case gets reopened, they re-interview all of the friends they talked to, you know, Kyler suspect number one, but nothing ever comes of it. Time goes on, almost a decade. And there is no arrest in carous case. Nobody ever found her friends and family continue living with questions and devastation and no answers. Life continues on without her. It's almost like she was forgotten. But then on September 10, 2016, a mother named Jamie Runions contacts the Belton Police almost 10 years after Rhonda Beckford had. She calls to report her 21-year-old daughter, Jessica Runean's missing.

Jamie told police that she had tracked her down and believes her daughter was last seen two days earlier on September 8, 2016 at a house party in South Kansas City. The police are like, okay, and why do you think she's missing? She's 21. Is it that rare that she hasn't answered her phone for two days? Jamie's like, well, no, I hear you on that, but it's not really about that. She says Jessica was with a man,

and Jamie was worried about it. He gave off weird vibes, and she feels like, the whole thing was just weird based on everyone she talked to at the party. It worried her, because everyone at the party says that Jessica was last seen leaving the party with this guy. The dangerous man Jessica Ranians was last seen with Kyler.

Yes. Horse it's Kyler. 10 years later. Police have deja vu. Another girl missing and Kyler yes still the common denominator 10 years late. Same city. Same city.

Just hanging out in the same city. And it was the fact that Jessica had actually failed to show up to a doctor's appointment with her mom on September 9th that really threw Jamie her mom over the edge. Police begin working the case and trace down the people from the party. Now, you have to, you have to picture this.

Let me put this in perspective. For 10 years, police have been working this cold case of this high school teenager who disappeared from school and was never seen again. Yeah. And Kyler, yes, has been the suspect in the case. They can never confirm his alibi. They knew that she had taken out a restraining order on him, but nothing ever came of it every year that they tried to pull open

the case and do it. And now another girl is missing. And they're just talking to all of Kyler's friends again. It's got, he's got to be him. He's got to be a serial killer. Well, okay, someone cracks me and apparently you have to have killed three people to be a serial killer. We're only on victim two, but if it is him, who knows how many people he's killed in the

last ten years? Okay, you guys, we are getting into an ad. I know you guys have both heard the story about how Garrett and I were both paying separately for peacock, and then we used rocket money and realized how dumb we are and our so happy rocket money helped us stop doing that. Rocket money is a personal finance app that finds and cancels your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending and helps you lower your bills all in one place. And like Payton said, I'm always on it, checking things out, seeing what's going on, seeing

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Grandview, Missouri on September 8th at 11 p.m. They left in Jessica's black 2012 Chevrolet Equinox. so police have those Missouri plates. Witnesses from the party tell police that Kyler was drinking a lot and was acting extremely possessive of Jessica and aggressive towards people at the party. This is weird because Jessica was not Kyler's girlfriend. In fact, Kyler was a friend of Jessica's boyfriend, according to people.com. But for some reason, he was acting possessive, touchy over her that night. And party people noticed that Jessica and Kyler seem to be arguing because of this. She was like, get off me, leave me alone. And it was just turning into this whole thing.

Police put out an pb on Jessica's the next day they find it fire department respo missing car lit on fire what is going on right someone calls the police to confess to a crime. They identify themselves as Jessup Carter, Kyler Yusss' stepbrother.

Jessup tells police that Kyler had urgently called him that night that Jessica went missing. He needed to destroy a car, the car belonged to Jessica Rungans. Jessup was turning himself in today because Kyler had also confessed to killing Jessica. And after that, he didn't wanna be involved anymore. Wait, so we have Jessica now, we had Kara before. Right, and Kyler, who's enemy number one in both cases, his stepbrother has now come to police

to turn himself in for lighting Jessica's car on fire and saying, my stepbrother Kyler confessed to killing her. Allegedly Kyler told Jessup that he strangled Jessica, dragged her into a wooded area, then called him for help to dispose of the car. Afterwards, Jessup and Kyler drove back to Jessup's home in Edwards, Missouri. Okay, also if you're getting confused,

Jessup and Jessica do sound similar, but Jessup is the stepbrother, Jessica is the victim. And Jessup, the stepbrother, told police that if they go get Kyler now, he should still have burns on his hands and face from the attempt to light Jessica's car on fire. So before we move forward in the case, I want to back up a bit because I'm about to tell you something that's going to blow your mind This was not the first or second or even third time that someone had called authorities and told them that Kyler Yes, had admitted to killing somebody in fact from

2010 to 2016 which is the is the year that Jessica has now gone missing Seven different people had actually come forward to police and told them that Kyler admitted to killing Kara back in 2007. Seven times, and yet Kyler was still roaming free and according to his step brother, able to do it again. Oh, I'm so confused why I don't even know. So after police had stalled in cars investigation back in 2007, three years go by, remember? And no one did anything about it? No one don't said anything?

Well, like a police, we're just like, sorry, we can't do anything. Yeah. Okay. So it's 2010, it's been three years since car first went missing. And something happened on April 26th that sparked life back into the case.

Police interviewed a friend of Kyler's who claims that he was roommates with Kyler back in 2007 when Kara went missing. Now according to Cauchia.com, the roommate allegedly said that in 2009, he had been talking to Kyler about some relationship problems he was having. And Kyler brought up Kara.

He said that Kara didn't love him back in 2007 and it made him angry. Angry enough that he snapped and something bad had happened to her. But this is still just hearsay and not enough to charge him. So then again, a year later in 2011, police bring in one of Kyler's recent ex-girlfriends, and she tells them, once again, Kyler confessed to her that he choked out a past ex-girlfriend and placed her in the woods somewhere after killing her. She also tells police that Kyler had been very violent with her and when they dated he had choked her and threatened to kill her before as well.

Now, I just want to clarify the timeline here. Kara went missing in 2007. Police interviewed Kyler back then. In 2007, after learning that KARA had a restraining order against him for kidnapping, choking, and pulling a knife. It's now 2011, and they have two concrete testimonials about Kyler admitting to killing KARA and others through the grapevine, but nothing has happened. On June 5, 2012, a different witness reached out to police and told them that earlier that year, Kyler had admitted to picking up Kara from school the day she went missing.

Kyler said that they got into a physical altercation and he choked her to death. Allegedly, Kyler explained watching Kara take her last breath to this person and then placed her body in the woods. Now the third person. Three years go by without an arrest. And during this time, Kyler gets thrown in jail on an unrelated charge. While in jail, police working Karra's case question Kyler, again, about Karra's case. So like, oh, we already have him in custody,

so let's go request him. And they confront him about the inconsistencies with his original story, those cell phone records. They're like, we know you've already talked about this back in 2007, but we're going to confront you about it again. Why, why did you lie? Why are there's wrong? And he refused to answer any questions.

So he's like, I'm not talking to you guys. A year later on March 28, 2016, a cellmate of his during his time at the Oklahoma Correctional Facility contacted police and told them that back in 2015, after they questioned Kyler, he came back to the cell and asked his cellmate to help him come up with an alibi because he had strangled Kyler and he felt like police were closing in. By 2016, this makes seven total times

that Kyler has allegedly told different people that he killed Kyler and then those people came to police and then later that year his stepbrother comes in and says that he just killed. Jessica. Okay, so now I see what you were saying earlier about it could have been prevented. Maybe it could have been prevented. I understand that it's all hearsay and we've seen that before with cases like yeah, like they can't move forward because everything is hearsay There is no they haven't found cars body. There's no evidence then maybe there's nothing they can write But it's like if seven people come forward and say he's talking and also this guy has a big mouth. I can't

Can't stop telling people he's killed her. I can not believe that Jessica said dead. I thought, I thought she was gonna be a little. Well, assuming she's missing. Yes, well, her brother just said that she was dead. His step brother, yes, just said that she was dead. So now we're back, we're back to September 11th, 2016, at 9.36 AM, a search warrant was served at Jessup, step brothers, mobile home, and Kyler, yes, was arrested for burning Jessica's car, and he was taken into custody. Now, according to the police, Kyler yes was arrested for burning Jessica's car and he was taken into custody.

Now according to the police Kyler did have burns on his hands, his face and his arms at the time of his arrest. They also documented scratches on his face as well. But prosecution felt like they still didn't have enough forensic proof to arrest him for Jessica's disappearance and possible murder. The only solid evidence they had was for the car. And I get this. I mean, I don't get it,

but it's like I understand that the only solid proof is the car. And I do wanna say here that it's not police that always make this decision. Prosecution also decides. There's a lot that goes into it. Yeah, I just wanna clarify that. So the state decides to continue investigating the case

before trying Kyler for anyone's murder. They're like, we gotta find some evidence. And at this point, everyone involved is not only sure that Kyler was involved in Jessica's disappearance, but they also can't help but notice the glaring signs pointing back at Karah's 10 years earlier. Karah's family at this point has been waiting for justice for over a decade. And now the number one suspect is arrested for burning the car of another missing girl and still nothing can be done. Imagine how they feel. They've been waiting for this kid to get arrested for all of this time, feeling like he was the one.

This is such a difficult case to hear, cases, I guess. Right. A year later, on April 3rd, 2017, a mushroom hunter discovers human remains a mushroom hunter. A mushroom hunter. Okay. I mean, I know they exist. Okay. But he discovers human remains off the highway in Cass County and where the human remains were found was nine miles away from Belton High School.

The following day, a second set of much older remains was found just in the same area like yards away from the body. On April 5, 2017, the Kansas City Medical Examiner's office and Kansas City Crime Lab determines that the first set of remains was that of Jessica Runeans. 11 days later, on August 16, 2016, Kara's family gets the devastating call that they have been waiting 10 years to receive that the second set of remains belonged to her, Kara Kepetski,

who had been missing since 2007. So he literally killed both of them. Kyler, yes, was charged with the deaths of Jessica Runyon's and Kara Kepetski on October 5, 2017. As police built their case, they eventually arrested Jessup Carter, the stepbrother, for Arsene in July of 2018, with the promise that he would be their star witness at trial They felt like he was going to be the thing that closed this case because he helped he helped burn the car And it was more than just hearsay like the other

Many witnesses they were gonna call in they were obviously gonna call in those seven who came for it and said that he had Confessed to killing Kara, but this one was way more solid than those. I assume he got a deal as well. Yes, but on September 24, 2018, before trial even started, Jessup Carter was found dead in his cell after successfully taking his own life. Oh my gosh. Okay. On June 19, 2018, Kyler pled not guilty.

Again, we've talked about this. It's like their egos for some reason think I didn't do it. The evidence is I can't, I can't fathom that. Both girls were found within yards of each other. It's just so disrespectful. It's just another stat. It's just another thing to her. And I get, I mean, I understand why his lawyers are probably telling him pay him pay plead guilty, but to me, it's just like, okay, whatever.

And after this begins a whole string of delays from the defense for a multitude of reasons. And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But then finally in April of 2021, remember Jessica died in 2016. Trial. Literally last year. Right. Trial officially began as both Jessica and Carous

families gathered in the courtroom coming together to find justice. 10 years apart and both families are sitting in the courtroom. That's so sad. Carous family was devastated that it took another victim to find their daughter. And if more evidence had been found, or the prosecution had just decided to charge Kyler before 2016, could Jessica's murder have been avoided? It's the question everyone is asking. Kyler was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter for Karah's murder.

A manslaughter. Yes. How was this not first degree murder? Well, he was found guilty of second degree murder for Jessica's murder. And this was all after Kyler testified himself that his dead brother, Jessup Carter was actually the real killer in both cases. Oh, I'm because he's dead. That was his defense. Okay. And I can't tell you why it's man slaughter. That was up to the jury. The prosecution went for first degree murder and both and didn't get it in either. So I don't know what happened or what was said to make the jury decide to do manslaughter and second degree murder.

Rhonda Beckford though, Karra's mother does not think that voluntary manslaughter is justice for her daughter. Kyler Yust was sentenced to 15 years for Kara Kepetski and life in prison for Jessica Rungans. I can't believe only 15 years for Kara. That blows my mind. I don't know. He killed someone and hey, you get 15 years.

Right. Essentially, this will be 45 years in prison. Yeah. According to KMBC.com, the family said that it doesn't matter. It was always just about bringing the girls home, which they did. They said, quote, Cara and Jessica won. They're with us now, said Jim Beckford, Cara Kupetski's stepfather. Cara Kupetski was a teenager when she was taken from this earth. She was bright and bubbly and can make anybody laugh. She was just figuring life out when an ex-boyfriend couldn't take no for an answer.

He was mad that she wanted to hang out with another boy that weekend. Jessica Rungians wasn't even dating him when the same man who killed Kara killed her. She too was young and her family misses her and never ever wanted to live life without her. So today, let's remember Kara and Jessica for who they were, who they today, let's remember Kara and Jessica

for who they were, who they are, and keep their families and friends in our thoughts. And that is the story of Kara and Jessica. Oh, that's crazy. And the fact that it has just been so long, 10 years. So long. And then the trial got delayed and 2021. And it's so what a nightmare. It is so hard. It's a hard case because every single source is like,

why did it take 10 years when you had seven different people come in? But there was no physical proof. And it's like, I understand it. It's hard. I mean, I get that. It's risky to take him to trial and really, and risk him getting off.

Because if he gets off, double jeopardy, correct? He can't be tried again for her murder? Yes, and it's like if you all you have is hearsay, all you have is testimony, you have no forensic proof, you have no body, it's very risky to do's. And we have to understand that. But at the same time, it's so hard, and it happens all the time when you see

that it takes a whole nother victim to close the case. Yeah, I know. And it's just this guy, I just could not take no for an answer. It's that mentality. It's that if I can't have you, nobody can. Just kills people like who? I just won't understand just that mindset.

I just can't comprehend it. I'll never be able to comprehend it. We can't. It's just it's disgusting. It's gross and it's sad. And it's so sad for their families. And it's so sad for them. Okay, before we end, I want to remind you that there is a whole other victim attached to

this case, Kelsey Smith, and we just covered her case on our bonus Patreon episode that's available now. So if you want to listen to her case and figure out how it ties in to Jessica and Kara's case, go ahead and head over to patreon.com slash murder with my husband and you can listen to it right now. Thank you guys so much for listening. We love you so much. I hope you all have a really good day

and we will see you guys next week with another episode. I love it. I hate it. Goodbye. you