Murder With My Husband - 329. Ride or Die - The Murder of Shea Briar

Starting point is 00:00:00 All right, you guys, if you wear makeup at all, you definitely understand the struggle of when you go through your skincare, you put on your makeup product only for it to start pilling or separating or getting cakey. Honestly, it is such a pet peeve of mine and that is why I am so thankful for Jones Road beauty. Same. One of my favorite products from Jones Road is their miracle bomb. It is so easy, lightweight on the skin. I actually use it in place of foundation, although they did just drop a new foundation stick that pairs well with the miracle bomb. So most people can use the miracle bomb as like blush, nose, forehead, even on your lips. Again, I just kind of use it all over. And all of my, and all of my, my makeup that I put on top of it layers so well. It also sits well with my skin care. I so much appreciate it. Their miracle bomb also just like pairs well with a lot of their other products. Like the ingredients are very cohesive. So that's also beneficial because a lot of my other products I use are also Jones Road Beauty. And because the miracle bomb is basically one step, it's just so much

Starting point is 00:01:20 faster. It feels so much quicker than having to do the entire routine. Because Even if I'm doing like a no makeup makeup day, I will still just use the miracle bomb if I'm going to the lake. I will use a miracle bomb if I'm going out in the sun at the pool, even just sticking around at home, not really putting makeup on, but still want my skin to look perfect. Do you like it's like you're telling me a story? Like a case? I'm like, and then. And then modern day makeup that is clean, strategic and multifunctional for effortless routines. For a limited time, our listeners are getting a free full-size mascara on their first purchase when they use code MWMH at checkout.

Starting point is 00:02:06 So again, if you want to add on that free mascara, please use our code MWMH at checkout. Head to jonesroadbeautcom and use code MwMH at checkout. And then after your purchase, just let them know, you know, where you heard about them. please support our show and tell them that it was our show Murder with My Husband that sent you. You're listening to an Ono Media podcast. Hey everybody, welcome back to the podcast. This is Murder with My husband. I'm Peyton Morland.

Starting point is 00:02:36 And I'm Garrett Morland. And he's the husband. And I'm the husband. How's everyone doing? What do we got going on? Anything new? Any phone plans? If you're watching on Netflix and you're like, wait,

Starting point is 00:02:49 Garrett's phone definitely has some reflection. No, there's nothing there. Be honest. Okay, look, guys, the World Cup's going on. I love you guys, but the World Cup only happens every four years. So. I didn't know that. Who in the Olympics do they think they are?

Starting point is 00:03:09 Bigger. Like. Legit bigger. World Cup is the... You know what happens once a year? WNBA Championship. So anyways, I'm currently... The Spain and Belgium game is on right here.

Starting point is 00:03:24 It's almost over. We're recording right now. Spain just scored up two to one on Belgium. It'll be over any second. So I'm being locked in for this episode. But yes, if you're watching on Netflix, that's what's on my phone. Cheater. We have any announcements?

Starting point is 00:03:43 I don't think so. Bonus episodes. We've got a lot of bonus episodes come this month. So if you're a paid subscriber on Apple, Patreon, or Spotify, we'll be getting a lot of those. Or if you're a listener and you're like, oh my gosh, I need more content. I've finished it all. Double tap.

Starting point is 00:04:01 Yep, go and check those out. 10 seconds. Oh, I just want to say everyone to anyone who's come into the bagel shop, thank you for coming in. Thank you for saying hi. Thank you for supporting. I love talking to you guys. I love seeing you guys.

Starting point is 00:04:15 I love taking pictures with everyone. So keep coming in. Keep saying hi. Sometimes I'm not there. I'm sorry. I'm currently working like 18 million jobs. So I'm not always at the bagel shop. There's just a lot going on right now.

Starting point is 00:04:30 But I'm there a lot. But yeah, working on a lot of bagels, working on a lot of podcast stuff, working on a lot of baby stuff for those who don't know and didn't see. See that thing right there? That's our baby.

Starting point is 00:04:44 Oh, yeah. If you're watching on Netflix, you can definitely see or you can go to our Instagrams. But she's out. She's coming. Bellies out. Suns out bumps out. Suns out bumps out.

Starting point is 00:04:55 That's what I tell Garrett. Pain looks very cute. She's doing a very good job. I'm healing my burn. You can see it. Sometimes she's sick. Sometimes she's not. But she's doing amazing.

Starting point is 00:05:07 Sick yesterday. Yeah. Not today. Yeah. Better today. All right. Well, it's really hot outside, which we don't like. Sucks.

Starting point is 00:05:15 But that's okay. On that note, let's hop into this week's episode. disclaimer, I may be eating starburst during today's episodes. So if you hear a little bit of truss kidding. Please keep that in. Keep that in. That was so funny. Sorry.

Starting point is 00:05:32 Not sponsored by Starbursts. That was so funny. These are the only starbursts I eat, the sour ones. If you want to sponsor me Starburst, send me a bunch of these sourced starburst. I don't know, but there's definitely a lot of, I don't know. Who knows? You know, it's a conspiracy. These candy companies own so many candies.

Starting point is 00:05:51 Yeah. Or like how Pepsi Co owns everything. Yeah. I'm sure it's Pepsi. It owns these. Starburst? Wouldn't surprise me. They own a bunch of like the chips and the snacks.

Starting point is 00:06:00 Really? Yeah. They own like Doritos and everything, I'm pretty sure. The elite. All right. Let's hop into two this week's case. Our sources for this episode are the starpress.com, caselaw.

Starting point is 00:06:13 com, dot fine law. Dot com, primetimeer.com, crimeonline.com, Wayne.com. California news. yahoo.com, dailystandard.com, Mercer County Outlook.net, people.com, CBSNews, oxygen.com, law.orgia.com, bear freeman.com, and the independent.com. Ride or die, it's a phrase we use to describe those closest to us, the ones that we would do absolutely anything to protect. We would go to war for, take a bullet for, maybe even bury a body for. Typically, it means that you have a bond like no other. Usually, we don't mean those things literally. And I say usually

Starting point is 00:06:56 because that's not the case for everyone. For some people, loyalty goes beyond words. It's actionable. And it doesn't have boundaries when it comes to right or wrong. For some people, ride or die isn't just a figure of speech. It's a price they really are willing to pay for friendship. And sometimes that price is actually their future. So for today's case, I'm taking you guys to Indiana, to a quiet rural area called Portland. This is a farming town in Indiana of only about 6,300 people. Wow. Okay. It is here that Shea Breyer is just trying to live a quiet, respectable little life.

Starting point is 00:07:42 It's actually a far cry. from where Shea grew up. He was born just 25 miles away in DeSoto, Indiana, on March 9, 1988. But his family actually ended up moving to Kailua, Hawaii when he was around kindergarten. And so that is where he spent most of his childhood and basically where he would say he was raised.

Starting point is 00:08:07 And he was raised here in Hawaii with his mom, Tracy, and his stepdad. Now, growing up, Tracy, his mom, described Shea as, quote, a little rascal. But he was always polite and kind. He was a well-mannered little boy who went to church with his family and loved to play with G.I. Joes, which actually inspired his goals later in life. That was to join the military.

Starting point is 00:08:31 Shea graduated high school in Hawaii in 2006, not only with honors, but he was also the co-president of his class. And then, after graduating, he enlisted in the Navy. He graduated from training in 2008 and was stationed in Washington. Now there he became a master of arms before moving on to deal with dogs in the canine handling division of the military. Now afterwards, he was deployed to Italy for a while before being honorably discharged in 2012.

Starting point is 00:09:05 And at this point, she's kind of wondering what his next moves were. And when he thought about putting down roots, it wasn't Hawaii that came to mind, despite that being where he had lived basically his entire childhood. Shea had always summered with his grandparents back in Indiana. And it was something he remembered fondly. He felt Indiana was the place where he wanted to raise his kids one day. Not to mention, Shea kind of had those farmer instincts. He was the kind of guy who loved tractors, loved the idea of living off the land. He just wanted that quiet little life, a simple existence on a remote piece of land with little outside noise.

Starting point is 00:09:48 So Indiana just felt right. She moved to Portland, Indiana, close to his other family members, and ended up getting a job as a heavy equipment operator at the J. County landfill. And when he wasn't working there, he was helping out with a family member's farm. Now, everyone who knew Shea at this point in his life said he was easygoing, respectful, but also fun-loving. He enjoyed letting loose, having a good time. He was warm, funny, just an all-around good guy. So no one could make heads or tails of what happened one cold night in January of 2020. On the evening of January 11th, Shea stopped by his local church for a pasta dinner. The renewed connection he had with his faith was something that made. made him pretty well known around Portland.

Starting point is 00:10:42 He'd often be the first one to church events and the last one out, which was kind of what happened during this church dinner. As he said goodbye to some of his friends, he told them that he would probably beat them all to church to the next morning. They nodded, laughed it off, knowing it was probably true. But unfortunately, fate had other plans. About seven hours later, so around 150 a.m. a call is made to a 911 dispatcher.

Starting point is 00:11:13 The person on the other end of the line says they were driving on 125 west north, passing over a bridge when they saw someone on the side of the road. And the man appears to be injured. Again, this is at almost 2 a.m. And when the dispatcher asks, okay, well, do you need EMTs? Their response is, quote, You said he's injured and he's an ambulance? Yeah, he definitely needs an ambulance.

Starting point is 00:11:39 We are. So he's not, like, he's not coherent. He's not responding. I don't know if it's drugs. I don't know if he's injured. So an officer from the nearby Geneva Police Department is dispatched over to the scene. Now, this road is pitch black. It's windy and freezing outside.

Starting point is 00:12:02 It's been raining for the last several days in this area in Indiana. So the whole area is dealing with floods. ice, and as the officer pulls up onto this overpass in what truly looks like the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, he sees the guy that this 911 call was about. The man is lying on the side of the road, but there's no car in sight. So the first thing the officer's wondering is, how did this guy even get here? But when he gets out of the vehicle and approaches the man, he's a lot more questions than that. For starters, The man can't seem to get a word out.

Starting point is 00:12:42 The officer walks up. He's asking him, what's your name? What happened? How did you get here? What's wrong? And this guy's response is just groans and moans. So he's clearly in pain, but the officer can't even tell why. There are some blood drops on the concrete, but apparently the guy has also been kind of hitting

Starting point is 00:13:03 his head on the pavement to keep himself conscious. Okay. So as the cops stay with him waiting for medics to arrive, he reaches into this guy's wallet. He takes out his ID and that's when he confirms his identity. It is 31-year-old Shea Breyer who had been at that church dinner hours earlier. Now he doesn't have his phone with him, so the officer's not able to determine much more than this before EMTs arrive. But this area is so remote, it does take another 10 to 15 minutes. Honestly, it's kind of a miracle anyone even found Shea on this overpass to begin with and decided to call 911.

Starting point is 00:13:43 Eventually, the EMTs do get there, though, and they load Shea into the ambulance and rush him to the hospital. Now, based on his state, doctors believe he was out in the freezing cold, like at least outside, maybe not on the bridge, but outside for two hours before he had been discovered by the caller. And as for the mystery injury itself, doctors discover a gunshot wound in his back. But there's no exit wound. The bullet is still lodged inside of Shay's heart. Oh, in his heart. When he gets to the emergency room. Doctors rush to operate, but Shay doesn't survive the procedure.

Starting point is 00:14:28 And he dies right there on the operating table. Okay. Now, meanwhile, Shea's friends and family wake up the next morning and show up to church expecting to see Shea. And when his pastor pulls into the parking lot and realizes Shea's truck isn't there, she actually senses that something bad might have happened. Like I said, Shea is never late. He doesn't miss Sunday services. So, of course, word of Shay's absence actually moves quickly through the small area of Jay County. And once his gets back to like his grandmother and his aunt that he didn't show up to church, they start calling around to police stations and hospitals trying to track him down.

Starting point is 00:15:12 But no one gives them any information about Shea. And it's not until later that day that the police arrive at Sheave's house and break the news to his roommate. Okay. The roommate then has to be the bearer of bad news to Shea's family, telling them, I guess Shea was shot last night and actually died on the operating table at the hospital. Hey guys. We are jumping into an ad. Daisy's in her cute little costume, which means we're doing a.

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Starting point is 00:16:56 Let Rocket Money help you reach your. financial goals, join at rocketmoney.com slash husband. That's rocketmoney.com slash husband. Rocketmoney.com slash husband. Now, for Shea's friends and family, this is inconceivable. They cannot think of a single person who would intentionally do this to Shea. Police start the investigation. They speak to his coworkers. And none of them can think of anyone either. At first, It feels like police will have to throw every resource they have at this case. Yeah, and because of where he was shot in his back, they're like, well, it, a hundred percent sure, basically. It wasn't himself.

Starting point is 00:17:40 Yeah. But less than a day after his death, clues actually do start to surface in this investigation, as do a few people of interest. Now, there's one person that's pretty important to Shea that police think, will have some answers. And that is the mother of Shea's one-year-old daughter. So I hadn't mentioned yet that he has a daughter. He does. She's one. And her mother is 29-year-old Esther Jane Stephen. So let's talk about the mother of this, his child for a second. Esther is a local high school softball coach who also runs a daycare center out of a local church. Now, she started seeing Shea back in 2018, so two years before he was found on that bridge.

Starting point is 00:18:30 But the situation was pretty casual between the two of them. But that after just a few hookups, Esther gets pregnant with Shea's child. So it's not like they were seriously dating at the time. In fact, it wasn't until Shea called his mom and told her she was going to be a grandmother that his family even learned about Esther. Okay, yeah. her response was a baby you're having a baby i didn't even know you had a girlfriend and he's like i don't i don't have a girlfriend i don't exclusively dating wasn't even part of the conversation and that

Starting point is 00:19:04 that wasn't until after their daughter was born in january of 2019 that's when esther and shea thought okay you know we kind of got pregnant really early on didn't even know if we really would even be dating but maybe we should give it a shot we have a child together So they start seeing each other more seriously. And I guess within just a few weeks, Shea asked her to marry him. Not exactly because he was in love, but he was like, let's do it. Let's do the mom, dad, husband, wife thing for our little girl. Give her a stable home life.

Starting point is 00:19:41 This is something he himself feels like he had never had. Shea never really got to know his own father. And that stuck with him throughout life. so he wanted to make sure his own daughter didn't have the same experience. He wanted to be there. He wanted to see her grow up, be a good role model, and a consistent figure in her life. So he felt like marrying her mother was the right way to do all of that. But easier said than done.

Starting point is 00:20:06 Things didn't exactly work out. In September of 2019, just a few weeks before they were supposed to tie the knot, Esther actually calls it all off. Now, if Shea knew the reason why, he never shared it with his family. It might have been that the spark just wasn't there. Maybe she knew it didn't feel right. Maybe there was somebody else. But either way, Shea is actually heartbroken.

Starting point is 00:20:31 And it's not because he loved Esther necessarily, but because he loved his daughter. And he just really wanted this family life. He wanted to be part of her daily life. And now there was this giant piece of uncertainty. Would he get to stay in his daughter's life? Would Esther even allow him shared custody? It was seeming unlikely, especially because after she called things off and was like, yeah, let's not get married. Shea was seeing his daughter less and less.

Starting point is 00:21:03 So in November of 2019, Shea actually files a petition to try and establish paternity. Basically, he's like, I'm going to establish paternity so I can get more time with my daughter. Yeah, I know. Such a thing because you've got to go to court and then you have custody battles and blah, blah. It's just, yeah. And it's also at this point that he's hoping he could get his daughter's last name changed to his own. Because remember, when she was born, it's not like they were even dating. It wasn't, they didn't really try that until after.

Starting point is 00:21:35 So a lot of this had more just been Esther having the baby. So he's like, can I at least get her last name changed, established paternity? but that was easier said than done. Shea wasn't listed on his daughter's birth certificate. So because she didn't at the hospital, she didn't put him down. So this creates... Is that legal? I think yes, but I think you can also establish paternity and get it put on.

Starting point is 00:22:03 You would just have to legally go through the process of being like, I'm not on her birth certificate, but I want to be. So let's establish this and do it legally type thing. Okay. And so this creates a lot of problems for him in court. He had to hire a lawyer, jump through a lot of extra hoops. So knowing all of this, like when he gets shot in the back and the family's like, well, he's kind of had this little, this rocky situation. They think it's her?

Starting point is 00:22:30 Well, they just think they need to talk to her more because this is the only like somewhat. Somewhat lead, I guess. Not really? Yeah. Esther is someone they want to speak with. She's called down to the station that day, January 12th, to speak with the police. And when they ask her, okay, when did you last speak to Shea? She says, on January 6th, about a week ago, it was our daughter's first birthday.

Starting point is 00:22:55 But the police already know this isn't true. Because before this, they had gotten Shea's phone records. And the records show not only... No way, we're already lying. Did Esther call him the day before he died? she was the last person to ever call him hours before he was then found on that bridge. But this is pretty much all they get from Esther. So they know they have to keep digging.

Starting point is 00:23:24 They know she's lying. They know that they talked on the phone. It's just crazy because if she didn't lie and she told the truth. Yeah, we have a child together. They probably would have been like, oh, okay. But now because she lied, it becomes an entire situation. Well, it's also like your co-parenting. It's not that weird that you guys called on the phone.

Starting point is 00:23:45 It's crazy to lie about that stuff with, like, phone records and stuff these days. Like, they literally had the phone records before talking to her. Like, come on. I mean, it is a little weird that she's the last person he called just hours before being found. Oh, man, she lied about it. Yeah. So they're like, hey, we got to keep digging. But really, they don't because the case is pretty much cracking itself open.

Starting point is 00:24:08 That same day, someone walks into this. station to say, oh, I heard about this murder and I've got something that the police need to know about Esther, the mother of his child. Now, this woman who walks into the police station is named Christy Sibre. She's actually a former police officer who also used to umpire softball games on the side. So this is how she knows Esther pretty well because like I said, Esther is involved in the softball community. In fact, Christy and Esther are super close friends. They had been for years.

Starting point is 00:24:48 Christy trusted her well enough to send her two kids to Esther's daycare. And they kind of had the friendship where Esther would just pop over to the house unannounced, just to say hi or check in. All of this to say, Christy and Esther are really good friends. And Christy knows a lot about Esther's life. She knew about the custody battle and her relationship with Shea Breyer. And Esther told her things that she didn't tell everyone, which was why the second Christy heard about Shea's murder. She had a bad feeling. Esther was involved.

Starting point is 00:25:23 And being a former police officer, she willingly goes to the station to give police this information. And this is what she says. She tells them this unnerving story. A few days ago, this is all according to Christ. Christy. Esther called Christy and asked if she could help her out. She needed her to babysit that upcoming Saturday, January 11th, which was something Esther had never asked her to do before, but Christy's like, okay, she's obviously in a bind. Of course, I will watch her daughter. Then Saturday rolls around. This is the day, night, early morning of the murder. And Christy hasn't heard anything from Esther. So she has no

Starting point is 00:26:07 idea if this babysitting thing is still happening when she needs to be available. And then finally, around 10 p.m. at night, there's a knock on Christy's door. And it's Esther with the baby. Now, keep in mind, she hasn't heard a peep out of her all day. She's like, can you watch her on Saturday? Yes, sure. Never follows up with a time, never anything. And now she's standing at her friend's door at 10 p.m. on the night of this murder with the baby. And Esther hands her daughter over to Christy and says, I'm going out. She doesn't tell Christy where she's going. She doesn't say when she'll be back. She just leaves. Like she's very much being weird about the situation. Like Christy's like, okay. And she's like, I'm going out and then she leaves. And then around 1 a.m., Esther comes back

Starting point is 00:26:55 to pick up her daughter. Okay. And Christy's like, what is going? on. Like, where did you go? But she said Esther was just very cold and deflective, didn't share anything other than, quote, I can't tell you, but you'll probably hear about it in the paper in a few days. Oh my gosh. So then... That's insane. In two days, when she hears about Shea's murder, Christy's like, I have to go to police. Like, this is connected. I don't really know what happened. I just know this happened. But this is. But this. This isn't the only thing Christy's working off of here. She said Esther had been to her house a lot over the last few months complaining about Shea

Starting point is 00:27:39 and how she was terrified. He was going to take her daughter away from her. And oftentimes, the conversation would kind of like segue, kind of joking, but maybe not into different ways she could like get rid of Shea or like stop this problem from happening, how she wanted him out of her life. So she wouldn't have to deal with all of this. She wouldn't have to go to court. And Christy said at first these conversations just felt like one friend venting to another.

Starting point is 00:28:08 Christy herself had actually been divorced twice. She admitted I'd been there. Like I've probably said similar things about my exes in the heat of like a nasty divorce. So she didn't think much of it. But Esther had someone, I guess, who was aching her on a bit too much, according to Christy. Okay. Someone that had kind of been hanging out with Esther a lot lately. It's got to be another guy.

Starting point is 00:28:38 Well, and like this, this friend she had been hanging out with. It's a guy. Is it a guy? Set off. No. It's a girl. It's a girl. Set off alarm bells for Christy.

Starting point is 00:28:51 Like when Christy found out about this friendship and then like got more details from Esther, it's like when, you know, someone has a friend that you're, friends with and you're like, I don't like that person. Like, I don't think they're a good friend type thing. Okay. That is kind of the red flag. And it's Esther's 18-year-old friend

Starting point is 00:29:09 Shelby Heastened. Okay. I mean... Now, let me remind you, Esther is 29. Shelby is 18. How did they meet? Esther used to be Shelby's high school softball coach.

Starting point is 00:29:27 Okay, I'm trying to think about this. Is it weird? Yeah. But. Illegal? No. It's illegal. But also,

Starting point is 00:29:37 I feel like it happens a lot now where like there's 20 year olds that are friends with 30 year olds. Yeah. I mean, like, I don't know if it's that weird. There's people who, I don't think it's weird, I guess.

Starting point is 00:29:46 Are like friends with people 20 years older than them. Yeah. That I mean, I guess maybe an 18 year old hanging out with a 30 year old does seem like, well, you're just fresh out. But there's more to this story. And even this next part of the story makes it even seem more normal to me.

Starting point is 00:30:02 Okay, let's hear it. Because so she's her coach. But then when Shelby graduated high school, she becomes Esther's assistant coach at another school. So to me, that's not weird at all then. And like this happens all the time where there's young assistants who like just graduated or whatever. I don't think that's strange. That help coach at a school for an older coach. They're going to hang out all the time.

Starting point is 00:30:26 Like, you know, it's just more. this relationship crossover into toxic friendship territory, right? We're about to find out. So on top of that, Shelby also got a job working at Esther's daycare with her. So both jobs, they're working together. And Christy said over the last couple months, whenever Esther showed up at her house, Shelby was actually right there with her. Like Shelby becomes Esther's little 18-year-old tag along.

Starting point is 00:30:56 apparently the two did everything together lately. Like they were becoming inseparable. The age difference, a little weird. But Christy said she had a feeling more might have been going on between them. She tells police she felt pretty confident that they were a romantic couple. Okay, well, let's see. Now this is weird. Now is it getting weird.

Starting point is 00:31:21 Yes. Well, because like you were her coach. She's 18. You were coaching her. or when did this romance start? Yeah. Did it, oh, you graduate now just come spend all your time with me because we were already crossing boundaries beforehand?

Starting point is 00:31:33 And then she shoots her husband? No way. Oh my gosh. People are nuts. Like people, I've gotten to the point where people are nuts. They're nuts. They're nuts. People are insane.

Starting point is 00:31:48 They're insane. Christy tells police 18-year-old Shelby had 29-year-old Esther. or in her contacts under Bay, like B-A-E, which was like a more popular word. And there seemed to be real tension between Shea and Shelby. So the father of the child, the victim, Shay, also does not like 18-year-old. Shelby also thinks it's a red flag as well as Christy. So like the other people in Esther's life are like, why are you hanging out with an 18-year-old? why is she always around?

Starting point is 00:32:25 This seems like a red flag. Your relationship seems a little toxic. And so apparently even enemy number one, which is apparently Shay for trying to establish paternity of his daughter, is having beef with Shelby. Now, 18-year-old Shelby seemed, I'm only saying 18 not to keep reiterating, but to help you guys keep characters clear.

Starting point is 00:32:50 So Shelby seemed to hate Shea just as much as Esther did towards the end. So it's these two against him trying to get custody of his daughter. And Shea definitely noticed. Shelby acted very protective over Esther and her daughter. And it was because of Shelby's hatred and this closeness between her and Esther that Christy felt and is telling police now, maybe they were capable of doing something like this after all. They hated him. Like they had kind of fed off each other's toxicity.

Starting point is 00:33:26 It was bad. Like it was getting weird. It was getting bad. So now the police realize, okay, we've got to get Esther back in for questioning. And while we're at it, let's pick up Shelby Heastened too. Now this time, detectives tell Esther point blank. We know you were lying about the last time you spoke to Shea because we have his phone records. we can see that you called him on January 12th the morning he died around 12.2 a.m.

Starting point is 00:33:53 Could you imagine just getting called like... What do you think she said? No. Did she deny it? That's crazy. You can't deny it. It was a butt dial. Oh my gosh. Get out of here. Get out of here. Now, the police don't buy this for a second. So they keep applying pressure until eventually she gives in and says,

Starting point is 00:34:13 okay. Yeah, we talked that night. but it was super quick. And I swear, I didn't even see him in person that night. But again, police aren't buying it. They're like, Esther, you've got to tell the truth. Like, none of this is making sense. We know that you dropped her off, your daughter off at Christy's house. We know you weren't home.

Starting point is 00:34:30 We know you were out doing something. So little by little, they start getting more out of her. And she says, okay, have I thought about killing my ex before? Sure, but who doesn't? Have I thought my life would be better without him? Yeah. Did I joke about it with friends? Of course.

Starting point is 00:34:48 But when they tell her, joking about it with friends, okay, but he's actually dead. And we're in the process of questioning Shelby, who we think you have a relationship with maybe and might be involved in this. And they also say Shelby's also talking. Like she's only 18 years old. She's beginning to talk to us. She's not going to keep your secrets. And Esther starts to panic. Of course.

Starting point is 00:35:13 Who knows if Shelby was even. talking at this point. I know, but it's such a good negotiation tactic because... Especially with an 18 year old. Because you're like, you really think this young girl. Because here's a thing. Have you seen the movie fun with Dick and Jane? Nope. Okay. Okay. Anyways, a little off topic. So I'm going to ignore that for a second. But what's just paint a scenario? scenario real quick. Okay. Peyton and I is it will... It's kind of about fun with Dick and Jane. Peyton and I go and broke. Don't know what else to do. Boom. Peyton and I and and I go, boom, okay, we're going to rob a bank.

Starting point is 00:35:46 We need some money. Okay. Payton and I rob a bank, boom. Say we both get caught. So we both end up in the police station and different negotiating rooms. Would you believe that I'd be quiet? Yeah. Would I believe that you be quiet?

Starting point is 00:36:03 No. No. Why? I just think you'd crack. I wouldn't crack. I think you'd crack. Because I hate lying. I don't like it.

Starting point is 00:36:13 You'd Peyton would crack. So, like, instantly, if they'd- But ride or die, I would rather die. I would, if they came to me and they're like, Peyton's talking, I'd be like, yeah, of course she is. Yeah. Like, of course she's talking. You would 100% believe them.

Starting point is 00:36:23 Yeah, would you also talk? No, I would. You would take it on the chest and bear down? Yeah, I would not crack. You'd be like, I'll, I'll go to prison. If they cut me a deal, I don't know. But I'm just saying that it's pretty easy. I can't believe you would turn on me.

Starting point is 00:36:39 You would turn on me first because you talked first. Yeah, but you know what I love to sing. But anyways, so what I love to sing. So what I'm trying to say is that would be such a hard thing to Is that what happens in Dick and Jane? Not really, but kind of. Oh. If you know the movie, it's kind of what I'm getting at to a sense.

Starting point is 00:36:55 But anyways, we can keep going. I also think it's like, it's a little different because like I participated in the crime with you. But we don't know if they haven't. Right. I think it would be different. Like, if I found out you did a crime without me. Yeah. I would get a lawyer, but I also wouldn't lie.

Starting point is 00:37:12 I see. Yeah, that's different. But if we participate in a crime together, I might try to lie. Okay. Like, I don't know if we had come up with like a really good story. That's my girl. Like, if you had sat me down and put it outlined like, this is what you're going to say. This is how you're going to answer.

Starting point is 00:37:27 I might try to stick to it. I might. We're not doing any crimes. Okay. By crimes, we mean stealing the neighbor's trees. Yes, but that's something we would do. We would steal somebody's trees. That's probably the only crime we ever commit.

Starting point is 00:37:41 If you ever hear a crane in the middle of the night. Yes. It's not us, the tree robbers. No, that's probably the only crime you'd ever commit. Can you imagine we go to prison for stealing trees? If you have nice big trees in your yard, you better tie those suckers down because I'm coming to get them. Because every time we've driven past your house, we've gone, oh, should we steal that tree? Peyton and I were like, dang, those are nice trees.

Starting point is 00:38:01 You think they would notice if they were gone? Okay. Anyways, let's give back to the episode. Sometimes I do drive past places. I'm like, we could take that. I know. I want the trees. That's funny.

Starting point is 00:38:12 Anyways. Okay, so they're like, yes, Shelby's talking. And so what does Esther do? She starts talking. And here's the account that she offers. Okay, let's hear it. On the night of January 11th, she dropped her daughter off at Christie's

Starting point is 00:38:27 while Shelby was in the car waiting. From there, they went to the church where her daycare is located, and they met up with another friend of theirs. A third accomplice, according to Esther's story, another 18-year-old named Hannah. No way. Canapkey.

Starting point is 00:38:49 No way. Esther had also been Hannah's softball coach, and she also worked some shifts at the daycare. So these three, they got a little life going on here, okay? And at the time, Hannah was in college on a scholarship, but presumably was home for winter break. Here's where things get a bit murky in Esther's story, though. Esther says the three of them, her and the teenagers, met at the daycare where they all work because she needed their help rearranging furniture around the daycare. Which mind you, it is 10.30 to 11 p.m. on a Saturday night.

Starting point is 00:39:26 So this is already a little bit weird of a time to drop your daughter off at a babysitter's just to go arrange furniture at a place that you all three already work and are going to see each other at. But she said while they were doing that, the conversation turned into a joke. about how they could get rid of Shea if they wanted to, because again, they absolutely despise him for wanting to have a part of his daughter's life. Now, what doesn't seem like a joke to detectives, though, is this. Earlier that day, Shelby and Esther had gone to Shelby's house to get something, a rifle. But Esther made it seem like it was purely a coincidence. She's like, no, no, no, that just happened to happen on the same day.

Starting point is 00:40:04 We just happened to pick up the gun. Either way, the three women went out to the parking lot that night. She says jokingly get the rifle that they had like got earlier that day that wasn't premeditation. This happened to get the rifle. And they shoot it to see how loud it was. And they happened to hit him. And then they got into Hannah's car, which happened to be her parents van. And they drove around for a while as this conversation about killing Shea becomes more serious.

Starting point is 00:40:35 Turns into a should we really do this and eventually lands on a. Yeah, let's do it. So around midnight, Esther makes that final call to Shea's cell phone, the butt dial originally. She asked him, if you want to come over for a little joyride with her and her friends? And Shea said, sure. They went and picked him up at his place in Portland and headed out to that remote area, to that bridge on 125 West. Apparently, they then stopped the van, had him get out.

Starting point is 00:41:04 And that's when Esther said, Shelby got out and shot him once in the back with the rifle. and then they got back in the car and drove away, leaving Shea to die in the freezing cold on that bridge in the middle of nowhere. That's actually, like I said earlier, people are nuts. That's insane. That's actually... Evil. Huh?

Starting point is 00:41:28 I just, I know a lot of you disagree with me and that's, it's fine. I'm okay to disagree with people. It doesn't bother me. I still love you. I'm still friends with you. But there's no reason in my mind. that we those people shouldn't then be I don't throw them on an island in Alaska and be like good luck let's see how long you live

Starting point is 00:41:48 number one how do you get three people on board number two you picked up the rifle earlier that day this didn't happen that night how do you get three people on board that's crazy I guess maybe that's why look packing gang mentality is a very real thing It's just like... It's sad. It's a very real thing. Hating a guy.

Starting point is 00:42:13 Those two girls don't even know him. They only know what she said. It's absolutely horrible. And even then, like... Even then. You don't kill someone. But also, to just purposely lure him out of his house... Yeah, I can't.

Starting point is 00:42:30 And then drive out to the middle of nowhere where you know, and just leave him there bleeding. Yeah. Like, huh? That breaks my heart. It's like, it's disgusting. It's not. To make matters even worse, apparently Esther realized something as they started to drive away. So she had Shelby stop the car and turn around.

Starting point is 00:42:55 They get back to Shay. Keep in mind, they've just driven away from him. Imagine this scenario. He's still alive, but dying, bleeding out. They get back to him. Esther gets out She's probably like Oh she changed her mind

Starting point is 00:43:10 No she gets out Rummages and finds Shea's cell phone And then throws it in the river And gets back in the car Oh see I just I can't These people deserve so much more Than just prison time

Starting point is 00:43:22 That is Honestly just mind blowing She's afraid he's gonna call 9-1-1 And survive Yeah Now after that confession 29 year old Esther is arrested and charged with murder.

Starting point is 00:43:36 Meanwhile, Shelby's basically confirming the story in another interrogation room. And while they are pretty consistent, Shelby does admit, yeah, I was the one who shot him, so that's the same as Esther's story. She also tells investigators that she pretty much blacked out and can't remember much of what happened.

Starting point is 00:43:54 And then Shelby says something so incredibly odd. And I think it just proves she hasn't even processed how much trouble she's in yet. in this interrogation room. Because she asked the police if they have to, quote, put this out there. She's like, is it going to be in the news? Like, is it going to go on Facebook?

Starting point is 00:44:14 Are people going to be able to find out that I shot and killed this man? Okay. And police are like, girl, it's already hit the news. Like, you're going to prison. Forever. Like, people are definitely going to hear about this.

Starting point is 00:44:29 This is your entire future. Like, you've just written your life. life. And I guess maybe it starts to hit her. Shelby's arrested that same day in charge with murder. But they also have Hannah. So that afternoon, police fly out to Iowa because I guess she's already gone back to school for the next semester after doing this little murder in her hometown. And she's arrested and brought in for questioning. She tells police, I was a completely innocent bystander. I had no idea what was happening that night when I met up with Shepard. And she's She's like, I really thought we were moving furniture at the daycare where we worked.

Starting point is 00:45:08 And then suddenly I'm in the car and we're picking him up and this is a murder plot. She said, yeah, but then I have a hard time with this because then why not tell anybody? Well, they ask her. And she's like, I, I couldn't stop them in the moment. I was too afraid to tell them no. She said, I like tried to voice my concern, but she didn't want to become their second victim. What about after? I don't know what her excuse is for not immediately going to police or getting home and calling 911 and being like there's a guy dying on a bridge.

Starting point is 00:45:40 Yeah. Like I don't know. I don't know. I don't know the chance that maybe you could have saved him. Not sure how I feel about that one. And again, Garrett's not wrong. Like gang mentality. Could this happen where she was had no idea?

Starting point is 00:45:51 A hundred percent. And then gets there and is scared and like, guys, are we really doing this? But it isn't brave enough. But then afterwards we got to take some action here. I mean, either way, it's not enough for police to drop the charges. It's like you didn't, you didn't do anything to stop it. So even if you had no idea this was happening, your lack of action is chargeable. Like, you're still an accessory to murder.

Starting point is 00:46:13 She was also booked for murder mainly because, remember, it was her parents' car that was being driven. Yeah, sure. So your car, you are the one in the story who's driving to and from the scene. Like, police are like, you could have just stopped. you could have just said no. And of course, she's like, well, they had a gun. Like, what was I going to do? But the key now was trying to find out how well planned out this crime was. Again, is it something they decided on that day or night? Had this been something that they'd been planning for a while? Well, as you may have guessed, picking up that gun that afternoon was not a coincidence. There was a lot more going on behind the scenes, at least for Shelby and Esther.

Starting point is 00:46:56 According to Christy, there was one time when she recalled Esther complaining about Shea at her house. And Shelby, who was also there because she was attached to Esther's hip, said, well, I could easily shoot him if you want to. So she had already brought up shooting him for Esther. And then there were the text messages exchanged between Shelby and Esther in the weeks leading up to the crime, where Shelby, in text, in text before the crime, tells Esther she wanted to kill Shay for him. She's a full on little girlfriend's full on admitting, I want to kill him for you. And not just over text.

Starting point is 00:47:37 She also admitted it in front of Christy. And apparently, six days before the plan was executed, the murder on January 5th, Shelby and Esther went out driving around town. And they drove to that bridge. They drove to other secluded places. They're looking for potential murder.

Starting point is 00:47:56 murder sites. They're a week before they're driving around going, where could we shoot him and like not have anyone here, not have anyone drive by, but like easy enough to just get him out of the car, shoot him and leave, not like go somewhere. So you have all of these very clear signs of premeditation here, especially because police learn this wasn't the first time they had actually tried to kill Shay. And all of this starts coming out. Christy said Esther and Shelby had once talked about crushing up ibuprofen and putting it in Shay's tea, they actually tell Christy he had consumed it, but nothing happened to him. Like they were like, oh, they didn't necessarily say they were trying to kill him, but they poisoned him. Like they fully admitted to poisoning him,

Starting point is 00:48:40 but nothing happened and they were bummed out. But Christy was like, when police were like, well, why didn't you call the police then? She's like, I didn't believe them. Like, who thinks that these two girls are actually cutting up ibuprofen and putting it in someone? drink. They hated this guy. They joked about hurting him all the time. Why would I think that this time was any different? But now, looking back on the whole thing, Christy is devastated. She's like, I could like, I missed all of the signs. She claimed as a former police officer, she should have known better than to brush Esther's claims off as frustration. She felt that if she had gone to the police earlier with the knowledge that these girls were jokingly talking about killing him,

Starting point is 00:49:22 shame might still be alive today. But Christy wasn't the only one manipulated in the situation. I mean, you have two young girls, not even in their 20s, who looked up and respected Esther as their coach initially. She was a role model. They trusted her.

Starting point is 00:49:37 And then now it turns into all of them murdering. What an absolute mess. I mean, that is grooming to a degree. I was really sad about their kid as well and now has no parents. Horrible. And this was something the jury would have. have to take into consideration when it came time for the individual trials because this is nuanced. Meanwhile, each of them pleaded not guilty.

Starting point is 00:50:01 They were held without bond. Esther was up first and her trial began in March of 2021. Esther Stevens was found guilty as charged and she was sentenced to 55 years in prison. Okay. Why only 55 years? Well, the state of Indiana has a specific sentencing law that murder carries a fixed term of 45 to 65 years. I mean, she'll be 90 years old.

Starting point is 00:50:26 And 55 is where judges usually start from. But justice wasn't done being served. In August of 2021, Shelby's trial. Okay. She was also given 55 years in prison. Wow. At the sentencing hearing, one of Shelby's friends read a statement out loud saying,

Starting point is 00:50:43 Shelby, quote, had the misfortune of finding comfort in a wannabe cult leader who literally destroyed several, families for her own self-interest. Heartbreaking. And again, that trial had more nuance because of the way they had met, the relationship dynamic. I'm actually surprised she got 55.

Starting point is 00:51:03 Now, as for Hannah, she sees the writing on the wall. She's like, these two got charged. I'm next. She pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter and is given 17 years and six months behind bars with all but 10 years suspended. It made sense the jury did decide Hannah didn't conspire with Esther Shelby. Like she was not a part of the previous planning. So how many years total?

Starting point is 00:51:30 I'm a little confused. Sorry. So seven years since 10 got suspended or did I understand that wrong? Yeah. So essentially 10 years. Okay. Now, there's still kind of one loose end, many people question. Why did Shea even agree to get in the car that night?

Starting point is 00:51:48 like if they're in this not good situation she's with her friends that he hates apparently like how did this even happen it's a valid question i don't people are like how i don't think they're blaming she that doesn't honestly that part's not even deep for me like it's you have a baby with this person like that part doesn't even stuck that is even like yeah of course like i probably something i would do well this is exactly what detectives say as well and she's friends they said he has a baby with her. He's trying to smooth things over. He wants solid ground between him and Esther because genuinely she left him at the altar. All he generally cares about at this point is the baby probably. And he was devastated. He wanted the relationship with her. He wanted the life with her. So if she reaches out

Starting point is 00:52:40 offering like an olive branch to, hey, this has been nasty, but do you want to just hang out? Hang out with my friend. friends, his friends say he's the type of guy who would say yes. He's the type of guy who would go just to try to smooth things over to try to make their relationship dynamic a little better so that things could move forward more smoothly. So when this question is brought up, his friend's family and even detectives are like, it's a valid question, but it's actually when you know who Shea was is not that strange because he was that good of a guy. Like even if he didn't like, these friends, he would have been willing to go just to try to make this child's life easier. Esther's parents were the ones who ended up getting primary custody of Esther and Shea's daughter.

Starting point is 00:53:31 And thankfully, Shea's family has been granted visitation rights, but it is only once a month. How does it even make sense? He's not on the birth certificate. They were still going through the whole battle. Okay, but escalate that shiz. Right. Like, that's actually, that's, that's not okay. I'm not okay with that.

Starting point is 00:53:49 That's ridiculous. So they do get to see her once a month, but according to both families, Esther Ann Shea's family, they have one priority and it's making sure that the little girl feels love amidst all of this chaos that she did not sign up for. And that is the murder of Shea Breyer. And honestly, like, I just can. Can we stop being nuts? It's also just like...

Starting point is 00:54:18 It's just absolutely horrible. You know, every single case is horrible, but I don't even know. Maybe once a month. I don't even know. Every little bit, I'll have a certain case that I'm just like, I wish I didn't have this job. I wish this job didn't exist. I, because what do you mean? What do you mean this happened?

Starting point is 00:54:40 This is disgusting. This is horrible. Like, how can this brutality and, and level of humanity exists. And it's just not it. It keeps happening. Exactly. And it's just like,

Starting point is 00:54:52 it keeps happening. It gets to the point where like I'm frustrated. I know. It's very frustrating. It's part of the reason why I say I don't like true crime because it's so frustrating. Like, are you, are you kidding me right now?

Starting point is 00:55:04 Like, are you actually kidding me? Like, what is, wrong with you? I don't know. Like, what is,

Starting point is 00:55:12 what is wrong with you? Hopefully she. She has 55 years to ask herself the same question, and I guess we can hope she does. Put her in Alaska, tie her up, chain her to a tree in Alaska. She can freeze a death, like the person she killed did. It's just heart wrenching. Horrible. Anyways.

Starting point is 00:55:31 Thank you for listening. Thank you for being here. Not to be a downer, but that's kind of the moral of the moral of the podcast, I guess. It's like, at the end of the day, the reality is these do suck. Like it's not It's horrible People need to stop Yeah

Starting point is 00:55:47 People need to stop killing each other Knock it off You know what I am more than happy To completely Never do a podcast again And lose this as our jobs If people stop killing each other

Starting point is 00:55:59 A billion percent Do it Prove me wrong Do it honestly I'll make bagels Until I die I just am like It's just incomprehensible

Starting point is 00:56:12 Yeah. All right, you guys, thank you for listening. As always, we will see you next week, sadly, with another one. I love it. I hate it. Goodbye.

Murder With My Husband - 329. Ride or Die - The Murder of Shea Briar

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